Angela Brown's Latest Cover Reveal: ATONE

Today we're excited to be participating in the cover reveal for Angela Brown's new novella in her NEO Chronicles, ATONE. The cover was designed by one of Indie Elite's own, Heather McCorkle of CP Design. Angela is a stunning writer and her characters will pull you right into the story. Here is the cover and a bit about the fabulous book:

What harm can come from a kiss?

Caine Fordham knows the danger all too well.

As the Kill Circuit’s top lady-killer, business is good. Yet Caine knows the life of an assassin isn’t meant to last forever, just as love is impossible for him. Who could love a man with poison lacing his veins and a kiss that kills?

When Caine decides to take one last job, deal out one last kiss, he discovers there’s more to life than death, and more to love than pain.

Available at:

Amazon / B&N

Watermark by Krissi Dallas is Coming!

Krissi Dallas, one of my favorite authors with a small press, has a new book coming out! Watermark, the fourth installment of the YA fantasy Phantom Island series by Krissi Dallas is finally releasing this fall! I love this series! If you haven’t jumped on board this island adventure full of magic, mystery, and romance, now is your chance. Below, you can enter to win an autographed Phantom Island trilogy pack, an autographed copy of Watermark when it releases, a tribal t-shirt, or an autographed copy of The Collector by debut author Victoria Scott! The giveaway will be open for entries until Friday, June 14.

And now for a bit about Watermark… the dramatic conclusion to the first half of the Phantom Island series:

Relationships on the White Island are volatile and Whitnee, Morgan, and Caleb aren’t sure who they can trust—even each other. Politicians are lying, history is being rewritten, and motives are questionable. Whitnee sets out with Gabriel and a band of rebel spies to take back the enemy's biggest weapon—Whitnee's father. However, a shocking turn of events proves once again that the Island's secrets have the power to destroy more than just the truth. Separated from her friends, Whitnee battles her own fears in order to survive and protect the ones she loves. But when Morgan's illness finally comes to light, Whitnee faces a decision that could alter her future—and Morgan’s—forever. And whether she ultimately stays on the Island or leaves might not be her choice, after all.

Excerpt:

     I stared at her in frustration. “What is with you?!” I exploded. She was not acting like my best friend. Like my Morgan. “You’ve been so different this summer, and I don’t get it!”
     “Well, you’ve been different too! People change, you know,” she snapped back.
     “If I’ve changed, fine. But at least I’m still honest with you. You, however, have turned into a liar! If we don’t have trust between us, then what do we have, Morgan?”

Even Kirkus, one of the toughest reviewers in the industry, is singing this series praises:

“…[An] earnest tale of magic and romance that deals with the great distance between pain and recovery.” –Kirkus Reviews (Windchaser, Phantom Island Book 1)

Meet the Author:

Krissi Dallas loves pop music, mismatched socks, and fried chicken. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas with her youth minister husband, Sam, and their two wicked Yorkies, Elphie and Luna. Krissi enjoys hanging out with her quirky middle school students and building the dramatic, magical, and mysterious world that makes up the Phantom Island series. Be sure to check out Windchaser, Windfall, and Watercrossing. Krissi loves connecting with teens, as well as readers and writers of all ages! You can stalk her online at www.KrissiDallas.com.

Proving my point about how fabulous Krissi is, just check out this giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Time To Laugh

Sometimes we all feel a little lazy and worthless, and those are the times we must laugh at ourselves. 

Enjoy the writing journey...

XO Karlene

IE Reviews: Lightning Rider

I've joined NetGalley as a reviewer and my first read was one that impressed me! The fantasy novel Lightning Rider by debut author Jen Greyson (published by The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House) was one I couldn't resist. Here is my official review:

The stunning cover drew me in but the characters and writing style are what kept me captivated. A kick-butt bike-building latino chick who can both wield and ride lightning into the past, what's not to love? Evy's hesitance and imperfections made her perfect in a lot of ways for me. The tension, and magnetism, between her and the Roman warrior Constantine is smoking hot (and for adults only). While it ended a bit abruptly for me with a few too many loose ends waiting for another book (and I'm one who doesn't mind an open-ended book normally), I still enjoyed it well enough that I will purchase and read the next novel in the series. I look forward to it!

This novel has not yet released but you can add it to your Goodreads lists to remind yourself! Trust me, you don't want to miss this one if you enjoy good adult fantasy.

~Heather 

Author of the paranormal Earth-conscious channeler series: Born of Fire (FREE novella), Fire With Fire, The Secret of Spruce Knoll, Channeler's Choice, Rise of a Rector, the historical fantasy, To Ride A Puca, and the epic fantasy The Dragon Empire. Heather also has stories in the following anthologies: In His Eyes (FREE) and Winter Wonders. 

So, You Want to be Published?

My vampire book series, Dark Secrets, has recently become very popular, and I get asked all the time how I came to achieve success in the industry and if I feel I made the right choices by going the indie route.

Indie route, you ask?

Yes. Independent Publishing. It means I don’t answer to anyone. I retain full creative control and keep 100% of my profits.

How does one go about this?

Here’s where I have to be careful, because being independent isn’t for everyone, then again, signing on with small press, vanity publishers or even one of the ‘Big Six’ isn’t for everyone, either. You have to do what works for you, and often you have to walk that road before you realize it’s either the wrong or the right one. But it is much easier and cheaper to walk the Indie road first and see if it takes. If not, you can always go traditional.

Now, some people will tell you that publishers won’t accept books that have been self or previously published. Codswallop! Of course they will, if it’s worth their while. Just ask Amanda Hocking. So, don’t let that be a deterrent.

Below, I’ll talk a little about some pros and cons of publishing independently:

One big pro is you don’t need to shove your manuscript in a drawer for two years while you wait for college-grads to validate your work by accepting it into their agency, where it will then go through rigorous combing and probably come out the other side rejected anyway. Getting accepted to an agency does not mean you’ve made it. Even getting on the Penguin bus doesn’t guarantee success.

Pro: You retain full creative control; no one will tell you to delete scenes because it affects the ‘flow’. Downside, there’s no one to tell you if the flow is affected. You have to get really good at self-assesment.

Con: You have to pay for an editor (which can be up to $7000 or more. My books were $4000), or put your work out there and cross your fingers, just hoping no one notices the mistakes (and there will be many even your avid reader friends will miss).

Con & Pro: You need to know publishing and copyright law. However, this is as easy as just doing a bit of research and reading on the Internet (from reputable, approved sites).

All about Indie
Writer Beware: pretty much everything you need to know. It will tell you all about dodgy publishers and vanity publishers and even names the ones you need to avoid.
Info on copyright: Australia
Info on copyright: U. S.If you're getting your information from a blog, be sure to check the author's credentials before taking it as fact, because, for example, using song lyrics in your book is breaking copyright laws and you can be sued, but some see this as a matter of opinion and may argue the percentage of text used can be classed as fair use. Not always the case. Know your laws.

Neither pro nor con: You have to purchase your own ISBN, which can be done through Thorpe-Bowker (Aus) or Bowker (US)

Pro: You decide the price, release date, title, cover, everything.

Now, I’ll talk a little about where you can go to get your work out there.

Start with Kindle Direct Publishing (or KDP)

Then go to Smashwords.com (Once you sign up, there is a blue bar across the top of your page. Go to the word PUBLISH to upload your book and DASHBOARD for all other info).

These two places will see to it that your work appears at B & N, Amazon, Kobo, iBooks and many other book retailers.

But, doesn’t publishing independently mean I’ll never have my books in paperback?

No! Simply go to a great place called Createspace or Lulu (my two favorites)

It really is that easy. After that, it’s up to the content to sell and how well you market and network.

Marketing?

Go see Bewitching Book Tours to participate in a blog tour. My sales increased by over 20, 000 copies for the month of my tour (and again for a few moths after), and tour prices start from as little as $25. You can even pay through Paypal.

Networking?

Come on. Really? Facebook, people. Facebook. Start your own “Page”. Not a ‘friends club’. Actually start a Page and post links to your page on your website (which you can create for free through Weebly) and on your Author Central profile that you’ll create when you’ve joined up with Kindle Direct Publishing for Amazon (KDP).

Lastly, and anyone who knows me through chatting on Facebook will know how much I hate this.....There is no such thing as an ‘aspiring writer’. Being a writer is a choice you make, and you do not need validation from a publisher. Put your work out there. Get validation from the people. If you get a lot of bad reviews, perhaps reassess and maybe rewrite and re-release, but, if you’ve done your research, worked hard, revised constantly and requested constructive criticism, then bad reviews will simply be a matter of one’s opinion, not a reflection of inferior writing.

And keep in mind, my books have heaps of bad reviews. When I felt bad about them, I simply went and read all the bad reviews on Twilight, because I loved those books, so it was good to see that some people just didn't ‘get it’.

I wish all of you the best of luck with your publishing dreams for 2013.

~Angela Hudson

Cover Shoots Made Affordable

If you're like me, you're an author who has longed for a special cover, one uniquely yours that doesn't originate from stock photos, but you shied away from the cost of a photo shoot. I have great news for you! Through my company CP Design, I will now be partnering with a professional photographer, Kelsey Keeton, and offering covers that are custom shot with a model of your choice~from over 80 models, then turned into a unique cover designed by me. Throughout this post you'll see a few outstanding photos by her to give you a taste of her talent. But what will it cost, you wonder? Designs start at only $250 for an eBook cover, $400 for a paperback, $450 for a hardback, and that's a cover that no one else will have, ever because you will get exclusive rights to the photo. Those prices include my fees and hers for the base package!

Here is the breakdown of the cost so you can determine what it will run you:

Premium eBook cover: $100 plus the base photo shoot price of $150 is $250 total.

(The cost is less than my normal charge because my work on the image is reduced. This includes adding additional photos (may be stock) such as logos, images for effect~smoke or such. Also includes adding your title and name in a specialized font of your choice with the effect of your choice available to me through the advanced Photoshop program that I use. Also includes changes like colors of things in the photo, brightness, special effects, and the addition of a different background if you so choose. The background may be a stock image, or it may be from my portfolio of backgrounds.)

Front and back paperback cover: $250 plus the base photo shoot price of $150 is $400 total. 

(Includes the eBook formats as well as formatting the paperback onto a template for printing, page cover matter.This also includes adding logos, images for effect~smoke or such, and images for the spine and back of the book. Also includes adding your title and name in a specialized font of your choice with the effect of your choice available to me through the advanced Photoshop program that I use. Also includes changes like colors of things in the photo, brightness, special effects, and the addition of a different background if you so choose. The background may be a stock image, or it may be from my portfolio of backgrounds.)

Hardback covers: $300 plus the base photo shoot price of $150 is $450.

(Includes the eBook formats as well as formatting the hardback onto a template for printing, and back cover matter. This also includes adding logos, images for effect~smoke or such, and images for the spine, back, and flaps of the book. Also includes adding your title and name in a specialized font of your choice with the effect of your choice available to me through the advanced Photoshop program that I use. Also includes changes like colors of things in the photo, brightness, special effects, and the addition of a different background if you so choose. The background may be a stock image, or it may be from my portfolio of backgrounds.)

Next, I'll partner you up with Kelsey and you'll choose the model for your photo shoot and discuss extensive details of what you would like for the photo. Once the shoot is finished, Kelsey will contact us and together you and I will choose the best photo (or photos) for your cover.

Photo Shoot Costs: 

$150 base price for a photo shoot with one model in which you choose one picture.
(Cost goes up depending on how many models are used and how many pictures you want to purchase.)
$50 for each photo chosen.
$20 to each model (per image bought)
For a total of at least $70 per additional photo. All in all, pretty amazing for a unique cover that no one else will ever have, with a model of your choosing. Ready to take the plunge?
Contact me at: cpdesignsforauthors (at) gmail (dot) com

~Heather

Go Back To The Beginning

Fans of The Princess Bride will know Inigo Montoya's mantra. You know, the one where he introduces himself, accuses Count Rugen of homicide and recommends he accept a terrible fate.

But Inigo has another mantra, and that is, "When the job fails, go back to the beginning."

I love going back to the beginning. I try things, they don't work, I go back to the start and see if I can get it right.

When I was in the midst of plotting Ondine 4 The Spring Revolution, I hit a wall. Or, a hole. Yes. A big plot hole that said, "fill this in later". Well, it's later now, and I still don't know how to fill it. Even with the best intentions of following structure, I still can't fill a hole if I have nothing to fill it with.
So I went back to the beginning and read the first two Ondine books.
It gave me ideas.

This resulted in two things: I laughed at my own jokes AND I spotted lots of lovely little asides and moments I could call back to in book 4. In books 1 & 2, (Summer and Autumn) much is mentioned of Great-Aunt Col's disastrous debutante ball. The one where she cursed Hamish into his ferrety incarnation.

Well, Old Col never got to re-do her 'deb' so it's high time she got her second chance.

That would be lovely to put into book 4.

In book 2 (set during Autumn), it mentions the clocks going back in two stages. One hour in October, another hour in November, so everyone gets two sleep-ins. This is because the clocks go forward 2 hours in one night in Spring, to really get plenty of daylight in the evenings. (People get the following Monday off as a public holiday, to cope with the 'jet lag')

As book 4 is the spring book, I need to mention this.

In book 1 there's a passing mention that Ondine wanted to study media, but with a wedding to pay for, her family might not be able to afford the camcorder fees. It turns out they can, so in book 4, Ondine will have a camcorder in her hand. I'd completely forgotten about this, but it fits perfectly with the oncoming revolution.

Needless to say, each time I get an idea while reading the old books, I jot it onto a note and stick it on my structure sheet. The structure sheet is looking like a post-it monster sneezed all over it. It's a mess, but I can fix it.

The thing is, I've given myself more ideas, and now I have those ideas, more will follow.

~Ebony McKenna, author of the Ondine series.
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