2014 Results Are In!

I'll admit, 2014 was a rough year for a lot of people. I know the world seemed to be falling apart at times. My year had ups and downs. I count myself lucky because whatever my problems may be, it's always compared to what. I have a home, a job, loving friends and family. A craft that I love. And I'm still thrilled with what the future might hold!

So with the future in mind, it's time to post my 2015 goals!

But first, let's see how I did with 2014.

Here are my 2014 goals with the result in red:

1. Blog less. Alas, it's true. I can't keep up with the posts, comments and return visits and still write. Something's gotta give. So, I'm on blog hiatus until April, then I'll be back blogging one day per week. And, I'll be doing the A-Z through Untethered Realms. It helps to share the load :) I'll still be on Facebook and Twitter if you want or need help promoting in that way. I'd love to help. DONE! I definitely blogged less and did the A-Z through Untethered Realms.
2. Implement a writing schedule. Since I've been working full time, I have seriously neglected my writing, and I miss it terribly. My new schedule will be 2-3 hours Monday and Thursday nights, and whatever I can fit in on weekends. DONE! Only I had to approach it from a different angle. I'm not, and never have been, a high energy person. No way can I spend 8 - 10 hours at the office and then write for another 2 - 3 hours at home. So, I set a word count of 2500 words per week instead, and did it on the weekends. I have a very understanding hubby.
3. Publish my three-novella series by May or June. The first one is done, the second is outlined and the third is just a glimmer. DONE. Again, not exactly as planned. But all three novellas from the Afterlife series were released in October and November, with the print version in December.
4. Publish my short story in the first anthology (of a 4-part series) with my Untethered Realms group in October. Then work on the second/third story. DONE. We published in October. I started the second short story in December.
5. Work on my idea for a new series. They might be novellas, I haven't decided. My goal is to outline and write the first novella. NOT DONE. I worked on the idea, outlined and even wrote the first chapter, but that's as far as I got.
6. Explore screenwriting. TECHNICALLY DONE. I did explore a screenwriting class and almost started it in September, but decided I was too busy with revisions on the novella series and getting it published to take a class.
7. And yes, the perpetual goal of losing weight, exercising and getting healthy; physically, mentally and spiritually. BLEH! Enough said.

Now on to my 2015 goals:

1. Blog once per week, with intermittent blog posts over at Untethered Realms. Make a point to visit at least five blogs per week that I don't visit routinely.
2. Write and publish a short story in the anthology with my Untethered Realms group.
3. Write and publish three novellas in my new series.
4. OR, think about submitting the novellas for traditional publishing. I'm still pondering this one.
5. Start on a new Indigo Eady novel because I can't stand the thought of not writing her anymore.
6. Think about taking a screenwriting class once again.
7. Be more proactive about posting on my Facebook author page. Perhaps give snippets of my WIPs combined with graphic designs.
8. Update my website and blog.

How was your year?

What are your 2015 goals?

Second Death: Is It Possible?

Today is Launch Day!

Discover the phenomenon of a second death.

How is it possible you ask?

Read to find out.

 

 

Second Death

Book I
The Afterlife Novella Series

 

Cover by Corona Zschusschen


Tweetable Character Quotes

 

“When faced with the strangeness of afterlife, a morbid sense of humor is a must...” Badger, Second Death. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6TYPOE @UnRealms

 

 

 

“What do you mean by under the weather? He’s dead, how can he be sick?” Indigo, Second Death. #YA #PNR http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6TYPOE @UnRealms

 

 

 

“If looks could kill…if he wasn’t already dead, I mean.” ~Sarah Scroggins, Second Death
#Afterlife series http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6TYPOE @UnRealms

 

 

 

 

Blurb:

 

Second Death:

The Sabrina Shores spirit community is in crisis.

Ghosties are mysteriously disappearing at an alarming rate.

They’re simply…gone. A second death.

The clues are limited, but it’s clear that the one common factor is Gertrude’s Garden, the nightclub social center of the spirit community which just happens to adjoin the Sabrina Shores cemetery: the one place Indigo makes a point of not going. Ever. She has her reasons.

 

Indigo Eady:

Much to her chagrin, Indigo Eady is a celebrity among spirits. She’s the girl who can see and speak with them. She has a proven track record in helping spirits find their murderers, so it’s no surprise when she’s drafted onto the Missing Paranormal Committee. Who better to help them than the experienced teenage ghost whisperer- investigator and her friends?

 

***
 

Blog Tour Stops:

(Book I)

(Yeah, I rub elbows with some awesome peeps!)

 

Monday 9/22/14 - Julie Flanders

Tuesday 9/23/14 - Untethered Realms

Tuesday 9/23/14 - Christine Rains

Tuesday 9/23/14 - Miranda Hardy

Wednesday 9/24/14 - Angela Brown

Wednesday 9/24/14 - Jamie Ayres

Friday 9/26/14 - Ellie Garratt

 

Check back in two weeks for book II release

of Ghostly Gallows and tour schedule beginning October 6th!

 

Then, two more weeks on October 20th is the release of book III, Secret Keepers - still need hosts for book III!

 

Giveaways!

 

1. Everyone who comments here or at any of the stops during my Afterlife Blog Tour will be put into a drawing for FREE ebooks of Second Death, Ghostly Gallows and Secret Keepers. Five copies will be given away during the two week release period of each book.
2. Everyone who leaves a review of any book in the Afterlife series by October 31, 2014 will be put in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card.
3. Everyone who purchases the complete ebook set or boxed ebook collection set by the end of the Afterlife blog tour (by October 31, 2014) will be put in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card (boxed ebook set available October).
4. A print book giveaway of the series will also be up for grabs - stay tuned for more details!

Send your purchase links with the heading "AFTERLIFE" in the subject line to GwenMGardner@cox.net to be entered into the drawings.

 

 

 

IF you feel like buying now:

 

Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Google Play

 

 

Connect with me here:

 

Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Amazon / B&N

 

 

 



ISWG: Touring and Tanking

Today is Insecure Writers Support Group day. The first Wednesday of every month is when we post about our insecurities and concerns as writers, receive and offer support. If you want to join, click HERE. Thanks so much to Alex Cavanaugh and his helpers who manage this event every month.

I'm releasing my Afterlife series. The first novella, Second Death, will be released on September 22nd, then the other two in October. All three are written, edited and formatted. I'm waiting on one more cover to be completed. I'm on top of it. Second Death is even up for pre-order.

What's my insecurity?

It's the blog tour. I've toned it down because I don't want to stress myself out since the day job that pays the bills really takes a lot out of me. I've barely asked for any hosts (asking for help has always been a problem for me), since I know I can rely on my buddies in my Untethered Realms group to host me. That's the good part.

The insecure part is writing posts for the blog tour. I tend to go with character-based posts, fun and quirky (according to me) rather than the serious. What if the posts are dumb? What if people (hosts) think they're too silly. And *gasp!* what if readers (bloggers) find them boring? What if I tank? What if people don't comment because...all of the above?

Still... I have spots open if, you know...

That's my current insecurity.

What's yours?

Kitsy Clare, Untethered Realms, Other News

On Personal Stuff

I have a four day weekend! WooHoo! I'm so excited. It's like having two weekends in a row (because that's how my crazy mind breaks things down. LOL! ).

Also, the hubs and I are talking seriously about a vacation. It's been about seven years since we've had a real vacation. The last time was three weeks in Europe - England, France, Italy. This time, we're talking about maybe ten days in England (on a shoestring budget and frequent flyer mileage) - London and Yorkshire and the Cotswolds. Probably in November, because we're those crazy people who really love winter. Fog and drizzle and a cozy English pub? Yes, please!

Plus, hehe, I'm thinking of setting my next series in London ;)

On Pre-Ordering

I downloaded Second Death (novella #1) for pre-order on Amazon. It's a new feature that indie authors/publishers now have access to. A lot of people are wondering how it works. It was simple and painless. Just a matter of clicking a button saying it's a pre-order, clicking another button advising it's not the final version (if your manuscript isn't completely ready yet - mine's in proofing), then entering in the release date.

You do have to click the box acknowledging that if the final version isn't downloaded ten days prior to release that you're banned from doing pre-orders for a year. Don't know what that's about...

So once a reader clicks the pre-order button at Amazon, they receive an email informing them that the book will be automatically sent to their Kindle on release day. You're not charged until the ebook is delivered. Easy Peasy.

If you want to pre-order Second Death on Amazon click HERE.

Available September 22nd!

AND!

The Untethered Realms Anthology is also available for pre-order.

Available October 14th!

 

 

Amazon / Google Play

On Publishing

I'm plugging along getting my Afterlife novella series ready for publishing. Did a little change up. Since there are three novellas I decided not to make a big production out of the cover reveal process. That'd just be a lot of space-hogging on people's blogs to do separate cover reveals and then releases so close together. Also, less work and less stress for me.

Kudos to Corona Zschusschen for the excellent illustrating and cover work. I highly recommend her!

AND NOW....

 

HERE IT IS!

Second Death:

The Sabrina Shores spirit community is in crisis.

Ghosties are mysteriously disappearing at an alarming rate.

They’re simply…gone. A second death.

The clues are limited, but it’s clear that the one common factor is Gertrude’s Garden, the nightclub social center of the spirit community which just happens to adjoin the Sabrina Shores cemetery: the one place Indigo makes a point of not going. Ever. She has her reasons.

Indigo Eady:

 

Much to her chagrin, Indigo Eady is a celebrity among spirits. She’s the girl who can see and speak with them. She has a proven track record in helping spirits find their murderers, so it’s no surprise when she’s drafted onto the Missing Paranormal Committee. Who better to help them than the experienced teenage ghost whisperer- investigator and her friends?

So, here's the new schedule:

9/22/14 Second Death release

10/6/14 Ghostly Gallows release

10/20/14 Secret Keepers

Now this is much tidier!

Let me know if you'd be interested in hosting me and what sort of post you're interested in.

I'm starting to work on tour posts now.

On Reviews

If you want to review my novellas, let me know and I'll send you ARCs. Even though each is a standalone of about 20K, you should probably read them in order.



On Untethered Realms

The authors over at Untethered Realms are cranking out the books! This is just September. Wait until you see our scheduled book releases for October!

M. Pax will be releasing Rifters on 9/8/14. She'll be here on my blog on 9/15/14.

Gwen Gardner (yeah, it's me!) is releasing Second Death on 9/22/14.

Kitsy Clare, aka our own Catherine Stine has a book coming out on 9/29.

Check it out...

The Private Internship

 

An Art of Love novel by Kitsy Clare

New adult romance, book 2

(Not necessary to read the first in the series to understand book 2)

Sugar’s not so sweet and secrets can be deadly … especially with matters of the heart

 Sienna’s bestie, Harper warned her not to intern for famous bad boy artist, Casper Mason. After all, he just fired Harper who helped Sienna get the interview. But the moment Sienna sees Casper—or Caz—sweaty and practically shirtless and swinging from chains while he works on his sculpture, she’s hooked. He’s the richest, hottest artist in New York, and he lives in the fabulous Williamsburg Sugar Factory. But he’s also an incorrigible game-player, who seems to relish testing Sienna’s loyalty with a string of unsettling tests.

 She knows she should get away fast. But by the time Sienna sneaks into his locked storage room and begins to unearth his dark and terrifying secret, she’s fallen way too hard for the handsome, charismatic Caz.

 Book reviewers are saying:

 "Beautiful. Amazing. A fantastic read that left me wanting more." -XoXo Book Blog

 "A juicy read full of passion and magnetic chemistry that will have you hooked from beginning to end." -From the Purple Matter Book Blog

 Author Bio:

 Kitsy Clare hails from Philadelphia and lives in New York. A romantic at heart, she loves to write about the sexy intrigue of the city, and particularly of the art world. She knows it well, having shown her paintings here before turning to writing. Model Position, her new adult novella is about artist Sienna and her friends. Living in a Bookworld says: “Beautifully written! We get to learn things about art & painting, which is refreshing. A colorful story from a promising new adult author.” The next in her series, Private Internship launches on September 29 with Inkspell.

 Kitsy loves to travel, draw, read romance, spec fiction and teach writing workshops. She also writes YA as Catherine Stine. Her futuristic thriller, Ruby’s Fire was a YA finalist in the Next Generation Indie book awards. Fireseed One, its companion novel, was a finalist in YA and Sci-Fi in the USA News International Book Awards, and an Indie Reader notable. Her YA horror, Dorianna, launches fall 2014 with Evernight Teen.

 Social Media links:

 

Put Private Internship on your Goodreads TBRlist

Kitsy Clare onFacebook

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What have you been working on this week?

 

What'd you do on summer vacation?