Pieces of Her

My first novel, "Pieces of Me" was a whirlwind. Completed in a few months, I set myself upon writing the second book in the series, now titled, "Pieces of Her". Now, a bit more than a year later, I am still not finished. Many speak of the "2nd book blues", which surely I've had.

Said blues have run their course and "Pieces of Her" is on fire! By opening my mind and surrendering to the process, the book is moving at a better pace and direction than I ever expected. Writing is a journey and I am grateful that book 2 has taught me more about where I want to go and how to read a map on the way.

I hope your journeys take you to all kinds of fascinating places. Where do you want to go?

Fright Club

"I want you to scare me as hard as you can."

I want my heart to race. Later, I want to look over my shoulder, wondering what lurks in the dark.

More than I want this, I want to do it to you.

To have my writing raise goosebumps gives me extreme satisfaction, but there is always the, "what next" factor. Where can I push? What moves me? What moves you?

What goes bump in your night?

Why are so few women making horror movies? Seeking not to answer, but to lead by example; I am eager to haunt your dreams and make you check the dark corners.

Quentin Tarantino, Speilberg, Raimi, all say the same thing... Watch movies and make films to learn to make films. Needing a bit more technical craft and being linear by nature, I'm going to film school.

Here are some movies that make me leave the lights on:

1. The Exorcist
2. The Omen
3. Rosemary's Baby
4. Poltergeist
5. Psycho
6. A few specific episodes of "The Twilight Zone"
7. House of Wax
8. Nosferatu
9. The Shining (Kubrick's)

There are many more, inclusive of my love of the slasher movie and "B" movie cult horror. Freddy, Jason, Mike Myers, Leatherface.... A girl can't help but love them.

Bits and Pieces

Ok, anyone that can read the scant list of archived posts to the right can see that I have not really embraced blogging.

Why? My first answer is , "I don't know", but is that ever actually the truth? No.

When people first started reading and enjoying my book, "Pieces of Me", I was proud and astonished. For the first time, I produced something creative, something entirely my own and people like it? From there, it has been an even bigger stretch to believe that someone might want to read what I have to say about other things. Crazy.

"Pieces of Me" is finally going to print. It will still be available for all the eReaders, but a paper book in my hand feels like another milestone. I am working the second book in the series now, while still obsessing over pre-press edits for Book 1.

I have never been the introspective type. Not a journal person, I've never written the words "Dear Diary" in my whole life. So, it would seem that I need some reason to blog as getting word out about my book hasn't done the job.

I learned from a smart old friend that I can give myself permission to do something different. The simple act of giving myself that permission allowed me to change my life. Writing horror fiction moves me and my work feels like joy. When I am sitting at the computer, deep in my story, I am almost jealous that I get to do this.

Please, find the thing that gives you joy and do it with your whole heart! Don't let a life of expectations make you settle for things you were told you wanted. Don't get so mired into an existence that you lose sight of your authentic self.

How can I become a more consistent blogger? What are your thoughts? I guess actually blogging is the only way to make it happen.

Thank you for reading.

Erika

How did we get to November?

I finished writing the first draft of "Pieces of Me" on July 1, 2010 and now here we are in November! My book is doing well in eBook pre-release. I was hoping to have paper books by now, but they're on their way (hopefully, in time for holiday shopping).

July 1st changed everything: I never set out to be an author. I wrote this simply as a thinking girl's alternative to "Twilight"---to see if I could? I wanted a heroine, a real heroine that doesn't need to be rescued by a man (or men). What I came out with far exceeded my expectations.

All my life I was supposed to be a doctor. I never wanted that, yet lived in its gloomy shadow. Try though I might, I was only ever Not a Doctor, but on July 1st I said "NO" to the path I never chose.

Now I am something else indeed: I am a writer. I choose it. It chose me. I am finally something other than Not a Doctor.

In writing my 2nd book, I have reread "Pieces of Me" to fresh excitement and suspense. People are sharing great feedback and I'm encouraged to find my space in the genre.

I want to know what you think of "Pieces of Me". Please comment on my Facebook page, this blog, and be sure to share your feedback on whichever outlet you purchased the book.

Thank you for your help!

My 2nd book in the Pieces series, "A Separate Piece" will hopefully be available early in 2011.

I love having you on the journey.

Erika

Back to blogging, missing pieces

While lousy with good intentions, I notice I have not blogged since July. This is not really the best way to get word out on my book "Pieces of Me".

So what has been the hold up? Work? Alien abduction? Shark attack? Gardening heirloom tomatoes? No to all four: mostly family BS and starting the second book in the Pieces series.

"Pieces of Me" was completed in 3 months of full time (+) writing. The second book is not coming as fast while I am also faced with publishing and promoting the first.

In the time that elapsed, "Pieces of Me" went to #1 in Horror on Authonomy.com. (#2 in Young Adult and #5 in overall Fiction.) It's now available in eBook pre-release for Kindle, iTunes, Nook, Diesel, Kobo, and Sony Reader on their respective sites as well as Smashwords.com.

Be sure to leave feedback so other people can learn more about my book. Thank you for reading!

#2 in Horror!

"Pieces of Me" is currently #2 in Horror, #4 in Young Adult, and #8 on the Overall Booklist on Authonomy.com!

In my more linear days I viewed 2nd place as worse than 1000th. I had a "2nd Place=1st loser" mentality, clearly a mindset aligned with more harm than good. Now I am just so thrilled and honored that people are reading and enjoying my work that I am able to better focus on gratitude and joy.

The days and weeks before my book goes to press can be unnerving, but the feedback on Authonomy.com has proven an invaluable litmus test. I think of this often and try to stay present.

Book 2 is creaking along... Stay tuned.

Thank you and please keep reading!

Thrilled with Authonomy!

At first I thought it would be overwhelming to have people finally reading my book, but it is more visceral and exciting than I could have imagined.

Currently "Pieces of Me" is #17 on the overall booklist at Authonomy.com. It is #9 in Young Adult and #5 in Horror! Very exciting!

I am very excited to get this in print and so grateful to all that that contributed time, talent, and passion.

Please read my first 13 chapters on Authonomy.com.

Thank you!