Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

This is the time of year I reflect and then look forward. Usually. Last year I purposefully avoided the big think. I was in such a bad place in my writing life. I didn’t want to look back because that was what opened the dark hole in my head. I didn’t want to look forward because I really didn’t care if I ever wrote another word. So I went into 2016 without any goals. Without a plan. Without guilt. It was AMAZING! Now as we approach 2017, I’m excited to say that I’m writing again. I completed two new manuscripts in 2016 – quite surprising actually. To be honest, when I see that sentence, “I completed two new manuscripts in 2016” I think, Holy sh*t! I did?! Oddly, I now have a new set of problems. What to do with them. However, this post isn’t about my screwed up writer’s head, so I’ll simply say I keep changing my mind as to what my next path will be in the world of writing and because of that, my career is still pretty halted. As hard as it is to have two completed manuscripts d...

The tough part of self-publishing is that it all falls to you. ALL being the operative word. Because I publish independently as well as with small press, there is always something going on that gives me an excuse to put off that which I don't know. This is my official excuse for why it took more than a year for me to publish my Worth the Effort series in ePub. But ALAS-the deed is done! And to celebrate, I've decided to offer Ella's Story for free. Forever. Or at least for now, since this industry can change faster than my underwear, which I promise I change daily. Here are the links for the Worth the Effort series on all the major ePub retailers. Ella's Story Barnes & Noble iTunes Kobo Ayden's Story  Barnes & Noble iTunes Kobo And an exciting bonus: while I slept Amazon did their amazing price match thing for Ella's Story and by the time I woke up, she'd already started to climb the charts. Seriously, it'...

The first Wednesday of every month is officially  Insecure Writer’s Support Group  day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.  Be sure to link to mastermind,  Alex Cavanaugh's page and display the badge in your post. Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG The awesome co-hosts for today's IWSG posting are  Gwen Gardner,   Dolorah,   Sarah Foster,  and  M. Pax!  Show your support by visiting their blogs. When you're at M Pax's blog, tell her Kai sent you. She's a phenom writing buddy to have. This month I'm going to address my pre-release jitters. I'm balancing on the precipice of a book release. Though I have a couple young adult romance novella...

I'm excited to announce that I have signed the contract for my seventh published book! (Faints dead away) THE LUMPY DUCKLING: Another Weaver Tale will be published by Guardian Angel Publishing (date undetermined). If you couldn't tell by the name, THE LUMPY DUCKLING was inspired by The Ugly Duckling. It is a story about best friends. Since I have the best best friend in the entire world, I know how to tell a best friend story. Though the story itself is nothing like our friendship, I did make sure to incorporate letter writing into this story, because my bestie and I live 1100 miles apart and write a lot of letters to each other. Our friendship has grown deeper because of it and I wanted kids to see that there are all sorts of ways to develop a true lasting friendship. LUMPY will be the third book in my Weaver Tales series. Each book is a stand alone. They are set in the same fictional village of The Tales. The residents of The Tales speak in story and are known as Word...

Writing : A totally exciting year. I had two books published this year (Guardian Angel Publishing and Featherweight Press). My short stories were included in two anthologies this year (Wayman Publishing and Knowonder). I signed contracts for two more books to be published in 2013 (Whiskey Creek Press and MuseItUp Publishing). And expect more anthologies, the first one releasing on January 1 st , 2013!   I finished a novel at the last possible moment. Wrote loads of short stories and saw most of them published by Knowonder, Beyond Centauri, Spaceports & Spidersilk.   I thank each and every one of these publishers for taking a chance on my writing and me. I value the work you put into producing a quality product and I work hard to spread the word about it so that we can both stay in business and continue to work together into the future.   Social Media : I continued to love my weekly blog feature Three Times A Charm. I’ve met so many wonderful peo...

So much has been happening and I want to compile all my exciting, sparkly book news into one place. Releasing in 2012: Save the Lemmings 8 th grade inventor, Natalie Isabelle Cailean Edwards is the N.I.C.E. girl who finishes last with the kids in school. Sappy inspirational phrases and monochromatic outfits have all but her best friends wrinkling their nose at her. When Natalie’s invention, the Texty-Talky, goes nationwide, she becomes an overnight sensation. Suddenly her days consist of photo shoots and interviews with little time left for her friends. A local reporter shatters her good-girl image by reporting a graffiti incident and the media launches into a smear campaign. It is so bad, even her friends start to believe the stories. How will Natalie stop the lies and win her friends back? And who will SAVE THE LEMMINGS? The Wishing Well, Another Weaver Tale Molly Minstrel is treated worse than Cinderella by her mom and sisters. When Molly meets the magical...

Happy March! March came in like a lion here. Snow, high winds, 2 hour school delay. I like knowing that it will go out like a lamb, because that makes me think of spring. When the breeze is a perfect twining of cool and warm drafts. Where the air carries the scent of wet dirt and the sweet notes of chirping birds. Tulips, my favorite flower, will nod and bob on tall, strong stems to the sunny, smiling daffodils. Oh how I love spring and it is so close! I want to thank all the lovely writers who trusted me to share their stories in February. I had so much fun putting that all together. Oprah Winfrey once said, “Everybody has a story. Everybody.” I’ve always believed that, but it felt so much more real to me last month as I received the guest posts and read them and staged them for posting. As I enjoyed the interaction in the comments and the additional stories shared. I understand better why Oprah does what she does. The posts resonated with readers in so many ways; spa...

Today I am so very, very grateful for and terrifically excited about book contracts. Because I recently SIGNED ONE !!! I am thrilled to announce that I’ve sold my middle grade novel, SAVE THE LEMMINGS! to Featherweight Press . A publisher of children’s and young adult fiction. When Natalie’s Texty-Talky invention makes her an overnight sensation, the media digs until they find a way to smear her goody-goody image. When her best friends start believing what they read, Natalie’s sunny spirit is pushed to its limits. How will Natalie stop the lies and win her friends back? And who will SAVE THE LEMMINGS? Look for publication in 2012. Stay dialed in by liking my author page on Facebook. Kai Strand, Author . Remember I love my blog followers as much as I love book contracts. Be sure to sign up for my Gratitude Giveaway . You can say you knew me when .  

Finding Time to Write the Sequel by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) Even before I decided to self-publish my new paranormal/SF novel Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) , I knew it would be a trilogy. But once I had made the decision to publish, the need to get busy on the sequel(s) kicked into high gear. Except that I was also publishing a book. Most writers find it difficult to balance writing with all the other demands in life. Even people who are lucky enough to write full time (which I am, since I write while my kids are at school), there’s still a tug between writing time and all the other things that need to be done. Once you’re published, this all changes, and not for the better. Now, not only do you need to write and get the kids to school and get the laundry done, but you also need to market your book, which can mean everything from actually getting it published (edits, covers, websites, blogs)...

Happy National Day On Writing! Celebrating writing sounds like a fantastic idea to me, but then again I’m a writer.   So I asked non-writers what writing means to them. For the record, this is a non-scientific study. Daughter (12, 7 th grade, loves to write): I like how you can think of anything and make it fun to write about. I like how you can imagine stuff and put it in your story. Can be anything, a big tower or cavern, and you can make it into a story. Son (13, 8 th grade, actually doesn’t like to write – really hard for me to understand): I like that other people are creative and write stories that I like to read. Husband (my age, out of school, not a writer): I like the plethora of emotion and thoughts that are called into being ( to which I rolled my eyes ) while reading different genres by creative writers. Like, when Lew Wetzel is running through the forest with the Indians on his tail, you feel excitement and fear. Or when Marvin the robot sings his ...

So the ever awesome, Nathan Bransford had this post earlier this week about traditional publishing verses self publishing and how being a control freak might factor into your decision on if you choose to pursue self or traditional publishing. The same day, I had this post about how the current trend to self epublish might be impacting the small publishers and their authors.   And the two posts have been swirling around together in my head ever since. There is something oddly symmetric about these two posts. Wait, is “oddly symmetric” an oxymoron?   When Nathan talks about traditional publishing, he tends to focus on the bigger houses or the imprints of the bigger houses. He explains how authors don’t get a lot of input to the overall process. It is true and it is even valid. Example, most authors are not qualified to take on cover design. I love that he made the point that the illustrator captured his main character better than his own description did. I truly agree that fo...

Overcast, spitting rain and cold enough to harden the drops so they sting when the wind whips them into your face. What a beautiful day.   Because I got these: Yippee! Squee! I’ve never been so glad to still be able to turn a cartwheel as I am today. Why do I feel vain staring at my book? It is more beautiful than I had expected.   Even my book’s spine is attractive; straight and colorful and with the title and my name.   I petted it.   I hadn’t expected to be so overwhelmed when I held my book in my hands.   But when I flipped through and saw chapter titles that I had come up with and the little anecdotes at the beginning of each chapter and the stories within the story, I grinned like a loon. My elevensie daughter paged through one of the paperback additions and quirked her own grin and said, “This is cool.” My eighteen-year-old daughter, off at college, facebooked me to ask where she can get one. My husband is dropping my name like I’m somebody. Do you ...