Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 124

Now I Know

Every once in a while I like to reflect on what I've learning in this industry. So today I'm listing some of the important lessons I've learned this year.

There will ALWAYS be something else to strive for.  No matter what I was trying to achieve and thought I'd be content once I achieved it (finding an agent, getting a book published), I'm never satisfied. Our careers keep developing, and we have to keep reaching higher.Pre-release is exciting and post-release can be stressful.  Before May the Best Dog Win came out, I was counting the days for the release. I just wanted the book out, and I didn't take enough time to enjoy the pre-release. After the book was published, I stressed about rankings and getting the word out. Enjoy the pre-release because that's the really exciting part.There's never enough time in the day.  Before my daughter started pre-K I thought I'd have plenty of time to write and edit when she was at school. Um, sure. There is NEVER enough time in the day. Those extra hours fill so quickly and you're left wondering how you got by before because it's still not enough.It's fun to have more than one book out, but it's double the work, too.  Having more work published is great, but it's also more time consuming. This year, I sold all my picture books (that were completed). I have several under contract and set to release in the next two years. That's exciting and a bit overwhelming. I'm really going to need more time in the day.Every book I work on is written and planned differently.  No manuscript I've worked on has ever been completed the same way as the one before. You have to adapt to each manuscript you write.Okay, I could probably keep going, but I'd rather hear from you. What are some of the lessons you've learned this year?

Monday Mishmash 10/10

It's Monday. My mind is a mishmash of thoughts today.

10/10  It's October 10th or 10/10. Dates like this are always fun.50 Authors You Should Be Reading  Voting for this contest has extended to midnight tonight. If you haven't voted, you still can by clicking here. October Newsletter  My October Newsletter goes out later today. Want a copy? Sign up free in the sidebar or click here.The Purrfect Puppy Teaser  If you missed Friday's post, I had a vlog of me reading a little of my upcoming picture book. You can find it here.Death  Last week one of my lifelong friends lost her mother to lung cancer. I grew up on the same street as her and spent a lot of time a her house. My only comfort is that she's no longer in pain.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

The Purrfect Puppy Teaser

Today, I'm sharing my second ever vlog so I can read you the opening pages of my upcoming picture book, THE PURRFECT PUPPY. I'm so excited!

You know what to do. Go on and press play. 

Please feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

And just for fun, if you could train your pet to be like any other animal what animal would you choose?

The Problem with eBooks

I've had my Kindle for ten months now, and to be honest, I've only read a total of 13 books on it. Why? Plain and simple, it's because of formatting issues. I've yet to read a book on my Kindle that didn't have formatting problems.

To be honest, this doesn't stop me from enjoying the book. But I have to wonder why formatting ebooks is so difficult. Now, let me come right out and say that I don't blame the author or the publisher. My picture book went up on Kindle after my publisher used the proper technology to format it. And you know what? There were problems. So it came back down. 

I've heard other writers complain about the same thing. Their print books are perfect and the ebooks are littered with formatting errors. Honestly, I don't understand it. Wouldn't places like the Kindle store and Nook store want to make it easy for publishers to post ebooks? I mean it's more money for the estores, right? So why is it so difficult?

This is just one of the reasons why I prefer to read print books. There are fewer errors.

What about you? Have you read any good ebooks that had formatting issues? Does it make you shy away from using your ereader as much as you'd like?

Monday Mishmash 10/3

Happy Monday, everyone! This is an exciting week for me, so I have a lot on my mind.

MAY THE BEST DOG WIN COLORING BOOK EDITION  The coloring book edition of my picture book released October 1! Yay! It includes the original story and a full coloring book. I'm kind of in love with it. You can find it here .50 Authors You Should Be Reading  I'm a finalist in this contest. The top 50 authors, selected by vote, will be in a book titled 50 Authors You Should Be Reading. If you'd like to vote for me, you can do so here . And thanks to all those who have already voted. Voting is open through October 8.THE PURRFECT PUPPY  I'm counting down the days until the release of THE PURRFECT PUPPY. It's right around the corner. Stay tuned for a giveaway right here on my blog.My Anniversary  October 9 is my wedding anniversary. Wow, it's going to be six years I've been married.My husband's birthday  October 6 is my husband's birthday. Lot's of celebrating this week.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today? 

*Reminder, this month's newsletter goes out on October 10. Sign up in the sidebar if you don't want to miss it.

How It All Began

My love of writing began with my love of reading. Growing up, books were my favorite things. Something about the written word was magical to me. It still is. Everytime I hold a book in my hands, I marvel at how it was created. Going from blank pages to a full-blown story is definitely a thing of magic.

If you've been reading my blog for a while then you've heard me say how I would get eyestrain from reading so much. My parents used to have to take my books away from me to give my eyes a rest. I'd also read while my parents shopped at the mall. I loved books. And that love made me want to write. I wanted to perform that act of magic in creating something from nothing. 

Even in high school when I had to write research papers on topics I really didn't care about, I'd marvel at the finished product. Why? Because I'd created something--something that was formerly just blank pages. I feel this sense of wonder every time I write a story. Writing and reading remind me that there is magic in this world. And writing allows me to create my own magic.

How did your love of writing come about? Is it a thing of magic for you, too?

The Purrfect Puppy Trailer!

I'm so excited to share the trailer for my upcoming picture book, THE PURRFECT PUPPY. I've never made a trailer before, but thanks to Google, I found instructions for making a trailer in Movie Maker. I also found sites with free music you can use in your trailers. So thank you Google.

Okay, so here it is! The book trailer for THE PURRFECT PUPPY!

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. :)

Monday Mishmash 9/26

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts today:

First pre-k field trip  My daughter had her first field trip last Friday. It was an outdoor hike at an envirnomental center. It rained, and we got wet, but it was still fun.The Purrfect Puppy  My latest picture book is in the final stages. We had a little set back, so the release date might get pushed back a bit. Not much though.Submission  I'm on submission with my YA novel now! Yay! My amazing agent got requests for this one before I even wrote it, so I'm crossing all my fingers and toes.Christmas shopping  I've started my shopping already. I have a bunch of stuff for my daughter already, but I have to find a way to get some stuff from Santa. She's always with me when I go shopping, and she's sneaky!Planning a new WIP  I'm working on notes for a new manuscript. My agent wanted me to plot the sequel to the book out on submission. I love coming up with ideas.Well, that's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Can You Feel It?

Those who know me, won't deny I'm an emotional person. I cry at commercials. The littlest things can make me laugh so hard tears stream down my face. There are also some things that make me so angry I have to scream out loud. And when I'm excited, I can't sit still. I'll jump and yell and cheer until I'm exhausted. My emotions are written all over me. So when I read a book, I want to experience those emotions.

It doesn't matter if a book makes me laugh, cry, or scream out loud. The important thing is that it makes me feel something. Anything. And the feeling needs to be genuine. If a character lost a loved one, I need to feel his/her pain. If the MC is terrified, then I should be cowering under a blanket and jumping at the slightest sound while I'm reading. Emotions of the characters need to transfer to the reader.

So, I thought I would be fun to share some books that evoked true emotion from me. Right now, I'm reading PRIDE by my amazing agent Lauren Hammond. This book is haunting me in my sleep. The emotions are raw, and I feel them touching something inside me. That's powerful.

Another book that truly made me feel was CRESCENDO by Becca Fitzpatrick. Nora's feelings are so real in this story. I felt her pain, her longing for her father and Patch, everything. I became Nora. I need to feel this way about a character.

So, what books have you read recently that really made you feel?

The Purrfect Puppy Cover Reveal

I've been working on this picture book for a while now, and I'm very excited to finally share the cover with you. The best part of this book is that my illustrator is my sister. So we got to work very closely on the project. And since my sister and I are very close, it was a lot of fun.
Here's a brief synopsis of the book for you:

When a stray kitten is raised by a family of dogs, she grows up thinking she is a dog. She fetches, growls, gives paw, and even does her best to bark. She loves her dog family, but when a little girl wants to adopt her and gives her the perfect name, the kitten will have to decide where her home really is.

There is a story behind this book. When I first got my cat, who happens to be a tiger cat like the kitten in the book, she thought my German shepherd was her mother. My cat gave paw, growled, and even barked. She thought she was a dog. Now that she's older, she doesn't give paw much anymore, but she still prefers dogs. In fact, she really doesn't like other cats at all. I'm convinced she thinks she is a dog.
Okay, without further ado, here is the cover of my new picture book, The Purrfect Puppy, set to release October 4, 2011.

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Please let me know what you think of the cover. And also, have you ever had a pet raised by a pet of a different species? Did anything like this happen?