Blackfin Sky Book Trailer

If you know me on twitter at all you know I'm a big fan of Kat Ellis and privileged to be her friend and CP. I'm excited to show you the book trailer for the UK edition of Blackfin Sky! My copy shipped from Book Depository today, can't wait for it to get here!! The cover is GORGEOUS. Check it all out:

Happy New Year 2014

In 2012 I learned how to quit over-planning and write. In 2013 I learned how to write more skillfully than I ever have before. In 2014 I am sending my CPs a full MS. I don't know what will happen from there, but this is the year for that. No question in my mind.

Time management is going to bow before my willpower. I've bought a 2014 daily planner/diary to hold myself accountable for how I spend my time.

Sh*t's getting done in 2014, people. :)

My "Santa Clash" steampunk short story

I was invited by the lovely Chynna Blue to participate in Santa Clash, a fun short story series where authors write a Christmas-themed short story in a genre they've never written before. I was assigned the genre steampunk. After picking my steampunk-liking husband's brain and recalling a steampunk written by my CP Jani Grey I came up with this short, My Brother's Christmas Wedding. Hope you enjoy.

Nature tracks for writing

For a while now I've been listening to a few nature tracks while I write. Sometimes I can't listen to music while I write but I don't like silence either (usually because it ends up not so silent in this apartment) so a track of the ocean or a thunderstorm is a great alternative. It also helps get me in a writing mood. I love writing while it's raining. Yesterday I discovered this awesome website where you can actually mix your own nature tracks using the site's library of sounds. So far I've made nine. Here they are:

Cricket River Campfire - It's a clear summer evening and you're writing or reading beside the campfire to the tune of the cricket's chirping.

Evergreen Falls - Somewhere in the Pacific Northwest you sit among the evergreens writing to the sounds of a river and its falls.

A Spring Storm - It's stormy spring evening and you write with the window open to the chorus of spring peepers.

Stormy Cabin Hearth - You're fireside in a cozy little cabin, reading or writing through the rain and thunder.

Snowy Cabin Hearth - You're in a cozy little cabin, writing or reading by the fire while the snow flurries outside the window.

Rainstorm Chimes - The rain is pouring outside. The wind makes the  windchimes sing while you write.

Seaside Cabin - Writing on the porch of your seaside cabin listening to the wind in the chimes and the seagulls call.

Seaside Bonfire - Quiet evening on the beach writing by the bonfire.

Simple Rainy Day - No-frills rainy day to help your writing concentration.



What do you think? Do you like writing to nature tracks? Did you try out making your own? :)

The Zombie Project

Today my short story went live for The Zombie Project, a chain of short stories put together by Chynna-Blue Scott. The rule of the project is that each story must take an element from the story directly preceding it. Many stories take elements from others as well.

#1. No Place For Strangers by Bobby Salomons

#2. Someone Knows Something by Jessie Devine

#3. Into The Maelstrom by Benjamin Gumbrell

#4. Rezerection by J.C. Michael (Explicit Violent Sexual Content/Trigger Warning)

#5. Two Red Flags and Three Black Bags by Bridget Shepherd (me)

#6. The Manhattan Marauders by Carey Torgensen

#7. Red and Dead by Ruth Shedwick

#8. Thinking Big by Julie Hutchings

#9. The Light by Jolene Haley

#10. Craving by Louise Gornall

#11. Firebreak by Cassandra Page

#12. One Girl One Shot by Kristen Jett

#13. Jerusalem's Peak by Chynna-Blue Scott

#14. Manic Missions by Jani Grey

#15. Hickory Dickory Dead by Kat Ellis

#16. Code Words by Leah Rhyne

#17. The Library At The End Of The World by Lauren Spieller

#18. The Halloween Virus by J. C. Gregorio

[I have updated this post will all known Zombie Project installments for your perusal.]

Funds for Feaky

I'm sure you all reading this have heard of the flooding going on in the Calgary area right now. One of the writers in our wonderful twitter writer community, Tamara Mataya, has been effected by this flooding and her CP Jessa Russo has put together an array of auctions to help Tamara and her family cope with this difficult situation. Check out Jessa's website to see all of the listings.

You can bid here to win an anime-style character portrait by yours truly.

You can also bid here to win a FULL MS crit from the infamous beta Marieke Nijkamp.

And you can bid here to win a three chapter crit from my idol and BFF the brilliant Kat Ellis.

This writing community is welcoming, friendly, supportive, fun, sexy, smart, and I am so proud of everyone who is willing to reach out a helping hand to one of us in a time of need.

Interview on DiversifYA

Today my interview went up on DiversifYA. You can go check it out here. Be sure to check out the other interviews too. There are ones about sexual identity, racial/ethnic identity, living with mental illness and living with disabilities. Their hope is that by showing many different perspectives, YA authors will muster the courage to include more diverse characters in their YA novels. A worthy effort indeed. :)