Category: writer

Recruitment Open!

Published on by Leigh

I’m busy on getting the 5th book finished, so now is the time to recruit new beta readers and an Advanced Review Team. There’s only one way to get in, though – you have to sign up for my V.I.P. List. I’ll give you two free stories as a bonus and then you can decide which team to be on.

Beta Readers – get the almost-final draft of the new release and agree to give me feedback on the story. It is after I go through this process with the team that I do final edits and get the book ready for release. There’s a private Facebook group for Beta Readers where we can talk plot/character/story development. I like HONEST feedback – if something isn’t working, then let me know that. I rely on these readers to make my books the best they can be.

Advanced Review Team Members get the new release FIRST – before it “goes live” – the book is in the final form, all edits are made, and ART members get the full version. There is also a private Facebook group for these members. I ask the favor of an HONEST review from this team when the book finally goes live. The more reviews a book gets, the higher the “social capital” of the work. This drives sales and enables me to keep writing.

Some readers want to be part of both teams, some only one. That decision is entirely yours to make. I love writing and I adore my readers – nothing is better than reading a review – even a lukewarm one – and I can actually quote you the reviews and the names of the reviewers who brought tears to my eyes (happy ones!).

So here’s my recommendation if you’ve never read my books – go ahead and sign up and read the two bonus stories. Nudging Magic takes place after the second book in the series, but I’ve kept spoilers to a minimum. Coyote’s Cache takes place after the fourth book. Again, the fact that you’re jumping in that late means there are bound to be some spoilers, but I’ve kept them to a minimum. If you like what you read, then stay on the list and become one of my valuable Beta Readers or ART members.

Detours into Death Valley

Published on by Leigh

I’m currently finishing up a novella in the Relic Hunter series. I decided this was a good time to send Arienne on a different sort of adventure with Coyote and a few other Native American Spirits.

To get them all to one place together was challenging, but I chose a location and away we went. This time, the story takes place in Death Valley and the Panamint Mountain range. I’ll tell you more on how you can get your hands on this novella in the coming weeks, but for now, I thought you might want to check out some resources that gave me the inspiration for this piece.

https://yankeebarbareno.com/2017/02/20/condor-petroglyphs-death-valley-national-park/
This is a great piece of writing about what it’s like to hike through Death Valley National Park. The writing is poetic and the pictures are great.
The Hidden City of Death Valley
A great legend – and you all know I love a good legend!

https://historydaily.org/does-death-valley-conceal-an-ancient-subterranean-city-the-legend-of-shin-au-av.

Another take on the legend.

Pre-release stressing

Published on by Leigh

Jealous Magic is coming out on Friday, and I’m doing nothing but stressing over it. I’ve planned my NaNoWriMo project (Fortunes Lost & Found) and I should be doing some more work on that, but instead I’ve looked at the covers for the Relic Hunter series and gone off the rails.

It’s been so bad that I’ve actually switched over from writing and into designing the next cover for Arienne’s next book. It’s not done, but I have a good start on her! I’m marketed out, webinared out, and facebooked out – so I’m taking the day off.

Sunday Morning Projects

Published on by Leigh

Have you had a chance to check out my Instagram feed yet? I’ve been busy creating content and putting together puzzles so my feed is visually awesome. I just started my author Instagram last week because at first I was like “How can I talk about my books using just pictures?” – then I realized “You’re also an artist.” so…yeah, I forgot about that part of my life.

The truth is, I spend Sunday mornings – and by morning, I mean the wee-small hours of the morning – creating content and scheduling posts. In all honesty, it’s been incredibly fun and enlightening. It’s easy to talk about my books using pictures – and I have a great time creating the puzzles. It also really puts me in the zone to write (or edit, like I plan to do today).

Right now I have a few projects going on. I’m in the final edit of Jealous Magic, I’m prepping for NaNoWriMo (yes, I still try to do that every year), and I’m posting content all over the place. I think the posting spree is about wanting to keep my art skills sharp while I’m off being creative in a whole new way.

I’ve noticed something interesting, though. Not only is my author account getting more traffic, but my art sites are doing great (despite the neglect). That could be because they’re somehow linked, but it could also be because the more things you put out into the universe, the more things start to gel.

So here’s what’s coming up in October…

More Instagram puzzles about my books (They’re cool, so you should follow me!).

An announcement about how to grab an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of Jealous Magic (I’ll post here, but you can also connect with me on Goodreads and AllAuthor.com).

More Pins for Jealous Magic because I want you to see what I pictured as I wrote the book.

And finally…the release of Jealous Magic on October 30th (Hint: It’s at the pre-release price of .99 cents right now). There’s a lot to do next month, but I’m so excited about all of this. While you’re here, why not sign up for my newsletter so you’ll know about all of the exciting developments and get notified of sales and upcoming projects?

So, I’m off to edit now, but thank you so much for reading my posts every week. I love what I do, and your constant attention to my posts, books, and other ventures really means the world to me.

Why killing one of my characters isn’t an option for me

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I write fun fiction with characters I love. Sometimes I write those characters into seemingly impossible situations and even I don’t know how to get them out…like now. Dr. Arienne Cerasola has been in a basement for five days now and I have no idea how to get her out, or even what she’s supposed to do in that basement.

I’m tired of being stuck there. In my mind, Arienne and I are staring at each other expectantly, each one of us waiting for the other to make a move. I have options – like take her out of the basement, or never put her in there to begin with – but I really like the basement…but it’s getting a little old. In order to jump start this novel again, I went hunting for plot twists and came across the idea to “kill one of my main characters”.

I will never, ever do that. Ever.

I know, they’re fictional, and I know I could easily kill one of them off…but I feel like that would be betraying my readers. You see, I write FUN fiction. I want to give readers a wild and fun ride, but I want them to always trust that I will bring them back home in the end without a scratch. Killing someone they like would betray that. I’ve felt betrayed every time it was done to me.

There are a few characters that other authors have killed on me, and I don’t think I’ve really forgiven them. I remember being young and reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH…and nearly having a breakdown when the book ended and that was only because the author HINTED at something.

I’ve had the same reaction every time an author kills a character that I love. I keep reading the book because I hope they’re really not dead, but I am generally disappointed. (I’d like you all to note how carefully I’m avoiding naming the characters so I don’t have to put a spoiler alert on this post…but you probably have your own list). My relationship with an author who kills a character I love is forever changed because I don’t really trust them after that.

There’s one author in particular whom I usually love, but I started her latest book and she brought up the character I still haven’t forgiven her for killing several books ago. I have to admit, I read one page after she mentioned the death of the character I loved and I haven’t gone back to the book because honestly, I’m still a little mad about that. Just the mention of his name reminds me that she betrayed me…because I know she didn’t have to kill him. The decision seemed lazy and disloyal.

Even with the betrayal issue aside, I also know life is hard enough. I’ve lost people; we have all have lost people. In this pandemic, we stand to lose more. I won’t add to to body count by killing one of my fictional friends.

I’m not saying that killing a character is always a bad thing, I’m just not the author that does that. I’ve seen the death of a character move the story forward (J.K. Rowling, for instance, but note I said THE DEATH, I do not enjoy a complete massacre and I’m a little mad at her for a few of them). More often killing a character seems like a gratuitous death – like the author saying “see, there’s bad in the world…nobody’s safe.” Real life has taught me that well enough, thank you.

So I will continue to figure out how to get Arienne out of the basement – without offing one of her friends. I will continue to keep my stories light and fun. I like an emotional ride, but I’d much rather write books that make you laugh than cry.

So be warned…things may look dire at times, but I promise I will not kill our darlings.

Life’s hard enough.

How I spent my Summer Vacation

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I’ve really been busy during the pandemic. Honest. But I took a week off to go to a vacation spot I’ve been thinking about for a few years now. It’s a tiny coastal village in Massachusetts called Mulligan’s Cove. The people are so friendly and it’s the perfect place for me to put myself in a great mood – even when the whole world is going crazy.

Mulligan’s Cove is really a romantic spot, filled with rocky beaches, stretches of sand dunes, and a harbor. I even have a map that shows all of the places I love to visit. I go there to see friends, catch up on their lives, and lose my own problems and worries for a few days.

And all without leaving my office.

So I know most of you read my Urban Fantasy books, but I’m changing it up right now because I’ve been in Mulligan’s Cove for a while and I decided to just stay there and see what’s going on. This is the perfect time to escape and have a little summer romance out by the ocean.

For your first adventure, I’d like to introduce you to Collin Landry, a local celebrity chef who grew up in Mulligan’s Cove. Everything is going really well for him. His friends are fun and he taking a break from the whole globe-trotting chef scene to guest-chef in the fabulous Harborside restaurant in Mulligan’s Cove.

I think you’ll really love Collin (I do), and when Hollywood Defector Angeline Kent shows up in Mulligan’s Cove, things in the kitchen at Harborside come to a slow simmer that’s going to really be a perfect escape from all of the craziness we’re living in.

So I’d like you to buy your ticket for Wednesday, and spend a while in this beautiful seaside town with me. You know you want to come to the beach and hang out. So let’s make this a memorable summer!

Day 2: Is enough really enough?

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So today is the day I really settle in to this self-imposed isolation. I have done what I could to prepare for this. I’ve started to take an inventory of everything I have on hand (and discovered an odd obsession I have with soap) and yes, I have decided I really do possess enough toilet paper to last me a month.

It strikes me as a wondrous thing that of all the items people were worried about, toilet paper became the number one obsession. Honestly, I would have never given that a second thought. I was more concerned that I didn’t have three bags of Doritos and my stash of Reese’s Peanut Cups were lower than I would like. Perhaps I’m just a hedonist – screw the basics of human comfort and sanitation, I just want my snack supply to be secure.

I did not make a panic run to the store. In fact, I haven’t seen the inside of a grocery store in about two weeks. I stocked up the best I could (mainly on dog food) and figured as long as I have a few boxes of pasta and some cheese, I’m pretty much good to go. I’m fortunate in the fact that I’ve never been food insecure – but it makes me incredibly sad that others are not so lucky. So this will be a true test of our ability as Americans (and as Humans) to look out for the less fortunate among us.

Have you heard about the Eight Oaks Distillery in Rural Pennsylvania? (Here’s a link to their site: https://eightoaksdistillery.com/). They saw a need for hand sanitizer and set about creating a way to produce and distribute it to those in need. It’s pivots like this that will make us come out of the crisis stronger. They’re not the only company using this time to make a difference – education sites are opening up their resources for free to help the nation cope with school closures (another link to a great site: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/135609/list-of-education-companies-offering-free-subscriptions/). So maybe this crisis has a chance to move us all toward a more collaborative society – one where those who have something can help those in need.

I guess we’ll find out in a few months if we’re evolved enough as humans to do this gracefully and compassionately. I think we are, but the fact that everyone seems to be out of toilet paper does put a dent in my optimism.

Never before have I worried about this…