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Covencraft Update – Double-Sided Witch (Book 3)

Hello internets!
It’s time for a status update on book 3 of my Urban Fantasy Series, Covencraft! I’ve been a bit behind in my writing over the last few months. There were some things, with some issues and some blah de blah but I’m back on the writing wagon! This weekend I’m with my writing friends in South Carolina and it’s always a really good jolt for my creativity and productivity.

I’m almost a quarter of the way into book three! My working title (which I sincerely hope ‘sticks’ because I love it) is “Double-Sided Witch.”

I’m still in the ‘setting up’ phase – where I’m positioning all my dominoes and getting them ready. I always feel like the first 2/3 of a book is this domino positioning and the last third is where, if I’ve done my job well, all I have to do is knock them all down. At this point, I’m predicting 90000 words for the book. I alternate between “OMG IT’S GOING TO END UP AT 130000 WORDS IF I KEEP UP LIKE THIS” to “SOB, THIS ISN’T GOING TO EVEN END UP AT 60000 WORDS BECAUSE I CANNOT PLOT.”

This is also the point where doubt sets in. Is there too much plot? Not enough? Is too much happening? Not enough? WHAT IS GOING ON?? lol. I find I just need to keep my head down and keep at it.

For those of you who have read Counter-Hex and expressed a love for Bruce (Jade’s lizard familiar), you’ll be happy to know that he’s back in book 3. For a guy who was only supposed to be in one chapter of Counter-Hex, he’s made himself a place in my heart and I’m happy to have him back in Double-Sided Witch.

I’ll keep you updated as go along!

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The Plot Thickens….

I’m in plotting mode right now for Book 3 of my Covencraft Series. I admit, I’ve been resting a big on my laurels [such as they are] since I completed the first draft of Book 2 – Counter Hex in December. The Counter-Hex had to go through edits and I wrote about 8000 more words and then edits again. And more edits. GOD THE EDITING. And then I was just happy to be done and decided to take a break!

The problem with doing nothing is it’s hard to tell when you’re done!

I’ve been futzing around with a fanfic as well that’s at 40000 words and NEEDS TO BE FINISHED.

So! LE PLAN!

I’m off on vacation for just under a week and the goals are:

1. 5000 words on the fanfic [More would be GREAT but 5000 is a very realistic goal for me and I can attain that]

2. Plot out the first half of book 3, tentatively titled Double-Sided Witch. I have my ideas but the problem is when they live in my brain they are swirly and round, like clouds and I need to write them out linearly to ensure everything makes sense and sadly, I think once I do that, I may have to get rid of my gorgon idea. IDK, we’ll see. There may still be room for a gorgon. I also have a scene in my brain that I tried to put in Trial by Fire [and I couldn’t fit it in] and I tried to put it in Counter Hex [and I couldn’t fit it in] and it’s already down on my notes for Double-Sided Witch. aaaaaand I’m starting to think it won’t fit in there either BUT DAMMIT. I WANT IT.

For reals, yo. If I never manage to get this scene in one of these books, I’m just going to write it anyway and toss it up on the blog. CONTINUITY BE DAMNED

3. Get a solid 5000 words out on book 3.

 

So! Goal for the week is 10000 words, so that means I have to write ~2000 words a day while I’m away which is doable. I also want to get some reading in and the kindle is all loaded up!

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Draft 2 of Counter-Hex completed!

Phew! Draft 2 completed! Added another 7500 words bringing our total up to 94000ish.

And! The publishers liked it, which is always a big relief.

Now the final read through. Out loud.

I’m going to need like 12 pots of coffee, tea and some gatorade. And a puppy on my lap.

It should make me slow down enough to catch things that are wonky or don’t work. I also shifted some things during the edit [and added some stuff] so I need to make sure it all still flows.

 

SO CLOSE TO THE FINISH!!!!

 

 

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Covencraft book 2 Udpate – First draft done!

OMG, guys! I just finished the first draft of Book 2 of Covencraft!

Let’s take a moment to CELEBRATE!

Carlton dancing

Now comes the next steps – EDITS!

Unimpressed

I admit, I HATE editing. But I’ve promised Fable Press they will have the book by January 15, so there’s no time to waste if I want it to be read over by my beta readers in time!

So I’ll have a celebratory drink tonight (and by drink, I mean bottle of wine) and then tomorrow, I start editing from the beginning. I already have some notes on things that need tweaking, and I’ll be checking my SPAG as I go. Then it’s off to Donna, Chantal and Ash for review. Although, Donna already has a rough draft without the ending that she’s looking at right now. She’s doing the “Yo, does this have a plot?” read through.

I’m always so happy when I finish a draft! It makes all the really tough parts (the crying, the wailing, the despair, the teeth gnashing, the fingernail biting, DID I MENTION THE DESPAIR??) worth it!

Happy-Dean-supernatural-17876753-392-352

 

 

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Blog Tour Schedule!

I’m going on tour!

From July 29 to Aug 26, I will be ‘On Tour’ with Bewitching Book Tours promoting my book, Trial by Fire!

bewitching_author Trial by Fire Button 300 x 225

The tour runs on Weekdays, links below so you can stop by and check stuff out. I’ll be updating this post as I create guest blog posts so you’ll know what I’ll be discussing.

What will happen on the book tour? I’M SO GLAD YOU ASKED:

Guest Blog – A post written by me – I’m still looking for the perfect place to write my post on “The Importance of Being Miss Piggy”, but for this tour, I’ll probably stick to writing, elements of writing, supernatural stuff and/or items feature my book.

Spotlight – Will feature excerpts from Trial by Fire

Interviews – will feature my responses to interview questions. I was very excited to do my first “Character Interview” for July 29, featuring answers by Jade!

Review – Will feature a book review of Trial by Fire [Gotta admit, this one has me biting my nails a bit]

Le Schedule

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
July 29
Character Interview [Jade]
Laurie’s Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
Author Interview
The Official Blog of A.C. James
July 30
Spotlight
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too!
July 31
Author Interview
A Writer’s Mind
August 1 – Day off! August 2
Guest blog – Genre World Building
Mythical Books
August 5
Guest blog – Character Interview [Paris]
Christina McKnight Blog
August 6
Spotlight – Excerpt 1
Kelly P’s Blog
Spotlight – Excerpt 2
Reviewing in Chaos
August 7
Guest blog – Where do your ideas come from
Buffy’s Ramblings
Review of Trial by Fire
Escape Into A Book
August 8
Spotlight – Excerpt 3
Share My Destiny
August 9
Spotlight – Excerpt 1
Krystal’s Enchanting Reads …
Spotlight and review of Trial by Fire [excerpt 2]
wicca witch 4 book blog
August 12
Review of Trial By Fire
Ella Gray
August 13
Guest blog – Begin with the End in Mind
Itara @My midnight fantasies
August 14
Spotlight
Zombiegirl Shambling
August 15
Guest blog – Deleted Scene from Trial by Fire
Bookworm Bridgette’s World
August 16
Author Interview
Fang-tastic Books
Spotlight
Mommasez…blog
August 19
Author Interview
Roxanne’s Realm
Review of Trial by Fire
Nicky Peacock author
August 20
Spotlight
Reading In Twilight
Aug 21
Spotlight
Books & Tales
August 22
Spotlight
Elfie Books
August 23
Spotlight and Review of Trial by Fire
Faerie Tale Books
August 26
Author Interview
Pembroke Sinclair
Spotlight
Jodie Pierce

I’m super excited and a little nervous! I think August will be a busy month for me!

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Trial by Fire – Fun with Wordle!

Wordle is a Java Web app that creates a mosaic of any text you enter.

An it’s AWESOME.

You can paste a bunch of text or a link to a web page and then you hit GENERATE and the magic happens. You can mess around with FONT, LAYOUT, COLORS, SHAPE – basically, you can have your Sunday sucked away by playing around.

As a writer, I’m FASCINATED by this visual representation of my work. I LOVE IT. I put the entire text of Trial by Fire in there and played around. You can’t save the images, (something about it being a Java app – I read the deets, it made sense, so my brain accepted the logic and then tossed out the reasoning – it’s how my brain works) but you CAN screenshot your results.

 

GO PLAY. it’s SO MUCH FUN

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Trial by Fire Book Party!

 

Pics from my party! We’ve been in a little bit of a pickle here in Calgary with some flooding. Luckily for my friends and family, we are mostly unaffected. SO PARTY IT WAS! There was TONS of yummy food and CAKE with my book cover screened on the to icing. I got a JUMBO SIZED poster of my book cover and signed books for friends and family.

And of course my latest obsession, Apothic Red Wine. YUM.

I’m still eating cake. WHAT?? IT WILL GO TO WASTE IF I DON’T EAT IT. I’M DOING A SERVICE

My sister, Ann, did the theme in colors of fire – Red, Orange and Yellow. there were some GORGEOUS flowers and you’re all getting pic spammed. [IDK what she’ll do for book two, which is tentatively titled ‘Counter Hex’ – what color is a hex?]. She put on QUITE a show and graciously offered up her house. Jennifer, my other sister, assisted with planning food I think. Darren, my bro in law, stepped in to arrange a cake when our original cake place was flooded out due to the flood situation in southern Alberta.

It was a GREAT time! I admit, I get nervous around a lot of people, even when they’re all people I know! I was a little scared and slightly anxious before the party so I made a beeline for the wine as soon as I arrived. Once I got chatting, I relaxed. Signing books was a bit nerve-wracking and I made two or three spelling errors. ONE ON THE WORD ‘AUNTIE’ [for my fam – omg, I’m SUCH A DORK]

I was so touched and honored to have all my friends and family celebrate with me! the only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been the addition of those that have passed on. I know they were there in spirit.

 

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Trial By Fire [Covencraft Book 1] Available now!

I’m super excited that today is the release day of my book, Trial By Fire [Covencraft #1]!

draft2

Trial By Fire [Book 1]  – Available NOW @ Amazon.com, Amazon.ca Amazon.uk [TBA], Barnes and Noble
[published through Fable Press]

Read the first chapter free on wattpad!

Jade leads a structured life:

  • Routine job
  • Caffeine addiction
  • No serious relationships.

And now, she can spontaneously set things on fire with her mind.

Well… perhaps “normal” was never in the cards for her. As she questions her own sanity and spirals out of control, a man appears on her doorstep and tells her that, like him, she’s a witch.

Pulled in all directions, her unbridled magic draws dangerous attention and Jade wonders if she’s made the worst mistake of her life by joining a coven, or if she’ll even live long enough to regret it.

If you like it, remember to feed the author. I eat reviews on Goodreads and Amazon 😉

You can also enter the giveaway on goodreads!

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Update on Book 2! [Covencraft]

 

I’m at 11500 words on book two! I’m currently guestimating 85000 words for book 2. Book 1 [Trial By Fire] was 84000 so I figured 85000 was a fair guess.

I’m a visual person and NEED TO SEE THE GRAPH, so I love word count meters. I do have a title for book 2 but I’m keeping it close to the vest in case I change my mind. But seeing as I’m HORRIBLE at keeping secrets, I’ll probably let the cat out of the bag at some point.

 

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