Auryn Hadley's Blog, page 6

In the spirit of the Holidays

[image error]I have a present for my fans. I hope you like it.

For the last decade, I haven’t celebrated Christmas. As a business owner, it’s always a horrible time of year (until now). The selfishness of the holidays shines through, leaving those of us struggling to make a living on our own caught between holding up the holiday spirit and going broke. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “Well, I’ll make it up next month, but I need to buy my kids some presents – do you mind?”

Now, I’m a caring an...

What my fans want

Tenacity, Rise of the Iliri 5, is ready for release (available now for pre-order, releases December 24th). Now, I’m on to the next book, working to clean up the mess that is the rough draft of Iliri 6. Halfway through the read-through, I had this massive epiphany. I wasn’t reading ONE book, I was reading two.

This meant I had to make a decision. Did I cut the fluff and focus on streamlining the story, or did I break the book in half and organize it a little better? Knowing the good argumentsf...

Impressing the Fans

I hear it happens to everyone. We get to a nice and comfortable point in our career, and then start to wonder if we can ever get better. What once was good enough suddenly seems to have problems that are insurmountable. Clawing at the back of our minds is that fear our fans will start to hate us.

For me, I think that’s the biggest worry I have. I adore my fans. The more I learn who you people are, the more I want to give back. I want to make you read the book and fall in love, scream in fear,...

I spent my Turkey Day being productive

The puppy was sad today. He didn’t get any turkey bones (duh!) or leftovers. And I haven’t had time to play tug or fetch! Oh, the horrors. But he’s still pretty darned cute, so I had to share.

Instead, I spent my free time writing the next book (or one of them, at any rate) and researching marketing. You see, I’ve finally hit the point where I realize that I just can’t do it all. I mean, that’s a great thing, and I have all my fans to thank for it – which is the point of this holiday – but I’...

Sexy Alpha Males – or not

He isman, hear him roar. We all love the alpha male. He’s that dominant warrior, the decisive instigator, the one who takes charge when the going gets tough. Alpha males aren’t just a staple in romance, they’re in just about every genre from batman to Fifty Shades of Grey.

They’re also shallow.

I’ve mentioned before that I like my male heroes to be a bit more than a bank account and six pack abs. I also like them to THINK. I like men who are decisivebut respect those who can run through all t...

That’s not an elephant

Lately, it seems that if we – the people – talk about anything, it’s taken as a spin on politics. Ok, this kinda makes sense after what happened in the American election… but I don’t want to talk about politics. I want to talk about the human condition. You see,that is what I write about.

The problem is that much of the human condition is debated in politics. That makes this a very big, very grey line. I think I can walk it. At least, I’m willing to try. My goal isn’t to offend anyone or to r...

How the real world can inspire a villain

All of my stories are based on hope. The Rise of the Iliri more than others. Yesterday, I was in the process of finishing up another round of corrections to fix a massive and glaring plot hole, when politics happened.

Now, typically, I don’t care to discuss politics. (I still don’t.) But I do love talking about equality for women and rape culture, and that’s what has me shocked right now.

You see, I don’t care if you’re for government spending or against it. I don’t care if you like regulatio...

A little R&R is so revitalizing

As many of my fans know, I’m crazy about this writing stuff. Sadly, I’ve also learned that I seem to have a limit. After a year of writing every single second I could, well, I got tired. So I took a break.

It was a week. Maybe two. I just didn’t want to sit down, shut up, and type for hours on end. You see, I’ve just moved into a cute new house and there’s so much to do! Unpacking, cleaning, organizing, lounging around with Mr. Perfect doing stupid things with the puppies (like throw sticks,...

Life as an Author

I pay my bills with my hobby. There’s not a whole lot of people who can say that. I know exactly how lucky I am that I can. But luck is only a very small part.

You see, being an author means that I run a small business. Unlike many other indies, I honestly do. I have a publishing company that I keep hopping. I have friends who assist with specific areas. I have contractors who get paid to complete their tasks on time. Typically, writing the book is what holds the whole thing up. Not for me. I...

What comes next…

As many of you know, I work on a few books at a time. For me, this is easier, because it means I always have something I’m in the “mood” to work on. There’s a problem. When I finish with a release, I’m typically ready for a break from that world.

But there are so many options! I have Romances, Romanesque fantasy, science fiction, science fantasy, and just some whacked out stuff that sounded like fun at the time. It’s all tucked away on my hard drive (the cloud, a few spare USB drives, etc) wa...