Why book inspired art is my favorite

I don't think it's any secret that I spend too much time on Tumblr and DeviantArt fangirling over various things. But my favorite thing to fangirl over? Fan art. Or just any gif/photo manipulation/art made about a book/TV show/movie. I'm using a lot of slashes in this post. I'll try to stop. Anyway, someone taking time to read a book and create their own interpretation of it in another form is probably the coolest thing ever (as is evident by this AWESOME Midnighters picture):

Or even the Midnighters picture I forced my friends/family to pose in and take with me because I was SO obsessed with those books:

So because of this love I have for book-inspired-art, I decided to post the things that just make me happy inside that people (let's be honest it's mostly Jackie making them as presents for me) have made about my characters. Because I just can't think of a single cooler thing than having someone read a character you poured your heart into, and being inspired to make something because of it that's their own personal interpretation. And I'd like to point out that this is a post appreciating the talent of these people.... not me thinking I'm some awesome capital "C" Creator. :)

So without further ado, here are ALL THE THINGS!

The Breakup Artist:

The first two are by this lovely lady on Deviant Art. And the clay sculptures are, of course, by the amazing Jackie Hicken!

Under Zenith:

These are all from Jackie :) Although the painting she comissioned.

The June Books:

Sugar Coated:

We get a clay sculpture by Jackie AND a song written by Courtney Hansen about "Sugar Coated". How freaking awesome is she for writing and performing this song?

Pwned:

So there you have it! Again, I swear this isn't a "Look at how awesome I am because I wrote these books" post. It's a "Look how awesome these artists are and how absolutely stupid-happy it makes me to see my characters in somebody else's interpretation!"

Gosh I love these.

Until Next Time,

Shannen

Happy Launch Day "Catching June"!!!

It's here! "Catching June" is officially launched! And we're one book closer to finishing June's story... which actually makes me quite sad. But also happy. It's kind of a mixture :) I mean, I want you guys to know what happens, but then that means I'm done with writing her and all the gang, which is SO not okay with me. Granted, June and her friends are connected to my other books in odd ways (Since all of my book characters somehow know each other) but I can't really detail it yet. Just know that whenever I finally do write "Michigan Gone", you'll find out how my June characters are somehow connected to my Parrish characters!

Anyway, back on topic. Launch day!!!

I hope you guys like the latest installment! And don't forget that we're having a launch party today over on Facebook! Follow the link here to play some games, meet some fellow readers, and enter to win some awesome prizes!

Can't wait to hear what you all think about EVERYTHING that goes down in this book!

Until Next Time,

Shannen

Catching June Wrap Cover and the Amazingness that is Jackie Hicken

There's a name you guys may or may not recognize from the copyright page of basically every book I've published. And if it's not on the copyright page, you'll definitely find it in the Acknowledgments.

And that name is Jackie Hicken, book cover extraordinaire. I mean, she's also editor extraordinaire. But it's much easier to display her skills in cover design in a blog post, rather than her impeccable editing. I guess all you really need to do is look at what a mess these blog posts usually are compared to my books which are, usually, much more polished because of her awesomeness.

But the focus of this post, is my brand-spanking-new wrap cover for the paperback of Catching June! Jackie just sent it to me and I'm in love :)

I love that she takes time to focus on things like the book spine, where she's done these cute little art deco peacock feathers. Plus I'm loving the color of the back, which I think will go quite well with the rest of the series.

Also, can I just point out that I'm not bragging about my books right now, because this is ALL Jackie. Basically, I just wanted to give her a shout out for all of the amazing work she does (not to mention the fact that she acts in my weird last minute movies and doesn't complain).

So well done Jack. Your covers are just the best.

And now without further ado, my Catching June wrap cover.

Until next time,

Shannen

2014 SLC Comic Con Schedule!

Hey friends!

Guess what's almost here?

I'm just going to assume you read the title of this blog post, so this isn't much of a surprise, but COMIC CON STARTS IN A FEW DAYS!

I'll be on two panels this years, talking about writing and probably making a fool out of myself. So if you'd like to come witness that, the following schedule will be useful to you!

My first panel is Friday September 5th. It's called "Comic Con Writer's Retreat Part 2: Writing Your Novel" from 6:00 PM to 6:50 in room 255B (though in my experience the rooms can always change!).

The second panel is Saturday September 6th. And that one is called "Structuring Life to Support Creativity" from 5:00-5:50 in room 150D!

The lovely Julie Wright (who I love) will be on that second panel as well! So come check it out!

I'll be lucky enough to actually go to all three days of Comic Con, so when I'm not on panels, you can find me walking around the convention center in my very unprofessional Draco Malfoy costume. Of course I'll be the Draco Malfoy portrayed by Lauren Lopez in A Very Potter Musical :) So I tried to get my costume to look as much like hers as possible. Also, I may have crazy hair on my panels because it'll be braided and under a wig all day! So..... sorry about that.

Anyway, I can't wait to see you guys there! Comic Con is always such a blast!

Until Next Time,

Shannen

Under Zenith Cycle Inspiration

Since I'm working on "Beyond Lyra" right this second (I get easily distracted while writing), I thought I'd do a quick post about some things that inspired the various Cycles in "Under Zenith". Maybe not the actual tasks associated with each cycle, mostly because I don't want to give away what each task is. But we'll talk about the physical landscapes of each Cycle.

Writing "Beyond Lyra" I'm letting myself go crazy (again) with the weird random dreamscapes that don't make any sense. But I'm definitely taking it to the next level. So good luck categorizing this book once I'm done with it!

Anyway, that being said, the Cycles depicted in "Under Zenith" came from a lot of different places. A lot of them were from dreams I'd had and thought "One day I'll find a book to put those in" and then decided I'd just write a book crazy enough to incorporate them all. Others were inspired by video games, family trips, or movies.

First off, let's not forget Hayden and Isla, who were most definitely inspired by me watching too much "Nashville" and "Once Upon a Time".

And now on to the Tasks.

Task One: Agility

This one was pretty simple. It was inspired by the very short time I lived in Greenville, North Carolina and fell in love with the landscape there. The whole place is just green. Green everywhere! It's gorgeous! So how could I not use it as a Cycle?

photo credit

Task Two: Motor Skills

I can admit, this one came from my love of video games. There's this zone in World of Warcraft that I've always been absolutely in love with! It's called Nagrand. The entire zone is on the ground and seems basic enough, but if you take a flying mount (yep, I'm going full-blown nerd right now) up above the zone, there are these amazing floating islands. They don't serve much of a purpose and for the most part I don't think you really find quests up there, but they add so much to the zone. And being so in love with those random floating islands, I just had to put something similar in a book.

photo credit

Task Three: Reasoning Under Pressure

This one came about because of The Husband, actually. His family is very proud of their Dutch heritage and they've got more tulips and wooden shoes than you can count. It's fantastic! So I wanted to pull some of that Dutch heritage into my book and I thought, "Tulip Field! Of course!". Plus it didn't hurt that I thought it would be fun to have something awful happen in such a serene place. Sorry again about that, Hayden!

photo credit

Task Four: Ingenuity

A big part of the reason I wrote this book, was because I'd just watched the movie "Sucker Punch" and loved how Zack Snyder basically said "Genres don't exist" and put whatever the heck he wanted into that movie. He was just like "How about a couple of dragons here, and some robots over there, and a touch of zombie soldiers right here." I saw that and was so blown away by the blend of genres that I had to try it out. Plus I couldn't get over how amazing it would be to write a book without worrying about it fitting into the confines of a certain category. I just wanted to write. And I wanted to write whatever crazy thing came to mind. And it was a blast. That's why the weird junkyard scene came to life. Because it was a random thought I had. So there you go. Plus there was this place in WoW (again with the nerdiness) that had these huge monster things with saws for hands and they were terrifying. So I thought, "Sure. Why not?"

(I'm so sorry I can't remember where I found this photo! If you know, send me the link so I can give credit!)

Task Five: Strategy

This task is one that came from a photo/ a deep desire to visit the Rainbow Pools in Yellowstone. Side note: I actually did end up going to Yellowstone but we never got to see the Rainbow Pools. Sad day. Although I did find out they were located in HAYDEN VALLEY! Right? What kind of coincidence is that? It was meant to be. But anyway, I'd seen a lot of pictures of the Rainbow Pools and had always wanted to go. So I took those pictures in my head and put them into a book. One day I'll see the Rainbow Pools. Although I'm guessing I won't get any special abilities from touching them.

(Photo credit to... someone. I'm awful at remembering things.)

Task Six: Memory

This one actually came about because of a nightmare I'd had one night. That whole scene at the end that involved water... and tight spaces? Yeah. That was all my twisted subconscious. I wont' say anything else, in case some of you haven't read the book yet. But this whole task came from my weird dreams. The only picture I had that resembled the task itself is actually a fountain. But we'll go ahead and pretend it's a life-sized maze.

So there you have it. "Under Zenith" is just a huge mish-mash of weird random things I've observed. And "Beyond Lyra" gets one step crazier :) I can't wait for you guys to read it! It's getting weirder and weirder as I write it.

Until Next Time,

Shannen

Catching June Cover Reveal!

All right friends! It's the moment all (two) of you have been waiting for!

I've got my gorgeous cover for the third book in the June series all sparkly and ready to be presented! But first a HUGE thank you to Chris Hadlock for making the picture pretty (even though we had to have THE 72 vs 300 dpi talk that I could recite in my sleep and still managed to forget for my own cover) and to Jackie Hicken for designing this beautiful cover! She always does such good work! AKA if you want to hire her, shoot me a line and we'll keep her designing gorgeous covers forever.

Now, just a little refresher, here are the first two books in the series (also designed by Jackie. Surprise, surprise).

AND

Drum roll :)

BAM!

So what do you think?

As we get closer to the release date in December, I'll start posting little snippets here and there :)

Can't wait for you guys to read this one! Only one more to go after this!

Here's where you can add it to your shelf on Goodreads!

Until next time,

Shannen

Feeding your inner gamer!

Hey guys!

So I realize my last post was very obscure and.... not like my normal posts, but we're going to attribute that to me dying of illness while trying to go camping. Because that's basically what it came down to. :)

So, on to business!

GAMERS! Yep. You read that right. Gamers! Remember, a little book I wrote called "Pwned" with all of it's nerdy epicness and Andrew Garfield doppleganger... ness?

Well "Pwned" is now available for the next two weeks in a Storybundle with seven other equally as epic books about gamers! So you get to read ALL THE GAMER BOOKS YOU COULD EVER WANT!

I'll give you a minute for that to sink in.

......

And we're back. 

Here's a little sneak peek of all of the amazing books you'll find in this bundle:

So this is how the Storybundle works. You just click here, and you pay whatever you want for this Storybundle, depending on what you think it's worth. If you pay at least $10, you get three bonus titles (Feyland, Alternityand Level Zero!).

Pretty awesome right?

So go and unleash your inner gamer (or outer gamer... like me) and enjoy some good summer reading!


Until next time,

Shannen

Gamer Storybundle!

Curated by Anthea Sharp

Sometimes gaming is the best escape. Until virtual reality gets a little too real...

Welcome to the Game Masters Bundle–eight stories of gamer-themed fiction that explore the intersection of pixels and reality. Each of these tales takes a gamer-centric look at the world, tackling big issues with plenty of fun and geeky goodness along the way.

I scoured the web to find the best indie authors of gamer-set books, and am thrilled to present this StoryBundle selection. Whether you're in the mood for a modern-day coming of age tale packed with humor, or a gritty speculative dystopian future, these bestselling and award-winning authors deliver, with stories that explore the boundaries of immersive gaming.

Join the hackers and heroes adventuring between these pages, but beware! Losing the game has dire consequences – not only for the players, but the entire world. – Anthea Sharp

The initial titles in the bundle (minimum $3 to purchase) are:

•   Spark: Feyguard Book 1 by Anthea Sharp

•   Massively Multiplayer by P. Aaron Potter

•   Pwned by Shannen Crane Camp

•   Dead Man's Resolution, a short story by Thomas K. Carpenter

•   Gamers by Thomas K. Carpenter

If you pay more than the bonus price of just $10, you'll get another three books:

•   Feyland: The First Adventure, a novella by by Anthea Sharp

•   Alternity by Mari Mancusi

•   Level Zero by Jaron Lee Knuth

The bundle is available for a very limited time only, via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub, and .mobi) for all books, but after the three weeks are over, the bundle is gone forever!

It's also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

•   Get quality reads: We've chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.

•   Pay what you want (minimum $3): You decide how much five fantastic books are worth to you. If you can only spare a little, that's fine! You'll still get access to five thrilling titles.

•   Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there's nothing wrong with ditching DRM.

•   Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to charity. We're currently featuring Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now.

•   Receive extra books: If you beat our bonus price, you're not just getting five books, you're getting eight!

All the things! (aka, book news galore)

Hi Team,

I have a lot of different book things going on right now and wanted to inform you of their status. Please advise.

Thank you,

Shannen Camp


Just kidding.

That's what I would write, if I was still at work and e-mailing people about who-knows-what all day long.

But I'm home and it's getting SO close to the weekend. So let's skip the work etiquette and get down to brass tacks!

First thing on the docket is............

"Silver Lined"!

After all of the mean things I did in "Rose Tinted", a lot of you were asking when "Silver Lined" would be coming out so I could finally resolve all of your questions (which I promise WILL happen in the last book), so let's announce this puppy!

"Silver Lined" will be release April 18th 2015!!!

I know. It's a long ways away, but it'll be worth the wait, I promise! And maybe I'll even post some... oh wait... just like with "Rose Tinted" there is literally not one single passage I can post without spoiling something... except maybe a flashback. I'll post a flashback later on to keep you guys sustained until next year (wow it sounds REALLY far away when I say it like that!).

Next is "Parrish"!

Okay so I guess there really isn't 'news' on this one per se, (although you can read the description here) but I still want to talk about it because of how much I love it! And I want to tell you why YOU should love it!

We'll start with a family history lesson. Please refer to the picture below to become acquainted with "The Blondes" (as Reagan refers to them because she has this compulsion to label EVERYTHING).

We can see here, how these four books are related BUT, "Under Zenith" and "Parrish" are actually a double hitter (don't talk to me about likelihood because it's fiction and I don't care.... so there) because they're connected to each other on TWO accounts.

Jefferson Parrish (shown below) and Hayden Temple (also shown below... well... in the next section) are also cousins! (Deacon Parrish isn't because... well... he's not a Temple. Jefferson is a Temple from his Mom's side. Yeah I've given this too much thought).

So not only are Jefferson and Hayden cousins, but they both kind of hate each other for... well.. reasons. Reasons that Jefferson WILL NOT shut up about in any Parrish book.

So I guess I'm saying, if you love Hayden, and miss that little cupcake, you'll want to read Parrish because you'll learn more about Hayden in the first book (from Jefferson's warped perspective that doesn't really count), and Hayden will actually BE in the second and third Parrish books.

There you go.

Long live the dysfunctional Temple family! (we won't even get into the psychotic Temple Twins Dresden and Alistair).



Next!

"Under Zenith"!

I still don't have a release date for the second "Under Zenith" book, though it should (if everything goes according to plan), be released next year. I'm thinking the beginning of the year probably so it doesn't run into "Silver Lined" and "Keeping June".

BUT, that being said, I do have a title for the glorious second (and last) book in the... um... duology? Is that what you'd call it? I mean, technically Isla and Hayden still have a story in the "Parrish" books... but that doesn't count as being part of this book set. Oh well. We're calling it a duology for better or worse.

Ready for the title? Because it's pretty and I kind of love it.

Beyond Lyra

Yeah. I think it's pretty too :) Luckily my Sparkle Pony helped me come up with it so it could have lots of meaning and still be nicely symmetrical with the first title. So thank you Sparkle Pony!!!

Last!

JUNE!

For the month of June (because I think I'm clever even though... let's be honest... the play on words is pretty awful) each e-book in the June series will be on sale for $0.99! That way you can catch up before "Catching June" comes out in December!

Annnnd I think that's all for my epic announcements. Sorry this post was the length of a high fantasy novel!

Until next time,

Shannen


(ps, anything pictured here besides my own book covers are a 'fan cast' so... you know... don't sue me.)

The Secret of Darkwood Castle Blog Tour!

I'm lucky enough to be in a critique group with Heather and can attest to her epicness. Plus, after I dragged her around ComiCon for three days while I wore a Companion Cube costume, I have to say, she's an amazing friend. I mean, she puts up with me!

I love her to pieces and can't wait to read this book!

About the book!

Julia has embraced who she is. She's a shapeshifter, a siren, and a princess. But her fate is still unclear. As she runs for ambassador of Ossai, The Guild, lead by Julia's estranged mother begins attacking and killing those Julia loves in an attempt to overthrow the kingdom. To defend her family, her home, and her country, Julia must stop the Guild once and for all. 

But when a mysterious stranger shows up offering help, Julia is forced to trust them in order to solve the secret to the Guild’s whereabouts. Soon she travels to Darkwood Castle, a sinister palace, to confront the Guild—and her mother. If she doesn't succeed, all Julia holds dear will be ripped away and destroyed forever. 

Deadly forests, dangerous alliances, and a hidden fortress—nothing is what it seems at Darkwood castle. Discover the epic conclusion to Julia’s journey in Ossai.   

"Julia’s vision became completely black. All she saw now was Alexis’s haunting eyes, burned in her memory. She felt the shift as Alexis lowered the sword, ready to kill Julia."

The Secret of Darkwood Castle will be released May 21st! 

Visit Heather at:

Blog: Heatherostler.blogspot.com

Twitter: Twitter.com/Heatherostler

Facebook: Facebook.com/TheShapeshiftersSecret?ref=hl

About the author:

Heather Ostler grew up near the mountains with a rambunctiously entertaining family. She graduated from Utah Valley University and soon began composing stories about shapeshifters, sirens, and spooky castles. She and her husband reside in Utah Valley with two remarkably pleasant pugs.

Happy Launch Day "Rose Tinted"!!!

That's right! "Rose Tinted" is out today and now you can all finally find out what happened to Jonah, what crazy trouble Brynn will get into this time around, and if Eris is still a psychopath (spoiler alert, she is).

Here's where you can get your very own copy of "Rose Tinted"!

Annnnnd where you can add it to your shelf on Goodreads!

And here's the book trailer!



Also, in case you haven't read the first book in the trilogy, "Sugar Coated", it's now on sale for only $0.99 this week so that everyone can catch up!

Let's talk about Brynn

I told you she was coming!

Oh Brynn.


She's super curious and adventurous, despite the fact that her friends think she's crazy.

Which means she ends up being the odd man out most of the time.

And while her friends are great and supportive, until she met Jonah, she spent most of her time trying to convince them that her theories about their world, and her awful nightmares, weren't just the product of an overactive imagination.

She's brave enough to go into the ocean, even though everyone is scared of the water.

And even though she's smart and loves her friends, she's a little headstrong and foolhardy, which often gets her into trouble.

She's got a special tie to Rachel... though I won't tell you what... in case you haven't read the first book. And she loves her friends more than anything and feels like it's her responsibility to protect them, but most of the time, she ends up pulling them into the madness that is her life.

So don't worry Brynn, we love you even if you are a little crazy. But watch out for Eris. I get the feeling she's got it out for you.

(And here's a bonus gif I found funny, just to tease you guys.)

Goodreads

(Emily Browning. My "fan cast" for Brynn)

Let's talk about Ty

Brynn is next. Don't you worry friends.

But with only SEVEN DAYS until "Rose Tinted" comes out, I thought it was time to talk about Ty.

Oh Ty.

The sweet 'boy next door'... literally.

Ty is a nice guy, and he's most definitely concerned about Brynn's well-being, but we can admit he's slightly less than adventurous. He's more than content to live his life in Seaside with his friends, never doing anything dangerous.

Although that being said, he did save Brynn when she was drowning... even though he's terrified of the ocean for some unknown reason.

 And he camped out in that awful desert with Brynn and his least favorite person ever, Jonah, while having to live with the fact that he was the only sane, responsible person in that tent.

And against his better judgment, when Brynn says "Let's go possibly get ourselves killed to learn the 'truth'", he sort of just goes along with it to make sure she's safe.

So even though he may not be an adventurous caffeine junkie who knows everything about everything, like Jonah, I think we can agree there's something to be said for a guy who will attack a psychotic Angel, armed with nothing more than a water pitcher, just to save his best friend, right?


So good job Ty.

We love you in all of your cute, nice-guy glory.

Be ready for some Ty evolution in the second book. Because it's coming.

Goodreads

(Samuel Xavier, my "fan cast" for Ty)