Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Writing by Kim Mullican #UrbanFantasy




There are a lot of tools around now that either weren’t around when I first started in 2006, or I had no idea were available. But here’s a few things I wish I had at the beginning of this writing journey. I’m not sponsored by anything below, they’re just tools I use.

1. Pro Writing Aid – Nothing, and I mean nothing replaces a good editor. A quality editor is expensive, but worth every penny. I cannot stress that enough. However, Pro Writing Aid is an invaluable tool in an author’s toolbox. Most writing software, MS Word included, will give you spelling and punctuation errors. But when you dive in past general grammar stuff, Pro Writing Aid is what you need. Its punctuation feature is much better than Word’s. It also tells you when you’re telling v. showing. It points out passive voice, passive verbs, and overall helps you tighten up your writing. 

2. Atticus – this software is invaluable for formatting. You simply upload your work and Atticus helps you along the way. They have tutorials to help you navigate, but seriously, it took me like five minutes to learn. Once you’ve done your part in the software, it spits out beautifully formatted eBook and Print editions. It really is a life saver. 

3. Cover Designers – there are so many good cover designers out there for nearly any budget now. When I first started, this was not the case. A good cover is good. But a great cover is invaluable. Along the same group is any graphic design really. It’s easy now to find sources for covers, book trailers, etc.

4. Author Groups – I strayed away from these for a long time. There are groups out there full of gatekeeping, snark, and even cruelty. But if you sift through them, you’ll actually find like-minded authors out there who can help you along the way or just cheer you on. Lurking is fine but true friendships can grow if you just put yourself out there. 

The book world has changed immensely in the last 20 years. As an author I love the endless amount of resources out there now. There is really nothing holding anyone back from being a successful author these days. 


Blood and Fire
Alpha and Omega
Book One
Kim Mullican

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher:  Syn Publishing
Date of Publication: 01/17/2022
ISBN: 978-1-942632-39-9
ASIN:  B09NN4GLTZ
Number of pages: 160
Word Count: 62k
Cover Artist: Get Covers

Book Description: 

I am Maia Delacroix and I hunt people and relics. My life does not lack excitement or danger. I have it in spades.

Then the Mageri surprised me with an orphan...yes, an orphan. I can’t even keep a house plant alive, let alone a kid. It turns out that I’m her only living relative, and even though we’ve never met, I’m her only hope. Great. Can I feed her after midnight? What does she eat? I have no idea what I’m doing.

They tell me this little witchling will need care for a few years until she comes of age. The bizarre fire leaking out of Elaina’s hands is a pretty good indicator that she is no witch.

Then the coven comes—they want her back. Necromancers show up, turning my vampire friends into enemies. If that isn’t bad enough, I have a demon problem now too. 

Join me, and see if we can make it out alive!


Excerpt:

She leaned into me and sobbed.

I didn’t know her but damn if I didn’t suddenly feel responsible for her. How in the hell had that happened? Because I lost my mother too? Because this poor kid had big blue eyes and pleaded for me to help her? Damned if I knew.

She wiped her face on her shirt. “We should probably get some groceries.”

And we did. While she did buy some junk food, I was a little surprised at how much healthy stuff she put in the cart. She even claimed she knew what to do with it.

When she grabbed a box of Earl Grey tea, I laughed. “You liar!”

She looked slightly embarrassed. “My mom drinks it,” she looked down at the box, “she drank it.”

I snatched it out of her hand and threw it in the cart. “If nothing else, we’ll brew it just to sniff.”

She blinked back tears before grabbing a bag of coffee. “Sounds good.”

The bill at checkout nearly gave me hives. Did teenagers eat this much every week? The paperwork the attorney left did show a nice monthly allowance for necessities, but if the grocery bill was this much each week, I’m not sure how much would be left.

I tried to hide the shock from Elaina. My poker face must not be as good as I thought, however.

“Don’t worry, we had to get a lot of staple items this week. We won’t need this much each time.”

Smiling, I started piling bags in my truck. “You noticed my mini-stroke?”

She laughed. “I’ve never seen a mage turn white like that. It was like a vampire had sucked you dry.”

After returning home, she helped me put all the groceries away then volunteered to start making dinner. I poured a glass of wine and leaned against the counter, watching her. Something was niggling at the back of my head.

“I wanted to ask you about that awesome fireball you made earlier.”

I noticed the pause in her movements before she went back to work. That spoke volumes.

“Cool, huh,” she said, keeping her back to me.

“What kind of magic is that?” I asked. “I’ve never seen a witch make a fireball.” I studied her movements while she worked. Her hands started to shake a little. The topic made her nervous. Interesting.

Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “As it turns out, I’m not a witch. I turned twelve and mom put me through all of the usual tests. Nothing.” She shook spices on the meat in the pan.

“Wow, that must have sucked.” I was trying to stay on her level to keep her comfortable.

“Not really. She didn’t make a big deal out of it. I helped her with her projects, learned about ingredients, spells, and relics. Last year, I felt something.”

She turned and looked at me. “I don’t know how to explain it. It was like a switch flipped and I could feel something here,” she said pointing just below her sternum.

“Warm and kind of moving?” I asked.

She nodded. “Exactly, except sometimes it feels icy too.”

Warm and cold? Was this kid defective?

“Anyway, I told my mom. We were close and she was just, awesome. I always knew I could tell her anything. She said it was excellent. So, we went into the woods and tried several things.

Nothing I tried worked. Then she said to do what felt naturally. That’s when I cupped my hands and made a tiny light ball. It was the size of a marble.”

This made no sense. It didn’t sound like any magic I knew.

About the Author:

Kim Mullican is a cross-genre author with over 20 novels under her belt. She enjoys the farm life in Northwest Indiana with her husband. Between chasing chickens and herding cats, she and her husband enjoy gardening and old episodes of Top Chef.

Website: https://kimmullican.com/

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