Kate Avery Ellison's Blog, page 11
January 16, 2014
The Faucet of Ideas
Sometimes I wish I could turn off the faucet of ideas, just for a little while, until I could get the ones waiting in line written.
Every once in a while someone asks how I get my ideas. I don't think any writer knows, really. They come to you. Sometimes in dreams, sometimes while you're driving down the road or having a conversation with a friend. Sometimes they introduce themselves as characters, sometimes it's a single image, sometimes it's the bigger framework of the story, the concept.
The ideas won't leave me alone.
Of Sea and Stone comes out soon, and I'm already working on the sequel, which is still untitled, as well as a completely new and different series. Yes, another new series! I'm up to my ears in new stuff. I'm really excited for these new stories. Still, it's hard to say goodbye to familiar worlds, and leaving the Frost was difficult and emotional. But I'm happy to get to play in some new places now, and I felt like Lia and company deserved some happiness for once, so I was glad to give them an ending.
As soon as I finish something, though, the ideas come flooding in and they're all clamoring to be written.
It's the best kind of exhaustion.
Every once in a while someone asks how I get my ideas. I don't think any writer knows, really. They come to you. Sometimes in dreams, sometimes while you're driving down the road or having a conversation with a friend. Sometimes they introduce themselves as characters, sometimes it's a single image, sometimes it's the bigger framework of the story, the concept.
The ideas won't leave me alone.
Of Sea and Stone comes out soon, and I'm already working on the sequel, which is still untitled, as well as a completely new and different series. Yes, another new series! I'm up to my ears in new stuff. I'm really excited for these new stories. Still, it's hard to say goodbye to familiar worlds, and leaving the Frost was difficult and emotional. But I'm happy to get to play in some new places now, and I felt like Lia and company deserved some happiness for once, so I was glad to give them an ending.
As soon as I finish something, though, the ideas come flooding in and they're all clamoring to be written.
It's the best kind of exhaustion.
January 6, 2014
Coming Soon! OF SEA AND STONE!
Okay guys, some news!! Sorry for the long radio silence. I've been working like mad on several really exciting projects. And I have news!
First, there's been a title change. I was previously calling the new book Sea Captive, but the new and final title will be Of Sea and Stone . It will be #1 in a brand-new series, and you'll hear a lot more about that in the upcoming weeks, and get to see the cover, and all that good stuff! I'm doing a cover reveal with Xpresso Book Tours, so if you're a blogger and you want to participate in that, I'll have a sign up link available shortly.
EDIT: Here's the sign-up link if you would like to participate in the cover reveal for Of Sea and Stone!
Second, I'm currently in the middle of revisions for newly-christened OSaS. Ack! Revisions are hard and make me crave chocolate and never getting out of bed. But I'm slogging through them, then my lovely editor will have a second pass at the novel, and then more revisions and then proofing and formatting. I should be done with the book by sometime in early Feb. I'll give you an idea of the release date a little closer to them, and you can always sign up for my new releases newsletter or click on my Amazon profile and subscribe under "stay up to date."
Third, Of Sea and Stone is coming out in February, so stay tuned for more information, teasers, and excerpts in the upcoming weeks. I'll also be participating in a "book blitz" to spread the word about the new series, and I'll have a sign up eventually for that as well, so again, if you blog and want to participate, stay tuned because I'd love to have you.
Fourth, I'm working on a new and secret project in between revisions for Of Sea and Stone. Am I crazy? Probably. Do I love this new project? YES YES YES. It is lovely and weird and really cool. There's magic and hot guys and cool worldbuilding and, of course, all kinds of delicious secrets and mysterious things. I hope you guys like it. It's not a very long piece, maybe novella length, and the start of maybe a series of stories set in the same world and following several characters. I'm not sure yet, it's all very in flux right now, but I am excited about it and I think you guys are going to love it.
Thank you to every lovely person who has written me in the last few weeks about my books. It always makes my day. You guys are the best.
~Kate
First, there's been a title change. I was previously calling the new book Sea Captive, but the new and final title will be Of Sea and Stone . It will be #1 in a brand-new series, and you'll hear a lot more about that in the upcoming weeks, and get to see the cover, and all that good stuff! I'm doing a cover reveal with Xpresso Book Tours, so if you're a blogger and you want to participate in that, I'll have a sign up link available shortly.
EDIT: Here's the sign-up link if you would like to participate in the cover reveal for Of Sea and Stone!
Second, I'm currently in the middle of revisions for newly-christened OSaS. Ack! Revisions are hard and make me crave chocolate and never getting out of bed. But I'm slogging through them, then my lovely editor will have a second pass at the novel, and then more revisions and then proofing and formatting. I should be done with the book by sometime in early Feb. I'll give you an idea of the release date a little closer to them, and you can always sign up for my new releases newsletter or click on my Amazon profile and subscribe under "stay up to date."
Third, Of Sea and Stone is coming out in February, so stay tuned for more information, teasers, and excerpts in the upcoming weeks. I'll also be participating in a "book blitz" to spread the word about the new series, and I'll have a sign up eventually for that as well, so again, if you blog and want to participate, stay tuned because I'd love to have you.
Fourth, I'm working on a new and secret project in between revisions for Of Sea and Stone. Am I crazy? Probably. Do I love this new project? YES YES YES. It is lovely and weird and really cool. There's magic and hot guys and cool worldbuilding and, of course, all kinds of delicious secrets and mysterious things. I hope you guys like it. It's not a very long piece, maybe novella length, and the start of maybe a series of stories set in the same world and following several characters. I'm not sure yet, it's all very in flux right now, but I am excited about it and I think you guys are going to love it.
Thank you to every lovely person who has written me in the last few weeks about my books. It always makes my day. You guys are the best.
~Kate
December 11, 2013
Good news! BREWER is available early for Kindle and Nook!
Hey guys!So, thanks to my intrepid editor Dani and my proofreader Charles, we got Brewer prepped and ready waaaaay earlier than I'd anticipated.
That means it's available for sale NOW!
You can get it at:
Amazon
or
Barnes & Noble
Hope you enjoy it, my dears. The next book slated to come out is SEA CAPTIVE, the first book in a brand-new series that I'll have more information on shortly (and a cover reveal). And there is at least one more Frost story in me, an Ann/Korr novella. And maybe more. We'll see!
December 3, 2013
Teaserday Tuesday!
Hi everyone,
It's Tuesday, AKA Teaserday, so I've got another post up on my Facebook page with a little snippet of Brewer. Go check it out!
I share a lot of teasers on my Facebook page, so you can like the page if you want to stay up to date and be sure to like the photos if you want to continue to see them in your feed (apparently this is how FB calculates what it shows you).
It's Tuesday, AKA Teaserday, so I've got another post up on my Facebook page with a little snippet of Brewer. Go check it out!
I share a lot of teasers on my Facebook page, so you can like the page if you want to stay up to date and be sure to like the photos if you want to continue to see them in your feed (apparently this is how FB calculates what it shows you).
December 2, 2013
Megg Jensen's HIDDEN Excerpt
Hidden by Megg Jensen(Dragonlands #1)Genres: FantasyPublication date: January
The mystery enshrouding Hutton’s Bridge is as impenetrable as the fog that descended at its borders eighty years ago. Each year, three villagers enter the mist searching for answers. No one ever returns.Then a dragon falls from the sky to the town square, dead—the first glimpse of an outside world that has become nothing more than a fairy tale to Hutton’s Bridge. Except to Tressa.
Tressa grew up with Granna’s stories of the days before the fog fell. When Granna dies, leaving Tressa without any family, Tressa ventures into the fog herself, vowing to unravel the foul magic holding Hutton’s Bridge captive.
What she discovers beyond the fog endangers the lives of everyone she loves.
An Excerpt of Hidden!!
Death lurked in the air that afternoon. Tressa sat by Granna’s bedside, clasping hands with the woman who at ninety-three had outlived her entire generation.
“You are leaving tomorrow, yes?” Granna’s liver-spotted hands shook. The rough-hewn walls seemed to close in. Tressa knew Granna didn’t have much time left. She wanted to squeeze out every second she could with her.
The smell of tonic and medicine hung in the dark room. When the curtains were drawn, Granna’s eyes watered. Adam, the village healer, said sunlight would help Granna, but Tressa knew the truth. Granna would leave her soon, leave the village, taking the only first-hand knowledge of the outside world with her. The tales of the outside world – a place no one in Hutton’s Bridge had seen since Granna was just a child. Not since the fog had descended on the borders of their village.
“Yes, Granna. You chose me, remember?” Tressa stroked Granna’s hair with her free hand. The silver strands were still soft. “Me, Sean, and Connor.”
Granna nodded. “Yes, yes, I remember now.” A gasp preceded each breath, struggling against the inevitable finality of life. “You’re the only girl eligible this year.”
Tressa’s eyes dropped to the floor strewn with straw, the hem of her long, cotton dress sweeping it every time she moved. She was eligible only because she’d never conceived. After three years of coupling, not one baby to show for it. Not even a failed pregnancy. The girls who did achieve pregnancy were never forced to leave. They were safe, protected. Tressa had felt the cold breath of death breathing down her back every time she didn’t conceive.
“But, Tressa, it is your destiny to leave the village.”
Tressa held back a sigh. Granna was about to die herself. Why would she want her only great grandchild to follow her in death? No one who ever entered the fog returned to the village. It was as much of a death sentence as Granna’s failing health.
Tressa’s palms began sweating. A tremble skipped up her arms to her chest where her heart pounded out an irregular, nervous beat.
Granna took another deep breath. Without looking at Tressa, she said, “The fog. You must leave. It is your destiny.”
Tressa managed to force out a small laugh. Granna’s grave expression didn’t fool. “Granna, don’t you want me to live a long life, like you have?”
Granna shook her head. “Beyond the fog there is a life for you. I have seen it.”
No one had the gift of sight in her village. Granna claimed once there was magic. It was one element of her stories that made the outside world seem so desirable. Tressa would give anything for a magical potion to save her great grandmother. Instead, they could only rely on Adam’s knowledge of healing.
“But I was supposed to live to watch you leave. I saw it. I believed it would happen.” She took another breath, shallower this time. “I don’t know if I can hold on until tomorrow.” Granna’s eyes flashed with anger. She held out one frail hand. An owl flew through the window, landing on Granna’s fingers. The fog’s undulating fingers caressed the tree’s limbs.
“That’s my Nerak.”
The little owl hooted in response.
“You take care of Tressa, Nerak. Help her to see the truth.”
The owl’s head bobbed, then it flew out the window and sat in the tree.
Tressa leaned down, kissing Granna on the forehead. Granna always said the downy owl had magic. Tressa had never seen it do anything other than the other trained birds in the village.
Tressa sat up again. Granna was cold, too cold. Her skin paled into a gray pallor. Her blue eyes lost focus, gazing somewhere over Tressa’s shoulder.
“I love you, Granna,” she said.
“I love you too, my sweet Tressa.” Her voice rattled. Granna’s eyelids fluttered, then closed with a finality only accompanied by death. One last breath expelled, but her lungs didn’t take in another whiff of air.
Tressa laid Granna’s hand on her stomach. Taking a step back, she took one last look at the woman who had loved her every moment of her life. Tressa’s mother died in childbirth and her father had left through the fog. Like all of the others, three a year for the last sixty-seven years, none of them returned. Two hundred and one souls lost to the fog.
Tressa was next.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18719280-hidden (Direct buy links not yet available but will be found here come release day) —Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Megg-Jensen/e/B004YKSP0Y/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1—B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/megg-jensen—Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/Search?query=Megg%20Jensen&fcsearchfield=Author—iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/megg-jensen/id433506239?mt=11_______
AUTHOR BIO: I've been a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began writing YA novels in 2009. I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband, two kids, and our miniature schnauzers, Ace & Tanu.
For more information on me please visit my website at http://www.meggjensen.com
Author links: https://www.facebook.com/authormeggjensenhttps://twitter.com/meggjensenhttp://www.pinterest.com/meggjensen/https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4574107.Megg_Jensenhttp://www.meggjensen.com/
November 25, 2013
Teaserday Tuesday: Brewer Hints!
I've decided that on Tuesdays, to spice up the week a little and have some fun, I will release hints, teasers, and excerpts about upcoming books! This will be called:TEASERDAY TUESDAY
Today's teaser is three facts about Brewer, the upcoming Frost novelette from Adam's perspective. Expected publication: December.
So here you go. One is kinda spoilery if you haven't read the first book, so...highlight to read.
In Brewer, we'll see...
1. How Adam's family came to the Frost (it was his idea)
2. How Adam joined the Thorns
3. Several events we are already familiar with, seen through Adam's eyes.
Also, if you like my Facebook page, you can be sure to get some extra hints and teasers that I'll post to my page there exclusively. So check out a quote from Brewer here!
If all goes according to schedule, Brewer should be available in stores in mid-to-late December 2013!
November 14, 2013
Giveaway by Konstanz Silverbow with TONS of great prizes!
Hey all,
Right now my author friend Konstanz Silverbow is having a giveaway with tons of awesome prizes both for US and international readers, so go check it out and enter to win!
And stay tuned...I'm going to be starting a new blog feature called Thursday Teasers...next Thursday I'll have some hints and teasers about Brewer!
Right now my author friend Konstanz Silverbow is having a giveaway with tons of awesome prizes both for US and international readers, so go check it out and enter to win!
And stay tuned...I'm going to be starting a new blog feature called Thursday Teasers...next Thursday I'll have some hints and teasers about Brewer!
November 13, 2013
Teaser for the NEW SECRET SERIES!!
Note: this beauty isn't the cover, just a teaser picture. Feel free to share this on your blogs, facebook pages, and tumblrs if you'd like!
And a teaser from the prologue:
The People of the Rocks live above the sea in the rocks from which they get their name—a collection of bone-white shards of hulking stone that protrude from the jewel-green water like the teeth of a rotting jawbone, sea-stained and crumbling even in their glory. The village is carved into these rocks, carved deep like the tunnels of ants into the earth, and the effect is that of thousands of pin-pricks of light when it is night and the sea and sky are dark. Travelers say it looks as though someone has folded the sky around the rocks like a blanket, and all the stars are on fire.
The melody of the waves lulls the babies to sleep at night in their seaweed-fiber cradles, and the rush of the tide makes them wake in the morning. The People of the Rocks sing love songs about the sea, and they play in its shallows as children, but as men they grow to fear its power and its secrets.
If only we’d known how many secrets the sea held.
Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
And as always, if you are excited about this new series, you can follow me on Facebook or sign up for the new releases newsletter to stay up-to-date.
And a teaser from the prologue:
The People of the Rocks live above the sea in the rocks from which they get their name—a collection of bone-white shards of hulking stone that protrude from the jewel-green water like the teeth of a rotting jawbone, sea-stained and crumbling even in their glory. The village is carved into these rocks, carved deep like the tunnels of ants into the earth, and the effect is that of thousands of pin-pricks of light when it is night and the sea and sky are dark. Travelers say it looks as though someone has folded the sky around the rocks like a blanket, and all the stars are on fire.
The melody of the waves lulls the babies to sleep at night in their seaweed-fiber cradles, and the rush of the tide makes them wake in the morning. The People of the Rocks sing love songs about the sea, and they play in its shallows as children, but as men they grow to fear its power and its secrets.
If only we’d known how many secrets the sea held.
Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
And as always, if you are excited about this new series, you can follow me on Facebook or sign up for the new releases newsletter to stay up-to-date.
November 4, 2013
Guest post by SK Falls: FEVERED SOULS
Four Reasons Why I Write the Fevered Souls Serial:
The guys are smoking. Ha, you knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?
When I have a bad day, I can kill someone. I love killing off bad guys to relieve stress. It’s cheaper than therapy!
I love plot twists. In a serial like Fevered Souls, I can add them in at the most (in)opportune times to make a reader sweat. I have more chances for these because each episode ends on a sort of cliffhanger as does each season.
Eden feels like a vacation. Eden, with its smoky, misty mountains and beautiful foliage, is an escape from reality. I could spend months there nestled in some cabin, spying on Dax and Cara. (I mean, writing about them. Note to self: They’re not real people.)
About S.K. Falls
A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, S.K. Falls enjoys alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards in Charleston, SC where she lives and imbibes coffee. Her husband and two small children seem not to mind when she hastily scribbles novel lines on stray limbs in the absence of notepads.
Since no writer’s biography is complete without mention of her menagerie of animals, you should know she has one dog that doubles as a footstool, a second that functions as a vacuum cleaner, and a cat that ensures she never forgets that her hands are, first and foremost, for pouring cat food.
Find S.K. Falls on: Website: http://www.skfalls.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorskfalls Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skfallssc Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/skfallssc/boards/ Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/skfalls
Cover reveal....BREWER!
Today we have a coooooover reveeeeeeal!
Coming in December...
BREWER: A FROST STORY!
...
.....
......
And here it is!
I chose a lantern for the cover because it's the way Lia signals to Adam that she needs to speak with him. I think it's a rather nice symbol for him.
I just finished the first draft for this, and it will be revised and edited over the next month or so. Brewer should be available in stores in mid December, if all goes according to schedule.
Want to know as soon as Brewer is available? There are several ways to be in the loop! You can "like" me on Facebook , sign up for my Newsletter , or (if you read Kindle) go to my author page and click "notify me of new releases by this author." Voila!
Coming in December...
BREWER: A FROST STORY!
...
.....
......
And here it is!
I chose a lantern for the cover because it's the way Lia signals to Adam that she needs to speak with him. I think it's a rather nice symbol for him.
I just finished the first draft for this, and it will be revised and edited over the next month or so. Brewer should be available in stores in mid December, if all goes according to schedule.
Want to know as soon as Brewer is available? There are several ways to be in the loop! You can "like" me on Facebook , sign up for my Newsletter , or (if you read Kindle) go to my author page and click "notify me of new releases by this author." Voila!
