I Did A Thing

So, I did a thing. I cut off most of my hair. Why? Because I wanted to. I'd been talking it over with Deek for a little while, and when I went in for my trim, I asked my hairdresser to just hack it off.

I'm pretty excited about it for a variety of reasons, but one of them is COLOR!! I had purple hair back when we lived in the PNW, and I dyed it blonde before coming back to the South. Well, for the past year, I've been trying to get my hair healthy from all those dye jobs. And it's been boring brown. Ho-hum. With short hair, I can dye my hair a variety of colors, and we'll just cut away the damaged parts. Voila! So, I'm headed back in June to get this whole thing turned white-blonde. And then, I'll have purple added to my bangs (and possibly other areas--the temple pieces or top of the spikes) in prep for the Raleigh SuperCon, where I am a feature guest. All my promo pics show purple hair, so I gotta give the people what they expect! ;) 

I'll be honest, I was a little wary of chopping off all my hair. Our culture, and a lot of men I know, place value on long hair as a sign of femaleness or femininity. So, in this sense, I'm so thankful I went to live in the Pacific Northwest for a while. I grew up in the Bible Belt South, and I never felt comfortable expressing my artistic funky side. But when I went to the PNW, that sort of thing is embraced and celebrated. I learned just how big and diverse this country really is. And I learned it's okay to be me. It's okay not to fit the status quo.

I'm an artist. I'm expressive. I like to try new things. That's who I am. And that's more than okay. 

I'm also incredibly thankful to have a husband who not only accepts this part of my personality but embraces it. When I asked him what he thought about cutting my hair, he said, "Do it. One of the things I love about you is that you're bold and try new things. And changing your hair is one of the ways you do that. So, if you want to cut it, cut it."

When I texted him this picture yesterday, he replied back, "This is about as cute as humanly possible." He loves me just like I am, in all my variety of shapes, colors, and hairstyles. And I appreciate that about him so very much. I'm completely free to be me.

In other news, I recently found out that the cover artist for both BookFish Books and Tenacious Books Publishing is taking a summer vacation sabbatical. Why is that a big deal you ask? Well, she designs the final print covers for the books, and we have TWO releasing while she's away. That means all edits must be completed and all formatting done BEFORE she leaves! We had a schedule in place to complete said edits and formatting in June, but that deadline had to be seriously pushed up. So, I've been working with our authors and editors to get these books ready. Once they come to the formatter, they have to be done-done. No more major changes once a book enters formatting. We can make minor changes (a comma here, a word swap there), but the meat and bones have to be mostly done.

Releases June 27, 2017

Releases July 18, 2017

Releases July 25, 2017

So, big props to the editors and authors for getting everything done and to me for formatting. I'm happy to report that the formatting for ALL summer release books (except The Beacon, which releases after our cover artist's vacation) is DONE! <high fives to my editing team and authors>

And Chrissy Lessey is even offering a sneak peek of her prologue for The Coven, which not only highlights her amazing writing but my formatting as well!

Despite all the work and hectic deadlines, Deek and I managed to have some fun hiking and attending a local festival! 

The journey to who-knows-where

Hubba hubba

Gorgeous bridges

A treat for our hard work! ;) 

Representing BookFish!

Enjoying a local festival

This little presh guy turned one!

When we adopted him, the shelter thought he was about six months old, and that was six months ago!

Happy Birthday, Gussie!

We adore you!

Until next time--BE YOU!

Cray-zee Up In Here

Y'all, it's cray-zee up in here. I'm doing projects for BookFish Books, Tenacious Books, and Erin Rhew Editing and Design. All the books release between May and August, so I'm racing around like a mad woman. Several of the deadline bump right up against one another, and some have been pushed up due to scheduling conflicts with the cover artist or author's work/summer plans. GAH! <breaths in a bag>

via GIPHY

Today is the ONLY day I'm in between projects, so I thought I'd drop in and say hello to my amazing blog readers and friends. Ok, to catch you up on other goings-on.

In Super News: I was asked to be a guest author at the Raleigh SuperCon! I'm so excited to be signing books and hosting panels on fantasy and sci-fi topics. Deek will also be there, and he's hosting a panel on virtual reality, which ties into the theme of his latest book!

RESTORE TO ME: My historical fiction novel is under full manuscript review by several agents. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that one of them picks it up because this book is extra special to me. I started writing this story a long time ago (we won't say how long), and my friend Joe Willson was my "go to" person for information on the time period. Two years ago, Joe passed away from cancer. It's our last project together, and I'd really like to see it go somewhere. I want people to read the dedication and understand that the world lost an amazing light when Joe left. 

In fact, if you're so inclined, I encourage you to donate to the Melanoma Research Foundation (if you want to make your donation in Joe's honor, I'd be so grateful).

Tenacious Books: I am in the final stages of designing the print version of The Coven by Chrissy Lessey for Tenacious Books Publishing! I'm so stoked with how it turned out! Here's a sneak peek...

By the way, if you've already read the old version of The Coven, it's totally different now. Not only does it have a rockin' new cover but it's been through major edits. You'll enjoy a whole new story the second time around, so don't forget to pick up the new copy! You already know Chrissy is an amazing author, so now you can see her at her finest! 

BookFish Books: We have two new adult releases coming up--one in May and one in July! I love both of these authors and their writing styles, so I'm super stoked!

She Wants It All by Jessica Calla (my FAVORITE book boyfriend of Jess' yet!!)

and 

Meet Me Under The Stars by K.D. Proctor

(one word...Nate)

Deek: Let me just start out by saying I am the luckiest woman in the whole world. Deek is THE BEST man I've ever met. He's just tops. I can't say enough good things about him because there aren't enough words that exist in the world. He's THAT awesome! 

I'm SO proud of him for completing his rough draft for his sci-fi novel, eXtractors! You can read all about how he wrote himself an editorial letter (before he lets me and Anya get our hands on it)! 

Pictures: You know I always have to include some pictures from our life, so here they are! ;) 

At least the working environment isn't too shabby...

And I'm not lonely.

Goofing off at Rocket Fizz. 

The first one I ever went to was in Portland, so it's a little piece of the Pacific Northwest in the South.

May the 4th Be With You!

Date Night!

This man, y'all, this MAN! I epically adore him and love every minute we spend together! 

Er-Mah-Gawd! The Crystal Coast Series by Chrissy Lessey

Today's post earns a Trinna Er-Mah-Gawd!

People, I've had the pleasure of working with Chrissy Lessey on the editing side through Tenacious Books Publishing, and today, I'm pleased as punch to show you what Chrissy and Anita at Race-Point have been doing on the cover side of things!

Here are the STUNNING covers for The Crystal Coast Series by Chrissy Lessey:

Title: The Coven

Author: Chrissy Lessey

Publisher: Tenacious Books Publishing

Cover Designer: Anita B. Carroll

Release Date: June 27, 2017

Preorder Link: The Coven

The future queen awakens…

Newly single mother Stevie Lewis divides her time between raising Charlie, running a store with her best friend, and avoiding the meetings of her mother’s Beaufort Historic Society. Although her life has its challenges, it’s altogether average. Just the way she likes it.

When Vanessa, a ruthless dark witch, launches an attack against young Charlie, Stevie’s simple life derails, and her long-dormant powers awaken. A 300-year-old secret is exposed, revealing her destiny to one day rule the clandestine community of witches who hide in plain sight.

Now she must master her own magical powers before it’s too late. Because Vanessa’s on the warpath, and only Stevie can stop her.

Title: The Hunted

Author: Chrissy Lessey

Publisher: Tenacious Books Publishing

Cover Designer: Anita B. Carroll

Release Date: July 25, 2017

A new queen rises...

When Stevie vanquished her family’s greatest threat, she thought they’d be safe. Unaware of the evil surrounding her, she trains with her coven and prepares to inherit her mother’s role as queen and protector of the amulet.​

Chaplain Benjamin Parris, descendant of the notorious reverend behind the Salem Witch Trails, plots to resume his family’s mission and rid the world of witches. He joins forces with Susan Moore, who’s sought revenge against the coven for years, and together, they formulate a plan to destroy Stevie’s family.
​

Left weakened after the theft of their protective amulet, the coven confronts the unthinkable as a modern day witch hunt unfolds around them. And this time, Stevie might not be able to save the people she loves.

Title: The Beacon

Author: Chrissy Lessey

Publisher: Tenacious Books Publishing

Cover Designer: Anita B. Carroll

Release Date: August 22, 2017

There can only be one queen...

Still reeling from the devastation wrought by Susan, Stevie struggles to find a way to retrieve the amulet from the dark witch who now calls herself queen. She develops a plan to amplify her powers, believing it will give her an edge, but the magic is untested and dangerous.

Susan will stop at nothing to complete her rise to power, including eliminating the last of Lucia’s descendants: Stevie and Charlie. She calls for a showdown, with all of the town’s witches present, leaving Stevie no choice but to comply.

Queens who came before her sacrificed their lives to protect the witches, and Stevie is prepared to join their ranks. In this life or death battle, she'll do whatever it takes to save her people.

I am SOOOO excited to have you guys read these awesome books! Chrissy has such a natural flow with her storytelling, and you get totally wrapped up in her characters and their world. Don't forget to preorder The Coven today and get ready for a total thrill ride! 

via GIPHY

Bookish Ramblings

So, I just finished the final edits on She Wants It All by Jessica Calla. And I have to say, it's amazing!! One of the cool things about being a senior editor is that I get to see the book after they've been through content and line. I get to see the *almost* finished product and just touch it up a teeny bit. And whenever I get Jess' books, I'm floored by just how good they are. She has a really natural NA voice, and I find myself sucked into her stories each and every time.

She Laughs In Pink

(Chase--the sexy bad boy)

She Runs Away

(Ben--muscles)

She Wants It All

(Dave--the rockstar with the heart of gold)

She Wants It All releases 5/15/17

Now, I loved Chase in She Laughs in Pink. In fact, not even Ben (who is great) in She Runs Away could knock Chase off the swoon pedestal. But then came Dave in She Wants It All. And for me, he tops them all. He takes the crown and wears it proudly. 

I think I like Dave so much because he reminds me of my own husband, Deek. Like my man, Dave wants to be a rockstar. You might remember my very own Deek had dreams of being a rock god back in his college years too. 

Here he is with his childhood bestie and bandmate, Chris.

And he still hasn't *totally* given it up! ;) 

But I think Dave mostly reminds me of Deek because of how very much he loves Maggie. He falls for her hard, and he'd move heaven and earth for her. Deek treats me like that. I feel like I'm living in a real life fairytale, especially coming from the life I came from (read about my old life here and here). Deek treats me like I'm the only woman in the world and his life mission is to make me feel loved and happy. I had no idea such wonderful men existed! 

He's beyond swoony

So, when you go to read She Wants It All and you wonder if men that amazing really do exist, I can confirm they do! I am married to a man who is the kindest, funniest, most talented, most loving person I've ever encountered. Dream guys are real, so don't settle for the scumbags. ;) 

Dream guys *are* real!

In other news, you may remember that I'm a senior editor at Tenacious Books as well as BookFish Books. Well, Tenacious has been working with the supremely talented Anita B. Carroll at Race-Point to create a logo, and they just released it. 

Do these rock or what? There's a reason #AnitaIsAmazing is a Twitter hashtag! ;) The woman rules! Now I'm going to shamelessly self-promote for a minute. If you're looking to self-publish and want to hire Anita to do your cover, she's teamed up with me and Anya Kagan to offer a great service called The Rhewbix Cube. Check it out! You won't find a better deal on quality covers and edits. 

In other bookish news, I'm sitting on the cover for Meet Me Under The Stars by KD Proctor (BookFish Books), and I'm about to burst with excitement to share it. It's another Anita special, so you know it will knock your socks off. KD said she screamed in excitement when she saw the final version, and she yelled so loudly her officemates rushed in to see what was wrong. LOL! PS. I'm just going to let it slip that I loved this book. KD submitted a totally different version to BFB initially, and I liked that version a lot. But this new one...holy wow! SO GOOD! 

KD Proctor

Meet Me Under The Stars releases 7/12/17

And I'm working with Chrissy Lessey on the Tenacious Books side on her Crystal Coast Series. She and Anita are working through cover mock-ups, and Chrissy and I are working on transforming her story from omnipotent narrator to third person limited. There is something about Chrissy's writing--a purity--that's refreshing and endearing. I adore the story already, but I'm stoked beyond measure to see where Chrissy can take it! 

The whole Crystal Coast Series returns this summer!

At this moment, I'm in the rare position of being in between projects, so you know what that means?? Writing time!! So, I'm going to hop off the blog and work on the nameless Molly and Ryder story. I don't know if I told you, but I had trouble getting the book out. No matter what I tried, the words didn't work (I've written and rewritten this one a few times already). So, I decided to turn the sequel into the first story, and the words are pouring out like a river. I guess the sequel was always meant to be the real story, but I just didn't realize it. I seriously can't wait for you guys to meet Molly, Ryder, Jason, Tash, and Mac. I hope you'll love them as much as I do!

This was the promo I made for the original story,

 so I guess I'll need to update it. LOL!

Ok, off to write. Until next time, write hard, play hard! 

Life of an Editor

Howdy, y'all! I hope you enjoyed my previous two posts about why you need a quality cover artist and editor. I hope to post a few more blogs on those topics in the coming months. But for now, I thought you might be interested in a little behind-the-scenes look at the life of an editor.

via GIPHY

Ok, so as you know, I work for both BookFish Books and Tenacious Books Publishing, and I run a freelance business. What does all that look like? 

Well, it's a bit hectic, to say the least...

via GIPHY

I am a trained line and copy editor, but I've had the pleasure of working with some truly great content editors (Heather Van Fleet, Katie Carroll, and Anya Kagan, to name a few). From them, I've learned A LOT about content editing. So, since one BookFish content editor is on maternity leave and the other is away on a family emergency, I stepped out of my line/copy editing role and took on content editing for Meet Me Under The Stars. Note: This isn't the first time I've had to step in on content, and I find I quite enjoy it. 

So, I've been working with the KD Proctor to whip this amazing story into the best shape of its life. And let me say, KD is a true pleasure to work with. She's funny and prompt, and she puts her whole heart into her story. Can't beat that!

KD Proctor

While I worked on Meet Me Under The Stars, Tenacious Books Publishing signed Chrissy Lessey and her The Crystal Coast Series. These books are set to release in the summer, so I had to jump on those edits quickly. I'd do set of edits for KD, send them to her, do a set of edits for Chrissy, and send them to her, just in time to get KD's edits back again.

Chrissy Lessey

Now, don't forget, as senior editor, I also read the final draft of all books from BookFish before they go out, and I format them for eBook and print. While I've been busily working on Meet Me Under the Stars and The Crystal Coast Series, Jessica Calla has been working with her editors on She Wants It All (the third book in The Sheridan Hall series). In a few days, I'll be set to be the final pair of eyes on this story before it goes into production, which I'll also handle. BUT I've still got edits on The Hunted (Book 2 of The Crystal Coast Series), The Beacon (Book 3 of The Crystal Coast Series), the final read-through for Meet Me Under The Stars, and production for all three books in The Crystal Coast Series, Meet Me Under The Stars, and She Wants It All.

The gorgeous cover by the supremely talent Anita Carroll!

Is your head spinning? I know mine is! But that's a sneak peek of what it's like to work for two separate publishing companies and fit in all the various deadlines.

Despite all the work we have to do, Deek and I managed to sneak away to Colonial Williamsburg for a little R&R this past weekend. What a nice, relaxing time with my best friend! As my family always says: I love you to the moon and back! Thank you so much, my Deek, for whisking me away from all my responsibilities and filling my weekend with fun, laughter, and love. You amaze me every single day, and I fall a bit more in love with you with each passing moment! 

Since Deek's doing a whole blog on our trip, I'll just give you a little sneak peek at some photos he didn't use. ;) 

Coffee'd up and ready to go!

We tried "real" chocolate. Surprisingly VERY good!

Very cool electrolyte water bottle

One of the oldest college buildings in America (campus of William and Mary)

At the lectern in one of the oldest classrooms in America.

The College of William and Mary STILL holds class here. How cool is that?

You can't take us anywhere...

The prison where Blackbeard's men were held until their hangings!

This one is for you, Chrissy (The Crystal Coast Series)!

He's my partner, my best friend, my soul mate, my world! <3

Hubba hubba!! 

Well, since I've got massive deadlines to meet, I better scram! Catch you on the flip side, friends! 

Until next time, live out loud!