I’m not sure how many of you are still following this or are keeping an eye on my books, but I finally have an update. I’ve been working on other projects for a while and am finally ready to return to Illaria. I’ll have more information on my other projects and information about the Illaria series updates and new book by early 2023. Hang on a little longer. I think you’re going to be pleased with what’s coming!
XOXO,
Dyan
This is an unedited draft of chapter 1 – it might change before publication after edits, but I wanted to share my work in progress with you. I hope you enjoy!
I’m so excited for this book! Less than a month to release day! Court of Secrets is a Reverse Harem Fantasy – it’s different from anything I’ve done before – but if you like fantasy, romance, political intrigue, and a story where the heroine doesn’t have to make a choice between the four sexy princes, this is the book for you! Keep reading to get a preview of the first two chapters of the book. (more…)
Sayge Blessed is currently in the editing stage and will be released on November 13th. If you’re ready to catch an un-edited sneak-peek of chapter one, keep reading. This chapter contains spoilers. If you have not yet read Fae Cursed, you won’t want to read this. It’s not quite the final version of this chapter, but it gives you a peek at where my first chapter starts out. Click “more” below to read the first draft of chapter one. Enjoy!
It has a cover! It has a title! Book 2 of the Illaria Series has officially launched for pre-order! It will be released on May 30, 2017 and I am so excited to share the next book in the saga with you all. This book has been the most difficult one for me to write so far and I’m very excited that it’s in the final editing stages. Then, I get to tackle book 3 – but that’s another post.
I’m celebrating with a few giveaways – check out TeacherofYA’s Book Blog for details!
First, I want to start this post by saying thank you to those who have been supportive. It is crazy hard to put your work out there in the world for all to see and all to judge. For those of you are going along on this ride with me, thank you for believing in me and believing in Illaria.
On to book 2 – I wrote the second book in the Illaria series in the four months following the completion of the first book. I even got to finish during NaNoWriMo (I know, I cheated a bit and continued work on a work in progress instead of starting something new…but I guess I’m a bit of a rebel that way).
After finishing that beast of a book (105,000 words!) I started to work on a short story for in between the books for fun. The story was written from Max’s perspective and was supposed to be a short story. It grew. Sadly, the Max portion has now been cut, but what came from that story evolved into a new book 2, making the original book 2 into book 3. Still with me?
When I stopped typing at the coffee shop I was writing in on Thursday night and realized I was finished, I was wrapping up book 2 with book 3 already written. Both books are shorter now, some of the original book 2 found its way into the new book 2. And they are both ready for editing! I’ve got a deadline with my editor for this week – yikes! My cover artist is also scheduled for this week to start working on the cover! Can you believe it?
If all goes according to schedule, and I can limit my sleep, I’m hoping to be able to share book 2 with all of you by the end of March. Stay tuned for updates on pre-orders and all that fun stuff.
Happy New Year!
A new year is a good time to evaluate your current goals and set new ones. I tend to think of the year as beginning in August since I am a teacher, but I’m a big fan of goal setting so when it comes to setting goals for 2017, I’m in.
So welcome, 2017, it’s going to be an amazing year! This year, my focus is on my writing. Last year, I took the leap and started telling people that I was spending free time working on writing projects. I’d kept that a secret for years, afraid that I wasn’t good enough. That I wasn’t a “real” writer. By sharing what I was doing with my family and friends, I started to view myself as a writer. I joined a critique group in April and started sharing what I wrote with strangers. Those strangers are now my friends and they have supported me through finishing two manuscripts. As somebody with a hard drive full of abandoned work, that was a huge accomplishment.
This year is going to be an even more amazing writing year for me. I am publishing my first book in a few weeks and working on a third manuscript. By the end of the school year, I will have the first three books in my first series written – and published.
To help reach all of my goals this year, I set deadlines for myself. As an indie author, I don’t have deadlines unless I create them. To accomplish what I want to, I need deadlines. I printed out blank calendars (Google Calendars are pretty great) and spread them out on a table. I then added deadlines for first, second, and third drafts for the books I plan to write in the next six months. I even added in when I’ll need to schedule in my editor. She’ll be getting an e-mail from me this week to set up the dates. That gives me an extra push on my deadlines as she’ll be expecting me. My covers are already booked with my designer. So it’s all on me now to write the words.
With a full time job and a family, it is a challenge to find time for everything. Something has to give. For me, it’s TV and long distance runs. I intend to get back into running but I won’t train for anything longer than a 10k. I just don’t have the time.
So where do the half-million words come in? To accomplish everything on my list, I have to write. A lot. I’ve set a goal of writing a minimum of 10,000 words each week. On good weeks, I hope to hit closer to 15,000 words. The 10,000 mark is the “you can’t go to sleep until you reach that word count” goal. That is about 5-6 hours of writing time per week – I can do that. I encourage you to set a goal that is just a little out of reach. Something that feels attainable but pushes you outside your comfort zone to reach it.
And, here’s where I apologize in advance to my husband. I foresee a lot of evenings where I’m attached to my keyboard ahead this year. Thank goodness he’s a fan of my work. Find what works for you and make it happen. Happy 2017!
Do you have writing related goals for 2017? I’d love to hear them!
I’m getting ready to launch my first book and am looking for a few people who would be willing to read it and post a review on Amazon. Below is a description of my book. If it sounds like something that you’d like to read, I’d love to have you on my team!
As long as I can remember, I’ve been taught to fear the Necromancer King. He controls the kingdom of Illaria with dark sorcery and the constant threat of his undead army. I never thought I’d have reason to cross his path. Everything changed the day his guards tried to kill me. That’s when I found out my whole life has been a lie. By joining a resistance group called the White Ravens, I’ve claimed new roles. Princess of Illaria, sorceress in training, and threat to the Necromancer King.
If you are interested in joining my Advanced Review Copy (ARC) team and getting first dibs on my books, please fill out this form.
Launching a book is a big deal. Launching your first book is a bit terrifying. After lots of soul searching and research, I decided publishing independently was the best route for me. That means, I’m in control of all of the aspects of launching my book. From editing, to hiring a cover artist, to formatting, to getting the book out on the platforms I plan to sell on. It’s a long process – and it’s been a learning experience.
So far, I have completed the editing stage and the cover design stage. Next up, formatting so the book will be ready to upload. It’s getting closer and I couldn’t be more excited!
I haven’t set an exact date yet – which is one of the many perks of publishing independently – but it will be out in January.
It’s finally time to share the cover for my first novel, The Heir of Illaria. I am so excited to be sharing this. This is for the first book in the series and it will be published on Amazon in January. I’ll share the official release date very soon!
dyanchick.com 