My writing process

For those of you who don't know, I started on BLOOD MOON the other day. BLOOD is the third (and possibly final) book in the Sarah Vargas series. I am thrilled about this, because this is what we've all been waiting for since the end of FADE TO BLACK, the retaliation from the Blood Moon Corporation. My goal is to have the first draft finished by July.

Before I even sit at the computer, I grab a sheet of paper and write up a rough outline. Right now I have 10 chapters outlined for BLOOD, but I’ll probably be more like 16 when I’m finally finished. For once, along with the outline, I had to write up my loose ends. There are plenty of events in MALEVOLENT DEAD that need to be wrapped up, and just a small handful from FADE. I can’t remember them all, so I made a list. I also find a binder to keep all my notes and drafts of BLOOD in. Ever since my computer crashed and I lost everything, I am a printing demon. The second I finish for the day, sometimes before I finish if I’m on a roll, I print. It goes into the binder and won’t be looked at again until I am finished.

Now I'm not sure about you, but the hardest part of starting a new project is just that, starting. I will sit in front of my computer, looking at the blank Word document, trying to figure out how I want to start it. It takes forever to get the party started, but when I do it’s like a huge sigh of relief. It doesn’t have to be a marathon writing session. Right now I only have 825 words written, but at least the hard part is done. I’m started, and that’s all that matters at this point.

Writing Sarah is interesting. She’s so complex, and has plenty of anger and trust issues. I the right music to get her going, and I’ve found that for this book Avenged Sevenfold will be her soundtrack. For FADE it was mostly Evanescence with a little Avenged Sevenfold near the end. MALEVOLENT was written without much music, except for a couple of sections that just needed Avenged Sevenfold’s “Burn It Down.” Why no music? I’m not too sure. Sarah was lost in MALEVOLENT and, in a way, I was too. With FADE published, I was afraid of scaring away the fans I had. But this is the end game.

Will Sarah live?

Will the Blood Moon Corporation win?

It’s time for me to find out.


Discover where it all began! Read FADE TO BLACK today.
Ebook available from www.eternalpress.biz or in print from Amazon.com

Today, when bringing up EP's main page, I thought to myself that it would be cool to see both of my covers at once. Coolness insued. Promises to Keep the pic for Top Sales and Fade to Black is the pic for Paranormal.

I've also added on a webpage for Malevolent Dead. I hope to be subbing it soon, but something just isn't right with it. I've sent it to a friend to read through and maybe he can figure out what's wrong. In the mean time, a little peek into Sarah's world is in order. Here's a pic of Malevolent Dead, the club that bites.

Vote for PROMISES today!

Today begins the You Gotta Read Videos Trailer Contest. From now until the 26th of March, you can stop by and vote for your favoite book trailer. Exciting, isn't it? Especially since PROMISES TO KEEP is trailer 20 in the contest.

Please stop by there and vote for PROMISES TO KEEP (Trailer 20). Voting ends on the 26th!http://ping.fm/0sqp6

No-show Blogs

Excuse me while I climb onto my soapbox. I feel that this may look bad on me, when I didn't do anything wrong.

Back in February, I scheduled a ton of guest blogs and interviews to promote PROMISES TO KEEP. Everything was due around March 1, and I made sure to email them the information early. After all, you never know if a file won't open. That would give enough time to make sure the problem was solved well before the blog/interview's due date. I have a planner that I keep track of all of my events in, even posting them on my Google calendar and Facebook with reminders emailed to me. I am one prepared little author.

The day of my guest blog/interview I promo the heck out of it, posting info on Facebook, Twitter, RITBS, Yahoo, etc. I enclude a link to the site.

So imagine my fury when I discover that the blog never put up my post.

I give it until 4pm EST before I email them. Maybe life got in the way. Maybe they are on a different schedule than I am. Maybe a meteor hit their house. Maybe they got abducted by aliens. Whatever. Here's what I say:

"Hi (insert name here). Just a reminder that my blog was supposed to go live today. I emailed it to you around the first of March. If for some reason you didn't get it, please let me know."

I don't care if it's late, as long as it goes up.

And then I get no reply. None. Nada.

How is that professional? The two blogs that were no-shows double as review sites. They are important high traffic sites for us little known authors. What ticks me off the most is how much time I spent on these guest blogs when I could have been writing or, better yet, spending time with my family.

In a week or so, if I still haven't heard from no-show-blog#2, I'll post it on here. It was a funny post, one that I was very proud of.

I'm getting off my soapbox....for now.

Location, location, location!

(This is the blog post that was supposed to be up at Night Owl Romance on March 5. I still haven't heard from them concerning not posting it.)


When I’m writing a story that is set in modern times, I prefer to set it in a place that I have been. I adore accurate description within a story, and nothing makes me dislike a story more than when it’s obvious the author has never been there. Most of my books are set in Charleston, South Carolina, since I live near there. Charleston was colonized around 1670, so many of the buildings in the downtown area have a lot of history behind them. However, when writing Promises to Keep, my characters weren’t interested in Charleston’s rich history. It made picking locations more interesting. I do have only one rule when it comes to locations: If a person died, or if the main character had to do something super dangerous, use a fictional locale. A good example of this is Chimera, the bar mentioned in Promises to Keep.

When Starlette goes there it’s during the day and the only patron inside is Sivad Night. Chimera is based on a real bar, but not one off of Highway 176 like I say in the book. Why did I do this? While it is the first time that my readers will hear of this bar, it’s not the first time I have written about it. A lot of bad things eventually happen there, and it is because of those events that Chimera is in a fictional location.

When picking out a location, I usually choose places that are my favorite. For example, Haven is one of my favorite houses in downtown Charleston. Donavan’s house from Fade to Black was a house that, as a child, I told myself I would one day buy. Sadly it has since been demolished to make way for new housing, but the image of it is stuck in my head. I figure if I bond with a location then it has got to be for a reason.

My advice for writers looking for locations to set their writing in is this: Don’t force it. Let memories from your past or childhood inspire you, whether it be those hot summers at the beach or relaxing weekend camping trips. If you force it, then the reader will be able to tell. Like I said earlier, readers can tell. Another piece of advice, do your homework. Has the building been around since 1700? Make sure and read up on it. Maybe something happened there that you can incorporate into your work.

I hope you’ll check out my new book, Promises to Keep, due out on March 7.


Lots of love,
Heather Kuehl
http://heatherkuehl.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/heatherkuehl


Promises to Keep
March 7, 2010
Eternal Press
www.eternalpress.biz

Summary:
Starlette is on a mission, and nothing will get in her way...
Starlette DeFore knows that her father is alive, even though her family buried him ten years ago. When a faerie confirms this she travels to Charleston, South Carolina to hunt down Sivad Night, the only person to have ever escaped from the hands of a powerful sorceress, the Dark Lady Dreashae. With help from a witch, Starlette travels into Verella, a fantasy realm filled with centaurs, dragons and magic. She is very close to finding her father, but first must defeat Dreashae.

Will Starlette, a mere mortal, have the strength needed to finish her quest and save her father?

The day after...

Hey everyone!

Author Reads went great today! If you missed it, you can listen to it anytime at http://ping.fm/VuI1Q

PROMISES TO KEEP has been listed as a "Top Seller" on Eternal Press's website since 7pm last night! WOOT! Keep it up there. http://ping.fm/qlW7H

PROMISES is now available on Amazon.com for download onto your Kindle. Isn't that the coolest?

I've outlined BLOOD MOON, the final book in the Sarah Vargas series and I plan to start writing chapter one tonight. I hope to get this one finished by July.

Next up on the agenda: I will be on the Eternal Press blog tomorrow talking about the creation of PROMISES. Join me for the fun! http://ping.fm/lMtfb

For a list of the rest of the places I will be on my virtual tour, and then some, please visit http://ping.fm/JZLCe

3...2...1...RELEASE DAY!

I can't believe it's here. PROMISES TO KEEP is officially released today. SQUEEEEEEEE! *happy dance*

I could barely sleep last night, I am so excited. Get your copy today at www.eternalpress.biz.

And yes, you see the right. EP has a new website. And with that new site is a new chatroom for the live chat. I didn't find out until last night that the live chat for tonight will be in that room. Join me from 7-8pm EST in www.eternalpress.biz/chat.php and one lucky person will win a signed print copy of FADE TO BLACK!

And now, for your reading pleasure, Chapter 1 of PROMISES TO KEEP!

“Where is he?”

The guttural growl escaped my throat as I pinned the creature against the wall. I didn’t want the runaround from something like him. He struggled against me, trying to find a way out of my grip. He knew I was only human, and that if he could slip from my grasp then he could disappear into the night, like he was some sort of damned vampire. I
slammed my fist against his jaw, reminding him I had the upper hand.

“Where’s my father?”

He looked at me, eyes betraying his alarm. It was a good feeling, knowing that a mere human could strike fear in the hearts of faeries everywhere.

“How the hell should I know?” he rasped. I guess it hurt trying to talk after getting punched in the jaw. “Rumor has it he died ten years ago.”

“We both know he’s not dead.” I pulled out a knife with ancient runes etched into the blade. I pressed the razor-sharp edge against his throat and saw his eyes grow wide. I wasn’t stupid. Normal knives
wouldn’t kill someone of his kind, a faerie, but a blade made of iron would. I had done my homework.

“Ask Sivad,” the faerie said, panic written all over his features. “Sivad Night. He knows pretty much everything about people who have been to Verella.”

“Where can I find this…Sivad?”

“Randa, South Carolina, last I heard. He moves around a lot.” The faerie looked at the blade that was still pressed against his throat. “I’ve helped you as much as I can. Can I go?”

I thought about this piece of information. Randa, South Carolina. My father had lived there for several years before meeting my mother and
moving up to Boston, Massachusetts. I was going to have to pay this Sivad Night a visit.

I gripped the knife and sliced it across the faerie’s throat, blood spurting across my face and shirt as he fell. While he writhed on the ground I watched his eyes until I knew for sure he was dead. I had
learned that you never turn your back on a seemingly dead corpse. They always have a way of getting back up to kill you.

Searching the faerie, I came across a faint pattern on his arm. At first glance it looked like a tattoo of some sort, but colors this fresh only meant one thing; fey. That explained why he tried to bargain with me. Even if he had gotten away, he didn’t have any magic to use against me. Dreashae’s warriors were primarily made up of fey. She used them for their strength and agility. While there were two types of faeries―the nonmagical,
fey, and the magical, sihde―I believed that Dreashae chose the fey because they could never be a threat to her. If she had chosen sihde
to guard her, she’d have to constantly watch her back.

I walked home, making sure I stuck to alleys and dark roads. It was never good for a human to see you covered in blood; they tended to assume things. I opened the door to my apartment and walked inside. The first thing my eyes saw after my door swung open was a picture of my father that I had hung up on the wall.

Ronan DeFore was the perfect father. His short black hair and kind, expressive green eyes didn’t tell much about him. His mustache, though,
seemed to speak volumes, making him look strict. Almost as if you did one little thing wrong, then he would ground you for life.

I barely remembered his voice.

When I was twelve, he died. Or at least that’s what I had been told. My mother said it was a quick illness, but I knew that wasn’t so. I remember a strange woman coming to the house, with long black hair and even blacker eyes. From her forehead to her chin was a deep gash, not bleeding, already starting to heal. She told my mother that my father wouldn’t be coming home.

At the funeral, a man with eyes of sea-foam aquamarine walked up to my mother. He had very short dark hair that took on a shade of forest
green when the sun hit just right. Even though it was the middle of June, he was wearing a heavy suit. He didn’t say a word, didn’t touch her, just
looked into her eyes until she broke down crying. His name was Fared, and he was the first fey I killed.

It wasn’t until high school that I decided to do something. The dreams about my father and the black-eyed woman haunted me. Every night it was the same dream over and over; my father was being mugged and a woman stopped to help him. She could create magic with her hands, a sight he had never seen before. She was tiny and fragile.
Although she looked human I know now she was a witch. As she was helping my father get his possessions back from the thugs, a dark-haired
woman appeared behind her, a large knife raised up in her hands. My father lunged at this woman, tearing the knife from her grasp and giving
her a large gash on her face. She retreated, seemingly defeated. The witch turned to my father, fear expressed in her cerulean eyes.

“She’ll get you for that,” she said. “No one harms a sorceress and gets away with it.”

I stopped having that dream after I went to the alley where the witch had saved my father. There she was, just as she looked when she rescued
him from the muggers. She told me her name was Tabitha Desdamona Drake, and she was obligated to help me.

“After all,” she said, “this is my fault.”

She told me the black-haired woman, a sorceress named Dreashae, had been after her for years.

“I killed her son. Not out of cold blood, mind you. He was kidnapping humans and bringing them to Verella.”

She explained that Verella was what they called a land that was not of this realm. Within this land dwelt the creatures of fantasy lore. Certain
kingdoms were more dangerous than others, especially the ones that had faeries. Tabitha Desdamona didn’t know much about Verella other than that, and said she had never been there.

“How does this help my father?” I asked. I didn’t care about sorceresses or fey. I just cared about getting my father back.

Tabitha Desdamona put me on the trail of Fared, the fey that was at my father’s funeral. She gave me a rune-etched knife and her cell phone
number.

“If you need my help, call.” She looked at me, curiosity filling her eyes. “What is you name?”

“Starlette DeFore.”

“Good luck, Star. You’re going to need it.”

****

I shook my head and looked away from my father’s portrait. Looking at it always dragged up bad memories. I was hoping one day they could
be replaced with new, kinder ones. I showered quickly, making sure I washed all the blood off my body and out of my long black hair. My bloody clothes could wait until later. As I dressed, I called the airport and ordered tickets. I took the first flight out to Charleston International Airport. Charleston, South Carolina was only a half hour from Randa. I would start there.

Buy PROMISES TO KEEP today!

Live Chat Location for Tomorrow

Here is the correct link for the live chat tomorrow night. http://ping.fm/AjAT1

I'll try and fix it everywhere by noon tomorrow.

Tomorrow...or 17 hours from now!

PROMISES TO KEEP is only 17 hours away...squeeee!

Still don't know what was up with Night Owl Romance. I emailed them about my blog (or lack there of) and still haven't heard from them. I'll wait to see, and if I don't hear anything by tomorrow I'll post what was supposed to be my blog entry up on here. I was talking about choosing real locations for fictional books.

Anyways, I'm at Dawn's Reading Nook and Love Romance Cafe Yahoo Group today. I've already posted my excerpt up at LRC (http://ping.fm/JptcF) and I've checked the blog and my post is up! Join me as I talk about working with sequels.
http://ping.fm/jo80p

Don't forget to join me for the release party tomorrow. PROMISES TO KEEP! OMG I am so excited. The live chat will be here (http://ping.fm/C4uBt) from 7-8pm EST. I'm going to be giving away a signed print copy of FADE TO BLACK to a lucky person. I will also be in the Eternal Press Reader's Yahoo Group from 1-2pmEST tomorrow to post excerpts and chat with readers. If you can't make it to the live chat, stop by. And my 1-2 time is self imposed, meaning I'll be there for as long as I have people chatting with me.

Stop #2 on my virtual tour today is...

Night Owl Romance!

I'm guest blogging there today, talking about picking real locations for fictional stories. http://ping.fm/ktBIT

And don't forget that PROMISES comes out on Sunday, just a mere 1.5 days away. How could you even forget though, it's all I've been talking about for months!

I'm over halfway through editing MALEVOLENT DEAD. Changed some tiny things, did gun research for T.D., and made sure that Marcellus didn't come off as sappy.

I'm getting a lot done, and it's barely 9am. Yay me, considering that the cold-that-won't-go-away is back. WOOT! (about the work, not the cold)

Also, read Buffy 33. OMG if you don't read the Buffy comics, now's the time to start. The revelations of who Twilight really is is going to rock Buffy's world!

And so it starts!

Today starts my virtual tour for Promises to Keep. My first stop is the Romance Roundtable; I'm guest blogging about keeping the romance alive. http://ping.fm/R44oG

Right now there are a total of 9 stops on my tour, but I keep adding to the list. So either keep track of my dates on my website (http://ping.fm/jcmqV) or become my fan on Facebook (http://ping.fm/a1FFj). I keep both of these pages up to date with the most current information!

OMG only three days left until the release of PROMISES TO KEEP. Three days until the search for Starlette's father is on!

I can't wait!

Mark Your Calendar!

Join Us For Our March Release Day Party!

You're all invited to join Eternal Press authors at our monthly launch party! Come chat all day on March 7, 2010 at: Eternal Press Reader's Group to celebrate the new releases, visit with our authors, and just have fun. Then, help us keep the party going well into the night in the Eternal Press LIVE chat room at www.eternalpress.ca.

Release Day LIVE Chat Schedule

7-8pm EST: Heather Kuehl
8-9pm EST: Mirella Patzer and Ed Tasca
9-10pm EST: David Landrum and Lorrie Unites-Struiff
10-11pm EST: Brigit Aine and MC Halliday

Come out and have some one-on-one time with your favorite author or discover a new talent.


SEE YOU SOON!

Purchase E-Book
Pick your favorite e-book at Eternal Press.

Reader's Loop
Chat with Authors ALL DAY on our Yahoo Loop

EP Live Chat
Come ask our authors the tough questions...



~From the Eternal Press Newsletter
Copyright (C) 2010 Marketing Media Management All rights reserved.

FINISHED!

Finally after much hard work, MALEVOLENT DEAD is finished. Right now, the first draft has 21,443 words.

MD is the sequel to FADE TO BLACK (which ranked in at approx. 21,200 words) and takes place 6 months after the end of FADE.


Werewolf Sarah Vargas thought all she had to worry about was the Blood Moon Corporation's retaliation. She never dreamed that another vampire would arrive, disputing Damian's claim over the throne to Charleston, SC. To make matters worse, he is no ordinary vamp; he's a vampire necromancer. Exceptionally hard to kill, Sarah will have do what ever she can to keep those that she loves safe...

Even if it means doing the unthinkable.


I'm starting personal edits tomorrow and then I'll start sending it off. Keep an eye out for MALEVOLENT DEAD.