So, this is a really irrelevant post, but a co-worker passed this video on to me, and I had to share it. For any of you who don't know, I have quite the menagerie. I LOVE animals. And, cats rule my life, so this video is a bit like dinnertime at our house, especially if tuna is involved.
If anyone can translate, I would love to know why the cats are getting into the bowls. And, is the ginger with the arrow pointed at it the winner of what appears to be a strange bowl game? Hmmm...
Click here to see the cats!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wanderlust Cover
So guys, here's a first glimpse at the rough cuts for the Wanderlust cover. These are the first drafts, but I'm dying to hear your thoughts. The ring will make sense to everyone who has read Breathless, so you'll have to take my word that the key will make sense, too. So, I'm looking for first impressions. Which do you prefer? Please use the voting button to the right of this post to vote for the Ring or the Key.
Cheers,
HH
Cheers,
HH
Disney anyone?
Just tossing this out there, but is anyone going to be in Disneyland for Easter? I'll be in the Happiest Place on Earth that weekend, though my Laughing Place--Splash Mountain--is down for refurbishment. I'll just have to make due with my other faves...Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Indie!
If anyone's up for a bit of friendly competition on Midway Madness, let me know!
If anyone's up for a bit of friendly competition on Midway Madness, let me know!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Hidden Mickeys in My Books
So...I'm a big Disney fan. Not so much the movies, but the theme parks. I find them creatively inspiring, and I like to visit at least one of the parks each year so that I can absorb as much of that creativity as possible. If I had even an ounce of what goes into one of those rides...it's incredible.
Anyway, if there are any Disney theme park enthusiasts out there, you'll get the reference to Hidden Mickeys. For those of you who don't, I'll take a minute to explain. See, the creativity at the parks extends beyond the obvious. The rides are ridiculously detailed and insanely awe-inspiring from the artistic perspective, but to take it a step further, the imagineer who design the rides place what they call Hidden Mickeys within the rides and around the parks. To name a few that are easy to spot:
That said, all of the characters in my books are completely fictitious. Not one person is intended to be anyone in particular. There is not one character in my books that can be attached to any one person in my life or elsewhere. I get asked that a lot. Only Lia's deep sarcasm--so deep that I worry it gets read wrong at times--is based on my own dark sarcasm. Her one liners are typically the exact response I would give if face with a similar situation. I also have curly, auburn hair. Other than that, she's a figment of my imagination. Oh, and, I added Mina because, if by some off chance the book was ever made into a movie, I wanted there to be a thirty-something woman whom I could potentially play. We all have to dream...
So, what are the hidden gems in Breathless? For those you will have to stay tuned. I'll post again after I've had a chance to do a fresh read of the book, and I'll pull out a few for you. In the meantime, I can tell you that there is an umbrella scene in Wanderlust that comes straight from a situation that happened to me and my mom in London last fall, and the necklace mentioned in the book is the exactly the one shown here.
Alas, I realize this is a tease since you don't have a reference point in the book yet, but you will soon.
In the meantime, I thank you all again for your continued support, and thanks for hanging tight on Wanderlust. I know I'm behind schedule, and I apologize profusely for that.
Cheers,
HH
Anyway, if there are any Disney theme park enthusiasts out there, you'll get the reference to Hidden Mickeys. For those of you who don't, I'll take a minute to explain. See, the creativity at the parks extends beyond the obvious. The rides are ridiculously detailed and insanely awe-inspiring from the artistic perspective, but to take it a step further, the imagineer who design the rides place what they call Hidden Mickeys within the rides and around the parks. To name a few that are easy to spot:
- The pupil of the witch's eye when she holds out the apple on Snow White's scary adventure
- The plates in the captains quarters on Pirate's of the Caribbean
- The old wheels/sprockets on Big Thunder
That said, all of the characters in my books are completely fictitious. Not one person is intended to be anyone in particular. There is not one character in my books that can be attached to any one person in my life or elsewhere. I get asked that a lot. Only Lia's deep sarcasm--so deep that I worry it gets read wrong at times--is based on my own dark sarcasm. Her one liners are typically the exact response I would give if face with a similar situation. I also have curly, auburn hair. Other than that, she's a figment of my imagination. Oh, and, I added Mina because, if by some off chance the book was ever made into a movie, I wanted there to be a thirty-something woman whom I could potentially play. We all have to dream...
So, what are the hidden gems in Breathless? For those you will have to stay tuned. I'll post again after I've had a chance to do a fresh read of the book, and I'll pull out a few for you. In the meantime, I can tell you that there is an umbrella scene in Wanderlust that comes straight from a situation that happened to me and my mom in London last fall, and the necklace mentioned in the book is the exactly the one shown here.
Alas, I realize this is a tease since you don't have a reference point in the book yet, but you will soon.
In the meantime, I thank you all again for your continued support, and thanks for hanging tight on Wanderlust. I know I'm behind schedule, and I apologize profusely for that.
Cheers,
HH
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
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
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
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
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
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
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