Let the Holiday Giving Begin!

It's officially the holiday season, and what better way to gear up for cold days, friends, and family than winning some great prizes! Are you already a dedicated Endinger and you've read all these book? Tell your friends, or enter to win a copy for them!

Starting Saturday, November 1st through Saturday, November 8th...

20 participants will win an ebook copy of After The Ending!

Book One, The Ending Series

For each additional entry, you're entered to be the second place or grand prize winner!

Second Place Prize:

• Audiobook copies of book one, After The Ending, and book two, Into The Fire.

Grand Prize:

• Series ebooks, including the prequel novellas, After The Ending, Into The Fire, and Out Of The Ashes
• Audiobook copies of After The Ending and Into The Fire

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Reading and Good LUCK!!!

....Authorship-ism-ology: Brainstorming and Outlining...

****PLEASE NOTE: This is an old post. I no longer post on this blog. For more information, to visit my new blog, or to contact me, visit HERE****

Brainstorming
I start with getting in the right mindset. It's hard when you've got another story and characters so prominent in your mind (The Ending Series). So, wading around in my ideas, sketching and observing while watching a show or movie sometimes helps inspire me to get into the "New Story" frame of mind. Thus, the birth of my new story notebook. While "Reilly" is only my working title, it's the only title I have right now, so...

"Reilly" Story Notebook

The Basics
Reilly was the original title for the story I wrote when I was in high school. At the time, I deemed it a masterpiece and marked it "completed". Now that I'm older and have written a book or two, I've learned a thing or two that was glaringly wrong in my old Reilly manuscript:

• A story with only 20,000 words isn't a novel, but a short story or novella.
• Although I want my stories to be riddled with emotion, they've got to have a happy ending - otherwise I'm depressed writing the damn thing. So the originally Reilly story is getting a major face lift and rework, hopefully leaving plenty of grit and emotion in the mix while providing an ending that is satisfying to me and readers.
• I've got to develop my characters more, hence the extensive outlining process below.

Key issues I've had while working on "Reilly":

• Getting out of my own head. Just because I wrote a certain story line fifteen years ago, doesn't mean it's good or that I have to stick with it. As much as I know that, it's hard to work through something that's so solidified and concrete in my mind. no matter how horrible parts of it is.
• Writing is a courtship, not a marriage. Things change, ideas come up, and characters take the story where they want to. Wait until you're finished or 100% certain of something before you decide to commit, it will make everything so much easier.
• Keep exploring cover ideas and title ideas and series ideas, write them down, run with them, do whatever is needed in order to stay inspired and keep the creative juices flowing.

Ideas, characters strengths and weaknesses, etc.

When the Muse is a no show
In my world, libation equals creation. There's no better way to free your mind than a glass (or two) of wine. It may sound silly, but there's something to be said for getting out of your own head and letting your mind wander, most often stumbling across something magical that would've otherwise remained uncovered.

Fancy Pants, I show that story who's boss...

Outlining
This is a long process with lots of twists and turns, revisions and road blocks. I've spent a solid two months developing my characters, exploring the story, bouncing ideas off friends, all so I could get a solid outline. Let's be honest, outlining is a great intention to have, but things always change as I mentioned above. So, use it as a guide, but don't resist the desire to explore or take another, unexpected road.

Extended Outline - Chapters, setting, characters and notes

So, obviously there is much to learn when writing a novel by yourself. It's strange how different it is than writing a book with someone else. There are many elements that are very much the same, like brainstorming with friends, deciding what actions and situations are best suited for your characters, while others aspects are completely different, i.e. coming up with your own story line, deciding where you want to take the story, with the help of your characters, of course. Either way, it's the life of a writer, and I'm only beginning to scratch the surface.

I'll be posting my character story boards and character explorations next. Stay tuned!

***** 

If you're interested in my writing progress and other news, you can find me here:

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...NaNoWriMo, you say?...

I was just about to post something about the characters I've been working on over the past couple weeks in preparation for NaNoWriMo, when I realized some of you may not know what the heck that actually is. Since I'll be referencing it quite a bit over the next two months, I thought I'd fill you in.

For those of you who don't know or understand what National Novel Writing Month is, it's a designated time of the year where writers can challenge themselves to get large portions of their Work in Progress (WIP) written. 

Here's what you need to know about NaNoWriMo:

• Purpose: Work on writing a project of your choice - novel, multiple short stories, articles, etc. Technically it's for novel writing, but I say use it for whatever you want to write as long as you have 50K words to set as your goal.
• When: the entire month of November
• The goal: 50,000 words or more to be deemed a "NaNoWriMo Winner"
• Process: Everyday you copy and paste your WIP into the NaNo words counter and it generates and tracks your progress, thus also generating a breakdown of how much longer you have to meet your goal, your progress compared to other days, how many words a day you need to write in order to reach your goal, and so on. 
• Completion: By November 30th at midnight, the NaNoWriMo elves will compute all data and deem those who have reached or exceeded their goal of 50K words or more WINNERS! Those who do not win don't get a loser badge or anything, at least not that I'm aware of.
• Why: Because it's a great way to get your butt in gear!

The great thing about NaNoWriMo is that people who share your love and enthusiasm for writing and storytelling come together to encourage and support each other. Everyone is working toward the same goal--getting shit done! You have access to writing buddies and pep talks, live chats with authors, question forums, personal goal trackers, encouragement emails, brainstorming session, etc. Basically, NaNoWriMo provides writers the opportunity and excuse to lock yourself away and write-write-write.

If you don't make your goal, you're not flogged or stoned or reprimanded. This is for YOU! NaNoWriMo just helps get you motivated to do great things, to start or finish that book you've always wanted to write. 

If you have always wanted to write, but never knew where to start, check out their website and welcome kits!

...Move over Edward Cullen, Nathaniel needs his prune juice...

The Vampire's Housekeeper Chronicles, Volume One by J. Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Move over Edward Cullen, Nathaniel needs his prune juice, ASAP

What do you get when you pair a geriatric vampire with a sarcastic, desperate, and unemployable mortal? You get witty banter, laugh-out-loud moments, and a perfect melody of imagination and cringe-worthy horror. Throw in some werefrogs and a ninja, maybe a few unsuspecting Mormons and ghosts, and you've got a recipe for comical greatness. This collection of stories will leave your mouth gaping, all while appreciating how clever it actually is.

Each tale is short, entertaining, and leaves you wondering what the inappropriate, old school Nathaniel will do next--who he'll eat and what he'll say. Deirdre is the yin to Nathaniel's yang. Her no-nonsense personality and sarcasm are truly enjoyable, making her and Nathaniel the perfect pair. The greatest part of it all is that each story is short, providing the reader with the perfect interim read between novels and a diversion from life in general. The Vampire’s Housekeeper Chronicles is a wonderful satire on the world of Vampires as we "know" them today.

I recommend this to everyone who doesn't take life too seriously and can take a joke, even if it's completely offensive, because let's face it, when you're a centuries-old vampire who thinks the television is a thing of sorcery and a woman over the age of twenty is a hopeless old maid, you're in for a world of "did he seriously just say that?"


View all my reviews

...Another phase of Authorship-ism-ology: Solo projects...

Authoriship-ism-ology
As I've mentioned before, every day I'm discovering, navigating, and learning the world of authorship-ism-ology. So far, the phases seem to break down like this:

1. Deciding to take writing seriously - taking a chance
2. Starting a business with my writing friend now partner
3. Co-writing my first book and actually publishing it for people to read, love it or hate it
4. Learning how to market myself

And now... 5. I'm Embarking on my first solo project

Before I delve into the fourth and final book in The Ending Series, Before The Dawn, which we start outlining in January, I've decided to flesh out and better develop a manuscript I wrote in high school--a story currently called Reilly. Given the fact that my writing experience 15 years ago was somewhat limited, Reilly is merely a rough outline to work off of. BUT National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is in November--just around the corner--and my goal is to have the first draft of Reilly completely written by November 30th. That means I've started developing the plot, outlining, character building, content writing, and so much more NOW so that I'm ready come November 1.  This new project is both awesome/fun/exciting and daunting/difficult/time consuming.

If you've ever participated in NaNoWriMo, you know you're either one of two types of writers: a "planner" who has an outline and plan for the story before you sit down and delve in. This could be chapter by chapter notes or an overall, more general plan. OR you're a "pantser", someone who writes without much of a plan at all...you let the story and characters lead you when you're "in the zone". I'm clearly a planner, I have a badge for it and everything:

The bare-bones...until my characters decide differently:

• Samantha's had a life filled with abandonment and heartache, and most recently she has Reilly to blame for her life being turned completely upside down, or so she thinks.
• When Reilly decides to enlist in the military, she couldn't be more happy or relieved.
• But the loss of her father isn't where it ends. Soon her boyfriend ditches her, leaving her alone with a shattered heart and overwhelming emptiness she yearns to fill. Luckily she has her friends and family to rely on, but coping is one thing Sam's never been all that good at.
• A couple years later, when Reilly comes back to town on leave, Sam's forced to look at two things - what really happened that night that continues to haunt her, that night all those years ago that Reilly took her father from her, and what the hell is she going to do about it?
• While Reilly wants her to let him in, to know the truth, she's not ready to listen or forgive him. Opening herself up to yet one more person is counterproductive in her plan to "stay in control" of her life. 
• But in the end, Sam has to ask herself what's more important, grasping on to the past or taking a chance on an unknown future, one that is sure to leave her vulnerable, but is the only way she'll ever be able to move on.

I have some great characters in mind for this story, and the series in general. There's comic relief (my personal favorite), the characters I hope will make you cry, and as always, those who will make readers swoon. Although still in the early stages, hopefully this is going to be a story that pulls at people's heartstrings as much as it makes them laugh out loud.

Stay Tuned.
Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing with you some of my thinking and writing processes with you. I'll delve deeper into:

• how I discover more about my characters
• building a setting and choosing certain elements of a story
• brainstorming and outlining
• building a new series from scratch - a first look at book two and three
• title, cover rework, and official blurb process 

Why am I doing this? Because I'm learning as I go, and why not share my journey with others who might also be interested in writing? Also, I'm a visual person. In truth, organizing myself here helps me stay on track with my deadlines, forces me revisit my settings and plot and characters, all of which are helpful for me when trying to keep the Ending Series characters at bay while jumping into a completely new projects that hasn't been on my mind for the last 3 years, especially when you're going full speed ahead.

It's all about FOCUS, which is difficult to attain when you have way too many ideas floating around in your head, like me.

...August Recap....

Team Lindsey had a very fun, successful August as we celebrated the release of our third book in The Ending Series, Out Of The Ashes, on the 23rd. Not only did we see some great sales for book one, After The Ending, and book two, Into The Fire, but we also had an amazing release party with our awesome Endingers! There was tons of chatting, some of our author friends stopped by, we posted videos of Team Lindsey acting like, well, like Team Lindsey, and we gave away some really cool prizes.

Plus, we're able to say we're bestselling SciFi Romance authors for the second time! This marks our second book in the series that has achieved "Best Seller" status on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

We also announced our Ending Series merchandise that's now available for purchase. Here are a couple items...

And then, every once in a while, I get these beauties in my inbox. It's a great feeling to see the series you've lost countless nights of sleep over show up on an Amazon recommendation list that goes out to thousands of people, not to mention the ENTIRE series on the list. Sigh.

So that's my author-grateful recap for August. I can't believe we've accomplished so much over the past couple years. LF, I couldn't have done any of it without you.

...The Ending Beginnings Prequel Novella Compilation...

The Ending Beginnings prequel novellas are now available as a compiled set as an ebook and in paperback!

The Omnibus edition includes:

I - Carlos

II - Mandy

III - Vanessa

IV - Jake

V - Clara

VI - Jake & Clara

Where to find it:

Amazon:

ebook 

paperback

Barnes & Noble:

ebook

paperback