Stalking Shadows New Cover Update

So I've been prepping Stalking Shadows for it's Createspace print release and working on the cover. I really appreciate all the feedback everyone has given me. Here's what I currently have. Let me know what you think of it. Thanks! (And to Jess, I'm thinking about adding the red eyes to the back cover in some way. I couldn't fit it onto the front cover, but I like the idea.)

Identity Crisis

So for a while now, I've been referring to the third book in the Scary Mary series as Long Dead. Well, there was a reason for that, and in a recent edit,  that reason got cut out. I am now flailing about for a new title and can't think of one. I sort of like the title Broken Whispers, but that's more because I used to call all the ghosts whispers in the very early drafts of Scary Mary and that would seem like a nice tip of the hat to that old concept, but I'm not sure if anything in the story really denotes whispers unless you squint. Broken Screams seems melodramatic, but would sort of fit better. I could go with Broken Shadows, which would give everyone an idea what the next book is about, but I don't like the idea of using the word shadow in another title. The whole reason I'm bringing this up is because I've placed a publishing schedule page here on the blog, and I couldn't bring myself to list the third book as Long Dead since I know for a fact that won't be the title. What will it be? I don't know. Maybe I should move away from the word broken. I'll keep brainstorming as I write and hopefully come up with something in the near future. I'll have to have something by July at the very least. Can't publish a book without a title. Well, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Achievement Unlocked!

Back on Dec. 17, 2011, I posted an entry saying my dream was to make enough money from writing to drop from working 40 hours a week to 32 hours a week.  Well...Drum roll, please...

I DID IT!

I have negotiated with the library to drop down to 32 hours a week. This is my first pay period doing so. This is actually ahead of schedule for me. I'd thought I'd need to wait until November of this year, but decided to throw caution to the wind and pushed through the paperwork. I have officially realized one of my dreams! I want to thank everyone that has purchased my books. You've made so many dreams come true for me.

I'd lost all hope of making money from writing books when I first started this blog. Initially, I posted Scary Mary online as a final nail in the coffin of pursuing publication. It was never getting published, so I figured I couldn't lose anything by posting it. Remember, this was back in 2007 before the eBook explosion. All doors appeared closed to me except the world wide web. So I posted Scary Mary to this website. It wasn't "published" in the ink and paper sense, but at least others could read it.

I was happy enough. Not thrilled, but content. Basically, I'd settled. I enjoyed reading comments from people who came by and gave me encouragement and advice. I got the occasional donation and generated a little ad revenue. But there was no hope of doing better. I wasn't going anywhere.  

Then I finally listened to all of the hubbub about eBooks. I'd disregarded it because I had no money to buy an eReader and my library did not use them either. But people were saying it was super easy to self-publish eBooks. So I decided to give it a try and the rest they say is history.

Back then, I didn't seriously imagine I'd ever be making a steady income from writing. I may still need the day job, but I've achieved a dream. I was able to reduce my schedule to 32 hours a week because I am making a steady income from writing. Reducing my schedule was a small dream, a mini-dream on the way to the big dream, the "Quitting the Day Job to Write Full-time" Dream. Where once I day-dreamed of being a full-time writer without hope of it ever happening, I now imagine with confidence. I know I will one day achieve it.

And that is because of all of you. Thank you.

Stalking Shadows' New Cover?

Hi Everyone,

I'm playing around at designing a new cover for Stalking Shadows. I want to get it in-line with Scary Mary. Please tell me what you think? The edges of stuff are still rough because this is a mock-up, and there is a watermark over the model's face. I haven't bought the rights to the photo yet. It is the same model as the one on Scary Mary. Can you tell it's the same girl?

Tell me what you think! (And if you can think of a better tag line, share! ;-)

ETA: I also did a quick variation because I forgot that Scary Mary did not have its title in caps. I like the way the caps look, but for consistency, the lower case may be better. Does anyone have a preference?  I omitted the tagline from the cover on the second one because there's no nice place to put it and I don't even know if I want it on the first one.

My Review of 100 Cupboards

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed 100 Cupboards for the most part. The fantastical aspects, mainly the cupboards, were very intriguing. They reminded me a bit of the mini-series The Lost Room. It was their surface mundanity but with a fantastical aspect underneath that charmed me. I mean one of the first cupboards the children open is to a mailbox. But it is a mailbox not on Earth.

The story introduces a lot of different elements that aren't quite explained, but this is clearly the first in a series, so that's to be expected. It starts simple enough. Henry goes to live with his aunt and uncle in Kansas after his parents are kidnapped. One night in his new room, a strange cupboard emerges from the wall. He uncovers 98 more and discovers how to open them. Each one connects to a different place. Some good, some bad. One of the bad ones notices him and reaches through.

I liked Henry, the protagonist. His sheltered life, his conflicted feelings over his parents, and simple yearning to play baseball were handled very well. But many of the other children made me want to punch a wall. (Because hitting a child is reprehensible, but Anastasia would have sorely tested me.) I don't recall having such a visceral rage for a child in a story for a long time. Especially not one in juvenile fiction, but two of the girls - Anastasia and Henrietta - had my blood boiling at certain points. And the girls never seemed to appreciate the consequences that are visited upon them. They are physically hurt, loved ones are almost killed, and they're still going, "La, la, la, I want to go through a cupboard." Like I said, striking a child is evil, but locking one in a room without supper is still okay, right?

I'm not sure if I'll read the next one. I am intrigued about the worlds N.D. Wilson hints at in the book, but I may have to skim a bit to see how many times the names of those two girls appear. My blood pressure may not be able to handle much of them.

View all my reviews