Jocelynn Drake's Blog: Announcements, page 27

March 8, 2014

Cleaning and Writing and Cleaning

It's Saturday! Which means it's time to clean the kitchen and the bedroom and the bathroom and go to the grocery... Yeah, the exciting life of an author. Though, I think I will use my super author abilities to convince the Other Half that he would love to clean the kitty litter box.

Last weekend, I goofed off a bit. I dropped off my poor little car for her annual check-up, which was something of a disaster. I wandered around the massive outlet in West Palm Beach and had dinner down in Delray Beach. I'm hoping that this cold I've been fighting is in its final death throes and I'm wondering if exposure to the sun and surf at the beach for an hour would cause it to finally shrivel away. I'm willing to take that experiment.

But in the meantime, we're running to the grocery because the cupboard, my dear friends, is bare.

After that, I think I'm grabbing a notebook and a beach towel and heading out. My O.H. keeps arguing that I'm not allowed to take work to the beach but he doesn't understand that writing is technically work. Well... it is, but it is also very relaxing.

Gage is currently in the safe hands of my editor and I've turned my attention to Stefan from the Dark Days series. I finally recovered the last 10,000 words I'd lost when the file was corrupted and I'm back to making forward progress. If I could do approximately 1,000 words per day, I would be able to finish this book in a month. Of course, I don't know what I'd do with it after I got it finished. I just feel like this is something I need to write. But I fear that if I like Stefan's story then I will have to finally finish Nicolai's story and write Valerio's story. Yeah, that's how it works sometimes.

We shall see. I'm looking forward to getting into something totally new. I just have decided what that's going to be just yet. I'll keep you posted.
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Published on March 08, 2014 12:24

July 28, 2013

Chat Starts at 4pm ET Today

I have the chat room all set up.  You will be able to find me here at 4pm Eastern time (which is in about 35 minutes).  Sorry, no video.  But I'll be here to answer all your questions for the next hour.

Tiny Chat Room
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Published on July 28, 2013 12:24

July 27, 2013

Online Chat Tomorrow

Do you have some burning questions about the Asylum Tales series?
Are you worried about how Gage is going to escape Lilith?
Are you wanting to know more about Sofie?  Or Chang?

Get you questions and thoughts together, because I will be hosting an online chat tomorrow, Sunday July 28 at 4:00 pm Eastern Time.   I will be using TinyChat (unless someone has a suggestion of a provider I should try.)  I will post the link to the chat room about 3 pm on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Goodreads, MySpace, and Google+, so you should be able to find me with relative ease.  The chat will run for approximately 1 hour and you can ask me about the Asylum Tales, Dark Days series, and general writing questions.

You never know. I might even spill some secrets.
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Published on July 27, 2013 12:15

July 8, 2013

Book Deals, Contest, and Chat

I want to say Thank You to everyone who voted in my poll last month for the upcoming chat.  The online chat to discuss Angel's Ink will be on Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 4 pm Eastern Time .  That day, I will post a link to the chat room on the blog, Facebook, and Twitter so you can come chat with me.  The chat will be for 1 hour and we can discuss Angel's Ink, the prequel novellas, and the world of the Asylum Tales.

Contest
If you'd like a chance to win one of my e-books, pop by Supernatural Underground.  I ramble around the summer, vacation, and explosions. The blog entry even contains videos!  Click here to check it out!

Book Deals

I just noticed Angel's Ink and Dead Man's Deal are on sale.
Angel's Ink is only $4.99 in Kindle and Nook.  Dead Man's Deal is only $6.64 in Kindle and Nook.

I also left some signed books at Joseph-Beth in Crestview, Kentucky. They can mail you a signed copy so you can get caught up in the series ahead of the chat on July 28!
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Published on July 08, 2013 15:56

Strolling through the bookstore

I'm on vacation.  Well, it's supposed to be a working vacation.  My hope is that I can get about 30,000 words done.  In just over 1 day, I have written 0 words.  Yeah, it's not working out so well, but I've got a few days ahead of me and I should be able to sneak in some writing at some point.

Yesterday, I popped down to Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Crestview, Kentucky and signed all the Jocelynn Drake books they had on hand.  That would be 4 Dead Man's Deal, 2 Angel's Ink, and an entire set of Dark Days books.  If you would like to have a signed book, you can stop down and pick them up.  Or you can give them a call and they will ship the books to you.  I believe it costs $3 for shipping 1 book and it's $1 for each additional book.  Not a bad deal!

Also, if you happen to be in Cincinnati, I'd stop by Joseph-Beth and browse through their wonderful selection of books. They have an amazing selection of books on sale right now.  It was really tough not to pick up an enormous pile myself, but I reminded myself that I'm supposed to be writing, not reading.

I tried to sign books at another bookstore while I was in Newport, but they sadly didn't carry any copies.  I'll be popping around other stores in the area and I'll post here in case you're interested in picking up copies.

If you are needing something new to read this holiday weekend (and you've already finished all the Dark Days and the Asylum Tales books), there were a number of awesome books that came out this week, including:

Melissa Marr's The Arrivals
Kerrelyn Sparks' Less Than A Gentleman
Laurell K. Hamilton's Affliction

And a few book deals that I've found include:

Deadly Sting by Jennifer Estep for $1.99 on Kindle
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean for $1.99 on Kindle
Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison for $1.99 on Kindle
Angel's Ink by Jocelynn Drake for $4.99 on Kindle

Happy reading!
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Published on July 08, 2013 15:55

June 22, 2013

How do you keep going when the spark is gone?

A reader and fellow writer sent me a message on Facebook asking for a little professional advice.  I thought I'd turn my answer into a blog since the question has larger ramifications than just writing and I thought it would also help others who might have this problem.  

The reader's question was (and I'm paraphrasing):


During the past year, I've struggled to focus on my writing.  Life has intruded into my work, forcing me to push it to the back burner while I deal with other issues.  Unfortunately when I do find the time to write, I find myself becoming bored or easily distracted.  I'm close to calling it quits, but I want to write.  Do you have any advice?



I have had this problem before.  The world is creeping in and I'm busy trying to balance family problems, job, finding a new job, paying bills, the car is breaking down, my love life is in shambles, my health is fading, and on and on and on.  You get to be so busy putting out fires and shoring up your life that there's nothing left of you when you find five minutes to sit down behind a computer and write.  But I don't think it's time to call it quits....  If I had, there never would have been a Dark Days series, let alone an Asylum Tales series.




The first thing that you may need to do is take care of yourself.  The stress has stretched you.  If you can't relax behind the keyboard, you're not going to be able to flip on your imagination and write.  All those stresses are going to be running through your head rather than your characters.  Get away from the keyboard.  You have my permission to take a break (even if it has been several months since you last wrote).  You're not on a deadline, right?  There isn't some sword hanging over your head demanding that you write?  Good.  Walk away (briefly).  Go do something fun.  Preferably something active to get the blood flowing.  Go to the zoo or an amusement park.  Go to a museum.  Go to a park and walk around.  Stretch out on a large blanket and read a book you've been wanting to read but haven't found the time.  Go for a walk.  The key is, take some time for yourself.  Why?


The reduction of stress will get your imagination pumping again.
Being out and moving opens you up to new experiences, which in turn gets your imagination pumping.
Relaxing helps to recharge your batteries and put a smile on your face

So what do you do if you're relaxed, but you're still bored with what you're working on.  Well, that could be a second problem entirely.  That could be the project you're working on has either:

Lost its initial direction and gone astray
Isn't as strong as you initially thought

If you're more interested in just getting the writing flowing again, my advice is to put that project aside for now.  Give it a break.  Your stress in life has now leaked into your current project and you now stress about being able to write every time you pick it up.  Stress does not create words.

You need to open up a blank page and work on something else for a time.  Drag out something you abandoned years ago or play with something completely new.  Tell yourself: "This is just for fun.  No one is going to ever see this.  This is just for me."  Create a world and play.  Write some fan fiction if that's what floats your boat.  Play in a genre you've never worked in before.  The key is to get some words on the page.  That will break through the stress of not writing and you'll be proud of your accomplishment.

Sometimes the key is just breaking through the dam to get the words flowing again.  When I'm feeling stressed about a project and can't get anything to start flowing, I pull out a side project and play with it.  After a few days, I'm usually eager to jump back into the original project because I have a new idea.

And that's the key: a new idea.  Don't jump back to the original because you feel like you have to but because you've got a new idea that you're dying to try out on the page. 

If you don't have a new idea and are still bored with the original project, but are determined to complete it, then we're going to have to triage the story and complete a little surgery to find the underlying problem.  However, this post has gone on long enough, so I'll save that section for Monday.
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Published on June 22, 2013 11:38

June 15, 2013

We Need to Talk

This is serious. I just realized that I haven't hosted a live online chat in a while and I bet you've got a few questions for me. You know, about Gage, the Ivory Towers, and Chang? Would you like to sit down and have a nice chat?

Yeah, so would I. But I need your help in picking the time. Click here to head over to my main blog. On the right column is a quick poll of potential times that I can hold the chat. Vote. You can pick multiple times.

At the beginning of the July, I will announced the date and time when I will be holding the online chat. Thanks for your help!
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Published on June 15, 2013 12:26

May 30, 2013

Back from a break with book deals

I'm back from my little Internet hiatus.  It wasn't exactly planned.  It's just that life sometimes get in the way of things.  There are just times when work, personal issues, writing, and all the random little things you put off because you don't want to deal with them.... well, eventually, you just gotta deal with them.  Nothing major here.  I just needed to play a little catch up, which meant that I had to spend a little less time online.




Last weekend, I took a quick trip home to visit with family.  Only my mother and sister-in-law knew about the trip ahead of time, so it was a massive surprise to several people when we walked in like we had never moved out of the area.  With it being a quick trip, I didn't get to visit my old stomping grounds, but it was good to see family again.  I am planning to return later this summer and I promise to leave behind more signed books.

Max enjoyed the road trip, but he was happy to get home to his toys.

In the meantime, readers continue to discover the Asylum Tales series and I'm receiving many wonderful comments on both Angel's Ink and Dead Man's Deal.  Thank you to everyone who has tried the new series.  I love your comments.  Please remember the best way to show your love for the series is to tell your friends.  Recommend the books to anyone else who likes urban fantasy.  Share the stories so more people can fall in love with Gage, Bronx, and Trixie.

I am currently working on a brief revision, which I am hoping will take only a couple of weeks.  After that, I am settling in and writing a new book.  Everything is currently on spec (writing without being sold to a publisher already) but I am hopeful that my new endeavors will find a home soon.

And if you're looking for something new to read, I've run across several amazing ebook deals with the start BEA (Book Expo of America).  Here are some of the deals I've found:

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (first Night Huntress book) $1.99 -- Kindle & Nook
Graveminder by Melissa Marr $5.49 -- Kindle & Nook
Earth Strike: Star Carrier by Ian Douglas $0.99 -- Kindle & Nook
The Countess by Lynsay Sands $1.99 -- Kindle & Nook

I'm sure there will be more and I will try to pass them along as I see them.  Not everything makes it to my blog or Facebook. If you have a Twitter account, you want to consider following me (@JocelynnDrake). I don't tweet a lot, but I do pass along book deals as I see them.
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Published on May 30, 2013 18:52

May 18, 2013

Now That The Smoke Has Cleared

It has been a crazy month.  April saw nearly all of my e-books go on sale at insanely low prices, which enticed a large number of new readers to try my stories about a fire-wielding vampire and a magical tattoo artist.

To all the new readers of Jocelynn-brand insanity, Welcome to the Party.  Just throw your coats on the bed, there are drinks in the kitchen, and the band will be here soon.

But in all seriousness, thanks for trying my books. Writing is my passion.  It's my raison d'etre, but telling stories is always more enjoyable when you have someone to tell your story to.  I love the fact that readers watched Mira and Danaus fall in love.  I love that you've been there for the craziness in Gage's life.

I also want to thank everyone who helped to promote my books.  Every tweet, Facebook post, Tumblr, Pinterest, and blog post helps to get the word out.  Every time you lean over and say, "hey, have you tried..." bring joy to the heart of an author.  We spend countless hours writing books and then spend countless more hours trying to spread the word.  But one reader recommendation is worth its weight in gold.  Readers have more power to make a book successful by simply telling others about it.  In April and May, readers and authors have stepped up to support the Asylum Tales and the Dark Days series.

Thank you for all your wonderful support!  Mira, Gage, Danaus, Trixie, Bronx, and Knox are grateful.  Thank you for giving me the chance to do the thing that I love most in the world.  I am happiest when I'm writing and you help me do just that.

To keep the ball rolling, I am hard at work on new projects and I'm hoping to announce some new things later this year.
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Published on May 18, 2013 19:56

May 7, 2013

Almost Time for a New Book

Just a few more hours....

Yes, my friends, it's almost time for new Gage & gang from Asylum.

I am so excited for you to finally get your hands on the latest installment of the Asylum Tales.  There's more violence, explosions, danger, romance, and general strangeness oozing from every lovely page of this novel.

To help get you excited about tomorrow's release, let me pass along some awesome links!

Contest

Literary Escapism is giving away a digital copy of either Angel's Ink or Dead Man's Deal.  The contest ends on May 15.  This blog also has a short article I wrote about a time recently when I met with Gage at a bar in Low Town.  Let's just say that he wasn't in a good mood.  Click here to check out the short tale and to enter the contest.

I Smell Sheep is also running a contest where they are giving away a print copy of Dead Man's Deal.  The contest ends in  on Sunday, May 12.  This blog has a short article written by Gage about me.  He thought he was being funny, but I wasn't amused.  Click here to check out the short article and to enter the contest.

My Bookish Ways is giving away a copy of Angel's Ink and included an interview that I recently gave where I talk about Dead Man's Deal and my work on the series.  The contest ends on Sunday, May 12.  Click here to read the interview and enter the contest.

I would also pop by Supernatural Underground on Tuesday because I've got a guest blog going live tomorrow morning that also includes a giveaway of Angel's Ink and Dead Man's Deal.


Interview

I popped by the Open Book Society this week for an interview where I talk about the series, writing, and other random goodness that is just me!  Check out the interview by clicking here.



Book Signing

Don't forget that I will be in signing books at Schuler's Books and Music on Thursday, May 9 at 7pm.  This will be your chance to ask questions, get the dirt on Gage, and get a signed book or six.  Here is the address is you're interested:

Schuler's Books and Music
1982 Grand River Ave
Okemos, MI 48864
Phone: 517.349.8840


Be sure to stay tuned to my blog this week, as there will be more giveaways, interviews, and general awesomeness as we celebrate the release of a new book.
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Published on May 07, 2013 16:35

Announcements

Jocelynn Drake
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