Starting Point
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Good Morning Monday! How is it even June already?
I swear it was just January the other day LOL. But June it is, apparently. I’ve been busy of course (something different LOL) and got quite a lot done this week.
I sent Galaxies and Oceans off to proofers, sent Private Charter off to beta-readers, had an audio book release of Starting Point, and managed 9K words in my new WIP!
This week I’ll be making all the changes I need to G&O and should have ARCs ready next week. Release day is June 25th, and I can’t wait for everyone to meet Patrick and Aubrey. Everyone who has met them already (pre-readers, betas, my editor, and proofers) loved their story, which is a huge relief!
Private Charter has been to some beta-readers who enjoyed it as well! I’m the first to admit that Private Charter isn’t exactly heavy on plot. It’s more about the sun, sailing, swimming, and smut. 🙂 But it’s also a lot of fun!
My WIP… I’ll be keeping mum about this for a little while – until I’m confident in my ability to write it and do it justice. All I will say, is that it is not contemporary, and it’s not set in Australia. I have language/vernacular issues, and setting issues, and I’m doing a LOT of research! I’m spending a few hours every day reading and researching, before I even start to write. And I’m not complaining about that. I’ve written a lot of books lately that required little to no research, so this has been fun. Private Charter required some research about sailing and yachts, and winds and currents. And Galaxies and Oceans required some research as well, but nothing like this new book.
But the characters are very insistent and vocal. They’re in my every waking thought so I’m hoping it’s a sign that they’re happy with my progress so far.
For my audio lovers…
Starting Point, the final instalment of the Turning Point trilogy, is now on audio!! I’m so very excited for this book! Sean Crisden, the narrator, has done an exceptional job in bringing Matt and Kira’s story to life!
BUY LINKS:
This coming week I’ll be extra busy with my inlaws visiting (from Monday until Thursday – please send wine LOL) then I’m taking the kids to Wollongong for basketball. It’s about 6-7 hours from here and I’ll be gone until the following Monday night, so there may not be a Monday post next week.
Until then, stay safe, and be kind! <3
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Good Morning Monday! Mother’s Day Update!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Even though it’s Monday here, it’s still Sunday somewhere, so I hope you have a great day! I spent the weekend at basketball and doing housework. Exciting life I lead. LOL Though I did get out of cooking dinner.
I had a busy week and managed a pretty good word count on Private Charter. I’m at 44K and I believe they’re now on Day 4 of their 12 cruise around the Whitsundays. They are Foster and Stuart, they’re a super sweet couple and I’m thoroughly enjoying writing their story. It’s turned cold here, so writing a book about the steamy hot tropics is a little weird. LOL
I’m not sure how much writing I’ll get done this week. I have a bit happening in RL. I want to have the first draft finished, or close to being finished, before I start edits on Galaxies and Oceans – which should be in about two weeks.
I’m hoping to have Galaxies and Oceans out on June 23rd, or thereabouts. I’ll keep you all posted on that, and I’ll be releasing the cover soon!!
A super quick reminder about my audio books! I had two audio’s come out recently. Spencer Cohen Book Three, and Breaking Point! If you’re new to audio, or thinking of trying it, you can get your first credit free!
Okay, that’s it for this week. Short and sweet. Like me. LOL Until then… <3
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Good Morning Monday! An outtake and a Kindle Unlimited Update.
Wow, these Mondays are coming around fast! Another busy week has gone by, and an even busier week ahead for me, but I remind myself that busy is productive… and exhausting and enough to drive me crazy LOL but here I am!
First, to celebrate getting the rights back to, and the re-release of Starting Point, I have added an outtake to my blog. You can read it HERE or find it in the Menu under Outtakes 🙂
Now for the Kindle Unlimited update. I have had quite a few readers contact me in the last few weeks asking if any of my older books will ever be added to KU. To be honest, I hadn’t thought of it, I don’t know why. About a year ago, I added my Blind Faith books to KU, given they were first released in 2012, and found them being read/borrowed/bought with a vengeance – which was fab! I can’t deny they found me new readers. So after these readers asked me about putting some other books on KU, I decided to add my Cronin’s Key trilogy to KU. They’ve been a little stagnant on other sites for a while, so here’s hoping they’ll find their way onto some Kindles they might not have otherwise.
I’m still debating adding my Red Dirt Heart Series to KU. Given it was released two years ago (OMG can you believe that?) it makes sense to broaden their readership. If I do add them to KU, I’ll have to do it soon – the ninety day cycle will end a month or so before I leave for the US, so I’ll be suuuuper busy with other things then and won’t really have the time to worry about re-adding books back to all other platforms.
At this point, Cronin’s Key will only be doing one cycle (90 days) on KU then will go back to other sites. This will depend on their success of course. If the KU market makes it viable for them to stay for a second cycle, then they will.
So, as of right now and for the next three months, the only place you can find the Cronin’s Key trilogy, is Amazon.
That being said, I’ve nominated my Spencer Cohen series to NOT do another cycle on KU. So, as their 90 day KU cycles expires, they’ll be added to all other platforms. Spencer One is June 14 (or thereabouts) Spencer Two is July 19, and Spencer Three is August 21.
And now for some translation news! Cronin’s Key 1 will be out in French later this month! And, Red Dirt Heart will be out in Italian later this month also!! *twirls* Red Dirt Heart will also be out in French later this year! I will post links when I have them 🙂
Until next week… <3
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Good Morning Monday! What’s new this week?
Well, the release of Spencer Cohen Book Three came and went, and I’d love to thank everyone who has read and reviewed! The responses and reviews have been lovely, and it makes my heart happy to know people love Spencer and Andrew as much as me. And a huge thanks to everyone who posted, shared, tweeted, liked, loved, commented on all forms of social media.
These boys got to #1 in SEVEN countries (US, UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Canada and Australia) !! And that is an incredible achievement, and proof that I do have the best readers in the world! I wouldn’t be able to do what I love, if it weren’t for you! And there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t appreciate you! <3
Like I’ve done with the first two books, I’ve created a soundtrack on Spotify for Spencer Cohen Book Three. You can find it HERE.
So, in other news for this week, I’m due to have the rights of Starting Point returned to me tomorrow!! At the moment, it is only Starting Point that returns to me, and my other titles with Totally Bound/Pride Publishing will stay with them for the duration of their contracts (approximately two years).
I’m also SUPER excited to announce I’ve engaged Reese Dante to redo the covers. Reese did the very original cover for Point of No Return (back in the old Silver Publishing days) which was my all-time favourite for that book, and given this series has had three covers already, I wanted to get back to the original theme. And what better way to accomplish that than to ask the cover artist who did the original art work. I can not wait to share the new cover to Starting Point with you all!! I’m sure you guys are gonna LOVE it!! <3
I finally managed to wrangle the first draft of Blood & Milk, and now I just need to fix it. Like really fix it. LOL It’s a hellamess, but I’m so excited and relieved to finally give these boys the ending they deserve. It finished at 85,000 words. Not sure where that will end up – I’d imagine I’ll need to add and delete quite a bit. I’m still on schedule for a June 23rd release.
I hope everyone has had a fabulous week! Can you believe we’re already at the end of April?? This year is just flying! Stay tuned for the cover reveals of Starting Point and Blood & Milk, AND some rather exciting audio news!!! 🙂
Until next week… <3
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Good Morning Monday!
My second Good Morning Monday post in a row! Look at me go! LOL
So, this last week as been fairly productive. My word count on Spencer 3 is now at 38K, and I’m thinking there will be approx 10K to go. I have also done first round edits on Spencer 2, tweaked a few things in Spencer 1 before getting ARCs ready and formatting. I’ve also pre-read, proof-read and read for fun! 🙂
I also have some more info on my 2016 writing/release schedule. Please bear in mind this can, and probably will, change. Sometimes things outside our realm of control happen, and sometimes other characters decide their story will be told before someone else’s. But as of today, 2016 looks like this:
Spencer Cohen, Book One – Feb 18th
Spencer Cohen, Book Two – March 17th
Spencer Cohen, Book Three – April 21st
Romance/angst book with Maasai warrior/white Aussie guy – possibly June/July
Romance book with overweight guy/personal trainer guy – possibly Aug/Sept
Romance/angst book of two guys switched at birth – possibly Nov
And I might also do a short follow up to Ten in the Bin as well at some point.Please note I’ve not given any tentative titles to books after my Spencer Cohen Series. I will share the actual titles when I have them, and when/if the actual books are written. I once mentioned the title of a book I wanted to write, and the next day it was on Goodreads. And they wouldn’t remove it. I tried explaining the book hadn’t even been written, but alas, they still wouldn’t take it down. *sigh* Ah, good ol’ Goodreads. Never fails to dismay. LOL But all jokes aside, I now don’t give titles unless they’re the final thing. Not even working titles, not tentative titles.
Oh, and the above schedule doesn’t include translations – I will be having six translated titles this year, I believe. Red Dirt Heart 1 into French, Red Dirt Heart 1 &2 into Italian, and my Cronin’s Key series into French also.
In other news, I will have the rights to Starting Point return to me in April. This will be re-released with a new cover probably early May. The rest of the Turning Point Series will stay with Pride Publishing until mid to late next year 🙂
Speaking of Pride Publishing, my friend S.A. McAuley has the last book of her series out tomorrow!!! If you’ve not read the Border’s War Series, you must grab it now! It’s a M/M futuristic/apocalyptic thriller/romance. You can get the first book for FREE, and the second book for just .99c. I can’t rave about these books enough: the characters, the political complexities, the plot…. THE PLOT, PEOPLE! There is so much plot! LOL I just love Merq and Armise.
You can grab them from Pride Publishing HERE
Until next week… <3
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Starting Point… coming soon
STARTING POINT
So the Turning Point series is finally coming full circle.
Matthew Elliott is starting over. His life has changed, and even though he went through hell – taking everyone with him – he’s a better man for it.
Kira is still beside him – much to Matt’s amazement. Through serious therapy and open communication, Matt and Kira are making strides. They’re solid, they’re real, and for everything they’ve been through, they’re in love now more than ever.
Although this is the third and final book in the Turning Point series, it’s not an ending. It’s a beginning. Matt’s life is really now only just starting. Everything he’s witnessed, endured and suffered, has led him to this point.
Through the FC, the community gym Matt fought at and now works for, he meets a bunch of kids. Most are street kids, all of them not-so privileged, and he teaches them some self-defense and drug awareness. Through the local community college, Matt is trying to get these kids off the streets and into high school and college.
Rueben and Claude (Ruby and Claude) are two such kids. Street smart and very alone, Ruby is doing the best he can looking after his little sister. Claude is a little firecracker, who keeps Matt honest and on his toes.
But Matt soon finds it harder and harder to keep his work and home lives separate, and they soon bleed into one.
The usual supporting cast are all there; Matt’s ex-cop buddies, his new fight-club friends, and Sal and Yumi, of course. They all play an integral part, as they are, essentially, the framework that makes Matt who he is. Matt has been moulded by the people in his lives, and although none of them are blood relatives, each and every one are his family.
Starting Point is over 94,000 words long, and will be available from April 25th from Totally Bound. The early download link is
https://www.totallybound.com/starting-point
BLURB:
After going past the point of no return and finally reaching breaking point, the only thing Matthew Elliott can do now is start over.
Matthew Elliott is a recovering man. As an ex-cop and ex-fighter, his new job teaching kids at the local community gym about drug awareness and self-defence, is a little bit of both. His new focus on helping street kids is helping him heal, and with Kira by his side, he’s making strides.
Brother and sister, Rueben and Claudia, are homeless kids and they’re very much alone. As they strike a chord with Matt, he does everything in his power to help them.
But when Ruby and Claude need more help than he bargained for, it stops being about work, and starts being about home.
The day he met Kira, Matt’s life changed direction, and it’s only now he realises that everything he’s been through was a lead up to this. It was never about endings. His life, his purpose, was just beginning.
Early Download (Totally Bound site) – 25 April 2014
General Release (Amazon etc) – 23 May 2014
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Update on Starting Point
As you may or may not know, I’ve really struggled with writing these last few months. Without going into details and the whole woe is me song, for the last seven months I have been trying to write the final installment in my Turning Point Series.
Well, it’s done. The first draft anyway.
I’ve sent it to my editor (who graciously read it when it was half done and I was about ready to quit writing all together) and I’m sure there will be major edits, rewrites and additions to be done. As it is now, it’s 90,600 words exactly. (I deleted the epilogue – but will add it if my editor thinks it’s necessary).
It’s bittersweet to finish this series. I have LOVED these boys more than words can express. I honestly feel like I know them, like they’re real, and they are very much a part of my life. I have loved writing them, and while it’s sad to let them go, I am also relieved to be at the end.
In the first book, Point of No Return, we meet Matt and Kira, Matt’s workmates and Kira’s parents. In the second book, Breaking Point, we meet the guys at the FC.
In Starting Point, along with all our favourite characters from the first two books, we meet some more special people.
I’d like to introduce you to two kids Matt teaches at the FC, Claudia and Reuben.
Claude 
Ruby These two kids, brother and sister, Claude and Ruby, come with a world of problems that Matt and Kira weren’t quite prepared for. Still dealing with ramifications from his stint undercover, along with worries that the FC might be financial trouble, Matt finds the course of his life heading in a new direction. But with Kira by his side, Matt realises it’s not a bad thing. In fact, it could be the beginning of something great, and this is just the starting point.
More news when I have it – but I believe it will be a late May publication. Thanks to all who have read and loved these boys. I hope I have given them a HEA they deserve.
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