PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES and PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS Updates

PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES Update

In 2008 I self-published my modern day vampire/necromancer/zombie novel called PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES.  I was new to the world of self-publishing and did my very best to produce a quality work.  Though I love the story and the cover for the novel, one aspect of the book has been bothering me.

I definitely made a few mistakes when I started self-publishing. One of them was depending on friends to edit.  Though they were high-educated and even trained to edit, they were cautious with their critiques.  I found out later from a few of them that they didn't want to hurt my feelings.  Though I understand their concern, I really wish they had been crueler with the red pen.  I am extremely aware of the fact that a writer cannot self-edit their own novel. No matter how many times I read over my own work, I can't see the mistakes I've made. I may catch a few here and there, but in the end I will miss things.

The editing for PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES was not as strong as I would have liked. Cracking the book open last year for the readalong hosted by The Bookish Brunette, I winced a few times when I read some errors in the text. It bothered me enough to contact the editor I now use for my self-published works, Felicia Sullivan.  Felicia was kind enough to fit me into her very busy schedule. She edits for several publishing companies, most notably Permuted Press.  I'm so happy to have a newly edited version of PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES to offer to my readers. It's now a cleaner, crisper read, and I really appreciate all the hard work she did.

There are no major plot changes in the story.  The wonky sentence structure, grammar mistakes, etc, have now been smoothed out.  You don't need to buy the new version if you have read the previous version.

Special PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES Autographed Book Sale

I have three copies of the original paperbacks left at my online store.  I am placing them on sale for $5.00 plus shipping and handling.  

Click here to buy one.

To buy the Kindle book click below:

PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS Update

I am currently writing PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS. It's coming along very nicely.  It's a lot of fun being back with the characters of Amaliya, Cian, Samantha, Jeff, and the other supporting cast.  I'm also enjoying the new additions to the story.  I really missed this group of characters.

I'm barely a prologue and a chapter into the story and things are already popping.  The opening scene is pretty spooky and Amaliya's first scene had me giggling. Especially when her first words in the novel ended up being, "Fuck you!"

I've already sent off the beginning of the book to my test reader, Janet Rogers. I really appreciate her input. She is also kind enough to endure receiving the book in bits and pieces as I work on it. She always asks me hard questions and helps shape the book into a great read. I really appreciate her.

Also, if you would like to track my progress on PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS, just watch the counter in the sidebar on my blog (in case you're reading this in a feed).

The word count meter looks like this:

I change it every day when I finish writing.  I'm estimating at this time that the novel will be around 90,000 words, which is roughly 360 pages of manuscript. The finished book product will be around 250 or so pages once it's formatted into the 6 x 9 book template (front and back).

Some days the counter may leap forward quite a lot, other days it may only advance a little bit.  Sometimes I have massive writing spurts, while other days I have to go back to check on lost plot threads, etc, so the count is lower.

I don't have an estimated publication date because I have yet to finish the book. Though I want to do a "fast draft" as taught by Candace Havens, I'm not sure how long I will take to finish it.  The fast draft results in a 70,000 word manuscript at the end of two weeks.  I may take a little longer. PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES was written in three weeks.

Of course, once I'm done, I'll have to send it to the test readers, revise it, then send it to Felicia Sullivan for editing.  After that, the book has to be revised again, formatted, the final proof read is done, then it goes into publication. The good news is that we already have the cover done!

So when will PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS be available?  I'm not sure yet. But when I do have a publication date I will announce it.

How do you like the meter to track my progress?

What do you hope to see in PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS?