Category Archives: Writing
Alex Owens Has A New Website
There are always thing that need doing when it comes to publishing and promoting, and one such item on our To Do list has been (for a while) was to get Alex her own author site.
Well, procrastination be damned! We’ve finally done it.
So hop on over to Alex’s new site, sign up for her email updates and take a glimpse into her sometimes-warped mind.
The Official site of Author Alex Owens
Related articles
- Kill Me featured on Indie Author Anonymous (quirkygurl.com)
- Kill Me, by Alex Owens is now available on iTunes! (quirkygurl.com)
Cleaning Out the Cobwebs
Since moving to our new house right before Christmas, and the months-long push to get Kill Me out into the world, my mind and my dedicated office space have been suffering from a severe case of the Clutters. Tonight, after putting in a eight hours at the day job, I came home to do something about it.
I figured cleaning up my office would get my household moving in the right direction. Little did I realize it would also juice up my creative side via a trip down memory lane. But I’ll get to that in a minute.
First I want to show you my office-in-progress. It’s mostly organized and once I get all of the computer tower chords tucked away, it will be decorating time! (I have so many Pinterest ideas!) So here are the before pics and I’ll come back and post After pics at some point.
Now, about that trip down memory lane…
I organized three filing boxes into one and had to go through sooooo many files. Some of those were things I’d written up to twenty years ago. I cringed at some of my melodramatic, flowery poetry and stunted prose. It was bad. Very bad.
I also discovered that I had the bare bones, scribbled on multi-colored bits of paper and tucked in several folders, of a dozen novels that I’d completely forgotten about.
A dozen novel ideas. Some only a few paragraphs, while others had a fleshed-out synopsis, chapter outline and pages of notes. Cleaning reminded me about why I write, and just how long I’ve been at it. And it was just the kick-in-the-pants that I needed to get working on something new.
While I do that, you can enjoy (not) two of my early little ditties. Be kind, I wrote these as an impressionable teen and over-tired young mother. And I’m embarrassed enough all on my own, thank you very much!
(This was written way back yonder when I worked on greeting card scripts.)
Seasons pass, and years go by We ditched a class and learned to fly Spouses appeared and children were had We’ve reminisced on the times we were Bad So many memories, we have shared And when it mattered most, I knew you cared Storms came and went, and in the end We’ve weathered it all, because we are friends.(Then there is this… not sure what else to say about that.)
When the question is posed to me- at my job, online, in a bar- Who am I? What Am I? What singular word describes the Who of Me? I speak, I type, I slur- one word, on compulsion (a habit I don’t recall forming) It falls out of my mouth like errant food. dropped on my blouse A stain to wear all through the day Like a badge, a dull cookie-crusted badge of reproductive capabilities Who Am I? What am I? I am a Mother.(That’s all Folks!)
Book Blurb Butchering
Writing a novel is hard… writing the perfect blurb, impossible. At any rate, here’s the latest incarnation of the blurb for KILL ME, releasing very soon!
Now Booking for the ‘Kill Me’ Blog Tour :-)
I meant to post this sooner, but you know how life gets in the way sometimes 
If you have a chance, check out the Press page on the Blood Chord Series website — it has all the details, open dates and such for the Kill Me blog tour.
I’ve added a few of the booked tour stops and forthcoming reviews so far, but there’s still plenty of room left. (I was never very good at subtle hints!)
Check, check, check it out!
Working on the Book Blurb for Kill Me
With release day for Kill Me quickly ticking away, I’ve been hard at work getting everything ready, and that (sadly) includes the blurb for the book. If you’ve never tried to write one of these, consider yourself lucky. It’s like trying to boil down seventy-thousand words into under fifty words, while trying to be coherent, eye-catching and the most important criteria– accurate.
I don’t know how many times I came up with something catchy only to realize it didn’t fit the darn book. And the ones the were true to the story were big old snooze-fests. After hours at this (more like days really) I finally think I’ve gotten to a good place. I may still tweak the blurb a little more before the official release of Kill Me, but for now it gives me something to query book reviewers with
So, what do you think?
Looking back, it was the stupid violin’s fault. It called to me from down the aisle, brought me to Bette’s rare instrument collection and set everything in motion. Before that, I was normal—I cooked, cleaned and brought home every bit of the bacon. Sure, I was stressed over bills (while my unemployed husband worried-not) but I was good at my job and hopeful that it would pay off soon. I thought I had life figured out, but I had everything so completely wrong that it’s almost comical. Well, for me it wasn’t very funny, but I could see how someone else would be amused at my misguided, naïve outlook on life. I know better now, that’s for sure. Now the husband is a non-issue, my freakish talents are not of the domestic variety, and being a good mother just became a whole lot tougher. Being kind of undead has a way of mucking things up like that.
Kill Me, the debut novel from author Alex Owens, is a quirky paranormal fantasy complete with music, magic, fangs and freaks. Be forewarned, this is not your daughter’s paranormal.
Claire, a thirty-something marketing Rep, attends a music conference with the hopes that her hard work will gain her a badly needed raise. Her plans are derailed when she meets a stunning Italian woman, Bette and the blood red violin that can only be played by the supernaturally gifted. And Bette thinks that Claire is just the woman to play it. But before she can even begin to process her unusual attraction to Bette or her own newly-materialized talents, Claire is pulled into a hidden world of seduction, secrets and things best left in folklore. Tied to darkness by blood and power, Claire must harness her abilities and take control of her life, before others take the control for themselves.
Other Creative Outlets for Writers?
This past weekend, an absolutely goregous spring day, I photographed my sister and her fiance. Out of the blue, it hit me. ——-> I needed to get my expanding-can outside more often and be creative. As the shutter on my camera clicked and clacked, my brain untangled plot holes, drafted the next novel in my subconscious, calmly listed the things I needed to do for the promo of my upcoming release.
Now, you might be wondering why I had the above epiphany? It’s easy, really. Doing a non-writing creative thing unlocked my brain, allowing for thoughts to flow more organically.
I’m not just a writer. I’m a photographer. A graphic artist. A fine art aficionado. A Pinterest freak. A painter, a crafter, a gardener.
It’s all those creative endeavors that make me the quirky gurl that I am. I just have to remember that writing all the time doesn’t work for me. I need to pick up a paint brush, dig in some dirt, click that shutter– so that my muse likes being with me enough to stick around for a good long while!
So, what do you do to stoke the creative fires between writing sessions? I’d love for you to comment, post, or show off your artistic creations!
Pre-Publishing Update for My Novel KILL ME
I posted this as an update for my Kickstarter campaign yesterday, but then it occured to me that I should share it here to, as it speaks to the many things that must be done before publishing a novel. (Not to say that shorts and novellas don’t need a second eye or two, but those are easier to come by. ) Here’s the post!
I’m excited to say that I’ve sent KILL ME out to two Beta readers. For those not in the biz, Beta’s are people that read and critique a novel or story. Some offer general feedback while others will get down to the nitty-gritty pointing out grammatical errors, illogical word choices or any other problems that can break the flow of a story.
My two Beta readers are proving themselves very helpful, though I did have one ask if the novel had been edited previously, because of the low amount of errors she was finding. The other commented that the draft was fairly clean and she was glad to see that, compared to what shape most novels are usually in.
On the flip side, I’m reading both beta’s novels as well. We are basically bartering services. I’m enjoying it. It’s fun to see someone else’s process and read a novel prior to publication. It can also be a great learning experience, but even if I don’t pick up anything new, the fact that I’ve helped another writer along the journey to publication is reward enough. It’s like Literary Karma– and I could use all the help I can get
******************************
I’d love to hear from you guys if you’ve used Beta Readers in the past and if you have any suggestions on where to find them, how to structure the relationship or anything else that could be useful for other Indie Writers out there!
What’s Going On? (Reading, Writing & Editing Updates)
I’ve been busy slaving over Blood Chord edits and haven’t had the chance to post much lately, so I thought I’d give a quick little run-down of what been going on behind the scenes here at Quirky Gurl Media.
First, I decided to polish up a short story from a few years back and release it as an ebook. Right now, it’s only available on Amazon, as I’m still on the fence about taking it Select exclusive. The story, titled Just Desserts, is about a woman coming to grips with the death of her abusive husband. This isn’t your typical survivor story. Rather, it’s the story of a woman angry that she was robbed of the chance to defend herself by a stupid twist of fate. It takes a conversation with her dying Aunt to help her move past the anger that’s been holding her back. Check it out if you get a chance.
I’ve been working on edits for Blood Chord and I can honestly say that the end is nigh! On top of that, I added another 10,000 words to it as part of the Kindle Boards 60k Feb writing challenge. The additional words furthered the plot, but they’ve also given me fodder for future books in the series. One of which goes straight back to 16th Century Italy and the Medici family. That one should be delish!
I’m currently reading Hush, by Anne Frasier. It took me a few pages to get into (but that may be the head-cold talking) but once I found my rythem I’m clipping along nicely with it. So far, so good. I’ll share my full impression when I’m done.
That’s all folks. I’m off to work on that writing challenge before Theraflu and bedtime!
60K Words in 29 Days (KindleBoards February Writing Challenge)
Since my NaNoWriMo project got sidelined due to moving, extended-stay house guests and about a trillion other things, I’ve decided to participate in the February writing Challenge issued by fellow Writers over on the Kindleboards.
- The Overall Goal: to churn out 60,000 words by the end of the month.
- Daily Goal: breaks down to 2,069 words daily
For day 1, I made almost no progress. I did manage to tack on another 1,000 words to a short story that should be hitting Amazon soon, and according to the #60KinFeb rules I can use that for my overall total.
For the bulk of my word count, I’m going to be whipping out the second book in my Blood Chord series– the first is darn-near ready and should be published by the end of the month. That way, I’ll (hopefully) have book two out by mid-spring / early-summer.
For now, I’m off to outline book #2, so that my writing won’t go in circles. While I do that, you can ooh-and-ahh over my nifty little ticker. See that black cat, she’s chasing those totals!
***********************************************************
Oh, I almost forgot! If you’re in the market for a rather racy read, Strangers On A Plane is FREE today on Amazon!(insert legal mumbo-jumo, like check the price before you download to make sure it’s still free!)
Character Sketches from Polyvore (Blood Chord Novel)
For lack of any serious drive to edit my forthcoming novel, Blood Chord, I decided to spend the evening in mindless Computer-dom. Enter wicked-kewl website Polyvore! I first noticed this site over on Shea MaCleod’s blog and then again the other day while hopping around the IWU Christmas Blog Hop, over on Christine’s site. Polyvore looked like the perfect way to waste away an evening, and I was right. Sort of.
Aside from the few hours I spent searching for the perfect inspirations for two of the main characters from my upcoming release Blood Chord, I discovered something interesting: I have a moderate boo-boo to correct in the novel. Confused yet?
I still am a little. You see, while compiling the polyvore board for one of my secondary characters, Bette, I discovered that I made her do something completely out of character towards the end of the novel. How did I figure that out, you might wonder? Well, I spent over an hour crafting Bette’s board and when I was done, I compared it to what I know of Bette in the novel to see if everything gelled. It didn’t.
Bette is sultry, seductive even without trying. She is controlled and coiffed. Bette is courtly, reserved. She is above flagrant dislays of emotions, especially in the presence of others. And I made her wig out- a complete scratch-your-eyes out hissy-fit. Bette would never do that. She’d rather take a stake to the chest, but that’s another topic altogether. So now I have to fix the gaffe, but I’m glad I discovered it sooner rather than later.
So I didn’t exactly waste my time tonight playing on Polyvore, now did I? On top of making my novel better in the long run, I’ve now discovered the first place I’m going to stop when creating new characters. It’s a perfect way to get to know the people inside my head that much better!
So what do you think of the Polyvore boards below?
Writing Prompt #1
Often while toiling away in my daily life, whether I’m at work designing custom art for industry musicians or knee-deep in a pile of dirty laundry, I’m struck by a flash of sudden story inspiration. SSI for you folks who like to abbreviate everything.
(No that’s not my head. I do many things to my hair- the current expression being chocolate with a literal blue-streak, but if I shave my head my spouse would probably give up entirely!)
Don’t chuckle at my affliction, please. It is a real and depressing condition. Seriously. Harvard is giving away grant money to studies that are actively seeking a cure. I promise! Merck already has an expirimental drug. I’m all over that… just as soon as they eliminate a few of the “explosive” side effects.
But I digress. Imagine, if you will, being a writer without enough time to get all of those delicious stories out of her head. They crowd and jostle. It feels like when drank too much Kool-aid as a kid. I can practically feel the sloshing-around. Can you feel my pain yet? Of course you can. You’re probably like me: a voracious reader, writer and overall busy person.
So, without the ability to clone myself or the funds to hire a maid, I’ve decided to set some of my little gems free. So without further ado, here’s my inagural Writing Prompt #1:
I heard someone say that every seven years, the human body goes through one complete cycle of replacing its cells. The person you were seven years ago is physically an entirely different than the one you are today. Now, I have no idea if this is actually true, but think of the literary possibilities!
What if, instead of genetic replicas of the former cells, a virus is activated. Maybe it’s a curse unleashed by a relic. Or a deadly consequence from clandestine experiments. Whatever the cause, slowly your body’s cells are replaced by these mutants. So slowly, that none of your friends or family notices until that crucial tipping point is reached. You begin to act completely out of character. Maybe you are discovered gnawing on a fluffy little bunny-wabbit in the back yard. Or maybe you begin to lose your memories one at a time- one for each cell that’s replaced.
What if the affected person is your spouse, your cherubic toddler, your boss? What if it’s the ruler of the free world? Or that sweet little old ladie that always gives you her peppermints?
What does the “replaced” person want? How has the cellular switcheroo affected them? Do they crave human brains marinated in tobasco sauce? Do they go off on an altruistic journey?
Are they even human anymore? Is it contagious? If so, how is the virus (or proton, amoeba, etc.) spread?
Now that I’ve given you some food for thought, what will you do with it? If you decide to craft a story or novel from this prompt I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to leave links in the comments below so we can all see how one idea can spin off into infinite directions!
Indie Authors and Novels: Updates 11/7
Thought I’d take a few minutes to share with you some interesting, and movin-on-up Indie Author/ Novel news. First, the winners of last months Indie Author Rockstar have been announced and it was a tie! Getting some well deserved recognition for the month of November is KATE AVERY ELLISION with The Curse Girl and DAN HOLLOWAY with The Company of Fellows. Both of these winners were voted on by a panel of peers and were selected because they are both exceptional books that should def. be checked out. So what are you waiting on—-> go check!
Also, our very own short story collection SKIN has been chosen for the current collection over on Indie Author Rockstar, so while you’re over there looking around, why not check out the current nominees as well?
The book I reviewed just a few days ago, The Temple, is featured over on Pixel of Ink today. Go Temple, Go!
One of my favorite Indie Authors is Michelle Muto (you may remember I reviewed her Book of Lost Souls a while back) and I just realized I missed her latest release, Don’t Fear The Reaper. Looks like a very interesting novel, and I’ve already added it to my TBR stack on my Kindle app.
One of my favorite Indie Authors regularly updates her blog, and every time I get a notification I have to read it right then and there. I’m addicted. Really. I simply adore her posts and I’m positive you will to. Head over to Shea’s site and subscribe to her updates. I dare you not to love them! (On a side note, Shea also has a new long novella/ short novel out- Dragon Warrior - and the cover alone is very, uh, exciting.)
That’s all for today! If anyone knows of any killer new releases, Indie Authors making a name for themselves etc, please do let me know
