An Update Of Sorts. Warning: All over the place.

I know, I know. I use this thing so sporadically, and so much has happened since the last time I updated this thing. So, what was it, the 19th of July? Since then, One Two Three, Salvation came out to two wonderful five star reviews. You can read them here and here. Thanks so much to Cat and Nanee for saying such kind words about my novel. It means a lot to me :)

That brings me to my next bit of news. I signed a contract for the next in the series, Drawing By Heart, and it's set for release on November 23rd. Now, some of you might remember this as one of the three novels I was working on for NaNoWriMo this year, which makes this even more special for me. I love this particular story and it keeps the suspense and mystery going more than I'd expected.

What I really came here to show off, so to speak, is the beautiful new cover I have for Drawing By Heart. It was done by a different cover artist this time, which had me a little bit apprehensive, but it came out beautifully. I wish I'd been able to keep one of the models from the other cover, but the model for Kay is absolutely fucking perfect and I can't wait to show it to you! (image redacted)

Isn't it beautiful?

That being said, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, as I always do, but I'm going in without a single damn idea as to what I'm going to write. It'll probably hit me a couple days in or something. I hope to see some of you doing the same thing, and look forward to sharing word counts and sprints like we did last year.

One more thing. Mrs Condit reviewed One Two Three, Shatter for her retro reads, and gave it 5 stars as well. You can read that review here and she also nominated me for Author of the Month. I didn't win, I was up against some stiff competition, but she did give a nifty little nominee badge I can display right here:

OKAY, I think this entry is 'all over the place' enough that I should probably end it here before it goes off in a completely different direction. Hopefully I'll start using this more, especially as Drawing By Heart comes out, but I said that about One Two Three, Salvation too, didn't I?

Til next time!
~Joey

New Novel Release!

I know I've been really quiet on this front, working a full-time job can do that to you, but I finally got the sequel to Kaleb's story picked up by Silver Publishing.

One Two Three, Salvation now has a cover and a tentative release date of September 7th, and I'm currently working on the first round of edits on it. It made me realize just how often I use the word 'was' in my manuscripts, and I've been going back and fixing it in my other stories as well.

Before I go off on that tangent, this is the beautiful cover for One Two Three, Salvation. I worked with the same cover artist that did One Two Three, Shatter, and I think she did just as great of a job. She had more of a challenge with this one because I was incredibly picky about my models, but it turned out wonderful in the end despite that.

Now, I've got to go dive back into my edits. I'll post more information as I get it. Cheers!

Baby, It's Cold Outside (but the blog's not)

So, I decided that my blog looked a little bit cold and closed off with the monochromatic spectrum, so I added a little heat to it. Well, a lot of heat, I suppose. I like it quite a bit better now. It's more engaging, more welcoming. More me, I guess is what I'm going for. It needed something to hook the reader.

Now that I've got you hooked, I hope, I've been hard at work on Kay and Johnny's third novel, and I've got a lot of great ideas for it. Total word count for November is 92k today. I'm also looking into places to submit his first story to. I already sent it to Silver Publishing for consideration, but I think it was a bit preemptive considering I'm doing some editing on it now and it's a hot mess. It's getting better, but there are typos everywhere, stilted sentences, the works. It was sort of a NaNo on its own; I wrote the whole thing in a span of a few weeks, about 55k, back in June and July. I can't wait to introduce you guys to these boys. I'm very passionate about them.

I've only let one person read anything of theirs so far, and I got a great response. Maybe she's biased, but she's also objective when it comes to writing-- she's not afraid to speak her mind and tell me something's off-- so I take her at her word. I'm excited to pull you all into their world. To start you off, I'd say read One Two Three, Shatter for a nice, solid backstory on the universe. To buy, click on the cover in my sidebar! It won't bite. Maybe then you'll start to see what I'm babbling about, but Kay and Johnny are a whole different beast than Kaleb and Trent. Not better, just...different. I love them both to pieces, though.

In the next couple days, I'm gonna be talking about my WIPs due to the blog hop I'm taking part in, so you'll get an introduction there as well. For now, back to editing for me!

'Til next time. :)

NaNo Day 7: Where Are You Now?

So, NaNoWriMo authors, we've been at this for seven days. Exactly one week. Where are you supposed to be? I think the word count is somewhere in the 11k range-- just checked, it's supposed to be 11,666-- but not me. Oh, no, of course not. I have persistent muses and too much time on my hands. So, you ask, where am I right now? What is my word count on the seventh day of November, when most are just hitting the 10k mark?

I just passed 58,000 words. You know why? Because my muses are slave drivers, that's why. Today, I think I'm going to take a bit of a break from writing-- if they let me, that is-- and spend some time doing other things.

I will say that this writing has been causing slight problems. I've been ignoring people I love and care about in favor of writing, and that's part of the reason I've been going slower than normal these past few days. My partner's doing this too, but she has school and homework, so her word count isn't as high as mine. I'm sure her writing is better than mine, though. She's such a talented author, and I hope one day people will be able to read her work as they can read mine: published.

I digress. Today is a day of rest, especially considering I've already written about 2k words today. I'm going to try and step away from the little-- okay, big-- world I've created and live in the real world for a while.

Wish me luck!

National Novel Writing Month

So, I have done National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short) since 2008, and I've completed every year but once. I am going to embark on that goal once more, but this time I am going to be moving and working on top of it. The joys of being an indie writer!

I digress. I'm gonna talk a bit about the story I have in mind for this most prestigious event. It's called Tempestuous Heart, tentatively anyway. Since I've been re-reading both Wuthering Heights and The Count of Monte Cristo, I've decided I want to write a historical fiction novel. Historical romance, to be more specific. Well, it might end up being romance. It might not. We'll have to see what kind of rollercoaster ride these characters take me on.

It's about two neighbors, both orphans adopted by English well-to-do families, and the way the differences in the way they grew up influence their relationship. One, Samuel, is a stickler for rules and adheres to society and the Catholic faith. The other, Thomas, is a wild child who would rather run in the fields and hunt than sit in a pew for church. The way they clash will, I'm sure, be a lot of fun to write.

I'm excited to begin it.

What I'm Reading/Writing

Normally I just say whatever comes into my head, but sometimes that gets me into trouble, so if there's anything anyone wants me to talk about, let me know!

My novel One Two Three, Shatter just came out on Saturday, and the presales knocked me out! I'm glad it's gotten a relatively good reception, because it's my baby. Now I'm just waiting for word back on the sequel.

Since this is a writing blog, I suppose I should be talking about the things I've been reading as of late. Mostly I've been brushing up on my old American Sign Language textbooks, trying to get a feel for the language again because I've forgotten quite a bit of it, sadly. It helps that I'm writing a novella featuring a Deaf character, though that poor story is on hiatus right now, since it's trapped on a laptop that won't charge and I don't have the money to fix it. Edits for one of my other novels is stuck on there as well.

Starving artist at its finest!

I've been reading a book called The Burning Girl by Joe Niehart, and it's... interesting, to say the very least. The narrative isn't what I'm used to but it's not bad. I have it in paperback somewhere, and I should probably try and pick it up again. I'm also reading DAZED, by a writer friend of mine, Nikki Palomino. I haven't had much time to settle down and really give it the attention it deserves, but it's intriguing so far. Her writing style is rough, but it fits the character she's writing.

As far as new works goes, I've been tinkering with the idea of writing a zombie novel, because I've been catching up on the show, The Walking Dead. I think it'd be fun and fascinating to write something intense and gripping like that, and I have a few pages down. I just need to sit and devote some time to it.

It's almost two in the morning and I should try and get some rest even though my brain is always working on overtime. So I leave you with this.

'Til next time!

Thoughts On Writing With A Big Bonus Quote

"Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins. It has no job security of any kind, and depends mostly on whether or not you can, like Scheherazade, tell the stories each night that’ll keep you alive until tomorrow. There are undoubtedly hundreds of easier, less stressful, more straightforward jobs in the world. Personally, I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do, but that’s me.

If you want to be a writer, write. You may have to get a day job to keep body and soul together (I cheated, and got a writing job, or lots of them, to feed me and pay the rent). If you aren’t going to be a writer, then go and be something else. It’s not a god-given calling. There’s nothing holy or magic about it. It’s a craft that mostly involves a lot of work, most of it spent sitting making stuff up and writing it down, and trying to make what you have made up and written down somehow better. …

It does help, to be a writer, to have the sort of crazed ego that doesn’t allow for failure. The best reaction to a rejection slip is a sort of wild-eyed madness, an evil grin, and sitting yourself in front of the keyboard muttering “Okay, you bastards. Try rejecting this!” and then writing something so unbelievably brilliant that all other writers will disembowel themselves with their pens upon reading it, because there’s nothing left to write. Because the rejection slips will arrive. And, if the books are published, then you can pretty much guarantee that bad reviews will be as well. And you’ll need to learn how to shrug and keep going. Or you stop, and get a real job."
— Neil Gaiman: On Writing

I agree with Neil, because there's nothing in the world I'd rather be doing than writing, even though it's not easy to keep going when the rest of your life's got you down. The fact is, though, that writing can take you away from whatever's going on in your real life and put you in another universe for a few minutes, a few hours, or even a few days. It's my chance to build a whole new world.

It's a great attitude, to respond to rejection letters with more determination, and that's what I've done before even though sometimes all I want to do is rip my manuscript to shreds. It's better to channel whatever I'm feeling into something beautiful, something better than what I'm feeling.

I know for a fact that I'm never going to stop even if I do have to hold down a demure job for a while until I can become the next great America bestseller. I hope someday that happens. I am determined to make it as a writer that everyone knows and loves. Right now, I'm just a blip on the radar.