Author: Katie L. Carroll (Page 42 of 142)

7 Things I Learned About the Creative Process While Writing InHUMAN by Kama Falzoi Post

December 16, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

Today, Kama Falzoi Post stops by for the release of her Young Adult sci-fi thriller, InHuman. Keep reading for a chance to win $25 Amazon Gift Certificate!

7 Things I Learned About the Creative Process While Writing InHUMAN
by Kama Falzoi Post

1. My characters hated me. I forced my characters into all kinds of terrible situations. I could almost feel them shaking their heads at me, trudging along out of sheer duty. For a long time they didn’t trust me at all, but eventually they understood that they had to endure that strenuous journey to come out the other side. (And honestly, I think they sort of enjoyed the ass-kicking.)

2. My brain kept working on the story. Even when I wasn’t consciously working on my story, I was working on my story. My brain kept churning away in the background, tossing out ideas at the most inopportune moments: scarfing down diner food, banging out some cardio, sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I used the recording feature on my phone a lot.

3. It’s called the Creative Process for a reason. It’s a long, arduous, messy process that seems to have no end. I think only a quarter of can actually pass for creative. And that quarter is often trash: it’s the chapter I wrote in a sort of fugue state, thinking it was the most inspired writing ever. Spoiler: It wasn’t.

4. You can’t wait for inspiration to strike. Inspiration didn’t really strike so much as it descended like a fog. And that was only after countless hours doubting my ability to type coherent words onto a page. If inspiration were the main motivator, I would write less than once a month.

5. Keep snacks on hand at all times. It was so easy to create excuses. “I ran out of peanut butter filled pretzels, and I can’t write without peanut butter filled pretzels! I have to go get some, now!” Ad infinitum.

6. The writing feels different than the reading. The scenes between Mira and Adam flew out of me, because I was so deep in the experience: the electrifying tension, the giddiness, the flying feeling of locking eyes with someone you’re attracted to. However, that is exactly where those feelings stayed: in my imagination. To a reader, those scenes were just plot on the page. Yawn. My revisions centered around trying to breathe life into those scenes, rooting them in physical actions and dialogue, so readers might experience that same rush.

7. Deleting just one word counts as forward progress. Sitting down to write with a number in my head (I’ll aim for 1,000 words today!) is daunting. In fact, that was the definition of writer’s block for me: being so overwhelmed with the amount of work left, I couldn’t even rouse myself to start. Thinking of each step (even deleting entire chapters) as a step forward helped me overcome that feeling. It kept me writing. And finding out what it takes to keep writing? That was the most important lesson for me.

InHuman_Kama Falzoi Post_Cover.png

Title: InHuman

Author: Kama Falzoi Post

Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi

Release Date: December 13, 2016

Publisher: BookFish Books

Cover Artist: Anita Carroll at Race-Point

About InHuman

Mira’s mother sizes up bodies at the morgue like she’s rifling through the sales rack: this one’s too big… this one’s too small… ah, here it is. Just right. The perfect vessel for the one they’ll call Adam.

Since Adam’s survival is the key to drawing out the Conduit—a slippery sort bent on evacuating souls from their human bodies—Mira must help him pass for a typical teenage boy. That means showing him how to talk right, walk right, chew with his mouth open… blend in.

Ironic, because blending in is has always been a challenge for Mira, especially with hair the color of a Dorito. But at their small, secluded prep school, blending in is a matter of life and death.

Because the Conduit is watching.

BUY InHuman Now: https://www.amazon.com/InHuman-Kama-Falzoi-Post-ebook/dp/B01M98ZUXR

Add InHuman to your Goodreads List: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30077755-inhuman?from_search=true#other_reviews

About Kama Falzoi Post:

inhuman_kama-falzoi-post_author-pic Kama Falzoi Post is a functioning member of society, a part-time introvert, a pinnacle of contradictions, the mother of a hurricane, a step-mother, and an author. She enjoys drinking red wine and then drinking more red wine, listening to music that moves her, and taking things too far.

She developed a love of books and writing at a very early age. Her stories have appeared in a handful of literary magazines including Inkwell and SmokeLong Quarterly, and most recently in the anthology Outliers of Speculative Fiction. She lives in a small town outside a small city with her husband, son, and too many cats.

Twitter: @KamaPost

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KamaFalzoiPost/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/KamaPost

WordPress: https://kamafalzoipost.wordpress.com

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Announcing the 2017 #InkRipples Themes

December 14, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m pleased to announce that #InkRipples will be back in 2017 with a brand new set of topics! #InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Kai Strand, Mary Waibel, and Katie L. Carroll. We’re all authors, but you don’t have to be to participate.

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The idea of #InkRipples is to toss a word, idea, image, whatever into the inkwell and see what kind of ripples it makes. We provide the topics and will be blogging about them on the first Monday of the month. I often post on the topic on subsequent Mondays as well. You can spread your own ripples by blogging about the topic any day of the month that fits your schedule, just be sure to include links back to the three of us please (Katie, Kai, and Mary).

Or you can simply share your thoughts on social media using the hashtag #InkRipples. You might comment on one of our posts to pay along. Tag us and we’re always happy to share your posts and thoughts to keep those ripples going and intersecting.

There is no wrong way to do #InkRipples (with the exception of following basic human decency!). It’s about having a conversation, sharing ideas, and connecting. So if this sounds at all interesting, please do participate in whatever way you can. And feel free to use any of the meme’s images above or below (created by the wonderful Mary Waibel).

The 2017 topics are:

January – Book covers
February – Genres #InkRipplesblueandgreen
March – Tropes
April – Revision
May – Fairy Tales
June – Blurbs
July – Heroes/Villains
August – Author Options in Publishing
September – World Building
October – Career vs Hobby
November – Finishing that Book!
December – Goals

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December #InkRipples: A Tradition of Christmas Cookies

December 5, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

It’s the last #InkRipples of the year! But don’t worry, we have a whole new line-up of topics for 2017. Keep an eye out later in the month for the official #InkRipples 2017 announcement. We’re always happy to have you join in on the conversation–this month we’re talking cookies.

I have a long-standing tradition in my family of baking Christmas cookies. My siblings and I started making them many, many years ago with our Nana (our great-grandmother). When my first nephew was born, we were all very excited to bring that tradition to a new generation of family. I think we’ve missed a few years here and there, but it’s something we always have fun with and I hope we keep the tradition going for many more years. Here are a few highlights of cookies we’ve created over the years.

#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Katie L. Carroll, Mary Waibel, and Kai Strand. We pick a topic (December is all about cookies), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs or on your social media page. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.

4 Simple Ways to Help an Author

November 30, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

The holiday season is in full swing, and it’s a time for gift giving and charity. With the giving spirit in mind, perhaps you’re wondering how you can help out your favorite authors. Well, I have four simple suggestions on how to do just that this holiday season or anytime of the year!

Buy the Book

Okay, this one may seem like a no-brainer, but the absolute best way to help out an author is to buy their book. So maybe it’s not your favorite genre or aimed at your age category (or maybe you don’t read books…please tell me you read books!), buy it anyway. Notice this suggestion doesn’t say “read the book.” You can buy it without reading it (of course us authors want people to read our books, but we totally get it that a book is not for everyone…we’ll love you just for buying it, even if your never break it open). Give it to someone as a gift. Put it in your living room and when people come over, you can point to it and say, “Look! My friend wrote this book.” Ebooks are generally the least inexpensive option, so buy a digital copy and let it gather virtual dust. The more an author’s book is bought, the more likely they will make more books, and, ya know, the more likely they’ll be able to buy food and gas and stuff.

Pick Up a Free Copy

I’m not talking about going to Joe Schmo’s book pirating website and downloading a free, illegal copy of the book (and probably a virus or two on your computer). That doesn’t help us at all! Authors, especially those who have a series or several stand-alone books, will sometimes run specials where the first in a series or a book from their backlist is free. But we run these free promos on legit websites, like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other reputable book sellers. How does this help an author? So we don’t get money from this type of transaction, but we do get exposure. Enough free downloads means our book moves up on lists and maybe earns us a spot in one of those website’s newsletters. Also, if people like the free book, they may decide to pay for the other books we’ve written that aren’t being offered for free.

Write a Review

So you’ve bought your author friend’s book or you (legally) downloaded it for free. Now what? Remember how we said we really want you to read it (but understand if you don’t), that’s because we also love it if you take the time to write a review. It doesn’t have to be anything long (just long enough to hit a site’s minimum character count) or super interesting really. Something like, “I really enjoyed this fantasy adventure. Fans of Lord of the Rings would really like it too.” And it doesn’t have to be a 5-star rating. Authors (well, many of us!) want honest reviews. Don’t get personal about the author (even if you’re that author’s mom and want to tell them you love them); keep it about the book, its setting, its plot, its characters, and how all of it made you feel. The most important websites for reviews are Amazon and Goodreads. Amazon because if you get enough reviews to satisfy one of their algorithms, you will often get free marketing from them in the form of being a featured book or perhaps placed in their newsletters. Goodreads is where a lot of readers hang out and find their next book to read. If you do have a blog or somewhere on the Internet where you share your opinions of things, go ahead and put the review there too.

Give it a Shout Out

There are over 1 million new books published each year in the U.S. alone…that’s a lot of competition! In today’s publishing world, marketing–meaning getting the word out about your book–largely falls into the hands of authors, even those who are published with a big house. We are a creative, wonderful bunch, but marketers by trade we are not. That’s not to say there aren’t authors out there doing a fabulous job of marketing their books, but many of us don’t have the skill set or time to give the book the real push it needs to sell lots of copies. And no matter how much marketing time and money is put into a book, word of mouth is still one of the most important (if not the most important) ways a book is sold. Mention your author friend’s book to others. Ask your author friend for bookmarks or something you can share with your friends, families, co-workers, that guy in the grocery store who bags your groceries. Go to your library and request they purchase a copy. Same with your local bookstore. Ask if they have it in stock. If not, ask them to order it. We authors even have a name for the people who help us spread the word about our books: street team. Be a part of your favorite author’s street team, even if they don’t officially have one!

Being an author is awesome, but it’s not a great way to make a living. One report out of London found that only 1 in 10 authors make a living through their writing, and a crazy 17% made no money at all in one full year! The reality for many of us is that we have full-time jobs not related to writing; we are stay-at-home parents who are the primary caregivers to our kids; we write full-time but most of our income does not come from our novels. Any help we can get spreading the word about our books, we’ll take! And I can tell you that if you’re the one doing that, we will love you for all eternity.

NaNoWriMo and ELIXIR SAVED Sneak Peek

November 21, 2016 / Katie L. Carroll

NaNoWriMo is in full swing! As I’ve mentioned, the book I’ve been working on is ELIXIR SAVED, a companion novel to my published YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND. I thought as little treat, I’d share the working blurb (i.e. jacket copy) for the second Elixir book.

The Elixir has a way of entwining the lives of those it saves. Kylene was spared from a painful death by a poisoned spear, Zelenka from a vicious animal attack, and Devon from an incurable childhood illness. Although saved by the Elixir, none were left without scars. After a shocking message from the Higher Beings, each one will embark on a journey. Kylene is sent to the frozen depths of Blanchardwood, Zelenka back to the wilds of Faway Forest, and Devon on a spiritual journey of self-discovery. Three paths that lead to war against an ancient foe where even the Elixir cannot save everyone. They will be pushed to the limits of what they think they can do. It all comes down to how much they are willing to sacrifice with their second chances.

Three lives saved by the Elixir; three lives bound by it. In ELIXIR SAVED, escape back into the world of the Kase family in this much-anticipated follow up to ELIXIR BOUND.

Alrighty, back to the grind for me. Gotta get those 25,000 word finished!