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:

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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.

Thank you, Sandie Docker, for nominating me for the Liebster Award! 

For those of you not familiar, this award is given from one blogger to another to help him or her gain exposure and recognition for their work.  I can’t say enough about how honored I am to have been nominated by Sandie.  We met almost a year ago now on Twitter because our first names were spelled the same, of all things. Since then, I’ve grown to admire Sandie for her writing.  She has also received the Liebster Award, so make sure to check out her blog too:  Sandie Docker - Writer of Contemporary Australian Fiction. She can be found on Twitter as @SandieDocker.

The award requires writers to answer 10 questions and nominate a new round of writers to answer 10 new questions.  So first, here are the answers to the questions Sandie asked of me.

1. Which literary character do you wish was your best friend?  

Well, the first character I thought of was Huck Finn from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. I’m sure most of you are familiar with this masterpiece, but it’s about a teenager who embarks on a journey from Missouri on a raft down the Mississippi River with his friends, Tom Sawyer and Jim. The original version of the book was published in 1884, and the story is set in pre-American Civil War times. There are several underlying messages between the struggles with his abusive father named, “Pap,” and the social conflict he faces as he tries to save Jim from slavery. Despite this underlying conflict, the story felt very light-hearted to me and filled with all the antics and pranks of typical teenagers. My life can be filled with stressful days between the pressures of work, writing and general life. If only I could travel back in time once in a while and hop on that raft with my best friend, Huck. 

Funny. Now that I think about it, I think I married Huck.  Charlie, my husband and best friend, grew up with a river and a canoe. He’s now an avid rower who loves to take me on frequent kayak trips. Guess I already have the opportunities to escape on a river. Go figure.

2. Do you have any funny writing rituals? 

I prefer to write early in the morning in my back porch with a hazelnut coffee and my dog named Jewel. I usually sit in front of the computer for hours, losing track of time. Sometimes Jewel’s snoring snaps me back into reality or sometimes it's the battle between the pets and the prize position on my writing desk. If your interested in the how and why, see "The Writing Desk Saga" on my blog:
http://www.sandiewill.com/blog/category/the-writing-desk-saga

I also like to run plots and scenes by any member of my family who happens to be around and will listen. Sometimes I offer baked goods as rewards.  They will usually bribe pumpkin pie from me - see “For the Love of Pumpkin” on my blog:  http://www.sandiewill.com/blog/for-the-love-of-pumpkin

Oh yeah, and usually the characters follow me around for a while before I start outlining — usually a couple of months as I create the plot.  Sometimes I don’t know who they are at first, but eventually, it turns into a story of some kind.  These days, I have a blonde guy in his mid 20s interrupting my daily routine.  He’s easy-going and carefree until he sees something. I’m still trying to figure out what that is…but it feels dark.

3. What’s the worst book to film adaptation you’ve seen? Best?  

Worst: The worst one I have seen in the past few years was, “The Cat in the Hat.” It didn’t bring me back to childhood.  

Best: I tend to focus mostly on YA fiction, so my vote would be, Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. All during the book, I kept thinking that the story is so wrong, so warped, but I was too hooked to stop. The movie captured the intensity just as well as the book. From the past, one that has stuck with me has been The Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty. I can remember shaking through the book and movie the first time I saw/read them, and the movie still creeps me out!  Misery by Steven King is another good one, especially the crack of the sledgehammer against the imprisoned author’s legs.  Yeah, I tend to like thrillers.

4. What’s your favorite season and why?  

I love late fall.  In Florida, there’s only a hint of colored leaves this time of year, but the summer temperature starts to cool slightly, and I know it’ll soon be the holiday season — a time of year I look forward to with family and friends. 

5. Money and logistics are no object — where would you like to travel and what would you do there?  

Alaska is definitely on my bucket list. The first thing I would do is get a roadside geology book and follow it throughout the trip. I would also schedule time on a cruise, train and helicopter to see the geologic processes related to the glaciers and mountain-building, all the while torturing my husband with having to listen to all of these important facts. Good thing he still loves me. There’s nothing like the experience of traveling the country with a geologist, I’m sure. I don’t have the pleasure of seeing mountains out of my back window every day, so when I do, I am pathetic.

6. Dark, milk or white chocolate?  

I cannot resist the taste of fine milk chocolate in any variety, and I can be pretty selfish about sharing. It’s a curse. I have given it up several times in the past, only to be tortured by Nutella in the grocery aisle until I finally succumb to its decadent taste. At least I dip fruit into it to make it healthier. Wait — are marshmallows a fruit?

7. Where do you stand on ebooks vs printed books?  

I only read printed books.  There’s something about the cover that feels right, especially the newer books with the soft covers. Also, there’s something about the smell of the pages that draws me in. I’ve tried to read ebooks but have never been able to finish — just feels too distant somehow. I also like having the books on a shelf for me to glance at the ones I’ve read and the ones that are waiting for me. The last one I read was Forged in Death by Jim Melvin - the first book of a terrific fantasy series. Next up will be The Dawlish Chronicles by Antoine Vanner - a Victorian naval fiction series.

8. What’s your least favorite household chore? 

Cleaning the cat box. I’ll spare you the details.

9. Do you have a favorite character from the books you’ve written? 

I’m secretly in love with Liam Healey from my time-travel YA book, Angle of Incidents. His strength and conviction to escape his terrible conditions are attractive character traits. And besides, who wouldn’t love a handsome, Irish guy from the 1800s? 

I plan on moving this book to publishing after my YA psychological thriller (title pending) is released from Damnation Books. In this book, I have a soft spot for, Jeannie Kynde, a young woman who’s imprisoned in a mental hospital against her will. Her strength flourishes as she tries to free herself from the atrocities of the hospital and memories of the past. 

Updates on the status of my books and blog can be found at www.sandiewill.com

10. Which of the characters you’ve written do you wish you were more like and why?  

Brendan Miller - again from Angle of Incidents. He’s witty and doesn’t take himself or life too seriously. I tend to be a focused perfectionist, and I wish I would remember to be more silly sometimes. Maybe that’s why I tend to write YA and remember Huck Finn!

To carry on this series, I nominate the following talented writers: Antoine Vanner, Rachel Stirling, Jim Melvin, and Tamara Ferguson. Follow their blogs and support their books. You’ll enjoy the adventures!

New nominees of the Liebster Award — here are your questions:

1. Do you write about what you do or what you love?
2. Are there hidden messages in any of your stories?  If so, what is an example?
3. A house on the beach, a cabin in the mountains or a condo in the city?
4. Have you been on a trip over the past year?  Where? What did you observe?
5. Do you find social media to be an effective resource to spread the word on your book?  Which platform is the best?
6. What do you want your readers to take away after reading one of your books?
7. What was one of the most interesting research subjects you studied to write your book?
8. Do you remember the first time you read your favorite book?  Which one was it and how did it make you feel?
9. Do you like to write or do you have to write?
10. What’s coming up next?

How do I write?  Interesting question.  It’s not something I’ve thought about before, and I’m hoping I can put my process into words.  All I know is this: I must write.  There's no choice, no question about whether or not I should write, no worry about when I'll have the time. It's almost instinctual, built within me somehow.  I welcome any chance to sit with my thoughts and create a story, and today, I thank Rachel Stirling for her invitation to join this blog tour and her faith in me.  If I can write this blog even half as eloquently as she did last week, I’d be pleased.  Visit her blog at wp.me/p3cqD7-rA, and you’ll see what I mean.

What am I working on at the moment?

I have written two novels and am seeking representation for them.  I am still editing my first middle grade, time travel novel, Angle of Incidents, but have queries out on my second novel, Anclote Manor, which is a young adult suspense. I've decided to query through June, and if I don't receive any interest by July, I will move forward with hiring an editor and self publish.  I'm also working on a children's book on birds.

In the meantime, I’ve been spending most of my time building my presence on Twitter.  Part of this involves writing blogs for my author page, www.sandiewill.com, where I explain my process for building a following on Twitter and my progress on a weekly basis.  Another part involves my science webpage, www.rockheadsciences.com, where I write blogs on my experiences as a hydrogeologist on a monthly basis. 

I will also be involved with creating scientific experiments and writing lab manuals in alternative energy and hydrogeology for Einstein in a Box this summer.  The boxes are sent to families on a monthly basis to work on a new theme each month and the lab manuals promote critical thinking while building the experiments.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

There is usually some element of science or history intertwined in the pages.  I can’t help it.  It’s something I seem to levitate toward, as if I’m trying to educate the reader, even if it’s in a small way.  I love to do research and see where I can make it fit with the characters or story of the day.

Why do I write what I do?

Passion.  It’s a need.  And I don’t know when the transition into writing fiction novels occurred.  I was a technical writer for many years and am doing less of it with my current job, so I think writing on my own time fulfills some void.  With my novels, I tend to write for younger audiences, and I think it’s because I can relate to them.  I love to hear about their dating dramas, tests and future plans.  

How does my writing process work?

It starts with a fleeting thought - a curiosity about something, and I immediately write it down.  Just a few lines so I can remember it later.  If I forget about it, I don’t revisit it.  I only write on the ideas that nag me.  The ones that interfere with my life and start living in my mind.  And then the process of generating the story overwhelms me, causing me to live the characters in some ways.  As I write, I hide myself in my writing room, because during that time, I act out the lines, feel the emotion of the characters and live what they live.  And no way do I want anyone witnessing this insanity or interrupting me.  I’ll live and breath the book, article, blog, whatever until it’s done.  Doesn’t matter how big or small, I will sit at my desk as much as I can and finish.  And every time I do, I feel satisfied until two days later when a fleeting thought catches hold on my curiosity once again. So to answer the question, 'How do I write?,' it's more than a process for me. It's a cyclic experience that takes me on a journey before anyone else even sees the printed words. And I'm always ready for the next ride.

Up next week:

The following writers have graciously accepted to be next in line for the blog tour, and I’m ecstatic to introduce them to you.  I have known Bethanne for a long time. We lost touch when I left for Florida during junior high school, but it's been great to reconnect with her over the past few years.  Sandie is a new friend from Twitter, and Charlie is my husband. 

Bethanne Patrick, writer, author and journalist, is above all a reader, one who has built her career on talking and writing about books. Whether she’s recommending a great book, interviewing a novelist or promoting reading online, Bethanne covers both the creative and digital side of the publishing industry. In 2009, she founded the popular #FridayReads hashtag under the Twitter handle @TheBookMaven. The weekly #FridayReads conversation, which peaks on Fridays but runs 24/7, attracts thousands of readers around the world. Bethanne is the author of two books, An Uncommon History of Common Things (co-authored with John Thompson) and An Uncommon History of Common Courtesy, both from National Geographic Books. She writes a monthly column for Virginia Quarterly Review on feminism and culture. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, AARP The Magazine, the Daily Beast, TheAtlantic.com and O the Oprah Magazine. Other credits include PAGES Magazine, where she was an editor-at-large for four years; moderator of “Centerstage,” Barnes & Noble’s first online book club; and a blogger for Publisher’s Weekly.  http://www.bethannepatrick.com/blog/

Sandie Docker is an aspiring author of contemporary women’s fiction. She is currently querying her first novel, THE POINT, and working on her second, THIS SHADOW LIFE. Sandie came to writing quite by accident after her university Mandarin lecturer suggested she take up writing on the back of a translation course she was doing at the time. That idea sat quietly at the back of Sandie’s mind for quite some time before she decided to do anything about it, but once she put pen to paper (yes, she writes everything the old fashioned way before hitting a keyboard), she knew there was nothing else she wanted to do with her life. She is a stay-at-home mum pursuing her writing dream in those rare moments between motherhood and wifedom in a sunny corner of Sydney, Australia.  http://www.sandiedocker.blogspot.com

Charlie Will is a 49-year-old guy who recently started a rowing and fitness blog.  The tagline to his website is, “A near-quinquagenarian’s journey to elite fitness.” A quinquagenarian is someone between the ages of 50 and 59.  He's almost there, but healthy and fit people in their 50s are not really uncommon.   In addition to being an old man, he has severe osteoarthritis in his left knee, stemming from an injury sustained in high school.  In Charlie's blog, he writes about the treatments to his knee and looming knee replacement.  He was devastated after not being able to run, but soon found the sport of rowing—both on the water and with a rowing machine (called an erg). The challenge with rowing is great; but the opportunity to excel in performance-based athletics is greater still!  He has been married to Sandie Will for 26 years and has two sons in college.  His entire career was (and still is) in the IT industry and he currently works for a distributor as a systems engineer.  He also enjoys writing and has kept a journal on-and-off throughout his life. The internet presents a great opportunity to share and see if what comes from his brain really is interesting!  http://chuck-fit.com