Author Liesel K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia...
Showing posts with label CoF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CoF. Show all posts
Friday, January 5, 2018
Writing Advice NOT to Heed: Strong Female Characters
Lately I've been thinking about all the advice newbie writers are given. Some of it is good. Other pieces are great. But as is the case when learning any craft or industry, you end up getting a lot of advice that simply isn't worth heeding. Of course you often don't know it until years later.
When I was shopping around my first book, Citadels of Fire, to traditional publishers, what I heard over and over again was that I needed a strong female character and to sell the book, I needed to capitalize on her strengths in the description.
The problem with that is that my female character, Inga, isn't what most people would consider traditionally strong. In fact, I sort of wrote her to be weak in the beginning so the audience could see the dynamic change in her over the course of the trilogy. Even though I thought she was a compelling character, I couldn't think of any particular strengths she had that I could capitalize on, so I had a hard time selling the story to traditional publishers and agents.
Part of the problem was being so new and not understanding how to frame my story in a way that readers and others in the industry can latch on to. That's a skill that comes over time
But my point is that if you listened to traditional publishing advice, it starts to sound like every story must contain a tough-as-nails, leather-wearing, Laura-Croft-type kickass character or the story won't sell.
That's simply not true.
I'd venture to guess that any character you write will have strengths. They just may not be the traditionally "strong" female characters that the industry likes to rave about. Anything can be a strength. Even things that are low key. Look at Jane Eyre. On the surface, she appeared quite plain and boring to most people, but she's one of the most beloved female characters of all time. Decide what your character's strengths are and play them up. A lot. Just don't assume they have to fit into any particular mould.
And don't get me wrong: kickass characters are great and they do tend to be fan favorites. But there are other fish in the sea. And there's a lot to be said for starting your character off in a place of weakness and letting your audience watch her/him grow. My audience has connected with Inga in a way that has pleased me immensely. They love her because they can see her growing stronger from one book to the next.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here (sarcasm) and say that it's less important for your character, male or female, to be "strong" (what's the definition on that anyway; it's a total umbrella term) than to be relatable. It's the characters unique traits that will connect your audience to them.
Let's take a look at a couple of character examples who tend to be fan favorites: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
Hermione definitely kicked butt with her spells various times over the series, but she wasn't exactly a leather-wearing martial arts expert. Her strength was in her goodness and her academic smarts. She wasn't strong in a physical or conventional sense, but because everyone either knew a girl like her, or WAS a girl like her during their school days, she's very relatable.
And how about Ron? He doesn't have any tangible qualities to point to. He's your average every-boy. His strengths are in the non-tangible: humility, kindness, and loyalty to his friends and family. But because he's just so human and boyish, he's someone every single one of us can relate to.
See what I mean? So pick your characters' major traits (the less like other characters, the better, in my opinion) and just bring them across in a strong way.
Ignore the hype that suggests every successful story must have a strong female character, a vampire or werewolf, an exotic setting and a pornographic love scene. Because if that's all we had to read, well...that would be awful. ;D
How do YOU bring across strength in your characters?
The problem with that is that my female character, Inga, isn't what most people would consider traditionally strong. In fact, I sort of wrote her to be weak in the beginning so the audience could see the dynamic change in her over the course of the trilogy. Even though I thought she was a compelling character, I couldn't think of any particular strengths she had that I could capitalize on, so I had a hard time selling the story to traditional publishers and agents.
Part of the problem was being so new and not understanding how to frame my story in a way that readers and others in the industry can latch on to. That's a skill that comes over time
But my point is that if you listened to traditional publishing advice, it starts to sound like every story must contain a tough-as-nails, leather-wearing, Laura-Croft-type kickass character or the story won't sell.
That's simply not true.
I'd venture to guess that any character you write will have strengths. They just may not be the traditionally "strong" female characters that the industry likes to rave about. Anything can be a strength. Even things that are low key. Look at Jane Eyre. On the surface, she appeared quite plain and boring to most people, but she's one of the most beloved female characters of all time. Decide what your character's strengths are and play them up. A lot. Just don't assume they have to fit into any particular mould.
And don't get me wrong: kickass characters are great and they do tend to be fan favorites. But there are other fish in the sea. And there's a lot to be said for starting your character off in a place of weakness and letting your audience watch her/him grow. My audience has connected with Inga in a way that has pleased me immensely. They love her because they can see her growing stronger from one book to the next.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here (sarcasm) and say that it's less important for your character, male or female, to be "strong" (what's the definition on that anyway; it's a total umbrella term) than to be relatable. It's the characters unique traits that will connect your audience to them.
Let's take a look at a couple of character examples who tend to be fan favorites: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
 |
| Source |
Hermione definitely kicked butt with her spells various times over the series, but she wasn't exactly a leather-wearing martial arts expert. Her strength was in her goodness and her academic smarts. She wasn't strong in a physical or conventional sense, but because everyone either knew a girl like her, or WAS a girl like her during their school days, she's very relatable.
And how about Ron? He doesn't have any tangible qualities to point to. He's your average every-boy. His strengths are in the non-tangible: humility, kindness, and loyalty to his friends and family. But because he's just so human and boyish, he's someone every single one of us can relate to.
See what I mean? So pick your characters' major traits (the less like other characters, the better, in my opinion) and just bring them across in a strong way.
Ignore the hype that suggests every successful story must have a strong female character, a vampire or werewolf, an exotic setting and a pornographic love scene. Because if that's all we had to read, well...that would be awful. ;D
How do YOU bring across strength in your characters?
Monday, May 15, 2017
Best Way I've Ever Found to Grow my Email List
Good morning! Yes, I know. I've been neglecting my blog again. Cest la vie. But here's the thing:
I've been super busy these past months, overhauling books, busy getting rights reversions, re-editing old works, and building my email list. All of this is in preparation for my "next phase" which will start when I release my next book in about a week. So... *rubs hands together*
1. Instafreebie.
In February, I attended the LTUE conference in Provo, Utah. There, I was approached by a young woman who worked for a site called INSTAFREEBIE.
Anyone heard of it? I hadn't. So please listen. All you authors out there, if you're not on Instafreebie, YOU NEED TO BE ON INSTAFREEBIE.
It's by far the best way I've ever found to build my email. List. Basically, before Instafreebie (IF) I'd had about 30 people on my email list for the 3 years. I just had a really difficult time building it, as many authors do. I joined IF and started doing their promotions. (It is a paid service, but it's not expensive and the promos are free once you join.) In the past 6 weeks I've gained roughly 1800 subscribers. No lie. Here's proof: (Btw, I have different lists for the different genres I write, since not all people who read one genre will want emails about the others. That number represents my total current subscribers across all lists.)
It's by far the best site I've ever found for connecting authors and readers. Seriously, go join IF. Now.
2. I left one of my publishers. They nearly went out of business, but then were bought at the last minute by another company. The problem was, that company only published YA books. Mine are adult. So they didn't kick me to the curb, but they were very frank about the fact that they wouldn't be promoting my books. They said if I wanted to do a promo, they'd put it on their Facebook page, but that was all. So I had them revert the rights to me so I could self publish. I knew I would do better on my own.
I actually feel quite blessed with how well it went. It took some time, of course, but went very smoothly overall. I was able to obtain full rights on both novels I had with that publisher as well as usage of my covers. (Score!)
But here's the kicker: I decided to re-edit Citadels of Fire, since it was one of the first novels I ever wrote. I have a new (relatively) method of editing my work that includes a specific way of editing for crutch words. I wanted to re-edit that manuscript just to see how bad my crutch word usage was back then. And guess what?
It was TERRIBLE! Obviously I've grown a lot as a writer since then, but the thing that was very eye-opening to me is that it was edited for publication by a professional editor. And they didn't catch any of the crutch words/passive voice. When I re-edited it myself a few weeks ago, I cut almost 5,000 words out of my manuscript without changing a single thing in the plot. It was just tightening things up. That's staggering.
So that inspired me to write a little pamphlet for authors about how to edit your own work and never have to pay a professional editor again. I'm working on that now. It won't be a very long book, and I hope to have it finished in the next few weeks.
Finally, Book 2 of Kremlins, Bastions of Blood, will be out next Tuesday, May 23rd. I'm going to have a Facebook Launch Party. (I'll put details in my post tomorrow.) This book really should have come out a year ago, but there was delay after delay at the publisher, before they finally went under/sold to another company. So I'm very excited to finally be able to publish book 2 of my trilogy.
Like I said, more details tomorrow.
Also, for the time being, I'll be publishing about once per week, just updating with news of all my genres. Normally it will probably be on Mondays, but this week I'll be posting it tomorrow. Wanted to do this post today by way of introduction to my new format.
Okay, I think that's all. See you tomorrow, and have a fantabulous Monday! ;D
I've been super busy these past months, overhauling books, busy getting rights reversions, re-editing old works, and building my email list. All of this is in preparation for my "next phase" which will start when I release my next book in about a week. So... *rubs hands together*
 |
| Source |
In February, I attended the LTUE conference in Provo, Utah. There, I was approached by a young woman who worked for a site called INSTAFREEBIE.
Anyone heard of it? I hadn't. So please listen. All you authors out there, if you're not on Instafreebie, YOU NEED TO BE ON INSTAFREEBIE.
It's by far the best way I've ever found to build my email. List. Basically, before Instafreebie (IF) I'd had about 30 people on my email list for the 3 years. I just had a really difficult time building it, as many authors do. I joined IF and started doing their promotions. (It is a paid service, but it's not expensive and the promos are free once you join.) In the past 6 weeks I've gained roughly 1800 subscribers. No lie. Here's proof: (Btw, I have different lists for the different genres I write, since not all people who read one genre will want emails about the others. That number represents my total current subscribers across all lists.)
It's by far the best site I've ever found for connecting authors and readers. Seriously, go join IF. Now.
2. I left one of my publishers. They nearly went out of business, but then were bought at the last minute by another company. The problem was, that company only published YA books. Mine are adult. So they didn't kick me to the curb, but they were very frank about the fact that they wouldn't be promoting my books. They said if I wanted to do a promo, they'd put it on their Facebook page, but that was all. So I had them revert the rights to me so I could self publish. I knew I would do better on my own.
I actually feel quite blessed with how well it went. It took some time, of course, but went very smoothly overall. I was able to obtain full rights on both novels I had with that publisher as well as usage of my covers. (Score!)
 |
| Source |
It was TERRIBLE! Obviously I've grown a lot as a writer since then, but the thing that was very eye-opening to me is that it was edited for publication by a professional editor. And they didn't catch any of the crutch words/passive voice. When I re-edited it myself a few weeks ago, I cut almost 5,000 words out of my manuscript without changing a single thing in the plot. It was just tightening things up. That's staggering.
So that inspired me to write a little pamphlet for authors about how to edit your own work and never have to pay a professional editor again. I'm working on that now. It won't be a very long book, and I hope to have it finished in the next few weeks.
Like I said, more details tomorrow.
Also, for the time being, I'll be publishing about once per week, just updating with news of all my genres. Normally it will probably be on Mondays, but this week I'll be posting it tomorrow. Wanted to do this post today by way of introduction to my new format.
Okay, I think that's all. See you tomorrow, and have a fantabulous Monday! ;D
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Last Day of CoF Sale + Fun Giveaway!
Just wanted to give you two fun links today.
1. Today is the last day of the Citadels of Fire ebook sale. It's still being deeply discounted on Amazon . And remember that Bastions of Blood will be out August 16th (pre-order HERE) so now would be a great time to read book 1 in preparation for book 2's release.
(Not to influence you at all but there may be an online launch party. With plot questions. And fun prizes. Just sayin'... ;D)
2. I wanted to promote a fellow blogger's giveaway. (Of course that's partly because I have a stake in it. :D)
GIVEAWAY HERE!!!
(And have a wonderful Thursday, of course. ;D)
Monday, July 4, 2016
Citadels of Fire Sale! (And Happy Independence Day!)
Good Morning, All!
Happy 4th of July to all those in the States celebrating it! Today is our country's birthday and we're so happy to celebrate Independence Day!
So I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow -- I feel kinda weird posting about sales on holidays -- but I wanted everyone to have an extra day to take advantage.
Bastions of Blood (Kremlins #2) will be released August 16, 2016. That's just over 2 months.
So if you want to get the Citadels of Fire ebook at a steeply discounted price, hop on over to whichever platform you prefer and download it now! The sale will run through Wednesday (7/6).
Everyone have a safe and wonderful holiday!
Happy 4th of July to all those in the States celebrating it! Today is our country's birthday and we're so happy to celebrate Independence Day!
So I wasn't going to post this until tomorrow -- I feel kinda weird posting about sales on holidays -- but I wanted everyone to have an extra day to take advantage.
Inga has finally found the courage to engage in a relationship with Taras, the only man she’s ever loved, but the winter winds blow cold in Russia, and happiness is short-lived. On the heels of a triumphant victory, Tsar Ivan falls ill and nearly dies, followed by his beloved wife. Everyone knows that Anastasia’s influence on Ivan has been profound. Because she holds both the Tsar’s ear and heart, no one dares harm her. As her condition worsens, Inga sees glimpses of the sadistic creature Ivan was before he married, and knows things are about to become much worse. As Inga fears the future, Taras looks to the past, searching for the elusive answers to his mother’s death. As mystery piles upon mystery, and everyone refuses to talk, Taras begins to wonder if he’ll ever truly understand the event that has plagued him since childhood. As Ivan’s madness grows, he lashes out, and all of Russia feels the sting. Things darken in the Kremlin and the countryside fills with blood; and Inga and Taras cling to one another to survive the new nightmare. If no one reins Ivan in, they may end up losing more than their lives.So if you haven't read book 1, now's the time to catch up! And today is even more perfect because Citadels of Fire is on sale on both Amazon and Kobo.
In a world where danger hides in plain sight and no one aspires to more than what they were born to, Inga must find the courage to break the oppressive chains she’s been bound with since birth.
As a maid in the infamous Kremlin, life in 16th-century Russia is bleak and treacherous. That is, until Taras arrives. Convinced that his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident, he returned from England to discover what really happened. While there, he gains favor from the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit upon the throne of Russia. Ivan allows him to take a servant, and to save Inga from a brutal boyar intent on raping her, Taras requests Inga to stay in his chambers.
Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian Imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them all, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.
So if you want to get the Citadels of Fire ebook at a steeply discounted price, hop on over to whichever platform you prefer and download it now! The sale will run through Wednesday (7/6).
Everyone have a safe and wonderful holiday!
Monday, August 17, 2015
Last Day of Citadels of Fire Sale!!!
Hey Guys, short and sweet today!
It's the last day to get Citadels of Fire for $2.99 on Amazon! If you write a review, you can enter to win Kindle Fire just in time for Christmas! Check out details on the Giveaway HERE.
It's the last day to get Citadels of Fire for $2.99 on Amazon! If you write a review, you can enter to win Kindle Fire just in time for Christmas! Check out details on the Giveaway HERE.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Citadels of Fire Epic Giveaway!
How's your week going? Good, I hope! Well, just wanted to let everyone know that the e-version of my historical fiction novel, Citadels of Fire, is currently on sale for $2.99 (down from $9.99). As with my crime novel, The Botanist, I'm doing a giveaway in exchange for reviews.
So if you know anyone who reads historical fiction, I'd appreciate any help you could give me spreading the word!
This will work the same as my other giveaway HERE. Anyone who gives me an honest review can enter to win a Kindle Fire HD at the end of the year.
So here's how it works. I'm giving away a Kindle Fire HD. The lucky winner should receive it just in time for Christmas. (Yea!) This giveaway is going to go all the way until November, which is a long time for a giveaway, but it's got to be that way to give people time. Here's why: The only way to gain entries to this giveaway is by reviewing The Botanist. So of course, I need to give people time to read the book and write the review.
Most people who enter bookish giveaways are avid readers to begin with. If you're reading anyway, you might as well give yourself the chance to win a Kindle Fire while you do it, right?
But that may not even be all of it! I MAY be giving away more prizes, just depending on the number of reviews I get.
 |
| Source |
- I'd love to get a thousand reviews. For a thousand or less, I'll just be giving away the Kindle Fire HD.
- For every 100 reviews over 1000 that I get, I'll also give away a $25 Amazon gift card. So, if I get 1100 reviews, I'll give away the Kindle Fire + one gift card. If I get 1200 reviews, I'll give away the Kindle Fire + two gift cards, etc.
- And IF--one can only hope--I get 2000 reviews, I'll give away a second Kindle Fire. So spreading the word for more entries will bring more prizes and more chances to win! Just sayin'. :D
So, hop on over to Amazon, or your favorite book retailer, grab a copy of Citadels of Fire, and then enter for your chance to win!
I'd also love help spreading the word. To that end, I've embedded some tweets below. (Sharing is caring! :D)
So, enter below, have fun, and happy reading!
Praise for Citadels of Fire:
"... a tale of love and war, loyalty and betrayal, murderous wolves and insane tyrants. What more could you ask for?"--The Every Free Chance Reader
"I...love rich historical novels...a fascinating tale of Russia in the time of Ivan the terrible."--Voracious Reader
"My favorite part of the story was the subtlety and beauty of the romance. "--Second Run Reviews
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Historical Tidbit: The Heroism of Witold Pilecki
 |
| Witold Pilecki (Source) |
That a polish spy purposely got himself taken to Auschwitz in WWII just to prove that it was a death camp, rather than a prison camp?
It's true. Witold Pilecki is apparently the stuff of legend, though we don't hear much about him in the states.
Pileck was a revolutionary by birth. He was born in 1901 in Russia where his family had been forced to settle by the Tsarist regime. His grandfather, Jozef, did seven years in exile in Siberia for participating in the Polish uprising.
He moved to Lithuania in 1910 to finish commercial school, then back to Russia in 1916. During WWI, his ZHP Scout section in Wilno joined in the fighting against the Bolesheviks. When his sector was overrun, his unit turned to partisan warfare behind enemy lines. He also fought in the Polish retreat from Kiev and was decorated several times.
After the war, he passed exams and joined the Polish army. He also married Maria Ostrowska and together they had two children. Though he'd been in the reserves, Pilecki was mobilized in 1939. He and his unit fought the Germans as they advanced across Poland, suffering many casualties.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Citadels of Fire on Sale Today Only!
Hey Everyone!
Happy Friday! Help me spread the word: the Kindle version of Citadels of Fire is on sale for $1.99 today only!
Here's the LINK.
I'd appreciate any help I can get. :D
As a maid in the infamous Kremlin, life in 16th-century Russia is bleak and treacherous. That is, until Taras arrives. Convinced that his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident, he returned from England to discover what really happened. While there, he gains favor from the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit upon the throne of Russia. Ivan allows him to take a servant, and to save Inga from a brutal boyar intent on raping her, Taras requests Inga to stay in his chambers.
Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian Imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them all, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.
Happy Friday! Help me spread the word: the Kindle version of Citadels of Fire is on sale for $1.99 today only!
Here's the LINK.
I'd appreciate any help I can get. :D
In a world where danger hides in plain sight and no one aspires to more than what they were born to, Inga must find the courage to break the oppressive chains she’s been bound with since birth.
As a maid in the infamous Kremlin, life in 16th-century Russia is bleak and treacherous. That is, until Taras arrives. Convinced that his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident, he returned from England to discover what really happened. While there, he gains favor from the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit upon the throne of Russia. Ivan allows him to take a servant, and to save Inga from a brutal boyar intent on raping her, Taras requests Inga to stay in his chambers.
Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian Imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them all, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.
Monday, September 15, 2014
LUW Annual Conference (Awesome!)
Anyway, I didn't enter anything into the regular contest this year. I usually do, but the deadline was back in June and it just snuck up on me this year. I didn't have anything to submit, or any time to prepare anything by the time I realized the deadline was looming. Instead, I just entered my two published novels. Dark Remnants didn't win anything, but Citadels of Fire won the Silver Quill (second place, with the Gold Quill being first) in the adult category.
 |
| Citadels of Fire with Silver Quill sticker, plus the award itself. |
I was so honored and happy to have won something. It was a great conference, and I had tons of fun networking with new authors and reconnecting with some I hadn't seen in a while. CoF winning was just icing on the cake.
Emily Yonkers (this year's president) even said they were working on putting the winning books on the League's website to sell, which I was very pleased about. :D
And, as I put on Facebook last night, us JFP authors really cleaned up! Jolly Fish Press is my publisher for Citadels of Fire, and all the JFP authors have a really good camaraderie going. No less than four of us won published book awards last night. (I think at least one of the two top quills in each category went to a JFP author!) So yes, we totally kicked butt!
 |
| From left to right, Eric Bishop (Gold Quill for adult lit), Johnny Worthen (Gold Quill for YA lit), me (Silver Quill for adult lit), and Lehua Parker (Gold Quill for Children's Lit). How cool are we? |
Plus, the wonderful Johnny Worthen (another JFP author who's having a positively breakout year) was the keynote speaker, won one of the quills for his YA novel, and won writer of the year. I love Johnny. He's so full of positive energy that you can't help but smile when you hang out with him. His keynote speech brought down the house. Most of us were falling out of our chairs laughing. He was just that entertaining.
 |
| Johnny giving his uproarious and inspiring keynote address. |
Overall, I really enjoyed the conference. It was so much fun! I even sold a handful of books. (Yea!) I feel rejuvenated and inspired to plow through my editing (there are two different books I'm working on) as well as keep writing my current WIP (book 3 of Interchron).
I also want to get more involved in the League again. As with my writing, I've really slacked off the past few months. Since I moved into my new place (5 mos ago, now. Where does the time go?) I haven't visited the Clearfield chapter. I mean to do that now. Even though they're just monthly meetings, I think they keep me on task with my writing.
 |
| Sweet Author Elsie Parks and Yours Truly |
 |
| More winners! Eric Bishop, Johnny Worthen, me, Lehua Parker, and Christine Haggarty, who also taught an awesome class on writing fight scenes. |
How about you? Have you attended any great writing events lately?
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Launch Day for Citadels of Fire!
Today's the day you all (or at least I) have been waiting for!
Citadels of Fire is available for purchase today at all major retailers!
Get it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other major retailers, and let me know what you think!
Are you into historical fiction? Does Citadels of Fire interest you?
Citadels of Fire is available for purchase today at all major retailers!
Get it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other major retailers, and let me know what you think!
In a world where danger hides in plain sight and no one aspires to more than what they were born to, Inga must find the courage to break the oppressive chains she’s been bound with since birth.
As a maid in the infamous Kremlin, life in 16th-century Russia is bleak and treacherous. That is, until Taras arrives. Convinced that his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident, he returned from England to discover what really happened. While there, he gains favor from the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit upon the throne of Russia. Ivan allows him to take a servant, and to save Inga from a brutal boyar intent on raping her, Taras requests Inga to stay in his chambers.
Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian Imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them all, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.If you're in the area, the official launch party will be held in the Layton, Utah Barnes & Noble this Saturday, the 31st, at 1:00 pm. I'd love to meet you!
Are you into historical fiction? Does Citadels of Fire interest you?
Monday, November 18, 2013
Attention Historical Fiction Lovers + NaNoWirMo Updates!
Happy Monday, Everyone!
I have two orders of business today 1) NaNoWriMo Updates and 2) an invitation for historical fiction lovers!
1) NaNoWriMo is going great! I was going to give a numbers update, but I didn't get as much writing done on Desolate Mantles over the weekend as I would have liked, so I think I'll wait until tomorrow. Hehe. I've had both troubles and good things, so I suppose I'll get a post or two out of my first NaNoWriMo experience. Stay tuned!
2) As many of you know, I recently got the cover art for my forthcoming historical fiction set in Russia in the middle ages (see cover below). Citadels of Fire is set to hit shelves in May, but I should be getting ARCs for it in the next couple of months, and I'll be sending out requests for reviews.
If anyone wants to beat the hype and would like the chance to review Citadels of Fire, send me an email at lkhillbooks@gmail.com and I'll be sure to include you when the ARCs arrive. Below is a blurb so you can decide if it's for you. I look forward to hearing from anyone interested!
Well, have a great Monday, and a great week, everyone! Happy NaNoWriMo!
How's everyone's Monday going?
I have two orders of business today 1) NaNoWriMo Updates and 2) an invitation for historical fiction lovers!
1) NaNoWriMo is going great! I was going to give a numbers update, but I didn't get as much writing done on Desolate Mantles over the weekend as I would have liked, so I think I'll wait until tomorrow. Hehe. I've had both troubles and good things, so I suppose I'll get a post or two out of my first NaNoWriMo experience. Stay tuned!
2) As many of you know, I recently got the cover art for my forthcoming historical fiction set in Russia in the middle ages (see cover below). Citadels of Fire is set to hit shelves in May, but I should be getting ARCs for it in the next couple of months, and I'll be sending out requests for reviews.
If anyone wants to beat the hype and would like the chance to review Citadels of Fire, send me an email at lkhillbooks@gmail.com and I'll be sure to include you when the ARCs arrive. Below is a blurb so you can decide if it's for you. I look forward to hearing from anyone interested!
Well, have a great Monday, and a great week, everyone! Happy NaNoWriMo!
In a world where power is paid for in blood, no one ever aspires to more than what they were born to, and danger hides in plain sight, Inga, a maid in the imperial Russian palace, must find the courage to break the oppressive chains she’s been bound with since birth.
Inga’s life in sixteenth century Russia is bleak until a man she crossed paths with as a child returns to the Kremlin. Taras is convinced his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident and has returned to try and discover what really happened, all during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit on the throne of Russia.
While Taras only finds lies and silence where he seeks truth, Inga struggles with the feelings of oppression that have plagued her for most of her life. Taras gives her the chance to leave her loneliness behind forever, but the cost and future of such a liaison is uncertain and Inga is afraid.
Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.
How's everyone's Monday going?
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)