Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

It’s like we realized November is National Novel Writing Month when we chose this month’s topic. Huh. To me this is an extension of last month’s topic of Career vs Hobby. One of the most difficult aspects of being an author – of it being a career vs it being your hobby – is that you finish the dang book. How many people have partial books on their hard drive? A LOT. Even career authors have partial books; a.k.a. works in progress, or WIPs. But a career author makes a habit of finishing them. There is an abandon point in every book. For me it is usually somewhere in the middle. Usually near the end of the middle. Middles are really hard. In my mind, they feel like I’m trudging waist deep through a thick bog. Peat is gathering around my legs and hips making the progress more and more difficult and finally I have to think, This book so being so difficult. Is this worth it? That’s where you either abandon the book because you can’t see a way to the end, and you stay a hobbyist....

A quick side note before I get into a favorite topic of mine. My alter ego, LA Dragoni, is releasing a paranormal romance for the adults among us on August 1 st . I’m coordinating a blog and social media tour for the release week (July 31 – August 5), complete with a rafflecopter giveaway. If you can help, please sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/fI6V0jW84ed0hOc13 The cover reveal is happening all over the internet this week. Please hop over to my Facebook page   to visit the lovely sites showing off the stunning cover for me. Now, let me ask you, hero or villain ? If any of you have read my Super Villain Academy series, you might garner where I stand of the topic of heroes and villains. We are all both a hero and a villain. All of us. And we need to be. If we were all only virtuous and brave, there would be no inspiration to improve. There would be no room for us to get better. Plus, who would we be friends with? “What cause do you support?” you’d as...

This month I’m exploring the making of a book cover. So far this month I’ve shared the progression of a couple covers as I worked with digital artists and I shared my experiences working with an illustrator. This week I want to share the experience of covering a series. Even though I have The Weaver Tales series, it didn’t start as a series, so I didn’t go into it knowing the covers had to relate. Plus each of book in The Weaver Tales series is a standalone. When it came time to work on a cover for King of Bad, book 1 in my Super Villain Academy series, I knew that there would be more books with the same theme. But I still didn’t understand what it meant to make the covers look like a series. Not really. I would love to say that I approached the cover of King of Bad knowing how the over all story arc would progress over the next two books. But I mostly didn’t. Instead, I approached King of Bad with my blinders on. Looking only at the single book and it’s single cover. The...

Are you ready for some freebies? Jen Finelli is the mastermind behind this collaborative giveaway. You can receive free chapters, a short story, a novella, and an awesome book by the awesome authors Jen, James Beamon, Ray Anyasi, and Crystal Collier. Oh and me. I’m talking scifi, historical fantasy, romance, super heroes and my very own super villains. Meet new authors, test drive their writing and be entertained all in one link! Click here to find out more: http://bit.ly/2hiU5V8 Be sure to tell your reading obsessed friends!  Happy reading. 

Don't miss the book blast for King of Bad. I'm celebrating the 2nd edition of the Amazon bestseller with a week long blast hosted by YA Reads. Be sure to stop by, thank the bloggers for participating and help me spread the word about King of Bad to new readers around the world. Oh - and enter to win an Amazon gift card and a pack of Super Villain Academy playing cards, too! Here's our blog line up for the week: Author Eric Price http://authorericprice.com/blog 2/8 Crossroad Review http://www.crossroadreviews.com 2/8 Elizabeth Delana Rosa https://elizabethdrosa.wordpress.com/ 2/9 Cover2Cover https://chocomeiske.wordpress.com 2/10 The Story of a Writer http://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com 2/10 The Book Beacon http://thebookbeacon.com 2/10 Book Lovers Life http://bookloverslife.blogspot.ie/ 2/10 Roxy's Reviews http://roxykade.blogspot.com 2/10 Adventures in Writing http://thhernandez.com/blog-3 2/11 Mythical Books http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/ 2/11 Ro...

For more info & for a complete list of blogs, visit the #IWSG site Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! The co-hosts for November are: Tyrean Martinson   http://tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.com/ Karen Walker   http://karenfollowingthewhispers.blogspot.com/ Denise Covey   http://dencovey.blogspot.com/    Stephen Tremp    http://authorstephentremp.blogspot.com/ Please be sure to visit their sites to thank them for hosting! *** Today I'm insecure about book signings! I have an event coming up in a real live bookstore. I've done bookstore events before and I really, really enjoy them-when people show up! Those of you who've had events before know it's hard to attract guests to book signings, plus this one is t...

The book that hit #7 on the Amazon bestsellers list of superhero fiction just got better! Today's the official launch of the 2nd edition of King of Bad - Super Villain Academy book 1. Not only that, but the series is now also available in a box set. Jeff Mean would rather set fires than follow rules or observe curfew. He wears his bad boy image like a favorite old hoodie; that is until he learns he has superpowers and is recruited by Super Villain Academy – where you learn to be good at being bad. In a school where one kid can evaporate all the water from your body and the girl you hang around with can perform psychic sex in your head, bad takes on a whole new meaning. Jeff wonders if he’s bad enough for SVA. He may never find out. Classmates vilify him when he develops good manners. Then he’s kidnapped by those closest to him and left to wonder who is good and who is bad. His rescue is the climactic episode that balances good and evil in the super world. The catalyst – t...

Hosted by   Mary Waibel ,   Katie L. Carroll , and   Kai Strand   be sure to visit all the blogs and do a search on #InkRipples School is back in session. And I guess I can say I've gone back to school, too. I've been in a writing funk all year long and couldn't sit here and stare at my Facebook and Twitter feed any longer. So I got a job with the school district as a lunch lady. It gets me out of the house for a few hours each day. I get to interact with my target audience, as well as some cool adults. It provides a steady supplemental income. And it's good, honest work. And seriously, I can rock that hairnet! So far I really enjoy it. It helps that our school district has a great food program. The food is so good! Fall happens to be my favorite season. Unless it's April, then spring is my favorite. It's kind of a tie, I guess. I love the crisp night air, the changing leaves, the ultra blue sky and the spicy smell of leaf litter and wood smoke. I'...