Imaginary Lit

I've been meaning to make this post for days now, but I've been so busy lately that I keep forgetting to do it until it's too late. But here I am now! This hasn't been the best year for me in many ways. I did publish Finding Home Again  in July, and I had a few good promos early in the year for No Safe Place and The Only One (which got a bit of an overhaul this year, with a new cover back in February, and then a small revamp of formatting and some general cleaning up in November), but for the most part, my books haven't been doing too great. I think a large part of this has been because I haven't been able to afford any paid promo, and there's only so much I can do for free (which isn't really anything), but I'm hoping this will change in 2018, as I'll be starting another job in January. So hopefully more income means being able to better promote my books and actually get them out there for people to see. I also would like to revamp the cov

Today marks a year since No Safe Place was published, and it's been an interesting year. I've learned a lot since then, and published the follow-up to that book as well, and here's hoping the next year will see more productivity from me (along the lines of finishing the first Crimson Hollow book, and maybe even the second). Buy No Safe Place on Amazon Buy Finding Home Again on Amazon Buy The Only One on Amazon

Apologies for my silence of late, but there hasn't been too much to talk about. I'm still plugging away at the Crimson Hollow series (or, well, trying to), which has now expanded into four novels and two short stories/novellas. I am nothing if not ambitious. I'm planning a visit to Virginia in April around my birthday to do some hands-on research, which I'm really looking forward to. Also, for the fans of No Safe Place and Finding Home Again , particularly Hannah and Eli's relationship, I'm planning to publish a very special short story in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for news about that, and maybe an excerpt or two ;) Be sure to check out my Patreon as well, if you'd like to support me during this "in-between" time while I work on Crimson Hollow . Lastly, if there's anything you all want to see me talk about here, just leave a comment. I don't post very much mostly because I don't know what to talk about, but if anybod

Hello, everybody. I've decided to finally set up a Patreon, to help with writing expenses (and the occasional personal expense, as the need arises). You can see my page here , and pledge if you like, though it is, of course, not obligatory. Writing in general has been a little slow lately, but I'm hoping it'll pick back up soon, and I can start making progress on Crimson Hollow again.

Finding Home Again is free to download through tomorrow, so snag a copy if you haven't already !

Finding Home Again is now available to buy, and to read through Kindle Unlimited, so be sure to grab your copy ! And today is the last day to get No Safe Place for just 99 cents, so if you're interested in the beginning of Hannah's story, be sure to grab that as well before the price goes up again!

Finding Home Again is now available for preorder on Amazon, with a release date of July 11 . If you can afford to throw a few bucks my way, I'd certainly appreciate it, but I'll also be doing a free weekend after release, as a thank you to those who nominated. Preorder Finding Home Again on Amazon

Well, if you nominated it, you probably already got the email today, but Finding Home Again was not selected for publication by Kindle Press. A bit disappointing, but I also wasn't expecting it to be picked, so forward we go. I'm aiming for a July 11 release, and I'll be setting up a pre-order for the next week, so check back here for the link soon, and if you nominated it, thank you so much for your support!

Today is the last day of my Kindle Scout campaign , and I can't even believe how quickly it's flown by this time. If you haven't already, be sure to nominate it , and keep an eye here for the outcome and the next steps!

There are just two weeks left in my current Kindle Scout campaign for Finding Home Again , and while my stats this time aren't as good as they were for No Safe Place 's campaign, I still can't wait to share this book with the world, whether it's through Kindle Press, or through KDP. This campaign ends on June 18, and as soon as I know what Kindle Scout's decision is, I'll share it here, and let you all know what will happen next. In the meantime, if you haven't yet, please nominate Finding Home Again on Kindle Scout ! You can also share my Twitter and Facebook posts to help get the word out.

Long time no post! I got caught up in getting my next book cleaned up, and made a sort of last-minute decision to submit to Kindle Scout for another round in the ring. The campaign is now live, so head on over to Kindle Scout , check out the excerpt, and maybe add it to your nominations!

Time for the last question and answer from my interview with Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak : The blurb for Raven's Peak gives off a Stephen King, 'Salem's Lot kind of vibe. Would you say this is an apt comparison? Is Stephen King an influence in your writing? I've read virtually everything Stephen King ever wrote, including the Dark Tower series three times. I love 'Salem's Lot and I love the fact that you compared it to Raven's Peak. When I was little, I tried to write like Stephen King, but it never really worked and I sort of evolved my own style instead, but I think the influences in the way he tells stories have stuck with me, including the kind of stories I want to tell. There's just a couple of days left in the Kindle Scout anniversary sale , so be sure to pick up some books!

Happy April, everyone! Who's ready to see the cover for Finding Home Again , the follow-up to No Safe Place ? Hannah Cole, a graduate student living in Arlington, Virginia, led a happy, seemingly charmed life, until she was kidnapped from her home one night. Now, she must try to put her life back together, while spending each day battling her trauma-induced fears, and being awoken each night by terrifying nightmares. Slowly, with the help of her father David, and her friends Juliet Grayson, Chris Tyler, and Madison Cartwright, Hannah's life starts to return to normal. Along the way, old friendships are strengthened, while new ones are formed, and a tender romance begins to develop between Hannah and Eli Shaw, the rookie agent who helped save her life. I don't have an exact release date just yet, but it's coming very soon!

A day late, my apologies! Slipped my mind yesterday. Here is the sixth question and answer from my interview with Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak : What does literary success look like to you? No idea. I approach writing the same way I do everything and I like to try new things and constantly evolve my career. Each time I approach what I think success would look like, I simply set the goal a little bit farther out and work towards it. I think success is different for everyone, and really it is more about just being happy with what you do. If you feel like you're doing the best you can, then that is good enough. There's just a few days left in the Kindle Scout anniversary sale , so be sure to check it out and pick up anything that catches your eye!

Time for yet another question and answer from Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak : How do you select the names of your characters? It is based on whatever feels right, and only rarely do I change character names from what I originally choose. Sometimes I look up common names and just keep scrolling until one catches my eye, but usually I get a feel for the character and the name evolves. Check back Thursday for the next question and answer, and be sure to check out the Kindle Scout anniversary sale if you haven't already!

Happy Sunday, all! Here's the fourth question and answer from my interview with Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak : What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? I do a little bit of research here and there, but in general I'm more interested in the characters and the story and I let the world build up around them. That way I can try to bring the readers into the world and let them develop the rest in their own imaginations. Check back Tuesday for the next question and answer, and as always, don't forget to check out the Kindle Scout anniversary sale !

A bit late, it's been a long day, but here's the third question and answer from Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak : Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want? Sometimes I try to deliver what people want, but it never really works. I like to tell stories my own way, which means that even if I tried to make something in a specific style, I almost always fail and it ends up being wholly unique. I also like to write across genres, which means that stories I write can get even crazier. Come back Sunday for the next in the series, and don't forget to check out the Kindle Scout anniversary sale !

Happy Wednesday, everybody! It's time for the second question and answer from my interview with Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak : Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones? I try to avoid them. Good ones can make my day, but bad ones can wreck my week. In general, everyone is better at recognizing their headwinds instead of their tailwinds, so whenever I get bad reviews I try to focus on the positive aspects of my career and life and push it to the side. One trick about it is that the more reviews you get, the less each one matters, and I would say the best advice I can give is just keep trying to get people to read your book. You put blood, sweat, and tears into it and hopefully people can respect the effort if they don't like the content. Check back on Friday for the next question and answer, and don't forget to check out the Kindle Scout anniversary sale !

It's Monday, and the first day of the Kindle Scout 99 cent promotion on Amazon. There's something for everyone there, so be sure to check it out ! Today also brings my first question and answer from my interview with Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak : Does a big ego help or hurt writers? A little of both: just like with most other things in life, having confidence means a lot toward developing a writing career, but having an ego can do serious damage to your reputation. Confident, but humble, is the better attitude. Of course, that's true with life in general. Check back on Wednesday for another question and answer!

Starting tomorrow, Kindle Press will be running a promotion of all Kindle Scout selected books, in honor of the second anniversary of the program. Amazon promises to put its full marketing power behind this campaign, but we authors are also putting some of our own promoting power behind it. I had the honor of interviewing Lincoln Cole, author of Raven's Peak , and will be posting the first question and answer tomorrow; the rest will follow throughout the duration of the campaign. I'll also be promoting several of the books written by my fellow authors, so be sure to check back for new books to buy!

When I was 4 or 5 years old, I was obsessed with the miniseries version of Stephen King’s  It . We had a videotape recording of it, presumably as a result of my mom being a big Stephen King fan, and it received just as much heavy rotation in the VCR as my video of  The Little Mermaid . I was a big fan of that miniseries for a great many years, constantly rewatching that old recorded VHS until it either got worn out or lost, I don’t remember which. I can’t explain what it was about that miniseries, why my young-child brain was so fixated on it, but it was. It didn’t give me nightmares, at least not that I recall; I don’t remember being inordinately frightened by it (though I do have one memory of a doll with bright red or orange hair getting caught between my bed and the wall, and all I could see was its hair, and I remember one heart-stopping moment of fear, imagining that it was Pennywise, before I was able to pluck up my courage and pull it out). I was just fascinated by it. I d

I’ve been meaning to make this post for a couple weeks now, but… well, yeah. But now that my book is finally out ( yay! ) I figured it was a good time. I discovered Kindle Scout back in January 2016, while checking the stats of my first published novel ( The Only One ). It was just a little blip at the bottom of the screen that said, “Be considered for a publishing contract in 45 days or less.” Intrigued, I clicked “read more”, and discovered  Kindle Scout .