It’s almost August, and guess what that means? The fabulous Gates of Thread and Stone by my friend and critique partner Lori M. Lee will be hitting shelves. I loved this book folks, and I hope you do, too.

There’s been so much going on, and I’ve been super duper busy for months now. But happily, I’ve turned in the draft of the third book in the Arkwell Academy and I’m finally working on new things. Given all this awesomeness happening, I’ve decided to celebrate with a giveaway. Here’s what’s up to win:

• A hard cover of Gates of Thread and Stone
• A signed paperback of The Nightmare Affair
• A signed hard cover of The Nightmare Dilemma

Entering is easy. Just fill out the rafflecopter below. Unfortunately this is limited to US only.

And in case you haven’t heard about Gates, here’s the official description:

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where shecame from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

That’s right. I’m giving away an arc of Polaris today. But first up, check out this super cool radio interview I got to do on crafttheshow.com.

For the arc giveaway, it’s open internationally, and there are three ways to enter. You can leave a comment here, you can comment on my FaceBook status about the giveaway, or you can tweet using #POLARIS and tagging me in it @mindeearnett. That’s it. Easy-peezy. The giveaway will be open for 24 hours. Be sure to check back for the winner announcement. Good luck!

Recently, I had a reader and aspiring writer (presumably) ask me about the page counts of my books as they existed in the drafting stage. I love these sorts of questions, mostly because I’m a nerd about statistics like this. I’m not sure why.

Anyway, I decided the best way to answer would be a quick blog post. The question, while simple, requires some conditions for the answer to make accurate sense. Pagination–as in the way the document is formatted–has an impact on page counts. This is why most people in the pub biz refer to books by length of word counts. Word counts are universal across pagination. That said, the specific pagination layout I use while drafting is this:

• Double spacing
• 1 inch margins
• .5 inch paragraph indents
• Times New Roman, 12 point
• 4 paragraph returns at the start of each chapter
• Orphan/Widow control turned off

With this pagination applied, I’ve listed the page counts for all of my books below These are the counts just prior to copy edits. I didn’t give copy edit counts because that is the stage when the publisher imposes their own pagination onto what I use while drafting. I’ve also included the word counts, because really, that will prove more useful to you in the long run.

• The Nightmare Affair, 304 pages, 85,000 words
• The Nightmare Dilemma, 362 pages, 102,000 words
• Avalon, 368 pages, 100,500 words
• Polaris, 370 pages, 106,000 words
• Proxy, 72 pages, 20,000 words (note, this is a novella)

There you have it. I could provide you all kinds of analysis on the variation you see there, such as the reason why Avalon’s page count is higher than Dilemma‘s even though Dilemma is actually longer (answer: this mostly has to do with chapters lengths. Avalon has shorter chapters), but I don’t really have the time. In case you’re wondering, I’m hard, hard at work on the third book in the Arkwell Academy series. Maybe soon I’ll get to post those numbers as well.

Happy writing!

p.s. Be on the lookout for the Polaris cover reveal happening in the next week or so!

Hi All,

This Saturday I’m going to be at the Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus, Ohio. I went to this last year, and it was completely awesome. It’s free to the public, and not only can you come in and get signed books from dozens of authors, but there are author panels going on all day.

You can find all the important details here.

The doors open at 9:45 and my panel is at 10:15. I know that’s early for a Saturday, but did I mention the free part? And the lots of awesome author part? Oh, and I will have swag with me, including Avalon Star Charts and emblem stickers. Hope to see you there!

That’s right! Today marks the release of paperback of The Nightmare Affair and it’s a beauty. It has two extras in it:

• The first chapter of The Nightmare Dilemma
• An alternate first chapter of The Nightmare Affair told in Eli’s point-of-view

Check it out if you can and spread the word.

Also, don’t forget that Avalon is out now, too. I’m still planning a blog post comparing the two, but I think it’s safe to say that if you like one of my series you might like the other.

Cheers!

This Thursday, the lovely Jennifer Rush, author of Altered and the newly released sequel Erased, and myself will be doing a joint online event through an awesome program website called Shindig. I’ve used Shindig multiple times before, and it’s a lot like FaceTime, only it’s also a giant chat room too. You can talk to both Jennifer and I and to other guests in a face-to-face interface. Or, if the video chatting isn’t you’re thing, you can also do an IM chat–at the same time! How cool is that?

Here are the important details:

• The event is FREE
• It’s taking place 8:00 EST
• All you need to participate is a computer with an internet connection (video capability preferred but not necessary)
• The link to the event is right here. To get in, all you have to do is fill in a name and email address. No worries about the email; it won’t be shared with anyone, promise

That’s it. Super duper simple and fun. I really hope you’re able to make it. Jenn and I will sharing a little about our books and then doing a Q&A. No questions is off limits. Come prepared to ask about the writing process, publishing, which Winchester brother we prefer, you name it.

If you want, please RSVP below.

See you there!

It’s New Years and I’m glad. In fact, I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more glad to see a year come to an end. 2013 was both fair and foul, full of the highest or highs and the lowest of lows. I’m not sorry to see it go. Then again, part of my excitement for 2014 has no doubt something to do with Avalon coming out in three weeks with The Nightmare Dilemma following shortly after. Two books in one year–within 6 weeks of each other if you want to get specific–is pretty gosh darn amazing. It’s also humbling.

Which leads me to the point of this post. It just so happens that I only have two New Years Resolution. These resolutions are also the same two pieces of advice I would offer to all the other writers out there, both those debuting in the next year and those still in the querying trenches. And here they are:

1. Stay humble

2. Write deeply

The humble bit might surprise you, but after going through my debut year I can say with full authority that staying humble is the only way to stay sane through the up and down that is publishing. In this business it’s easy to get discouraged. Writer depression is a very real, very serious thing. Humility is the best remedy. I’m grateful I get to do this. Grateful for every reader, every review, for an awesome agent and editors. My goal has been and will continue to be to treat every good thing as the best thing. Don’t read reviews (for the record, I never read them and I have no regrets). Love your readers. Every email from every reader, every tweet, every interaction is a miracle.Treasure them all. Stay humble and be content with every little thing.

The write deeply advice and goal is just what it sounds like. It’s the inverse of Stephen King’s “Don’t come to the page lightly” advice, which I’ve written about at length in other posts. For me, this means that every time I come to the page I want to come to it fully, lying aside all distractions, all fears, all doubts and hopes. Letting the writing be the center and focus when you’re doing it. Let it be king. Then when the time to write is over, set it aside and be humble, focused on the little things.

Anyway, there you have it. Thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout this debut year, everyone who’s taken the time to drop a kind word or offer encouragement. You are the best.

Happy New Years!

That’s right! Proxy, the digital novella and prequel to Avalon is available for download! For only 99 cents! It even includes the first full chapter of Avalon! To celebrate I’m giveaway a signed copy of an Avalon arc as well as a $25.oo gift card to the winner’s choice of either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. See the entry details below. I also want to give a big thank you to all the bloggers who are hosting the giveaway! You guys rock!

SYNOPSIS

If you need something stolen from any star system in the Confederation, you need look no further than the Shades. Jeth Seagrave and his band of teenage mercenaries have been making a name for themselves for being able to steal anything—and for disappearing before anyone is the wiser. 

Their latest job, a jewel heist on Grakkus, should be no different. But when Jeth’s boss replaces a key member of his crew just before takeoff, and Jeth discovers a betrayal within his own ranks, he begins to suspect that not everyone is going to becoming back from his job alive. 

Proxy is an action-packed introduction to a world like nothing readers have seen before.

READ AN EXCERPT OF PROXY HERE

GIVEAWAY;

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m so excited to reveal the awesome cover for Proxy, the prequel novella to Avalon, which is available for download on December 3rd for only 99 cents!   I don’t have flap copy for it, but it’s basically a caper story, where you get to meet Jeth and his kickass crew as they’re sent on a mission to steal a precious artifact from the emperor of a foreign planet. In print form, it’s over 80 pages long, in case you’re curious.

In order to celebrate the release, I’m giving away two signed ARCs of Avalon through the rafflecopter contest below. It’s open internationally, and I’ll draw winners next Thursday. So take a look at the awesome cover for Proxy, read about Avalon and then enter to win. Good luck!

From Goodreads:

Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.

Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they’re damn good at it. Jeth doesn’t care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents’ ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he’ll go to get the freedom he’s wanted for so long.

Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon’s cult hit show Firefly.

Contest:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

That’s right! I’m so thrilled to announce that Avalon has received its first blurb. By none other than the super-fabulous, NYT bestselling author Kiersten White! I’m so absolutely grateful to have such an amazing writer give my little space thieves books a shout out. And here it is:

“AVALON will pull you into the darkest reaches of space—and you’ll be glad to be there. A heart-pounding, tense joyride of a novel.” -Kiersten White, author of the NYT Bestselling Paranormalcy 

Oh, and I believe that physical arcs will be arriving this week. Hooray! But don’t forget the book is also available for request on Edelweiss.