My Focus Is Better Than Your Focus January 2020 |
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Editing Focus A Sneak Peek of Projects Set to be Published in 2020 |
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To the relief of fans everywhere, author Sara A. Noë has been making great strides in her progress on Phantom's Mask; book 2 in the War of the Realms series and sequel to the hit novel, A Fallen Hero. Noë has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from her first round of beta readers and has moved on to the next step by sending a digital file of the novel over to Chronicle Focus Editorial for its first round of edits. Noë has also officially released the publication date for Phantom's Mask; something fans have been asking since AFH hit the shelves. Watch the teaser below to see what beta readers have been saying about Phantom's Mask so far! Phantom's Mask: Chronicles of Avilésor: War of the Realms, Book 2 by Sara A. Noë |
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Vagrant Summer / Autumn of Fates |
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Vagrant Summer, Book 1 in the Wanderlust Seasons series, has been sent back to author David S. McCrae. McCrae is currently finishing up revisions from the suggestions and edits made by Kayla M. Ware of Chronicle Focus Editorial and by his first beta reader, Anna Fox. McCrae has also sent Vagrant Summer off to his final beta readers before undergoing one more round of revisions. McCrae has officially announced the publication date for Vagrant Summer and has commissioned artist Skye Kelrose to help create the design for the book's cover. With Vagrant Summer reaching the final steps before publication, Chronicle Focus Editorial has also begun working on the first round of edits for Autumn of Fates, Book 2 in the Wanderlust Seasons series and sequel to Vagrant Summer. This book is still in the early stages as far as edits and revisions. Artist Skye Kelrose is also designing the cover art for Autumn of Fates. Watch the first official teaser for Vagrant Summer below. |
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Interested in editing services? Plans and pricing can be viewed here. You can also read reviews and testimonials from clients on the Chronicle Focus Editorial website. |
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Have a question you would like to see answered? Send us a message with the subject "Q&A" for a chance to have your question answered by an author! |
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Paige P. Carranza "My love of writing was never a hidden talent.” |
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Author Paige P. Carranza published her first novella, Lethal Quantities, in 2018 at the age of 22. “Nicolas Clark is a thirty-seven-year-old man who, after taking the life of an innocent neighbor, is serving time in Texas' Polunsky unit. A generally tough life becomes tougher after the passing of his mother. In this compelling fictional memoir, Nick recounts the events from the time of his mother's untimely death, to the day he committed his crime, landing him on Death Row.” Carranza had worked on Lethal Quantities throughout her first year of college. After finishing it, the story was set aside to collect dust. “At the end of 2017, I stumbled upon the manuscript, read through it, and decided it wasn't so bad after all.” | | |
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After making tweaks and adjustments to the story she had rediscovered, Carranza weighed the pros and cons of traditional vs. independent publishing. Ultimately, she decided on publishing the story independently, allowing her to keep all of the legal rights of the story and the ability to make her own decisions, including the privilege of designing her own covers for her first two novellas. Since then, Carranza has continued to publish independently. After publishing Lethal Quantities, With Love, Bethany and Carly Ann were added to the list, leaving the author with three published novellas within months of starting her career as a published author. | | |
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After publishing Carly Ann, Carranza worked on her next project, Triggered, which she considers to be her “passion project.” Triggered was published on September 30, 2018, and went on to win the 2019 Independent Authors Book Experience IABX Award for fiction. This novella is about the hours following a school shooting. Each chapter is written about a different character who was involved with or affected by the shooting. “Triggered peeks into the evening hours of the witnesses after experiencing the most horrific day of their lives. How do they pick up the pieces and face tomorrow after a day like today?” | | |
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Ten Things to Teach Your Daughter is Carranza's 5th, and most recent, independently published novella. The book was released on November 18th, 2019, and was featured in the December issue of Chronicle Focus. “Anyone who knows me personally knows I have a big, warm, bubbly personality,” said Carranza. “So why has all my writing up until this point been darker? I don't know, but I wanted to write something more heartwarming. Aside from that, I wanted to write something for my kids, and for my husband. This is the sweetest story of a widower left to raise his little girl. A story of the bitter-sweetness of parenthood, friends, community, changes, and acts of love." | | |
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In addition to writing, Carranza is also a huge reader, herself. “What is writing without reading?” she commented. Carranza also posts book reviews on her website. “Maybe ironically, maybe not,” she said, “I don't very much enjoy reading fiction. I like it, yes, but when I go to a book store or convention, I'm drawn to non-fiction/memoirs. I'm always excited to read of real people’s struggles and ultimate triumphs.” Carranza is also the mother of two little girls, Lily and Mackenzie. She was a Certified Medical Assistant for Podiatry for over 4 years, but recently moved to Pediatrics. Carranza’s home life is full of love and support for her writing passion. “My husband watches the children and gives me whatever time I need to write and edit,” she said. “He's there every step of the way.” Carranza also credits her mother, sisters, and brother for their support and enthusiasm on her writing journey. | | |
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Danielle Novotny "A lot of Aliya’s character development I’ve created from my own experiences.” |
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Danielle Novotny had never imagined herself as a sci-fi author, but when dreams crept into her reality, the choice was clear. “In 2016 I had a very vivid dream about a young woman with astounding physical abilities fighting aliens. It was so clear and compelling that I woke up and immediately wrote down the scenes I’d experienced in my dream. The more I wrote, the more I saw a plot connecting those dream-scenes, and the plan for my Remade series was born!” Although Novotny found inspiration within the realm of science fiction, she has an interest in many other genres, as well. | | |
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Before the publication of her debut novel, Remade, Novotny tried to write a vampire novel, which she said simply “didn’t work out.” She is also a fan of high-fantasy, which differs from sci-fi in almost every respect. In the end, Novotny decided, “Writing in the sci-fi genre really just made sense for my initial story idea since it was the best way to explain how Aliya developed her abilities – and encountered aliens to fight!” Novotny also revealed that she has a “substantial outline for a dystopian novel” that she “can’t wait to start,” but offered no further details about the project, leaving us all on the edge of our seats. | | |
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Novotny has recently unveiled the cover and title of Remade's sequel, Renown. “In Remade Aliya learns that there is life outside Earth, and she spends a good deal of time coming to terms with the things she can now do. Book two expands on those themes as Aliya explores where she truly belongs in this new universe.” Renown is scheduled to hit the shelves on January 28, 2020. She has also said to be on the lookout for information regarding her next project, which will be the third and final installment in her Remade series. | | |
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Acrylic Alchemy Witch Chelsea Mundell |
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Chelsea Mundell is an acrylic flip cup pour painter. Mixing colors of paints with an additive called pouring medium and then combining them in a cup, a flip cup pour painter turns the cup upside down on canvas, wood, or whichever surface they choose, and allows the paint to flow naturally. Pour painters tilt and turn the surface being painted on to help guide the paint to the edges, creating beautiful swirls and spirals that can resemble marbled patterns, water, galaxies, bubbles, oil spills, and more. Chelsea uses the brands Liquitex Basics Acrylics, DecoArt, and Apple Barrel for her painting supplies. To prime the canvas, she uses Liquitex white gesso. Chelsea features her work on her Instagram page and has recently created a shop on Etsy to sell her art. While her Etsy shop is freshly made, Chelsea will be spending her time adding new listings for sale. |
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Video recorded by Chelsea Mundell @ Acrylic Alchemy Witch Video edited by Kayla M. Ware @ Chronicle Focus Editorial |
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