Alicia Justice's Blog, page 5

My 2024 Publishing Plans

This week went by quickly, does anyone else feel this way? Anyway, let’s talk about my publishing plans for 2024!

I have several projects in the works, one is already written and ready to head to my beta readers. My beta reader team has a few openings; I’ll make sure to link how to sign up and an Instagram post below that has all the information you’ll need if you’re interested. But back to my publishing plans, I also have a project that just left the publishing stage and I’m starting to write. This is going to be a very busy year. (You’re going to hear or see me say this a lot this year, I just know it.)

I have four projects that I want to work on three of which I hope to publish this year. If I can publish the fourth I will, but I’m not sure that will happen. Just a heads up though, there is a project that I can’t talk about just yet, because well to be honest I’m not allowed to just yet. But I promise the minute I can, I will be shouting everywhere about it. My newsletter subscribers will be the first to know though, like always.

Let’s get into my plans for the year!

1.) The first project that I plan to publish this year is Project Beacon, this isn’t the actual title of this book. I’ll be doing a title reveal very soon and hopefully a cover reveal as well. Anyway, Project Beacon is a slight jump off from the First to Fight series, you’ll get a glimpse of Kevin and Addy in this new series. It’s going to be a series of duologies. I know that’s very different, but I’m excited about it. Each couple will get two books. They of course will always get their HEA’s, but it won’t be in the first book! (Hint Hint)

2.) Let’s talk about Project Romance, this book is halfway written and I’m so excited about this one. I’m stepping away just a tiny bit from what I usually write. This one is a Why Choose Novel and so far it’s been a blast to write. It’s also in multiple POV’s, which is always fun. I’m hoping to have this one be my third published book of the year. It follows a charismatic female and her journey to finding love in the weirdest circumstances. Her friends sign her up for a different way to find love. I’m going to leave it there and promise to tell you more later.

3.) Project Say, again not the actual title is the second book I hope to publish this year and it’s also the one I can tell you the least about. Mainly because I’m not allowed to tell you just yet. I will tell you one thing though, it’s another Why Choose story. (Yep, I’m having a blast writing this genre and it doesn’t hurt that I love to read this genre either!)

4.) First to Fight Book 4, this is the project that I’m not sure will be released this year or have to be moved to 2025. I’m hoping to at least get it written this year and we will see if I can get it published in 2024 or not. If I can’t it will be early 2025. I will, however, give you a tiny glimpse at this one, something I haven’t told anyone other than my alpha reader just yet. Book 4 will be Tyler’s book!

Like I said this is going to be a very busy year and I’m excited about it. I love being busy and if I planned this out correctly, like I think I have, it will work and I’ll be able to publish at least 3 books this year. If you noticed, I have books/projects in every stage. One book is in the plotting stage right now and two books are in the first draft stage. Then I also have one project that is getting ready to go into Edits! I’m trying to stair-step every project. When I have one move into the next stage, another one will move into the next stage of the process. We shall see if this works and of course, I’ll make sure I post about it more here on the blog.

I hope you all have a great Friday and as always I’ll post another post next week. If you aren’t already following me on Instagram and signed up for my newsletter, make sure you do. These are the two places I post the most and anyone signed up for my newsletter is going to be some amazing freebies this year along with knowing my titles and any teasers ahead of everyone else. To sign up, go to the home page here on my website and go to the bottom of the page.

Also for anyone who would like to join my Beta Reader Team, please email me and let me know you would like to be part of the team, or you can message me over on Instagram. I’ll be sending out emails to those who are chosen in a few weeks.

It’s January 2024: Author Goals and Upcoming Things

Hello everyone and hello 2024!

That seems a bit weird even though it’s been 2024 already for five days, but here we are. Anyway, I just got back from my tiny social media break and I’m now excited to get back into the groove of things. This year is going to be crazy but very exciting, as long as everything goes the way I have planned. (Cross your fingers for me)

I have a lot of amazing things planned for the year and I can’t wait to share them all with you. I can’t share them all just yet, but soon I’ll be able to. I can however share with you some of my goals for this month.

Jan 2024 GoalsI am in the middle of writing Project Beacon, actually, as I’m typing this I only have three more chapters to go until the first draft is finished. So I’m a little more than halfway. I plan to have it finished by this weekend. After I finish Project Beacon, I’m going to be working on a secret project and I’m hoping to have it done by the middle of March. Like I said above, this year is going to be a bit crazy…exciting but fast-paced crazy. Once I finish the secret project, I’m going to go back into edits of Project Beacon and that is the first book I plan to publish this year. I’ll be working on a cover reveal and all that jazz coming very soon. So make sure you follow me over on my Instagram and my Newsletter, everything will be announced in those two places. Once Project Beacon is completed and published, I’m going back to Project Romance and finishing that one. I’m hoping that will be my second or possibly third published book this year. I also have plans to get First to Fight, Second to Fall, and Third to Come Home all into Barnes and Noble by the end of Jan. That is already in the works! As well as my first book signing. YIKES My ARC/Street Team will be opening as well by the end of January, if not sooner. I have several spots open for that as well. So, again if you’re not following my Instagram, please head over there and hit that follow button.Now as for the paperback of Third to Come Home, that is still in the works as well, just waiting on the wrap cover for that. So hopefully here very soon that will be available!I also would love to have my store here on the website up and running by the end of Jan. but that might have to be moved to Feb. with everything going on this month.

Yikes, now that’s a list. Like I said it’s going to be a crazy busy year. I’m excited for you to meet all the new characters and read my next releases.

2023 was a busy year, I had one book release and I love how Third to Come Home turned out, but this year I’m excited. I have so many projects being released hopefully this year. It’s hard to wrap my head around it all, but it’s going to be fun.

I’m hoping to post more here on the blog as well this year, but that’s an overall yearly goal. So I hope you look forward to that as well. I hope everyone is doing well and had a great holiday season. Let’s kick this year off with a bang and rock Jan 2024!

Ask The Author: Writing Rituals?

Today on the blog I’m going to do something a little different, a few weeks ago over on my Instagram stories, I posted an ask me anything type story and I had a few questions come in and I wanted to share some of the answers here on the blog. Today, I’m going to answer one of the questions. The person that asked me this question wanted to stay anonymous so I’m not going to say who asked as per their wishes.

Q: Do you have any writing rituals and if so what are they?

The answer to this question is pretty simple, but it’s a topic I don’t talk about a lot here on the blog. So that’s why I chose to start with this question.

To answer the question, the short answer is Yes, I have a few writing rituals if that’s what you want to call them. I tend to call it a writing routine, but for today’s sake, we will call it a ritual.

Before I start writing for the day, I try to make sure I get everything else out of the way, that way I’m not distracted. A distracted me isn’t one that can get words on the computer screen. Like for today for instance, I’m writing this blog post and getting all my images for social media completed and ready to post before I sit down to write for the day.

The next thing I do is make sure my desk is cleaned off and ready for me to work. A messy desk and I don’t get along, kind of like the distraction thing above. So my desk is cleaned off while I work. The only things on my desk, other than my computer, when writing is my plotting journal and my bullet journal where I keep track of my writing counts per sprint. Oh and of course my candle, but we will talk about that in a bit.

The third thing I do before writing is light my candle, I don’t really know why this became a thing for me to do before writing, but it’s an important step for me. I know when it started just not the why. I started doing this a few years back for NaNo, it kind of helps me get into the right mindset I guess.

After that I pull up my document in Scrivener and get it ready, then I pull up my music playlist for said project and hit the play button. Once all of this is ready to go, I pull up my timer ( I use two different timers usually I switch between the Wonder Space App and Forest App. Love them both!)

That’s mainly what I do before I start writing, after that, it’s time to get words onto the screen. I tend to write in sprints of either twenty-five minutes with five-minute breaks, but sometimes, like today I’ll be mostly doing forty-five-minute sprints with five to ten-minute breaks.

So there you have it, my writing ritual/routine before I write. I hope this answers the question. I’ll be posting another Ask Me Anything up on my Instagram stories next week, so if you have a question, please make sure you look for that. If you haven’t followed me over on Instagram, I post there the most and it’s a great way to get to know me more, CLICK HERE to follow.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Main Character Inspiration for Third to Come Home

I’ve been asked a few times how I come up with my characters and if I ever play around and cast them as if my books were movies and the answer is…Yes, I do!

I tend to be weird when it comes to creating new characters, it’s the first step I take when starting a new project. I tend to need to see what they will look like and know their backstories before I can write a single word of a new project. That’s why I tend to sit down and cast them like I was a director and working on a movie. I’m a very visual person, so having a face to match up with a character is a great help to me.

When I was creating Addy and Kevin for Third to Come Home (Book 3 in the First to Fight series) I had roleplayed both of these characters before I even decided to put them into a book. Honestly, in the beginning, I never thought of Addy and Kevin as a couple, that was until I decided to write Kevin’s book for the series, and bam they were just a perfect fit. They’re my favorite characters/couple so far that I’ve written.

So let’s look at the inspiration for both Addy and Kevin and start with our main female character, you know what they say ladies first.

For Addy, I had a face for her right away, mainly from when I roleplayed her on Tumblr. I knew bits and pieces of her back story as well, and that of course tied right into her demeanor and how she would carry herself in the story. (Now remember this is just a fan cast, I do not own any of the images, but this is how I picture Adelaide Mitrache (Addy). With her brownish hair and stunning eyes that pull Kevin in every single time, I knew actress Merritt Patterson was perfect for Addy.

Now, as far as Kevin is concerned, he was pretty easy for me to cast as well and figure out what he would look like. I knew he needed to, of course, favor his two older brothers. Actor Mike Vogel was another perfect fit.

Kevin had to have that I can be a hard-ass look to him, but also be able to be a sweet book-loving guy as well. He also had to fit the look of a Marine, which is the harder part when it comes to casting one of my books. I think he fits perfectly.

So what do you all think? Did I pick the right cast for Addy and Kevin? Let me know in the comments. Also, let me know if I should cast the main characters of books 1 and 2 as well.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

December Goals: Must Do’s

Can you believe it’s already December? I probably say this every year, but where did this year go? Anyway, I have a lot of things on my to do this month and hopefully I can get it all done by the end of this month. First though, let’s recap November.

November Recap!

November was a great month, a very busy month, but a great one. First off, Third to Come Home’s ebook was released! It was also NaNoWriMo, (and even though there were crazy things happening with NaNo, I still completed it and won! Though I did just do my updates as my WIP updates and didn’t update on the website itself until I was done.) I wrote 50k words in November!

Anyway, November is also my daughter’s birthday month and she turned nineteen this year. Yikes! Another thing I can’t believe. Like I said so many things happened in November. It was a great month though and I got a lot done. Which is amazing!

I also created a new logo for my author self, let me know what you think. Since I’m not only writing military romance now, I figured something different would be a good thing. Oh that’s right, I haven’t mentioned that yet here…oops. Probably should do that at some point, but not right now.

December Goals

So now let’s talk about December, we all know that Christmas is in December, so there is always that fun that happens this month. I also have two birthdays (My parents) and their anniversary is also in December. Other than that, let’s see what all I would like to accomplish this month.

Format the paperback of Third to Come Home and get it up on Amazon. Get all three books into Barnes and Noble and hopefully schedule a signing. Format the box set (ebook) of the first three books of the First to Fight SeriesFinish the first draft of Project Beacon. Write more on Project Romance. Set up store on my website, so I can sell signed paperback copies of my book right here from my website. Be more active on my social media again. December newsletter (try to get better at sending these out!) HB90 Planning for Jan. Get back to Twitch and doing live Sprints there. Figure out my publishing plan for 2024.

So there you have it, my list of goals for this month, not sure I’ll get to all of it, but the first two items are my must do’s for December. I might need someone to cross their fingers for me for the rest of the list. We shall see.

Anyway, what are your main goals for this month? Do you set goals monthly or quarterly? Let me know in the comments.

NaNoWriMo Journal: Week 1 Update

Happy NaNo everyone!

The first week of NaNo went by so quickly. As you know, if you’ve been around here for a while, I love NaNoWriMo and participate every year. I thrive on the challenge every year so of course I’m going for it again!

What I’m Writing This Year

This year I’m working on a new book and a new series, but it’s not a new series. It’s more of a jump-off from First to Fight (Book 3). This new book will have both Kevin and Addy in it as side characters. At this time I’m calling it Project Beacon. I have it planned as a set of standalone books in a series. So each book can be read alone, if that is what you like.

That’s all I can tell you about the book so far, other than it will be more of a Romantic Suspense than strictly Military Romance! Which is fun so far.

Let’s Recap Week One

The first went well, I’m a head, which is something I do every year. I wrote 10k the first day, which was my plan. That way I’m ahead for those days when I can’t write or have other things going on. This way I don’t have to worry about those days.

Remember if you would like to see more about my days during NaNo you can follow me over on my Instagram. I post daily over there, also post a lot in my stories over there. So it’s a great way to follow along with my NaNo journey this year.

NaNo Rewards

I’ve already gotten two of my rewards so far this year. I got a new coffee mug and a new BTS album. So, of course, I’m happy. My coffee mug is adorable it’s a Kdrama coffee mug. Will post pictures of it later on my Instagram.

All in all, my NaNo experience this year is off to a great start. If you’re participating in NaNo this year, let me know in the comments. I would love to cheer you on! It’s one of my favorite parts of NaNo, meeting other authors!

Hope the rest of your week goes great and remember you’ve got this, even if you’re not doing NaNo, just remember you’ve got this too!

It’s Release Day!

Third to Come Home is here!! Even though this is my third book release, it’s still a bit weird to see my book on Amazon! To know that people are reading the words I wrote and loving the characters that I created brings me so much joy. It’s crazy to think that I’ve done this now three times. Third to Come Home (Book 3 in the First to Fight Series) is now available for all to read.

Release Day

For the release of Third to Come Home, I celebrated with my kiddos and my mom. We had ice cream and now I’m going to spend the rest of the day relaxing with them. I will of course be writing tonight at some point, it is NaNoWriMo after all, but for now, I’m going to sit down with a cozy blanket and read. That’s how I’m celebrating the release. Nothing too crazy or complicated, just some chocolate ice cream and a good book to read.

About Third to Come Home

Now Available on Amazon: CLICK HERE

It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited!

As a non-active-duty Marine, Kevin Porter is trying to figure out his next step in life.

The constant barrage of questions from his family isn’t helping matters. On a whim, he signs up for the Firefighter Academy. 

That’s when fate steps in. 

At a neighborhood bookshop, he meets the beautiful Adelaide, who wins his heart before he even sees her face. But Addy is enduring obstacles all her own. A mysterious woman keeps visiting the shop, whispering secrets about Adelaide’s family and hinting that her entire life is a lie. 

Addy takes Kevin with her to Romania to uncover the truth. Yet things take a deadly turn when Addy is abducted. The Romanian mafia wants to use her as a pawn against her family. Little do they know, Kevin is calling in his Marine squadron, Kevin will stop at nothing to get her back. Can they make it back to the States alive? Or will Addy be the one to pay for her family’s past sins? 

Are you ready to meet Kevin and Addy?

Please Leave A Review

I hope you enjoy Third to Fight (Book 3 in the First to Fight Series) I hope you love it as much as I loved writing it. If you do enjoy it, please leave a review for it on Goodreads, Amazon, or anywhere you post reviews! I really appreciate it. I still can’t believe this is my life. 

I hope you all have a good day!

Third to Come Home Cover Reveal

Today is the day! I’m so excited to share the cover for Third to Come Home with all of you. It’s not just the cover today though, it’s also the blurb and the Pre-Order link. Third to Come Home’s ebook will be available on Nov. 3rd, 2023! The paperback will be available about a week later.

I love this cover and this book so much! So much so that I’m not even going to have a long post today, it’s going to be short and sweet. So let’s do this, without further ado!

Summary for Third to Come Home 

As a non-active-duty Marine, Kevin Porter is trying to figure out his next step in life. The constant barrage of questions from his family isn’t helping matters. On a whim, he signs up for the Firefighter Academy. 

That’s when fate steps in. 

At a neighborhood bookshop, he meets the beautiful Adelaide, who wins his heart before he even sees her face. But Addy is enduring obstacles all her own. A mysterious woman keeps visiting the shop, whispering secrets about Adelaide’s family and hinting that her entire life is a lie. 

Addy takes Kevin with her to Romania to uncover the truth. Yet things take a deadly turn when Addy is abducted. The Romanian mafia wants to use her as a pawn against her family. Little do they know, Kevin is calling in his Marine squadron, Kevin will stop at nothing to get her back. Can they make it back to the States alive? Or will Addy be the one to pay for her family’s past sins? 

Pre-orders are now available for the ebook over on Amazon: CLICK HERE

Happy Bookaversary and Giveaway

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I published Second to Fall! It’s hard to believe it’s been in the reader’s hands that long already. Second to Fall is a book filled with so many emotions and at times is a bit dark, but it’s one that I love.

I don’t want to get all sentimental today, because I’m celebrating this milestone! In doing so I wanted to do a giveaway and give back to you the readers. This giveaway will be here on the blog and I’ll post about it over on all my social media. Now a separate one will be held in my Newsletter…hint hint this one will be an even bigger giveaway! So make sure you sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already! I’ll be sending that out between tomorrow and Monday!

Anyway, for the giveaway here, you will find all the different ways you can sign up for it below. There are a few rules though so make sure you read those first before signing up.

You must be at least 18 years old to sign up for the giveaway This giveaway is for people in the US only, sorry I’ll do a giveaway for anyone outside of the US later. Shipping costs are a bit crazy right now so that giveaway will be a bit different. You will have to do at least one of the signup activities!

The rules are pretty simple! I want to thank everyone for celebrating this bookaversary with me and for reading my books. It means the world to me and I hope you enjoy them!

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July Goals, Tasks, and New Projects… OH My!

Happy July everyone! I swear this year is flying by, it might just be that I’m working and pushing myself more this year, but it feels like it’s flying by. Please tell me I’m not the only one that feels that way.

Today I want to chat about my goals and projects I’m working on for July. I have a lot going on this month and I’m excited to share a lot with all of you. As you probably know I’ve been working on book 3 in the First to Fight series for a while now and it’s almost complete. It’s with my betas right now as I write this post and I can’t wait to get it into the hands of all you fabulous readers. It’s coming I promise! 

The preorder for it will be going live very soon and I’m working on getting a cover/blurb review soon as well. I’m hoping to have Third to Come Home (Book 3) in your hands by September.

Now let’s talk about new projects…yep, I said new. I have a new project I’m outlining and brainstorming right now and I’m going to call it Project Beacon for right now. Not giving the title away until later. I also have another project I’m getting ready to outline and plot, that one I’m going to call Project 4in1 for now. I don’t have a title for this one, so we’ll go with this for now. One of these will be the project I work on for NaNoWriMo in November this year.  

Like I said there are tons going on this month! I’m also planning the book launch for book 3 and hoping to have a few in-person events coming this quarter. That’s the plan anyway, we shall see. 

It’s going to be a very busy, but great month like I said above. 

July Goals/ProjectsGo through Beta Readers comments and make any changes that need to be made Website Audit and make changes that need to be made, as well as add the storeAt least 2 in-person eventsJuly 15th is Second to Fall’s 1 year book birthday, so I want to do something special for that! Outline and Brainstorm Project BeaconOutline and Brainstorm Project 4in1 Plan cover reveal and launch for Third to Come Home (Book 3) Make Blogging something that happens at least 2 times a month or more.

I hope you all have a great month and wish you all the luck on your July plans and goals. You’ve got this!! Let me know in the comments any goals you have for July.