Elle Casey's Blog, page 15
November 29, 2012
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3, new publishing date
From my Facebook page…
***UPDATE on Clash of the Otherworlds Book 3 ***
I know many of you are anxiously waiting to download this last installment of Clash, and I want you to know I’m killing myself to get it to you … but it’s going to be a couple days late. I hope it’ll be up to download on Sunday. Really, the stress of not delivering as promised has been giving me nightmares (weird ones, might end up as books some day).
I just didn’t anticipate the delays caused by (1) having to re-read the entire series and take notes on everything to be sure the last book covered everything foreshadowed and left unanswered, (2) the extra editing I did as I went through those 6 books, (3) the formatting of all 12 of my books into paperback for the holiday season, (4) the Thanksgiving party I hosted for 12 people, (5) my work schedule, the non-writing one, and (6) all the book covers I had to get ready for new books coming out and the paperbacks.
So, yes, these are excuses, and I hate that I have them there, but life goes on. I’m writing more words in a day than I ever have before and pushing myself to the limit. I hope the book will be up Sunday. I will post progress on Facebook to keep you informed. Thanks to all of you for your readership, your dedication, and most of all right now, your PATIENCE! ♥ ♥ ♥
November 25, 2012
War of the Fae: Now in Paperback!!
November 20, 2012
For the would-be writers out there…
The reason I’m putting this post up is because I get a lot of emails and messages asking me for advice on writing and self-publishing. For those would-be writers out there, here’s some stuff I thought you might find interesting:
I read an article written by an agent, its distinct tone being: “Writers need agents, and an agent should be allowed to limit an author’s ability to self-publish her work,” even though this post’s subject was whether a writer can make more money being traditionally-published or self-published. Here’s a link.
My response to the tone of this article, in short form is: HA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And HA. Oh, wait … you’re not kidding? Seriously? Wow.
Okay, and now the longer version, which I put in the comments on the blog because someone else commented about how they needed an agent for another voice to listen to and for their knowledge of industry trends:
For those authors or would-be authors who are leaning on an agent for “another voice” or “knowledge of trends” (and paying 15% for the privilege), know that there are hundreds of indie authors out there who do this for each other for FREE, and most of them are far more tapped into the trends than agents are. Why? Because agents are constrained by what publishers want, and publishers don’t always know what readers want.
Go to Amazon’s bestseller lists and see how many indie books are there, ahead of trad-pubbed books. I’ll save you the trouble: there are lots. Readers are voting with their dollars and telling *us* what the trends are. Trends aren’t being artificially set by the Big 6 anymore. Finally!
Do you know how many indies are making a very handsome living from books that were deemed “unsellable” by an agent or an editor? Hundreds. Maybe thousands. I’m not agent-bashing here, because I do see a value to having one, but only in limited circumstances. Most authors would be financially better off self-pubbing, and I have numbers to back that up.
If you have a book and you’ve done everything you can to make it as good as it can be (editing, professional cover, etc.), publish the dang thing! If you sell the hell out of it, the publishers and agents will come to YOU. The Amazon bestseller list is the new slush-pile. I say, let the readers decide if you deserve to be an author, not an agent.
November 18, 2012
Cover Reveal: RECKLESS
The much anticipated sequel to WRECKED, the story of four teenagers from different ends of the social spectrum who were castaways on an island together before finally making it back home … only to be thrown back into high school life with completely different perspectives than they had before.
Will they fall into the same traps or forge new paths for themselves? Follow Kevin, Candi, Sarah, and Jonathan as they move into their future – always hopeful, often uncertain, and sometimes even … RECKLESS.
Click HERE to add to your Goodreads shelf.
November 11, 2012
Book Banner Fun
I wish I knew how to work with Photoshop. But it’s probably a good thing I don’t know how, or I’d spend way too much time playing with it. But someday, I will learn it! In the meantime, I used Picasa to make this. Some of these books aren’t out yet, but since I have suck kickass covers for them, I included them anyway. 
Baby size.
And the big size.
Cover Reveal ! Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3 (Portal Guardians)
I’m really excited about this cover, y’all. Thanks to Derek Emmons and his amazing skills with not only the photography but the photo manipulations too. Wow is about the only thing that covers it for me. Hope you like it. Book out soon!
November 1, 2012
Add Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3 to your “Want to Read” list on Goodreads!
If you are a member of Goodreads, you can add my next book to your “Want to Read” shelf and you’ll (allegedly) get an email when it’s published. Here’s a link: CLASH OF THE OTHERWORLDS: BOOK 3 (Portal Guardians). Just click the link and click on the green button below the cover (no cover there yet, just a generic one) that says “WANT TO READ”. This also helps my position as an author there, to have readers indicating interest in my work. Yay, Goodreads!
You can also join my Fan Club and get a newsletter no more than 2x per month with new release notices, early release notices and special promotions (aka “free stuff”). It’s free to sign up and no one but me gets your email address. Link HERE.
October 31, 2012
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 2, Between the Realms. PUBLISHED!
Yes, it’s true! Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 2, Between the Realms has been uploaded to Amazon and will be available for purchase within hours of now (8 pm EST on October 31st). This is the closest I’ve ever cut it to a deadline, but I made it!
I hope you enjoy this next installment with Jayne and friends. I’ll be waiting on pins and needles for the reviews to start coming in. A special thanks to my cover artist, Susan Macias who is a reader fan who made this beautiful cover for me. Thank you, Susan!!
October 19, 2012
Confessions of a Former Teenage Rebel Turned Writer
I was going to title this post: Why I Love Writing, but as I sat there and thought about what would go into the post, this title that I ended up using seemed more appropriate.
I was on Facebook today, chatting with a reader fan about deadlines and the importance of meeting them. To me, a publishing deadline is a drop dead date. There’s no excuse for not meeting it, save a natural or family disaster. But my reader told me I would be forgiven for missing one, even by a few weeks, because he was concerned I’d burn out with so much pressure.
That’s when it hit me, how, yeah … there’s a possibility a person could burn out, writing as much as I do. But with me, it’s not likely. And here’s why: my readers. Especially the ones who take time out of their busy days to talk to me, to share their feelings about my books, and who spread the word about them to family and friends.
And now here’s the long explanation…
I did really well in school with little effort until the hormones starting raging through my body. At 15 I hit my peak, and it was all downhill from there. Each month I got more morose, annoyed with my parents, and completely disinterested in school. By the time I was 16, I was sneaking out of the house, partying, and skipping school. During my senior year of high school, my mom and I were butting heads so much, she gave me the ultimatum: “If you can’t live by my rules, you can’t live under my roof.” I moved out and in with my best friend. A month or so later, I was back home; but my attitude hadn’t changed much, and I still hated school.
My parents were divorced when I was nine and my father married the woman he cheated on my mom with. We didn’t get along. You can probably imagine why. They never missed an opportunity over the years to tell me how every opinion I ever had wasn’t wanted and how I was basically a loser. I grew up thinking I’d never amount to much and that I was lazy.
Fast forward past a 4-year stint in the U.S. Air Force (honorable discharge), life as a stock broker, CEO, business owner, and lawyer, to about ten months ago. I read an article about a girl named Amanda Hocking that changed my life. I learned that the novel that had been in my head for over twenty years, Wrecked, could be self-published without the stigma formerly attached to “vanity” publishing. I finished the book in record time and uploaded it to Amazon on January 1st, 2012.
Over a period of months, I’ve had many readers leave me reviews that sang my praises. I’ve received personal emails from people young, old, and every age in between, telling me how they love the way my mind works and that I inspire them with my books and my personal story. Today on Facebook my fans were telling me how much they love my characters, plots, and storylines and how they cannot wait for the next installment in a series to come out. And then Gary Wilson, a fan who wears hockey jerseys, told me it would be okay if I missed a deadline, because my readers wouldn’t want me to burn out. They would forgive me, so long as I eventually followed through.
The emotions that have been rolling over me since reading those Facebook posts are difficult to express in writing. But heck, I’m a writer, so I should try! I think what it boils down to is this: During my formative years, the message I was getting from all the adults in my life was that I was a lazy punk who was never going to amount to much because I lacked discipline, an inner compass, and the personality that would allow me to get along with others. So now, to have readers telling me they like my brain and how it works, that they like characters who have a lot of me in them, that they will forgive me if I’m not perfect … well, let’s just say it’s like a magical healing salve being put on a set of pretty deep scars.
Before I end this sappy little post, I want to say one thing about my momma. She’s been my best friend and my rock for a long, long time. I put her through hell during a very difficult period in her life, and we did the best we could then, both of us struggling to find ourselves. But we came out on the other side with a much stronger relationship because of it, so I am thankful that we crossed that parched desert of my hormonal teen years to get where we are today.
In closing, I’d like to thank my readers, for liking my brain the way it is. For supporting me. For making me laugh. And most of all, for making my life as a writer, my adult years, some of the most rewarding ones of my entire existence. Yay, readers! I hope that the teenagers out there today, the ones who are struggling to find themselves, find the kind of joy and acceptance I have with my fans. There really just aren’t adequate words to describe how it feels in my lexicon.
October 14, 2012
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 2, Sneak-Peek is UP!
Here you go, y’all … a link to a sneak-peek for Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 2, Between the Realms
http://ellecasey.com/sneak-peeks/
