Lauren Dawes's Blog, page 33
September 25, 2012
Final mock ups for Half Life cover...decisions, decisions
Hello fellow Junkies,
Okay, so the good news is these two mock ups are my final choices for the cover of Half Life. The watermarks are there because I haven't bought the rights to the picture from dreamstime.com yet as I haven't made up my mind yet. As I can't use Facebook for this and take a vote, we'll have to do it the ol' fashioned way. I'm leaning towards the second one just because for Half Truths I used a gun on the front cover.
What does everyone else think??
Okay, so the good news is these two mock ups are my final choices for the cover of Half Life. The watermarks are there because I haven't bought the rights to the picture from dreamstime.com yet as I haven't made up my mind yet. As I can't use Facebook for this and take a vote, we'll have to do it the ol' fashioned way. I'm leaning towards the second one just because for Half Truths I used a gun on the front cover.
What does everyone else think??
September 23, 2012
Another teaser
Hello fellow Junkies,
I'm so excited about the upcoming release of the third book in the Half Blood series that as I proofread and edit, I keep coming across these awesome quotes or scenes that I just have to share. Sabel has been the star for most of these teasers, but now for something a little different. I know everyone just loves Rhett, so here is one from him.
‘On your knees.’‘I thought you agreed no weapons,’ Rhett gritted out, kneeling slowly in front of the other man. Marcus smiled in a way the showed all his teeth. ‘I lied.’Rhett placed his other knee down, his eyes unmoving from Marcus’s. ‘You’re a coward,’ he spat.‘I might just be,’ Marcus leaned in close, ‘but I’ll be a breathing coward.’ He pulled back, pressing the barrel hard into Rhett’s head.
I'm doing my best to get the editing done by the end of this week, but I had to have a major overhaul of the final couple of chapters while have left me drained. With any luck, Half Truths will be available on Amazon.com by the end of next month. Keep watching this blog or the Facebook page for further details!
I'm so excited about the upcoming release of the third book in the Half Blood series that as I proofread and edit, I keep coming across these awesome quotes or scenes that I just have to share. Sabel has been the star for most of these teasers, but now for something a little different. I know everyone just loves Rhett, so here is one from him.
‘On your knees.’‘I thought you agreed no weapons,’ Rhett gritted out, kneeling slowly in front of the other man. Marcus smiled in a way the showed all his teeth. ‘I lied.’Rhett placed his other knee down, his eyes unmoving from Marcus’s. ‘You’re a coward,’ he spat.‘I might just be,’ Marcus leaned in close, ‘but I’ll be a breathing coward.’ He pulled back, pressing the barrel hard into Rhett’s head.
I'm doing my best to get the editing done by the end of this week, but I had to have a major overhaul of the final couple of chapters while have left me drained. With any luck, Half Truths will be available on Amazon.com by the end of next month. Keep watching this blog or the Facebook page for further details!
September 12, 2012
Half Life is done
Hello fellow Junkies,
After 5 months and 4 days of writing, Half Life is pretty much finished! I still have to let it sit and stew for a while before starting the editing/proofing process, but with any luck that won't take too long at all. As it stands, I have written 91,000 words which is just a little shorter than the second book. Half Truths.
While it's resting, I've decided to write a novella about Eirawen, the vampire queen, as some of you have had some questions about her and the Sicarii. It will give you her back story, why she hates all half bloods, and the creation of the Sicarii, including her relationship with Nox.
I think this story will be added to the end of Half Life as an extra bonus read. Yay for bonus reads!
If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask me, feel free to either post here on my blog, or go to http://www.facebook.com/authorlaurendawes and post of my author wall, or send me a private message of you prefer.
After 5 months and 4 days of writing, Half Life is pretty much finished! I still have to let it sit and stew for a while before starting the editing/proofing process, but with any luck that won't take too long at all. As it stands, I have written 91,000 words which is just a little shorter than the second book. Half Truths.
While it's resting, I've decided to write a novella about Eirawen, the vampire queen, as some of you have had some questions about her and the Sicarii. It will give you her back story, why she hates all half bloods, and the creation of the Sicarii, including her relationship with Nox.
I think this story will be added to the end of Half Life as an extra bonus read. Yay for bonus reads!
If anyone has any questions they'd like to ask me, feel free to either post here on my blog, or go to http://www.facebook.com/authorlaurendawes and post of my author wall, or send me a private message of you prefer.
August 27, 2012
Potential covers for 'Half Life'
Hello fellow Junkies,
It's been a little while since I last posted. Not much has happened since then. I've just been working my butt off trying to get 'Half Life' finished before we move at the end of the year. Actually had a little bit of a meltdown moment last week when my laptop decided it didn't want to work properly any more. Luckily, I had backed up everything just a few days before and didn't lose any work. I took the computer to get repaired only to get a phone call a few days later to tell me that my baby had well and truly gone to that little place in the sky for irreparably broken technology. It turned out that I melted the hard drive. Who would have thought that was possible!
Now that I have a brand, spanky new PC, I'm back bigger and better than before. The story has been coming along in leaps and bounds since that unfortunate stint of writer's block. I'm up to chapter 33 which is a massive battle scene. This also means that more mental power is needed to write it in order to get some kick-ass fighting and dying happening on paper.
And since the end of the book is close, that means I have to make a decision about what the cover is going to be. I've pretty much narrowed down my selection to 3 that I really like, and that also fit with the theme/plot of the book. Since I am only writing as a hobby and I am a lowly self-published author, I get all my cover art from stock photography websites and my fav is dreamstime.com which can cater for my specific, darker, dangerous tastes.
To help me decide, I'd like to know what everyone else thinks. Which is your favourite, 1, 2 or 3?
Source: dreamstime stock photography
Source: dreamstime stock photography
Source: dreamstime stock photography
It's been a little while since I last posted. Not much has happened since then. I've just been working my butt off trying to get 'Half Life' finished before we move at the end of the year. Actually had a little bit of a meltdown moment last week when my laptop decided it didn't want to work properly any more. Luckily, I had backed up everything just a few days before and didn't lose any work. I took the computer to get repaired only to get a phone call a few days later to tell me that my baby had well and truly gone to that little place in the sky for irreparably broken technology. It turned out that I melted the hard drive. Who would have thought that was possible!
Now that I have a brand, spanky new PC, I'm back bigger and better than before. The story has been coming along in leaps and bounds since that unfortunate stint of writer's block. I'm up to chapter 33 which is a massive battle scene. This also means that more mental power is needed to write it in order to get some kick-ass fighting and dying happening on paper.
And since the end of the book is close, that means I have to make a decision about what the cover is going to be. I've pretty much narrowed down my selection to 3 that I really like, and that also fit with the theme/plot of the book. Since I am only writing as a hobby and I am a lowly self-published author, I get all my cover art from stock photography websites and my fav is dreamstime.com which can cater for my specific, darker, dangerous tastes.
To help me decide, I'd like to know what everyone else thinks. Which is your favourite, 1, 2 or 3?
Source: dreamstime stock photography Source: dreamstime stock photographySource: dreamstime stock photography
August 15, 2012
Teaser from Half Life
Hello fellow Junkies,
Since the muse is back and bad ass, I decided to share one of my favourite scenes so far:
Sabel’s wolf was still very much in control, so when he smiled, it was the baring of teeth rather than a display of any real joy. ‘I killed the other two, but I saved this one for you.’ His voice was still layered, still gravelly; just a splintering of his natural cadence. He’d brought the other male for her? ‘Why?’‘Colton died by his hand,’ Sabel replied in that dual layered voice, his green eyes looking through her and down to her wolf. Her own wolf began brushing up against her sides, trying to get closer to him. He had brought her a gift.She started nibbling on her lower lip, her eyes on the ground. ‘What are you going to do with him?’‘First, I’m going to torture the information I need out of him then I’m going to let you kill him.’
Since the muse is back and bad ass, I decided to share one of my favourite scenes so far:
Sabel’s wolf was still very much in control, so when he smiled, it was the baring of teeth rather than a display of any real joy. ‘I killed the other two, but I saved this one for you.’ His voice was still layered, still gravelly; just a splintering of his natural cadence. He’d brought the other male for her? ‘Why?’‘Colton died by his hand,’ Sabel replied in that dual layered voice, his green eyes looking through her and down to her wolf. Her own wolf began brushing up against her sides, trying to get closer to him. He had brought her a gift.She started nibbling on her lower lip, her eyes on the ground. ‘What are you going to do with him?’‘First, I’m going to torture the information I need out of him then I’m going to let you kill him.’
August 13, 2012
Half Life update
Hello fellow Junkies,
Just a quick update on the progress of the book. Now, I'm hoping that by sharing this I'm not jinxing myself into another unholy state of non-writing, but it appears as if my muse is back from wherever the hell it went and is ready to rock and roll once more! Perhaps my muse in tangled up with my husband in some way. Writing has been near impossible since he went away 6 weeks ago, but as soon as he returns, I'm ready to tackle the Helheim pack once more. (I'm jumping up and down a little in my seat!)
The last couple of days have been productive having written around 5000 words. Whether all those words stay is yet another story, but I have high hopes! I just wanted to say a huge thanks to whoever asked me those questions before as they helped me refocus on the task at hand. All of those unanswered questions will definitely be answered in this book!
I'm also planning on writing another (couple of) short story(ies) at the end of this third installment.
I must also thank my music gods too: My Chemical Romance, Newton Faulkner, Florence + the Machine, Scouting for Girls. All these bands/singers help the creative juices to flow. I just hope I can keep going at the pace I am and have Half Life done soon!
Just a quick update on the progress of the book. Now, I'm hoping that by sharing this I'm not jinxing myself into another unholy state of non-writing, but it appears as if my muse is back from wherever the hell it went and is ready to rock and roll once more! Perhaps my muse in tangled up with my husband in some way. Writing has been near impossible since he went away 6 weeks ago, but as soon as he returns, I'm ready to tackle the Helheim pack once more. (I'm jumping up and down a little in my seat!)
The last couple of days have been productive having written around 5000 words. Whether all those words stay is yet another story, but I have high hopes! I just wanted to say a huge thanks to whoever asked me those questions before as they helped me refocus on the task at hand. All of those unanswered questions will definitely be answered in this book!
I'm also planning on writing another (couple of) short story(ies) at the end of this third installment.
I must also thank my music gods too: My Chemical Romance, Newton Faulkner, Florence + the Machine, Scouting for Girls. All these bands/singers help the creative juices to flow. I just hope I can keep going at the pace I am and have Half Life done soon!
July 29, 2012
The third and final book
Hello fellow Junkies,
So it is official: Half Life will be the third and last book in the Helheim wolf series. With dwindling pack numbers, I've realised that I don't have enough to sustain them. This third book will (hopefully) tie together all the loose ends that the first two books may have left. I think I've got all the bases covered, but what I'd really like to know is what questions all you have that you would like answered. Plus, are there any characters out there that you would like to know their full story?
Sabel is the main character in this book. Revenge is fresh in his mind, and he's determined to find the person responsible for the death of his best friend. The main plot has been planned, and I've added a few more chapters leaving me with another 5 to write before it's the end of the Helheim pack.
Procrastination has dug in its dirty claws recently leaving me uninspired and unwilling to even sit down in front of my laptop to write. That's probably a good thing though. I can just image spending hours writing absolute drivel only to have to delete it the next time inspiration hits. Ho hum...
So it is official: Half Life will be the third and last book in the Helheim wolf series. With dwindling pack numbers, I've realised that I don't have enough to sustain them. This third book will (hopefully) tie together all the loose ends that the first two books may have left. I think I've got all the bases covered, but what I'd really like to know is what questions all you have that you would like answered. Plus, are there any characters out there that you would like to know their full story?
Sabel is the main character in this book. Revenge is fresh in his mind, and he's determined to find the person responsible for the death of his best friend. The main plot has been planned, and I've added a few more chapters leaving me with another 5 to write before it's the end of the Helheim pack.
Procrastination has dug in its dirty claws recently leaving me uninspired and unwilling to even sit down in front of my laptop to write. That's probably a good thing though. I can just image spending hours writing absolute drivel only to have to delete it the next time inspiration hits. Ho hum...
July 17, 2012
Book 3 in the Half Blood series: Half Life
Hello fellow Junkies,
Just a quick update on Indi and all the gang. I am currently writing the third book in the series. I still have to decide whether this will be the final book, or second last.
New characters are introduced, and older ones are explored further-Vaile's boss being one of them. We will find out about Sabel's dark past as well as the females of the Helheim pack and the roles they play.
As it stands, I have another 3 chapters to write in order to end the story of Half Life, but one or two of those chapters is going to be intense-epic battle scenes which take a little more brain power to write.
Decisions also have to be made about Brax and his involvement with Rhett and Indi. Mmm, I can smell a love triangle *rubs hands together gleefully*.
The other fun part about writing a book is choosing the cover art. I think I have narrowed down the one I want from a selection of 5 or 6, but I will know for sure once I've finished with the final edit. Things can always change.
I hope I've teased you sufficiently, leaving you wanting more of the Helheim wolves.
Just a quick update on Indi and all the gang. I am currently writing the third book in the series. I still have to decide whether this will be the final book, or second last.
New characters are introduced, and older ones are explored further-Vaile's boss being one of them. We will find out about Sabel's dark past as well as the females of the Helheim pack and the roles they play.
As it stands, I have another 3 chapters to write in order to end the story of Half Life, but one or two of those chapters is going to be intense-epic battle scenes which take a little more brain power to write.
Decisions also have to be made about Brax and his involvement with Rhett and Indi. Mmm, I can smell a love triangle *rubs hands together gleefully*.
The other fun part about writing a book is choosing the cover art. I think I have narrowed down the one I want from a selection of 5 or 6, but I will know for sure once I've finished with the final edit. Things can always change.
I hope I've teased you sufficiently, leaving you wanting more of the Helheim wolves.
Reviews of Half Truths
Hello fellow Junkies,
Half Truths, the second book in the Half Blood series, has been available on Amazon.com for almost three weeks. Sales have been good, but they could always be better. So, if you have read Half Truths and you like like it, I would love to hear from you. Post a review on Amazon.com and tell everyone what you thought. I'm anxious to know how the second book is being received!
Half Truths, the second book in the Half Blood series, has been available on Amazon.com for almost three weeks. Sales have been good, but they could always be better. So, if you have read Half Truths and you like like it, I would love to hear from you. Post a review on Amazon.com and tell everyone what you thought. I'm anxious to know how the second book is being received!
July 7, 2012
The 72-hour free download promotion of Half Blood
Hello fellow Junkies,
Just a little update on the promotion I had running with "Half Blood" for 72 hours last month. In total, I had 4,086 downloads of the book which, I think, was a great success. For the remainder of the month, I had 100 more sales. It was a fantastic response to Half Blood, and if anyone is considering using the promotion tool via Amazon.com to promote their book(s), I would highly recommend it.
Also, if anyone out there has read "Half Blood" and liked/loved it, I would love it if a review was posted. The more reviews I have, the more likely it is that someone else will decide to read it too.
Just a little update on the promotion I had running with "Half Blood" for 72 hours last month. In total, I had 4,086 downloads of the book which, I think, was a great success. For the remainder of the month, I had 100 more sales. It was a fantastic response to Half Blood, and if anyone is considering using the promotion tool via Amazon.com to promote their book(s), I would highly recommend it.
Also, if anyone out there has read "Half Blood" and liked/loved it, I would love it if a review was posted. The more reviews I have, the more likely it is that someone else will decide to read it too.
