Monday Mishmash 6/6/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Visions of Mockingbird Point Cover  In case you missed the cover of the third and final installment of my Curse of the Granville Fortune series, here's Visions of Mockingbird Point (designed by True Poison): 
   
2. Edits  I'm working on final edits for Visions of Mockingbird Point. I'm so lucky to work with one of my favorite editors on this series.
3. Another Author in the Family  My nine-year-old daughter decided to write a book this summer. She's been working on it every day. I'm really excited for her.
4. Exercise, Exercise, and More Exercise!  After taking two month off from running due to breathing issues, I'm back to it. My daughter also has me walking for an hour each day and swimming all afternoon. I'm exhausted!
5. Reading  I'm so happy to be reading for enjoyment again. I read all the time because I edit so much, but reading a book without having to edit it is very relaxing.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Visions of Mockingbird Point Cover Reveal

I'm excited to share the cover of the final installment in my middle grade fantasy adventure series, Curse of the Granville Fortune. Check out Visions of Mockingbird Point.

Being grounded for a month is nothing compared to the mind-numbing visions thirteen-year-old J.B. has when he’s not with Edward and Noelle. The curse of the Granville fortune is getting worse, and if the three don’t find and return the stolen property soon, Noelle’s parents will die.

In a desperate attempt to break the curse, J.B., Edward, and Noelle sneak off to Mockingbird Point, the latest location in their visions. But the visions are also showing that Morgan Grimault is on his way. It’s a race to locate the final portion of the fortune and defeat Grimault once and for all.

With everything on the line, the visions might not be enough to save J.B. and the others from dying at the hands of this curse.

Huge thanks to True Poison for creating this beautiful cover! Don't all three look so nice lined up?

Look for Visions of Mockingbird Point coming late June!

*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Monday Mishmash 5/30/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Memorial Day  Take time today to remember what the holiday is really about. 
   
2. Book Signing At Blairstown Elementary  Last Monday I signed close to 100 books at Blairstown Elementary School. It was such a great day. This school has been so incredibly supportive, reading all of my picture books and my MG, Curse of the Granville Fortune, so I donated a copy of Mystery of Majestic Cave to the library so the student could continue reading the series.
   
3. Editing  I'm finishing up one client edit and getting ready for the next this week.
4. Revising  I've been working through my latest Ashelyn Drake NA contemporary romance. So far I've been pleasantly surprised by the first draft. It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I swear when I draft I go through periods where I think I'm writing nothing usable, but then I revise and surprise myself.
5. End of the School Year  My daughter has a half day on Tuesday and then she's off for the summer. I can't believe another school year is finished.
6. Visions of Mockingbird Point  True Poison, my cover designer for the Curse of the Granville Fortune series, sent me the draft of the cover for book three. As usual, it blew me away. Can't wait until it's finalized so I can share it with you all.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 5/23/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Book Signing at Blairstown Elementary  I'm returning to Blairstown Elementary today. You may remember I had a school visit there in March. Well, the students had the opportunity to order my books and I'm returning today to sign them. I was amazed at how many ordered books. I'm doing hand exercises to get ready for all the signing. ;) 
   
2. Drafting  Drafting at half my usual pace is going well. It's hard for me to not fully jump in and let the manuscript consume me, but I'm forcing myself to only write half the day to keep balance between editing and drafting. So far so good. Or so I keep telling myself.
3. Editing  I'm managing to stay on pace with edits even though I'm cutting my day's in half. The key is I'm staying sane and healthy. No stress. I'm calling it a win.
4. Summer Schedule  This is my daughter's last full week of school, which means my summer schedule will be in full effect beginning June 1. My work hours will be early mornings and late evenings so I can spend the bulk of my day being Mom (my favorite job of all).
5. Visions of Mockingbird Point  I should be getting edits back on the third book in the Curse of the Granville Fortune series in early June. This is the final installment and while I'm sad to see the characters go, I'm happy with how the series ends. Expect the book sometime in July.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 5/2/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. It's the Little Things  Sometimes little things make me smile. Like my metallic green pen I just bought. Writing in my day planner in that sparkly green makes me happy. Yay for the little things. :)
2. Editing  My editing schedule has been CRAZY! I'm not sure how I got through the number of edits I did in April. It's made me realize I need to scale back a bit because I'm seeing physical effects of the stress now and that's not good.
3. Recovering  So far this year, I've had 5 books come out. The entire Into the Fire trilogy and the first two books in the Curse of the Granville Fortune series. In a word, I'm exhausted!
4. Shift to Adult  My focus recently has shifted to adult. I still have several YA manuscripts in different stages, but I'm also working on several adult and new adult manuscripts. Maybe I'm finally growing up, but I really like writing for adults. Remember when I said I never would? Never say never!
5. Writing Time  I'm hoping to sneak in some writing time. Last month was all about editing, and I need to write.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 4/11/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Up In Flames Releases Tomorrow  Eep! I'm so excited for the final installment of the Into the Fire Trilogy to come out tomorrow. If you don't want to wait, you can preorder it here.
   
2. Scholastic Book Fair  I'm helping out with the Scholastic Book Fair at my daughter's school this week. Someone hide my credit card!
3. 5 Books to Edit?  Do not schedule edits while you're sick. What was I thinking? Send massive amounts of dark chocolate and hazelnut coffee please!
4. Mystery of Majestic Cave  Over the weekend, I quietly released book two in the Curse of the Granville Fortune series. You can buy it here if you're interested.
   
5. The Haunted Stepsister Cover Reveal  I'm so excited to share the cover of Medeia Sharif's The Haunted Stepsister. I love it! 
   

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 2/22/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Into the Fire Paperbacks!  OMG!!! I'm still freaking out (in a good way) over how gorgeous the Into the Fire Paperbacks are. They arrived on Friday. Here are some pictures of my pretty books! 
   
   
   
   
2. Big Changes to My Newsletter  I'm going to post about this on Wednesday, but BIG things are in store for my newsletter. Big for my subscribers that is. If you aren't subscribed, you're going to want to do that here. And check back on Wednesday to see exactly what I have in store for my loyal newsletter subscribers. Hint: You're going to like it. :)
3. Mystery of Majestic Cave Cover  The second book in the Curse of the Granville Fortune series has a gorgeous cover. I'm not sharing it yet, but I just approved it at the end of last week. Stay tuned for the big unveiling. :) Oh, and book two is coming your way in early June.
4. What Is Up With Outlook's New Look?  MSN decided to update my email. AGAIN. *Sigh* I'm not liking the new changes. The system is very wonky because I think they tried to make it do too much. Now it glitches all the time. I hope they work the kinks out soon.
5. Big Changes All Around  My newsletter isn't the only thing that's going to change. I'm putting my foot down and getting really stern…with myself. You see over the past year, I somehow became an editor who also writes, and while I love editing, I'm not okay with this. I'm a writer. I WILL write first and edit second. No more of this, "My editing schedule is booked for the next five months so I won't be able to write until then." I'm writing EVERY day. My pace with edits will slow down, but I'm okay with that.
6. My Daughter's Birthday  My daughter turns nine on Friday. I can't believe that. My little girl is getting so big!

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 2/15/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Into the Fire releases tomorrow!  I can't believe release day is almost here already! Tomorrow is the big day. Grab your copy of Into the Fire here.
   
    
2. Giveaway for Diary of a Wimpy Kid 10 and Dork Diaries 10  To celebrate the rerelease and revamping of Curse of the Granville Fortune, I'm giving away the newest books in the Dork Diaries and Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Enter here.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Drafting  Last week I started drafting a new book. It's another adult romantic suspense! I was surprised too. ;)
4. Editing  I'm booked with client edits again this week. Last week I sent another Leap book off for formatting and got a cover just about finalized. It's so much fun being on the other side of publishing.
5. Presidents Day & Valentine's Day  My daughter and husband are home today for Presidents Day, so we'll be spending the day together. I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and are enjoying Presidents Day.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Curse of the Granville Fortune and Two Giveaways!

I've been very quiet about my relaunch of Curse of the Granville Fortune. I wanted to get the book edited, have a new cover designed, and get it back out into the hands of readers. That didn't allow me to promote it the way I usually would. So now that the book is back out in the world in both ebook and paperback formats, I've decided to host a giveaway, TWO actually. But first, check out the new and improved Curse of the Granville Fortune.

Twelve-year-old J.B.’s visions leave him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into a freak—or worse, going insane. 

The visions stem from a family curse. An ancestor stole the Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entire family will suffer. To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property. 

But he’s not the only one searching for the treasure. His journey leads to a dark forest where he’ll battle his worst fears. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late.

Buy the book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

And now for the giveaways. I have brand new copies of Diary of a Wimpy Kid Old School and Dork Diaries Tales From a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter for you. I'm keeping them as separate giveaways and separate rafflecopters so there will be a different winner for each. Good luck!

***Giveaways are only open to US residents.***

If you'd like to enter to win Diary of a Wimpy Kid Old School, enter on the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you'd like to enter to win Dork Diaries Tales From a Not-So-Perfect Pet Sitter, enter on the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Monday Mishmash 1/18/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Curse of the Granville Fortune  I'm putting the finishing touches on the revamped Curse of the Granville Fortune this week. My hope is to have this book out the first week in February. If you missed the cover reveal on Friday, here's the new cover:
   
2. Into the Fire Street Team  Only a few more days to apply to be part of the Into the Fire Street Team. The application closes on January 21, so get yours in now. Apply here.
3. Editing  I'm working my way through my January edits. How I booked so many this month is beyond me, but so far so good. 
4. Martin Luther King Jr. Day  My daughter is home today since it's a holiday. We're reading two Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and studying for math tests she has this week.
5. Seeking Questions  I haven't gotten any requests for Writer Wednesday topics in a while, so what do you want to know about being on the other side of the editing desk? Pick my brain, people. ;) I'm willing to share tips from my editorial desk at Leap, so ask away.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Curse of the Granville Fortune Cover Revamp

If you subscribe to my newsletter, then you know I took my rights back for my middle grade trilogy Curse of the Granville Fortune. I'm not going to go into why I did this, but I will say I think I'm doing what's best for my books. That's all that really matters, right?

Well, since I didn't have rights to my previous cover, I hired True Poison to create a new cover for me, and I love it. It's spooky, but not too spooky. It's a middle grade read after all. ;) So here's the new cover and the updated blurb because this book has been revamped. I got to work with one of my favorite editors to make the story even better. And you won't have to wait long to get your hands on it because it will be re-releasing very soon!

Twelve-year-old J.B.’s visions leave him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into a freak—or worse, going insane.
 
The visions stem from a family curse. An ancestor stole the Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entire family will suffer. To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property.
 
But he’s not the only one searching for the treasure. His journey leads to a dark forest where he’ll battle his worst fears. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late.

I wanted two things for this cover. First, I wanted the background to really pop. The setting IS a character in the story, so I wanted it featured on the cover. Second, I wanted silhouettes because kids like to picture themselves as the characters. So I got exactly what I wanted, and I'm thrilled.

Stay tuned for the announcement of when the book is available in ebook and print.

Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Monday Mishmash 1/11/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Blues Bones Cover Reveal Signups  Signups are now open for the cover reveal for Blues Bones by Rick Starkey. This is the first book I acquired through Leap Books Seek and it's amazing. You can sign up here. 
   
2. Curse of the Granville Fortune Cover Reveal  I'll be revealing the NEW cover of Curse of the Granville Fortune on Friday right here on my blog. Stay tuned!
3. Editing  I'm editing for Leap Books Seek and my own clients this week. Last week I posted that I have a lot of edits on my plate and jokingly asked people on FB to send me dark chocolate, and the very sweet Beth Consugar showed up at the Pocono Writers Conference with dark chocolate for me. :) How nice is that?
4. Pocono Writers Conference  I had a great time at the conference yesterday and I got to meet Megan Erickson, a fellow Corvisiero Literary Agency author, and Veronica Park, a Corvisiero Literary Agent. I also bought one of Megan's books. 

   

   Megan Erickson and me with her book Make It Count

   
   

   

   Megan Erickson, Veronica Park, and me (Veronica was talking when the picture was snapped, but all three pictures we took came out exactly the same. Sorry, Veronica! You still look lovely.)

5. Big Announcement!  If you are a newsletter subscriber, you will hear my big announcement today, and if you are a Kelly's Coven member, you heard the announcement last week. Everyone else will hear it on Wednesday right here. Come back to find out the big news!

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 5/4/15

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Drafting  I'm hoping to finish my MG draft this week. I have 15 pages of notes for the book, but for some reason it's been a difficult book to draft. I'm about 8K in at the moment.
2. Critiques for Rate Your Story  I have three critiques I need to get to this week since I'm a volunteer judge at Rate Your Story.
3. Class Presentations  I get to visit my daughter's second grade class this Friday to see the kids present the computer projects they've been working on. I'm always amazed at how good kids are with computers so this should be fun.
4. Free Monthly Newsletter  My free monthly newsletter goes out this evening. If you aren't signed up but would like to receive one, click here.
5. Editing  I have a small gap between editing projects, so if you need anything edited in a hurry, I'm your lady. Feel free to email me at khashway(at)hotmail(dot)com.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 12/1/14

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. School Visits  I have two school visits today! I'll be at Cedar Mountain Elementary School this morning and at Lounsberry Hollow Middle School this afternoon. At both schools I'll be speaking and signing copies of Curse of the Granville Fortune.
2. Signing at Moravian Book Shop Last Saturday  I was at Moravian Book Shop again last Saturday signing copies of The Monster Within. My book tour is now officially over, not that I won't be doing more signings for this book. I definitely will. Thanks to everyone who came out to get a signed book.
3. Home Renovations  I'm just going to sigh. We've been under construction since May 27th and I'm so tired of it. The upstairs is painted and trimmed now. Floors are being measured on Thursday, and my countertop will arrive next week. After that, it's finishing the bathroom and the floors in the hallway, sitting room, and closets. This will end eventually, right?
4. Revising  I'm revising a few books I have drafted since I realized I have a back log of drafted books. lol Time for some serious revisions.
5. A Month of Giveaways  I'm participating in a ton of giveaways. I may be poor when these are all finished. ;) More info to come on these.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

*My FREE monthly newsletter goes out this evening. If you aren't signed up but would like to receive one, click here.*

Monday Mishmash 10/20/14

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Curse of the Granville Fortune Releases Tomorrow!  I can't believe tomorrow is the big day! My middle grade fantasy will be available 10/21.
   
2. Out of the Ashes on Goodreads  You can now add Out of the Ashes, book two in the Birth of the Phoenix Series, on Goodreads.
3. #IntotheFireChallenge  Halloween will be here before you know it, so get your review of Into the Fire up on Amazon to be entered for a chance to become a phoenix in the third book in the Birth of the Phoenix Series. You could also win signed copies of all three books in the series.
   
4. Beth Fred's Writing Class  My friend Beth Fred is teaching another class through Colorado Romance Writer. It's called The Art of Blurb Writing. Sign up here.
5. Witches Three Tour  I signed at Books-A-Million in Exton, PA last Saturday along with Jennifer Murgia and Molly Cochran. Jen and I will be signing at BAM in the Stroud Mall in Stroudsburg, PA this Saturday from 1-3pm. Come see us if you're in the area.
   

Here are some fun pictures from last Saturday.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash: 10/6/14

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Into the Fire is a Cybils Awards Nominee!  So, I found out Into the Fire was nominated for the Cybils in the YA Speculative Fiction Category. Yeah, I'm a little excited. :) See the nominees here.
2. Curse of the Granville Fortune Blog Tour  I can't believe the release of Curse of the Granville Fortune (MG fantasy) is just around the corner. The 21st will be here soon, so I'm finalizing my blog tour posts this week.
3. Another Book Drafted  Last week I finished drafting a new book and I'm sort of in love with it.
4. My Husband's Birthday  It's my husband's birthday today!
5. FREE Monthly Newsletter  My FREE monthly newsletter may have gone out yesterday, a day early. I may have accidentally only set the time to post instead of the day to post. ;) Didn't get one? Stay on top of my giveaways, book news, and writing tips by signing up for my newsletter here.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 7/7/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Leap Books Shine Editor  I joined the team over at Leap Books to be a final proofreader for their Shine YA imprint. I'm excited to work with this publisher and their authors.
2. Construction is still going on  I had to leave my house on Wednesday when there were waterfalls in my house. I'm talking rushing water down the walls. I went to my parents' house with my daughter, and my husband fought stayed home to save the house. Construction continues and I'll be going back to my parents' house later this week. I just want this to be finished already.
3. Revisions  I'm revising the second book in the Curse of the Granville Fortune series this week. A lot of changes were made to book one so I have to fix book two to reflect those changes.
4. Client edits  I have more client edits to do this week, which is always good.
5. Two upcoming picture books  I just signed artist agreements for two of my upcoming picture books with Guardian Angel Publishing. I'm so excited to see my stories illustrated, and I couldn't be happier with both illustrators the publisher paired with my books.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

*My FREE monthly newsletter goes out this evening. If you aren't signed up but would like to receive one, click here.*

Monday Mishmash 6/23/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Construction  I stayed at my parents' house for four days to avoid the construction here. It was a glorious, stress-free break but I'm home again now. Please tell me this construction can't last forever.
2. Limited internet access  I will most likely not have internet for most of today and maybe tomorrow because of the construction. I'll have to catch up on responding to comments once it's back on.
3. Curse of the Granville Fortune  I'm working on final proofreading for my MG fantasy, Curse of the Granville Fortune this week. Let's see if I can get this done with all the craziness over here.
4. Client edit  I'm also working on a client edit this week. I may have to spend a lot of time outdoors to get this accomplished. The inside of my house is a nightmare.
5. Swimming  This is how I'm staying sane this summer. I escape to the pool when I get really stressed. I wouldn't survive without it.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 5/5/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Beth Fred's Blurb Writing Course  My friend Beth Fred is teaching another blurb writing course in June. This is the method she used when she queried and it got her a 50% full request rate. If you want to sign up, you can do so here.
2. Free Monthly Newsletter  My free monthly newsletter goes out this evening. If you aren't signed up but would like to receive one, click here.
3. New Manuscript  My latest YA manuscript is off to betas and will be in the hands of my CPs soon too. I'm so excited about this story and these characters.
4. Curse of the Granville Fortune  The cover of my upcoming MG fantasy, Curse of the Granville Fortune will be revealed on May 9th! I'm so excited! It's awesome guys. Really awesome!
5. Editing, eye doctor, and lunch dates  This week I have client edits to attend to, an eye doctor appointment, and lunch dates with friends. I'll enjoy all but the eye doctor visit. ;)

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 3/17/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Kiss of Death  I've been working on revisions for a Touch of Death prequel novella told from Alex's point of view. I fell hard for Alex and wanted to tell his story (pre-Jodi) to give readers a little insight as to how he ends up the person we all see in Touch of Death. Stay tuned for more info on when this novella will be available.
2. Idea Overload  Last week I got a bunch of new ideas and jotted them all down. One idea is speaking to me louder than the others so I'm plotting that one and trying to work on it in between edits.
3. 5 Books in 2014?  I don't know how I didn't realize this—I think my subconscious wouldn't let me focus on it—but I have 5 books releasing this year. 5! Face of Death, The Monster Within, Perfect For You, Into the Fire, and Curse of the Granville Fortune are all 2014 titles. How on earth did that happen? I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it.
4. Reading  I'm trying to work my way through some books that have been on my shelf for years now. I need more time to read.
5. Perfect For You  In case you missed my cover reveal last week, my upcoming Ashelyn Drake YA contemporary romance has a gorgeous cover! Check it out and feel free to add it on Goodreads.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?