The seventeenth chapter of The Gold in the Dark is out! New chapters, complete with brilliant chapter illustrations courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, release every other Sunday at 11 AM EST! I know that this illustration was a lot of trial-and-error for Ally, but I love how the final illustration came out; I think it’s so elegant looking! You can get started on the series with Chapter One right here. I’m also hopeful to have a pdf/mobi/epub document out soon for Part One for those of you who want to read on different devices and programs.
These past two weeks have been part of the busy season at my work, so my WIP word count has been less than stellar. Even so, I’m happy with where the new Beauty and the Beast and Aliens book is headed, even if it’s slow-going.
It’s also been a pretty exciting last week or so becauseSpecter is currently on NetGalley! If you’re a NetGalley member, head on over to grab a free copy. The only reason I’m able to get Specter onto NetGalley is through the Kobo Writing Life team, so as ever: Thank you, Kobo! I love how dedicated they are to helping their authors succeed.
That’s about it from me! Things should hopefully be slowing down at my job, so I’m excited to dive back into heavy drafting. (And also a bit scared. Let’s face it—drafting is a bit like pulling teeth.) Have a great rest of your weekend, and enjoy Chapter Seventeen. ❤
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sending me a free advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review.A quick note that I’m a bit confused about the publication date of this book. As far as I can tell it was originally published in 2017 and is being re-released. NetGalley says the new edition came out September 1st, while Goodreads says it comes out November 15th. So basically you can buy a copy of this book right now, but I’m not exactly sure which edition you’ll receive. I also don’t know if the 2017 text differs in any way from the 2019 edition.
The premise of this book hooked me immediately: Jemma, a sixteen-year-old girl with severe cerebral palsy who cannot speak or move, learns the identity of a killer—from the killer himself. When her health aid goes missing, it’s up to Jemma to alert people to the culprit’s identity, despite the punishing limitations of her disability.
The language of this book is very simple and straightforward. If you are looking for a lyrical read, this is not it. However, there is a poignancy to this book; you cannot help but root for Jemma, who has little to no communication with any of her family members. Not only does she have a killer to wrangle with, but she is also a teenage girl dealing with a health condition that can cause those around her to treat her as if she is of less than a clear mind. It will be a long time before I forget the humiliating scene where her new carer treats Jemma like a toddler, rather than the clear-headed teenager that she is.
I also really enjoyed reading about Jemma’s family members. She has a unique family—Jemma’s two sibling are both foster children dealing with their own problems. I enjoyed the way her parents were written; her mom and dad are very supportive of Jemma, and they have their own personalities and flaws.
If the language of the book were a bit more lyrical, this likely would have been a five-star book. I found this book quite riveting, reading it in little more than a day. I knew next to nothing about cerebral palsy, and I think this quick thriller is a great way to gain some insight into the condition.
Illustration courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, as always.
The sixteenth chapter of The Gold in the Dark is out! This chapter marks the beginning of Part Two, and it’s a good ‘un—aren’t you just dying to know what that gross thing is in the chapter illustration? New chapters, complete with brilliant chapter illustrations courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, release every other Sunday at 11 AM EST (and sometimes earlier). You can get started on the series right here.
These past two weeks have just been steady work on the Beauty and the Beast and Aliens WIP. I had to do a rewrite of the second chapter for major issues—the emotionality of the chapter was totally wrong, and I wanted to fix it before progressing. It’s funny how something can feel totally right when you get it down on paper at first, then a critique from a writing partner can totally change your view of things the next minute. So oh well, it was time to go back to the drawing board and give Chapter Two another shot… but it’s better now.
I also have found a new writing service, Dabble, that I can’t shut up about. As I mentioned in my tech tools of the trade post, I kind of hate Google, so I wanted to find a way to move away from drafting in Google Docs. Scrivener unfortunately won’t work for me for the time being as I need cloud capability, so that led me to Dabble—and I love it. It has online capability, a gorgeous GUI, word count tracking, dark theme, plotting tools… Honestly, I can’t speak highly enough about it. Thanks, Instagram ads—without you, I never would have found out about Dabble, and also about that adorable T-rex necklace that I impulse bought last week. 😉
That’s basically it! Hard at work on drafting, so that I can have the book out hopefully by next July. Have a great rest of your weekend, and enjoy Chapter Sixteen. ❤
This is one of those books with a cover that just called to me. (It’s also one of those covers embracing the white-uppercase-sans-serif-with-stuff-over-it trend.) But still, I went into Lovely War a bit trepidatious—I’m not the biggest historical fiction fan, and I spent a good portion of my time in school history classes daydreaming about being elsewhere.
Well, there was no reason to fear; this book swept me off my feet in a major way. I’d heard some people be confused about the premise, and it is a bit odd, I’ll agree. The book starts off in World War Two times with Aphrodite—yes, the Aphrodite. She, along with some of her other friends from the Greek pantheon, narrates a gripping story from World War One about the intersection of love and war to her aggrieved husband, Hephaestus. He’s caught her cheating on him with Ares, and Aphrodite knows exactly the right tale to tell to explain the situation.
I’ll admit that the Greek god framework does feel a little bit like the leaning tower of Pisa; it’s upright, but some tugging this way or that would cause the whole thing to topple over. However, the love story Aphrodite spins for Hephaestus and the readers is one for the ages. This is a captivating tale that literally moved me to tears, and that is a true once-in-a-blue-moon happening. Berry’s narration is gorgeous; quick chapters and lovable characters will have you make quick work of this 480-page tome.
I’d argue that this is another case of “is it really YA?” (Hmm, sounds like an interesting game show.) It’s certainly being marketed in the YA section, and the tone is perfect for the YA crowd, but the main characters are older as far as I can tell. I’m not exactly sure what their ages were, to be honest—maybe it was mentioned, but I certainly missed it, so I’d guess they’re somewhere from eighteen to early twenties. (“Maybe,” hisses my inner conspiracy theorist, “Berry purposely didn’t mention the main characters’ ages so we can’t get into this whole debate again!”)
Anyway, a good book is a good book, so maybe we should just get past the whole is-it-or-isn’t-it question. I wholeheartedly recommend Lovely War, and I dare you to read it without getting watery in the eyes.
Illustration courtesy of the lovely Ally Grosvenor, as always!
The fifteenth chapter of The Gold in the Dark is out! This chapter marks the end of Part One, but no worries—the next chapter will release on time in two weeks. New chapters, complete with brilliant chapter illustrations courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, release every other Sunday at 11 AM EST.
Lots of exciting things are in the works here at KJG Productions! I know a lot of people find it hard or annoying to read a book on a website, so to make The Gold in the Dark easier to read I’m going to be releasing Part One in mobi, epub, and pdf file formats. It will take me a little bit to pull everything together, so we’re looking at an end of September or early October release date for that.
Ooh, look how shiny.
Some other fun news is that Specter was awarded five stars by Indies Today! That means I get to throw this cool badge up everywhere. 😀 We’re a month past Specter’s release at this point, so promo is winding to a close, but if this is the first time you’re hearing about the book, just keep scrolling; I’ve thrown the blurb and the cover down below. It’s at a cool 4.6 rating on Goodreads and four and a half stars on Amazon right now. 🙂
I’ve been spending the last couple weeks in drafting mode. The Beauty and the Beast and Aliens WIP is really fun to write. I’m not going to mask that it’s been slow-going… I’m already knees-deep in a Chapter Two rewrite right now. I know a lot of people will think it’s strange to be rewriting a chapter so early on in the process, but I’m an edit-as-I-go type of writer. Is that what most professional writers recommend? No. Does it work for me? Yes—and it has a lot to do with the fact that my very opinionated husband serves as my “alpha reader.” I’m thinking of putting up a post soon about why I like having an alpha reader—anyone interested in that, I wonder?
Last thing I want to mention is that in the process of drafting I’ve discovered a useful new tool! I’m having to use Google Docs to draft this book, not Scrivener, and I haven’t been able to find any decent word count tracker for Google Docs. So that led me to Pacemaker, which is a tool specifically for anyone who needs to track their words. It has a lot of functionality and options, so I’m finding it really useful.
All right, that’s all I’ve got for now in terms of writing updates. Have a good rest of your weekend and enjoy Chapter Fifteen. ❤
Blurb
Horror aficionado Lanie Adams should be thrilled when two eighties-era ghosts materialize in her bedroom. Yet after a fainting incident unbecoming of a horror nerd, she would rather her haunting just go away—the ghosts’ distorted, waterlogged voices and ice-cold auras are more terrifying than any movie. Enlisting the help of Ryan, an entirely-too-cute stoner, she makes it her mission to put the spirits stalking her to rest.
Some sleuthing reveals that their sleepy Connecticut town is host to a shadowy, decades-old conspiracy. If Lanie wants to say a final goodbye to her ghosts, she’ll need to keep digging. But it’s important to tread carefully. The culprit is still in town—and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.
Specter is available for purchase at any book retailer or from Hidden Bower Press. Even independent bookstores should be able to preorder Specter—and you can even request your local library order a physical or ebook copy! I love libraries, so making the book available everywhere was important to me in my publishing decisions. So please consider picking up a copy or adding it to your Goodreads TBR!
Anyone with me that cover design has gotten way, way better in the last ten years? Maybe it’s a controversial opinion, but I’m pretty sure that the books of yesteryear never looked so pretty. Walk into a library or a bookstore and it’s like being in a candy shop, every book on the shelves some varied, enticing flavor.
But I’m sure none of us can deny that, just as there are trends in titles (“bone” books, ahem), there are also definite trends in cover design. For example, once you’ve noticed the white-uppercase-sans-serif-with-stuff-over-it trend, you’ll never unsee it…
So I thought I’d put together a little gallery of books where the covers are pretty damn similar. Not saying these covers look exactly the same or that plagiarism is involved—just that they are similar enough that I’ve taken notice.
So these covers are definitely different, but the illustration style coupled with the color palette similarities have basically mushed these into the same book in my mind. I love, love, love this flat line-art style, but it is starting to be pretty overdone.
Pretty sure I legit thought these were the same book for a couple weeks. The crouching-on-the-rooftop-in-silhouette pose and the twilight background are too similar for my poor brain. XD
I guess every designer got the memo that black/gold snake books are legit a thing now.
I mean, do I really need to say anything about this one? Not like I would confuse the two, but come on, the similarities are so obvious.
What trends in cover design have you noticed? Any favorite or hated trends? Leave a comment below!
Illustration courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, as always.
The fourteenth chapter of The Gold in the Dark is out! New chapters, complete with brilliant chapter illustrations courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, release every other Sunday at 11 AM EST.
For this week in writing updates I’ve been drafting Beauty and the Beast and Aliens, which has been quite fun. It’s definitely on the softer side of sci-fi, maybe even veering towards science-fantasy territory, a genre that I love and would love to see more of! It’s been really interesting conceptualizing the aliens in terms of their “human-ness,” since there’s going to be a strong romance element—how alien can you make a love interest before things get too weird? I want to push the boundaries as far as I can, but don’t want to get into gross-out territory—tentacles, etc.
Also, if you’re looking to pick up a copy of Specterthis is a good day to do it! (If this is the first you’re hearing of Specter, I’ve thrown the cover and blurb down below. Pitch: Stranger Things with a ghostly twist!) It’s on free promotion over at Kobo, and today is the very last day before the price goes up, so go grab a copy! Also, can I just take a second to say thanks to all the nice people at Kobo? It’s such a supportive company to indie authors—they have a podcast, respond very helpfully to emails, and offer authors all these ways to easily promote their books at low cost. Thanks, Kobo. 🙂
All right, that’s it for writing updates. Have a good rest of your weekend and enjoy Chapter Fourteen. ❤
Blurb
Horror aficionado Lanie Adams should be thrilled when two eighties-era ghosts materialize in her bedroom. Yet after a fainting incident unbecoming of a horror nerd, she would rather her haunting just go away—the ghosts’ distorted, waterlogged voices and ice-cold auras are more terrifying than any movie. Enlisting the help of Ryan, an entirely-too-cute stoner, she makes it her mission to put the spirits stalking her to rest.
Some sleuthing reveals that their sleepy Connecticut town is host to a shadowy, decades-old conspiracy. If Lanie wants to say a final goodbye to her ghosts, she’ll need to keep digging. But it’s important to tread carefully. The culprit is still in town—and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.
Specter is available for purchase at any book retailer or from Hidden Bower Press. Even independent bookstores should be able to preorder Specter—and you can even request your local library order a physical or ebook copy! I love libraries, so making the book available everywhere was important to me in my publishing decisions. So please consider picking up a copy or adding it to your Goodreads TBR!
Illustration courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, as always.
The thirteenth chapter of The Gold in the Dark is out! New chapters, complete with brilliant chapter illustrations courtesy of Ally Grosvenor, release every other Sunday at 11 AM EST.
This week in writing updates has been the book launch for Specter, combined with new beginnings as I picked up my new WIP (the Beauty and the Beast and aliens book) once more. It feels great to be drafting again, and I’m trying to push myself to work on the manuscript every day. My goal is to have this next book out a year from Specter‘s launch, which would be July 7th of next year. The even loftier goal is to have it out sooner… but I don’t want to jinx things. I’ve set a timetable for myself like this:
We’ll see if I can pull it off. 😉 Anyway, that’s all for writing updates this week. I’m leaving the blurb for Specter down below, so if this is the first you’re hearing about it, please check it out! And have a good rest of your weekend and enjoy Chapter Thirteen. ❤
Blurb
Horror aficionado Lanie Adams should be thrilled when two eighties-era ghosts materialize in her bedroom. Yet after a fainting incident unbecoming of a horror nerd, she would rather her haunting just go away—the ghosts’ distorted, waterlogged voices and ice-cold auras are more terrifying than any movie. Enlisting the help of Ryan, an entirely-too-cute stoner, she makes it her mission to put the spirits stalking her to rest.
Some sleuthing reveals that their sleepy Connecticut town is host to a shadowy, decades-old conspiracy. If Lanie wants to say a final goodbye to her ghosts, she’ll need to keep digging. But it’s important to tread carefully. The culprit is still in town—and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.
Specter is available for purchase at any book retailer or from Hidden Bower Press. Even independent bookstores should be able to preorder Specter—and you can even request your local library order a physical or ebook copy! I love libraries, so making the book available everywhere was important to me in my publishing decisions. So please consider picking up a copy or adding it to your Goodreads TBR!
Illustration courtesy of the amazing Ally Grosvenor, as always.
The twelfth chapter of The Gold in the Dark is out! New chapters, complete with chapter illustrations, release every other Sunday at 11 AM EST. This week is a split POV chapter between Thurie and Tia. This chapter is a favorite of mine—well, really any chapter with Thurie is a favorite of mine. 😉 Thurie and Dunna were a pretty spontaneous addition to the narrative, but now looking at the book as a whole, I can’t even picture what it would look like without them. Funny, how letting your subconscious chew away at a book idea can work so well.
This week in writing updates… Specteris debuting in JUST ONE WEEK OMG.I can hardly believe it. I’m trying to keep calm, but it’s that sort of thing where all the little pre-debut tasks never end. Birthing a book baby is tough work!!! Blog posts, Instagram posts, miscellaneous promo, making posters—sometimes it seems the circus is never-ending. But even though life is a whirlwind right now, it’s the kind of whirlwind that I know I’ll look back fondly on later.
And if you’re just hearing about Specter for the first time, welcome! Specter is a YA paranormal thriller perfect for fans of Stranger Things, about a girl who suddenly starts seeing ghosts. The detailed blurb is below!
Blurb
Horror aficionado Lanie Adams should be thrilled when two eighties-era ghosts materialize in her bedroom. Yet after a fainting incident unbecoming of a horror nerd, she would rather her haunting just go away—the ghosts’ distorted, waterlogged voices and ice-cold auras are more terrifying than any movie. Enlisting the help of Ryan, an entirely-too-cute stoner, she makes it her mission to put the spirits stalking her to rest.
Some sleuthing reveals that their sleepy Connecticut town is host to a shadowy, decades-old conspiracy. If Lanie wants to say a final goodbye to her ghosts, she’ll need to keep digging. But it’s important to tread carefully. The culprit is still in town—and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.
So if you’re a Stranger Things fan, please consider adding Specter to your Goodreads TBR or preordering at any book retailer. Even independent bookstores should be able to preorder Specter—and you can even request your local library order a physical or ebook copy!
All right, that’s all for now. Have a great rest of your weekend, and enjoy Chapter Twelve. ❤
Full Name: Melissa Mary White Date of Birth: February 2, 1969 Place of Birth: Lanster, New Hampshire Missing Since: September 22, 1985. (Sixteen years old) Height: 5’4” (At time of disappearance) Weight: 115 pounds (At time of disappearance) Race: Caucasian Hair: Blond Scars and Marks: Freckles; ears pierced; navel pierced Clothes and Jewelry: Unknown
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact the FBI immediately.
With strong characters who are easy to root for, this stunning, multilayered paranormal thriller will keep you holding your breath till the very last page.
Katie Jane Gallagher 