C. Miller's Blog, page 5

Video Q&A

Yes, you read the subject correctly.

I had an idea several weeks ago about doing just that (a video Q&A). Knowing my anxiety (it’s like a real person to me, watching over my shoulder), my first thought after the idea struck was, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea.’ (Please imagine that being thought in a sarcastic inner voice.)

I mulled it over (cue Harry Potter thought path . . . moving on . . .) for a while. After doing as much (and talking to Husband about it and hearing his opinion), I tossed the idea out there to a couple friends. Most said, “DO IT!”

(All but one really said as much, and admittedly that friend is freakily similar to me in a lot of ways so I can definitely understand her saying she didn’t know.)

I have my obvious issues with it:

1) That I will make an ass out of myself.

2) That words worse than ass might slip out of my mouth on accident. (I frequently use ‘bad’ language, but only when I feel it’s ‘appropriate’ to do so. I try not to use those words on here because I consider this something along the lines of being ‘out in public,’ where my ‘bad language’ is all used in my head. (That’s the way I was raised.) Hence me starring things out (for the most part) when I either feel like I can’t or don’t want to get around using a particular word.)

3) I write much better than I speak. (Hence me being a writer and not a public speaker. Or public ANYTHING.) Do I really want everyone to hear this stammering I occasionally post about on here? Not particularly. Do I want anyone to hear ummm come out of my mouth about fifty times? No, but it most assuredly would happen. (Not to mention that I make absolutely HORRENDOUS faces while I talk. I really do.)

4) Do I really want to send myself into all the anxiety attacks this would surely induce for absolutely nobody to even watch it? No.

There are the good sides to it:

1) As much as I prefer writing to speaking, obviously you can get more out faster with the latter.

2) I would really like to hear any questions people might potentially have for me, and then answer them.

3) As hesitant as I am about literally putting a face to the name, I don’t really think it would be a bad idea to essentially say, ‘Hey, here I am.’ (Then follow it up afterward with, ‘I bet you can see why I sit alone and write books now, huh?’ ;) )

4) Even if it might stress me out, it might actually be fun.

I do video diaries for myself to keep up with things going on in my life (because I have a horrible memory), and I’m sure doing a video Q&A then sharing it with everyone would let people see that the way I go about writing on here is very much how I am in real-

SQUIRREL.

(All the parenthetical asides in posts/comments/messages is how my mind works when I’m not writing books. Really. I am a mess. ha)

Anyway, I didn’t want to make an ass out of myself with even asking if it wouldn’t be something people were actually interested in seeing. (Who would want to watch me ramble?) But better to ask than not because someone out there might have something they’d really like to ask me. Who knows?

 

SO! If anyone is interested in this (the rambling/stammering/etc./etc./etc.), please let me know. Feel free to start asking questions. I don’t really care what sort of questions they are, to be honest. They can be work-related. (About characters/writing/publishing/etc.) They can be ridiculous and have nothing to do with anything. (Why do I love Merlin so much? What’s my gamerscore on XBox? I’m kind of proud of that last one. Just saying.) I don’t mind.

I only have ONE stipulation with this though. Just one.

If any of the questions contain spoilers for either of the books I have out, please ask me those questions privately. I will try to find a way to answer them in the video regardless because I’m pretty used to being careful with how I word talk of these books. If I can’t do as much but feel I can answer your question privately, I will do as much.

Anyway, feel free to comment on here or Facebook. If you would rather ask the question privately (either for the reason mentioned above or because you don’t want me to use your [first] name in the video), you can do so by messaging me on either my Facebook page or GoodReads. (Also feel free to add me as a friend on there if you’d like while you’re at it.) Or you can shoot me an email at cmillauthor (at) gmail (dot) com.

If there aren’t enough questions asked to warrant doing this, I WILL answer the questions asked via whatever means you contacted me.

One more thing:

I will not give away any spoilers. Not for any of the books, whether released yet or not.

HAVE A GOOD DAY, ALL!

(Please excuse me while I mentally go hide under a rock.)

Elude is available!

I’m so sorry for not posting this on here yesterday, but better a little late than never.

Anyway . . . here are the links! (I’ll be updating the My Books page and the What’s in the works? page to reflect all this, plus adding a few more links.)

Elude on Amazon (Print and e-book have already attached, so that’s nice.)

Elude on SmashWords

 

Hope everyone is doing well out there. :)

 

On releasing a second book . . .

Trying to process how I’m feeling with the release of Elude coming up fast has been a pretty interesting experience. It can be all pure, undiluted excitement for who knows how long, only to be overtaken by stress and the like at a moment’s (unwanted) notice. Me, I’m a stressful being. I’ll be stressed about the sky being too blue if nothing else is going on. (WHERE ARE THE CLOUDS?! THERE SHOULD BE CLOUDS RIGHT NOW!) Clearly that’s an exaggeration (of sorts), but there’s always the ‘expect the worst’ mentality trying to break through any bit of positivity in my head. That’s just me.

I’d been ridiculously stressed trying to get everything done and (as close to) perfect (as I can get) with this. I was still excited despite all that, more of that than anything else. Then, all at once, most of the stress and other negativity was sucked up. I was just excited.

Thus far, preparing to release a second book has been an entirely different ballgame than the first. I know what I’m doing a bit better than I did when it was Reave I was preparing for. (Though, admittedly, I did forget some things this time which was much easier to be remedied than initial learning.) Releasing that first one, I was a giant mass of stress. I’m pretty sure I was putting off so much stress that it could easily be detected by others within a fifty-foot radius of me. (Though it’s rare for people to be in that space.) Obviously there was the pleasantness as well. I was FINALLY going to have a book out there in the world. I was going to push it off the proverbial cliff to see if it could fly. It was terrifying.

It was also exciting.

After several years of writing books and wanting people to enjoy them like I enjoyed them, it was . . . a bit surreal, to be honest. I’d been so over-protective and private with my work until that point, and the thought of any and everyone being capable of reading it just blew my mind. (I’m getting better with the over-protective part, but it’s a process for sure.) It still does blow my mind, when I really think about it in certain ways.

I’ll say my head is much clearer this time around. Rather than, “Is this really happening? Really?” it’s, “This is happening.”

I’m happy. I think a great deal of that is due to just how much I love the rest of this series. If you’ve read Reave, you know it leaves off for things to PICK UP. And pick up they do. I really love this second book. (Though I’ll easily say that the fourth is by far my favorite in the series.)

One of my concerns was that other people wouldn’t agree with me on this, that they wouldn’t enjoy the rest and would be like, “FIRST.” After having several people read Elude and telling me they liked it better, and having the people who have either finished book 3 or are currently reading it saying the same (that they like it even better than the second, which was an even larger concern for me if I’m being honest) . . . I’m feeling good.

I don’t know when it happened exactly, or if it’s only a temporary thing, but I think I’m getting just a smidgen better at putting away the negative thoughts where my work is concerned. They’re still there, of course. But I’m getting a bit better at not letting them dictate so much, or have so much of a say in matters where they don’t actually need to have input at all.

Obviously I’m stressed out, wondering how it will be received, and all that. At the same time, I know it’s better and I can be excited about that.

As of right now, I don’t really know that I’ll be posting another entry on here before the release. Unless I think of something important, this will probably be it. So I have a few things to say to all of you who have actually taken the time to read this and are interested. There will be no mass of stress seeping into the following…

1) I am really looking forward to you reading Elude, if you’re planning on it. I hope you enjoy it. I hope it makes you feel something. I hope you’re satisfied with it.

2) Thank you. I sincerely want to thank any and everyone who has been supportive of my work. These books mean more to me than I can actually get across. (I suppose that’s easy when they pretty much consume your life…) And I’m really not very fantastic at many aspects of this. Getting the word out? Yeah, I’m pretty awful at that. Having confidence in myself? Pretty awful at that as well. So thank you all for either dealing with the latter of those, or helping with the former. More than that, thank you to anyone who has at any point ever thought the characters I write deserve to be not only enjoyed by you, but shown to others. It seriously means more to me than I could ever express.

That’s why I do this.

(Apart from trying to keep my sanity in getting these stories out of my head. ;) )

- C

Releasing a second book? Yeah, it’s happening.

Be prepared on July 14th. Until then, you can check out Reave, or add Elude on GoodReads. :)

Elude is up on GoodReads!

As the subject says, I’ve put Elude on GoodReads! I probably should have done it sooner, but . . . I didn’t. I’ll be totally honest and admit I hadn’t even thought about putting it up early, but was asked when it would be up and I figured, ‘I should probably do that.’

Anyway, you can find it here: Elude on GoodReads

I’m a bit behind where responding to things is concerned, as per usual. I’d planned on getting caught up tonight, but it is now the morning and . . . I’m not caught up. Please be patient with me where that’s concerned. I will definitely get to all that tonight (after I wake up), but it’s pretty close to bedtime for me now.

I’ll have a more substantial blog entry coming soon, within a day or so. I suppose that would depend on how you defined ‘substantial,’ but totally not the point. I’m not entirely sure what the point is, apart from that I’ll be on here a bit more often. And Twitter.

I just wanted to make sure I let everyone know that Elude is up there now, in case anyone wanted to add it. :)

Mirror Interview #3 Charles E. Yallowitz

Originally posted on readful things blog:

What is one of the most difficult questions I have ever been asked in an interview?

There are a handful of questions that always turn up, so it becomes challenging to give a unique answer. These come down to some creative replies or choosing from a list of possible answers that all hold some speck of truth. Yet, the most difficult question is the following: Who would you want to play your characters in a film version of your book? Wow. I never know the answer because my knowledge of current actors and actresses is limited. So I spout whoever comes to mind, which doesn’t always make sense. The truth is that I’d be so obsessed with the movie being good that anyone who takes on my characters will get the same treatment. Yet, this isn’t an answer that really works because it sounds like a cop out. So, I…

View original 1,629 more words

Cover Reveal: Elude (Reave Series, #2) :)

I’m SO excited to share with you the cover for my second novel, Elude.

 

 

Escaping is hard. Surviving is harder.

Aster has lived a life of servitude for ten years, but now she is determined to be free. Countless Reapers stand between her and the gate to New Bethel, and more await just past the walls. She’s spent her life being invisible, but in a world full of assassins, becoming close to any of them only makes you a target for the rest. Every step she takes puts her in more danger, closer to Reapers with unknown intentions. Unexpected friendships develop, but can she really trust any Reaper when they’ve all been trained to deceive? Aster and Chase know what awaits them outside the city, but can they get past it?

In Aster’s journey for freedom, she learns there are some things in life you can’t ever truly escape from, and that some steps can’t ever be taken back.

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Projected Release Date: July 14, 2014

 

Cover: Phatpuppyart

Photography: Teresa Yeh

Typography: The Font Diva

COVER REVEAL TONIGHT

My apologies again for being somewhat absent as of late. I’ve been super busy, yet somehow found myself feeling like a chicken with its head cut off. I’ll be even busier starting tomorrow (or, er, today?), but the head will be (somehow) reattached. It’s kind of like I’ve been running around aimlessly, trying to get things done while I was waiting for other things to get done, and not actually being productive in the slightest. Now I have a set direction and can get on with it, which seems to pretty much be the only way I can function. Straight lines. I need straight lines to be efficient. Finally got my straight line(s) back.

It’s time to start the big busyness part of time before the release of book two in the Reave Series. (busybusybusy)

Here is what the schedule looks like as of now:

This morning (before bed), I’ll be getting the last copy of book two back.
TONIGHT (after waking up), I WILL HAVE THE COVER/BLURB REVEAL FOR BOOK TWO. Stay tuned for that, folks. I’m kind of in love with this cover. (‘Kind of’ was an under-exaggeration.)
After that, I will start going through the book, which won’t take me long in that form. I’ll make a few last-minute changes (very carefully) wherever necessary, then go through it one more time before starting to format.
Formatting will take up a decent chunk of time, but hopefully that goes as smoothly as the first did.
Then it’s back cover done.
Then it’s checking to ensure it all looks right (formatting-wise).
Then it’s ordering the proof.
Then it’s waiting for the proof to arrive.
Then it’s going through the proof to make sure there are no issues with it.
Then it’s waiting to release (which I don’t suspect I’ll be waiting long for).

I’m going to be trying very hard to get it out on the date I’ve been intending since the initial push-back. Unless there’s some unplanned setback (which is possible), I should be able to make it. I’ll give that date with the big reveal tonight. Please, someone, cross your fingers for me.

 

(Also, a little end-note: I absolutely HATE writing blurbs. If I hadn’t gotten help on this one, I don’t think I would’ve been even remotely happy with it. I can’t do shoutouts with links to several of the people who helped me, but I can give one to Bitter Ben.)

(Another end-note: Wording in the blurb is subject to change before release, but only minutely.)

There’s no ‘almost’ anything with Almost Royal.

It’s pretty rare for me to post on here about things that aren’t book or work related, past that streak of Friday Music posts. (If I’m ever on here more often, I’ll get back to those.) I’ll make comments here and there amid work-related posts about going to see a movie or something. You RARELY get something the likes of Merlin on here.

You’re getting something like that today.

Husband and I were watching some unknown thing the other day, but I’ll say it was probably Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan (which I sort of fell in love with about a month or so ago, on accident). While we usually fast-forward through commercials, we accidentally caught one for this new show called Almost Royal.

If anyone has seen the preview for that show, you very well might understand why I had, “Me and Georgie are friends with benefits,” stuck in my head for DAYS. I’ll say this is the first time – to my recollection - that I’ve actually LOOKED UP when a show was going to start. (They usually slip by me because I’m too busy to remember what shows I even want to watch.)

Next week. I can live with that.

So there I was yesterday, wanting to watch that preview again because it’s just so . . . RIDICULOUS. My phone was being uncooperative (or I was being lazy, I can’t remember which), so Husband looked it up On Demand. And waddya know? There was a FULL EPISODE on there.

We turn it on. Within about . . . three minutes, I was in tears. I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to stop laughing here in a bit. Really. Something not-funny is going to happen, and I’ll stop laughing.’ I did not stop laughing. I had tears in my eyes the entire time. I am not kidding. Every time something a little less-funny happened, I was still laughing from the last funny thing until the next really-funny thing happened.

At the end of that show, my husband said, “I’ve never heard you laugh that much.”

I laugh pretty easily. I’m far too easily amused. I small-laugh A LOT, but I’m lucky to get a couple BIG LAUGHS in every day. For one, my BIG LAUGH is a horrible sound to hear, and I’d rather not torture anyone with it. For another, while I get amused by the smallest things (even the lamest of jokes will get to me), I rarely find things hilarious. Almost Royal is hilarious.

I’m honestly not too big a fan of the comedy genre, in movies or television. There are a few exceptions, obviously, but with most comedies, the filthy and legitimately-funny ratio isn’t balanced enough for me. (Don’t ask me how I write books, please. I often wonder why I get put-off by some things and not others, or different deliveries of the same things.) It was pretty recent that I started opening myself up a little more to them, rather than bundling them all together and just assuming I wouldn’t enjoy them. I watched Community. I really like Modern Family. I REALLY fell in love with Enlisted, which might only be funny if you’ve known people in the military. If you’ve seen Enlisted, look at Randy. He’s my favorite character. That’s my preferred type of humor (apart from the witty sort) – silly and more than a bit ridiculous. LIGHTHEARTED.

No matter how much I’ve opened myself up to the genre, how many ‘comedy shows’ I’ve watched . . . I have not laughed like I did yesterday. I haven’t laughed to the point of tears for an entire episode of anything ever.

You remember Jackass? I’m not talking about the newest Jackass, when it got too over-the-top (now I’m thinking about the movie Over the Top). I’m talking about OLD Jackass (now I’m hearing, “You old jackass,” in my head, which would probably only be funny if you could hear the accents I hear on a daily basis), where people just did ridiculous things and it was funny.

The first time I saw Jackass, I was in eighth grade, at my best friend’s house. It was on. I had no idea what it was. But I heard, “TODAY, WE SHALL JOUST!” and I was hooked. (At least until it got too over-the-top and overdone for me.) I laughed to the point of tears more times than I know due to that show (rhyming). ['People riding shopping carts into bushes? This is amazing!' I'm telling you, I'm too easily amused.]

In one episode, I would take Almost Royal over ANY of those funny shows. As much as I love Enlisted (I really do), I would take Almost Royal over it. One episode.

Who am I kidding? I was hooked with the preview.

That’s the awesome thing about it. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was REALLY looking forward to something like I was with this, then wasn’t disappointed with the final product. I always get disappointed when I hype things up in my head. I was not disappointed with this.

The point of this entry is: Watch the show. At least watch the preview that started it for me. (I’ll include it below.) You might not like it. If you do like it, I sincerely doubt you’ll think it’s as funny as I do. But still . . . just check it out. It seriously deserves to be checked out. I do not know how they can keep straight faces for that. I don’t know.

If I get just one more person to become a fan of this show, I’ll feel that I’ve done my part.

That’s all, apart from saying that I’ll be having the cover reveal for my next book this week (if everything goes according to plan). Stay tuned! :)

 

Updates after an unplanned absence . . .

So, I’ve been completely absent for nearly a month now. I need to apologize for that.

(I’m sorry!)

It wasn’t planned. I wish I could blame Mercury being in retrograde again, but it is right now and honestly when it started is around the time I started getting everything straightened out. That would’ve made sense (or as much sense as Mercury in retrograde actually makes) as to what was going on with me several weeks ago. I don’t have the excuse.

Do you ever have one of those days where you’re just . . . bleh about everything? Of course you do. We all do.

I had a little more than a week of that. I don’t know what was up with it, but I seriously couldn’t force myself to do much of anything. I worked a little here and there, and just wasn’t feeling it no matter what I tried to work on. Wrote up a few blog posts during that time. Didn’t post them. Then I gave up and just played Skyrim until I felt a little more like myself. I take that back. I played Skyrim until I reached the point of, “I need to work regardless of how I feel. I’ve got too much s*** to do.” Then I worked until I felt more like myself.

I do have my theories to explain the weirdness. I think I was (and still am) overwhelmed. I was bogged down by not just trying to get this second book ready, but trying to get OTHER books ready (so I can eventually focus more attention on new things), also trying to work on new things, all the while trying to figure out how in the world to balance social stuff (at least the internet-sort). I’m used to working a lot (all the time) and prefer it that way, but I think I just hit some weird sort of breaking point that stole absolutely every bit of my motivation/drive. I did NOT like it. I’m used to being stoked to get out of bed every day so I can get to work.

There were also a few road blocks to getting book 2 ready, which left me kind of fumbling around not knowing what to do or what to say to anyone. So I stayed off everything until I would have something a bit more definitive to say.

Let’s see . . .

I have to delay book 2 a bit. Not long, but I was hoping to have it out within the next few days (with my projection). Not going to hit that projection. I don’t have a more set day yet, but I should be able to give everyone an update within a week or so. (*fingers crossed*)

I should have an update about the cover within the week as well. All I can say there is that it’s in the works.

I did (most of) another run-through of the trilogy. I’m currently part of the way through the last book, RIGHT AT the part where the time line flub starts. I wanted to be able to tell everyone I’d finally gotten that fixed, but I can’t because I haven’t.

I did some writing here and there on a few different things. The standalone short story that goes along with the Reave series, and also the ‘spin-off’ (of sorts). I actually got quite a lot done on the former of those.

Book 3 of the Reave Series is already in the hands of a beta-reader and has been for a couple weeks now. I’m really happy to report that people are liking the second book more than the first (LIKE ME!). I’m even happier to say that, last time I checked, my beta-reader was liking the third book even more than the second. (YAAAAAY! That’s SUCH a relief.)

Said beta-reader gave me cupcakes in exchange for B3, so I wasn’t joking before about taking bribes in all forms of cake. Not really. I was going to give her that one anyway, but I do love all forms of cake. By the way, THEY WERE THE MOST DELICIOUS CUPCAKES EVER. Not joking there, or exaggerating.

I passed on an opportunity to go back to Florida with my sister. I’ve been upset about that. I wanted to go, but there’s just TOO MUCH going on right now and I couldn’t justify being gone for ten days. Sad face.

I’ve been going back and forth about whether to release the third book in the Reave Series after the second, or to release the first in the trilogy. I haven’t decided yet. I’ve been wobbling about that for a few months now, but I’m leaning more toward first in the trilogy. That will all depend on a few variables, and I’ll keep you all updated either way.

Let’s see . . .

I went through books 3 & 4 in the RS as well during all this time. I didn’t print them out due to how few changes I made on book 2 the last run-through. Couldn’t justify ‘wasting’ money on the ink . . .

It gave me migraines. I hate going through books on screens, for so many reasons. I probably won’t do that again, ink costs or not. I really don’t know how people can use e-readers. >.< Well, I do know, but I just can’t do the ‘screen’ thing. I digress . . .

I think that’s really about it.

I just need to get my What’s in the works? page updated now to reflect all this and whatnot.

I’ll try to be on here a little more often. There will be a few days (hopefully soon) that I won’t be able to, due to busyness with B2, but I will definitely say something on here before that. I hope nobody else was bitten by the zero-motivation bug. That was seriously one of the worst things ever for me. I hope it never finds me again.

Preparing to work on book two in the Reave Series. :)

After a bit of a hectic time (again, hectic for me), the past few days or so have been the opposite. Granted, that was my doing so I shouldn’t act like I’m surprised, but it’s always surprising for me anytime I’m not working my brain off (??) trying to get stuff done. (Figured ‘brain’ would be better suited to the point.)

I found out a few days ago that Monday (today) would be when I got a beta-read copy of book 2 in the Reave Series back. I think that only reinforced what I was talking about a couple posts back in Writing and Releasing. Working on the RS was getting ready to take precedence in my life once more, and receiving the news as to when seemed to mentally put the new series on hold.

I’m picturing skewering all those characters to trees by their clothing and saying, “Just hang out there for a little while. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Promise I’ll come back for you.” I don’t even want to get into the shouting that would ensue or all the nasty remarks I would have said back to me. Something or other about human idiocy, I’m sure. That would of course be followed by (nearly) all of them trying to get themselves down, failing because I put them there, and then more than one threat about how one or more will ‘get me back’ for this. I’m sure they’ll be trying to get themselves down during this time, and that all the struggling will periodically draw my attention back to them. That’s a good thing, as long as I can get everything else done that needs to be done.

I’ve written a little bit. By ‘little bit,’ I mean LITTLE BIT. Book 3 has been even more difficult to get out than the others. I’m crossing my fingers that it really is to do with situations and timing rather than my ability (or lack thereof) to get this story out in general. I suppose I’ll figure that out in a couple months or so.

I’ll be honest, what I’ve mostly been doing the past couple days is playing Skyrim. I hate the load screens in that game. And tell me why I can’t fast travel from inside buildings so that I don’t have to sit through multiple load screens back-to-back. It makes absolutely no sense to me. Sometimes I wonder why I’m even playing it, despite how amazing it is. Husband has had so many random glitches in his games that make it to where you can’t even finish quests after however many hours spent playing, so why take the risk? Because it’s amazing, and ridiculously addictive, I suppose.

Anyway, I’m glad to be getting book 2 to prevent me from getting sucked as hard back into that as I potentially could’ve been. Also, I’m just glad to be getting it back in general, to get it one step closer to being ready for release.

I’m really looking forward to it. I always look forward to starting another run-through of book 2, but it’s going to be interesting to get more feedback from it, to see if things are taken the way I intend them to be. So far seems to be working out that way, from what I’ve already heard. I reckon I’ll see a bit later today.

I probably won’t be on here much over the next few days while I’m going through this. I might be, but I might not. I know I haven’t been on here much in general lately, but at least I’m giving a bit of warning this time. I keep trying to tell myself that once I get more of these books off my plate and released, I’ll have more time for other things. I’m sure I won’t though. I’ll probably just find something else to work on. Who knows though? I just know I have to keep myself busy or else I go insane. I mean, even when playing Skyrim, I make lists and the like. That’s just how I am, and it works.

So yep, I’ll be really busy over the next few days, working on book 2. I know some people are really wanting to read it (and I’m really wanting it to be read), so I’ll be getting it another step closer to that happening. :)