Cege Smith's Blog, page 3

Street Team Sign-ups Are Now OPEN!

It’s January- do you know what that means? As promised, I’ve opened up my very first round of Street Team sign-ups!!

What’s a Street Team?

Members of the Street Team are diehard fans of my books who are eager to share news and highlights of my books with everyone they know, both online and offline. In return, street team members will receive swag (like bookmarks, postcards, paperback copies of my books, etc.), special shoutouts, and even ARC copies of my upcoming new releases!

Want to join?

Click here to fill out the short, painless application. I hope to hear from you!

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Bloodtruth Series Conclusion: Spoiler #1

I decided that it might make the wait for the last book in the Bloodtruth series, A Heart’s Deceit, seem a little bit shorter if I shared some tidbits about the book and the series overall with you. In this first installment, I share some thoughts on love triangles and why I don’t think there is a traditional love triangle in this series.

Check out the video, and I’d love you to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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A Gift For the Techie Writer: 2014

As I looked over my Christmas haul this afternoon, one thing quickly became clear. True confession time, my friends.

I am a technology addict.

I am writing this on my brand new virtual keyboard. (It’s awesome. Click the link!) I also received a Mophi charging case and an Apple TV for my bedroom (because Netflix is becoming a daily part of my life). I’d like to think that I’m just on the leading edge of what’s hot.

Seriously, typing on this keyboard makes me feel like I’m many years in the future. Which has the weird effect of making me feel young and old at the same time. But I think this is the next thing for writers like me. I intend to take this keyboard with me whenever I travel (which is more often than I’d like). I will write a full review when I’ve had a chance to play with it more.

In the meantime, what was your favorite gift?

Happy Holidays!

Cege

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Anniversaries, Milestones, and The Bloodtruth Series

Two posts in one week- this is pretty amazing stuff for me! Like I say in the vlog, I SUCK at blogging, but I’m going to try to be better about chatting with you guys here. I need to, because Facebook is making it harder and harder for me to share news with you there and I’ve become way to reliant on it.

Breathe, blog, breathe!!

A few links to things I mention in the video:

Milestone necklace- a creative gift idea for someone special!

Links to the brand spankin’ new Bloodtruth paperbacks:

Heiress of Lies (Bloodtruth #1)
The Queen’s Betrayal (Bloodtruth #2)
Trials of Truth (Bloodtruth #3)

Links to the Shadows paperbacks (just in case you’ve never seen them before):

Edge of Shadows (Shadows #1)
Shadows Deep (Shadows #2)
Veiled Shadows (Shadows #3)

Finally, if you want the latest and greatest on the 4th Bloodtruth book, and don’t have time to watch the whole video (I got going and clearly had a lot to say!) just fast forward to the 4 minute mark.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased one of my books and followed my characters. You all are amazing!

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On Covers and Adjusting When It’s Just Not Working

You might not know this, but I agonize over my book covers. When you have one shot to entice someone to grab your book off the virtual shelf, first impressions are everything. I am the first one to admit that I’ve gotten it wrong. Like, a lot. If your book isn’t immediately screaming your genre and what to expect to your potential readers, it’s the first thing you HAVE to change. If you are getting it wrong, you’re missing the boat.

Do not wait. Do not pass go. Change it as soon as you are able.

Because I know that lots of people love the old cover/new cover comparisons. I thought I’d go back over the last two years of my self-publishing journey and share a few of mine with you. As evidenced below, you’ll see that I’ve never backed away from changing a cover if it just wasn’t working (at least eventually).

I’d also like to preface this by saying that I’ve enjoyed working with every cover designer I’ve ever had and changing the cover in no way reflects on their work.

Believe me- it’s all me.

Edge of Shadows

Have you been hanging around with me since the beginning? If so, you might remember the original cover to my very first book, Edge of Shadows. To me, it had an old-timey wallpaper kind of feel to it that represented something you could see in the old, haunted Bradford mansion. Although I did have early success with it, once I changed it over to the current cover when I released the second book in the series, Shadows Deep, I noticed an immediate uptick in sales. It definitely says “ghost story” now with that creepy face over the stairs, don’t you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Soul Ripper (aka The Soul Garden)

Struggle, struggle, struggle. Toil and trouble. I have had nothing but heartburn branding the Twisted Souls series since the beginning. It is such an unusual story. Yes, it has zombies in it, but that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about good triumphing over evil and about finding out that when destiny calls, you have to answer whether you want to or not. The end was especially bittersweet for that reason.

But it all began at the base of the Fountain of Souls inside The Soul Garden. I thought the original cover was so cool and symbolic, but ultimately it really didn’t convey “sci-fi dystopian”. I liked the second cover with the bony hand and the grave, but it was a pre-made that was supposed to be nothing more than a placeholder for a few months. I just changed it again two months ago when I changed the title- and I can say with almost certainty that this will not be the last cover. Now that the series is complete, I think I can wrap my head around branding it in its forever covers.

 

 

 

 

(Original)

 

 

 

 

 

(2nd cover)

 

 

 

 

 

(Current cover)

 

 

 

Heiress of Lies

It’s funny how the books that you expect to be the easiest to design end up being so difficult. I mean, YA paranormal is pretty set in what readers expect to see on the front cover. The pretty girl in the pretty dress with some kind of spooky background is something you can’t get away from. I started out in that vein, so it seems counterintuitive that Heiress of Lies has had the most covers changes of any of my books- and yet is has.

Well, fourth times the charm. I felt so good  and certain that I had finally hit on this series “forever covers” that I even moved forward with converting this series into paperback.

 

 

 

 

(Original cover)

(2nd cover)

 

 

 

 

 

(3rd cover)

FINAL!!

So what do you think about all of my cover swaps? How much does the cover affect your decision to pick up a book? Sound off in the comments below!

(Header Photo credit Zach Klein)

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The Twisted Souls Journey is Complete!

As a series writer, there is always a bit of sadness that comes along with finishing the whole story. I had no idea of the adventures that Samuel, Cameron, and Marius would take me on when I met them two years ago in The Soul Ripper (previously known at The Soul Garden). It has been a wild ride for all of them, and the end is bittersweet in more ways than one.

For those of you wondering, I’ve always known how this one was going to end, but their journey to that conclusion was the part that was the mystery to me. I hope the end resonates with you as it did me.

Now that the series is complete, all of the covers got a much-needed facelift that hopefully conveys the story arc a bit better. I’ve also released the box set- readers can get a 25% discount by buying all four books together (deal!).

If you are a Twisted Souls fan, please be sure to drop me a line and let me know what you thought of the ending. I’d love to hear from you.

Happy Reading!

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Write and Publish a Short Story in 8 Hours? I’ll Take That Challenge!

People might not know this about me, but I’ve got a deep-rooted competitive streak that’s a mile wide. I hide it well behind a lot of smiles and polite talk, but, at the end of the day, if somebody throws down the gauntlet in front of me it’s Game On.

So when I read a post over in the Writer’s Cafe on Kboards (my absolute favorite writerly place to hang out) about Joe Konrath’s 8-Hour Challenge, I was stoked. The basic premise of the challenge is that you had to write, edit, create a book cover, and publish a story on Amazon in 8 hours. HA! I laugh in the face of that challenge. I had no doubt I could do it. I’m Speedy Gonzales on the keyboard when the muse strikes, and I love the short story medium.

However, I had a dilemma. I had this past week off work because I was dealing with some personal issues that I had put off that required 100% attention for a few days. On top of that, I feel like a lynch mob of Twisted Souls and Bloodtruth fans are going to descend on my doorstep any minute demanding that I finish the final books in those series.

So I decided I wasn’t going to do it. Even though I felt like this challenge was tailor made for me, I thought I’d do the grown-up thing and let it pass. I watched the thread of Kboard  participants get longer and longer as they each raced against the clock to snare their win. By the morning of August 29th, the final day of the challenge, I was gnashing my teeth wanting to throw my hat into the ring.

My personal issues dealt with, and with 8000 words down on A Soul to Settle (Twisted Souls #4), I decided to go all in on the Konrath challenge. I HAD TO DO IT, if no other reason than I knew that I could do it.

Four hours and ten minutes later, I hit publish on Forbidden. I had been waiting for the right opportunity to return to my haunted house roots, and this short story scratched that itch perfectly. Clocking in at 5500 words, it is a horror short about a girl who defies her mentor and decides to test her special abilities on her own with disastrous consequences.

Alas, I fell down in properly following the directions of how to submit my entry to Joe to get credit in his epic post that showcased all the challenge winners (all 140+ of them!!). There’s a lesson to be learned there, and it’s a mistake I won’t make again.

Hopefully Forbidden will whet the appetite of any new-to-Cege readers, and for those of you who might have noticed I haven’t published anything in awhile, this will (hopefully) remind you why you liked me in the first place.

Forbidden is FREE on Amazon through tomorrow (9/2/13), so go grab your copy today!

 

(photo credit The U.S. Army)

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Where Do We Go From Here?

I am astonished that we’ve just crossed over the 2013 mid-year mark. The old saying is that time flies when you’re having fun. In my case, I feel like I blinked and lost track of the first half of the year. There’s been some fun for sure, but I’ve also faced some unexpected challenges along the way as well.

Way back in January (haha- I feel like that was just yesterday!) I published my tentative 2013 Production Schedule. I hit the mark for the first three months of the year. (Yay, me!) Life derailed the last three months, and my writing derailed as well. Now that’s not to say I haven’t been writing or releasing new work. In addition to some short stories under my new pen name, I also started the Gamescape serial.

Having just wrapped my first full-length contemporary romance novel under my pen name, I found myself uncertain of where I should go next.  There are days when it’s necessary to  hit ‘Pause‘ and take stock in order to decide which road you plan to travel. For me, today is one of those days. I’ve got a bazillion stories ideas buzzing in my head, but I also know there are fans of the Bloodtruth and Twisted Souls series waiting patiently for me to deliver the next books.

Reassessment was needed.

As much as I love the idea of a serial, Gamescape’s production schedule isn’t working for me. First I promised a new installment every two weeks, then every three, and finally once a month. I still can’t hit it with all the other irons I have in the fire. So I made a decision. I’m pulling back the first three installments, and incorporating them into a full-length book that I am planning to release by year end.

So that frees me up to refocus on my two series, which hopefully makes a lot of people very happy. So here it is, the refreshed Production Schedule for the remainder of 2013.

August 2013: To Be Titled (Twisted Souls #4)
September 2013: To Be Titled (Bloodtruth #4)
November 2013: Step To My Bones
December 2013: Gamescape

Things may still shift around just a bit, but this is my plan and I’m sticking to it. As always, thanks for sticking with me!

(photo credit Jean-Louis Zimmermann)

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Cover Reveal: Step To My Bones

One thing I love about my ability to put my work directly in the hands of readers as an self-published author is that I have full creative oversight of my book covers. I can easily get lost in browsing cover artist websites for hours (usually when I should be writing!).

I found this cover last year, and there was something about it that spoke to me and I HAD to have it. I didn’t have a story to go with it yet, but I didn’t care. I knew that I would get to it eventually, but in the meantime I made it mine.

Step To My Bones is going to be a far darker story than anything I have written to date. While there will be some paranormal elements to it, it is really going to be character driven story about the lengths someone would go to exact revenge.

Look for more news on when Step To My Bones will be available coming soon!

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Confessions of a Cliffhanger Queen

“You left me hanging!”

I frequently hear some variation of this sentiment in reader reviews, comments, and emails of my books. As each of my series have progressed, and I am releasing more books than ever, I can see a clear trend in my writing.

I write a whole lotta cliffhangers.

This is fascinating to me because if we take a step back and examine the humble beginnings of Edge of Shadows, my very first novel, I’ll let you in a little secret. I originally wrote it with a closed ending. The end was THE end. I reworked that story ten ways to Tuesday. I thought I was on the final stretch, but something nagged at me. That something that said this story was a whole lot bigger than I was giving it credit.

That idea came from my beta readers. They were asking me questions about the events leading up to the final scene, and I realized that I had two choices. I either could go deeper within EoS to explain the events unfolding, or I could open it entirely and continue the journey- and answer those bigger questions along the way.

I’ve shared before that there is no higher compliment than having readers tell you that they want MORE of what you’re writing. As a reader myself, I love engrossing myself into the characters and stories of my favorite authors. I’m a bit monogamous that way. When I find an author I like, I have a tendency to stick with them through multiple books. But my favorites are those that involve characters I’ve met before.

So, I decided to really jump into the deep end of the pool, rewrite the end of EoS, and plot out a trilogy.

The other thing that I should point out is that I have a long history of watching episodic TV, and the stuff that I like to watch seems to lend itself more to the cliffhanger endings. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, anyone?) Answering a smaller subset of questions within one installment while carrying over a couple of really large overarching themes/questions across multiple installments is what I cut my teeth on as a kid.

You could say that I’ve been conditioned to cliffhangers. They are what I know, and I know them well.

As a reader, I understand why people might be a bit frustrated with this approach. With the internet and mobile technology, we have gotten used to instantaneous gratification in our lives. We want what we want, we want right now, and we don’t want to wait for it. I get it.

But there is something to be said for the slow build of tension and suspense as we wait for the next installment of our favorite book, TV series, or movie. Think about that little ball of excitement in the pit of your stomach that gets bigger and bigger until you just think you are going to explode! Assuming it meets your expectations, there is a sense of sweet satisfaction and pleasure. If it’s really good, you want MORE. Even if it’s over and the curtain goes black. When you are invested, you always want more.

That’s the experience that I am trying to create for my readers. I’ve seen authors accused of trying to make more money by having cliffhanger endings. (I’ve been subtly accused of that myself.) I can’t speak for all authors, but I can speak for me.

If there’s more story to tell, I’m going to tell it, and I think it’s my job as a writer to create an environment of suspense and intrigue that whets your appetite for what’s coming next. That’s why I write cliffhangers, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

(photo credit: oddsock)

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