Chasing a Dream....GOTCHA!

            The wise believe that the world is what we make it and the older I get, the more I realize that they are right. Take, for instance, the happiness in a jar challenge. From January 1^st onward, every time something good happens to you, you write it on a slip of paper and put it in your jar. On December 31^st, you are to open the jar and read all the wonderful things that happened over the last year.

            I decided to do happiness in a jar for 2014 and thus far, I have about three or four slips of paper in mine, but here’s the real kicker: I’m always looking for what will go in there next. I’m always searching for the next good thing to come into my life and it’s amazing how that state of mind seems to reflect in what is currently going on. I’m spending time with my loved ones, meeting new people, attending cool events, trying out my hand at freelancing with the local paper, and now, publishing my novella to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

            Here’s another kicker. None of this stuff just manifested out of thin air. It’s all been in the works for some time, whether or not I was aware of it. So, in reality, we all might be surrounded by happiness but unaware of it until we purposely go looking. Mind blowing, huh?

            Today is a big day. Shadows Rising makes its debut on the Kindle scene. I’ve already hit some walls I didn’t expect, but there shouldn’t be any trouble and it’s all part of the learning process. I don’t expect big success with this, but the saying goes you get what you give. I give my first story to the world in the hopes that one day, I’ll be able to do even more.

            Writing began for Shadows Rising on the first of September, last year. I finished on the sixth of November, which is actually not too bad, given my track record. Then I dragged editing out for two, almost three months. Every bit of writing is a learning experience though.  What did I learn from this novella?

            I can finish something. I can write something that even my nit-picky mother will enjoy. I can be published and establish myself as a real writer. Who knows where this road will lead? All I can say is that I’m here for the ride and I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it, no matter where it takes me.

            Watch my Facebook and Twitter for updates on Shadows Rising. You can find these under the Links to Fun Stuff tab. Until later, Kelswitch over and out.

Keep The Coffee On Stand-by

            “Welcome to my world. The impossible has been happening to me since I was eleven.”

            “It’s not fucking possible.” Truly agitated for the first time, he dragged his fingers through his hair, staring at her as if trying to figure out a puzzle. “You’re earthborn. By all the gods, how can you be earthborn?”

            “I’ll tell you everything I know if you guarantee my safety and that you’ll leave my cousin alone. He’s done nothing wrong.”

            “He harbored a fugitive,” the Guardian said in a voice laced with steel.

            “He protected his cousin, just as his parents did before they died. Leave him out of this and I’ll come peacefully.” She kept her spine straight, never breaking eye contact with him.

            He considered her for a minute, mulling it over. Finally, he nodded. “Deal.”

            The above is a randomly chosen excerpt from Shadows Rising, the scene where Kat and Grady meet for the first time. It still has to be edited for the final draft. I’m pushing to the last minute, I know, but it’s what I’m good at. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before the seven hour marathon session right before my senior seminar’s second draft was due? A good experience as a writer, maybe not so much for my sleep schedule.

            Some writers thrive off deadlines, others plan accordingly so they’re sipping tea right before. I’ll probably fall somewhere in-between, but so long as I can be relied on to meet an agreed upon deadline, that’s what matters.

            *proceeds to bite nails*

            Between this novella and my rising freelancer status (keep your fingers crossed on that one), I feel that this year will be amazing. Whether or not that will translate to monetary value, we shall have to wait and see (and pray!).

            That’s all I’ve got this morning, besides a mental to-do list that is glaring and tapping its foot. I’ll see you all Friday for the next edition of the Kelswitch. Until then, over and out! Have a good week!

Author Rising, i.e. running out of time...

            All she remembered were the flames. They consumed her home, took her family, and forced her to relocate to another country with relatives she barely knew. When witches have the power to destroy with such extremity, surely a Guardian will come along and exact the Coven’s justice, even if the witch was only eleven years old…

            Katlynn Martin has successfully hidden from her past, passing as an earthborn in Dublin, Ireland when a Guardian finally tracks her down, eighteen years after the fire the tore her world upside down.

            Grady Devlin is a well trained Guardian, used to doing his job and doing it well, but something seems off about Kat’s situation. In the time it takes to get to the bottom of the two decade old tragedy, someone is gunning for them both and this time, Kat may not be able to escape the rising shadows of her past.

            After writing and deleting multiple blog topics today, it finally occurred to me that it’s past time I start promoting for Shadows Rising. This week I am going to dig into the nitty-gritty editing and next week, on January 31^st, I hope to publish it to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. And on that note, here is the official debut of the cover I put together myself. I do have permission to use the photo (my mom took it on her phone, amazingly enough) and I got some amazing feedback from a friend and a family member, the latter of whom is a professional in matters such as this. I hope you like it!

            That’s all from the Kelswitch for now. Until Friday, my precious readers!

It's Time for Evolution - Writing Into the Future

            As a college graduate who has had a difficult time finding a job, it should come as no surprise when I say that the job market has changed. Actually, it might be redundant. I’m going to take that a step further and repeat that it continues to change. Particularly as a writer, this is nothing new. Newspapers are on the down, e-magazines on the rise. Not only is the publishing world changing to digital, but it is also becoming more scattered and less intensive. By that, I mean the stories are shorter, snappier, operating on the understanding that most people would rather read something in less than a minute than spend ten reading an entire article.

            So where does that leave jobless writers like me? Well, we have to adapt. We have to get competitive. The world is moving ever faster and we have to sharpen our skills and hone our instincts if we have a chance in hell of keeping up with it. Oh, and strengthen our coffee. We mustn’t forget the almighty coffee.

            I’m writing this after a trip to a nearby city for a little talk with the local newspaper. There is opportunity there, not just in the monetary sense, but also that I have a chance to sharpen my skills, to become more of what the world is demanding for writers now. Plus, it won’t hurt my resume either. I cannot express in the Kelswitch how excited I am about this, and how terrified. I’ve never done anything like this before. I wasn’t one of those writers who worked for the school newspaper. To my knowledge, we didn’t even have one. I haven’t been publishing stories to magazines since I was thirteen, and I have no writing awards to my name.

            So what the hell have I been doing for the entirety of my life as a writer? Well, writing. I’ve never written for a newspaper or any publishing of that nature. But three years ago, I’d never written a blog either.

            My following is minimal at best. But one thing I hope I have proven with the Kelswitch is a dedication to regular writing. Even if no one else wants to read it, even if it’s not particularly good, I’ll still be here every week, rambling on about whatever is nagging my brain at the moment. Perhaps this new venture with the local paper will make the Kelswitch better, in a roundabout way. I said this last week in Back to School Blues, when you’re a writer, you’re always learning. You’re always improving.

            It’s evolution, dude. You learn and grow, if you hope to survive.

            Happy Monday y’all. Until we meet again, Kelswitch over and out!

Friday Reader Rambles

            This baffles me so much that I wanted to write a blog about it. I just scored a major find at a local book thrift deal. I wouldn’t exactly call it a store, since its run out of a warehouse, but anyway. For the bargain price of a buck, I got my hands on Karen Marie Moning’s Into the Dreaming, which is a collection containing the short story “Into the Dreaming” and some fun bonus material. I already own and have read the story. I have the original anthology it was published in, which is apparently hard to find.

            Apparently, in 1998 no one wanted to read paranormal romance. Urban fantasy did not exist yet. Publishers wanted straight up romances, historical with a focus on regency. Moning had trouble finding her voice because she had to attempt to bend to what the market wanted, what her publishers were willing to take a chance on. I think Sherrilyn Kenyon had similar problems with her Greek flavored vampire series, the Dark-Hunters.

            Traditional publishers are incredibly short sighted. Both of these women are incredibly successful now and it is because they put a unique spin on old ideas and they are fantastic writers, so they can pull it off. I have a hard time understanding how publishers could be so timid that they wouldn’t touch their work.

            In 1998, highlanders were too “primitive” to sell. With all the highlander romances on the shelves now, that blows my mind. Horny women like primitive. Female readers looking for some hot material generally want dominance. I’ll take that over a simpering lord any day, personally.

            It occurs to me how much the publishing landscape has changed in the last fifteen years. What was once too much of a risk is the hottest thing on the shelves and it’s becoming more mainstream by the day.  And if publishers are still too timid, there’s self-publishing. Readers shape the landscape, writers give them the tools.

            Getting my hands on this book, and having everything Moning has published, makes me remember that I’ve been reading her for close to ten years. And what a ride it’s been. I devoured her Highlander novels quickly, picking up The Immortal Highlander in 2004 and having read all the others by the time Spell of the Highlander came out in 2005. I was 14 at the time and incredibly  embarrassed buying that book with my parents around, but I did it anyway. When Darkfever hit the scene, I wasn’t interested and didn’t pick it up until my freshman year of college. I devoured it and waited impatiently for Shadowfever, the fifth book in the Fever series, to hit shelves. And now we move forward with Iced and Burned, due out sometime next year.

            Through the anthology “Into the Dreaming” was in, I discovered Sherrilyn Kenyon. From one of her anthologies, I discovered J. R. Ward. It’s a vicious cycle and as a reader, I love it. Lady powerhouses of the genre I hope to join one day and I know at least that Karen Marie Moning and J. R. Ward have mad respect for each other, which makes the fangirl in me completely lose her mind.

            It’s a good day to be a reader. It’s a good day to be a writer. Peace out from the Kelswitch, I hope everyone has a good weekend!