March Updates

March is upon us!

Winter has been fairly productive here. I’ve been consuming lots of horror content and have been churning ideas in my ice cream-making brain as I write more short stories and work on getting novels in shape for submission and publication.

THE WILD DARK is currently at 28 brilliant reviews on Goodreads and 13 on Amazon. This might not seem like a lot to most of you but I’m absolutely over the moon. Every person that leaves a review or rating helps me get closer to selling the book to more people. Visibility is everything to indie authors and the more word-of-mouth is spread about the book, the more people will give it a try.

Click on the photo above to get to the online shop!

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Makin’ Biscuits: New Cooking Adventures

That Time I Accidentally Stabbed My Hand While Chipping Stale Brownies Out Of A Baking Pan a.k.a. New Cooking Adventures

Don’t let the title fool you; this entry in itself is not a Cooking Adventure yet. But I have toyed with the possibility of bringing back video Cooking Adventures this year and the desire to do it is slowly overtaking me. One of the biggest reasons that I didn’t try to do them last year were because I was in the process of buying a new house and since I’ve moved into said house, I’ve been coming to grips with all of its various quirks. The kitchen is one of these.

It’s a beautiful kitchen. There are open beams, a large window overlooking the lawn, plenty of counter space, and lots of light and warmth…in the summer. In the winter, it has become the coldest room in the house due to a lack of insulation and the fact that it was an added room to the 1890 cape. So, in order to ensure that it’s warm enough for me to spend time in there, I’ve had to put up an insulated curtain over the big, light-bringing window and put on a space-heater. Filming in such a dark room isn’t very easy.

Writer Thoughts Thursday: The First Draft

Writing the first draft is a wondrous experience for the most part. You have all these ideas swirling around you that you want to incorporate: characters that seem cool, smart, funny,  and sexy; places that will make your readers long to travel there (or stay as far away from it as possible); a plot so Machiavellian, you wonder if you should be examined by a psychologist… The possibilities are limitless.

You know what’s wrong with a first draft though?

The possibilities are…limitless.

New England Authors Expo 2016 a.k.a. The Adventures of Blind Katherine

This is a story about why you should always, always, always have a spare pair of eyeglasses if you are as blind as a bat. Fair warning, there may be some cussing involved here.

Wednesday was my third New England Authors Expo, a collaborative author event in Danvers, Massachusetts at the Danversport Yacht Club. Authors, publishers, editors, and illustrators alike congregate to network, sell their wares, and this year, attend panel discussions about topics such as marketing and editing. I’ve had lots of fun attending the last two NEAE events, have met some great writer friends at them, and have usually sold enough to make it worth going back every year.

This year, I really wanted to step it up. While my newest novella hasn’t released yet, I decided that I would make some gifty items in order to promote it and the rest of my Monstrum Chronicles series. I spent hours upon hours making faux bloodstained book page art, drawing chimera bookmarks, crafting faux bloodvial necklaces, and even making some pretty cool book page coasters and pins. I had fun doing it but it left me exhausted the night before and as a result, I only got four hours of sleep.

That next morning, I spent another three hours putting the final touches on things and getting packed. I was late getting out the door, which put me behind in my estimation for when I’d get to the Expo. It was a three hour commute, which is fine usually. I had some killer 70’s and 80’s one hit wonders to groove to on my way. There’s a certain inner sanctuary one reaches while belting out Haddaway’s “What is Love” while flying down I-95. That is, until the other drivers turn into assholes and start weaving in and out of lanes as though they are vehicular dolphins. I quickly transform into the equivalent of a Great White Shark stuck inside a manta ray. My car isn’t exactly formidable, and I possess quite the road rage…

New House Update!

I have finally done it. I’ve bought a house, moved in, and am now going through the arduous challenge of turning it into a comfortable, safe, and familiar place to live. For those of you who have moved before, you know what kind of a task this is. For those of you who don’t…let’s just say that it’s a process and can be a stressful one at that.

Don’t get me wrong; I love my new home. There are post and beam ceilings, beautiful wooden floors, a nice deck, a three story barn, and many other lovely things. There are also lots of spiders, things to be cleaned, a lawn to be mowed, and many other things in need of attention. This has kept me going non-stop for the last few weeks. Which means I haven’t had much time for writing…or blog posts unfortunately.

I’m unbelievably sad that I haven’t been able to keep up on posts for the first half of the year. I hope when I’m a little more rested and perhaps summer isn’t in full swing that I’ll be able to really spend some time posting. I also haven’t written anything in a couple weeks and that is one of the things that makes me feel antsy.

Writing is not just a job; it’s a passion and it’s a calming influence. When I can’t write, I get upset, which is reasonable. I’m currently in the editing process of “The Collection”, painstakingly going over it time and again with advice from my writing group on what to alter. I had hoped it would be finished by the New England Authors Expo at the end of July, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. If anything, I’m going to shoot for a late August release date. At 60 pages, it’s a rather short read, but it’s one that I have put my all into, probably one of my favorite pieces that I’ve written. I want so badly to share it with everyone! And I can’t wait to start working on the follow up series for it… Oh yes. There are plans there.

New England Authors Expo: I was getting to that. July 27th, I’m going to be at a table at the Expo in the Danversport Yacht Club in Danvers, MA once more selling my wares. I’m going to have a few other things available besides books (bookmarks, perhaps t-shirts…?), so definitely stop by and check things out! The event goes from 4-9.

I realize that I’ve been saying over and over how I want to get back to writing posts and I haven’t been able to and I apologize for that. I want more than anything to be able to get back to a routine with Inspiration Through Music and Cooking Adventure posts. We’ll start seeing them hopefully return in regularity in August after the book show.

Until then, I could use some positive vibes exiling the creepy arachnids from my home.

Thanks in advance!

~KSilva

Cooking Adventure: Soft Chocolate Mocha Cookie Bites

God, how I’ve missed this.

It’s been months…MONTHS since I’ve had time to lose myself in the groove of making something intricate in the kitchen. Of course, I’ve cooked the occasional steak or chicken dish for dinner but never one I felt I could call truly creative. This is the first time in months I’ve had fun baking something.

As I’ve stated in nearly all my blogs this year, I’ve been going through some stressful changes. I’m a week away from closing on my first house and have been feverishly working on my novella, “The Collection” in order to have it ready to print in July. Today in particular, I was really feeling the pressure. I’ve been packing my apartment up bit by bit for over a week, my life slowly being boxed away and the place I’ve called home for the last five years is beginning to feel less and less so.

Similarly at my job, one of my wonderful co-workers is moving on to bigger and brighter things with a new job. I decided very last minute that I’d make him something as a going away gift. I’d seen a recipe for some Mocha Crinkle Cookies on Pinterest yesterday and decided that those would be the perfect thing to try. They are an uncomplicated cookie, one that doesn’t take too long to make and that I don’t have to stress about as far as clean up is concerned.

And damn if they’re not f-ing delicious.

On Being Sick…Again

For some reason, 2016 is really kicking my butt. This is the third time I’ve been sick so far this year. I haven’t been reckless with my eating or drinking, I haven’t been running around outside without a jacket, and I haven’t been spending time among hordes of sickly children. I don’t even like to spend time among hordes of non-sick children. I have, however, been stressed about things; the blog is one of them.

Last year, I took a year off from publishing anything and decided to focus on the Monstrum Chronicles blog more. I posted Literary Cooking Adventures, videos which took anywhere from four to five hours to film, edit, and post; Inspiration Through Music; and Horror-FAIL Fridays… They were fun and I had lots of time to work on them because I wasn’t dedicating myself to trying to finish any lengthy WIP’s. In 2012, my first year doing the blog, I kept up the blog posts AND wrote and released a new book.

This year, it’s been different. I can’t find the same energy I had four years ago to be able to multi-task and do all of those things at once. It, of course, doesn’t help that I’ve been sick and worried about things, one of which is finding a house. But, most of all, it’s that I’ve been finding it hard to find time to write. When I do manage to carve out a minute or two, I realize that it’s also the same day that I was supposed to have written a blog post. Or I get a migraine. Or I’m on the brink of sneezing my entire face off and am exhausted. And usually, I won’t write anything.

Yes, I realize this is a bit of a whiny post and for that, I apologize. I wanted to fill readers in on why there haven’t been many posts this year and to assure you that, once I’ve settled things with the house, am feeling healthy and energized once more, and feel confident that I can keep up with weekly blog posts, I will resume doing so. For now though, I ask that you be patient with me, that you allow me the time I need to get my ducks in a row (what kind of an OCD dingleberry puts ducks in a row anyway?) and stay tuned. I hope I’m able to at least post something once in a while, but I know it won’t be weekly and there might not be any rhyme or reason to it.

Thank you and I hope you are all having a good 2016 so far.

~KSilva

Coming Soon…

Inspiration Through Music: Unravel Soundtrack

This week, I’ve fallen in love with a new and beautiful game called Unravel by Electronic Arts. In it, you play as a little anthropomorphic yarn boy named Yarny, who traverses a picturesque world of fond memories. There are lots of violent video games on the market right now, so it always makes me feel warm and tingly inside when I’m introduced to something that is based around a unique and more wonderful idea. The idea in Unravel? To reconnect, whether it be with the past, or with people you’ve lost touch with or with places you’ve begun to forget about. It’s a magical and refreshing experience, one that I haven’t felt since I first played Journey.

Unravel’s soundtrack is a collaboration by two Swedish musicians, Henrik Oja and Frida Johansson. The nostalgia present in each track, blended with the stunning visuals of the game makes one feel as though they are really running along the seaside, exploring mountains, and sailing through the treetops. Not only is it immersive, it also easily makes you feel lost inside each narrative that Yarny traverses. Today I’ll be sharing four songs from the unofficial Unravel soundtrack and writing what I see when I listen to them.