NaNoWriMo Update

I totally spaced on providing an update on my NaNoWriMo adventures from last month! It’s probably because I got so engrossed in writing, that I forgot the month was over. Seriously.

I must have churned out at least 35,000 words for November. It may not be anything super impressive, but I’ve kept the same pace well into December. In fact, I think I’m onto a solid first draft for a new novel. Fingers crossed.

The funny thing is that I believe that this manuscript will make a nice third novel to a series I’ve been working on. We’ll see. I’m just going to try to keep hashing it out and get it down on paper. I’ll report back after then.

In the meantime, I hope you’re all having a great December!

My Book is on the Bestseller List!

My novel, Between Two Fires, has been on the Amazon bestseller list for medieval fiction for the last few weeks! Despite oscillating a bit in the rankings, it continues to keep rising. I’m definitely excited, but at the same time I’m also simply happy that people are enjoying my work.

This is also just the first book in my Queen Branwen Series via St. Martin’s Press. The sequel, Dark Winds Rising, is also benefiting from the increased interest in my first novel. I have several additional manuscripts in the works with my agent right now for another series, but it warms my heart to see my initial historical fiction books garnering some extra attention on Amazon.

Between Two Fires is now among the top 50 Amazon best sellers in medieval fiction, beside the likes of Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick, and Morgan Llywelyn, just to name a few. I definitely needed another cup of coffee today before I believed what I was seeing. Christmas definitely seems to have arrived early this year.

NaNoWriMo

It’s that time of year again! NaNoWriMo. I don’t usually make it official (nor do I intend to), but I often try and get some extra writing done on the side in an effort to get into the spirit of things each November.

That being said, I haven’t usually had very good luck with writing in November. Largely because it’s such a busy time of year. Thanksgiving, getting ready for the holidays. Plus we have lots of birthdays in my family during this month. Not exactly a lot of time to write.

That also being said, I think I’m going to go for it anyway this month. Yeah, never tell me the odds. Wish me luck!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! It’s my favorite time of the year once more, and my favorite holiday no less. There’s just something magical about Halloween night that defies explanation.

The kids are dressed up and they have their parades today. Tonight we’ll be trick-or-treating in the neighborhood as well as handing out candy. We usually get a couple hundred kids on Halloween night, and last year they started blocking off the streets for cars because so many people started showing up in our neighborhood. I actually really enjoy it and the more people who come, the better the atmosphere.

So have a super awesome Halloween and enjoy the night!

Get Out and Vote!

Election Day is coming up in the U.S., so please make sure to register and vote!

Even if you’re not in the U.S., there are a couple ways you can help to bolster voting in democratic countries worldwide. Wherever you live in whatever country you inhabit, make sure to defend Net Neutrality wherever you can, especially on the ballot. Net Neutrality ensures that you and I can interact like we are right now, on a free internet on the web, based on search results, not money or political power. I know a lot of you reading this are fellow authors, so I’m probably preaching to the choir here, and you already understand the importance of Net Neutrality in our daily lives and even our occupations.

Also, in a world full of increasingly fake news, make sure to support sources of professional journalism where you can. People are entitled to their opinion, but facts are still facts. Facts are not subjective, and must be treated as such. Remember, the world is what we make it. So please, make it a good one! Thanks!

The Carnival of Animals

Hey, everyone! My friend, fellow author, and blogger, Elizabeth Varadan, has recently published her latest collection of children’s stories entitled The Carnival of Animals. It came out on October 4th with Belanger Books. Check it out!

Synopsis:

Once upon a musical score, Camille Saint-Saëns was stumped. He was composing a piece of music to entertain his friends. An idea twinkled in his mind. A musical fantasy. Animals in a parade. A tune beckoned. Camille inked in some quarter notes. The melody slipped away. I must let this idea bloom, Camille thought. He sat in the stuffed chair by the door and closed his eyes. Music and pictures swirled in his head: A tortoise waltzed. A peacock called. A lion stomped into a forest. Soon Camille was fast asleep. He dreamed of animals in the zoo. He dreamed of animals far away. Once upon a time, he dreamed…

The Carnival of the Animals, is available on Amazon.

You can also visit Elizabeth’s blogs:

http://elizabethvaradansfourthwish.blogspot.com/

http://victorianscribbles.blogspot.com/

Her picture book, Dragonella, at: Amazon



Her MG mystery, Imogene and the Case of the Missing Pearls, The Strand Magazine Book Depository Amazon Kobo

The Central Coast Writers Conference Rocked!

This weekend I got the chance to speak at the Central Coast Writers Conference and what a blast it was! I taught three different sessions that were packed with awesome writers and I also had half a dozen one-on-one sessions to help authors with their manuscripts. Both the attendees and fellow speakers were really amazing.

The Central Coast in California is beautiful this time of year and the weather did not disappoint. I love San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay, and the surrounding area for its natural beauty as well as its incredibly friendly people. We stayed at the Inn at Morro Bay and awoke to a gorgeous ocean each morning.

I was also signing books and was pleasantly surprised to find how many of the attendees had read my latest novels. If you haven’t been, I strongly suggest you check out the conference next year. It’s a chance to connect with really great authors, agents, editors, and lovers of books. Plus it’s a lot of fun!