C.S. Pacat's Blog, page 3

KINGS RISING - Release date is revealed! Pre-order now!

We've all waited for this day for so long, and I can't tell you how happy and excited I am to share it with you!





That's right, the secret is out! Pre-order Kings Rising now!

USA - Amazon | | Kobo | Nook
Australia - Booktopia | Amazon | iTunes | Kobo
*Links will be updated as retailers come online - eg US paperbacks should appear on Amazon shortly

To celebrate, I will be giving away 10 signed copies of the books! To enter the giveaway, just link people to this announcement, either by retweeting or liking or commenting on the Facebook post, or if you wish to do something on a different social media platform, just drop a link to your post here in comments =). Penguin will choose 10 winners at random. Good luck all!

And finally - click here to read a new sneak peek of the upcoming novel Kings Rising!

KINGS RISING - Release date reveal tomorrow! The schedule of yay!

The release date for Kings Rising is revealed tomorrow! The schedule of yay continues!





Today as a thank you surprise, I wanted to do another DVD commentary for Prince's Gambit, so tick the box of the chapter you want to hear about most!

View Poll: Prince's Gambit - DVD commentary

I'll also send a small runner-up present to the first five people who reply to this post here on livejournal - I wish I could give something to everyone because you have all been so wonderful in your support of Captive Price. But more giveaways are coming! Tomorrow is an open competition that everyone will be able to enter!

Stay tuned for the final exciting day - tomorrow!!


SCHEDULE OF YAY

3 Days to Go - Book giveaways to some of the lovely readers who have supported the story online over the years

3 Days to Go - I'll be giving away books as a thank you to another great segment of the community! (Because you guys are the BEST)

2 Days to Go - A "behind the scenes" sneak peek into the making of Kings Rising

1 Day to Go - More giveaways! And a special surprise!

DAY 0 - Release date revealed!! - Pre orders open! A new exclusive snippet of Kings Rising! And an open competition to win signed copies of the book!


Captive Prince is available to purchase on Amazon, itunes, Booktopia (for Aussies) and at all major etc.

KINGS RISING - Release date reveal in 2 days! Behind the scenes peek into the making of Kings Rising

The release date of Kings Rising is revealed in 2 days! And to celebrate, I've planned four days of giveaways and thank you presents to you all to tide us over until the date is released. Scroll down for today's behind-the-scenes peek into the making of Kings Rising!





Today I wanted to share some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into Kings Rising.

I do a lot of brainstorming with my writer friends (we swap brainstorming sessions on our various projects). I like to record the brainstorming sessions and play them back alone, which lets me brainstorm again, sparking new ideas.

Here is part of a brainstorming session that I did with my wonderful friend Vanessa that went horribly wrong when I realised that in the scene I was working on, the Akielons would be... naked...




I use notebooks to jot down ideas, to do scene planning, and to do rough stream-of-consciousness writing when I can't get good language to come out. Here's a collection of all the notebooks I used during the 18 months I worked on Kings Rising.



I like notebooks with unlined pages so that I can be as messy and rough as I want, and to set me free from the feeling that the writing has to be good, or that I am performing it for someone else.



When I'm writing manuscript, I use the program Scrivener. I like the control that it gives me over the entirety of the project. But my favourite thing is the "snapshot" function, which remembers past versions of a chapter without you having to save as a separate file, ridding you of your ten thousand save files "chapter 3" "chapter 3 v1" "chapter 3 v2" "chapter 3 v4" forever.



The manuscript was submitted on 1st April (no really), I took in some very light but excellent structural edits, then the process is to do a round of copy editing (fixing up any rogue language and continuity), then a proof round (spelling and punctuation), then the book is published. I'm at copy edit round currently.
That concludes the behind-the-scenes sneak peek of the making of Kings Rising. More yay to come tomorrow!


SCHEDULE OF YAY

4 Days to Go - Book giveaways to some of the lovely readers who have supported the story online over the years

3 Days to Go - I'll be giving away books as a thank you to another great segment of the community! (Because you guys are the BEST)

2 Days to Go - A "behind the scenes" sneak peek into the making of Kings Rising

1 Day to Go - More giveaways! And a special surprise!

DAY 0 - Release date revealed!! - Pre orders open! A new exclusive snippet of Kings Rising! And an open competition to win signed copies of the book!


Captive Prince is available to purchase on Amazon, itunes, Booktopia (for Aussies) and at all major etc.

KINGS RISING - Release date reveal in 3 days! The schedule of yay continues!

3 days until the release date for Kings Rising is revealed! And to celebrate, I've planned four days of giveaways and thank you presents to you all to tide us over until the date is released. Scroll down to read the continuing schedule of yay!





Today I wanted to give a thank you gift to some of the amazing fan creators who have enriched the Captive Prince community over the years! To thank you for all your creativity and enthusiasm for the series, I chose a few of the creators, and I'll be sending you all a signed copy of Captive Prince. Leave a message in comments or on twitter @cspacat and I will contact you privately to arrange shipping of the books!

The fan artists
I love fanart, and the work of fan artists brings us all so much joy!

Chiihun - Chiihun drew one of the most amazing pictures of Damen and Laurent, I love its power and symbolism

Xyai - Xyai drew one of my favourite Captive Prince comics, (Damen's face!) - all her comics and sketches are a delight

CanneDeBonbon and Carouselcycles - I can't choose between you! Whether it is chibis, mafia au, mermen or amazing Laurent in armour, you are both too awesome


The fanfiction writers
I (tragically) can't read Captive Prince fanfiction in case I get influenced, but I'm always so happy to know that people are writing it. I chose these three writers because they have written the three most popular works on Archive.org - so I know that they are writers that you all love.

Fayhe - who wrote Lines on Palms, thank you for writing a story in my world!

Signe - who wrote Two Princes (this is an excellent title, two princes are better than one)

Josselin - who wrote An Arranged Marriage, someone was even recommending you to me yesterday :'D

I'll also send a small runner-up present to the first five people who reply to this post here on livejournal - I wish I could give something to everyone because you have all been so wonderful in your support of Captive Price. But more giveaways are coming!

Stay tuned for more yay over the next few days!


SCHEDULE OF YAY

3 Days to Go - Book giveaways to some of the lovely readers who have supported the story online over the years

3 Days to Go - I'll be giving away books as a thank you to another great segment of the community! (Because you guys are the BEST)

2 Days to Go - A "behind the scenes" sneak peek into the making of Kings Rising

1 Day to Go - More giveaways! And a special surprise!

DAY 0 - Release date revealed!! - Pre orders open! A new exclusive snippet of Kings Rising! And an open competition to win signed copies of the book!


Captive Prince is available to purchase on Amazon, itunes, Booktopia (for Aussies) and at all major etc.

KINGS RISING - Release date reveal in 4 days! And schedule of yay!

The release date for Kings Rising is being revealed in 4 days! And to celebrate, I've planned four days of giveaways and sharing to tide us over until the date is released. Scroll down to read the schedule of yay!





Today, I wanted to say thank you to some of the supporters of the book. I chose three readers who have been a special part of the community, and I'll be sending you all a signed copy of Captive Prince. Leave a message in comments or on twitter @cspacat and I will contact you privately to arrange shipping of the books!

tmelange - Has been reading Captive Prince since the very first chapter, and never missed a post!

arrghigiveup - Everyone remembers your epic comments, and you brought us all so much excitement and fun

The maintainter of the Fuck Yeah Captive Prince tumblr I don't know your name! You are a mysterious and wonderful figure, and I would love to send you a signed copy of the book.

I'll also send a small runner-up present to the first five people who reply to this post here on livejournal - I wish I could give something to everyone because you have all been so wonderful in your support of Captive Price. But more giveaways are coming!

Stay tuned for more yay over the next few days!


SCHEDULE OF YAY

3 Days to Go - I'll be giving away books as a thank you to another great segment of the community! (Because you guys are the BEST)

2 Days to Go - A "behind the scenes" sneak peek into the making of Kings Rising

1 Day to Go - More giveaways! And a special surprise!

DAY 0 - Release date revealed!! - Pre orders open! A new exclusive snippet of Kings Rising! And an open competition to win signed copies of the book!


Captive Prince is available to purchase on Amazon, itunes, Booktopia (for Aussies) and at all major retailers.

Writing techniques #5 - A technique for solving all the problems that are stopping you from writing

Writing is a book is difficult, and there aren't shortcuts. You have to change yourself from someone who can't write a book into someone who can write a book, which means overcoming obstacles like lack of time, lack of money, lack of ideas, lack of self-belief, procrastination, self-sabotage, lack of ability, and everything else standing in your way.

This is the technique that I found most useful in helping to solve the problems that were preventing me from writing, at a time when I was struggling to produce my first manuscript.



I first heard about this technique from Penni Russon, and modified it with my writers group. We all did it together, and I found that doing it as a group was powerful in its own right, kind of like an anonymous self help group, the pledge in the movie The Craft any group pledge can be. Sharing our answers and suggestions with each other was really inspiring, and so was taking out dedicated time to focus on the activity. But it is also a technique that you can do alone if you prefer.

1. Write a list of all of your motivations for writing a book - make it a list of your most wonderful dream outcomes

Do not let realism or embarrassment limit you while writing your list! If you have glorious, ridiculous dreams, write them down, "I get a $10 million deal and never have to work my day job again then JK Rowling calls me and tells me the secret I have always wanted to know about Neville!" Write it. If you have intense, specific, personal reasons, write them, too.

Here were some of mine:

* I have a life where I do what I love every day
* I get a call from Kunihiko Ikuhara saying he wants to make an anime out of my book (!!)
* I write a book that the young me would have loved
* My book becomes meaningfully part of a wider conversation

2. Now write a list of everything that is preventing you from writing your book

Be honest here too. If your obstacles are external like lack of money or free time, write that down. If they are internal, like procrastination, write that down, and if they are ability based, like you don't know how to plot yet or don't have ideas, write that down too. Make sure you list EVERYTHING that is standing in your way.

Here were some of mine:

* Don't have a place to write.
* Find it hard to concentrate for long periods
* Procrastinate and end up surfing the net instead of writing

3. Take your list of obstacles that are preventing you from writing. Now, write a specific, tangible solution for each problem.

Some problems may have multiple solutions. Write them all.

Here are a few of mine:

Don't have a place to write
* Find place to write, public library during day, hotel bar at night

Find it hard to concentrate for long periods
* Therapy to help with anxiety and improve concentration
* Exercise may help with this?? Investigate
* Write in short bursts, notice when concentration is wavering, get up and go for walk to relieve stress, return to work

Procrastinate and end up surfing the net instead of writing
* Write somewhere without internet access and leave phone at home
* Investigate 2nd hand laptop for writing and delete browsers so cannot connect to internet


Voila! You now know exactly what is stopping you from writing, and you have a solution for each problem.

I found that identifying and clarifying each problem transformed the obstacles from a nebulous feeling of "I can't do this," to a concrete list of problems with achievable solutions. Some of the solutions will by their nature be difficult to implement, but you can do it, and you now know how to do it. You also have a list of motivations to help you along. Good luck!

Back to list of writing techniques

Captive Prince book 2 - German cover and release date!

The German cover for the second book in the Captive Prince trilogy is here! I love these covers so much, the font and sword are amazing. I also love the title, Das Duell der Prinzen, I am so excited for the German editions! (Look at the sword! It has a lion on the pommel!) Thank you so much everyone at Heyne for all your amazing work.

Das Duell der Prinzen will be released Jan 11th 2016, and you can preorder it on Amazon now.

Two new Melbourne Captive Prince events!

Melbourne readers, the two final Captive Prince events will be held this week on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th of April.

These events will be a little more intimate than the launch last week, and include a talk from me and an audience Q&A. I'm looking forward to some interesting discussion about writing and the fanspace - and of course about Captive Prince! Both events are free and require no booking, so come along and bring your friends, I look forward to seeing you there.

DYMOCKS - AUTHOR TALK AND Q&A
TIME: Tues 14 Apr 2015 at 6:30pm
PLACE: Dymocks Camberwell, The Well Shopping Centre, Level 1, 793 Burke Ave, Camberwell
Read more at the Dymocks event page
This event is FREE, just come along on the night!

READINGS - AUTHOR TALK AND Q&A
TIME: Wed 15 Apr 2015 at 6:30pm
PLACE: Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St, Carlton
Read more at the Readings event page
This event is FREE, just come along on the night!

Two new Melbourne Captive Prince events!

Melbourne readers, the two final Captive Prince events will be held this week on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th of April.

These events will be a little more intimate than the launch last week, and include a talk from me and an audience Q&A. I'm looking forward to some interesting discussion about writing and the fanspace - and of course about Captive Prince! Both events are free and require no booking, so come along and bring your friends, I look forward to seeing you there.

DYMOCKS - AUTHOR TALK AND Q&A
TIME: Tues 14 Apr 2015 at 6:30pm
PLACE: Dymocks Camberwell, The Well Shopping Centre, Level 1, 793 Burke Ave, Camberwell
Read more at the Dymocks event page
This event is FREE, just come along on the night!

READINGS - AUTHOR TALK AND Q&A
TIME: Wed 15 Apr 2015 at 6:30pm
PLACE: Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St, Carlton
Read more at the Readings event page
This event is FREE, just come along on the night!

KINGS RISING - Captive Prince book three covers and title revealed!

The new title of book three is now revealed - KINGS RISING. I chose the title because it best sums up the themes and ideas of the book. I love the Australian and the US covers so much, crowns, crowns, crowns, CROWNS.

US cover! You can purchase Captive Prince book one and preorder book two Prince's Gambit by clicking the links.




Australian cover! You can purchase the Australian versions of Captive Prince book one and preorder book two Prince's Gambit by clicking the links.




Excited to share these with you all, and hope you love them as much as I do.