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The Website Is Back Up!

You may or may not have noticed that my site has been down for a while, due to some technical difficulties that I didn’t realize were happening right away. I ended up losing everything from last year, which was probably just me saying, “Hey, the Bigfoot and Nessie books are out!” and posting some art, which I can repost once I sort out what’s missing. Any comments from last year are gone, too. Because even though I could have sworn not very much time had passed since I last backed up my site, apparently it’d been more like a year. O__o

But if you were wondering why the site was gone, or why there might be stuff missing, that’s why! And if you’re wishing I posted more or that you could hear from me more regularly, you can join the newsletter, which goes out monthly.

 

Deal Announcement – Bigfoot and Nessie!

I’m so excited to finally be able to share this news! I wrote a graphic novel for kids called Bigfoot and Nessie, about, you guessed it, Bigfoot and Nessie. It’s about their friendship, but at its heart, it’s also a story about finding creativity without putting pressure on yourself–something I struggle with a lot.

The idea came about after binge watching a lot of We Bare Bears, and I was thinking about Charlie (he’s a bigfoot, if you’re not familiar with the show) and how he doesn’t want to be photographed, and I started thinking what if a bigfoot did want to get photographed? But was also failing at it? I added in Nessie, who’s got the exact opposite problem–she’s too famous and is trying to avoid getting noticed–and it came together from there.

Laura Knetzger, who writes and draws the Bug Boys series, is doing the artwork, and I’ve seen it, and it’s amazing! Check out her artwork in the Bug Boys cover below. And also go read it, because it’s a really fun slice-of-life series about two friends having adventures.

What Happened to Demon in My Dorm Room 2?

I’ve put off writing this post because I hate feeling like I’m disappointing anybody or letting anyone down, and I know people were waiting for this book, but… it’s just not happening. I got kind of burnt out on these books working really hard on book 1 and the first half of book 2–maybe more than I realized–and while I was taking a break, life stuff happened, and a beloved pet died, and when I came back to work on this, I felt like a different person, and writing each scene was more and more of an uphill battle.

Which sucks, because there were a bunch of really fun, cute scenes I wanted everyone to read! But continuing with it felt forced and like I was just burning myself out even more, and it didn’t feel fair to these characters I love, or to the readers.

It was really hard to hit the “unpublish” button on the pre-order, and I’m so sorry to everyone who was waiting for this one. Maybe someday I’ll find a way to share what I have written and tie up loose ends, but for now, at least, it has to go to the back burner.

The Rivalry of Renegade X is finally upon us!

BOOK 5 IS OUT!!!! (Can you believe this is seriously book 5? It only took, er, 12 and a half years to get here…) This book was a lot of fun to write, and I’m glad I get to do ridiculous things like tell stories about annoying, interdimensional do-gooding twins, lol.

To celebrate, the whole series is on sale right now, including Rivalry. And the novellas are free. The sale will last until February 3rd, but the novellas will only be free for a few days, so grab them while you can.

A tale of two Damiens.

After ruining the annual Tines family barbecue by retaliating against one of his stuck-up superhero cousins—who totally deserved it, no matter what anyone says—Damien just wants an easy summer. One that involves him and his friends hanging out and going on the occasional superhero mission. He doesn’t need his “good twin” from another dimension where he was raised by Gordon showing up and making a mess of everything, and he sure as hell doesn’t need him living at his house, doing chores without being asked, and generally being the perfect superhero son his family’s always wanted.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, his good twin refuses to lie low. He’s obsessed with doing good deeds and even volunteers to be his dad’s sidekick on his lame kids show. Damien soon has his hands full just trying to stop this guy from making him look like one of the stereotypical douchey heroes he’s always hated. And when his good twin starts to win over all his friends, it’s the last straw. Damien knows there’s only room for one of him in Golden City, and he’s more than ready to get rid of this guy.

But when Damien’s attempts to send him back home backfire and an “evil” version of his half brother Xavier shows up—as if Xavier could get any worse—the two Damiens will have to find a way to work together despite their differences. That is, if they want to thwart Xavier’s evil plans and stop him from erasing everyone they care about from existence.

How I Chose the Perfect Narrator

Six years ago, when I’d just started self-publishing the Renegade X series, I decided I wanted to make an audiobook. Books 1 and 2 came out pretty much at the same time (book 2 actually came out about a week before book 1, but who’s counting?), and they were doing well enough to support taking a chance on something new.

But I was nervous about actually hearing someone voice my characters, especially Damien, because I already had an idea of how they sounded in my head and I didn’t want to risk ruining that. Not only did I need to find the right voice for Damien, but I also needed somebody who could pull off all the humor and get the timing right. And I’m super picky about narrators. The point is, I had to find someone who was just right, or else I wasn’t going to do it.

So I put up a request for auditions on ACX. I got a lot of of them, but it wasn’t until I went looking around at available narrators myself that I found someone. Phillip Russel Newman was really versatile and could pull off a variety of voices. I asked him to record an audition, and he agreed. And then I went to his website and saw that he had a business where people could pay him to go sing songs to their loved ones in public and embarrass the hell out of them. I mean, embarrassing the hell out of them wasn’t explicitly stated, but you could see just how embarrassed people were in the sample videos.

And that’s when I knew, before I even heard him audition, that he would be the perfect Damien. Because what’s more Damien than that? And of course when his audition came in, it was flawless, and his voices for everyone were spot on and hilarious. (The audition scene was from fairly late in book 1 when Damien’s on the phone with Kat, and Amelia’s getting ready for her party, and Gordon comes in and asks Damien if he put worms in his shampoo, which we all know he did.)

If you’re wondering why I chose now to tell this story, it’s because I have a kickstarter going right now to produce the next audiobook in the series, The Betrayal of Renegade X. We’re at 29% with just under three weeks left to go! But if we don’t hit the finish line within that time, the project won’t get funded and the audiobook won’t get made. So if you’ve enjoyed the first two audiobooks, please consider preordering book 3 through the kickstarter to ensure that it will exist, both for you and for future listeners to enjoy!

And if you’re new to the audiobooks, books 1 and 2 are already available in audio if you want to check them out or hear a sample.

Let’s Make an Audiobook!

A.k.a. THE KICKSTARTER IS LIVE!

I have so many awesome things to tell you about this kickstarter that I don’t even know where to start! This is my fourth kickstarter, and it’s also the one that’s taken the most prep work. The other three only took a couple weeks to get ready, but this one took more like 10! And it’s basically my dream kickstarter from a backer’s standpoint – a variety of items that make you feel like you’re part of a fictional world.

And by that I mean that the kickstarter is back-to-school themed, complete with school paraphernalia, and you choose whether you’re going to Heroesworth or Vilmore. You don’t just get to feel like you’re part of a fictional world, you get to make choices about your place in it!!! I can’t tell you how happy that makes me!

Speaking of bringing fictional worlds to life, you can also get a recording of a short, customized message read by Damien! Or any of the other Renegade X characters! Basically, everything I talked about in this post is there.

If you’ve been waiting for the next audiobook, this is your chance to make it happen! If you can pledge, that’s great, and if not, please help spread the word! (Actually, please help do that anyway!) Let’s make this the best Renegade X kickstarter yet!

Go check it out!

On Sale Now – The Persistence of Renegade X!

The latest installment in the Renegade X series, The Persistence of Renegade X, is here! Grab all three novellas for only .99 cents each for a limited time!

This novella takes place between books 4 and 5.

Watching Damien’s two favorite siblings for the night—and stealing his sister Amelia’s title of “best babysitter”—should be easy. It shouldn’t involve his mom calling and begging him to watch his awful half brother. And it shouldn’t involve having to go rescue his two best friends from a superhero mission gone wrong. And it definitely shouldn’t involve getting stranded in downtown Golden City with all the kids he’s supposed to be watching. Especially not when the night’s almost over, and it’s a race against the clock if he wants to get everyone home before his parents and, more importantly, Amelia find out anything ever went wrong.

Available now in ebook and paperback!