Escaping the darkness

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Alaire and Celestria wanted to escape the darkness together, and so they started running...

The first book in the Magicians series, Cursed With Power, has come a long way when I look back at how it started out. CWP was my first book to be published, my first "baby" to be born into the publishing world. The holiday season is right around the corner, and if you haven't read the book already or have a friend you want to gift it to now is the perfect chance. Save 10% for a limited time and pay $17.06 for a paperback on Amazon.

 

Now if you've already read both books in the series thus far or you're just dying to know what's going on with the third upcoming book... let me fill you in with the details.

It's the 20th day of NaNoWriMo, and there's only ten more days until time runs out on that clock. I am working my hardest to reach the 50k goal, but I will admit I have some catching up to do. Presently I'm at approximately 30k, but I have chapter twelve and part of chapter thirteen to type up tonight. If I had to estimate I'd say that'll take me up to 33 or 34k *fingers crossed*. Despite how eager I am to get this book finished and written out completely so I can revise it until it's ready for publication in 2014, it's not getting any easier. With a full time job, college, and the loving boyfriend I spend time with writing is something I usually end up doing either at early hours of the morning or late hours of the night. Regardless, I remain determined to have it finished.

Good news is that I am working on the masquerade chapter and it's fun and exciting to work out what characters are wearing, how their masks look, and the dances they're doing together. Mind you all of this is happening while the tension is increasing (over a matter I cannot reveal). It's an exciting chapter and there's much more ahead to come.

The next couple of hours I want to spend typing up those chapters I've talked about, so I'll check back in again later on (before NaNo ends hopefully).

Lindsey R. Sablowski

30k in the upcoming third book

Here we are nearing the end of day 13 of NaNoWriMo, and I'm proud to announce that I reached 30k tonight. When I first started this book I had no idea that by November I would already be this close to 50k. As I explained in an earlier post, my goal for this month is to hit 50k for NaNoWriMo, which is why if you look at my word meter on the side it now shows my progress out of 50,000 words. I'll change it back to 70k when we're in December, but for now I just want to focus on November's goal.
 
It's crazy to think I only have 19k more until I reach my goal, and I've been pushing myself even on days when I think "eh, it can wait another day." One of the biggest lessons you can ever learn from writing is that it needs to be done as frequently as possible until it's a daily routine to be a part of your every day. For those of you who are dying for more of an inside scoop on the third book, let's take a look....
First off, I'll say it again... The cover is to die for. You can definitely see a pattern that the books are starting to take on, which was not at all intended and I only just realized myself the other day. So far my boyfriend has been the only one to see the official cover, besides the designer obviously, but he agrees it's amazing.
Now as for the writing, I finished chapter eleven tonight and will be starting on twelve tomorrow morning. Book Three has a lot of new faces as well as familiar ones, so I'm working hard to spend time developing all of the characters. The main character has been such a pleasure to work with, and I am eager to reveal who it is next month. Remember in December you find out the official title and main narrator for the story, which will also help both you and I tweet and/or post about the upcoming book.
What has definitely been interesting in the series is seeing character develop and change over time, and in one of my most recent chapters the narrator talked about all of the changes that had occurred. There are many more intense, attack-filled chapters coming up, and I'm eager to see where the book is going to end because as of right now I don't have an ending planned out. I can, however, promise it will end like any other book in the Magicians series... leaving you wanting more.

That's all for tonight. I just wanted to check in and update everyone with the progress I made. Keep your fingers crossed I reach the 50k marker by the end of this month. Only two more weeks left, so for anyone else participating in the madness... Hang in there!
Lindsey R. Sablowski

Behind the Character: Rostland

Imagine living forever, never aging, and never having to fear death. Tonight I'm taking you behind the scenes with the Magicians series to unveil Rostland.

If you've read the sequel, Shadows and Embers, you've already had the pleasure of meeting Rostland. He didn't make any appearance in Cursed With Power, and since I haven't talked about him before on the blog I thought it was time to shine some light on new characters we're meeting along the journey with our Dark magicians. Rostland is a very unique character; he's an immortal man who has been around since the 1300s. His full back story is discussed throughout the series, but there's much more I can share about him.

Why immortality? Honestly, it was something new. When I was working out ideas for the SandE I thought how interesting it would be if there was an immortal man. Immortality has never been something I have written about before, so I was intrigued to come up with a unique way to make Rostland special. Being immortal also means he's not a Dark magician, so throughout the second book we're debating whether Rostland is friend or foe. Let's face it, an immortal man is definitely someone who should be feared.

Like everyone else, my favorites when it comes to male characters in the series so far are Leal and Alaire, but all the same I love the challenge Rostland brings as a character and also the experience and wisdom he is able to share because of how long he has lived.

Can we expect to see more of him as the series continues? We're about to find out with the third upcoming book, but in the mean time if you haven't already catch up on the first two books.

Progress in the third book:

I've made it up to 23k, and chapter nine is half way finished, needs to be typed up, and then the other half needs to be written. Again it seems handwriting the chapters helps me keep the flow moving along, and I run into less obstacles and distractions. Chapter nine will definitely be finished by the end of this week, and at the very least I'd like to reach over 25k before the start of next week. I already have chapter ten roughly outlined, and that's an action-filled chapter so it should be exciting to work through.

Lindsey R. Sablowski

NaNoWriMo 2013 Begins!

Welcome November! It's the first day, and all of my writing friends have been announcing the start of NaNoWriMo. October seemed to fly by, and it's hard to believe we're already in November. I've been a part of NaNo for five years now. I started back in 2008, writing the story Enjoy the Silence, which I made the horrible mistake of typing up on a typewriter. What was I thinking? Well, clearing I was not. In my mind all that mattered was that I could sit down at my desk with this awesome, classic, old typewriter and write away to my heart's content. Unfortunately, I honestly cannot tell you how much my word count was for that first year. The chapters I did manage to type up are stored away in a folder somewhere. It was a different kind of book for me, since it focused on the story of a girl and her encounter with a ghost. At least I tried something different, right?
In 2009 my selection was a story called Shimmer, which more or less focused on a girl named Allison who discovered she had magic. It wasn't such a great success, and that's all I have to say about that one. That was during the years when I couldn't find a novel I wanted to write and actually finish.

The next year, 2010, I wrote a book titled Stronger. The cover wasn't all that bad, and if you were a follower of my blog at that time I wrote up several posts about it. The story focused on Jocelyn, who was a princess in danger of being killed. She also had her loyal knight by her side, Kerrich, and there was a major twist around the fifth or seventh chapter. 

I'm purposely skipping over 2011 because the novel was not a success at all, and there's no point in me rambling about it.

Fast forward to 2012, and I wrote the first 50,001 words of what would become the second book in the Magicians series. When I was in NaNo it was titled "Punished With Destiny," but you all know it today as Shadows and Embers. I remember being extremely frustrated with finishing for that year, and I can't remember what happened once I hit 50k, but looking back on it I'm glad I reached the goal. It's amazing to see that now the novel is complete and published. 

This year...

My 2013 selection shouldn't come as a surprise. I've been working on the third book for quite some time now, and I'm entering it into NaNo because I have my goal of 70k to reach and NaNo can help push me toward it. Since I promised myself I was going to keep the title a secret until December I can't reveal any details until next month, but now that the book is in the works and I'm serious on finishing it.

For those of you who are participating this year, I wish you the best of luck. NaNo is a wonderful way to finish a novel that you can later on publish down the road when it's ready. It happened for me, it can happen for you. If I can finish book #3 this month that would be amazing, but even if I just reach 50k that's fine because I can complete the other 20k in December.

Best of luck...and let the writing and madness begin!

Lindsey R. Sablowski

Upcoming Winter Holidays Giveaway

It's been 3 months since Shadows and Embers released and 13 months since Cursed With Power's publication. How time flies! Alas I haven't had a lot of time to update the blog because I've been busy writing, working, and finishing college papers. Since I have some downtime tonight I did want to take the chance to catch you up and also give you a look at what's coming up.
Upcoming: Winter Holidays Giveaway
With October coming to an end, December will soon be only a month away. To celebrate winter and the holidays that come along with the season, I will be hosting a giveaway. This is a great chance for you to spread the word about both of my books, and for you in return to win some great prizes! I have a lot of custom-made items that are up for grabs... Let's take a look:

• Bookmarks- Win a signed bookmark of Cursed With Power and/or Shadows and Embers
• Custom made necklaces (small square size) -I have 3 of these; one is the cover image of CWP, another is a quote from CWP that says "If you could hear my thoughts, would you be able to save me from myself," and the third is the quote "In the darkness they are flames; in the daylight they are shadows" (also from CWP).

• Custom made necklaces (large rectangle size)- I have two of these, which were custom made for CWP. One features the quote from Alaire that says "I have faith in you because you're the one person who can see me for who I am, not what i can never be." The second one (on the right in the picture) is the cover of CWP.

• Custom made keychains, pendants, and bookmarks -Custom made for CWP; all of these feature the cover of CWP and are unique. Various colors are available; I will post more specific details later
• FREE ebook format of Cursed With Power
• FREE ebook format of Shadows and Embers
• FREE paperback format of Cursed With Power
• FREE paperback format of Shadows and Embers
• FREE hardback format of Shadows and Embers - This is a very limited offer, and I would probably only being giving away one or two hardback copies, seeing as these are not available for sale on Amazon so they are unique and rare. More news to come later :)

That's enough about the giveaway for now, seeing as I need to set up a date and so forth for all of you. Moving on, I wanted to talk about the progress I've made so far in the third book. I have been trying to update the word count meter as often as possible, so even when I don't post you can still see my progress from the meter.

The upcoming third book

December will also be an exciting month because I can finally reveal the title and narrator of book #3 in the series. Everyone has been very patient waiting, and I'm so excited that in a month I can unveil it. I am a little over 20k in the third book. Each morning before work I spend about an hour or hour and a half handwriting whatever chapter I'm on. If you follow me on Instagram it's a great way to keep up with my constant progress, since I usually post a picture more than a couple times a week of what I am writing (without giving away any spoilers!). It's still a long ways from my goal of reaching 70k, but progress is progress and winter is soon approaching and I'll have more free time to dedicate myself to writing.

That was a quick look into the upcoming giveaway and the third book. Hopefully I'll be able to stop by again next week to catch you up. Enjoy the last days of October!

Lindsey R. Sablowski

Who will make it to the cover?

It's been awhile since I've had the chance to stop by here and actually write a full post, so without further ado let me catch you up to where I am. Yesterday I received the official cover for book 3, even though as I have mentioned before the expected release will not be until sometime next year (2014). Even so, I decided to jump ahead and get the cover out of the way so when the book is ready for publication there's nothing stopping me. The cover was designed by Alivia Anders, author and designer at White Rabbit Designs & Creations. I can't say a lot about the cover presently because I'll want to talk about it more when the actual cover reveal comes about -again, we have to wait-but I can say it is stunning. Covers for my books are always the final touch that makes them come to life, and I have to admit the latest addition fits in beautifully along side the previous covers in the series.

The cover reveal for the official cover will not be occurring until I have a set publication date for the book, but I encourage you to start thinking about what you'll see. Who do you expect will make it to the cover of the third book in the Magicians series? Will it be a character we've met before or a new one? How will it stand out and look unique from the others? Keep those questions in mind, and before you know it I'll be answering them for you.

Progress update in book #3:

Currently I've finished chapters 1-5 and have started writing out chapter six. We've reached the 12k mark, and if you look to the right of my blog you can find a word meter that is also keeping track of my progress. Almost 20% done! Right now 70k is just an ideal word count to reach, but for all I know the book could go well over that amount. I have a lot of new stationary material to work with, so all is well. It's hard to believe I am working on publishing my third book. Can't wait until I can release more details; remember, title and the narrator will be revealed this December!

Lindsey R. Sablowski

You know the characters, now meet the author

 

You may or may not already know the characters, so this week on Friday, September 27th come out and meet the author. Baltimore Book Festival is this week from Friday-Sunday, and I will be attending as an author on Friday, the 27th from 12pm to 8pm. It's going to be a long day, and I'd love to see new and familiar faces to make the time pass by more quickly. I am very excited to talk to you about the books, characters, and if you're an aspiring writer I'd love to hear what you're writing about. Please stop by and say hello. My boyfriend, Eric, will be present with me, and I cannot thank him enough for be willing to come out and support me throughout the entire day. (Be sure to tell him how much we appreciate it!)

I've been meaning to post some more about the sequel, and now that I finally have the chance to -it's been a busy month!- I wanted to mention a few things. One of the reasons I love the cover for Shadows and Embers so dearly is because the designer allowed me to decide exactly what was going on the cover. Another reason is because Nicia made it to the cover, and even though Leal's probably a bit jealous, he's (secretly) happy for her too. Nicia's one of the characters from the book that grew on me faster than I had expected. I've talked about her a couple times on the blog, but since publication I've been meaning to say a bit more. Once the second book was done I realized she had became one of my favorite characters. I also just recently noticed that pretty much everywhere you look now on my website and other sites I'm on, you'll eventually run into her. It's great seeing her on the cover and knowing that she became a much more major character than originally planned out. She adds a lot of conflict to the book as well, seeing as Leal can't quite figure out if she's an enemy or an ally. Could she be both?

Though I can't explain why at this point, Nicia's also been a great muse while writing the third book. Every now and then she's int eh back of my head, giving me a shove to keep going. I loved working on her story and seeing the twists and turns she and Leal ran into, and now going into the third installment of the series I can't wait to meet new characters and fall in love all over again. That's the wonderful part about the writing process; you can have your favorites.

So if you're curious why Nicia is everywhere you turn and want to know more about her, pick up a copy of the book and find out what her story is.

 

Progress in the third book:

What I want to do more often is update the blog about what's happening with my upcoming book. Sometimes I might not have much to share, so if that's the case I might just include a little snippet at the end like I am today to catch you up with my progress. For those of you who already finished the sequel and are waiting for the next book, this will help you see where I am.

Needless to say, I am a fan of owls. Anything with an owl on it, you can pretty much guarantee I'll love. When I came across these two cute journals yesterday at Barnes and Noble I couldn't resist. (It's okay, though, I honestly needed a new journal). I'm pleased to say that the journal I'm working in right now (the one in the right picture on the right) has done wonders. The pages have unique, colorful designs, and it keeps me interested and focused in my writing. I started on chapter four today; chapters 1-3 are completely done and typed up. It's not a huge amount of progress, considering SandE released two months ago, but I sneak in writing whenever I have the free time. Once I'm on winter break and such I can squeeze in some more.

Hope to see you at Baltimore Book Festival, and if you can't make it I'll bring back pictures!

Lindsey R. Sablowski

FREE ebook, teaser, and anniversary

On September 7th, one year ago, my first book, Cursed With Power, was published by Old Line Publishing. I remember calling my boyfriend, Eric, and telling him the news and crying when I first got accepted for publication. Here we are one year later, and though this journey has been difficult at times and the challenges continue to arise, I have loved it to the fullest. I am happy and proud to say that today I am a 19 year old author of two published books.

Seeing as it is the anniversary, I did want to give back to readers and fans for being a part of this journey. This all started out with Celestria Hale, and now it has turned into a full series about five different people all struggling for their lives, all connected in ways they haven't realized, and all telling an important story.
In celebration of this special day you can purchase Shadows and Embers for free on ebook. Again this offer is ONLY lasting today, and will be available until 11:59pm pacific standard time. Fortunately the celebration does not end there because I also have another surprise for you.
It's teaser time!

Above we have a teaser from book 3 in the Magicians series. Since I will not be revealing the title and main narrator for the third book until late December, the characters in this passage have remained unnamed purposely. (This way there are also no spoilers.) However, I can tell you that I am really looking forward to writing this scene that is in the teaser where our characters attend a masquerade. As you might recall, in CWP Celestria and Alaire shared their first dance in a ballroom, and in Shadows and Embers Leal shared a dance with Rahela at an event Esmour hosted. These special dance scenes will hopefully continue to appear at least once in each book.

Hope everyone enjoys this beautiful and sunny Saturday, and don't forget to grab your copy of Shadows and Embers today!

Lindsey R. Sablowski