Lyssa Chiavari's Blog, page 3

My somewhat unusual proof process

My first proof for One World has arrived! Note that I said my first proof—there will be more. Several years ago (back in 2017, when I was writing Cheerleaders from Planet X), I figured out a handy little writing hack for myself. I’ve mentioned in various places (such as in the podcast I recently recorded with Jewel Riders Archive, which will be available for you to listen to soon) that I tend to write in layers. Not so much like a cake—more like an onion, or maybe like a Russian nesting doll. I ...

Why I’m excited about the Draft2Digital + Smashwords merger

If you’ve read this blog in years past, you know I have been down on Smashwords before. You know I’ve said some not-very-nice things about them. But truth be told, for many years, the Smashwords store was my go-to place to buy books as a reader. When I got my first Kindle, I ran to the Smashwords store and browsed a special sale they were holding, grabbing all sorts of interesting-sounding YA books at a discount. The Destroyers series by Holly Hook was one of my very first and all-time favorite ...

The anatomy of a symptom flare

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been active on this blog, or sent out my newsletter, or posted anything decent on social media. My amazing assistant, Esther Hadassah, had been doggedly continuing to post content on Facebook like a trouper. I appreciate her keeping it going even as I’ve given her nothing new to post about in well over a year. I’ve discovered that when you get out of the habit of being present—not just online, but in your life—it’s extremely difficult to get back into it. B...

The Martian calendar system in The Iamos Trilogy

In preparation for the last book in the Iamos series finally? coming out?? soon??? (we can all hope and pray), I am getting together some supplementary material for the series to help readers out, especially those who want to be able to jump into the final book as soon as One World is out without having to start over from the beginning. Right now I’m working on detailed recaps for each book in the series, which I will link to on each of the books’ pages on the website, and will also include a li...

There is no magic bullet

Something that’s been really bothering me for a couple years now is this pervasive idea in indie publishing that there’s a formula to success, and anyone can be making five+ figures from their writing if they follow the formula. You’ll see it a lot on social media, especially on Facebook in writers’ groups. Authors will post that their book isn’t selling, and the peanut gallery will come racing in with the old tried and true: Change your cover, change your blurb. Re-edit the book. Are you doing ...

Some news

News Item 1: Sing, Goddess! is available now Sing, Goddess! A YA Anthology of Greek Myth Retellings, edited by Jane Watson, is available now! I’m excited for everyone to read my retelling of the myth of Icarus, “Feathers on the Wind.” Set in ancient Greece and featuring a half-harpy girl who befriends Icarus, it follows the myth pretty closely but there are some changes. It was hilarious when I was giving my sister a progress update on the story before it was finished. “It’s pretty close to bein...

Get off Twitter

This was originally posted on my personal blog, but after getting a lot of positive comments from people saying they felt it was an important part of the conversation, I decided to repost it here as well. Although I’ve been off Twitter for over a year at this point, a few days ago an author friend of mine sent me a Twitter thread to look at. It was a reaction to an essay by Nicole Brinkley called “Did Twitter break YA?” (Yes, it did.) Adding on to the very excellent article, the thread brought u...

Cover reveal for Sing, Goddess!

I’ve got a story in a new anthology coming out this summer, centered around Greek Myth retellings. The book is called Sing, Goddess! (the first line of The Iliad) and is edited by Jane Watson. Today we are revealing the cover, which was designed by Najla Qamber Designs. Check it out below and learn more about the anthology and about my story! Aphrodite. Zeus. Medusa. Hercules. You’ve heard their names. You thought you knew their stories… until now. Lose yourself in this collection of eleven youn...

#BOWS2021: Fandom inspiration for The Iamos Trilogy

Welcome to the first-ever Book Owl Word Search, also known as BOWS! The Book Owl Word Search is a fun interactive game that lets you learn about new books and authors and enter to win a great prize. How does it work? Search through this blog post for my special Secret Word, then continue the hunt through my teammates’ posts until you’ve collected all 12 secret words. Enter them all into the form on the entry page to be entered into a giveaway to win a gift pack of 18 great YA and MG books, plus ...

Cover reveal: Alien Princess Sorority Girl

If you participated in last week’s YA Scavenger Hunt, you’ll have seen this there first. But if not, I wanted to make sure everybody saw this! You may have noticed a few new pages on the site last week… for example, Cheerleaders from Planet X is now on a series page instead of a stand-alone page. Because that’s right: the sequel is finally happening! Check out the cover and blurb below: Things haven’t exactly been normal for Laura Clark since she found out she’s alien royalty. As if learning to ...