Take Two!

If you've visited here in the last several months, you won't have found much that is new.

Until today.

 

Volume Two, Emrysia Lament is about to make its debut! I recently announced the release date of March 16th, 2015 on my author website:  www.camorganwrites.com but I wanted to make sure you heard it here too.

There has been a lot of behind the scenes stuff going on in preparation, which accounts to some extent for why I've left this site hanging. If you're one to notice details, you'll see that the cover design has changed slightly from my original mock-up. There have been edits and tweaks, and even a few author extras added in for your enjoyment. And I think, if I do say so myself, that the chapter art is much better this go around. I've been working with some seasoned professionals thru their new venture, Your New Book, and am happy to say it has been going great. Neil Raphel, Janis Raye and Jacob Grant - you rock!

And so do you, dear reader, which is why once you get your hands on this book, I hope you'll be so hungry for more that you won't want to wait for Volume Three to come out. Anyone who sends me a picture of themselves reading Lament* will receive an e-file extra! I've got a few tidbits of background info that I'd love to share with my most dedicated readers. I'll mention this again as the launch date approaches.

So... tighten the hatches - it's about to get stormy!

*Permission to post your picture is appreciated, but not required, so please specify - and thanks for keeping it G-rated folks!

WIP Blog Tour

You haven't heard from me for a while, but I did not fall off the face of the Earth, really I didn't!

There's a reason - no! - a world of reasons for my absence, and even though Volume One of my Emrysia series, Awakening, is getting lonely without Volume Two, Lament, the second "sister" is not quite ready to swim yet. She is fully written, edited and tweaked many, many times over (can I get a "put that red pen down already!"?), but she still needs a little make-up i.e. a few more chapter illustrations. Those of you with e-readers may not get to appreciate these touches, but please bear patiently: I may still release her in e-form a little earlier than the paperback edition. I'm also still working out marketing strategies - ARRRRRRGHHHHH! - the bane of self-publishing existence. But on that note.......

 

                

                               Volume One                                              Volume Two

 

 

I'm excited to take part in the 2014 Work in Progress (WIP) Blog Tour. Its a terrific idea offering authors the chance to share snippets about their upcoming projects. I'd like to thank Nan Lundeen for inviting me along. Nan's first book of poetry The Pantyhose Declarations celebrates women who "rebuff the duty train and refuse to wear pantyhose". Her more recent anthology, entitled Black Dirt Days, presents poems as a memoir of her rural Iowa upbringing in the 1950's. Both volumes resonate with humor & grit in down to earth, savory yet readable language. I can’t wait to find out what she's doing next!  You can see what she’s up to in her WIP by visiting her post for the tour here.

The rules for the tour are simple: Provide the link back to the post by the person who nominated you (see above), write a little about and give the first sentences of the first three chapters of your current Work In Progress, then nominate four other writers to do the same.

WIP tours are a fun way to stay on top of what a lot of authors are working on, and I’m delighted to give you a glimpse into what the world of Emrysia has in store next for Aryelle, Lureli and Eleanor. I should tell you, however, that even though Lament is technically written and I'm already working on Volume Three: Endurance, I'm still counting Volume Two as my work in progress since she's not "out there" yet.

So here goes:

Emrysia: Lament - Volume Two of the Three Sister Trilogy plunges into the hidden world of the Mer. As Lureli recalls the stormy events leading up to her land adventure, she and the others continue to crisscross the magical continent in a desperate detour they hope will lead toward home. But the Shadow is still growing, and fairytale endings are rare. And some homecomings don't include warm welcomes.........

Chapter 1

Lureli’s thoughts smoldered along with the dying embers of the campfire. Her servants eyed her anxiously, their unease deepening with her blackening mood.

          

Chapter 2

The hiss of a log tossed onto glowing embers startled her from her reverie. She shook her head amid a shower of sparks, freeing the vision entangled in her memory and rejoining the present. Peering sideways through the smoke, Lureli barely recognized the grizzled, gray-bearded devil who knelt stoking the fire. Tongues of flame licked the new wood greedily, accentuating the bumpy, crimson stain between the devil’s spiral horns, transforming his face into a chiaroscuro mask. His well-muscled torso was smeared with sweat and blood, his wooly lower half flecked with the same. Nodd… his name was Nodd

 

Chapter 3

Lureli didn’t catch up. In fact, she wasn’t going to follow them at all. She flopped helplessly back into the seat of her litter, tears of self-pity coursing down her cheeks unchecked. To the Abyss with all of them! She’d just sit here and dry up in the sun - what would they care? What did anyone care what happened to her now?


And, just for fun, here's a little sneak peak at Volume Three:

                                                                 
Now, some wonderfully talented authors I've tagged to join the tour (More to come!).  Have a look at their books and upcoming projects:




Janet Givens :   http://janetgivens.com

David Stahler Jr. : http://davidstahlerjr.com/

Cathy Strasser : www.cathystrasser.com


 

 

Every Step Matters

I realize its been forever since I posted here, but I haven't been sitting around twiddling my thumbs. Volume Two of the Three Sisters Trilogy is ready and waiting - just have to finish getting my marketing strategy in place and do a few more chapter illustrations. I want to be a little more on top of things before it's release, but I can hardly wait to share it with you!

Here's a sneak peak at the draft of the cover:

Cool, huh?!

And believe it or not, I've already designed the cover for Volume Three, Emrysia: Endurance.....

.... but you'll just have to wait for that one. Love the suspense!


I have written a couple of posts for my other blog http://imustbeoffmyrocker.blogspot.com/
lately too, but the whirlwind otherwise known as family life has my head spinning with things literal and not literary. Sometimes it seems the goal of publishing success is way beyond reach, but as long as I take steps, even baby ones, toward it every day, I'm confidant that I'll get there.

You can help!

Spread the word
Share my posts
Visit and like my C.A. Morgan FaceBook and author pages
Write a review...

... and be sure to read the other books as they come out.


It's about to get wild in Emrysia!



P.S. I do want to update the look of this site too, but bear with me. I'm using up my limited tech abilities on other things...... Also, look for me at the Lyndonville, Vermont Downtown Street Fair this week in front of Green Mountain Books!

Where was I?

As in, where was I when I left off? Well.... in a place of conflicting emotions, ecstatic about finally becoming and author and frustrated with the minutiae of working out the kinks and navigating the publicity end of things.


Where am I now?
 
Same place, but with a whole new attitude. In a word, I'm grateful.


Despite the trauma and technical difficulties, the book is launched, and a lifelong goal accomplished. That's no small feat! The next goal is getting it noticed. After all, pursuing one's dream - running the race - is what we've been given our whole lifetimes to do. So, it doesn't matter how long it takes, or how many twists in the road, only that we keep running.


So far, I've had sales and great reader response. As I research and develop my marketing plan, I'm learning complex new skills and information. Yesterday was my first promo outing, and I met some lovely people and garnered space on some store shelves. Today, I'm writing to you and delving into the world of electronic publishing --- who'da thunk!? It's amazing how much better it feels to embrace and engage life instead of whining about it....


I hope you'll run along with me.


If you haven't read Emrysia Awakening yet, do - please do! And if you have, please write a review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.... or in the newspaper, on your blog - wherever! Word of mouth is still the best advertising, and your two minutes could reach around the world.


Thanks, and for a sample chapter to read or share with friends, just leave a comment below.

Technical Difficulties

That's one way to put it. Where's my book? That's another.







For those of you who have already received your ordered novel - Congratulations! You are in the minority. I, the author, am in the majority. Go figure!




Not sure why I expected everything to be smooth sailing once Emrysia Awakening went to press. It certainly wasn't up to that point! Let me back track and bring everyone up to speed..... if you're interested in the self publishing process read on, but if you don't want to be discouraged skip the next paragraph!




I wrote the initial manuscript for this first volume of the Emrysia series nearly ten years ago. I've been editing and trying to pitch to agents and publishers ever since. The agent I finally secured ended up having too much going on in her own life to fully participate in representing my book, which I found out after about three years of non movement. Last year, I decided to self publish since only agented authors have a shot at the big houses, and I didn't want to go through that whole process again. I handed over my 99.9% error free submission to the publisher around Eastertime with assurances it would take maybe two months on the outside until I held the final product in my hand. After over three months I started to hound the publisher. Then my husband got involved. My first electronic proof arrived the day before we went on vacation, loaded with odd line and page breaks and glitchlike add-ins caused by file restructuring. It was left up to me to find and fix these errors. Though I did this on a digital copy, those changes were never implemented before the hard copy proof finally made it into my hands. Two marked up hard copy proofs and numerous email exchanges and live meetings later and we were just about there. My manuscript was officially "approved" for publication near the end of October. That should have meant going to press the next day. I made my big announcement!....and then waited. (For those of you who have given birth, you know how long those last weeks can be!) Finally, almost out of the blue, the Amazon listing appeared! I believe it was the next day that my books actually arrived - you know, the copies authors keep on hand to sell and sign at readings, etc.? Except, mine came in with poor print quality - too little ink or something - they were just plain hard to read. I kept one for posterity, but it made for a less than auspicious launch. Then, I got a call from one of my book reviewers whose comments grace the back cover. Could I change a word so that it didn't appear as if he were sole Editor at the Greenville Press? No big deal, I assured him since it was, after all, print on demand. Hadn't the publisher and I just sent inferior product back to the printer, and wouldn't they want to make it up to me by waiving the resubmittal fee and reprinting a.s.a.p.? Well....a very long story, but as I mentioned earlier, I still don't have my books. So, for those of you who managed to get yours - kudos! I hope I get a chance to sign them for you if I see you. But so much for being on the shelves for Christmas shoppers. And now Amazon is saying 3 - 5 weeks for delivery, and Barnes & Noble only has Awakening available on Nook at the moment.




Okay, so now I'm done whining (or if you really like that sort of thing, visit my other blog http://imustbeoffmyrocker.blogspot.com/2011/08/whine-lots.html .


 I've got unfinished business to which I must attend.




In case you still want to read Emrysia Awakening - and I really hope you do! - here are some options:




Ask for it at your local bookstore. It doesn't have to be an Expressnet distributor - any bookstore can order it for you. That said, for whatever reason the powers that be have listed the title as Awakening rather than Emrysia Awakening, probably something to do with the cover design. At some point I'll get all of this cleared up, but for now, ask for it both ways. And hey, if you get one of these earlier copies, maybe it'll be worth more some day!




You can still order from Amazon. Hopefully soon on Kindle.




You can get the Nook Book from Barnes & Noble. Hopefully soon in paperback again.


(Note* It's probably always gonna be in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section.  Weed through - there's a lot of questionable books titled Awakening, but trust me, mine's not like that!)




You can wait and buy yours later - but don't! The more people ask for it, the more demand they create will put pressure on the printer, publisher, and bookstores to have it  available to become the worldwide phenomenon that it should be!




You can spread the word. I'd be eternally grateful.




But you can't get it from me, sorry. I'm still experiencing technical difficulties.


(Case in point: I tried to add original cartoons to this post and the screen froze up every time! So visit my other blog - you'll find them there...)

Just a Little Nibble

Q: How long does it take to publish a first novel?
A: TOO LONG!

But it's finally done! Despite some last minute glitches, the first copies of my book Awakening are hot off the presses and being shipped (hopefully as we speak) all around the world! I know some people have already received their copies from Amazon and Barnes& Noble despite the fact that I'm still not sure how I get paid..... hmmmm.....

Anyhow, just to whet your appetite this Thanksgiving, here's a snippet:

Chapter 1 – The Messenger

The tree-born city of Ka’Andharra nestled snugly into the interwoven branches of an ancient grove of valleo. Only here near the heart of Emrysia did the meandering limbs cover so vast an area. Smooth silver bark and platter-like, heart shaped leaves of yellowish green camouflaged the luminaries’ dwellings year round. Along the branches of the mother tree, the El’Kandhar’s residence sprawled in every direction. From central throne room to the gardens along the forest floor, its corridors twined over the oldest and sturdiest branches to sprout rooms as naturally as fruit. The rest of the city blossomed in clusters around it, prominent homes soaring skyward, commoner dwellings grafted onto the branches’ undersides, carved and chiseled, of crystal and of wood.

            Elazaryn sat poised like a statue on the exalted Seat of Ka’Andharra, his vacant stare fixed just left of the defiant youngster before him.

            “He will not survive till dawn….”

“But Father, his injuries do not seem mortal,” Aryelle countered.

“His spirit is wounded beyond reach. We cannot help him.”

            “You mean you will not help him!”

            “I seek not your council, Aryelle,” he warned.

            “And I seek not your permission! I will heal him myself!” Aryelle cried out, squirming uncomfortably as the echo of her outburst crashed like waves off the columns and walls of the vast, empty reception hall and died away.

            Slowly, Elazaryn raised his chin from where it rested between slender, bejeweled fingers. “Your love is great, m’yana, but your judgment is clouded. It is not yet your time of Passing, yet you hasten to enter the Gate without considering which way it will open.”

            “But Father,” she pled changing tactics, “please, only let me-”

            “I forbid it! Speak of it no more!”

            Sparks flashed in Aryelle’s emerald eyes. Her wings - translucent, yet leathery flushed with anger, quivering as she struggled to hold it in check. Hastily, she lowered her gaze. It would not help matters to give in to her frustration. That much she knew.

            “Long burn your flame, El’Kandhar,” she managed, though barely, the age-old response passing reluctantly through clenched teeth....

I hope you'll look for and buy my book. It's listed as Sci-fi & Fantasy, and though written with young adults in mind, I'm hoping adults will find it good read too. Let me know what you think! And watch for Volume Two to come out sometime next year.....

 
(Awakening is also available as a Nook book, and hopefully soon for Kindle - Happy Reading!)

So Excited!!!!!!!!!!

It's listed on Amazon!

Soon to be at Barnes & Noble, and available at bookstores near you!

Buy it!

Read it!

Write a review!

(Now, if only I can get my hands on a copy! Mine should be here tomorrow....!)


Did I mention I'm excited?