K.M. Shea's Blog, page 17

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Champions!

This is your annual reminder that I’ve got a King Arthur and Her Knights Thanksgiving short story!

(I realize that not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving in November – but that is when it is celebrated in the United States which is what caused me to remember I had this short story!) I hope you enjoy the freebie, and have a delightful Thanksgiving!

The post Happy Thanksgiving! appeared first on K. M. Shea.

REPOST: NaNoWriMo Encouragement

Hey Champions, this is one of the posts I mentioned when I explained my upcoming surgeries/procedures that I wrote a year or two ago, but I’m refreshing a little and reposting.

This post is meant to be an encouragement to those who are fighting their way through NaNoWriMo, so hopefully they won’t be discouraged with their writing. Yes, I’m once again busting out the first book I ever wrote…and it’s bad. So bad. Horrible. I’m not even sure I should subject you all to this, but, hey, I don’t think it’s possible to read it and NOT be encouraged by the quality of your own writing. So let’s roll out the old post!

I was in 7th grade–I think I was 11 or 12 at the time–when I wrote my first book. My novel was a 46,000 word, young adult sci fi story that is so horrific, so terrible, I mostly try to forget it exists, except in times like these. Either right around now–or sometime closer to the end of the month–you likely will end up questioning your skills and your ability. You might think you’re wasting your time because you’re a bad writer, or that you could never be a good storyteller.

Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Ooooooh Champions. Please allow me to give you PROOF that I didn’t start out writing like I do now as I unveil the most hideous skeleton I have: The Awakening Call– Book 1 of the Star Flight Series.

CLICK HERE IF YOU THINK YOU CAN SURVIVE READING IT!

Are you alive? Did you make it? I hope you did, and now you obviously know that I was terrible when I started. And with good reason!

Writing is an art. Most musicians aren’t able to instantly pick up their first instrument and play a concert piece. Similarly, most writers won’t write J. R. R. Tolkien-esque books on their first try. ( I obviously didn’t!) So if you’re feeling discouraged because you don’t think your book is perfect or that you’re not doing a good job, please allow me to assure you that you 100% are. When it comes to writing, finishing is the real win. (That’s why NaNoWriMo pledges to write 50,000 words in 30 days–not 50,000 perfect words, just words!)

The more you write, the better you get! And as terrible as my first book was, my second book was Princess Ahira. It’s gone through some pretty deep edits, but it’s available to purchase on Amazon. A lot of Champions enjoy Ahira–and it wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t finished *Gag* The Awakening Call, first!

And that’s the end of this embarrassing blog post. Now, Champions, please do me a favor and go read something of mine that will restore me to your good graces–and make you forget all about The Awakening Call. UGH–even that title is just hideous!

Thanks for reading!

Ps: YES, as 7th grader I wrote myself into the story as a 45-year-old. I was weird, okay? (Or maybe I just had visions of greatness, haha)

The post REPOST: NaNoWriMo Encouragement appeared first on K. M. Shea.

Author Guides!

Hello, Champions!

For all of you taking part in NaNoWriMo, here’s my annual reminder that I have an Author Resource Guide, which lists all of the resources I’ve used most over the years–and a lot of them are free!

Click Here for the guide! I updated the guide last year to include the cover artists/various computer programs that I use, in addition to books, podcasts, and youtube channels that I reference a lot!

There’s also a NaNoWriMo pintrest board, which contains links to lots of helpful blog posts/youtube videos. Click here to check it out!

I hope these resources help you, and good luck getting to 50,000 words. You can do it!

The post Author Guides! appeared first on K. M. Shea.

Hall of Blood and Mercy Available in Audio!

After several months of waiting, I’m happy to report that all three books Hall of Blood and Mercy books are finally available for your to listen to!

Here’s the links on Audible:

Magic Forged

Magic Redeemed

Magic Unleashed

Your narrators for this series are the super talented Natalie Duke and Alister Austin. Natalie narrates Hazel’s point of view and Alister narrates for Killian’s POV – which doesn’t leave much narration time for Alister in Magic Forged, but if you’ve read the books you know his chapters show up a lot more in books 2 and 3.

I’m so excited for this project! It’s the first time I’ve had a complete series available to listen to in audiobook. The team and I will be working on getting more audiobooks out in the future, but it’s going to be slow going as the whole process takes quite a bit of time, and as I mentioned in my earlier post–thanks to some health issues–I don’t have a lot of that. But I’m happy to share that the next series I have planned to put into audio is Court of Midnight and Deception! You can expect to see all three books in audio format sometime in 2022!

The post Hall of Blood and Mercy Available in Audio! appeared first on K. M. Shea.

Personal Bad News — Don’t Worry, I’m Okay

I’ve got some unfortunate news to share with you today, Champions. I’ve been going through some minor health issues, which have ballooned into some larger health issues, and basically I’m going to have two (minor!) surgeries and a slew of dental procedures over the next few weeks.

I’m fine! None of this is life threatening. It is painful–I just got the first procedure done and I have a puffy gums and a bruised jaw–but it’s mostly annoying because of all the recovery time I need. Each procedure has several days recovery, and each surgery has about a week recovery, and the amount of surgeries/procedures my surgeon and dentist think I need keeps fluctuating. (So I might end up with three surgeries total, and only a couple dental procedures, or it might be just the two surgeries and several additional dental procedures on top of what is already planned.)

Basically, when I moved houses (Yaaay! We’re still celebrating that one!) I went to a new dentist who discovered I had a major infection that had eaten into the bone of my upper mouth. I’ll spare you guys the disgusting details, but basically this means I need all of these surgeries/procedures to get that cleaned out and to replace the bone. Yes, all of this was preventable and shouldn’t have been a problem considering I was regularly seeing a dentist for cleanings and checkups, but my previous dentist missed all of the warning signs. (Good thing I moved, huh?)

The extra bad thing about that is that this has been festering for somewhere between two to three years now, which is why I’m getting hit with all of this in a very short amount of time–they want to take care of it before it does more damage.

SO! What does this mean for our community?

There won’t be large change to the release schedule for Pip’s series since I was able to push through and really get those first two books done–I’m now prepping them for editing. At the latest, Pip’s first book will launch in January, but I’m still hoping for a late December release right now.

Second Age of Retha, book 4, however, is getting pushed back a few months to a fall release since I’ll still be having surgeries/procedures in January, February, and March. (Hopefully not beyond that.) It’s still the next unfinished series I’m working on next, just the recovery times for all of this is going to mess up my timeline, particularly because I didn’t get a chance to work on it much between Pip’s books because I was rushing to finish as much as possible before all of…this.

The other big thing you’ll notice is that I won’t be posting as much on social media for November, and my Christmas event is going to be scaled down. I’ll probably only have one book for free in December–though I do have some goodies I’ve been waiting to share AND Court of Midnight and Deception and Hall of Blood and Mercy will be on sale sometime in February or January, soooo let’s just count those as an Epiphany celebration or something.

Myrrhlynn is helping me repost some of my NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) blogs–so you’re going to see some old content–and Vin has very graciously agreed to head some Champion NaNoWriMo events. We already made a post about it, but here’s the link if you want to read it again!

Honestly, having to scale back my plans for Christmas and Thanksgiving crushed me. I love holidays, and I love celebrating holidays with our community. Christmas is my absolute favorite, and I love making it into a huge deal. But I’m trying to keep a positive spin on this, which leads me to…

Thank you, Champions!

When I first found out about the infection and everything that was going to happen, I drove to a parking lot of a Home Goods store, and then proceeded to bawl my eyes out while sitting in my car.  I didn’t know how badly it was going to affect Pip’s trilogy, I didn’t know how I was going to cope with the changes it would force on my work schedule, and I was just plain scared.

I was in pure panic mode…until I started to remember when I broke the news to you all that Angelique book #5 was going to be released in three years, and I remember how many of you told me that was okay, you would wait, and you very specifically told me you wanted me to focus on my health and make sure you I took care of myself. I can’t tell you how much relief I felt when I remembered that–it’s actually making me cry right now as I think about it just to write this blog post.

So, thank you, Champions, for your support. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each and every single one of you. You make a huge difference in my life! Thank you for sticking with me through all the fun times–like Sheacon and book releases–and the not so fun times…like surgeries and recovery times. And finally, thanks for reading!

The post Personal Bad News — Don’t Worry, I’m Okay appeared first on K. M. Shea.

NaNoWriMo Begins!

It’s November, which means NaNoWriMo–or National Novel Writing Month–has begun!

National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. The event is run by an official NaNoWriMo nonprofit organization–which is where I got the description from. It’s free to sign up and join in the fun–you get a nifty tracker and some fun discounts if you “win” and write 50,000 words by the end of November. But you don’t have to sign up to officially participate–and you don’t even have to write 50,000 words of a novel to join! Some participants are writing D&D campaigns, journaling, or writing/planning out a comic book, so you can put your own unique spin on the month!

This year, Vin–our lovely Community Manager–is holding a slew of fun for the month, so she’s going to tell you all about it!

Hello Champions!

This is my second year hosting a NaNoWriMo Event. Most everything will take place on Discord as that platform is the easiest to chat on and do the sprints. For the Facebook group, I will be sharing Kitty’s posts and doing a few of my own.

For the Discord Event, I will be hosting writing sprints every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2-3:30 pm Central. Each session has three sprints (15 min, 20 min, 20 min) so even if you miss the beginning, come for the others! On the last day, November 30th, I’ll be hosting sprints at 10am, 2pm, and 6pm Central.

Apologies to those that cannot make it during the day, but my evenings are ever changing and hard to consistently schedule around (plus: family time!). However, I always encourage Champions to feel free to host their own sprints! Special roles for word counts can be earned from Undiscovered Magic User at 100 words during a sprint all the way up to Pegasus, clocking in at a whopping 1,250 words during a single 20 minute sprint!

I have posted a few writing resources and other Champions have also contributed to that list. This event is a great way to talk with others about your project and get help and support if you need it.

Last year I went into NaNo just to host and came out writing the beginning of a story. I will always admit that I don’t think of myself as a writer, but it was so fun to hear everyone talk that I was inspired. Have I touched that story since February? ….. nope! But I’m planning to continue working on it in November!

Lastly, on December 4th at 11 am Central there will be an Awards Ceremony on Discord. I have some secret “awards” that can be earned throughout November. Plus celebrating all who participated! If you cannot make that, no worries as I’ll post the results.

See you there!

Vin

The post NaNoWriMo Begins! appeared first on K. M. Shea.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, Champions! You know what that means, right? The entire Robyn Hood series is free for your to download right now! The sale is from October 29th through November 2nd, so make sure to pick these up if you need to add them to your K.M. Shea library.

Robyn Hood: A Girl’s Tale
Robyn Hood: Fight For Freedom

Usually I follow up this announcement with a warning that this is a Trick or Treat type situation (which, is it, because it’s a gift, but it’s also a bit of a trick), but enough Champions have said how much they like these books, so it makes me feel kind of bad to make a joke about them. I will say that they were some of the first books I ever wrote, so they have a very different feel compared to my newest books, and they are definitely in need of more editing. But they still have my trademark humor and strong female characters, so there is lots to enjoy!

If you already have these books, go ahead and send this sale to a friend who you think would enjoy them!

P.S. Small bit of Trivia for your Champions, but the King Arthur and Her Knights series exists because after I released Robyn Hood I posted a poll asking what I should work on next. The winning idea was a gender swap King Arthur. So it is fair to say that Britt exists because some Champions way back in yonder time liked Robyn Hood and wanted more like it.

The post Happy Halloween! appeared first on K. M. Shea.

King Arthurs and Her Knights Complete Series: On Sale now!

Happy Autumn, Champions! I have a delightful gift to share with you!

My King Arthur and Her Knights: The Complete Series boxset is on sale for 99 cents! (Which is a real steal considering it’s usually $9.99!) To add to the excitement, it has a new cover, too!

Amazon.com | All Other Amazon stores

Isn’t it beautiful?? It even has one of Britt’s horses in the background!

King Arthur and Her Knights is part time travel romance, part Arthurian fantasy. It follows Britt Arthurs–a modern young woman–who is pulled back through time by the Sword in the Stone where a surprisingly young and attractive Merlin asks her to pretend to be the real King Arthur and join him in his quest to unite Britain. The catch? If anyone finds out she’s a woman, she’ll be killed.

This boxset includes 6 episodic novellas and one full length novel, so it’s about as long as one of my urban fantasy series and is an easy, bingeable read as there are no cliffhangers between the books–though I’ve been told the slow building romance is maddening enough to make Champions read it in one weekend.

Give this series a try if you’re in the mood for found family, forbidden love, or a fake chosen one hero!

On a more personal side note, I hate Lancelot. I’ve always thought the guy was a scumbag for essentially stealing his best friend’s wife–though don’t get me started on Guinevere, either. So as I do with all literary axes I have to grind, I had to write about it. (There’s a reason why I wanted a modern heroine for this tale. It’s because she knows about Lancelot and everything he does. And she’s not going to take it sitting down.) As a result, this series does have a lot of humor in it!

I hope you check this series out, Champions, and if you do, it is my sincerest hope that it makes you smile. Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

The post King Arthurs and Her Knights Complete Series: On Sale now! appeared first on K. M. Shea.

Fall Fun Facebook Flive!

Yeeeeeeeees, it’s happening! I’m holding a Fall Fun Facebook Flive! (And yes, the Flive is on purpose. I tried to leave it as live, but the alliteration was too enjoyable to give up!) On Wednesday, October 20th at 7pm central timezone, I’m going to hold a facebook live on my author page!

It’s going to be all kinds of fun! I’m going to do a little craft (I use that term loosely because I’m basically painting one of those kid-craft suncatcher things) and talk about some of my favorite Halloween-y characters from my books–like my favorite vampire and werewolf. I will also have a very short little writing craft advice/segment as well!

Additionally, there will be a short Q&A time, but I’ll be answering questions that the Facebook Champions submit ahead of time. So, this is your opportunity, Blog Champions! Leave a question in the comments below, and if I have enough time (and legit actually know the answer to your question, or know that it’s not a spoiler) I’ll try to cover it in the Q&A!

I am going to dress up for the occasion–still trying to decide between my various costumes what one I should be–but I am going to try and keep this session to about 45 minutes long! (One of the reasons I don’t do Facebook lives too often is because I tend to let them go over TWO HOURS. It is death to my voice! We’re going to try out this shorter format, and if I can actually stick to it, hopefully I can hold more Facebook live sessions in the future!)

So if you want to join in the fun, head to my author page (click here for the link) on October 20th at 7pm central time! I can’t wait to see you there!

The post Fall Fun Facebook Flive! appeared first on K. M. Shea.

October Fun!

It’s October, which means Fall is officially here! That means it’s time for apples, pumpkins, leaves to change colors, and the temperatures to start cooling down!

I adore fall and winter–they’re kind of a big deal to me personally–so I tend to make all October, November, and December a huge celebration of all the things I love!

I figured I’d kick off the fun with a reminder of one of my favorite short stories I’ve ever written, Trick or Treat! (Click here for the PDF!) This short stories is from my “Magical Beings’ Rehabilitation Center” series, and gives you a glimpse of the main character, Morgan, as she tries to teach the magical beings hiding downtown Chicago about the wonders of Halloween. Check it out if you need a laugh today!

Also, if you want to dress up this month, but you’re coming up blank on costume ideas, we’ve got a pintrest board just for you!

In the next few weeks I’ll be announcing a special Facebook Live session for my Facebook Champions, and I’ve got two treats for you this month, so keep an eye out for future posts! Until then, Champions, welcome to October!

 

The post October Fun! appeared first on K. M. Shea.