Power to the POPL!

Whew!

Is it almost May already?

Well, please excuse my tardiness in checking in with y’all. I mean, it’s been almost a month since our last chat, and boy do I have lots to catch you all up on!

But first, let’s start off with a 20BooksVegas check-in, shall we?

Okay!

Conference ticket, RAVE author booth, and hotel accomdations are all taken care of at the moment. In the next week or so, I’ll (finally) secure the flight. I’ve been tracking them over on Google, and I think now is a good time to buy – don’t see the prices getting any lower and don’t want to wait until summer. Lord knows with my luck the prices will spike and I’ll end up paying twice what they are now for economy if I wait that long.

With that out of the way comes more introverted indie author prep, like how do you network at an event full of people when you want to still social distance?

That’s where Popl comes in!

This company is now the #1 Digital Business Card provider in the world for a reason. And thanks to their contactless sharing products, I feel so much more comfortable in getting to interact with all the other attendees at this year’s 20BooksVegas!

Here’s a quick TikTok video I did showing off my gear – which I’ve been testing out for a few weeks now and LOVE.

I did decide to upgrade my card to a custom one, that way I can show off my sweet author logo while networking. It should be here soon, but in the meantime, when you go to the Popl’s website to browse more of their awesome finds, please use the code ‘KMCCOY’ to get an extra 25% off your purchase!

And come back to see me next week (you read that right!) as I announce more about what I have in the author’s vault! If you’re following me over on Ko-fi, or are a Pen Pal or Best Tea, you already know what the next post will be about.

Either way, I look forward to sharing more about what’s coming up next for your favorite indie author! Talk to you all soon 🙂

“Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!”

-K. McCoy

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Step into Spring with a ReTREAT!

Now, I know the title to this blog is a tad bit long, but it either this or ‘Let’s Get Virtual’.

Anywho, let’s get into this post!

This March, The Author Transformation Alliance will be holding its annual Virtual Spring Writer’s Retreat, and I wanted to share the news with y’all.

Myself and several other wonderful instructors will be presenting classes all designed to help authors along their writing journeys, as well as with the author business side of things.

I’ve been a part of this incredible group since 2016, and honestly, it’s been heaven sent for me. The amount of knowledge and support I’ve received from the ATA has helped me figure out (and refine will needed) just what my journey as an author and business looks like. Having a community of encouraging authors and writers that I know will help me navigate this journey – virtually and in real life – is so comforting as an introvert.

And now that I’m also an instructor, it’s super cool to take everything I’ve learned throughout my author journey and combine it with my 9 to 5 teaching/tutoring skills!

Curious to see what each day of this virtual retreat looks like?

Then check out the itinerary below!

So go ahead and treat yourself to three days of fun and interactive classes and writing with new friends. All from the privacy of your home!

Get your ticket to this awesome Spring Virtual Writer’s Retreat here.

Can’t wait to see you there!

“Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!”

-K. McCoy

BTO Conference Recap!

Hello Spring!

I got to kick off the Spring season in Maryland. Chesapeake, to be exact.

Months ago I applied to be a presenter/speaker for the Bay to Ocean Conference and was accepted! What did my class cover?

Here’s a lovely restroom selfie of me before attending a class.

As a speaker, I was able to enjoy the conference by attending classes and had a nice college lunch too!

Before speaking, I attended a morning class about Co-writing (co-authoring) by Emily Johnson and Elizabeth Kasper, and in the afternoon I got to learn a little more about the Practice of Translation by Nathan D. Horowitz. Both passion led and full of useful information that I can’t wait to use in my future wips someday!

Not going to lie, I was nervous about going to this event. It’s been some time since I’ve instructed in person and I felt I would be a little rusty. But it really is like riding a bike – the minute I said hello, everything I was worried about just went to the back of my mind and I went on with engaging and leading the conversation like I normally would in a class.

Shout out to Canva!

I wasn’t expecting more than ten people to show up, and when I saw that I had eight folks in my class five minutes before start time, I logged into my Canva account and created QR Codes of the checklist/worksheet/notes that I had made copies of. So for the more tech savvy students, I was able to share the code at the beginning of my presentation and hand out copies to those that preferred to write during the class.

Everyone was so kind and really participated during the class – I loved it!

So, thank you ESWA (Eastern Shore Writers Association) and BTO for having me. Being at this conference was a great experience and I would highly recommend other writers attend in the future.

“Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!”

-K.McCoy

Cupid’s Kiss is LIVE!

Excuse me, as I will be celebrating Valentine’s Day all year long from now on.

No, I haven’t done anything crazy (e.g. a trip to a chapel in Vegas). But I have taken part in and published a Valentine’s Day anthology with Penning Valley called Cupid’s Kiss.

And now you all can enjoy Valentine’s Day whenever you want too – with six spicy romance stories!

It’s been hella nice reading the reviews for this anthology too – here’s a few (just in case you’re interested).

I just love when a good anthology comes together! So, for those of you keeping score along with me, this counts as my fourth time participating in an anthology 🙂 I have plans to take part in one more this year, but since I will be putting together that anthology, I am on the fence about submitting a story.

Cupid’s Kiss was the first anthology that I worked on as the project manager. And the main thing I learned from the experience is there are lots of moving parts when it comes to seeing an anthology through. So the last thing I want to worry about is writing a story for one.

Though I do have a few ideas rolling around in my head, so I might just be crazy enough to do it again. Or there many not be enough story submissions that I like and feel the need to add a short of my own to the anthology.

Will see what happens.

For now, I’m enjoying the response from readers about Cupid’s Kiss, while putting the finally touches on my next project.

Which I will sharing with you all in exactly SIX days, so make sure to visit my blog again on March 1st to find out more about that.

Happy writing (and reading) until then!

“Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!”

-K. McCoy

Happy New Goals!

Hey 2023!

Now that we are nearing a whole week into the New Year, I thought it might be time for an update. And so update I shall!

Your favorite indie author has been quite busy, and has quite the busy schedule for this year.

I’ve been working more behind the scenes when it comes to helping fellow indie authors, preparing classes, and mapping out my reading/writing schedule for the year. Everything is shaping up nicely and I like that.

I know I’m being general, so I’ve prepared a graphic to help give you all more of an idea of what I’ll be busy doing this year. In short, here are my goals for 2023:

See why I’m playing close to the chest?

Sometimes even good plans don’t work out, so I don’t want to go making grand announcements and talking all big on the internet just to have to come back with and update on why something wasn’t done and/or release (aka, my MAGIX series, lol).

But I can tell you all about one of my goals for this year now, and that is to blog at least twice a month. I’ve even made space in my calendar for it and everything!

To kick off that goal, I want to let you know to expect another post from me at the beginning of February. Because once I finish this update, I’m going to begin putting the finishing touches on one of my ‘sweet’ projects for this year (hint, it drops next month) and I want you all to know about it first.

I hope you all are having a great start to the New Year as well! Let me know what you’re working on in the comments.

Make 2023 yours!

“Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!”

-K. McCoy

My Gift to all of you…

You may find that title a little cheesy, but it was almost ‘Let’s Smash again’.

Just wanted to let you know, so don’t judge, lol

Now, on with the good tidings!

I have a few ‘gifts’ for you all to bring the year to a close. The first is a whole 25% off my collections of works for the Smashwords End of the Year Sale – yea!

Again, don’t Bah Humbug me – you all know reading is the gift that keeps on giving. So enjoy the sale until January 1st. You’re welcome sweet readers!

Did y’all remember that the year anniversary for A Dove’s Cry is in just three days?

Well, I remembered. And since it’s my first ‘baby’, I was feeling all sorts of sentimental and decided to celebrate the occasion by preparing a Flash Sale!

This sale will apply for the e-book only, on Wednesday, December 21st.

So if you want to snuggle up with a Women’s Fiction story that goes heavy on the romantic elements – treat yourself this holiday season to A Dove’s Cry!

Seasons Readings to you all!

Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process.

-K.McCoy

How was 20BooksVegas…Again?

Whew!

In a word, Vegas was incredible!

There wasn’t any Martinelli’s to be had, so this awesome gif will have to do.

I was more prepared for what to expect when it comes to the 20BooksVegas schedule. Still not prepared financially. Which sucks, but I have (another) plan.

It’s time for me to get in front of the bull when it comes to paying for my conference ticket, flight, and hotel. No more paying the late paupers tax from waiting to take care of things!

And in order to make that happen, I’ve decided to spend all of December working. You all know by now that that’s all I do when I’m not authoring, but this holiday season I’m putting my foot back on the gas pedal and working the max!

Starting with teaching gig #1. I’ve put in a request to work extra early am shifts.

Also with teaching gig #2. I’ve re-opened my schedule during the day, in hopes of getting a few new monthly students for test preping.

And (sighs) as for teaching gig #3… As much as I’d like to part ways with it, I need to stay on. At least for the next four months.

Conference tickets go on sale on Monday, January 2nd, 2023, and I plan on being up early with my partner in writing crime (my accountability partner, lol). That way we can both get our tickets and booths together!

You read that right – ya girl is going to have an author booth for next year’s 20BooksVegas!

I’ll be talking more about R.A.V.E. once it’s all confirmed, but the plan is simple enough – work all the hours I can in December, then in January buy my conference ticket and author booth.

The week after that I’ll let my Found card recover for a bit before putting the deposit down on my stay at Horseshoe (formerly known as Bally’s). Again, we’ll talk more about that next year.

For now, just know that your favorite indie author is in the game to win!

Happy reading and writing y’all 🙂

Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!

-K. McCoy

20BooksVegas – I’m BACK!

Well look who somehow made a trip to Sin City work this year for 20BooksVegas.

You know what they say – always bet on BLACK!

Having good friends that will put you up in their hotel room definitely helps too 😉

Right now I’m on my way to the hotel, hoping that there will be a shuttle that takes me directly there. Because I am tired and so ready to shower and call it a night.

But before I do that, let me catch you all up on the latest, okay?

Writing for Nanowrimo this year has been a bit shaky, largely in part to me not liking certain chapters within book 3 of the MAGIX K-pop series (more about that later). So right now I have plans to go back and re-read books 1 and 2 for some inspiration, because I really, really, REALLY want to write the rough draft to the ending of this series this month.

Since writing for MAGIX isn’t going all that well, I am now re-visiting other wips to work on.

Also, I worked out my editing schedule with my editor this week for A Dove’s Cry sequel- yea!

Now I have to make sure I can pay them on time until the end of the project.

After this trip, I’ll be putting in more hours with my 9 to 5 (more like 4 to 4, but that doesn’t quite have a ring to it, lol) to make sure that happens. If I’m being honest, I don’t really mind the busy schedule, especially this time of year.

Speaking of this time of year – in the middle of ALL of that other wonderful madness, I have scheduled a lovely sweet and steamy holiday novella to share with the world! You read that right – ya girl is releasing some works for you all to enjoy next month!

All I will say about this novella now is that it will hopefully tide you all over, while also re-connecting you to some characters from my little universe. Because the sequel to A Dove’s Cry isn’t schedule to drop until…

Well, if you want to find out all that, then you’ll have to join us at The Stories Stations!

Until next time sweet readers.

Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!

-K. McCoy

Finding my (Lane) way.

I thought being able to pen stories and get paid for them was cool.

It still is, but I’ve found something else just as cool – finding a lane that I can ride into the sunshine along my author journey.

I couldn’t believe that I didn’t realize I was already in my lane until earlier this month.

While ironing out my plans for 2023, I looked back at my body of work (cause that’s something all authors do, I just happen to do it more than most, imo) and saw that for the last few years I’ve been taking part in at least one anthology a year. And I like that ish!

Seriously, writing a short story for an anthology is awesomesauce!

It keeps me sharp, having to write stories that fit the theme of the anthology I’m writing for. Also, it gives me a chance to work and collaborate with other authors as we work on promoting the anthology. I also get to challenge myself by writing completely outside of my main genre (like I did with the last anthology), which is so much fun.

Here’s a list of the anthologies that I’ve had the privilege of writing in over the years:

A list of Anthologies I’m featured in with The ATA, from 2020 to 2022.

Now that I’ve found a pretty sweet lane to write in from time to time, I for sure want to continue do so. Which is why I’m going to make it a goal to take part in at least one anthology a year.

Not to mention that if I’m able to do so, I can try out new (to me) things, like another genre or writing in first person.

Right now I am working on a wip that has me doing both of those things, and I’m hoping to share some of that story in a future anthology.

I also just finished the rough draft to not one, but TWO Valentine Day shorts that may end up in TWO separate anthologies next year. About to work on a third short because I feel that one of those anthologies could do with two shorts from me and I want to make that happen.

All and all, everything is going well in my neighborhood. I hope the same could be said for y’all too!

My next post will be about 20BooksVegas, so be on the lookout for that in another two weeks or so. Until then, you know what to do:

Continue reading, continue writing, continue loving the process!

-K. McCoy

Embracing the Darkness

I think I’m going to need another pen name.

One good thing about being a lesser known (for now, lol) indie author is that I can decide things like switching up between what I write now and what I want to write. Well, technically, what I have written, just not published.

Welcome to my darkest nightmares sweet readers!

One of my first attempts at horror is just about complete, thanks to the latest ATA Anthology. The piece was accepted and is now being edited. Not going to lie, I certainly feel out of my depths – ya girl has NEVER written anything like this before, but when the opportunity presented itself I had to try.

Authors from Darkest of Dreams, an ATA Anthology. September 2022

And if you or someone you know is into things that go bump into the night (aka cryptid horror) then check out our Kickstarter.

There are lots of creepy good stories to be found in this anthology, and if you show us some support by Saturday, you’ll receive not one but TWO freighting good extra short stories!

You can be the first to find out which creature my story is based on by joining The Stories Stations in October.

My next story was one that I began working on last year but dropped.

Again, I mostly have only ever shared Romance tales, so a story about Black and Indigenous Vampires was just too much.

Is it too much for y’all? We all may find out soon!

BIPOCVAMPDAY, 2022

Because right now I have a mock book cover, tagline, and a blurb for said story.

You can all thank BIPOC Vamp Day for that one!

If all goes well, I’ll be able to share some of the first chapter as well this week. Apparently I just needed to ‘cut my teeth’ a little before taking on what is shaping up to be quite the story. Though as I was working on it yesterday, I realized that when I publish the story that I’ll need to do so under a pen.

Any suggestions?

Gather ’round sweet readers, and help me celebrate my latest projects – can’t wait to share them with y’all!

“Continue reading, continue writing, and continue loving the process!”

–K. McCoy