Let the Battle begin!

The Battle of the Books, that is. This is a competition held by Loudoun County Public Schools and let me say, I wish this existed when I was in high school. Students from each high school form teams, and are then responsible for learning all about 10 books, chosen by the competition organizers.

I was given the great honor of having The Lady of Steinbrekka chosen to be the fantasy choice for the 2014-2015 school year, and for students around Loudoun County to have my book available for their reading pleasure!

Last year, I was given the double honor of being invited to speak about writing, publishing, and being an author at the finals. This year I was invited back, but in a different role. The students were treated to the chance to meet not one author, but two! Val Muller, whose book The Scarred Letter was also one of the Battle  Books, was also on hand!

Together, we answered questions about inspiration, advice for writing, and signed a lot of programs! I was so pleased by how excited the teens (and adult sponsors) were to take home bookmarks, postcards, and my favorite, fridge (or locker) magnets.

I write because it keeps me sane, but days like this, this is why I go that extra step to publish. It is so wonderful connecting with readers, meeting other authors, and knowing that my books are being loved.

The table set-up. I've been so used to the 2' or 3' tables that it was nice being able to spread out a bit more. In the bin were posters (created by the sponsors) of all of the books that have been part of the last 10 years of the Battle of the Books.

My fantasy series. This will likely be the last event before the big re-release

Faulks even came with me this time.

Unbroken Beings - Cover reveal

Title: Unbroken Beings

Author:  Kristina Circelli

Series: A Fragile Creatures Novel

Genre: YA Contemporary

Release Date:  Mid/Late 2015

“Promise me, little elf.”

Evangeline Frost had a plan, once. Attend a prestigious art school, become a renowned painter. It was a dream she shared with her father, one that was ripped away in the car accident that claimed his life.

At California’s Kindred Hides Wildlife Preserve, Evangeline thought she had finally grieved for her father and moved on. But now, halfway around the world in Zambia at a new sanctuary for animals, Evangeline finds herself haunted by old memories … and a promise she has yet to fulfill.

Nightmares plague her dreams. Caster’s flirtations confuse her. And when poachers invade the preserve, they leave behind a devastation that threatens to break her apart.

Now Evangeline lives for a different dream: to save the lives of every animal who calls the preserve home, no matter the cost. A crusade that strains her budding relationship with Caster, a mission taking her further away from dreams of the past ‒ and gives her an orphaned elephant calf to call her own.

Evangeline Frost has a new plan. Protect the preserve and keep a promise that will finally heal her heart … or put her very life at risk.

Goodreads

Night owl, Dorito lover, and quiet eccentric - Kristina Circelli is the author of several fiction novels, including The Helping Hands series, The Whisper Legacy, The Never, and The Sour Orange Derby. 

Her latest series, The Whisper Legacy, features Beyond the Western Sun. This book is what all fantasy adventures must strive to be: a complex, intricate examination of human emotion set within the context of worlds known only in our imagination. Melding fantasy and legend in an epic quest, this series signals the arrival of Kristina Circelli as a master storyteller and an important voice in Native American literature. 

A descendant of the Cherokee nation and niece of a Cherokee elder, Circelli holds both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in English from the University of North Florida, where she teaches creative writing. She also heads Red Road Editing, a full-service editing company for independent authors and commercial clients.

She currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband, Seth, and cats, Lord Finnegin the Fierce and Mr. Malachi the Mighty.

Facebook

Website

Twitter

Amazon

A Fragile Creatures Novel (Book 1)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1qnqhZN

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1u7NXMv

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1wUGjH6

B&N: http://bit.ly/1vnf510

Finally getting some words on paper

Have you ever had a time when nothing seemed to work? Maybe the words weren't flowing from your fingertips as quickly as you like, or maybe at all. We all get writer's block from time to time, but sometimes, it's more like writers "complete standstill"

That's a bit of what it's been like writing the 4th book in the Kaldalangra series. I started this book back in the beginning of 2014, and wrote 1 chapter, and rewrote it, and rewrote it, and couldn't get any speed at all. Then I started writing Finding Keepers and published it, and now I'm working on a follow up to Finding Keepers and am hoping to have it out by the end of the year.

And then...Kaldalangra started talking to me again. Wahoo! Now I'm hoping to have two books for you by the end of this year, but no promises. I'm just happy that the words are flowing again.

Cover Reveal - Hunted

Have you seen the cover reveal for Liz Long's newest book, Hunted? No? Then read on my friends! Liz Long is here to talk a little about the book, reveal it's great cover, and tell you a little about herself.!

Hi everyone! Thanks so much to those special authors and bloggers helping me with today's cover reveal. I'm so excited to show off the new cover. It always makes the upcoming release a little more real for me, you know? Anyway, I hope you love it as much as I do. HUNTED is Book 3 of the Donovan Circus Series, with more adventure, romance, and chaos that will lead to murder. In case you haven't read it, you can run away to the supernatural circus and start with Gifted for just 99 cents on Amazon, B&N, and iBooks! You can visit this page to learn more about the 3rd book in the series and what to expect - or worry about!

Back Cover Synopsis

Lucy Sullivan finally belongs with the gifted Donovan Circus. Members are finding their rhythm, even the new folks from the Grayson Circus who joined after the last attack. Lucy feels like a trusted leader who can win the gifted battles and prevent humans from discovering their existence.

When tragedy strikes camp, a distraught Sheffield sends Lucy and her gifted team to hunt down the enemy – Alex, a Chameleon with a wicked ability for war. He’s out for blood and won’t stop until Lucy and her friends are dead.

This time, it won’t be Lucy’s gift that is tested – it will be her morality. To save her circus, the price will be greater than she ever expected. This time, she will lose someone she loves. And it will change everything.

About Liz:

Liz Long is a ridiculously proud graduate of Longwood University with a BA in English. Her inspiration comes from action and thriller genres and she spends entirely too much time watching superhero movies. Her fabulous day job as a social media strategist includes writing for a publishing company in Roanoke, VA.

All titles, including the Donovan Circus Series, A Reaper Made, and Witch Hearts, are available at Amazon on Kindle and paperback.

To learn more about Liz, visit her website: http://lizclong.com.

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

Valentine's Day giveaway

Woohoo!

Did you know that Soul of Asimina had a special day recently? And by recently, I mean on December 24th, which really isn't that recent at all, but I was so busy with everything that it totally passed me by?

So! We're just going to be celebrating Soul of Asimina's first birthday on Valentine's Day, and that's okay too!

My Valentine's Day surprise for one lucky winner will be ...a signed paperback copy of Soul of Asimina, the new The Lady of Steinbrekka postcard duo, and a signed Soul of Asimina bookmark.

How do you get your chance to win? It's simple! You can follow me on Facebook or Twitter, and tweet about the give-away. Everything is easy peasy for you and wrapped into the nice Rafflecopter below. The contest will close on Valentine's Day and I will announce a winner shortly after.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Finances - keeping the numbers straight

Part of the joys of being self-published is being able to have full control over my business: my books. I get to decide prices, sales, promotions, everything. The other side consists of massive amounts of data that you need to organize, analyze, and basically figure out.

My first year as a published author, I had one book out. My organization system consisted of saving the emails that CreateSpace, Amazon, and NookPress sent regarding my royalties and called it easy.

My second year was when things really got interesting. At this point I realized there was more to being a published author than just collecting payments and selling to my friends and family. That year I started having more costs than the first year, paying for bookmark designs, blog designs, promotional tours, etc. I also had two books out and I wanted to track sales in a little more organized manner. I began to create spreadsheets to track sales (which turned out to be a good idea once tax season arrived!)

I am now in the my third year of being self-published with four books published and have figured out a system that is working pretty well for me. The hard part now is constantly tweaking the system so that it doesn't become overwhelming as I publish more books and increase the cost (and sales) of my business.

I give you...my spreadsheets! If you would like a copy, just email me (sorry, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to directly link it here) All of these were created using Excel so it is fairly easy to tailor them for your use. The workbook consists of a Yearly Profit and Loss sheet, Yearly Costs, Yearly Revenue, Yearly Paperback Sales, and Yearly e-book sales. I'm also working to form sheets that will track all of the sales per book (I have one right now, but it's not pretty, so I won't be sharing it quite yet).

Happy financing!

Total Yearly Cost is just that, everything that I've spent on my books for that year. This includes covers, editing services, book orders, blog tours, and donations/give-aways. I have the Category table because I like to keep track of what I'm spending money on, and otherwise I will easily let the donations get away from me. I also include invoice numbers whenever possible, but that's probably an extra step.

This one is for my E-books, and I have a different sheet for each vendor (Amazon, Nook, etc.). Because the royalty payments don't happen immediately, I separate the sales and the payments. That way I can easily see when book sales increase/decrease, as well as keep tabs on when money is going into my account (and double check that everything is adding up correctly)

I love selling signed copies of my paperbacks, whether it is to friends and family or at book signing events. This sheet allows me to very easily see when/what I'm purchasing, as well as who is buying the book and any necessary information.

And finally, the big one, EVERYTHING. This sheet can get confusing quickly, but it's also great when I want to see all of my information in one place. I start with putting in my income from the previous year and then go from there. This also allows me to double check my revenue and cost sheets and make sure I don't miss anything. It's also very clear where my finances are each month and how my costs compare to my profits.

The business side of authoring

When I started writing, I didn't know there was a self-publishing option. I was prepared to send my manuscript off to publishers and face rejection after rejection, maybe seeing a positive response in twenty years and finally having it published, or maybe I'd get lucky and they'd publish it quickly, but only after I changed key parts of the story (yes, I had a pretty bleak view of the traditional route, built upon conversations with past teachers and writing guides)

Then I discovered self-publishing, and yes, my first thought was, "Omg, this is going to be so easy!"

Ha.

and again I say

Ha ha

Then I learned, as all self-pubbed authors eventually do, that it is far from easy. I had no idea how much time or money (or both) went into creating a finished product with the editing, formatting, cover design, and marketing. It was a completely different world than I expected (although I'm not really sure what I expected, maybe some fairy magic?) but also amazing.

I do my first round (or three) of edits, and then send it off to my editor, the always amazing Kristina Circelli. She then puts on her jack-of-all-trades hat and goes to town fixing my grammar, spelling, and noting any lingering inconsistencies both in the story and the wording. As proof of how awesome she is, she once noticed a typo that made my story turn from a PG-13 rating to XXX, a typo that was completely context appropriate, and slipped by all 3 of my edits, and the edits of my parents. Eek!

Right now, I do all my formatting, although I frequently send out a frantic SOS to my dear friend Julie with JT Formatting when something just isn't quite working right. I'll do a separate post on the things I have learned about formatting, as well as helpful guides that I have found that others have already posted on the interwebs.

Covers..oh covers...I have hired several cover artists, including Jenny Laatch, Elizabeth Sharp, and Stephanie from Once Upon a Time covers, and will gladly sing praises of them all. They have all been incredible with taking my (often very bad or cliche) ideas for a cover and then turn it into a finished, professional product.

I'm not even going to talk about marketing lol. I think that's an entire blog in itself!

And then...the biggie...the finances! That's my next post :)