The Trials of Renegade X is out!

Okay, so, The Trials of Renegade X wasn’t supposed to come out until the 26th, but it’s actually out right now. The hardback edition I created through Lightning Source appeared on Amazon and Barnes and Noble this weekend.  Oops.  And I think Goodreads has been emailing people that the book is out.  So I’ve been working on getting the other editions up and running.

Which means that you can now get the book.  Like, right now.  Here’s a breakdown:

  • The hardback books are $19.99.  They’re available through Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  They should be available through other outlets soon, including Book Depository.
  • The ebook is $4.99 and available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.  It should be available through the Apple store soon.
  • The paperbacks will be $12.99 and available through Amazon, but I don’t have those up yet.

So there you have it.  I leave you with the excerpt from the back of the hardcover:

I don’t know what happens then, only that I don’t pull the trigger. But a wild tendril of fear flashes through me. Electricity sparks hot in my hand. It feels the same as it did the other night, when the light socket practically exploded. Except this time, I know it’s not coming from some outside source—it’s coming from me. I can feel the charge all the way down to my bones. But it all happens so fast, and before I really get what’s happening, sparks shoot into the gadget I’m holding, and then there are ninja stars flying. Not just at their target—who is apparently a superhero and not a jewel thief—but in every direction.

Cover Reveal – The Trials of Renegade X!

I have, of course, been dying to show you guys this for a while now, and today is the day! This is the ebook cover for Trials, made by Raul Allen, who was also the amazing artist behind the first cover. The print books will feature the full wraparound, like the first one had, with the city continuing off to the left.

And here’s blurb again:

Can a half villain ever be a full hero?

Damien Locke didn’t choose for his supervillain mom to disown him — just because he sort of defied her and ruined her evil plans to take over Golden City — and he didn’t choose for his superpower to be flying, a superhero ability that involves his least favorite thing: heights. But now that he’s living with his dad’s superhero family and enrolling at Heroesworth Academy, he’s ready to embrace his new life, get his H, and finally belong somewhere. But belonging isn’t as easy as signing up for classes, and Damien finds himself struggling to fit in more than ever.

Just when he’s sure his fate as a hero has been decided, though, he gets a new villain power that he can’t control. And things only get worse when he accidentally screws up one of his sidekick Sarah’s gadgets, altering her personality and turning her into a crazed, anti-supervillain vigilante — leaving him no choice but to team up with her annoying superhero boyfriend if he hopes to have any chance of getting the old Sarah back, before she captures — or kills — another supervillain like him.

I think it goes without saying, but I LOVE this cover! I love how bitchy and evil Sarah looks (I know, I know, that’s a weird thing to say, but it’s true).  And I love the city in the background, and the mist on the roof, and the creepy machine there. And of course Damien looks awesome, too! And their belts have Xs and Thetas on them, and it’s just all very cool and amazing.

Many Cool Announcements

So many announcements, in fact, that I can make a BULLETED LIST.

  • The kickstarter for The Trials of Renegade X was a rousing success!  It ended at 125%, which is pretty amazing.  Especially since there was a time, for about an hour or so after I first launched it (and, well, all the months leading up to it), where I was pretty sure it was going to finish at zero percent.  Or maybe more realistically like one percent.  (Okay, okay, five percent.)  BUT my doubts were foiled again and everything is coming up awesome.
  • If you missed out on the kickstarter, don’t worry!  Trials now has a release date and will be out September 26th.  You’ll be able to get it in ebook, paperback, or hardcover.  (Though if you want a print copy, brace yourself for print-on-demand prices, which are a bit pricier than you might be used to.)
  • I have THE COVER, and it’s freaking AWESOME.  Raul Allen, the same artist who did the cover for The Rise of Renegade X, did an amazing job.  It’s everything I could have hoped for and more, and a perfect follow-up to the first one.  I can’t reveal it yet, but soon, precioussss.  Soon.
  • You may or may not have noticed–or seen me talking about it–but the first book is currently unavailable, due to me getting the rights back.  But I’m happy to announce that it will be back up in the near future–probably in the next few weeks–and should be out in time for the sequel’s release!  I’m in the process of licensing the cover art now, but once that’s done I can relaunch.  It will be back up in ebook and hardback and will be making its paperback debut. ;)  (Though what I said earlier about POD prices still applies.)
  • The movie option for Renegade X got renewed!  I have no idea where they are with the project (well, I have some idea, but my knowledge on it is several months outdated, and I’m not sure what I’d be allowed to tell people even if I did know something), only that it’s still in the works.  So, as always, getting renewed doesn’t mean there will actually be a movie, but it’s still a possibility!
  • And, finally, with both books for sure coming out and having covers and all that, I’m thinking of doing audiobook versions as well through ACX.  (ACX is awesome and makes audiobook production an option for authors and helps them find narrators.  I went through them for Harper Madigan and was really happy about the whole process and especially with how the book turned out.)  I have to admit to being kind of nervous about hearing someone else read for Damien and the other RRX characters I’ve had in my head for so long.  (And what if I hear their voice in my head from then on instead of mine???)  So if I don’t find the right narrator, it will be a no-go.  But there are a lot of talented voice actors, so I am hopeful that the right one is out there.

And so my bulleted list comes to an end!  This next month is going to be really exciting as I get ready to launch all this, and then of course everyone finally getting to actually read the sequel is pretty mind blowing, too! 

Comparing and Contrasting with Myself

I’ve been reading over The Rise of Renegade X, so I can read it back to back with The Trials of Renegade X, something I’ve never done so far, at least not since Trials was actually finished.  Besides reading them for fun (because, OMG, I have a series, or at least if two books counts as a series, which it might not, but saying OMG, I have a … couplet? doesn’t have the same ring to it), I’m looking for style and spelling consistency while I do it, to make sure everything matches between books.

It’s interesting because as I read through it, I’m noticing that even though my voice hasn’t changed in the six years since I wrote this, my punctuation style has.  I’m looking back at the first one and seeing that I used semi-colons.  Seriously?  I never use semi-colons, or at least not anymore.  And I can see why I ended up using them then, but I just don’t structure my sentences the same way.

I’m also pretty sure I use a lot more italics these days, though that might be partly because I realized, while listening to the Harper Madigan audiobook, that no one will read the words as if they’re italicized unless I, you know, actually italicize them.

And since I’m republishing The Rise of Renegade X (someday, hopefully in the not-too-far future), it’s so tempting to think, “Well, I could just edit out those semi-colons, to make it match my style now.”  But that is a big fat can of worms right there, and Chelsea’s first rule of revision is change as little as possible.  That goes double for books that are already done, published, and have been being read and enjoyed by readers for years.

So I will just suck it up and face the facts that sometimes things change, and that’s okay.  Also, I really doubt you guys are going to be reading the sequel, going, “WTF? There are NO semi-colons in this book!  Where’s the smattering of properly used semi-colons I’ve come to expect from this series?!?!?!”  (Though if you did, I suppose you’d be even more upset if I went and took them out of the first book.  Best to just leave things as they are and let sleeping semi-colons lie.)

When a Book Goes out of Print

So, as some of you have noticed, you can no longer buy new copies of The Rise of Renegade X.  You can get used hardbacks, but new ones haven’t been available in months.  (I even got confirmation that there just aren’t any left.)  The print run ran out and that’s that.

Except it’s not.  This might all sound like bad news, especially when I tell you that the ebooks have all been taken down as well, but it’s actually really good news!

(I know, I know, it’s counter intuitive, but hear me out.)

Because the book went out of print, I was able to get the rights back.  (Which is why the ebook disappeared, since the rights to it are mine now, not the publisher’s.  But if you already bought an ebook version of it, you can still keep/download that.)

Getting the rights back these days is super good news.  In the near future I will be putting the ebook back up–for a much lower price–and making paperback copies available through print-on-demand.  The great thing about POD is that it never goes out of print.  Which means there will always be physical and ebook copies available.

I’m also hoping to release a POD hardback as well, but that will depend on if the kickstarter for the sequel is successful, since I’ll need a block of ISBNs for that part.

And speaking of the kickstarter, it’s at 49%!  Just one pledge away from hitting the halfway mark!  And there are still 24 days to go!

There’s still a lot left to raise, so if you plan to buy the sequel, please consider getting it through the kickstarter!

For $10, you get both the ebook version of the sequel (which you’ll get to read a month before everybody else) and the ebook of The Rise of Renegade X.  There are, of course, plenty of other cool incentives, and even if you can’t pledge right now, any efforts to help spread the word are much appreciated!

Go here to check it out.

Pre-order The Trials of Renegade X!

I’ve been working on this for a while and am super excited to announce that you can now pre-order The Trials of Renegade X on Kickstarter!  Not only that, but you can get it a whole MONTH before everyone else!

You can also read a sample chapter of the sequel!  And, besides getting to read the book early, everyone who pledges gets their superhero or supervillain name and superpower listed in the thank you section of the book.

There are also some other really exciting incentives, including special limited edition signed copies.  You can also get a minor character named after you, or get a plush of your favorite character!  These last two are very limited–only a few each–so don’t miss out!

Back from Everfree NW!

Back from the pony convention!  Not that I was really gone, since I live here, but whatever.

For those of you who don’t know, Everfree NW is the local My Little Pony convention.  I used to watch the original My Little Pony back in the early 80s, though I find that one doesn’t really hold up that well now that I’m an adult.  But the new version of the show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, is AMAZING.  It’s on Netflix.  Go check it out if you’ve never seen it.

Anyway, this was my first time at Everfree and my first time being a vendor at a  con.  (I make crocheted pony plushies.)  I only saw the dealer’s room, but that’s my favorite part of conventions, plus the con pretty much came to me.  VIPs from the show came by and complimented my ponies.  The people from Friendship is Witchcraft stopped by, too (they re-edit episodes of the show and dub over them and it’s HILARIOUS and my favorite fan-made thing).  And Peter New, the voice of Big Macintosh, came by and let me take a pic of him with my Big Macintosh plushie.
photo PeterNewwithBigMacintosh-cropped_zps9f1dadf6.jpg

There was also a Sweet Apple Acres booth on the other side of the vendor’s hall, and a lady dressed up like Granny Smith.  Every so often she’d shout that it was Cider Season, and for a limited time they’d sell little bottles of Apple Family cider, just like on the show.  It was good times.  And from my booth I met lots of cool people and saw lots of amazing costumes.

I had some Renegade X bookmarks on my table and told a few people that I was a writer and gave them one.  Which was maybe a mistake, because I kept getting that, “Oh God, not another terrible writer–please strike me down before they start talking about their book!” look from people, which I haven’t gotten since before I was published.  It wasn’t all their fault, though, since I’m horrible at telling people about my successes.  (I blame  the kids in elementary school and junior high who would come up to me and, in a mean, accusing voice, say, “You get straight As, don’t you?”  Which, for the record, I didn’t, but that wasn’t really the point.)  I always forget to mention the important stuff, like that I’m actually published and that Disney Channel is working on the movie.  Oh, yeah, and that it’s freaking hilarious.

Oh, well.  I like to think if they do end up looking up my book and reading the sample that they will be pleasantly blown away.  Because, I mean, making cute crocheted toys is cool and all, but it doesn’t take nearly as much time and effort to learn as making awesome books does.

What are your successes?  What skillz do you have that other people underestimate?

Renegade X Sequel = DONE!

Wow, it’s been a while since I posted (guess I was in the writer cave longer than I thought).  I looked at my last post, where I had 19,000 words in the sequel. HA.  Now I have 115,000 and it’s DONE!  That’s right–this book is going to exist.  It’s going to come out this September.  And it’s going to be really freaking awesome (but I think you guys knew that part already).  And if you’re wondering what 115,000 words actually means, I’ll tell you that the first one was 85,000 words, making this a much bigger book.  I would estimate that gives you guys another 100 pages to read.

Of sex and math jokes.

Just kidding.  There aren’t any math jokes in this one.

I had so much fun writing this book.  And drank so much coffee. And, while I miss the characters again already, it feels good to have it done.  I finished the first one nearly six years ago.  Six freaking years.  And there were times since then when I was absolutely certain there would be a sequel, and times when I was absolutely certain there would not.  But you guys kept writing to me, telling me how much you loved Renegade X and asking when there would be another one.  And if it hadn’t been for you guys telling me all that, I don’t know if I would have ever written it.  But you did, and I did, and now I’ve finished the best book I’ve ever written.  And I can’t wait for you guys to get to read it in September!

And since, no matter how much planning I do, books have a way of morphing and getting away from me as I write them (or at least the best ones do), I reworked the book description.  The old one wasn’t inaccurate, but it wasn’t so much the story anymore either.  So here’s the new blurb:

 Can a half villain ever be a full hero?

Damien Locke didn’t choose for his supervillain mom to disown him—just because he sort of defied her and ruined her evil plans to take over Golden City—and he didn’t choose for his superpower to be flying, a superhero ability that involves his least favorite thing: heights. But now that he’s living with his dad’s superhero family and enrolling at Heroesworth Academy, he’s ready to embrace his new life, get his H, and finally belong somewhere. But belonging isn’t as easy as signing up for classes, and Damien finds himself struggling to fit in more than ever.

Just when he’s sure his fate as a hero has been decided, though, he gets a new villain power that he can’t control. And things only get worse when he accidentally screws up one of his sidekick Sarah’s gadgets, altering her personality and turning her into a crazed, anti-supervillain vigilante—leaving him no choice but to team up with her annoying superhero boyfriend if he hopes to have any chance of getting the old Sarah back, before she captures—or kills—another supervillain like him.

Harper Madigan is Free This Weekend Plus Some Good News

To celebrate Harper Madigan: Junior High Private Eye’s one year anniversary, the Kindle version is free all weekend–Friday, Saturday, and Sunday–over at Amazon.  And if you don’t have a kindle, you can still download it and convert it to a different file type, if you’re into that kind of thing.

AND my good news about Harper Madigan is that it’s going to be an audiobook!  It should be out sometime in April, and of course I’ll have more details then.  I’ve gotten to listen to the first half of the book and I LOVE it and can’t wait to share it!

That’s all for now–must get back to writing Trials, which, for those of you who missed my tweet. is up to 19,000 words so far.

The Trials of Renegade X – The Blurb!

Newsletter subscribers got a sneak peek at this last week, and now, as promised, I am proud to present the description for The Trials of Renegade X:

 Can a half villain ever be a full hero? Damien Locke didn’t choose for his supervillain mom to disown him—just because he sort of defied her and ruined her evil plans to take over Golden City—and he didn’t choose for his superpower to be flying, a superhero ability that involves his least favorite thing: heights. But now that he’s living with his dad’s superhero family and enrolling at Heroesworth Academy, he’s ready to embrace his new life, get his H, and finally belong somewhere. But belonging isn’t as easy as signing up for classes, and Damien finds himself struggling to fit in more than ever. Of course, it doesn’t help that his sidekick Sarah has a new hero boyfriend—not that he’s jealous or anything—or that, just when he’s sure his fate as a hero has been decided, he gets a new villain power he can’t control. And it’s so easy to slip into his old ways when he catches his supervillain girlfriend Kat committing a crime at Heroesworth and covers for her, charming his way out of trouble. But as Damien’s attempts to lead a purely hero life continue to backfire, he’ll have to learn to embrace both his hero and villain sides, or else risk pushing away everyone he cares about and losing any chance he has of ever finding his place in the world.

And there it is!  I’ve tried to keep it exciting but not too spoilery.   I’ve got about a week left on the current WIP, and then I’ll be back to working on Trials full time!

P.S.  Today is coincidentally the four year anniversary of the day I got the offer for The Rise of Renegade X.  Crazy how time flies!