Carrigan Richards's Blog, page 8

Events Update

Hello everyone!

I figured after two weeks, it was time to write a post. :) I am officially done with Under the Burning Stars! I cannot wait to share it with everyone when it releases July 21, 2014! But if you can’t wait until then, enter my Goodreads giveaway until June 30 to win a signed ARC of Under the Burning Stars! I also plan on having a release party of some type, so check back here or my Facebook page for more details.

This past weekend I participated in the Platinum Mega Multi-Author event! I was happy to meet new people  and interact with everyone. It was fun! This weekend, I’m participating in the Beat the Heat Giveaway. Over 70 authors and bloggers will be attending! You should check it out and win some prizes and giveaways and discover new authors!

Now that I’m done with Under the Burning Stars, it’s time to start on book 3 in the series. It is already written, for the most part. This particular novel is my favorite in the series so far. It’s dark, painful, and I really test my characters to the limits. I’m eager to get started on it (I have a personal goal to finish writing/editing/revising by October 31, so that I can write book 4 for NaNoWriMo – and I promise I will save several copies of it so I will not lose it).

Thank you to all who read this blog and read my books and review them. You are very much appreciated. :)

Happy writing!

Carrigan

Big News

Hello!

I apologize for the long absence! I’ve been quite busy lately. But I have some big news to share! I have signed with Indie World Publishing & Author Services!!! I am so excited for this opportunity and I get the luxury of working with some fabulous ladies. I have all of my fans to thank for this! You truly helped me accomplish this!

I have a lot of events coming up in June. I’ll be doing another author appearance with the Platinum Mega Multi-Author Event. Details are here. I’m not sure when my exact time is, but check back and I’ll let you know. I am also participating in the Beat the Heat Giveaway from June 27 – 29 where I’ll be giving away copies of Pieces of Me & Under a Blood Moon. Be sure to join both events so you can take advantage of discovering new authors!

Also, don’t forget my giveaway for Under the Burning Stars on Goodreads!!! It ends June 30! Click here to enter!

Under the Burning Stars is almost ready to be sent to the presses!! Are you excited? I am! Check my Facebook page every Friday for teasers regarding the book!

 

Happy writing!

Carrigan

Under the Burning Stars Teasers

Hello everyone!

I’ve gotten pretty far in the second editing process for Under the Burning Stars! A little less than TWO months and it will be released! In the meantime, I’ve released a book trailer for it and also the prologue! I hope you all enjoy both and stay tuned for the next Teaser Friday!

I’m also starting to come up with ideas for the 4th and last installment for my Enchanter series. I plan to start writing that very soon. :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Happy writing!

Carrigan

I’m Seeing Stars

Hello!

Lately, I’ve gotten so many 4 & 5 star ratings and reviews for Pieces of Me. I’m so awed and excited that so many of you enjoyed that novel. I am grateful for all of the support! Pieces of Me was also featured on the Ramblings On Readings website for a really awesome review.

Tomorrow is Friday, so you know what that means! It’s Teaser Friday! Come back and check out what I’ll have in store for you. :) I’ve gotten Under the Burning Stars back from the editors, so now it’s my turn to edit once again. I cannot wait to share this with you all! I’m excited. Don’t forget to enter for a chance to win 1 of 5 signed ARC copies of Under the Burning Stars! You have until June 30!

Also, as you can see, my website has been updated. Thanks to all those who helped me get it right.

Sunday June 1 at 4:45 EST, I will be participating in the Platinum’s Mega Multi-Author Book Lovers Online Event. There will be contests, giveaways, plus I’ll be answering questions. So be sure to be there. It’s happening all weekend long so come for the whole weekend (and it’s online)! Come check it out!

Happy writing!

Carrigan

Teaser Friday!

Hello!

Every Friday, I will be posting teasers for my upcoming book, Under the Burning Stars. Today is the book trailer, which you can see here. I’m so excited to share this! It was made by Winterborne Productions and I think they did a fantastic job!

Also, as a side note, my webpage is currently getting a face lift and I’m continuing to make changes to it to make it awesome! The new website will be unveiled soon.

Happy writing!

Carrigan

My Fans Are the Greatest!

Good evening!

I just wanted to thank all my readers for the amazing support and for the reviews I’ve received. I’m so thrilled to see how Pieces of Me has touched so many people and that they have enjoyed it so thoroughly. It is still my favorite story and means a great deal to me. So, thank you to everyone who has purchased it.

Lately, it has reached a sales ranking of a little over 10,000 – the best it has been. Hopefully, I can keep it up and more people will read it and enjoy it. :)

I’m still working on the 3rd installment of my Elemental Enchanters series. Can’t wait until the release of Under the Burning Stars though! I hope you are all excited, too!

Keep writing,

Carrigan

Sippin’ on Sunshine

Hello!

How is everyone? Hope you had a great weekend! I had a wonderful time and gained some new fans/followers over the weekend from the Mother’s Day Reading Blitz. It was such a fun event and I’m so grateful to all who bought my books and liked my FB page! I’m 1 like away from 200! If you haven’t liked it yet, click here! I am also excited for all the new authors and friends I made because of this. And congrats to the winners of the giveaway! Also, Pieces of Me and Under a Blood Moon are still $0.99, but only for a limited time! So if you’re interested in reading either, now is a good time to take advantage of the low price!

In case you’re wondering about the progress of book #3, it’s going well. I have to make so many changes, but I’m up for it. My editors are still working on Under the Burning Stars, and there’s currently a giveaway promotion going on for that book on Goodreads here.

I got a couple of bad reviews over the weekend for Under a Blood Moon. It’s hard to stomach, but I’m not going to let it deter me. I’ll use those reviews to add fuel to my fire in helping with the next books. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you can’t please everyone. And one thing writers must always remember is that these are just opinions. I know there are plenty of books out there that I personally didn’t like but a lot of people loved. So, if you’re a writer, don’t let it stop you. You’re going to get bad reviews, but it’s okay. Don’t dwell on them, but do take some of what the reviewer says into consideration (if it is something worth doing).

Thanks again for everyone’s support! I truly appreciate it!

Keep writing,

Carrigan

Mother’s Day Reading Blitz

Hello all! Check out the Mother’s Day Reading Blitz for a chance to discover new authors! 60 authors, 74 authors – all books $0.99! Can’t beat that! Plus, you can get Mom something nice for Mother’s Day!

Check out the video!

Purple Is A Fruit

Hello all!

I hope everyone is having a lovely Wednesday. That actually used to be my nickname (after Wednesday Addams). An old teacher called me that because I am absolutely not a morning person. So there’s a little tidbit about me. I’ve been writing the 3rd installment to my Elemental Enchanter series (I had already written it but it needs so many changes). It’s a good story and it encompasses so many emotions and there’s a lot of action in this book. It’s still my favorite, so far. I wish I could say why, but I can’t give away any details! But this one is darker and I’m trying to find good YA novels that are dark that I can draw inspiration from – does anyone have any suggestions? Other than Harry Potter, which I might be tempted to re-read that. I’m almost done with Insurgent (yes, I know. Slowest reader ever). But in my defense, I’ve been busy and sick. Yeah. I used to read every night before bed, but lately, I’ve been slacking on that.

Anyway, this Friday is the start of the Mother’s Day Reading Blitz, which Pieces of Me will be a part of, but not only that, there are about 70 authors participating and all books are $0.99! There will also be giveaways on Saturday! So be sure to check it out and discover new authors! I can’t wait!

Also, I’m giving away 5 copies of Under the Burning Stars – signed advanced copies! Enter here to win! Good luck! :) And remember it releases July 21, 2014!

Gotta get back to the writing!

Carrigan

Characters! Lots of characters!

Greetings!

I hope everyone is having a lovely Thursday. The sun is finally shining outside and there are no storms looming. Since I finished editing Under the Burning Stars, I’ve taken a little break to catch up on some reading. I’m still working on Insurgent – while it’s a good novel, I think it moves rather slow. And I’m not really sure or understand the MCs intentions half the time. I like Tris, I do, but sometimes I think she could be stronger. Or maybe it’s just that she’s not portrayed well? I’m not sure what it is. She seems to have a death wish and seems to be a little selfish. These are my opinions and I realize they may not reflect many of yours. I know there are times in my series where my MC, Ava, has weak moments. Everyone does. But what makes a character stand out is what they’ll do in any given moment. Will they stand up and fight for themselves and to save others? Or will they just give up? I wanted to write a strong female character in my novel, because I think we need more of them. Especially our youth needs more of them. I can only hope that I’ve done that. I see Ava as strong and never one to give up (even when sometimes she should let things go). I get asked a lot about why I wrote about her having a not-so-great boyfriend in the beginning, Thomas. If Ava is so strong, why is she with a jerk like Thomas? Sometimes, we stay with people because it’s familiar, and in Ava’s case, she stays with Thomas because she truly believes she is bound to him. But we all know she’s in love with Peter and Peter is much better for her. Thomas is all she’s ever known though and with his new powers, he changes. They all change. They evolve (for the most part) and with part 2 of the series, you will see those changes. I wanted to create characters that you love to hate, but also ones that grow and change with time, because I think that’s important in books. It would be boring to read a series where the characters stay the exact same even through all they encountered. Take Damon in the Vampire Diaries (the TV show – and yes I know I really need to read those books). I actually hated Damon when he was first introduced, but you were supposed to. But he was one you loved to hate. He is a good character – he has depth and you begin to understand why he is the way he is. Even Caroline…omg, I found her to be so irritating in the first season. But she changed, and now she’s one of my favorite characters. She learned from her mistakes and learned to be a better person. I’m hoping Tris in the Divergent series will do just that. And I know characters are supposed to sometimes do dumb things that get them in trouble (hello conflict), but she seems to do them without rhyme or reason really. Or maybe I just missed the point. I’m almost done with the novel, so we’ll see. I heard people were upset over Allegiant and I can guess that one of two things happen, but I’ll save that for a rainy day.

Who are some of your favorite characters from books you’ve read and why?

Happy writing (and reading)!

Carrigan