Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr--Giveaway Sponsored by Vampire Book Club

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while.  I've been caught up with school and the holidays.  The last draft of Foreshadow is right on schedule!  I do, however, have something unrelated to my novel to announce!  For everyone who loves YA urban fantasy/faeries, Vampire Book Club is giving away an ARC of Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr.  It's the fifth book in the Wicked Lovely series.  Here's the link if you want to enter the giveaway:
http://vampirebookclub.net/giveaway-win-an-arc-of-darkest-mercy-by-melissa-marr/

Good luck, everyone!

NaNoWriMo

Well, I decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo last minute.  I'm going to be putting the third draft of Foreshadow on hold for the month (it's approximately 1/4 of the way done) and getting to work on the first book of The Erendirian.  The Erendirian is an epic fantasy series that I've been researching and outlining for nearly a year now.  I'm really excited to finally get to work on it.  I feel like it's time.

Update . . .

Sorry I haven't been updating lately.  The rewrite of Foreshadow is coming along . . . very slowly, unfortunately.  Although it's going slowly, I think it's going to be worth the time.

Foreshadow Update

The third draft of Foreshadow is going well.  I'm quickly learning that I'm not a fan of editing, but it's a necessary evil.  Hopefully I will have it done soon (and find an agent and publisher quickly!) so I can share it with all of you!

Round 3

I'm starting draft number three of Foreshadow today.  I'm putting the querying on hold until the draft is finished.  I'm still not satisfied with it.

Outlining Overshadow

Today, I'm beginning the outline for Overshadow, the second book in the Shadow Imperium trilogy.  (Are you seeing the "shadow" trend here?)  I have to admit, I've never done a book outline before.  From everything I hear from professional authors, though, outlines are excellent ideas.  I think that if I start doing outlines, I won't have to keep backtracking like I did with Foreshadow.


I will eventually come up with a more creative title for this blog.  I know "Brea Essex's blog" is dull.  Titles are always the hardest for me.  I changed Foreshadow's title three or four times before I finally settled on it.

Now, a side note from my writing:  My husband and I currently live in a townhouse.  We have extremely loud neighbors (who I hope never read this!).  It seems like my husband is constantly going over there, asking them to be quiet (which they do not like).  He's complained to our Home Owner's Association and all they said was that they have "had a lot of complaints about them".  I don't mind a little noise, but when they are banging doors at 2:00 am, it's not fun.  Anyway, a friend of mine came over last night, who is not so quiet herself.  She kept asking if she was too loud.  I figured it was our turn to be loud for once.  I was surprised the neighbors didn't come over to complain to us.  Maybe they just don't notice noise as much as we do.  Needless to say, I can't wait to move into a single-family home.

One more thing, before I go.  For those of you who aren't interested in young adult (YA) books, or urban fantasy, I am planning an adult epic fantasy series, tentatively titled The Erendirian.  The outline is finished and I've just started writing it.  I will be updating on that later as well.

Querying

Well, here it is.  My first post.  I'm new to blogging, so please bear with me.

I sent off the query letter for Foreshadow today.  Foreshadow is the first book of the Shadow Imperium trilogy.  It's a YA (young adult) urban fantasy series that follows Raena Davenport.  It's also considered a paranormal novel.  Here's a little blurb about it:

Raena Davenport’s life is already in upheaval.  Her mother is dead, and she has been forced to leave the heat of Las Vegas for a foggy coastal town in California.  Now living with her mother’s best friend and her family, Raena tries futilely to adjust to her new life.

When she meets Andrei, the new manager of her favorite local coffee shop, she instantly feels drawn to him.  He’s the first guy that has shown interest in her since . . . well, she can’t remember when.

At the same time, Logan, the obnoxious boy in all her classes at school, starts acting strangely.  He’s always been mean to her before, but now he’s actually beginning to seem nice.

When Raena begins to have strange dreams, she thinks she’s gone crazy.  Is it possible that there is some truth to her dreams?  Has one of the boys turned dangerous?  As she gets caught up in the ancient battle between good and evil, will her dreams lead her to the right decision?

I'm still looking for an agent for it, but hopefully I will find one soon so I can share the story with everyone.  Check back here for updates!