(it’s today)

August 17, 2018Leave a comment

Friday? Well, yeah, but not just that.

Rob’s birthday? Yeah, that too, but it’s not what I’m talking about.

The 229^th day of the year? Dude, stop asking stupid questions. We all know what day it is. Let’s say it together, shall we?

IT’S RELEASE DAY MOTHERFUCKERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

By say, I meant scream, because that’s what I did. There’s no other (correct) way to announce your book release other than screaming it with definite use of profanity. Which is what I did, so, bravo to me. But YES to the few of you who know about the Better Than This series, book 2 releases today and picks up right where book 1 left off. That’s all I’m going to say. Go get it and read so we can dish and squee and obsess over all the things. 😊

Better Than Now can be found here.

With the talent show behind them, Autumn and Alex can finally begin their relationship. It took a school assignment, but they’ve managed to move beyond their awkward past to become one of the most popular—and gossiped-about—couples in school. Dating was supposed to be the easy part, but now that they’ve been plunged into the spotlight, Autumn isn’t sure she can keep up.

Things at home aren’t any better. Being grounded already sucks, but when her mom outright refuses the idea of Alex, things only get worse. It isn’t until a family secret is exposed that Autumn understands the depth of her mom’s disapproval, and the role it plays in her future with Alex.

With all the attention at school and her lack of support at home, Autumn fears for her relationship. She knows that for everything to work out, something drastic will have to change, and when it does, she’s faced with a choice that determines the rest of her life.

Goosebumps, guys. Goosebumps.

P.S. Happy birthday, Rob!

All The Reasons To Celebrate

August 15, 20184 Comments

As you know (and has been previously stated) I’ve done shit for advertising BTN. We can all agree to this—yes? Good. With that said, I didn’t *totally *drop the ball because I did manage to get featured on Loni Townsend’s blog today AND I’m hosting the IRPR (Indie Reader’s Party Room) tomorrow from 6:30-9:30. Don’t remember? Probably because I only mentioned it that one time BUT I AM STILL DOING IT BECAUSE I KEEP MY PROMISES. And doing takeovers are fun 😊

So, what’s a takeover? (I think it’s when) I get control of the group/space (MUAHAHAHAHA!) and can steer the party wherever I want, hoping to interact with whoever (virtually) shows up. Since Better Than Now is releasing on Friday, one guess as to what I’m talking about. 😊 Yep. All themes based on high-school, musicians and first loves. Oh, and living in the early 2000s, which is when the first two books of the series takes place. So, if you’re feeling all share-y and want to dish about music and boys and high-school romances, come hang with me tomorrow. I’ll be here.

Other than that, TWO DAYS PEOPLE.

Seriously, though, where did the time go? Oh, and there are other writerly topics that I want to discuss but we’ll chat about them post BTN, okay?

Yay Loni Townsend’s blog today!

Yay IRPR host tomorrow!

Yay Better Than Now releases on 8/17! (AND it’s Rob’s birthday!) (AND it’s fucking Friday!)

ALL THE REASONS TO CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

It May Have Been My Stupid Brain

August 10, 20184 Comments

Okay…

I had this whole other post about Amazon being terrible and glitchy and keeping my corporate-day-job-spirits down with their LIES. But, um, *cough* it may have been my stupid brain not looking in the right place. Maybe.

*looks at feet*

*glances away*

*hopes virtual blush isn’t sssssuuuuupppppeeerrr obvious*

It is good to know the lightbulb—be it delayed from time to time—comes on eventually because THANK GOD I didn’t send Amazon an email asking for something—now that I think about it—is pretty damn obvious. Hopefully I’ll remember this for BTY in November. I should. If I don’t, someone remind me that it’s pretty damn obvious where I need to look for pre-orders. Okay? You’re all in charge of that. Share the responsibility wisely.

For those of you who’ve ordered: thank you 😊 I can’t wait for you to read it!

One week, guys. One week from TODAY.

SEVEN DAYS.

(but the good kind. Not the kind where you die by a gross well-dwelling girl who needs a major haircut. Definitely not that kind.)

(Slight Melancholy) Squee!

August 9, 20181 Comment

I’ve done shit for advertising BTN.

I know, because I don’t have a single pre-order, which is cool, except that it isn’t because it kind of sucks seeing absolutely zero interest after the first one released in May. Maybe I should be drinking while I write this.

*looks over shoulder*

Nevermind. Kitchen’s too far away and I’m comfortable. But no, the zero lack of sales isn’t what kept me from posting on Wednesday. It’s because 1.) it snuck up on me like always and 2.) I wasn’t really sure what to write about and oh, 3.) WE’RE WATCHING TWO EXTRA DOGS AND THEY WON’T STOP BARKING/WHINING. Well, one of them won’t. And when she does, she’s usually ripping something into shreds which means I must watch her AT ALL TIMES. That, or fall victim to the bark/whine orchestra that makes my eyes want to pop. So, we’ll just recap and say I wasn’t in much of a “writing mood” these past few days.

I’m still totally thrilled about BTN’s release next week (yep! Next week, folks! I mean, how did three months fly? #amiright?) but I’ve been a bit…melancholy over the whole thing. Not just the lack of sales *cough zero sales cough* but the pressure of everything, and how much I don’t know and everything is so much of a long shot that sometimes the whole thing feels…unattainable. It’s a terrible way to think but we all have these days.

Anywho, I know I’m going crazy and posting late on a Thursday, but I couldn’t let all of you three reading this not know that I was okay. I am, thank you for wondering. As always, I’m flattered. Better Than Now releases next Friday, August 17^th (Rob’s birthday) and yeah, I’m excited about it. I also should do some kind of advertising but the good stuff costs money and like we’ve talked about on numerous occasions, releasing three books three months apart maybe wasn’t the best idea. Again, lesson learned.

But still, I’m super excited for the next chapter of Autumn and Alex’s relationship to be out there! (slight melancholy) squee!

How have you been? Anything exciting/fun happening in your neck of the woods?

I (Finally) Have A Link

August 3, 20181 Comment

And here it is:

THE MOST AWESOME LINK EVER

Woop! This, my friends, will take you to the magical place where you can have Better Than Now sent to your reading device. It won’t appear until August 17^th (Rob’s birthday) but STILL. You can get the book by clicking here. Right here. Or even here.

A quick recap is in order, yes?

Better Than This

Autumn Sommers wants to forget what happened on the bus. It’s been three years, but avoiding Alex Wolf has become standard, especially since everyone knows about his sketchbook—and the drawings of her inside. The incident followed them from junior-high and now, in their sophomore year, the two have been paired on a project.

Autumn just wants to get through it. She needs to maintain her grades to keep her terrible Aunt Milly from moving back in, but working with Alex might be impossible since they have to pretend to be a couple for their assignment. Forced to put their past on hold, the two focus on their fictitious relationship until the lines between real and fake get blurred, and they discover there might be some truth to the façade. But things have changed since seventh grade. Alex has a secret, and it could mean the end of their new friendship…and more.

After everything they’ve been through, Autumn isn’t sure she can go back to the way it was. With their project—and her heart—on the line, she’ll need to prepare for whatever happens, even if it means a return to silence with the boy she wants the most.

Better Than Now

Woop! Two weeks, guys! I’m stoked. Are you stoked? Let’s be stoked together. Okay? So CLICK ME to pre-order Better Than Now and we’ll stoke like no one’s ever stoked before. It’ll be glorious.

Also: I won a tote from my online romance writer’s group (which is AWESOME) All The Kissing! Look how cool it is! Hands up for participating in the RWA online party 😊

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Ari!!!!!!!

This Friday, IWSG

August 1, 201815 Comments

Guess what I’m doing this Friday? (besides, like, crying with excitement that the weekend is here, and wishing Ari a happy birthday (happy birthday, Ari!))

Give up?

I’m making my second book, Better Than Now AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER, MOFOS!

*What?*Really?*No way!*You sure?*

Yeah. It’s pre-order time. Already. The time has come and good God does it fly. Like, wasn’t I just here babbling on about Better Than This? It feels like yesterday. May feels like yesterday. 2005 feels like yesterday and I don’t understand why I’m 32 and not 16. I digress.

AUGUST 3^RD. This Friday. The Link. The legend. If you still need to read Better Than This, 1) yes, yes you do, and 2) it’s not terribly long, so you could probably catch up. Fast. Lightening fast. Just click here. For the rest of you who have read it, can we just take a moment and squeal together because GUYS I’m *so* excited for you to read this one. More banter. More guitars. More…steam. WINK. NUDGE.

*SQUEE*

All the excitement all over the place. 😊 Other than my coworker, Rob’s birthday, nothing crazy important is happening on Better Than Now’s release date: August 17^th. For Better Than This, it was pretty much a national holiday: Deadpool 2 premiered. For Better Than You, it WILL be a national holiday (in my heart) because The Crimes of Grindelwald comes out. So, mark your calendar for BTN’s release and Rob’s birthday. It’s going to get crazy 😊

Has anything cool happened on your release days? Did you use it any marketing strategies? Asking for a friend.

Insecure Writer’s Support Group (IWSG) is a monthly blog hop for writers at all levels to share their fears and insecurities in a safe and encouraging place. Please drop by and say hi to Alex Cavanaugh who started this nifty concept in bringing us all together.

Also, I caught a fly in a water bottle the other day.

I think this definitively proves I’m a ninja.

Here’s What I’ve Been Working On

July 25, 20182 Comments

I’m kind of at the point where I’m sick of my own story.

Writers, you know what I’m talking about.

Having read and reread (and reread and reread…) the same passage about twenty thousand times makes you hate it. And that’s where I am—about to hate it—so I’ve been working on something else that *desperately* needs my attention: marketing.

I have to have some sort of something that shows the book and includes information about it/me. What do we call those? Advertisements, that’s right. I’ve been working on advertisements. And by that, I mean the only ONE I have that I feel semi-confident to share with the public and have associated with my brand (which I still need to like, develop).

Here’s what I’ve been working on:

Not too, too bad, right? But I tweaked it some more, added a release date and a quote:

Still not sure if this is going to be the final version or if I’m going to scrap the thing and start again. I really hope it’s not the latter since I have the pre-order date still set for August 3^rd so, like, I’ve got to be advertising this bad boy or else my streak of no sales will continue ☹

So, love the input! Yay? Nay? Like the quote? Need a new one? (I’ve got back and forth with this A LOT) Let me know. I’d like to throw something into cyber space next week if at all possible.

Indies, how do you guys come up with your ads? Do them yourself or contract out?

Readers, how vital are ads in your book-buying decision?

P.S. Oh! I’m going to be featured on Tina Holland’s blog tomorrow. Totally forgot until just this second. But woop!

Cover Reveal: Better Than Now

July 15, 2018Leave a comment

I’ve actually taken a few days off from writing, so this feels a little weird. I’m in that limbo stage between having passed my MS to the editor and sitting here twiddling my thumbs, waiting for her to get back to me. Believe me—there’s plenty I could be doing, but sometimes a little break really does a creative mind good.

It’s said (by many, many authors) that to write well is to write every day. I strongly mostly agree with this. It’s a craft, so, yes, you have to keep up and practice to get better, however, a nice reset button with fresh eyes does wonders. It’s how I started writing book 3. I was obsessing over the ending of book 2 and had to put it away. Then, like magic, a coupe of days later—poof! Instant access to door number 3, which then helped me finish book 2.

No writing-break epiphanies here, but it feels good to be back at the keyboard and talking about book stuff 😊 Since it’s technically mid-July, the gears have *officially* been switched to Better Than Now (woop!) which means promotion needs to start soon-ish. And to get that done, I need to be broadcasting the cover.

So…without any more stalling…I’m excited/nervous to present to you the cover of Better Than Now:

Yep! Looks pretty much like the previous one except for title and cover. Two reasons for this:

I am broke. When I say broke, I mean broke. It’s a skill to get a book published (editing, cover design, formatting) on a tiny little budget, but damnit money is not going to be the thing to hold me back. Not in this.
I actually envisioned wanting all three to look very similar; I didn’t necessarily think they’d have the same background, but I love it. I’ve loved it since Joleene showed me and I love how it combines both Autumn and Alex’s talents. Changing only the title and cover adds a good sense of continuity to the series, so when you see one, you might remember having seen another (they say that on average a consumer will see a product seven times before purchasing it) so it can’t hurt.

What do you guys think? Too much like the first? Individual enough to be its own? You don’t care and want to go outside and enjoy this beautiful day? Gotcha. Me too. 😉

Well, whatever you end up doing, enjoy it! I’m off to help Batman with yardwork and boring adult things. But after the chores are done, it’s off to a cinematic adventure 😊 Anyone seen Jurassic World yet? Good? Bad? How hot is Chris Pratt? (That’s all I care about).

The Great Banner Switch

July 11, 2018Leave a comment

Since we’re teetering on mid- July, I think *THINK*it’s time to switch banners, right? I’ve been proudly—and staggeringly—waving my Better Than This flag, but I think it’s time to change it up. I’m no longer in the I’ve released a book last month phase; I’ve slipped into the I’m releasing a book next month club, and that means a switch of gears. So, I’m proud to present the FIRST (of many) posts focusing on Book 2 of the Better Than This series: Better Than Now.

::::::::::DANCING UNCONTROLLABLY:::::::::

::::::::::several hours of sleep followed copious amounts of Oreos::::::::::

Alright, so what’s going on with BTN? First of all, thank you for asking; you’ve always been so polite 😊 Second, you’ll be happy to know I’ve finished it, so, panic attack avoided. I’m sending it to the editor this week and I’m hopeful to have it available for pre-order on 8/3. It’s right around the corner, but I think I can manage. Know why? I got this.

Some other non-writing coolness: my sister and nephew came up this weekend and we went to St. Augustine. It always feels so magical in the oldest city in America.