Catalyst Moon: Exile – new novella

Howdy!

If you’ve been around these parts for a couple years, you might recall me talking about a Catalyst Moon prequel novella. Due to life, Exile has been relegated to the backburner for a while now, and the truth is, even after several rewrites, it still needs a lot of work. Also, I’m not sure when, or even if, I’ll “properly” publish it. I’ve waffled about what to do with it, and have ultimately decided to share it here, as it’s doing no good collecting virtual dust in my hard drive.

I’ll post each section on the blog every week (ish), so stay tuned.

And as always with any fiction I share on this blog, this is still sort of a rough draft, so please excuse any typos. However, please do let me know what you think. All feedback, thoughts, musings, squees, and/or rants are welcome. 😊

Take care and stay awesome,

Lauren

update – October 2019

Hi there!

First of all, huge congrats to my friend and fellow author Jason H. Abbott, who just published his first short story! It’s called Angel, and is the PERFECT spooky read for the season! I encourage you to check it out!

It’s been a rough year, but rest assured I’m still trucking along on Book 5. Work on this book currently consists of revisions and complete rewrites of several POVs, including Kali’s. The discovery draft took me far afield of how the story is supposed to go, so I’ve been reining it back in slowly but surely. (The changes are for the better, I promise!) K.M. Weiland’s site, Helping Writers Become Authors, has been extremely helpful in untangling these pesky plot threads, particularly her series on story structure.

At this point, all of my books have been reformatted and given shiny new covers, thanks to Fiona Jayde. 😍 I keep the posters in my office to remind me that there’s more to life than being a cog in someone else’s machine.

Picture of all three Catalyst Moon book covers on a wall in the author's office.
I never get tired of looking at these.

One day, I hope to be self-employed as an author/editor, but that’s a ways off.

Book 4 is with its second round of beta-readers. If you’re interested in getting a sneak peek (and giving feedback in return), drop me a line: lauren@laloga.com

Also, all three Catalyst Moon books are now available at multiple retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Apple (iBooks), Kobo, and more!

Incursion (Book One)

Breach (Book Two)

Storm (Book Three)

I’ve been wanting to “go wide” for a while now, so this is a huge step forward! The downside is that I had to pull the ebooks from the Kindle Unlimited (KU) program on Amazon. Some indie authors believe one can only succeed in KU, but I’m uncomfortable with the idea of exclusivity, especially when giant corporations are involved. I may not make much money going wide, but right now, it’s worth it to not have all my eggs in one basket, so to speak.

Future Catalyst Moon plans include audiobooks, some sort of wiki/manual for the world, and a short story collection, among other things. I’ll also be attending Infinity Con Tally in 2020, so I hope to see you there!

Until we meet again, take care and stay awesome,

Lauren

on Inkitt…again

So I did a thing. An indie book author/blogger I’d been in contact with earlier this year recently reached out to me, and I shared my experiences publishing with Inkitt. You can read about it here.

I debated sharing this in my author-sphere because, frankly, I want to move on from Inkitt and everything having to do with them. It’s been a shitty year (and then some), and I just want to get past it all. But I also think the interview is important, because as Inkitt is growing, they’re reaching a wider audience and gaining more and more authors. If you’re considering working with them, I’d give this interview a read first.

Thanks for reading, and stay awesome,

Lauren

Breach – new cover reveal! 😍

It’s done.

My books are now scrubbed clean of every remnant of my former publisher. While I liked their version of Breach’s cover better than their take on Incursion’s, I’m not sorry to see it gone. My time with Inkitt taught me a lot – about the publishing world and about myself – but ultimately, it’s for the best that we parted ways.

If you’ll excuse the bad pun, the new cover for Breach begins a new chapter in my writing career: one where I stand on my own, one where all potential rests squarely on my shoulders. This is terrifying notion. I can’t and won’t deny that truth. But I’ve got dreams and aspirations, and to achieve them, my internal drive must be fiercer than fear.

So, forward. Always. 😁

Anyway, here’s the new cover! Fiona Jayde did a FABULOUS job and I’m already brainstorming book 4’s. 😆

Until we meet again,

Lauren

Introducing: The Catalyst Moon Fan Collective! 😁

Hi there!

So, it has been a while since my last post, naturally. Unlike previous times, there is a reason, but I’m not quite ready to share the details of my personal life to this extent. Suffice it to say that much in my life has changed, but I’m still 100% oriented toward all things Catalyst Moon.

Hey, speaking of CM… We have our very own Facebook group! It’s called the Catalyst Moon Fan Collective (though I’m not sold on the name & will gladly take suggestions) and you totally should join the fun! I thought it’d be cool to have one spot where we can chat, rant, gush, etc. about this labor of love. We’re small in number, now, but are vast in spirit!

So if you haven’t already, I encourage you to join the fun! 😊

Link: Catalyst Moon Fan Collective

Until we meet again,

Lauren

on recent multi-media faves 😊

Hello there!

I thought it might be neat to let y’all know of a few things I’ve been enjoying lately.

Books:

Master & Apprentice, by Claudia Gray (audiobook version)

I came for the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan drama, and I was not disappointed. This book is set about eight years before The Phantom Menace. It mostly centers on the tumultuous relationship between my two favorite (canon) prequel Jedi, though it also features Qui-Gon during his Padawan days (in flashback form). Gray is one of my favorite authors, and she delivered another fantastic yarn with this book. Obi-Wan, in particular, was (is) PERFECT and no one will ever convince me otherwise. 💜

Queen’s Shadow, by E.K. Johnston (audiobook version)

Yes, it’s another Star Wars novel. But holy cats, what a doozy! Padme gets treated abominably in the movie prequels, but this book almost makes up for it. If you want political intrigue, gorgeous (and surprisingly practical!) costumes, badass women being badass, and just an all-around fantastic read, don’t miss this one. Plus the narrator also played Padme on the Clone Wars TV show!

We Set the Dark On Fire, by Tehlor Kay Mejia (audiobook version)

This YA alternate history was featured on NPR, which is how I learned of it. I think some of us could do with some feminist rebellion fantasy atm; if that’s you, then I highly recommend this book. Mejia’s prose was excellent, the story was tight, and I was thoroughly entertained. Plus LGBT romance!!! 😍

Music:

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several live Tipper events at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, FL, and he’s become one of my favorite composers. His latest album, Jettison Mind Hatch, will take you places and feed your spirit. 💜 Personal favorites include Sayonara, Vection, and Sahra.

Okay, I’ve never seen Jai Wolf in person, but I’m digging his debut album, The Cure To Loneliness. It’s intense, poppy, and emotional – right up my musical alley. 😘 Personal favorites include Still Sleeping & Drowning.

Clozee’s new album, Evasion, is another powerful, electronic experience. I unfortunately missed her set at the last Hulaween, but hope to change that when/if she returns. Personal favorites include Bloom, Wander On, and Harmony. The remix album is also 🔥🔥🔥

TV:

The Expanse – My husband and I binged the crap out of this! Holy cats…I was not prepared to love it as much as I did. The writing was tight and there were some amazing characters, including some kickass ladies. 😍 I’m thrilled that Amazon has picked it up and hope to see season 4 soon. Favorite characters include Bobbie & Amos. 💜

She-Ra (new Netflix series) – Ummm… Okay, so #1, this is amazing and literally everyone needs to watch it. Even if you never watched the original, I’d at least give this a chance. Awesome characters, powerful storylines, and a TON of LGBTQ+ representation. There are two seasons out now with a third coming, and I can’t wait! 😊

Podcasts:

Approachable with Sam Ravndahl and Alyssa Anderson. Just two gals, chatting about life. They’re hilarious – I’ve been a fan of Sam’s for many years now due to her fab makeup skills, but her personality keeps me coming back. This is a new pod, but I’m eager to see where it goes! 😍

Feminist Frequency – Hopefully you all know by now that I’m a mega-feminist, so this pod has become one of my favorites. The hosts discuss pop culture, recent and otherwise, through the lense of feminist critique. Their breakdowns of movies, books, and TV shows have opened my eyes and made strive to be more inclusive in my work and my life. 💜

Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn podcast is, hands-down, one of the most valuable resources for indie authors. Joanna’s energy blends professionalism and optimism in the perfect storm of “you can do it!” Her huge catalog of pods, plus the wealth of info on her site, has been a constant source of encouragement and inspiration.

So that’s that, for now! What are you reading/watching/listening to atm? Please share! 😊

Thank you and stay awesome,

Lauren

cover art reveal!

Heya!

It’s happened, y’all. Catalyst Moon: Incursion FINALLY has a cover I can be proud of! The amazing Fiona Jayde has knocked another one out of the proverbial park, and I am super jazzed to reveal book one’s new cover art!

IT’S SO GORGEOUS! 😍😍😍

Massive, tremendous, ecstatic thank you to Fiona Jayde and her team! I’m always blown away by the quality of her work, particularly given her reasonable price points. Seriously, if you need a book cover, check out Fiona Jayde Media.

Okay, that’s enough gushing for now. I’m off to update the print and ebook version. 😁

Thank you and stay awesome!
Lauren