Shawn Maravel's Blog - Posts Tagged "severance"
Kindle Ready! Volition & Severance!!!
Okay, so FINALLY Volition and Severance are available for Kindle on Amazon.com, Amazon.com.uk, and Amazon.de !!!
Head on over and buy your copies today!!!
~Shawn
Shifting Gears: An Inside Look
Shifting Gears, however, is the novel I'd like to talk to you a bit more about today. Being that it's my newest release I am still working on promoting this novel and letting everyone know what it's all about.
Some love stories are sexy...some blindingly so. We all know about Fifty Shades of Gray. Other love stories are about heroic characters who find love in the midst of a world that is falling apart. The Hunger Games would be a great example for that. Then there are the love stories that teach us things about life and humanity, others that sweep us away into a new and amazing world that we never want to leave.
I'm not here to compare Shifting Gears or any of my novels to these great and successful novels. I'm here to tell you why Shifting Gears and The Wanderer stand alone in a category that I think is greatly under appreciated. I'm talking about the love story that transports you, not to another world or time, but to a love story that is real and tangible...and genuine. A love story propelled by trepidation, sweetness, and at times a little sadness. Not a story that is terribly tragic by any means, but one that reaches all of the corners of your emotions in the same respect.
Shifting Gears isn't about some great hero who saves the world or provokes a baby boom. It's a story about a man who loves so purely that it shows not in his words but in his actions. Not only does he love the female love interest but he loves his family and his job as well. These are characters who, in my opinion are well rounded and portray a story that will leave you smiling and content as you read the last words.
This story isn't a roller coaster ride of excitement and thrills that will leave you wanting more...which often leads to series' that need to have ended three or four books ago. It's a story that melts the heart, soothes the soul, and leaves you wanting to read another story like it. In which case...feel free to pick up The Wanderer. ;)
I'm not aiming to trick you into reading my book by saying that it's the most epic love story out there. But I promise you, if you pick up Shifting Gears you will not be disappointed.
Room For Improvement
With a baby on the way I haven't been in a place where I've been able to really sink my teeth into writing a new novel. The good news, however, is that I'm nesting; cleaning up and getting things in order. This also applies to my writing. I believe that before I move on to writing my next novel, I need to feel completely confident in the ones I already have out. And honestly, I'm not.
As you may know, I wrote Volition and Severance while my husband was deployed to Iraq for a year. It was an outlet for me to explore writing, a hobby that I've always loved, and to really submerge myself in something that could keep me busy. However, I was still very much a rookie in the literary world. I've earned a stripe or two since writing both novels and have learned so much from all of the great reviewers out there. I owe it to myself, those who took the time to read and review my novels, and my future readers to really take the time to go back and work on perfecting these novels.
No book will ever be flawless, at least not in its author's eyes, but that doesn't mean they can't be improved upon now and then. I am just so grateful to still be making sales after about two years of publication and I feel that I owe it to my readers to live up to the standard that I believe I should be held at.
Everything from punctuation, over description, and even the covers will be cleaned up. While I love having a harmonic on the cover of Volition, a symbolic and poignant object in the series, it just didn't turn out how I hoped it would. The cover doesn't do my vision justice and pales in comparison to Severance's vibrant and beautiful cover. So, I have a great new cover all lined up that I think everyone will love.
In addition to a new cover for Volition I will be taking all of my reviewers suggestions into mind as well as family members and critics to come away with a much more polished and deserving product. You guys are awesome and I'm so happy that you all have embraced Charlotte and Joel. Thank you for your endless support and for your readership. You guys and gals rock. :)
Those Who Wander Are Not Always Lost
If you follow me as an author or you are a fan of my novels, than you may be wondering where I've been. You may be asking yourself, did she give up on writing? Has she STOPPED writing all together? What's the 411?
For those of you that might be curious, I'll brief you on what's been going on and what my future plans for writing are.
Anyone who know a bit about me knows that my family moves around a lot. And as the story goes, this past December marked our forth move in six years. A move that happened to take place while I was pregnant with our second child. In March of this year, I gave birth to our daughter. As you can imagine, settling into our new home as well as being the proud mamma of a two-and-a-half-year-old and a three month old, my hands are quite full.
My husband's job has also changed, limiting how much of my personal life I desire to make the general public's knowledge. It can be a scary world out there and I only hope to remain as cautious as I can in a world where your business is made so public, especially as an aspiring public figure. There always remains that delicate balance when trying to create a family safe public persona.
I haven't seriously written anything since completing my first screen play based on my novel, The Wanderer. Though I have jotted a few things down from time to time. I love to write but the tricky thing about writing is that it's a creative process, one that, for me at least, can not be forced out when free time is available but must flow naturally. This is not to say that sparks haven't been ignited, however, the effort to keep that flame blazing is quite a different thing when you are chasing after little ones. And I must say, I have no quorums with this. Childhood is so fleeting and so precious and I want to experience all of it.
What also remains to be a very difficult aspect of this field is the catch 22 involved. In order to become a best selling author you need to be established, yet to become established...you kind of need to be a best selling author. Making it big in the book world is on par with making it big in Hollywood or Broadway. And because I haven't had the time to try and "make it big" I have taken a few steps back to focus on my family. The thing about being an indie author is that you do all of the work yourself and everything put out to the public is only a fraction of the work actually put into it. So much more goes on behind the scenes. As you can imagine, quite often, something's gotta give.
Where that leaves me and my writing is this. My hope now is to start carving out some time to spread the word about my novels. Over the years and in my absence, I have seen a slow and constant trickle of new readers remain. Without my involvement people still have an interest in my novels. So I am inspired to now take the time to start helping my novels get the exposure they deserve. To have a loyal and supportive following without marketing, no matter how small, is justification enough for me to lend a hand in telling people what these awesome novels are all about. Each one of them is my literary child. They are near and dear to my heart. My greatest hope is to share them with as many people as I possibly can. In saying that, if you have read my novels or know me and would like to offer your support, I would love it if you too could help spread the word. Pass your read copy of one or more of my novels along, suggest one to your friend or family member. The power of word of mouth is an incredible thing.
I look forward to seeing what the future will bring and I would love it if you would join me on this journey.
For those of you that might be curious, I'll brief you on what's been going on and what my future plans for writing are.
Anyone who know a bit about me knows that my family moves around a lot. And as the story goes, this past December marked our forth move in six years. A move that happened to take place while I was pregnant with our second child. In March of this year, I gave birth to our daughter. As you can imagine, settling into our new home as well as being the proud mamma of a two-and-a-half-year-old and a three month old, my hands are quite full.
My husband's job has also changed, limiting how much of my personal life I desire to make the general public's knowledge. It can be a scary world out there and I only hope to remain as cautious as I can in a world where your business is made so public, especially as an aspiring public figure. There always remains that delicate balance when trying to create a family safe public persona.
I haven't seriously written anything since completing my first screen play based on my novel, The Wanderer. Though I have jotted a few things down from time to time. I love to write but the tricky thing about writing is that it's a creative process, one that, for me at least, can not be forced out when free time is available but must flow naturally. This is not to say that sparks haven't been ignited, however, the effort to keep that flame blazing is quite a different thing when you are chasing after little ones. And I must say, I have no quorums with this. Childhood is so fleeting and so precious and I want to experience all of it.
What also remains to be a very difficult aspect of this field is the catch 22 involved. In order to become a best selling author you need to be established, yet to become established...you kind of need to be a best selling author. Making it big in the book world is on par with making it big in Hollywood or Broadway. And because I haven't had the time to try and "make it big" I have taken a few steps back to focus on my family. The thing about being an indie author is that you do all of the work yourself and everything put out to the public is only a fraction of the work actually put into it. So much more goes on behind the scenes. As you can imagine, quite often, something's gotta give.
Where that leaves me and my writing is this. My hope now is to start carving out some time to spread the word about my novels. Over the years and in my absence, I have seen a slow and constant trickle of new readers remain. Without my involvement people still have an interest in my novels. So I am inspired to now take the time to start helping my novels get the exposure they deserve. To have a loyal and supportive following without marketing, no matter how small, is justification enough for me to lend a hand in telling people what these awesome novels are all about. Each one of them is my literary child. They are near and dear to my heart. My greatest hope is to share them with as many people as I possibly can. In saying that, if you have read my novels or know me and would like to offer your support, I would love it if you too could help spread the word. Pass your read copy of one or more of my novels along, suggest one to your friend or family member. The power of word of mouth is an incredible thing.
I look forward to seeing what the future will bring and I would love it if you would join me on this journey.
