April 2016 Newsletter
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Hi everyone!
It’s been a little while since I last sent out a newsletter, and that’s been because I’ve been finishing my degree! Over the last three years, it’s taken up so much of my writing time–but, it’s all finished now. I submitted my dissertation on 14th April, as this photo shows:
This means I’m now a full-time writer!
So, what’s been happening in my writing world?
Well, my next novel, Fragmented (Untamed #2), releases in 144 days!
And in case you haven’t already seen the promo image, here it is:
Excited? I most definitely am!
And I hope to be able to share the cover with you all very soon! Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing a lot more details about this book, as well as a few teaser quotations and an excerpt or two!
For now, here’s the back cover copy, in case you haven’t read it (and this does have slight spoilers for the end of Untamed, book 1–so be aware/skip ahead)
After the terrible battle against the Enhanced Ones, Seven and Corin find themselves on the run. With the Enhanced closing in, Seven knows they need to find other people on their side. So, when the opportunity arises to join the Zharat, one of the last surviving Untamed tribes, it seems like the perfect solution.
But the Zharat lifestyle is a far cry from what Seven’s used to. With their customs dictating that she must marry into their tribe, and her relationship with Corin breaking down, Seven knows she has to do something before it’s too late. But that’s easier said than done in a tribe where going against the rules automatically results in death.
And, with the Enhanced still out there, nowhere is truly safe for the Untamed–least of all for the most powerful Seer in the world… and Seven soon discovers how far people will go in order to ensure that she’s on their side in the War of Humanity.
Battling against the emerging web of lies, manipulation, and danger, Seven must remember who she was meant to be. Her life has never been more at stake. Nor has humanity itself.
Next up: I’m working on a new book!
I’ve only just started drafting this new manuscript in the last few days (since finishing university), but it’s an idea I’ve had evolving in my head for the last few years. I’m hugely excited about it.
So, what can I tell you about it?
Well, it’s a stand-alone paranormal thriller. And I am just so excited. I’ve wanted to write it for a long time, and it’s great to be able to delve back into researching and drafting–my favourite parts of writing a novel.
You can keep track of my progress with writing this first draft for the next two weeks here, as I’m writing this project as part of Camp NaNoWriMo. (You’ll need to look at the word count graph for Project Stats, rather than Cabin Stats for this.)
Because of finishing my dissertation, I’ve had to start halfway through Camp NaNoWriMo, and as such, I’m only aiming to write 30,000 words in the next two weeks. But this new manuscript will be a lot longer than that. I’m not entirely sure how long, but it will probably be a full-length novel.
So, now onto the events:
Well, there’s a twitter chat coming up that I’m sure you’ll all be interested in!
Get your calendars and diaries ready, folks! On May 10th, 2016 at 3pm EST Tanya Contois (@tanyacontois) will be running a twitter chat especially for YA writers, readers, and bloggers to discuss all things YA.
The hashtag for this awesome chat will be #YAchat16.
This will be, I’m sure, a fantastic event for all of you who write or read YA–and an awesome opportunity to discover new books, find out which titles everyone’s talking about, and discuss the greatly anticipated releases of 2016.
Plus, there’ll be a host of authors taking part so–great news, readers!–you can ask them questions and join in the madness!
I’m happy to say that I (@MadelineDyerUK) will be taking part in this chat as an author (so if there’s anything you want to know about my Untamed books in particular–let me know), and I am so excited. I LOVE twitter chats and interacting with readers and other writers.
Next up: a few weeks ago, I took part in the YA Scavenger Hunt. During this event, author L.H. Nicole hosted some exclusive content relating to my first novel: the inspiration boards I used whilst writing Untamed.
I’m not sure how long this exclusive content will be available for, but it’s still up now–so go and check it out if you haven’t already!
Here’s a quick preview:
You can find the full post here.
Shortly after this event, I found that Untamed had been voted to joint-second place on the Goodreads list for Young Adult Sci-Fi Books!
Plus, Untamed also reached 25 reviews on Amazon US–hugely exciting!
Reviews are really important for writers–and they sell books!–so I’m very pleased that Untamed has reached this milestone!
And, finally, we’ve been having fun with face swaps!
This is my dad’s one using Untamed:
If you’ve done a face swap with Untamed, I’d love to see it! Post it to my FB page, tag me on Twitter (@MadelineDyerUK) using hashtag #UntamedFaceSwaps, or email it to me at MadelineDyerAuthor@yahoo.co.uk.
That’s all for now!
Madeline
