Goodbye Evernight

Well, guys, this is it. The end of Evernight. I'm so distraught that I had to write about it.

I know, I disappeared again for a while, but it's because I simply couldn't put down Afterlife, the final book in the Evernight series. Have you read it? If not, you definitely should. I suspect that many of you, like me, read Twilight and then were chasing your next fix. Well, I found it in Evernight. And, I couldn't love it more.

Twilight...I've written about it before, but, to recap, I'm not in love with it. I kind of find it funny when people compare Breathless to Twilight because the truth is, I was going for something quite different. It's inevitable that all YA vampire books will be compared to Twilight forever more--and really, it's one of the best-selling books of all time, so it's flattering. But, I'm not the biggest fan of the book itself. Now, Edward, is another story entirely. Let's face it, Meyer created the quintessential male, and I fell in love with him. Bella, on the other hand, is one of my least favorite characters, and I tried to make Lia about as opposite her as I could. That said, I have three twilight t-shirts, a tote bag, socks, and much more.

Regardless, there is something very hypnotic about the Twilight series, and to date, the only book I have ever read twice is the first book in the series. But, after that, I was desperate for a new book. So, after spending painstaking hours trying to find something similar that wouldn't disappoint me, I cam across Evernight. It had just been released, and I decided, reluctantly, to give it a try. And, I was not disappointed.

To date, Evernight is my favorite series of all time--YA or otherwise. I fell in love with the first book. While I don't crush on either of the male leads like I do on Edward, I still feel a strange affinity to Bianca. I love everything about her and everyone else in the books. There is no one I don't like, with the exception on characters, such as Mrs. Bethany and Charity, that I'm not supposed to like.

In short, if you haven't read the Evernight books, you should rush out and get them. Well, what are you waiting for? Go...now!

Okay, I'm done commanding...for those of you who didn't catch it earlier, the character of Balthazar in my upcoming book, Wanderlust, is not named after Balthazar in the Evernight series. I was quite displeased when a character in this series had this name, as I had always intended to use it in the sequel to Breathless--which I wrote prior to reading Evernight. It's a tribute to Balthazar Getty, who, oddly enough, I don't crush on now but did as a teenager. It's a cool name, and if I had to put a face to the character, it would be Joe Manganiello. See my facebook page for pix!

Take care,
HH

Mish Mash Mind Fog

Hi guys,

So, this post is going to be a bit of a mish mash of thoughts. To begin, I'm going to ask for your help. Breathless has had amazing sales on Amazon--more than 7,000 ebooks since January 1. Unfortunately, I just can't seem to emulate that success any place else. Try as I might, I just can't figure out how to promote my books to Nook and Kobo readers. I have, literally, sold only a handful of copies for them. So, I'm asking for your help. How can I get the word out. Lauren Burd and Amanda Hocking seem to have mastered all audiences. What are they doing that I'm not? Any help you can offer is super appreciated.

Also, for anyone who would like to follow me, I'm now on both Facebook and Twitter. I tend to update fairly often--at least daily, if not more, and I would love to see you all there.

Next, I wanted to let you know why I've been a bit absent lately. I've been sick this week...which means, unfortunately, that I'm going to make you wait a little longer for Wanderlust. And, I can't tell you how sorry I am for that.

I had originally set a mid-march deadline for the book, and I was working well toward meeting it until two things happened:

1. Writer's block
2. Migraines

I'm not typically one to whine or make excuses, so it's particularly hard for me to admit either of these things has brought me down, but the fact of the matter is that they have. Let's address each one in order.

Writer's block is a very real thing. I have written the beginning and end of Wanderlust. I've also written a good chunk of the middle. Problem? I have a bunch of ideas for the rest, I just can't sort through how to connect them all. At the start of the week, I was working through it. I even thought I had it sorted out--mostly. That's when ailment number two struck: the migraines...

I've been getting migraines most of my life. Sometimes, they make me really sick, but usually only for a few hours. This week was different. I live in the mountains, and we have these weird pressure systems that wreak havoc for a lot of people. While they warm up the winters, they also cause a lot of pressure on the brain. For people like me, this spells bad news. I started feeling ill on Monday, and while I made it through the work week, I crashed this weekend. I crashed hard. I have been sick in bed with a cold cloth on my head for the past two days. It's been difficult to stand up or focus my vision. Stringing sentences together to speak--a challenge. To write--impossible, until now. And even this is hard.

Usually, I form my writing ideas throughout the week. I work out the details until I know exactly what I want to say, and on the weekends, I pound it all out on the keyboard. Often, each idea grows bigger than I could have anticipated, and it's a huge feeling of accomplishment. Sadly, this is the only thing I have written this weekend, but I wanted to let my readers know where the book stands and thank you again for hanging tight. I know I promised Wanderlust would be out this week, but you're going to have to hold on a wee bit longer.

Cheers,
HH

Why I'm an Indie Author

I posted this on another site, and I thought it might be good to share here as well. I've had a lot of people ask why I self-published Breathless, and this helps answer that question. I'd like to add, that I think it was one of the best moves I ever made, and I am really proud and excited with the book's reception. I thank you all for that!

I worked as the managing for an educational publisher for nearly a decade. I wrote nearly a hundred books for that company and edited thousands of others. For a long time, I had forgotten how to write for pure enjoyment, and one day, I started again. I tried to get an agent...I really tried, but it just didn't happen for me. Several agents--many from prominent agencies--gave me great feedback about the book. All told me there wasn't anything they would change. But, ultimately, with the recession happening and so many uncertainties about whether the vampire trend was nearing its end, none wanted to commit.

So, to be perfectly honest, I'm an indie author because I had no other choice. After a year-and-a-half of sitting on the fence while multiple agents decided what to do about my book, I decided to take matters into my own hands. At first, I hoped that even 50 people would check out my book. When I reached 500, I thought I was dreaming. I just surpassed 6,000 copies sold, and I feel incredibly blessed.

I can now say that while I had no choice before but to publish indie, I know that I have done the right thing--likely aspiring to more success than I would have with a small publisher. As I go forth with the next two titles in my series, and as I continue to write other books, I will be publishing indie because I want to, not because I have to!
Warmly,
HH

Frost...

Let me throw this out at you all...does anyone care if Frost returns in Wanderlust? I'm going to be perfectly honest--she wasn't going to. Not in any big way at least. There's a possibility of her making a small appearance. But, I'd like to hear from you guys. I'm at a crossroads in my writing. If she's going to be part of the book, it's now or never.

So, if you're big Frost fan, now is the chance to have your voice heard. At this point, I would have to hear from a lot of people that they would be disappointed to see her out of the second book in order to write her in. But, if I do hear from enough of you, it's a possibility. In the very least, I might be able to find a way to work her into a bigger role in the third book...

I look forward to hearing from you.
HH

Facebook Fan Page

Hi guys,

I know I've been neglecting my blog a bit lately...life just seems to keep getting in the way. I've been spending time in the various forums promoting Breathless and getting the word out. On that note, I have just launched the official Facebook fan page for Breathless. There is a link to the page on this site, and I would love for you to "like" it and tell everyone you know about it. You can also find in here. To get started, I`ve added some personal photos with captions, and I`ll try to keep the status current as I write wanderlust.

If you haven't had a chance to read the USA Today story on Amanda Hocking yet, check it out here.

I also encourage you to check out her response on her blog. Amanda Hocking is an amazing talent and success story. Like Amanda, I am a self-published author. And, while I haven't experienced her brand of success yet, I have been very blessed thanks to all of you.

As far as indie authors go, I aspire to her success, and I think she did an exceptional job at describing the hard work that goes into promoting our books. I have spent much more time doing that than I did writing Breathless. I would love to spend more time writing, but between my full time job, writing, and promoting my books...there's not much time left in the day.

Breathless has sold more than 6,000 copies, and, out of hundreds of thousands of books, it dipped as low as number 202 in the overall paid Kindle books. It's moving back down the ranks after several very successful weeks. If you know anyone who might be interested in reading it, please let them know they can get it for all kinds of ereaders at the following links.

amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
Smashwords
Goodreads
Barnes and Noble
Lulu
Kobo


So, once again, a resounding thank you for everyone who has supported me thus far on my journey. It's been a wild ride, and every minute of it has been wonderful!

Have a great weekend everyone!
HH