Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 56

Friday Feature: Curse of the Granville Fortune Cover Revamp

If you subscribe to my newsletter, then you know I took my rights back for my middle grade trilogy Curse of the Granville Fortune. I'm not going to go into why I did this, but I will say I think I'm doing what's best for my books. That's all that really matters, right?
Well, since I didn't have rights to my previous cover, I hired True Poison to create a new cover for me, and I love it. It's spooky, but not too spooky. It's a middle grade read after all. ;) So here's the new cover and the updated blurb because this book has been revamped. I got to work with one of my favorite editors to make the story even better. And you won't have to wait long to get your hands on it because it will be re-releasing very soon!

Twelve-year-old J.B.’s visions leave him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into a freak—or worse, going insane.
 
The visions stem from a family curse. An ancestor stole the Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entire family will suffer. To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property.
 
But he’s not the only one searching for the treasure. His journey leads to a dark forest where he’ll battle his worst fears. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late.
I wanted two things for this cover. First, I wanted the background to really pop. The setting IS a character in the story, so I wanted it featured on the cover. Second, I wanted silhouettes because kids like to picture themselves as the characters. So I got exactly what I wanted, and I'm thrilled.
Stay tuned for the announcement of when the book is available in ebook and print.
Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Writer Wednesday: A BIG Announcement!

Have you heard the big news? I’m announcing a brand new street team! This street team is NOT a Kelly Hashway or an Ashelyn Drake street team, but rather a street team for the Into The Fire trilogy! The first book, Into The Fire, has gotten a gorgeous new cover to match the second two books in the series, and it is being re-released with heavy edits. That means, it’s basically a new book!  What better time to get you guys involved than with the re-release of the first book?



Application Link: http://goo.gl/forms/cM0XD961ZC
Here are the details:
Only 20 members will be chosen. This means you will be part of a very elite group of bloggers/reveiwers, and readers alike.
It’s vital you understand you’re accepting the time commitment that comes with it.While I want you to have fun, I’m choosing a very select group of people so that: 1. You’re able to form close bonds with each other2. We’re able to get you better exclusives - in the form of ARCs, special edition swag, and being able to “hang out” virtually with me.
The number one goal (and something you *must* do to be a member) is to agree to post your *honest and unbiased* review during release weeks!
There will be other tasks as well - that aren’t requirements - but that will be highly encouraged (and rewarded).
You can apply here: http://goo.gl/forms/cM0XD961ZC or below:
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*** Important *** The app will close on January 21st, so make sure you get your application in before that day. Once the application closes, there will be no exceptions to allow you to fill it out, as my social media manager and I need time to sort through the responses and pick the team. We hope to have a team together by January 25th, but please be patient with us as we sort through the applications.
Thank you!

Monday Mishmash 1/11/16

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:Blues Bones Cover Reveal Signups  Signups are now open for the cover reveal for Blues Bones by Rick Starkey. This is the first book I acquired through Leap Books Seek and it's amazing. You can sign up here.  Curse of the Granville Fortune Cover Reveal  I'll be revealing the NEW cover of Curse of the Granville Fortune on Friday right here on my blog. Stay tuned!Editing  I'm editing for Leap Books Seek and my own clients this week. Last week I posted that I have a lot of edits on my plate and jokingly asked people on FB to send me dark chocolate, and the very sweet Beth Consugar showed up at the Pocono Writers Conference with dark chocolate for me. :) How nice is that?Pocono Writers Conference  I had a great time at the conference yesterday and I got to meet Megan Erickson, a fellow Corvisiero Literary Agency author, and Veronica Park, a Corvisiero Literary Agent. I also bought one of Megan's books.  Megan Erickson and me with her book Make It Count
Megan Erickson, Veronica Park, and me (Veronica was talking when the picture was snapped, but all three pictures we took came out exactly the same. Sorry, Veronica! You still look lovely.)Big Announcement!  If you are a newsletter subscriber, you will hear my big announcement today, and if you are a Kelly's Coven member, you heard the announcement last week. Everyone else will hear it on Wednesday right here. Come back to find out the big news!That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Omen Operation by Taylor Brooke

After an epidemic spreads through the country, Brooklyn Harper’s high school years come to an abrupt end.Implanted in a rural camp, Brooklyn and her friends are cut off from their families and the outside world. Each day is filled with combat training to assure their safety against the crazed, belligerent, and deadly— those infected with a mysterious virus.If the world couldn’t get any crazier, a letter ups the insanity…After being assured day after day that the world outside their little camp had been compromised, Brooklyn’s cabin-mate, Dawson Winters, finds a letter that turns everything they’d known upside down. There is a world outside the trees that surrounds their camp, and the virus they’d all come to fear seems non-existent.Determined to see it herself, Brooklyn plots with others to attempt an escape…On the outside, Brooklyn finds the world is as normal as ever. But when they are attacked in the city, they dispose of their attackers far more efficiently than any normal human. Is there more to Brooklyn and her friends then just being highly trained?As their exploration continues, the group is faced with impossible feats. Betrayal, love, death, and a powerful sense of camaraderie lead Brooklyn and her friends to fight for their life, their freedom, and most of all, each other. Omen Operation will be available on Amazon for pre-order: 1/16/2016It will be available for purchase through Amazon and Barnes and Noble: 1/26/2016

Taylor Brooke is the author of the upcoming sci-fi adventure trilogy The Isolation Series. She started out as a freelance makeup artist, and quickly discovered her love of elves, zombies, mermaids, kaiju, and monsters of all kinds. After receiving eight professional certifications in special effects makeup, working on countless projects, and fleshing out a multitude of fantastical creatures, she turned her imagination back to her one true love- books. Taylor has had a knack for writing since she was a little girl, and received recognition for her skills throughout grade school and junior college. When she’s not nestled in a blanket typing away on her laptop, she can be found haunting the local bookstore with a cup of steaming hot tea in her hands, scanning the shelves for new reads, or hiking one of the many mountains that surround her home of Bend Oregon.
Twitter: @TaysalionInstagram: @TaysalionWebsite/Blog: http://lion--ness.tumblr.com/
Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Writer Wednesday: 2016 Goals and an Announcement

I've been thinking about my writing goals for a while now, and to be honest it wasn't easy to come up with them this year. The reason is because my editing took off last year, and that's impacted my writing. While I want to write a set number of books, it's just not possible to predict how many I'll be able to write.
At the moment, I'm booked through April with client edits. That doesn't even factor in my edits for Leap Books. What that means is I will have very little time to write during those months. :( I'm a fast drafter, so give me about eight days free of edits and I'll draft an entire book. I'll have to start scheduling writing time into my edits after April, though, and block out those days from potential clients.
So my goals for 2016 are going to be very general:Write as much as I can.Read for enjoyment as much as I can.Try not to let my editing schedule consume me by scheduling breaks.Release my entire Into the Fire Trilogy.Release my entire Curse of the Granville Fortune Trilogy.Remember I'm only human.That's it. I'm not going crazy this year. I won't put huge expectations on my shoulders. I will remember I'm only one person and I'll do what is realistically doable.

Now, on to my announcement. Well, actually it's an announcement of a future announcement. Next week I'll be announcing a new opportunity for my readers. As always, my street team, Kelly's Coven and my newsletter subscribers will hear about it first, which means those individuals will have first dibs at this opportunity. I'll post the news here a few days later. Want to be one of those lucky people to get first dibs? Sign up for my street team and/or my newsletter. If you'd like to join Kelly's Coven you can do so here. Or you can subscribe to my newsletter here.
*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 1/4/16

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:Perfect For You $.99 Sale!  To ring in the New Year, I've dropped the Kindle price of Perfect For You to $.99 through January 7th. If you're thinking of reading this book, grab your copy here now before the price goes back up. Editing  My editing schedule is crazy booked. I'm talking no breaks whatsoever for me for three months. Someone send dark chocolate and lots of it, please.Beth Fred's Blog  If you haven't checked out Beth Fred's blog yet, she's had some really helpful posts lately, including today. Check out her blog here.Up In Flames  I'm finishing up edits on Up In Flames, book three in the Into the Fire Trilogy. Have I mentioned the covers for this series are GORGEOUS? I seriously can't get over how amazing they are. I'll keep you posted on the cover reveal dates.Back to a Normal Schedule  Working with my daughter and husband home is…interesting. ;) They are both good about giving me time to work, but I still don't get the five and a half uninterrupted hours I have when they are at school and work. With all the edits on my plate this month, I need that time.Pocono Writers Conference  I'll be attending the Pocono Writers Conference this Sunday. I can't wait. It's been too long since I've attended a conference.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Flocksdale Files by Carissa Ann Lynch

I'm so happy to welcome back Carissa Ann Lynch, my fellow Limitless Publishing author, to share her newest book, Carnival of Dead Girls. But first, let me remind you about (or introduce you to) the first two books in the Flocksdale Files.

★HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?★Flocksdale Files Book #1http://amzn.to/1N0wQtt
Wendi Wise is a troubled young woman who snorts her breakfast through a straw and spends more time in rehab than in the real world… 

Her life is seemingly out of control.

But now she has a plan.

That plan involves a sharp set of butcher knives. 

She's going back to where all of her troubles began…

Flocksdale.

Wendi was lured away from a local skating rink, at the age of thirteen, and held captive in a place she calls 'The House of Horrors.' Dumped off blindfolded on the side of a dirt road, Wendi soon discovered that she was addicted to the drugs they fed her while she was captive. 

Too scared to go home, and having a new habit to deal with, she hopped on a bus, vanishing from the family she loved. 

Vanishing from Flocksdale…

The town of Flocksdale is littered with fliers with a grainy image of young Wendi, and the words 'Have You Seen This Girl?' written below. 

Now, eight years later, she's on a mission—a mission to find the mysterious house from her youth and the monsters who dwell inside it.

★HOUSE OF THE LOST GIRLS★   Flocksdale Files Book #2http://amzn.to/1PBq67I
Seventeen year old Marianna Bertagnoli is miserable…

Not only did her father abandon her five years ago, now she’s being uprooted and forced to move with her mother and new stepdad to a creepy Victorian house they inherited in the even creepier town of Flocksdale.

Flocksdale has an evil, ugly past—and history has a way of repeating itself…Marianna notices some strange qualities about her new home, and soon realizes she’s living in none other than the infamous House of Horrors. That’s right, the very house where the demented Garrett family ran a drug ring, leading to the kidnappings and murders of forty young girls.

The dark energy of the town begins to rise again…

Within a week of moving in, Marianna’s mother disappears, one of her small group of new friends is found murdered, and she’s attacked by a man wearing a hideous clown mask. As she searches for answers, Marianna wonders if the malevolence still lingers, somehow alive…and how her stepdad came to own the House of Horrors.

Unsure who to trust, Marianna turns to Wendi Wise, a survivor of the Garretts’ crimes…

Caught up in twisted family ties and surrounded by deceit, Marianna is targeted by a new generation of evil. Doubly imprisoned—in her own body and in the real house of the lost girls—Marianna needs Wendi’s help to unravel the bizarre history of Flocksdale.

But will Marianna survive long enough to bring the evil to light…or will she be trapped in the house of the lost girls forever? 

★CARNIVAL OF DEAD GIRLS★Flocksdale Files Book #3http://amzn.to/1jZ4EMn
Nothing interesting happens in the podunk town of Lamison Point—until a freak show rolls through…When a traveling carnival stops in the sleepy countryside, sixteen-year-old Josie Crowley is psyched to go with her new friend, Freya. But what started out as a fun-filled night of games, candied apples, and ferris wheel rides quickly spirals into a gut-wrenching encounter with one of the carnival attractions.Once the excitement is over, Lamison is missing one of its residents…When Freya is nowhere to be found, Josie suspects the carnival has something to do with her disappearance. Her goal to track down the elusive show leads to an alarming revelation—there is no record of it ever existing. And as she digs deeper, Josie is led to a mysterious town with a tainted past—Flocksdale.Buried in Flocksdale’s sick, twisted history is where Josie may find the truth…Creepy clowns, disfigured freaks, and a terrifying haunted house are the least of Josie’s problems…now she has to deal with a group of real-life monsters, otherwise known as the evil Garrett family and new, rising generation of hell-bound freaks.If Josie is pulled into their world, she may become another member of a carnival of dead girls, where she goes in, and never comes out…

Find Carissa Online:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarissaAnnLynchauthor
Blog: https://carissaannlynch.wordpress.com
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1J8uk2Y
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carissaannlynch
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Carissa-Lynch/e/B00REPXXW6/About Carissa: Besides my family, my greatest love in life is books. Reading them, writing them, holding them, smelling them…well, you get the idea. I've always loved to read and never considered myself a "writer" until a few years ago when I couldn't find a book to read and decided to try writing my own story. With a background in psychology, I've always been a little obsessed with the darker areas of the mind and social problems so I try to channel all of that into my writing.  I'm the author of the Flocksdale Files, Grayson's Ridge, This Is Not About Love, and the upcoming Horror High series. I reside in Floyds Knobs, Indiana with my husband, children, and massive collection of books.
Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Writer Wednesday: Don't Rush Your Editor

I've been editing a lot this past year and I'm booked for the next three months, so 2016 doesn't seem like it will be any different. Because I'm editing so much, I wanted to share what I believe is the biggest mistake you can make with your editor.
DON'T RUSH YOUR EDITOR. I want to repeat that. Don't rush your editor. I see this all the time. I have some clients who are very successful with self publishing. That's fantastic. It really is. But here's what you need to understand. If you give yourself a deadline, whether it be because you put your fabulous new book up for pre-order or you're entering a contest with an agent or publisher, then PLEASE make sure you can keep to your own deadlines. I get clients who email me to say they won't be able to submit their book to me on time because they got caught up with life. I get it. Life happens. But here's the problem. I schedule editing clients months in advance. If you are late, you obliterate my editing schedule, which affects not just me but my other editing clients. Worse, you're now asking me to RUSH your edit to keep the deadline you yourself missed. :( 
This is why I hate this. If I have to rush, I can't do my best when it comes to your edit. I'm looking very closely for errors so readers don't slam you and your book for them. If you rush me, I'm going to miss things. I go through every book I edit multiple times to avoid errors slipping through. I need time to do that and to do it well. Given the option between moving your release date or putting out a book that was edited in a rush, I'd choose moving your release date every time. This is your baby. You spent countless hours writing it, so why rush the editing?
So that's my plea. Please don't rush your editor. He or she is working just as hard on your book as you are, so give him/her the time needed to edit your work properly.
*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 12/28/15

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:Disconnecting/Enjoying the Holiday  I did something very rare for me. I disconnected to enjoy the holiday uninterrupted with my family. I'm behind on edits now, but not checking my email for days felt great.Editing  I have two edits I have to finish before the end of the month. Eek! I'm also booked solid with edits through March.Into the Fire Trilogy Covers  I got a great Christmas present in the form of seeing the drafts of my covers for the Into the Fire Trilogy and seriously they are GORGEOUS! I cried. I've been fortune with covers in the past, but these…I'm speechless. I can't wait until I can share them.Reading  I'm working more reading time into my schedule. It isn't easy, but I loaded my Kindle over the break and I'm determined to get in some much needed reading for enjoyment.Finished My First Adult Thriller  Last week I finished drafting my first adult thriller. It was a tough book to write, but I'm really glad I did.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

See you back here on Monday.