Tara Ellis's Blog: Making Progress - Posts Tagged "trilogy"

I am new to the blogging world...well, I guess I should say that I am still new to the writing world too!

What I am NOT new to however, is the READING world. I was one of those kids that always had a book in their hand. At least one book. Sometimes two or even three. They were my escape, my daydreams, my outlet and respite.

From the time I was about seven or eight, I wanted to write my own book. I did several short stories (hammering it out on the old style type-writer where you had to get out the white-out to make your corrections). At sixteen I attempted my first book and finished it (finally) when I was twenty.

At that point (22 yrs ago), the only way to publish was to solicit and mail out your manuscript. I could afford to send out about ten and they all eventually came back saying I needed an agent. I was easily discouraged at this tender age and so I shelved it.

I didn't take it out again until a few months ago. I had just finished the second book in my young adult series and needed a break. So I decided to revisit an old friend and have some fun with it. I had discovered createspace and figured it would be easy enough to turn it into a book that I could finally put on a shelf. :)

I ended up re-writing the WHOLE thing. Changed the perspective and added a chapter. I LOVE it now and yes, it is sitting on a shelf right in front of me. My childhood dream realized. How cool is that? I've only sold a handful of copies, but the feedback I have gotten made ALL the time and work worth it.


That book is called 'The Mystery of Hollow Inn'. It is a childrens book (ages 9-12) and it's a lot of fun. I intend to make it the first in a long series (The Samantha Wolf Mystery Series). First though, I need to finish my YA trilogy. Which I am working on now.

This brings me to the title of this blog. THAT trilogy is called the 'Forgotten Origins Trilogy'. I am in love with this world that I created and am having so much fun writing it and sharing it!

The main character is a sixteen-year-old named Alex (short for Alexandria) and she essentially has to save the world from an alien virus. BUT...there are all sorts of twists and turns that will take you places totally unexpected. This story is NOT predictable, but it IS fast and thrilling.

It would be so great to have some YA Sci-fi fans read it and give me some honest feedback. (SO hard to come by!!!) Especially now, since I am working on the third and final book.

I have included links to all three books, but here is also the link to my author page on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Tara-Ellis/e/B0...

Maybe I should say a little more about myself? I'm not sure how all of this is suposed to work. :) BUT...I am a mom of two teenage kids (GREAT kids), a wife to a very good man and caretaker of several dogs, a cat, a lizard, rats and oh yeah...chickens. I LOVE the outdoors, live in beautiful Skagit Valley in NW Washington (State) and take full advantage of the scenery to improve my photography skills. (that's my other love) I was a volunteer firefighter/EMT for over eight years but now just teach CPR.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and getting to know a little about what I am working on!


Happy reading!!

You've got until midnight tonight (3.21.14) to get your free copy of 'Bloodline'!

Its going well, and I have climbed up to #5 on Amazons free bester seller list for sci-fi! I am just amazed at the exposure my book has gotten by the promotion. I've gotten a little feedback so far (all positive) so I'm excited to see if this helps with a fan base.

Thank you for your support!

Direct link again: http://www.amazon.com/Bloodline-Forgo...

A head's up that BOTH of my YA sci-fi books are free right now until midnight.

BLOODLINE:
http://www.amazon.com/Bloodline-The-F...

HERITAGE
http://www.amazon.com/Heritage-Book-F...

These are book#1 and book#2 in 'The Forgotten Origins Trilogy'.

As always, I would LOVE any feedback!!

For 48 hours, Heritage will be **FREE**!

Tuesday and Wednesday (5/6-5/7)

I'm using up my last two free promo days before I finish Descent later this summer. So get it now for FREE while you can!

http://www.amazon.com/Heritage-Book-F...

I found an amazing graphic artist at Melchelle Designs and I couldn't be happier with what she made!

This cover captures everything perfectly. I had high hopes when I finally took the plunge to get a quote/proof after seeing some of her work. But this cover far exceeded my expectations.

Mel was kind enough to blog about it on her site: http://msfowle.wordpress.com/2014/06/...

The new cover is live for the ebook, but it will be a bit before it shows up on the search here on Goodreads, through CreateSpace.
[ETA: New cover is now visible here!]


Here is the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ILPL7K8

I don't how to embed an image here...but if I figure it out, I'll update this! :)

Good morning!

I am both excited and sad to be coming to the end of my trilogy, The forgotten Origins. Descent, book #3 is set to be released before the end of September!

It may sound odd, but I have come to know my characters so well that I will miss having them (and their conversations) in my head all the time. :)

I just saw the proof for Descent's cover and I LOVE it! I really hope that YOU do too. I will be revealing it any day now, so stay tuned!

(I am also actively seeking beta readers, so drop me a note if you're interested.)

I have recently finished the third book in the Forgotten Origins Trilogy, Descent and I am looking for some Beta Readers!

If you are interested, let me know ASAP!

Okay. So I have now been in the game long enough to understand just a little bit about what it takes to be successful.

The first and most obvious is that you must have a good story. I honestly believe that I have that. Is it best-seller material, or is it going to change the world? Probably not, but I think it's good. At least, good enough to entertain people, which is what my goal as a writer is, so in this area I feel that I am a success. ;)

I've made mistakes. But hey, I've never published a book before, so I think I'm entitled to a few. The biggest one was thinking that I could edit my own work. I know, I know...EVERY self-help article out there tells every aspiring writer NOT to make that mistake. I compare it to the child who has to skin his knee before listening to the parent. My knees weren't too badly scraped, but it did hurt a little bit.

My other mistake was making my own cover. Now, both professional editors and cover designers don't come cheap. I, like many other indie authors, didn't have any extra cash lying around to fund these endeavors and so I thought that my creative energy could carry my through. It (the old cover) really wasn't that horrible. I mean, I've seen worse. Much worse. But it certainly looked home-made and that, right there, is an instant killer. Instant.

My biggest lesson (and the slowest to learn) was the one about reviews. I need them. We ALL need them. So how in the hell do you get them?! I wasn't going to PAY for them! (I still won't. It's a pride thing) But I finally realized that giving a free copy of my book to someone to review it (honestly) was NOT the same as paying for it. I like to think of myself as intelligent, but I was slow to grasp this concept. I'm getting there.

Unfortunately, I am NOT a social butterfly. So aside from a couple of family members and a few REALLY nice friends, the whole word-of-mouth and social media plight is all up to me. I'm not that good at it. I have a much easier time promoting someone else, than I do myself.

I seriously only had a private Facebook account when I started this. I even had my first book, Bloodline on Booktango and NOTHING else. I finally realized after finishing the second book in the trilogy, that Booktango was NOT the best option. I finally came up for air from writing and started thinking about promoting myself, because...*gasp* my book was NOT selling itself. (I was SUCH a newb)

The Amazon breakthrough artist contest was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't make it past the first round, but it compelled me to go back to my first book (Bloodline) and do a VERY hard edit, switch to KDP and look into what I was doing wrong. I also met some incredible people.

So here I am, about six months later, and I am on Goodreads, Goodkindles, have a blog, google, twitter, Pinterest, etc. I had someone that could actually EDIT go through Bloodline, Heritage and I'm paying them to do my third and last book, Descent. My biggest move was having professional covers designed and I absolutely LOVE them. (Melchelledesigns)

I will let you in on a secret: I sold all of my CPR equipment to fund both my writing and my photography escapades. I was always just teaching classes for free a couple times a year, and the rest of the time it all sat under my house, so why not?

The photography has taken off and I'm actually making money off it, without trying all that hard. You see...I'm still obsessed with my books. Now that I finished Descent, I'm hoping I will allow myself to take a break. I've been writing pretty much non-stop for a year-and-a-half. (between outlines, writing and editing)

NOW...I just need reviews so that I can get people to click-through to make that purchase. Which is why I'm running a free promo this weekend for Bloodline. I don't have enough reviews to make it onto the bigger sites and that's killing me.

SO here's to good writing, smart marketing, HONEST reviews and a little bit of luck!

OH..and if you wouldn't mind helping me to spread the word: Bloodline is FREE right now until 9/7. :)


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ILPL7K8

I finally got it here on Goodreads!

Descent


Although I love all three books in the Forgotten Origins Trilogy, this one is by far my favorite.

Here is the book blurb:
Sides are chosen when an ancient ruler returns to claim Earth as his prize and war ensues. A reluctant pawn, Alex is recruited to lead the resistance. Although her friends and family fight beside her, she struggles to find the strength to fulfill her destiny. Unsure of what she’s become, Alex battles her own tormented emotions to find the truth. Can she rise above the darkness? Or will she ultimately descend into its cold embrace?

Descent is Book Three in the Forgotten Origins Trilogy

*****
Part of a review:

"...What I loved about Descent is the growth shown by the characters and by the author. Alex learns to face the darkness within herself and rise above it. Some characters grow stronger under the pressure while others allow the tension to get to them. The division and connection between characters is part of what makes this such a compelling read.

There were lots of twists and turns, and I was honestly surprised by the ending. Ms. Ellis has crafted a well-thought, detailed, exciting world that engages the reader. A recommended read for those who enjoy YA, sci-fi, or dystopian."
-Becky Johnson, Author of Run

Direct link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Descent-Forgott...

Link to my blog with the first chapter preview: http://forgottenoriginstrilogy.blogsp...

I'll be doing a giveaway once I have the paperback version in-hand, so be on the lookout for that.

As always, I appreciate any feedback and honest reviews. If you would like a ebook copy, please let me know!

I had a really nice surprise today! I was notified that Bloodline had been nominated for the book of the day (NO idea who did this, but thank you, if you happen to read this) and it Won!

So, Bloodline is on the front page of their site for today, and gets a lifetime info/ad.

Link: http://indiebookoftheday.com/



I also have another fun interview up right now on Books, Blogs, and Bits! Check it out: http://books.iggylife.com/


I hope that perhaps, Bloodline is finally starting to find the right crowd of readers!