Dead World update 11/28

I was going to call this post "case of the twenty-something's", but I'm not sure if that works with what I want to say. A lot of you are probably wondering what's happening with the Dead World series, and why my page has been so quiet. Well, this is a quick post to let you all know what's going on.
So, book two in the series is about halfway done. As much as I want to, it gets hard for me to focus on a single project, so I've been working on about three different things. I think that contributes to why it's taking me a little longer to finish the second book. It's all going well though, and I'm really happy with the direction that this book is taking :)
Before I release book 2, there is a novella that comes before it. I think I've already mentioned that it is done, and it will be called "The Leftovers". Perfect for the holidays, right? lol.
So what's the hold up? Why don't I just release this novella since we're both equally anxious to get it out there? Well, self-pubbing is expensive. More so than I anticipated, to be exact. There's things I want to be sure get done, and until I can afford all of it, future releases will have to be put on hold for now.
Being completely honest, this does kind of affect how active I'll be on my page. Some of you may not be happy to hear that. I know it's a bad excuse, it's not even one for most authors, but that's me. I'm terrible at updating and keeping myself in the loop when there just isn't much going on. I'm at my best when I'm preparing for something coming up, or when there's actually things happening. Believe me, keeping present in this industry is a trait I've been trying to acquire, but I'm just not very good at it. So, I guess this is me saying I'll be on a tiny bit of a hiatus until I'm back on track. I'm still available--I always reply to any messages or emails you guys send. But as far as posts and whatnot, you may not see a lot of them right now. Please be patient with me. I promise I'm working to get this novella out as quickly as possible. My goal is the end of December or mid-January.
I thank you guys SO much for your support, and I promise that you will see something work-wise from me soon. Until then, What Remains is still available on amazon. Since it's part of the KDP program, I can't make it available on any other platforms for another few weeks. So for those of you wanting to read it on your nooks and whatnot--hang tight!!
Have a great thanksgiving everyone! Thanks for reading :)

Next Steps..

What Remains is out at last!
I still have jitters about people reading it, but I guess that people thinking your book sucks is a natural fear for most authors, lol.
So now that my bouncing baby book is it into the world, it's time to move on to the next thing. I'm working on book two, but before that, a novella is going to be released. It's already finished, and it's going to be called "The Leftovers". Its funny, because my mom and I had a silly exchange about the title while doing a read-through, and it went like this:
Me: So I think I'm going to call this The Leftovers.
Mom: I don't like it. It sounds like food.
Me: ... But aren't they?
Mom:...You're right. I like it.

Great brainstorming, right? lol. Anyway, I'm still deciding on a release date. Maybe sometime in November? Not sure yet, but I will keep my blog and page updated!

NINE days and counting!

So, What Remains comes out on October 10th and I am over the moon excited. Here's a quote/teaser from one of my favorite characters, Kelly Bristow. Check it out :)

Some things..

In this particular post, I'm going to talk a bit about my upcoming novel "What Remains", and how it came into form.
I started writing this in December, when all of the talk about the 2012 Mayan Doomsday junk was hovering around. I don't want to necessarily say that I believed it, but it did give me something to think about, and that something was zombies. Let me just say this--I am terrified of them. I cannot watch a zombie movie, even now. From October to December of last year, I had this unhealthy obsession with zombies and solely being afraid of them. They constantly circulated in my dreams, to the point where I was afraid to even sleep. I know, that's super drastic, but guys, I was really scared.
It got to where I'd had enough, and I was tired of nursing this silly fear of zombies. I decided that I would try to face my fear one step at a time, and hopefully doing so would help me overcome it.
I began grabbing zombie reads offline, starting with the ones that seemed like I could get through, and gradually advancing to the ones that made me cringe a little, but were still readable. Let me just say here that I haven't read a slew of zombie horror novels because some are still a little too freaky for my chicken-hawk-self. Strangely, I came to find that I actually liked the genre more than I'd ever anticipated. It wasn't the disgusting talks of decay or gore that drew my interest, but the survivor stories.
The authors that I read had such a vivid imagination and strong gift for storytelling, that I could really feel their characters fear. I could imagine being in a situation where all of a sudden my world was turned upside down, and I suddenly had to commit acts of violence and make drastic decisions that could change who I was as a person. As an author, you could do so much with a scenario like that, and I believed this so much that I wanted to try my hand at it.
So that's how I began writing What Remains. It was such an interesting story to write, because I really had to step outside of my comfort zone and delve into the gore and terror that I've always tried to avoid. Between the writing, reading, and researching, I can almost say that I've overcome my fear of zombies. I still can't watch a zombie flick, lol, but I'm hoping to get to that point really soon.

Double Cover Reveal for Madison Daniel!!

I could not be more excited and honored to be apart of the cover reveals for my big bro's upcoming novels! Take a look:

Seasons in Ash: Prequel & Aftershock book three

Author: Madison Daniel

Release date: Coming Soon!!

Here is the blurb for Seasons in Ash. Enjoy!

***

All fires have a beginning.

Seasons In Ash, the emotional prequel to the best selling YA/PARANORMAL Ember Series, will give you a glimpse into the lives and past of the main characters in the series.

THE FIRE-STARTER: Meet Max Valentine’s first love, and the heartbreaking consequences that shape his teenage years. Young hearts beat fast.

THE RAINMAKER: Witness one of the worst days in Asia Michaels past. A very public and messy unveiling of her emotional storms. Beware her wrath.

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR: A day in the life of Samantha Summers. Experience the bittersweet events that lead to her foreboding future. Can she prepare herself for the most challenging of adventures? A new love...

A short novella from the mind and soul of Madison Daniel. Music and words collide in the beginning of the Ember Series.

So, about the hiatus...

IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BACK!!... Kind of.

Honestly its a little weird, and I'll need to get back into the swing of things. Before I continue, let me just note that this post will be a little cryptic for the sake of keeping my privacy. This post is mostly for the people that knew me when I was published, and are a little confused with all of the changes that I'm making.
I wanted to write this post to address the fact that I've basically been M.I.A for months now. I mean, I've been here for the sake of trying to stay connected with my author friends, but I haven't put any work out, and I'm sure some of you are wondering why.
There isn't really must of a reason, and all I can blame it on is the amount of procrastination I put myself through all the time. Since I left the company that I was with last year, it's been a constant battle of whether to re-publish or not. First, I was completely set on putting my book back out there. I battled with the decision of whether to self-pub or to try and find another house. In the end, I chose to self publish, but things kept getting in the way.
Months passed, and I felt like I was at a standstill while everyone around me progressed and moved forward. It sucked, and for a few months, I really wondered if being an author was the path that I wanted to travel. I wrote/write a lot, but I kept trying to figure out if it was just a hobby, or something that I wanted to make a career of. That was a tough choice, and to be honest, it's still something that I think about from time to time. But I've decided on this, because I can't stay away from writing. My characters call out to me, and I can't even go a few days without writing or thinking about my next steps. I've always enjoyed telling stories, so I'm deciding to stick with it.

For those of you that remember my first book (again, this is me being cryptic) and are wondering what's happening with the sequel, the answer is that I don't know yet. As I write more, I learn more and get better at my craft. That was my very first work and attempt at writing a book. While I'm proud that I finished it, I'm not sure if that's my best work. I've contemplated scraping it altogether and re-writing, and the second book has been done for a long time now. But at the moment, my hearts just not into it. Maybe it will be in the future, because I love those characters so much, as well as the concept.

Now, about the alias. There were quite a few things that led to me wanting to use one, but I'll keep it simple. Mainly, I wanted the separation, not only to keep my personal life private, but also to move away from the author that I was. I want people to find new things as they come across me, and I want the freedom to branch out in my writing without having to do it as my "self". Also, I think that now is as good a time as any. I hadn't even really established myself as an author before I went M.I.A, so I figure that since I'm coming back out and trying reinventing myself, I should just start completely fresh, doing what I feel is best.

Anyway, those are the two topics that I wanted to quickly explain. I have lots more to talk about, involving my upcoming novel "What Remains", but I'll save that for the next post :)

Eloise Crimson and the Turning Pocket Watch

 

Author: James D. Layton

 

Eloise sits at her dull little desk in her stuffy little office and watches her pencil tip snap for the final time. The war in Europe fills her mind with stories of adventure and heroism and yet for a 17 year old English girl, her pencil is probably the most dangerous thing she has ever held. It is 1945 and her only chance to escape the status quo of her existence is a small advert in a local shop window looking for war volunteers. She packs her bags. Waves her town goodbye and heads for the train station with a deep feeling that adventure awaits. Little does she know that less than 48 hours later she will be wrapped up in a world of time travel, romance and an epic journey of self discovery. She is thrown into the viper pit as time itself is split like a smashed water melon, and Eloise must embark on a death defying plot to stop Adolf Hitler in his tracks. Thrown back to 1935 with her fellow volunteers. The Nazi army baying for her blood is only half as heart stopping as the feeling inside... that she was born to do this.

This book is already out on Amazon! Get it here!

 

About the Author:

 

James D. Layton has been writing screenplays for over a decade, but turned to novels in 2012. He lives in England with his two sons Ettienne and Cody. He likes running and chocolate, and sometimes running with chocolate. His favourite book is Jurassic Park, his favourite film is Jaws and he listens to many types of music. Including Jimmy Eat World, System of a Down and The Doors.

Q&A

 

1. Introduce yourself

Hello my name is James, full name James D. Layton and I’m a writer from England.

 

2. What made you want to become a writer?

Well I used to direct and write low budget films, so I have always written scripts

it was a natural thing for me to move to books. The film industry requires so many hurdles

to be crossed before you're allowed to show people your work. Writing is a direct connection. I like that.

 

3. Are you self-published? If so, how has your journey been?

I am self pubbed. I never considered a publisher. It goes back to the whole hurdle thing, months of waiting and waiting to see if anyone likes my work. When I can just get it out there and let others decide.

 

4. What’s your favourite pastime?

Playing with my kids, I'm a full time dad. I also like playing Grand Theft Auto on the XBOX as I'm a closet anarchist.

 

5. How long does it usually take you to write a book?

Eloise Crimson and the Turning Pocket Watch took 3 months but it's short. Only 40k words. It's really an introduction to her world since there are 9 novels in total to complete her story. The others will be longer.

 

6. What inspires you?

People. I love talking to women especially; they seem to have far more interesting lives than men.

 

7. When is your creativity at its best? (morning, night, at random?)

I prefer night time, when it's quiet and the kids are asleep but I can force myself to write if I need to. I don't need to feel inspired I just set a timer and go for it. I'm very disciplined.

 

8. Do you have a favourite author?

Michael Crichton

 

9. What is the best book you’ve ever read?

Jurassic Park. It's just a simple popcorn adventure and I love that. A world of wonder.

 

10. How do you promote your work?

Goodreads giveaways, Amazon Select KDP and social media. But also just talking to people.

 

11. Do you prefer e-books or hardcopy?

As long as the message is good I don't mind. I suppose traditional books are good to hand over to people and share though.

 

12. If you had to give someone advice about the writing and publishing process, what would it be?

Do it. It's no good wanting to write a book, or meaning to write a book. You have to sit and do it, right now. Pen and paper...... write. It's going to be terrible. But that's the process. You have to get through the terrible stuff to find the decent books in you. Just get it out quickly and hope people don't remember it too much.

 

13. Where can fans find you online?

Facebook