Audio Books!
The Coda books are now available in audio format. You can find them on Audible, as well as iTunes. Right now, they have Promises and the A to Z series. Strawberries for Dessert should be available soon.
Enjoy!
Phew!!
Strawberries for Dessert has been out for almost a week, and so far the feedback has been overwhelmingly good. I’m actually a bit floored by just HOW good. But I’m not complaining! I want to thank every one of you who has bought it and/or read it, and everybody who’s left a comment or sent me an email. I really, truly appreciate it.
Tomorrow morning, my good friend Ethan Stone will be here and we’ll be heading off to Rocky Mountain Folk Festival. Yes, this is the same Folk Fest where I first dreamed up Zach, and the beginnings of A to Z. And it’s the same Folk Fest that Zach takes Angelo to in A to Z, where they meet Matt and Jared for the first time. Early next week, I should have some pics of Ethan and I to share.
I always lose motivation during a release, so I haven’t accomplished anything meaningful this past week. I have three projects going at the moment, which is new for me. I usually only work on one thing at a time. I’m not sure how to handle it. My plan right now is to NOT handle it at all. I’ll go to Folk Fest, and maybe my brain will brew something up.
Then again, maybe it won’t.
Title my novella!
I’m just finishing up the first draft of Zach and Angelo’s third book. And I STILL have no title. So I’m hosting an unofficial contest. Give me your title suggestions. You can post them here or send them in a message if you don’t want everybody to see them. I know it’s hard, having not read it, but give it a shot. Ideally, I’d like for it to have some tie-in to the A/Z theme, but it’s not required. And a big chunk of the story takes place in Paris, if you want to go for a French theme. Anything involving birds or angels or freedom might also work. If I choose your title, I’ll send a you free ebook of the novella once it is released.
My email address is msexton.author@gmail.com.
Waiting and waiting…
I feel like I’m waiting on a billion things right now, although in truth, I guess it’s actually only sex.
Oh dear god, did I really just type that?!? Hello Freudian slip. What I meant was, SIX! The list is:
- A blurb for One More Soldier
- The first round of edits for One More Soldier
- Cover art for One More Solder
- Galley proofs for Strawberries for Dessert
- A release date for Strawberries for Dessert
- Correct cover art for Strawberries for Dessert (because I’ve SEEN the cover, but it had a rather embarrassing typo on it!)
I wasn’t planning to do an update until I could include one of those SIX (not sex) things, but right now I’m feeling like those things may never happen. Maybe if I quit waiting for them, they’ll come sooner. That whole ‘watched pot’ conundrum.
Remember last month when I returned from my cruise? I said that I didn’t know what I was going to work on next, but that I definitely wanted to get away from Coda? Apparently Zach and Angelo heard me, and they didn’t like it one bit. Zach especially seems to feel inclined to set a few things straight (no pun intended). So, I’m here today to tell you that I’m now about 2/3 through the third (and I think final) book for Zach and Angelo. It of course does not have a title yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know when it does. And I’ll let you know when it’s finished. And I’ll let you know if any of my other sex– er, I mean SIX, things arrive.
Keep your fingers crossed for me, because waiting is starting to make me cranky.
Birthdays
This really isn’t important to anybody but me, I’m sure. But I’ve come to realize that I need to write down all of these birthdays, or I’m bound to get confused and give somebody two different ones. So, for any of you who might care, I decided to list them here.
Matt: Jan 18
Me: Feb 11
Cole: April 3
Zach: April 14
Angelo: June 23 (isn’t it just like Ang to not even mention it to Zach in A to Z?)
Jared: Sept 21
George: Oct 10
Jon: Nov 12
And, I suppose this is as good a time as any to tell you that Strawberries for Dessert is nearing the final stages. I think it’s almost complete. I debated a title change a couple of days ago, but decided against it. Current word count is about 73,400 words. Right now, I’m thinking I should be able to submit it in the next week or two. With any luck, you’ll be able to read it sometime this summer. Hooray!
A to Z release date!
Dreamspinner Press just informed me that A to Z will be released on March 5! Check it out here.
Revised cover, and other things…
Due to a random artistic fluke, the cover for A to Z had to be changed. Dreamspinner Press sent me a second version yesterday, which (if I may be blunt) I truly hated. And in my typical ‘don’t-think-before-you-speak’ manner, I promptly opened my e-mouth and inserted my e-foot, and I think I may have offended my publisher. 
Yep. I’m good at that kind of thing.
Luckily for me, DSP is amazing and understanding, and they changed it again. This morning they sent me this one, which I’m happy with.
In other news, the Vegas story has finally been given a title. It is officially called The Letter Z. And even more exciting – it’s finished! I think I really adore this story. For those who love Matt and Jared, you get more of them in The Letter Z. I’m going to read back through it again today, and then I will probably send it to DSP. Hopefully they want it. If not…
Well, I’ll worry about that if/when it happens.
With The Letter Z out of the way, I have to decide what to do next. I have Cockaigne, my sci-fi story, which I still hope to finish at some point. I also wrote about 2/3 of a short and ridiculously campy Scooby Doo spoof featuring my four guys from Coda. It’s very tongue-in-cheek and rather un-PC. Maybe I’ll finish it and post it for download. I have also started thinking more seriously about a story involving Cole.
Anybody want to weigh in on this? Anyone? Bueller?
Last but not least, my daughter has suddenly become a Star Wars fanatic. The other day she was playing, and as she passed behind me I heard her say, “Apology accepted, Captain Neda.” It was an absolutely perfect (albeit higher-pitched) imitation of Darth Vader. I was so proud. 
A to Z, and the Vegas story (which really needs a name)
Today I received the first round of edits for A to Z. Angelo’s unconventional diction didn’t cause any trouble, but his unconventional tense did. I knew it might. Now I just have to wait until I hear back from the editors again to see what happens with that. Potentially, it means some serious re-writing. And if that happens I’ll probably cry, simply because I’m irrational about some things. What can I say?
I don’t have cover art for A to Z yet. I can’t wait to see it. As soon as I have it, I will post it here!
The first draft of the Vegas story is done, and is being read by the people who help me with these things. Hopefully they’ll help me come up with a title too. And that whole issue I just mentioned with Angelo’s unconventional tense? Yeah, it happens in the Vegas story too. It’s all Angelo’s fault! I told him it was wrong, but he never listens to me.
UPDATE: No re-writing required. Man, I really love DSP.
A to Z update…
I just received an email from Dreamspinner Press stating that A to Z has entered the editing stage. This means the manuscript will go through two complete edits before being returned to me (then back to them, then back to me, and back to them one last time).
Looking back at Promises, I received the cover art two weeks after it entered the editing stage, and the book itself was released three weeks after that. Since that’s the only experience I have with publication, I will just hope the time frame is roughly the same this time. If that is the case, A to Z will be available in about six weeks! But again, that’s far from being official.
I will admit to being a little bit apprehensive about how the editors will handle Angelo’s voice. He’s not exactly a stickler for the standard rules of English diction.
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