Otherwise Unharmed - Coming December 5th, 2013!

It has been just about two months since I started seriously plugging away at the final book in the Evan Arden series, and I am very happy to say the writing is all done, and it's all in the hands of my wonderful editors!  It ended up being much longer than anticipated, but I don't think anyone will complain about that.  After spending last weekend in Chicago to get a good feel for some of the places Evan finds himself in during this story, I have some BEAUTIFUL pictures of @savage_trainer to be used for the book cover and video trailer.

Watch for the cover reveal and trailer coming in the few of weeks!

This has been the first book I've attempted as a full-time writer, and I have struggled a little to get the flow of my daily routine, but I think everything is falling into place. I'm pretty confident I'll be able to deliver new material for all of you on a regular basis now, which is the whole reason for doing this!

So, what's next?

Two things are next on my plate - a total rewrite of Transcendence for publication and also another short story which has been bopping around in my head.  We'll see which one happens first!  After that, the sequel to Surviving Raine, which I hope to start around the first of the year.

Thanks to all of you for your loyalty and support!  It makes all the difference!

The journey has begun!

Going Back to Kindle Exclusive

I gave "Smashwords" the old college try, as they say, and ultimately I am completely unsatisfied with the results.  For those who aren't "in the know" on such things, Smashwords is a place for Indie authors like me to make their books available in multiple formats - everything from PDFs to Nooks and everything in between.  Though there have been a few sales through that venue, it really hasn't been anything to write home about.  Indeed, it's not even generated enough to take the family out to dinner. :)

So, that said, I'm going to go back to Kindle Select, which means my eBooks will ONLY be available through Amazon for the Kindle, and will be removed from Smashwords, B&N, etc.  I know some people out there would truly prefer to read on their Nook or some other format, and I'm very sorry about that, but it ends up costing a lot in both money and time to make the books available in those other formats, and it just hasn't proven to be worth it overall.  Ultimately, I have to make the right business decision at this time.

This will allow me to do a couple of different things, including free promotions of books from time to time.  It also means all eBooks will be priced between $2.99-$9.99 per Kindle Select policy.  So, if you don't have a copy of Otherwise Alone, get one now while it's still $0.99!  It won't be much longer.

This also means all my books will again be available in the Amazon Lending Library if you are a Amazon Prime user, so you can read for free!  If you are using another device for your ebooks, do remember that Amazon has Kindle readers for just about everyone - PCs, Macs, Smartphones, iPads, etc.  Just follow the link below!

Amazon Kindle Apps

I'm also looking into something new Amazon has called "Kindle Matchbook," but I don't know much about it yet.  More to come!

Shay Savage

Otherwise Unharmed Update & Teaser!

Hey all!  I've gotten a lot of questions about the progress of Otherwise Unharmed, so I thought I'd give everyone a quick update.  I seem to have gotten into the groove, and writing has been coming along wonderfully the past week or so.  I'm hoping the whole thing will be done in the next few weeks for a December release, but you never can tell - it keeps getting longer!

So how about a little taste?

Here's the summary and a little teaser!

Otherwise Unharmed:

After Evan Arden was imprisoned by the enemy for a year and a half, he returned from the desert as a military hero.  He’d suffered some minor injuries during his captivity, was discharged from the Marines with just a touch of shellshock, but was considered otherwise unharmed.  Now he wonders how he ended up where he is now – incarcerated in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center for using his sharpshooting expertise to take out the neighborhood park with a high-powered sniper rifle and multiple rounds of ammunition.

Lia Antonio, the woman he rescued from the desert heat the previous year, is the only person who can bring him out of his sleep-deprived psychosis and mounting PTSD.  When she does, Evan knows he can’t just let her go again.  He’s never considered leaving the business before – who retires from the mafia? – but he’s determined to get both Lia and himself out of harm’s way.

Evan faces forces from multiple directions as a deal to get him out of jail turns more deadly and dangerous than he ever could have imagined.  With a three-way mob war on the horizon and the feds holding evidence over his head, Evan has no choice but to throw himself into the middle of another war-zone.

In his efforts to make things right in his own mind, Evan crosses the wrong man and finds himself on the business end of the cross-hairs.  With his observation skills and intelligence, he tries to keep a step ahead of his former co-workers, but this time, it isn’t just his own life on the line – he’s got to protect Lia from the man who once called him son.

Teaser:

“Do you have nightmares or recurring thoughts about what happened to you?”

I swallowed hard.

“Yes.”

“How often?”

“Every time I close my eyes.”

I didn’t miss Rinaldo’s narrowed eyes as I admitted this to the attorney.  Yes, I had been too broken to come to him after I had killed Terry and Bridgett, but it was obvious the nightmares had been getting worse for a while.  I hadn’t told him about those.  Even when I confessed that Bridgett had slept in my bed with me, I never told him the reason why.

“Do you ever feel numb?”

“Most of the time.”

“Have you ever thought about hurting yourself or someone else?”

I actually laughed, which caused Rinaldo to smile slightly as well.

“Evan’s right,” he told the attorney.  “That’s a seriously stupid question.”

***

Hang on for a while longer!  More Evan to come!

Legion Training

When  @Liam_J_McIntyre and @TyroneBell19 first started talking about Legion Training on Twitter, I have to admit I was just amused at first.  Yet here I am, 13 weeks later, writing about it.

Those who follow this blog regularly know I'm not much for recommendations or endorsements.  I don't have time for a lot of that kind of stuff, but when I do, I mean  it.  So the fact that I'm writing a really long post about something that is totally unrelated to writing, soccer, or Star Wars, I must be serious.

I love the Spartacus series.  It's full of naked or mostly naked, hot, sculpted men and women, betrayal, blood and violence. What's not to love?  but the idea of "regular people" doing the same exercise program as the Spartacus Gladiators?  Please.  But Liam and Ty kept tweeting about it, and it kept grabbing my attention.  I went to the Legion Training website, read up a bit on it, watched the videos, went "holy shit" at Ty's physique, and then closed the browser.

I kept thinking about it, though.  I'd been out of shape since I quit playing soccer many years ago, and hadn't done a lick of exercise since then.  I was bordering on obese and hated the way I looked and felt.  However, there was just too much going on in my life to take up something like a regular exercise routine.  I worked 50-60 hours a week at the day job, wrote books in my spare time, and then there's the family - kids to raise, pets to care for, and a husband who would like to spend a couple minutes with me if I could spare the time.

Still the tweets continued: Join the Legion Army - just 19 minutes a day.  That fit into lunch hour or before work.  It would even fit neatly into right after work and before dinner.  19 minutes.  What could you really do in 19 minutes?  There was talk of a diet plan, and I'm a vegetarian.  Most of the diet plans these days are 99% meat, right?

I watched a couple more videos to get an idea of what it was like.  I talked to Mr. Savage about it, and he rolled his eyes. I talked to my doctor about it, and she laughed.  She also told me to go for it (likely because she knew I had been acting like a slug), to be careful not to hurt myself, and we'd see the results, if any, at my next physical.

So, I did it.  I signed up.  I said "Yes, Tyrone - I wanna be a gladiatrix!"  *giggle*

I'm going with the cliche here, but since then, Legion Training has changed my life.

First, let's make sure we're all on the same page here.  I was a 42 year old woman who had never lifted weights before in her life.  I was aware gyms existed, but other than the elliptical machine at the local YMCA, I hadn't actually DONE anything at one.  I was totally starting from scratch.  So, how well did it work?  Let's start with the basics.

Since May, 2013 I have:

• Lost over 25 lbs
• Lost 15% body fat
• Lost 6 inches around my waist and 2 inches around my hips
• My cholesterol dropped over 50 points since the last time I had it taken (it had been years, so I can't say for sure how much the nutrition plan contributed, but I think it did) 
• I'm stronger than I have ever been in my life

Let's talk about that last one, because the others are easily quantified.  What did getting stronger do for me?  

• I can carry things I couldn't carry before!  Maybe this is obvious, but I keep realizing every day that there's one more thing I can pick up and move without needing assistance.  I used to struggle with the 40lb bag of dog food and water softener salt, but not anymore.  I barely notice.  Daily activities are easier and faster for me now.
• I can walk up stairs and steep hills without getting winded.  We haven't had winter since I started yet, but I'm actually looking forward to taking the kid sledding this year.  I used to dread the walk back up the hill.
• My dancing has improved.  WTF you say?  Seriously - doing that many squats has definitely improved my dancing.  Can you go down low? :)

The vegetarian aspect of it was a little challenging, but Ty was fabulous in supporting me and helping me figure out vegetarian options for the nutrition plan.  He also helped me out when I hurt myself (not during workouts) and had to tone it down a bit for a couple weeks until I healed.  He's fabulously attentive and supportive, even from half a world away.  He wasn't just a picture on the website - I truly felt like I was working with him.

Not gonna lie - it took some getting used to the whole thing, especially the nutrition which is 90% of the program.  It is a TON of food.  Don't worry about going hungry at all.  Actually, I had a horrible time in the beginning trying to eat these insanely huge portions every 2-3 hours.  You need it though.  Now that my body is used to it, I don't have to look at the clock to see if I should eat again - I'm ready for more food right on schedule!  That's just how much my metabolism has changed.

More than anything else, I feel good.  The nutrition is strict and you have to stay on it without cheating for optimum success, but now that I am used to it, I can say that I honestly prefer to eat this way.  I eat good, fresh, natural food from the grocery - not pre-fab meals and a lot of supplements.  It's not costing me a fortune to eat.  I don't have the stomach issues I used to have, the number of migraines I have has dropped, and I've confirmed what I'm eating is doing great things for my body with blood tests.

I know what some of you are thinking - it wasn't the Legion Training program - you have a personal trainer as well!  You're right, I do now, but @savage_trainer didn't come along until I was about 2 weeks shy of completing the first round of Legion Training, and I didn't start working with him regularly until I was done with the first 11 week program.  If I hadn't already been doing Legion Training, I probably never would have met with @savage_trainer past the first "welcome to the gym" freebie session.  Today I still stick with the Legion Training nutrition, do the same cardio, and supplement the workouts I do with my trainer with Legion workouts.  [I actually think my trainer is considering joining the ranks of the Legion Army!]

Considering where I started, I still have a long way to get to my personal goals.  I'm definitely not posting any before and after pictures for public consumption at this point.  Maybe after the next round, but probably not until after the next TWO rounds.  Maybe.  :)

Some other benefits I wasn't expecting:

• I've seen beautiful sunrises over the lake near my house on my morning LISS cardio walks.
• My dog is getting a lot more walks, because I have more energy and I know it gets me a little extra cardio during the day.
• I can fit into costumes I haven't worn in years.  Yeah, the cosplayer in me is seriously thinking of doing a gladiatrix costume at Dragon Con next year!
• My bras stay on!  This wasn't at all expected, but my entire life has been spent yanking my bra straps up as they fall off my shoulders.  As I worked out my shoulders and they got rounder, the straps now stay up!  I had NO IDEA this was the problem.  I can wear tank tops now!
• Last and possibly best, I met @savage_trainer, who has become not just my personal trainer and cover model for my books, but a good friend.  (You gals got a lot out of this one, too! ;) )

So to conclude all of this, I can't express enough how much Legion Training has benefited me.  I'm sure I've forgotten a dozen more ways my life has improved, but I can only list so many.  I will say this, though - whether you are fit person who wants to get a little more tone, a bodybuilder who wants to buff up more, or a housewife who has never done this before, Legion Training will work for you.  You CAN do it.  It's going to take some dedication - you can't half-ass it and expect it to work - but if you follow the plan you WILL see the results!

To Tyrone Bell and Liam McIntyre - GRATITUDE!

Shay Savage - Legion for Life

And the Adventure Begins!

Today is my first "real" day as my own boss.  I'm trying to figure out exactly what my routine is going to be, as us OCD people need to do.  I'm not there yet.  Mostly need to figure out how to work with Mr. Savage sitting in the same room.  I think I already know the answer, which is to move to a different room!  With my son off to college (sniff!) I will be taking over part of his room as an office for the time being.  We'll see how that works!

I've got a ton of things to try to accomplish, the most important (of course) is to get some writing done.  I have a good jump on Otherwise Unharmed, which will be the next book out.  I'm also hoping to get Not What She Seems back on track with regular updates.  I feel horrible about letting it just hang there, but life has just been too busy with other, more important things.

If you haven't checked out Uncockblockable, please do, and then tell a friend!  It's a cute, fun story, Brian's Fight for Life.  You can find it on Smashwords (various formats) or on Amazon!  Links below.
and some of the proceeds go to

Uncockblockable on Smashwords

Uncockblockable on Amazon

Thanks to everyone for all the support as I dive into this new adventure!  Hope you have a wonderful week!

Shay Savage

This is it! The End of an Era!

Today will be my final day in the corporate world.  I'm both excited and nervous to pursue writing full-time, and I will definitely miss the people I've been working with for the last year and a half, but I am confident the timing is right.  I have no idea how successful I will be.  I don't really plan on "hitting it big" or anything like that, but would be very satisfied if I can just make a decent living doing what I love and giving all of you what you want. :)

Thank you all for your encouragement!  Tonight, we dance!  LOL

Shay Savage

Vacation Time!

Yep, quit my job and booked a cruise.  I know, I'm not right, but I definitely need the time off!  Just a couple more days worth of "real work" before I quit the corporate world and pursue the dream!  Yep, as of August 15th, I will be a full time writer.  WOOT!

I'm taking my daughter on a "birthday cruise" to Cozumel to see the Mayan ruins there.  She just turned 12 last week, and we're really looking forward to it!  I'm also really excited to get together with Chaya Sara, whose hard work has provided you with a lot cleaner writing from me, as well as Chonga and Kyosti who did the cover art/photography for Surviving Raine.  We're meeting in Miami for dinner tomorrow night, and I'm looking forward to it!

You'd think I'd get a break from all the exercise while I was on my trip, but NOOOOO.  Beautifully sadistic @savage_trainer is actually checking out the cruise ship's fitness center so he can design me a workout schedule for the week based on the equipment they have.  Bastard. :)

I will be pretty much totally out of pocket Monday-Friday, so don't be surprised if you don't hear a peep out of me, but I hope to have some wonderfully fun stories and pictures when I return!

Hope everyone is doing well, and watch for Uncockblockable's cover reveal and release in the VERY near future!

Savage

Full Time Writer

Yes, folks - if you haven't already heard on Twitter or Facebook, I have officially decided to leave the corporate world and write full time.  Last day is August 14th!  I'm incredibly excited and absolutely terrified.  I think I'm going to need a vacation just to get my head on straight.  Thankfully, the cruise is already booked!

I'm trying to figure out what all I need to do to get myself organized for this "self employment" endeavor.  I know there is a lot, and I want to make sure I'm playing it smart.  I'm usually overly cautious, so I'll probably be all right, but that doesn't stop the paranoia!  LOL

Thanks again for all of your support - I definitely wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for you!

Writing Status:

Uncockblockable - written and off to editing

Otherwise Unharmed - writing in progress

Transcendence - debating title

Bastian and Raine, Book 2 - outline started

And not to forget:

Not What She Seems - way behind, but intend to catch back up when life allows.  I hope to start posting regularly after August 14th!

I Need a Vacation!

I know, I know - what else is new?  Well, when your massage therapist is telling you how stressed you are, and your doctor is telling you how stressed you are, and everyone is telling you that you are basically a mess, it's time to take some time for oneself, right?  But it was all good, because next week was supposed to be vacation week.  We were going to head up to Toronto, because that's where my son wanted to go this year.

And then Mr's Savage and Savage Junior both inform me that they can't get off work.

Grrrr...

So, what to do?  Simple.  A last minute mother-daughter cruise to Key West and Cozumel.  We'll be checking out the Myan Ruins at Tulum, and I'll be hanging out on the deck of a cruise ship with a giant drink in  a coconut and writing the next book in the Evan Arden series.

Oh and probably getting sunburned...and not caring (note coconut drink above).

I have no idea how the training and diet are going to fit into this, which is my only concern.  I'm also hoping to see a little of Miami as well, since I've never been there before.

Plans within plans!  Woot!

On another note - your support is invaluable, and I can't thank you all enough.  More to come... :)

Help?

Okay - I don't normally do this, but due to a series of life events, I've been brought to a crossroads.

Um...Savy?  WTF are you babbling about?

I've been in corporate IT for nearly 20 years.  I used to get a lot out of it, loved my job and what I did, and I just don't anymore.  Couple that with finding what I really love doing -  torturing writing your beloved characters, and I've gotten to the point where I really need to make a decision.

Yeah, that's right.  I'm seriously considering quitting the corporate life of managing in the technology sector and trading it for writing full time.  Financially speaking, that's a little scary to say the least, and Mr. Savage has his (understandable) reservations.  For me to have a shot at this, I'm gonna need your help.

So, what do I need from you?

In a nutshell - pimp me.  Or more specifically, pimp my published stuff.  Tell your book clubs, your library, your local bookstore, you mom, grandmother, daughter, brother, co-worker, neighbor - whoever - to go and check them out.  Tweet me, retweet me, like my author's page on facebook, follow the blog, check out my website and let me know what I could do to improve it, review the books on Goodreads and Amazon (just a single sentence!), and like my author's profile.  Hit "like" on the reviews on Amazon.  Recommend Surviving Raine and the Evan Arden series to book bloggers - ANYTHING that might help promote me, and ask others to do the same.  Pretty, pretty please, with angst on top.

What do you get out of it?  Plain and simple - I'll have time to write more of the effed up characters you love to hate and hate to love.  I probably have a dozen books trying to bust out of my head, with just no time (and too much work stress) to get them out.  And don't think I'm done with fan-fiction, either - I'm definitely not.

Lots of you are fan-fiction fans of mine, and some of you are published fiction fans.  Hopefully, you've read some of both. :)  You have all been fabulously supportive of me over the last few years I have been doing this, and that has really, really shown in the support of my published works.  The success I have had is the only reason I'm even thinking about this.  Every one of you is valuable to me, and not just because you might buy one of my books, but because you've encouraged me and been with me every step of the way so far.  I'm just hoping you can help me a little bit more!

So, this is me begging.  I'm not the least bit comfortable doing that, but if you can help me make this work, I will promise to make it worth your while in the end!

Now I'm gonna go write some more...there are these crazy stories banging on my forehead.

Savage