Clara and Claire Book Cover

I am beyond thrilled about the cover for Clara and Claire. I received the cover files on Thursday, but unfortunately I just did not have the time to write up the post about it. I love having the book cover done and ready ahead of time. It's one less stress factor I have to worry about in the preparation for publication. So it feels really good to know it's ready whenever the book is. It also gives me a lot to work with because now my book finally has a "face." It's no longer just a book that I wonder what it will look like once it's in print. Now I know how the cover looks, and if that isn't a motivation boost I don't know what is.
And in case you forgot who's designing the cover...

Alivia Anders, who designed the cover for Thicker Than Blood, has designed the cover for Clara and Claire. Out of all the covers from the Magicians series TTB is still my favorite, and now I have the cover of Clara and Claire --which might be my new favorite (I just can't decide yet because I love them both so much). So rest assured knowing that Alivia has done it again, and I can't wait for her and I to share the beauty come cover reveal day.

As for the cover reveal, I wanted to explain it again for anyone who hasn't been a part of past cover reveals. I don't officially share the cover for my books until I've decided on a release date. Once I know when I'm releasing the book I'll set up everything for the cover reveal. And as always I'll be asking for your help to share the cover around on social media. I will share more details about how you can participate and the official date for the cover reveal at a later time. 

The hardest part about this process is hiding the cover and keeping it to myself for the time being. And as hard as it is, I know the wait is worth it --and I definitely want to give everyone enough time so that they can participate in the events of the cover reveal. While I can't share with you what the cover looks like, I will admit I think it looks entirely different from all of my previous ones. 

I'm really excited for the cover reveal (whenever that will be), but in the meantime I have complete determination to finish edits. The sooner I finish and feel satisfied with the manuscript the sooner I can send it out to beta readers.

In the meantime hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Lindsey Richardson

Editing One Chapter at a Time

February has proven to be another very busy month. And this is my first month since September where I'm no longer writing but editing. The difference is huge, and even though I've done this many times before, it's never easy. Edits aren't something that is finished in a day. It is not an easy task, especially when I work full-time five days a week. Some days I come home and just don't have the energy or desire to face my manuscript with a pen. Other days I take a break from it and write down ideas or play out new additions in my head. I'm constantly thinking about my novel, but alas I can't be constantly revising it.
Instead I'll tell you this. My process this time around with editing is a bit more laid back. In the past revisions were a nightmare. They usually are regardless, right? Who looks forward to going through their entire manuscript and picking apart what's right from wrong? The way I did it with the Magicians series forced me to be on a very strict deadline. The deadlines (outside of Cursed With Power) I set for myself, but I set them nonetheless because I wanted to make sure I was releasing a new book every year without missing one. While I accomplished this there were definitely many times during that process that I dreaded editing. That wasn't something I wanted to do with Clara and Claire, especially when with this novel I've learned so much and gained new tactics on the writing process. My friends kindly reminded me that I finished the novel in four months while planning a wedding, going on a honeymoon, and working (obviously). So when it came to revisions this month I decided I needed to give myself a break from my usual demanding deadlines.
This month my revisions have been all about working with one chapter at a time. This helps me get a feel for each chapter individually. I'm not even opening my laptop to go through with what I've already editing in previous chapters. I want to have it all written down and marked up, and then I'll go to my computer and work out what's left over. Perhaps this makes it harder later on for when I have to go through my manuscript on the computer, but I'm actually used to that part. The other part is making notes of things I wanted changed, or don't make sense, or are never explained at the end of the book. There's a lot of work staring at me every night, but I'm not letting it overwhelm me like I've done many times in the past. I'm accepting the work I have accomplished as a success (no matter how small). And at the end of the day --after working, spending time with my hubby and friends, continuing with hobbies and activities I love-- I really do have to take into account the little successes. I have to accept that I'm not a full-time author, and in order for this novel to be its best it will require time. Let's face it, this novel is the first one I've written outside of the Magicians series. So there's a whole world inside of Clara's story that I need to explore in great depth. It's a new world I want to introduce you into, and I want to make sure I'm doing it right.
I really wish there was an app (like the writing ones) to show my progress with revisions, but know that I'm working hard. As always I'm sharing my progress on Instagram , my author FB page, and Snapchat, and those are the best places to follow along! I will try to post more on here with the progress I've made, and let me know if you guys have any suggestions/requests of what you want to hear more about.
Next chapter to edit: chapter 8
Thanks so much to everyone who is following me and supporting me on this new adventure! They always say write the story you're afraid to tell, and I've definitely taken several leaps out of my comfort zone :)
Lindsey Richardson

Valentine's Special Post

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine's day! I'm later on this post than I wanted to be, but I also did not want to rush this. As much as I've been talking about Clara and Claire lately, I wanted to take the time to talk about the Magicians series too. How can I include both? Well, I've made something special to go along with the holiday. We're talking about relationships from the books. While there's nothing in here I would consider a spoiler (or anything to ruin the series for you), I'll let you make the decision. But in all honesty I just picked out a quote from each relationship and ran with it. So you're safe to move ahead even if you haven't read any of the books.

Alaire and Celestria, Cursed With Power (book 1)

"Are you prepared to lose Alaire? If you enter into a war, you cannot turn back for him; that is the price you must pay if you love the man."

There are so many quotes between Alaire and Celestria, and honestly choosing one was difficult. This one stands out to me because it was someone else's opinion about their relationship. Celestria had to realize at this point in the book the dedication she was making to magic. And Celestria is the girl I've talked about for years, the one who has loved and lost. When I added Alaire into the final version of CWP it was such a relief to have a strong male character like him to be a part of her adventure. Their relationship hands down will always be my favorite.

Leal and Nicia, Shadows and Embers (book 2)

"You are the only person I can trust."

Leal has a lot of relationships throughout the series that I could talk about. But the one the one that always tugs at my heart the most is his relationship with Nicia. I can't give away too much about what's shared between them. Nice isn't introduced until Shadows and Embers, but she's definitely one of my favorites who started in Destin. 

Christopher and Jacquette, Thicker Than Blood

"Without you by my side I fear I would not have endured this suffering."

While Thicker Than Blood focuses on Alaire's story, I had already included him in this line up. So I wanted to take the chance to even shout out one of our lesser acknowledged (at least on the blog) relationships from the series.

Malin and Ema, Bloodline Inheritance

"You have nothing to fear while I am by your side."

As we venture further into the series I have less I am willing to share about the specifics. There were a lot of other relationships I considered for this book, but this one seemed like the least likely to spoil anything major. And while I can't say much, I'll say I did love the positivity between these two.

If you've read the Magicians series, what was your favorite romantic quote? A favorite couple from the series? Comment below and let me know!

In the meantime, I had one last quote I wanted to share. I've talked a lot about Clara and Claire, and every now and then I'm too excited to stay quiet about it. So here's a special one directly from the upcoming book...

Ezra and Clara, Clara and Claire

"Be careful who you push away, Clara. I am willing to take any shot that comes your way."

The fact that with each passing day my newest novel becomes more real means a lot to me. It's changing my life all over again because I know this book will take me in new directions with my future as an author. And while I don't want to give away too much about Ezra and Clara so soon, I'll admit their relationship is never an easy one. On her own Clara has a lot to overcome, and I can't wait for you to see how it all unfolds. 

Again this is a quote directly from the book, and I just could not resist including it with the line up I made for you guys. I hope you're as excited as I am, and in the meantime be sure to comment and send in more requests of what you want to see next!

Happy Valentine's day!

Lindsey Richardson

Celestria Hale figure!

I meant to post this on the same day as when Celestria arrived. But now is better than never, right? I am so excited about this new addition to my author swag that I just had to share!

Made by ArtistSomeDay

Meet Celestria Hale, the girl who has loved and lost. Celestria has had such a huge impact on my life, and I think she'll always be my personal favorite. She was the main character of my first book to be publish, and she and I have been through a lot. She's been a part of my life for so many years now, and when I heard about these figures I knew she was the one I wanted.

I ordered this PopFunko figure on Etsy through ArtistSomeDay. She does amazing work --custom orders and repaints. I immediately knew I wanted to do Celestria, and then I went through Cursed with Power to choose my favorite outfit of hers. Celestria is dressed in her attire she wore shortly before the ballroom scene with Alaire. I always remember this outfit because of Alaire's comment about its beauty. Even Celestria herself also commented it was the fanciest dress she had ever worn. 

She is wearing a long white dress --the chest piece was decorated with sparkles to make it look more fancy. Her shoes and bow are also decorated this way (the bow was not part of her outfit in the book, but I thought it added to her nicely). The pink dotted design at the bottom matches along with what she remarked in the book being at the bottom of her dress. And finally of course she has green eyes and red hair as she does in the Magicians series.

I am so thrilled that these figures exist. Eventually I want to have one for all of my main character (five in total out of the Magicians series) and at least two for Clara and Claire. I can't wait to bring these to book signings and show them off. In the meantime I plan to take more pictures of her and share them on social media, so keep your eyes opened.

It's almost 1am, so I'm headed to bed while I still make sense. I'm working hard on revisions for Clara and Claire, and the book cover is slowly in progress as we speak now. As I mentioned before, I'm working with Alivia, and everything she designs is beautiful! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Lindsey Richardson

February Plans

February has arrived, and along with the new months comes new plans. January was a huge month for me and for Clara and Claire especially. Now that the book is finished I am already working on revisions and edits. 

My plan for revisions is this: I go through every chapter twice. Once to add and remove anything, and a second time using ProWritingAid to assist me in fixing sentences, overused words and etc. I'm also keeping track in a small notebook any questions I have that I know will come into play later. This is only a brief look into what I do. It's time consuming and not easy. I finished chapter one today and felt comfortable with moving on. Maybe I'll only get through one chapter each day --who knows about what I can accomplish on the weekends. Even so, there's 34 chapters so if I spend one day on each chapter that is still decent time. And it allows me to really analyze the chapter and look more closely at the plot and characters. I want to make sure everything is going as it should be.

I'm also in the market for beta-readers. I've announced this on Facebook and Instagram, but if you're someone who thinks they would be interested please let me know. This will be my first time using beta-readers, but I definitely want to give it a try --especially when my other author friends have such success with it. 

The plan for Clara and Claire is to have it ready to release this year. Since I just finished the book last month, I also won't be too upset if I can't release until next year. It will ruin my track record for releasing a book every year for the past four years, but I don't want to put this book on shelves if it isn't ready.

So far I'm feeling really excited to be editing. I know this will probably change; it's not the easiest task. For right now I think I have a lot of energy built up from all the hours I spent just trying to write the book, and now it's exciting to think what else I can change to make it the best it can be. I definitely want to put my best work forward, so again I'm urging interested beta-readers to step forward. 

As for the book cover, it's in the works way ahead of schedule. I'm exciting to have the cover in advance, so I don't have to be worrying about that and can focus on revisions. 

All in all, this month is all about revisions. I want to get as most as I can done, and then next month hopefully hand out my book to beta-readers. I need to look more into it because I've never gone through with that process again. 

Well, I'm off to spend time with the hubby. I have a lot on my mind and a lot of work ahead of me,  but again the hardest part is done. I'll gladly take on the challenge of editing now!

Lindsey Richardson