Sherry D. Ficklin's Blog, page 16
February 14, 2014
Ask me about my VD
You probably don’t know me. Yet. But I’m Zoe Reed from the
novel Losing Logan. It’s one of those epic freaking love stories that opens
hearts and changes lives—only, you know, not really.
I was asked recently how I celebrate Valentine’s Day. Short
answer, I don’t.
In my humble opinion, it’s just an arbitrary,
consumer-centered, manipulative, shallow day. I mean, it’s the one day a year
that people are socially obligated not only to be in a relationship, but to
express the worth of that relationship with overstuffed bears and boxes of
cheap candies. You want to be romantic, you want to express your love and
devotion to the person you’re with? Or do you just not want to be the guy who
dicked out and didn’t do something for his girl on VD?
This doesn’t mean I’m anti-romance. Just the opposite. Every
girl wants romance, wants to feel special and loved. Hell, I want Loyd freaking
Dobbler with his boom box over his head playing Peter freaking Gabriel at full
volume outside my freaking window.
I don’t feel like that’s too much to ask for.
But this is my sticking point with VD; what is the
motivation behind your gesture? Is it genuine love? Sweet. Is it so you aren’t
stuck sleeping on the sofa or in the dog house for a week? Not cool, dude.
So, most years I curl up on the sofa with my best bud Carlos
and watch cheesy slasher flicks. Last year we watched a marathon of the Slumber
Party Massacre movies, which were fantastically awful (though there were an
abundance of hearts, so it was kinda VD-ish, right?) while eating our weight in
Circus Peanuts.
This year, well, something a bit more surprising happened.
And while I’m not going to spill the full details here, I will say, it was
genuine and perfectly not VD-ish at all.
LOSING LOGAN by Sherry D. Ficklin
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Suspense
“What if the one thing you never meant to hold on to, is the one thing you can’t let go of?”
Normally finding a hot guy in her bedroom wouldn’t irritate Zoe so badly, but finding her childhood friend Logan there is a big problem.
Mostly because he’s dead.
As the only person he can make contact with, he convinces Zoe to help him put together the pieces surrounding his mysterious death so he can move on. Thrust into his world of ultra popular rich kids, Zoe is out of her element and caught in the cross-hairs of Logan’s suspicious ex-girlfriend and the friends he left behind, each of whom had a reason to want him dead. The deeper they dig to find the truth, the closer Zoe gets to a killer who would do anything to protect his secrets. And that’s just the start of her problems because Zoe is falling for a dead guy.
ABOUT SHERRY D. FICKLIN
Sherry D. Ficklin is a full time writer from Colorado where she lives with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and a fluctuating number of chickens and house guests. A former military brat, she loves to travel and meet new people. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she’s on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs.
She is the author of The Gods of Fate Trilogy now available from Dragonfly Publishing. Her previously self-published novel After Burn: Military Brats has been acquired by Harlequin and will be released in 2015 with a second book in that series to follow. Her newest YA steampunk novel, EXTRACTED: The Lost Imperials book 1, co-written with Tyler H. Jolley is now available everywhere books are sold and her newest YA novel, Losing Logan, is due for release in 2014 from Clean Teen Publishing.
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February 3, 2014
Cover Reveal~ Milayna
cover by Robin Ludwig Designs, INC
From the bestselling author of PODs comes an unforgettable tale of action, intrigue, and following your heart in the midst of betrayal.
It’s hard being good all the time. Everyone needs to be bad once in a while. But for seventeen-year-old Milayna, being good isn’t a choice. It’s a job requirement. And it’s a job she can’t quit. Born a demi-angel, Milayna steps in when danger and demons threaten the people around her, but being half angel isn’t all halos and happiness. Azazel, Hell’s demon, wants Milayna’s power, and he’ll do anything to get it. But he only has until her eighteenth birthday, after which she becomes untouchable.With the help of other demi-angels, Milayna thwarts the trouble Azazel sends her way. Fighting with her is Chay. He’s a demi-angel who’s sinfully gorgeous, and Milayna falls hard. But is Chay her true love…or her nemesis in disguise?Because when she learns of a traitor in her group, there’s no one she can trust…not even the one she loves.
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About the Author…
Michelle is a wife, mother, author, reader, although not always in that order. She is the bestselling author of PODs, which totally blows her mind. Some days she still has her husband pinch her to make sure it’s not a dream.
She loves Reese’s peanut butter cups and peanut butter M&Ms and eats way too many when she writes, can’t write without a hoodie, hates to cook but loves to watch cooking shows, and loves happy endings that give her butterflies for days. She writes across genres in the young adult and new adult age groups, and loves to hear from readers and other authors. So drop her a note and say, “Hey!”
Website • Email • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads
Pre-Order Links for Milayna:
Amazon ׀Barnes&Noble ׀ The Book Depository
Title: Milayna (book one)
Author: Michelle Pickett
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (Feel free to use any images, text, links, etc. from our site.)
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Formats: Paperback, e-book
ARCs: If you’d like to request an ARC, please use the Reviewer Form on our website. ARCs will ship several months before the release date.
January 22, 2014
***Big News***
***BIG NEWS***
For those of you who have been waiting so patiently, I’m very pleased to announce that my Adult Paranormal Mystery Series, Palmetto Moon, is now available in PAPERBACK!! That’s right, Book 1 BORN OF BLOOD and book 2, GRAVE SECRETS, can now be found in paperback on Amazon! In case there is any confusion, these are ADULT novels and that’s why they are written under my pen name, Diana Collins. That said, they are very appropriate and have very little in the way of foul language and sexual situations. Perfectly ok for readers 16 and up!
So if you’d like a copy, you can get them here:
Book 1-
http://www.amazon.com/Palmetto-Moon-B...
Book 2-
January 21, 2014
Cover Reveal~ Losing Logan
Losing Logan by Sherry D. Ficklin
Publication Date: May 6th 2014
Genres: YA, Romance, Suspense, Paranormal
Synopsis:
Normally finding a hot guy in her bedroom wouldn’t irritate Zoe so badly, but finding her childhood friend Logan there is a big problem.
Mostly because he’s dead.
As the only person he can make contact with, he convinces Zoe to help him put together the pieces surrounding his mysterious death so he can move on. Thrust into his world of ultra popular rich kids, Zoe is out of her element and caught in the cross-hairs of Logan’s suspicious ex-girlfriend and the friends he left behind, each of whom had a reason to want him dead. The deeper they dig to find the truth, the closer Zoe gets to a killer who would do anything to protect his secrets. And that’s just the start of her problems because Zoe is falling for a dead guy.
Find Losing Logan on Facebook
Sherry D Ficklin’s Official Website
About the Author:
Sherry D. Ficklin is a full time writer from Colorado where she lives with her husband, four kids, two dogs, and a fluctuating number of chickens and house guests. A former military brat, she loves to travel and meet new people. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she’s on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs.
She is the author of The Gods of Fate Trilogy now available from Dragonfly Publishing. Her previously self-published novel After Burn: Military Brats has been acquired by Harlequin and will be released in 2015 with a second book in that series to follow. Her newest YA steampunk novel, EXTRACTED: The Lost Imperials book 1, co-written with Tyler H. Jolley is now available everywhere books are sold and her newest YA novel, Losing Logan, is due for release in 2014 from Clean Teen Publishing.
January 13, 2014
The Argument Against ‘HYBRID’
So, let me begin by saying, I’m SOOOO not into labels.
You may have noticed recently an article on Forbes.com where they discuss the success of ‘HYBRID’ publishers. It was a good article, even mentioning MY fantastic publisher, Spencer Hill Press.
My issue with the article is the same issue I took when (a wonderful writer-friend of mine who shall not be named) was called, in a similar article, a ‘HYBRID’ author.
They branded her a ‘HYBRID’ author because she had the audacity to publish both with large, big 5 publishers, and smaller, mid-list publishers like Spencer Hill AND (and this is the big one folks) she self-published a novel.
And apparently, it’s a big freaking deal.
Nevermind that she spent the early part of her career working her way up the publishing ladder, as it were, from smaller houses to bigger ones (a strategy that is not only very sensible, but that I use myself) and working her butt off writing 6-8 books A YEAR. Nevermind that her self published book LAUNCHED A WHOLE GENRE. She’s not a real author. She’s a ‘HYBRID’ author.
I have the same issue with the Forbes article. It feels to me like a very backhanded compliment they are giving these publishing houses. As if, by their flexibility and willingness to work outside traditional models, somehow it makes them less than a traditional publisher. Not traditional, not indie, but something different. Something strange and unheard of.
Something ‘HYBRID’.
Why can’t the industry look at successful small press publishers and say simply, ‘hey. These publishing houses are doing something different (and with GREAT success, mind you) and that’s awesome’. Why do they feel the need to throw a label on them so, lest you get confused by their success and forget, they are still NOT traditional publishers? And the same goes for authors. Can’t you just look at the changing landscape of publishing and admit that to be successful as a writer in this market, you have to do things a little differently? Because, I assure you, in the next five years, that is going to be the ONLY way to succeed in this marketplace.
I take offense to being called a ‘HYBRID’ author. Because at the end of the day what people are saying is, she’s not a real author, she’s one of those ‘HYBRID’ authors.
Here’s what I think. If you write, you are a writer. If you publish your writing, you are an author–no matter HOW or WHERE you publish. And if a company publishes books, guess what? They are a publisher. Period.
Can’t the industry just let an author just be an author and a publisher just be a publisher?
January 10, 2014
Losing Logan Poetry Contest
Hello friends! I have an exciting contest to share with you today. Clean Teen Publishing and I have decided to offer one lucky writer a unique publishing opportunity.
My new YA romance, Losing Logan, comes out in May 2014…and we want YOU to be part of it. From Feb. 14th – March 14th, we will be accepting poetry submissions. We will choose ONE submission to be included in my new novel, both paperback and e-book.
That’s right, your poem and your name could appear in my new novel!
Now, here are the rules.
1) Submissions are open from midnight Feb. 14th – midnight March 14th (EST). Late submissions will NOT be accepted.
2) The winning submission will receive $25 cash (US currency paid via paypal, or check if in the US) and guaranteed publication inside the first printing of Losing Logan and it’s digital counterparts.
3)All submissions must be in English and can not be longer than 500 words.
4)The submissions must be 100% original work and can not be previously published.
5)Author will retain full ownership of the work and can publish the work elsewhere AFTER the release of the Losing Logan paperback only.
6)Participants must be 18 years or older or have written parent consent before submitting.
7)Only one entry per person.
So, would you like to see your poem inside my new novel? If so, send your submission (during the dates above) to sdficklin(at) gmail(dot)com. Be sure to put POEM in the subject line.
I’m announcing this contest a bit early to give everyone time to get those creative juices flowing. Good luck, and I can’t wait to see who wins!
January 4, 2014
Now’s your chance!
It’s a new year all bright and shiny with possibilities. What will you do, what adventures will you have? Who knows? The horizon is literally beaming with opportunities.
For a writer like myself this means another 12 months juggling family and books, deadlines and school plays. And I love it. My 2014 calendar is already full of awesome things like being a featured author at Denver Comic Con in June, attending ALA, seeing my new novel Losing Logan hit shelves, and so much more.
It’s also another chance to create and get on paper all those new story ideas I’ve been brewing over the holidays. I am particularly excited about my new novel (which shall remain nameless for the time being) that I start working on in Feb.
And since I’m starting a new project, myself and DJ over at Curvy Writer Blog and Radio Show are hosting a 50K writing challenge the month of February. You can join us and challenge yourself to let the words flow for a full month. It’s a non-nano nano. And it’s a bit more of a challenge, being a short month.
If you have a story brewing inside you, but never seem to have the time to get it on paper, let me say two things.
First, I totally understand. Life has it’s priorities and not everyone is as lucky as myself who is able to write full time. Don’t let yourself get discouraged if you can’t do 5K a day. It’s hard. Like, really hard, and it’s almost impossible if you have a full time job elsewhere (that includes being a full time parent cause, DANG).
Second, YOU CAN DO IT. This is your year. If you begin right now, doing one page a day, that’s ONE double spaced 12pt Times New Roman font page per day, by the end of the year you will have completed your first novel. Can you imagine that? YOU can write a book this year.
So whether you are writing a novel, or just trying to make sure your kids are wearing clean pants everyday, victory can be yours! YOU CAN DO IT. Let’s do it together! I even have our endings all figured out!
Option A)
Option B)
December 19, 2013
Happy Holidays!
It’s that time of year again when parking places at stores magically vanish, the wind gets so cold you debate moving to Hawaii, and your children always have one eyeball under the Christmas Tree. Ah, the joys of the season.
Don’t get me wrong. I like Christmas as much as the next gal. But recently I fought with a nasty bout of Pneumonia that left be so far behind on EVERYTHING I can’t even see straight. It had me in bed for over three weeks, and coughing like a six pack a day smoking for two more. I got well just in time to frantically decorate the house, wrap gifts, and (Lord willing) finish up some Prodigal edits I’m woefully behind on.
I’m not one of those people who stresses the holidays, at least not too badly. I’m pretty laid back actually. But for some reason I feel very slacker-ish this year and it’s got me spinning. My plan is simple. Finish edits this week and then take the rest of the Holiday to distress with my family. Um, De-Stress I mean. lol.
Then my oldest daughter came down with the flu and has needed me most of the day. There goes my plans. But what are you going to do? So now I do what I do best. I run.
I run to the store, run out of wrapping paper, and generally run out of patience. I am furiously running through edits and running away from the post office like it’s on fire.
Whatever we are running from (or toward) this holiday, I hope the new year finds you all happy and healthy and able to take a quick breather before we begin the race all over again! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Now, if you need me, I will be camped out in front of my TV waiting for Doctor Who.
December 9, 2013
What to do with the publishers beating down your door
It looks like Christmas came early for me.
After a whirlwind writing spree in October, I began taking my new novel, Losing Logan, to agents. I got 7 rejections, all saying the same thing. No one is buying YA Paranormal novels anymore. They “love the writing”, but they won’t be able to sell it to a publisher (and then they ask, “but do you have any NA or Contemporary we can contract?”). To say I was disheartened would be a huge understatement. I LOVE YA paranormal. It’s what I enjoy and it’s what I write (mostly). And I LOVED how the story came out. My beta readers loved it. So why was it such a miss with the Agents? It’s a common question–one that I wish I had an answer to.
So, I started doing what I always do and sent it to a handful of my favorite mid-list publishers in November. Here I am, a month later, and I woke up to TWO offers of publication in my inbox today. I’m incredibly grateful but it also makes me think, what is the matter with agents?
Short answer, nothing. Agents get thousands of submissions a month and they can only rep things they know without a doubt they can sell. And YA paranormal is a flooded market. They are trying to buy things that are trending now, things that will (hopefully) be an easy sale for them. And that’s their job. I get that, I really do. But it’s also really frustrating.
The nice thing about being able to go directly to the publishing houses is that you have a bit more control over your own future. Publishers are, in fact, still buying the genre because they know that there will ALWAYS be a market for it. And because they don’t have the overhead of major houses, they can take more projects. Most agents won’t take something to a mid-list publisher, just because advances and pay-outs tend to be smaller. But if I don’t have to give 10% of what I make to an agent, then smaller is ok with me. Logan is my 10th novel (all are in various stages of publishing or being under contract to publish) and I’ve done it all without an agent. Is it harder? Yes. Impossible? No. Do I still want an agent? Heck yes. Someday I want to get a book in front of those big 6 publishers, if only to say I did, and sadly you can’t do that without an agent.
Now, say you take the path I took and wake up one day to find you have multiple publishing offers. First, you do a happy dance (because it never doesn’t feel amazing to have an offer). What do you do next? It’s a wonderful problem to have, but a problem none the less.
Firstly, be sure to thank them for their offer and ask any questions you may have about how they operate. Also, ask to see the contract. Let them know if you have other offers on the table and set a fair and reasonable time that you will get back to them with your decision. (Be sure that any other publishers who have your full manuscript are also notified that you have an offer and give them the opportunity to make a competing offer. But give them a deadline to get back to you.)
What you should look at:
1) You want to look at the sales of their other books. If they have dozens of titles that are selling well, it’s a good sign your book will sell well too. The opposite is also true.
2) Look at the quality of their other books (covers are a BIG deal) and talk to one or two authors who work with them. You want to make sure you aren’t getting into a contract with someone who has a bad track record with their authors.
3) Look them up online, and not just their website. Do a general search and see what people are saying about them.
4) Read the contract details carefully. One place may offer higher advances but lower royalties. One may require you surrender all rights, another may let you keep audio rights. Decide what’s important to you and negotiate for the best terms you can get. Don’t be afraid to have a lawyer look over the contract.
5) Make sure they can work in your genre. I signed a book once with a wonderful publisher whose books were selling extremely well. But 99% of their books were adult romance and they had no idea how to market my YA mystery. Be sure that a publisher can work in and has good contacts in your genre.
Remember, it’s ok to ask questions and it’s OK to negotiate your contract offer. A good publisher will understand and appreciate you doing your due diligence.
Good luck and happy writing!
November 19, 2013
Why ‘Almost Human’ is the ‘Agents of SHIELD’ I always wanted
The first episode of AOS had great promise. Cool effects, dropping tidbits for the diehard nerds in the crowd (LMD’s anyone?) and characters both cool and mysterious.
But the after glow faded pretty freaking fast. SHIELD has gone from fun to watch, to a show I have to talk myself into watching. Why? Well, I could list all the places that AOS has fallen down on the job, but I’d rather tell you where Almost Human is winning.
1) Relatable characters that we both root for and feel for. I’m sorry, but I don’t give a crap about anyone on AOS or their piddly-ass problems. I don’t give a rats fuzzy behind about Skye’s parents or anyone else for that matter. I MIGHT care about Coulson, if only he would stop hitting me over the head with the fact that he is a LMD. For the love of GOD let it go.
However AH has great strength in both it’s male leads and it’s supporting cast. It’s humorous without trying too hard, has great dialogue, and also had morals and a heart that makes the viewers want to follow them. We care about them. They accomplished that in one episode. AOS still hasn’t gotten us there.
2) Depth of story. In AOS we have basically a creature feature show, only without the creatures. There’s no over reaching story arc or even foreshadowing (Again, except for the pesky LMD thing). They made Skye’s mysterious past the long line, and to be frank, no one likes her enough to care. The coolest female on that show is Agent May who is little more than set dressing 90% of the time.
In AH, we have the classic moral conundrum of man versus machine, science versus reason. How far is too far? When does something meant to help humanity begin to destroy it? Yes it’s a heavy subject, but it’s done with subtle, masterful strokes. And because we already care about Dorian and John, their struggles mean something to us. When Dorian feels empathy for the other bots, we feel it for him. That is a character WIN.
and last but never least,
3)A world we can believe in. Now, you may say they are on two different levels, world building wise, but I disagree. Yes, AOS takes place in a post Avengers world where men in metal suits can fly and Norse Gods can get drunk in desert taverns. It’s our world, only after a great tragedy which society is now trying to deal with. Only, as it’s presented, it’s just the normal world where people occasionally get to see superheros. What we don’t get is the fear, the absolute panic that would really be ripping the world apart. Can you imagine how many die hard religious people would react to actually seeing ‘gods’ from other worlds? The state of sheer terror people would be living in if they knew at any moment a giant cloud could open up over Manhattan and spit out a few thousand demons and giant ass robots? It wouldn’t be another day in the park, I promise you that. And while occasionally they tell us “the world has changed” we never really get to see it, do we? This is where they need to take the cardinal rule of writing to heart. SHOW, don’t TELL.
On the flip side of that we have the urban near future of AH, complete with drones flying over the city, artificial intelligence used in warfare and urban defense, and amazing scientific progress. Basically, a place we could easily find ourselves in ten years. Look at how far we’ve progressed in the last 15 years alone. The world they have created is both reasonable, and dark enough to set the scene as a cautionary tale. What does it mean to be human? What path are we headed down if science continues to grow exponentially and without conscience? Basically, Almost Human is everything I expect from a brilliant writer like Joss Whedon, and it’s everything I want in a TV show. I even see elements of Malcolm Reynolds in John Kennex’s character. He’s smart, gutsy, and quick to take a risk–but he is also a damaged man with a solid moral compass. Basically, Almost Human is the show Firefly fans have been waiting for.
Which means, just like the last show I loved this much, Fox will cancel it after the first season.
