This weekend, I announced that my employer was doing a feature on me in the employee newsletter.  I met with one of the communications specialists last week and she interviewed me on everything from why I write to how I got started to information regarding my new novel, The Caging at Deadwater Manor.  Here's the newsletter!

Sandie Will, geohydrologic data manager, will publish her first novel this year, The Caging at Deadwater Manor.

At 16 years old, Sandie Will, geohydrologic data manager, set out to pen her first work of fiction – a haunted house story based on her love of horror flicks. Years later, her passion for the paranormal will be printed on the pages of her first published novel, The Caging at Deadwater Manor – a young adult, psychological thriller from Caliburn Press scheduled for release by the end of 2016.

The story, inspired by true events, follows Jeannie Kynde, a 14-year-old girl who’s left in the care of her distraught father after her mother drowns. Four years later, Jeannie’s father eventually turns on her and imprisons her at Deadwater Manor, a psychiatric hospital with a dark past.

The idea for the story came from a conversation that Will had with her father. “This book was inspired by daily routines and a discovery my dad came across while working at a nearby psychiatric hospital here in the Tampa Bay Area,” Will said. 

Will’s novel first caught the eye of Caliburn Press two years ago. “I was on vacation when I got the email that they wanted to publish my book,” she said. It was a welcome surprise for Will who had started writing as a creative outlet.

“There’s just this side of me that likes to create something,” she said. “I need to write. I don’t have a choice. I have to get it out.”

Since The Caging at Deadwater Manor was picked up by Caliburn, Will has been busy promoting it on her website, social media, as a guest at book events for various authors, and with her new book trailer. “I’ve become a webmaster and social media expert through marketing the book,” she said. These are skills that Will says aspiring writers need to have along with a dedication to the craft. “Write because you love to write. You have to enjoy it,” she said.
​
For the latest news on The Caging at Deadwater Manor, visit SandieWill.com.

Published by SWFWMD, Employee Newsletter, Currents Update, August 1, 2016.

Hi there - this is the second blog for the "My First Book Cover Reveal" series.  A few days ago, I began this series with some lessons learned during my first cover reveal, and my first cover reveal post. My thought was to share all the posts so that new authors would have an idea of what to use as material during a cover reveal, and for my readers to gain insight on me and my book - THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR.  This would have helped me tremendously, because I had no clue about what to post before starting.  Luckily, the authors before me were experienced and I could get the hang of it before I was up.

Today, I'm posting my second post during the cover reveal.  This post includes the blurb that will be on the back of the book, as well as the question, "What would you do if you were trapped (in a psychiatric hospital)?"  The responses were primarily that most people would stay quiet and out of the way.  

​What would you do?

----------------------------------------------------------

POST #2 - COVER REVEAL FOR THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR

THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR is a YA psychological thriller set along the Gulf Coast here in Florida. It’s my debut due to be released in late 2016 from Caliburn Press. I started writing novels about 8 years ago. During the day, I work as a geologist/manager and at nights and on weekends I spend a lot of time writing and doing social media. 

Here’s the book blurb:

On a cold, January evening, fourteen-year-old Jeannie Kynde is told that her beloved mother drowned in the murky waters along Florida’s Gulf Coast. Her distraught father turns on Jeannie, no longer the caring father she once knew. 
Four years later, Jeannie is finally old enough to escape her father’s clutches, but he has different plans. He imprisons her at Deadwater Manor, a psychiatric hospital with an unscrupulous past. Will she be locked away forever?

What would you do if you were trapped?

On that note, hope every has a fantastic weekend!  --Sandie

Yesterday was my book cover reveal for THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR. It was a Facebook event (you can set these up in the "Events" area) and author takeover. This consisted of authors posting links, pictures and videos throughout a predetermined timeslot. You can do a live feed if you wish also.

There were about 10 authors who hosted one-hour slots to promote their books and other work. All authors were invited by me or another author. The authors had fantastic giveaways include free books and gifts. The event started at 10 a.m. and I had the last slot from 8- 9 p.m, for the cover reveal. I also ended up doing a trailer reveal which worked out great.  

Here's the link to the event (you'll need to click on "going" to view all the posts):
https://www.facebook.com/events/1558387821132498

Here are some lessons learned:

• Make sure you set the event as public when the event is set up - otherwise you'll need to open another event which could make you lose potential attendees who already signed up.  
• Tell those you invite that they must hit the "going" button to see the posts. Not sure if they can see them if they respond as "interested."
• Keep posts at least 5 minutes apart (don't post too fast).
• Engage with your audience.  It's hard when you're setting up new posts, so have them prepared to cut and paste into posts beforehand.
• Have a backup plan for any authors who can't attend during their time slot or are late.

Since I'm not sure how long the posts will be available, I thought I'd start transferring some of mine to this blog page in case you missed the event.  This way, if you've never done a cover reveal before, you can see some examples to follow. For those readers who are not authors, this will give you more information about me and my writing!

First post of the evening. My thought on this was to do an introduction, thanking everyone from the day and showing my professional pictures, so people know what I look like.  Also, I think professional pictures are important to do for promotions and the back and inside covers, if you can.

*********************************************
​
POST #1: COVER REVEAL FOR THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR
​
Hi everybody! Thanks so much for joining in on my one-hour live event for the cover reveal of THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR! I’m so excited to be here and I want to thank all the authors who helped make this day so special by participating in their live events all day too! Stay tuned until the end because I’m going to show my very first book trailer! 

Here are a couple of my author photos taken by Jaimi Weatherspoon with Essential~Special Moments Photography. I just love them and use them in a lot of my social media outlets. I can't say enough about getting professional pictures done! 

How’s everyone doing tonight and where are you from?

I'll be back again with some of my other posts for the cover reveal in future blogs.  In the meantime, good luck with any upcoming book releases to all you authors out there and thank you for stopping by to all of my readers!

​Take care -- Sandie

It's with great enthusiasm and excitement that I'm able to share with you the final cover for my new YA psychological thriller, The Caging at Deadwater Manor!  The cover artists at Caliburn Press are amazing.  They sent me the draft of the cover, and I accepted it with no changes.  It's exactly as I envisioned.

This book was inspired by daily routines and a discovery my dad came across while working at a nearby psychiatric hospital here in the Tampa Bay Area.  I had originally thought of writing a ghost story, but after talking with him, the plot quickly changed around the information he provided me.  If only he could have seen the book.  He passed away from Alzheimer's Disease in early May this year. My heart aches over this. We did talk about the book before he was too confused, and he became tearful when he heard the book was dedicated to him.  Unlike the father in this book, my dad was wonderful, and I'm so thankful for all he did for me and his sense of humor.

No release date has been set yet, but it should be before the end of the year.  As soon as I hear, I'll let you know.  It will be available in ebook and printed books on this website, Caliburn Press, Amazon, B&N and others. I'll also be doing some free giveaway events, so stay tuned and subscribe below for updates!

Thank you to all who have supported me.  I could not have done this without you.  Please continue sharing and spreading the word.  Most of the marketing for the book will be done through me, so I appreciate all of your help!

Have a great day and let me know what you think about the cover!

​--Sandie 
​