Revamp

I'm finally getting a handle on all this self-publishing jazz. It's taken a while, and I'm still trying to teach myself the marketing aspect... but I keep learning more and more as each week goes by which is super exciting. One of those big revelations this past week was how weak the covers on my book look. So, I went through, invested a little money, and revamped them. I'm absolutely pumped with the results!

Enlightened: Evaline's Journey doesn't look too much different but it represents the lands Evaline travels through much better.

The biggest revamp was for The Remedy Files: Illusion. The cover as a whole (back and front) represents Evangeline's confusion about her reality, dreams, & perception. I'm in love with it.

In fact, I loved it so much, I went ahead and worked on the cover for the sequel, The Remedy Files: Rebirth (to be released April 2015 unless a super wise publisher picks me up in the meantime, then they may have a different idea for the release date... and the cover, for that matter-- hey, I have to keep dreaming. Things definitely don't come true unless you dream big.). Obviously the back of the cover will have details about the book and the author (and it'll be in English) but I didn't want to give too much away yet! This cover represents a new beginning like she's coming out of the water renewed, as well as the "split" Evangeline will be battling in the sequel... some major events are going to go down. I can't wait! :)

Free Kindle Download Promotion 1/3-1/7

I'm starting off the release of Enlightened: Evaline's Journey with another free Kindle download promotion! From January 3 - January 7, you can download it for free before it goes to it's original price of $2.99. If you don't have a Kindle, you can download the app on most devices!

Evaline has come to realize ever since her abduction, most days are going to be bad. A fatal accident allows her to escape and find the life she has always dreamed about but never knew could possibly exist. With the help of the Sun and a multitude of other extraordinary characters, she's taken through incredible lands that help her discover who she is and the greatness and beauty of life's potential. 

Based off of similar events and exaggerated versions of characters in the author's own coming of age experiences, Enlightened examines the choices and strength in becoming the very best version of yourself.

1st Release of 2015! Enlighted: Evaline's Journey

My 1st Book release of 2015! 
Enlightened: Evaline's Journey... an Alice in Wonderland-esque exploratory expedition through a fantasy world based upon my own coming of age experiences and exaggerated versions of the characters who played the good, the bad, and the ugly. This book is super close to my heart so I'm incredibly excited to start off the new year by sharing it with others!

Evaline has come to realize ever since her abduction, most days are going to be bad. A fatal accident allows her to escape and find the life she has always dreamed about but never knew could possibly exist. With the help of the Sun and a multitude of other extraordinary characters, she's taken through incredible lands that help her discover who she is and the greatness and beauty of life's potential.

Musical Inspiration

So as I sit here, very impatiently (one of my greatest traits) waiting on Amazon/CreateSpace to officially approve the publishing of my next book, Enlightened: Evaline's Journey, I can't help but think about the musical influences behind them. As I've said before, I'm now married to a jukebox that never unplugs which should mean many more story ideas will be stirred up with him singing all the time and me finally making writing a priority once again. It's a good, slightly strange, team that we have going on here.

When I started The Remedy Files five years ago, I actually had the document saved under the title of the song that inspired it: "God of Wine" by Third Eye Blind. Anyone who has known me for a good chunk of my life is aware that was a very life-changing album for me which I held closely to my heart for many, many years. The "God of Wine" song was always one of my favorites. I can't believe it took as long as it did for a story to finally be born out of it, but that's how The Remedy Files: Illusion came to be. That song is one where every single time it plays, I have to stop everything I'm doing and listen because it fills every ounce of who I am. My mind shuts down and I'm 100% emotions, all heart, and have no willpower whatsoever to put up any walls. Yes, it's that powerful and with that sort of instant dramatic effect. "God of Wine" and "Motorcycle DriveBy"... ahh.. writing the titles alone gives me goosebumps. Greatest songs off that album and I would argue some of the best songs ever written.

Enlightened: Evaline's Journey (hopefully will officially be released here shortly!) was a coping mechanism to help me deal with some of the things that I was going through in my life. So it's a little different in the sense that a song didn't necessarily inspire it right off bat. But 3 1/2 years after I started writing it, I was sitting with my husband (only my boyfriend at the time) and he played Josh Ritter's "Change of Time". My heart stopped. I think I may have had him replay it over and over again several times afterwards. As soon as I heard it, it was the motivation I needed to start writing Enlightened again. It is definitely the soundtrack of the book as I couldn't imagine another song more fitting. In fact, as I'm writing this post and waiting for the book to get up on Amazon, I have it playing. Amazing song and I'm so grateful of my husband's (mostly) good musical tastes because I'm not sure I ever would have picked up Enlightened again if it wasn't for "Change of Time" reigniting the feelings that link to it again.

Aside from the musical inspiration concept tonight, I am quite excited that I was able to complete the 2nd book that I started on 5 years ago. It was incredibly tough trying to pick up stories that I started so long ago in order to complete them, but I also didn't want to totally scrap them because there were some great concepts that I wish I had completed when they were still so fresh in my head. I feel way better about Enlightened, though... it was much easier to re-enter that world since it was based on so much of my real life in a very exaggerated sort of way. Although I absolutely love The Remedy Files for different reasons, Enlightened may be the one I'm most excited about because there's more of a personal connection to it.

And, I completed my final goal of finishing both of those before the start of 2015!  (I'm not counting CreateSpace's delay in holding me up on officially getting them out to the public.) Although now it looks like the release date will be January 2, 2015 instead of January 1st. Ahh, small details. But it mentally feels amazing that I was able to push both of them out and start 2015 with a renewed passion for writing again and with a clean slate to start on all these new ideas rolling around in my head.

Today I was able to start on the next one. I won't give anything away about it yet except what inspired it was Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams"...  Yes, I love her. And this one is good... real good... I'm enjoying writing it. ;)

Inspirational Spurts

I have these random bursts of motivation… like when I watched “Julie & Julia” and thought, “I’m going to become a world famous cook where people have to say ‘yum’ every time they try a bite of my food.” But then I remember the scene where she makes some comment that in a world that is unpredictable she enjoys being able to come home and find comfort in cooking because it is always a guarantee that specific amounts of xyz and will make whatever the goal is. Yeah, that doesn’t quite work for me. I have this tendency where I can do something great one time, but then I can never get back to that “one great time” no matter how many times I practice or try and try and try. Funny thing is that alcohol actually seems to enhance (and not impair like the average joe) my abilities to do any activity that requires coordination or consistency of any sort. I’m told it’s because while sober I think too hard about doing things which is probably fairly accurate. Unfortunately I’m on the extreme side of being analytical where everything I say and do is considered way more than what it should. Like as I type these words I think the specific placement of them is creative and perfect due to all these little bits and pieces that I’m probably the only person in the world that gets it. But I always think that there’s some other mind out there that will understand too and find entertainment. Anyway.. I’d have to be an alcoholic in order to succeed as a cook. And considering I don’t like to drink much, I think it’s probably the wrong career path.

I did however make some brownies that didn’t quite elicit a “yum” being shouted from the breakroom but once I tracked people down and made them tell me their honest opinion about the brownies, they did say they were quite tasty. So I’ll take that. They are called “No Pudge Brownies” (I also discovered today that I’m the only one that thinks that name is hilarious). They are fat free and made with yogurt which is quite interesting. I think they are delicious and I was excited for people at work to try them during our potluck today. I highly recommend them and I’ll do my typical Amazon (did I mention that I love them?) plug by putting in this link: No Pudge Brownies available on Amazon