Carrie Butler on Writing a Series

I'm thrilled to have Carrie Butler, author of Courage (Mark of Nexus #2) on the blog today talking about writing a series. Take it away, Carrie...

Thanks for having me over, Ilima! To start a series, I believe a writer must possess at least five things:

5. A big idea. Come on, that one was a given...

4. The desire to do that idea justice. Just because you’ve released a book or two doesn’t mean you can finish the series on auto-pilot. Continue to study your craft, read other series, and take note of readers’ reactions. Make the last book better than the first!

3. A way to keep track of details—whether that be Scrivener, a notebook, or a crinkled up cocktail napkin. When you’re knee-deep in Book 2, wondering about the position of someone’s facial scar, you’ll thank me.

2. Great CPs, betas, and editors. Hopefully, they’ve been with you since Book 1. These talented individuals are likely to spot things you miss, like the fact that you did a time-skip and it’s now December in Pennsylvania. The crickets are dead! Nix them in chapter seven...

1. A loose grip on your sanity. In fact, just forego the sanity. (What? You’re a writer—it’s bound to leave sooner or later.) A series is a huge undertaking with built-in pressure. The work is hard, the pay is lousy, and it’ll make you feel incredibly vulnerable. So, why should you bother?

Because you love your story. You love the world you’ve created and the characters that inhabit it. Your ideas are too complex to cram into one novel, and you refuse to leave things undone. So, go for it. Take the risk. We’re all waiting to read your series, and I know it’ll be fantastic!

No pressure. ;)

Thanks for stopping by, Carrie! Click on the link to find out more about the Courage blog tour. And here's a little bit about the book:

Rena Collins never thought she’d long for the past—back when affection from Wallace, her freakishly strong boyfriend, was the most dangerous aspect of her life. But now that the human-altering organization known as ERA has gone on the offensive, nothing is safe. Her bloodline is exposed, her relationships torn apart, and just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, ERA ups the ante. To save mankind from forced evolution, Rena will have to mend her broken ties and form a resistance... hand-in-hand with the one she hurt most.

Find COURAGE on Goodreads.

You can find Carrie here:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | YouTube | Goodreads 

Happy Writing

In case you haven't noticed, I've been participating in a lot of bloghops, cover reveals, etc lately. I love supporting my fellow authors! I've a few more scheduled in the next month, but I'm popping in to say yes, I'm here too!

My writing life is currently in this weird limbo. I'm mostly waiting on others to get back to me on different projects, and it feels like this calm before the storm of Nano. Can you feel it too? I'm struggling to draft a book while the shiny-new-idea of another keeps knocking and distracting me. Not to mention another book that's desperately calling me for a major revision. (and several other projects either started or plotted waiting for when I have more time...hahahaha)

Ugh.

This has become the story of my life, and though I'm so grateful to have so many projects I'm excited about, I feel like a child hopped up on sugar trying to sit through a church service. I KNOW what I'm supposed to be doing, but it's hard to focus sometimes and I just want to misbehave.

One thing I DO know, though, is that I'm in this writing thing for the long haul. There's something gratifying about doing what you're meant to do no matter how HARD and frustrating it is sometimes.

This song perfectly describes my relationship with writing and just plain makes me happy whenever I hear it. Whether you're drafting, revising, editing, plotting, researching or critiquing this week...make it a Happy Writing week. And do me a favor...kick my butt in gear to finish drafting this book!

Butterman (Time) Travel, Inc. --Cover Reveal!

*If you're stopping by for the (Never) Again bloghop, please scroll down. :)*

Here's a bit about PK Hrezo's awesome book releasing November 12th:

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated

We are a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. Family-owned and operated, we offer clients one hundred years of time travel experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend a special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds? 

You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides.  *Terms and conditions do apply

Conference us directly from our Website. Our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.

We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.   

Now for the cover. Drumroll....

Isn't it beautiful? PK wants to know...If you could walk into a time travel agency and book a time trip, where and when would it be, and why? For me, it would be the future, maybe several hundred years in the future. The unknown is just so exciting to me. Plus I'd want to see how large my posterity is...so cool. How about you? When would you go?

Congrats again to PK Hrezo. You can find her online at her blog, twitter, facebook, and website.

I will (Never) Again do that

Happy book birthday to Theresa Paolo and her novel, (NEVER) AGAIN! Today I'm participating in a bloghop to celebrate the release. Here are the rules:

Liz, the main character of (Never) Again got her heart broken and refused to ever open it up to anyone again. We all know how that goes though. How many times have you swore off something only to step right back into it? So for this bloghop I want to know what it is you swore you would never do again and then wound up doing.

I decided to make a short list, since my never again moments seem to abound:

* drink Diet Coke
* have another baby 
* go grocery shopping with my kids
* drive downtown
* put up Christmas lights
* move
* cook Thanksgiving meal
* ride on a plane with a baby
* live where there's snow
* eat after 9pm
* get on a roller-coaster
* help my child do math homework
* write a book

I could go on and on, but no matter what I swear off, I always seem to jump back in. Oh, well, such is life. How about you? What's something you swore you'd never do again and wound up doing?

Congrats again to Theresa. You can find out more about her book here.

Norse Gods Blogfest

Today I'm participating in the Norse Gods Blogfest to help Siv Maria Ottem celebrate her new book, Secrets of the Ash Tree. Also, today's her birthday. So happy birthday and congrats Siv!



All I have to do is post about my favorite Norse God. My favorite? 

Tom Hiddleston.

What do you mean Tom Hiddleston is not a Norse God? Fine. Then I'll go with...Loki.

Loki is the trickster god. Playful, cruel, cunning and mischievous. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Boy do I love complex villains, and Loki takes the prize. A bad guy that almost kinda maybe sort of might be good deep down? Yes, please. I may have even stolen my kids' Lego Loki from their Avengers collection. Don't judge.

But seriously...Tom Hiddleston!!!

Moonless cover reveal!

I won't make you wait for the pretties. Check out this awesome cover:

Gorgeous, no? Congrats to Crystal! Moonless releases on November 13th. Find it on Goodreads here.

Alexia must choose safety and an arranged marriage, or true love and being hunted by the Soulless every moonless night.

You can find Crystal here:

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Website

I.W.S.G. Say Cheese

Get the info on IWSG here.

Time for another Insecure Writer's Support Group. This month I'm one of the co-hosts. Yay! I'm excited to visit new bloggers. Also, be sure to stop by Alex's blog today because there's a big announcement about IWSG!

I'm sure you know moms out there who hate having their picture taken. They've probably got thousands of photos on the computer of their kids, friends, and family, yet maybe two of them have her in the picture. Maybe you're one of those moms. Because I'm one of those moms.

I'm not wearing make-up, I'm overweight, my outfit sucks, I look weird, I'm so old...whatever the excuse, it's dumb, isn't it? I mean, I love looking back at pictures of my mother no matter what age she was. How devastating it would be to not have those treasures. And the only person that is obsessing over how I look is, well, me. So get over it already.

I'm trying harder. I really am. And I think I'm doing better. But I still had a healthy level of anxiety having my author photo taken. I mean, I'm the only one in the picture. How weird is that? Many thanks to my friend Lindsay who put up with my murmuring long enough to get a few decent shots. I let my husband and a few friends decide and this is the one to get the majority vote, so it's the one I'm going with.

My publisher wants me to use it on my blog, FB, twitter, etc. and so I'm finally going to make the switch. It does look like me, at least. And now when I see writer friends in person they won't be confused about my long hair anymore, haha. Sigh. Why is this so hard?