"Prae Lium" is a Novel!

Hiya guys! Hope you're all doing well. Whatchya up to this weekend?

I've been writing my butt off this past week - having the guys work a steady schedule has helped a ton, and I've gotten into a good rhythm! I've been writing most of today, which has been awesome. I wanted to write a quick update though, since I've hit a good spot to take a break.

After all the drama circling book three in the Swirling Secrets series, Prae Lium is finally at 40k words!

From everything I can see, 40k> is considered a novel. Some places, like NaNoWriMo, require more, and others require less, but most seem to agree on 40.

I figure this book will be somewhere around 55-60k or so, when I'm finished. Should end up around 22-23 chapter or so, roughly 200 pages I think, depending on the format.

I'm hoping to have it finished next week sometime - whoot!

I'm still shooting for an October 3rd release date, and will be sharing more about that in the next few weeks.

So excited! =D

If you haven't read Sospi Tare yet, you've still got a few weeks! ;)

Wish me luck, and have a fantastic weekend!

Rave Review for Desi Pere!

Hiya guys! I just had to share this with you. On Sept 3rd, a reader left a fantastic review for "Desi Pere" on Amazon!

I'm so humbled by this review. It's not someone I know, I don't even know who it is. They review books often, but are simply listed as an "Amazon Customer." Whoever it is, they've nearly brought me to tears with their words.

Here's what they said:

"Creative, Adventurous - Fun!

Entertaining, quirky, creative, and adventurous – this book is a lot of fun. Full of excitement and antics (I love how the character Magnhild thinks and reacts), any book that makes me laugh aloud more than a handful of times gets a high rating on my scale. The freak’s special powers are cool. I also enjoyed the “tension” developing between Magnhild and Breasal. This novel is an “X-Men meets Dr. Evil” kind of young adult paranormal adventure."

Wowza!! I'm just blown away, and completely stoked about this.

I want to end this story perfectly, and this review is a wonderful boost to my spirit.

Thanks a ton, reviewer, you rock! =D

The Perfect Song

Hiya guys, Happy Saturday! =D

So, I was writing yesterday, and as always, had music blasting. I'm one of those people that loves having music on while I do just about everything. I can write without it, but I write a whole lot better and quicker with music. Especially heavier music.

Anyway, I was writing, doing my thing, my series playlist blaring. I created a series playlist just for Swirling Secrets on Spotify (feel free to follow it, this mix is epic!), and it's got over 200 songs. I always have it on shuffle play, so the mix is always different.

One of the songs that came on, is one I love writing to, but admittedly, haven't listened to the lyrics all that closely. For what ever reason, I did this time. What I found is, this song is perfect for this series! If I had to pick one song to embody this story, that song was it.

Check these lyrics out, they are the main ones that fit this story so well:

We won't fall to our knees

We are the one true hope

So give me an answer

Are you in or you out?

We are the one true hope

So give me an answer

We all fall, crawl out of the fear you're in

Don't give up

We won't fall to our knees

We are the one true hope

So give me an answer whoa whoa

So give me an answer, now whoa whoa

Give me an answer

Stand up

You have a voice to be heard

You're worth more than words

So let your fire burn

Oh, your flame will be lit

Again when a candle is burned at both ends

And there's nothing left

You can change

You can become selfless

You're not set in stone

You will wade through mistakes that we all make

But just hold on

Don't fade away (hold on)

The song, is Hope by We Came As Romans. These lyrics are just amazing. They fit Magnhild and her struggles to find herself, and pick sides. They fit the overall conflict, on both sides. They fit the rest of humanity, caught in the crossfire between two secret superpowers. It's just amazing! Wonderful on so many levels.

Now, this is a bit of a heavier song - it's listed as metalcore, which is a mix of hardcore rock and metal. It may not be everyone's taste, but if you'd like to hear this song, and really hear the spirit of this story, check it out. It really is perfect.

I'll be posting more stuff like this, sharing behind-the-scenes looks and teasers about the series.

If you'd like to see specific posts, or have questions about the series, feel free to let me know in the comments, or shoot me an email! I may just make a blog post about it. ;)

Thanks for visiting!

Hit An Even Bigger Snag

Hiya guys! Have another update for ya. The drama that seems to be circling my attempt to finish Prae Lium continues!

I realized that the writing program I use had an auto update a couple days ago. In that update, several glitches occurred. Including, but not limited to, the entire middle of P.L. getting erased, with no record of it on the computer.

I wasn't backing up my books yet - I am now.

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper yesterday.

To make matters worse, I hadn't written anything in nearly 3 weeks, and couldn't remember the details of the chapters that were lost. At least, not well enough to re-write them and have it all flow the same way.

So! I have now cut out the entire book after the first part, and am simply starting over. I have up to what was lost in the update, and that's it. But, it's better than nothing, right? At least I don't have to re-write the beginning, haha.

No idea if the story will progress down the same path as it did last time, but it'll be interesting to see!

Everything happens for a reason, right? Maybe I'll write a better book this time around, who knows!

Choosing to stay positive, and just go with it. No point in crying over spilled milk. It's a lot of work down the drain, but these things happen.

Anyway, my plan to cut and stitch the three books together is on the back burner, and may not happen at all if I am able to write enough this time around. We shall see.

Wish me luck! =D

Hit A Snag

Hiya guys! Have an update for ya today.

I've been working on the third book in the Swirling Secrets Series, Prae Lium. I've been having so much fun creating the ending to this story! So fun in fact, that I ended up writing the ending.

Why is that a snag? Because the book is 9 chapters...25,000 or so words. My goal was 80,000.

Crap.

It's going to drive me nuts to have one book so much shorter than the rest, so I just can't be finished with it like that.

I also don't want to just add random events and nonsense that doesn't actually fit or add to the story. It's horribly obvious to me when authors do this, and it drives me nuts, so I'd be a bit hypocritical if I did the same thing. Plus, I just don't want to.

So, how do I fix this little snag?

With some cutting and stitching, I think.

See, the first book in the series, Desi Pere, is 43 chapters long. 43!! It's nearly 100,000 words. Ridiculous, right?

Since it was the first book I was going to publish, and kind of my test project, I left it that long, knowing it would be a series.

Knowing, slightly, that this very issue may come up. So really, this is like my back-up plan.

But I digress.

The second book in the series, Sospi Tare, is only 25 chapters. Around 65,000 words or so.

Basically, I could put the second and third books together, and have a shorter length as the first one alone. That is driving me nuts.

I don't really want two long-ass books. I want this to be a trilogy. That's how I set it up, that's how I want it, that's how it's going to be, one way or another.

SO! I'm going to spend the rest of this week cutting up the first two books, and stitching all three together. Hopefully they will even out to all be around the same length.

If not, I'll come up with something else to fix this snag, but for the moment, I'm hoping I can get this win-win to work, because really, the first book is a bit long to begin with, and needs to be cut down a bit.

Wish me luck peeps!!

I Love Writing!

Hiya guys! I wanted to share an update today, since I've been a little quiet since the cover/title reveal for Prae Lium.

I have been busy writing, but mostly dealing with the rest of my life. Hubster got a new job, and then we adopted a mamma doggie and her puppies!! Lots of new little mouths to feed and messes to clean up, but they are so adorable!

Anyway, I'm back at the keyboard this weekend, and having so much fun! It is incredibly refreshing, after several weeks of not being able to write much. Such an awesome feeling.

Anywho, I am hoping to have this book finished up in the next few weeks, and published soon after that! We shall see how it goes, but fingers crossed!

The ending for this series is going to be awesome, so if you haven't read the first two books yet, be sure to pick them up soon! They're both available on Amazon & Barnes & Noble - whoot! =D

Hope you had an amazing week, and have a fantastic weekend!

Finishing Up Swirling Secrets!

Hiya guys! How's your weekend going so far? Doing anything fun?

Love this gif! Gosh, I wish that's what I was doing this weekend! Haha

We're relaxing this weekend, as much as we can. The guys are working on some cars & trucks, and I'm writing some more - whoot! =D

It hit me this morning though, that when I'm done with Prae Lium (book 3), I'll be finished with this series. Finished! I will have a complete series published!!

That's HUGE!

I honestly didn't think I'd ever get the courage to publish my first book. Now I'm only months away from having an entire trilogy published. Wow.

I haven't spent a ton of time promoting or marketing this series, because honestly, I'm just enjoying the experience of writing and publishing. I'm savoring the feeling - letting it hug me, and enjoying the gentle joy coming from walking this path.

I'm so thankful for my friends and family who have supported me with this journey. Thank you guys - you make it so much fun! =D