Mid-Month Check In

Hi everyone! *dusts cobwebs off the blog* Wow... I've been ridiculously inactive on here and I feel really bad about it... Class work, life stuff and writing has taken up all my spare time. Since I haven't been on here in so long I thought I'd do a mid-month check in and just an update type of thing to share what I've been up to lately.

First of all, I am loving the weather! October is my second favorite month of the year (second only to March which is my birthday month). I love the cool weather, the warm drinks, getting to wear jeans and jackets and seeing the beautiful colorful leaves and of course, Halloween. We've been going out to parks and just enjoying the sunny, beautiful weather.

Most of all though, my writing schedule has gotten kind of crazy (in a good way). I've been super busy planning out books, writing and editing and revising pretty much nonstop in all my spare time. Wayward was an amazing launch and it's been super encouraging and motivating to see how well it's doing with sales and KU pages read. I feel like that's kind of my mini-break out novel. It's not making me millions or anything, but its definitely done better than any of my other books. Getting to see that has been amazing and beyond encouraging. It's really motivated me to take my writing even more seriously and to up my game.

I feel like all year has been leading up to this, preparing me to take the next step in my author journey. This year has been a year of learning, discovery and research. I started 2019 with the Author Branding Challenge which totally changed my perspective and view on what I write and how I write. It was so amazing and I highly recommend Katie Phillip's free challenge she does twice a year I think. She also has this incredible five month class where she teaches you everything from how to write a newsletter to marketing your book. I haven't done it personally, but I've heard amazing things about it.

That was kind of like the stepping stone and got me really thinking about what I'm doing. I reevaluated my plan for 2019 and ended up diving back into the self-publishing world instead of jumping into the traditional publishing industry.

But what really got me was the Create If Writing podcast. For real, that podcast changed everything for me. Kiersten Oliphant is amazing and insightful and listening to her podcast has been beyond helpful to me. I wouldn't be where I'm at today without her advise on there. That podcast is by an indie author, for indie authors. She doesn't just talk about craft or writing. She gets into the real stuff. How to be a successful indie author. The do's and don't's. What works and what doesn't. Niche-ing down and finding the right genre that will make you money. Her episode on selling out was super encouraging and made me realize that I can be making money off my books, I just have to be smart about it and do my research.

Overall, 2019 has been a year of research and taking myself seriously as an author.

All that to say, that is how I got to where I am now. I have at least one book scheduled to be published each month for the next few months. St. Croix Falls has 3 more books in the series and I have a new series I am working on that may or may not have more than four books in it. I'm not sure how it will end but I know for sure there will be more than two books in that series. I feel like a real author now. I was just telling a friend the other day how writing feels like a job. Not in a bad way, but just in a busy way. I have self-imposed deadlines I have to meet, I have marketing to do and writing to be done. It feels very official and very job-like, especially since I'm actually making money right now. It's just a trickle, small amounts, but it's also fairly consistent and that's just with the one book in the series out.

Honestly, I'm loving every moment of it. This is what I've been building up to for the past five years when I first hit publish on Weapon Icean. It just took me a lot of growing up and a lot of research and thinking to figure out what works and what doesn't. It's all lots of trial and error.

Now, about that book that I'm working on and that will be out at the end of October. Sterling Silver. If you've followed my blog for a while you'll know about Sterling Silver. I wrote that book in May 2016 and have been working on it on and off since. The old version of it is on Wattpad and so is the sequel (that I will be rewriting for publication). Sterling Silver is very important to me. It's my favorite book I've ever written. I'll never forget how fun it was to write the first draft of that book. I got so into it and I am so passionate about this book and the characters and the series as a whole. A few months ago I had actually decided to put it away for good. Tabitha (the MC) kept coming back to me in the back of my mind, begging me to work on her story, but no matter how many times I went back and rewrote or revised nothing ever worked. There were too many plot holes and honestly, it was starting to make me frustrated. So, I decided to put it aside and let it go.... And then this month happened. I think I was actually working on a different WIP when the plot holes in Sterling Silver clicked and I figured out how to fill them. It was one of those magical moments only writers understand when these ideas just suddenly pop into your head and you have this sudden revelation and you know how to fix everything and make your book perfect. That revelation just took me about four years to figure out. I seriously love everything about this world and I love how much potential is there. There's room for so much to work with. If Sterling Silver goes well I can expand the world and I would love to do spin-offs about some of my favorite side characters and such. That would be a true dream come true.

But for now, I'm just working on having book 1 ready for publication in a few weeks. So, without further ado, here's the new and improved blurb for Sterling Silver:

Tabitha Sterling has always wanted nothing more than to fill her late father's role as the next vampire hunter to represent her family in the Moirai, a secret organization of vampire hunters. She lives for the hunt and the kill and is determined to be ready for when she turns eighteen and goes through the trials to prove she's worthy of being a part of the Moirai. Tabitha has always thought she's had it all figured out. She's the fastest and strongest hunter around. She doesn't need help from anyone.

That is, until she meets Sebastian.

During a regular night of hunting, Tabitha bumps into a tall, dark and handsome stranger, who, the next day, ends up being the new guy at her school. Coincidence? Yeah, she doesn't think so either.

Turns out the Moirai have sent for him to train her for the trials. As Tabitha trains with Sebastian, she realizes the two of them are bonded through old history between their two families and an old foe who is fixated on Tabitha. Alistair has come to town and is willing to do anything to win Tabitha over to his side. He wants her for her extra-ordinary speed, strength and vampire-like hunter instincts. As Tabitha and Sebastian fight to figure out what Alistair's end-game is, she must come face to face with her family's past and the truth of why she's between Alistair and the Moirai's game of tug of war.

What do you think?? I am so pumped to share this story with everyone! It means the world to me that I finally get to hit publish on Tabitha's vampire hunter story.

So, yeah... that's what I've been up to. When the cover is finished I'll be putting Sterling Silver up on pre-order and I'll share that with you guys on here as soon as it's ready.

What's your October going? What's your favorite part of the Fall season?