Dana Burkey's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
BRB...I'm tanning!
Hello from Florida! (or at least the air somewhere above it)
I am currently heading out for a long due week of vacation in the Florida Keys with my family! So, that means this blog post will have to get you through the next two week! But, to make it worth your wile I have some great stuff to share!!
First of all I want to give a MEGA SHOUT OUT to my friends that support me so much! Mair, Tabitha, Ellie, Hayley, Ciara, Libby, and Randall give me lost of support and keep me writing when I want nothing more than to quit before the editing is done!
That being said.....THE EDITING IS DONE!! I just finished the second draft of Locket Full of Secrets!!! In fact, I just put it in the mail to my sister(Dawn) so she can give it a read and let me know what changes will make the book even better. She is my biggest help in getting this next book out to readers, and is both hilarious and helpful all at once! Without Dawn and her support in this long process of editing such a big project, I feel like I would have a sub-par book to share with you all in the end. But now, thanks to all she has done and is doing, I know the story you will all read soon is going to be a great!
So, when can you read it? Great question! Locket Full of Secrets will be out on July 4th! However..........I am starting to think that I want to release it sooner!! I am just not patient(as I talked about in last weeks blog). But, there is still a lot of editing and other fun to go before I can get the book out. So, maybe you really will need to wait for July! In the mean time, pre-order the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W0D1V3K
One thing you will not have to wait until July for, however, is the audio book copy of Big City Farming! I am working with the amazingly talented Kandace Peppers, and she is working over time to get the book done and ready for listeners! While you wait for the official audio book to be ready, pick up the ebook now for only 99c!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00US8AYZA
Well folks! I am off to tan, drink rum, and play a lot of cards with my family! Oh.....and fingers crossed I get to see a shark! It is my MEGA GOAL for this week of vacation! Stay tuned, cuz if I get I see one I will be posting photos RIGHT AWAY!! haha
Thanks for reading, and see you all again soon!
-Dana Burkey!
I am currently heading out for a long due week of vacation in the Florida Keys with my family! So, that means this blog post will have to get you through the next two week! But, to make it worth your wile I have some great stuff to share!!
First of all I want to give a MEGA SHOUT OUT to my friends that support me so much! Mair, Tabitha, Ellie, Hayley, Ciara, Libby, and Randall give me lost of support and keep me writing when I want nothing more than to quit before the editing is done!
That being said.....THE EDITING IS DONE!! I just finished the second draft of Locket Full of Secrets!!! In fact, I just put it in the mail to my sister(Dawn) so she can give it a read and let me know what changes will make the book even better. She is my biggest help in getting this next book out to readers, and is both hilarious and helpful all at once! Without Dawn and her support in this long process of editing such a big project, I feel like I would have a sub-par book to share with you all in the end. But now, thanks to all she has done and is doing, I know the story you will all read soon is going to be a great!
So, when can you read it? Great question! Locket Full of Secrets will be out on July 4th! However..........I am starting to think that I want to release it sooner!! I am just not patient(as I talked about in last weeks blog). But, there is still a lot of editing and other fun to go before I can get the book out. So, maybe you really will need to wait for July! In the mean time, pre-order the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W0D1V3K
One thing you will not have to wait until July for, however, is the audio book copy of Big City Farming! I am working with the amazingly talented Kandace Peppers, and she is working over time to get the book done and ready for listeners! While you wait for the official audio book to be ready, pick up the ebook now for only 99c!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00US8AYZA
Well folks! I am off to tan, drink rum, and play a lot of cards with my family! Oh.....and fingers crossed I get to see a shark! It is my MEGA GOAL for this week of vacation! Stay tuned, cuz if I get I see one I will be posting photos RIGHT AWAY!! haha
Thanks for reading, and see you all again soon!
-Dana Burkey!
I need more hours in a day!
Hello once again!
After a wonderfully LONG week in Key West, I am back home in Washington State where the weather is mild and there are no sharks! And in case you all wondered....I SAW A SHARK!! While snorkeling over the reef, I saw a reef shark swimming away from me. It was the best moment of my vacation, since it has been a dream of mine for YEARS to see a shark in person! And to see it in the open ocean and to swim away with all of my limbs still intact was great!!
Well, now down to some business!
Now that I am home I have two major things I am working on that are making me feel like I need more hours in my day! This first is that I am training for a triathlon! My race is in 50 days, so each night I am on my stationary bike and treadmill, working out for between an hour and an hour and a half! It makes for great sleep, but not much time for other things!
The second thing I am working on, is of course writing! I finished the second draft of Locket Full of Secrets before I left for vacation, but I am also working on my next book All For Fame, as well as working on an outline for a new series I want to possibly use during NaNoWriMo. Thanks to so much working out for my tri there is not enough time it seems! Fingers crossed that changes soon.
Since I do not want to leave you with any bad news, I wanted to share something exciting with you all! With the release of Locket Full of Secrets only a few months away, you can own your own locket, identical to the one featured in the book!! Check it out here on etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/17603161...
Well, I am off to run....or bike....or maybe even to write! Be sure to check out the lockets if you need something to read, pick up a FREE copy of Stage Lights today and tomorrow on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O7BLKD4
Have a fabulous weekend!
-Dana Burkey
After a wonderfully LONG week in Key West, I am back home in Washington State where the weather is mild and there are no sharks! And in case you all wondered....I SAW A SHARK!! While snorkeling over the reef, I saw a reef shark swimming away from me. It was the best moment of my vacation, since it has been a dream of mine for YEARS to see a shark in person! And to see it in the open ocean and to swim away with all of my limbs still intact was great!!
Well, now down to some business!
Now that I am home I have two major things I am working on that are making me feel like I need more hours in my day! This first is that I am training for a triathlon! My race is in 50 days, so each night I am on my stationary bike and treadmill, working out for between an hour and an hour and a half! It makes for great sleep, but not much time for other things!
The second thing I am working on, is of course writing! I finished the second draft of Locket Full of Secrets before I left for vacation, but I am also working on my next book All For Fame, as well as working on an outline for a new series I want to possibly use during NaNoWriMo. Thanks to so much working out for my tri there is not enough time it seems! Fingers crossed that changes soon.
Since I do not want to leave you with any bad news, I wanted to share something exciting with you all! With the release of Locket Full of Secrets only a few months away, you can own your own locket, identical to the one featured in the book!! Check it out here on etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/17603161...
Well, I am off to run....or bike....or maybe even to write! Be sure to check out the lockets if you need something to read, pick up a FREE copy of Stage Lights today and tomorrow on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O7BLKD4
Have a fabulous weekend!
-Dana Burkey
Free Preview!
Happy Friday!
After a short but still packed 4 day work week, I feel like we all might be in need of a pick me up! So, I have released the first 5 chapters of Locket Full of Secrets!!!
That's right! You can now get a sneak peek of the first 5 chapters of my new YA suspense, Locket Full of Secrets
The full book is due out on July 4th, but in the mean time, enjoy a little taste! The book is FREE at the following locations:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/myworks/409663...
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/doc/266975405/...
I hope you enjoy this look at the beginning of the book! If you want to read more the day it comes out, pre-order now to save BIG on the final list price:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W0D1V3K
Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00W0...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0...
Enjoy this sneak peek, and I look forward to hearing what you think, as well as sharing the full book with you in just over a month!!
Have a great weekend!
-Dana Burkey
After a short but still packed 4 day work week, I feel like we all might be in need of a pick me up! So, I have released the first 5 chapters of Locket Full of Secrets!!!
That's right! You can now get a sneak peek of the first 5 chapters of my new YA suspense, Locket Full of Secrets
The full book is due out on July 4th, but in the mean time, enjoy a little taste! The book is FREE at the following locations:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/myworks/409663...
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/doc/266975405/...
I hope you enjoy this look at the beginning of the book! If you want to read more the day it comes out, pre-order now to save BIG on the final list price:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W0D1V3K
Amazon CA: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00W0...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0...
Enjoy this sneak peek, and I look forward to hearing what you think, as well as sharing the full book with you in just over a month!!
Have a great weekend!
-Dana Burkey
One Year Ago....
One year ago today I published my first book on Kindle....
It is crazy for me to think that was already a year go! It seems like just a few months ago that I was sitting in my living room, deciding to take the leap and put my writing out there for people to read! I didn't tell anyone, not even my closest friends or family. It was just something I felt like I needed to do on my own, to see if I could do it, and to prove that I had something to say.
Now, 356 days later, I am almost at 100 Goodreads review for that first book Just Pretending. I also have now put out two more book that connect to that first book: Changed? and Stage Lights. Together these three books form Hearts to Follow Series. Next, I wrote a NA short story called Big City Farming. But all of that was a warm up for a project I was working on the whole time.
This past November I participated in NaNoWriMo. In one month I wrote a first draft that soon became Locket Full of Secrets! This book was 3 years in the making, and is something I am so proud of myself for finishing and getting out there. It was scary and hard and really awesome at times, and now I am blessed as reviews come in from readers.
In the last week I have finished two more YA short stories: I Will Survive: tips and hints to help you survive in this zombie infested world and The Kiss Dare. And I am just a few chapters from finishing the first draft of my next project Babysitting Charlie.
Even listing all of that makes me shocked at this last year! I have also met a lot of authors, worked with great editors, was blessed to have a good friend design book covers, and also had the chance to guest blog on a super cool blog!
So what is coming up in this next year? Great question! I have a few projects I am working on, and a few more planned. But more than that, I hope that in this next year I can continue to meet readers, write stories worth reading, and bring joy to those of you who take the time to read the words I decided to self-publish on Kindle.
All in all this has been a great year, and I cannot wait to look back another year from now and see what news I have to share with you then!!
THANKS FOR READING!
-Dana Burkey
It is crazy for me to think that was already a year go! It seems like just a few months ago that I was sitting in my living room, deciding to take the leap and put my writing out there for people to read! I didn't tell anyone, not even my closest friends or family. It was just something I felt like I needed to do on my own, to see if I could do it, and to prove that I had something to say.
Now, 356 days later, I am almost at 100 Goodreads review for that first book Just Pretending. I also have now put out two more book that connect to that first book: Changed? and Stage Lights. Together these three books form Hearts to Follow Series. Next, I wrote a NA short story called Big City Farming. But all of that was a warm up for a project I was working on the whole time.
This past November I participated in NaNoWriMo. In one month I wrote a first draft that soon became Locket Full of Secrets! This book was 3 years in the making, and is something I am so proud of myself for finishing and getting out there. It was scary and hard and really awesome at times, and now I am blessed as reviews come in from readers.
In the last week I have finished two more YA short stories: I Will Survive: tips and hints to help you survive in this zombie infested world and The Kiss Dare. And I am just a few chapters from finishing the first draft of my next project Babysitting Charlie.
Even listing all of that makes me shocked at this last year! I have also met a lot of authors, worked with great editors, was blessed to have a good friend design book covers, and also had the chance to guest blog on a super cool blog!
So what is coming up in this next year? Great question! I have a few projects I am working on, and a few more planned. But more than that, I hope that in this next year I can continue to meet readers, write stories worth reading, and bring joy to those of you who take the time to read the words I decided to self-publish on Kindle.
All in all this has been a great year, and I cannot wait to look back another year from now and see what news I have to share with you then!!
THANKS FOR READING!
-Dana Burkey
2015...looking back!
Hello everyone!
Now that it is officially 2016 I wanted to take a moment and look back at last year. It was a year of many new things, and I am still kind of shocked at all that I was able to accomplish! To make it easy, here are the 5 things I am most excited and proud of:
1. I published "Locket Full of Secrets." This book was quite a few years in the making, and was also my first full length novel. It was a lot of work, but it was something I was excited to share all the same! The book combined so many of my childhood memories, along with my extreme love of Chernobyl! I am fascinated by the mystery of it all, so making a book about the tragic historical event was a fun and exciting process!
2. I started working with audio producers to release my books on audio format! I have three books available at the moment, with three being worked on, and three more on the way after that! I love that readers can listen to my work instead of just reading it! And I have had the chance to meet some great actresses while recording with them on various projects!
3. This summer I started and finished a few projects, and also started some that I am still working on. It's not always easy to start something and see it through, but I am happy to say that my "Zombie Survival" series is getting two more books soon, all thanks to the one short I wrote this summer while having a bit of inspiration!
4. I released my SECOND full length novel last year! That's right, two in one year! "Playing For Love" was kind of a shock for me. It started as a short story this summer to keep me writing, but then it quickly turned into so much more. It went from a quick read, into my largest project to date as far as word count is concerned! It combines my love of sports, boys, and YA romance to make a book I still cannot believe I wrote! I am also happy to say it is going to be an audio book soon as well, something that I hope will add even more to the reading experience!
AND FINALLY....LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
5. Meg Cabot followed me on Twitter!!!!! No joke people! It was a shocking moment for me to stop and realize that someone I look up to so much actually wanted to follow what I had to say! I don't know if she really reads my tweets, or even my books for that matter, but it made me feel special and also like a total fan girl all the same. Maybe one day I can give someone else the feeling she gave me just by following me on social media!
So that is my year in review! And I am happy to say that I will be releasing quite a few new projects in 2016, hopefully making it another year to be excited about!
In the mean time, I hope all of you are off to a great New Year! My hope is that this year is productive and exciting for my writing, and that my personal life is just as much fun as the last year was, thanks to my amazing family and friends!
Best of luck to all of you in 2016!!
-Dana Burkey
Now that it is officially 2016 I wanted to take a moment and look back at last year. It was a year of many new things, and I am still kind of shocked at all that I was able to accomplish! To make it easy, here are the 5 things I am most excited and proud of:
1. I published "Locket Full of Secrets." This book was quite a few years in the making, and was also my first full length novel. It was a lot of work, but it was something I was excited to share all the same! The book combined so many of my childhood memories, along with my extreme love of Chernobyl! I am fascinated by the mystery of it all, so making a book about the tragic historical event was a fun and exciting process!
2. I started working with audio producers to release my books on audio format! I have three books available at the moment, with three being worked on, and three more on the way after that! I love that readers can listen to my work instead of just reading it! And I have had the chance to meet some great actresses while recording with them on various projects!
3. This summer I started and finished a few projects, and also started some that I am still working on. It's not always easy to start something and see it through, but I am happy to say that my "Zombie Survival" series is getting two more books soon, all thanks to the one short I wrote this summer while having a bit of inspiration!
4. I released my SECOND full length novel last year! That's right, two in one year! "Playing For Love" was kind of a shock for me. It started as a short story this summer to keep me writing, but then it quickly turned into so much more. It went from a quick read, into my largest project to date as far as word count is concerned! It combines my love of sports, boys, and YA romance to make a book I still cannot believe I wrote! I am also happy to say it is going to be an audio book soon as well, something that I hope will add even more to the reading experience!
AND FINALLY....LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
5. Meg Cabot followed me on Twitter!!!!! No joke people! It was a shocking moment for me to stop and realize that someone I look up to so much actually wanted to follow what I had to say! I don't know if she really reads my tweets, or even my books for that matter, but it made me feel special and also like a total fan girl all the same. Maybe one day I can give someone else the feeling she gave me just by following me on social media!
So that is my year in review! And I am happy to say that I will be releasing quite a few new projects in 2016, hopefully making it another year to be excited about!
In the mean time, I hope all of you are off to a great New Year! My hope is that this year is productive and exciting for my writing, and that my personal life is just as much fun as the last year was, thanks to my amazing family and friends!
Best of luck to all of you in 2016!!
-Dana Burkey
