My Writing Plan: Week of Jan 19

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Remember last Saturday’s trip to the ER? Well, a nice gentleman sitting in the waiting room with pneumonia passed on the joy, and I’ve been sick as a dog since Sunday. So we’re still right where we were last Saturday at this time… I still need to finish the read-through of SwanSong, which I’d really hoped to have done by now. In the meantime, Wishes in  a Bottle was released on time, YAY! And the Cover Reveal for SwanSong is coming up on Tuesday, January 22nd 🙂

IN OTHER NEWS……

NEW RELEASE! Wishes in a Bottle is my first release in EIGHTEEN (18) years! It’s available now as Kindle and you can read it for free on Kindle Unlimited… the paperback will be here soon!

COVER REVEAL! SwanSong Cover Reveal will be Tuesday, January 22nd, and it’s available now for pre-order 🙂

Raffles! There’s a new raffle for Wishes in a Bottle from January 15th to January 24th; it’s for a gorgeous Egyptian hand-blown glass perfume bottle… and yes, I made a Filmora Raffle Trailer for it! LOL! You can always see my new videos on my Youtube channel 🙂 Enter the raffle as many times as you like!

Beta Readers Still Needed! As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading.

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind about self-publishing at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  • Pour over SwanSong to make sure it’s ready for formatting (Priority!)
  • Send out January Cover Reveal newsletter on January 22nd! (Priority!)
  • Start working on revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for May/June release
  • Send paperback page count to Dar for cover formatting as soon as I get it from TBK
  • Upload paperback & cover to KDP and order proof copy as soon as I get cover from Dar
  • Pick Raffle prizes for the Cover Reveal of SwanSong and get pictures sent to Xpresso
  • Ship Raffle prizes as soon as I get the last winner’s name
  1.  

Wishes in a Bottle is HERE!

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Wishes in a Bottle was released today! This is my first NEW RELEASE since Truck Stop was originally published Oct 9, 2001… so over 17 years!! I’m so totally excited! Also I love this banner that Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi made for me 🙂 🙂

Wishes in a Bottle is the first book in Wishes & Dreams, my paranormal romance series. Originally it was just one book. Then Jacinth showed up and had to have her story written, so I had 2 books. Then Cat showed up in Jacinth’s story and wanted *her* story written, so then I had a series, LOL. THEN last October, out of nowhere, this shapeshifter shows up in my half-waking dream one morning, and wants in. That was my 2018 NaNoWriMo project and I got 53,000 words written on it. So now we have a 4-book series and… oh yes, indeedie, one of the secondary characters in that one now thinks she should have her story told. I told her she had to wait her turn, LOL. I plan to release the second book, A Gift of Jacinth, in May or June of this year.

Here’s the synopsis:

Long ago, Julian DiConti was caught in a powerful spell binding him to a Djinn bottle, forced to grant wishes to each owner of his bottle. Three wishes… of the right kind… could free Julian of his bonds, but after six hundred years, he is beginning to wonder if he will be trapped as a Djinn forever.

Enter Alessandra Taylor, good Samaritan extraordinaire. She’d gladly free Julian from the spell if she could, but he isn’t allowed to tell her how, and one by one she’s driven to use the precious wishes to help others. But where will that leave Julian, and the growing love between them?

I have a raffle going on to celebrate the release! Check out this cool video Raffle Trailer I made, and then Enter the Raffle here! You can have many entries, and it’s free!

 

And of course, the gorgeous, gorgeous mini book trailer of Wishes in a Bottle, made by Eeva Lancaster!

 

I actually have my own YouTube channel now, so fun! I’m making up videos for everything!

 

My Writing Plan: Week of Jan 12

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Due to a day-long trip to the ER for an exacerbation of my chronic back pain, I’m running late on this. Not much has changed since last week. I’m still on the final read-through of SwanSong, which is due for release on March 4th. I’m just over half done, and I’m honestly not finding anything to edit. I’ve set the official cover reveal for January 22nd, one week after the release of Wishes in a Bottle… but… if you’re an “In the Loop” Patron on my Patreon page, the really beautiful cover is posted there for you to enjoy before anyone else gets to see it 😉

IN OTHER NEWS……

NEW RELEASE! Wishes in a Bottle is being released on Tuesday, January 15th! This is my first release in EIGHTEEN (18) years! Truck Stop was originally published by a small press on October 9, 2001….. so as you can imagine, I’m about expiring with excitement.

Raffles! My current raffle for the coasters set for Wishes in a Bottle is ending tomorrow night, at the same time the new release is released! You can still enter here: http://bit.ly/RaffleWish3, and there’s of course my Filmora Raffle Trailer for it here on Youtube. There’s a new raffle starting on January 15th, I’ll post that as soon as I have it and yes! I’ll be having another Filmora Raffle Trailer for it! LOL! You can always see my new videos on my Youtube channel 🙂

Beta Readers Still Needed! As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading.

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind about self-publishing at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  • Pour over SwanSong to make sure it’s ready for formatting (Priority!)
  • Send out January Newsletter on January 14th! (Priority!)
  • Start working on revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for May/June release
  • Send paperback page count to Dar for cover formatting as soon as I get it from TBK
  • Upload paperback & cover to KDP and order proof copy as soon as I get cover from Dar
  • Pick Raffle prizes for the Cover Reveal of SwanSong and get pictures sent to Xpresso
  • Ship Raffle prizes as soon as I get the last winner’s name

 

Life sucks… but then you get over it and get on with things!

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I’m now officially way behind where I’d planned to be this month. Since 3 days before Thanksgiving, I’ve had a serious exacerbation of my chronic back pain (20 years and counting) … then Wednesday it escalated even more, and I wound up spending all day in the Emergency Room at the local VA Hospital. Where, I must say, they took *excellent* care of me! I’m now on a 5-day burst of steroid anti-inflammatory, plus I have Vicodin (yuck, I know, but when you gotta, you gotta).

I’m still not down to my usual baseline, but I’m definitely better than I’ve been since Thanksgiving, and spent the night studying, trying and discarding Facebook Ads, and finally got 2 AB trials set up. And I have hopes that I’ll get even better in the next couple days so I can actually *enjoy* my first new release in 18 years, when it comes out on Tuesday!

Also last night I discovered DIY Book Cover Design site. I pay for professionally designed covers, but all I get is the cover images. This site puts the covers on mockups for paperback, ereader & phone, and it’s WAY cool, I’m actually having a WONDERFUL time this morning playing and making mockups for my 3 book covers (the current book, the new release and the March release that I have the cover for but haven’t done a cover reveal for yet).

I must also say… it feels GREAT to not be sitting here in absolute agony!!! but also… a lesson I learn regularly but always forget “in the moment” so to speak… part if this was my own fault…. I should have gone to the ER LONG before this… back in December.

My Writing Plan: Week of Jan 5

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Wishes in a Bottle is ready to go to Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi to be formatted for Kindle and paperback. It’s due for release in just 10 days!

So, now I’m on to the final read-through of SwanSong, which is due for release on March 4th, and I’m working on doing a cover reveal… but… if you’re an “In the Loop” Patron on my Patreon page, the really beautiful cover is posted there for you to enjoy before anyone else gets to see it 😉

 

 

IN OTHER NEWS……

Audiobook of Truck Stop

The Audiobook of Truck Stop is here!!!! It went live on December 11th and I’m a very happy camper! Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi has made me a mini-trailer which you can see on Youtube 🙂

Raffles!

OMG I discovered Filmora! So… I made this great little video for my current raffle, which you can see on my new channel on Youtube.

 

Beta Readers Still Needed!

As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading. 

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions

I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind about self-publishing at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN
(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  • Pour over SwanSong to make sure it’s ready for formatting (Priority!)
  • Start working on revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for May/June release
  • Send Wishes for formatting as soon as TBK is open for business (Jan 7) (done)
  • Order banners for Wishes & SwanSong as soon as TBK is open for business (Jan 7)(done)
  • Order Cover Reveal promo for SwanSong as soon as Xpresso is open for business (Jan 7)(done)
  • Order NetGalley for Wishes as soon as Xpresso is open for business (Jan 7)(done)
  • Send paperback page count to Dar for cover formatting as soon as I get it from TBK
  • Upload paperback & cover to KDP and order proof copy as soon as I get cover from Dar
  • Pick Raffle prizes for Xpresso’s Blitz next week and get pictures sent (Priority!)
  • Ship Raffle prizes as soon as I get the last winner’s name
  • Work up Editorial Review content for Amazon pages (done)

 

 

January Daily Writers #Hashtag Events on Twitter

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I wanted to put these in a central place where I could find (and share) them…. so here we go! Here’s a quick list, then you can find the month’s questions below:

  1. #AuthorConfession
  2. #Character Chaos
  3. #MeetAWriter
  4. #TheMerryWriter
  5. #WIPTruthOrDare
  6. #WriterlyWIPChat

Below are the graphics for the month of January:

  1. #AuthorConfession

2. #CharacterChaos

3. #MeetAWriter

4. #TheMerryWriter

5. #WIPTruthOrDare

6. #WriterlyWIPChat

That’s it for now! Go forth and Tweet!

New video! Introducing Allie McCormack

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OMG I have been having TOO much fun! I discovered Wondershare Filmora and spent the last 2 days making videos… well, I spent most of the 2 days learning how to use the program, i.e., deleting stuff and starting over, lots of hair-pulling, swearing, and general frustration, tons of caffeine, along with starvation and severe sleep deprivation for two days, but I finally got there!

The first video I made was a kind of introduction, a little about me, what I write, and my writing life. You can watch it below, or on my new channel on Youtube (because this is only the first video, mwahahaha!)

This was tons of fun! Really. Once I got past the steepest part of the learning curve it was more or less smooth sailing. I’ve decided to make videos for my raffles… since I’ve so far had good luck with raffles, and had a lot of fun sharing through that means, and well… it gives me an excuse to make another video!

My AllieMcCormack website got a makeover!

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Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi spoke, and I listened! She said my website needed a facelift. It needed to be upgraded to current standards (I was using the old dinosaur MS FrontPage since 1994… because I *knew* it and was comfortable with it). Also, that there was too much social, chatty content. She said I needed it to be an author’s website, focused on books and writing.

Well, okay, so actually, I knew all this already. I did. But I’d been happy staying in my comfort zone. But her advice nudged me into doing my ostrich act, to actually doing something about it. I’d in fact already planned to see about moving my website design to WordPress, which I knew was going to be a pain to learn. My son-in-law was going to sit at my side and walk me through it when I went to stay with him and my daughter over the Thanksgiving holiday, since that’s what he does for a living. However, the company they both work for, Ontraport, decided to send them to Sydney, Australia to teach a certification class there. So rude 😛 So the Thanksgiving visit went on hold.

I did check out Wix, but you had to PAY monthly to host it on your own domain, and I was like, really? Are you fucking serious? So I walked away from that because, seriously, sorry about the language but that just majorly pissed me off. Anyway, I bethought me of my domain provider, JollyLeaf. I was really sure I remembered seeing web design software on my Cpanel, and so I popped over there, and sure enough! They offered SitePro, so I was off and running. Sort of.

SitePro doesn’t really come with any helpful instructions, just some stupid videos that are more designed to sell their product than show users how to use it. I spent a good 24 hours screaming and crying and tearing my hair out, and basically suffering through a rough learning curve. However, despite their sucky assumptions that users actually know what they’re doing already, their Customer Service people just ROCK! And a few emails later, I was in business!

So anyway, I totally rebuilt the site from the ground up. It looks entirely different from the old website I’d built back in 2000. And, following Eeva’s advice I left out all the extraneous stuff I’d had. Well, in my defense, for 17 years I’ve only had the one book. It’s not like I had new releases or upcoming books to announce, and so forth. And now I do! I was on there almost every day for about a week, tweaking things and getting it just right. SitePro even has a preview function so you can see how each page will look loaded onto a desktop, big screen desktop, tablet, phone and large size phone. Which at first was a little disconcerting, but I really got into the hang of moving back and forth, and arranging blocks of pictures and text so they looked optimal in all the different formats, and I wound up being a real fan of that function!

I’m really, really pleased with how it looks now. Please! Feel free to go check it out, AllieMcCormack.com!

My Writing Plan: Week of Dec 29

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Things are moving along well. I’ve finished the final (and totally unnecessary except to make my Internal OCD Self happy) read-through of Wishes in a Bottle. So that’ll be off to Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi to be formatted for Kindle and paperback. There’s nothing more to be done with that except upload the formatted books to Amazon, and order a proof copy of the paperback.

So, now I’m on to SwanSong, which is due for release on March 4th. This is the first book of my 4-book Sons of the Desert series. Again, like Wishes, it’s been through massive edits and revisions, beta reading, and finally outside proofreading/copyediting, so I’m only doing a final read-through to satisfy my inner critic before sending it to Eeva for formatting.  I’ve already got the cover for SwanSong (and a rockin’ series logo) from Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs, and it’s AMAAAZING! I’m not even to the point yet of doing a cover reveal… but… if you’re an “In the Loop” Patron on my Patreon page, it’s posted there for you to enjoy 😉

IN OTHER NEWS……

Audiobook of Truck Stop

The Audiobook of Truck Stop is here!!!! It went live on December 11th and I’m a very happy camper!

Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi is making me a mini-trailer, using clips from the audiobook  🙂

Raffles!

I’ve been amazed at the response to the few Raffles I’ve tried over these last few weeks! Since I really adooore swag, and I adore sharing, I”m going to keep doing raffles regularly. I’m going to town finding different kinds of things to share that relate to the books to give away, as well of course as free copies of the eBook and autographed paperbacks.

Beta Readers Still Needed!

As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading. 

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

Submissions

I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind about self-publishing at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

THE WRITING PLAN
(not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Pour over SwanSong to make sure it’s ready for formatting (Priority!)
  2. Wow! That’s it!! I think this must be a record, I’ve never had only ONE item in my weekly Writing Plan before!!!!

My Writing Plan: Week of December 15

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This week’s writing plan is the same as last week’s: I’m doing one last (I swear!) read-through of Wishes in a Bottle, doing important things like moving commas around. Actually it’s been through two rounds of beta reading, and to a proofreader/copy editor as well. It’s DONE! But… I can’t send it off to be formatted without just one chance to fuss with it. But once I’ve done that, it’s headed out the door to Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi to be formatted for Kindle and paperback. ]

IN OTHER NEWS……

Audiobook of Truck Stop

The Audiobook of Truck Stop is here!!!! It went live on December 11th and I’m a very happy camper!

Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi is making me a mini-trailer, using clips from the audiobook to announce the release once it’s live 🙂

 

 

Wishes & Dreams Paranormal Romance series

Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi made this incredible mini-trailer for Wishes in a Bottle!! You can also watch it on Youtube.

 

As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading.

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions

I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind about self-publishing at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

THE WRITING PLAN
(not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Pour over Wishes in a Bottle to make sure it’s ready for formatting (Priority!)
  2. Arrange marketing/promo for Wishes in a Bottle release (scheduled for January 15)
  3. Arrange marketing/promo for Truck Stop Audiobook release (around December 12-19)

 

Banners & Trailers from The Book Khaleesi

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I’m loving these banners and mini-trailer so much, I feel like I should show everyone, so they can go get theirs made too, LOL.  These are made by Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi.

Truck Stop Banners:

Mini-Trailer for Truck Stop:

Banner for Wishes in a Bottle:

Mini-Trailer for Wishes in a Bottle:

….And more to come!

It’s here!! Audiobook of Truck Stop is available NOW!

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I got the news this afternoon from ACX, the audiobook of Truck Stop has gone live on Amazon, Audible and iTunes!!!

Teri Campbell is on the run, on a bus ride to nowhere. An unscheduled stop on the wind-blown plains of Wyoming leaves her at M&J’s Truck Stop… and in the arms of Mike Gallagher, the young trucker who appoints himself her protector, who understands her as no one else could. But will her new life and her new-found love be enough when events take an unexpected turn? …and can even Mike keep her safe from the past that threatens to reclaim her?

Buy the audiobook here!

 

 

My Writing Plan: Week of Dec 8

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This week’s writing plan is very simple. I’m doing one last (I swear!) read-through of Wishes in a Bottle, doing important things like moving commas around. Actually it’s been through two rounds of beta reading, and to a proofreader/copy editor as well. It’s DONE! But… I can’t send it off to be formatted without just one chance to fuss with it. But once I’ve done that, it’s headed out the door to Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi to be formatted for Kindle and paperback. ]

In other news……

Audiobook of Truck Stop

ACX’s instructions say the book will go live within 10-14 business days from submission of the final files. This puts us at December 12th at the earliest, 19th at the latest. Hopefully. At any rate… it’s going to be here soon!

Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi is making me a mini-trailer, using clips from the audiobook to announce the release once it’s live 🙂

 

Wishes & Dreams Paranormal Romance series

Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi made this incredible mini-trailer for Wishes in a Bottle!! You can also watch it on Youtube.

 

As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading.

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions

I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind about self-publishing at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

THE WRITING PLAN
(not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Pour over Wishes in a Bottle to make sure it’s ready for formatting (Priority!)
  2. Arrange marketing/promo for Wishes in a Bottle release (scheduled for January 15)
  3. Arrange marketing/promo for Truck Stop Audiobook release (around December 12-19)

 

Writing Milestones (Book Birthdays & more)

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I decided I needed to make a blog post that I can keep updated, and look back on.

  • May 8, 2000: The 1st chapter of TRUCK STOP won The Undiscovered Writer Contest (it’s a Milestone because that’s what got this all started)
  • October 10, 2000: Finished (1st draft) TRUCK STOP
  • November 10-24, 2000: Finished (1st draft) DANCER (yes, I really did… I wrote this in 2 weeks!)
  • July 17-21, 2001: Attend my first RWA National Conference
  • October 9, 2001: TRUCK STOP is released as eBook on thru SynergEbooks
  • February 17, 2002: TRUCK STOP is released as paperback thru SynergEbooks
  • August 10, 2002: Finished (1st draft) CASTLES IN THE SAND
  • October 20, 2002: Finished 3rd person revision of DANCER, renamed SWANSONG
  • August 21, 2004: Finished (1st draft) A GIFT OF JACINTH
  • November 30, 2008: NaNoWriMo WINNER
  • April 14, 2012: TRUCK STOP is self-published as Kindle & paperback on Amazon
  • November 30, 2016: NaNoWriMo WINNER
  • July 27, 2017: Finished (1st draft) WISHES IN A BOTTLE
  • August 15, 2017: A CAT FOR TROY took 3rd place in Paranormal, On the Far Side RWA Chapter contest.
  • November 30, 2017: NaNoWriMo WINNER
  • December 7, 2017: WISHES IN A BOTTLE took 2nd place in Paranormal, Melody of Love RWA Chapter contest
  • May 18, 2018: Finished (1st draft) A CAT FOR TROY
  • October 22, 2018: TRUCK STOP is re-released as 3rd edition w/major revisions
  • November 28, 2018: Finished (1st draft) WHEN DARKNESS FALLS
  • November 30, 2018: NaNoWriMo WINNER
  • December 6, 2018: WISHES IN A BOTTLE mini-trailer by The Book Khaleesi
  • December 11, 2018: TRUCK STOP is released as Audiobook through Audible, Amazon and iTunes
  • January 15, 2019: WISHES IN A BOTTLE is released as Kindle & paperback on Amazon
  • March 4, 2019: New release planned; either SWANSONG or A GIFT OF JACINTH

Colors Index:
Audiobook Birthdays
Book Birthdays
Contests
Finished!

Book Trailer for Wishes in a Bottle!

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OMG! I just got this mini book trailer of Wishes in a Bottle from Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi… this is just… WOW!!!!!!!

You can also find it on Amazon at https://amzn.to/2L2OfpI… please! Watch it and LIKE it there!! This is so exciting!!

Cover Reveal Blogs for Wishes in a Bottle

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OMG this is SO exciting! You have to remember, this is my first new release in 17 YEARS… and back when I first released Truck Stop, none of this was really a thing, indie publishing was only barely getting started, blog tours and cover reveals weren’t a thing, so this is all new and amazing for me!

And don’t forget to enter the Raffle for a gorgeous ceramic mug with the eBook cover on the front! (You do need to be in the continental United States to receive this)

Here are some of the blogs where I’m finding the Cover Reveal of Wishes in a Bottle. I’ll be updating this throughout the day. Just because… y’know… EXCITEMENT! If I can’t be all up in the air and excited, then I’m not doing it right, in my own (not-so-humble) opinion! LOL!

Look for this Banner on the blog sites, made by Xpresso Book Tours, who’s running the Cover Reveal:

 

You can find out more about the Wishes & Dreams series here, along with tentative release dates.

 

Cover Reveal! Wishes in a Bottle

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This is it! My very first ever, official Cover Reveal! And I am sooo excited, can you tell? Good thing for you I’m typing a blog and not doing a podcast, because I’m kinda yelling over here! 🙂 This amazing cover was made by Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs, and I’m so thrilled with it! Here’s the full cover for the paperback:
Wishes in a Bottle is the first of my 3-book (maybe 4) paranormal romance series, Wishes & Dreams, featuring Djinn and shapeshifters in particular, with possible guest appearances of other magical beings (but no promises!). The release date is January 15, 2019. It’s available NOW for pre-order on Amazon. It will also be available to read free on Kindle Unlimited for the first 3 months only.

The second book in the series is also completed, and has a scheduled release date of March 4th… but more on that later!

I’m doing a raffle to celebrate, giving away this gorgeous mug that I designed in VistaPrint! Head on over to Rafflecopter to enter the raffle!

Please note, you do need to be in the continental USA for me to mail it to you.

If you love paranormal romance, consider being a Patron, and get to read excerpts of scenes and chapters, character development, and so forth, as well as seeing cover reveals ahead of time, receiving free books and even signed paperbacks and swag (I like swag!). Check me out on Patreon!

Wishes in a Bottle Cover Reveal Raffle!

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To celebrate the cover reveal of Wishes in a Bottle tomorrow, I’m running a RAFFLE starting now (yes, now!) for a GORGEOUS ceramic mug. This is through Rafflecopter, head over and enter now!

At midnight I’ll be posting the cover, designed by Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Design, and the mug being raffled as well 🙂

 

Please note, you do need to be in the continental USA for me to be able to mail you the prize.

 

My First-Ever Raffle!

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I’m having my first-ever Raffle! This is just a quickie raffle as a kind of test run, as I’ve never done this before. I’m giving away a free Kindle eBook of Truck Stop to the winner… and remember, the audiobook is coming out, so if you already own the Kindle ebook, there’s a *deep* discount on the audiobook!

This is going until midnight of Dec 6th. Head to RaffleCopter to enter the raffle… you can enter multiple times, and several options give you more than one entry, so knock yourself out! Good luck! 🙂

 

 

My Writing Plan: Week of Dec 1

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National Novel Writing Month WINNER!!!

And I even survived… barely. I’m still pretty wiped out. What surprises me is that I got 50k words without having to switch manuscripts. I’d rather expected I’d have to, because I seriously went into NaNo knowing no more about the story than a short visual of an opening scene with the heroine. She didn’t even have a name, a history, I had no plot, no hero, no conflict. zip. But I had faith and started writing that little opening scene which turned into a bigger opening scene, which turned into the next chapter.. then another scene later in the book, then… then… then…!!! And somehow it turned into 50,053 words at 11:52 pm on November 29th, which was ALSO my birthday! Yay me! My birthday otherwise sucked, since I was in some serious pain. But… I finished NaNo!

Now… time to move on…

Audiobook of Truck Stop

Jay Dyess, the narrator of Truck Stop, did yeoman duty; he got the last chapter to me on November 28th and we got them approved and submitted to ACX! Now it’s a waiting game, it takes about 10-14 business days to get through QA and then to go live. We don’t have a date, but it should be somewhere around December 15th, I should think. Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi is making me a mini-trailer, using clips from the audiobook to announce the release once it’s live 🙂

 

Wishes & Dreams Paranormal Romance series

I’ve gotten an AMAZING cover for Wishes in a Bottle from Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs, who did my cover for Truck Stop. Cover reveal is on Dec 6th, and Wishes will go up for pre-order then, with a release date of Jan 15th.

This is where this week’s Writing Plan comes into play. Wishes in a Bottle has been through 2 rounds of beta reading and revisions, been polished, and then through a proofreader/copy editor. So really, it’s ready to go. But I DO want to pour over it just oooooooooone last time (we’ve all heard that before, right?) before sending it to Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi to format for Kindle and paperback 🙂 Eeva’s also going to be making me a banner for the preorder … AND… (I’m so excited) a cinematic book trailer for the release itself!!

As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading.

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions

I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind about self-publishing at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

THE WRITING PLAN
(not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Pour over Wishes in a Bottle to make sure it’s ready for formatting
  2. Arrange marketing/promo for Wishes in a Bottle Cover Reveal (scheduled for Dec 6)
  3. Arrange marketing/promo for Truck Stop Audiobook release (around Dec 15)

NEWS! Upcoming Cover Reveal and New Release!

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Things are heating up here! I’m going to be publishing my Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series, and Wishes in a Bottle is first in line.

I’ve asked Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs to do my covers for this series. Dar did my cover for Truck Stop, so I had no hesitation in calling on her when I made the decision to bring out my next book. She is one of the very best there are.

The official Cover Reveal will be December 6, 2018, and Pre-Order will be available on that date as well, with the Book Release on January 15, 2019.

CALLING BOOK BLOGGERS! If you’re interested in participating in the cover reveal and blog tour, which I’ll be doing through Xpresso Book Tours, give me a shout using the contact form on my website, AllieMcCormack.com or on social media:

Facebook: AllieMcCormackK
Twitter: AllieMcCormackK

Synopsis of Wishes in a Bottle:
Long ago, Julian DiConti was caught in a powerful spell binding him to a Djinn bottle, forced to grant wishes to each owner of his bottle. Three wishes… of the right kind… could free Julian of his bonds, but after six hundred years, he is beginning to wonder if he will be trapped as a Djinn forever.

Enter Alessandra Taylor, good Samaritan extraordinaire. She’d gladly free Julian from the spell if she could, but he isn’t allowed to tell her how, and one by one she’s driven to use the precious wishes to help others. But where will that leave Julian, and the growing love between them?

More information on the series overall is at my Wishes & Dreams Series page on my website, be sure to check it out!

 

I’m a Featured Author!

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I had used Premium Indie Reads to promote my books… and they picked me to be a Featured Author on their website! OMG, I am so excited and thrilled! Click here to go read it… there’s a whole interview that I had tons of fun answering the questions to, but I had no idea this is what they were doing until it just came out!

I have to say, I am SO thrilled with this company!! Not only have they done a fabulous job in promoting Truck Stop, they’ve made a large banners for the book, besides the Featured Author Banner above. Also, the other branch of their company, The Book Khaleesi, offers a number of author services, from proofreading to copy editing to book formatting, to banners and trailers. I’d started off by having them make a banner for Truck Stop, which I just love, and then I had them format Truck Stop for eBook and paperback because I wanted it to look professional. They did a great job with that, putting the front and back matter just where it’s supposed to be, plus in the Kindle version they created a table of contents, and inserted clickable links in my “For My Readers” section.

Here are the two banners they made for Truck Stop:

When the audiobook is close to being released, I’m going to have them do a cinematic style book trailer as well 🙂

My Writing Plan: Week of Nov 17

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National Novel Writing Month

Well, I’m still writing! Really there’s not much change in the plan for this week: write, write, write, and then write some more. I’m a bit ahead of schedule at almost 30,000 words. The NaNo chart below shows my estimated finish date as November 28th if I keep going at this rate! I love these statistics graphics we can get whenever we update our word count on the NaNo site! The halo over my icon shows that I made a donation… I try to donate something at least twice every November, once when I announce my novel for that year and then once on double donations day. Plus of course buying the t-shirt 🙂

I do have to say that I am seriously pleased with how this story is coming along! When you consider that when I started at midnight on Nov 1st, the only thing I knew about the story was the opening scene with the heroine thinking she’s losing her mind. She didn’t even have a name, and I didn’t know what her story was, I didn’t know who the hero would be, I didn’t have a  plot, much less a conflict. Literally, I knew nothing other than the opening scene. But once I started writing, ideas began coming at me. Night before last, I was telling one of my writing buddies (I have two very wonderful writing buddies, and I got to meet both of them for the first time at RWA National Conference back in July!) that I still didn’t know the conflict…. and I’d no sooner gotten the words out of my mouth than suddenly the potential for a conflict just showed up in my head, I mean, right out of nowhere!! I spent all day yesterday writing the first scene of the conflict, for 2516 words! Totally pleased 🙂

Audiobook of Truck Stop

The audiobook is coming along great. We’re up to Chapter 5… more than 25% of the book, finished, mastered and approved by me as ready to go. Jay Dyess at ACX is my narrator; he’s really on a roll, and doing a wonderful job!

Wishes & Dreams Paranormal Romance series

I’m still waiting to hear from the cover artist who did this artwork of Jacinth last year. I’m really really hoping hard that I do hear from her, but if I don’t by Dec 1st, I’ll start looking for another cover artist an/dor talking to Dar Albert who did the cover for Truck Stop, which I’m very pleased with. Since this is a series, first I want to get together a background for the book covers that will be used across all three (four?) books. Once we’ve got that, then focus on the specific cover for the first book, Wishes in a Bottle.

Once NaNo is over and we’re into December, I’ll pull out Wishes in a Bottle and comb through it one last time, polishing anything that needs it. It’s already been revised x gazillions, through beta reading, more revisions, and then through proofreading & copy editing, so really it’s good to go, but .. never hurts to make one last pass. Once I have the finalized cover design, I’ll move ahead with getting banners made and a book trailer, and get it released.

As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading.

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions

Submissions Plan: I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

Submissions Status:

  • Requests from the RWA Speed Pitch Event:
    • 1 Publisher request for the full manuscript (!!!) of Wishes in a Bottle (rejection)
    • 1 Publisher request for partial of SwanSong
    • 1 Publisher request for partial of Wishes in a Bottle (rejection rec’d… but said nice things!)
    • 1 Agent request for summaries of both series as well as When Darkness Falls (rejection rec’d for 1)
    • 1 Agent request for partials of both (!!!) SwanSong and When Darkness Falls
    • 1 Agent request for the full manuscript (!!!) of SwanSong (rejection rec’d… this was expected)
    • 4 Agent requests for partial of When Darkness Falls (rejections back: 3)
    • 3 Agent requests for partial of SwanSong (rejections back: 1)
  • Outstanding Queries:
    • 1 Agent query, Wishes in a Bottle

 

Synopsis, Blurb & Pitch:  All finished manuscripts have these, except as noted below:

  • Blurb/1-paragraph summation for query letter (Needed: A CAT FOR TROY)
  • 2-page synopsis (Needed: WHEN DARKNESS FALLS)
  • 5-10 page synopsis (Needed: A CAT FOR TROY)
  • 1-sentence pitch for agent submissions who require this
  • 280-character pitch for Twitter pitch events

 

THE WRITING PLAN
(not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. WRITE!
  2. Log in feedback from beta readers as it comes in and copy to Scrivener file… then return to #1 above.
  3. See #1 above.

My Writing Plan: Week of Nov 10

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National Novel Writing Month

So far, all is going well. I’m writing away.. I’m a teensy bit behind schedule with NaNo because I missed a day of writing back on Monday due to not feeling well, but I was already ahead of the game, so I’m almost caught back up again to be on target. The scenes for the story are coming to me slowly, but they’re coming, and that’s what counts, right!

Audiobook of Truck Stop

The audiobook is coming along great. We have Chapter 1 narrated, edited & mastered & approved, and Jay is finishing up the editing & mastering of Chapter 2 as I type this, and plans to be done with that this evening.

Wishes & Dreams Paranormal Romance series

Obviously I’m not working on this series during November. However, one thing I can do is start to make arrangements for the cover art. I’m still waiting to hear from the cover artist who did this artwork of Jacinth last year; if I don’t hear from her, or she doesn’t want or have time to do it, I’ll need to find another cover artist. Since this is a series, first I want to get together a background for the book covers that will be used across all three (four?) books. Once we’ve got that, then focus on the specific cover for the first book, Wishes in a Bottle.

Once NaNo is over and we’re into December, I’ll pull out Wishes in a Bottle and comb through it one last time, polishing anything that needs it. It’s already been revised x gazillions, through beta reading, more revisions, and then through proofreading & copy editing, so really it’s good to go, but .. never hurts to make one last pass. Once I have the finalized cover design, I’ll move ahead with getting banners made and a book trailer, and get it released.

As a reminder, if you’re interested in being a beta reader, I’ve got my process outlined on my Beta Reading Team webpage, along with synopses of the manuscripts currently available for beta reading.

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done:
    1. WISHES IN A BOTTLE, 1st book of Wishes & Dreams 3-book series*
    2. SWANSONG; 1st book of Sons of the Desert 4-book series*
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert*
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd round of beta reading:
    1. WHEN DARKNESS FALLS (201,775 words, as follows:)
      1. Book 1: The Palace (61,150)
      2. Book 2: The Dark Lord (90,500)
      3. Book 3: The Prophecy (39,400)
    2. A CAT FOR TROY, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams

 

Submissions

Submissions Plan: I do still have a few submissions out there, but I don’t see anything changing my mind at this point, really. Okay, except an offer from Berkley. LOL. I could really go for an offer from Berkley. Who, by the way, has never heard of me 😛

Submissions Status:

  • Requests from the RWA Speed Pitch Event:
    • 1 Publisher request for the full manuscript (!!!) of Wishes in a Bottle (rejection)
    • 1 Publisher request for partial of SwanSong
    • 1 Publisher request for partial of Wishes in a Bottle (rejection rec’d… but said nice things!)
    • 1 Agent request for summaries of both series as well as When Darkness Falls (rejection rec’d for 1)
    • 1 Agent request for partials of both (!!!) SwanSong and When Darkness Falls
    • 1 Agent request for the full manuscript (!!!) of SwanSong (rejection rec’d… this was expected)
    • 4 Agent requests for partial of When Darkness Falls (rejections back: 3)
    • 3 Agent requests for partial of SwanSong (rejections back: 1)
  • Outstanding Queries:
    • 1 Agent query, Wishes in a Bottle

 

Synopsis, Blurb & Pitch:  All finished manuscripts have these, except as noted below:

  • Blurb/1-paragraph summation for query letter (Needed: A CAT FOR TROY)
  • 2-page synopsis (Needed: WHEN DARKNESS FALLS)
  • 5-10 page synopsis (Needed: A CAT FOR TROY)
  • 1-sentence pitch for agent submissions who require this
  • 280-character pitch for Twitter pitch events

 

THE WRITING PLAN
(not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. WRITE!
  2. Log in feedback from beta readers as it comes in and copy to Scrivener file… then return to #1 above.
  3. See #1 above.