FINALLY!

On November 21, 2014, my debut novel, BEHIND THE MASK went 'live' on Amazon.com and I remember the exact moment it happened.  I was bombarded with a slew of emotions, that ranged from exhilaration to sheer panic. Up until that point, only a few people had read the book and not many were even aware that I was writing a novel.  So, putting myself out there was both frightening and exciting at the same time.  Expectations weren't high, as I wasn't known as a writer.  People weren't sure what they were going to get from me, but it was worth a shot.  If they hated it, there wasn't much I could do about it.  As a very good friend of mine always says, "it is what it is!" However, the positive feedback I received, put my nerves at ease and boosted my confidence.  Along with giving me the courage to continue writing.

Fast forward four years later and all those anxiety riddled emotions are back with a vengeance as I just released my second book (and sequel) UNMASKED.  Though I can honestly say, having gone through this whole process before, I'm definitely way more prepared this time.  That said, I feel slightly more pressure to meet the expectations of the readers who have patiently waited for its release.  But I think their enthusiasm for finding out what happens to the characters of Remi and Liam, quiets the nerves somewhat.  These books have been my babies so to speak and though I know you can't please everyone hopefully they've been entertained.

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist

Kindle Countdown Deal - Behind the Mask

Before the upcoming release of the sequel, I'm doing a Kindle sale of the first one.  

Beginning Thursday, January 11th, 2018, my novel, Behind the Mask (Kindle edition) will be available for $.99 at Amazon.com.

This deal will run until Thursday, January, 18th, 2018.

Click this link to check it out:  Behind the Mask Amazon.com

If you don't have a Kindle, click the following the links to download a free Kindle App for Android and a free Kindle App for Apple products.  

Happy New Year 2018!!!

It's been a while since I've updated this blog...almost two years to be exact. WOW, that's bad!  I could come up with a million excuses why, but the legit one is that I haven't spent a lot of time on social media or the internet and spent more time trying to finish the sequel to Behind the Mask.  For those who don't know, Behind the Mask, is my debut novel that I self-published on Amazon (for Kindle) in November of 2014.  The paperback version became available in April of 2015.  That novel took many, many years to complete, and the reasons why were because when I began writing it, I didn't think I would actually do anything with it.  And because I was afraid to put myself out there.  It took me a long time to allow people to read it.  But, I digress. The sequel didn't take nearly as long as the first book, and I had a good portion of it completed a long time ago, however, I just felt it wasn't ready and constantly needed tweaking.  I'm harder on myself than anybody could ever be, that's for sure.

I learned a lot from the mistakes I had made with the first book and what I need to do with this one. Going the self-publishing route again, will alleviate the grief from literary agent rejections this time around and will allow me the ability to get the book out as soon as I want to.  The downside, I have to do everything myself.  There's no publishing 'team' to help.  But that's okay, I did things a little differently this time.  A close friend of mine edited it for me. Last time, a friend from high school went through it after I had published it and picked out some errors for me, which I appreciated greatly, and I know had I asked her before I had published it, she would have edited it for me (but stubborn me thought my editing was enough).  I was able to fix some of the mistakes, but even now I still catch some when I skim through that book and debate on whether I should fix them.  Or just let them be.  UGH!!!  Getting back to the sequel, having someone edit and go over it with me has been wonderful and what a difference it makes having someone point out mistakes I clearly missed, even after reading it a thousand times.  I also hired a professional designer to do the cover, which was so worth the price, because for Behind the Mask, that little pink diamond on a white background was created by me, which showcased my lackluster Photoshop skills.  I wanted the sequel's cover to look great and the idea I had, I knew there was no way I could have pulled that off myself.

So, I know I keep talking about the sequel, but conveniently haven't mentioned the title or posted an image of the cover.  I promise that's coming VERY soon.

There are a couple of other things I wanted to update in regards to my writings.  The first, I have my own website now called heathercarnassale.com.  It's not officially 'live' yet.  I'm doing it through Wordpress, which I found is not as easy to navigate as Blogger (just my opinion).  It's a work in progress but I'm getting there.  I'm one of those people that is determined to figure something out at all costs, almost to a fault.  I'll be launching it soon, probably before it's fully ready, but like I said, it's a work in progress.

The second thing, I'm going to do away with the Behind the Mask Facebook page, which most of you know I'm horrible at updating that thing. I think it's more to do with my love/hate relationship I have with Facebook in general than it is with the actual page itself, but I've decided that changing it over to an author page makes more sense now that there will be two books.  And my goal is to do a better job at updating it.

It's a new year and time for me to get myself back into the game!  Hopefully, my readers haven't given up on me!

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist

Kindle Countdown Deal - Behind the Mask

Beginning Wednesday, March 16th, 2016, my novel, Behind the Mask (kindle edition) will be available for $.99 at Amazon.com.

This deal will run until Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016.

Click this link to check it out:  Behind the Mask Amazon.com

If you don't have a Kindle, click the following the links to download a free Kindle App for Android and a free Kindle App for Apple products.  

Updates!

It's obvious that I haven't updated this blog in a very long time.  I could come up with a slew of excuses, some are good reasons, others not so much, but I pretty much just stopped blogging for a while.  So, instead of me posting tons of separate entries on things that have happened, here is a condensed version.

As past entries as stated and as my title of the blog gives it away, I am a novelist.  A self-published one that is. And back in November of 2014, I self-published my first novel, Behind the Mask on Amazon and for the past year I've been writing the sequel to it, which I'm proud to say, I'm finally almost finished, the first draft. But I've sort of slacked on promoting the first book while I worked on the second book, which I realize now that was kind of stupid so I'm going to get back into promoting the first, get the sequel finished, edited, and make that one available to the public.  

I also haven't given up having Behind the Mask and it's sequel published by an actual publisher but right now just finishing the second novel is my main goal.  

Let's see, back in October I quit drinking McDonald's Sweet tea COLD TURKEY!  For those who know me, or who have read my post about my caffeine/McD's Sweet Tea addiction are most likely shocked at this happening.  Especially being that it's March 2016 and I haven't caved yet and bought one.  A friend of mine said McDonald's probably put a picture of my face on their sweet tea cups, with the caption:  Heather - Missing in Action.  Plus, the workers at the local McDonald's, that I frequented all the time, are probably what happened to me, because I haven't set foot inside of the place since I quit.  Like a true addict, I figure it's best to just avoid the substance altogether, so I avoid the establishment just to be safe.  But I also gave up all caffeine, because I felt it just wasn't good for me anymore.  Not that I turned into some big health nut, trust me, ain't gonna happen, I gave up caffeine, not sugar!  But now when I want a Coca-cola, I drink Caffeine-free, if I want hot tea or coffee I just drink decaf.

In February of 2011, I posted about my issues with migraines.  Sad to say, in 2016 I still get them, but I've got a better handle on them.  Thanks to me finally seeing a neurologist.  Only took me 25 years.  That's what stubbornness and plain old stupidity will do when you just accept something as is, instead of actually doing something to rectify the problem.  For years, I took Imitrex (sumatriptan) when I felt a migraine coming on and for the most part, it would make a headache go away, or at least, lessen the pain.  Except at certain times, I would get severe migraines in which the Imitrex was useless, usually because I would puke it right back up.  In 2015, I began to log dates and times of when I was getting the headaches, and they were consistent with hormones or in females terms ovulation and menstruation.  By November, I couldn't stand it any longer.  The severe ones were coming more often, and when I say severe, I'm talking three days in bed, in excruciating pain, puking, dry heaving, and eventually becoming dehydrated.  The final straw came in December when I told my husband to drive me to the emergency room because I just couldn't take it, and after pumping me full of narcotics and anti-nausea medications, the ER doc admitted me.  He felt I should be observed and treated for 24 hours, which thankfully was the smart move because even after many doses of narcotics, the migraine still hadn't subsided.  I also had a CAT scan done which yielded nothing because I pretty much knew hormones were the main culprit.  Well, the next day, a neurologist visited me and once I explained my situation, she felt preventative migraine medication might be a good route for me.  So, that's what I did.  I now take a medication called Topamax.  I take it daily and though it's not a cure-all, I still get migraines during certain times of the month, the Topamax does stop the frequency and the severity of them. I also have an injectable form of Imitrex so if by some chance, I do end up with a severe one, I can administer a shot, which bypasses my stomach, therefore, I won't vomit the medication.  Hopefully, I never have to use one.  It's only been a few months of taking the Topamax but so far so good.

As I've done so many times before, knock on wood!

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist 

What's Going On?

I've been slacking on the blog again.  My bad!

Mainly because for past month or so I've been completely focused on two things.  One, working on the sequel to my novel, Behind the Mask.  And second, trying to decide on a paperback cover for it.  

It's been crazy and frustrating at the same time.  The cover not the sequel.

The sequel is progressing very nicely and I'm hoping the first draft will be completed sometime in the next few months if not sooner. But of course a first draft is a VERY rough draft.  And would be nowhere near ready to publish. But considering it took me many years to complete Behind the Mask, I'm WAY ahead of the game with this one.  

Now about the paperback cover.  When I decided to self-publish, for some reason I was dead set on using 'eyes' on the cover.  But over time I've realized it's not really what I want to go with.  So after much debate, I've finally decided on something else.  That said, putting it all together hasn't been easy.  

But hopefully in the next week or so I will have it finalized and make the paperback available as soon as possible.

Keeping the fingers crossed!

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist

My 15th Rejection Letter!

When I mailed the original batch of book synopses and query letters back in June 2014, I honestly didn't expect I'd receive a response almost 8 months later.

Well that's exactly what happened today.

After removing the mail from the box, I noticed something familiar.  It was one of my envelopes with my self-addressed label on the front of it. And then I recognized the name on the return address as one of the literary agents I had mailed a synopsis to.  

And what did that agent say:  Sorry not for us.

Already sensing it was another rejection, my son opened it up for me.  But it's all good, now that I self-published my novel I feel it is what it is.  But don't get me wrong, I would absolutely LOVE it if a literary agent wants to represent me and help get my book published.  Or if an actual publisher wants to do it. That would be fabulous. But as I've stressed before, I'm a realist when it comes to the world of writing and publishing. 

And I've accepted that I might always just be a self-published author and believe there's nothing wrong with that.  Like I've said before, it's awesome that authors have the ability to self-publish their work and put it out there for the whole world to read. 

I feel very lucky to have that option.  

So I will stick this 15th rejection letter with the other 14 and keep on writing!

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist 

THANK YOU!!!!

It's been exactly 2 months since I self-published my novel, Behind the Mask.

And I'm beyond grateful to all those who bought it, read it and supported it.  Not that I was feeling negative, but I wasn't prepared for all the love I got for it.

I sold way more than I expected and though I had always planned on a sequel, the fact the readers have requested it have given me the extra incentive I needed to get the ball rolling.

I've been working on the sequel for a while now but hadn't begun to really put it together until recently.  And it's coming along nicely.

I certainly can't take 6 years to write it, that's for sure.  But I've learned a lot about the writing process and feel I've corrected the mistakes I made.  This time, I'm writing without second-guessing or overthinking it.  The best thing for me to do is first, just write it through THEN go back and edit it.

With Behind the Mask, I would constantly write a few pages then go back, change my mind and start all over.  I REFUSE to do that this time.

So again, I just wanted to thank everyone because though I didn't start writing seeking validation, it still feels damn good receiving it.  Ain't gonna to lie, knowing people enjoyed the story and the characters have made it all worth while for me.

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist

Image source:  Chaloner.com

Behind the Mask - Synopsis

Here's the synopsis for Behind the Mask:


       What appears to be a typical bank robbery is anything but.  It’s Columbus Day in the city of Brotherly Love and when the Bank of Philadelphia is besieged by a group of masked mercenaries, it’s not cash they’re after, it’s five rare pink Argyle diamonds, that are housed inside a safety deposit box.  As the employees become unwitting hostages, things appear to run smoothly until one of the gunmen, 28 year-old Liam Matthews, unexpectedly gets locked inside of the vault with 23 year-old bank teller Remi Catalano.  During this time, she never sees his face or learns his name, but when an undeniable bond forms, Liam will make a fateful decision that will drastically alter the heist’s outcome.  In its aftermath, Remi will have no memory of what transpired while Liam, now a fugitive with the diamonds in his possession, chooses to hide in plain sight.  

Two months following the heist, the captor and his former hostage will inadvertently cross paths again, but without any recollection or having never seen his face, Remi has no idea that Liam is the man behind the mask.  And though he tries not to tempt fate, by initially avoiding her, curiosity along with unforeseen threats, make it next to impossible to distance himself.  But as Remi struggles to regain her memory of that day, Liam’s world begins to unravel.  

As each learns something surprising about the other, and about themselves in the process, in a twist of irony, just who ends up protecting who will ultimately define who they both really are. 

Check it out on Amazon.com

- Heather Carnassale aka the Delusional Novelist

A Self-Published Author!

On Monday, I officially submitted my book, Behind the Mask on Amazon.com.  And yesterday it went "live" and to say I'm nervous would be an understatement.  All these years (6 + to be exact) and time that I put into it, and after almost exactly one year after completing the first draft (November 21, 2013), it's as if a huge weight has been lifted.

All those rejection letters/emails have brought me to this point.  And whether my book is successful or not, I can honestly say I did it myself and didn't QUIT!

It's been a major learning process and though at times definitely not easy and quite tedious, getting over that hurdle and now being to say I actually accomplished something feels fabulous!

The book is available on Amazon.com as an e-book.  If you don't have a Kindle you can download the free Kindle App for Apple products or free Kindle App for Droid or at the Google Play Store

- The Delusional Novelist

To Sequel or Not to Sequel?

In researching first-time novels, one of the biggest points I apparently missed was that a first-time novel should stand alone.  Meaning it should have a conclusion that wraps up a story.  No loose ends.

Well mine does that...sort of.  My novel can absolutely stand alone.  Leaving the reader to use his/her imagination on what happens next.  But pretty much from the get go, I always knew how I was going to end the story, and wanted to leave it open for a possible sequel.  Mind you, when I first began writing it, I was only writing it for fun.  Never thinking I'd actually ever try to do anything with it.

So without spoiling the ending, I felt there was more story tell, but can't really go into specifics for those that haven't read the novel.

Some people have suggested I write an entire different story and either nix the sequel or go back to it.  But what if my novel gets published, regardless if I do it myself or a publisher does, I would prefer having the sequel ready to go as well.  Just in case.

Guess I will add it to the list of how clueless I am in regards to writing novels.  But I'm learning as I go along.


- The Delusional Novelist

In Search of a Literary Agent - Part 1

After I finally had a completed novel and edited it a couple times, the next step was to seek a literary agent.  Because from what I've learned is that publishers do not want you sending them anything directly, you basically need a middle person, hence an agent.

So I signed up for Writersmarket.com which lists and updates numerous agents around the country/world.  It also informs on what each agent is looking for from an author.  For example, some request a synopsis while others want to read the first chapter or two.

And when I say synopsis, they don't want a two sentence description like one would find on the back of a book, they want a full blown "spoil the story" kind of detailing.  And they want roughly anywhere from three to ten pages.  Which when I first sat down to work on the synopsis, I had no idea just how difficult this action was going to be.  But was relieved to find out that many famous authors loathe this process, so that made me feel somewhat better.

Anyway, it took awhile but I managed to explain my entire story in 10-pages. Which in all honesty I think was too long but I couldn't decided what to take out so I just rolled with it.

Agents also request a query letter, which basically gives a brief description of your book, along with some information about you.  Since I'm a first time author with limited writing experience, my query wasn't exactly going to light the world on fire but I figured it wasn't too bad considering I was figuring this out on my own.

WritersWrite1.wordpress.com

So at the end of June, I mailed my synopsis, along with a query letter, and a self-addressed stamped envelope to 20 potential agents.

I crossed my fingers and waited for the responses.  

- The Delusional Novelist