​I remember this day vividly. I was sitting at my desk at an engineering firm, just starting my day. Sometime before 9 a.m., one of our scientific techs called and asked me if I heard about the Twin Towers being hit by an airplane. We kidded around a lot in the past, and I thought he was pranking me again. And told him so. Even laughed. He swore he wasn't kidding. So, I headed over to our front desk area, then to a T.V. that was set up in one of the offices. There, I watched in horror, the events that were unfolding in NYC after the first plane hit the North Tower. The dust swallowing people, making their faces look like clay, eyelashes caked. Screams. People hiding under vehicles. People running away from the towers, firemen and police officers running in. We didn't know what to make of it, my coworkers and I. We sat in silence, except for a few gasps here and there. 

Certainly, someone wouldn't be doing this on purpose. Certainly, this must have been some freak accident, we thought. We heard President Bush had been informed. That he was at an elementary school in Florida. There was suspicion. Could this be an attack on our country? Our fears were soon confirmed once I saw a plane headed straight for the South Tower. I watched with my hands over my mouth as the plane hit the side of the building, causing it to explode, fire jetting out in all directions. 

More news came in. Planes were hijacked and aimed toward other targets. President Bush was in the air on AirForce One. My husband was traveling. I desperately called him, wanting to hear his voice and confirm he was okay. He was. But he heard AirForce one was nearby. Would they go after the President, too? Luckily not.

I worried about so many people that day. My family in New York. My traveling husband. The families of the employees in The Towers and nearby. The firefighters and policemen and their families. The people jumping out of the buildings and the rescue personnel below them (I'll never forget the booming sound when they hit the ground). The people stuck in the stairwells of The Towers, trying desperately to get out. The people who never made it out as each tower gave way, crushing everything within and below it as it crashed to the ground, forcing more debris and dust and body parts everywhere. The pictures taped to electric poles of missing souls, families desperate to find them. The employees in the Pentagon. The loved ones in airplanes that crashed to the ground. It was the most chaotic feeling, not knowing what would be the next target and who else would die. 

And it was far-reaching. The stock market crash, people's retirement obliterated. Looking up at the sky weeks later, hoping the plane in the sky wouldn't crash on me too. The relief I felt when my husband returned home. The hours and hours of watching television and people begging for information. Such an emotionally sad time. If you watched, you know what I mean. I'm sure you felt it, too. But I also remember something else. We came together as a nation. We cared about each other. For a brief period of time, I remember feeling connected with everyone. And I want that feeling back.

Do you remember? Where were you?

Last weekend, I went to the Florida Writers Association annual conference. I was notified that I was a finalist during the summer, and I anxiously awaited hearing whether or not I placed last Saturday night with my young adult psychological thriller, The Caging at Deadwater Manor. It not only placed, but it received First Place in the Young Adult/New Adult genre! I couldn't be more thrilled. More photos to come soon!

​In September, I received notice that my book, The Caging at Deadwater Manor, won an Honorable Mention Award in YA Horror with Readers' Favorite. It was around 11 p.m. when I opened the email that night, and as you can imagine, I couldn't sleep! I mean, I'm a debut novelist. How in the world did I win an award?

But I did! Readers' Favorite provided me with a certificate and medallion for marketing, a website with my five-star review, press releases and an opportunity to go to a banquet to receive recognition for my award. The event included a reception, presentations, inclusion of my book in the Miami Book Fair, an award ceremony, press releases, and opportunities for networking. So, I decided to go.

The event started last Friday night at The Regency Hotel in Miami. A reception was held in the evening where the books were displayed on a counter near check in with an adjacent bar and seating area. Numerous authors attended. It was great to hear about all of their books and the stories behind them. I met author Ju Ephraime and spent quite a while talking with her. 

After, we were escorted to a conference room where we saw presentations from various speakers on marketing from doing podcasts to social media posts. They were excellent, and I plan on using many of the resources provided.

The next morning, my husband and I went to the Miami Book Fair to see my book displayed at the Readers' Favorite tent. Wow! This event was huge with crowds of people! There were so many vendors with new and used books, merchandise and services. We found the Readers' Favorite tent - it had great signage and was staffed. Inside all of the award winning books were displayed. Each author donated books to sell and all proceeds went to Shriner's (over $2,000 raised!). It was such a proud moment to see my book on a shelf for the first time! I picked up a few books, and of course, had to get one on geology!

That night, we dressed up and attended the award ceremony. It was impressive with a stage, two areas with professional photography (I'll receive the photos in a couple of weeks), the press, a live feed during the awards, buffet, and lots of time to talk with other authors. 

Speaking of which, I have to say how honored I felt even being in the same room with these tremendously talented people from authors to illustrators. Some have been published for many years and were a wealth of knowledge. All were passionate about their books and mine, too. That's the one thing I've learned since I started this journey. Authors are supportive of each other and always willing to help. I love this positive community.

The award ceremony involved going on stage, shaking hands with the Readers' Favorite representative (Mark Wayne Adams), and having my picture taken - all on live stream. I have to admit, I was a bit concerned with tripping or doing something stupid at first, but then I decided not worry about it - this was my night and I was going to enjoy it. And I did (and luckily didn't land on my face! Haha!).

​After the stage, we were escorted to another area for more photography and press interviews. It was certainly a night I will always remember. It felt surreal to be recognized for this book -- one that my dad inspired. He passed before seeing the book published, but I know he was up there on that stage with me, grinning and proud! Love you, Dad.

Thank you, Readers' Favorite. I'll never forget this wonderful experience!

As you can imagine, seeing the book cover for The Caging at Deadwater Manor can conjure up memories of experiences or stories of old psychiatric hospitals or hauntings. My employer recently announced my upcoming book release on their newsletter, and I've had several coworkers stop by my office to share their experiences with me -- several of which have given me chills.

One such experience came from Nick Makris who grew up near Cedar Grove, New Jersey, home of the infamous psychiatric hospital named the Essex County Hospital Center (aka The Overbrook, sanatorium, asylum, etc.). The hospital opened in 1896 and was used to treat tuberculous and patients with mental illness. Nick remembers riding his bicycle several miles and seeing his grandfather who worked as a barber in the hospital when he was young. He later visited the hospital after it was abandoned and took pictures as part of a photography class -- forgotten photos that have been sitting in a shoebox until today. He gave me permission to use the photos to help promote my book, so I thought I'd share them as a blog post since they are right in line with the theme of my book.  The pictures have an eery feel since Nick tried out different photography techniques during this visit back in 1993. Thank you, Nick!

Coincidentally, another coworker viewed the photos and mentioned that she had heard all sorts of stories about the patients and treatments at the hospital from a previous professor. She could barely look at the photos.

In my last newsletter, I asked which photo was from an actual psychiatric hospital in my latest trailer. If you guessed the first picture in the slideshow below - you were right!

How about you? Would you visit an old, abandoned psychiatric hospital?

Here are a view more internet sites I found about the hospital:  
Wiki
Video
Demolition

Hi everyone - this is a continuation of my blog series titled, "First Book Cover Reveal." I chose to do this so that you can see the posts from this Facebook event in case you weren't able to go and to help other authors. This was a special post to me, because I talk about my dad - the inspiration for the story.

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POST #3 - COVER REVEAL FOR THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR

When I was brainstorming for the book, I thought I was going to write a ghost story because I wanted to see if I could write a dark novel. Since my dad used to work at a psych hospital, I asked him if he saw anything strange there. His discovery in the hospital is the basis for the book, hence “Inspired by true events” is on the cover. 

He recently died of Alzheimer’s but while he had a lucid moment, I was able to tell him I dedicated the book to him. He became emotional, so he I knew he understood. He’ll never get to see the book in print, but at least I know he knew the book was dedicated to him. 

He always wanted me to make sure I tell everyone that the father I wrote about in the book was NOT him!  My dad was a wonderful, caring, funny man who would do anything for us. Here’s a couple pictures of my dad:

I miss him very much - such a good man. 

Take care, everyone.  Sandie

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.
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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?

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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.

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POST #1: COVER REVEAL FOR THE CAGING AT DEADWATER MANOR
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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

Well, I survived the editing stage with the publisher! It was definitely a grueling process, especially having to work full-time at my day job and editing at night and on the weekend.  There were two rounds of edits for me and three rounds for the editor.  

Here's how the process progressed.  I received an email in July from the editor, introducing herself. She also stated that I would be receiving her edits in August.  They came in right on time, but I had only ten days to return my edits - yikes!  She did say, however, that I could extend the time if there was a reason such as travel.  I figured I'd go for it though, so I spent 20 hours primarily over the weekend and finished the edits up during the week.  There were numerous edits within the text which I painstakingly accepted or denied (there were only a couple denied and I provided the reason).  There were also several general comments on certain sections the editor thought I should take a second look at for consistency, believability or strengthening.  The comments were excellent and I made the changes to reflect these in the text.  One of her comments in the text stated that she loved a scene because it reminded her of The Walking Dead!  I hope others feel that way!  It wasn't my intention when I wrote it, but once she mentioned it, I could see the similarities.  So, I added another scene later on to accentuate it more.  

I made the ten day deadline and sent her back my edits.  About five days later, I received the second round of edits.  There were several, but much less than the initial round.  I was still noticing errors in the text, however, so I spent another 24 hours re-reading the text twice and sent back these edits ten days later. About three days later, I received the final version with a note that no further changes could be met at this time.  The text was sent over for typesetting and I would have another opportunity to make minor changes. In the meantime, I prepared the publisher's author information form which includes general information, book blurb, excerpt, and various information for the cover artist.  I also had a photo shoot with a professional photographer for my author picture.  It was hard to choose, but here it is:

​

I'll use this photo and several others for marketing purposes in the future. From what I understand, spending money on professional photos is worth the cost.  This photo was taken by Jaimi Weatherspoon at Essentia~Special Moments Photography.

Next, I should hear from the publisher in about a month or so about the typesetting and book cover.  I found out that my publisher, Damnation Books, was bought out by Spero Publishing, though.  So, I'm not sure if this will affect any timelines yet.  From what I've read so far, Damnation Books, Eternal Press and Spero Publishing will be consolidated into Caliburn Press, but I'll have to wait to hear from the new publisher to confirm. It came without warning, so I was a bit surprised to say the least.  Hopefully, the transition will be smooth and I'll know the release date by the end of the year.  We'll see.

While I wait, I'll continue to look for any nagging, leftover spelling errors in the text so I'm ready for typesetting and finalization.  I'll also start taking videos and photos along the Gulf Coast here in Florida and areas where my story is based, so I can use them in the next step -- the book trailer.   I'll leave that to another blog!

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll keep you updated on the progress.

The Writing Desk Saga 
(Sequel to previous blog posts: "Desk with a View" and "Cat with a View")

Shhhhh....be quiet you stupid cats. I can't hear over your incessant scratching of the door. Move out of my way, so I can take a whiff and see if my girl is awake yet. It's very annoying that I have to maneuver around you cats, so I can get to her first every morning. Her arrival is everything to me.  You guys couldn't care less. I've seen how many times you've turned your back on her when she's offered belly rubs. Get the hell out of the way, so I can dive into her legs for my morning greeting filled with back rubs and full-body hugs.  She thinks you both love her too, but I know the truth. You're just here to make sure she'll be around to give you your evening meal.

My sniffer is telling me that she's seconds away from opening the door. I can hear the sliding of slippers along the floor from an exhausted lady who I can't wait to see! But, wait...it sounds like the slippers are now moving away from the door.  Where is she going? Come back! I hear some rattling from her side table. This probably means she's grabbing her glasses, so I'll get ready and listen all the more intently. I sniff, then wait. Then sniff and wait. Then sniff again and ready myself for the full-on catapult I'm about to give her.  The doorknob jiggles and twists. The door opens slightly with a creak. I back up in anticipation and soon...she's here! I throw myself onto her in jubilation over this glorious morning event.

"Well, good morning, Jewel - my sweet, precious girl," she says with a smile. Oh, how much I love my girl. How much I wish we could stay in this hallway forever.  But after a few hugs, she pats me on the side to let me know it's time for her morning brew. And that dastardly writing desk.

Yes. I have to share her.  

It's bad enough that she has to talk to the other people in the house, but it's worse when she sits in front of the computer and acts like it's alive. Yeah, I'm not kidding. She'll get her coffee and sit at the kitchen counter for a few minutes, but after that she's onto pretending to be something or someone else. And that cocky desk just stands there as if my girl owes it something, not to mention the battle with the cats.  They are constantly badgering her for a spot on the desk, and she has to remove them several times a day.  Between Sonny and Mocha, I'm not sure how she gets any work done.  I try to help her by nudging my nose on her leg, but sometimes I misjudge and end up against the wooden leg of the desk instead which is absolutely embarrassing. I stare at her for hours on end, but she gets so engrossed in her stories, she doesn't even know I exist. But I wait anyway. Wait for her to get up, so I can follow her to any room she wishes. I must be her escort at all times. The cats are jealous of this, of course, and try to run through her legs for attention, but that just ends up pissing her off when she stumbles. They are idiots.

But when she returns to her writing, she goes away again....somewhere. I'm not quite sure where, though she talks of it often. Sometimes she's saving a young man from an insane landlord, and sometimes she's planning the escape of an imprisoned lady. But no matter where she is, I want be the first to welcome her back.  She goes on many journeys, after all, so I want to make sure she knows where her home is; so she'll always find me. Not the cats or the desk, both of which are useless.  Just me.