Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 80

Monday Mishmash 7/7/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:
Leap Books Shine Editor  I joined the team over at Leap Books to be a final proofreader for their Shine YA imprint. I'm excited to work with this publisher and their authors.Construction is still going on  I had to leave my house on Wednesday when there were waterfalls in my house. I'm talking rushing water down the walls. I went to my parents' house with my daughter, and my husband fought stayed home to save the house. Construction continues and I'll be going back to my parents' house later this week. I just want this to be finished already.Revisions  I'm revising the second book in the Curse of the Granville Fortune series this week. A lot of changes were made to book one so I have to fix book two to reflect those changes.Client edits  I have more client edits to do this week, which is always good.Two upcoming picture books  I just signed artist agreements for two of my upcoming picture books with Guardian Angel Publishing. I'm so excited to see my stories illustrated, and I couldn't be happier with both illustrators the publisher paired with my books.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

*My FREE monthly newsletter goes out this evening. If you aren't signed up but would like to receive one, click here.*

Friday Feature: Ask Me by Kimberly Pauley

Ask Aria Morse anything, and she must answer with the truth. Yet she rarely understands the cryptic words she‘s compelled to utter. Blessed—or cursed—with the power of an Oracle who cannot decipher her own predictions, she does her best to avoid anyone and everyone. 
 
But Aria can no longer hide when Jade, one of the few girls at school who ever showed her any kindness, disappears. Any time Aria overhears a question about Jade, she inadvertently reveals something new, a clue or hint as to why Jade vanished. But like stray pieces from different puzzles, her words never present a clear picture.
 
Then there’s Alex, damaged and dangerous, but the first person other than Jade to stand up for her. And Will, who offers a bond that seems impossible for a girl who’s always been alone. Both were involved with Jade. Aria may be the only one who can find out what happened, but the closer she gets to solving the crime, the more she becomes a target. Not everyone wants the truth to come out.
My thoughts:First, I love the name Aria, and considering she almost sings her answers in a very prophetic manner, the name really suited this character. Aria has a gift, but she sees it as a curse because it makes her different from everyone else. She can't ignore questions. That means she mutters to herself in class, walking down the hall, and even when watching TV. And what really bothers Aria is that she doesn't always understand her own answers.
So when a girl from her school goes missing, Aria finds herself in a really awful situation. Everyone has questions about Jade, and Aria has answers. She just can't figure out what they mean. And when the two biggest suspects, Jade's boyfriend and the guy she's been seeing on the side, both want to befriend Aria, things get even stranger.
I have to admit I figured out who the killer was, but I still enjoyed the story. Decoding Aria's riddle-like answers was a lot of fun. This is definitely an enjoyable thriller.

Writer Wednesday: Putting Yourself Out There

I recently got an email from one of my publicists asking me what events I had coming up. To be honest, it was an eye opener for me. I planned a lot of events in the spring, but then there was a gap. A big gap. I have a book tour with other authors planned for the fall, but I realized my summer was wide open, which just isn't okay. So, I got my butt in gear and started contacting bookstores.

I reached out to a bookstore owner I met at YA Fest and got a very nice email stating she'd love to have me sign at her store this summer. I also contacted the Books-A-Million by me because they were on my list for the fall witch book tour for The Monster Within. But after I talked to the manager about the tour I also asked if I could come in alone over the summer for my Touch of Death series. And they said they'd order my books right away.

Sometimes we need a reminder to get ourselves out there. I love doing events. Other than writing a new book, it's the most fun part of this career. What I don't like is booking the events because it means I have to step out of my comfort zone and sell myself and my books to people. But that's exactly what I have to do. I'm really glad my publicist emailed me, because now I can go back to her and give her a list of events I have coming up.

What are you doing to put yourself out there?

Monday Mishmash 6/30/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

Construction  *Sigh* I knew this was going to be bad, but ugh. I can't wait until July is over so this construction will be finished. Still no roof, which means lots of rain damage. :(July  How is it almost July already? I mean seriously? Where did June go?Editing  Amidst the craziness in my house, I'm editing for clients this week. It's keeping me sane.Books heading to production  I recently had three titles to proofread and get ready for production. So exciting!Touch of Death Series  Last week, Stalked by Death became a #1 best seller in Teen & Young Adult Greek and Roman Myths, and Touch of Death was the #3 best seller in the same category! Needless to say, I was thrilled! Thank you to all who bought copies.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Cold Calls by Charles Benoit

Three high school students—Eric, Shelly, and Fatima-have one thing in common: "I know your secret."

Each one is blackmailed into bullying specifically targeted schoolmates by a mysterious caller who whispers from their cell phones and holds carefully guarded secrets over their heads. But how could anyone have obtained that photo, read those hidden pages, uncovered this buried past? Thrown together, the three teens join forces to find the stranger who threatens them-before time runs out and their shattering secrets are revealed . . .

My thoughts:
The back of this book said it was Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club, and I was sold with that one line. One of my favorite TV series meets one of my favorite movies? Yeah, I'm reading it. I love suspense. The book begins with Eric getting a threatening call from someone who has been inside his house, judging by the photo the caller sends him. It was a great creepy moment to start the story. The caller knows Eric's secret, knows it and has evidence to send to everyone in Eric's phone contact list. That is unless Eric follows a list of tasks targeted at a kid at Eric's school. Eric is bullied into being a bully and winds up getting caught and thrown into a program for bullies.At the program, Eric meets others who have gotten the same calls. Together they try to figure out who is harassing them and put an end to the sick game before all their secrets are spilled.
I really loved the cast of characters and the variations of their secrets. Finding out who the caller was also kept me turning the pages. And the ending! It was my kind of ending. Perfect for a suspense like this one. I highly recommend this book.

Writer Wednesday: Group Promotion

Promotion is tough. I think we all can agree on that one. But there are ways to make it easier and one of them is to join forces with other authors. First, it's fun to cross promote with authors who write similar books. Second, you reach a bigger audience by merging your promotional efforts. Here's how I'm using group promotion right now:
Group Book Tour: I have a book tour in the works with three other authors for this coming fall. Bookstores love to book multiple authors for events because it usually drives in more traffic. More authors means more fans. Group Blogs: I'm also part of two group blogs, YA Bound and Darkly Delicious YA. YA Bound has been around for a while and runs the very successful Swoon Thursday meme. We get a lot of traffic on a daily basis. DDYA is relatively new and made up of YA authors who write darker books. We promote each other's books and do joint giveaways. In fact, we have one going on right now. We're giving away a ton of our books. That's another plus to joining forces with other authors. You can offer big prizes for very low cost to you and the other authors. 
Enter this giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Hops:  I participate in blog hops, which also allow authors to band together and offer prizes to readers. The more authors, the more prizes, and the more happy readers.These are just a few ways you can join forces with other authors and promote each other. I'm always looking for more ways, so feel free to share in the comments if you know of others.

Do you use group promotion?

Monday Mishmash 6/23/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:Construction  I stayed at my parents' house for four days to avoid the construction here. It was a glorious, stress-free break but I'm home again now. Please tell me this construction can't last forever.Limited internet access  I will most likely not have internet for most of today and maybe tomorrow because of the construction. I'll have to catch up on responding to comments once it's back on.Curse of the Granville Fortune  I'm working on final proofreading for my MG fantasy, Curse of the Granville Fortune this week. Let's see if I can get this done with all the craziness over here.Client edit  I'm also working on a client edit this week. I may have to spend a lot of time outdoors to get this accomplished. The inside of my house is a nightmare.Swimming  This is how I'm staying sane this summer. I escape to the pool when I get really stressed. I wouldn't survive without it.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Into the Fire

If you've been following my blog for a while, you've probably noticed a book called Into the Fire in my side bar. You may have also noticed that the cover has changed slightly.


Yes, that's right. It now has my Ashelyn Drake romance pen name on the book as well. Why you ask? Well, to answer that question, I'd like to share the Dear Reader letter I wrote at the start of the book.
Dear Reader,
When I set out to write Into the Fire, I thought I was writing a paranormal novel. But after I witnessed Cara and Logan together, I soon realized I wasn’t just writing a story about a Phoenix trying to save her kind. I was writing a love story. And the further I got into the novel, the more it became obvious that the book was equal parts paranormal and romance. In essence, you could remove the paranormal and have a straightforward romance, or remove the romance and have a full-fledged paranormal novel. Honestly, I prefer the blend of the two, but the tricky part became how to brand this particular series.
As many of you know, I write under two names. Kelly Hashway is my speculative fiction name, and Ashelyn Drake is my contemporary romance pen name. When it came to deciding which name should be on the cover of Into the Fire, there was really only one answer: both. For a book that is so clearly two genres, I need both my names. I hope that everyone who reads the book will agree and see why I chose to blend the names I write under.
So for the Kelly Hashway fans, I can promise you will get a Kelly Hashway paranormal novel that you are accustomed to, and Ashelyn Drake fans will get the kind of romance they are used to. It’s the best of both worlds, something for everyone.
Thank you for picking up Into the Fire. I hope you fall in love with Cara and Logan the way I have, and that you root for Cara and the Phoenixes as they fight for their lives against the Hunters.
Yours truly,
Kelly Hashway/Ashelyn Drake 
The ebook will actually release through Swoon Romance, while the paperback edition will release through Month9Books. We're embracing both genres fully, and I love it. Another change is that it was previously listed on Goodreads as a Kelly Hashway title, but it now appears as an Ashelyn Drake title. If you'd like to add it, you can find it here.

Writer Wednesday: Dream Casts

  When we're drafting a new book or are preparing for a book to be published a fun thing to do is scour actors to potentially play the roles of our characters. Yes, it's dreaming big, but like I said it's fun. Since The Monster Within released yesterday, I want to share my dream cast—well, a partial cast at least.
Samantha Thompson ~ Sam is my MC. She dies of cancer at seventeen and is brought back to life by her longterm boyfriend, Ethan. Sam is strong but falls victim to a monster inside her, one that surfaces after she's brought back to life. She definitely has a dark side, but she's also a survivor. My pick for Sam is Adelaide Kane. You probably recognize her from the TV series Reign.

Ethan Anderson ~ Ethan is the male lead and Sam's boyfriend. He loves her so much he found a way to bring her back from the dead, but he won't tell her what he did. Ethan is extremely loving and sexy, but he's keeping a big secret. My choice for Ethan is Brandt Daugherty. You might recognize him as Noel Kahn on Pretty Little Liars.

Mr. Ryan ~ Mr. Ryan is one of Sam's teachers at her new school. He happens to both help Sam get used to a new school and cause problems for her at the same time because he's the hot young teacher every girl in school drools over. This was a no-brainer for me as far as casting Mr. Ryan. He's definitely Jensen Ackles, best known as Dean Winchester on Supernatural.

Now, there are a lot of other characters in this book, but I'm not going to post them all. Instead I'm going to show you the triquetra necklace that goes along with this book, because it's not just fun to think of dream casts. It's also fun to see objects in the book brought to life. 

Do you create dream casts for your books? Do you do this before you start drafting, while you're writing, or after the book is finished?

*I'm officially out of my house for a few days due to the construction so if I'm not online as much, you know why.*

Monday Mishmash: 6/16/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:
The Monster Within Release Tomorrow!  Tomorrow is the big day! I wrote The Monster Within the first twelve days of 2012, and I signed with Spencer Hill Press the following September. It's been a long wait, and I'm so excited to share Sam and Ethan's story with you all. Face of Death is the Kindle Big Deal  Face of Death is part of the Kindle Big Deal June 13 through June 28th! That means you can grab a copy for only $2.99! Get yours here. Oh, and Touch of Death is now only $2.99 as well since the full series is out. :)Out on Submission  Today my YA contemporary written under my pen name, Ashelyn Drake, goes out on submission. I'm excited and nervous!Father's Day  I hope all you dads had a great Father's Day. I didn't get to see my dad, but I we'll celebrate another day. I did have a nice day with my husband, daughter, and my in-laws though.Revisions  I'm finishing up revisions on a YA title my CPs got back to me last week. My goal is to send it to my agent in the next couple of days.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?