Category: writing

Tuesday was one of those weird days where I was in and out of meetings, scrambling to and fro with errands, wondering how I was going to squeeze in a run, and basically trying to keep my wits about me.

Then my friend Regan Summers e-mailed me this: “We can haz cover reveal?”

Apparently my book, Undead Chaos, went on pre-order through all the digital market places without me realizing it. I checked and sure enough, there it was with a little “Pre-Order” link. 

And holy moley, that meant this whole writing-thing was actually real. All the years playing around with words, stumbling into the Cantina at Absolute Write, learning about beta readers, discovering I had no clue how to write a query letter, then dealing with submissions and rejections….

It all boiled down to this:

Bam.

I’m not gonna lie, that is one sexy cover. Seriously, the Carina Press graphics art team did an amazing job. It looks so noir. Like a graphic novel of sheer badassery.

So, what’s it about, you may ask? Magic, zombies (okay, ONE zombie), action, humor, snark, and a taste of romance*.

What it’s not: A Western. Or Erotica. Or an erotic western**.

I’ll admit, it was a heck of a lot of fun to write and I think my enjoyment translates to the page. Also, there are no throw-away characters. I put a lot of thought into each and every side-character, many of whom I have plans for in the future. Just FYI when you’re reading.

That said, I’m going to make you all a promise: ANYONE who reads Undead Chaos gets my heartfelt thanks and appreciation. You like it? Awesome. You don’t? Hey, that’s fine. I won’t harp on a single reviewer because everyone is entitled to their opinion. I’m thanking, in advance, each and every person who buys/reads this thing. Because putting my book into the hands of readers is literally a dream come true. You’re the reason why I love writing.

Yes, even you.

Anyway, Undead Chaos will be released on October 28th, but we’re live right now. That means you CAN pre-order it. So, you know, feel free to drop a couple bucks at your favorite online retailer (Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iTunes, GooglePlay, or even my own Books section).

And seriously, thanks.

 

 

*For MUCH better descriptions, I recommend checking out both Regan Summers and Tiffany Allee’s cover reveals. Partially because they are way more eloquent than I am and because they deserve some website hits for always having my back.

 **Hmmm…..

Writing is a long business.

It requires months, even years, to take an idea from being nothing more than wispy, ethereal concepts and mold it into an actual novel on paper. Then you have to polish that story again and again until it shines. And for those of us lucky enough to cross the bridge to the publishing side of things, you have a whole host of other milestones to accomplish before your story sees the light of day.

Then there’s all the waiting.

For the past year, I’ve felt as if my book was just hanging in the shadows, waiting to materialize. I knew it would happen, but “at some point” and not “sometime soon”.   

Which is why it was a smack of reality to see the title of my book on the Carina Press website*. CmF clicked on the Coming Soon link and bam!, there it was.

 

We stared at the screen for a few moments and all I could say was, “Huh”. Part of that was because I wasn’t expecting it. The other part was because it was the first, tangible proof that this thing was, in fact, going to happen.

By the time Undead Chaos hits the digital shelves at the end of October, it will have been five years in the making. Four of those were spent writing/polishing/shoving in a drawer/re-polishing, etc, and one was spent prepping it with Carina Press. It’s been a long road, but one that was made easier to travel thanks to the army of fantastic supporters, friends, and mentors. Because of them, the book is beginning to solidify from “dream” into “reality”.

And that’s nothing short of amazing.

 

 

 

*Feel free to check out the other great authors at Carina Press, either through this link or by following the link on the Books tab of this site.