Glenbrook Pre-order

I've set up an early preorder of Glenbrook, Book Four of The Ethereal Crossings at a discounted price!  The release date is set to November 4, 2014, which sounds far away but actually isn't.  That's only a couple months!  Geez, it feels so close to me.  Click the photo for the link.

As with other pre-orders, it will be going out soon to Apple iBooks, Kobo and B&N, so I'll be sure to link to those as soon as I can.  (Follow my Facebook for most up to date info).

Glenbrook First Draft = DONE!

Yesterday I typed the final words to the first draft of Glenbrook!  Can you believe it?  I can't!

I didn't quite make my goal of 70K words and it ended up at about 65K.  But I still have to revise and edit, so it might manage to get there (or at least another thousand!).  I'm so excited that this book is done, and I hope you guys like the ending ;)

I'm still going to be posting some chapters onto Wattpad, though not too many more.  News and updates about publishing dates will be posted pretty much everywhere in the coming month or so.

But yeah, I just wanted to do a post about this!  It took about a year and a half, and there were some hurdles in there, but I got to the end.  YAY!

Day 16

Only about 10K words to go and I meet my goal of 25,000 words for Camp NaNoWriMo.  Glenbrook is quickly coming to an end!  I've been tweeting a lot about it lately, so be sure to follow me @somethingofdev for updates and such.  Once I have the first draft of Glenbrook done and I've gone through it a couple times I'm going to set up the preorder through Smashwords (which sends out to B&N, Apple, and Kobo).  So be on the lookout for that most likely mid-August :)

As for Glenbrook excerpts, I have up to chapter four posted on Wattpad, so if you wanna get an early read of it, it's there for you (and more to come!  I'll be updating it about every ten days with new half chapters.).

In other news, Astral Bodies part 6 is out soon!  Only two more weeks, and the preorder is already set up for you to get from Smashwords and Apple (and soon B&N).

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks my two year anniversary of publishing!  Two years ago today I hit the publish button on Smashwords and sent Shadeland out into the digital world.  Within the first night I had just over 80 downloads and I thought that was crazy!  Little did I know I would soon be getting thousands of downloads across different retailers.

When I put out Shadeland I wasn't sure if people would like Liv; she was so apathetic and unromantic about everything, I didn't know if the YA genre would embrace her.  But you guys did!  You truly encouraged me to continue with The Ethereal Crossings, as well as inspired me to work on new projects (sorry I jump around so much though haha).

And I couldn't have done it without the support of my lovely readers :)  So thanks for supporting me! I am nothing without you, which is why I'm giving away Fenridge and Northcliffe for free until the end of today.  www.dlmilesbooks.com

Thanks again!

Day 9 of Camp NaNoWriMo

It's day nine of Camp NaNoWriMo and I've reached the climax of Glenbrook!  With only 16K more words to go, I think I'll be doing pretty good to reach my goal (and if not, I will get it there in the revision process).  Either way, I think I'm doing wonderfully in writing daily on it, way better than I was for a while.  Camp NaNoWriMo really does inspire you to write every single day :)

It looks like I'll be finishing Glenbrook this month, and if all goes well, I imagine I will be able to do a late October/early November release.  As long as revisions don't throw a curve ball my way and my alpha readers don't take too long to give me feedback.

Other than that, don't forget you can preorder Astral Bodies part 6 and 7 at select retailers.  Fenridge and Northcliffe are still FREE for a couple more days!  Get them now and then get Glenbrook later this year!

And for all the other writers out there, HAPPY CAMP NANOWRIMO!  Also, good luck! :)

Day 6

Today marks the almost first week completion of Camp NaNoWriMo, and I'm doing much better than earlier this year!  I'm not quite at what I need to be, but I'm only a little behind; according to my profile stats as long as I write 822 words each day for the next three weeks I'll stay on track.  That SOUNDS simple enough, but I know I'm going to be getting stuck somewhere along the way (did I mention this is the end of Glenbrook I'm writing?).  There's a lot to make sure I include.

Anyway, I thought I would post an excerpt.  This is part 1 of Chapter 4, and if you missed it the first three chapters are already on Wattpad!

**unedited first draft**I didn’t want to try and explain to Neeson why I was quitting my job without notice and taking a trip to the Yukon.  He probably wouldn’t have approved, which is why I decided to call him at the airport.  There was no way he was going to be able to stop me there, as I sat in the plane with Jared next to me.His phone rang a few times before the voice mail picked up, and I found myself breathe a sigh of relief.  It made me wonder how hard it would be to tell him I was going into Shadeland.When the tone beeped I said, “Hey Neeson, I’m going away for a while.  Tell Dad I’m fine, okay?  I’m just working on getting Luke back.”  I paused, glancing at Jared beside me.  There was a very thin aisle between us, and he seemed distracted by reading the safety pamphlet, but I wasn’t sure if he was listening.  “Love you.  Bye.” I hung up and turned the phone off, shoving it into my pocket.“You really like things short and sweet, huh?” Jared asked.I shrugged and stared forward at the television screen a few seats ahead, pretending it was fascinating.  “Easier that way.” Only when we were finally in the air, and the seatbelt light was off did I notice Jared had his gun on him.  The silver pistol caught my attention as he stretched, and it revealed itself beneath his black leather jacket.  I couldn’t help but gape a little.“How did you get that onto the plane?” I asked.  It seemed impossible, even with his fake ID’s.  They might work on senile old women, but airport security?He flashed me his fake SILC badge, a new one I hadn’t seen, and winked at me.  “They let you do just about anything if they’ve only heard of you in newspapers,” he said.  “That, and having confidence helps.”Sometimes I thought Jared was a little too confident, but I didn’t say that to him.  “Are you going to ignore me the entire time?” Keiji questioned.  I turned to face him, sitting quietly beside me.  “I paid for Business class for you two, and you aren’t even going to act like I’m here?”“Calm down,” Jared ordered.  “We woulda survived just fine back with the common class.  Besides, at least you don’t have to sit beside this thing.”  He sent a glare to Azazel who lay quietly in his cage next to Jared.  Honestly I wanted to keep Azazel close, because he hadn’t seemed too keen on the idea of a cage, but after witnessing Jared and Keiji’s behaviour, I thought it best they stay separated.  Still, I felt bad Azazel had to be locked up two-fold.Keiji rolled his eyes, and I wondered how he could afford Business class.  He dressed like a punk, with large black boots, metal band tee-shirts and mussed up hair to match.  Keiji didn’t look like someone that would be sitting beside me, sipping champagne and glaring at Jared like he was a bug.“Did your clan pay for this?” I asked.He sighed.  “I have an allotted amount of money,” he explained.  “They’re being lenient on me, since Kat disappeared.”I flinched.“Sorry,” he said, “since Kat passed away.  When I first left Japan it was to find him—we were still hoping he was alive.”  Keiji twisted the flute between his index finger and thumb, his eyes narrowing in thought.I looked to Jared to see his reaction, but he was pretending to be interested in something in another pamphlet.  The guilt still weighed him down, I knew that; it weighed me down too.  And it wasn’t just Kat’s death on my mind.  It was Melody and her grandfather, Utah, and Charlie, and Amber.  I rubbed at my temples, a headache forming.“‘Scuse me,” I mumbled as I stood.  I hurried into the bathroom while Keiji began to go over the finer things that came with his “executive” status, as he called it, with Jared.  If my head didn’t hurt so much I might have thought they might kill each other while I was away.The bathroom wasn’t as small as I thought it would be, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable.  The sweet smell of name brand soaps filled there air along with the sounds of the engines.  It was quieter there compared to sitting between Jared and Keiji, but it didn’t make my head feel better.In a haze I bent over the sink and turned the cold water on.  I splashed it onto my face, ignorant of how it soaked into the collar of my shirt and sweater, or how it got all over the counter.  I didn’t care.  My head pounded.I groaned quietly, grinding my teeth hard in hopes of not alerting anyone.  If Jared got wind of this I was certain he would somehow force the plane to land.  Liv? a voice asked.  Liv, I’m sorry.“Luke?” I whispered.  I could feel him in my mind, just like when I’d talked to him outside the police station.  He was putting his thoughts in my head, but I wasn’t sure how.  Wasn’t he in Shadeland?I’m in trouble, he said, bringing another onslaught of pain.  I fell to my knees, gripping the counter but failing to hold myself up.  There’s nobody else again.“Where are you?” I asked through another groan.Shadeland, he replied.  They need—help—it’s not—He cut out, along with the pain.  I blinked my eyes a few times, unsure if the pain was really gone or I was just dying.  I stood on shaky legs, feeling my hands sizzling with the residual connection to Luke, to Shadeland.  A fine pink mist drifted from me and dissipated into he air.  I watched it a few moments until it stopped and I knew it was safe to return outside.If only my hands would stop shaking.I didn’t understand much of Luke’s message, only that he was in trouble.  The more I thought about what he said, the more I couldn’t figure out.  If he was in trouble, why would they need help?  Who was “they” exactly?I shook my head and dried off with paper towels.  They were smooth against my skin where I imagined they would have felt scratchy.  I sighed, another reminder of my not-so-human half.“Mom,” I whispered, “what’s going on?”

Camp NaNoWriMo and Special Anniversary Giveaway!

(Happy Canada Day!)

And happy start to Camp NaNoWriMo!  This month I plan on getting Glenbrook done, or at least very close to done.  My goal is 25,000 words, which would bring me to my entire word goal for the book.

Liv has gone through a lot in this one, too, and has been visiting old friends and making new ones (or enemies).  I'll be keeping up with excerpts each week, along with word count updates on Facebook and Twitter.  I'll also be posting facts about what happens in Glenbrook every so often, so check out those :)  Here's one now...

Azazel's true form will be revealed!  

Oh, and remember how on Facebook I said be on the lookout for a special announcement?

WELL HERE IT IS

To celebrate my two year anniversary of publishing, I'm going to giveaway The Ethereal Crossings series for free until July 11!  The prices have just been changed at Smashwords, so it might take a day or two to reach other retailers.

Shadeland

Fenridge

Northcliffe

*Note about Amazon: I can't set books to free at Amazon, but if you download the free .mobi file at Smashwords, that can go on your kindle :)

I'm going to do a "Thank You!" post on the 11th, but I'll say it here too.  

THANKS FOR READING!