October Writing Update

 

I haven't done a writing update in so long, I forgot what the icon looked like, and I made it! The 3rd Wednesdays are typically set aside for this, and I really can't say when it was that I last wrote. I think it's because what I've written is 1) not in the right place in the story or 2) not the right path for the story. The former is easier to fix than the latter. I do know I put a scene in earlier than I wanted, so my block might be telling me that I was right to hold on to it longer. So, we'll see what happens.

The National Black Book Festival starts Friday, and it will be streamed live for free on Facebook! My team gets interviewed Saturday afternoon. This is a really long convention, so I hope I get enough sleep. I don't plan on viewing all the sessions, though, so if I happen to fall asleep, then as long as it's not during my slot, I should be okay.

I have paperbacks at the house that I need to figure out where to sell them. I have a couple of spots I can do it, so I just need to reach out and hopefully get some new readers. We'll see.

NaNoWriMo is two weeks away! I still don't know if I'm going to do it this year. If I do, I will definitely be working on this sequel! I have so many ideas for it and just need to put them in the right places. Wish me luck!

September Review

 

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Oh, look, an on-time post!

September is almost over, and I can barely remember much of it! The WCP Edition of Fractured Princess is out now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and apparently where else books are sold! I have had 5 more interviews, 4 of which are live:

• Leaders & Learners podcast interview

• “Dover Fantasy Author Shattering Expectations”

• “Q&A with Debra Reneé Byrd: Fractured Princess

• The Word with Ty Brownlow

I've also been looking at my NA Fantasy. Probably more excited about that than ever. I still have a ways to go in the Shattered Chronicles, though, so I'm going to be patient. I plan to start an A-to-Z Series on Instagram discussing the Final Fantasy tropes I use in the Shattered Chronicles, so if you haven't followed me there yet, my IG link is to the right over there. I have nearly daily content there, mostly related to FP right now, but also some other fun stuff.

Being back in the office all 5 days is a bit nerve-wracking. A lot of people still don't believe the masks work, and having had to cover the front desk because of an outbreak in the office this past year, I wish they would shut up about it. Children are dying now. Someone has to care. Fortunately, I have an actual office, so I don't have to interact with too many people. I've also been keeping busy with an archiving project, so I'm super tired when I get home. I'll never get used to waking up before 7am. My mind doesn't work until about 9.

Speaking of work, I also started a gig on Fiverr for proofreading. Hopefully that takes off and can help me with some bills. I love to proofread, and I'd love to do work that I love. That's a lot of love. I'm also hoping this book takes off, but I know how publishing works.

 Anyway, wish me luck!

Fractured Princess (WCP Edition) Paperback Release Day!

 

I will catch up on all the missed Wednesday posts next week, but today marks the Paperback release of the new edition of Fractured Princess, available wherever books are sold! Visit my Facebook or Instagram pages to view live readings I did following the Kindle release. I plan to do a Q&A as well that may be up by the time this post goes live. We'll see.

I realized I didn't post the premise on the Kindle release post (I guess because I've posted it here so many times already), so here is the blurb!

Jonnie is the last princess of the Crystal Bearers, once a powerful people. When she was a baby, the metal army destroyed what was left of them, and now it is hunting her. Her watchmen keep her just out of the metal army’s reach, but she has spent her seventeen years running and hiding. Instead of standing by while her watchmen keep risking their lives for her, she decides to learn how to fight alongside them.

On the journey to hone her skills, long hidden secrets about her people reveal a connection between the Crystal Bearers and the metal army that only fuels Jonnie's will to defeat it. But the more she learns about her own powers, the more she realizes she may be responsible for the metal army – and the destruction of her people.

August Review - What A Month!

 

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This month has certainly been a whirlwind. There was a lot of stress leading up to Comic-Con, so once I realized what I had to work with and do to make my experience the best it could be, things turned out fine. I left the extension cord I had bought just that morning, and as I'm typing this I remember that I work with the people who collect all of the electrical equipment, so let me call them to see if they have it! If they do, that'll be one less stressor from that day. (They didn't have it. Ah well.)

My interview with Sand & Shores was moved to this Friday, so I will let you all know when that goes live. I had a great interview with @ShanGeeReads on Instagram Monday. It's funny how my very first interview I was so nervous that I coughed through most of it. I was scared that would happen Monday, but I made it! I have a radio interview with WDDE 91.1FM tomorrow. I'm excited about that. I've never been on radio! This is a very busy week for me! I was actually asked to fill in as an author last night on a book slam on Clubhouse, but I had physical therapy and two choir rehearsals, so I couldn't. I didn't even know Clubhouse had made it to Samsung, though, so maybe another Tuesday!

All things considered, this month has flown by! I'm semi-actively on a job hunt. We transitioned back to the office 3 days a week in July, and we'll be back to all 5 in September, and I just don't want to do that. I can't turn back time and do more writing-specific jobs, so I need to figure out how to transition to them from office-work. Also, I loved working from home. It's just so much more flexible, and a big saver on this $3+/gallon gas. I was also able to fit in other things, like waking up when my body is actually ready to wake up and exercising on my lunch breaks. If I can find a job where I'm not someone's secretary and where I can stay home and work, that would be ideal. But also, who knows where these books are going to take me?

How was your month?

Fractured Princess (WCP Edition) Kindle Release Day!

 

Once again, the release date for Fractured Princess has arrived! It is currently available for purchase in Kindle format. The paperback will be released September 14th.

Last Thursday, my interview with Blerd Senpai went live. It was fun, and I love his podcast. This Friday, I have another interview with Sand & Shores, who are doing a series for authors of fiction. I'll let you all know when that is live.

Dover Comic-Con was a blast! Unfortunately, all of my books didn't arrive in time, but I was able to sell what I had and get the word out about the release dates. A lot of people stopped by my tent (which was only at half mast for the first two hours. I didn't know how to erect it all the way, so one of my friends came and helped me), and I had a couple of people give me their information so I can come to community events or talk to their students. That's exciting. The rest of my books came Monday night, but I have a book club that's been waiting for the new book for over a year now, so I'm excited to get it to them.

I hope some of you grab it and that you like it! I'm excited about the update, and the good news is I've already finished the next two parts (the plus side to the publisher releasing books at a specific word count), so there won't be a super long wait for the sequel.

Here's to what's to come!

1 Week Away From Dover Comic-Con! And the COVER REVEAL!

 It's a rare Saturday post because I received the new cover of FP, and I have to share it! But first, I am one week away from first Dover Comic-Con as an AUTHOR!

I'm so excited! I'll be next to a big comic book tent, so hopefully I'll generate some interest as people pass me on the way. I'm most worried about being out in the heat for 8 hours, but hopefully it will be a nice day. My new bookmarks and business cards were delivered today. I'm just waiting on the canvas, which I was able to update with the new cover. Hopefully it processes and gets here on the 11th like the e-mail says. I wasn't expecting the first shipment this early, so here's hoping.

This is the design I had for this new cover. I love Paint 3D. I sent a design like this to the first cover artist, and that's how I got that gorgeous 3-Jonnie photo for the self-publication. I don't think I actually sent this to the new artist, but I might have. I did tell the art director that I wanted the shattered glass effect.

And so without further ado....

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The new cover for the 2nd Edition of FRACTURED PRINCESS

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A whole new Jonnie! I'm very happy with it, especially the cover scheme, which surprisingly matches the first cover. I love the banded glove on her right hand, and this is actually the first time *I* get to see the crystal in Jonnie's hand. Can you believe I never drew it before needing the new cover?? I don't know how I managed that. I always drew her with her hands covered.

Anyway, I'm very excited. August 18th is going to be here faster than I expect! I have a couple of interviews coming up this month, so I will share them when they're published.

Have a great weekend!

July Review - Road to Release

 

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Whoo, things are moving so fast!

First off, I had the best vacation with my friends. I'm the only Summer birthday between the local ones, so sometimes that means I automatically get a beach vacation for it. We went to Ocean City, Maryland, and went to the beach on our three full days, partied, went to Jolly Roger. Word of advice: don't eat heavy BBQ and then get on a roller coaster, then get on a whirly ride. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was nauseated. Still had a blast. My girl friends also threw me a surprise Beychella-style photoshoot, and there's nothing funnier than hearing your friends whispering outside of your hotel room trying to be quiet just so they can burst into the room. But I love my Queen Bee hoodie.

Secondly, the book release is three weeks away! I have a couple of interviews in preparation for scheduling, and I may be doing a Twitch stream the day before the convention. I met my publicist yesterday. I have a PUBLICIST. Oh, my God. When I say everything happening right now is a dream come true, it's a total dream come true. I'm excited, nervous, super anxious, feeling fight-or-flighty, but I'm here. Dover Comic-Con is two-and-a-half weeks away now. It will be my first convention as an author, and I'm ready. I need to get a table, hopefully from my church, but I'm ready. I hope to reveal the new cover for my normal Wednesday Words post; I just need all the titles on put in place. It's so pretty. I can't wait for everyone to see it. Of course, that means I'll have to change the layout of the blog, which I'll probably do this weekend. One thing I didn't realize until my director asked yesterday was I don't have ARCs yet. There's still time, but here's to fast readers! I also hope to make more bookmarks for Comic-Con like I did for the self-published release party. I need to get that done this weekend.

I'm increasing activity on my Instagram as I get closer to August 18th. Speaking of, I will also be more active on my Twitter account. I had a personal account, so I was splitting my time between the two. On Twitter, it's time consuming and unnecessary, so I deleted my personal account in order to build up the presence for my author account. May my personal account rest in peace. I had so many random celebrities like my tweets; I will miss that for sure.

Anyway, I have so much to do! *screaming* Wish me luck!

FRACTURED PRINCESS RELEASE DATE (June Writing Update & Monthly Review)

Happy Wednesday!

I took a week off because I had a meeting with my publisher last Thursday, so I wanted to wait until I had news to share! I'm very excited, so here we go!

You will notice a release date has been added to my website description! The traditional release of FRACTURED PRINCESS will be August 18th! I'm so excited. I can't say enough how I wished a publisher would find my book in the Amazon piles but didn't think it would actually happen. And now, two years after I self-published FP, the dream is coming true. I will hopefully have a cover by the next Writing Update post. They're working on it now. I've already seen a preliminary image, and to see Jonnie illustrated again is so wonderfully weird. I love how talented artists are.

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On another note, my schedule will be changing again. This 18 months has been a bit of an eye-opener on a lot of things, and while I'm so grateful for the outlet I've had a chance to be a part of for the past 9 years, I have decided to stop participating in the Insecure Writer's Support Group. I had left the Facebook group in January, and I was trying to hold out, but I'll just say safe spaces are real and necessary, especially for black writers. I don't have the luxury of ignoring certain issues, and I can no longer remain in spaces that do.

So what that means for the 1st Wednesday of the month, I have some options. I might push my posts up and take a break the last Wednesday. This month, I have Quarterly Goals, and I already took a break last week! I already know there won't be a post on July 21st because I will be on my birthday vacation (update: I scheduled a post hahaha), but as I already said, August 18th is FP's release date, so I need to post something! I'll figure it out.

So that said, I will see you all next Wednesday for my Quarterly Goals!

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Backdraft

 

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

And welcome to another installment of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, where we can throw our cares to the wind and talk about writing with a bunch of other writers. Please join us by following our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh and signing up at the official Insecure Writer's Support Group website.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of finally getting to meet Wahida Clark, the Queen of Street Lit, to discuss plans for my new release date. She is so sweet, and I can't wait to continue this journey with SFF/For the Culture. More news will be coming, probably by the next IWSG post! There are 5 Wednesdays this month, though, so it might be sooner than that. =D

This month's question is about our writing process, hence the silly addition to this post's title: For how long do you shelve our first draft before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?

Once I hit The End, from advice of other writers, I don't touch the book for about a month. The entire time I'm writing, I'm editing as well, which is a bad habit, but I'm a proofreader/editor by nature, so I don't try not to do it anymore, unless I'm doing NaNoWriMo. You need to breathe after you finish that first draft, because if you go right back into it after finishing, your eyes won't be fresh enough. Go to a new story, or even just do something else for the month. Just don't tempt yourself with the one you just finished!

May Review - Road to Re-Release

 

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It is the LAST Wednesday of May, and I can't believe it. We are almost halfway through 2021. I hope everyone is doing well, has been healthy, and has been able to get a good start on some goals!

Things are really starting to move for me. I meet with my publisher next Tuesday to discuss release dates. If anyone has any resources for reading book questions, I need to bring some to that meeting, and I don't know the first thing about it! I mean, I've obviously been reading books since I was 5, so I can come up with some. Just the thought that there would be a reading group discussing Fractured Princess blows my mind. I also have to choose my preferred audiobook narrative, and I definitely have imagined having an audiobook for FP, but wow!

I hope the people who already bought it are willing to buy the first half of the new version when it's re-released. That's a big worry of mine. I also made some pretty significant changes to it, so maybe that will reel them in.

I also need to prepare for more face-time and promotion up to and through publication. I have no idea what that will look like and what kind of time it will consume, but hopefully it will be smooth, especially because I have a full-time job. I don't expect to become a millionaire book 1, so yeah, I have to keep working while I'm . . . working.

So anyway, here's to what I expect to be an exciting Summer!

May Writing Update

 

It is the third Wednesday of MAY! That means it's time for me to give you a writing update, and because things are starting to move on the republication of Fractured Princess, that means I have updates!

I received the edits back from the copyeditor yesterday, so once I go through them, I get to meet with the Queen, Wahida Clark, to talk release dates! I'm not going to pretend like I didn't scream a little when I got the email. I was so excited. Two years ago, I had settled on the idea of being an independent author even though I knew I needed traditional publishing. I'm not great at self-marketing, and it took me years to understand what exactly a brand is no matter how many people explained it, so being on my own, I knew I'd make pennies. That said, every time I got those pennies, the fact that someone somewhere BOUGHT MY BOOK?? It still amazes me.

So, things are happening, and I'm squealing inside. Who knows where this exposure will take me! Stay tuned!

BOOK NEWS for Fractured Princess! (IWSG)

It's Revenge of the Fifth! Happy May, and welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group, where we throw our insecurities to the wind and celebrate each other for our accomplishments! You can visit the website and our founder, Alex J. Cavanaugh, for the list of co-hosts for the month and other participants, as well as join us by signing up!

Big book news for me: Fractured Princess was cleared to go to copy editing! My publisher said it didn't need developmental edits, but I sent them the developmental edit I did anyway, because there were some things I needed to fix for continuity/plot holes. I'm very excited that they found it flawless haha. My English degree paid off, figuratively speaking. Heh. So more news will be coming soon!

This month's question: Have any of your readers ever responded to your writing in a way that you didn't expect? If so, did it surprise you?

I don't have that many readers yet, but I will say in an early draft of one of my books, my sister asked me a question that actually changed the path of the relationship of two of my characters. She asked if they were going to get together, and I said no. Then, she said, "Why not?" And that was that, and all I'll say about that. hahaha

What about you all?

Monthly Review & Wednesday Words: Masque of Red Death by Kenya Wright

 

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It is the last Wednesday in October! I can't believe it. But to be honest, October felt long when I look back at it. Strange how that goes. On the 4th Wednesday of the month, I review , but as promised last week, I will also slip in Wednesday Words, since I had big news to share on the 2nd Wednesday!

I still get excited when I think about being an agented author. What a difference a month makes! It had been a secret wish of mine this past year to have an agent find Fractured Princess, read it, love it, and contact me, and that is exactly what happened! I will be under the imprint SFF For the Culture, and if you happen to peek over at Wahida Clark's Instagram, I'm listed as one of their newest authors! That was unreal. It's really happening.

NaNoWriMo is...still around the corner, and I've done nothing to prepare. It's fight or flight at this point. I have to pick a story and work on it. Every day. All month. God help me. I know which one I can work on, though. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to---this will be hard. haha

All righty, onto Wednesday Words!

For the next several weeks, my friends and I are reading Kenya Wright's Masque of Red Death, not to be confused with Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of the Red Death, but part of the story is based on it. We're reading 3 chapters every 2 weeks, though we're a week behind (we're just so busy), and we're not completely sure about the book yet, but it's intriguing nonetheless. Also, that cover! So amazing. Here is the blurb:

In a Florida city plagued by race riots, a murderer has come to play. He calls himself Poe, and he invites only the most corrupt to his game.

The invitations arrive with masks made of human skin. Participants must dress for a masquerade ball and go to a specific nightclub where a riddle is given. Each hour, a guest will die, if the riddle isn’t solved. No one can contact the police.

However, Poe makes a grave mistake by inviting two people—Shadow and Lyric.

Shadow towers over most, wields power like the devil, and holds the city in his hands. Wanting to be steps ahead of this killer, Shadow joins forces with the one person he believes can discover Poe’s identity—Lyric Blue. Once, she was Shadow’s lover and the brain of his operations. But then Lyric chose her morality and pushed him away. Still, there’s an enduring attraction that weaves them together. United, they attend the ball, ready to beat the game.

Secrets are revealed. Bodies pile up. Every death from an unsolved riddle comes with a clue. And a story unravels, exposing victims and betrayal that no one could have ever imagined.

Super intriguing to me. So far, we're dealing with the protests and riots, mental illness, and political corruption. My friends and I meet this Sunday to talk about our next 3 chapters, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

What have you read this month? Planning on doing NaNoWriMo? Good luck!

BIG NEWS

Happy Wednesday!

The second Wednesday of the month is usually the day I share what I'm reading, but I'll still be reading the current book next month, because I'm reading it book club style with my friends. So, this Wednesday is for bigger news!

A little less than two weeks ago now, an agent with Wahida Clark Publishing reached out to me about bringing me on as one of WCP's new fantasy writers! I was a little skeptical at first, but after some research, I saw that Wahida Clark is a 4-time Bestselling Author and known as the Queen of Street Lit. That's a big deal.

I am now in the process of signing a contract (after a hard combing through. I've never read any license agreements/terms & conditions for anything, but I can't just click "I Read This and Agree" on a CONTRACT) and Fractured Princess will be re-released later this season.

This is a whirlwind for me. I wanted to be a traditionally published author. I only decided to self-publish because as a black woman writing fantasy, the doors just don't open as easily as they do for other fantasy writers. I had been hoping an agent would be looking through Amazon, find my book, and love it enough to reach out to me, and that's exactly what happened. My dream has never changed, but I never dreamed how exactly it would happen, and that it finally is in a way I didn't fully expect, I'm over the moon. I'm playing it really calm, but I'm super excited.

I have an agent.

And a publisher.

Please stay tuned for more news to come!

All right, apparently I didn't need to sit on this for as long as I have. 

I am currently in the process of signing with Chase Bolling at W. Clark Publishing! pic.twitter.com/XGXTlyIiua

— Debra The Raven Byrd, author (@DebTheAuthor) October 12, 2020