Happily Ever After

Check out my interview with Happily Ever After Reviews

http://hea-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/08/author-interview-with-heather-kuehl.html

Only 7 days left until the release of Malevolent Dead!

Freedom!

One of the most glorious things to ever witness is an animal being released back into the wild. I got to see this today when two sea turtles were released at Folly Beach County Park.

From the Sea Turtle Hospital blog:

The 100-pound loggerhead, Santos, was cold-stunned off the New England coast in the winter of ‘08 and treated for a year at the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center at the University of New England. In November of ‘09, the turtle was transported to the South Carolina Aquarium to finish healing, catching a ride in a small Piper Twin Comanche with private pilot, Ronnie Santos from Mount Pleasant, SC. We are grateful for Ronnie and the East Cooper Pilot’s Association for this wonderful support!

The juvenile Kemp’s ridley, Surfer, was caught on hook and line just 4 months ago by a surf fisherman on Hilton Head, SC. Kemp’s ridleys are commonly found in near shore waters in the summertime and are prone to getting caught by recreational fishermen. Surfer underwent surgery to remove the hook that was deeply embedded in the esophagus. A hook that is left in the esophagus of a turtle in the wild can be problematic, possibly resulting in death and we congratulate all fishermen who turn these “hooked” endangered species over to the SCDNR.


For more information about the Sea Turtle Hospital, please visit http://scaquarium.org/STR/default.html

sea turtle flipper-prints in the sand

This was the second time I got to see a sea turtle be released back into the ocean, and I must say that it was heart warming as the first. It brough tears to my eyes as I watched the turtles glide across the sand, eager to get back to their natural habitat.

Crazy Busy Day

I alway feel like a chicken with its head cut off before a book release, running around trying to get as much accomplished as possible before the big day. Here's a run down of what my last two days have looked like

I sent in the last of my guest blog posts. I always try to send them in a month or more ahead of time, that way I'm not busting my ass at the last minute.

I got some promo things written up and saved in my email drafts, like First Chapters Blog, that I won't be able to send in until the book is released. On Sept 7, all I'll have to do it click send.

I got book review requests ready to send out in my email drafts. Just have to attach my book and send...

that is until I got my ARC from Eternal Press with permission to use the proof as an ARC. This means I didn't have to wait until Sept 7 to send out my review requests. Sent out three requests today, and filled out four review request forms.

Double checked my website to make sure everything was ready to go for MALEVOLENT DEAD's release.

Making sure that I mention BLOOD MOON in any MD promo. Hey, it doesn't hurt to start early.

Stopped by the guests blogs I was on today and yesterday to acknowledge the people who commented.

I'm sure tomorrow will be an equally busy day. But with this being my third release, I've found that the more you do ahead of time the more time you'll have for other things - like writing or spending time with the family. In my case it's writing OF WOLF AND MAN.

Character Evolution

I'm guest blogging again today! Learn about the evolution of Sarah Vargas at Nighs of Passion Blog.

http://nightsofpassion.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/behind-the-character-paranormal-romance-author-heather-kuehl/

How embarrassing!

I'm guest blogging at Beyond Romance today about "the blush factor." Stop by to see what embarrasses me.

http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2010/08/blush-factor.html

Blood Moon

While I don't have the contract in my hands yet, I have the overwhelming urge to announce that BLOOD MOON has been accepted for publication by Eternal Press. I'm thinking it will be a Spring/Summer 2011 release, based on the release dates of my previous publications with them.

*happy dance*

I want to lie and say that I've been hard at work on OF WOLF AND MAN, but I haven't. I've spent the last week cleaning my house and reorganizing...aka procrastinating. I've said it before, I hate having to rewrite something that I've already written. I do plan on changing some things, but for the most part from the part I'm at until the Homecoming game I had already written and then lost during the Crash of 2009. I have a "been there, done that" feeling about it.

Of Wolf and Man

I'm going to be complaining about this story for a while, so it's only fair to give you all the back story so you'll understand my frustration.

OF WOLF AND MAN was started over a year ago, maybe even two, and by 30k I was just a mere five chapters away from the end. Then, in September of 2009, my computer crashed. I lost everything; pictures of my newborn son that weren't backed up along with this story. I had an earlier draft backed up and printed, which was good. The bad was that it was only 21k. I was missing three pivotal chapters, one of which was a pain in the ass to write. After that happened, I put the manuscript up. I just didn't have the heart to rewrite what had been lost.

Well, yesterday I sat down and made some changes and I'm almost at 22k. I'm going to finish the tweaking today and start off where I left off. I feel good about this, because I'm adding an interesting subplot that will throw a wrench into Jensen and Juliet's plans. Also go to make sure that I add a meeting with the DeLocket Clan in there as well so that the end makes sense.

I'm sure I will be complaining a ton about this story, because I feel like I should be closer to being finished than what I already am. I hope to have it finished by December.

"Get the hell out of my city."

BLOOD MOON is finally finished, and Damian got to say one of the best lines ever. "Now," Damian said with a wicked smile. "Get the hell out of my city." Couldn't help but grin when he said it. BLOOD MOON's final word count is 22,065, which is all over where I wanted it. FADE TO BLACK was 21,200 and MALEVOLENT DEAD is hanging around 21,936, making BLOOD MOON's length fit in perfectly. Now I just have to edit it and submit the manuscript to a publisher. Ugh, I hate editing! LoL

Don't worry, I don't think this is the end for Sarah. That's why I call this a series and not a trilogy. I have other books planned, but for now I am going to be working on other projects. When I get the itch to write about her again, I will.

And speaking of other projects....

I have a T.D. book outlined. Can't wait to get my claws into that one.

So close...

I ended up adding two more chapters to what I already had in BLOOD MOON. Come to find out, the location was not realistic for what was happening. So I had to back track and change the setting. Voila! Problem fixed. But that doesn't change the fact that writing this book is like pulling teeth. I just keep telling myself that I have 4k left until I'm done, and the final fight is being set up. I hate to say it, but I think I'm tired of writing about Sarah. It's all I've done it seems since FADE TO BLACK was accepted for publication.

I sent a query for DREAM LOVER to a publisher and they wanted to see the entire draft. Yayy! I sent it to them last night and am praying for an acceptance. Here's the blurb for DREAM LOVER:

Denna Rainerd has dreamed about Warren Connelly for the past ten years, their relationship in the dream world hot and passionate. Pity he isn't real...or is he?

Warren wishes that Denna was in his real world, but a human in his world would be a liability. He's a Hunter shapeshifter; sworn to protect his world from the darkest of creatures while he's focused on revenge for the death of his brother.

Their worlds collide when Warren saves Denna's life, setting up a chain of events that will change their lives forever. Will Denna be able to accept Warren's supernatural secrets?

My next project is finishing OF WOLF AND MAN. The almost completed draft was lost in the computer meltdown of 2009, but luckily I had the majority of it backed up and printed. I haven't worked on it because my back up stopped at a scene I had a lot of problems with and I really hate rewriting. But I think I'm going to edit the entire draft and then see what happens. It's so close to being finished that it wouldn't be fair to just let it collect dust. The story is a paranormal YA that centers around Juliet and Jensen.

Juliet knows that Jensen has a dark secret, especially after he uses his super strength to fight three wolves and save her life. Imagine her surprise when she figures out that he's a werewolf. Imagine her greater surprise when she discovers that this knowledge puts her life in danger. The three wolves that attacked her were also Weres, and they want Jensen to themselves. Jensen has to do what he can to save Juliet, when she and her best friend are kidnapped by the Weres during Homecoming. Will he be able to get to Juliet in time, before the Weres change her into one of them?

I am actually looking forward to tweaking this a bit.

Back to the drawing board

After the rush of writing DREAM LOVER, I had hoped I could get into the same groove with BLOOD MOON. No such luck. I spent all day staring at my computer screen, trying to force out scenes and dialouge. I am no further than I was when I began. *sigh*

I printed it up and am going to read though it. Obviously something just isn't right, and I had complained before to my husband that I thought it was going too fast. Maybe if I backtrack and add some stuff in it will flow better. That's usually what happens when I get stuck, aka writer's block. Something isn't right with the story and I have to figure out what.

I must say that I'm still feeling the high from writing DREAM LOVER. When books all but write themselves, it's a heady feeling.

Siren's Song acceptance

Aphelion Webzine has accepted my haiku "Siren's Song" for publication in their September issue. WOOT!

Poetic Monthly

My interview with Poetic Monthly went GREAT! Here's the link for the show:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/poeticmonthly/2010/08/03/pm-radio-show--interview-heather-kuehl

We talked a lot about the publishing industry and there's plenty of tips in the interview for new/aspiring writers.

It took only 5 days

I started writing DREAM LOVER, my Denna and Warren novella, on Friday night and finished it this morning. I thought I was loosing my writing mojo, but instead I churned out a 14k novella in less than a week. WOOT!

I feel so good about this story. I can't wait to edit it and submit it. I can't wait to have the chance to share it with everyone.

It's a party

This week FADE TO BLACK is a guest over at http://deejulian.jimdo.com/blurb-party/ I had originally thought about participating in this after MALEVOLENT DEAD is released, but decided against it. With MD's release a little over a month away, I want new readers to have the time to catch up with the series. Luckily MD is only book 2. When book 3 comes out, I'll probably do the same thing then; promote FADE and MD until the month before the release. Makes sense?

And speaking of book 3...

I've been writing BLOOD MOON since April (probably even before that, but April's the earliest I can think of at the moment). I'm only at 11k and I want it to be around 22k like the other two books. I've been struggling through BM, until Friday. On Friday I reminded myself that BM isn't contracted and I don't have to write it if I'm not currently feeling it. So, I opened a new word document and started writing about Denna and Warren. No, I've never mentioned these characters before. They popped into my head on Friday and haven't left.

Currently I have a little over 10k written, and I can tell that it's going to be a novella around 15k like EPIPHANY. I think it's really funny that I've been struggling to get to 11k in BM for four months, but I did it in two days thanks to Denna and Warren. I hope to finish their story today and then start editing.

On most days I write around 2.5k, when I'm on a roll 5k (and that only happens once in a blue moon). The last two days have been so out of the norm for me that it makes me giddy. I have such a good feeling about these characters and their story. It's set in the same world as my other books, but has a totally different feel. If Nocturne Bites rejects EPIPHANY, then I'll try sending this new story to them. No, I don't have a title yet. I'm thinking about DREAM LOVER or maybe MIDNIGHT DREAMS. What do you think?