What's Next?

I have been a terrible blog hostess of late. My apologies! I have been a student and writer for so long, I felt my three children deserved a good dose of my attention. Really, they needed it. So I have been putting all my energy toward them, and then a good bit of it toward editing my next novel.

Which brings me to the point of this post. What's next for me as a writer? I'm so glad you asked! I wrote a book with another author, which in itself was an experience worth blogging about. For now, I give you a temporary cover and a synopsis.

Morgan died and came back to life, but she didn’t return alone. She keeps her ghostly companion and her ability to see spirits to herself—until her older brother Jack comes face to face with a powerful entity bent on murder. She discovers Jack has a supernatural ability as well, but he is drawn too close, on the verge of destruction. Morgan is at a loss until she meets twin brothers Nicolas and Roman Tournay, who know much more about this world of spirits and conflict than they are willing to tell.  Their entire family has been hiding their ties to the supernatural for generations. The Tournays could be the key to helping her brother, or they could be the door to something sinister

The reason I say this cover is fake is 1.) I'm not the best cover maker. And 2.) My co-author and I aren't sure how this book will be released yet. We are about to begin queries to publishers and agents, so we're not positive on whether or not we will self-publish this one. We'll see how the querying goes.

But I can tell you this book is seriously awesome! I guess in this case two heads turned out to be better than one because the plot is fast-paced, and you won't be able to guess what happens next from page to page. So I'm excited about this project, and can't wait to share it!

Coming up on my blog, I will have a co-post with my fellow author on what it was like to write a book together. Just in case you ever considered doing it, we'll lay out how the whole thing went down.

Have a fantastic week!

Writing Tournament--The Results are In!

Well, here they are, friends! The results! I will copy and paste what the judges said here:

Again, the scores were really close.

That's a terrible way to start.  What is a good way to start when we are at the end of the competition?

Shambhala has not opened its doors to the world yet.  Lucy, Gavin, and Adam prevented its premature opening.  Who knows what would have happened if the armies of the hidden world were to come to the surface to dwell.  Those evil people that would have brought the world to ashes are no more.

It's been a pleasure working with all of you.  We weaved a story based on the myths, legends, and conspiracies of our own world, and there is always more to tell.

There was a slight delay in judging, as something called the "curse of the Tournament of Secrets" has struck the judges.  I have been naive concerning the curse.  I simply thought it was a matter of superstition.  Maybe there is something to it.  Never mind.  Let's just be wary about it in the future.

The judges have concluded that Lucy Finch wins yet again.  Congrats Alyssa Auch, you've won Tournament of Secrets: Hora Incerta, Mors Certa! 

Confetti and balloons rained down on my head! Actually I was sitting in bed with my kindle, trying to wipe sleep boogers from my eyes and ignore the shrieks of my children as I read the news. Close enough, though.

I had such a good time in this tournament! It was a fantastic way to stretch my writing muscles, and I met some seriously incredible writers in the process. Reading their stuff was honestly a pleasure, and I know those scores had to be absurdly close.

If you ever get the chance to join a writing tournament, DO IT! It's so much fun!