NaNoWriMo Wrap Up

It’s December 1^st, which means the NaNo craziness is over.  Writers are climbing out of dark and cramped caves to participate in the real world again.

So how did I do?

Well … my final word count as of last night was about 63,382.  Yes, this is beyond the 50K word challenge, but I’d honestly hoped to write more than that.  I decided to use the sequel to Soul Avenged as my NaNo project.

The storyline has been incredibly easy to write!  I don’t know what it is about this series.  It’s addicting—being immersed in this dark place--like I’ve taken all the favorite parts of my head and thrown them together in a world as familiar to me as real life.  I adore every one of the sexy characters in this book.  They’re very distinct in my mind, which makes channeling their voices so easy.

What kept me from writing more?

Well, November itself is a crazy month.  Not only is it the month of my hubby’s birthday (though thankfully we celebrated his big 40^th bash in October—a surprise party to throw him off), it’s also my daughter’s birthday month, my best friend’s, my mother’s and my grandmother’s.  Let’s not forget Thanksgiving was thrown into the mix as well.  And … I’ve been crazy busy with the cover of Soul Avenged—specifically, the nasty blurb that I’ve had to shrink from about 350 words down to 150.

Ugh.  Not easy.  My brain has been a little bit scattered.

But I should be finishing the first draft of SoW2 by the second week of December!!  Yahoo!

This story is even darker than Soul Avenged—creepier, steamier.  More supes.  And a whole lot more of the Wrath brothers.  Yum.

Just check out my Pinterest boards:  http://pinterest.com/kerilake/

Hot dayum …

What’s going on with the sequel to Somnium?

After having gone back and forth for a while, I finally made the decision to publish Soul Avenged before Requiem (Halos, #2).

Requiem is still coming, but its publication will be a bit delayed. 

In the meantime, I’ll soon be announcing the release date for the Witch Hunt anthology in addition to Soul Avenged.

AND!  Cover reveal for Soul Avenged is next week!!

Stay tuned!

An Exciting Announcement!

It’s Friday.  It’s a long weekend.  And I get to announce some news.  Hot damn!  For a while now, I’ve been dropping hints about an anthology that I’m working on.  With the deadline for Requiem (Halos #2) fast approaching, I’ve been rather picky about taking on new projects.  So what in the world could’ve snagged some of that focus?

Something that I’d be fool to pass up…

Back in June, I received a very humbling invitation by best-selling author, Devin O’Branagan, to write a story for an anthology based on her novel, Witch Hunt.  If you’ve not yet read this one, you should check it out.  Devin weaves a very intricate cast of characters so fascinating, her fans have begged for more. 

I’m excited to be working alongside Devin and three other amazing authors:  Krista Walsh, KL Schwengel and Sue Campbell.  Each of us has taken a character from the original Witch Hunt book and will be expanding on the story.

This is the first time I’ve written something that’s a bit more historical, since most of my stories take place in the present.  Still paranormal, but I got to add a little science to the mix this time.  What does science have to do with witches?  Well, you’re just gonna have to wait and find out!

One thing I hadn’t fully anticipated was how challenging it would be to write a piece with historical elements though.  Sure, it was easy enough to not to mention a computer, iPod or a microwave.  But there were so many other factors that had to be researched for this story.  Not just dress, mannerisms and progression of science in that period, but the state of the world as well.  What was going on in the periphery of this character’s life?  What world events might’ve ultimately impacted the character’s behaviors?  This project has required some research into the time period and I must say it’s been an interesting journey.

So my first draft is written.  I’m just working on some edits and then it will be ready to ship off to my beta readers.  This anthology will be available in the next couple of months so be sure to keep an eye out for upcoming announcements!

What else is going on?

Soul Avenged is in the hands of some pretty wonderful bloggers/reviewers who’ve agreed to give me a bit of feedback on the story before it’s prepped for publication.  If you’ve not read previous posts, this is book 1 of my new series, Sons of Wrath - a paranormal romance set in gothic Detroit.

And then…I’m shooting for a late December/early January publication for the second in the Halos trilogy, Requiem.  I was so excited recently to see this review for Somnium posted by the lovely ladies of Paranormal Book Club.  You guys rocked my morning!

You want to know what’s going on at Seavey’s? What exactly is Colton’s dark secret?  Who the hell is the guy from the bar?  And what’s up with Allie’s behaviors around all these men?

The answers are coming….

The next few months are going to be incredibly busy.  In the meantime, I’ll keep you updated on progress.  Thank you so much for your continued interest in my writing.  I adore each and every one of my readers.  Mwah!!

By the way!

I’d love to add you to My Readers on Pinterest.  Just send me a pic of you holding a copy of Somnium.  If you’ve read the ebook version, simply take a picture with the cover on your ereader.  No worries if you’re camera-shy like me, feel free to send pics of the book itself, maybe on your favorite reading chair, curled up with your cat or dog, next to your favorite coffee mug – whatever best represents you!

Email your pictures to  keri@kerilake.com and be sure to include ‘Fanpic’ in the subject line.

Hope you all have a wonderful, long and relaxing Labor Day Weekend!

Soul Avenged #snippet

Between editing Soul Avenged, working on Requiem and writing for an anthology, my blog posts have been suffering!  At least I'll have something to show for it soon.  In the meantime, I decided to post just a short snippet from Soul Avenged.  Once my plate clears a little (there's a light at the end of the tunnel!), I'll go back to writing some flash stories.  I have yet to write Logan and Zeke's from Soul Avenged. Speaking of Zeke...

(I promise I'll get to the snippet) I found a couple of things I love this week that I want to share.  First, while perusing Amelia James' (Trashywriter) Pinterest board titled 'Man Candy', I came across something that made my coffee taste a little sweeter.

When it comes to a guy's hair, I'm typically a short-crop kinda girl.  However, in Soul Avenged, I gave Zeke a little bit longer hair.  I've seen very few guys who can pull off this style, so I had to go with a LOT of my own imagination.  Zeke looks like a god in the book - he's big and brawny and beautiful.

Although I don't like to put existing faces to my characters while I'm writing them, I'd say this guy's probably the closest I've gotten to what I had in mind for Zeke...just need to photoshop a few tats on him ;)

So, can ANYONE tell me who the hell the guy is in this photo?  Because I think he is just about the best looking long-haired hottie I've seen yet.

The second thing I came across is a couple of bands whose music I've been listening to non-stop.  Blood Red Shoes is one worth checking out.  Bonus points for the lady rockin' the guitar.  My favorite song so far is Cold  <<must listen to this one!

I've always been a fan of The XX, and I'm so looking forward to the new album, Coexist, coming out September because I have absolutely fallen in love with their sneaky peek song, Angels .  I'll just come clean and admit that it's played a couple of times while writing Requiem (Halos #2).

Another favorite from The XX is Shelter.  This one I've listened to a few times while writing Soul Avenged.  Birdy did a nice version of it too...but I remain a fan of the original:

OK!  OK!  Now on to the snippet:

In this scene, Kane wakes up from a nightmare to find Ayden standing over him...

A raging storm emanated from the woman’s gunmetal eyes, almost palpable, as she held him captive with no more than the weapon in her hand.

So beautiful. 

In spite of the blade at his throat, his breathing slowed, heart calmed.  He fell back against his pillow as she held tight to the hilt.

Her hands were steady, unmoved by him - a relief after the nightmare he’d had.  She didn’t speak a word as she lowered her weapon and retreated to the chaise beside him.

He wanted to watch her for longer.  Wanted to study the lines of impassiveness in her face.

Sleep dragged her from his view.

Wishing all of you a great week!

Location Location

As a science geek, I find research to be interesting and fun.  Digging into textbooks, websites and journals has always been the best part of studying in college.  I would venture to say, it's an inherent part of my DNA, to love investigation and experimentation.  In fact, I think I've mapped out the exact genetic sequence.  Have a VERY close look:

GCATATCIAGCTLOVEGCATGCCATTCRESEARCHGCACTTCGA

Currently, I'm working on book two of my Halos trilogy, titled Requiem.  For those who have read Somnium, you know that the story is set on Seavey's Island.  I chose this location because my sister was based there for a project (for those who don't know, my MC is loosely based on my sister).  But, I couldn't have anticipated stumbling across the history behind the island and Kittery.  The big question many have asked after reading Somnium is:  what the hell is going on at that base?  Well, I'm certainly not going to answer that in this blogpost.  That would be crazy.  But what I can tell you is I'm busy unraveling that little mystery at...well, not THIS very moment because I'm writing this post...but AFTER the post is written, I'll get back to it.

I do, however want to pass along this little gem.  Something is going on at Seavey's...and this is one of the facilities that I'll be writing about.  Prime haunted real estate smack dab in the middle of my beloved little island.  Check this out (and I'll just tell you, I did not shoot the video for this.  Kinda noisy in the background):

I've been trying to get my hands on as much as I can about this naval prison and it's been an absolute blast.  There is still so much I have to look into.  The ideas are flooding my brain and I can't seem to type fast enough.  Known as the "Alcatraz of the East", Portsmouth Naval Prison boasts a long-standing history dating back to 1905 when construction began.  It used the same tidal current model as Alcatraz to deter escape of inmates.  And was effective - there were no confirmed escapes.  As if this isn't enough coolness to write about, check out these images:

The difficulty and perhaps intriguing piece of researching this facility is that it is not open to the public, unlike Alcatraz.  Access to the grounds is restricted.  Therefore, it will be up to my wildly imaginative mind to come up with visuals of what the inside must look like.  I think the outside of the building, coupled to its haunting stories is enough to get me started.  Muahahahaha!

As an added bonus, I have an excuse to watch a Jack Nicholson film.  The Portsmouth Naval Prison is featured in The Last Detail, a 1973 comedy about Navy sailors assigned to escort a young sailor to the prison after he is caught stealing.  Whooohoo!  All in the name of research...

What research have you conducted for a book?