A Writer’s Resolutions: 2015 Edition

January 9, 2015KWhipkey 6 Comments

Ah yes, resolution season. Normally, I’m among the first to catalog a new batch of ambitious goals, but this year, I’ve felt strangely impartial to the practice. Aside from the usual personal ones, like “Be Debt Free,” “Lose Like 100 lbs,” and “Stress Less, Have More Fun,” my resolution list has been sadly lacking. But, since it’s tradition to set some writing ones in stone by posting them here, I’m going to try and rustle some up by the end of this post.

First, a quick reminder of the ones from last year:

Writing Resolutions 2014

Finish the rough draft of Unmoving
Upload Chapters of Unmoving every two weeks to Wattpad & Authonomy
Revise and Re-publish The Bardach, Spinning & Confessions via Createspace/Amazon KDP
Compile brief synopses of all plot bunnies
Write, Edit & Publish one new short story

How did I stack up against those? Most of you already know. Unmoving still isn’t finished, but I did manage to write quite a bit more of it, thanks to the bi-weekly deadline. Though, I also wasn’t as consistent with that as I wanted to be, and I often had to postpone the chapters, missing the deadlines completely while I tried to finish other obligations. I didn’t upload anything to Wattpad or Authonomy, but I did start submitting the serialized chapters to Starter Serials. So we’ll count this one as a win. Yay me! A quick Amazon search will show that I completely failed at resolution three (The Bardach rewrite is only about a third of the way done), and I also didn’t complete four or five.

So, all total, I managed to maybe, kinda sorta achieve one on that list. But that’s still better than I did last year, so I suppose it’s progress, right?

2014 was actually a great year in other regards, though, aside from the last month, when it decided to go out with a crap-storm of awful. But before that, I attended my first writing conference, followed quickly by a second. I met a lot of fantastic new people and learned some cool new tricks. I helped twelve books come into the world, read a plethora of amazing manuscripts on submission, facilitated the Project REUTSway short story contest, and all around kind of flourished as an editor. So even though I didn’t make the specific goals listed above, I’d say it was a good eleven months. I’m not counting December. That month can suck it.

What does that leave me with for 2015? Well, on one side, it’s left me with a continuation of the suckage December shepherded into my life. But it also leaves me optimistic and full of ambition for my writing, editing, and art. Yes, art. The long-lost bastard child of my creativity. Which brings us to . . .

Writing Resolutions 2015

Finish Unmoving (It’s going to happen this year, damn it. I have other stories clamoring for attention too!)
Upload Chapters of Unmoving every two weeks to Wattpad & Authonomy (Since I didn’t technically accomplish this to the letter, I’m reusing it. Deal.)
Revise and Re-publish The Bardach, Spinning & Confessions via Createspace/Amazon KDP (Still something I really want to do. But I’ll settle for at least completing Kindred — aka The Bardach 2.0)
Compile brief synopses of all plot bunnies (Definitely becoming more and more necessary, since I can’t seem to remember s**t if it’s not written down anymore.)
Write, Edit & Publish one new short story (Still not sure why I haven’t managed to do this. It’s a short story! Get it together, self.)
Plan, Prep, and Unveil Secret Blog Project by the end of the year

You’ll notice there’s now a sixth resolution, and it’s particularly vague. I’m excited about it, but I don’t want to give too much away until I know for sure I’ll have the time and ability to pull it off. Let’s just say that if all goes to plan, it’ll involve quite a bit of free fiction for your reading enjoyment. 😉

Other things on the horizon that aren’t official resolutions — let’s call them “soft” resolutions:

Be more consistent with new content for the blog. You’ve all been super patient with my hectic schedule this past year, and I truly appreciate it. But I’m hoping to get back to a more regular posting schedule, full of new insights on writing, editing, publishing, or whatever the heck I feel like writing about. Sound good?
Maintain, consistently, the release schedule for the VIP subscription to Unmoving. (Not sure what that is? Look here.)
Start working on a more traditional (probably YA) novel. Now that my path to self-publishing is underway, I’d like to tackle the other half — traditional publishing. I’ve always said I wanted to do a hybrid publishing style, self-pubbing A Symphony of Synchronicity, and then pursuing traditional publishing for my dark fantasy stuff. Now seems like a good time to start working toward that goal.
Dust off my art training and put it to good use. I have a few artistic opportunities looming in my near future, so I think its high time I went back to actively cultivating this skill set. It may even help support that first “soft” resolution, yielding unexplored topics to write about. We’ll see.

I’m sure there are others I could list, but for now, that seems plenty ambitious, I think. So here’s to a new year, a clean slate, and accomplishing all those things we didn’t in 2014. Cheers!

P.S. I’d love to hear what some of your writing/publishing goals are for the year. Share them in the comments below! 🙂

Book Feature: UnHappenings by Edward Aubry

January 6, 2015January 6, 2015KWhipkey 6 Comments

Today, I’m kicking off the new content for the year with a book feature. I’ll provide a review once I’m done reading it, but I’m so excited about it that I had to share. Plus, I’m part of the blog tour, so it was kind of required. 😉

Isn’t that cover amazing, though? That alone would have captured my interest, so kudos to the cover designer for that gorgeous image.

Since there is a review pending, I’ll save most of my thoughts for now. But I will say that this book has one of the coolest premises I’ve come across. I’m a complete sucker for these kinds of tangled narrative webs, and this one’s both unique and brilliant. It instantly caught my eye and so far, it hasn’t disappointed. But, don’t just take my word for it. Here’s the blurb so you can see for yourself:

When Nigel Walden is fourteen, the UNHAPPENINGS begin. His first girlfriend disappears the day after their first kiss with no indication she ever existed. This retroactive change is the first of many only he seems to notice.

Several years later, when Nigel is visited by two people from his future, he hopes they can explain why the past keeps rewriting itself around him. But the enigmatic young guide shares very little, and the haggard, incoherent, elderly version of himself is even less reliable. His search for answers takes him fifty-two years forward in time, where he finds himself stranded and alone.

And then he meets Helen.

Brilliant, hilarious and beautiful, she captivates him. But Nigel’s relationships always unhappen, and if they get close it could be fatal for her. Worse, according to the young guide, just by entering Helen’s life, Nigel has already set into motion events that will have catastrophic consequences. In his efforts to reverse this, and to find a way to remain with Helen, he discovers the disturbing truth about the unhappenings, and the role he and his future self have played all along.

Equal parts time-travel adventure and tragic love story, Unhappenings is a tale of gravely bad choices, and Nigel’s struggle not to become what he sees in the preview of his worst self.

Does that not sound awesome? You know you want to check it out.

I’ll admit that part of what first attracted me to the story was a vague similarity to my own work, Unmoving. But thankfully, that’s all the similarity is — vague. Aubry has created a story unlike anything I’ve read to date, with a feeling that is much more reminiscent of film. And for that, I applaud him.

UnHappenings officially releases on Jan 8th, but it is available for pre-order. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads list, and I’ll keep you posted on my final recommendation. Though, at this point, it’s certainly looking to be glowing.

About the Author:

Edward Aubry is a graduate of Wesleyan University, with a degree in music composition. Improbably, this preceded a career as a teacher of high school mathematics and creative writing.

Over the last few years, he has gradually transitioned from being a teacher who writes novels on the side to a novelist who teaches to support his family. He is also a poet, his sole published work in that form being the sixteen stanza “The History of Mathematics.”

He now lives in rural Pennsylvania with his wife and three spectacular daughters, where he fills his non-teaching hours spinning tales of time-travel, wise-cracking pixies, and an assortment of other impossible things.

Find Edward Aubry Online:

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Holiday Giveaway Round One Winners!

January 2, 2015KWhipkey 11 Comments

Welcome back, everyone. And Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fantastic, safe, joyous holiday season. 🙂

Traditionally (because more than one year of doing something makes it a tradition, right?), this would be the week when I detail my writing-related resolutions for 2015, and compare my successes (and/or failures) against the list from 2014. But the truth is, I haven’t made any resolutions yet. Shocking, I know. So we’re going to postpone that for another week and get right down to the thing you’re all waiting with bated breath for — the winners of the holiday giveaway. Well, Round One, anyway.

All total, I received 525 entries, making it by far the most successful one I’ve done to date, thanks in part to the generous donation of a custom cover design from Cardboard Monet’s Ashley Ruggirello, and the fact that this really is a pretty cool prize. If it weren’t my giveaway, and I had something that was actually finished, I would have entered! But, since it is my giveaway, that obviously isn’t allowed. It’s not as much fun as helping someone else if I keep the prize for myself. 😉

So, as I’m sure you recall, there are two rounds to this particular giveaway. The first, which ended last night at midnight, required contestants to enter via a variety of ways listed on the Rafflecopter widget. The second will be different. But, before I tell you exactly what that means, let’s find out who those lucky Round Two participants are.

The Round One Victors

Anne Tilney

Tammy Walsh

Catherine Oliver

Magali Frachette

Tiffany Treichel

Danielle Roy

Susan Nystoriak

Kelly DeVos

Anna Patrick

Amanda Tatman Carney

Teressa Aune Ewing

Mary Ellen Wall

Nicole Tone

Erin Deeds Beaty

Emily Pichardo

Kelsey Simon

Kelly Heinen

Stacie Hanson

Amelia

Crystal Christie

Mary Liles Eicher

Talynn

Katherine Pisana

Priya Kanaparti

Thank you all so much for entering, and congratulations on surviving the first round of cuts! 🙂

The fun’s not over though. Now we get to the real meat of the competition — Round Two. If your name is on that list above, I’ll need you to submit a query and the first five pages of your manuscript (or a synopsis) by January 15th. I’ll review all the entries, looking for the person I think would gain the most benefit from this prize, and the ultimate winner will be announced, here, on January 30th. Best of luck! (And don’t worry, there will be an email detailing this heading out to the winners shortly.)

Happy Holidays!

December 19, 2014KWhipkey Leave a comment

All right, everyone, the time has come for me to disappear for a couple weeks. It happens every year, so don’t worry, I’ll be back with lots of new content, including more posts on editing, writing, publishing, art, and the martial arts. I even have a few (hopefully awesome) surprises in store, provided I can make them work. But in the meantime, I want to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Your continued support of all my efforts is greatly appreciated. 🙂

To prove it, I’m giving away what is arguably one of my more ambitious prizes — a self-publisher’s dream package. It was announced a few weeks ago, but you still have time to enter. And because I’m never one to make people hunt for information, here’s the rundown one more time:

One lucky person will win the following . . .

A comprehensive, top-to-bottom, full manuscript edit (including structural & line edits)
A polished, publish-ready eBook cover design (provided by the talented Ashley Ruggirello of Cardboard Monet)
Assistance creating the all-important book blurb
A final proofread of the type-set, ready-for-print galley (typesetting/formatting itself is not included though)

Doesn’t that sound amazing? Here’s what you have to do to win:

Round One: Currently Happening

Starting right now, you can enter to win via the Rafflecopter form. Simply fill out the various possibilities, and your name will be added to the hat. Enter as many times as you’d like until the form closes at midnight on January 2nd, 2015. On January 3rd, I will select 100 names at random via Rafflecopter’s handy little service. Those lucky people will move on to round two. (And yes, they will be announced on the blog, so you’ll all know who to congratulate.)

Round Two: Starts Jan. 3rd, 2015

This is where the competition gets a little fierce. The 100 winners will be required to submit a query, along with the first 5 pages of their manuscript, via email. (Specific instructions will be sent to the winners on the appropriate date.) I will review them all, and much like an acquisitions editor, I will select the final winner based both on potential and the quality of your pitch. I’ll be looking for the person I think will gain the most value from our help, so your manuscript definitely doesn’t have to be perfect yet, but it does need to be complete. Also, I will consider novellas, but not short stories.

My final decision will be made by January 30th, 2015, and the lucky winner will be announced. So sharpen those pitches, people. Make it so I absolutely have to pick you.

Good luck, and happy holidays! 🙂

Slightly Damaged Books, Free to Good Home

December 12, 2014KWhipkey 17 Comments

Well, I finally received my shipment of Fairly Twisted Tales for a Horribly Ever After hardcovers yesterday. Yes, hardcovers, as in the edition exclusive to the REUTS Publications website. I ordered extras with the intent of showcasing them around Portland, but unfortunately, USPS had other ideas. I don’t know what happened to this poor box, but it must have fallen off at least one truck and narrowly escaped the jaws of the Mail-room Monster. It arrived on my doorstep in a mangled, barely-held-together-with-packing-tape, sad little pile. So I think you can guess what that meant for the precious cargo inside.

Yep, all but one copy were damaged. I cried. Okay, maybe not outwardly, but I did shed a tear on the inside. Some of the copies were salvageable, but a few were beyond what I would feel comfortable charging money for. Which brings us to today’s post. Not one to waste books (because that’s sacrilege — SACRILEGE, I tell you!), I’ve decided to offer the four worst offenders to anyone willing to give them a good home. Yes, they’re a little rough around the edges; yes, they’re not the pure-bred version we would have preferred, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still be loved. The interiors are pristine. It’s only the spine that got a little munched on. See? I’ll show you:

Image of damaged copies

Another angle of damaged copies

So, whaddya say? Want to give these little guys some place safe and warm? Turn my disappointment into your boon and enter to win here. I’ll choose four winners tomorrow morning and will ship them out by the end of next week. (US only, I’m afraid. Sorry!)

And don’t forget about the other fantastic giveaway currently running here at Nightwolf’s Corner, where you could win a full manuscript edit and custom cover design! That one’s located here; go enter. Seriously! It’s a ridiculous prize and someone’s going to be very lucky when they win it.