Road To #CampNaNoWriMo : What I'm Writing!

I'm thrilled to announce that I plan to take part in Camp NaNoWriMo this July. I just finished the final chapters of my latest story, TO GRANT A DARK GIFT last weekend and now I am absolutely dying to get started with my next book, SEALED WITH A KISS. This book is very important to the Sealer Saga, as I have come to realize that it (not SEALER'S PROMISE) is actually the first book in the series. Want to know what it's about?

(This synopsis may yet be changed. This is not the final cover.)

Some Kisses Are Worth Dying For...

Chosen as a Champion, Carita of Bel Auryn thought she would spend her days fighting demons. Instead, she is drawn into the latest scheme of the Moon Goddess, Ruby: a ridiculous contest to choose the man who will have the "honor" of fathering her child. When Ruby encourages Carita to choose a competitor, she picks the man she is most drawn to--and immediately regrets it.

That man is Lucian Veradayne, the Lord of Death. He knows he must win Ruby's game at any cost. It doesn't matter that he has avoided her for over two thousand years. It doesn't matter that she hated him enough to maim their first son. And it definitely doesn't matter that he would much rather woo her endearing but brash Champion, Carita. The Soul Well, the source of all creation, has given Lucian a vision that he and Ruby must have another child. A child who will save the world.

But winning Ruby's affection and resisting Carita will prove to be the least of Lucian's problems. He and Carita are not the only ones who have been drawn into Ruby's game. Someone else wants to get close to her, and they are willing to kill to make that happen. Will Carita and Lucian be able to protect Ruby long enough for a victor to be named? And if so, will they be able to walk away from each other to ensure the Soul Well's prophecy comes true?

There are definitely things that I am really excited for as I prepare to write this. Are few of those are:

• I get to explore what Kesyl was like as a little boy.
• I get to experience how Carita and Lucian fell in love.
• I get to see how Zakariah was before he started opening up to people.
• I have a chance to (hopefully) understand Ruby better. 

There are definitely some challenges that I will be facing in writing this, though:

• I need to research how to authentically capture the voice of a little boy.
• I'm writing about a woman who is raising a son; not exactly normal NA stuff there.
• I'm working the contents of two novellas into a collective story arc. That's...interesting.
• I face the challenge of ensuring my world can be understood in this context from first time readers, since I am hoping this will be book one of my series. 

So, yeah. July is going to be insane. My goal is to write 50,000 words but I'd honestly like to finish the whole rough draft for this story. As long as I hit the word goal I'll be happy. If completing the whole thing takes me to the end of August I still wouldn't be overly upset. 

So, is anyone else doing Camp NaNoWriMo? What are you writing about? I'd love to know! 

Stacking The Shelves / What's Up This Week?

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly event hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share the books we bought, borrowed or received this week.

Well, this week has certainly been "unique". My parents went to Cuba, and I stayed here with my brother Shawn and his girlfriend Kate. On Wednesday night we went into Kingston for shopping and some dinner at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. While there I picked up these two lovelies at Target.

I've been a huge fan of the House of Night series for several years now, so picking up Revealed, the latest book in the series, was just a matter of time. Most of them I've just grabbed around town but for some reason the amount of YA in Napanee has been on the decline. So when I saw this I grabbed it purely for convenience.

I don't have the same history with Rainbow Rowell, but Fangirl has been on my radar for a while now. It seemed quite popular at this year's Blogger Meetup. As someone who is releasing her first novel next year, and someone who was both a wannabe author and rather awkward during college (University) I think I can relate to this one. I hope I love it as much as I *think* I will. :)

My Kindle also got some love:

So I finally started reading the Night Huntress series. I'm pretty sure the fact that there are two books here from it makes it pretty obvious I'm liking it quite a bit. It's by far one of the most action oriented series I've ever read with a female lead and romance. Most of the stuff I've read in the past that blends paranormal, action and romance tends to either have the heroine in a less active role, have less "action" in general, or have people freaking out that the heroine is being heroic. I wouldn't want ALL the books I read to be this way, but right now? It's refreshing.

As for Everneath, I was sold when I read the words "Underworld" and "bring her back as his queen". Um, yeah. I don't think any further explanation is needed for anyone who knows me. :D It also doesn't hurt that it was on for $2. Again, you guys know how much I love a sale. Anyone read this? I'd love your thoughts. :)

So, yeah. This was suppose to be the perfect week to get Sealer's Promise revised and ready for betas. And I'll be totally up front, people: that totally didn't happen. For most of my life I've been one of those people who can get into a total slump when the sun starts to hide itself for the majority of the day, and this year that crap hit me hard. I'm talking I slept for 10-14 hours a day hard. I had absolutely no drive. Zip. Zilch. Nada. And I was freakin' weepy to boot. Not fun.

Fortunately, a bit of retail therapy and drag-your-butt-outta-the-house therapy on the part of Kate and Shawn has me feeling much more normal. Aside from the two pretties above and the yummy food at 5 Guys, I also found the Skylanders bargain to top all Skylanders bargains:

This is Granite Crusher. He's a series 2 (Giants) figure that was exclusive to Target before there were target stores in Canada, and before Jay and I got into Skylanders. We figured we'd never get this figure because it sells for $45--$70 online. ...Until I found two at Target and bought them for retail price ($15). I even got the 2nd one for 5% off because there's some wear on the packaging. Like we care: these bad boys will get taken outta their packaging the next time Jay visits and I can't wait to see them light up. I hear they glow blue and they're one of the figures that actually looks different in-game.

It's also been a good week for music. I bought Lady Gaga's new album, Artpop, just before my parents left for their vacation and I'm quite impressed with it. More shocking is my reaction to the two CDs Kate bought. I really didn't have any intention of listening to "Wild Life" by Hedley--it wound up on my iPod by accident. But the Sealers have claimed a couple songs. (Might as well give it a listen--it was already there anyway.). As for "Pure Heroine" by Lorde we listened to it on the way to Kingston and I'm very eager to sit down with it and get more time with the music. My initial takeaway was extremely positive. Odds are high I'm going to start doing some album reviews on here (I love music.) and these will likely be among the first albums I talk about.

Something new is happening in the Coleman household this holiday season: we're doing Christmas "secret Santa" style. So with only Shawn, Jay, Merissa and my Grandma to shop for, I needed to find a way to fill the gap because I *love* Christmas shopping. I have found the solution in adding two bookish Secret Santa events to my holiday plans (thanks Mom for agreeing to help me mail the package for the Broke & Bookish one!). I've done RAK before and I'm excited about that too. I already have my Broke and Bookish person and I need to send in my response for the RAK Secret Santa because it's due Monday. But I wanted to be sure and list both of these events because I think they're really neat.

I Just Finished...

In Short: Loved.

Longer: Bones is hot and Bones and Cat together kick ass.

Want to know more? Check out my full review later this week.

If it tells you anything, I'm already 15% of the way through the next book.

What's Up Next...

Two words: That Ending!

A bit more: I had to jump right into the next one. And I plan to do that a lot more often. It's how I read before I started reviewing.

Thoughts so far: Where the hell is Bones?

And if I finish this...

Fangirl was the most popular pick from this week's What's Next post. (I tried Cinder, guys, and it wasn't for me. Rather annoying since I also have Scarlet.)

I wanted this book enough that I bought it in print. Lets not have it sit for a year like oh, say, Prodigy and Unravel Me. (Sorry, books! I will get to you!)

I really hope this is good. I am not in a patient and 'forgiving' mood toward books that don't grab me right now. Fortunately, I did love the sample.

I haven't been focusing well on the task of writing. Which is one of the reasons that I am focusing so much on blogging and reading. It's clear to me that my brain needs to untangle the two yarns I'm working on--editing / revising Sealer's Promise, and outlining / planning Sealed With A Kiss. (No, we're not going to talk about how I blew NaNoWriMo. I wrote 60k of my Sealer's Promise rewrite in August.)

I really, really hate to say this but I may end up having to delay the Sealer's Promise launch. Why? Because (1) It's not ready for betas yet. And (2) I'm not a soulless yeti who would try and get people to beta my work while they're trying to get ready for Christmas. They're doing *me* a favor. Meaning that as it stands SP won't be with betas until at least January (I am finally starting to get some energy back, thank goodness.) and I probably won't get it back from them until February. (If I do great, but I'm not one to expect things.) I set up the date I did to get myself to write a draft I was really freaked out about writing and that worked. But ultimately the most important thing for me, as a (future) author, is making sure that I release the absolute best book I can. I owe it to myself, my readers and my characters.

I think the time away has done some good. I understand a few things both inside this book and inside the overall Sealer Saga that I didn't a few weeks ago. While it might be frustrating now, I believe that it will pay off in the end.

So, did you get any fabulous bookish goodies this week? Did anything exciting happen? Feel free to link me to your Stacking the Shelves / In My Mailbox / Book Haul, or whatever you're calling it so I can find out. :) Have a great day!

NaNoWriMo 2014: What I'm Writing!

Yeah, I know: as if I'm not busy enough. :D But I can't help it! For years I've wanted to take part in National Novel Writing Month, but something--life, health, etc.--has always come up. Not so this year. *knocks on wood* This year I'm finally going to do it.

So, what's my project? Glad you asked!

In her first Sealer Saga anthology, SEALED WITH A KISS, Kathy Coleman tells the story of Lucian Veradayne, Lord of the Underworld.

BY DARKNESS DECEIVED...

For centuries one thing alone has eluded Ruby Grendell, Goddess of the Moon: to have a child of her own, to raise as she sees fit. Her consort, the Sun Lord Darius, has denied her this each time she has questioned him about it. And now she has discovered his mortal lover...and their son.

Two can play at that game. Ruby decides to host a contest among her followers. The man who proves himself most worthy will have the honor of fathering her child. But when Lucian, Lord of the Undrerworld, disguises himself and ends up in her bed, Ruby will stop at nothing to seek vengeance on the man who wronged her a thousand years ago. Even if it means destroying the very being she sought to create.

TO WED A DARK LORD...

Carita Veradayne has been given an unthinkable task. She must murder the infant son of her Goddess. But while Lucian fought to win Ruby's heart, Carita unwittingly gave him hers. Unable to kill her only surviving link to him, she returns to the Moon Temple with the baby and begins to raise him in secret. She knows she will not be able to hide him forever. And that when Ruby discovers this betrayal, her wrath will be severe.

Lucian has spent ten years searching for his son. When he finds the boy standing over Carita's body and calling her "mother" he offers to grant her immortality--if she agrees to become his Queen. But Lucian's heart is shattered and he has no desire to repair it or have it broken again. Will Carita find a way to win his love or has she sentenced herself to an eternity of solitude?

I am so hyped to start work on this! Since I'm working on outline and characters and this book is totally on my mind right now, I thought I'd share five facts about it with you guys.

1. Yes, this was inspired by Hades and Persephone. 

I was really happy to see people on the NaNoWriMo forums catch on to this. :D There are a lot of differences between my work and the actual myth, but a lot of my Sealer Saga stuff references, borrows from or alludes to different stories within several mythologies. Kesyl and Sarena's story didn't have a specific myth tied to it, but SEALED WITH A KISS is a nod to Hades and Persephone, while SEALER'S QUERST (which I should be writing next) has its roots in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. 

2. Readers will get to explore New Haven, the capital of the Underworld.

I work very hard in this series to integrate my divine realms (The Underworld and the Sky Realm) in with my two living realms (Earth and Zynedia). We got a few scenes from The Underworld in SEALER'S PROMISE, but I'm really excited to expand on that further in this anthology. We'll also get to see Carita and Kesyl's reactions to Earth, and the reader will get to see Zynedia before it's destruction since this is a prequel. 

3. Readers will get to witness the birth of a Hell Hound puppy! 

From artists to betas, facebook fanpage members to people on twitter, people seem to love the mini hell hounds. :D And who can blame them--they're cute! (And I totally credit Katling on Facebook for them--it never occurred to me to do them this way when I commissioned her for this art.) We got a couple scenes with the minis in SEALER'S PROMISE, but in SEALED WITH A KISS readers will get to witness the birth of Cujo! (Can you see glimpses of Zakariah's sense of humor in this? :D I figure a deity who can inflict people with fear would HAVE to love / respect Stephen King's books.) 

4. Readers will get to witness Kesyl's first trip to Earth and see the first time he encountered a car. (Something referenced in Sealer's Promise)

When I initially planned out a few novellas to go between the main four Sealer Saga novels the decision was inspired by my friend Robert Bevan's Caverns and Creatures mini-adventures. I'm so glad I ended up planning these (and that I eventually listened and did the re-write for SEALER'S PROMISE before releasing any of them.) The ideas for the novellas have added richness to my plans for the books, and as I work on the books they add things I want to explore to the novellas. It's totally win-win. One of the most crucial scenes in my NaNoWriMo project is inspired from something Kesyl tells Sarena about while they are at the Sterling Community Theater. I love getting to see Kesyl as a little boy (he's so freaking cute!) and showing how much he has grown as a character (by showing where he came from) will be an interesting writing challenge. 

5. Readers will get to see how Zakariah deals with the idea of a "new mom" and a baby brother. 

Writing the family dynamics for the Veradaynes is one of the toughest challenges I will face this November. I'm NOT from any form of a blended family; my home is about as 'nuclear' as you can get. I've had lots of close friends who come from a wide variety of backgrounds, though, and I'm hoping that will be helpful in not botching this up. There's also the fact that the Veradaynes are Sealers (basically Gods / Immortals), which can be a blessing and a curse when writing them. I want them to seem as zanny as the characters from the Greek and Norse myths I love, but I also strive to have them deal with character issues that feel real to today's world--not our world the way it was centuries ago. 

Zakariah is a 1,000 year old Sealer who has never lived. He's kind of a sand in for, say, an 18 year old brother who is looking after a baby sibling. I like this about him. It means I can make him responsible, but I can also make him emotional and have him make mistakes. This story takes place before SEALER'S PROMISE and part of my goal is to show how far Zakariah has come from here to where he is in that book. Zakariah, as a character, is pretty close to my heart. He has kind of evolved with each of my three drafts of SEALER'S PROMISE, getting (I hope!) better with each one. Getting to explore him further is something I'm really looking forward to. 

Are YOU writing something this year for NaNoWriMo? Feel free to link me to a post about it, or to it's page on the NaNoWriMo website. Good luck!