Praise for Awaken!

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Nina Soden

So, a few weeks back I was a little down about a bad review, a two (2) star review to be exact. Okay, it wasn’t all bad the author did say he/she would be reading my next novel, but still the words “…easy to put down.” and “…lacks the professional touches with structure, hooks and cliffhangers” kept running through my head. I told myself over and over, “DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO REVIEWS!” but I’m a writer… of course I pay attention to reviews.

So, today as I was surfing the web I once again glanced at my book on Amazon.com and low and behold… a four (4) star review had been bestowed to Awaken. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to the reviewer for making my day just a little brighter. What did the review say? Well, let me show you…

Okay, yes this reviewer did point out that there are a few grammatical errors in the book, but also said that you get past them because you are too immersed in the story… IMMERSED IN THE STORY!!! WooHoo… What a wonderful complement. That anyone is immersed in my story and my characters is beyond amazing and wonderful to me. I am so thankful for this reader and hope that others can read and enjoy my story as much as she has.

Well what are you waiting for? Go download your copy, and while you’re at it go ahead and pick up ‘BEGINNINGS’ too.

Get them both HERE!

Awaken ~ the Trailer

Posted on June 3, 2013 by Nina Soden

Okay, film editing is not my thing. But, computers make it so easy these days for crazy non-techy people like me to play around. So, I spent the weekend working with the easy-to-use Microsoft Word editing software and came up with the following trailer for my first novel Awaken. It isn’t crazy award-winning great, but for a first timer I’m pretty happy with it. I hope you will be too. Please post your thoughts and let me know what you like, what you don’t like, and what I can do to make it better…. or at least make the next one better.

http://youtu.be/OwdOSPi3jaY

Have a beautiful day, and if you like the video go to YouTube and click like… if you really like it go to Amazon and pick-up your copy of the book today! You might as well pick-up a copy of Beginnings, the second book in the series, while your there.

Rewrites… Week Five In Review

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Nina Soden

Haven’t checked out the Blood Angel series on Facebook yet? Well, you should! www.facebook.com/BloodAngelSeries

Why is it that when I’m approaching a personal deadline my life gets crazy CRAZY busy?!

Tech week… performances… babysitter cancelling… work deadlines leading to me having to work LATE EVERY NIGHT… stress… StReSs… STRESS!!!

Wow… So I didn’t have much time to do anything this past week, but I did get the book uploaded to the online self-publishing software. Now I just need to make the final edits, error corrections, format adjustments, etc. and then hit send!

Okay, it feels crazy that I am this close to publishing book two. If someone would have asked me two years ago if I believed I would publish a novel I would have said, doubtful! I definitely would never have guessed that I would have two full-length novels published! But man does it feel good.

Okay so here is a recap…

Week 1 – Reread the book and all editor’s notes – (YEAH, THAT DIDN”T GO AS PLANNED)
Week 2 – Outline changes, rearrange chapters (if needed) based on editor’s notes – (NOT REALLY GOING TO NEED TO OUTLINE CHANGES AND REARRANGE CHAPTERS – I WILL JUST USE THIS WEEK TO FINISH THE REREAD!)
Week 3 – Rewrite cover to cover – (YES IT WAS AMBITIOUS, BUT I DID IT AND I AM PROUD OF MYSELF FOR IT. ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING EVERYTHING I HAVE ON MY TO DO LIST RIGHT NOW.)
Week 4 – Reread the book for content, timeline, character motivation (YEAH, I KIND OF CHEATED AND TOOK CARE OF THIS DURING WEEK 1. HEE HEE HEE)
Week 5 – Reread the book for edits: grammar, spelling, etc. (DONE and THANKFUL FOR IT!)
Week 6 – Final changes, format, upload, and publish (VERY EXCITED TO SAY THAT THE BOOK HAS BEEN COMPLETELY UPLOADED AND FINAL ERRORS WILL BE WORKED ON THIS WEEK. I HAD PLANS TO HIT “SEND” AND SUBMIT IT TO THE PUBLISHER BY THURSDAY OF THIS WEEK, BUT THAT ISN”T GOING TO HAPPEN. I AM CROSSING MY FINGERS FOR SUNDAY!)

Yes, it was short but sweet… Next week my update better say “PUBLISHED”. However, I am not going to get down on myself either way… Just going to think positive!

Now, off the subject… Sunday was Mother’s Day and mine was great! My kids and husband got me the prettiest charms for my favorite bracelet and we got to go out to dinner after a day at the theatre. Spending the day on stage with my hubby and being backstage with my kids at the theatre (because the babysitter cancelled) was actually very nice. They were very well-behaved and loved by everyone.

Okay… back to work.

When you get a chance tell me how your writing is coming along. I know I talk a lot about myself here, but I really do care how my readers are doing and what you are all up to. Please share!

Awaken ~ a Blood Angel novel (BOOK 1)
Available everywhere E-Books are sold!

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel (BOOK 2) by Nina Soden
Coming soon to e-readers everywhere!

Come Along On A Journey With Me!

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Nina Soden

Wow, it doesn’t seem like that long ago that I started this blog, but it was…

When I first started I invited you along on a journey of writing, editing, and of course the ultimate goal of (drum roll please) publishing my first young adult novel series. I promised you the journey would not be easy pointing out that I would probably laugh, cry, scream and even shout as I faced many trials, tribulations and hopefully some successes.

Well, I published my first novel ‘Awaken’ ~ a Blood Angel novel (BOOK 1) back in July 2012 and since then a new journey began. It was much the same as the first. I promised to drag you along, kicking and screaming if it came to that, as I start all over again on book two ‘Beginnings’ ~ a Blood Angel novel by Nina Soden!

Well, my journeys to date have been filled with so much more than I could have imagined. Now I am only days away (maybe a week depending on formatting) from uploading my second novel in the Blood Angel series to every e-book seller online. I hope that you will take a few seconds and spend the few dollars it takes to download the book – and please tell your family, bribe your friends and blackmail your enemies into picking up a copy of their own.

Now I begin a new journey – ‘Revenge’ ~ a Blood Angel novel (BOOK 3)

Hope on… join the ride… and click follow to come along on this new adventure.

And, if all that isn’t enough… follow me because I randomly (often) get writers block and end up going way off topic, and challenging myself to discover new things about myself, or just new things about the world in general!

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. All images have been obtained leagally through creative commons copyright free images, wikimedia commons, iStock, or other online sites offering copyright free images. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it to appear on this site, please e-mail me with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Nina Soden

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel by Nina Soden
Coming soon to e-readers everywhere!

BEGINNINGS ~ a Blood Angel novel

by Nina Soden

Surrounded by a new world where the horror films she grew up watching have become reality Alee finds that the most unlikely characters have become her lifeline. If she thought hunting in the wild and drinking blood was bad, what will she think when she becomes the hunted? Newly armed with the knowledge of being half witch and half vampire Alee, the only surviving Dhampir in history, is forced to learn to control a lifetime of magic and vampire powers if she wants to survive.

Part horror thriller – part tender romance, Beginnings will leave readers wanting more!

E-BOOK COMING SOON!

Haven’t checked out the Blood Angel series on Facebook yet? Well, you should!

Click here to check out the Blood Angel Series on Facebook

Rewrites… Week Four In Review

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Nina Soden

Click here to check out Blood Angel Series on Facebook!

WEEK FOUR IN REVIEW…

Okay, I just need to get this off my chest for a minute. There are days, most, in which I feel that I am simply writing this blog to amuse myself, which I do by the way. Its like… emptiness out there. I put all this stuff out there into the world, but no one every comments or responds. Is it a waste of time? Should I stop? Hmmm… makes me wonder. I’m not planning to stop though because if for no other reason than to be able to look back and read about my journey, I want the blog.

So, week for has come and gone – how did I do, you ask…

Well, my goal was simple: Reread the book for content, timeline, and character motivation. Yeah, like I said last week – I already took care of that during week one, so I skipped ahead to my week five goal of: Reread the book for edits: grammar spelling, etc. Well, that is done, and I gotta say I didn’t find to many errors. I found some and glad for it, but honestly the more you read your own writing the less you see wrong with it. I am sure the first person that buys a copy will spot a typo on page one, but like I have said a thousand times, “I am a self-published author. I don’t promise no mistakes, typos, spelling errors, and grammatical issues. All I can promise is that I will put my heart and soul into every thing I write, and I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it.”

Okay… Monday started week five, and being ahead of the game – the week six goal: Final changes, format, upload, and publish.

How do I do this? Simple, a plea to my editor for any final edits she has come up with in the weeks since giving me her last comments, then the dreaded process of transforming the book from a plain old word document to an easy to maneuver and well formatted e-book. Actually the process isn’t all the dreaded. With BookTango it is actually very simple. You just upload the document and they it points out all of your formatting errors… Makes you feel kind of stupid for making 100-200 (sometimes more) formatting errors in the first place, but they are easy to fix.

So once again here is the plan:

Week 1 – Reread the book and all editor’s notes – (YEAH, THAT DIDN”T GO AS PLANNED)
Week 2 – Outline changes, rearrange chapters (if needed) based on editor’s notes – (NOT REALLY GOING TO NEED TO OUTLINE CHANGES AND REARRANGE CHAPTERS – I WILL JUST USE THIS WEEK TO FINISH THE REREAD!)
Week 3 – Rewrite cover to cover – (YES IT WAS AMBITIOUS, BUT I DID IT AND I AM PROUD OF MYSELF FOR IT. ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING EVERYTHING I HAVE ON MY TO DO LIST RIGHT NOW.)
Week 4 – Reread the book for content, timeline, character motivation (YEAH, I KIND OF CHEATED AND TOOK CARE OF THIS DURING WEEK 1. HEE HEE HEE)
Week 5 – Reread the book for edits: grammar, spelling, etc. (DONE and THANKFUL FOR IT!)
Week 6 – Final changes, format, upload, and publish (VERY EXCITED TO SAY THAT BY MONDAY OF WEEK SIX THE BOOK WILL BE COMPLETELY UPLOADED AND FINAL ERRORS WILL BE WORKED ON. I PLAN TO HIT SEND TO THE PUBLISHER BY THURSDAY OF WEEK 6! THAT IS THREE DAYS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!)

Okay, so back to my journey… I hope you are enjoying my journey and partaking in one of your own. If you are… tell me all about it!

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel by Nina Soden
Coming soon to e-readers everywhere!

Live your life… but indulge in the lives of others through literature.

Rewrites… Week Three In Review

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Nina Soden

Yes, I know it is Thursday (NOT MONDAY). I get it, I am three days late on my weekly review. Although I am not big on excuses (NOT), let me just throw this out there…

2 kids in school (wake, feed, clean, teeth, school, homework, cuddle, bath, teeth, bed…)
1 full-time job (work, work, work, proposals, contracts, accounting, work, work, work…)
1 amazing husband (love, cherish, respect…)
1 lead role in a theatre production (memorization, memorization, memorization, character development, character development, character development, rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal…)
1 house (clean, vacuum, laundry, dishes, clean, vacuum, laundry, dishes…)

You get the picture right?

So… with that behind me I will say this; my goal for week three was to rewrite the book cover-to-cover!

Do you think I made my goal? YOU BEAT YOUR BUTT CHEEKS I DID!

That’s right, I did it, I rewrote the book cover-to-cover. I took into account all of the notes, edits, comments, and revisions my two editors put into it and I rearranged, deleted, added, and just plain improved my book. At least I think so. 🙂

Seeing as it is Thursday of week 4 I am sure you are probably wondering if I have already started my week 4 goal of rereading the book for content, timeline, and character motivation. The answer would be: yes, yes I did. Actually I kind of cheated. While I was rereading the book and all the editor’s notes in Week 1 I also took notes about timeline, content discrepancies, and character motivation. Yeah, that might have been why week one took a little longer than expected, but hey… I got the job done right?

Having already done that portion – I was able to utilize the notes I had taken during my week three goal while rewriting the book. So, in fact… although it is only week 4 right now I have begun the week 5 goal of rereading the book (AGAIN) for edits such as grammar, spelling, and word substitution (there instead of their, to vs. too, etc.).

AUTHOR DISCLAIMER: The Blood Angel Series are self-published books… I don’t promise that there are no editing errors (grammar, spelling, word substitutions [see above for description]) but I do promise to put my heart and soul into everything I write and to do my best to make my books as entertaining and exciting for my readers as I can. I don’t know if that is enough to make you want to buy my books, but I hope it is, and, if you do… I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing, editing, rewriting, and reading them over and over again.

Okay, so week 4 is almost over what more is there to do in my 6 week plan to go from edits to published?

So once again here is the plan:

Week 1 – Reread the book and all editor’s notes – (YEAH, THAT DIDN”T GO AS PLANNED)
Week 2 – Outline changes, rearrange chapters (if needed) based on editor’s notes – (NOT REALLY GOING TO NEED TO OUTLINE CHANGES AND REARRANGE CHAPTERS – I WILL JUST USE THIS WEEK TO FINISH THE REREAD!)
Week 3 – Rewrite cover to cover – (YES IT WAS AMBITIOUS, BUT I DID IT AND I AM PROUD OF MYSELF FOR IT. ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING EVERYTHING I HAVE ON MY TO DO LIST RIGHT NOW.)
Week 4 – Reread the book for content, timeline, character motivation (YEAH, I KIND OF CHEATED AND TOOK CARE OF THIS DURING WEEK 1. HEE HEE HEE)
Week 5 – Reread the book for edits: grammar, spelling, etc. (WORKING ON IT NOW… WOO HOO)
Week 6 – Final changes, format, upload, and publish

Let me know how your writing goals are going…

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel by Nina Soden
Coming soon to e-readers everywhere!

Rewrites… Week One In Review

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Nina Soden

OMG… REWRITE HELL IS WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW!!! Yeah, I’m not really sure that is a thing, but right about now I am looking at my 6-week deadline/goal/challenge to get my book rewrites done and the e-book on the market… HAA HAA HAA! I seriously underestimated the extent to which my life would try to jump in and screw things up!

These are just a few of the things that got in the way of me actually doing what I wanted and needed to do this week!

Okay, so here is my WEEK ONE IN REVIEW UPDATE:

Well, one week down and five to go! No, if you’re wondering, I don’t sound happy about that. Week one did not go at all like I had hoped. You see the task for week one was:

Week 1 – Reread the book and all editor’s notes

Did I complete week one’s task? NO! Am I going to give excuses and bitch and moun about why I didn’t complete my task? YOU BEAT I AM!

Well, for starters, work (my real job – and not just the fun pretending like I’m making a living as an author job) was CRAZY busy this week. I actually worked over my regular 8 hour shift EVERY DAY! Yes, and then I had theatre rehearsal Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday… not to mention there was one day when I was so sick/tired that I fell asleep on the couch sometime in the early evening and didn’t really wake up until the next morning (at some point I did wake up enough to talk to my husband, kiss the kids good night, and crawl into bed). Saturday was Up early – Cleaning – 1 Hour of Reading – Cooking Breakfast – Gymnastics – Birthday Party #1 – Cooking and Cleaning – Birthday Party #2 – Home to Bed!

So, over the course of the week I was able to put in a whooping total of 4 hours of reading in! Yup, you read that correctly – 4 HOURS! Did I finish the book? NO, I am an extremely SLOW reader – for pleasure and work! However, if I am honest with myself I am pretty impressed with the fact that I did get through 140 of the 250+ pages. So, I am over half way done, and not only did I read the first 140 pages I also was able to work through many of the editor notes (fixing issues, rewriting sentences, etc.) as I went along. So far there have been no major edits/editorial notes that will lead me to rearranging chapters (THANK YOU GOD!), and therefore I feel confident that moving into week 2 I can continue on the same path I am on now, and still end up right where I need to be for week 3!

Do I want to scream? YES

Why? Because today is the first day of week 2 and I had no time to read – none – nil – nought – zero – zilch – zip – You get the picture right? Yeah, if today is any indication as to how the rest of the week is going to be I just might be pulling my hair out by Sunday. And, trust me… my hair is my best feature – If I lose that, there will be little else to admire.

So once again here is the plan:

Week 1 – Reread the book and all editor’s notes – (YEAH, THAT DIDN”T GO AS PLANNED)
Week 2 – Outline changes, rearrange chapters (if needed) based on editor’s notes – (NOT REALLY GOING TO NEED TO OUTLINE CHANGES AND REARRANGE CHAPTERS – I WILL JUST USE THIS WEEK TO FINISH THE REREAD!)
Week 3 – Rewrite cover to cover
Week 4 – Reread the book for content, timeline, character motivation
Week 5 – Reread the book for edits: grammar, spelling, etc.
Week 6 – Final changes, format, upload, and publish

So, after week one – are you still ready to take this journey with me? Come on, it will be fun! Check in next Monday to see how wild and crazy week two gets!

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel by Nina Soden
Coming soon to e-readers everywhere!

🙂

…and the rewrites begin!

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Nina Soden

Woo Hoo… So, I got the email today, TODAY! The editor has sent back my final edits, and I am not entering the process of the 6-week rewrite! In my last post I set up a rather ambitious 6 week plan to get my book rewritten and published, and I will do my best to finish in that time, without making mistakes that will cause my book to suffer.

So once again here is the plan:

Week 1 – Reread the book and all editor’s notes
Week 2 – Outline changes, rearrange chapters (if needed) based on editor’s notes
Week 3 – Rewrite cover to cover
Week 4 – Reread the book for content, timeline, character motivation
Week 5 – Reread the book for edits: grammar, spelling, etc.
Week 6 – Final changes, format, upload, and publish

Wish me luck… because you probably won’t hear from me to much other than a quick weekly update along the way to keep you posted. I plan to do a Monday morning update at the end of each week… I will share my highs and lows, my tears and my joy… you get it!

Now I’m off….

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel by Nina Soden
Coming soon to e-readers everywhere!

AWAKEN – Press Release – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Nina Soden

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 6, 2013

AWAKEN ~ a Blood Angel novel

by Nina Soden

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA March 5, 2013 – Awaken is set in a world very much like our own, yet Atlanta isn’t just an ordinary city and Alee Moyer isn’t just an ordinary girl. Having barely survived her childhood it will take the death of her father for the truth of her true bloodline to come out. It may mean losing her life, or at least her identity, but she cannot escape her true destiny as the first surviving Dhampir in history. Surrounded by a new world where the horror films she grew up watching have become reality and the most unlikely characters have become her lifeline, Alee will struggle to find herself and her purpose. Part horror thriller – part tender romance, Awaken will leave readers eagerly wanting more!

“From the opening scene to the final chapter, the characters in this book dive onto the page and demand your attention” Stated The Gena Monologues http://www.genamonologues.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Huntsville author, Nina Soden, has always been creative, in art, theatre, film – anything but singing! She earned her bachelor’s degree in Theatre and Military Science from Eastern Michigan University where she spent most of her time either on stage, rappelling down buildings, or working one of three jobs. After college she moved to Los Angeles, like so many other actors, in pursuit of her dreams. In 2008, after some major life changes, Nina self-published her first book PRIVATE WORDS UNSPOKEN, a compilation of poetry. Since then, her dreams have gotten bigger and she likes to think her storytelling ability has gotten better. She has done everything from secretarial work to business development and was even the Director of a private preschool. She has fired a M16, jumped out of a C130, and given birth – TWICE – but she always returns to her art.

Though she’ll forever be a Michigan girl at heart, she now lives in Alabama with her husband and two beautiful children. If she’s not working on her latest story, you can find her lounging with a good book, playing with her kids, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to Starbucks coffee.

For additional information about Awaken, the debut novel in the Blood Angel series visit http://www.ninasoden.wordpress.com, or download Awaken to your kindle, Nook, iPad, or other e-reader, anywhere e-books are sold, today! ISBN: 978-1-46891-158-9

###

Nina Soden

#TheRedheadedAuthor

Tag Archives: young adult

Praise for Awaken!

Awaken ~ the Trailer

Rewrites… Week Five In Review

Come Along On A Journey With Me!

Beginnings ~ a Blood Angel novel

Rewrites… Week Four In Review

Rewrites… Week Three In Review

Rewrites… Week One In Review

…and the rewrites begin!

AWAKEN – Press Release – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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