Sherry D. Ficklin's Blog, page 11
April 1, 2015
How To Write A Bestselling YA Novel in 10 Easy Steps
Everyone wants to be a NYT bestselling author. If they say they don’t they’re either lying or still in college. And let’s be honest, there’s a method to making this happen. Now, before I start laying out the formula for you, remember that these apply only to YA novels. Trying to apply them to other genres could result in catastrophic failure. I’m talking JK Rowling writing in a name other than JK Rowling levels of failure here. So buckle up and take notes.
1) Remember that teenagers are basically idiots, and therefore are incapable of processing subtly. You have to explain EVERYTHING in painstaking detail. But they are also easily bored, so you need to do it in 60K words or less.
2) There absolutely must be at least one love triangle, one quirky best friend, and one diverse character. If the BFF is black, gay, AND quirky, that’s really all you need.
3) There should be a huge and easily solved plot hole that no one talks about.
4)The more awkward, socially inexperienced, or introverted your female MC is, the better. Nobody likes a ballsy gal. But then, in the last two chapters, it’s best to change her personality completely.
5) The guys in the love triangle should both have sad back stories, strong jaws, and a tendency to lean against stuff in sexy, sexy ways. They must also cry single, perfect, manly tears in just the right moments.
6) Never let the plot detract from possible make out moments. Even a house full of severed body parts can be sexy if you try hard enough.
7) Your male MC should have a painful backstory that makes it impossible for him to love/trust/treat people with decency. If you can give him some kind of handicap, even better. But nothing that makes him less sexy. Bonus points if you can also give him an artistic outlet for his pain that he keeps secret from everyone, except the female MC.
8) Begin with a prologue full of stuff no one cares about. Begin EVERY CHAPTER with a prologue. Flashbacks are also super great. Super great.
9) Every character should, at some point, describe themselves while staring into a mirror. The more metaphors you can use in these scenes, the better. Promise.
10) There is no such thing as too much drama, too much angst, or too much repetition.
So, that’s the secret. Now, we don’t want EVERYONE doing it, so let’s just keep this between you and me, ok?
5 Awesome Things That Happened At Anomaly Con
I love Anomaly Con, Denver Co’s scifi, steampunk, and alt history convention. I try to make it at least every other year (as my schedule allows) and while I do conventions of all types, large and small, all over the country, this odd little con is one of my absolute favorites. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it.
And I’d like to give a big thanks to Thomas Fowler who took these beautiful images from the event. You can see them all and his other work here–> www.ThomasAFowler.com
So here are my five favorite things that happened at Anomaly con in 2015:
1) I got to chat with, hug, stalk, and share meals with some of my favorite authors and artists. (FYI, when artists invite you to a pre-con kickoff party, GO TO IT. No questions asked.) I got to trade ships with A.L. Kessler, talk Star Trek with Jodi Lynn Nye, and have dinner with Mark Stone. Some i knew beforehand, some I met for the first time at the convention, but there was an immediate welcoming. They took me in and made me part of their family from the first day. This doesn’t always happen at conventions. Authors and artists can have massive egos or sometimes, just not have time to relax and enjoy each other’s company. This has never been the case for me at Anomaly Con. It must be some sort of prerequisite that to be invited, you must pass their awesomeness standard or something. Seriously, they are all truly, truly amazing people.
2) There is SO MUCH cosplay love at this con, it’s hard to describe. Often at cons, there’s always those few people who are critical or judgemental about other people’s costumes. That wasn’t the case (and in my experience never has been at Anomaly Con). Not only was everyone genuinely excited to share their own costumes, tips, and ideas, but they were just as quick to geek out about other people’s work. There were costumes of all skill levels, beginners to OMG how do you get that to light up? And you know what, they were all equally amazing.
Oh, and mad props to the dude who came to my table looking EXACTLY like Hale from Lost Girl, only to tell me after several minutes of nerding out that he wasn’t even in costume. Apparently, he just looks like that all the time!?!? Wow, his girlfriend is one lucky chick! And, I’m sorry if I drooled on your man.
3) THE FANS who attend are out of this world! So many times people tracked me down on the floor for a picture or to usher me back to my booth so they could grab a stack of my books (I wandered around way too much. Sorry!). I had lots of great people who knew me already stop by to say hello, and I had even more people I met over the weekend swing by the booth the last day to check out my books for the first time. It’s always so cool to meet new people, or to meet people you know online IRL. It’s even more fun to then grab those people by the hand and go to dinner with them (which happened twice!)
(The Bakers Street Pub is a must for Sherlock fans coming to Denver. Great food, good music, and a fantastic atmosphere!)
4) The Panels were amazing. Sometimes, there can be all sorts of gremlins in the gears at events like this. Panels get moved, times changed, rooms shuffled. It’s a huge source of con anxiety, especially for me. I’m not super comfortable at public speaking anyway, and crowds scare the shit out of me sometimes. So having all the panels roll on smoothly is a huge help, and in my opinion, the sign of a really well assembled and run event. Mad props to Kronda Seibert and her team on that front!
For those who attended the Sex in YA and Is This A Kissing Book panels, I’d like to apologize for using the phrases, surprise buttsex, oops she’s your sister, and boobies (with the gesture). Sometimes, I’m just as surprised by everyone else by what comes out of my mouth.
5) The vendors were amazing. It’s really hard to go to an event, set up shop, and basically chain yourself to a booth for three straight days, 9 am to 9 pm. (At least the authors get to break and go to panels and stuff). But there were so many skilled costume makers, jewelry designers, leather workers, and weapon crafters that, let’s face it, I’m lucky I made it home with anything left in my bank account at all!
And Mason, I’m coming back for that blue leather TARDIS journal, so be sure to bring one for me next year!
So those were my highlights. I hope to see you all there again in 2016!
March 25, 2015
UtopYA Awards
Hey everyone! I’m getting ready to kick of my convention season today (I’m actuality packing for Anomaly Con this morning! WOOT!) and I wanted to chat a little about one of my favorite events of the year, UtopYA.
Not only is UtopYA in Nashville (it makes my inner southern girl bounce joyously to be back in Tn) but this year, the theme is Time Travel. *sings* These are a few of my favorite things…
I’m going to be speaking on a panel, and I’ll be signing books at the Saturday fan event. And, as if that’s not cool enough, I’ll have special edition flip books on my new time travel novels, Prodigal &Riven, available at the CTP booth all weekend!
Also, I’m excited because this year, I have not one but TWO UtopYA Award eligible books! For your consideration:
Losing Logan
Eligible as YA/Paranormal
and
Queen of Someday
Eligible for Best Kiss
Now, only the UtopYA committee can nominate books, so we are just waiting to see if either of mine get picked up, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Either way, I’m stoked to see everyone in Nashville! Can’t wait!
March 24, 2015
Cover Reveal~ Twists in Time
Our upcoming time travel anthology from Clean Teen Publishing and Crimson Tree Publishing will be releasing on June 16, 2015. We are pleased to share the official cover reveal for TWISTS IN TIME. This anthology will include exclusive stories from award-winning and best-selling authors: Jon Messenger, Sherry D. Ficklin, Julie Wetzel, Kelly Risser, Kathy-Lynn Cross, Amanda Strong, Sandy Goldsworthy, Holly Kelly and Kasi Blake. We look forward to hearing what you think of the cover. Don’t forget to leave a comment!
What would happen if time, the fragile thread that both leads and binds us, could be unwound as simply as untying a knot? Would we go back, charging through our own history, changing and tweaking, plucking at that fragile thread until time itself unraveled all around us? Would we create countless universes through which we could live our fantasies—or would we become our own nightmares? Would we blaze ahead, reckless and wild, into our own futures? Would we become our own heroes, or would we become villains?
Join us for a series of stories that explore time, through the eyes of those bold enough to conquer it, and foolish enough to try to control it. From the award-winning team of authors at Clean Teen Publishing, TWISTS IN TIME will both entertain and challenge the way you see the world around you. Because when one finds a way to break the barrier of time, endless worlds of possibilities emerge.
Chasing Daybreak Release!
Crimson Tree Publishing has a new release today and it’s a book with bite! Grab your copy of CHASING DAYBREAK by Ranae Glass today. Readers can save $2 on the digital version when they purchase their copy on release day. The price will go up to $4.99 tomorrow.
AVAILABLE TODAY ON AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE, BAM, BOOK DEPOSITORY.
Isabel Stone wanted a normal life. But when the unexpected death of her father leaves her at the helm of the family business, things quickly go from weird to worse. Vampires are on the loose and out of the coffin, and only Isabel can walk the fine line between the world of the living and the world of the undead.
Torn between letting go of her past and embracing her future, Isabel will have to decide who she can trust, and be willing to use all the weapons at her disposal, to get to the bottom of a terrifying string of deaths that lead right to her doorstep—before she becomes the next victim. In a city where nothing is what it seems, ending up the target of a deranged killer might actually be the high point of her week. Because in this town, the things that go bump in the night… just might kill you.
March 23, 2015
Book Pirating and Internet Idiocy
Ok, I don’t normally rant too much about my books being pirated. One, because in today’s digital world, there’s pretty much nothing you can do about it and two, because there will always be people who don’t think they should have to pay for books–no matter what.
To those people, I offer you a heartfelt one finger salute. You are the bung holes of the internet.
But again, as an author there is a set of rules which I’m governed by. Ok, it’s less a matter of “rules” and more a matter of, when we speak out about things like this, rotten, unfair, awful things, we are often criticized and bullied by people who think we are being spoiled brats. So the “rule” really is, shut up and take it.
But today, a straw was broken for me. I set up a google alert for each of my book titles when they begin being promoted. This is mostly so, if a blogger picks it up as a WOW or for something, I can swing by and thank them for sharing. So today, I woke up to an alert in my inbox, and curious, followed it to a forum.
What I saw there stunned and angered me.
*you can see the entire thread here:
http://meditationincolorado.org/libri...
A woman, who swears she’d never do anything illegal in her life, was looking for advice in downloading one of my ebooks, well, two to be honest, Prodigal and Riven. She whines because, according to her, she purchased the print books, but now didn’t want to have to pay AGAIN for the ebooks.
Dude, I totally get that feel. Amazon has a great thing where if you buy a print book from them, you can download the ebook anytime free. I love that. But, not everyone has it, so if you bought your print edition elsewhere, you won’t get the same deal. BUT, and let me just toss this out there, if you ever buy a print edition of one of my books, and decide you want the ebook too, just email me. Contact me via my website. Because I get it and I will hook you up. Now, not authors will do this. I get that, but for me, I have no problems with this at all.
But I digress. She is then pointed to a service where they say she can get the books. That post is then followed by several people commenting that the book was too long and boring or not a good read at all, or disappointing.
Here’s the PROBLEM. The books haven’t even released yet. As in, they as still sitting on my desktop waiting to be sent to the printer. NO ONE HAS PRINT COPIES. They have never been on sale, though are on pre-order everywhere. So how has this person “already purchased the print copy?”
Answer, she hasn’t. She’s just a liar and a thief. Simple as that. And the others leaving their “reviews”? Also liars. They haven’t read the book. They are literally just talking shit about it for no reason or to sound smart. If you posted, asking about any specific scene, you’d get radio silence because there is no possible way for them to have laid eyes on it.
Now, I’m not going to go on this website and rant and call people out. But I’m also done keeping my mouth shut. This is total bullshit and people like this should be ashamed. So if you are a person who goes to forums like this looking for recommendations, beware. Whatever they are suggesting this lady go download, it’s not my book. And the “reviews” of the others? Well…
If you are ever curious, the best place to find honest reviews is Amazon, because you can at least look and see who actually purchased a copy. Even sites like Goodreads will let people leave reviews without ever actually having the book, much less reading it. Case in point, I have a book over there that releases in July, that is still sitting on my computer waiting for edits, that has been given a hand full of shitty reviews. Why do people even do this? Are you bored? Jealous? Do you just hate authors or love causing heartache?
I’m a firm believer that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and leaving a bad review is your right as a reader. But leaving reviews for books you’ve never even cracked open is just a shitty thing to do.
***END RANT***
March 3, 2015
THREE EXCITING RELEASES & ONE HUGE PARTY!
We are celebrating two exciting sequel releases that hit the shelves TODAY! There’s a little something for every reader here. Plus, join our exciting party tonight for games, prizes and more!
THE ELEMENTALIST by Melissa J. Cunningham
Presented by Clean Teen Publishing. (Young Adult Paranormal Romance)
Save $2 on release day only! Regular price $4.99. Sale Price $2.99.
Deceased Alisa Callahan thinks nothing could be worse than watching the boy she loves move on in his life without her… until she is ripped from her less-than-peaceful existence in Elysium to be trapped… in someone’s else’s body.Seventeen-year-old Claire Balister wants only one thing. To master the art of Elementalism. To accomplish this, she must to learn to control a damned soul. Her old classmate and suicide victim, Alisa Callahan, is the perfect candidate. But when the spell goes wrong, Claire finds herself in the worst possible situation… sharing her body with an unwanted guest.
Everything swirls out of control when Alisa learns her entrapment is all part of a set-up, an elaborate scheme to keep her out of the way while demons take over the realm of Idir Shaol. Her only hope rests with a boy who can’t remember her, his past, or more importantly, who he really is…
One of the bad guys.
The Elementalist is the much anticipated sequel to Reluctant Guardian.
START READING THIS SERIES FOR ONLY $.99 OR FREE FOR KINDLE UNLIMITED USERS:
KINDLING FLAMES—STOLEN FIRE by Julie Wetzel
Presented by Crimson Tree Publishing. (Paranormal Romance—Mature)
Save $1 on release day only! Regular price $5.99. Sale Price $4.99.
Night. A time of quiet, of peace, of rest, and now, a time of terror.
With an uncontrolled vampire plaguing the city, the Vampire Council of Brenton once again calls on Darien Ritter for help.
Overwhelmed with the issues of a new menagerie and plans for his wedding, Darien still manages to step up and answer the call. The only problem is, he suddenly finds himself a little too… human.
Victoria and Darien are back in this fourth book in The Ancient Fire Series. Find out why readers are loving this new paranormal series.
START READING THIS SERIES FOR FREE TODAY:
Prodigal & Riven Trailer Reveal
Books 2 & 3 of the best selling Lost Imperials series
Releasing 5/5/15
from Clean Teen Publishing
Individual digital editions will be available everywhere e-books are sold.
Click on the cover to read more!
Exciting news! Prodigal and Riven will be available in 2 special combined print editions!
Barnes & Noble and other retailers will feature a standard combined print edition:
and Amazon.com will offer an exclusive flip book print edition!
PRODIGAL:
STEIN has been with the Hollows for as long as she can remember. Taken as a child, she has no memories of her past, and that’s always been fine by her. Until the day she stumbles across a hidden journal containing the devastating truth about her paternity. Now everything she thought she knew, and everyone she thought she could trust, has changed. The truth about who she is and where she came from is a secret so deep, it will rock the Hollows and the Tesla Institute alike.
RIVEN:
ETHAN is left with a serious problem after what should have been a routine mission. He’s fractured, a break between mind and body that leaves him at the mercy of his Rifter abilities, which are quickly tearing him apart. He will have to trust the only person who might know how to fix him, a mysterious Rifter named Stewart Stills, who seems to have a special connection with the time stream.
Want to know more about The Lost Imperials Series? Check out below:
In a battle for control of the time stream, the past and the future will collide, either saving mankind, or destroying it.
The Tesla Institute stands on one side of the battle. Controlled by the mind of one of the greatest inventors in history, the Institute recruits gifted, young time travelers called Rifters. Those who survive his training are sent into history with the mission to preserve the time stream, recruit more of their kind, and better humanity through subtle, controlled event manipulation.
Standing in the way are the Hollows, a rogue group of Rifters who have vowed to put an end to the Tesla Institute, at all costs. They steal, cheat, and bend history to their own ends. Using children stolen from time as their personal armies, they fight not only for control of time itself, but also for self-preservation.
You can find, EXTRACTED, book 1 of The Lost Imperials everywhere books are sold.
February 11, 2015
Voodoo Moon Release Day!
We are celebrating three exciting releases that hit the shelves TODAY! There’s a little something for every reader here. Plus, join our exciting party tonight for games, prizes and more!
JOIN THE RELEASE PARTY
CHECK OUT THESE NEW RELEASES TODAY:
UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett
Presented by Clean Teen Publishing. (Young Adult Contemporary Romance- Realistic Fiction)
“Breathe. No one will break me. I’m strong. Breathe. Just breathe.”
On the outside, Willow appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, smart, from an influential family, and she dates the most popular guy in school—Jaden. But she would walk away from it all in a second. Willow is tormented by lies and suffocating guilt, not the hearts and flowers people believe her life is full of.
She carries a dark secret. Plagued by nightmares and pain, the secret dominates her life. If she hadn’t walked away. If she had just… but she didn’t. And now she has to live with her choices. But when someone uncovers her family’s past, they use it against her, crushing her spirit little by little. She tells herself she just has to make it to graduation. Then she can leave Middleton, and her secret, far behind.
When Brody transfers to Cassidy High, he turns Willow’s life upside down. He shows her what it feels like to live again, really live. And suddenly, she isn’t satisfied with just surviving until graduation. She wants a normal life—with Brody—and he wants her. But the closer they become, the more it threatens to unravel the secret she’s worked so hard to hide.
Willow finds true love with Brody. Will she let his love save her, or walk away from him to keep her secret safe?
VOODOO MOON by DJ Westerfield writing as June Stevens
Presented by Crimson Tree Publishing. (Paranormal Romance—Mature)
Zombies aren’t supposed to exist, yet they are turning up all over Nash City. As a member of the Elite Black Blade Guard, Fiona Moon is tasked with hunting down the most dangerous Paranorm criminals. Now she must find out who is kidnapping mages and sucking the life energy from their bodies. To make matters worse, she has to work with the one man that embodies everything she despises. Ian Barroes is the rich founder and head of the Necromancers Guild and a professor of Necromantic Studies at the Academy of Science and Magic. There is one thing he wants more than anything else in the world… Fiona.They each hold secrets that could destroy them, but could also be the key to destroying the evil Voodoo priest, Bokor. They must learn to trust each other and track down Bokor before more innocents are taken, and murdered. To make matters worse, when Fiona becomes a target of the evil madman, she finds herself lured into his trap. Now she and Ian have to fight for survival and their very souls.
THE BIONICS by Alicia Michaels
Presented by Crimson Tree Publishing. (New Adult Dystopian—Mature)
*New and revised special edition! Made into a full length novel.
All Blythe Sol ever wanted was to be a normal girl. Yet, her dreams of following in her father’s footsteps by joining the military after graduation are crushed when nuclear war comes to the United States in the year 4006. Tens of thousands are killed in a series of attacks on many major cities, while thousands more are left injured from the devastation of the blasts, or terminally ill from the effects of radiation.
When the government offers the sick and injured a second chance as part of the Restoration Project, how could they refuse? Hoping to put her life back together after the blasts take both her arm and her eye, Blythe enrolls in the program filled with hope. She never expects that the bionic additions will change her life so drastically. When it is discovered that those outfitted with the robotic parts have become enhanced beyond the limits of ordinary human ability, normal can never exist for her again.
The Bionics become targets of the government, as fear of them spreads across the nation, further enflamed by media propaganda and political conspiracy. Forced to go into hiding or face execution, society’s outcasts band together to form the Restoration Resistance—an underground rebellion which Blythe becomes a part of in order to survive. She could never imagine that joining them would thrust her at the forefront of an imminent revolution, or that it would put her in a confusing tug-of-war between two of her fellow soldiers—Gage Bronson, the mysterious new addition to the Resistance, and Dax Janner, her best friend. Even though Gage is rapidly capturing her heart, she is forced to face the possibility that her feelings for Dax might just go beyond friendship. However, with impending war and the threat of death hanging over her head, Blythe hardly has time to worry about anything as trivial as a love life…
February 10, 2015
Prodigal & Riven
Books 2 & 3 of the best selling Lost Imperials series
Releasing 5/5/15
from Clean Teen Publishing
Individual digital editions will be available everywhere e-books are sold.
Click on the cover to read more!
Exciting news! Prodigal and Riven will be available in 2 special combined print editions!
Barnes & Noble and other retailers will feature a standard combined print edition:
and Amazon.com will offer an exclusive flip book print edition!
PRODIGAL:
STEIN has been with the Hollows for as long as she can remember. Taken as a child, she has no memories of her past, and that’s always been fine by her. Until the day she stumbles across a hidden journal containing the devastating truth about her paternity. Now everything she thought she knew, and everyone she thought she could trust, has changed. The truth about who she is and where she came from is a secret so deep, it will rock the Hollows and the Tesla Institute alike.
RIVEN:
ETHAN is left with a serious problem after what should have been a routine mission. He’s fractured, a break between mind and body that leaves him at the mercy of his Rifter abilities, which are quickly tearing him apart. He will have to trust the only person who might know how to fix him, a mysterious Rifter named Stewart Stills, who seems to have a special connection with the time stream.
Want to know more about The Lost Imperials Series? Check out below:
In a battle for control of the time stream, the past and the future will collide, either saving mankind, or destroying it.
The Tesla Institute stands on one side of the battle. Controlled by the mind of one of the greatest inventors in history, the Institute recruits gifted, young time travelers called Rifters. Those who survive his training are sent into history with the mission to preserve the time stream, recruit more of their kind, and better humanity through subtle, controlled event manipulation.
Standing in the way are the Hollows, a rogue group of Rifters who have vowed to put an end to the Tesla Institute, at all costs. They steal, cheat, and bend history to their own ends. Using children stolen from time as their personal armies, they fight not only for control of time itself, but also for self-preservation.
You can find, EXTRACTED, book 1 of The Lost Imperials everywhere books are sold.
