I started the countdown clock again. This time it's for the eBook release of Incendiary!!  Apparently, I can't take a break from you.  It's scary how addicted to you I am. 

I'm working on the playlists for the new characters in this book.  I. CAN'T. WAIT. FOR. YOU. TO. MEET. THEM.  The "litbrarians" of the amazing blog "The Book Hookup" recently provided me with some feedback on one of the new characters in Incendiary.  Let me just say that it SHOCKED me to find out what they thought of XAVIER!!!  We recorded a podcast wherein we discussed Incendiary in depth. There are many, many spoilers in that podcast so you may want to read the book before you listen to the interview.  It will air on The Book Hookup's website around the third week of December 2012 (soft date of Monday, December 17, 2012).  I will update you when I find out for sure.  Here is a link to their website:  http://thebookhookup.com/

*grinning and bouncing up and down*  Gahhhhhhh!  I hate waiting.  Here's a song from Xavier's Playlist I'm compiling on Spotify, it's called CAN'T PLAY DEAD by THE HEAVY.  I need you to read the book so that you can help me find some songs for him!!

*CAVEAT* The Spotify version on the playlist is a radio edit and the version below is explicit. (<--couldn't find the edited version on You Tube)

I can't wait to break this silence! Secrets...

THE PAPERBACK OF INCENDIARY IS OUT!!   The eBook of Incendiary is due to release on December 7, 2012.  It published on Amazon.com on the evening of December 27, 2012!  Here's a link to the site: http://www.amazon.com/Incendiary-Premonition-Amy-Bartol/dp/1479207128/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354201836&sr=1-5&keywords=amy+bartol+incendiary

When I found out that Incendiary was up on Amazon, I blasted The MOWGLI'S song called SAN FRANCISCO (<--love it) and danced around the house!!! Thank you, CreateSpace, for the beautiful book that turned out perfect in the end.

I didn't know for sure if the book that is up on Amazon would be the right one (correct file) because I gambled and published it before I received the final physical proof in the mail.  Yesterday afternoon (the 28th), I went out to my car in the garage and found a package on the hood of it: the Incendiary proof.  With shaky fingers, I opened it and found that it was as close to perfect as one can expect from an imperfect person (me).  Translation:  CreateSpace made all of my changes, so anything you find that is incorrect while reading it is my fault.

I had to go to soccer practice right after I found the proof so I shoved it in my bag. It's a relief to have that part finished, but it's a little bittersweet to have it out in just paperback.  Most of my sales come from eBooks, so I can't really judge how it's doing until it's out.  I've ordered the eBook conversion through CreateSpace.  I'm hoping that it will release before December 7th on Amazon, but I don't know if that will happen.  We'll have to wait and see. 

There is less than a day left to enter to win the SIGNED COPY OF INCENDIARY! The Rafflecopter drawing is tomorrow, December 30, 2012.  Here is a link to that post so that you can enter to WIN IT!!!
http://www.amyabartol.com/1/post/2012/10/happy-birthday-evie-win-a-copy-of-incendiary.html

So, this is it!!  Home stretch, right?  I want to thank you for supporting me, not only through this process, but also as a author in general.  I'm immensely grateful. 

Just for fun, I took some pictures of the Incendiary proof so you can see what one looks like if you're thinking of publishing a book.  I chose 6" x 9" trim size with cream-colored paper. The chapter heading and font style/sizes are: Century Gothic Bold Caps 14 point/ Blackadder 46 point.  The body font is New Baskerville size: 11 point. (I had to go 11 point because the book is so long. You may want to use 12 point when you publish.) And then I went with full justification.

Okay, I learned yesterday that the final proof of Incendiary hasn't shipped yet.  They ordered the proof yesterday.  After I found out that little nugget of information, I busted out BREATHE TODAY by FLYLEAF to play to my angst.  Then I wallowed.

I tried to write this blog yesterday, like I'd promised, but I just couldn't post it.  Instead, I wallowed in denial and self-pity (it was ugly). <--Truly ugly.

Now, I have to make a decision as to whether I approve the book for release without reviewing the final physical copy if I want to make the deadline of Nov. 30th.  I still have a chance.  Once I approve the proof, it usually takes 24 to 48 hours to build the site on Amazon.  So it's decision time: wait or gamble.  Control my destiny or let it go...

The clock is counting down on Incendiary. I have 4 days, a few hours, and some odd seconds to get Incendiary on Amazon.  I'm praying right now to make my deadline.  It's going to be close.  I'm listening to WILD by ROYAL TEETH and I just added this song to Evie's playlist on Spotify because I love it.  This band is amazing.

Here's the situation as it stands right now.  I was sent the corrected interior format PDF for Incendiary last week on Wednesday, Nov. 21st.  (The day before Thanksgiving).  That means the publisher made the corrections to the proof and is going to send me a second printed copy of Incendiary for me to approve. 

The problem is, I'm not sure that they shipped that proof yet because I haven't received it.  It should've arrived yesterday, which was Saturday.  It could just be delayed because of the Thanksgiving holiday, but I'm nervous because I didn't get a confirmation email stating that it shipped. 

Why is this a problem? 

The proof takes around 3 days to ship.  If it already shipped and arrives tomorrow (Monday) then I'm GOLDEN!! If it ships on Monday, then I'll get it Thursday.  That only gives the publisher one business day to put it on Amazon to make my deadline, which is not going to happen--trust me, they couldn't pull it off. 

Here are my options: 

I can gamble and approve the proof before I get the physical copy (if they let me). 

Why is that a gamble? 

You may be thinking that since I have the PDF, I have confirmation enough that the changes were made.  I would've thought that too, but that didn't happen on my last book, Indebted.  The second proof of Indebted that came in the mail was exactly the same as the first proof because they made a mistake and didn't print the revised file. 

The same thing could happen again. 

What are the odds?

I don't know.  I'd hate to find out that the wrong version got sent to Amazon because I didn't wait to check it. 

So either I get the proof tomorrow or I have to decide to gamble and approve it to make my date. OR I wait for the proof to come and miss my publishing deadline. 

Can you say: "rock and a hard place?"

I'll know tomorrow.  I'll call the publisher and see if it shipped, and if so, when.  If it hasn't shipped, I believe that it will make me scream.  And then...I'll have to decide if I feel lucky. 

We're only days away from the release of Incendiary.  The paperback edition is set to release Nov. 30th and the eBook edition will release Dec. 7th!  I'm listening to BREATHING UNDERWATER by METRIC and wondering, "Is this my life?"

The printed proof of Incendiary arrived at my office in the afternoon on Thursday (the 9th).  I hadn't even realized it had shipped.  When I figured out what it was that I was holding in my hand, it was a heart-pounding moment for me.  It's strange knowing that it's the only copy--that it belongs to me.  As I thumbed through it, my hands were shaky from a mixture of fear and excitement.  It's heavy.  It's a serious book. 

I know I said I was going to submit my changes right away, but I'm more of a perfectionist than I thought.  I had to look it over again.  I took the weekend to do that and then I turned in my changes on Monday (yesterday). 

Here's what will happen now: they have 5-7 business days to make the changes--the latest date for that is around the 21st.  Then they'll ship me the new proof.  Approximately 2-3 days to ship so the latest date is the 24th (which is a Saturday.).  I'll approve the proof immediately (barring any huge debacles).  I'll have to wait until Monday for them to be in the office to acknowledge the approval.  From there, they'll build the site on Amazon.  So it could show up on Amazon anytime between Nov. 28-30!!  (or sooner!!)  You know I'll post that it's there the second it shows up!  I'll be the town crier! 

After the print book posts, I'll initiate the eBook conversion.  We're looking at Dec. 7th right now, but I'll know more soon.  I can't wait for you to read this book.  I really want to share it with you. 

I'm leaving in the morning to go to the book signing in Baton Rouge!  I'm looking forward to it.  I hope I see you there!

I've been neglecting you.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean it.  I haven't kept up with this post like I want to.  (And I want to so badly because this blog connects me to you. I can talk about all the crazy things that are going on with Incendiary and with me.)  In an effort to get back to what's important (this story and you) I have a new song for you; it's called ARMS by CHRISTINA PERRI --it's definitely Evie.

(My friend, Kelsey Rae Keeton, introduced me to this song—she's a singer.  You can check her out at http://www.kelseyraekeeton.com).

I also have a TEASER (an excerpt from chapter 2). I know that some of you hate them, so I posted it at the end of this blog and I will mark it as TEASER to warn you so you can avoid reading it if you hate them.  Okay?

Here's what I thought would happen this past weekend in Nashville: I thought I would be working on Incendiary in between a few people trickling over to have me sign a book—maybe I'd get a chance to take pics to blog about it.  The reality was that I hardly had time to sit down because I was on panel discussions, and then I had people following me to the bathroom to talk to me.  I shared a room with three other writers (well, two writers and a very nice person) so I never really had a quiet moment to work.  But that's over now.  Now I can get back to Incendiary.  I woke up this morning and swore that I will hang out less on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest until I finish the novel and turn it over to the publisher.

I hope to be done with the editing in a week or so.  I plan to blow off anything and anyone who tries to distract me from my goal (except for my family because they need me).  I haven't been slacking really, it's just that marketing and special events have taken all of my time, but the bottom line is that I need to publish if I want to continue to have readers, so that's what I'm going to do. 

I want to put some minds at ease before I move on to the Incendiary teaser.  Marianna (@LifeAsMarianna on Twitter) told me that I need to clear up something on this post.  She explained that a few of you are worried that Evie no longer has "butterflies" when Reed is around.  I'm sorry that it was confusing.  A few of you were right when you said that it was because Casimir hit Evie so that she didn't feel them.  And the other time, on Zee's island, Evie was so deep in thought that when Reed snuck up on her she didn't feel them then, but the butterflies are still there.  Reed and Evie still have that magnetic force pulling them to each other.  Is that cleared up?

Okay...here it is, this is a teaser from Chapter 2 of Incendiary (I hope you like it):

TEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASER
TEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASER
TEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASER
TEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASER
TEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASERTEASER

    Standing in the heavy downpour on the beach, I let rivulets of water stream down my face, dripping in torrents from my bottom jaw. I angle my chin downward and slightly to the left so that I can see any movement Reed might make toward me.
    Th-thump…th-thump…th-thump...my heart wants to increase its beat, but I’m trying to control it as I wait like a statue for him to make a move. The clang of swords being clashed together near me fades to the background because I know the lethal threat is the one just ahead of me. My fingers twitch on the long-handled dagger in my left hand while my hand tightens on the sword hilt in my right.
    I take a deep breath, and as I begin to exhale Reed makes his move, instantly cutting in half the distance between us. I tense for a millisecond, waiting for him to get closer before I spring forward, running at him with all my speed. I jump up and over the swing of the sword in his right hand, planting one foot on his arm. I feel the whistle of air from the dagger in his left hand blow upward, inches from my cheek as my other foot steps on his shoulder. I launch into the air, using my planted foot to kick off from his shoulder, and hopefully, knock him off balance. Stretching my crimson wings out and gliding back to the sand, I spin around, facing my opponent again.
    As I stare into Reed’s dark green eyes, a slow smile twitches on the corners of his lips, causing me to narrow my eyes at him. Then, I feel the severed left strap of my tank top slip from my shoulder. The fabric of my shirt slouches over, but still clings to my wet body. Looking at it, my eyes narrow more before I lift them to Reed’s face again. Both his eyebrows rise quickly before he lets them fall, making his face go blank.
    I wait a half a second, and then, as if on cue, the front pocket of his t-shirt droops over and falls to the ground at his feet. Reed looks down at it and then over at me. I lift my eyebrows quickly before letting them both fall.
    Reed’s charcoal-gray wings unfold from his back menacingly, as a frown touches his lips. Tensing, I wait for him to make another move toward me. In an instant, he shoots straight up in the air and seems to dematerialize. Turning in circles, my heartbeat kicks up as I try to see where he went, and more importantly, from which direction he’s going to pounce. Pulling energy to me rapidly, I whisper words quickly, erecting a transparent wall of energy around me as a shield, I feel safe for maybe a millisecond. Then, warm arms wrap around my waist, startling a scream from me as Reed comes from behind me, pulling me against his chest. Shifting in his arms, he grins down at me in triumph before leaning down and kissing my lips.
    “How did you get through my shield?” I ask breathlessly, feeling my heartbeat increase as his warm lips trail lower.
    “I was already here by the time you employed it,” he says, reaching out and tapping on the invisible energy field around us. “But, it was impressive, nonetheless.”
    I drop my weapons to the sand, putting my arms around Reed’s neck lightly and touching his dark brown hair. It’s dripping wet from the rain. “I should’ve built a wall around you instead,” I whisper, brushing my lips against his jaw and over his cheek to his lips, tasting the salty water on his skin.
    “That would’ve been a better strategy,” he agrees, his fingers tracing a path from my waist up my side. “One I would’ve had to outrun.”
    “As if you could outrun my magic,” I reply sarcastically, kissing his lips gently.
    “As if I could,” he agrees, deepening our kiss.
    Tap, tap, tap…Knocks sound on the invisible barrier surrounding us, startling me. I look over to see water dripping from Zephyr’s disapproving face staring down on us. His startling-blue eyes narrow as my cheeks redden.
    “It does not appear to be dinner time, yet,” he says, showing us his watch and reminding us that we have more training time left before Reed and I can have some private time together.
    “Uh…sorry,” I mutter, pulling energy back to me so that the shield I erected around us melts away to nothingness.
    “We are switching partners,” Zephyr says sternly to Reed as I pick up my weapons from the sand. “You go train with Russell,” he orders Reed, while his light brown wings unfold in agitation.
    “Naw, Zee, I’ll train with Evie,” Russell says from behind him, his face growing dark.
    “That will not work, since I want the two of you to learn how angels fight,” Zephyr argues. “I want you to study what to look for in an angelic opponent. You cannot learn that from Evie.”
    “C’mon, Zee,” Russell says, scowling at Zephyr.
    “We need to bring Evie up to your level, Russell,” Zephyr explains. “She had no real training in fighting while she was with the Gancanagh.”
    “Uh…I trained a little…” I trail off when I see the frown on Zephyr’s face.
    “They trained you to fight like a Faerie. We will have to break you of all the bad habits they taught you,” Zephyr replies, sounding superior. He lifts his wicked broad sword and looks down the hilt of it as he points it at me. “You cannot concentrate with your current partner.”
    Looking at Reed, he gives me a sensual smile. I lose my train of thought for a second as my mind wanders to the way he kissed me just a few second ago. In the next moment, I am jolted out of my revelry by Zephyr again. “Did you hear what I said?” he asks.
    “Uh…bad Faerie habits?” I ask, looking as his eyebrows draw together, indicating he probably said something I completely missed.
    “Reed,” Zephyr says in a stern tone as water drips from his brown hair.
    Reed steps reluctantly forward, putting his arms around me and hugging me to his chest. “We’ll have time alone together tonight, love,” he whispers in my ear, and I nod.
    As Reed walks over to Russell, each of them begins sizing the other one up. They haven’t been training together, not really. They barely speak to one another, as the bond between them that had formed when I was a captive of the Gancanagh dissolves by the day. Brownie and Buns have both noticed it. We’ve discussed it a few times when I took my flying lessons with them in the evenings after dinner. It worries me to see them spar now, like this is a real battle over a coveted prize.
    “Zee,” I murmur, watching Russell’s sword cut dangerously close to Reed’s neck. “Is this a good idea?”
    “Time will tell,” he replies.

Hi.  I'm currently editing chapter 26 of Incendiary.  (There are 28 chapters.)  Yeah, I'm close.  Someone asked for some teasers of Incendiary.  I'm of two minds on that.  Some people love teasers and some people hate them.  Readers have told me that they won't read the teaser chapters I give you in the back of my books because they don't want to know anything.  I'm a HUGE believer in never spoiling a plot for anyone.  With that said, I'm trying to find a way to give you a teaser without a spoiler.  I thought maybe it would be okay to give you a "theme song" for one of the new characters (there are 4 new characters)...but I won't tell you who the character is.  (Ugh, this is so hard because I want to lay it all out for you right now, but I won't because I'm stronger than that.)  Okay, so here it is; the song is called START A WAR by THE NATIONAL <--I love this band.  Let's call this new character:  CHARACTER #3.  (Yes, there is a reason it is #3 not #1.  I'm going by the order they (new characters) show up in the story.)

I read all of your posts practically the minute you post them.  I'm in love with you.  I get a huge kick out of your predictions.  Some are spot on and others I marvel at because I can't believe how creative you are and where the story could've gone.  It makes me think that maybe some of you should write.  I've been asked lately what it's like to be a writer.  I'm sure every writer is different.  For me it's like I'm caught between the real world and the worlds I create.  I'm lucky to have a family that grounds me in this world or I'd live in the other ones—the ones I make—and that's probably not healthy.  So I was thinking about a "theme song" for me as a writer and I think I found one.  It's called QUIET LITTLE VOICES by WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS <---Love that name.

And then, just for fun, I'll include the song that I've been listening to when I need a break from editing.  I'm obsessed with it.  Bought the whole album.  Okay, so here it is; it's called I BET THAT YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR by ARCTIC MONKEYS.

Now I have to go edit so you can read Incendiary this year :D

OKAY!  Just for fun, I have something new!  I've been reading your comments from previous posts and it's so amazing to see which characters you LOVE, which characters you LOVE TO HATE, and which characters you HATE TO LOVE!  I have devised a poll so you can lodge your concerns with management.  Below I have listed Team REED, Team RUSSELL, Team BRENNUS, with a fourth option being: I'll let EVIE decide.  Let me know whose team you're on!  I have tried to do a "Theme Song" for each character (sorry if you don't like the song for your team's character--it's just for fun).  As always, feel free to comment and tell me whatever you have on your mind.  I read it all!  Here we go...

Team REED:  GO WITH THE FLOW by QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

Team RUSSELL:  SWING LIFE AWAY by RISE AGAINST

Team BRENNUS:  HOW YOU LIKE ME NOW by THE HEAVY

Thanks for checking in!  I rewrote chapter 11 and chapter 15 ( a couple of the chapters that have been bothering me).  I'm currently on chapter 16 proofreading.  (There are 28 chapters in Incendiary at present.)  I know, I'm so slow, but it will be worth it.  I promise. 

Hi!  Thanks for stopping by to check the progress of Incendiary.  I'm still proofreading it, but when I need to stop because my eyes aren't seeing the errors, I've been BLARING this song called BANQUET by BLOC PARTY and dancing around the house to it (with the blinds drawn because my dancing would frighten the neighbors into possibly calling 911).  This song is so Brennus that it's scary--I just found it and it was instant love.

As I proofread, I'm rewriting little sections as I go because I want to make the story as real as possible.  I love the comments that you've been leaving (so awesome, I live for them, you have no idea how addicted I am to you--I'm becoming like Brennus about it: obsessed).  I have been taking breaks to exercise, social network, and to fulfill family obligations, but I stopped doing anything that is just time-suckage, like watching T.V. (and I love me some T.V.). 

Hi again! Good job finding the Incendiary Updates page! You ROCK!  Okay, so here's what I did for Indebted, the last book I published: I started out by giving you a brief, general idea of where I am in the publishing process.  I often times included a You Tube video of a song that I was either TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH, or one that had to do with something going on in my life at the time (which really amounts to the same thing, actually!)  Then, after the video, I gave more details on publishing or if a problem existed, I filled you in on what that was and the steps I was taking to correct it.  I did it that way because some people just want a quick update and don't want to slog through the details.  So here we go:

I'm currently in the process of polishing and editing Incendiary.  It's written, but I want to make sure that it continues what I have started with the first three books.  It needs to ride that edge between fantasy and reality so that the story is thrilling and scary.  I want you to say when you read it, "I FEEL IT ALL!"  This AMAZING song by FEIST reminds me of Evie in Incendiary...

I don't know how long it will take me to edit Incendiary.  I don't think it will be long (weeks, not months).  It is written, but I'm considering a new ending.  (I can't talk about it now because it will spoil everything.  I have to bite my lower lip because I'm dying to bounce it off of you!)

I wrote Incendiary in 2010.  I wrote it in tandem with another book in a different series.  The other series has a working title of Kricket, which is the name of the main character.  It's a dystopian novel with paranormal and supernatural elements.  I did this because I had written 3 Premonition books and I was afraid that if I just kept writing the same characters, it would get stale.  I wanted to see if I had more in me then what I had already created.  I also wrote Kricket in an attempt to attract an agent with a smaller word count (Kricket is only 90K words whereas all of the Premonition books are 135K-168K, which to a traditional publisher is a ridiculous word count and an author with said word count should be strung up and shot—repeatedly.)  Psssst...publishers and agents...readers love more words...I promise—look at my numbers. :D

After I finish editing Incendiary, I will immediately begin the publishing process.  For those of you who don't know, I am a self-published author.  I write the books, my mom, Gloria, helps me edit them, (she is a retired grammar school teacher with a wicked eye for errors). I publish my books through CreateSpace and KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).  The publishing process takes 3-4 months.  I thought last time I would be able to do it in 2 months.  I was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!  It ended up taking me 4 months. 

When I publish my print books with CreateSpace, I purchase the Total Design Freedom—Standard Package.  This gets me Interior Design Formatting (the formatting of the PDF for the interior of the book) and the Unique Book Cover Design (a professional cover design).  I also purchase and LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number—this is what libraries use to identify my book) and the eBook Conversion Package (CreateSpace will convert the finished PDF of my book into a Mobi file that they will then upload for me onto Kindle Direct Publishing.  This is the eBook that people purchase on Amazon.com) 

The Total Design Freedom Package includes a free ISBN (International Standard Book Number), which is like the social security number for your book.  With an ISBN from CreateSpace, people within the industry will automatically know that I'm self-pub.  I can try to hide that fact by purchasing my own ISBN and creating my own "publishing Company."  My thoughts on that are like this: IT IS WHAT IT IS.  I am a self-pub author.  I believe that my writing will speak for me.  If it's good, people will read it.  I have not done much advertising (like none).  My work is mostly word of mouth right now.  I hope to change that soon, but you're reading this, so I must be doing something right.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Right now I have to go back to reading Incendiary so that I can push it out the door and into your waiting arms.  Get ready, because Brennus is bitter, Reed is avenging, Russell is super-evolving, and Evie is coming to terms with what she is and what she wants.  Yeah...it's a total trip and I can't wait for you to read it!