The New Kindlegraph!

Everyone likes that feeling of awe and warmth that follows having stood in line for hours, your feet aching, your nerves shot, all so you could meet your favorite author and have their signature grace the inside of your book.

The biggest downfall of ebooks: you don't get to join in any of the fun!

Well, that stops now. I found this pretty cool feature that is now being offered to people who have ebooks. It's called Kindlegraph. This is the latest in forward thinking developments, in my humble opinion. Now anyone who writes or has written books can sign up and make their work available to the world. Even better, people the world over can get signatures from their favorite authors! This includes indies folks! If you write it, you can sign it.

Now, depending on the type of pc you have, you will either be doodling your name with your finger or your clicker (mouse), and unless you are highly skilled, it will probably come out as some illegible mess of nonsense better suited to a preschool art project, but it's still pretty cool. If you want to leave a little heartfelt message to your reader, you can do that too! Thankfully, this feature is offered in a very legible cursive, so no confusion there.

Currently, there are over 13,000 books available by 3,000 authors. I am positive as this feature takes off, those numbers will soar. Join up via your Twitter account. If you're an indie author, get your books cataloged. If you're an avid reader who loves your author of choice to a stalker-like level and just can't live until they have touched your book in some way, then dash over and request that signature! And since Holly and I welcome stalkers openly, here are the links to our books to get you started.

Happy stalking!

Holly's books

Brandi's books

It's 2012!!

Happy New Year! 

For all of our readers who might have been wondering where we've run off to: 

Like most of you, we have taken the last couple of weeks off to spend time with our friends and family, celebrating the holidays and reigning in the new year like it's 1899. We've decorated cookies, trimmed the tree, wrapped presents and enjoyed the smiling faces of our children on the big day. Some of us have even given our sanity when opening our doors to out of town family members. Secretly, we have enjoyed every minute of it. Well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. 


Now we look forward to starting fresh. Some of us do that by making resolutions. We at Fictitious Chronicles choose to toss aside that old tradition and continue striving to be the best person we can be. 


Some things we consider news worthy:


The two of us have been writing up a storm. Mrs. Holly is well on her way toward finishing yet another novel, and she is keeping this one completely under wraps. The only thing she is willing to say is, "Like The Notebook, this one is guaranteed to make you cry your eyes out." As for me, I have also been keeping my newest creation close to the vest. What I will say is that it's a mystery/thriller and I hope it knocks your socks off. 


If you are reading this, we assume that you are an avid reader in general. Well, so are we! In fact, last year we challenged ourselves to a reading contest. I don't know about my partner, but my challenge was 40 books to be read by the end of the year. I am proud to say that I came in at 49! My new challenge for 2012 is now 100.I hope all of you are challenging yourself and your mind this year, too. 


With all the writing going on, we have decided to step out of our comfort zone and begin outlining in a major way. Because of this, we wanted to share with all of the authors out there a couple of sites we found particularly helpful with our own writing.


--The Snowflake Method shows you how to start small, get organized, and build your novel into something great. 
--8 Easy Steps for constructing and outline in less than an hour! 
--And my personal favorite: The Writer's Digest Novel Idea Summary Sheet, which has boosted my writing platform and kept me organized and on point. 

For those of you who need a little help brushing up your novel idea, whether it's for an agent or a self-publishing venture, we felt this program was a must have (Plus, you can get a free 14 day free trial. How cool is that!): Stylewriter

Finally, a note to our authors on our TBR list: 

We haven't forgotten about you! In all the chaos that comes with the holidays, a small break was called for. Now that the kids are returning to school and the schedules are getting back on track, so will our reading and reviewing of your wonderful works of art. 




Now that we have all that covered, I'll let all you party animals get back to your black coffee and hours of rest. We hope you enjoy your new year every bit as much as we plan to enjoy ours. 


Cheers!

  

What if failure was not an option?

If failure was not an option, what would you do?

If failure was not an option I probably would do one of two things. I would participate in a Ufc fight against the biggest and best rebel there was. If I wasn’t going to fail I would have the guts to go into battle. The thrill of taking the other person down. The roar of the crowd. That incredible feeling after a conquest, it would all be worth it. The stress that would be discharged punch after punch would be wonderful. What a thrill. And what an experience that would be.

As for a more serious response to this question. I would say I would cure all the diseases that had no cures. That way we didn't have to imagine a life of grief from the loss of loved ones. What a relief it would be if you could live without stressing about illnesses. Without having your parents, kids, aunts, uncles, friends etc taken away from you because of a disease. But the truth about this is, no matter what you thrive at, there is always something else. If I could cure all diseases that would fix the massive amount of problems the world faces, but sadly, not everything. And I don't believe anything could ever just be perfect and so simple.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Holly Hood

If failure wasn’t an option…

I would begin by being brave. Almost everyone is afraid of something, and I am no exception. I would start with climbing the ladder to the top step…Kidding! Although that is a horrible fear of mine.

If I couldn’t fail, I would seek to prove the one question that has always plagued mankind. That Heaven and Hell, angels and demons, and God really do exist. That after all of this, there is something more. Something to look forward to. Something to not be afraid of. That death is only the beginning of something much bigger and more beautiful than our wildest imaginings. And that when we lose someone we care about, they are never really lost, but merely a breath away.

If I couldn’t fail, I would dare to be happy. With all that life throws at us, it’s easy to lose your way and wallow in self-pity or despair. But I would chose to look for the silver lining and to help others see it for themselves so they could be happy, too.

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.” ~ Marcus Aurelius 

Brandi Salazar

My brain hurts

Oh the days when I sat and typed. Typed until I had half numb crippled fingers. A brain full of ideas. What happened? I never thought writer's block was a real thing, until it struck me. And I am not sure that is what is going on. I have tons of ideas for more books to write. Its just a matter of being interested enough in one of my ideas to dive deep into the world. I have to have a connection to my writing. I have to feel it. Sometimes I feel like I am mourning the loss of something when I think about Wingless. Wingless is my one true love. (in writing). Its that story that I feel so mesmerized, infatuated and a slave to. Who would have thought a book you created could have such sacred ties to your life. Its kind of funny actually. After writing so many stories about Evan and Eve, Kenny, Gray and Ari I really feel like they are hard to let go. But I believe its time to let them go. I have for a while now been playing with ideas in my mind. Could I come up with another story for Wingless? And finally I believe the answer to that is no. My writing has improved and I know I have the capability to give readers what they loved from Wingless in other books I write. So no worries, I am sure there will be other books to come that have the same effect. Just yesterday I got my very first review on Ink. And I was so happy. I have been waiting patiently (not really) to hear someone's thoughts on my newest book. To me its a bit different the my usual writing style. And I really am in love with it. I read it back and was so addicted, and it was me who wrote it. haha. I think it turned out to be a very great story. And the review I got yesterday agreed! It was probably the greatest review ever. It was everything I wanted to hear and that just made my day, week and year. Over the last week or so I have been driving myself mad with coming up with another story. I have ocd with writing. I have to write. I need to write everyday. I stared some stories, but I was bored a few pages in, so then I knew it wasn't the one for me to be writing right now. I also am collaborating with my best friend on a story idea. But, she needs some time before she and I start this project so that is on the back burner. And that was something my brain was ready to conquer. I guess I will try patience but I have no idea how being patient works, so we will see how that goes. Also I was writing a story with my best friend and another friend, I lost interest in the story and school started so it was hard to pull myself back into the saddle, so we decided to make it a short story. Lately I feel like I can't focus on anything in my thoughts for longer then 12.2 seconds. Its maddening. I try to get one task conquered at a time but I am always sidetracked by a kid, phone, cooking, cleaning, Facebook, life, some other task. All three of my kids are in school now. So I have time to write for sure. Now I am scrambling to collect my thoughts and jot them all on paper. So I can start another story, because that would put me back into my happy place. There are a few constants I need in my life to feel like I am aligned with the world. (my world that is lol) and that is writing and music. I am that person that needs a means of expression. I need to let out my thoughts, I need to express my feelings- be it happy, sad, excited, energetic, amused. And listening to music and writing lets those things come out. I have loved writing since I can remember, and now its an addiction. One that I will never go to rehab for. Lastly, I am trying to grow my fan base. Trying to promote and get more readers. What a hard task. I have the vision in my mind. I want to share my writing with the world. Become a known name in many households. Not everyone is going to like my writing or style, but there are those that do. And I want to connect with them. I want people to anticipate my next book. To continue to be moved by my writing. I want to be the change! Well... maybe its not that dramatic of a desire, I don't want to take over the world. But I want to be an author that people say is their favorite. And most importantly I just want to write!! Now that I have let all my crazy thoughts out, I will go tend to other things in life. *runs away*

Defining me

Ok so maybe its about time to explain my writing style, what is inside my mind, and why I write the way that I do, or simply how I write. This is my blog, the perfect place to really shed light on what makes me tick as an author. And if your a reader and curious about me as an author then you came to the right place. I myself think it would be a great thing if every author shared their inner workings with the reader.

*stands up* I am Holly and I am a writer, I have a twisted imagination, and I do not write fairy tales. There probably will never be a knight and shining armor moment, you probably will never close my book or your ereader and say.." Wow, they lived happily ever after."

I speak the truth in my writing, not what someone wants to hear, I make my characters real, stubborn, mean, hurtful, depressing,moody. Because that is life, no one falls for the hot guy in school and lives happily ever after. If you want that then my books are probably not for you.
And you might be thinking what fun is a book without happy some point in it, well your right, my books are a lot of things, and just because they are real and show real reactions in life doesn't mean that things can not turn out well.

I guess what I am saying is my writing is a slap in the face most days, I am the kind of writer that is moved by feeling, real life, and my own emotions, mixing your emotion and opinions with any subject matter is going to turn into a monster of a story. I come up with ideas all the time, I take what I know, what I learn, what I seen or whatever and I scrambled it all into one giant ball of a situation, sometimes I have an angle, sometimes its for fun.

I guess the point that I am trying to make is I am not out there researching what is going to sell, I am writng from my heart, and if someone can't handle reality and raw story telling, if they can't read a book that could turn out sad, or make them angry then maybe they shouldn't be reading my work.
If you enjoy reading a real book, that is fresh and from maybe a different perspective on love, life, death etc then I believe I got something for you. I do not want to be like everyone else, I am not trying to be anything but myself, I have always enjoyed writing and I will always enjoy it because I will never conform to someone else's idea of right. Creative expression is the best thing in the world. I respect every author out there that is doing that, I am a reader myself and I enjoy a variety of books.

Moral of the story guys is there is no prince charming in my books, prince charming probably was killed by one of my many male characters running around in my books, to be replaced with a spitting, swearing, drinking, tough guy that will offend you with his honesty while sweeping you off your feet!

Writing is my....

Writing is my escape, my comfort, writing is a big sigh of relief when I feel on edge. Writing is my creation, my outlet to escape stress. Writing is my feelings bleeding out on paper for the world to see.
Writing helps me cope, helps me laugh and to heal. There are so many things that writing is to me, what is writing to everyone else?