Confession: this isn’t exactly groundbreaking news. The fifth and final book in my Dream Waters Series has been out for a while now, and it’s been far too long since I posted anything on this blog. I’ve been focusing on what comes next since the release of Dream’s End.
For my readers who’ve confessed that they don’t want to finish Book 5 because they don’t want the story to end, you’ll be happy to hear that I’ve been hard at work on my next novel. The new book will be set in the same world as my Dream Waters series, but with a whole new cast of characters and storyline.
For now, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve been up to:
I did a book signing at Wegmans in my hometown to celebrate the release of Dream’s End.
I was a vendor at Momento Con in Pittsburgh, where I got to meet Mark Sheppard, aka Crowley, the King of Hell on Supernatural! (I couldn’t be happier with the shirt he chose to wear that day!)
And our family gained a new member when we adopted Nacho, the cavapoo who melted my heart the moment he first curled up in my arms.
And that’s pretty much my life in a nutshell since my last post!
After getting my first chance to listen to a clip of BENEVOLENT’s audiobook-in-progress this weekend, I’m really looking forward to listening to the finished product!
Me & Fitz, the faces behind the voices of Abigail & Castiel in Benevolent’s audiobook
This project has been a unique experience for me because I’m narrating the majority of the audiobook myself. My friends and work family have been listening to me talk/whine about the recording process for months now, and my biggest concern with the audiobook has always been that my “deep male voice” wasn’t deep enough — or male enough. I’m thrilled to announce that my friend Scott Fitzgerald, Fitz from the morning show on 93.3 FM, is lending his much deeper (and much manlier) voice to the project! He will be doing the voice of my favorite trench-coat-wearing angel, Castiel, in BENEVOLENT’s audiobook!
Listen to a clip of the audiobook-in-progress.
Not only is Fitz contributing his voice to this project, but he is also producing the audiobook, as he is an engineer / co-owner of Roc Vox Recording & Production Studio in Pittsford, NY. I’ll be sure to post updates when the audiobook is available to purchase!
A lot has happened since I wrote my last blog post! I’ve been working on Book Four of my Dream Waters Series, spreading the word — both online and in person — about Benevolent, and working on some new projects that I’m pretty excited about. So, consider this my catch up post. Here’s what I’ve been up to…
I had the amazing opportunity to go to Miami, Florida last November. My book was featured in the Readers’ Favorite booth at the Miami Book Fair. I was awarded the bronze medal for fantasy fiction at the Readers’ Favorite International Book Award ceremony, and I got to meet award-winning authors from around the globe!
Readers’ Favorite booth at the Miami Book Fair
My first award!
Spent a memorable night with this talented group
In February, I did a presentation at the Newark Public Library about my latest novel, Benevolent.
100% of the net proceeds from Benevolent will go to Random Acts.
In March, I sat down to chat about Benevolent with Fitz from 93.3FM at Roc Vox Recording & Production Studio in Pittsford, NY. I was the first guest on his “Positive Blatherings with Fitz” podcast to come back for a second interview. (We talked about my Dream Waters series and my journey as an author on Episode 13 of the podcast.)
I also did a book signing at Wegmans in Newark, NY in March to celebrate Benevolent’s release.
In May, I had lunch with a local book club, and had a heartfelt discussion about Benevolent and coping with the loss of a loved one. There is no better compliment that I could receive than to hear that my story brought some comfort to those who have suffered a loss.
A few camera shy members of the book club left before this photo was taken, but everyone participated in the discussion.
I also spent an evening in May talking about Benevolent with a wonderful group of people at the Clifton Springs Library. The smaller group allowed for a more intimate discussion of the book and my reasons for writing it and donating all of the net proceeds to Random Acts.
So far, it’s been an amazing year for this author. I can’t wait to see what the months ahead have in store for me!
BENEVOLENT will be available on Amazon soon! This story holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, and I am thrilled to finally be able to share it with my readers!
If you’d like to take a sneak peek inside the book, you can download Chapter One below!
While I was halfway through writing Book Four of my Dream Waters Series, I was spending my downtime watching Supernatural on Netflix with my son and husband. I sat down to write one night after watching an episode and for some reason, I couldn’t get the show’s utterly endearing trench-coat-wearing angel out of my head. Thinking there might just be a story there, I abandoned my work in progress and started searching the internet to find out if Castiel was the name of an actual angel from the Bible. Allowing myself to get sidetracked that night ended up producing a story that’s near and dear to my heart for several reasons.
It’s definitely been an exciting journey taking my story from that first night of procrastination, through ten months of writing, beta reader feedback and editing, and on to the Supernatural convention in Cleveland where I entered BENEVOLENT in the Giving Back Tour’s Creative Quest.
Our convention weekend started with a bus tour of Cleveland with Rob Benedict & Jason Manns. (That’s me & my husband 4 rows behind Rob.)
Watched Season 14 Premiere the 1st night.
Friday Night Karaoke
The many faces of Matt Cohen
The rest of the weekend was a blast!
M & G with the lovely Rachel Miner.
Nothing puts a smile on your face like a hug from God (aka Rob)
The women of SPN
Got a hug from Matt Cohen
& a hug from Mark Pelligrino.
Had to re-do because they said I “blinked.” It looks more like I forgot all about the pic!
I almost like the “blink” pic better. It really captures the pure joy of a hug from Castiel.
Best group hug ever!!!! #MyHappyPlace
To read the full story behind my story download the Preface to BENEVOLENT.
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that DREAM WATERS was awarded Honorable Mention for Fantasy fiction in the 2018 Writer’s Digest Self-published e-book awards!!!
It’s such a tremendous honor for my novel to be recognized by a publication that has featured James Patterson, Andy Weir (author of The Martian), Alan Alda, and so many other notable writers in their cover articles.
I’m thrilled to announce that DREAM WATERS won a bronze medal for fantasy fiction in the 2018 Readers’ Favorite international book award competition!
I’ll be traveling to Miami in November to accept the award and attend the Miami book fair, where all the award winning books will be on display in the Readers’ Favorite booth!
I’ll be heading to Cleveland next month for the Supernatural Convention’s Giving Back Tour. The convention includes a Creative Quest —where Supernatural fans can submit an original creative work with a Supernatural / rock-and-roll theme.
I’m submitting an unpublished finished young adult novel that pairs with a playlist.
If you’d like to take a sneak peek at the playlist, click on the link below:
I had the pleasure of chatting with Fitz from 93.3 FM this week at his ROC Vox Recording & Production Studio in Pittsford, New York.
He saw my books on display at Wegmans in Perinton, NY and reached out to me on Twitter, inviting me to record an interview for his “Positive Blatherings with Fitz” Podcast.
Click the link below to listen to us blather about blocking out negative vibes, and chasing after your dreams!
