Monday, December 28, 2015

99 cent Ebooks!

Let's end 2015 with a bang! Starting tomorrow at 12am the following books will be available for $0.99: Shadows and Embers, Thicker Than Blood, Bloodline Inheritance. Unfortunately Cursed With Power could not be a part of this end of the year sale because I have no control over the pricing --that's all in my publisher's hands.
Need a new series to read for the start of the new year? Don't miss out on this deal while it lasts, and here's how it works. From December 29th-31st the three mentioned ebooks will be available for $0.99 --on Amazon only. The sale ends on the 31st at 12am --I'll be making announcements throughout the days while the sale is still live and when it finally does end. If you've already read the books or aren't a fan of fantasy, this is also a great opportunity to gift it to the book lovers in your life. Here's the direct links to the ebooks, so you have easy access during the end of the year sale.

I wanted to end the year with this sale to give my readers a chance to finish up (or start) the Magicians series before the release of my next book. 2016 is all about releasing what will be my fifth published book --and I have a lot of work ahead of me. And I just want to thank you in advance for your support, and I really do hope we can have a positive ending to the year. Please feel free to share the links to the books on social media to anyone who might be interested.
Only a few more hours until the sale. Step into the magical world with Leal, Alaire, and Dyanna. Read more into the story and find out how the series ends.
Lindsey Richardson

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Author Facebook Page

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas, and if you don't celebrate it I'm sure time with family and friends was just as relaxing. Today I finally went through with making a Facebook author page. This page will be specifically related to anything that happens to me writing/book related. News about book signings, upcoming releases, and information on already published work will be shared. I will still remain active on the Cursed With Power Facebook page --and post all materials related to the Magicians series there. More on that and all information on future projects will be on my author page. This will help me stay more organized and keep you up to date with what's happening next.
So if you haven't already, please stop by and like my author page. Feel free to leave suggestions on what you'd like to see on the page below in the comments. Thus far I've set up the basics, but I can't wait to share more about Clara and Claire, and also just talking about my writing in general.
As far as how often I'll be posting, I'll post every time there is a new blog post as well as whenever I write --to let you know how much I wrote for the day. This will be an even easier way to see how much more is left before I finish the draft of Clara and Claire.
The support so far is greatly appreciated, and I can't wait to share more about the book and my writing with you.

Looks like this post is much shorter than I expected, but hey I think I've covered the basics. I'm going to try to finish this chapter I'm stuck on and reach my word count goal for today. Have a great evening everyone!
Lindsey Richardson

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

61k and counting!

Finally reached over 61k today, and I'm feeling better than I did previously. I'll be honest, this month was not my strongest -despite what I had hoped. I wanted to finish Clara and Claire this month, but writing another 24k right after Christmas might be challenging. I am not altogether saying it's impossible and I won't try, but if I can't do it I also won't beat myself up for it. I want this novel to be my best work yet, and in order for it to I can't be rushing myself with deadlines. The deadlines after all are ones I set for myself to stay on track. If I'm a month behind it simply means more thought and time is going into the novel. And even on nights where I can't decide what to write I'm thinking a lot about this novel.
It is very motivating to see myself at 61k now, though. I remember hitting 50k and thinking "oh no, I've fallen so behind with my schedule. Will I ever catch up?" Some nights the chapters have been challenging. It's not that I don't know what to write; it's getting the papers down on paper that can be the real challenge. Sometimes I use music as a muse, other nights I have to sit in complete silence (like tonight). I'm not by any means accepting defeat with what I've accomplished this month, but rather I'm looking at what I accomplished by still pushing forward. So far this novel is the first I've written in years where the narrator has never once changed. I've been working one on one with Clara these last few months. And let me tell you it isn't easy having just finished a series where narration switched from time to time.
One of the other big changes with this novel has been the stronger focus on mystery over magic. The Magicians series was all about the magic. It was what made the characters who they were, but here... it's totally different. I'm dealing with mages who live by rules and use magic all throughout their life. Magic is something that people stop and ask you about, but rather it's a crucial part of life (like breathing). I have a lot of work to do next year when I edit this novel and need to crunch down on the details of the magic system, but for now I'm building a structure.
Structure... that's the word I've been throwing around for months now. So long as I have a structure to build off of I'm golden. That's the whole goal with pushing forward in this novel, no matter how many times I think I can go back and fix something. Unless it's something major it's being saved for the editing process. The book needs to be complete, and then I can look at what I have and what I don't.
This is going to be my fifth published book, and along with that title comes responsibilities. I have a lot of expectations of what this book can be, as I expect you to as well. I want to please my readers and also welcome new ones. Like I said... I still have so much work ahead of me, but I'm willing to put forth the time.

Now with all of that said, I do have a little project I worked on today. One of my favorite past times when not writing is designing mock covers. Today I made a new one for Clara and Claire -three actually because I couldn't decide on my favorite at first. 
This one's my favorite

The primary difference between the first two is just the tagline at the bottom with "author of the Magicians series." The one with this tagline was the one I posted on my social media because I felt like it fit the best. Since I also used my new name on the cover I wanted to remind people how else they might know me.
Lastly there's this final one I did with a blue filter. I couldn't decide if I liked this filter or just the natural lighting of the original photo. But this was also an option I had considered. Again these are just mock cover photos, so it's nothing too serious to waste time worrying about.
Leave a comment below and tell me which cover is your favorite. Or do you prefer the old cover I made a few months ago?
Lindsey Richardson


Monday, December 14, 2015

Christmas book orders!

Still looking for a gift for the book lovers in your life? I am selling copies of the Magicians series this week in Maryland. If you're in the MD area and are interested, contact me and let me know. I'm sure we could work something out! I'll be placing my orders on the 17th, so be sure to order before that date. As always, if you buy directly from me you'll also receive a discounted price. If I have any extra copies I'll be giving them away randomly after the 17th. I still have a lot of copies of Cursed With Power --the other books I have to order. So please do not hesitate to ask!
And speaking of the holiday season, what would you guys like to see before Christmas? Last year I shared a collage of quotes from Bloodline Inheritance (since at the time it was an upcoming release). The year before that I wrote up a Christmas scene about Leal and Nicia's holidays together. This year I would love to do something in honor of the holidays too, but I need your input! I'll be posting this question out on Twitter too. What do you have in mind? Here's so options -but I'm open to others if you throw them out.
  • Another holiday scene with characters from the Magicians series (maybe vote on which ones?)
  • A different type of sneak peek into Clara and Claire
  • Other -comment your suggests
That's all I have off the top of my head, but I'm eager to hear what you think. Leave your vote in the comments or contact me on social media. If no one votes I'll just be picking one at random -and will most likely be doing the one about Clara and Claire. But I would much rather hear what you want to read about in time for the holidays. Not everyone does posts like these, but I like to share the holiday feeling on the blog as well.
Well, it's past 9 and I need to get back into my writing schedule. In the meantime, make sure to vote because it really does count!
Lindsey Richardson


Saturday, December 5, 2015

Hello December

I'm a little later than I wanted to be on my December post, but it's here nonetheless! Our Christmas tree is up, and today we'll be fixing it up so we can take a picture. December has turned out to be another busy month. I should have all of my shopping done by next week, and then I can really focus on my writing. To be honest, I have a lot of catching up to do if I want to finish the book this month. It won't be easy, but we'll see where I am at the end of the month. 
December is an exciting time. We have the holidays to look forward to, and it also means we survived another year. I find myself already looking forward to what next year holds. But at the same time it's bittersweet to know that this year has flown by so quickly. Maybe it was the wedding that makes it seem this way for me, but it feels like the year was short. 
Regardless I have plans and goals I want to meet in December. It might be the holiday season and the end of the year, but that's no excuse. My top priority is to finish Clara and Claire, and if I don't feel it's finished this month I should be able to in January. There are times where I rethink some of what I've written in the book -and it's so tempting to go back and edit. But first I want to finish writing the entire story. Anything that needs to be fixed or added comes after that. I bought a new journal this weekend -cat themed!- and I'm hoping that will spark new inspiration. 
Also with it being around the holidays, I will be ordering copies of my books. They'll be arriving next week, and if you're in the MD area you can buy them from me personally. If you think you'd like to buy them from me personally we can work something out together -just let me know. The Magicians series comes at a discounted price when you buy it in person, and for my online shoppers I'll try to offer a discount as well. The holidays are a great time to buy books, and I say that as a book lover and author. Your support would mean so much, and it would also allow me to do even more with promotions and giveaways.

Hope everyone has a great December planned. I'll be back for more about Clara and Claire, and when my books arrive I'll post more about that too!
Lindsey Richardson