Cover Contest!!

Hey. Gathering Water has been entered into a contest for best cover! If you liked it, you should go vote! And tell your friends and family to vote for their favorite too...

http://www.ultimatefantasybooks.com/best-book-cover-2014.php


Personally, I'm IN LOVE with my cover. Like, true love, forever and ever. What do you guys think? How much does a cover draw you to a book? Have you ever bought a book based on the art? Which type of design are you drawn to the most? Do you have a favorite?? Let me know in the comments!

What's next?

Okay, so this last saturday I officially became an Author... well, I published my first book at least.

You can get it on Amazon.com by clicking here.It's only $2.99. Yes, that's cheaper than your favorite coffee!!! If you're an Amazon Prime member, and have a Kindle device, then you can also borrow it for FREE.

But that's not what this blog post is about. Not really at least. I'm really letting the world know what other projects I have in the works... You know, if I tell people about them, then I HAVE to finish them, right?

I just started a short story earlier this week. It's based in the same world as Gathering Water, but centers around Della's (Gathering Water's protagonist) grandmother. It's a little more romance than fantasy, and borders a little more on the NA side of the genre. If you've read Della's book already, then you know about Anise through the journal entries, and this will be her story. One of young love, and heartbreak, and how that can change a person. I'm hoping to release it by late April, and it will be FREE. I have several other short story/novella ideas based in this world, so this will be the first of MANY.

Of course, I have book 2 in the Gathering Water series. Release will be this upcoming Fall if everything goes a planned, and will deal with Della's discovery at the end of Gathering Water. We'll find out more about the Elfennol world, what the Clades are really all about (are they really evil, or just a darker shade of gray?) and Della's place in it all. Working title is Tempering Earth... but don't hold me to that. Haha.

There's also this project that I am IN LOVE with. I was working on it before Della started screaming in my head for attention. It's more adult fantasy, and each book in the series will be a VERY loose portrayal of a fairy tale. Because I love me some fairy tales. I have NO IDEA when it will be finished, or released, since the Gathering Water series will trump anything new until book 3 is out.

Stay tuned for updates... I'll be posting about a GIVEAWAY tomorrow, so be sure to check in an enter!!!

Why I Write What I Write

A little over a week ago I published my first novel, Gathering Water. Since then, I've been... amazed by the great feedback I've gotten for it. Of course I love my book, and I love my characters... but to have other people love them too? People that don't know me to love what I write, well, it gives me a very warm and tingly feeling.

I wanted to tell you a little about why I chose this genre (as much as any author chooses what to write, at least). I have two daughters. Funny, crazy, brilliant daughters. I want them to read, want them to love the written word as much as I do. I want them to be influenced by the words they read, to find meaning in books, find glimpses of other worlds.

One day, I took a look around at this YA genre that has been going crazy on my Kindle the last several years, and I didn't like what I saw. There were too many "Bella's" and not enough "Hermione's". That is, the heroines in the stories weren't the type that I wanted my daughters to emulate. There weren't enough role models. While I'm THRILLED that so many young women find solace in books these days, I'm worried about this generation that has grown up reading about irresponsible, codependent, unhealthy people... Yes, it's fiction, and no I don't expect fictional characters to be perfect OR perfectly realistic. I'm also not going to say it's wrong to write about "instant-love"...

But...

Life imitates art... I believe that. Really, I do. So, instead of furthering antiquated stereotypes about the over-protective boyfriend saving the naive and incapable girl, I wanted to write a story where the girl is the hero. Not the 'heroine'... the hero. Someone who, while taking help from those around her, is still self sufficient. Someone who is still growing, and might make some mistakes but learns from them. Someone who has been dealt a really crappy hand in life, but doesn't let that define her.

A coming of age story. That's what my book is, first and foremost. Yes, there is a paranormal aspect (yeah, a big one). There's even a little romance thrown in. But my story is really about a broken girl discovering herself; discovering her path, her destiny. Everything else I consider a subplot (even if I'm the only one that does).

I'm going to step off my little soap-box now,

If you haven't yet, go read my book (you can click this LINK). If you have Amazon Prime, and a Kindle device, you can borrow it FOR FREE for the next few months.

Later this week I'll let you know about what I'm working on, so be sure to check back in here!

Gathering Water... COVER REVEAL!!!

So, there it is. The cover for my upcoming book, Gathering Water. Props go to Bruce Gore of Gore Studios (Check out the interview I did with him HERE). Didn't he do a fabulous job?

My first book, a YA Fantasy, will be available at Amazon.com on February 1st. Keep reading for the synopsis, in case you missed my previous post about it! Also, go add Gathering Water to your 'want to read' shelf on Goodreads (here)!

There are plenty of things I could tell you about my life; plenty of things happened during my years in an inept foster care system. But my real story—when my life really began—started on the day I turned eighteen.

It was the day I discovered who I was. I learned my real name, my dead mother’s identity, and where we come from. These simple things prompted me to pack my meager belongings, hop on a plane, and come home to the dilapidated house in North Carolina that belonged to the mother I never knew.

Even though I have a home and a family for the first time, my thoughts are still burning with unanswered questions. Like why did my mother run away? Why the heck has my skin started to tingle every time it touches the water? And who—or what—is my father really? Because it definitely isn’t human--

And if all that weren’t enough, there’s this guy, Dove. Yeah, he might be a distraction from my true purpose, but when he offers a healing hand to sooth the damage from my past, I’m helpless to resist.

All I ever wanted was to know who I am, but my journey to self-discovery might just lead to the destruction of mankind.

My name is Della Doe Deare and this, well, this is my story.

Gathering Water, a synopsis!

Without further ado, the synopsis for Gathering Water:

There are plenty of things I could tell you about my life; plenty of things happened during my years in an inept foster care system. But my real story—when my life really began—started on the day I turned eighteen.

It was the day I discovered who I was. I learned my real name, my dead mother’s identity, and where we come from. These simple things prompted me to pack my meager belongings, hop on a plane, and come home to the dilapidated house in North Carolina that belonged to the mother I never knew.

Even though I have a home and a family for the first time, my thoughts are still burning with unanswered questions. Like why did my mother run away? Why the heck has my skin started to tingle every time it touches the water? And who—or what—is my father really? Because it definitely isn’t human--

And if all that weren’t enough, there’s this guy, Dove. Yeah, he might be a distraction from my true purpose, but when he offers a healing hand to sooth the damage from my past, I’m helpless to resist.

All I ever wanted was to know who I am, but my journey to self-discovery might just lead to the destruction of mankind.

My name is Della Doe Deare and this, well, this is my story.

Stay tuned for more updates about my upcoming book... Also the regular stuff, like reviews and interviews, will likely be showing up again. So, watch out!

Why it's been so long.

Well, it's been A WHILE since my last post, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy writing.

Actually, it means I have been VERY busy writing. Writing what, you say? Oh, just a book. Yes, last week I finished the rough draft of my first (wink wink) novel. Since I am WAY too impatient to go through the ordeal of finding an agent and publishing house to pick me up, I will most likely be joining the ranks of Indie Authors in early February, which also means I have a lot of work left ahead of me. Ah, work.


I've been interested in writing since I was a child, and honestly it's been the only career choice that I've ever been interested in for more than a year or two... among the discarded 'what I want to be when I grow up' are: Park Ranger, Cafe owner, and High School Teacher. No, none of those random career paths have ANYTHING in common, other than they piqued my interest for a season or two, and it's not as if I actually did any of that. Well, I worked as a barista for a few years, but that was mostly to support my love of coffee.

 I still think I would totally rock one of those beige Park Ranger outfits... Well, probably not.

I think we can all agree that THIS
would be the best job ever.

But writing has always been, and even still is a little, something to dream about doing. Not something that I could actually do. That's like wanting to eat cake for a living, just way too awesome to be a real option. With the arrival of my second daughter this past year, and my new status as Stay At Home Mother, a job that I genuinely never imagined for myself but  just as genuinely love doing, I finally had the motivation write. Not the time, mind you. There is always something that I should be doing instead of writing. Dishes to wash, clothes to fold, beds to make, clothes to fold... My tombstone should read 'she did laundry'.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, motivated to write. My motivation? Well, as cheesy as it sounds, my motivation is to be a better role model for my daughters. Here I am, 26 yrs old, 2 kids, a college dropout and with no 'real' career options. I've accomplished little, and the only reason for that is... there's been no reason. How can I expect my daughters, who will have to overcome far more in life than I did, to follow their dreams if I'm too chicken to follow my own? I want to teach them perseverance and bravery. I want to teach them how to be better women than I will ever be. You know, because children are our future and whatnot.

So, I wrote a book and in a few weeks (6?) you'll get a chance to read it! Of course, the very thought is terrifying. Like, 'omigawd what am I thinking' kind of terrifying. But, I have to do this. I have to follow through, keep writing, and keep my fingers crossed that I don't suck at my lifelong dream. That people will buy my book and like it.

If you write it, they will come... that's how the saying goes, right? Right? No?

See? They came!

Later this week, I'll post up my synopsis so you can all get an idea of what my first novel is about. In the meantime, you can just comfort yourself with the super awesome title, which is....

GATHERING WATER