The FUN Part!

We spend a lot of time as writers talking about the hard stuff--learning your craft, honing your craft, editing, writing drafts, querying, writing query letters, wait, I had a point here.

Oh, yes! The FUN parts of writing.

It's different with every writer, really, but here are the two parts of writing that I love.

One, the first draft. Where you're meeting your characters for the first time, throwing them into tough situations and finding out what they're made of. Great fun, great stuff. I can do it in a month if I push myself. And I have.

My other favorite part of writing is still relatively new--seeing my work in print. It's like magic. It gives you a feeling you've never had before, even if you've published before. Every book is new and each experience is sweet.

I'm sitting, at this moment, on the cusp of that second experience. The Tyrant King is being formatted for printing/e-books. Literally tingling in anticipation of the magic. For those of you who don't know (or don't remember lol), this has been a while in coming.

I submitted my manuscript to the publisher of my first book last year. They sent it back requesting changes. No big, they did that with my first one. The changes took me longer than I'd planned, but I eventually sent it back to them. And waited. Though I harbored some doubt, I was reasonably confident they would publish me a second time.

Boy, was I wrong.

On the anniversary of the day The Peasant Queen was ACCEPTED, The Tyrant King was REJECTED. By then, I'd listened to my doubts enough that I'd determined to self publish it. To that end, I hired an editor and got the wheels turning for the cover art and lined up my friend to help with formatting and typesetting.

Still, the rejection hurt. It was hard to take, even though I had an alternative plan and was already moving forward with it. After several months, I can say now that I'm glad they rejected TTK because it's SOOO much better after being taken apart by a seasoned editor.

In just a few weeks, I'm going to be doing the new book dance with my hubby and kids. It's those moments that help make all the hard work worth it.

It's Friday Again

So, lots has changed here in Oklahoma since I last checked in. I started a new job--part time cashier--that is great and necessary (and honestly it's a miracle I even got hired) but it DOES significantly cut into my writing/editing time. While I try (still) to sort out my new schedule and fit writing in there somewhere between family, work, and the intense physical pain related to being on my feet all day, I thought I would share some fun things with you all.

First, my wonderful and talented editor got the final edits back to me for The Tyrant King. I'm almost halfway through the manuscript, and I have three whole days off next week to finish my corrections and send the book to my incredible friend Karen for typesetting.

Then, GASP--we will have a book!

Second, because I missed my planned June 20th publication date I posted the FIRST CHAPTER FREE on my website. Check it out and enjoy!

If you're new here, The Tyrant King is the sequel to my traditionally published first novel, The Peasant Queen. You can check TPQ out HERE or--if you haven't yet--read the alternate ending HERE.

That's all the goodies I have for you this week. Maybe next week I'll have details on my actual release date for TTK--and I will definitely share the information about my blog tour this September.

Queen in Exile by Donna Hatch

This is a book I've wanted for a LONG time. I won one of Donna's other books, The Guise of a Gentleman, and since then I've been pretty much hooked on her writing. Here's a little about Queen in Exile, the e-book YOU have a chance of winning: Rumors of war hang over Princess Jeniah's peaceful country of Arden, a land that shuns both magic and warfare. Following a lifelong dream, Jeniah forms a telepathic bond with a revered creature called a chayim, who is prophesied to save her kingdom. But when a Darborian knight comes upon Jeniah with her chayim, he sees only a vicious monster about to devour a maiden, and he slays the beast.

Devastated by the loss of her chayim, and fearing that her own magic is evil, Jeniah doubts her destiny. When an enemy invades Arden City, they slaughter the people, storm the castle, and execute the entire royal family except the princess. Rescued by the knight who slew her chayim, Jeniah is now heir to the throne of Arden and the only hope for freeing her people.

On the run and hunted by enemy soldiers, Jeniah must place her life and the fate of her kingdom in the hands of this trained killer. Torn between embracing her destiny as queen of Arden, and her love for a mere knight, she must ultimately rely on her magic to save herself and her people from death and tyranny.

Are you completely salivating yet, because I am--and I can't even enter the contest. :D Seriously, though, give it a shot and try to win this fun, fun read.

And, of course, don't forget to check our Winner's Circle page tomorrow to see if you've won the Queen in Exile e-book copy. Good luck!

Entry Rules:
ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE MADE BY 11:59PM PST TONIGHT January 27th 2012

1. You can leave a comment about today's blog post.
2. Follow Donna Hatch's BLOG. Then leaving a comment on this post telling us.
3. LIKE Donna Hatch's author page on Facebook. Then leave a comment below letting us know you have done so.
4. Follow Donna Hatch on TWITTER. Don't forget to tell us you have done so.

Friday's Giveaway!

This is an awesome, fast moving giveaway and I hope you're all as excited as I am. In all this, I feel a little silly offering my books as part of the prizes, but here goes.

The Wild Queen, an e-book, normally priced at $2.99. This is the story of what happens a generation before The Peasant Queen, which I'm also giving away. I'll send you the paperback or e-book, whichever you prefer.

Here's a recent addition to The Wild Queen: Dear reader,

This is an epic a love story, but not a happy one. While it is romantic, like Romeo and Juliet it does not have a happily-ever-after conclusion. I caution you on this only because I’d hate for you to be disappointed because the story did not end as you had hoped.

The events that shape Lucien and Roweena’s lives are what set in motion the choices made by the characters in the following novels—The Peasant Queen, The Tyrant King, and The Lost Princess. Without their suffering there would be no other books, no other stories.

Rest assured there will be resolution. By the end of The Tyrant King, you will know Roweena’s fate. If you’re observant, then by the end of The Peasant Queen you may know what happened to Lucien. If not, be patient. All will become clear when The Lost Princess is revealed.

Happy reading!
Cheri

The Peasant Queen is my first published book, and where the action picks up after The Wild Queen. And I just send The Tyrant King to the publisher yesterday, so the story is continued!

And, just for fun, The Wild Queen will be in print this spring! I know some of you have been waiting for that.

Remember, leave comments to enter and we'll pick a winner. Don't forget to check the Winner's Circle for results! And good luck. :)

Transcendent Blog Tour

Hi! We're today's stop on the Transcendent blog tour. If you haven't heard, this is a collection of paranormal tales by various authors. If you're in the mood for some fun, clever paranormal reads, you MUST check out Transcendent.

Check out all the participating blogs:

There's a little mix up, where MMW is slated to be the 27th (but that's not my blogging day), so just note that I'm talking about Transcendent here today, and on my blog on the 27th. No worries.

Along with checking out the various prizes and contests on the participating blogs, you're definitely going to want to head over to Wendy Swore's BLOG to check out the prizes she's got going for the contest. Big, BIG prizes.

To encourage participation, I'm going to offer a free electronic copy of Transcendent right now! If you're not sold by that gorgeous cover, click HERE to read more about the book and the collection of stories. It's a guaranteed fun read, and the perfect little gift for yourself for the holidays.

I'm going to make it super easy. Just leave a comment and you're entered to win a copy of the Transcendent e-book. You have until Wednesday, December 28th, at midnight to leave a comment. I will post the winner next Friday, December 30th.

Good luck, and be sure to spread the word!

'Tis the Season

I really hope you are all enjoying the stories from our little e-book, Totally Cliche, as much as I have. As most of us have at least started our Christmas shopping, it's probably time to think about what to buy for those on my list. Right?

In truth, many people I know have purchased e-readers this past year. I'm considering e-books as gifts. What, you say? But it's not tangible, you can't hold them, they're not REAL!

At least with gift cards people can buy things they can physically hold, right?

Well, except iTunes gift cards, which I often give and receive. Love those.

I submit that any story, regardless of its format, that transports the reader and makes them laugh, cry, or shout, is REAL. Therefore, e-books have become a viable option in my gift-giving repertoire. The hardest part is picking a good one. There are a lot of e-books out there even a novice can look at and know the writer should have taken more time to polish the story.

Call it a shameless plug, but I submit Totally Cliche has been painstakingly edited and formatted, and is full of stories guaranteed to entertain. It's a great gift idea, and at only 99 cents, is really a steal!

Go ahead and pick up a copy today. You can give them as gifts, which, incidentally, is totally fun!

E-Books and the Future of Publishing

**You all got enough of me last week, with my two posts in a row, so today we at MMW have a treat for you. Sit back and read all about his take on the future of e-book publishing by none other than David Farland.** ~Cheri

**IMPORTANT** The book release has been pushed back to Nov. 4th. Please stay tuned to our blog for details. Thank you!

The Role of Enhanced Books in the Future of Publishing


Right now, the publishing world is in turmoil. People are buying electronic books in huge numbers. In fact, it appears that as of today, more than fifty percent of all sales are electronic. This puts traditional paper book publishers in a bind. You see, most books earn only a modest profit. But if paper books are shipped to bookstores and then returned, they get destroyed, and thus don’t make any money at all. In fact, the publisher then goes into the hole on every book he publishes.
The losses right now are so large in the industry, that as one agent put it, “Nobody in New York wants to be in this business right now.” That’s why bookstore chains like Borders and major distributors like Anderson News have gone bankrupt.

So where do the publishers make up for those losses? By selling electronic books for the Kindle, Nook, iPad and similar devices. The problem is, so many electronic books will come out in the next year, according to Bowker’s Identifier Services (the guys who make the ISBNs that you see on the back of a book), that the market will be flooded with over three million new books.

Why? Because authors who couldn’t find agents or publishers last year are self-publishing their novels this year. I was talking to a bestseller last night who groused that in the past week, he’d run into three different “authors,” none of whom had sold more than fifty books, all of whom were self-published.
That creates a problem for readers. It means that we now have to try to figure out which of those novels are worth buying and reading and which should never have been published in the first place.

Some of those novels may look good on the outside. They might have cover quotes from the author’s friends. They might have gorgeous illustrations. But inside, maybe halfway through a book, you might find that the story falls apart.
In fact, a lot of criminals are out there right now trying to sell e-books which Tracy Hickman has labeled “Frankensteins.” These are novels stolen from bits of other novels and cobbled together in a way to look like a legitimate book. The “author” hopes to steal a couple of dollars from unwary readers. Sure, it’s not a lot of money, but in some countries, like Nigeria, a few dollars goes a long way. If there are no laws against it (and in some countries there aren’t), the thief doesn’t even have to worry about getting punished.

How are we going to combat crummy novels? How are we going to get past the Frankensteins? Ten years ago we had gatekeepers in the industry—literary agents and editors—who made sure that only the best novels got published. It’s true that the system was flawed, but at least there was a system.

So who are our new gatekeepers going to be?

The truth is that there will be new kinds of publishers. Right now, I’m starting a company with my partner Mile Romney, called East India Press. We’re going to published “enhanced novels.”

Enhanced books are text files, like regular books, but they also combine elements like film clips, music, video games, author interviews, audio files, illustrations, and animations. They’re part book, part movie, part game, perhaps. These books are then then sold electronically to be read on your iPad, phone, computer, and so on. 

Are enhanced books the real future of publishing? There is good reason to think so. You see, making a beautiful book in this market will cost tens of thousands of dollars. That’s a bar to most wannabe authors. So money alone will limit the competition.

These new publishers will still have to establish their own credibility. They’ll have to select great books, create superior products, and develop a “brand” presence. In other words, you’ll want to read the books because of who the publisher is and what they represent.

A hundred years ago, that’s the way that books were bought in the first place. If you went to the bookstore, the books were ordered by publisher. You might pick through the piles and find that a certain editor liked the same kind of “science fictional stories” that you did, and that became the place that you visited over and over again.

There will be other ways to judge a book. It might come from an author with a long list of awards, or great cover quotes from independent review agencies, or maybe the fact that the book is a bestseller will give it a lot of credibility.
So I expect enhanced books to become the dominant art form for novels in the next two years, replacing and outselling simple e-books on the bestseller lists, and even outselling hardbacks and paperbacks within a couple of years. As my agent, Russell Galen put it, “Enhanced books are the entire future of publishing.”
Now, I’ve published some fifty books in science fiction and fantasy. I’ve won a number of awards and my books have been translated into thirty languages. I worked for years as the lead judge for one of the largest writing contest in the world. I’ve trained authors like Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, and Stephenie Meyer who have gone on to become #1 international bestsellers.

So I know books. I know a good story when I see one, and I know how to fix a story when it needs fixing. Given this, and my own background as a novelist, videogame designer, and movie producer, it seemed like starting a new type of publishing company was a must.

In fact, I believe in this new medium so much, I’m even putting out my next novel through this publishing company. It’s called Nightingale, and tells the story of Bron Jones, a young man abandoned at birth and raised in foster care. He discovers that he’s not quite human, and suddenly finds himself at the center of international intrigue.

This is a model for the new publishing industry. I think it’s a great book, and I could have sold it through normal channels. But this is the best way to go. So we’re offering the book on our site at www.nightingalenovel.com. You can buy it in hard cover, for your e-reader, or in enhanced mode for the more advanced e-readers, or we even have an emulator so that you can run it in enhanced mode on any computer. It also has a forty-five minute soundtrack, lots of art, optional notes from the author and other features. In the future we may add a game or trailers. I believe this is the way books--good books--will be done in the future. I invite you to check it out, and check out our new company, East India Press.

If you’re a writer, look into our short story writing contest while you’re there. You could win $1000. You can find out about more about the East India Press or the writing contest at www.EastIndiaPress.com as well.

Wish Rebecca a Happy Birthday!

My friend, the one with breast cancer, is having a birthday today. In my opinion, this is one that ABSOLUTELY should be celebrated to the enth degree. I mean, if she were up to it, we'd party all night long. There's something about having a birthday while fighting breast cancer that just SCREAMS celebrate.

As you know, I'm donating my book and e-book sales proceeds to help her pay her medical expenses. Here's a LINK to her blog. The last few posts talk about her 3rd round of chemo, the obedience of Abraham, a necklace she made for my daughter's birthday (including pics) and little old *me*. Check it out!

Here's a quick LINK to my blog where I've posted all the links to buy copies of my books and ebooks. (All the links are also on my sidebar, so it's super easy). If you haven't purchased yet, today is a great day to do it. If you have, please take a few seconds to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, or even your own blog. Let's make this an extra special birthday for Rebecca!

Thanks!

More ebook stuff

To sort of follow the discussion started on yesterday's POST, I wanted to talk a little more about the price vs. quality of e-books. Now, mind you, I don't want people to assume I think my e-books are of the highest quality--after all, I know I'm just getting started and I'm not going to be a perfect formatter right out of the gate. However, I do have some standards when it comes to the quality of books I read.

I did take a chance on an e-book by an author who's getting a lot of attention selling them for only 99 cents. I try not to be a book snob, but I found the quality lacking. She could have done another edit on the book and had a much better quality story--or paid a freelance editor to do it for her. I read the sample, and wasn't interested in reading on. But again, it's hard to argue with the success she's having. What she's doing seems to be working for her.

Originally, I priced The Wild Queen at $4.99 because I'm trying to raise enough money in book sales to help out my friend. Even then, I knew when my fund-raising summer was over, I'd lower the price to $2.99. Last week, I went ahead and lowered the price anyway, hoping that it would lead to more sales, and, by default, more revenue. So far, all I've gotten out of it is a negative review by someone who missed the underlying plots of the story and misinterpreted the ending. Oh, well. If you want to read the review, it's on Amazon.

The authors who are selling tons of e-books usually have more than one out there. I realize that. And I'm still building my name, my brand, if you will. There's still a huge number of people who have no idea I even exist. Funny, I used to crave anonymity. Still trying to sort out when that all changed. :)

And, almost as if he knew I needed it, my brother sent me a text today: was just thinking of you. just occurred to me how natural it seemed to see you sitting at a book signing.

For a Good Cause

This is less of a post and more of a plea.

Wednesday, my friend Becky found out she has breast cancer. She’s 35, just like me. Today, Friday, she’s having a mastectomy. Her husband just had back surgery a few weeks ago and has been recovering.

I hate feeling helpless. And right now I completely identify with what they are going through. Their medical bills will bury them if something is not done. So I decided I’m going to help them. And here is your opportunity to join in the fun.


From now until the end of August 2011, I am donating every penny I make through my books to help Becky pay her medical bills. Every penny. So if you’ve ever though about checking out an e-book, now is the perfect time. In purchasing one of my books, you will help give this family hope for the future.

Becky’s doctors are hopeful they’ve caught the cancer early enough that they can eradicate it, but it’s no secret the surgery and procedures are expensive. Help this family. And enjoy a fun read in the process. It’s my prayer you will.


My website’s books page has all the links you need to find a copy of my book to purchase. Don’t be shy. I’ve heard pretty good things about these books from readers. :) And every penny I collect through August 31st goes to Becky. Click HERE to access my website.

If you’d prefer, direct purchase links are below. Thank you.

You can look up The Wild Queen or Ghost Bride on amazon.com or BN.com if you prefer to purchase directly from those sites for your Kindle or Nook.

Here are the Smashwords purchase links for both books:

Ghost Bride HERE. It's a short ghost story.

The Wild Queen HERE. This is the story of King Gregory's parents (King Gregory from The Peasant Queen) and gives you a glimpse into what made him the tyrant he'd become.

And, of course, I think Amazon currently has the best price for The Peasant Queen, if you'd rather purchase it online than at a bookstore. Click HERE. This is the story of the peasant, Krystal, who fights for her freedom and that of the entire kingdom of Fayterra.

I'd appreciate you spreading the word far and wide. I will do all I can on my end as well.

There's a Contest, Remember???

Okay, peoples. It's May 11th. AFTER Storymakers. BEFORE our deadline of May 31. And we want entries!!! We want this ebook to be filled with your fabulous writing--so send it in!!!

As part of this kick in the pants, I wanted to update you on the fabulous ebooks that are being offered as prizes, along with gift cards and the joy of seeing your work in digital print.

First is the amazing Marsha Ward! She donated a copy of her fabulous book, The Man From Shenandoah.
 Here's her author's bio:

Marsha Ward was born in the sleepy little town of Phoenix, Arizona, and

grew up with chickens, citrus trees, and lots of room to roam. She began

telling stories at a very early age, regaling neighborhood chums with her

tales over homemade sugar cookies and milk. Her love of 19th Century Western

history was reinforced by visits to her cousins on their ranch and listening

to her father's stories of homesteading in Old Mexico and in the Tucson

area.

Over the years, Marsha became an award-winning poet, writer and editor,

with over 900 pieces of published work. She is the founder of American Night

Writers Association and a member of Western Writers of America, Women
Writing the West, and Rim Country Writers. She makes her home in a tiny
forest hamlet in Arizona. When she is not writing, she loves to spoil her
grandchildren, travel, give talks, meet readers, and sign books.

Also, our very own Cheri Chesley is offering her great book, Wild Queen as well. It will be available for purchase on Friday, May 13th, but here's a tantalizing glimpse of what you'll see inside:

Roweena is the crown princess of Norvallen, a tiny kingdom with only one thing of value—the Healers' Grove. The trees in this small section of forest are enchanted, giving a sap that can be mixed into potions or salves to heal almost any wound.

And it’s in high demand.

Lucien, the young king of neighboring Demarde, comes to Roweena’s father seeking an alliance, but comes away with a marriage contract for young Roweena’s hand. Furious and stubborn, this untamed beauty vows he will never conquer her. But the contract purposely gives her time to come to terms with her fate.

Before Lucien can return, Roweena’s home is attacked and her parents are murdered. The Healer’s Grove is also attacked—burned to the ground. With nothing more than her horse and the clothes on her back, Roweena goes to the only person she knows can help her. Lucien. But he can do nothing with no legal claim to Norvallen, so they marry.

Lucien and his army destroy the invaders and rescue what remains of Roweena’s people. He then makes Norvallen a part of his kingdom, but separate, ruled by a man Lucien trusts who answers only to him.

Roweena tries to carve a piece of life out for herself in Demarde, but her wild ways often clash with Lucien’s calm, reasoning manner. They have a son, Gregory, and then a daughter, Falina. When Roweena is pregnant for the third time, she vanishes. Speculation runs rampant. Was she kidnapped, fallen victim to a mysterious enemy? Or did she run away?

And last, but certainly not least, is the glorious Jenni James, offering her great new book, Eternity, cowritten by AJ Cole. Here's their info:

AJ Cole is from Nottingham, England; he is married with two young children and a stubborn Weimaraner dog. When he's not writing, toddler wrangling or dog wrestling, he enjoys practising martial arts, meditating and cooking south-east Asian cuisine.

Jenni James lives in Utah, is married to a totally hot red-headed Air Force recruiter and has seven children. When she’s not busy chasing them around the house (the hubby too!), she likes to paint, dance, cook and write.

Jenni and AJ are offering something else: They will give a copy of Eternity to everyone who even ENTERS the contest. Plus, if you're interested in doing a book club with their book, they have offered to SKYPE with your book club, and hear AJ all the way from England as they answer questions. Wouldn't that be awesome!!??!!
 
So there you have it, folks! An amazing basket of goodies...if only you'll try! We want to rejoice with you as we see your writing in print. And for the record...we're probably not nearly as tough as you think we are, 'cause we're just like you, writers struggling to get their books written and their voices heard. So LET'S HEAR YOU!!!

Multiple Channels and Piercing Questions

It's the home stretch! We've reached the end of this little series of posts about the different types of self-publishing out there. Let's discuss Multiple Channels and then I'll walk you through some things to consider when self publishing.

Multiple channels is just what it sounds like. You use one company to prep your manuscript, and they distribute it to several venues all at once. So instead of formatting it JUST for Kindle, or JUST for the Nook, you can do it for as many venues as is available through the company. It still has all the trademarks of publishing single channel but the added bonus of going lots of places all at once. There are a few out there, but two of the biggies are:

Smashwords
FastPencil (this has a small fee)

FastPencil has more in common with the POD publishers, but still has the option for doing it on the cheap.

So what questions should you be asking when deciding what avenue to take to get your work published?

1. What are my goals here? Does my work need a print edition?
2. How much help am I going to need to get the job done? Do I need to consider independent editing? Do I know how to format my manuscript?
3. Will my audience prefer digital or print?
4. Once I have a product ready, how am I going to get the word out there? (None of the 4 options I've covered the past month do any publicity for you.)

I hope this will help you get on the right path for you and your writing. Not everything we write has a place in traditional publishing. Having these options available can only be a good thing in the long run for the individual author and the publishing industry as a whole.

Electronic Publishing: Single Channel

Morning, all! I would have written this last night, but I was up making Butter Bars for my hubby to take to work and then I wrote before crawling into bed around 1:30 am. Then I woke up at 5:30 when my youngest threw up and whimpered in misery for the next two hours. Yeah. Been one of those days, and it's only 7:56 here.

Enough about my woes. Let's discuss Single channel e-pubbing.

If you've been following the market at all, then you've got a pretty good idea as to what e-pubbing is: the release of your work in digital format through a single venue. And you can probably name the leaders off the top of your head.

Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing
Barnes and Noble pubit!
Google ebookstore
Scribd

Each have their advantages and disadvantages (Google is dealing with lawsuits right now), but the basics remain the same.
1. This option is absolutely free. They offer you nothing but a platform and online store for your work.
2. Your royalty is typically 70-85% of your book price, which you set.
3. You have to all the work to transfer and format your work to their unique requirements (and they're all unique).
4. You have to design your own cover, as well as doing all the editing and polishing yourself.
5. You can pull your work at anytime if you get a deal with a traditional publisher, or you just want to do something different.
6. There is no exclusivity agreement--you can publish in one or all of these places.

I hope this series of articles is as helpful to you as it is for me. I've started thinking that publishing a series of short stories I have via ebook would be a good option for me.

Next week we'll talk about e-pubbing on multiple channels, and give you a few questions to think about when you are deciding what road to follow.

By the way, comments on any of my posts the last couple of weeks and today count towards our mini contest!

The Wild Queen

by Cheri Chesley

The Wild Queen is the brand new ebook I'm offering as part of the prize package for our CONTEST! I'm launching this ebook right around the first of May 2011.

Here's a little about the story: Roweena is the crown princess of Norvallen, a tiny kingdom with only one thing of value—the Healer’s Grove. The trees in this small section of forest are enchanted, giving a sap that can be mixed into potions or salves to heal almost any wound.

And it’s in high demand.

Lucien, the young king of neighboring Demarde, comes to Roweena’s father seeking an alliance, but comes away with a marriage contract for young Roweena’s hand. Furious and stubborn, this untamed beauty vows he will never conquer her. But the contract purposely gives her time to come to terms with her fate.

It gives her too long. Before Lucien can return, Roweena’s home is attacked and her parents are murdered. The Healer’s Grove is also attacked—burned to the ground. With nothing more than her horse and the clothes on her back, Roweena goes to the only person she knows can help her. Lucien. But he can do nothing with no legal claim to Norvallen, so they marry.

Lucien and his army destroy the invaders and rescue what remains of Roweena’s people. He then makes Norvallen a part of his kingdom, but separate, ruled by a man Lucien trusts who answers only to him.

Roweena tries to carve a piece of life out for herself in Demarde, but her wild ways often clash with Lucien’s calm, reasoning manner. They have a son, Gregory, and then a daughter, Falina. When Roweena is pregnant for the third time, she vanishes. Speculation runs rampant. Was she kidnapped, fallen victim to a mysterious enemy? Or did she run away?

Aside from being an incredibly fun and entertaining story, The Wild Queen is something of a study on what creates a tyrant. Gregory has become one of my most popular characters, and several readers have expressed an interest in his past. And, of course, you can give the credit for my amazing cover to Deirdra Coppel.

Remember that comments on this post will count toward your points tally for the mini-contest, and put you in the running for prizes! Good luck everyone. :)

So Glad To Be Here

When I auditioned for this blog last year, little did I realize they'd be asking me back on a more permanent basis. What a wonderful place, and what a beautiful blog. (Thanks, in part, to the fabulous artwork of Elizabeth Mueller) I feel a little like I just won an important award. What was Liz Taylor's famous line when she won the Oscar? "Thank you from the bottom of my heart."

My name is Cheri Chesley, and my first novel, The Peasant Queen, was published by Cedar Fort December 2010. I recently (as in Monday) finished the second draft of the sequel, The Tyrant King. I'm spending this week fine tuning the manuscript and will submit it for (hopeful) publication next week. And, I've set aside the entire month of May to write the rough draft of the third and final novel in the series, The Lost Princess. That final novel has become dear to my heart, as during down time at my 11 book signings in December, I plotted out the entire book. I am so excited to get to know Jessenia better as a character--she's the titular "lost princess."

After I submit The Tyrant King to Cedar Fort, I'm going to treat myself in April to publishing a few short ebooks. I know it sounds like I'm blitzing the publishing world, but that's really not the case. Part of it is an effort to get my name out there, and part of it is testing the ebook waters. One of my favorite stories from The Peasant Queen series does not fit the standard mold for traditional publication. It can't be a romance because the two main characters are not together at the end of the book. It can't be a happy ending story because the bad guy wins, and gets away with it. He isn't even revealed to the characters by the end of the book. And, best part, the main character disappears 3/4 of the way through--although I may have sorted that out. I've spent three years trying to make this story fit into the traditional mold, and it won't. But, I know readers of the series will appreciate knowing that it's available somewhere, so I will put it out as an ebook.

But, I owe my kids a summer off. And, when their last bell rings at the end of May, I'm folding up my laptop (so to speak) and putting all my writing on hold. Which I guess is why I'm working so hard now, so I can justify taking that time off. Once they get back in school in August, though, I'm pulling out my rough draft of The Lost Princess and making it beautiful. I'm submitting it before the end of the year. :)

For more information on my series, ebooks, story ideas, signings, etc, you can check out my BLOG or my website HERE. I'm particularly proud of that website--my nephew helped me build it. Who am I kidding? My nephew did it for me. :)