Archive for 2016

Cover Reveal: The Beauty

Are you all ready for this very long overdue cover reveal? Me too. I also have a synopsis to share! Keep scrolling to see both.

Tune into my livestream later today at 5pm EST so we can discuss the new cover and what I'm working on for NaNoWriMo.


If anyone reading this has a blog and would like to share the new cover on their blog, please do! And make sure you let me know, so I can link to your blog in the description of the reveal video.



Have you read the first book?



The Beauty's description:

Can love thrive in a kingdom of secrets?

Rumors of King Aleksander abound, sowing seeds of fear and doubt among the populace. Worse, there’s only so much Belle can do to repair the damage caused by the former Bishop’s fear-mongering. With challenges and new enemies threatening, the couple will have to prove the strength of their love.

Of course, a cure for the king and his cursed people could solve everything. It may be as simple as reaching out to the right scientists, or maybe it’s all beyond the ingenuity of man. Tensions mount as old foes refuse to stay dead and unexpected revelations leave the future uncertain. But ultimately, it’s the half-truths that could lead to heartbreak.

The Beauty is the second book in The Hunter Legends, a re-imagining of the infamous love between a beauty and a beast.


Pre-order a signed copy directly from me!


...AND...




...FINALLY...




...THE...




...COVER...



CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

How To Finish A Novel

I've published 1 book, am editing a 2nd, and I'm writing 2 more-- Right now I feel like an expert on the art of finishing a novel. Though, to be clear, I am not. HOWEVER, I have learned a lot of tips and tricks that will help get you to the finish line.

For me, it's all about the numbers. Don't worry, no heavy math required. One of the first things I do when I start a novel is get certain number goals established. This is key in helping me get to the finish line.

So in this week's topic video, I lay it all out for you. Every number from how long your novel should be, to what you should be writing every day. I really hope this helps some of the buddy authors out there. -Lindsay

LAST CHANCE!

Just popping in super quick to let everyone know that my campaign to publish The Beauty is ending tonight at 2am EST. It's currently at $323, which is 40% of the goal. Just a little more and I'll have enough to pay for both the ebook cover AND the ebook formatting! If the campaign reaches around 50% - 60% of the goal, than I'll be able to have everything done with the ebook that I want-- fancy formatting and all! Woohoo!

Naturally the ending of the campaign has me really thinking about seeing The Beauty in print. Hence the picture in this post. I took the early font sketches for The Beauty and spent a little time with the filters in instagram. This one I thought looked like it could have been a photo of a title page in a book. Sigh. I can't wait to hold this book in my hands.

Editing is finally coming along at a good speed. I hope I can keep it up and in a few weeks I'll be ready for betas. Yes, I'm behind schedule. But I'm learning and finding a groove with my edits. This is a bigger deal than it sounds. Grooves are good; grooves equal consistency and consistency is how one finishes a book.

SO with that said, please check out my campaign. Share! Contribute! Be Awesome! -Lindsay Mead

CAMPAIGN TO PUBLISH THE BEAUTYhttps://igg.me/at/thebeauty/x/7583467

The Reading Slump Curse

Today I'm talking reading slumps. I've been stuck in one for awhile and recent studies have been pointing to a reason why. See the video below. If you have any suggestions on what might help, please share in the comments!

On the campaign front: With only two days left to go, we've managed to reach 33%. It won't be enough to get the publishing all the way there, but it gets the ebook started and that's most of the battle. Not reaching my goal certainly slows things down, but its not the end of the world. I'm a determined person and I WILL find a way to get The Beauty published in every way possible. I'm also considering a "soft release". Which is to say that I might publish the book early without all of the fancy formatting that I had with The Beast. Once I earn enough money with those sales to pay for the fancy stuff, I'll update the file with the finished product. But I've never done this before and I don't know anyone who has. It's just an idea that I've been working on. Let's just hope I get a couple more contributions before the end.

Help publish THE BEAUTY: https://igg.me/at/thebeauty/x/7583467
Author YT Channel: youtube.com/AuthorLindsayMead
My Vlog YT Channel: youtube.com/LindsayMeadDailyVlog

If My Book Doesn't Get Funded

Last week I posted a reminder that my campaign to publish The Beauty was ending in 2 weeks (1 week now!). In that same post I talked about what my options are if I don't reach my needed goal. Somehow that resulted in confusion. So I sat down and tried to better explain it in a video. Posted below.

This video also marks my return to my author channel and sorta BookTube. I'll be posting every Monday about one topic or another. My hope is to keep the videos short and casual. I just want to have fun with it. Please subscribe!

Author YT Channel: youtube.com/AuthorLindsayMead
My Vlog YT Channel: youtube.com/LindsayMeadDailyVlog



If you want to help me publish The Beauty, then click here and check out the campaign. All contributions of any size are helpful. So is sharing! Let your friends know about the series and if you run a blog or YouTube channel, I'd appreciate a post and would be happy to answer questions or anything you think your readers/viewers might enjoy. Let's go out with a bang!


2 WEEK NOTICE!

2 WEEK NOTICE! TIME IS RUNNING OUT! SEE THE CAMPAIGN: https://igg.me/at/thebeauty/x

Let's go beyond the fairy tale. The Beauty will take readers to new locations and introduce them to exciting new characters. More importantly, bonds will be tested when secrets are finally revealed. If you loved book one, The Beast, you will absolutely adore this next installment. If you're new to The Hunter Legends, then jump in and prepare yourself for freezing weather, bloodthirsty hellhounds, steampunk inventions, and a heart-thumping romance for the ages.

I am so proud of my readers and subscribers for getting this campaign to where it is. Though we HAVE NOT reached goal, the campaign has raised enough to at least cover the cost of the digital cover. Most of my readers use an e-reader, so if I can raise at least enough to pay for the e-book (Just shy of $600 is needed), then I can get the book out there on Kindle and Nook. A few months down the road, after I've earned some royalties from the digital book, I can then have the paperback made. This is not ideal. Of course, I'd want to release it all at once. But this might be the way I have to go, if the funding doesn't come in. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Please take some time to look at the campaign. Contribute to get the paperback signed or to get other awesome goodies. If you can't contribute, a share can really make a difference. Send the link to anyone you think might enjoy this series. 

Don't forget the FREE chapters! You can read the first 2 chapters of book one and two by sharing the campaign. I think you'll really love them, and hopefully they'll leave you wanting more :D




Pre-order THE BEAUTY & Help Get It Published!

Good news! The Beauty is almost here! I know many of you have been eagerly awaiting its release. That's nearly about to happen! Aggghhhh, I'm so excited!! Who's ready to pre-order?

I've officially launched the indiegogo campaign to help me cover all of the costs needed to publish a book. I want The Beauty to be as nicely put together as The Beast was, so I'm sparing no expense--at least that's the plan. It really depends on if I get the finding or not.

As there always is with crowdfunding campaigns, there are great perks to be had. You can get the book signed in paperback or you can get an early ebook copy before anyone else. Most of the perks are variations of that. However, there's one that I would like to put a spotlight on. I'm calling it...the Fanatic Fan Perk...Or Pack...I change my mind on that all the time.
This perk was originally developed for those people who had bought the entire series in my first campaign. Of course I want them to have a reason to come around, I like these people ;P However, after I came up with the idea, I decided to include an add-on option. That's when I realized what a great deal this was. You get the t-shirt, the book bag, the early chapter from book 3, thirty minutes of one-on-one time with me, AND you can add-on The Beast and/or The Beauty for only $10 each. That's freakin half off! It's a good deal. While there are many other perks to look at, I think this one is worthy of everyone's consideration.

I'd also like to point out that there are lots of chapters available to read on the campaign. There are 2 chapters from The Beast (book 1) and 2 chapters from The Beauty (book 2) available. All you have to do is share the campaign on either facebook or twitter and you'll be granted access. I really hope you guys enjoy them and I absolutely hope they convince you to contribute.

CLICK HERE FOR THE CAMPAIGN! 


A Writer's Nightmare...Literally.

I'm no stranger to nightmares. I've had plenty about zombies and more than a few about demons--which scare the crap out of me. But I've never had one like this before. If you're not a writer or a creative person, than you probably won't understand why this dream qualifies as a nightmare. Trust me when I say, it really did scare me.

In this dream, I'm hosting a contest to help publish and promote my next book. All contestants must write The Beauty for me. The winner will have their version published and be listed in the credits of the book. I know, that's a super shitty contest. Write a whole book and all you get is a special credit in the book? Maybe they got paid too, but I couldn't really say. Still, what kind of crappy contest is that? There's no accounting for what the brain comes up with.

Crappy contest or not, it worked. People turned out in droves with their submissions. I looked them over and selected the best one to represent The Hunter Legends, book 2. There was a lot of fanfare and applause. It was a big deal. Now all I needed was for the winner to send me the completed manuscript. 

But the first sign of trouble came when the winner's agent (Yes, this guy had an agent. This random, plucked-from-obscurity dude had an agent. That was warning alarm #1) told me that the winner already had an interview with Romantic Times Magazine. 

"What?! But I'm the author of the book! He's just a credit, call him a co-author at best. I don't even want his name on my cover," is what I say to my made up dream friends.

Days go by and the signs just keep piling up. The finished manuscript of The Beauty still hasn't shown up, which makes me very uncomfortable. Why hasn't he sent it? Meanwhile, buzz for The Beauty is reaching levels that I never expected. But they all want interviews with the winner and credit the winner with creation of the series!

That's when the anxiety starts. These are my characters! This is my series! I've worked my butt off making it all come together. Belle, Aleksander, Gastone, Edvina, Laramie, and all the rest of them are in my blood--they're apart of me. But this guy wins a contest and suddenly the world hands him all of my beloved hard work. I also recall complaining that the only reason he's getting notoriety is because he's a man. You know how the public is, a man writes a romance and they go crazy for it. Just look at Nicholas Sparks. He's a man, so it must be good. *eyeroll*

But what really gets me is the idea that I've lost my series. I realize during all of this that, while he wrote The Beauty, I don't know if he did it right. Did he tell the story the way I intended? Did he take the story in the right directions? My god, what if he represented the characters wrong and sent them down paths that weren't supposed to exist.

And that's when I woke up. Heart racing, sweat beading on my forehead-- and fearing that the winner was going to be standing at the end of my bed, holding my book and yelling, "It's mine! It's all mine!" 

But wait, it was just a dream! It wasn't real. That's right, I've already written The Beauty. I did it all by myself and no one else can ever steal it from me, and I know the story was done the right way. So calm down, Lindsay. It's okay. All is right in the world.

Thank god.

And that is a writer's nightmare. Fear that someone might steal your work and fear that they might not do the story justice. Never had dreams about people hating my books and only ever getting 1 star reviews. While those things would make me super sad, at least my books would still be mine. I could still write them and love them, and it wouldn't matter what anyone else thought.

But someone stealing my characters from me and not giving them the story they deserve--Well, I just couldn't deal with that.

So thank god it was just a dream. Breathe that beautiful sigh of relief. -Lindsay Mead

   

A Helium Reading Of The Beast

Okay, I don't normally post about my daily vlog. I post videos everyday (mostly) on YouTube where I share my life; it's a whole thing. It's super important to me, but I recognize that not everyone is going to be into that. So I don't bog down my blog with posts about it. My daily vlog has its little space on the right and I think that's plenty for now.

THAT BEING SAID! I inhaled some helium in a recent vlog and ended up reading from THE BEAST with my funny voice. It was great. Below you'll find that snippet, but I'll also post the entire video beneath that. The rest of the helium bits are funny and I recommend watching.

A helium reading of #TheBeast! See more helium antics here: http://bit.ly/1PG1gjb Read my book here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z5LOJVA
Posted by Lindsay Mead on Thursday, February 11, 2016
THE FULL VLOG:

If my silly reading has enticed you, then you can buy THE BEAST in ebook or paperback here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z5LOJVA It's also available on Nook and at Barnes & Noble. Thanks for watching!! -Lindsay Mead