Monday, August 27, 2012

Playing with Tigers 2 at Smashwords

I'm happy to tell anyone that stumbles on here that I've published the sequel to Playing with Tigers at Smashwords.com and will be uploading it to Amazon near the end of the week.  As with all of my work, it's $0.99 - I won't charge more than the minimum because I know they need more editing than I can give them and I cannot afford a proper editor. 

I truly hope that anyone that enjoyed the first book will enjoy the second as well, and I do appreciate comments and ratings more than you can possibly know.  That includes the ones that tear my work apart.  They let me know what needs improvement, and since I have no intention of stopping with my dubious writing, I can always stand to get better.

If anyone is looking to contact me in a place where they won't be seen by the public (I understand that lol) then I have an account on Goodreads and can be reached by private messages there.  Despite what I put as my profile, I'm really not that mean.  Well, maybe to my characters, but that's rather the point I think. 

I write because I enjoy it.  I write fast and I write often.  That means I'm prone to make many errors.  As I discover them, I fix them.  Sadly the first edition of my books will probably always have typos in them.  By typos I don't mean misspells, I mean words that are just wrong.  Had a hilarious one the other day.  Was supposed to be "Rewarded with a smile"  but was actually "Retarded with a smile."  See what I mean?  One letter, which spell check won't find in a 400 page document, and it changes the meaning to something that had me smacking my face on my desk as I mocked myself.  Those are fun to locate.  At least I read all of my work even far after publishing, catch a new one every time, and sigh and chastise myself every time.  The amount that I had to alter in the first Playing with Tigers was overwhelming, and I'm not even finished weeding that mess.

I guess the only good news regarding that is that I can throw out a new book in no time.  The original Swordmaster Dasan was written in my spare time over 2 weeks.  Playing with Tigers; Broken...  That was written in one night, proofread the next, published the following morning.  I wrote two different stories for Playing with Tigers 2, then tore them apart, reworked them, wrote a draft, decided it was crap and did it again.  I really need to find another hobby to occupy myself I think, haha.  Technically, I'm sitting on 3 relatively finished books now, that I'm letting collect some dust because I just don't want to edit them.  The curse of writers with ADHD.  Passion in only one area, and the desire only to move forward with new work, regardless of how much more could be accomplished by sitting still for a moment.

In other news the Swordmaster Dasan story is coming along well.  Yes, I'm forcing myself to do it, because it's worth it.  Decided to rewrite it and use what I had only as a very good draft for reference purposes.  It doesn't pack enough punch for me.  A friend is working on a new cover for that, and I will be releasing a pack with the three bundled hopefully by Christmas (no promises on that though, the fall is hell for me).

Well, back to work for me.  I can be found on Steam for anyone who wants.  Just message me on Goodreads and if you don't seem too stalkerish, I'll give you my steam e-mail.  Love my games almost as much as I love my coffee.   Almost.


~ S. "Kaeli" Hart  - Twisted pervert.


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Lots of stuff on it's way in upcoming weeks

So, I'm rather proud to tell anyone who's interested that I've finished yet another piece that will be published within the month.  That makes four upcoming releases. 

Playing with Tigers 2 - Editing complete - awaiting cover and formatting
For anyone who read the first, the sequel deals with a few unresolved issues from that novel.  I'm rather proud of the last half of the book at the moment, but give me time, I'll find something I did wrong and start to criticize myself  ;)  Hoping that it's not too much for everyone, I get carried away on the story occasionally and lose the fact that it's erotica on the way.  The requests that I was given were worked in, and I did tone down what happens to Keel a bit, so, again, hoping that it won't be too much for readers. 

Swordmaster Dasan 2 - Editing now
The sequel with my sadistic Swordmaster and one of my favorites from Playing with Tigers is nearly done.  Kyo alone makes these stories fun to write, but again, hoping he isn't too much for people to handle.  Altered my original plan of what would've happened to Kyo between the books to something more suitable and enjoyable, because honestly, once I got to know him I felt like keeping him around.

Swordmaster Dasan 3 - On the back burner, lol
I have a lot of work to do on what I've already written, and since the bridge between stories has yet to hit the kindles and nooks of the world, I see no reason to drive myself mad over this one until the prequel to it is out for your enjoyment.  Expect it soon, though, I won't procrastinate.

Untitled - awaiting editing
Set in another country that's briefly mentioned in PWT2, this one stars a character in an interesting position as he is assailed by women he doesn't want and a young man he shouldn't try for.  May alter the timeline, but will be working on it when I need a break from my previous work. 


Aside from that, I think I should mention that this time of year is literal hell for me, but luckily I've been able to put all of my angst into my work.  I took a look at Playing with Tigers, and I'm still editing that one when I have the time.  I even entertained the idea of rewriting a few of the chapters for fluidity reasons, since some are very jarring.  We'll see.  Anyway, it's 2 am and I've been awake now for 24 straight hours.  Time to go and pass out beside my husband and kick him when he snores.  High five everyone, and off I go. 

~ A very tired S. 'Kaeli' Hart

Friday, August 10, 2012

Playing with Tigers 2

I'm proud to say that after five straight days of work, the second book is completed, awaiting a cover and extensive editing.  For length reasons, the content has already been whittled down dramatically.  The book again follows Keel as he deals with the Sahrketh.  He decides to travel, and through horrible circumstances end up in a very dangerous situation that gives him insight into what is about to happen to the Sahrketh Empire as a whole. 

Fun fun. 

Editing this story will take some time.  Even having cut as much as I have, it's still as large as the first book, which sort of bothers me...  I seem to get carried away haha.  While weighing what to keep and what to discard I also thought of a few more things to make it better, so, the sad reality is that for every piece I take out, I have ten more to put in...  Overactive imagination induced by avoiding reality - the curse of many a fantasy writer I'm afraid. 

The question of what to do with one character in particular has been giving me some trouble, but I think I've hammered out a satisfactory means to approaching the issue, and hope that my readers enjoy it.

Swordmaster Dasan 2 & 3 are on a temporary hold in the editing process, although I will be meeting with someone today to discuss possible covers, since they may warrant a professional piece.

With that update, and with much to expect in the upcoming weeks, I'll turn my attention back to what I should be doing - namely editing anything I can while I have the time. 

Happy hunting everyone -  Stephanie 'Kaeli' Hart