UtopYA Con Sale and Book Three Title!

This week is UtopYA Con week. Let me tell you, I'm so excited. I'm going to apologize ahead of time to any authors/panelists that I meet there. I'm too awkward to meet new people...especially those that inspired me to start writing in the first place. I'm either going to start fangirling or I'll just stutter incoherently, then back away silently, and possibly hide behind a plant or a taller person. I write because I can't speak, so this should be an interesting experience for me.

Anyway, because I'm going to be at this awesome book convention this week, I've decided to lower the price of Scorching Secrets again! I did this a few weeks ago and my book actually ranked in Amazon! I was amazed at how many people bought it at its lowered price.So from tonight until Monday morning, SS is going to be $0.99 on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

I can't lower the price on iBooks, but if you email me, I can give you a coupon code where you can download it for that price from Smashwords.

Hopefully everyone can get it on sale for the next few days! Let me know if you have any problems with this! If you haven't read it yet, now is the time! 

As before, sharing is caring :)

Here are the links: if they are not $0.99 right now, they will be soon!

Amazon                                              Barnes and Noble

*****

As promised, since I'm in such a great mood, I'm going to release the title for the third book in the Prophesized Series. Are you ready?

*Drum roll*

The title for book three is:

Descending Darkness

I'll post another blog entry in a few days giving a few more details about this book and possibly another teaser! I'll just let you in on something: things are about to get serious with Ryanne and the mage world. Keep tuned for that!

If you all could all be so kind, could you rate Scorching Secrets if you haven't already? Any site is fine: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Goodreads, etc.  Ratings really help new writers get the word out. Thanks!

I hope you all have a fantastic rest of the week and weekend!

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Vacation Update #2

On Friday, we went to Universal Studios in Orlando Florida. It was awesome...for the most part. I don't know how people can live down here. It's so hot, humid, and muggy. The entire time I've been here, a quote from The Mummy keeps running through my mind. "What is a place like me, doing in a girl like this." Expect in my case...it's "What is a girl like me, doing in a place like this." (Yes, I'm kind of like Ryanne in the fact that I often recite movie quotes all the time.) I couldn't handle this weather all the time. I can barely handle Indiana summers.

Today, we went to Islands of Adventure. One word: Harry-freaking-Potter. Okay, that's more than one word, but I combined it with hyphens to create one word. I have the liberty to do that. Don't judge.

For some reason, I've always been a Weasley fan. Gingers all the way. I find Rupert Grint adorable and I love all the awkwardness that is Ron Weasley. I wish I was Hermione. 1. Because she's AWESOME. 2. She married Ron. There are many other reason, but that would need a whole other post. You guys don't need me to ramble on about Romione.

Frozen Butterbeer, yum :)

It was awesome to walk through Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. For all HP fans, it's a crazy thing to think that this whole place was created in the mind of J.K. Rowling. It's awesome to think that Harry Potter is going to be enjoyed for many more generations. It's not just a YA trend that's going to fade and disappear. (I hope you all have read and reread the books countless times like I have!)

I think that the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride was ahhhhmazing. It actually felt like I was flying. I rode it twice and my family is going back tomorrow and I'll probably ride it a few more times. I even got to try Butterbeer!

The two days my family has been at Universal it has started raining. Today, we had a lovely poncho to wear. It was a fantastic time frolicking through large masses of people while wearing a bright yellow garbage bag with holes for a head and two arms.  Haha, actually the ponchos were kinda of fun and I can't complain much since I remained dry.

My mom thinks that I need to get a little more personal with the blogging universe and my readers and be like "Hey all, this is me!", so here are some pics from the trip. Anyone who actually knows me, knows how difficult it is to get me in any pictures, so it's a pretty rare thing that I actually took some pictures voluntarily on this trip!

Ignore my super paleness and crazy frizzy hair in these photos. 

I have a few more vacation posts coming up. The next few posts will be more book related and I may even reveal the title for book three in the coming week. I'm in a pretty good mood, so keep an eye out for that!

Keeping spreading the word about BB and SS and rating them. Ya'll are awesome and I hope you all have a fantastic summer :)

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Vacation Update #1

This post is really just for my own pleasure. I doubt any of you care about what I'm doing right at this moment, but I'm going to tell you anyway. 

Yesterday, I went to the Georgia Aquarium. Every Saturday, I watch Ocean Mysteries at 9:30 a.m. on ABC. I'm a huge nature girl and I love all those types of shows. Jeff Corwin is the host of Ocean Mysteries, and I definitely look up to him. I love everything he's doing for conservation efforts, and I hope to someday be doing something like him. This show is based at Georgia Aquarium, so I was pretty excited to go there.

It didn't disappoint. There's one exhibit called Ocean Voyager. It's often featured on the show, so I was really excited about it. There's something about sitting in a darkened room watching ocean creatures swim about. Watching all the whale sharks, manta rays, and groupers swimming around in this large tank is so peaceful. I could have sat there all day. I seriously loved it. 

The ocean is amazing. Being a science major, just thinking about how everything interacts--how one simple thing can offset the balance of that specific ecosystem--it's fascinating to see something so complicated and fragile. I don't even know if that last sentence makes any sense. I can't think of how else to word it. 

I'm the short girl with the nerd glasses in the front.

Today, I sat in a van with my siblings for six hours as we drove down to Orlando. With three younger siblings, sitting in a car for any length of time can be a little chaotic. (Did I say a little? I mean VERY chaotic.) Tomorrow, we're going to Universal.

Has anyone been to Universal in Orlando, FL? This will be my first time. I'm so freaking excited for Harry Potter world. You have no idea. I know that I'm nineteen and probably shouldn't be freaking out about Harry Potter related stuff, but I don't care. I grew up with this series and I feel like it'll always be apart of my generation. The fact that I get to go to Hogwarts....AHHHH!However, we're not going to Adventure Island until Sunday, so I'll have to wait to fangirl about Hogwarts.

On another note, I can't believe how many people downloaded Scorching Secrets when I put it on sale for $0.99. I actually ranked on Amazon! I've been ranked on BlackMoon Beginnings since I posted it on Amazon, but to be ranked on a book that I'm selling...it's mind-blowing.

Thank you to everyone that shared this information. Also, thank you to everyone that has rated Scorching Secrets! You guys are great!

I hope you all are having a fantastic week! Keep being awesome :)

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SS Sale and Book Three Mini-Teaser!

I've mentioned this on my Facebook and Twitter page, but just in case anyone has missed it, Scorching Secrets is now on iBooks! I'm sorry it took so long, but it's finally there! I'm just glad that it is now available on all the major eBook outlets.

I'm in a really good mood, so I decided to lower to the price of SS on Amazon to $0.99 for the day. I'm about to go on vacation and I just finished first round edits for book three, so I figured what the heck! If you haven't read it yet, now is the time to get it! If you know someone who is reading BB and wants the sequel, there's no better time to tell them to download it.

Sorry for those who download from Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, etc. It's harder to change the prices on those sites. To be fair, I'll see if I can do something on those sites later on!

Sharing is caring <3 Spread the word :)

On another note, I've decided to post a small teaser from book three. This is unedited and subject to change before the book comes out: 

"You can’t keep rejecting the fact that something could happen to me. I’m in Dravin’s compound, unconscious, while some man runs tests on my blood. Everyone that has the capability to come rescue me is injured. Dravin thought of everything!"

“There’s always a way, Ryanne. You just have to believe.”

“You can be the optimist, Liam. I’m going to be realistic.”

“Don’t give up just yet,” Liam says as he hugs me to him. “The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you, the dawn is coming.”

I rest my head against his chest. “The Dark Knight.”

So, there's that. Speculate all you want on what is going on, just be warned that I'm not going to give any details! I'm kind of mean like that :)

I know you all hate me right now for the cliffhanger at the end of SS. Keep in mind that if this was a traditionally published book, there would be about a years length between each book instead of a few months. I'm trying my best to get this book out before I go back to school!

I finished first round edits and have sent it to a few friends to help edit, so everything is still on track. I'll keep you updated with information as I get it. 

I'm going to keep updating the blog as I'm away, so keep an eye out for some new bookish posts! Thanks for stopping by today and supporting me. Ya'll are awesome!

Yay, time for vacation!

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Writing Secret #2

2. Don't let anyone tell you you're not good enough.

If you love writing, write. It's that simple. Don't let anyone dictate what you do. If you have a passion for something, do it. Do something that you love. Don't do something to please someone else. In the long run, that won't bring you any happiness.

I didn't start writing because I wanted others to read my story and love it. I wrote BlackMoon Beginnings because I felt like I had  a story to tell. The imaginary people in my mind were basically screaming at me, so I had to write them down. It took me a long time before I told anyone that I was actually writing. Once others read it, they persuaded me to publish.

Long story short: do what you love and love what you do.

I watched this video recently and it gives a lot of really good advice for those who want to write. Actually, it can be applied to almost any occupation/hobby. Just watch it and you'll understand what I'm trying to say.

If you listen to the whispers of those around you, you won't get anywhere. If you love writing, your work will reflect that and your readers will know. Sometimes those one and two star reviews can hurt. Take it from someone who knows! Then, you get a reader who says something like this:

Review on BlackMoon Beginnings on Amazon

This review was a three star review and I think it may be my favorite review to date. Whoever wrote this, thank you so much for saying this! You have no idea how much your constructive criticism/kind words mean to me. I hope to take your advice and apply it to my writing! I want to learn and grow to become the best I can be. I realize that my writing is not as good as it can be. I can't afford an editor to fix all my mistakes, and yet people are still reading and enjoying my books. I love what I'm doing right now.

If you only take one thing from this post, let it be:

MAKE SURE YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO.

Nothing else matters as long as you love what you are doing. In the end, you'll be much happier.

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Quick Update on the Third Book in the Prophesized Series

I knew when I wrote the end of Scorching Secrets, that you all would absolutely hate it. In series, I like writing cliffhangers. It's an effective way to make you want to know more about the world...the characters, etc. I love cliffhangers when I read a book series because it has me grabbing for the next book immediately. I apologize to everyone who has been reading this series from the beginning, because I know how long the wait for the next book feels like!

I am working really hard to finish the first round of edits on book three. Something about the tone of the book wasn't working for me, so I've been rewriting certain sections. It's really bothering me. I keep reading these sections and am like:

The only bad thing is...I'm about to go on vacation, so I won't get to edit as much as I have been during that time. I'll keep my blog updated as I'm away and hopefully I can find time to edit.

This book is a little longer than the first two books in this series, so it's taking longer to edit anyway. I'm tweaking the ending of this book, so it flows a little better with the beginning of the fourth book. I'm planning to finish first round edits this week, so I can send it to a few people before my trip. I promise that I'm trying really hard to finish this book, so that no one dies of waiting. That would be a horrible way to go! 

I'll start putting some teasers out soon, but don't expect any spoilers! I'm going to remain pretty secretive about this book until it comes out. Sorry!

**I'm still trying to get the book out by the end of July or the beginning of August! 

I have to get back to editing! Have a great day and if you live in the midwest like I do, stay safe during these storms we're supposed to get tonight!

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365 days later...

I started writing BlackMoon Beginnings a year ago this month. ONE YEAR AGO. Time flies.

When I first started writing, I never thought about publishing. In fact, it was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn't want anyone else reading my work. I never thought that my writing was good enough to publish. In fact, I'm still not too sure of that fact, but that's beside the point.

The only reason why I started writing was because I couldn't find a job. I'm kind of a stubborn teenager. I didn't want to work in fast food and that seemed to be the only place willing to hire me. Since I couldn't find anywhere to work, I decided to write--to do something productive instead of sitting on the couch the entire summer. Instead, I sat in front of a computer the whole summer.

Haha, I love this gif. Writer Problems.

And thus my love for writing began.

I always enjoyed writing, but I never thought that I would be able to writing a novel! That seemed daunting. Who willingly wants to write thousands of words everyday and then reedit it later on? Well...apparently, I do.

During the course of this year, I've managed to write an entire book series with four novels, go to college and pass all my classes, publish two books, and start three others. If you would have told the eighteen year old Kaitlyn what would happen in a years time, I definitely would have laughed at you.

I read a fan email last night that brought tears to my eyes. Messages like that remind me that what I'm doing can reach out to many people. Writing can speak to so many people of different levels. It's mind boggling for me to think that you all are reading the words that I wrote. You're connecting with my characters. It's crazy, and I truly can't thank you enough.

If you've been following my blog from the beginning, I'm sure that you've seen a lot of posts like this from me, and I apologize for my repetitiveness. I just can't believe what has happened this year. You all took a chance on a book written by a teenager . I have no prior writing experience and I know that BB shows that, yet you still bought the sequel.

I'm amazed at how awesome you are and I'll never forget those that have messaged and contacted me. Your kind words mean so much to me and I hope that I can continue creating stories that you'll enjoy!

Just cause I think John Green is awesome:

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Can You Help Me?!?

First and foremost, Scorching Secrets was accepted into the Premium catalog on Smashwords, so iBook users be on the lookout for it in the iBookstore sometime within the next two weeks. I'm so sorry that it took so long to get accepted and I'm sorry you all have had to wait so long to read it. Hopefully you'll get it soon! *fingers crossed*

***

As I've been working on some edits for book three, I've been thinking about what some people have said in their reviews on BlackMoon Beginnings and Scorching Secrets. A few reviewers have said that some major things were left out and that there were plot holes. I did intentionally mention a few things once and then never mentioned it again. I want you to have an "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that" moment when you read it in next books.

I already know everything that happens in the next two books and I think that I have addressed all major things, but I want to make absolutely sure. Is there anything off the top of your heads that I should make sure to mention in the next two books? Are there any major plot holes in BB or SS? Don't mention Claire--I'm going to write a companion novella about her story. It's too complicated to put into these books. ;)

Or is there anything about the mage world or these characters that you want to know more about?

I want to make the next two books the best they can be. So if you can think of anything that I've left out of the first two books, please let me know! You can comment below or if you think of something and it's a major spoiler for someone who hasn't finished the first two books, you can email me!

I really appreciate all of your help!

**On a completely unrelated note, I broke my Kindle Fire on Monday and now I feel like my life is over. I realize that's completely dramatic, but it's still true. My poor books :(

***Again, completely unrelated, but I thought this post looked very bare. So there's an HP gif. Oh, the feels.

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Scorching Secrets and Book Three Info!

I apologize ahead of time if this post is a little confusing. I'm pretty scatterbrained right now.

First off, I just want to thank everyone who has downloaded and read Scorching Secrets. I cannot believe the response I've already gotten for this book. I wasn't expecting any of this when I published BlackMoon Beginnings and I definitely wasn't expecting this sort of response with Scorching Secrets. You all are amazing!

I know many of you hate the ending of SS, but just remember that everything happens for a reason. I'm not going to give anything away, but the third and the fourth book in this series are my favorite, so please stick with me for those! Hate me all you want, just please read the next books. Haha. :)

**Please don't spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't read the book yet!**

Secondly, if you have read Scorching Secrets, could you please rate it for me? Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Goodreads. It doesn't matter. Ratings help unknown authors like myself a lot. Also, spread the word! Anything helps. Thanks ahead of time for that!

I've already been asked by a lot of readers about the release date of the third book. I just finished editing BlackMoon Beginnings again last night and I have already uploaded a newer version. Right now, I'm just waiting for Amazon to get back to me so that I can update the cover image. I'm going to start book three edits today. However, come the middle of June, I have a three week period where I'm going to be VERY busy, so I won't get to edit much during that time.

I'm tweaking the ending of book three, but I'm aiming for a late July, early August release. I want to get this book out before I go back to school in August. I'll keep you all updated as I get further into edits and have more information to give.

To everyone that has read my books:

I'm Joey in this situation.

 

 Thank you!

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