Posts Tagged With: imminent danger

Cerulean Bound Update

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Michelle Proulx

Happy April, everyone!

It’s been pointed out to me by the lovely Celeste DeWolfe that I haven’t blogged since January. Whoops! My incredible bad. Here goes!

Since my January post, I’ve been plugging away at editing Cerulean Bound. I rewrote a ton of stuff, added a bunch of new scenes, completely changed one of my villain’s motivations, etc. I finally finished going through all the editing notes, and now I am at the stage of “re-read the book again and make sure all the edits actually make sense.” This is my favorite type of editing, because I’ve hypothetically worked out all the kinks, so I shouldn’t have any big things to change — just enjoy the story, and hopefully shave off a few thousand words in the process. Streamline, baby!

Once the re-read’s done, I’m going to send it back to my alpha reader and editor for a second go-through. Hopefully they’ll have fewer notes this time, which would mean once I correct the new stuff, I’ll be able to start sending the book out to beta readers. From there … another round of editing, maybe two? My editor is a perfectionist, which is great in that it means the end product is always top-notch, but terrible in that it takes forever to do anything. (I love you, Mom!)

In life news, I recently went to Disney World with my mother, brother, and best friend. It was lots of fun — we ate, we drank, we rode assorted roller coasters, we ooh-ed and ahh-ed at fireworks, etc. Thank goodness for Fast Passes — waiting two hours in line for a 90 second ride is just silly. Some of my travelling companions got hit with a nasty cold during the vacation, but I ate many oranges and managed to escape the virus … until I returned home, and it walloped me in the face. I am now sniffling in my fluffy bathrobe with a mug of hot tea, surrounded by tissues, vitamin C, and throat lozenges. Nooooooooo!

I’m off to make cookies after this, then get down to some freelance proofreading work. (By the way, if anyone needs any proofreading done, hit me up!) Once that’s done, it’s back to editing Cerulean Bound. I’ve also started re-reading Imminent Danger and Chasing Nonconformity, in a valiant attempt to make sure I don’t contradict myself in book 3.

I’ll check back in when I’ve got more news on Cerulean Bound. I know it’s been a long while since book 2 was released, but hopefully there are still a few people out there excited to read book 3!

Have a great week, and stay awesome 🙂

Categories: Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: , , , , , | 10 Comments

Finished Cerulean Bound Draft #2

Posted on January 5, 2018 by Michelle Proulx

Phew!

After noodling over the second draft for about three months, I finally got the darned thing done! I have my editor and alpha reader to thank for this: my editor, for reminding me that she has a ton of free time over the holidays to read it, so finish it already, and my alpha reader for promising to read it over this weekend if I could get it to him by noon today. Technically I got it to him at 12:15, but hopefully he’s willing to overlook the tardiness.

The first draft clocked in at 142,000 words, and I managed to get the second draft down to … drum roll … 110,000! There is still some chopping to be done, of course. I’d like to get it down into the 90,000 range, which is more reasonable for a quick-paced YA story, not to mention that forcing myself to get rid of ~15k words will make the story tighter and better. But I’m pretty proud of losing 30k words in one fell swoop. Hopefully I didn’t cut anything too important …

Anyway, draft 2 is off to my editor and alpha reader. I should hear back from my alpha reader by Monday (we’re doing lunch), but as for my editor … it could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. It’s difficult to say with her. It’s the off-season in the B&B world, so hopefully she’ll have lots of time to devote to tearing the manuscript apart. Fingers crossed!

In unrelated news, I’m still at my dad’s house for the holidays, hanging out with him and my brother and generally “chillaxing” as the young’uns like to say. We play a lot of Civ 5, go on walks in the frigid outdoors, and occasionally watch movies (just saw Jumanji yesterday — hilarious). I’ll be heading back to Nova Scotia this upcoming Tuesday, which hopefully will not be buried under a mountain of snow when I arrive.

Happy New Year to everyone! My resolution is to write every day. So far I’ve managed it, but we’ll see how that shapes up once I get into the busy B&B summer months. Maybe I should try getting up early and writing before I head downstairs to cook breakfast and clean. Then again, I’m so not a morning person, so maybe not.

Until next time!

 

Unrelated media of the day:

Every time I listen to this song, I want to conquer a foreign country. Possibly I’ve been playing too much Civ 5.

Categories: My Works, Writing | Tags: , , , , , | 12 Comments

10k Words Cut from Cerulean Bound!

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Michelle Proulx

Editing on Cerulean Bound proceeds at … I want to say a “good clip,” but realistically it’s more a slow crawl. I had started November with the intention of getting the second draft done by mid-December (a.k.a. right now) but then I got laser eye surgery and things went a tad sideways.

Long story short, either the LASIK people didn’t do the surgery correctly, or my eyes are just being difficult, because my vision never got up to 20/20. It’s supposed to take a couple of days to clear up after the surgery, but by seven days out, I was still seeing blurry. The surgeon says I’ve “regressed,” which is supposedly something that usually happens around the 3 or 6 month mark, so I guess I’m just special. This means I’ll have to go for a touch-up surgery in the spring, and until then the world is ever-so-slightly out of focus. I can still drive, but the signs are blurry, and I have to make the text on my screen bigger so I can read it.

All this is to say that my editing plans got completely derailed by the surgery, and I couldn’t properly read (let alone edit) for a good two weeks after the surgery. Then my eyes had a bad reaction to the steroid drops (because of course they did) and that knocked off another week of productivity. By the time I got properly into editing, it was basically December.

But! Now I’m back home in Ontario for the holidays, so I have a good two hours every morning of (relative) peace and quiet to get my editing done. There are the occasional (read: frequent) interruptions from my father, who’s very excited that I’m home, but they’re brief so I can usually get back into the editing groove without too much trouble.

As of today, I have officially knocked 10k words off my whopping 142k first draft word count. Now, YA books are generally between 70k-100k words, so I still have a ways to go, but I’ve been able to streamline scenes and even delete a few extraneous characters, so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get down into the 110k words zone by the end of this edit. That leaves 10k-15k for my editor to chop, which is fine, because my editor loves chopping. If editing doesn’t work out for her, she’d make an excellent lumberjack.

That’s all! Just wanted to check in and let my devoted fans (all six of them) know that I have not, in fact, forgotten about book 3. I’m hard at work, and am doing my best to get it ready for a Spring 2018 release. Stay tuned, and stay awesome!

Categories: Self Publishing, Writing | Tags: , , , , | 7 Comments

Imminent Danger Now Permanently 99 Cents!

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Michelle Proulx

In an attempt to create more interest in my books, I’ve dropped the price of Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight Into It down to 99 cents. Hopefully this will encourage people to give it a shot, since I know that I’m much more likely to buy a self-published book if it’s cheaper, especially when I don’t know the author.

It really grates my cheese that books have become so devalued, but at the same time, I get it. I’m a consumer as well as a writer, and it’s a real gamble to spend money on something with unknown quality. Especially in self-publishing. For every excellent book I buy, read, and love (*cough*Catskinner’sBook*cough*) there are three more that turn out to be real duds. So I’m way more likely to risk 99 cents on a possibly-great book rather than $2.99+.

I’ve kept Chasing Nonconformity at $2.99. I figure that if someone reads the first book and loves it, they’ll be willing to pay a price for the sequel that’s a teensy bit closer to the price books should actually be set at. When I think back to the years of writing and re-writing and revising and editing that went into both of my books … yeesh. But then, that’s the life of a self-published author. And, honestly, I love it. I just wish it was slightly more lucrative!

In conclusion, this is my desperate gambit to attract new readers. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on my ploy, by all means, share your wisdom!

 

Unrelated media of the day:

Here’s a happy song to help get you through Monday!

Categories: Self Publishing | Tags: , , | 9 Comments

Awesome New Imminent Danger Fan Art!

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Michelle Proulx

The gorgeous and super-talented Celeste DeWolfe has once again put pen to paper and created Imminent Danger fan art! Check it:

varrin-rescues-eris-celeste-dewolfeThis is of course a depiction of Varrin’s second rescue of Eris and Miguri, post-Chakra Corp. My favorite parts include: Miguri just totally done with the entire situation, Eris literally glaring daggers at Varrin, and Varrin being perplexed as to how anyone could fail to love him without reservation.

SHWOOP!

Categories: My Works | Tags: , , , | 8 Comments

Cerulean Bound (Imminent Danger #3) Update!

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Michelle Proulx

Okay, before everyone gets crazy excited, no, I have not finished the first draft. That remains a work in progress. But I figured you guys deserved an update after many months of silence, so here it is:

Cerulean Bound has officially crested the 70k words mark!

Now, what does this mean for the book itself?

I am about halfway through the story at this point, which means the book is on track to be about 140k words long. That, of course, would be the word count for the first draft. After extensive editing and chopping and revising, that number will hopefully be down in the 90-100k words range. So there’s still a while to go before the book is ready for eyes other than mine to see it.

On the upside, 70k words in and going strong! B&B season is gradually coming to a close, and NaNoWriMo starts in a few days, so I’m hoping to bang out the rest of the first draft by early December. Then the editing begins.

My very tentative hope is to get the book out next year. I don’t think it’s realistic to expect it in the spring — probably more like the fall — but miracles can always happen, right?

So there’s the update! Happy Halloween to everyone, and if you’re going to attempt NaNo this year, happy writing!

Unrelated media of the day:

Categories: My Works, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Chasing Nonconformity Fanfiction!

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Michelle Proulx

Two years ago, an anonymous individual wrote a hilarious fanfiction for Imminent Danger. Now, they have returned with the sequel: Chasing Nonconformity And How to Apply Social Media to It. The premise, of course, being that the story is retold via social media. It’s excellent. Read it!

Or, if you don’t have time, here are a few of my favorite gems: ((POSSIBLE SPOILERS))

 

Grashk has changed his name to Big Blue!

Big Blue: Help! I think someone hacked my account! I don’t know how to change my name back!

Varrin Gara’dar: I’m sorry stranger, I don’t know who you are.

Big Blue has changed his name to Grouchy Smurf!

Grouchy Smurf: Goddamnit!

 

Fino’jin has rated Sebara on Rate Your Rala’kamil! Fino’jin has given Sebara one star!

Sebara: Seriously!? What did I ever do to you?

Fino’jin: Nothing personal; you’re just different, so I hate you. I hate things that are different. That’s why I declared war on snowflakes that one time. Each one is unique, so they’re all godless abominations.

 

Varrin Gara’dar: Come on guys, we have to get the Nonconformity back!

Eris Miller: Why don’t you give your promise pendant to the damn Nonconformity!?

Varrin Gara’dar: I TRIED AND IT FELL OFF, OKAY!?

 

Vardriga the Fortune Teller: The destination lies within your journey! What you seek is where you left it! Don’t stop believing!

Sebara: What a bunch of garbage. That’s what I get for listening to a fortune teller.

Vardriga the Fortune Teller: Oh also, you should probably watch out for giant metal spiders.

Sebara: Complete waste of time…

 

Sebara: Wait Fino’jin, don’t you see? You’re a metaphor for the conflict that everybody’s faced in their personal journeys! We all hated our lives on our home planets, because we didn’t like the paths that society set out for us. We’ve been spending the novel chasing nonconformity… and you, Fino’jin, represent that conformity. And now that we’ve all embraced who we are, we can defeat you!

Fino’jin: OH MY GOD I’M A LITERARY METAPHOR!!!

Categories: Writing | Tags: , , , | 9 Comments

More Imminent Danger Fan Art!

Posted on January 22, 2016 by Michelle Proulx

People are feeling super artsy/crafty this week, so we actually have a second fan art post! Here’s the first one if you missed it.

From my dear friend Denise Gow-Morse, we have delightful little cartoons of Eris and Varrin. These were taped to the sides of the carton of candy she gave me for my birthday. The drawings are adorable, and the candy was delicious. Thank you, Denise!

Happy Eris and super sassy Varrin. Artist: Denise Gow-Morse

Happy Eris and super sassy Varrin. Artist: Denise Gow-Morse

Next up, we have an offering from my very own mother, Linda Schneidereit! I sent her some Eris and Varrin chibi magnets for Christmas, and today she sent me this photo, along with the caption, “Eris and Varrin on Venesky”. For those of you who haven’t finished reading Chasing Nonconformity yet, Venesky is a jungle planet that our heroes visit on their journey.

eris and varrin venesky

Teehee.

So thank you Denise and Mom for the adorable fan art. And to everyone else, stay awesome, and have a fantastic weekend!

Categories: My Works | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

New Imminent Danger Fan Art!

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Michelle Proulx

The beautiful and talented Celeste DeWolfe has done it again!

So this fan art depicts the scene from Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It where (SPOILER ALERT) Eris and Miguri escape Chakra Corp with the questionable assistance of Alyra, everyone’s favorite bumbling Psilosian. Enjoy!

Artist: Celeste DeWolfe

Artist: Celeste DeWolfe

I think my favorite part of the drawing is actually the feeling it gives me — specifically the feeling of, “Damn, Eris is awesome!” I’m wrapped up in writing book #3 right now, and it’s really fun to think back to her first adventure and remember all the harrowing experiences she went through, and how those changed her and made her into the kick-ass heroine I’m writing about today.

So thank you again, Celeste, for the wonderful fan art! If you want to check out the rest of the Imminent Danger fan art, head over to the Fan Art page.

Have an excellent week, my friends, and stay awesome!

Categories: My Works | Tags: , , , | 9 Comments

Imminent Danger is Officially LIVE!

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Michelle Proulx

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen — Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It is re-released on Amazon and ready for your reading enjoyment! (Scroll to the end of the post for links.)

The 2nd edition features a variety of exciting updates, including:

  • A brand new cover!
  • Revised interior text! (the story didn’t change or anything, my editor and I just did another run-through to tighten up phrasing, remove some minor logistical errors, punch up the wow! factor, etc.)
  • An affordable print edition! ($12.99 list price on Amazon, compared to the previous $21.99 atrocity that iUniverse created)
  • An affordable ebook edition! (it’s enrolled in KDP, so I’ll probably be doing some free days in the near future)
  • A shout-out to my fellow WordPress bloggers in the Acknowledgments section! (if you’re reading this, you rock, and never forget that)

For anyone just finding this site for the first time, here’s the cover and description of Imminent Danger:

Imminent Danger Cover Reveal

High school junior Eris Miller thinks she’s having a bad day when her roommate’s boyfriend catches her stepping out of the shower wearing nothing but a towel. Then she gets abducted by scaly six-armed aliens with a strange fondness for the color blue, and her day suddenly gets a whole lot worse.

Trapped on a spaceship bound for the slave markets of Sirius B, Eris fears she’ll never see her home again. But then fate whisks her away from her reptilian captors and into the arms of Varrin, a fast-talking space pirate who promises to deliver her safely back to Earth. He claims to have her best interests at heart, but Eris soon discovers that her charming rescuer has a hidden agenda.

As they race across the galaxy, outrunning a villainous figure from Varrin’s past, Eris begins to realize that their relationship is putting her planet, her life and her heart in imminent danger. She knows that trusting Varrin could prove deadly … but what other choice does she have?

***

Check out the book here:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.ca

***

Call for reviews:

If you have at some point in the past read Imminent Danger and enjoyed it, please consider posting a review on any of the above sites. The reviews from the old edition did not carry over to the new edition, so currently Imminent Danger is sad and review-less. Thanks!

SHWOOP.

Categories: My Works, Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

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