I worked really hard throughout 2011 self-publishing five of my books, including my Happy Birthday to Me trilogy. Then in the last two months of 2011 I wrote the first book of a new YA horror series, The Vampire Underground.
As much as I love certain perks of self-publishing, I've never wanted to turn my back on traditional publishing. If I could find a great agent and publisher, why not? So for the first time in over a year, I started sending query letters to agents for my new novel The Vampire Underground.
I've already been working for two weeks on the book's sequel The Zombie Playground, and I plan on writing at least five more books in this planned seven-book series. Somehow this series will find the light of day, whether through traditional or indie publishing.
But it sure would be awesome to find a great agent. I'd love the opportunity for my books to find the shelves in bookstores all around the world. I just finished sending the last of the query letters out this morning, so we'll see in the coming weeks what the response will be. Cross your fingers!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Happy Groundhog's Day!
I started writing my newest novel THE ZOMBIE UNDERGROUND yesterday, yay! It's the sequel to The Vampire Underground, which is coming your way in just a few weeks!
Who doesn't love Groundhog Day? The movie, I mean, not the day itself. It's one of the funniest, sweetest comedies ever made, and it's one of those rare films you can just watch over and over and over again... it seriously never gets old. There's a reason Bill Murray is so beloved, and this might be his best performance. I encourage anyone out there who hasn't seen this film to cozy up with a loved one tonight and took a look. It's one of my favorite movies of all time!
Who doesn't love Groundhog Day? The movie, I mean, not the day itself. It's one of the funniest, sweetest comedies ever made, and it's one of those rare films you can just watch over and over and over again... it seriously never gets old. There's a reason Bill Murray is so beloved, and this might be his best performance. I encourage anyone out there who hasn't seen this film to cozy up with a loved one tonight and took a look. It's one of my favorite movies of all time!
Monday, January 30, 2012
January Update!
Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been as frequent with these updates as I could be. I've been hard at work every day on my new novel, and after three weeks of non-stop work, I finally have a good, clean draft ready for other eyes to view! I just submitted Query Letters to agents today, so we'll see what feedback I get real soon.
My HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME trilogy has been selling very well. I love all the feedback I'm getting on the books, and I've enjoyed seeing the range of opinions, from those to adore the trilogy, to those who abhor it. I knew in writing Book 3 that I could possibly turn off a few readers--while Books 1 & 2 have plenty of humor in them, Book 3 is much darker--but I'm very proud of the books and hope I'll find even more fans as we get further into 2012!
THE VAMPIRE UNDERGROUND has been a real passion project of mine, and I'm happy to soon be releasing this first of seven books out into the world! I start writing the sequel THE ZOMBIE PLAYGROUND in the next week, so there will be more on that soon.
I thought I'd leave you with something here today, so here are the main characters' names, with one adjective that describes each character!
BRIN SKAR - feisty
ASHLEY GORMAN - annoyed
ANAYA FROST - egocentric
SAWYER NEVILLE - fiery
CHACE ANDERSON - pretty
LAVENDER BICKLE - ambiguous
DYLAN WICKERMAN - happy
MR. BARKER - horrific
My HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME trilogy has been selling very well. I love all the feedback I'm getting on the books, and I've enjoyed seeing the range of opinions, from those to adore the trilogy, to those who abhor it. I knew in writing Book 3 that I could possibly turn off a few readers--while Books 1 & 2 have plenty of humor in them, Book 3 is much darker--but I'm very proud of the books and hope I'll find even more fans as we get further into 2012!
THE VAMPIRE UNDERGROUND has been a real passion project of mine, and I'm happy to soon be releasing this first of seven books out into the world! I start writing the sequel THE ZOMBIE PLAYGROUND in the next week, so there will be more on that soon.
I thought I'd leave you with something here today, so here are the main characters' names, with one adjective that describes each character!
BRIN SKAR - feisty
ASHLEY GORMAN - annoyed
ANAYA FROST - egocentric
SAWYER NEVILLE - fiery
CHACE ANDERSON - pretty
LAVENDER BICKLE - ambiguous
DYLAN WICKERMAN - happy
MR. BARKER - horrific
Friday, December 30, 2011
December Update... and Happy New Year!
Wow, I can't believe the year is almost over! On Sunday it will be 2012 and what I hope is the start of a great new year, filled with more writing than I've ever done in my life. In April of 2010 when I started writing my first novel Slate, I had no idea what the next eighteen months would bring. Since that month I've written five novels, including my Birthday trilogy. I started writing a screenplay called Happy Birthday to Me in January of 2010, and this month I finished and published the third book of the trilogy, Happy Birthday to You. These characters, and this one story, have been a part of my life for TWO YEARS. It's hard to believe, as 2012 opens, that I have nothing left to tell in the Birthday universe. (Well, actually, I might have one more story to tell, but more on that later in 2012!)
And now, with the Birthday trilogy behind me, I look ahead to my next YA series! I'm announcing here, for the first time, that my new YA horror series is going to be a planned SEVEN BOOKS!! The first draft of Book 1, The Vampire Underground, is done, and I'll soon be working hard on the second draft. These are a little different in tone from the Birthday books, more suspenseful, more action-packed. Also... a lot more monsters!! I'll have more details on these books as we get further into the new year. Look for The Vampire Underground to premiere on Amazon this March!
And now, with the Birthday trilogy behind me, I look ahead to my next YA series! I'm announcing here, for the first time, that my new YA horror series is going to be a planned SEVEN BOOKS!! The first draft of Book 1, The Vampire Underground, is done, and I'll soon be working hard on the second draft. These are a little different in tone from the Birthday books, more suspenseful, more action-packed. Also... a lot more monsters!! I'll have more details on these books as we get further into the new year. Look for The Vampire Underground to premiere on Amazon this March!
The most exciting news of my books as of late has been the success of my Birthday trilogy in the last three weeks, due to the introduction of KDP Select over on Amazon. In this, the second-to-last day of the month, there have been over 14,000 downloads of Happy Birthday to Me and over 11,000 downloads of Happy Birthday to Me Again! A lot of these books were FREE downloads, but no matter. The fact that so many people out there are finally discovering my trilogy is very exciting news. I can't wait to receive new reviews and new fans in the coming year!
Happy Birthday to You is BRAND NEW and now available for just $2.99 on Amazon!
Thanks again to everyone for supporting my work. The kind reviews and words mean the world to me, and I can't wait to write lots of new books in the coming year!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!!!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Happy Birthday to Me Takes Over Amazon!!
It's been a surreal couple of days. On Wednesday I enrolled in Amazon's new KDP Select Program and made two of my novels and one of my short story collections available for FREE through Tuesday. My short story collection Six Scary Stories has sold 195 copies since yesterday morning, and my LA novel Slate has sold 333!
But the real shock has been the crazy success of my YA debut novel Happy Birthday to Me. On average I sell about 5-10 copies a month of this book, ever since I started selling it last April. Up until December 8, I had sold 2 copies of Happy Birthday to Me for the Kindle during the month of December. Since it went free yesterday morning?
7000 Downloads.
I don't really know what this means for the days to come, but I'm shocked and obviously ecstatic about the response the book has gotten since it went free yesterday. It's currently #2 in the Kindle Free store under Humor, #9 under Romance, and #27 overall! Having just finished and published the third and final book of the trilogy, Happy Birthday to You, I'm excited for book lovers all around the world to discover my trilogy.
Finally, I'll leave you with a brand new review of Happy Birthday to Me that was just posted on Amazon today by Claudia Lefeve. Amazing. I'm speechless. Thanks for all the support, everyone.
I'll be honest. I picked up Happy Birthday to Me because it was free. Now that I've said that...I would have paid full price for it. And if I could have given it 10 stars, I would have.
Brian Rowe has the ability to suck you into his story, to the point you ignore everything else around you. It is one of the best YA paranormal books I've read this year (and we're already in December folks)!
I cried the last 25% of the book and absolutely bawled my eyes out at one of the final scenes. I was so vested in his main character, Cameron Martin, that I cared. I cared so much I cried like a fool. Not knowing what direction the book was going to take by the end, I took everything Cameron experienced to heart.
After looking up the author's blog, I am happy to find out that this book is actually part of a trilogy...guess what I'll be reading the rest of this weekend?
To conclude: buy Happy Birthday To Me, invest in some tissues, and be prepared to read for the next couple of days.
But the real shock has been the crazy success of my YA debut novel Happy Birthday to Me. On average I sell about 5-10 copies a month of this book, ever since I started selling it last April. Up until December 8, I had sold 2 copies of Happy Birthday to Me for the Kindle during the month of December. Since it went free yesterday morning?
7000 Downloads.
I don't really know what this means for the days to come, but I'm shocked and obviously ecstatic about the response the book has gotten since it went free yesterday. It's currently #2 in the Kindle Free store under Humor, #9 under Romance, and #27 overall! Having just finished and published the third and final book of the trilogy, Happy Birthday to You, I'm excited for book lovers all around the world to discover my trilogy.
Finally, I'll leave you with a brand new review of Happy Birthday to Me that was just posted on Amazon today by Claudia Lefeve. Amazing. I'm speechless. Thanks for all the support, everyone.
I'll be honest. I picked up Happy Birthday to Me because it was free. Now that I've said that...I would have paid full price for it. And if I could have given it 10 stars, I would have.
Brian Rowe has the ability to suck you into his story, to the point you ignore everything else around you. It is one of the best YA paranormal books I've read this year (and we're already in December folks)!
I cried the last 25% of the book and absolutely bawled my eyes out at one of the final scenes. I was so vested in his main character, Cameron Martin, that I cared. I cared so much I cried like a fool. Not knowing what direction the book was going to take by the end, I took everything Cameron experienced to heart.
After looking up the author's blog, I am happy to find out that this book is actually part of a trilogy...guess what I'll be reading the rest of this weekend?
To conclude: buy Happy Birthday To Me, invest in some tissues, and be prepared to read for the next couple of days.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU is Live!!
The third and final epic chapter of my Birthday trilogy is now available on Amazon for just $2.99!! Check it out by clicking on the link below!
Happy Birthday to You on Amazon
Happy Birthday to You on Amazon
Friday, December 2, 2011
Happy Birthday to You Cover & December Book Blog Schedule
It's here. It's done. The third and final chapter of the Birthday trilogy is coming this weekend, and here, hot off the presses, is the cover, created and designed by my talented graphic designer pal Katie Bode!
Furthermore, starting Monday, Teen Book Scene is putting on a month-long book blog tour for the Birthday trilogy! Featuring dozens of guest posts by moi, and reviews by some of the best book bloggers on the web, this is truly the biggest online Birthday trilogy event yet!
See the schedule below...
Monday, December 5: Zoe S at Zoe's Book Reviews (Author Interview with Book Line Answers)
Tuesday, December 6: Jessica T at Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile (Review: Book 1)
Wednesday, December 7: Lindsay J at Just Another Book Addict (Cameron This or That List)
Thursday, December 8: Danielle at There’s a Book (Review: Book 2)
Friday, December 9: Vickie at Me, My Shelf and I (Tens List)
Monday, December 12: Heidi at The Readiacs (Author Book Picks)
Tuesday, December 13: Divya at Bookish Delights (Review: Book 3)
Wednesday, December 14: Crystal at My Reading Room (Charisma This or That List)
Thursday, December 15: Corrine at Lost For Words (Review: Book 1)
Friday, December 16: Emilie at Emilie's Book World (Author This or That List)
Monday, December 19: Ivy at Ivy Reads (Author Interview with Tweet Answers)
Tuesday, December 20: Heidi at The Readiacs (Review: Book 2)
Wednesday, December 21: Danielle at There’s a Book (Wesley This or That List)
Thursday, December 22: Lindsay J at Just Another Book Addict (Review: Book 3)
Friday, December 23: Angela at Reading Angel (Into the Past)
Monday, December 26: Ashley at Ashley Suzanne (Character Tweets)
Tuesday, December 27: Crystal at My Reading Room (Review: Book 1)
Wednesday, December 28: Divya at Bookish Delights (Multicharacter Interview)
Thursday, December 29: Jessica T at Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile (Music Post)
Friday, December 30: Corrine at Lost For Words (Teenage Garage Sale)
Tuesday, December 6: Jessica T at Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile (Review: Book 1)
Wednesday, December 7: Lindsay J at Just Another Book Addict (Cameron This or That List)
Thursday, December 8: Danielle at There’s a Book (Review: Book 2)
Friday, December 9: Vickie at Me, My Shelf and I (Tens List)
Monday, December 12: Heidi at The Readiacs (Author Book Picks)
Tuesday, December 13: Divya at Bookish Delights (Review: Book 3)
Wednesday, December 14: Crystal at My Reading Room (Charisma This or That List)
Thursday, December 15: Corrine at Lost For Words (Review: Book 1)
Friday, December 16: Emilie at Emilie's Book World (Author This or That List)
Monday, December 19: Ivy at Ivy Reads (Author Interview with Tweet Answers)
Tuesday, December 20: Heidi at The Readiacs (Review: Book 2)
Wednesday, December 21: Danielle at There’s a Book (Wesley This or That List)
Thursday, December 22: Lindsay J at Just Another Book Addict (Review: Book 3)
Friday, December 23: Angela at Reading Angel (Into the Past)
Monday, December 26: Ashley at Ashley Suzanne (Character Tweets)
Tuesday, December 27: Crystal at My Reading Room (Review: Book 1)
Wednesday, December 28: Divya at Bookish Delights (Multicharacter Interview)
Thursday, December 29: Jessica T at Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile (Music Post)
Friday, December 30: Corrine at Lost For Words (Teenage Garage Sale)
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