Special Promotion: Shinigami Eyes only $0.99

In honor of Shinigami Eyes book blitz that is running over at Dark World Books at the moment, I am holding a special promotion for Shinigami Eyes.

From now until 12/22 you can Shinigami Eyes for only $0.99:

http://bit.ly/1zraWHU

Shinigami Eyes Book Blitz

Today is the day! The Shinigami Eyes Book Blitz, hosted by Dark World Books, starts. Come on over and stop by all the stops over the next week. Just click here to find out all the fantastic blogs that are participating in this book blitz.

Since it's such a big day, later on I'll also be announcing a special promotion for Shinigami Eyes that will last throughout the entire tour, so stay tuned.

When characters evolve

It feels like forever since I started plotting Rin's story before Shinigami Eyes ever became a full fleshed out story, and I can tell you that it has changed (a lot). Even though there are some characters that I knew their roles right from the beginning still changed and developed. I knew Matt was always going to be an otaku, Rin was always going to be, well, Rin, and then there's Misa...

Where to start... I don't want to give too much away about Misa, but I can tell you that Misa is Rin's imaginary friend, and also the reason why Rin's sent to Japan in the first place.

I always knew the role Misa was going to play, but the way I wanted to reveal her really changed... At first I tried to be sneaky and do the whole 'unreliable narrator' route with Rin not mentioning that Misa's not even a real girl, so it would lead the reader to think she was just a little sister, but Misa just wouldn't shut up and how could I explain why no one else was talking to her?

So, I let Misa dictate how she wanted to be treated, and invisible friend it is... I find out that if you go in with a very strict plan about where you want your characters to be at the end of the story, or what you want them to do, then they have no real time to grow... My motto is let the characters be free to disrupt the story, just hopefully not do something as silly as get thrown into a padded cell (that's another character in another story, still working the kinks out of that one... yeah, where can you go when your character wants to be declared cray cray???)

What's the craziest thing your characters have done that wasn't what you had originally planned out?

From words to graphics

With less than a month to go before the release of Shinigami Eyes, I'm still in awe that I was able to get everything ready in time, and soon I'll have a shiny paperback to prove that I actually finished it (YAY!!!)


Writing Shinigami Eyes story with my brother wasn't the only aspects of this novel though. From the start I also had the idea that I wanted to place graphics in the story to help it resemble the manga that is a main part of the story.

I enjoyed creating the visuals so much that I didn't want to stop there... There was so many other stories that I could tell, and add to at the end of Shinigami Eyes, and that is why I also chose to create a manga, with chapter 1 being released in the paperback version of Shinigami Eyes. I can't say much about the story of the manga or the characters that appear in the storyline as it might give away some crucial plot points of the main story.

Through this whole journey I have discovered that I enjoy graphics design manga creation just as much as I like writing, and I hope that I'm hoping that I'll be able to create a full length manga based around the world of Shinigami Eyes in the not too distant future.

But for now, I'm going to ensure Shinigami Eyes is the best it can be for the release, October 31st... and then get some well deserved sleep.

Don't forget you can pre-order Shinigami Eyes now.

http://www.amazon.com/Shinigami-Eyes-Cheree-Smith/dp/0987532146/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1412578814&sr=8-1

BIG Announcement: Shinigami Eyes available for preorder... but wait, there's more

Wow, I can't believe today's actually the 1st of October... just 30 more days until Shinigami comes out. And as promised I have a big announcement to make.

Shinigami Eyes is now available to pre-order from Amazon:

ebook is available for $2.99 from:

http://www.amazon.com/Shinigami-Eyes-Cheree-Smith-ebook/dp/B00O0YNYYG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412168119&sr=8-1&keywords=Shinigami+Eyes

paperback is available for $12.99 from:

http://www.amazon.com/Shinigami-Eyes-Cheree-Smith/dp/0987532146/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1412168119&sr=8-1

Also with the paperback, it comes with a bonus manga.

We have a very special promotion running for a limited time for everyone who purchases either a paperback or ebook version of Shinigami Eyes. 

We have mobile phone charms to give away, and all you have to do is email proof of purchase (eg invoice number) to cheree@chereesmith.com with your name and address and we'll send you this charm.

Inspired by the manga in Shinigami Eyes, with the inscription of 'beware the fox' written in kanji, there are only a limited number available.

I know a lot has happened today. But I just hope this is making you excited for the release. So, I'll leave you with one last preview for Shinigami Eyes to help whet your appetites further.

Never a moments rest

It's been quite busy on both mine and my brother, Adam's lines lately. We've been passing different editing notes back and forth over the past week, never stopping... and I can't believe it, but the novel looks like it's actually complete.

I have been getting questions like, how can I work with my brother, and, do I find it challenging. I can answer, I wouldn't have it any other way. But, yes, it can be challenging... especially when I spend two days working on an image just for him to say, "okay, I like it... but, what about this..." Yes, that happened on nearly all the images I completed for the novel.

But I don't see this as a negative. albeit it's very frustrating, but he's also very critical and wants perfection. And I hope that's what we're going to deliver when Shinigami Eyes gets released October 31st.

I have been working constantly on getting everything out and ready so I can make this special announcement on Wednesday, and it looks like I'll be making that announcement, so stay tuned for Wednesday to find out something quite exciting that is happening.

That's me for tonight, now I'm going to try and get some sleep without them being plagued with creepy robotic Japanese singers trying to kill each other... mmm, the things I do for research.

It's been quiet in here lately, but...

I know it's definitely been quiet around here lately, but I have an excuse. Adam and I have been busy working hard on the final run through for Shinigami Eyes, preparing some very special graphics and I have come to learn two things:

1. I really enjoy creating graphics and manga nearly as much as I love writing; and
2. Adam can be a real slave driver. Yeah, I send him the graphics and he would not be happy, making slight suggestions. Boy he is very hard to please, but that's what I love about working with him. He's just as much of a perfectionist as I am.

Now that the novel is near completion I haven't finished just yet. I have acquired a little helper to help create something special. But I'm not going to say much more about that, mainly because my little helper is a Japanese program and I need to see if I can operate the Japanese interface first.

Stay tuned, in the next week I will be revealing something big to do with Shinigami Eyes, and you don't want to miss out on this announcement.

Shinigami Eyes Cover Reveal

Today I'm stoked to be able to finally get the chance to reveal the cover, created by the very talented Silvia Paoletta over at Dark World Books, for my newest novel, Shinigami Eyes.

This novel is very special to me, as it's my first official horror novel, a genre I'm very passionate about (ask anyone who knows me... my favourite character from my childhood was Freddy Kruger), but this is the first novel that I have the pleasure of introducing my co-author, and wonderful brother, Adam Smith. 

And, now on to the reveal.

Most children hope to grow out of their imaginary friends.

17-year-old Rin Waters’ only hope is that hers doesn’t kill someone, especially when said imaginary friend puts a boy in a coma. Finding herself shipped half-way around the world—to Japan, of all places—she is forced to live with grandparents she hasn’t seen for ten years and a cousin she can’t even remember.

Rin would rather just forget about the one night that ruined her life and pretend her imaginary friend doesn’t exist—if it was only that easy. When manga-obsessed otaku, Matt, won’t stop pestering her about a manga that sees the future and the tragic accident she’ll be involved in if she doesn’t listen to him, pretending becomes quite a challenge.

Suddenly mysterious accidents begin to happen to students in her school, and Rin has to wonder what length Matt is willing to go to prove his manga is real. Is it all a sham or is there really something that wants to see Rin and her new friends dead?

Coming October 31st, 2014

Add Shinigami Eyes to your Goodreads list!

I have enjoyed working on this with my brother, even though he can be very critical sometimes... he wanted everything to be just right, and I can't wait for its release... I have a special announcement coming soon regarding the release, as well as I've been working hard with my artist sister (yeah, very creative family) to create a special giveaway that you don't want to miss.

Let me know what you think about the cover in the comments below.

A bit about deadlines...

It's getting around assignment submission time for university and it's funny how students think. They would rather concentrate on the first thing that's due (nah, the group assignment has another two weeks before we need to start panicking about getting anything done on it). Since I'm doing a design course it's mostly a practical subject, which has been very full on. On Monday we had our first lot of presentations to show what we had done on our assessment, and I was surprised I was one of the few with nearly completed assessments. I guess I'm not one to leave things to the last minute.

 Just like university, I've also got a very tight deadline I'm working with for Shinigami, just getting the finishing touches done. Ooh, I can't wait to unveil this shiny new work to you.

Deadlines are a good thing as they make you work harder, as long as you force yourself to get the work done before the deadline is up and not just on time.

What deadlines are you working towards? Do you think you'll get there?

Yay, exciting news!

I am very excited to announce that the cover reveal for my latest book Shinigami Eyes is coming up in a month, on the 15th of September to be exact. I'm very excited to show this one to you. If you would like to be a part of the cover reveal head over to Dark World Books and sign up.

This novel is really special to me. Besides it being my first horror novel, it is also a novel that I've worked closely with my brother and sister to help create the final product.

So, you know about me, but what about the other two people attached to the novel?

My brother, Adam Smith (co-author), is an ALT (assistant language teacher) living in Japan. He has always had an interest in the Japanese culture, especially manga and anime (and not the dubbed or even subbed versions... yeah, I know, weird) and this is where he taught himself to speak and read Japanese.

My sister, Kristy Smith (illustrator), is an art/education student studying to become an art teacher. Throughout her schooling she has always had two favourite subjects, art and history, which is why she's now studying those subjects at university. Her art ranges from drawing to ceramics which she is majoring in (and everything she makes she treasures, including the half-naked ladies scattered around on the benches at home).

As the release date draws closer there will be lots more surprises and giveaways (including something my sister is currently working on and it's looking fantastic if I do say so myself).

Stay tuned for more information.

Something exciting brewing...

As I said last week, a lot of things have been happening lately. One thing that I'm really excited about is my near completion of my latest novel... Okay, so, I've written another novel. That is pretty exciting, but what makes this on-the-edge-of-my-seat, nail-biting, pulling-hair-out exciting is that I didn't do it alone.

GASP!!!

Yeah, you heard me right! I have been hard at work collaborating with my brother and sister to bring out a fantastic story, and soon you'll be able to read it.

Let me introduce you to Shinigami Eyes. A novel that I've co-written with my brother, Adam, taking all of his Japanese expertise (Yep, we're co-writing half-way around the world with me in Australia and him in Japan), and even being illustrated manga-style by my very talented sister, Kristy. I think I'm taking the phrase 'family business' to the next level... but I'm so excited for this story and I know that the more heads the better to put this little baby together.

And now, just for those wondering what this little precious is about, here is the blurb:

Most children hope to grow out of their imaginary friends, for 17-year-old Rin Waters, she only hopes hers doesn’t kill someone. Especially when her imaginary friend puts a boy in a coma. Now she finds herself shipped half-way around the world (to Japan of all places) to live with grandparents she hasn’t seen for ten years and a cousin she can’t remember.

Rin would rather just forget about that one night that ruined her life, and pretend that her imaginary friend doesn’t exist - if it was only that easy - but she finds that hard when manga-obsessed otaku, Matt won’t stop pestering her about manga that sees the future and the tragic accident she’ll be involved in if she doesn’t listen to him.

When mysterious accidents begin to happen to the students around her, Rin has to wonder what length Matt would go to prove his manga is real, or is there really something that wants to see Rin and her new friends dead?

---
 
Don't believe it's coming: It's even got a page on Goodreads. Go on, I know you want to add it to your to-read list. And stay tuned for lots of things that are going to be happening as we prepare for the release.

Busy, busy, busy

Can you believe it??? Where has January gone? It seems like only last week we were celebrating the new year, and now a month has passed. It hasn't been a quiet month either as I've been working hard on a couple of exciting projects, collaborating with the fantastic editors and designers at Dark World Books and another wonderful artist to bring out a novel that is quite special to me.

Okay, my life has been quite hectic lately. I've moved to a new place (although I'm not complaining as it's only a short drive to the beach, and numerous frozen yoghurt stores), started a new job, and am getting ready to start uni (again). Yep, a lot of things have been happening, but that doesn't mean the writing stops.

In January I officially completed the final draft of Shinigami Eyes and sent it away to get edited, and now I'm in the middle of planning art work and getting a cover design created. But that's not the only thing I've been up to, I've also been feverishly writing the sequel to Shadow Embraced and should have the first draft completed by mid-February if I can manage to keep to my time goals.

With everything that's been happening, I'm on a roll to get the numerous story ideas I've got rattling around in my brain out on the page (and I mean there are a lot of ideas up there).

Stay tuned for more information about Shinigami Eyes as there will be plenty coming your way shortly :D

So, what did you get up to in January? Did you accomplish any goals?

So long 2013 - Another year over

Merry Christmas!!!!

Boy, I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone. I was going to post before Christmas, but time suddenly got away from me as I frantically finished up the final draft of a new story. I didn't know how much work I had left to do with that story, but I was in constant rewrites as my alpha reader and 'Japanese' consultant worked with me for four hard days trying to get everything just right.

Over the year I've had a lot of ups and downs. One big up was with the release of my debut novel, Shadow Embraced. I've had a change of career and life path, as well as big changes within my own family (such as my brother moving to Japan).

With 2013 finishing up, I'm not even going to predict where 2014 will lead me, but I can promise that I'm going to be busy as I get more of my stories out.

And now there are a couple of business I need to get out before new year. One is the winners of my birthday bash. Congratulations to:

Kerry Amburgy-Dickson (winner of $15 Amazon gift card) and

Shelly Hammond (Winner of a copy of Shadow Embraced)

You will receive emails shortly regarding your prize. Congratulations to the two of you, and thank you to everyone who entered.

The last thing I will leave you with is a little teaser from the story I've been working feverishly on to get it ready. Meet Shinigami Eyes.

Most children hope to grow out of their imaginary friends, for 17-year-old Rin Waters, she only hopes hers doesn’t kill someone. Especially after an incident at a dance puts a boy in a coma. Now she finds herself shipped half-way around the world (to Japan of all places) to live with grandparents she hasn’t seen for ten years and a cousin she can’t remember.

Rin would rather just forget about that one night that ruined her life, and pretend that her imaginary friend doesn’t exist - if it was only that easy - but she finds that hard when manga-obsessed otaku, Matt won’t stop pestering her about his magic manga and the tragic accident she’ll be involved in if she doesn’t listen to him. Yeah right, like she would listen to someone who sounds even crazier than her.

When Rin turns from victim to killer in the manga, she knows she has to pay attention to it, especially when her imaginary friend has proven she’s quite capable of injuring people that threaten Rin. The only problem is, she doesn’t know who she’s supposed to kill. 

In an attempt to find out the truth behind the manga, Rin uncovers an event from her past that she can’t remember, and no one wants to talk about. Soon Rin discovers that demons from the past can be deadly.

Well, I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and has an equally wonderful new year. I will be back just after new year as I need to try and catch up on all of the things I have been neglecting over the last few weeks with writing and Christmas. Hopefully then I'll have more news about Shinigami Eyes for you.

How are you spending your new years? How did you spend your Christmas?

Nanowrimo

It's that time of year again, where writers everywhere are preparing to write a crazy 50,000 words in one month. For those that don't know, November is the month of caffeine, chocolate and sleepless nights as writers push to make it past the finish line.

With there being less than a month until the hectic mayhem starts, I'm busy trying to plot my idea. October is usually the month that most of the plotters spend getting all the details of their novels worked out (while I know several who have absolutely no idea what to write up to 11:59pm on the 31st October and have still powered through the 50,000 words). So, this month is going to be exceptionally busy for me.

Okay, I'm being a bit ambitious this year. I've had this story idea brewing for a few months, but I wasn't going to start writing it until I go to Japan on holiday in January. So, what does my holiday to Japan have to do with it? Well, it's actually because the story is based in Japan and I've been researching like mad all the elements of Japanese culture (such as home life and schools) that no holiday can tell me.

It would probably be the best idea to wait, but I've been to Japan before so I know the rough locations where I'm setting the novel, and my character really, really, really wants to be written. So, here's an introduction to my Nano novel titled Shinigami Eyes (it's a YA supernatural mystery):

After an incident at a school dance almost got her date killed 16-year-old Rin is sent to live with her grandparents in Japan. Being the new girl is hard, but also being told by crazed Otaku (someone obsessed with anime/manga) Matthew that she is a character in a manga called Shinigami Eyes that he recons can tell the future is something that she can't handle. 

 She tries to ignore Matthew's attempts to persuade her that she is indeed a character until the manga shows her standing over a dead body. Now Rin, with Matthew's help, has to discover the identity of this person and why she would want to kill them, before the manga becomes a reality.

Apart from finishing my research, my planning is going to involve creating a wide cast of characters, plotting my mystery elements and even figuring out 'who did it' and 'murder victim'... even though my brother suggests to just write it and as he says "see who wants to jump under the knife". I'm excited to start planning for this because there's going to be manga, witches and murder... what else could anyone need?

So, who's participating in Nano? If you are, have you thought about what you're writing? And are you a pantser or plotter?