Shawnda Currie's Blog, page 2
February 28, 2014
How I Became an Indie Author
I have always been a writer whether it was creating short stories in school or sending family members personalized hand written letters (I grew up before computers and cell phones were in practically every household). When I was a teenager and we discussed what we wanted to do for a living, I told my friends I wanted to be an author.
Friend 1(as she flipped through a teen magazine): “You should totally write a book about your life.”
Me (as I picked at a piece of thread dangling from my jean jacket because everyone wore a jean jacket back then): “Hmmm. Ya, maybe I will.”
I should note that most teenagers feel that their lives are full of drama, that they are alone in their woes of suckiness and basically their lives should be a book or a movie. At the time, my friends and I felt this way but now that I am through that stage of my life, things were not as bad as it seemed at the time (but you still couldn’t pay me enough to go through adolescence again). The point is, I did not write a book about my life though I do draw from some of my personal experiences when writing a scene.
Moving along into my twenties, I joined the military where I met my husband. I released from the military just shy of serving a year, we got married and started a family. We moved many times and were pros at adapting to change and making new friendships. My tag line at the time whenever a friend did or said something I felt should be documented was, “That’s going in my book.”
This turned out to be a great conversation starter. People would ask me if I was really going to write a book. I responded with, “Yep. I plan on publishing before I’m 35.”
Friend 2: “Well, if you’re putting me in your book, I want a really cool name.”
Me: “Ya, I’ll totally give you a cool name.”
At the time, 35 seemed so far away. I can tell you now that I’m over 35, and it went by fast. Too fast. But I did publish before I said I would (pats self on back).
One day I decided to get back into the military since we moved to a place where I could take my training only a few hours away from where we lived. This way I could come home on weekends so I wasn’t apart from my family for months on end. I completed my training, started a new job and eventually we moved to yet another base. The good thing about moving around so much, is that you meet a variety of people.
Me (talking to Friend 3): “So I watched a really good movie last night called ____________.”
Friend 3: “My husband bought me the books. I can lend them to you.”
This is the part in my post where we play a little game. What movie am I talking about? Hint: it rhymes with “bye fight” and yes, I turned into one of those obsessed fans eventually buying my own set of books. And movies. And the collector’s set.
Me (to my husband one night before going to sleep): “So, I’m going to start writing my books.”
Husband: “That’s nice, dear.”
By morning I had a rough draft in my mind of the trilogy I was going to write.
Me (to my groggy husband even though I should have been the groggy one since I rolled around most of the night): “While you were sleeping all snug in our bed, I came up with an idea. I’m going to write a story about time travel and psychic abilities. It’s going to be a trilogy actually. Isn’t that awesome?”
Husband: “Ya, that sounds totally awesome.” I think he was being sarcastic. He claims he was being supportive.
I went to work and told Friend 3 (the same one that lent me her “bye fight” books) about my idea and she volunteered to be a beta reader. It took me nine months to write a rough draft of Altered – Revelations of the Evolved. I passed it around to coworkers and basically anyone else I could guilt into reading it but then I shelved it for a year or two.
Another move later, I finally started the ball rolling by contacting someone I had met years earlier to assist with self-publishing. I was ecstatic. My book was going to be polished by an editor and published for anyone to read. Once I realized how much competition was out there, my balloon deflated a bit knowing that writing the book was the easy part, getting it noticed was going to be a bit more difficult.
I researched ways to publicize. I needed a blog even though I didn’t know the first thing about how to get started. More research, and now you can see, I have a blog complete with widgets and a constant changing theme (though I really like this one so I’ll keep it for a while).
I joined a variety of social media sites (Twitter & Goodreads) and made two Facebook pages:
Shawnda Currie Books: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawnda-Currie-Books/357335524296184
The Evolved Trilogy: https://www.facebook.com/TheEvolvedTrilogy
The biggest challenge was contacting book bloggers for reviews and interviews. I highly enjoy reading people’s thoughts about my stories and value everyone’s feedback (positive & negative). One point that came up a few times was my cover for Altered (some felt it was less than flattering). I love nature, so I happen to like my covers and each cover is from a scene in each book. They’re different and original, though not as detailed or eye popping as ones created by a professional. The good news is, I plan on writing many more novels and have a family member who is a graphic artist!
I made some book trailers and even came up with the concept “authormercial” that I thought would draw some attention. The authormercial was a blast to create but a little nerve racking to put it out for the world to see. Nobody wants to be seen as foolish or made fun of. But I also happen to be comfortable in my own skin and this is the way I roll………………
Altered – Revelations of the Evolved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td-brREUzgE&list=UUwhl9J119Sk6vZ6QDEml_Qg&index=4
Broken – Afflictions of the Evolved: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvSVlkXFwLU&feature=share&list=UUwhl9J119Sk6vZ6QDEml_Qg
Choices – Complications of the Evolved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_kI4rWdSHQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUwhl9J119Sk6vZ6QDEml_Qg
Authormercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF_K2h8MJVY&list=UUwhl9J119Sk6vZ6QDEml_Qg&feature=share&index=3
I also made up some business cards. Now I just have to start putting them up everywhere. I have also recruited my friends to do the same. And yes, I have more than three friends.
That basically sums up my road to publishing. Thank you so much to my friends, family and fans for taking the time to read my books and supporting me with your kind words and helping me put myself out there.
I am Shawnda Currie. I am an author. I will never stop writing. 
February 4, 2014
Goodreads Giveaway for Choices – Complications of the Evolved!!!!
It’s that time again….another Goodreads Giveaway for the final installment of The Evolved Trilogy: Choices – Complications of the Evolved. If you enjoy YA books about time travel and psychic abilities with a little romance and bad guys thrown in, then you might just enjoy this trilogy. Please help spread the word!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/81132-choices—complications-of-the-evolved
The first book: Altered – Revelations of the Evolved
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007OUUBQW
The second book: Broken – Afflictions of the Evolved
http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Afflictions-Evolved-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00AJB5FQE
I can also provide electronic versions of the first two books gifted via kindle or a pdf copy for anyone interested in posting a review. Please message me on Goodreads, email at shawndaslp@hotmail.com or contact me on one of my facebook pages: (Shawnda Currie Books) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shawnda-Currie-Books/357335524296184 & (The Evolved Trilogy) https://www.facebook.com/TheEvolvedTrilogy.
Thank you for your support!
December 17, 2013
The Evolved Trilogy is Now Finished!
It seems like forever since I’ve posted on my blog. But I wanted to share with all of you that the final book of The Evolved Trilogy is finished: Choices – Complications of the Evolved. It is currently only available as an ebook:
http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Complications-Evolved-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00H0F6FN4
I just submitted the paperback formatted version to my publisher. I am hoping to have it ready to go for end of January where I will host a giveaway on Goodreads.
I also had some business cards made which turned out really nice and I guess “officially” makes me an author…lol
November 30, 2013
Choices - Complications of the Evolved Now Available!
http://www.amazon.com/Choices-Complic...
I will be having a free promo download in the near future. The paperback will be available in a few months.
It has been a long journey but so worth it... :)
Shawnda
November 15, 2013
Free Kindle: Altered - Revelations of the Evolved 15 & 16 Nov 2013
The first book of The Evolved Trilogy is free on amazon for the next two days. Please check it out!
http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Revelat...
Shawnda :)
October 27, 2013
Yes, I Submitted my Authormercial to the Ellen DeGeneres Show
For those of you that follow my posts, you probably know that I recently created an Authormercial to promote myself as an author. I thought this was a really fun idea so I uploaded it to YouTube. But how does one go about getting views of said video? As I have adored Ellen DeGeneres since I was a teenager, and to this date still have her book “Ellen DeGenerges: My point… and I do have one”, I thought I’d try my luck at submitting my video to her show. After all, it features a few of her favourite things such as music (has a snappy beat), animals (I have a shout out to support your local humane society) and some Halloween costumes (it’s that time of year). Of course, Ellen has over 23 million followers on twitter so I won’t be holding my breath. But hey, it was worth a shot, point for me for trying. I also perused the internet for other ideas of how to get a video noticed. Reddit and StumbleUpon kept coming up as popular sites, so I added my video to both places: http://www.reddit.com/user/authormercial and http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/shawndaslp/comments. I’m still figuring my way around both sites. Who knows, maybe I will wake up one morning and see that my Authormercial is being shared across the globe. I’ve always been a dreamer…
October 10, 2013
Canadian Armed Forces Member/Aspiring Author Experiment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF_K2h...
Canadian Armed Forces/Aspiring Author Experiment – You Tube “Authormercial”
Hi everyone! I just spent the last five hours creating a You Tube video to use for marketing. I added a bunch of personal blurbs so my readers can get to know me a little better. I am hoping that most people will enjoy it (it has a snazzy little beat to it) and share with their friends. I titled it as an experiment because I am curious to find out if making such a video will help with book sales. Even if it doesn’t, I still had fun putting it all together. It is now in the atmosphere…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF_K2h8MJVY&feature=share&list=UUwhl9J119Sk6vZ6QDEml_Qg
October 7, 2013
Dear Diary
Dear Diary,
I have been a very bad blogger by not adding any posts these last few weeks. In my own defence, I am currently working on the final installment of The Evolved Trilogy and I did just finish a giveaway not too long ago. Today I actually came up with an idea for “bonus material” that I think will be well received. Also, I have a special project in mind that I will be working on after book three is published to get the word out about my books. I know, I know….two secrets that will both be revealed in due time! Well, I have some beta readers that are waiting anxiously to see how it all ends, so I must change out of my work clothes and get busy with my edits. What’s that saying again? No rest for the wicked……muah ha ha (that’s my evil laugh just in time for Halloween). Great, another thing I have to work on, my children’s costumes.
August 21, 2013
The Evolved Trilogy Giveaway 23 Aug – 23 Sep 2013
Hello everyone! My giveaway starts in two days. There are 3 separate prizes to be won: one signed copy of Altered – Revelations of the Evolved with cool charm bookmark, one signed copy of Broken – Afflictions of the Evolved with cool charm bookmark and one $10 amazon gift card.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8ea9094/
There are five ways to enter: 1) tweet “I just entered The Evolved Trilogy giveaway!” @ShawndaCurrie, 2) like the Shawnda Currie Books facebook page, 3) like The Evolved Trilogy facebook page, 4) follow @ShawndaCurrie on twitter and 5) leave your answer on this post to “Name the three books of The Evolved Trilogy” under Thoughts (at the bottom of the post). All comments must be moderated before they appear on my blog, so if your answer doesn’t show up right away, don’t worry! I will be logging in daily to approve comments. You do not have to provide your name, only a valid email address (which does not appear for public viewing) and a simple skill testing question to prevent spammers.
I wish you all the best of luck…..
Thanks so much for your support!
Shawnda
