Elle Casey's Blog, page 17
July 30, 2012
War of the Fae Tree-Hugging Photo Contest … Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
The War of the Fae tree hugging photo contest has arrived! A special page has been set up on the site here to manage the voting and instructions.
In a nutshell, you can go to my Facebook photo album to see the entries and vote for your favorite. Only fan club members can vote!
May the best picture win! – but of course, every single one is awesomely awesome to me, so I will not be voting. Just as I cannot pick a favorite child, I cannot pic a favorite reader photo. 
July 28, 2012
Co-Authoring versus Fan Fiction
From time to time I’ll have a reader comment about one of my books or characters and say something to the effect of, “You should have this character do this in your next book,” or “For the sequel, you should have this happen.”
On the one hand, it’s very flattering to me that readers would be so involved in the story that they’d imagine extensions of it and new parts to the characters’ lives. It tells me that they’ve been drawn in deeply into the plot and don’t want the story to end. I feel as though I’ve done a good job with my writing, which in turn makes me feel as though I’m able to leap small buildings with a single bound and possibly even fly a short distance, without a cape even.
On the other hand, I see how it could cause me some problems if the person who mentions it is truly serious and really feels as though he’s giving me work I should use. A person who mentions something to me about a plot point or character issue might see something similar come up in my work later and feel as though he’s justified in claiming co-authorship. I have, in fact, received story ideas attached to mentions that I’d need to pay the person a percentage or specific dollar amount if I use the idea proposed. Yes, this has actually happened. Recently I received an unsolicited story idea from a reader with a demand for payment of $10,000 should I decide to use it.
So for these reasons, when I get an unsolicited story or character idea that I feel is something mentioned more than just in passing, I send out a friendly note explaining that it is not my policy to accept story ideas from fans. No one loves fan interaction more than me … not even Lady Gaga. But I would never want anyone to feel as though I’ve stolen his ideas and used them for my benefit; so the best way to avoid any misunderstandings is to just state my policy up front. My mind is plenty fertile enough; my brain is waaaay overcrowded with characters, plots, action scenes, and book cover art concepts – more than I could ever use in a lifetime because new ones are added every day. I neither need nor want any more ideas floating around in there.
Now, I don’t want to leave anyone without a creative outlet, should they have ideas that involve my stories or characters. Writing is an art form, and we need more art in the world to appreciate. That’s where Fan Fiction comes into play.
Essentially, Fan Fiction is when a reader fan takes a character and makes up their own fiction work that is a “derivative” of an author’s work. Technically, it’s a violation of the copyright, but if the person doesn’t make any money from it, then it’s usually forgiven. So Fan Fiction is not to be used to make money (and in fact cannot be without violating the law), but it can give a reader a creative outlet to “play” with their favorite characters and share it with the world without receiving financial benefit in return.
If you’re interested in reading some fan fiction, head over to Wattpad.com. There’s lots of it there, and you can vote for your favorites. Want to read Harry Potter, erotica style? It’ll be there. Want to know what would happen if the evil queen won in Snow White? It will be there. Want to know what it would have been like if Bella had chosen Jacob? Yep, plenty of that there. You can actually find some really talented writers there if you dig deep enough. It’s rumored that the very successful Mortal Instruments series started out as Harry Potter fan fiction. I won’t comment on the legal issues surrounding that case since it gets very sticky and I have no firsthand knowledge of it since I’ve never read the fan fiction. I’m merely repeating information found in the public domain.
In case you’re wondering, no, I do not read fan fiction about my work – or anyone else’s, in fact. This is in keeping with my desire to have all of my ideas be my ideas and not tainted by someone else’s vision. It’s also why I avoid reading published works in my genre when I’m writing a book. I am very careful to always make sure my work is “pure”, as in “purely mine and mine alone”.
So this is a very long post and I’m starting to bore even myself, so I’ll just end now with a big thank you for all my readers’ enthusiasm for my work. My feet never touch the ground anymore. I hope I can continue entertaining and maybe even enthralling you.
July 26, 2012
Book publishing schedule
I haven’t posted in ages because I’ve been busy writing and vacationing. This is the tightest deadline I’ve ever set for myself with my writing. I’m feeling the pressure, but I work best that way, so fingers crossed, my next book Apocalypsis: Book 2, Warpaint will be up by July 31, 2012.
Now, for the rest of this year and next…
All publish days are the last day of the month. They also assume nothing tragic happens in my life, so all of you out there reading this, please send some good vibes my way!
Apocalypsis: Book 2, Warpaint (July 2012)
Apocalypsis: Book 3, yet-to-be-named (August 2012)
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 1 (September 2012)
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 2 (October 2012)
Clash of the Otherworlds: Book 3 (November 2012)
My Vampire Fall (November 2012)
Reckless (sequel to Wrecked) (December 2012)
Desperate Measures Trilogy: Book 2 (December 2012)
Desperate Measures Trilogy: Book 3 (January 2013)
Unnamed joint project with Jason Brant (February 2013)
My Vampire Winter (Feb/March 2013)
Melancholia: Book 1 (March 2013)
Melancholia: Book 2 (April 2013)
Melancholia: Book 3 (May 2013)
My Vampire Spring (June 2013)
Sea Wenches: Book 1 (June 2013)
Sea Wenches: Book 2 (July 2013)
Sea Wenches: Book 3 (August 2013)
Big Fat Epic Fantasy yet-to-be-named: Vol 1 (October 2013)
Big Fat Epic Fantasy yet-to-be-named: Vol 2 (December 2013)
Big Fat Epic Fantasy yet-to-be-named: Vols 2-? (2014 sometime)
And somewhere in there I’d like to work in another series of Middle Grade Fantasy books so my little one has something to read and all those parents who read my books and are shocked by the cuss words can finally sleep well at night letting their kids read them. I’d also like to add more chick lit. So we’ll see if there are any surprises!
Thanks to all of your support, readers. I love it, and it keeps me writing at this cyborg-like pace.
July 8, 2012
I don’t have gator skin. Yet.
But I’m working in it!
One thing any writer has to endure is harsh criticism. No matter how awesome you think you are as a writer, or how awesome some of your readers might say you are, there will always be some who think you submitted the work of a fourth grader and put your name on it. Go ahead and check out the reviews for any of J.K. Rowling’s work or even The Hobbit or A Tale of Two Cities. There are haters everywhere.
My first bad review was devastating. The tenth, just slightly less so. I’m to the point now where I avoid certain places that are known for having harsher reviews, letting my husband/business manager filter them for me. Negativity makes it hard for me to do anything, especially write more drivel, so I have to avoid it wherever possible when I’m in the middle of crafting a novel.
People tell me I have to build up a thick skin and ignore the haters, and I am working on that. I laugh as I write my current novel, Apocalypsis: Book 2, because there are gators as characters in the book. I wish I had skin like them sometimes.
Luckily, my good reviews and supportive comments from readers far outweigh the bad ones, so I keep plodding away, writing books. And I have a few callouses now, making the 1-star reviews easier to manage. Maybe someday I’ll be able to just accept them for what they are: the price you pay for putting your heart on display for the world.
July 6, 2012
Sneak Peek at Apocalypsis Book 2 *Warpaint* is up!
I’ve put up a sneak peek at Apocalypsis: Book 2, Warpaint! It’s subject to future editing, but I hope you like what you see. And a special thanks to Martijn from the Netherlands for reminding me to put it up.
xoxo Elle
July 2, 2012
Tree Hugging Amazon Gift Card Promotion!
Hello readers. Have I told you lately how much I love you?
I’m so psyched about the tree-hugging pictures I’ve received on my Facebook fan page, that I’ve decided to have a little fun with them. We’re gonna have a competition! The 3 photos that get the most votes will win $25 Amazon gift cards. Weeeee! More books and stuff!!!!
You are qualified to vote if you are a member of my fan club. Sign up here. It’s just a little newsletter thingy basically where you get notified of early releases of my books, special fan promotions, etc. I don’t send things out often (one so far in 3 months, but maybe it’ll be more like 1 or 2 times per month eventually).
So if you want to compete, upload a photo at my Facebook page. If you want to vote, sign up for the fan club. You’ll receive instructions about how to vote in the newsletter/email you will receive in mid-July.
Can’t wait to see your submissions! And to get you in the mood, here’s mine (I won’t be competing though! Prizes only for non-family-members of Elle Casey!)
Basic rules:
Limit of 3 pictures max per household.
Only non-family members of Elle Casey are eligible.
No age limit. Can include pets!
Entries must be in by July 12th. Voting between July 13-15.
Gift card will be delivered via email to 3 winners.
Those with top 3 highest number of votes win $25 gift card.
Only fan club members can vote (I personally will not vote. I cannot pick a favorite reader picture, just like I cannot pick a favorite child!). Instructions to come by email on July 10th or sooner.
June 27, 2012
My Next Brilliant Idea
I’m re-reading the War of the Fae series, getting ready to have them available in paperback, and I got this flash of brilliance (otherwise known as a bright idea). I’d love to have you all participate.
If you’re a War of the Fae fan and you want to show it, go take a picture of yourself hugging a tree and then upload it to my Facebook fan page! I’d like nothing more than a thousand pictures of tree huggers to hang on my wall in my office.
Seriously.
I’m going to go take my picture later today. Join me!
June 24, 2012
June 23, 2012
WANTED: Jason Brant
For those of you who follow my Facebook and blog posts, you know that author Jason Brant and I have a … um … competitive supportive relationship. I’m pretty sure he was my brother in another life. Possibly even my twin. That being said, something has to be done about his little problem. I’m talking about the dead muskrat on his head that he calls a hairdo and his constant defense of the MacGyver mullet.
June 20, 2012
Blurb for Apocalypsis: Book 1
My name’s Bryn Mathis. I’m seventeen years old, and I live in a neighborhood outside of Orlando, Florida. I live alone because my dad died almost a year ago, along with all the other adults in the world. I’m almost out of food and the gangs of kids that roam around my town are getting more vicious by the day.
It’s time for me to leave and find another place to live … a place where I can find food and shelter … a place where they won’t be able to find me.
Alone, it might have been possible; but now I’ve got company. I’m worried that I don’t have what it takes to get from here to my final destination. And I have no idea what might be waiting for me when I get there.
