My Writing Plan: Week of May 18

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I did it!! I finished A Gift of Jacinth, it’s been through proof-reading and now resides with Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi, who’s formatting it for Kindle and paperback for the June 4th release date. I took a few days off after finishing Jacinth on Monday, but today I’m going to be starting revisions on Castles in the Sand, the 2nd book in my Sons of the Desert series.

IN OTHER NEWS……

NEWEST RELEASES!

 

COVER REVEAL

I’ve sent in the cover design request form for Castles in the Sand to my cover artist, Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs. She’s away on vacation right now so it might be a week or two, but I’ll set a Cover Reveal date once I have it 🙂

The Manuscripts

  1. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave 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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  2. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  3. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Begin revisions on Castles in the Sand
  2. Work on my June newsletter (you can subscribe here)

 

Fabulous new review for Wishes in a Bottle!

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I got this fabulous review of Wishes in a  Bottle from Jenn of Thrice Read Books!

After a long absence from the writing world, Allie McCormack is back with a new paranormal romance series: Wishes and Dreams. Wishes in a Bottle is book 1 (book 2 is on its way), with a sweet, selfless heroine and a hot Italian djinn (yup, there’s a story there, but… SPOILERS!).

Julian has been living a not-quite-charmed life for 600 years after a spell went wrong. His last master was a cruel, selfish woman, who *could* have given just one wish to save a sick little boy. But when she makes her last wish out of spite and Julian is free again to continue his life, he breaks the rules to return to the dying boy’s bedside. There, while offering what comfort he can to the boy and his mother, Julian meets Alessandra.

As the pair grows closer, drawn together by grief, they are pulled closer by common purposes. So when Julian is pulled back into his bottle and the rules that bound him for 600 are turned inside out, he’s stunned to discover that Alessandra is his new master.

Wishes in a Bottle is a beautiful love story with warm-hearted characters (no overpowering male leads here). Tension and humor both run thick in the pages of this romance, and there are more to come!

Check out Wishes in a Bottle on Amazon!

First review for SwanSong!

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The first review for SwanSong came in! It’s by by Jenn Bradshaw of Thrice Read Books,  who kindly sent me the draft so I could put it in the Editorial Reviews section of SwanSong’s Amazon page 🙂

Allie McCormack comes through again with the premier of her multicultural romance series, Sons of the Desert. Swansong is the story of Sarah and Khalid – a seemingly carefree dancer and the scholar-sheikh.

Sarah feels like an entirely different woman as she steps out onto the floor as Cassandra, when she performs as a belly dancer for the first time. Cassandra is the antithesis to Sarah’s demure, shy personality, and the wild, sexy dancer has caught the eye of a wealthy Arab man.

Khalid knows, from the moment Cassandra catches his eye, that he must get to know the woman behind the veil, who captures the spirit of the music in her every move on the floor. But the woman eludes him, and when he finally manages to corner her and convince her to go to coffee with him, he discovers someone who can end his loneliness.

Sarah has secrets, though, and her upbringing has trained her well to play her cards close to the vest. Can they overcome her past to love all the way to forever?

Swansong is an adult, multicultural romance set in sunny Santa Barbara, California. Rich settings and beautifully rendered characters sit in a plot that will keep you turning page after page. This is book 1 in the series, and a fantastic addition to Allie McCormack’s contemporary romance portfolio.

Bragging Rights! New Header Image for Social Media

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So just because… y’know… I’m super pleased with this, I’ve decided to share 🙂 I’ve been struggling awhile with header images for social media. Last week, I came up with this idea, and ran with it.

The background is the same one I’ve been using all along. It’s from SecondLife. I built a step-pyramid (for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s more like the Mayan temples than the Egypt pyramids with smooth sides… although step pyramids are in Egypt too, they preceded the ones you think of when you think of pyramids!). Anyway, end of art history lesson! I put my gorgeous, ornate Mughal (Indian) palace atop the step pyramid so it rises up out of the desert floor, with sand dunes all around, and some palm trees scattered about. I also put an aurora borealis in the sky, and set the sky to sunset… and took the picture!

I went to the DIY Covers website, and put each of my book covers on hardbound books, then arranged them in the graphic and arranged the text around them. And voila!! I really really like it. Eventually I’ll have to come up with something else as I get more books published, but since I have only one more book coming out in 2019, this should work through the end of the year.

A 4-star review for Wishes in a Bottle!

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I got a new review from Caitlin Royster of NetGalley. Unfortunately I don’t know where she actually published it (I got it in email from the NetGalley coordinator), it’s not on Amazon or Goodreads, but here’s the review:

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This was a really enjoyable book to read. I would recommend to friends that like to read this type of genre.

Julian, a Mage with the use of Djinn magic & a heart of gold. Alessanda is strong & has one of the most altruistic hearts. Three wishes, a possibility of freedom & even love for Julian after six hundred years of being bound to the Djinn magic.

I enjoyed the story & the interaction between the characters in this book. There were times I wanted to punch some characters & cry for others. My heart was so happy in the end for everyone.

Check out Wishes in a Bottle on Amazon!

My Writing Plan: Week of April 20

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We’re nearing the end of the third week of Camp NaNoWriMo! I’m still on the last scenes of A Gift of Jacinth… then that gets sent to Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi for formatting, and I’ll be moving on to revisions based on feedback from my first-round beta readers on A Cat For Troy. I’ve already sent the info on A Cat For Troy to Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs to get the cover done… excitement!

IN OTHER NEWS……

NEWEST RELEASE!

 

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: A Cat for Troy, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series and Castles in the Sand, 2nd book of my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series. The second wave of revisions of the first book of When Darkness Falls should be going into beta reading soon!

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, needs 1 scene added:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
  2. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave 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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  3. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  4. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Work on final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for June 4th release (Priority)
    1. Lead-in to date with Beatrice
    2. Village feast in Qaf (done)
    3. Visit with Julian & Alessandra (done)
  2. Camp NaNo: Revisions on A Cat For Troy
  3. Work on my April newsletter (Priority)
  4. Get When Darkness Falls: The Palace set up for 2nd wave of beta reading

 

New 5-Star review of Wishes in a Bottle!

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A fabulous 5-star review by Paul on Amazon. I’m so thrilled with this… and he liked it!!!!!

Allie McCormack casts a magic spell on us in her first book in a series titled, “Wishes in a Bottle.” Her world building in the seldom explored Arabian world mythology paints a rich mosaic in a contemporary world. The Djinn are as you would expect magical wish givers with Julian being a twist. The style of the story evokes strong emotions from heartbreaking to hilarious. McCormick has a way to tie you empathetically to her characters, each one crafted for a purpose. The romance between the two leads develops in a way that I was rooting for them early on and wondering how they could pull it off with everything that was going on. I enjoyed the pacing as we slip into their world and learn the rules of it.
I look forward to the next installments in this series “Wishes & Dreams.”

Check out Wishes in a Bottle on Amazon!

My Writing Plan: Week of April 13

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We’re nearing the end of the second week of Camp NaNoWriMo! I’m working on a lead-in to Douglas’ (abortive) date with Beatrice (that got genie-jinxed!), and a transition from the feast at the Djinn village back to Jacinth’s tent. I’m almost done with A Gift of Jacinth… then that gets sent to Eeva Lancaster of The Book Khaleesi for formatting, and then I’ll be moving on to revisions based on feedback from my first-round beta readers on A Cat For Troy.

IN OTHER NEWS……

COVER REVEAL! The cover reveal for A Gift of Jacinth is coming up on April 16th! That’s this week! I have a Raffle set up that’ll go live on the 15th.

NEWEST RELEASE!

 

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: A Cat for Troy, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series and Castles in the Sand, 2nd book of my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series. The second wave of revisions of the first book of When Darkness Falls should be going into beta reading soon!

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done
  2. Finished Manuscripts, needs 3 scenes added:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave 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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  5. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Work on final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for June 4th release (Priority)
    1. Lead-in to date with Beatrice
    2. Village feast in Qaf (done)
    3. Visit with Julian & Alessandra
  2. Camp NaNo: Revisions on A Cat For Troy
  3. Work on my April newsletter (Priority)
  4. Set up Cover Reveal for A Gift of Jacinth, April 16th
    1. Xpresso Tours (done)
    2. Yours Truly Book Services (done)
    3. Premium Indie Reads (done)
    4. Raffle (done)
  5. Get When Darkness Falls: The Palace set up for 2nd wave of beta reading

 

My Writing Plan: Week of April 6

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We’re nearing the end of the first week of Camp NaNoWriMo! I finished the read-through of A Gift of Jacinth, and I’ve identified 3 scenes I want to insert; a backyard BBQ with Julian and Alessandra, the hero & heroine of the first book, Wishes in a Bottle; a lead-in to Douglas’ (abortive) date with Beatrice (that got genie-jinxed!); and a village feast scene when Jacinth takes Douglas to visit her village in Qaf, the Djinn homeland.  I’m planning/hoping to get at least 2 of these scenes written during today’s write-in. I already have a start to the date lead-in dictated and uploaded, ready to transcribe, so I’ll start with that, and proceed. I want this all tied up by tomorrow, Sunday, at latest!

Then I’ll be moving on to revisions based on feedback from my first-round beta readers on A Cat For Troy.

IN OTHER NEWS……

COVER REVEAL! The cover reveal for A Gift of Jacinth is coming up on April 16th!

NEWEST RELEASE!

 

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: A Cat for Troy, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series and Castles in the Sand, 2nd book of my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series. The second wave of revisions of the first book of When Darkness Falls should be going into beta reading soon!

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done
  2. Finished Manuscripts, needs 3 scenes added:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave 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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  5. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Work on final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for June 4th release (Priority)
  2. Camp NaNo: Revisions on A Cat For Troy
  3. Set up Cover Reveal for A Gift of Jacinth, April 16th
    1. Xpresso Tours (done)
    2. Yours Truly Book Services (done)
    3. Premium Indie Reads (done)
    4. Raffle (VistaPrint graphics made)
  4. Get When Darkness Falls: The Palace set up for 2nd wave of beta reading

 

A new review for Wishes in a Bottle!

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A 5-Star review by LadyK Rose on Amazon

Great use of fictional characters with real human lives

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Story brings together so much everyday family issues and mixes those with some interesting fictional characters like djinn, shapeshifters, and mages. Results are tragic, heartwarming, and even a bit funny. Keeps me interested and turning pages. I liked the Uncommon Threads philanthropic venture. Shows how much good sharing can do. Good work Allie McCormick! ;~)))

My Writing Plan: Week of March 30

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Monday is the beginning of Camp NaNoWriMo! I’m not approaching it as the huge phenomenon as I do November, but I do plan to utilize Camp to get the novels I plan to publish this year, through their final revisions stage. I hope 🙂  This would include A Cat For Troy (3rd in the Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series) and Castles in the Sand (2nd in the Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series). I plan to publish one of these two books in the fall; I just have no idea which, yet! However, since I’m deep into finishing up the final revisions on A Gift of Jacinth, it’d be stupid to switch subgenres while I’m already in that world so my first project for Camp is A Cat for Troy.

IN OTHER NEWS……

COVER REVEAL! The cover reveal for A Gift of Jacinth is coming up on April 16th!

NEWEST RELEASE!

 

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: A Cat for Troy, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series and Castles in the Sand, 2nd book of my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series. The second wave of revisions of the first book of When Darkness Falls should be going into beta reading soon!

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave 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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  5. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

 

THIS WEEK’S WRITING PLAN

(Not in any particular order except as indicated)

  1. Work on final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for June 4th release (Priority)
  2. Camp NaNo: Revisions on A Cat For Troy
  3. Set up Cover Reveal for A Gift of Jacinth, April 16th
    1. Xpresso Tours (done)
    2. Yours Truly Book Services (done)
    3. Premium Indie Reads (done)
    4. Raffle (VistaPrint graphics made)
  4. Get When Darkness Falls: The Palace set up for 2nd wave of beta reading

 

My Writing Plan: Week of March 23

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There’s been no real change; I’m still working on the final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth, which will be released on June 4th. I’m back to being able to writing (which includes editing, revising, etc.) full-time, which is such a HUGE relief!!!

IN OTHER NEWS……

NEW RELEASE! SwanSong is available now as Kindle or you can also read it for free on Kindle Unlimited. The paperback will be here soon, I’m still fighting with KDP about the cover, but hopefully we’ll get it sorted out soon. A Gift of Jacinth is actually already available as pre-order for just 99 cents!

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: A Cat for Troy, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series and Castles in the Sand, 2nd book of my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series. The second wave of revisions of the first book of When Darkness Falls should be going into beta reading soon!

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave 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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  5. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

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)

  1. Work on final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for June 4th release (Priority)
  2. Set up Cover Reveal for A Gift of Jacinth, April 16th
    1. Xpresso Tours (done)
    2. Yours Truly Book Services (done)
    3. Premium Indie Reads
    4. Raffle
  3. Get When Darkness Falls: The Palace set up for 2nd wave of beta reading

 

Copyrighting a group of unpublished works

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This went live at the Copyright Office this morning: You can now file a group registration for up to 10 unpublished literary works.

I just filed for a group registration this morning. The process is almost exactly the same as One Work by One Author, except of course, you list up to 10 titles instead of just one. You also can digitally upload or send by mail, just the same as other forms of copyright. I called the Copyright Office for verification; he said you are copyrighting the *content* of what you send, so send as much as you’ve got for each work, and that is what is copyrighted.

The fee (I just paid it) is $55. (Weirdly, last night when I put it in the shopping cart, it was $85, but when I went to pay this morning, the fee was $55… so it’s possible (though not likely) that the fee is $85 and somehow their system glitched and I got lucky.

The man I spoke to *also* said that you do not need to re-copyright these works once you publish them. Which made no sense to me, but we weren’t communicating well; I know too little about copyright to use the right catch-phrases so that he’d understand what I was asking. Maybe someone more experienced than me can clarify this?

He said if the title is different when you publish a work, there will be an option to associate the unpublished registration for that work with the new, published title. Also, FYI, the date of the copyright for that work will always be the date of the unpublished registration, not the date that the work was published.

My Writing Plan: Week of Mar 9, 2019

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Things are pretty simple at t his point; SwanSong was released on March 4th as planned, and I’ve got the cover for A Gift of Jacinth, the 2nd book in my Wishes & Dreams series, and am planning a Cover Reveal for April 16th. I’m almost able to be back at my desk full-time (thank heavens!), and I’m plowing ahead on the final revisions on the manuscript before sending it for proofreading.

IN OTHER NEWS……

NEW RELEASE! SwanSong is available now as Kindle or you can also read it for free on Kindle Unlimited. The paperback will be here soon, I’m still fighting with KDP about the cover, but hopefully we’ll get it sorted out soon. A Gift of Jacinth is actually already available as pre-order for just 99 cents!

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: A Cat for Troy, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series and Castles in the Sand, 2nd book of my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series. The second wave of revisions of the first book of When Darkness Falls should be going into beta reading soon!

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
  3. Finished Manuscripts, major revisions in progress prior to 2nd wave 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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  5. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

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)

  1. Work on final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for June 4th release (Priority)
  2. Set up Cover Reveal for A Gift of Jacinth, April 16th
    1. Xpresso Tours
    2. Premium Indie Reads
    3. Raffle
  3. Get When Darkness Falls: The Palace set up for 2nd wave of beta reading

 

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: SWANSONG is released as Kindle & paperback on Amazon

 

Colors Index:
Audiobook Birthdays
Book Birthdays
Contest Wins & Finals
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SwanSong is released today!

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SwanSong has gone live today!!! You can find  it on Amazon as Kindle or (shortly) paperback, or you can read it free with Kindle Unlimited. The cover was designed by the fabulous Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs, I’m so pleased with it!!!

Here’s the synopsis:

Sarah Pendleton was born into a life of wealth and privilege, raised in the shadow of her famous soprano mother and her father, an equally famous composer. Shy and retiring, Sarah has left behind the world she grew up in to make her own life in the coastal town of Santa Barbara, California.

A visiting University professor of Arabic literature from the small oil-rich country of Taqara, Khalid Al Mansour is the eldest son of a Taqaran diplomat and an independent American artist. He’s never settled down in one place, but that’s because he’s never found what he wanted… until one evening he sees the lovely bellydancer at a small, smoky cafe downtown.

 

 

 

Upcoming Cover Reveal: A Gift of Jacinth

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All right, here we go looking forward to the next book already! Last night, late, I got the final version of the cover for A Gift of Jacinth, and I think it is GORGEOUS!!! I’ve already ordered a mug and bookmarks from VistaPrint, this is sooo exciting! The tentative release date isn’t until June 7th, so I’ve set a Cover Reveal date of Tuesday, April 16th. I am super excited about this one! Jacinth is one of my favoritest characters, and a really fun story that was a blast to write!!

I’ve actually posted the cover for my “In the Loop” patrons on Patreon… feel free to support me there and get the early peeks at covers, etc.! 🙂

A fabulous new review for Wishes in a Bottle

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This fantastic review by Lex Allen for Wishes in a Bottle was posted on Goodreads… he really loved it! Check it out now!!!

“Wishes in a Bottle” by Allie McCormack is a story that has a bit of everything from romance to action, from mages to Djinn to shape shifters, and some of the most empathetic, true to life human characters I’ve read in a while.

Allie McCormack has got her stuff together. Whether the scene is one of great sadness and loss, jubilant triumph, a scary nail biter, or erotic romance (no worries, nothing hardcore)—she hits the nail squarely on the head. It’s hard for me to admit this, macho guy that I am; but there are a couple of scenes in “Wishes in a Bottle” that literally induced misty eyes. Anyone who can bring out the emotional highs and lows of a reader has gone beyond simply “doing it right.” The story is not a thriller, though it is surely a page turner, and one you’ll not soon forget. Get it, read it, review it, and then go get another of the several books published by Allie McCormack—I will.

Check out Wishes in a Bottle on Amazon!

My Writing Plan: Week of March 2, 2019

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SwanSong release is around the corner, and I’ve put in the order for cover art for the next release this morning. I’ve been making a slow recovery from my back pain exacerbation; I’m not so much in pain anymore as mentally wiped out from dealing with relenting pain for almost 2 months. I’m starting to spend more time at the desk however and beginning to be productive. The current project is to work on the final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth, which is the 2nd book in my Wishes & Dreams series. I’ve set a tentative release date of June 7th.

IN OTHER NEWS……

NEW RELEASE! SwanSong’s release date is almost upon us! It’s available now as Kindle with a pre-order price of 99 cents until March 4th! You can also read it for free on Kindle Unlimited… the paperback will be here soon! 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: A Cat for Troy, 3rd book of Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series and Castles in the Sand, 2nd book of my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series. The second wave of revisions of the first book of When Darkness Falls should be going into beta reading soon!

The Manuscripts

Manuscript Status:

  1. Finished Manuscripts, professional copy editing done
  2. Finished Manuscripts, need copy editing:
    1. A GIFT OF JACINTH, 2nd book of Wishes & Dreams
  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 series
    3. CASTLES IN THE SAND; 2nd book of Sons of the Desert series
  4. In-Progress Manuscripts:
    1. MICHAEL’S QUEST, 3rd book of Sons of the Desert
    2. SHADOW CAT, 4th book of Wishes & Dreams
  5. To Be Written Partial Manuscripts:
    1. HATED MATE, 5th book of Wishes & Dreams
    2. BEHIND THE CLOUDS, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
      1.  
    3. INTO THE STORM, spin-off of Sons of the Desert
    4. Short Story: Amanda & Julian, spin-off of Wishes in a Bottle

  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)

  1. Work on March newsletter for sending on March 4th! (Priority!)
  2. Start working on final revisions of A Gift of Jacinth for possible June 7th release
  3. Upload SwanSong paperback to KDP as soon as I get it from Eeva (Priority!)
  4. Send SwanSong final page count to Dar for paperback cover finalizing as soon as I get the file from Eeva (Priority!)
  5. Schedule Cover Reveal for A Gift of Jacinth once I have the cover from Dar
  6. Post First-Look Cover Reveal on Patreon for my “In-the-Loop” patrons

 

 

Breaking a Record

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I’m just blogging this because I like to celebrate the little achievements 🙂 My previous record for Kindle Unlimited page reads in a day was 1,249 on 11/20/18…. as of right now, just after noon today, I have 1,465 page reads! 1,425 of those are Wishes in a Bottle, 40 for Truck Stop. It’s only noon, too… let’s see what we finish the day with!

Finally tally was 2,074! 2,034 for Wishes in a Bottle, 40 for Truck Stop… actually we could run 2 sets of records now because the 1,249 in November was for Truck Stop only. 🙂

TOTAL KU Page reads in a day: 2,074 on 1/27/19
Truck Stop: 1,249 on 11/20/18
Wishes in a Bottle: 2,034 on 1/27/19

Just to have this written down somewhere, here are the official normalized KU page reads:

Truck Stop:  345
Wishes in a Bottle:  559

It’s here! The Cover Reveal for SwanSong!

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IT’S COVER REVEAL DAY!!! This absolutely gorgeous cover for SwanSong was designed by Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs. SwanSong is the 1st book in my 4-book multicultural romance series, Sons of the Desert, set in Santa Barbara, a lovely coastal Southern California town.

And yes! There’ll be a raffle I’ll be setting it up in the morning 🙂

 

 

SwanSong will be released March 4, 2019, and is available now for pre-order at http://bit.ly/SwSons1

 

My first review for Wishes in a Bottle!

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I got my first review of Wishes in a Bottle!!! Jenny  Schwartz, author of the two wonderful paranormal romance series, The Collegium and Old School, posted a 5-star review of Wishes in a Bottle!

“Wishes in a Bottle” by Allie McCormack is a heartwarming, emotional paranormal romance. Julian is sympathetic hero and the heroine, Alex, is appealing. Side characters have their own journeys (or the beginnings of them) but their stories don’t overwhelm the main romance. Julian and Alex’s love story exists in a web of other relationships, which is a realistic portrayal of how romantic love is part of other forms of caring. The magical element is excellently imagined and reaches a satisfying conclusion (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers). A wonderful book in with the real magic is the gift of compassion.

You can find it here on GoodReads!