Sunday, March 16, 2014

Internet Marketing for Writers and current projects

I attended a class yesterday on Internet Marketing for writers, by Bob Cohen (bobology.com). It was informative and inspiring.  It made me think that it's time to get off of my backside, and get in gear.  I want to create marketable content for others to enjoy so that when I do end up publishing my work I will already have some people following who are likely to purchase said work.  It sounds weird when I put it that way, but you catch my drift.

I'm currently working on a handful of projects.  Here's descriptions of a couple:

The Council Chronicles - I wrote the first, second and third novels in this series for NaNoWriMo (NaNoWriMo.org) in 2011, 2012 and 2013.  I've selected "The Choices We Make," "A Force to be Reckoned With," and "Changes in the Wind" as my working titles.

The Council Chronicles, Volume 1: The Choices We Make - This is a story about a baker, Audrey Baxter, whose life is turned upside down when a stranger shows up at her bakery and insists that she come with him to meet "The Council" at their headquarters in the Financial District of San Francisco.  It turns out that the amnesia from which Audrey suffers wasn't caused by a car crash, and that her memories were supernaturally taken from her.  With limited information and piecing together hints and clues of her past, she must decide whether or not she's going to help The Council in their hunting down of a madman vampire, John Cole.  And, more importantly, she must decide if she will fight to remain in the magical world of the past she can't remember, or return to the normal life she'd built for herself.

The Council Chronicles, Volume 2: A Force to be Reckoned With - The second story in the Council Chronicles follows the Faerie on The Council, Maddy Stevens, as she struggles to align her family duties with her professional obligations.  As an appointed member of The Council, she must act and react in a certain way--but when her brother becomes involved in "Equality Protests," things become convoluted quickly.  Meanwhile, an insane Shifter who calls himself "Lone Wolf" has started to make threats about turning a majority of the Bay Area's population into werewolves.  Maddy not only has to help reign in the protests that are turning into riots, but help the Hunters working with The Council to stop Lone Wolf.

The Council Chronicles, Volume 3: Changes in the Wind - When a position opens up on The Council, an election must take place.  But elections and power can change a person--even one with Supernatural Powers.  Lily, a young woman who shifts uncontrollably into an animal during the full moon, follows her boyfriend, Ash, along his campaign trail.  He was born a shifter, meaning he can control his change--and himself in his animal form.  The gap between the "born" shifters and the "made" shifters makes this election a very important one.  But will Ash follow through with campaign promises?  Meanwhile, earthquakes growing in frequency and magnitude are moving up the coast of California, and The Council's librarian has found an archive of old journals which may contain secrets that will shake the foundations of the Shifters belief system to the core.

It's likely that I'm going to continue writing The Council Chronicles every year for NaNoWriMo.  I just need to find and transcribe all of my notes.  I'm sure that notebook is around here somewhere...  Also, I've almost finished my first round of editing on CC Vol 1, so I'll be sending that to my beta reader on Tuesday.

The Royals - I'm currently working on the first in a set of short stories, called "The Royals."  The first in the series is nearly finished, and I'll be working more steadily on the others during Camp NaNoWriMo 2014 (http://campnanowrimo.org/).  I'm hoping to publish them one at a time as I create them, and then put together a compilation of the complete set when I've finished all seven.  They're "inspired by" classic fairy tales, though are set in the modern, real world.  It's a bit of a stretch for me to write something without any magic or supernatural qualities at all to the story, but so far I've had really positive feedback by my readers.

The Royals, Volume 1: So far is untitled.  It follows the story of Eddie Royal, who is setting up his brother's house in Burbank while Charles Royal, his brother, ties up loose ends at work on the East Coast.  Eddie sees and hears a beautiful young woman in the house next door, though the old woman living there claims she lives alone.  Eddie falls in love with the girl next door, and together they uncover the mystery of her past.

So far so good, right?  I've got ideas for all seven stories in my The Royals series, and am working on bullet points and outlines.  The Council Chronicles and The Royals will each have their own Facebook page, and their own blog, so stay tuned for those updates, too!

Right now I should get back to writing!  I have too much to do and too little time!