New Release in the Final Formula Series

Posted by on Feb 9, 2015 in My Books | 10 comments

Release Day!  (Okay, it’s more like Release Night for me.)  The Alchemist’s Flame, book 3 in my Final Formula Series, has been uploaded in all the usual places.  It’s already live on Smashwords and Amazon, but look for it to show up everywhere in the next few days. (I hope.) Also, I have a special release week sale.  For the rest of the week, The Alchemist’s Flame will be only $2.99!  Don’t miss out.  After this weekend, it goes up to its regular price of $4.99. If you would like to read the first three chapters, you can find it here: The Alchemist’s Flame Excerpt. Thanks for giving my books a try.  I hope you enjoy this new installment!   Update – The new book is now available on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and...

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The Alchemist’s Flame

Posted by on Jan 30, 2015 in My Books | 7 comments

Cover Reveal and Excerpt It’s time for another cover reveal! Here is the blurb and cover for the third full-length novel in the Final Formula Series… Now that the local hospital is using her burn salve, master alchemist Addie Daulton has become a celebrity. The positive press will go a long way in helping her redeem alchemy’s reputation, but Addie wishes the media would stop calling her the Flame Lord’s alchemist. She doesn’t need his sanction to validate her skills. Besides, having the name of the city’s premier Element tied to hers makes it hard to carry out her clandestine activities—like spying on the leader of the necromancer community. If she’s not careful, she could kick off a war between Old Magic and New. The risk proves worth it when she discovers that her former colleague and current nemesis, Neil Dunstan, is working with the Deacon himself. If that wasn’t bad enough, she learns that Neil has resurrected a grim and made it his own. A grim that once destroyed a family of Elements. And this month, every Element in the world is gathering right here in Cincinnati. With the date of the gathering fast approaching, Addie must figure out what Neil plans to do and stop him, or Old Magic will win the war before it even begins. Read the first three chapters here: The Alchemist’s Flame...

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Title Reveal and Sale

Posted by on Jan 16, 2015 in My Books | 10 comments

The wait is nearly over.  FF3 will be released soon.  I don’t have a date yet, but the book is currently with my editor, Shelley Holloway, and cover artist, Streetlight Graphics.  So it won’t be long now! The title of this new story is…  The Alchemist’s Flame. I’ll post again when I have a date and/or a cover to reveal.  Meanwhile, I have a sale going on. If you’ve fallen behind on The Final Formula story, now is your chance to catch up.  For a limited time, the last title in the series, The Necromancer’s Betrayal, is on sale for just $0.99–a savings of $2.  I should mention that in story time, The Alchemist’s Flame starts just a few hours after The Necromancer’s Betrayal ends. I’ve taken a different approach to The Final Formula series by alternating between novels in Addie’s POV and novellas in James’s POV.  James has a story to tell, and it will have a big impact on the overall series.  I know some folks aren’t fans of shorter works, so I try to bring readers up to speed in the beginning of each novel.  But I think it’s much more fun to watch the story unfold, then to be told what happened.  Just saying.  😉 Look for the novellas to get longer as the series progresses (The Necromancer’s Betrayal is twice as long as The Element of Death).  I hope you enjoy this slightly different approach to publishing a series.  Another perk of alternating shorter works with longer works is that I can release something new more frequently.  At least, that’s the plan. The Necromancer’s Betrayal is available at: Amazon | Smashwords |Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple Note – I have dropped the price on all retailers, but some are slower than others to update.  If your favorite retailer hasn’t changed the price, please check back later.  Some sites can take as long as 72 hours to make changes. Thanks for...

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The End – Finally

Posted by on Dec 27, 2014 in My Books, Writing | 8 comments

The end. I love writing those two words.  Finishing that first draft is one of the best feelings in the world, in my opinion.  It doesn’t matter how crappy it is, or how much editing it will take to make it readable.  I made it to the end—an accomplishment that frequently seems impossible from mid book. Last week, I got to write those two words again.  Yes, I finally finished FF3.  It’s off with beta readers now.  I’m afraid I won’t make a December release date as I was hoping, but it goes for editing in early January, and cover art mid-month, so it shouldn’t be too much longer. It frustrates me to no end that I can’t write faster.  Yes, I do have a day job and a family to take care of, but four months seems like a long time to write a first draft.  My writer friends assure me that the process gets, if not easier, at least more reliable the more you do it.  And though I’ve been writing for decades, I’ve only been taking it seriously for the last year. Back in September, I wrote a blog post about improving my method.  I decided to give outlining on honest try.  It certainly helped, but I’m a long way from mastering that technique.  Even if I don’t turn out to be the sort of writer who plots every scene ahead of time, I do think it’s incredibly helpful to have some kind of roadmap before I begin.  So, I’ll keep trying to find the method that works for me. Thanks for your patience as I find my way.  Hopefully, the next book will come together...

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Making My First Book Trailer

Posted by on Oct 2, 2014 in Fun Stuff, My Books | 3 comments

I’ve wanted to make a book trailer for a while now, so for The Final Formula’s first birthday (publication birthday), I decided to give it a go. I ended up having a lot of fun with this project, but there was a learning curve. When I started, I knew nothing about trailer making–or any kind of video editing. After studying some of the other trailers out there, I wrote a short script, then went in search of the imagery.  I dug through loads of stock photos and footage–what a time sink that was–and finally found some things I could work with. I wasn’t familiar with any movie making software, so I decided to use what came free with my computer. I highly recommend iMovie to anyone just starting out.  It was easy to use and gave the final product a, dare I say, professional appearance. I love visual media and wish I was more handy with such things. One of these days, I need to learn to use Photoshop. I’ve been into digital scrapbooking for years, but the software I use for that is a bit limiting. I think it would be a blast to make book covers, but that’s a project for another day. Meanwhile, I have a novel to write.  😉 So without further ado, here’s my trailer.  Hope you like it!  ...

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The Necromancer’s Betrayal – Cover Reveal

Posted by on Jul 25, 2014 in My Books | 6 comments

And here it is, the cover reveal for FF 2.5, The Necromancer’s Betrayal.  This is another novella featuring James, but unlike The Element of Death, he’s not the only one telling the story.  James shares the spotlight with a new character, and yes, that’s her on the cover. This story takes place about a month and a half after The Blood Alchemist ended.  James has gone off to college, but the poor guy just can’t seem to stay out of trouble.  And this time, he found it without Addie’s help.  😉 The Necromancer’s Betrayal is over twice the length of The Element of Death.  (That’s half the length of one of my novels–in case you’re keeping score at home).  I don’t have an exact release date this time, but it goes to the formatter this coming week. So it won’t be long. I’ll be posting the blurb and an excerpt of the first few chapters on my books page later this week.  In the meantime, I’ve posted a couple of snippets over on my Facebook page if you haven’t had a chance to check those out.  Thanks for following along.  I hope you enjoy this one!...

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