Tag Archives: fire in the woods

Woohoo! Let’s Celebrate. Enjoy a Free Ebook on me!

Posted on September 17, 2014 | 3 comments

There’s only one week left in the countdown to September 23 and release day for FIRE IN THE WOODS!

I am totally excited because this is my full length novel debut.

Yes, I’ve had three novellas published (two stand alone and one in an anthology.)

But there’s something really special about that first big project.

I’m all tingly just thinking about it!

To help celebrate the release of FIRE IN THE WOODS, MuseItUp publishing is offering my YA novella THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW TOMORROW at the rock bottom price of free for the next six days.

CLICK HERE TO ZOOM TO MuseItUp TO GET YOUR FREE EBOOK

So while you’re waiting for all the extraterrestrial adventure coming next week, snuggle up with a little paranormal teen romance.

Enjoy!

Blurb for THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW TOMORROW

Maya dreams of perfect skin, beautiful hair, good grades, and Eric Brighton—the boy she’s been crushing on since elementary school. But no matter how hard she tries, these things elude her.

Until Now.

In the space of a day, her acne clears, her hair thickens, and Eric finally takes notice. As everything she wishes comes true, happiness is finally in reach—until a man posing as a college recruiter informs her that her newfound abilities come with a price. She will be expected to use them to stop a catastrophe.

Frightened of playing superhero, but thrilled that everything she desires becomes reality, Maya tests the limits of her power—until someone gets hurt.

Now terrified of her own thoughts, Maya will need to choose between having everything she wants, or returning to normalcy. With Eric’s heart and the fate of her town resting on her decision, Maya makes the hardest choice of her life.

3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged easy read for teen, fire in the woods, free Books, free ebook, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Reading, Short story, The First Day of the New Tomorrow, Young Adult

Wahoo! Time for a little fun! Here’s the Official Trailer for FIRE IN THE WOODS by @month9books

Posted on September 13, 2014 | 10 comments

After toiling through edits and writing book two at a maddening pace, it’s time to stop, take a breather, and enjoy one of the more fun parts of book promotion.

The countdown is on for the release of my debut YA novel FIRE IN THE WOODS.

Just ten more days! Yipee!

I am super excited to finally premier the official book trailer for FIRE IN THE WOODS.

I hope you enjoy it!

10 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Book, debut, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, novel, science fction, scifi, trailer

It’s marketing time! More blog posts and interviews, less novel writing.

Posted on August 29, 2014 | 11 comments

While I was on vacation, dreaming about getting back and leisurely finishing ASHES IN THE SKY, my publicist sent over my blog tour interviews and guest post requests.

After reviewing them (14 in all so far) I decided to write “just a little” of ASHES IN THE SKY per day to keep myself going, and bust out the marketing for FIRE IN THE WOODS as soon as I can (They are all due back by September 15^th)

I cringe when I think of it, because my original goal was to finish ASHES IN THE SKY before my vacation. Then I moved the goal day to a week after vacation when I got bogged down with the edits. Right now that deadline doesn’t look all that rosy either.

But I will not be thwarted! I am doing my best to write clean copy. I am hoping that all I will have to do is general insertion of emotion and setting. Hopefully there will be no huge changes or additions to be made, but I won’t know until I send this puppy out to my beta readers to be slapped around a bit.

As it stands now, I am just turning the corner into act three. The third and final act should be a roller-coaster ride and easy plot-wise to write, but hard in the “action” department. I probably only have about 10,000-20,000 words to go. I can do this. I just need to keep plugging away.

11 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Marketing Madness

Tagged ashes in the sky, author, beta partner, beta reading, critique, critiquing, editing, Fiction, finding an agent, fire in the woods, getting published, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, literary agent, literary fiction, Manuscript, novel, pitch, query, query help, self publishing, synopsis, writing, Writing help

What do you look for in the second novel of a series?

Posted on August 11, 2014 | 23 comments

Last night, after being poked and prodded by my son who wants to “talk books” with me, I stared reading Divergent. I mentioned this to an author friend of mine and she said “Loved Divergent. Insurgent [Second book] not so much. You know how second books go.”

“You know how second books go.”

This phase has been haunting me since she said it. As most of you know, I am currently writing a “book two” in a series. I am already feeling the stress and strain of trying to make ASHES IN THE SKY just as good, if not BETTER than FIRE IN THE WOODS.

Sometimes, I fear I’m falling short.

Are their chase scenes? Yes

Are there near misses? Yes

Are their explosions? Yes

Are the stakes higher? Yes

Are strong relationships built, ripped apart, and rekindled? Yes.

So what am I worried about?

“You know how second books go.”

I don’t want people finishing book two and saying that I missed the mark. I don’t want people saying they wish there was more of this, or why did there have to be so much of that.

The scarier thing is that book two is due before book one even comes out. So I can’t even wait for reviews or reader commentary of what they hope for in book two.

So….. I’m asking. If you are reading a book two in any series, what do you look for?

What “book two” blew you away, and WHY WAS IT SO GOOD?

What “book two” came up short, and WHY DID IT SEEM LACKING?

23 Comments

Posted in Senseless Ranting

Tagged ashes in the sky, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton

May I introduce to you: an unlikely hero

Posted on August 8, 2014 | 11 comments

I’m in a very interesting position right now. My novel FIRE IN THE WOODS comes out in about two months, and the early chatter isn’t about my quirky main character. Instead, people are talking about the guy who changes her life forever.

By accident.

This is part of an “introduce your character” game that posted a list of questions for the character to answer, but I couldn’t see David just sitting there and spilling his guts, so I’d rather give you a little character study that will do pretty much the same thing. And for grins and giggles, I’m going to do it in 80 words or less.

Let me introduce you to the current literary love of my life, David.

David

It was a simple mission. Fly over the planet Earth, and send a signal to our people on the surface.

Earth was supposed to be a primitive world.

That was the first lie.

They shouldn’t have been able to detect me.

They shouldn’t have been able to defend themselves.

They shouldn’t have been able to shoot me down.

More lies.

Now my life is in jeopardy.

I was never supposed to set foot on Earth.

I was never supposed to interact with natives.

I was never supposed to meet… her.

FIRE IN THE WOODS

Coming September, 2014

From Jennifer M. Eaton and Month9Books

I’m really glad I said yes when Richard Leonard asked me to join in this game, because I LOVE that little introspection from David. I can see my character standing in the woods, with the fire raging behind him, speaking these words before he starts running for his life from the United States military. This really sets the tone for the beginning of the book.

Thanks for the idea Richard!

And thanks everyone else for spending a few minutes with David.

Richard Leonard writes software and documentation for a living, and fiction for pleasure. He writes elements of sci-fi, romance, mystery, psychological thriller, religious conflict, action, but the common theme of his fictional writing is always based on what makes people tick. Living in the picturesque Yarra Valley wine region, east of Melbourne, Australia with his lovely wife, two teenage offspring and mischievous dog. Neither Richard, nor his dog, drink wine.

Website: richardleonard.wordpress.com

Twitter: @RichardELeonard

11 Comments

Posted in Marketing Madness

Tagged David, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton

Wahoo! I’m Dork-Dancing over the cover for my novel FIRE IN THE WOODS! Coming in September from #Month9Books

Posted on July 25, 2014 | 30 comments

I finally have a cover for FIRE IN THE WOODS and I couldn’t be happier.

Since this is a series, I asked for something that could be branded so readers could easily glance at the cover and say “Yep, that’s one of Jennifer M. Eaton’s books.”

I am so in love with this cover, because it screams not only science fiction, but also the contemporary side, and that purple or “violescent” glow behind him has tons of meaning.

Oh! And there’s a rafflecopter giveaway, too. You could win a $10 gift card & a copy of the book, and most of you already qualify. Good luck!

Are you ready to see? Are ya? Are ya?

Here we gooooooo!

M9B-Friday-Reveal

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Fire in the Woods by Jennifer M. Eaton

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

FireInTheWoods.v6-Book1-Final

When a plane crashes in the woods near Jess’s home, the boy of her dreams falls out of the sky—literally. But David’s not here to find a girlfriend. He’s from another planet, and if Jess can’t help him get back to his ship, he’ll be stuck on Earth with nothing to look forward to but the pointy end of a dissection scalpel.

But her father runs their house like an army barracks, and with an alien on the loose, Major Dad isn’t too keen on the idea of Jess going anywhere. Ever. So how the heck is she supposed to help the sweetest, strangest, and cutest guy she’s ever met?

Hiding him in her room probably isn’t the best idea. Especially since her Dad is in charge of the squadron searching for David. That doesn’t mean she won’t do it. It just means she can’t get caught.

Helping David get home while protecting her heart—that’s gonna be the hard part. After all, she can’t really fall for a guy who’s not exactly from here.

As they race through the woods with Major Dad and most of the U.S. military one breath behind them, Jess and David grow closer than either of them anticipated. But all is not what it seems. David has a genocide-sized secret, and one betrayal later, they are both in handcuffs as alien warships are positioning themselves around the globe. Time is ticking down to Armageddon, and Jess must think fast if she’s to save the boy she cares about without sacrificing Earth—and everyone on it.

Title: Fire in the Woods
Publication date: September 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Jennifer M. Eaton

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author

Jennifer M. Eaton

Corporate Team Leader by day, and Ranting Writer by night. Jennifer M. Eaton calls the East Coast of the USA home, where she lives with her husband, three energetic boys, and a pepped up poodle.

Jennifer hosts an informational blog “A Reference of Writing Rants for Writers (or Learn from My Mistakes)” aimed at helping all writers be the best they can be.

Beyond writing and motivating others, she also enjoys teaching her dog to jump through hoops—literally.

Jennifer’s perfect day includes long hikes in the woods, bicycling, swimming, snorkeling, and snuggling up by the fire with a great book; but her greatest joy is using her over-active imagination constructively… creating new worlds for everyone to enjoy.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

(Winners will receive their book on release day)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Release day is September 25th.

I’m so excited I could just spit, but I won’t ’cause that’s gross.

30 Comments

Posted in Marketing Madness

Tagged announcement, art, cover, cover reveal, Debut novel, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, Publishing

What do you do when your conflict doesn’t work?

Posted on July 21, 2014 | 17 comments

Ugh! I am working off a very loose outline for my book ASHES IN THE SKY, the sequel to FIRE IN THE WOODS that releases September 23, 2014.

Here I am, cruising along with about 100 pages written, and the bad guy starts discussing the reason for being bad.

It totally fell flat. I mean, the whole idea sounded great in my head. He had a perfectly good reason for doing what he was about to do. I even sympathized with him… until I wrote it all out and read it on the page.

It just seemed… I don’t know… STUPID.

Now I don’t know WHAT to do.

After stewing over it for quite a while, I just skipped to the end of the scene, and kept writing. Hopefully I will work it all out.

I really HATE doing that, because I find my writing is much more fluid if I write chronologically. Now, I will need to go back a rewrite that chapter from scratch.

I’m NOT feeling good about it.

Has this ever happened to you… and idea tat sounded great in your head just didn’t work once you wrote it and read it back to yourself?

17 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged ashes in the sky, bad conflict, bad guy, conflict, editing, fire in the woods, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, no conflict, villian, writing

The Big Announcement! Jennifer M. Eaton signs with @Month9Books for YA SciFi FIRE IN THE WOODS Series

Posted on July 9, 2014 | 42 comments

Yay! Today’s the big day!

I’m thrilled to announce that my young adult contemporary science fiction novel FIRE IN THE WOODS has been contracted with Month9Books for release September 23, 2014.

Did you catch that?

September 2014!!!

Yes, I’m a little stressed, because most books being signed right now are pushing out to late 2015 or 2016, but in my editor’s words (answering a tweet from someone saying how fast that was…)

“Whew! Can ONLY do when work comes in nearly perfect shape. Even then, whew!”

Wow. Nearly perfect shape? I’m still tingling. Awe, Heck. I think I’ll just show your the entire Twitter stream, before the official announcement was made, so there is no mention yet of my name, or the title of the book.

Wow. Just Wow.

You can’t even imagine what public tweets like that are doing to my ego.

Mostly, though, I’m holding my head and trying to not fall off this fast moving train I’ve suddenly (and a little unexpectedly) found myself on.

Now, that is not to say that I don’t have a whole lot of work ahead of me. My editing timeline is KILLER

Wait! There’s more!

Did you catch the last word in the title?

SERIES.

Yup. Month9Books has contracted a series of 3 FIRE IN THE WOODS books, with an option for a fourth. The first will release in September, 2014, and the next two will release in 2015.

Being that I don’t even have concepts for a second and third book, and the second book is due in two and a half months, and the third book due four months later –

Wow

I am in for a heck of a roller coaster ride. No – Other than plotting out how many words (YIKES) I will have to type a day, I have NO IDEA how I am going to pull it off.

Be prepared for a stream of FREAK OUT posts to fill you in on how I’m doing.

Here we go. The roller coaster ride has officially started!

42 Comments

Posted in Author Advice

Tagged announcement, fire in the woods, georgia macgride, getting published, jennifer M. Eaton, month9books

When to say “Enough is enough” – Coming to the end of your query rope

Posted on June 23, 2013 | 21 comments

As many of you know, I have been in what I’ve called “Query Hell” for over a month now. One month and eleven days, to be exact.

It hit me a few days ago. I finished the first draft of Fire in the Woods in 40 writing days. It was 40,000 words at the time. (After three months of editing and beta reading, it is nearly 68,000 words)

That means that it took me the same amount of time to write 40,000 words as it took me to write this 249-word query (mainly, the 155-word blurb inside it)

How crazy is that?

A few days ago, I said. “Enough”.

This is my problem — I know I am not good at queries, so I had requested a lot of help. Seriously – I think people were cringing. (With smiles on their faces, I hoped)

But the problem was… I was getting SO MUCH feedback, with contradicting opinions, that I was getting NOWHERE.

A few weeks ago, I complained about this process on Facebook, and an acquisitions editor at a small publishing house commented “Just write the back cover copy of the book. That’s all we want to see”

Well, yeah, I know that. That’s what I was trying to write… but people kept saying I needed more. A little more voice here, a little more danger there. It was getting TOO LONG.

A few days ago I sat down, cleared my head… thought about all the suggestions people have made… and I just wrote the dern thing.

Funny, the best parts of all their suggestions just flew out of my fingers… and I sat there and stared at it.

Wow.

I mean, I think Wow… but I’d thought Wow before… so I (being the glutton for punishment that I am) send it to three people (leaving out the person who always found flaws)

I got two enthusiastic thumbs up, and a slight modification.

I made the modification (which fixed something I was uncomfortable with anyway) and asked for one last check – including the most critical person this time. (Who I love by the way-if you are reading this)

Triple thumbs up. And all around “I’d ask for this in a heartbeat”

Whew

You can’t believe the sigh of relief. Part of me feels like I have wasted a month and a half. I could be nearly done my new novel, but part of me realizes I have made an important first step to getting where I want to go.

The truth is, Fire in the Woods is too important to me to be flippant with the query. I’m going to be reaching higher than I have before. I need to take my bumps and bruises just like anyone else.

So… if you are writing your query, or your synopsis… and feeling the pain… I sympathize. But believe that you can get to the finish line. Believe me, if I can write a decent query, anyone can.

Query Letter. Eek!!! (vickibarnes.wordpress.com)
Queries and Agents (cultofajracewood.wordpress.com)
Query Letter (pdpabst.com)
Def: Query. (We gotta start somewhere.) (speilburgliterary.com)
What NOT to do when querying an agent! (writingteazurs.wordpress.com)
W.O.W. – Writer Odyssey Wednesday with Juliana Brandt (chasingthecrazies.wordpress.com)
How To Write A Query Letter (chgriffin.com)
Jessi’s Five Simpl(ified) Steps to Signing with a Big-Name Publishing House (gutsandglorybooks.com)

21 Comments

Posted in General Writing Tips, Senseless Ranting

Tagged Arts, Facebook, fire in the woods, Hell, how to write a great query, jennifer eaton, jennifer M. Eaton, literary agent, publish, Query letter, query writing, Writers Resources, writing

Do you have a second to see if this works?

Posted on May 4, 2013 | 15 comments

This is going to be a tad longer than a normal Sunday Snippet. Sorry, but I need a few last-minute set of eyes.

Fire in the Woods is days from being done, and I decided I needed to add a little something, and I don’t want to send the work out to query without another few opinions on this.

I am adding a phone call/message from Dad. A beta mentioned that if their daughter were missing that they would be ringing her cell phone off the hook. I added a ringing phone, but I now decided to add a message, and I need to know if it’s believable.

Here’s the set-up: You are a Dad, and a Major in the Army. Your daughter just took off with Public Enemy Number One. There is a huge manhunt going on. She’s not answering her phone. Does this sound like a believable message to leave on her cell phone? (From Jess’s point of view)

My fingers tightened on my phone as I began to slip it into my pocket. The thought of the message from unavailable tightened my chest. What if it was Dad?

“David, hold on for a second.”

I leaned against the back of the building and turned on my phone. David propped himself beside me and grabbed a banana from the bag. He perused each end, and I quickly opened it for him.

He smiled. “Thanks.”

I moved past Maggie’s message, touched unavailable, and brought my phone to my ear.

My father’s sigh tore my soul in two.

“I guess I can’t blame you for not answering.” A slight hum vibrated the casing against my cheek. “I saw the surveillance footage, and it’s pretty obvious you’re not a hostage. I can only imagine what he told you to make you trust him.” I glanced at David as he chewed his banana. Dad’s voice quavered. “Sweetheart, you need to understand that he is a soldier, wounded behind enemy lines. He is not above lying to a seventeen-year-old girl to get what he wants.” I could imagine Dad pacing the floor, rubbing his hand across his tightly cropped head. “Jess, you’ve always been like your mother, and I know there’s no changing your mind once you’ve made it up, so I’m not going to bother asking you to turn him in.”

Really? You gotta be kidding me.

“But what I do want is for you to get away from him. Just wait for him to be distracted and run as fast as you can.” I could almost sense him gritting his teeth. “We will find him, Jess. And you know that I’m not going to sleep until you’re safe.” Muffled voices spoke in the background behind my father’s steady breathing. “Please come back. I can’t lose you, too.”

The call ended, and I powered down my phone. I stared at the blank screen as my father’s words bled into me.

I can’t lose you, too.

I’d never considered the possibility of anything bad actually happening to me. I was safe with David, wasn’t I?

David popped the last of the banana into his mouth and tossed the rest into the trash beside a loading dock. What would happen if the Army cornered us? Would there be shooting? Would David protect me, or use me as a shield?

David slipped his hands into his pockets as he strolled back to me, his smile easing any uncertainty.

My conscience fought to call Dad— to let him know everything would be all right, but I knew he’d just try to convince me to come home. I slipped the phone into my pocket.

“Are you all right?” David asked.

I nodded, biting my lip as Dad’s voice haunted me. You know that I’m not going to sleep until you’re safe.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Sorry, Dad.

“We need to find a place to hide for the night.”