Humanity’s Hope…Coming Soon

I received word from the publisher earlier this week (or maybe it was late last week; I can’t remember, my days have been screwed up) that Humanity’s Hope will be published by the end of July. I don’t have a date yet, but I should get one soon.

It’s hard to believe that a year ago I signed the contract with Stitched Smile Publications for them to put out my next young adult zombie series. So much has happened since then. It’s crazy!

I’m looking forward for this book to come out. I hope all of you enjoy it as well. As usual, I will keep you informed of when it’s available.

Until then, check out my recently self-published middle grade novels, The Ifs and The Ifs Return. You might just enjoy them.

The Second Book in the Saving Humanity Series is DONE!

Last week, I finished handwriting the second book in my latest young adult zombie novel series. Yes, you read that correctly: handwriting. I handwrite the vast majority of my books. There’s just something magical about putting a pen to paper. I really enjoy writing that way.

However, on the negative side, it does have a tendency to make my wrist hurt. But, at the same time, typing can do the same thing. I guess it is just destiny that writers will end up with carpal tunnel. Hazard of the profession, I suppose.

When I transfer the story to the computer, it’s an editing step. I usually add and delete as I type the story out. Each chapter gets its own file, which is then printed out. I edit those chapters, then combine the chapter all together. Then, there’s another editing step—or several. I would like to tell you how many editing steps it goes through, but it honestly depends on the story and what it needs.

It can be tedious and time consuming. However, the hard part has been done. The bones of the story have been put on the page, and editing is my chance to flesh the story out.

I can’t tell you how incredibly excited I am to have this story done. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d ever get it written. My life had taken such a crazy turn for a while there, I didn’t know if I’d have time to work on it. Then, I didn’t feel like writing. There were times I literally forced myself to pick up my pen and write. It sucked, but then after a few minutes, I got into my groove. That felt really, really good. I didn’t realize how much I needed to escape into my fantasy world. It helped put my real world into perspective.

I’m sure you’re wondering what the title of my new work is. Well, if you’re subscribed to my newsletter, you already know (speaking of my newsletter, if you haven’t signed up, you should. I’m doing a special offer for subscribers for the month of February). If you don’t subscribe, you’ll just be learning it now. Are you ready for it? The second book in the series is called Edge of Humanity.

The first book is Humanity’s Hope. Here’s the blurb for it.

Caleb, a 17-year-old boy, survived the zombie uprising, but he didn’t come out of the ordeal unscathed. He’s been scarred—both mentally and physically. The rest of humanity is trying to rebuild, to make the world normal again. Caleb is trying to return to a normal life also, but after all he’s seen, after the loss of his family and friends, the transition is difficult. The darkness that led him down a path of self-doubt and self-harm keeps trying to creep back into his mind.

Things only become worse when he discovers he’s immune to whatever makes a zombie a zombie. Fighting zombies was predictable. He knew what to expect. Fighting humans is volatile. They are malicious and treacherous. They won’t stop to get what they want, and Caleb has to figure out exactly what that is.

*Trigger warning: attempted suicide

Humanity’s Hope should be coming out any time in the next few months. I don’t have a definite date yet, but I’m not worried. It’s going to happen, and it’s going to be amazing! I’m having a cover reveal on the 17th, and I can’t wait for you to see what it looks like. I really, really like it.

And speaking of covers, I promised to let you know when Finding Eden’s new cover was done. Well, it’s finished. I really like this one too.

It has been another great week related to writing. I like it when that happens. It inspires me. It makes me look forward to editing Edge of Humanity. It’s going to be fun.

Looking at the Bright Side

Friends, I’m going to be honest, this past month as been a real challenge. I’ve been trying to rediscover my confidence and keep the depression from debilitating me. I’ve sent out so many resumes, I feel like I’m holding my own ticker tape parade.

The job application process reminds me a lot of the publishing process. Three-fourths of the time, I don’t get any response from the places I email. If I’m lucky, I’ll get an automated message that says they’ve received my information, but that’s usually all.

One place I applied to sent me an incredibly passive-aggressive email. I had been on the fence about whether or not I was actually going to apply. I found the posting on a job board site, and it raised several questions in my mind. I went to the company website to find the answers, but they weren’t there. I decided that I would shoot an email to their address. All I wanted to know was if they had a minimum/maximum amount of work they expected to be done every week, how I would get paid, how I would choose my assignments, and a question about a stipulation they had in their contract (which was mentioned in the job posting).

What I got back was mind boggling.

The person basically commented that if I had sent in my resume, and if it had looked promising, they would have sent me a document that answered all my questions. They then said that they didn’t understand what I was asking with my minimum and maximum question, so they weren’t even going to bother trying to answer it.

The tone of the email irritated me, and if they were just going to say things like that, why would they waste time emailing me at all? I emailed back, apologized for forgetting to include my resume, and included it then. I’m fully aware it was a moot point, but still. As you can imagine, I’ve heard nothing back. But at this point, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

For another company I applied to, I made it to the second round, and they sent me an email with information about the next steps I needed to take. In those steps, it mentioned that I had to pay $50 for a background check. Now, I knew a background check was involved, it said so in the job post, but I was confused as to why I had to pay for it. The company is reputable, I Googled them and did my due diligence, so I figured I would send an email and ask.

A week later, I received an email asking if I was still interested in the position because they had not received a response from me. This one came from a person (I assumed because it had a name in the Sent From line, as opposed to a generic HR email), so I responded and re-asked my question. A week later, I received a response that my account had been deactivated because of lack of activity.

This whole process has been so frustrating. I’m fully aware that we are in December and that Christmas is right around the corner, so I’m sure most companies don’t want to hire anyone right now. They want to be able to spend time with their families, but if they can get everything in place, they can start looking at new hires after the New Year.

I know I need to be patient, and I’m doing my best. One of the things that is helping me keep my head above water is thinking about all the good things that are happening right now.

One of those is being able to spend time with my boys. They have asked me several times to join them for lunch at school, and I’ve had the time to go. I know that won’t last for long, so I’m taking advantage of the opportunity while I can.

I get to be totally immersed and involved with their sports. My mind isn’t wandering to how much work I have to do when I get home. I just get to be with them. Which also means I have time to veg out and watch TV with them at night.

I’ve had time to write. This has been instrumental in helping me feel better. When I get super frustrated, I get to maim, kill, and devour people in my story. It really aids in reducing stress. I’m on Chapter 8 of the second book in my new young adult zombie novel, and I’m really enjoying where the story is going. It feels so good to be creative.

I’ve been in contact with the publisher about the cover for Humanity’s Hope. I’m not exactly sure what I want, but working together, I think we’re going to come up with something amazing. I can’t wait to see what it is.

I’m this close to having the biography done. After inputting a few more edits and getting another proof of the book, that baby will be done. It feels great to know that it will soon be out in the world.

Yes, times have been tough lately and I’m in a dark place, but there are shards of light trying to break in. I’m doing my best to let that light in and focus on the good things.

The Joy and Agony of Writing a Series

Last week, I finished writing my next young adult zombie novel. It still needs to be typed (I handwrite the first draft), then it will needs lots and lots of edits. It’s the first in a series, which is both exciting and not so exciting. I found this blog post, which I did for a blog tour a while ago, and I feel like it totally applies.

I enjoy book series. As an author, I appreciate and enjoy that readers get lost in my series. I love that they are invested in my characters and can’t get enough of their adventures. It makes me happy that they anxiously await the next book.

Writing a series can be a magical and wonderful experience. I enjoy that the world is already set up and that the characters are already established. I don’t have to strain my brain coming up with new ideas, I can expand on ones that already exist.

The thing that (I hope) makes my series so wonderful is that I have fun writing it. I enjoy being in that world just like you do, but at times, it gets tedious. Sometimes it isn’t fun anymore. When this happens, I have to walk away. I have to work on something else. I have to take a break.

Writing a series can get incredibly exhausting. I have to spend a lot of time in this world and with these characters. I’m there for months or years, and I know waaaaay more about what happens than what is on the page. My brain is full of elaborate back stories. I know minute details about the characters’ lives and the history of the world. Sometimes these details are written down so they aren’t forgotten, but they aren’t ever part of the final story.

Keeping track of all this gets tough. And sometimes the characters don’t cooperate. Some days they don’t want to tell me their stories, or I get bored listening to them. Spending too much time with characters is like spending too much time with real people. We get tired of each other. There is some truth to the phrase “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” even with fictional people.

There’s also the added pressure of making sure the next book lives up to readers’ expectations. I want to make sure the details are just right, that I’m staying true to what was written before, and sometimes that means going back and rereading the previous books in the series.

There’s a need to get the book out in a timely fashion so that interest isn’t lost. Nerves get frazzled when I feel like I’m falling behind—even when I don’t have a deadline. When this happens, it makes it hard to continue to write. It becomes difficult to overcome the fear that I’m going to fail, that people are going to be angry with the book.

There’s a moment when I just want to scream and tear my hair out, but then I take a deep breath and step back. I remind myself that this is supposed to be fun. And if I’m not having fun, then it’s not worth doing.

Teasers for My Upcoming Release Death to the Undead

February 16th is the official release date for the second book in my Life After the Undead young adult zombie book series.  It's called Death to the Undead.  To celebrate, here are some amazing teasers my fabulous book manager made.  Enjoy!

The Obsession Continues…and it has Sparked Inspiration

As many of you know, I am obsessed with zombies. I love to read about them, watch them in movies/TV shows, and write about them—both fiction and nonfiction. My snowmobile is adorned with the undead, I give presentations and workshops about them, and my boys and I are always making plans on how to survive the uprising.

I started watching Z Nation last week, and I can’t get enough of it! I’ve tweeted about it and done another blog post, so it’s not a secret that I really, really like the show. I’m flabbergasted that I waited so long to start watching it.

How many of you wonderful readers out there watch it? What do you think?

I won’t go into details about how much I love it because I kind of did that here. Plus, I need to get further through season 1, then I’ll write more about it. But I do want to say this: watching the show has been a huge inspiration.

I’ve been working on a new young adult zombie novel (still untitled), but I haven’t been working on it very hard. I’ll do a chapter or less every once in a while. But watching Z Nation has encouraged me to work on it more. It has rekindled my love of the undead and pushed my imagination into overdrive.

I love it when this type of encouragement hits. I love it when the fires of my obsession are stoked. I love being reminded that there are people out there like me who also enjoy zombies and are ready to devour anything that comes their way.