Ideas of Shadow

So, in honor of Shadows of Ourselves being out (you can buy it here) I thought I would talk today about how I got the idea and inspiration for the book!

Shadows really exists because of the scene in the alley in the first chapter. I had the image of Hunter protecting this boy from a pair of Charmer Hounds, and it was really the monsters that drew me in - I wanted to know what they were and who had sent them.

 

I'd always wanted to write a main character who could tell when people were lying - because wouldn't that be the best power? But Sky hates it, and as I wrote him I started to understand what kind of toll it would take. And, of course, since I'm a glutton for punishment, I made the magik hurt.

Originally, the book was supposed to be a novella set in Chicago, but after a few false starts where I played around with the character ages and verb-tense, I started my outline from scratch, moving the book to Saint John. I grew up here, and I've always wanted to set a full-scale paranormal novel here. I think the city really lends itself to magic, and my upbringing really factors into my writing and how I view cityscapes when I'm writing. Plus, looking at the city through the eyes of a bunch of powerful, often immortal, beings, was really fun.

 

 

With the changes, I rewrote my outline, and the story kept growing. I knew I wanted Sky and Hunter to be on a race against time - some of my favorite fantasy novels take place over the course of a few days, and I wanted to keep my timeline tight, so Shadows takes place over the course of five.

I think the thing I love about novels that are fast, that are races, when the villain is chasing the heroes around, is that you're jolting through these intense, magikal landscapes in a very fast, but very close-up way.

Sky gets a bit of magik culture shock throughout the novel, traversing places like the bazaar and the Seelie Court, and I wanted to make those settings as colorful and mesmerizing as possible.

I really can't wait to write the second novel, because I think the direction the series takes will surprise a lot of people. The books get bigger and bigger in scope as they go, and I'm going to have so much fun turning over the city to look at the magik beneath the surface...

Why?

Why is my room built on a slant like this? Why am I so good at cutting my own hair? Why do I have an obsession with candles? Where can I buy more great candles? Why do I hate screamo so much? These are all questions that need to be asked.

Today I've been finishing up an edit on the first ten thousand words of Dreamwalker, because I switched it from first-person to third. It fits the book better, and it will be easier to write it back to back with its sequel this way.

I also, as you may have guessed, cut my own hair. Now I'm getting ready to do the cat box while I wait for my vegetarian pizza to get here.

It's been a good day. Every day has been a generally good day lately. I mean, I'm really, like. . .I don't know if the word is anxious or if I should say I'm kind of falling into some unhealthy thought patterns. There's a gap in my vocabulary where the word for this feeling should be, but whatever, I'm not worried. At least I'm not depressed, anymore. I've just been obsessing over the idea of death the last few days, because, you know, death anxiety is a part of my core personality at this point.

That said, I've been getting good work done, Shadows is coming out in two days, I've lost a bunch of weight, and it's finally nice out outside. Warm days, sunlight, no snow or ice. It's just really nice being able to spend time outside lately.

Also, there's a new Ariana Grande album out, so. Yes. Now I'm just waiting on Lorde, honestly.

That's me, that's my life: an endless wait for a million albums to come out. I'm okay with it.

Publishing Questions + Answers

Alright. I realized I always have a lot of things/projects/series going on at once, and it might confuse a lot of potential readers, so I figured I'd make a post to talk about what's happening right now, as directly and clearly as I can. Here you go:

My next book, Shadows of Ourselves, is out May 27th. It's a new adult gay urban fantasy novel. It's the longest book I've written, and the best, in my opinion, and you can pre-order it here.

After that, my next publications will be the Dreamworld Duet - an urban fantasy duology comprised of the books Dreamwalker and Dreamkiller. The prequel novella is available now, here! They're inspired by magical girl animes, and they've got some epic action scenes.

I'm writing them both to completion before publishing them, so they can come out days within each other. Because having to wait for the next book in a series is the worst.

After that I'm putting out We Die Like Angels which is part sci-fi, part urban fantasy. It's set in Midnight City, so if you've read my horror anthology, you might have an idea of what's in store in this novel, which is queer romance. (Nb X M)

Then I'll be moving on to Maelstrom and Tears of Sunrise, before I finish up the Charmers series.

I know it's a lot (seriously, try juggling it all when you're the one who has to write it) but I tend to post updates about this stuff as it happens, and I'm always happy to answer questions and clear up misunderstandings or confusion!

Why Do I Obsess Over These Things?

Lately I've been wondering why I get obsessed with random, strange things. When I say obsessed, I mean my brain will latch onto something odd and specific for weeks at a time, so it's all I can think about or focus on. It happens with events or people, tragedies or pieces of art or historical periods.

I know everybody has obsessions, and its normal to latch onto certain things or run into mental stumbling blocks, but I wonder about it a lot.

So, here's a list of things I've gone through obsessions with:

The Titanic:

I feel like a lot of people can relate, but I've spent hours and hours researching the Titanic, reading about it. I think one reason certain tragedies/events like this stand out in my mind because I have a really big fear of being trapped. The idea of being on the ship as it sank and knowing what was happening with no way off, I can't get out of my mind what that must have felt like or what those people must've been going through.

Grimes:

Yes, the singer. Not, like, her, as a person, but more her work and her creative process. I get really fascinated by the way certain artists work, and it doesn't matter if they're a producer or a painter or a writer - watching artists work and seeing them talk about their work, it's oddly something really fascinating for me. I've read like, 19 Grimes interviews. Interviews are a big thing for me for this reason.

Blythe Dolls:

This one was years ago. I don't know why I was so fascinated/fixated by them, but I was. They're kind of creepy, looking back on it.

9/11:

This one is similar to the Titanic. Knowing people were trapped in those buildings, and seeing images of them falling. The falling really, really gets me, because I have a fear of heights, too. It's a tragedy, and it's something that's hard to let go of, for some reason it's something I think of a lot.

Animorphs:

Another strange one, but there's something about fictional worlds. I'll spend hours reading through wikis, and this past few weeks it's been Animorphs summaries and wiki pages, but before it's been Game of Thrones or Vampire Academy. I get really fascinated by fictional worlds, particularly high-concept ones, for some reason. It's another thing my brain can't let go of.

Cleopatra Selene:

She was the only child of Cleopatra to reach adulthood. She saw her parents and siblings die, her home was torn from her. What did that feel like? How did she reflect on it later life, as a powerful leader herself? What was her story like, when history remembers so very, very little of it?

I don't know. Some of these things actively give me anxiety or bring on bouts of depression, but I can't let go of them. Others are just, random fascination, I guess? I don't know. It's just a small fraction of the stuff my brain gets stuck on.

Maybe I'm defective.

Where Was I?

Wondering where I've been? Well, here's a list of things I've been doing in lieu of blogging:

• Editing Shadows of Ourselves and making it available for pre-order
• Giving Blood of Midnight a new editing pass
• Finishing up the paperback stuff for Souls of Salt & Seawater
• Drafting Dreamwalker, which you can find on Goodreads here
• Reading the new Sarah J. Maas book and crying
• Getting a new bedroom door (my old one was broken)
• Starting to take prozac
• Enjoying the fact that spring is here
• generally living life

I've gotten a bunch of work done in the past few weeks, but I've barely been blogging at all. I probably should've kept up with it better, but Shadows of Ourselves (pre-order it here!) was taking up all of my energy.

I also designed the cover for Tears of Sunrise, the sequel to Blood of Midnight. I really love it. Once the newly edited version of BOM is up, I'll be putting out a new cover for Scars of Dusk, too.

Right now I haven't finished the editing pass, yet. It's nothing major, just cleaning up grammatical and spelling errors that slipped by in previous edits and making a few things clearer. If you've already read it, the changes in the new edition won't be too big - there are new paragraphs, here and there, and new lines, but no new scenes or chapters. Just general confirmation of a few things I didn't make clear enough, and generally tightening the manuscript.

The blurb for the sequel is also up, and I want to start drafting it as soon as possible so I can share the covers. The verb tense in this one has changed, and so has the protagonist - though Dru and Lilac will be featured heavily, it's an anthology series, so the stories also stand on their own.

My word count goal for this one is around 35 to 40 thousand words, and my goal for Dreamwalker is roughly the same, so I'm going to try to make Dreamseeker the same length.

Anyway, if you'd like a review copy of Shadows of Ourselves, feel free to hit me up in the comments of at ApolloBlake@mail.com!

Shadows of Ourselves Pre-Order!

Shadows of Ourselves is available for pre-order! The book is out May 27th, but you can buy it now and it will be delivered to your kindle instantly.

To be clear, I think this is the best book I've written. It's the longest, at roughly 120,000 words, and it's the most unique, I think. It's got everything I love, and I had more fun writing it than I can remember having writing anything, really.

I'm going to be sending the book to plenty of bloggers, and you can add it on Goodreads here. If you're a book blogger or reviewer in any capacity and you'd like a review copy, you can email me at ApolloBlake@mail.com and I'll be happy to provide one.

I'll be blogging a lot more in the next few weeks, leading up to the release, so check back often for chances to win free copies of the book and learn more about it and the writing process!

Shadows of Ourselves Character Spotlight: Jackson

Time for another character spotlight! Shadows of Ourselves is out May 27th, and it should be available for pre-order within the next two days! I really love this book. Edits took it from 73,000 to 120,000, and it's a much stronger, more nuanced book now.

I cringe to know there are a select few people who read the rougher drafts. The final one is a lot better than I imagined the book could be. I'm glad I let it sit for a decent chunk of time, before editing.

Today's character spotlight is for Jackson - who gets a bit more screen time now than he did in the original book.

Jackson is a stranger who comes into the picture with a job offer for Sky, but there's a lot more to him than meets the eye. He's still a bit of a goofball, though.

You can add the book on Goodreads here and, if you review books in any capacity and you're interested in an ARC, you can email me at ApolloBlake@mail.com, and I'll send you one!

A Little Bit Dangerous, But Baby That's How I Want It

Did the new Ariana Grande song nearly kill anyone else?

Aside from listening to this on repeat I'm getting ready to go to my cousin's house and planning Shadows Of Ourselves release stuff. Because I'm really excited for it to come out this month.

I'm going into workaholic overdrive trying to finalize everything. I wanna get paperbacks out within a few days of putting out the ebook because I want to host a few giveaways. I still need to sort out royalty info with the paperback distributor first, so I'm gonna stop by the bank today and deal with that.

Overall I'm just excited to have a longer book out. The longer the book, a better. I love really big stories, and Shadows of Ourselves is the longest book I've written to date. Blood of Midnight (which is free today!) and SOSAS are both novel-length, but they're still short books.

Also I genuinely think Shadows of Ourselves is the best book I've written, yet. I think it's got a nice flow and it's a pretty exciting adventure.

Plus, there's hot boys.

It's also set in my home town, Saint John, because it's a pretty magikal city, and because we need more books (especially hot New Adult romance books) set in Canada. The book is set in November, 2016, and it's a big romp through the city and a bunch of magikal landscapes.

It's also got a really diverse cast, because I wrote the book I wanted to read, and I'm sick of reading a book where everyone is cisgender and white and able-bodied. I want to write diverse characters in a way that they're not just coming out stories or coming of age or learning to cope with being othered by mainstream society - I think we should be able to see ourselves in books about werewolves and superheroes and detectives. Genre fiction where diverse characters are allowed to just exist and have stories and go on adventures.

I really loved City of Bones when I was fifteen because it was the first book I'd ever read like that with gay characters in it - not even just gay main characters, but gay characters period - and I think there's something wrong with that.

I really adore Amanda Sun's Ink trilogy because it has a gay character in its main cast, and I devoured half of the House of Night series in one week when I was sixteen because there were gay characters. (Token-ish ones, albeit, but still).

Rainbow Rowell's Carry On is (in my opinion) a masterpiece and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is brilliant. 

In real life, non-white teens and kids in wheelchairs and queer youth, they all do extraordinary things and there are so many facets to their lives - they deserve diversity that isn't shoe-horned in or gimmicky, and those are the books I want to write. Books where genderfluid kids get to take on super villains and teens in wheelchairs embrace their magical bad-assery and save the day, just like their counterparts do in other ya and na genre books like these. Because if stuff like giant robots and evil mermaids really existed, that's exactly what would happen.

It also deals with some pretty dark stuff like mental illness and substance abuse and, you know, death and murder.

I just didn't want to write a perfect, well-adjusted main character with a good attitude. I feel like there's so many young adults and college aged kids who are sick of seeing perfectionists who never mess up in their books. So many of us deal with mental illness or trauma or abuse, and even aside from those things, so many of us are a bit jaded and bitter, or emotional withdrawn. I wanted to write about and deal with those issues. Sky is pretty damaged.

I'm really fond of the book, though, and I'm hoping some other people like it, too. I'm just excited, in general.

Shadows of Ourselves Cover Reveal + Release Date!

So, Shadows of Ourselves is going to be out on Friday, may 27th, and now that I have the release date chosen I can release the final cover!

TA-DA! I designed the cover myself, and I'm really happy with the final product. Sky is a bit more masculine looking than he is in the book, but overall I think I captured his essence and the dark but magikal tone of the book pretty well.

I would pitch this as Cassandra Clare meets Leah Raeder/Elliot Wake, kind of. It's got sorcery and monsters, incubi and romance, and it deals with some pretty dark subject matter like abuse and alcoholism. It's also got a highly diverse cast (transgender seelie queen, anyone?) and plenty of sex, action, and mystery.

To be honest, I think Shadows is my 10 out of 10. It's the book I wrote because it was the book I always wanted to read as a teenager, it's just a really unique, interesting world. I know I'm probably not supposed to say that, since it's my own book, but I crammed as much magik and mythology into this world as I could, and the way it turned out is really alluring and visually enticing.

Check out the Pinterest Board for the Book, or add it on Goodreads!

No Worries Gonna Find Us + Ten Things You'll Find

So, since this round of edits is almost done, here's a list of some things you'll find in Shadows of Ourselves:

1. a gender non-conforming Ice Prince with good hair and combat boots
2. a pansexual sorcerer with a book fetish
3. lots of whiskey
4. treacherous faeries
5. lotus flowers and garter snakes
6. strange visions
7. underground temples
8. bar fights
9. a sassy incubus
10. a fledgling journalist with purple hair and a knife in her purse

New Covers + Maelstrom News

So, I have a lot of things to say. First, I pushed back the Maelstrom release from late 2016 to early 2017, so if you see 2016 attached to that book anywhere, that's wrong, and it won't be out until after the new year, most likely. Second, I revamped the covers for Rage & Frenzy, and updated the interiors for both those, Dreamseeker, and Blood of Midnight - just rearranging back matter and cleaning up the formatting and stuff.

Here are the new covers for Rage & Frenzy:

Someone whose opinion I trust told me the font was too gaudy, and I agreed, so I changed them. I added the leaves just to bring more color variance to both of them and make them feel a bit more magikal, because they are.

Those aside, I'm almost finished with edits on Shadows, and I think that will be out around the end of this month or the beginning of next, depending on how much time that leaves me to come up with a marketing plan, because I want people to know about & read this book, a lot.

I also have a few tiny side projects to work on before jumping into Dreamwalker & Dreamkiller, which I'm going to draft back to back, so those should be fun (and ready to be shared, soon) but I'm not going to say anything official because I don't want to jinx myself. Pun intended.

Anyway, that's all I've got in the way of announcements, I think, but later on I'm going to use this blog to foist more of my music on you all, because I love everything I'm listening to right now.

Especially this:

Author Interview: Heather Crews

Today on the blog I'm talking with Heather Crews, author of Unchanged, Dreams For The Dead, and Psychopomp. Heather's books are moody, atmospheric, and mysterious, and I was more than happy to get the chance to discuss writing with her!

The Author: Heather Crews lives in Las Vegas. Was born abroad. Studied art. Will spray paint almost anything. Loves popcorn. You can find her on Twitter or check out her blog, Keeping Ghosts Alive!

The Books:

Dreams For The Dead // Psychopomp // A Dark-Adapted Eye // Unchanged

~

Interview:

When did you decide or realize you wanted to write?

Although my first dream job was an artist, I've been writing since first grade. My earliest efforts were short stories that basically made no sense. In third or fourth grade l I wrote my first book, an illustrated children's book called THE BIG PURPLE CATERPILLAR. I still have a copy somewhere. It wasn't until about seventh grade I made my first serious efforts at writing books. These were obviously pure crap. But I've kept all these efforts around, and one day they might make it into a novel that I'll actually let people read.

What does your general process usually look like, from initial idea to published book? Do you outline or wing it? Write digitally, or by hand?

I usually have a big pile of untidy notes that I've collected over time, since I write down ideas as they come to me and then throw them in a box. I work from those rather than an outline (because I'm bad at making outlines), but I always know how I want the story to end and events or conversations I want to happen. For the actual writing process I tend to type rather than write by hand, although with UNCHANGED I had filled a whole notebook with long scenes.

What was the idea or spark that led to your latest book?

It was probably a dream. Most of my ideas come from dreams. I remember sitting in my art history class scribbling down notes for it when I was supposed to be paying attention to the lecture. But now the idea has evolved and isn't anything like the original.

Do you listen to music while your write, or enjoy the silence?

I like to have music on!

What does your work space look like?

I write on my couch, oftentimes with a children's movie or PBS Kids playing in the background, and my kids chattering away. It's not the most relaxing setup, but I've learned to tune out distractions.

What type of research, if any, goes into your novels?

For UNCHANGED, I researched Heceta Head Lighthouse. For DREAMS FOR THE DEAD, I researched alchemy. For PSYCHOPOMP, I researched climate change and cloud seeding. For books I've set in real cities, I always like to look at maps in case I need to reference the geography of a place.

What are your interests and hobbies outside of writing?

Reading, of course! I also like drawing, hiking, and working on projects for my house.

Favorite snacks while working, if any?

I don't eat while I'm writing because the food distracts me and I don't get anything worthwhile done.

Who are some of your biggest inspirations as a writer?

L.J. Smith is a big one. Also Donna Boyd, Kim Wilkins, and Tanith Lee.

What can you tell us about your latest project?

It's a YA set near Branson, MO. A teenage girl goes looking for the sister she hasn't seen in a while and gets drawn into a goth underworld. One of the characters is an arsonist.

Speed Round!

Films or TV shows?

Films

Singles or entire albums?

Albums

Sweet, savory, or salty?

Sweet

Favorite Season?

Summer

Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram?

Twitter

~

And there you have it! Alchemy, arsonists, and PBS Kids. What more could you want? Once again, you can buy Heather's books here, or follow her here!

On Her Six by Christina Elle; cover reveal!

New Adult Author Christina Elle just released the first look at the cover for her book On Her Six, a romantic suspense novel that releases this month on the 23rd! You can check out the book on Goodreads and add the author on Twitter for more updates!

The cover:

Isn't that stunning? I love the way the blue pops!

The blurb:

New neighbors are bad news in Samantha Harper’s experience. Especially ones as suspicious and brooding as the guy who just moved in next door. So when the dangerous but sexy stranger seems to be involved in something illegal—the aspiring cop in her takes action. If only she could stop thinking about how he looks naked...

All DEA agent Ash Cooper wants to do is lay low and survive this crap surveillance assignment. But after a run-in with his attractive neighbor, he realizes that’s going to be much harder than he planned. Keeping the woman out of trouble is hard enough, but keeping his hands off her is near impossible.

Calling All Guest Bloggers

Hey there. If you like saying things and want another place to say said things, this might be that place!

If you're an indie author looking for some free promotion or exposure, or you have a new or upcoming release you'd like to talk about, feel free to shoot me an email at ApolloBlake@mail.com!

I love talking to fellow indies and helping out where I can, and if you write Young Adult or New Adult books, I'd probably love to feature you! Alternatively, if you're an indie author who wants to get interviewed for the blog, send me an email with the subject line interview and I'll send you a list of questions!

Welcome To Formatting Hell

I'm in formatting hell. Yesterday it was cover stuff, but today I'm redoing the interior formatting for Dreamseeker and Blood of Midnight over because I noticed some tiny errors that annoyed me, particularly the spacing in the Dreamseeker ebook. I'm fixing them, but it's annoying, because my word processor is being a bastard, and I suck at HTML and stuff.

That aside, I interviewed Heather Crews the other night (you may remember seeing my talk about her book Psychopomp, which I'm reading now, and I'd definitely recommend checking it out!) and I'm posting that later today.

I was going to post it right away, but I keep posting blogs at like, 4 in the morning, which is probably not going to be a good time to post blogs. I'll post it around 11 am, probably.

That aside I'm really just sitting here groaning over this formatting and eating nachos and salsa. #indieauthorthings