Legacy Delays

Hello, everyone!

I don’t often use my blog, but I know there will be a lot of questions after the Legacy pre-order was canceled. The first thing I have to say about that is: I’m sorry. The second is: Yes, I will still publish Legacy. If you want a bit of the longer story, read on.

So. This is the first time I’ve missed a deadline like this, and while I suppose I don’t have to explain, I feel like I should. If you’ve been part of my Facebook group, you know I’ve been struggling with burnout for a while. I’m not a naturally fast writer, so I’ve always pushed myself to keep up with the writers who publish rapidly. In 2022, I pushed too hard.

That year, I was working on a pen name serial for Kindle Vella under the name Willow McCain. It absolutely had to go out weekly. That was after the first of the year, when I wrote Maelstrom, I believe my largest book to date, in a little over two months. I also had The Mage’s Curse to write and to promote for The Realm of Darkness anthology. By the time the anthology had run its course and I’d published The Mage’s Curse in early 2023, I was spent. In complete burnout.

Then 2023 decided to throw me dental surgeries and a bad bout of pneumonia, alongside issues for my children (which I’m obviously not going to talk about for their privacies’ sake). It was all I could do to finish the serial under my pen name, and that was only once a week. In short, it was a miserable and dark year.

This year seemed better, and in many ways, it has been. Aside from lingering family issues, life has leveled out. I set up a pre-order to get myself moving again, because pre-orders always motivate me. Always. I hate disappointing people, so I usually work to the bone trying to meet them. Friends, I just couldn’t. And for that, I am deeply sorry.

Not only was my burnout not as much improved as I thought, but I had another dental surgery last month. (Please let this not become a Spring tradition. lol) I’ve been so stressed and very much dreading the push I was going to need to hit the deadline. I wrote to Amazon to move the pre-order to May 18th, even though I had no clue how I was going to make that.

The deadline was supposed to be extended. Instead, Amazon’s system canceled it.

I feel like I should be mortified and upset, but instead, I’m just…relieved. Now, I can take more time giving this story life without hurting myself in the process. Even though I hate disappointing you, I can’t help but be happy about that. Ara’s and Caolte’s story is complex and beautiful, and the more I’ve tried to push it, the more it’s slipped through my fingers. I think it’s going to be so much better now that I can let it bloom.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to set up another pre-order, since Amazon punishes Indie authors far more than traditional publishers for deadline issues, or if I’ll lose my pre-order privileges for a year. The cancelation was their mistake, so hopefully, I won’t lose the ability. If I set up another one, the release date will be far in the future, and then I’ll move it closer once the book is done.

But one thing is certain: Legacy (The Return of the Elves, Book 10) is in progress, and I will still publish it. I hope you won’t give up on my while I put my writing life back together.

With Much Love,

Bethany

Giveaway Time!

Last May was the three-year anniversary of publishing Soulbound, and I’d intended to do a giveaway. Did that happen? Alas, no. Life got crazy, and I lost track of time.

But it all works out. Last June, I released The Return of the Elves Collection: Books 1-4 and The Return of the Elves Coloring Book (which includes scenes from the first four books). I’ve never done a book collection or a coloring book before, so both experiences have been interesting and fun. I especially loved the extra content I got to add to the Collection! There is now a map of Moranaia, a new prologue for Soulbound, and an epilogue for Exiled. Oh, and I added pronunciation guides for character names at the start of each book.

Of course, this also gives me the opportunity to do a giveaway in celebration!

The two lovely books up for grabs.

So what do you get in this awesome giveaway?

• 1 print copy of The Return of the Elves Coloring Book

• 1 print copy of The Return of the Elves Collection: Books 1-4

• Whatever cool book swag I can fit in the box

To enter the giveaway, just enter on the form below. Most of the choices are optional, but they do give you extra entries.

Entry-Form

Abyss Release Week Giveaway

Hello, everyone!

Book 5 of the Return of the Elves releases May 22, and in celebration, I'm having a giveaway. Let's welcome Abyss with a bang! So what can you win?

Swag Pack includes: Signed print proof of Abyss, Elf Yourself reusable bag, coffee cup, journal, handmade necklace, and assorted other swag.

Excited? I know I am! The contest runs until 9:00 AM CST on May 30, 2018, but some entries are repeatable. And as a privacy note, I'm not collecting e-mail addresses for my newsletter or any other purpose besides contacting the winner. My newsletter is on the home page for anyone to sign up for. ;-)

To enter, just fill out the entry form below. Almost everything is optional.

Entry-Form

Soulbound Birthday Giveaway

Hello, everyone! I'm running a bit behind on Soulbound's birthday giveaway, but I was waiting for the prize to arrive. The crucial part, of course. :) So what is the prize?

A lovely Return of the Elves travel mug and a handmade charm bracelet. I'll also raid my swag and throw in some bookmarks and buttons. There's only one mug, but I took two pictures so you can see all the covers. Also, my signature is digital, so no need to worry about washing away marker.

One note. This is a stainless steel travel mug, so don't offer it to any Moranaians. Sorry, fae contestants. Hehe.

Without further ado, here's the entry box:

Entry-Form

Thank you for entering, and good luck!

Last Minute Mistakes

A week ago today, I released Exiled into the world. As with all releases, there was the last minute rush. The editing deadlines and multitude of small tasks that have to get done. If you ever see your favorite author wandering around with a dazed expression and industrial-sized cup of coffee, then the odds are good they're working close to deadline.

Now, if you're an Indie author, your deadlines might be a bit different. In addition to editing, you also have to schedule in time for formatting and work with your formatter's schedule. Each retailer also has different requirements for when you have to upload the final manuscript. For print, you have to allow time for Createspace and/or Ingram to review your files. Then you have to order and wait for proofs. And through it all, there's the taunting fear that you've missed something.

Yeah, about that.

It was Tuesday evening, and one of my amazing readers, Roxana, messaged me to say that she enjoyed the story but there was just one line... Sick with dread, I pulled up my file. And there it was:

How could I have missed this?? I rushed to Vellum to correct my e-books and loaded the new files at once. I contacted my patient formatter, Gaynor. I stressed about it to my critique partners and editor.

A bit more drama than a perfectionist likes on book release day for sure.

But of course, this kind of stuff is inevitable. If you ever wonder about the random odd word left in just about every published book, I can tell you the cause: editing remnants. See, most editors use Track Changes in Microsoft Word to make suggestions within the text. Here's what that quiet little section looked like when I got it back from my editor:

The blue part was my editor's suggestion. Jody wanted more baby details, OBVIOUSLY. :) And I added said details. But instead of hitting the Reject Changes button to erase her comment, I must have hit Accept. That's it. Other mistakes might happen when we move clauses around or decide to go with a different verb. They say it's tough to see the forest for the trees--but sometimes it's also difficult to see the trees for the forest.

As far as I know, no one managed to order a print copy with the mistake. But Amazon doesn't push an update for such a small change, so some of you might still have the e-book with this fun little goof. I hope you'll forgive the mistake of one tired author.

Me? I've learned to laugh about it. It's just one of life's reminders that we can't control everything perfectly.

And Roxana? Thank you! :)