Cherie Colyer's Blog, page 43
September 30, 2014
Patience Does Pay Off : an #IWSG Post
October marks the one year anniversary of the Insecure Writer's Support Group website. A big thanks to Alex Cavanaugh and the wonderful administrators who keep the site running! Since today is the first Wednesday of the moths, it's time to share insecurities or encouraging words. Learn more about the group here.
Those nasty insecurities of mine popped into my head quite often over the last couple months. Will I ever finish the first draft of my work-in-progress? Will my publisher pick up the third book in my series? Will more readers find my published novels? Will the novel out on submission find a good home?
It's the things I can't control that drive me crazy. Thankfully, I could control one of the items in that list. Several deep breaths and self-prep talks (and okay, a little lot of whining) helped to keep my butt in chair and my fingers on the keyboard.
I'm happy to say that patience (or more accurately--me being forced to be patient) paid off. I finished that first draft. Omnific Publishing snatch up book three. Readers are finding my published novels. And, as for the last item in my list, I'm hopeful that answer will be yes, because I'm dying to share that book with readers everywhere.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Alex and the members of IWSG for their encouraging words and for sharing their stories and advice over the years. It nice to know I have a place to turn to when I need a little push.
How'd you do last month? Have you added to your word count? Any good news to share?
(P.S. There's a couple giveaways going on this week. Page down to earlier posts for details.)
September 29, 2014
It's a Zombie Takeover with Omnific Publishing!
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Zombie image SourceMy wonderful publisher is celebrating the release of Tera Shanley's second book in her Dead Rapture series by doing a zombie takeover that includes contests, giveaways, polls, guest posts, and more.
~ Click cover for more information about the books ~
Each week they will have a new spooky paranormal theme. They're kicking it off with witches, angels and young adult. Um, that includes my books, and if you haven't heard, they just picked up book three in the series. =)
I don't have a list of all the Omnific Publishing books that fit in the categories noted above, but I do know my pub sisters Carol Oates, Kate Evangelista, and Trisha Wolfe are fellow PNR young adult authors. Below are just a few of their books.
Be sure to follow Omnific Publishing on Facebook to join the fun. From what I've heard, there's going to be lots of fun ways to win great books and other prizes!
~ Click cover for more information about the books ~
Each week they will have a new spooky paranormal theme. They're kicking it off with witches, angels and young adult. Um, that includes my books, and if you haven't heard, they just picked up book three in the series. =)
I don't have a list of all the Omnific Publishing books that fit in the categories noted above, but I do know my pub sisters Carol Oates, Kate Evangelista, and Trisha Wolfe are fellow PNR young adult authors. Below are just a few of their books.
Be sure to follow Omnific Publishing on Facebook to join the fun. From what I've heard, there's going to be lots of fun ways to win great books and other prizes!
September 26, 2014
Meet Joshua Bellin, author of SURVIVAL COLONY 9
Congratulations to Joshua Bellin on the release of his debut novel Survival Colony 9! I'm really excited to have Josh here with us today. Please help me give Joshua a warm welcome.
9 Questions I Wish Someone Would Ask Me
As a debut author, I get asked lots of questions about my book, my writing process, and my path to publication. I love answering those questions—who doesn’t love talking about exciting personal news?—but sometimes I wish I could get to answer other kinds of questions as well. I’m a pretty open person—I don’t mind sharing.
So to get the ball rolling, I thought I’d ask and answer nine questions (for Survival Colony NINE) I’ve never been asked. Some of them have to do with writing, most don’t. Feel free to stop by my website and ask me more!
1. What’s your favorite color?
For some reason, this is always the first question my students ask each other when I pair them up at the start of the semester for a “getting to know you” exercise. I don’t know what it is about color—does it really tell us that much about a person? But for the record, my favorite color is orange.
2. If you could be a non-human animal, what would you be?
Definitely a frog. I used to love catching (and releasing) them when I was a kid, and I still love them now. I wrote an essay called “The Last Days of the Frog Prince” about my frog-catching days, and I think it’s one of the best things I’ve written. (It came out in the journal Snowy Egret, if you want to track it down.) The whole idea of metamorphosis, from a water-breathing creature to an air-breathing creature, fascinates me.
3. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
Hard to choose, but I think it might be lying in bed in my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve, listening to their clock chime the hours. I was always too excited to sleep—or even to count the number of chimes—so I’d drag my little sister out of bed every hour from one o’clock on and parade down the hall to the room where my parents were sleeping, only to have my mom grumble, “It’s not seven o’clock yet. Go back to bed.” Then we’d do the same thing an hour later. Probably not my mom’s favorite memory, but definitely one of mine.
4. What were the three best moments of your life?
This one’s easy. Getting married, watching my children’s births, and—yes—receiving a call from my agent with the news that my novel had been accepted for publication!
5. What’s the worst job you ever had?
Everyone’s had terrible jobs, and I’ve had my share (mucking out horse stables, for example). But I think the absolute worst was right after college, when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life but needed to support myself somehow, so I ended up as a “document coder” for a law firm. This meant staring at legal documents for eight hours a day and getting just enough information from them to “code” them—to determine whether they were memos or briefs or affidavits or whatever. It was mind-numbing work, made bearable only by the presence of a funny guy named Melvin who sat at my table. But then he got fired—probably for being too funny—and the brain-rot became nearly overwhelming.
6. What’s your dream retirement spot?
Either the Arizona desert or the town of Rockport, Massachusetts. Both seem like ideal—though very different—places to enjoy the natural world and clear one’s mind from the distractions of everyday life in order to create.
7. Where’d the name “Skaldi” come from?
I have no idea. It just came to me—it was one of the first things I wrote down when I was generating ideas for Survival Colony 9. I guess it sounds kind of like “scald” and kind of like “skull,” so that seemed appropriate for my story’s monsters. And by the way, it’s both singular and plural: one Skaldi, two Skaldi, a bunch of Skaldi. But you don’t want to meet even one, so we’ll leave it at that.
8. Who would you most like to have dinner with?
Too many people to name. But let’s start with J. R. R. Tolkien, Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., Willie Mays, Suzanne Collins, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mahatma Gandhi, Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, and Chinua Achebe. That should make for a lively conversation!
9. How can an old guy like you write YA?
Two words: teenage children.
No, seriously, I feel a strong connection to YA even though I’m pushing fifty. I’ve always loved it, always wanted to write it—Judy Blume was a childhood favorite, and one of the first novels I wrote, freshman year in college, was a YA contemporary. When my kids got to the age where they started reading YA, I rediscovered my love for it, and now there’s no turning back!
SURVIVAL COLONY 9 is available now from Simon & Schuster, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, select Wal-Mart stores, and other online and physical retailers!
To connect with me and learn more about SURVIVAL COLONY 9, check out the following links:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Blog
Goodreads
9 Questions I Wish Someone Would Ask Me
As a debut author, I get asked lots of questions about my book, my writing process, and my path to publication. I love answering those questions—who doesn’t love talking about exciting personal news?—but sometimes I wish I could get to answer other kinds of questions as well. I’m a pretty open person—I don’t mind sharing.So to get the ball rolling, I thought I’d ask and answer nine questions (for Survival Colony NINE) I’ve never been asked. Some of them have to do with writing, most don’t. Feel free to stop by my website and ask me more!
1. What’s your favorite color?
For some reason, this is always the first question my students ask each other when I pair them up at the start of the semester for a “getting to know you” exercise. I don’t know what it is about color—does it really tell us that much about a person? But for the record, my favorite color is orange.
2. If you could be a non-human animal, what would you be?
Definitely a frog. I used to love catching (and releasing) them when I was a kid, and I still love them now. I wrote an essay called “The Last Days of the Frog Prince” about my frog-catching days, and I think it’s one of the best things I’ve written. (It came out in the journal Snowy Egret, if you want to track it down.) The whole idea of metamorphosis, from a water-breathing creature to an air-breathing creature, fascinates me.
3. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
Hard to choose, but I think it might be lying in bed in my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve, listening to their clock chime the hours. I was always too excited to sleep—or even to count the number of chimes—so I’d drag my little sister out of bed every hour from one o’clock on and parade down the hall to the room where my parents were sleeping, only to have my mom grumble, “It’s not seven o’clock yet. Go back to bed.” Then we’d do the same thing an hour later. Probably not my mom’s favorite memory, but definitely one of mine.
4. What were the three best moments of your life?
This one’s easy. Getting married, watching my children’s births, and—yes—receiving a call from my agent with the news that my novel had been accepted for publication!
5. What’s the worst job you ever had?
Everyone’s had terrible jobs, and I’ve had my share (mucking out horse stables, for example). But I think the absolute worst was right after college, when I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life but needed to support myself somehow, so I ended up as a “document coder” for a law firm. This meant staring at legal documents for eight hours a day and getting just enough information from them to “code” them—to determine whether they were memos or briefs or affidavits or whatever. It was mind-numbing work, made bearable only by the presence of a funny guy named Melvin who sat at my table. But then he got fired—probably for being too funny—and the brain-rot became nearly overwhelming.
6. What’s your dream retirement spot?
Either the Arizona desert or the town of Rockport, Massachusetts. Both seem like ideal—though very different—places to enjoy the natural world and clear one’s mind from the distractions of everyday life in order to create.
7. Where’d the name “Skaldi” come from?
I have no idea. It just came to me—it was one of the first things I wrote down when I was generating ideas for Survival Colony 9. I guess it sounds kind of like “scald” and kind of like “skull,” so that seemed appropriate for my story’s monsters. And by the way, it’s both singular and plural: one Skaldi, two Skaldi, a bunch of Skaldi. But you don’t want to meet even one, so we’ll leave it at that.
8. Who would you most like to have dinner with?
Too many people to name. But let’s start with J. R. R. Tolkien, Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., Willie Mays, Suzanne Collins, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mahatma Gandhi, Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, and Chinua Achebe. That should make for a lively conversation!
9. How can an old guy like you write YA?
Two words: teenage children.
No, seriously, I feel a strong connection to YA even though I’m pushing fifty. I’ve always loved it, always wanted to write it—Judy Blume was a childhood favorite, and one of the first novels I wrote, freshman year in college, was a YA contemporary. When my kids got to the age where they started reading YA, I rediscovered my love for it, and now there’s no turning back!
SURVIVAL COLONY 9 is available now from Simon & Schuster, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, select Wal-Mart stores, and other online and physical retailers!
To connect with me and learn more about SURVIVAL COLONY 9, check out the following links:Website
Blog
Goodreads
September 25, 2014
It's Official! Book three in the Embrace Series is coming!
I'm thrilled to announce that Omnific Published has picked up
ENTANGLED, the third book in my EMBRACE series.
Caden's back, bigger and badder than before,
and he's pushing the limits of Madison's powers.
Having a hottie demon in her life causes more than one complication for
Madison Riley. I can't wait for readers to find out why.
A little about book three:Sixteen-year-old Madison Riley is back and doing the bidding of a crossroad demon. She has no choice, if she wants her six-year-old brother to remain healthy and alive.
Caden, the demon she serves, wants to become master of Death Himself, and he has the means to do it. It’s up to Madison and her coven to stop him, but Caden's intentions aren't all evil and their interference might just cost Madison her life and unleash hell on earth.
More news coming!!
Don’t miss the first two books in the Embrace series
~ Click the cover for more information ~
ENTANGLED, the third book in my EMBRACE series.
Caden's back, bigger and badder than before,
and he's pushing the limits of Madison's powers.
Having a hottie demon in her life causes more than one complication for
Madison Riley. I can't wait for readers to find out why.
A little about book three:Sixteen-year-old Madison Riley is back and doing the bidding of a crossroad demon. She has no choice, if she wants her six-year-old brother to remain healthy and alive.
Caden, the demon she serves, wants to become master of Death Himself, and he has the means to do it. It’s up to Madison and her coven to stop him, but Caden's intentions aren't all evil and their interference might just cost Madison her life and unleash hell on earth.
More news coming!!
Don’t miss the first two books in the Embrace series
~ Click the cover for more information ~September 19, 2014
Happy Book Birthday! WHO R U REALLY? by Margo Kelly
It’s a BOOK Birthday!The birth of a debut book is often a long labor of love, and Margo Kelly’s Who R U Really? is no exception. Margo finished the first draft of the manuscript in 2010! More than four years later, more than four title changes, and way-more-than four revisions … it has finally arrived! WAHOO!
*.-*.-**throws confetti**.-*.-*
About the book: When Thea discovers a new role-playing game online, she breaks her parents’ rules to play. And in the world of the game, Thea falls for an older boy named Kit whose smarts and savvy can’t defeat his near-suicidal despair. Soon, he’s texting her,“Kelly has painted a realistic picture of how a smart girl can get caught up in something dangerous online. … Guaranteed to give readers goosebumps.” -- School Library Journal . (http://www.bookverdict.com)
“Thea’s mistakes, while frustrating to encounter, are frighteningly plausible, and the relationships among characters are well–fleshed out, especially between mother and daughter. Kelly’s first novel is a suspenseful page-turner.” -- Kirkus Reviews (www.kirkusreviews.com)
Who R U Really? will be published in hardcover and e-book versions by Merit Press (F+W Media) on September 18, 2014.
Buy online: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Merit Press
Margo Kellyis a native of the Northwest and currently resides in Idaho. A veteran public speaker, she is now actively pursuing her love of writing. Who R U Really? is her first novel. Margowelcomes the opportunities to speak to youth groups, library groups, and book clubs.
Follow her online: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Scheduled Appearances: September 26, 2014 – 5pm – Book Signing at Hastings in Meridian, IdahoSeptember 27, 2014 – 4pm – Book Signing at Hastings on Overland in Boise, IdahoOctober 3, 2014 – 7pm – Book Launch Party at Hyde Park Books in Boise, IdahoOctober 11, 2014 – 4pm – Book Signing at Barnes & Noble in Boise, Idaho
September 10, 2014
Win an autographed copy of CHALLENGING DESTINY
Hey everyone!
Challenging Destiny is on tour today. I'd like to thank my host, Fandom Monthly Magazine for organizing the tour and having me on their blog. Be sure to page down and enter the giveaway.
About the book:
Logan Ragsdale and his younger sister, Ariana, have been marked, chosen to be unwilling participants in a war between angels and demons.
Logan can sense something's not quite right. Like an unexpected chill on a summer's day, he can feel the unseen closing in. He's had these feelings before and, each time, someone close to him died. He's afraid this time it might just be Ariana.
Logan's fears are soon confirmed when he discovers their new friends aren't human, but rather representatives from Heaven and Hell sent to Earth to ensure he and Ariana accept their roles in an ancient prophecy. Demons want Logan to open the gates of Hell. Ariana has the power to stop them, but if she chooses to side with Heaven to spare the lives of thousands of innocent people, she'll damn her brother for eternity.
Together, they must derail the biblical event if they hope to save themselves and the future of mankind...but what price are they willing to pay to keep the other safe?
Excerpt:
I glanced down at the silver dagger and then back up into her eyes. I couldn’t move. My muscles froze as my mind whirled.
She pressed the bone handle into my hand and closed my fingers around it. “You’d be freeing me from my contract with the Fallen. My soul will finally be at rest.” Her voice was soft. Tired. She raised her chin and closed her eyes. “Just make sure you hit my heart because I’m not going to promise getting stabbed isn’t going to piss me off.”
Read CHALLENGING DESTINY today:Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble
Enter to win an autographed copy of CHALLENGING DESTINY
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Keep in touchTwitter | Facebook | Goodreads | WebsiteClick here to sign up for my newsletter
September 2, 2014
The Ups and Downs of First Drafts #IWSG
Hi everyone!
Welcome to Insecure Writer's Support Group. We are a group writers who share our doubts and encouragements. I'd like to thank Alex Cavanaugh and this month's hosts. Learn more about the group here.
Work on my latest project is coming along. Right now I have a good flow going, but it's taking me longer to finish the first draft than I had hoped. I seem to be circling through the same three phases.
I start off positive.
But then something happens. I begin to doubt what I have written and all I can hear is Chuck telling me writing is hard.
That's about the time I walk away.
Thankfully, I always come back. I break out my pen and paper, my hidden stash of Dove chocolate, and brainstorm. Which brings me right back to "this is good". Repeat. Rinse. I'm at the top of the cycle right now. Hopefully, I can stay here until I finish this draft. (I'm about three quarters of the way done. So maybe by this time next month I'll be doing a happy dance.)
Anyone else find themselves in this type of writing loop?
Be sure to hop over to Monday's post and enter the Back to School Giveaway for your chance to win one of three gift cards.
September 1, 2014
Back to School Giveaway
Welcome to the Back to School Giveaway hosted by the authors at Darkly Delicious YA.
Add great YA titles to your to be read list on Goodreads and enter to win an Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card so that you can purchase novels from your favorite authors.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Add great YA titles to your to be read list on Goodreads and enter to win an Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card so that you can purchase novels from your favorite authors.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
August 28, 2014
Cover Reveal: The Artisans by Julie Reece and Giveaway #M9BFridayReveals
Welcome to the Cover Reveal forThe Artisans by Julie Reecepresented by Month9Books!Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
They say death can be beautiful. But after the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old RAVEN WEATHERSBY gives up her dream of becoming a fashion designer, barely surviving life in the South Carolina lowlands.
To make ends meet, Raven works after school as a seamstress creating stunning works of fashion that often rival the great names of the day.
Instead of making things easier on the high school senior, her stepdad's drinking leads to a run in with the highly reclusive heir to the Maddox family fortune, Gideon Maddox.
But Raven's stepdad's drying out and in no condition to attend the meeting with Maddox. So Raven volunteers to take his place and offers to repay the debt in order to keep the only father she's ever known out of jail, or worse.
Gideon Maddox agrees, outlining an outrageous demand: Raven must live in his home for a year while she designs for Maddox Industries' clothing line, signing over her creative rights.
Her handsome young captor is arrogant and infuriating to the nth degree, and Raven can't imagine working for him, let alone sharing the same space for more than five minutes.
But nothing is ever as it seems. Is Gideon Maddox the monster the world believes him to be? And can he stand to let the young seamstress see him as he really is?
The Artisans is a delectably rich, layered and dark YA Southern Gothic inspired by Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont's classic Beauty and the Beast.
"The Artisans has all the elements I love - spooky intrigue, strong friendships, and a romantic tension to be savored." ~ Wendy Higgins, New York Times bestselling author of the Sweet Evil trilogy.
Title: The ArtisansPublication date: May 2015
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Julie Reece
Born in Ohio, I lived next to my grandfather’s horse farm until the fourth grade. Summers were about riding, fishing and make-believe, while winter brought sledding and ice-skating on frozen ponds. Most of life was magical, but not all.I struggled with multiple learning disabilities, did not excel in school. I spent much of my time looking out windows and daydreaming. In the fourth grade (with the help of one very nice teacher) I fought dyslexia for my right to read, like a prince fights a dragon in order to free the princess locked in a tower, and I won.Afterwards, I read like a fiend. I invented stories where I could be the princess… or a gifted heroine from another world who kicked bad guy butt to win the heart of a charismatic hero. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that? Later, I moved to Florida where I continued to fantasize about superpowers and monsters, fabricating stories (my mother called it lying) and sharing them with my friends.Then I thought I’d write one down…Hooked, I’ve been writing ever since. I write historical, contemporary, urban fantasy, adventure, and young adult romances. I love strong heroines, sweeping tales of mystery and epic adventure… which must include a really hot guy. My writing is proof you can work hard to overcome any obstacle. Don’t give up. I say, if you write, write on!Connect with the Author: Website | Twi tter | Facebook | Goodreads
Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!(Winners will receive their book on release day)a Rafflecopter giveaway 
August 26, 2014
Work In Progess #WIP Blog Tour
I've been tagged by Carol Oates for the #WIP Blog Tour. The way it works:
Provide the link back to the post by the person who nominated you. Write a little about and give the first sentences of the first three chapters of your current WIP, then nominate four other writers to do the same.
Carol Oates is the author of several wonderfully entertaining novels. She does a great job of putting new twists on well known myths. In her Shades Series she blends the lore of Avalon with King Author. Shades of Avalon, book two in the Shades Series, is now available. Click here to visit her stop on this tour.
I have a couple novels in the works. I’m working my way through the first draft of a YA contemporary realistic fiction about a girl who struggles with guilt and her feelings of no longer belonging at home after the loss of her mother and about a boy who struggles to hang onto his dream of going to college after an unexpected illness leaves his step-father unable to work and his mom working overtime just to keep a roof over their heads. That’s a mouthful, I know. I’m still working on the blurb for this one.
Then there’s book three in the Embrace Series. The working title is ENTANGLED, although that’s subject to change. Caden’s back. He’s the charismatic crossroad demon who Madison signed a contract with in Hold Tight. I've decided to share the first sentences of the first three chapters of this book with you today.
A little about book three:
Sixteen-year-old Madison Riley is back and doing the bidding of a crossroad demon. She has no choice, if she wants her six-year-old brother to remain healthy and alive.
Caden, the demon she serves, wants to become master of Death Himself, and he has the means to do it. It’s up to Madison and her coven to stop him, but Caden's intentions aren't all evil and their interference might just cost Madison her life and unleash hell on earth.
Here are the first sentences of the first three chapters:
The third grave on the left belonged to Vladimir Godspeed.
Caden wouldn’t tell me why his boss had any emotion whatsoever when it came to my contract.
I refused to talk about talismans, demons, or anything supernatural after that.
I nominate:
Susan Kaye Quinn
Shawna Romkey
Kat Ross
Juliette Cross
If you'd like to join the hop, copy the rules above, post them on your blog, and then leave the link back to your blog in the comments so that I can hop over and find out what you're working on.
Thanks for stopping by.
Provide the link back to the post by the person who nominated you. Write a little about and give the first sentences of the first three chapters of your current WIP, then nominate four other writers to do the same.
Carol Oates is the author of several wonderfully entertaining novels. She does a great job of putting new twists on well known myths. In her Shades Series she blends the lore of Avalon with King Author. Shades of Avalon, book two in the Shades Series, is now available. Click here to visit her stop on this tour.
I have a couple novels in the works. I’m working my way through the first draft of a YA contemporary realistic fiction about a girl who struggles with guilt and her feelings of no longer belonging at home after the loss of her mother and about a boy who struggles to hang onto his dream of going to college after an unexpected illness leaves his step-father unable to work and his mom working overtime just to keep a roof over their heads. That’s a mouthful, I know. I’m still working on the blurb for this one.
Then there’s book three in the Embrace Series. The working title is ENTANGLED, although that’s subject to change. Caden’s back. He’s the charismatic crossroad demon who Madison signed a contract with in Hold Tight. I've decided to share the first sentences of the first three chapters of this book with you today.
A little about book three:
Sixteen-year-old Madison Riley is back and doing the bidding of a crossroad demon. She has no choice, if she wants her six-year-old brother to remain healthy and alive.
Caden, the demon she serves, wants to become master of Death Himself, and he has the means to do it. It’s up to Madison and her coven to stop him, but Caden's intentions aren't all evil and their interference might just cost Madison her life and unleash hell on earth.
Here are the first sentences of the first three chapters:
The third grave on the left belonged to Vladimir Godspeed.
Caden wouldn’t tell me why his boss had any emotion whatsoever when it came to my contract.
I refused to talk about talismans, demons, or anything supernatural after that.
I nominate:
Susan Kaye Quinn
Shawna Romkey
Kat Ross
Juliette Cross
If you'd like to join the hop, copy the rules above, post them on your blog, and then leave the link back to your blog in the comments so that I can hop over and find out what you're working on.
Thanks for stopping by.
