Companion Blog to The Gateway Trilogy

As promised, here's the new blog for all things related to Gateway:

Companion Blog to The Gateway Series

I'll be posting weekly so check back regularly! On the blog now: Taren's filed notes from his time spend inside Windsor, including when he met Callie and Ember for the first time.

New Developments in the Gateway Series

Over a vegan breakfast burrito my friend, Erin helped me formulate a solution for what's been a source of frustration for me. The problem:

What direction this blog should take and how I can use it as an interactive experience for fans of Gateway?

The solution:

I stop trying to do that with this blog.

Lemme s'plain: 

I'm a bit of non-linear thinker. I know a little bit about a lot of things and a lot about a few things. But the things I already know about, (say, being vegan) isn't really something I feel called to blog about, nor does it have anything to do with my writing career which happens to be my primary focus. But blogging about my writing process is only interesting to fellow writers, and quite frankly, there are plenty of others out there already doing a fine job of it. 

When I ask myself what I really want to write about, the answer is: 

I want to write about the world inhabited by the characters of The Gateway Series. I had always planned that the main story would be told in a trilogy, leaving open the possibility to write additional volumes focusing on Callie and/or Kat. Many of you have responded to those characters and have asked if you'll be reading more about them in the coming volumes. The answer is a definite yes, but why wait? 

My initial intention was that their side novels would take place at the conclusion of The Gateway Series, or possibly running parallel (depending on how much of their stories make it to the final versions of the trilogy.) But when trying to make characters that come off the page as though living, breathing entities, authors write all sorts of backstories, creating histories that never appear in the novel but make the story so much richer overall. I figure, why not start a new blog dedicated solely to revealing things like: Callie's life before Windsor, Kat's first mission as a Guardian, and Taren's point of view of the first time he met Ember.

So.

I'll maintain this blog as sporadically as ever, and in the meantime, I'll be starting another blog dedicated solely to The Gateway Series. And that one, I promise I will update regularly.

I'll be announcing the new site soon, and look forward to peeling back the curtain and giving you a glimpse of the Gateway world through the eyes of some of your favorite characters. 

Scoop It!

I just discovered this fantastic site: Scoop.it. I love having a place to gather content on specific topics and organize them in a beautiful layout. I thought I'd share the free service with you all and if you're interested in seeing what I'm busy scooping, my first topic is  Creative Productivity. Enjoy, and if you start your own topics, let me know!

Keep in Touch!

Hey lovelies...

I've been neck deep working on a film and now that it's almost over, (Thank. God.) I'll be neck deep in revisions of the second novel in the The Gateway Series. Sadly, updating my blog has taken a back seat, but I still want to connect with you! Twitter seems the easiest way to do that, so feel free to say hello via: @GarnerChristina.

What to do when Everything Sucks

Hell if I know. And I suppose it isn't everything. I mean, it's never everything, right? Because I'm still breathing.
But I'm working on a movie that is sucking the soul right out of me with a few people I cannot wait to be away from. This will be the first wrap party I won't attend.
Alas, it's only 10 more days. 10 more days and I can dive back into Book 2 of the Gateway Series. I was so close to finishing before I took on this project so I'm looking at a release in early February, which I am very excited about.
On the plus side, this has been yet another opportunity for me to look at what I expect from people versus what they seem willing and/or able to give me with regards to loyalty and what I consider the basics of human decency.
My mantra (besides, "Only X number of days left!") has been, "There is a place inside of me that this place cannot touch." I'm happy to report that it's true. Which, I suppose proves that not *everything* sucks. :)

Book Bloggers

Or, as I like to call them, my heroes.

I just want to say thank you to all of the amazing book bloggers who have not only taken the time to review Gateway, but were willing to give a self-published e-book a shot. All authors depend on reviews and word of mouth, but with indie authors that need is greatly magnified. Even were a reviewer to not care for my book I would appreciate their willingness to read it!

I believe in my novel and the series it kicks off, but knowing there are others out there who have enjoyed it is inspiring. Knowing they'll take the time to tell others is absolutely fabulous!

Thanks again!

I'm not Gonna Lie...

It's been rough going this past week. I came back from Europe feeling invigorated and inspired, and then... I'm not sure what happened. Maybe it was just life that happened. I started feeling less than thrilled with what I was writing. Then I had a relationship rift I needed to heal. You know how draining that can be. The next day came the $1100 tax bill from incorrectly reporting my earnings in 2009.

I gave myself a couple of days to check out and recover, but it's been a few, and I haven't. I still feel blah and I still am not excited about where my story is going, even though logically, I think it's going in the right direction. I've just lost the juice, the passion to get the words down on paper and I'm afraid that I might not find it anytime soon.

And it's not just a passion for writing, I'm kind of feeling turned off by most things, which is a red alert for someone who suffers from depression. I'm doing my best to weather the storm and I hope it doesn't last too long.