Heather Crews's Blog, page 9
June 21, 2012
June 18, 2012
Nightmares
Fuseli, The Nightmare
I really have to stop reading certain books before bed. I'm not prone to nightmares, and the book I'm currently reading isn't even scary, so it must be pregnancy hormones or something. I dreamed a mystery sort of dream, complete with a house where there might be something incriminating under the floorboards, and a creepy pale-haired old woman who lived in the basement. Okay, so that doesn't sound exactly nightmarish, but you know how things seem different in the middle of the night. Later, I dreamed of my book in print, but there was a major typo. Noooooooooo!!!!! Ahem. I'm rather glad I'm getting my dreams back though, because for a while they were GONE. That was upsetting, since my dreams have always been a major source of inspiration for me, both in art and writing.
June 5, 2012
Flying
Unlike my husband, I love traveling by plane. I love going to the airport, dropping my bag at curbside check-in, and passing about a million Hudson News stores until I find my gate. Of course, since I normally fly in the morning, I have to stop by Cinnabon and whatever coffee shop is available (Starbucks or The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf) to get my breakfast. Cinnabon, more than anything, makes flying so worthwhile, even though you can get it at the mall, too.
My airport is somewhat different from other airports, in my experience. For one, it's practically a mall in its own right. There are tons of [expensive] stores and food places, multiplied throughout the terminals. And there are slot machines everywhere. Seriously, in every terminal. You can go to the airport to gamble even if you're not flying anywhere (I'm not sure what security would have to say about that, however).
Anyway, tomorrow I'm flying with my mom, son, and brother to go visit my grandma in Texas. The low point of this trip, I'm sure, will be trying to keep my son occupied during the flight, because he's young enough that he still sits on my lap the whole time but old enough to want to run around and do stuff. And annoy the person sitting next to me, I'm sure. We'll be gone almost a week, doing all the fun things my grandma has planned. And eating tons of junk food, of course. I can't wait!
My airport is somewhat different from other airports, in my experience. For one, it's practically a mall in its own right. There are tons of [expensive] stores and food places, multiplied throughout the terminals. And there are slot machines everywhere. Seriously, in every terminal. You can go to the airport to gamble even if you're not flying anywhere (I'm not sure what security would have to say about that, however).
Anyway, tomorrow I'm flying with my mom, son, and brother to go visit my grandma in Texas. The low point of this trip, I'm sure, will be trying to keep my son occupied during the flight, because he's young enough that he still sits on my lap the whole time but old enough to want to run around and do stuff. And annoy the person sitting next to me, I'm sure. We'll be gone almost a week, doing all the fun things my grandma has planned. And eating tons of junk food, of course. I can't wait!
May 29, 2012
May 28, 2012
Today
Well, Unchanged is back to being $0.99. I'm very happy I made it free for those five days. A lot of people got copies (people I don't even know!) and more may become aware of it now that it has greater visibility. Thank you to everyone who took the time to download it, and anyone who reads it!
So, it's Memorial Day. My husband doesn't have to work today for the first time in I don't know how long. What's a broke family to do? Our so-called plans are as follows: 1. Walk the dog in the Wetlands. 2. Clean out the garage. 3. Umm . . . lounge around the house all day in front of a book/the TV/the computer. Sounds like an exciting day, right? Happy Memorial Day, everyone.
So, it's Memorial Day. My husband doesn't have to work today for the first time in I don't know how long. What's a broke family to do? Our so-called plans are as follows: 1. Walk the dog in the Wetlands. 2. Clean out the garage. 3. Umm . . . lounge around the house all day in front of a book/the TV/the computer. Sounds like an exciting day, right? Happy Memorial Day, everyone.
May 23, 2012
Free ebook for five days!
Unchanged is free starting today. Get it here. I hope you enjoy it!
May 22, 2012
Free ebook!
Starting tomorrow, Unchanged will be available for free for five days! Get it here.
March has been a rather eventful month for me, though unfortunately not where writing is concerned. I found out I was pregnant with twins instead of the usual one baby. It's exciting, but I'm going to have quite the couple of years ahead of me. I'm sure I'll hardly be able to read, much less write, since both my hands will be full. I'll have to dictate to a machine or something. Or else get on it and write another book before December!
March has been a rather eventful month for me, though unfortunately not where writing is concerned. I found out I was pregnant with twins instead of the usual one baby. It's exciting, but I'm going to have quite the couple of years ahead of me. I'm sure I'll hardly be able to read, much less write, since both my hands will be full. I'll have to dictate to a machine or something. Or else get on it and write another book before December!
April 27, 2012
Just a quick post . . .
In order to give you a better reading experience, I corrected a couple of typos in Unchanged, as well as a minor formatting issue, and uploaded it. The "new" version should be available soon, if it isn't already. So check it out! I think you'll find it's not half-assed or poorly written, but I would really love to know what people think of it.
April 14, 2012
Mini-review by Text Message
A friend of mine finished my book recently. He isn't a reviewer, but he sent me a "mini-review" over text message because he's nice like that. And I decided to share it here because while he liked the book, he was able to offer some criticism as well.
"Overall the story is creative and interesting. It's well written. If I am going to nitpick there are a couple of times where specific words feel shoved into the writing, like dourly, paid heed, or pontificate. Not that most people don't understand those words, they just feel awkward in the otherwise natural flow of the writing. That's all personal taste though, I guess. Storywise . . . <<<SPOILER>>> The part where they think they can only be reincarnated a third time is smart for the story. I wanted more of it. I would have liked it if that was introduced earlier in maybe a more gradual way. It's key for the feeling that there is something at stake. By the time you are going through the second flashback it's kind of like, okay she can just be reincarnated again. <<<END SPOILER>>> I don't know how you could do that but it was something I thought while I was reading it. I am very mixed on whether you need the epilogue as well. I apply that to all books though. Overall, a very good and creative story. You should be proud."
Thanks, friend!
"Overall the story is creative and interesting. It's well written. If I am going to nitpick there are a couple of times where specific words feel shoved into the writing, like dourly, paid heed, or pontificate. Not that most people don't understand those words, they just feel awkward in the otherwise natural flow of the writing. That's all personal taste though, I guess. Storywise . . . <<<SPOILER>>> The part where they think they can only be reincarnated a third time is smart for the story. I wanted more of it. I would have liked it if that was introduced earlier in maybe a more gradual way. It's key for the feeling that there is something at stake. By the time you are going through the second flashback it's kind of like, okay she can just be reincarnated again. <<<END SPOILER>>> I don't know how you could do that but it was something I thought while I was reading it. I am very mixed on whether you need the epilogue as well. I apply that to all books though. Overall, a very good and creative story. You should be proud."
Thanks, friend!
April 2, 2012
April
It's April! My friends are working their way through copies of Unchanged. Most of them have been really supportive and spreading the word for me. For the most part, I've been getting good feedback about things like unexpected twists and character names and grammar! Haha. (I've heard about friends of other indie authors writing [perhaps undeserved] good reviews and messing up the rating system, but I promise my friends won't do any such thing just because they're my friends.)
I'm excited about some of the books I'll be reading this month. Here are the next few I'm picking up from the library:
I've heard AWESOME things about Graffiti Moon and Cinder. I've been avoiding the reviews on Everneath since I'm afraid I'll find it's just another one of those paranormal young adult novels. The cover is so gorgeous this may actually be the case, but in the meantime I'll keep my hopes up. I'll also keep my hopes up for the weather, which has been ridiculously not-quite-warm-enough-to-not-wear-a-sweater and windy as heck. I drove by a tree yesterday that the wind had pulled up. I'm pretty sure the types of winds we've been having would warrant tornado warnings in certain states.
Happy pre-Easter! I hope your moms give you lots of candy. My mother-in-law certainly will!
I'm excited about some of the books I'll be reading this month. Here are the next few I'm picking up from the library:
I've heard AWESOME things about Graffiti Moon and Cinder. I've been avoiding the reviews on Everneath since I'm afraid I'll find it's just another one of those paranormal young adult novels. The cover is so gorgeous this may actually be the case, but in the meantime I'll keep my hopes up. I'll also keep my hopes up for the weather, which has been ridiculously not-quite-warm-enough-to-not-wear-a-sweater and windy as heck. I drove by a tree yesterday that the wind had pulled up. I'm pretty sure the types of winds we've been having would warrant tornado warnings in certain states.
Happy pre-Easter! I hope your moms give you lots of candy. My mother-in-law certainly will!
