Liz DeJesus's Blog, page 47

Puny God

Just watched The Avengers. This was without a doubt my favorite part of the movie. Sometimes you just wanna do this to some people in real life. Ya know?


Puny God GIF by ~rocketypo on deviantART

Across the Plain of Shining Books

So today I'm a featured author at Across the Plain of Shining Books. Pat asked me a lot of great questions so I'm going to post a few of them here. Happy reading!

Poet and novelist Liz DeJesus stops by The Plain today to talk about her passion and inspiration for writing her magical tales. She’s also sharing an excerpt from her latest release, First Frost, a delightful young adult fantasy.Welcome, Liz. Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from?
I was born in the small island of Puerto Rico. And when I was seventeen years old my family and I moved to Delaware.
You’ve written several well-received books. What sparked your interest in writing?
My mom. She’s a writer as well (still unpublished but we’re hoping to change that soon) and all throughout my childhood, I remember waking up to the sound of her typing on her typewriter. I remember the day that she bought a new one and gave the old typewriter to me. She was explaining to me how one key stuck and sometimes the capital letters are a little higher than the other but I didn’t care. All I knew was that I had inherited something extremely important. Mom gave me a stack of paper and at twelve years old I wrote my very first short story…about twin brothers that turned into dragons.
A wonderful start! What components, in your opinion, make a great story?
Great characters. I don’t care if all they are doing is going to the supermarket, I wanna care about those characters and why they’re doing what they’re doing.
How would you generally categorize the books/stories you write?
I would say fantasy. But then within that genre I would also include magical realism. I love the idea of magic happening during a normal, routine-like day. Sometimes I’ll write fiction but lately not so much.

Read the rest of the interview here. 

Musa Publishing Anniversary Blog Hop

Musa Publishing launched a year ago October 1st with a simple mission-- offer good books at a fair price and be completely open with our authors.

To celebrate our first birthday, we are having a blog hop! You can win books and other fun stuff at every stop along the way, but we're giving away some great stuff, too..

For one lucky hopper: a GRAND PRIZE Kindle Fire! (sorry, US and Canada mailing addresses only) Kindle shown out of the box is not the prize. The grand prize Kindle is in the lovely brown unopened box which is ready to ship on October the 9th to the lucky winner. 2 SWAG BAGS We are also giving away two swag bags again US and Canada mailing addresses only (Some of the swag might be slightly different and there will be more of it :)But INTERNATIONAL Blog Hoppers we are giving away a $50 Musa Gift card.
How to Enter... For every hop spot you leave a comment on between October 1 and the 7th @10 pm EST, you will be entered to win the prizes above. That means if you comment on 10 blogs you will be entered 10 times, plus will be entered in the blogs' you commented on contests as well.

Rules to the HOP
1) HAVE FUN!!!2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!3) THIS TOUR STARTS: October 1, at Midnight (est)THIS TOUR ENDS: , October 7, at Midnight (pst)Winners will be drawn and posted October 9th! ***Come Join the Party on October 7th at The Romance Review Forum to enter to win more prizes. http://www.theromancereviews.com/forum/ (Exact address will be posted as soon as I get it)4) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP and COMMENT ON, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES.5) Grand Prize of a Kindle Fire is for US and Canada mailing addresses only. International winners will receive a $50.00 Musa Gift Card. Winner will be announced on October 7th 2012 at 11 est at The Romance Review forum.6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN?***Authors & Book Pages have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules*** IF YOU GET LOST ON THE HOP RETURN HERE TO FIND YOUR WAY AGAIN. This is a Blog Hop!

http://musapublishingbloghops.blogspot.com/2012/09/musa-turns-1-and-we-are-celebrating.html

Shattered Frost

Finally decided on a new title for the third book in the Bianca Frost series. Shattered Frost!

Thoughts? Comments? Snide remarks? :D



Alice and Snow White by ~jasminetoad on deviantART


Snow White in Wonderland by *Julie-de-Waroquier on deviantART


Snow White and Alice by *10thMuse on deviantART


4311 / 50000 words. 9% done!

Marketing stuff and other things I do to annoy people

Okay. So to anyone that reads my blog, you know that I talk mostly about the creative process of writing. Most of the stuff that inspires me to pick up a pen and let the voices in my head talk until I get a cramp in my hand. But now it's time to talk about the business side of writing. Because in all honesty writing is a business. Once there are contracts, royalties and money involved it's time to learn how to market yourself in order to sell copies of your book. Not because you want to make money (although that's always nice) but because that's how you tell people about how awesome your book is.

Here's a list of some of the things I do to annoy tell people about my books. :D Enjoy!

1. Get on facebook, Twitter, goodreads, and any other social site available. It's work (believe me I know) but it's important not just to promote your book but also to connect with other authors. Writing is a very solitary job and it's always nice to meet other people that know exactly what it's like to have writer's block, get rejection letters and have people look at you strangely when you tell them that you're a writer.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/lizdejesus

https://twitter.com/Liz_DeJesus23

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/338350.Liz_DeJesus

2. Get a blog.  I love blogging. I love rambling about my day or what I'm currently working on. Plus, I have a few people that do follow me and cheer me on when I need it.

3. Set up a website. You would think that having a blog is enough but in all honesty it isn't. Personally, I like checking out someone's website and finding out all of the books they have available and the reviews they've recieved for their work.

www.lizdejesus.webs.com

4. Blog tours. I'm a newbie when it comes to blog tours, but with my novel First Frost, I scheduled two blog tours and I had so much fun meeting other bloggers and reviewers. It's the best way to get your book reviewed and spread the word about your writing. During my blog tours I had to do interviews, character interviews, guest blog posts and share teasers/excerpts of my book.

5. Business cards. I'm the (self proclaimed) queen of business cards. Every time I have to make a payment with a check (I'm old fashioned) I stick one of my business cards in the envelope and hope that the person that opens it at least looks at it and doesn't immediately toss it in the trash. I recently got some new business cards with a QR code on them and I've been leaving them in random places that have a bulletin board.

My new favorite place to get business cards from, a little pricey but excellent quality. http://us.moo.com/ They also make mini cards (people like to use them as bookmarks for paperback or pocket books.

I also use www.vistaprint.com Much more affordable and still great quality.


6. Book signings. Since First Frost isn't available in print yet I haven't been able to schedule any book signings, but I have had several signings in the past and I love them. It's great to meet other people in person and talk to them about my book and/or writing. Or give them directions to the bathroom...or tell them where the music section is. :P Anyway I love having family and friends come and support me during such an amazing accomplishment. Whoever says writing a book is easy has never had to deal with the  multiple voices in my head yelling all at once vying for attention.

7. Submit your book for review. This is sometimes time consuming but I think it's incredibly important to connect with reviewers and bloggers. These amazing people are book lovers and extremely supportive of indie authors and they take their time out of their busy schedules (they don't just sit around and read books all day) to not only read our books but they post their review on their site and share it with everyone that follows their blog.

Here are some of my favorite blog sites:


http://booknerdsclub.blogspot.com/





8. Ads. Every once in a while if I have a little extra cash I'll purchase adspace on blog sites or on online magazines. Still not sure if this has actually lead to any sales but it's nice to know that someone somewhere is looking at the cover of my book.

So far this is all I have, if I think of anything else I'll add it. I hope this has given some of you an idea as to what I do to promote my writing and my books. And also gives you some ideas of what else you can do if you're feeling stuck. If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to leave comments on my blog or you can email me at lizdejesus23 at yahoo dot com.

Happy writing!

Blue Frost (tentative title...still not sure)

Steampunk Spider Sculpture with red Jewel by *CatherinetteRings on deviantART


Bluebeard by ~littlecrow on deviantART


Bluebeard's Gallery by *hogret on deviantART




3001 / 50000 words. 6% done!

Blue Frost (tentative title...still not sure)

lights.like.sprinkles by =JeanFan on deviantART


brilliance.of.stars by =JeanFan on deviantART


bokeh bubbles by =JeanFan on deviantART



2216 / 50000 words. 4% done!

Blue Frost (tentative title...still not sure)

Disney high: Snow white by *Nina-D-Lux on deviantART


Snow White Lost In Wonderland by ~jazzylemonade on deviantART


Modern Disney Fashion by ~lololalah on deviantART




1235 / 50000 words. 2% done!

New book

I've officially written three pages worth of the new Bianca Frost novel. Still trying to decide if I like the titles Blue Frost or Wonder Frost. So far I have one vote on facebook for Blue Frost. :D.

Anyway I decided to start the book with Bianca on her last day of school for Winter Break. I like the fact that I was able to use my own high school experience and give it to her. (I was bullied in school off and on for a long time) I liked how she handled the class clown (no one was set on fire...I promise) but she was able to stand up for herself for the first time ever. I remember when I was finally able to defend myself against a bully in high school. It was extremely empowering...safe to say no one ever bothered me again once they realized that I wouldn't allow myself to be pushed around anymore.




This is the song that I've been listening to that's been helping me with the first chapter of the book. Safe to say that I plan on visiting Wonderland in this book and I CAN'T WAIT. I've created a brand new character that I think people are going to adore. Can't wait for you to meet her. A hint? She's inspired by Brian Froud's illustration of The Magician.




*Claps excitedly*

YEY!!!!

Blog Tour ~ First Frost

Today's stop is at Nick's Book Blog with an interview. 

And also another stop at Behind a Million and One Pages with an excerpt of First Frost.