by Sarah | Apr 4, 2018 | All About Me, Blogging Life, Books, Changing Tracks, Escaping Humanity, General, Holiday, I'm A Writer, Masked Hearts, Publishing Credits, Redefining Perfect, Secret Cravings Publishing, The Tribe, Wordy Wednesday, Writing
On February 8, 2013 my very first novel was published.
At the time I was contracted with the fabulous small publishing company, Secret Cravings Publishing. Very excited, and a very unseasoned author.
Thankfully, through SCP I had some great mentors, supporters, and fellow authors braving the waters.
The past 5 years have been a whirlwind of ups and downs. I spent time writing thousands upon thousands of words, and spent months upon months unable to write a word. I’ve had months with sales beyond belief and months where I didn’t sell a single book. I branched out into self-publishing with a few small gambits, but then my publisher closed their doors and I had to dive in full-force.
Some days it’s truly hard to believe that it’s been five years. How much my life has changed. How much my goals have changed. How much I’ve first lost, and then re-found my love for this world.
These days I’m keeping crazy-busy in my personal life, but also in writing. I pulled all 6 of my original Dominion Falls Series books, the first books I published, last year. I’ve revised, revamped, and added words to the books. Now I’m re-publishing them. Getting back to my roots, and sending these books back out into the world, with a new little novella added on for good measure.
The next book in The Tribe series, which will be book 5 “The Child” is written and with the editor, due for release in July.
My best friend & co-author, Mary Terrani, and I finally released our book to the world, Escaping Humanity (The Exceptionals 1). We are in the middle of book 2, looking forward to a release at the end of the year, first of next. We’re also working with a fabulous artist to turn the book into a graphic novel.
I’m working to try to create a new cover for Masked Hearts so that I can re-release it in September.
I have notebooks with plans for new books, new series, more books in my existing series.
I went to my first conference as a signing author recently, and did well, and had so much fun.
I’m excited to continue doing what I love, and bring more stories into the world. I’ve had to revamp my views on my publishing career, what I want to do, and where I want to go with it. I’d become too sensitive to the numbers and to the “you should” and “you shouldn’t” voices and lost my way.
I feel good coming home to my characters again. I hope you’ll come on in and pull up an armchair, grab a book and join me. Get lost in one of my worlds for a while. They are fun, dangerous, mysterious, romantic, sweet, and spicy. You’ll be able to find something for your personal taste with me.
by Sarah | Aug 29, 2016 | Books, General, Goals, Writing
Well I said the second job might kill me and I was nearly right. I’ve had to quit due to my really horrible feet requiring more surgery (in just about 2 months now!). What that means is that I am finally getting on a roll toward these crazy lofty goals. In the past couple of weeks things have picked up steam. I released The Chief, the third in The Tribe series. I finally finished Red Zone and it’s been through edits. I’m revising the second to last existing Dominion Falls book, and working on The Child (The Tribe 5).
So things are going a little wacky crazy here in a good way for a change. 2016 may turn around yet.
For a brief period of time I lost my precious notebook with pages of notes for all the series, the 40+ planned books, and ideas for character names…but fortunately it turned up right as I was about to throw in the towel and cry my eyes out. And of course it was right in a place I looked 20 times. So with that stress gone I got on the ball and worked hard this week.
Onto the update!
First, my overall goals for the year…
- I’ve challenged myself to write 600,000 words in 2016. (at 317,514 as of 8/29/16. Finally crossed halfway, but way behind.)
- I will build my audience and work harder at promotion. (This is going GREAT. Had a couple of real surges due to some promo opportunities I got in on. Excited for it to continue!)
- I will regain my focus. (Really kicking off now. The younger kids are back in school, and while I’ve picked up more hours at the bank, I still have free days for work. Past two weeks have been stellar.)
- I will face my demon/salvation – the one story I’m afraid of. (Nope, not even a little bit yet)
- I will decide by July if I will return to Lake Point in 2017. (So…it’s past July…and I’m still not 100% sure. I know I am doing some revisit/recap stories of the existing books…and have story ideas for more books, but haven’t figured out when I will return to this lovely town.)
- I will prep all the things for print. ALL. The. Things. (Tribe and Wolf are in print. The Chief is giving me fits, which I hope to fix soon. Next is The Raven. I’m still working on others on the side.)
- I will update my author website. (Haven’t gotten much further, and need to add pages for The Chief and The Raven, among others. Again, slow going…but I’m getting there.).
And next is my list of projects. The list seems small without all the Lake Point books of the past on it, but I’m sure it will change and grow over the year. The books in ORANGE are current works-in-progress. The books in BLUE are new to the game.
- Into a Mirror Darkly (Morgana Chronicles 1) – 100k (~10k done)
- Dust Raiser (Dominion Falls 6) – 100k (Title Change!!)
- Dead Man’s Switch (Dominion Falls 7) – 100k
- Red Zone (Dominion Falls 5.5) – 40k (DONE 8/10/16)
- The Raven (The Tribe #4) – 85k (DONE 5/15/16)
- The Child (The Tribe #5) – 85k (~7k done)
- The Seer (The Tribe #6) – 85k
- Auld Lang Syne 1 (Lake Point 12.5 ~ Revisiting Year 1)
- Auld Lang Syne 2 (Lake Point 12.6 ~ Revisiting Year 2)
- Untitled Project (Hand Delivered Book 1) ~ 40k
- Escaping Humanity (Co-authoring w/ Mary Terrani) – 100k (60k done)
- Masked Hearts – Create new cover and re-release this one last SCP book (Plan to work on this in September)
- Fall (Hidden Senses #1) ~30k
2016 has definitely been a struggle and a half for me. I am glad to see things picking up, and look forward to much more. I have plans to make some more money on the side to make up for my lost job, but I don’t expect those things to take too many hours out of my week. I still plan to meet the lofty goals I set for myself, and can’t wait to continue to tackle them all!
Now, off I go to editing. I have a book due to release on October 4th.
by Sarah | Jun 17, 2016 | Books, General, Goals, Writing
June has been up and down for me. I made some major progress, but then crashed and burned when once again real life took a bite out of me.
The Wolf was released and is picking up in sales for it and The Tribe. I’m a hair away from finishing Red Zone, and made myself a list of all planned books (totaling 40, for the record).
So, when the real world stops getting its rocks off by kicking me in the teeth, I’m doing pretty well. I just wish I had a lot more time for writing. This second job is going to kill me…but the bills must be paid. ~sigh~
Onto the update!
First, my overall goals for the year…
- I’ve challenged myself to write 600,000 words in 2016. (at 229,644 as of 6/16/16. Not a huge leap from last check-in, but it’s only been 2 weeks, so I’m not disappointed.)
- I will build my audience and work harder at promotion. (This is going GREAT. Been talking with my publicist guru and she’s gotten me many new reviews, and given me great ideas on how to build. My sales are slowly starting to be impacting by the efforts.)
- I will regain my focus. (Getting better. Kids out of school and here all the time is throwing me off. Still, doing my best.)
- I will face my demon/salvation – the one story I’m afraid of. (Nope, not even a little bit yet)
- I will decide by July if I will return to Lake Point in 2017. (Still not a clue)
- I will prep all the things for print. ALL. The. Things. (Tribe and Wolf are in print. The Chief is next. I’m working on a few other things on the side when I can.)
- I will update my author website. (Just started. It’ll be slow going, but I have pages up for The Tribe series, which are my front runners right now. As I go, I’ll be adding all the books again).
And next is my list of projects. The list seems small without all the Lake Point books of the past on it, but I’m sure it will change and grow over the year. The books in ORANGE are current works-in-progress. The books in BLUE are new to the game.
- Into a Mirror Darkly (Morgana Chronicles 1) – 100k (~10k done)
- Dust Raiser (Dominion Falls 6) – 100k (Title Change!!)
- Dead Man’s Switch (Dominion Falls 7) – 100k
- Red Zone (Dominion Falls 5.5) – 40k (~32.5k done)
- The Raven (The Tribe #4) – 85k (DONE 5/15/16)
- The Child (The Tribe #5) – 85k
- Auld Lang Syne (Lake Point 12.5 ~ Revisiting Old Stories)
- Untitled Project (Hand Delivered Book 1) ~ 40k
- Escaping Humanity (Co-authoring w/ Mary Terrani) – 100k (60k done)
- Masked Hearts – Create new cover and re-release this one last SCP book (Plan to work on this in July)
- Fall (Hidden Senses #1) ~30k
Definitely still a big struggle this year. By making a list of all my books really has helped me find some more focus. Now if, like I said, real life would stop kicking me in the teeth I might get more accomplished. I have two more Tribe books scheduled for release in the coming months. I have more planned, and I have plans to release the re-vamped Dominion Falls series as well as getting some new books in that series on the way, and another series planned, not to mention the Lake Point series.
Many plans, but still struggling to find the time to get it all done. But I will. One way or another.
by Sarah | May 25, 2016 | Books, Challenge, General, Goals, Writing
How is it that it’s already May? My last update was in February…and then March was the month of sheer, utter hell around these parts. The bad sh*t kept happening. So there was little-no writing of any kind. By April I was working two jobs, and working too many hours at them…
Around Mid-April I started to get my ducks in a row finally. Then this week I set about really putting my big girl panties on and getting back down to business.
Through all of the chaos of my home life…I still managed to accomplish some good things like an ebook/print release in March (one sure shining spot), a few book tours that got me a bunch of lovely reviews, and another release coming up in about two weeks. Plus, this week I’ve actually gotten some words on the page again!
So, let’s see where I am in the goals I’d set. I hardly remember what I said, so this is going to be a journey to get through these for me. 🙂
First, my overall goals for the year…
- I’ve challenged myself to write 600,000 words in 2016. (at 212,324 as of 5/24/16. Running behind, but catching up.)
- I will build my audience and work harder at promotion. (This is going GREAT. Been talking with my publicist guru and she’s gotten me many new reviews, and given me great ideas on how to build. My sales are slowly starting to be impacting by the efforts.)
- I will regain my focus. (Struggling here. I lost my mojo–and the practices I’d put in place to keep on track. I’m re-establishing several of them now and trying to get back into the game.)
- I will face my demon/salvation – the one story I’m afraid of. (Nope, not even a little bit yet)
- I will decide by July if I will return to Lake Point in 2017. (Still not a clue)
- I will prep all the things for print. ALL. The. Things. (Tribe is done, I have The Wolf all set, and it’s onto the next. This is going on! I have a LOT of books to get through yet, but I have my print-formatting basis down. Loving it.)
And next is my list of projects. The list seems small without all the Lake Point books of the past on it, but I’m sure it will change and grow over the year. The books in ORANGE are current works-in-progress. The books in BLUE are new to the game.
- Into a Mirror Darkly (Morgana Chronicles 1) – 100k (~10k done)
- Switchback (Dominion Falls 6) – 100k
- Dead Man’s Switch (Dominion Falls 7) – 100k
- Red Zone (Dominion Falls 5.5) – 40k (~18k done)
- The Raven (The Tribe #4) – 85k (DONE 5/15/16)
- The Child (The Tribe #5) – 85k
- Auld Lang Syne (Lake Point 12.5 ~ Revisiting Old Stories)
- Untitled Project (Hand Delivered Book 1) ~ 40k
- Escaping Humanity (Co-authoring w/ Mary Terrani) – 100k (60k done)
- Masked Hearts – Create new cover and re-release this one last SCP book (Plan to work on this this week)
- Fall (Hidden Senses #1) ~30k
Clearly this year has been a struggle for me. I’m really determined to make sure the worst has passed. There will be days I don’t write, depending on editing, formatting, and the slew of other tasks I have to complete, but if I stay on target and write some every day, and keep my editing deadlines instead of pushing them back–I could see everything on my lists accomplished.
Now if only I could find those elusive EXTRA hours to add to my day. Any clue where to find those?
by Sarah | Feb 19, 2016 | Books, General, Goals, Writing
We are already almost two full months into 2016. How is that possible? I mean, it just can’t be, can it?
Of course, I was sick for over 2 weeks recently and so much of my actual writing progress was stunted.
In good news, I wasn’t completely useless. I got the paper-editing of 2 out of the 3 existing The Tribe series completely done. Unfortunately, that’s not on my list of goals, but it is a massive step toward publication for this series. My projected release is April, so I’m very excited. But, it’s time for check-in! Let’s see where I’m at!
First, my overall goals for the year…
- I’ve challenged myself to write 600,000 words in 2016. (at 57,216, running behind, but running as of 2/18/16)
- I will build my audience and work harder at promotion.
- I will regain my focus.
- I will face my demon/salvation – the one story I’m afraid of.
- I will decide by July if I will return to Lake Point in 2017.
- I will prep all the things for print. ALL. The. Things. (Working on The Tribe now)
And next is my list of projects. The list seems small without all the Lake Point books of the past on it, but I’m sure it will change and grow over the year. The books in ORANGE are current works-in-progress.
- Into a Mirror Darkly (Morgana Chronicles 1) – 100k (~10k done)
- Switchback (Dominion Falls 6) – 100k
- Dead Man’s Switch (Dominion Falls 7) – 100k
- Red Zone (Dominion Falls 5.5) – 40k (~12k done)
- The Raven (The Tribe #4) – 85k (~50k done)
- The Child (The Tribe #5) – 85k
- Auld Lang Syne (Lake Point 12.5 ~ Revisiting Old Stories)
- Secret Project 1 (Series Name Withheld) ~ 40k
- Escaping Humanity (Co-authoring w/ Mary Terrani) – 100k (60k done)
- Masked Hearts – Create new cover and re-release this one last SCP book
I haven’t really progressed on much since last month, but I’m getting back into my groove now, so hopefully soon these numbers and projects will all start creeping up! That is end game for sure 🙂
by Sarah | Nov 6, 2015 | Books, General, Goals, Writing
This year has passed crazy fast. I can’t even believe that less than two months are left.
My goals for this year were crazy lofty, and I’ve spent the past few months really working to get close to those goals. Real life has thrown quite a few monkey wrenches into my path, but I still hope to get a good number of them met.
So without further ado or ramblings from my overworked brain…here’s the update!
First, the overall goals to set the tone for the year…
- I’ve challenged myself to write 600,000 words in 2015. (Finally picked up the pace on this one. As of 10/16/15 I was at 509,548. I haven’t written since, but I’m starting tonight.)
- I will build my audience and work harder at promotion – Well, I hit a huge snag in this one, wherein I had to take up the reins myself. So baby steps, but I’m getting there. Also, lowering my prices after the closing of my publishing house has boosted my sales, so that’s helping)
- I will regain my focus. (Did really good until DISNEY and the crap storm in the 3 days since. Trying to refocus as I type.)
- I will detail at least one of the new series I have listed to play with. (Making a little headway with one of them. Plan to start the first story in the group of stories soon.)
- I will decide by July if I’ll continue in Lake Point through 2016. (I did, then changed. No Lake Point in 2016, but hope to return for 2017.)
I will plan the 2016 books and have my proposal into the publisher by August 1st (became inconsequential when the house closed)
And next is my list of projects. The books in ORANGE are current works-in-progress. Books in RED are completed. Books in BLUE are new adds!
- Free Falling (Holidays in Lake Point 10) – 30k (done 2/28)
- Love for Hire (Holidays in Lake Point 11) – 30k (done 3/31)
- Haunted Hearts (Holidays in Lake Point 12) – 30k (2000 words)
Mistletoe Mixup (Holidays in Lake Point 13) – 30k (technically started, but put on hold)- Into a Mirror Darkly (Morgana Chronicles 1) – 100k (~10k done)
- Switchback (Dominion Falls 6) – 100k
- Dead Man’s Switch (Dominion Falls 7) – 100k
- Red Zone (Dominion Falls 5.5) – 20k (Plot roughed out, will start end by end of month)
- The Raven (The Tribe #4) – 85k (40,131 words)
- The Child (The Tribe #5) – 85k
- The Town (The Tribe #6) – 85k
- Escaping Humanity (Co-authoring w/ Mary Terrani) – 80k (54k done)
- Changing Tracks (revamping/updating) – 120k (done 9/15)
- Derailed (revamping/updating) – 120k (done 10/16)
- Dark Territory (revamping/updating) – 120k (1k done)
It’s been a crazy few months with so many things happening. I was in an excellent place last month and now I feel as though I’m playing catchup once again. Here’s to hoping the next couple of weeks go smoothly so I might get back to where I feel I’m back on track. 🙂
On February 8, 2013 my very first novel was published.