Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 41

Monday Mishmash 1/2/17

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:2017  I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year's. 2017 means a lot of changes for me, hopefully for the better.First Round Revision  I'm working on first round revisions for my NaNo manuscript right now.Pocono Writers Conference  Over the break, I signed up for the Pocono Writers Conference. I'm excited to attend again this year.Editing  I'm starting a client edit tomorrow. She's been my client for years, but this is the first book in a new series, which is always exciting.Sending My YA to My Editor  Today, I'm sending my YA, Unseen Evil, to my editor. This book will be released in October.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Murder on the Mind

I've been reading a lot of mysteries lately, and this one caught my eye because it's about a guy with psychic abilities and my NaNoWriMo book is about a psychic PI! I definitely enjoyed this one, so check out Murder on the Mind by L.L. Bartlett.

After a brutal mugging in Manhattan leaves him with a broken arm and fractured skull, insurance investigator Jeff Resnick reluctantly agrees to recover at the home of his estranged half brother, Richard. At first, Jeff believes his graphic nightmares of a slaughtered buck are just the workings of his traumatized mind. But when a local banker is found in the same condition, Jeff believes the attack has left him with a psychic sixth sense--an ability to witness murder before it happens.Piecing together clues he saw in his visions, Jeff attempts to solve the crime. His brother Richard is skeptical, but unsettling developments begin to forge a tentative bond. Soon, things that couldn't be explained by premonition come to light, and Jeff finds himself probing into dangerous secrets that touch his own traumatic past in wintry Buffalo—and the killer is ready to eliminate Jeff's visions permanently. The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorraine Bartlett's pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it's her talent—whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett—that keeps her there. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series, the Tales of Telenia adventure-fantasy saga, and now the Lotus Bay Mysteries, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s).


*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Writer Wednesday: What 2016 Taught Me

Maybe I should have titled this post, "What I Learned in 2016." It was a tough year, but I did learn a few very important things. Here they are in no particular order:Cover design  ~  I've been designing covers (in secret) for years, but this year I learned a lot about cover design and even did my own cover for Fading Into the Shadows, which I love. ebook formatting  ~  I've been doing paperback formatting for a while, but this year, I learned fancy ebook formatting thanks to some awesome programs.Self-Publishing is the way to go for me  ~  I've been traditionally published, but I'm not interested in that route anymore. I've worked on both sides of publishing for years now, and I'm ready to take my future in my own hands and self-publish from here on out. (I'm very excited about this!)I love writing adult mysteries  ~  For years I swore I wouldn't write adult books, but look at me now. I don't know why I didn't think I'd like it, but I find the 25-30 age group really fun to write about.Balance  ~  I'm particularly proud of this one because I've had the goal of finding balance between editing for clients and working on my own books for the longest time. I just couldn't figure out how to pull it off until I participated in NaNoWriMo this year. Now, I know I can balance the two and get all my work done on time.Those are my top five writing lessons learned in 2016. What did you learn this year?

Monday Mishmash 12/26/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:
Christmas I had a great Christmas and I hope you did too if you celebrate it.Proofing  I finished proofing Lies We Tell. I'm very excited to venture into adult mystery/suspense. The book will release in April.Winter Break  My daughter is home for Christmas break this week, so I'll be spending most of my time with her, which is why this Mishmash is shorter than usual.
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Flightpath by Amber Addison

From New York Times best-selling author Cristin Harber and Amber Addison comes an exciting collaboration...

Being married young isn't a thing of the past in Louisiana. And for Madelyn and Seth, it's a way of life. Except, no one prepared them for the road ahead. 

Moving to new places more times than either of them could count with new battles to fight at every stop, their road to happiness is bumpy.

Between Air Force Pararescue school, deployments, a baby, and the strain that military life can put on a family, they've discovered life has to fall apart in order to fall back together again. 

When a terrorist attack puts Maddie's life in grave danger, their lives definitely fall apart, and Seth knows saving her might be the only thing that saves them.
There will be an early release on iBooks on 1/16 - and it will release everywhere else 1/24!
You can preorder now: 
➵#Amazon: http://amzn.to/2hGDv1j
➵#BarnesandNoble: http://bit.ly/FlightpathBN
➵#Kobo: http://bit.ly/FlightpathKobo
➵#iBooks: http://apple.co/2hDmwzN
➵#Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2h1QTMH(Sign up and you could win ARCs of ALL the ebooks!) Amber Addison is a southern mama who writes about real life love in small town USA. She enjoys writing contemporary romance that has it's ups and downs just like the trials that we face in our day to day. Love isn't perfect and she doesn't pretend that it is. 

Amber writes anything from swoon worthy military guys to sexy soccer players. When she's not writing about hot guys and strong women, she's reading or cleaning up an endless trail of toys left behind by her dogs and daughter or getting tattoos. 


*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Writer Wednesday: Author Websites

Today's topic comes from Sheena-Kay, who asked:
What is the best way to create an author's website? How can you do it yourself or affordably without it looking cheap and do expensive looking sites really sell books?
Great question, Sheena-Kay. My answer may seem confusing at first, but I promise I'll explain. First, I don't think websites sell books. However, you need to have one. ;)
Okay, here's what I mean. A reader comes across your book title or name in conversation or on Amazon. You want to make sure that if that reader googles you, they find something. So you need a website that has all the information they might need about you: your social media linksyour newsletterinformation about your booksbuy links for your booksa press kit with your author biocontact informationThe danger with having that information on sites that sell your book, like Amazon, is that some retailers (AMAZON!!!!) will check to see who follows you on social media and will not allow that reader to review your book because you're "friends." Don't even get me started on this. Don't link your social media to your Amazon account! Just don't! But do put those links on your website. Also, you don't really want to give out your email to the world, right? Maybe if you have a separate email for fans, but otherwise, I wouldn't. Websites offer contact forms for readers to get in touch with you without giving out your email address. I love this feature. Many will also offer an email address attached to your website to keep it separate from your personal email.

So, how do you set up a website now that you know you need one. (You know that now, right?) I'm a huge proponent for doing it yourself. Yes, this takes more time, but it also takes less money, so it evens out. You should know how to operate your own website though because you don't want to have to run to your website designer every time you need to update the site. Find a website host that seems relatively easy to use. Some people love Wordpress. I hate it! Truly hate it. You have to go with what works for you. So look around and take tours of the sites to see what will work for you. Then take the time to get your site looking professional (with all those things I mentioned above) before you publish it. You want the site you create to be something you're proud of, not something that you're still fiddling with and that looks amateurish. 
Sheena-Kay, I hope that answers your question. If anyone has tips for creating a website or website hosts you can recommend, please feel free to share!
*If you have a question you'd like me to answer from the other side of the editor's desk, feel free to leave it in the comments and I'll schedule it for a future post.

Monday Mishmash 12/19/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:Sunday is Christmas! It's Practically Here!  Can you tell I'm a fan of the Grinch? I love the original cartoon movie. I'm all ready for Sunday.Editing  I'll be doing a client edit this week before the holidays.Publishing  Since Fading Into the Shadows is ready to go for it's January 16, 2017 release, I'm busy getting my April release ready. The digital proof of Lies We Tell has been proofed, and the paperback proof has been ordered!Taxes  It's getting to be that time again where I need to update my expense and earning logs for taxes. Ick!Snow  I'm done with snow and winter hasn't even officially begun yet. :(That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Fall Far From the Tree

If you stopped by last Friday, then you'll recognize this author. I'm featuring her two weeks in a row because she has a lot of great books out. Check out Fall Far From the Tree by Amy McNulty!

Terror. Callousness. Denial. Rebellion. How the four teenage children of leaders in the duchy and the neighboring empire of Hanaobi choose to adapt to their nefarious parents’ whims is a matter of survival.

Rohesia, daughter of the duke, spends her days hunting "outsiders," fugitives who’ve snuck onto her father’s island duchy. That she lives when even children who resemble her are subject to death hardens her heart to tackle the task.

Fastello is the son of the "king" of the raiders who steal from the rich and share with the poor. When aristocrats die in the raids, Fastello questions what his peoples’ increasingly wicked methods of survival have cost them.

An orphan raised by a convent of mothers, Cateline can think of no higher aim in life than to serve her religion, even if it means turning a blind eye to the suffering of other orphans under the mothers’ care.

Kojiro, new heir to the Hanaobi empire, must avenge his people against the "barbarians" who live in the duchy, terrified the empress, his own mother, might rather see him die than succeed.

When the paths of these four young adults cross, they must rely on one another for survival—but the love of even a malevolent guardian is hard to leave behind.
Grab it on Amazon.
What people are saying:"An original story, with vivid details told in alternating chapters... There was drama, action, intense moments and soul searching and new friendships born." ~Sheri W., Juniper Grove

"Intense and brutal and just a whirlwind of a ride... Watching them slowly come to terms with the fact that their own morals might not actually align with those of the people who raised them makes for a wonderfully compelling story." ~Daiz

"It is so easy to read that this book can be read in one sitting. It's impossible not to like this book after reading it." ~Alex the Shadow Girl Amy McNulty is a freelance writer and editor from Wisconsin with an honors degree in English. She was first published in a national scholarly journal (The Concord Review) while in high school and currently writes professionally about everything from business marketing to anime. Her YA romantic fantasy debut, Nobody’s Goddess, won The Romance Reviews Summer 2016 Readers’ Choice Award in Young Adult Romance. In her down time, you can find her crafting stories with dastardly villains and antiheroes set in fantastical medieval settings.


*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Writer Wednesday: Following Ideas Regardless of Age Level or Genre

Lately, I've noticed more than a few writers switching genres and/or age groups. I've written across both for years, but I've noticed a definite trend in the books I've been drafting over the past year. They're all adult.
My first love was middle grade because I taught middle school. Then I had my daughter and was reading picture books, so I turned to writing those. I never set out to write young adult, but I got an idea one day that suited a young adult novel better than middle grade, so I ran with it. The one thing I swore I'd never write was adult. ;) We all know how that went.
I guess part of growing (both as a person and a writer) is recognizing the stories that you need to tell. I know changing genres and age groups affects readership, but I firmly believe you can't force a story. If I were to continue writing MG because readers wanted it, the writing wouldn't be as good because it's not where my heart is at the moment. That's not to say I'll never write another MG. All of this has proven we can't predict what ideas will come and when.
So, to those of you who are scared of following that new idea because it's out of your comfort genre or age level, I say go for it. Why not try it and see what happens? At the very worst, you can chalk it up to writing for experience, which is never a bad thing.
*If you have a question you'd like me to answer from the other side of the editor's desk, feel free to leave it in the comments and I'll schedule it for a future post.

Monday Mishmash 12/12/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.
Here's what's on my mind today:Editing  I'm finishing a client edit today, moving on to a proofread after that, and getting ready for another edit later this week.Lies We Tell Production Files  I'm in the process of getting my April 2017 release ready for production. I really love being indie. After working on both sides of publishing for years, I'm excited to have my future in my own hands. I get to do all sorts of fun stuff with my production files. Plus, I can pick my own editors, which is awesome.Balance  While I decided NaNoWriMo is not designed for fast drafters, I did learn to balance working for clients and working for myself, and I'm really grateful for that. I'm continuing to do that each day now, and I'm much happier.Fading Into the Shadows  Only a little over a month until Fading Into the Shadows releases! This was one of my favorite books to write. It just flowed really well, and I fell hard for these characters. I'm a little sad it's a standalone, but I felt like the story was complete at the end.Deciding What to Write Next  I drafted two books in November, and I have two waiting to be written. They're both scheduled as 2019 releases, so I'm not sure which one to tackle first. Hmm... Maybe I'll do some more plotting on each and see which one takes over my brain.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?