The Sequel Finally Has A Name!

You’ve all been waiting for it (some more patiently than others).  The long awaited working title to the 2^nd novel in my Unnatural series is:

1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

Right now, I hate my manuscript.  I love it, but I hate it.  Confused?  Let me explain.

Versus Challenge FINAL Reward

I can't believe it; it feels like I started this challenge yesterday and here we are at the end.  What I thought was going to take a long time to finish, actually wrapped itself up pretty quickly!  Big thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about me and my journey; I appreciate it more and more each day, so much so that I have no words to descibe exactly how grateful I am.  Please continue to do so, as the support has really helped me along, especially on my "I want to quit" days (more on those later).

 

As always, I hope you've enjoy the snippets of my novel.  I'm hard at work on the sequel, which brings me to the big reward promised at the beginning of this challenge.  So who was the winner, Twitter or Facebook?

Versus Challenge Reward #8

Wow- only one more to go!  Here's the 8th reward:

Versus Challenge Reward #7

First, Happy Mother's Day weekend to all the Mothers out there.  I hope you have an amazing day.

So here is the 7th reward.  I'm so excited! 

Versus Challenge Reward #6

Here's your 6th reward...  17 until the next!

Versus Challenge Reward #5

Challenge update:  Twitter is STILL killing the competition!  There are 4 more rewards to go until the end of this challenge.  Will there be an eleventh hour take down? 

Here's your 5th reward...

"The End" is just the beginning...

I love writing.  It’s not just something I do; it’s something I live for.  Writing is a way for me to escape my own world and live in one polar opposite to my own.   Writing fiction is especially fun because I can create whatever kind of world I want and have my characters do whatever they want.  But when I’m all done, that’s not it, there’s more to do.  I come to what is, for me, the dreaded part: editing.

Versus Challenge Reward #4

Challenge update:  Twitter is killing the competition!  Come on, Facebook; show us why you still reign supreme in social networking!  ;-)

Here's your 4th reward...

Versus Challenge Reward #3

Hey everyone, sorry this is late-crazy weekend.  Here's your reward.  18 until the next one!

Versus Challenge Reward #2

I've filled in the first missing line.  25 to the next one!

Are those flowers in my yard?

Spring is starting to awaken and the snow is dissipating.  Isn’t it amazing how the change of seasons can flip your overall mood?  I can understand why some animals hibernate all winter long; it’s a cold and cranky time of year and all I want to do is sleep through it too.

Versus Challenge Reward #1

First, thanks and WELCOME to my new followers!  I appreciate your support!

Second, I’ve redecorated the blog for spring!  Maybe now it will actually show up, humpf. 

So we’ve reached the first mark in this new challenge I’m calling “Versus”.  Before I get to the fill-in-the-blanks excerpt, remember, whichever site has the most followers at the end of this challenge gets the exclusive reveal of the working title for Unnatural’s sequel-3 days before I post it here.  Twitter is in the lead by 20.

 

Okay, here it is.  Remember, I’ll be filling in the blanks as the rewards from this point on. 

My eyes fluttered open. ********************* where the air was moist and smelled musty. I could hear someone talking, but I didn’t recognize the voice. It sounded like they were talking to someone on the phone, the conversation one-sided.

“******************.... *****************…. I can’t believe they were so careless, left her unprotected… *******************…”

********************, were they talking about me? Did they know about my visions?

I looked down the long, dark hallway for an exit; I had to get out. **************************. I could see a slit of light at the end, light from under a door. I ran full speed down the concrete hall, terrified for my life.

“Stop her!” Someone yelled.

A new voice came from behind me, sounding familiar, but I didn’t stop to see who it was. I stumbled, regained my footing and kept pushing forward. I made it to the door, ********************. It was huge. I’d never seen one that big, it looked too heavy for me. My hands brushed the cool metal handle as suddenly ********************…*

Only 18 to go until I fill in the first blank.  New blog post coming tomorrow.

Inside Look Finale Reward!!

The excerpt you’ve been waiting for is finally here!  Drum roll please………

 

My hands shook so hard I thought they might break. I knew what was going to happen, I had seen it-but could I stop it?

I could see Hayden walking down the street and I knew I had to make a decision, fast. But if I was wrong, how would I explain myself? I would have to tell him the truth and I knew what it would mean if I did. It’d mean the world I knew could come crashing down around me, piece by painful piece.

There wasn’t much time to act. My hands gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. My whole body was trembling now.

Would Dell really do it? He couldn’t, could he? It has to be a mistake, a glitch in my vision.  I had to be wrong, this one time. Please, let me be wrong. 

After convincing myself I was, I went to start my car to leave when the headlights in my rearview mirror made my decision for me.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this challenge; it went by so much faster than I anticipated! 

Now, on to the next challenge!

I am going to do this one a bit differently.  I’m going to post another excerpt, but this time, lines will be missing.  For every 25 followers, I’ll fill in the blanks.  Here’s the big twist: I’ll still use the combined totals, but, whatever site gets the most followers in this challenge (Twitter, Facebook, or this blog) wins an extra little something at the end.  I’ll reveal to those followers exclusively the sequel’s working title, 3 days before I post it to the blog for the world to see.    

So where’s the fill-in-the-blanks excerpt?  You’ll see it-*smiling devilishly* once we reach the first 25. 

Let the games begin!

Inside Look Follower Challenge Reward #5

This is the last "Inside Look" reward before the big one!  Only 4 away-great job!

Here it is.  Enjoy:

That’s when I lost all sense of control. Standing on my tiptoes, I threw my arms around his neck and started kissing him. My blood boiled, the mere temperature of it alone should have melted my skin off.

Now I know I had said I'd let you in on the next challenge, but, I'm deciding whether or not I want to mix it up next time.  Stay tuned; I'll be sure to post it once we've reached the final 4!

Inside Look Follower Challenge Reward #4

So we've made it to another reward!  Here it is:

“Tails you win, heads I win. Its only fair I tell you this is a doubled sided coin, but the question is, in whose favor, yours or mine?”

Enjoy the Supermoon; it truly is beautiful tonight! 

A day for quadruple the celebration!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

Today I’m not only celebrating that, but also the fact that my son turned 11 months old today (INSANE!  I feel like I just found out I was pregnant with him), my husband may have landed a new job, AND…

It’s the 2^nd birthday of my first novel, Unnatural!  Hard to think two years ago today I started writing it.  What a ride it’s been since! 

So cheers to all!  Wear your green proudly and be safe.  Hopefully at this time next year, I’ll be celebrating its publication!

Time moves too quickly

I can’t believe its mid-March.  I started this blog close to five months ago and I never imagined what kind of mental place I’d be in this far down the road.  I was taking it a week at a time, and that time flew by. 

In this past week, my mental attitude has had a major adjustment.  I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t be honest and tell you that January and February were very negative writing months.  Not so on the production/creativity side, but on the “I don’t know why I’m doing this, I’m never going to succeed” side. 

In my first blog post (and a couple after), I mentioned the love/hate relationship I have for my novel(s).  I’ve been told by seasoned writers that we all go through it.  Everyone hates their own work, thinks it sucks and loses faith at some point or another.  The good news is I’m no different from my peers.  The bad news?  When my faith in my craft falters, I’m finding it harder to pick my confidence back up and brush it off.  At least, I was finding it harder.

For those who follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you’ve seen I’ve been posting quotes a lot recently.  These quotes keep my confidence from falling again.  They give me insight and they are spoken or written by people who were once like me-a person with a big dream.  The difference between having a dream and achieving it is confidence and will, plain and simple.  If I have the drive and desire, if I work hard and keep at it, if I make my story the best it can be and do everything I can to get it out there, then at the end of my road will be success.  If not, then at least I can look back on my journey and know I did what I could, not wonder “What if?” and have regrets. 

Usually I’m pessimistic and maybe a little masochistic.  Instilling this in to my daily thought process has helped me work to change that, but there is still work to be done.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, and my self-deprecating attitude won’t be fixed overnight.  My plan is to keep at the motivational quotes and hard work.  Let’s see if I hold strong once the rejections start coming in, because there is bound to be some.

We are 7 followers away from the next “Inside Look” challenge reward.  That was fast!  Also a quick note to say I’m posting a lot more on Twitter on a trial basis.  Not that I don’t love Facebook, but with multiple postings daily it’s easier on Twitter since it’s built for that. 

An unrelated note, if you haven't done so, please donate to help aid Japan.  My heart is literally broken for everyone affected.  They're in very dire circumstances and each day more bad news comes out of there.  Every bit makes a huge difference.  This is a link to an article with great resources on how to help/donate:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/15/how-to-help-japan-earthquake-relief_n_834484.html   

I’ve caught a cold and have been sick all day, so now that my little one is in bed, I’ll be doing the same after a nice, hot shower.  If I don’t post again before it, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Be safe and thank you for any help you can provide to aid Japan's disaster relief! 

Inside Look Follower Challenge Reward #3 and then some

Here’s the “Inside Look” challenge reward:

Character: Zoey Novak

Age: 20

From: Seattle, Washington

Lives in: Los Angeles, California

With her fiery red hair and unique violet eyes, pixie-like Zoey may appear weak, but she’s a tough girl with a big heart.

So I’m making a little change to this challenge.  Instead of every 10 followers, I’m increasing it to 20.  Sorry!  The reason for the change is to add some more excitement to getting the rewards.  I’ve thought of the next follower challenge too, and it’s a good one.  I’ll reveal that once we’ve reached another 20 followers.

As for this blog, Facebook and Twitter (links on the right)-I’m open to questions and I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me (I’m very approachable, promise!).  If you have any suggestions on what you’d like to read about, I’d love to hear those as well.  I want to give you the most interactive experience possible for me to give.  I’ll be posting the inner workings of my mind on FB/Twitter (www.facebook.com/crowleykt and @KTCrowley on Twitter) more often, so if you’re not following me on either of those sites, you may be missing out!  Me just being me, daily posts will let you see a more candid side of my personality.  Right now, I'm apologizing if I offend anyone ever, it's not my intention.  I just speak my mind and filter as best as possible, ha-ha.  Now, on to the newest blog post!           

Yesterday as I was driving to pick up my husband from the train station, I played out the first five pages of the sequel in my head.  It just came to me, out of the blue.  I can’t write and drive at the same time (no one should, its just not safe, ha-ha), so I kept repeating it, over and over, trying to keep it fresh until I could put it on paper.  Once I had the car in park and made sure my son was content, I whipped out my Droid and starting typing away. 

Now for anyone who knows me, I HATE my Droid-typing on it is such a headache and it can be really buggy sometimes.  I long for an iPad or a netbook that isn’t hard to travel with but can be there for times like that.  I normally carry a spiral notebook, but silly me switched bags and forgot to transfer it.  Ugh-I won’t do that again.

This happens to me all the time.  I do my best thinking in three places: The shower, the car and in bed-and it’s those three places that writing tools aren’t easily available (not so much in bed; my laptop is in the next room and I keep my phone and a notebook on my nightstand for such occasions of inspiration).  I’m not complaining; it’s those three places that I thought up the story that is Unnatural.  I just have to find a waterproof laptop for the shower with voice software for driving so I never miss a note, ha-ha.  My husband will love that.

I’m getting more and more excited each day.  The sequel is really taking shape and I can’t wait to name it so I can stop referring to it as ‘the sequel’.  It deserves a good, solid name and although I was really hoping to hold a vote on the possible title, it doesn’t look like we’re going to make it to 1000 followers by March 31.  There’s still time, but its okay if we don’t make it; there’s always the next book!

Knock, Knock, Future

Life is too short and too precious to waste.  There is no time to waste on pettiness or selfishness, nor is there time to waste on people who don’t understand this.  There is only time to enjoy the wonderful things life has to offer us. 

Each time I come to this realization, I vow to appreciate life more and to reevaluate the things that I can change to make it better.  Then I find myself reverting back to my old ways and moving forward as before.  Today I am changing that pattern.  Every breath, every moment, could be my last-why not make them the best they can be?   

But life is also scary.  It’s the uncertainties that make me pause and proceed with caution.  It’s the fear of the unknown and the fear of change that makes me hit repeat on my daily cycle.  Fear of rejection, fear of disappointment, I could go on and on.  They are all keeping me from charging through the door to my future.  My hand is on the knob, I just have to turn it-so why can’t I?  Why can’t I follow through with a vow I so badly want to keep? 

With my history I know what I could be facing on the other side.  I’m a strong person, and I’ve been through more junk than ten people combined could handle.  I’ve taken a lot of hits and a lot of backs have turned on me when I’ve needed people.  I’ve been overlooked, under-appreciated, and treated badly for no reason at all.  And I’ve taken it all in stride, for the most part.  But truly, I’m the only person stopping myself from achieving my goals.  The real question is, am I strong enough to throw my fears aside and reach for the stars while keeping my feet on the ground?

Good riddance to bad rubbish and hello to my dreams becoming reality.  For those who are along for the ride, thank you, it’s gonna be a fun one. 

I’m turning the knob and casting fears aside-I start work on my query letter tomorrow.