Category Archives: Book Stuff

It’s almost time…

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Well. It’s finally here–the month of my book’s release. I’ve prepared as much as I can so now I’ve just gotta wait and see. I’ve had lots of support from my family as well as friends, so at this point, I’m just happy that it’s going to be out there for people to love or hate.

And, I’m happy to say, that I’m not worried about the reception. I thought I would be. But nope. Maybe because I have been keeping myself sufficiently busy–at the moment I’m in Little Rock for training for the day job. When I’m not filling my head with IT stuff, I’m listening to Radiohead’s OK Computer over and over (Track 5 is on repeat!) while writing away in my hotel room. I’m hoping to get a large dent in for book 2 or at the very least, bang out that novella.

I’m also hoping all the writing will make the days go quicker. I’m missing home something crazy. Hotel rooms are for the birds. I want my own bed and my own pillow and blanket. And I already know what I’m going to eat after my plane lands on Friday. It starts with ‘T’ and ends with… oh, hell. It’s TACOS. TACOS PEOPLE.

On a side note: it just so happens that August is also my little brother’s birthday month. So, I’m just giving him my book for his birthday. No other gift. Just the book. So, there you go little brother! May you enjoy it. Happy Birthday to you! And Happy Birthday to all the other Leos, too! I give you my ART! Here’s an honest review of Dark Sun Rising just so you know what you’re in for.

Well, that’s all from me. See ya’ll.

Another Update…

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Hello everyone! I feel like it’s been forever since I posted even though in reality it’s only been a few weeks. There’s an explanation–I promise. And that explanation is: life has been crazy. The work life that is. I’ve been assigned several projects that are all due at the same time, and so, most of my mental energy has gone into keeping those projects going successfully.

I also took a much needed vacation last week to Miami which was ridiculously hot and sticky but still lots of fun. I even took a little jaunt down to Key West. If you’ve never been, you should definitely check it out. Very nice, cool little beach town. I even got to check out Ernest Hemingway’s house, which I thought was pretty cool. And taking a stroll down Duvall street and eating key lime pie at one of the numerous bakeries was pretty sweet.

I will admit, I’ve been so busy, I haven’t thought much about the release of Dark Sun Rising, which is just a few weeks away, incase you didn’t know. As the time draws nearer, I keep wondering if there’s more I could do to make it more successful. Should I have reached out to more bloggers? More readers? Just more…

In these moments I tell myself that I’m doing the best I can with the knowledge I have. It’s all a learning experience. Trial and error. And all I can do is try to grow my readership. And lastly–I’ll make up for any shortfalls with book 2.

One good decision I made was setting up a blog tour with the nice folks from Rockstar Book Tour. Hopefully you guys see that in the internets in the next few weeks.

Anyway, that’s all from me today. Hope you guys have a good one.

K.M.

Dark Sun Rising available for pre-order!

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Hello Everyone!

So good news. The Dark Sun Rising eBook is now available for pre-order. Get it for $0.99 on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks. The paperback is also available for pre-order through Barnes & Noble.

I thought you guys may want a sample, so I’ve uploaded the first chapter as well under the My Books section. Check it out!

Also, if there are any book bloggers interested, please message me and I will send you a free ebook copy for your review.

Happy reading!

Happy Easter and another update…

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Hello everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed some quality family time. And for those of you that didn’t–well ‘me’ time can be just as good.

So… not much going on with book 1. Still working on the formatting. It’s actually taking a bit longer than expected even though there haven’t been any issues. I’m hoping it’ll be complete by end of next week. After that, I’m sending it off to book reviewers. Blog tours are an actual thing, and I’m attempting to have one for Dark Sun Rising.

As for book 2–I’m basically writing every day, trying to get the first draft done. It’s slow going, but I’ve made an effort to write at least one page a day. I know that doesn’t seem like much, but it adds up. Plus on the weekends I binge write–sometimes ten to twenty pages a day–which for someone like myself who is notorious for being a slow writer, it’s quite a bit.

Wondering what I have been up to other than writing? Not much. Well, other than getting excited about Game of Thrones, but then, the whole world is all up in arms about that: Who’s going to live? Who’s going to die? Is there a bun in Daenerys’ oven?

I don’t know the answer to any of those questions, but I sure hope Daenerys and Jon live. And Arya.

The Night King can have Sansa.

A small update…

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Thanks for all of you that helped by voting in the cover poll. It is greatly appreciated, and I have to say, it was actually a pretty good experience! So good, I might have to do a cover poll for future novels as well.

In other news, Book 2 is coming along very nicely. Just a month ago, I was stuck, not knowing which direction to take. I had a general idea on how I wanted the story to begin and end, but the rest, well, it was all up in the air–and worse, I had a bit of writer’s block. Since then, I’ve succeeded in writing myself out of the block, and basically decided to push some of the action that occurs in the beginning of the story to the middle. I’m sure that might sound a bit confusing, but when you guys read it, you’ll get to see what I mean.

Other than that, I’ve been trying to get through The Ways of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It’s a monster of a novel, and I’m trying to juggle that with all the other things I have to do, so I’m guessing it’ll be about three years before I finish it.

Just kidding!

But really, it’ll be awhile before I get through that book, because hey! Writing my own is more important.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for now. Same time next week? Yes? Good!

Dark Sun Rising Cover Poll

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Hi Everyone!

So good news. I finally received the drafts for the potential covers for the novel. As I mentioned before: I would like you all’s input on which cover is better.

Click here to vote for the best cover.

And always, let me know what you think!

March Madness!

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So this past week was the start of March Madness. Every year I participate in the Tournament Challenge by entering a bracket. To be honest, I don’t really follow college basketball, but (and I’m sure some of you know this) I have a bit of a thing for gambling.

The bracket costs $30 to play. Winner takes home some money, obviously, and that’s pretty much why I enjoy participate. Just the chance of winning even though I don’t know anything about college basketball. And hey! It’s all a toss up anyway, and hardly anyone wins with a perfect bracket.

Other than that, I’ve been doing a lot of writing for book two of The Continuous War. I decided to put down the novella for a bit. It actually served its purpose–kept me writing while my book two ideas simmered–but I’m definitely going to pick it up again once I’m done with the novel.

As for book one–I should be getting some drafts for the cover soon. I might share that with ya’ll to see if there is one you guys prefer over the other. We’ll see how it goes. I’m actually kind of excited as I let the contractor do their thing. I’m interested with what they’re going to come up with without my hovering over their shoulder.

Alrighty, that’s it for me this week. I hope you guys have a good one!

Writing pains…

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Hello people! How’s everyone doing? Good I hope. I’ll have ya’ll know–Texas is weird. The weather, that is. One day it’s in the 30s and the next it’s 80 degrees. It’s enough to give a lady whiplash–I never know if I need to wear a winter coat or not.

In other news, I’m slowly chipping away at the novella. I re-read a few pages this weekend and I know that I’m going to need to do some extensive edits when I’m done. It just needs to be tighter structure wise. And I’m the sort that hates editing. Like really, really hate it. But it has to be done. “Kill your darlings” and all that. Sometimes I feel like I need to kill the whole thing, but that’s when it’s time to maybe write about something else. Take my mind off of the story for a bit and let it rest.

Other times it takes all my will power to sit down and work on a story. With all the other things going on in life writing is the last thing I feel like doing. And I suppose that’s exactly the time I should be writing. When it’s hard.

But the more I do this, the more I wonder how some writers are able to crank out several books a year. I don’t think I’ll ever be one of those writers. I take too long to get things done, and when I am done, I take even longer with the editing process. And I have a buddy that reads my stuff and helps me out with content. She takes a little while to get back to me as well. So all around, my process is sloooooow.

But I guess in the end it doesn’t matter how slow or fast you are, as long as you write the best story you can.

Book, TV, and Movie Things

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Hi Everyone! I hope your February is going well. Mine is going pretty good!

So mini update on Dark Sun Rising– I’m now working on getting the book formatted and also contracting for cover design. All in all, it’s pretty much on schedule for the August release. I’m thinking the closer I get to the release date, the more excited I’m going to get to share it with ya’ll. I’m hoping ya’ll enjoy it.

In other writing news, the novella is still in progress, and I’m having lots of fun writing it. It’s a completely different story then the novel, but still very much in the fantasy genre.

So when I’m not writing the novella or preparing for the release of the novel, you know I’m watching TV and movies!

Right now, I’m spending time watching one of the best comedies on TV: One Day at a Time. If you haven’t checked out this show, you really need to. It centers on a Cuban family and tackles all sorts of issues including: immigration, sexism, homophobia, racism, and mental illness. It all sounds serious, yes? But the show has a knack for focusing on all these issues tastefully and with a large dose of humor. It also has Rita Moreno who is amazing! I don’t think there is a character on TV that comes close to her Lydia. She’ll have you laughing ’till your stomach hurts.

Oh! And also, I saw Alita: Battle Angel, and I know it’s getting bad reviews and everything, but I enjoyed it. Yes the story is a bit hammy, and moves soooo quickly, but you know what? I didn’t care. Because it was entertaining and the plot was still interesting and fun, and the effects were excellent! So yeah, I think you should check it out if you’re into fantasy movies. I think you’ll like it.

Well, that’s about it from me this week. Until next time!

Choosing to self-publish

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When I decided to self-publish my novel I had no idea how much effort it would take. First, I decided early on that I would put out a book that was comparable to something a publishing house would distribute. That meant a professional editor, proofreader, and book cover artist. Also, other expenses as well that popped up depending on my personal preference that not every self-published author chooses to pay for, such as purchasing an ISBN, Copyright, etc.

Second, which is the largest effort other than writing the book itself, is the marketing. This includes self-promoting my book. For me, this will be the biggest learning experience since I have very little experience with marketing, and to be honest–I really don’t want to shell out the cash to hire a professional. So I’ve decided to keep things simple: I created this website to grow my readership, and to keep those that are interested up-to-date with everything going on with me. I’ve linked it to other social media like Facebook and Twitter so that my posts are displayed on those sites as well.

I’ve also decided to send my book off to get reviewed by bloggers a few months before its release.  I’m planning a budget to pay for a few promotions when the book releases to urge a successful book launch. And I’m hoping to have a few book giveaways as well.

So that’s pretty much my plan. We’ll see how it goes.