Ellie Di Julio's Blog, page 22

Crowdfunding Cora Riley: Teasing you for cash

WOOPWOOP! It’s Day 4 of the Crowdfunding of Cora Riley, and thanks to a handful of generous backers, we’re already 7% funded at $135 out of $2000. Exciting!

My cover artist, Desz Kern, has been hard at work coming up with brilliant cover ideas to share with me, and I just received a four-panel sketch of choices. They’re sooooo neat, you guys! I never doubted she’s the right lady for the job, but these images cement my confidence.

And I want to share the pretties with you!

So! Once we hit 15% fun...

The State of the Ellie: October 2013

Holy shit, what happened to September?! And the summer?! GODDAMMIT, CANADA, STOP STEALING MY HEAT.

…ahem…

My last State of the Ellie post had a much different format that I’ve used in the past because I needed a brain-break, but I liked it so much (because it’s not as time intensive and therefore less resistance-y) that I’m doing it again this month and maybe forever. Or until I get bored of it. So there.

Here’s a list of all the weird shit that happened to me last month.

In September I…

completed...

Crowdfunding Cora Riley: The Book That Love Built

Today, I’m doing something I thought I’d never do. For all my talk about asking for what you need, I’d convinced myself that I’m too minor-leagues to really ask. But then you guys reminded me that you’re here for me and that I’m nowhere near as insignificant as that evil little voice says I am. And so, ladies and gentlemen and smizmars, it is with great pride and more than a little humility that I bring you…

The Crowdfunding of Cora Riley

The Transmigration of Cora Rileystarted as a standalone...

The Book That Love Built: Crowdfunding Cora Riley

Today, I’m doing something I thought I’d never do. For all my talk about asking for what you need, I’d convinced myself that I’m too minor-leagues to really ask. But then you guys reminded me that you’re here for me and that I’m nowhere near as insignificant as that evil little voice says I am. And so, ladies and gentlemen and smizmars, it is with great pride and more than a little humility that I bring you…

The Crowdfunding of Cora Riley

The Transmigration of Cora Rileystarted as a standalone...

Kickstart this sombitch

LO did Ellie complete the final draft ofThe Transmigration of Cora Riley.

And it was good.

Yet, the work still required a cover. One created by a talented artist who deserves to get paid what she’s worth and more. There were also ISBNs to consider. And printed copies. Things to make the first book of theForgotten Relics series a beautiful and legitimate-looking piece of literature. Things that require money Ellie did not have.

And thus, after much badgering and convincing by Facebook and dear fr...

Write Against the Machine 21: Let’s talk about sex in writing, baby

SEX.

Got your attention?

Good. Because sex in writing is an (ahem) sensitive and important topic that Mary and I have Opinons about. What are we teaching our young adults when we refuse to allow sexual situations in their books? What are we teaching ourselves when we oversaturate adult literature with meaningless fanservice sex? Important stuff.

Worth noting: While the subject matter might make you blush, this week’s WAM is actually pretty safe for work. Aside from the swearing, anyway. And I do...

Walk like you mean it: My first 5K, on a brand-new hip, no less

I’m not an athlete. I just want to say that right up front. Where my husband is a freaking Crossfit/GORUCK junkie, I hate every minute aspect of working out. I’ve had the same sports bra since I was eighteenand only ever go to the gym so I can eat more cake.

I’m also just this side of recovered from a massive hip surgery in the spring wherein doctors peeled back my nerves and muscles, broke and reshaped and bolted my pelvis, then stitched it all back together and told me to walk.

I say all this...

Write Against the Machine 20: The freelance life with Lauren Orsini

Freelance journalism is a tantalizing proposition, don’t you think? You basically get to be curious, ask important people questions, write about their answers, then get paid for it. But when a lot of writers sit down to actually make the leap into freelancing, they get stuck in The Fear.

But fear not! Otaku journalist Lauren Orsinijoins Mary and me in this week’s podcast to tell you all about making the move into freelance journalism, as well as explain how she turned herself into a robot. Sor...

The State of the Ellie: September 2013

If I’m being honest, the only reason I’m writing this update is because I feel guilty for the lack of posting the last few weeks. Editing, along with a few other things, has eaten my brain. Which is still happening. I’m pretty sure that if the zombocalypse happened right now, any zombies that came to my house would starve to death.

No brains here, guys, sorry.

That being the case, I’m forgoing the usual in-depth summaries of my life to provide a cut-and-dry list of what the hell’s happened to m...

State of the Ellie: September 2013

If I’m being honest, the only reason I’m writing this update is because I feel guilty for the lack of posting the last few weeks. Editing, along with a few other things, has eaten my brain. Which is still happening. I’m pretty sure that if the zombocalypse happened right now, any zombies that came to my house would starve to death.

No brains here, guys, sorry.

That being the case, I’m forgoing the usual in-depth summaries of my life to provide a cut-and-dry list of what the hell’s happened to m...