Book 2 Cover Designs

So I have four cover designs I am trying to choose from. I know which one is my favorite, but which one is yours? Leave a comment below with your choice.

Cover Design 1

Cover Design2

Cover Design 3

Cover Design 4

I did it!

Coursera Greek & Roman Mythology class is complete

Today I finished the last assignment I had to do for Greek and Roman Mythology by Peter Struck on Coursera through Penn State.

This was a very intense class but it was definitely worth it. I was given a whole new outlook on the Greek and Roman myths and it has peaked my interest in reading more.

I am looking forward to seeing my final grade in this class and am highly optimistic.

That being said, I can now focus more on writing and completing Dark Wings Spread.

THE NEXT BIG THING

So I was invited to join THE NEXT BIG THING. It is a chain of book and author recommendations. One author tags five others, who then each tag five others. The idea is that we all help people out there learn about all the good stuff that’s just out or coming soon. Kane Gilmour tagged me on his blog and now it’s my turn.

1. What is the working title of your next book?

     Dark Wings Spread

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

     It's the second book in a trilogy. I really can't say I had this idea, with cards and notes and stuff, because I really don't. I just kinda write as I go, the ideas just flow. I mean I have a basic idea of how it's going to end but all that stuff in the middle is still coming to me.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

     Psychological Thriller

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

     Milla Jovovich would make an awesome Aingeal. The only other person I can think of would be Colm Meaney (Mikes from Star Trek) as Aingeal's boss.     Here is a Pinterest board of my character line-up.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

     Aingeal goes through a second, darker transformation after being knocked down by another tragedy.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

     Self published. I really wish I could afford to go through an agency... someday maybe.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

     Still working on it, but been about three  months and about 3/4 done.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

     Not sure really...  I mean, I'm sure there are other books out there that are similar but I cannot think of them off the top of my head.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

     A dream actually. I dreamed the first part of the story and the rest just kinda followed once I started writing. Aingeal (the lead character) has a very strong voice and she is constantly waking me in the middle of the night with thoughts.

10. What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

     Aingeal is quite a strong female lead that is kick ass. She gets knocked down but keeps bouncing back stronger and more determined.

Chumbawabba Tubthumping

I tag:
Robert Chandler
Robbi Hess
Becky McKeown
Greg Masceri

You can see all of our answers to the questions above by Wednesday, December 12th.

Photo Shoot of Intriuge

So yesterday I went out with my photographer and close friend Carol. We decided to shoot at the Iola Campus here in Rochester, NY. They are abandoned buildings, but we strictly shoot outside the buildings using them as a backdrop for the photographs.

So we get there, and as we are pulling in to the parking lot we are greeted by several Sheriff cars and two white buses of inmates. They were doing their community clean-up. So we ask if we can shoot and he tells us they will be done in about half an hour.

Okay fine, so we decide to drive around back to park, but there is already a car back there and we didn't want to intrude. Instead we went to Starbucks for some coffee. (I got myself a peppermint mocha.)

We head back about 40 minutes later and they are still there so we decide to just park in the back anyway, there's nobody in the car so no issues especially since we are not going to be using the building the car is parked by anyway.

So the first thing we do is walk around the building to figure out where we will be taking the pictures. As we walk around we notice every door on the building has been busted open and in one there were several large empty cartridges. So that doesn't stop us, we still do the shoot and get some really awesome pictures.

so, needless to say, the cover to book two of the Dark Angel Trilogy will be awesome.

NaNoWriMo Day 14

So it has been two weeks since the start of NaNoWriMo and I am a bit behind in my writing. I did not realize just how hard it was going to be. By this point I should technically have written 4,042 more words than I actually have. No worries though. Yesterday I wrote nearly 2,000 words and I will try to keep that up until I am caught up.

As far as the book goes, Aingeal is going through a lot and trying to keep it together, but I am beginning to worry about her.

Authorgraph

I've signed up with this site that allows me to send an autograph to e-book owners of my book. The site is called Authorgraph and you can find me here.

Writing...

So, I am very strange in my writing style. Most of my story is based in quiet moments, so I generally don't have any music playing. Most of the time, it's me, my cats and the sound of the fan on the fireplace. Granted, occasionally Aingeal has some music going, so I will go out and listen to music that might fit her purpose, but it's mostly silence.

So, here I am... Writing a scene where she is trying to be as quiet as possible. The house is silent, the cats are asleep, it's just me and Aingeal sneaking into this darkened room... and messenger dings at me. Holy crap!

This is twice now I have managed to be startled while writing an intense scene in the novel. I just hope the readers feel the same intensity when they are reading it!

NaNoWriMo Day 8

So as you all already know, I joined NaNoWriMo to ensure I get this book done and on the "shelves" by the time I promised my few devoted readers.

Well, it's been quite an interesting time so far! Trying to juggle taking a Mythology Class, writing, and handling a family is difficult, but I am not going to let it deter me!

As of yesterday I should have been at 12,000 words... I only reached 11,102. Does it bother me? Not really. I will catch up, I will get ahead, I will fall behind again. It happens.

I have finished this weeks reading for the class and I am currently on lecture 8/10. Once that is done I will take the quiz, then the rest of the week is for writing. Okay, so I have to run to the grocery store at some point tomorrow but that won't take too long.

Basically, what I am saying is... If you're also doing the NaNoWriMo and you have a hectic life, don't let it get to you. Write when you can, live the best you can, and be happy with what you accomplish.

~Pixie

Day 4 of NaNoWriMo

So it's the first Sunday of NaNoWriMo, and they suggest we should be at a word count of at least 6,667 words.

I did not get any writing what-so-ever done yesterday thanks to this sinus crap that has taken over my head.This morning I woke up absolutely miserable. Been popping OTC sinus medications and pain relief all day just to feel somewhat bearable.

Anything other than sitting made me feel like my head was going to explode and send my eyeballs flying. So, here I sit on the couch. Fuzzy headed but coherent enough to put words to paper.

And I wrote.

Sometimes I would pause int he middle of a sentence and think, "Where the heck was I? Oh yeah!" And continue writing. Sometimes I would just stare at the screen wondering why the heck I am doing this. Sometimes my fingers were flying.

So, over the course of the day I managed to put down 3,495 words and Aingeal has taken a path I was not planning on her taking. Will have to see where this goes!

Oh, and my current count toward NaNoWriMo is 8286!

Writing frenzy!

So, I signed up for NaNoWriMo to give me the push I need to reach my goal. For those that do not know what this is, this is from their website:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000-word (approximately 175-page) novel by 11:59:59 PM on November 30.

 I already had about 30,000 written, but my goal was to hit around 80-90,000 so I started counting from November 1st. As of right this moment the total count is at 35,896 (which means 5,896 toward my NaNoWriMo goal!)

So, if I complete the 50,000 goal and finish the novel I should reach my final goal of publishing book 2 by the end of the year!  So exciting! Stay tuned for more updates.