OOPS!!! I cannot believe I MISSED MY OWN RELEASE DAY!! *Insert Face Palm* In case you missed it, Counterfeit Love is officially out in the world. As I’m putting with every post related to Counterfeit Love, the information to join the month-long giveaway is down at the bottom. If you haven’t entered yet, I encourage you to do so soon.
This is a question I’ve been getting a lot, and so I thought I’d give as best an answer as I can. Being a debut author is akin to being the navigator on a cross-country road trip but forgetting the map. You’ve done all the planning and preparation. You have a good idea of where you’re going, the general route to get there, but when it comes down to the specifics you’re completely lost without the map and having a slight panic attack. I know that doesn’t quite work as an illustration in today’s GPS world, but I grew up being the navigator for my family’s cross-country trips back when all you had were the Rand McNally and AAA Trip maps.
Writing and editing the first book was the easy part, however, as I entered this season of debut release the entire world changed. With a three-book contract, I’ve managed to have my hands in all three books at once. I’ve been working on marketing and getting the word out about book one. I’ve filled out countless interview questions, scheduled both social media and blog posts, recorded podcast interviews, created images, figured out giveaways, ran a launch team, tried to figure out the ins and outs of social media (pro-tip: you won’t so don’t stress), and spent most of yesterday and today trying to comment on every single post I see related to Counterfeit Love or myself. During this season, I’ve also completed developmental (big picture) edits for book 2, Counterfeit Hope, and am trying to get nearly 2000 words a day done on book 3. This week, I’m miserably failing on the latter.
This isn’t said for pity, or anything, just giving an honest glimpse of what life looks like. Practically, it looks like laundry piling up, dinners being ordered in or made by others, and my kids seeing me during the time frames I take them to school, pick them up, and run errands, but that’s pretty much it. It means trying to be present with my family on the weekends when I *try* not to work, but struggling with the mental weight of knowing I’m falling behind.
However, despite all the challenges, this has been an amazing blessing. God is reteaching me my dependency must be on Him alone and that my worth comes in who He says I am, not in what I do or what reviews say. I’ve read three great reviews of Counterfeit Love but realized my heart is not ready for the impact they can have. So I’m going to wait until after I have book three written.
Before I sign off, some of you have wanted to know how I’m going to celebrate. Despite wanting to find a non-food-related activity, I have eaten half of a strawberry-rhubarb pie (soon-to-be a whole), bought myself carnations (my favorite flower), and I plan on hopefully going out to see a movie with my family sometime over the next couple of weekends. 🙂 Well, I’m hosting a party in the Blue Ridge Readers Connection group on Facebook, so I better get back to that. Then book three is calling for words in between posts and comments.
The life of a debut author is tiring, but it is a gift from God that I wouldn’t change. Thank you for all the support, messages, and well-wishes. I’ve tried to respond to every single one I receive, so if you didn’t get a response, know it’s just because either Facebook didn’t notify me or I just haven’t seen it yet. Thank you, and God bless! Crystal
Enter the Rafflecopter below to be entered to win one of three prizes: (Grand prize) – A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma, a toe bag with story-related prizes inside, (2nd prize) – A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma, socks, and a bookmark, (3rd prize) A signed copy of Counterfeit Love with a book sleeve made by my Momma and a bookish zipper bag. Entries run from March 1st to March 31st, 11:59pm EST. *Open to those legally able to enter, U.S. residents only for the physical prizes, international winners will be given a prize of equal value to whichever level they win.*
It is always good for me to review my year, and oops! It looks like I didn’t do many author interviews or giveaways this year. Is this something you would like to see more of? Let me know in the comments. Otherwise, check out the three categories below: Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and 2020 New Releases.
Happy New Year everyone!
Book Reviews – By Title (Omitting The and A)
It’s always exciting to see how many books I reviewed this year, though there are far more that I have read and just not written a review on, but I’m hoping to add those to my emergency stockpile for you to enjoy later. 😉 For now, you can revisit all the books I reviewed this year and see which ones you missed that interest you.
With the closures of so many libraries and bookstores, it has become harder and harder to just browse new titles. Hopefully, this review of 2020 Releases will give you that opportunity to find new reads for 2021.
It’s hard to believe, but last month I turned in my first manuscript to my publisher for editing. As always, God’s timing is perfect. I turned in my manuscript on a Wednesday and that Friday, my mother-in-law ended up in the hospital. It’s been a few whirlwind weeks of tests without answers and lots of appointments. She is doing okay, but every day is different. Most days she can care for herself, but then there are days that she needs help with even walking.
Before all this happened it was my goal to have a short story written and edited for my newsletter subscribers and the draft of my second book 3/4 of the way done before edits on my first book came back. I’m happy to announce that I have met at least ONE of those goals (though I am a good way closer to my second book goal than before all this happened). I even created a cover, which is substantially better than the cover I designed for the deleted chapter. Without further ado, here is the cover and blurb for my short story:
Banking on Love
She expected to save her brother, not rob a bank.
November 1884
When Eunice Reed discovers her younger brother has been arrested for public intoxication, she travels from Cincinnati to Chicago to save him from himself. But public intoxication is the least of their problems. Irvin is tangled up with a dangerous bank robber. Will the love and ingenuity of a sister be enough to save Irvin from making the biggest mistake of his life?
This short story is exclusively for my newsletter subscribers. Not one yet? You can sign up here. My newsletter crew members are the first to know about titles, book covers, launch team member callouts, contests, and they get a monthly chance at winning a $15 Amazon gift card.
So was this post a shameless plug for my newsletter? Yep, but I put a lot of work into this 7500-word baby, and it’s one I hope you’ll enjoy.
So I’m highjacking my normal schedule and doing the last Tuesday of the month today because the news of signing a contract couldn’t wait. Here is the video if you want to watch the news as I nervously announced it on Facebook Live, or below is the transcript, minus my many ums, but still full of run-on sentences. Until I had to listen to myself to type up the transcript, I didn’t realize how much I say “and,” “so,” or “just” when talking. So forgive my inarticulate speaking. I do much better teaching than I do speaking. LOL
THANK YOU so much for supporting me and encouraging me through this journey. Not much will change for my blog posts, they will still primarily be book reviews of Historical Romance/Fiction. 🙂 If you want to join my newsletter crew, you can sign up to the right, or you can visit www.bitly.com/ccaudillwrites.
So I guess I am going live now. Hi, it’s a little nerve-wracking to be online in front of everybody but I am so excited to come before you on Facebook Live as best I can to share some amazing news of God’s grace and mercy and His blessing in my writing journey. But a wise friend told me to kill a few seconds to give people to click the Facebook Live link to kind of catch up, and I don’t want anyone to miss out on this news. I am going to try and follow comments but I’m not sure if I can. This is my first Facebook Live.
The most important thing that I want you to get from this announcement today is that God sees you, He knows your heart, and loves you anyways, and He enjoys showing you that love in ways you never expected or dreamed.
So I always have written but I never really dreamed of publication. It was something I thought was “Yeah, that would be cool one day,” but that wasn’t something I sought. God really pushed me into pursuing publication about five years ago, and as much as I would love to spend time telling you God’s grace and mercy and how He’s worked through me in that, that’s not what this announcement is about.
God is the fulfiller of promises and the giver of dreams. So it is with great joy, and awe, and gratefulness that I announce that God has seen fit to bless me with a three-book contract with Kregel Publications for my Secret Service Historical Romance Series.
This was such big news that I had to do it live as best I could. I wish you could be here and have a cup of tea, some chocolate, and really get to celebrate it with me, but I had to share. This writing journey has just been filled with so many twists and turns, ups and downs, and guys you are the ones who have been there supporting me and encouraging me, and I just want to say thank you. This writing journey would not have been what it is without you. I just want to say thank you so so much.
It’s my humble prayer that you will be blessed by these stories as I have been. This is a long publication process. So the first book won’t actually come out until early 2022, even though my first manuscript is due October 15th of this year. But between now and then, there is going to be title reveals, cover reveals, call for launch team members, contests, and just any way I can get interactive with you, get to know you, and get you excited about this story as much as I am.
My newsletter subscribers are the first people to find anything out so there are quite a few of you out there that already knew this news. But if you want to join my newsletter and be in the loop and see all those things first hand, I will pop that link down in my comments here in a little bit.
But you probably want to know a little bit about the series. So I’m a huge fan of stories that have danger, history, love, hope, and that’s exactly like the type of story that I write. The series that I’ve been contracted to publish is about the Secret Service during the 1880’s. It focuses on three particular Secret Service operatives, and this was the era before they protected the president.
The Secret Service has an amazing history that is just so fascinating, and I won’t go into all the details and bore you, I promise I won’t. I could spend hours on it, but during the time of my story, they were focused on hunting down counterfeiters and arresting them. I read some amazing first-hand accounts by those operatives from that time period. I can’t wait to share some of those stories that have been inspired by that. And especially the women that I threw into their lives. Because I’m cruel and I’m evil, and I like it.
Life isn’t easy and I certainly don’t make it easy for my characters, and I just hope through their experiences and through the story that you read that you will have some excitement and entertainment, but that you also see how God will work through our lives in the good times and the bad times, and the really really bad times. God is always there and His hope is always there, and so that’s the underlying theme of the Secret Service series.
But before I sign off, I do want to share with you the Bible verses that have been the guide for my writing journey. And it comes from 1 Peter 4:10 -11 and it says: “Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength that God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.”
It is only through God’s grace and mercy that I’ve been given this opportunity. I pray that this gift He’s given me will be something that glorifies Him today, tomorrow, and forever, and that through this writing, that you will know exactly how much He loves you.
So, thank you so much for your continued support on this writing journey. I’ll throw up the newsletter link here in the comments if you’d like to keep in the loop that way. Again, thank you so much, guys. You’ll never know exactly how much your support means to me. God bless, have a great weekend, and thank you, thank you, thank you.
I don’t know about you, but I have an obsession with books. The movers we hired can attest to that as they moved over 60 boxes of books to our new house several years ago. If we had to move again, I’d say that number has increased by at least 20. Being a simple book-enthusiast was never an option for me. It is a God-given passion, and I am addicted to the thrill of danger, love, and struggles of the story. In other words, I’m a bookaholic.
For your entertainment, here are ten confessions I have about being a Bookaholic.
It’s confession time:
I used to be a single book at a time gal. Now I’m up to three or four at a time. One audiobook, one e-book, and two print (usually one nonfiction and one fiction). I do still tend to finish one before the other, but not always.
I own an unseemly number of bookish t-shirts.
With rare exception, I read only Christian Fiction, and usually, it is a historical romance.
I have over 1000 print books in my house. Their physical presence is calming and grounds me.
All of my books are organized and cataloged in a literal library system. I even have a barcode scanner. The old-school kind, not my phone–although I’m considering an upgrade. 😉
I own more Christian Historical Fiction than my public library and lend books out to friends to justify my growing collection.
Library Used Book Sales are my kryptonite. Our county has several a year, and I always come home with treasures and a request for another bookshelf.
I have duplicates of my favorite books, which I gladly shove at my friends and make them read…even if I know reading “isn’t their thing.” I mean, what’s wrong with them? They just haven’t found the right book, and I am glad to help remedy that problem.
My family has created a game called “Hide Mom’s Book.” It used to be only when they discovered I was nearing the end of a book, but now it’s whenever they see a book come in the mail.
My husband once hid North and South from me and forgot where he hid it. For over a year, I searched, but it took until we moved to find it.
I hide from my family to read books. Sometimes in the car, but most often in the laundry room or my bathroom. Gross? Yes, but a girl has to finish her books.
I carry books with me everywhere. In fact, every single purse I own has died because the weight has separated the handles from the actual bag. Yes, I know, e-books. But there is nothing like a print book in your hand.
More than once, I have pre-ordered the same book multiple times by accident. Yeah, Amazon supposedly has a little thing at the top telling you when you purchased the book previously, but who has time to read that when you are giddily hitting the purchase button?
More than once, I have become injured while reading a book. Grease splatters from cooking get me. Pans have dropped on my feet. Books smash me in the face as I read in bed. Worst is missing steps I didn’t see while reading and walking. You’d think I’d learn my lesson about multitasking, but I haven’t.
I haven’t read every book I own, but I keep buying more. That’s the real sign of a bookaholic, right?
I know I can’t be the only one. Be honest. We can have our own Bookaholics Anonymous Meeting right now. Share your bookaholic confessions in the comments. I’d love to hear I’m not alone.
Our family vacation this summer was always planned to be a lakehouse retreat to the Land Between the Lakes Area on the border of Tennessee and Kentucky with a side research trip planned for a day at Fort Donelson.
Then COVID hit. Our vacations are pretty much socially distanced all the time anyway, so all that changed was the ability to visit historical museums. WHICH IS HUGE!!! After spending intense months researching books, I was ready to visit the actual location of one of my stories, speak with the park rangers, examine the artifacts in the museum, and buy some of the resources which can only be found on location. With the exception of touring the outside grounds, everything else was closed to me.
It was a disappointment, but I am very grateful that I still was able to spend several hours walking around, imagining my characters, taking pictures, recording details from the placards, and even recording some videos for research and future promotions. It was over 90 degrees with outrageous humidity, but this author was willing to endure hours of it to get all the details needed to create a realistic story.
Below are a few of my favorite historical tidbits and pictures taken from my phone. When going to write this post, I realized my new computer does not have an SD Card slot so my real camera pictures will have to wait until I find an adapter. 🙂
A Soldier’s Winter Home
While we often think of soldiers as living in tents, more permanent establishments like Forts or long-term camps built little cabins for soldiers to huddle close in and combat against the winter. The cabin below is an example of one such cabin. The door was locked but pulling away from the hinges, so I stuck my hand in with my phone to get an inside look. You can see the hay strewn on the floor and a small fireplace used to heat the space. The chink in the walls really displayed how much wind could pass through a building. Any light you see in the walls is coming from the outside. It had to be better than a tent, but that wind still must have been biting.
An Important, Often Overlooked Battle
Forts Henry and Donelson were important locations for the Union and Confederate armies. Whoever controlled those, controlled the rivers and the railroads west of the Appalachian Mountains. The above is a panoramic view of Confederate States of America’s River Batteries. The Battle of Fort Donelson was both a land and river battle. From this position, the United States of America sent a gunboat flotilla led by Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote. The vessels which floated down this now peaceful river consisted of both timberclad and ironclad vessels. The timberclads were commercial river steamers converted to gunboats. My picture shows a hot, humid summer day, but the Battle of Fort Donelson was fought during frigid and wet conditions February 11 – 16, 1862.
Video Tour of a Scene I Plan
I can’t stand my own voice, but you can tell how really excited I was to be here. This was at the end of my tour, so my brain was a little wonky, but the ACTUAL date of the scene would be 1862 NOT 1863. 🙂 For those who don’t want to watch the video, this was a former Confederate camp taken over by Union soldiers. By February 15, the Confederate soldiers were wanting to retreat to Nashville but this encampment of Union soldiers stood in the way. So in the wee hours of the morning they attacked the Union camp. Union soldiers were hopping out of their tents pulling up their pants in order to fight. No one was ready, and it is a scene of chaos I look forward to writing.
Well that is all I’m going to share for now. With all the pictures and videos I have, I could write many more posts, but I think I’d rather focus on writing the actual story. 😉 Have a great week, y’all, and I hope you enjoyed what you read.
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