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Etiquette Tips For Non-Writers Engaging With Writers
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com So you’ve met a writer. Maybe you trapped them in a sewer by dropping a copy of their favorite book as bait, or you propped up a cardboard box and stuck a nice new journal inside. What are you going to do with your prize before releasing them? I have some suggestions for good etiquette. ⤝❖⤞ Stop asking writers for free labor. Photo by RDNE Stock project…
ARC Sign-up for Welcome to the Show
Hello, friends! I got organized.
I have a sign-up form for Advanced Reader Copies of Welcome to the Show for anyone who would like to sign up to get an early e-copy in exchange for an honest review!
(If you've already emailed me about it earlier, I would deeply appreciate you filling out this form so I can have everyone's responses all in one place but I also understand if you don't want to, so it's not required!)
https://forms.gle/ME5uJdC2FYeysi8F9
Content warnings and description on the sign-up sheet, but the short version is: A celebrity couple falls for a one-night stand they had a threesome with. Thanks for considering!
Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself...
Okay, so, to start this off, let me just say that introductions are hard...and awkward...and I’ve never been very good at them. So, please bear with me as I work through this...
My name is Amanda N. Newman and I’m an indie fantasy author who combines multiple different subgenres with fantasy. So far, I’ve written dystopian fantasy and YA fantasy, but I have novels planned for the future that are tribal fantasy, cyberpunk fantasy, high fantasy, and romantic fantasy. All of these, with the exception of the YA fantasy books, I plan to write towards the New Adult age range and many of them will probably touch on some dark and/or serious themes. I’ve been writing ever since I was young (I don’t remember how old I was when I started) but even before that I was always the weird kid looking to play pretend and pretend to be my favorite fictional characters even long after others my age stopped playing. I guess, writing these books and sharing these stories with the world is kind of like the “adult” version of that.
Now for my books themselves... So far, I’ve written a YA fantasy/paranormal romance trilogy and three books in a new adult dystopian fantasy standalone series. Out of all of those books, three of them are available for purchase on Amazon as paperbacks or eBooks (and also available through Kindle Unlimited). Those three that are available are book 1 of the YA fantasy/paranormal romance trilogy and two books from the new adult dystopian fantasy series (I can’t confidently say that they’re book 1 and 2 because the series can be read in any order and each book takes place at a different point on the chronological timeline [some even take place concurrently]).
The first book in the YA fantasy/paranormal romance trilogy is called Hybrid Empire and it is actually the very first book I self-published (all the way back in 2016). Since then, it’s gone through a few cover changes plus a massive overhaul and revamp this year. The trilogy follows Anika Litynska, an international student from Ukraine, on her journey from an older teenager into young adulthood and all the drama that goes along with it. Plus, there’s vampires, werewolves, and a bunch of other supernatural creatures. (Book 2 of the trilogy is currently in revamp and I just finished drafting book 3 for NaNoWriMo2021).
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P9RYTL2
The “first” book in the new adult dystopian fantasy series is called Children of the Outback. Children of the Outback was definitely my (first) step into a lesser seen and more unique type of writing/storytelling. It was also the book that took me the longest to write and publish (I started writing Children of the Outback in 2014, finished the first draft in late 2018 and finally published it in September of 2019). Children of the Outback is written in multiple first-person points of view, is much darker than Hybrid Empire, and is geared more towards the new adult to adult age range. It is set in a dystopic Australia where magic wielders have been exiled to the desolate outback and ordinary people make their home in the more urbanized New Australian Republic. This book follows the journey of Grace Walker, a teenage non-magic wielder who is a slave in the outback, and her encounter with Skar Shepard, a magic wielding slaver, and Rudolfus Lesikar, a dark magic wielder. Many reviewers have described Children of the Outback as “a brutal Harry Potter” and “Mad Max meets Harry Potter” (a comparison that kind of makes me a little uncomfortable because of the controversy surrounding JK Rowling as of late).
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P3H1F5P
The “second” book in the new adult dystopian fantasy series is Piker’s Retribution. Now, let me start off with saying this is NOT a sequel to Children of the Outback. In fact, Piker’s Retribution takes place at the same time as Children of the Outback, only in a different part of the outback (though there is some crossover in the last few chapters). Piker’s Retribution follows the story of Tyra Nygard, a magic wielder whose adoptive father was killed eight years prior to the start of the book, and her struggles with grief and desire for vengeance against the man who killed him. Like Children of the Outback (and the rest of the books I plan to write for this series), Piker’s Retribution is told from multiple first-person points of view, deals with dark/serious themes, and is geared more towards a new adult to adult audience. (I’m hoping to release the “next” book in the series in fall of 2022).
Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093FZ8QRK
Now, outside of writing, I lead a pretty busy life. I’m a New Media Communications student at a local university (basically the program of study is a little bit of video production and video editing, a little bit of screenwriting, a little bit of radio production, and a little bit of graphic design all rolled into one). I also work as a farm hand on a therapeutic farm and have held jobs in security at a hotel and in fast food in the past. These job experiences, both past and present, are very important to me because I take inspiration from everything around me and sometimes the perfect story idea might come to me while I’m cleaning a chicken coop or patrolling, or flipping a burger.
I’m also a “mom” to two wonderful rescue dogs and an avid gamer (again, important because video games have been a major way of refueling my creative well and providing inspiration for my books [some of my best ideas have come to me while I’ve been exploring the worlds of Horizon Zero Dawn or Skyrim, catching Pokemon, or shooting it up in Borderlands. Plus...I’m definitely guilty of adding my original characters to Sims 4 and playing around with them]). I also love anime, manga, most fantasy books (and most other genres too), movies, cartoons, and animals. Basically, I’m a self-proclaimed, semi-outdoorsy nerd who has grown to not give a f*ck if other people think it’s weird.
Okay, so I think that’s all I have to say about myself right now. I’m hoping to use this blog to share more about my books, characters, the worlds the stories take place in, and things like that. If any of this sounds interesting to you, maybe give a follow.
✍🏿What’s Your📖Story? (WYS?)
What’s Your Story?: DeAnna Lynn: SOAR!
“WYS?” is a guest post feature on BCBA’s Our Stories Matter blog. It’s for indie/self-published authors.
Read an👇🏿excerpt:
The 2020 social injustice uprising and the COVID-19 pandemic were catalysts in publishing SOAR! and That Hurt!, respectively. My experience with early childhood learners is the reason I decided to focus on children’s books. I feel that many of our areas of opportunity as a society can be prevented, eliminated, and remedied through the teaching of social-emotional skills in the early years (ages 2–5). This is why I decided to focus my books on the topic of resilience.
During the winter of 2021, I noticed this recurring tugging on my heart, and I remember my conscience telling me, “You need to write about the pandemic. You need to write about 2020.
continue reading DeAnna Lynn’s story.
📖SOAR! (2020)
📖That Hurt! (2021)
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Never underestimate the power of a little positive feedback on another writer’s work. You could be the difference that convinces them to keep going or inspires them to write that next chapter. Spread positivity and support other writers ❤
✍🏿What’s Your📖Story? (WYS?)
What’s Your Story?: Chinwe Mbonu: Do You See the Monster Under My Bed?
“WYS?” is a guest post feature on BCBA’s Our Stories Matter blog. It’s for indie/self-published authors.
Read an👇🏿excerpt:
When I thought about my storyline, I knew the typical go-to parent for bedtime issues would be the mother. However, I wanted to showcase the emotional side to fathers that do not get enough praise. Fathers are most times labeled as the stoic disciplinarian in most African households. But I find that they provide that emotional comfort that most children crave. My hope for this book is for my readers to enjoy my stories and relate to the characters. I want to engage early and young readers with stories they can enjoy over and over, continue reading Chinwe Mbonu’s story.
📖Do You See the Monster Under My Bed?
Tullip Studio
May 3, 2021
24 Pages
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If you believe BCBA provides a valuable service, please take a few minutes to donate here or via Cash App ($BCBooksA) and support our mission to promote awareness of children’s and young adult literature by Black authors.
Thanks for your support!
✍🏿What’s Your📖Story? (WYS?)
What’s Your Story?: Warn Wilson: Influencing the Next Generation
“WYS?” is a guest post feature on BCBA’s Our Stories Matter blog. It’s for indie/self-published authors.
Read an👇🏿excerpt:
[F]our years into my engineering career, I have revamped my childhood passion for drawing into painting and creating visual art. I have written and illustrated a children’s book called Brown Money that introduces kids to STEM, engineering, investing, stocks, real estate, job security, and entrepreneurship. I painted every image in Brown Money on canvas using acrylic. It took me weeks to complete, but I wanted to ensure that I captured the correct image to reflect the lessons taught in the book. So far, I have performed book readings with several schools with Atlanta and Memphis schools. I am now also wrapping up the completion of Brown Money 2, which will continue with lessons on STEM-related topics and life as well. I hope to use my academic insight, engineering background, and creative skills to influence the next generation of Black thinkers, creators, and engineers. I hope to inspire them to achieve their dreams and explore the many options they have in this world...
Go HERE to continue reading Warn Wilson Jr’s story.
📖Brown Money
Warn Wilson Jr.
November 8, 2019
58 Pages
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