All her life, Princess Adalina heard tales of the legendary, immortal warriors known as the Nihryst. Cursed and bound to a deck of tarot cards by her ancestors, the Nihryst were stranded on a remote island nearly a century and a half earlier.
Her brother, Prince Shane, is destined to rule the kingdom of Detmarya. Though preparing for this role has encompassed his entire life, control of the kingdom may come sooner than expected due to their father’s sporadic behavior.
Discovering the king’s plan to set a war in motion with a mass assassination, Ada unwittingly joins a crew of pirates in search of the only beings powerful enough to stop him: The Nihryst. Meanwhile, Shane and a group of underground rebels make a haunting discovery of a plague infecting the streets of Detmarya.
With a looming deadline to save multiple kingdoms and thousands of innocent lives, both royal siblings join quests worthy of Ada’s beloved fairy tales.
There are less than six weeks until the release of The Lost Legends. SIX! That blows my mind… It is still hard to believe this is all happening. I have always loved books, but I never imagined I would one day be an author myself.
All right, update time. I HAVE A MAP!! I am so, so excited. Having a map in my book feels like I have reached ultimate author goals. I was that kid who loved looking at maps in the beginning of books, even before I could read, so this is exciting for me. And it’s so pretty! It really brings this world I’ve created to life.
I also put a sneak peek of the first three chapter in my Facebook group! Link at the bottom of the page.
Everything is getting so real. I am working on final edits and will be sending out ARCs in the next week. This book has evolved and grown so much since it first started. I’m really proud of what it has become. Not going to lie, I didn’t know I had it in me to write a big fantasy trilogy like this with all the world building and foreshadowing. I love it.
Pre-order on Amazon here! There will be a paperback option on Amazon in March as well!
Hello, hello! It has been a crazy couple weeks, my friends. Between editing jobs, running Functionally Fictional, helping run Coffee House Writers, and starting grad school, I feel like I’m constantly busy. Not to mention editing The Lost Legends, writing book 2 of The Nihryst series, and writing my upcoming YA contemporary romance, The Last Summer.
Oh… I also did the cover reveal for The Lost Legends and opened the pre-order!!
(The paperback will be available on Amazon in March as well. I just can’t put it up for pre-order. If you would like to pre-order a signed paperback directly through me, please fill out this form.)
I have been overwhelmed with the amount of support I’ve received with this book the last few months, but everyone blew me away with this cover reveal. It was shared all over the internet, and people are actually pre-ordering it. People who aren’t family or close friends! It’s incredible.
Now, this blog series isn’t just to share my work and gratitude. It’s also to give honest opinions and thoughts on this experience so that I might help another self-publishing author. Mind you, I’m pretty much winging it. I am not a professional. I have some amazing friends who have been helping along the way, but a lot of this I’m learning by trial and error.
One very important thing I learned with this cover reveal: don’t do it too early. I should clarify; sharing the cover early is great, but don’t open the pre-order too early. And if you’re going to do signed paperbacks like I am, do NOT put up the form this early. Maybe even wait until after the release. Because now I have twice as many people ordering directly through me. Since they’re not going through Amazon, my sales and rankings aren’t nearly what they would be if this many pre-ordered the ebook.
Amazon ranks are very important. The better the rank, the more the book will be seen because of algorithms I barely understand. I do know that if it’s getting a lot of attention, it will show up for other shoppers more.
Lesson learned! The book is still doing very well. I will just be pushing the Amazon link for the next few weeks, and I’ll pull the signed form back out at the end of February.
I’m now editing the book, preparing it for ARC readers. I just sent the first four chapters to a blogger this week, who sent back a lot of positive and encouraging feedback, so that’s a good sign! I’m getting very excited but anxious about the whole thing. It’s definitely been an adventure.
Speaking of which, I still need a map… my bad.
Want the latest updates, sneak peeks, and exclusive giveaway opportunities? Check out my Facebook group: Cait’s Inner Circle
Good news: today will be the start of a new series! Leading up to the release of the Fun Size Anthology, I will be posting story teasers each week so you can see what to expect from this great collection, and it shall be called Fun Size Fridays! We’ve already had some good cover teasers building up to today’s full reveal, so let’s check it out!
You know, there is a reason I call this an adventure… The past week is why.
First of all, I got book 1 in The Nihryst series back from the editor. That’s right, The Nihryst is now the title of the series, which brings me to my first announcement: Book 1 is now The Lost Legends. A lot of consideration went into this, and I think it’s the best choice. Not only is it easier for people to say (because apparently Nihryst is difficult or something… ha!), but it will be easier to search for and it gives a better idea of what the story is about.
Which brings me back to editing. Fun fact: I opened my edits and immediately got a migraine. True story. My editor did such an amazing, thorough job. She gave me a lot to consider. So, in the coming weeks, I’ll be going through and fixing it all up, then I will format it and get it sent out to ARC readers. I am aiming to get the ARC out in the beginning of February, but we’ll see.
If you would like to receive an ARC to review, please fill out this form.
Also, I realized a couple days ago that I forgot to get someone to make a map. How does one forget such an important piece of a book?! Yeah, I have no idea, but it happened. I am now on the search to get that taken care of because it is pretty vital to the story with all the islands and kingdoms and traveling.
On a positive note, I did get a cover for The Last Summer, a YA contemporary romance I’m aiming to release in June! I also found an editor who is interested! I am super excited. I haven’t talked about my contemporary books as much because I wasn’t quite sure when they were happening, but it is looking like this one at least is possible as long as I get it written in the next month and a half or so.
I got a cover for my fae duology as well! There isn’t a plan for these books to be released any time soon. I just saw the perfect cover and couldn’t resist.
Speaking of covers…
The cover is being edited for the new title, but it should be done in time to still do the reveal on the 15th!
If you would like to participate in the cover reveal (Jan. 15) and/or the blog tour (Mar. 16-22), please fill out this form.
With the cover reveal will come pre-order information, including how to get a signed paperback. Plus, details on a pre-order incentive and giveaway.
One of the biggest struggles I’m facing is finding the time to work on my own stuff. I freelance edit, run Functionally Fictional, hold several positions with Coffee House Writers, and am part of the indie staff at YA Books Central. Plus, I am starting my master’s at the end of the month, which I am reconsidering, but that’s a whole other story for another time. I am terribly behind on reviews, and I can’t find the time to work on my books because I’m always reading/editing others. So, my goal for the year is to make sure I have “me” time, even if it’s just 30 minutes each day, and write.
Like I said, it’s an adventure. Writing and self-publishing is full of ups and downs. I dove head first into this field, but I’m learning as I go!
Want to get all these details early, as well as exclusive teasers, sneak peeks, and more? Be sure to join my Facebook group: Cait’s Inner Circle.
Hello, hello! For those just joining, I started this blog to talk about writing and publishing my books. As the title suggests, it has been a pretty crazy adventure so far. I basically jumped into all this head first without any idea of what I was doing or with an end goal in mind.
You see, I’ve always loved reading, but I hated writing. That is, until about four years ago when I literally picked up the pen and randomly started writing a fiction book. I had no idea I would one day be running my own book website, freelance editing, and working for an online publication and another book website. I had no idea that I would actually be a published author one day.
But my first book, The Nihryst, comes out March 2020!
The Nihryst is the first in a YA/NA fantasy trilogy about two royal siblings fighting the clock to save their kingdom from their own father. Princess Adalina sets sail with a group, whom she quickly realizes is pirates, to search for lost immortal warriors from her childhood fairy tales. Meanwhile, Prince Shane stumbles across an underground rebellion and tries to help stop a plague spreading throughout their streets.
Read the full blurb on Goodreads, and don’t forget to add it to your TBR!!
The past couple weeks have been pretty exciting. I officially have a cover, I wrote part of book 2, and I set up a lot for the release of the whole trilogy!
Bloggers (or anyone) wanting to participate in the Blog Tour and/or Cover Reveal, please sign up here!
If you want to be the first to get these updates, sneak peeks, and exclusive giveaway opportunities, be sure to join my Facebook group: Cait’s Inner Circle!
Plus, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter here!
He’s had this connection to her since the day they met, like she’s the lights on his Christmas tree. Too bad she’s dating his best friend.
BRAYLEIGH Today, I age out of foster care, but my foster family lets me stay, allowing me to live with my little brother, protect my foster sister, and graduate high school. But I have a secret that I let slip, and villains don’t respond well to threats. How will I survive the holidays being homeless and carrying a life-altering secret?
ZAIN Falling for your best friend’s ex-girlfriend shouldn’t happen. But sometimes fate has other plans. That’s how I spend my Christmas break. No matter how hard I try to resist her, it’s futile. Every part of her calls to me subconsciously. I can’t ignore the chemistry. And best of all, she wants me. Not just wants me but needs me. Is she worth losing my best friend?
Will these two hearts come together for Christmas?
Perfect for fans of Amber Smith’s The Way I Used to Be and Abbi Glines’s Until Friday Night. This can be read as a standalone.
WARNING: This story deals with heavy topics including teen pregnancy and sexual abuse.
Sawyer Dumont is made of sarcasm and steel. Successful, rich and easy on the eyes, it’s not his fault women don’t stay around long. They should really try to be more interesting. Despite his career as a cardiovascular surgeon, Sawyer knows very little about matters of the heart. So what if his longest lasting relationship is with his father and his quirky aunt who stepped up to raise him? If he could just find them a personal chef to help them through their golden years, then life would be perfect.
Slinging drinks and lighting shots on fire is a far cry from the dream Dakota Brightling had when she moved to California to attend culinary school. At work she watches others live her dream just twelve feet away in the resort restaurant. Story of her life: Close but not close enough. Finding an ad for an in-home chef, she knows she’s the perfect candidate. She’s only missing one thing, a culinary degree. But isn’t chasing your dream worth a little lie or two? It isn’t exactly the path she wanted, but Dakota knows that some of the best recipes are often improvised.
Instantly taken with Henri Dumont, and his
sister, Eloise, two eccentric French seniors, Dakota feels like she’s
found where she was meant to be all along. With Sawyer’s cynicism
undermining her every move, she knows she has a lot to prove. Between
her lack of schooling, her overbearing mother who thinks she’s been
abducted, and Sawyer breathing down her neck, things are getting hot in
the kitchen. Can she pull it all together, or will her culinary career
end as just another flash in the pan?
I’m just an average teenage witch secretly dating my vampire boyfriend and trying not to die.
When a night at the carnival results in three misfortunes slowly coming true, I’m left with no option but to reverse my fate. If only I knew how…
Even with a vampire and a werewolf at my side, I might not make it to midnight. Maybe none of us will. Magic got us into this mess, maybe magic can get us out.
*This story is told in dual pov by a teenage witch and the British psychic who cast her fate. Perfect for fans of That’s So Raven. This 2nd edition includes three new chapters and updated interior formatting.
Hello, hello! See, I told you I’d be back soon. This week has been crazy busy, but it’s also been very exciting. There were a lot of highs and lows. It was a good week overall in the writing world, though.
Let’s start with the not so great stuff… I had a really bad couple days of anxiety in the middle of the week that made it difficult to focus on anything. It normally doesn’t get that bad, so it threw me off. That plus being too busy meant not much writing happened.
HOWEVER, I did completely outline book 2, and a lot of behind-the-scenes productivity happened with The Nihryst series! I set up my Amazon KDP account, figured out a tentative schedule for 2020, and put out a tweet to see if bloggers were interested in participating in a blog tour for the release.
I also got some samples from my cover artist (Maria Spada), which blew my mind. It is going to be gorgeous!! She did a wonderful job capturing the feel of the story and putting my dream to life. I am so, so excited for you all to see the finished product.
If you want to be the first to get these updates, sneak peeks, and exclusive giveaway opportunities, be sure to join my Facebook group: Cait’s Inner Circle!
