Oops! Wrong site! Head to KELLYVARESIO.COM!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

THE NEW WEBSITE IS ACTIVE!

Hey guys! Just posting here to tell you to head on over to KELLYVARESIO.COM, the new official website for Kelly and Insperatus! Just some of the new features...

1. The book is now for sale direct through the website
2. Book wallpaper is available for download
3. More in-depth information is posted about Kelly and Insperatus
4. Photos are easier to see!
5. TONS MORE!

I will be using the blog on the new website from here on out, so head on over there to see what's cookin'!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

'Bout Time, Right?

So... I know it's been a long drawl, but I've finally returned to update you all on what's been happening in my life and in the life of Insperatus!

The first big news is that Insperatus is under new management! I've been working closely with an agency in Malibu and am in the midst of throwing pitches and promotions together for large publishing companies. Ideally, Insperatus will take on a new publisher with tons more promotion and activity than before. This also calls for a much larger technical span, which will throw me into the fiery, ugly grasps of legalities that I've since tried to avoid. But corporate America is where my work as well as the work of other authors gets recognized, so it's inevitable. In a nutshell, the future of Insperatus is looking better and better, and we are climbing the ladder of the literary world one step at a time!

So what does this mean for the sequel to Insperatus? That's looking up, too. The sequel is finished (*angel music and 'ahhh's*) and will more than likely be taken on by my agency for promotion once Insperatus gets settled in it's new abode (wherever that will be). Although this new management may mean a bit of a longer wait for number two to be released, PLEASE please please please don't fret! Coming soon --- the title will be revealed, as well as an excerpt from the sequel. So hang tight guys, because the future is not far away!

Lastly, there is a new website being built. It's still very 'under construction', but hopefully it will be finished and working within a few weeks or so. The new website will have purchase options direct, including not only the book, but also artwork and T-shirts! Along with my continued blogging, there will be lots more stuff for viewers to check out such as helpful tips and tricks on writing, updates, and information on upcoming work.

Right now, as a full-time college student too, I have papers and homework to do (do you believe they don't let an 18 year old author off the hook from an english essay a week?). Just kidding--but I really ought to be working on schoolwork, so I'd best be off. At least, after I finish some editing...

So until next time, hang tight, read my authorian quotes of the day that can be found on the lower righthand column (I love those!), and do what you readers do best --- share the wealth and words to friends! You'll hear from me soon! :)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Short. And. Sweet.

Hi guys. Forgive me for my delays in blogging presently. Multiple things have hit me at once concerning Insperatus.

I'm corresponding with an agent.
I'm building a new website.
I'm scheduling signings for 2010.
I'm finishing and editing the sequel.
I'm preparing/bracing myself for school to start up again.

That's about it in a nutshell. Once that stuff is straightened out and no longer lingering above my head, I will be back up and kicking, hopefully with a ton of good news for my readers! Hang in there and thanks, as always! :)

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The December Post is Here!

And sorry it came so late!

My first semester of college is over, thank God, and I survived! Well, more or less...I've lived to die another day is more like it, because starting January 25th life will be taken away from me as my nose is forced to be in the books again.

BUT not to worry--I have about two months of freedom, wherein I plan on writing as often as possible. There have been a few little setbacks as far as the release of the sequel goes, meaning that it may take longer to be published than I had first hoped, but that's just some minor bad news. The good news is writing will be rampant this months (I hope) in the midst of Christmas shopping and wrapping and family. It's such a relief for me to finally be able to put my work full-time into writing again, my favorite occupation, no matter how temporary full-time may mean for me.

Oh--some other bad news, though not new news. So many bookstores are closing, that NJ is starting to make it HARD to find bookstores! Many of the stores I've worked closely with for book signings are closing, progressively further and further from me. It's a shame that the art and hobby or reading are taking such a toll these days. No one seems to have time to read anymore--I understand the feeling. In such a fast-paced world, who has two hours a day to simply sit and read--in essence, do nothing but work the imagination? It's a sad ordeal, and one that I hope reverses sooner or later. But this is also why Insperatus is such an easy read--although the plot is thick and busy, the chapters are super short! Read three chapters at a time, a day, and you'll find only fifteen minutes have gone by since you've started. It's perfect for impatient people--like myself.

Lastly, I just want to give you all a recap of updates. The new website is in progress and will be up within the next few weeks, where books will be available directly with personalization options, right from me! The sequel has about three chapters more to be written to have a complete ending, and once that's accomplished I start my own editing; I probably go through it three or four times and add, correct, remove, change things. During my own editing I'll also have one or two special others read it for feedback. Once that's through, I'll reactivate my editor and she'll do another round or so with me. Then it'll come time to publish--which, unless I've hooked a traditional publisher by then, may be self-published. I'm also still in search for the perfect agent to help me with that last part. In 2010 I'll start another book tour with Insperatus, including many weekend conventions throughout the year where I'll be not only selling and signing, but also sketching. T-Shirts are also available--but only for a limited time! During any of my book signings, a t-shirt is available for $5 with purchase of Insperatus. For those of you who already have the book--flash me your copy and the T's yours for $5! Normally it runs for $20, so this is a great deal. In men's sizes as well as women's, this awesome shirt is only available through me directly. Book signings and appearances will be posted on here as they're set-in-stone booked, so keep an eye out! :)

Anyways, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year--you know, just in case I'm so lost in writing that I forget to come out of hiding until then. ;)

-k-

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Tie, hm?

So you tied my poll between vampire and hybrid, for book two. That means I'll just have to decide between the two, hm?

Well than... an update.

I am currently building a new website which should be up and running within the next month or so. As I believe I've said before, on the new website Insperatus will be sold directly, and there will be numerous more activities. You'll know when it's finished--there will be red flags everywhere on this site, trust me. :)

School? Ha. I finish my first semester December 15th, and boyyyyy that date cannot come fast enough! This has been the roughest 18 credits I've whethered--also the first, and unfortunately not the last. I've been taking care of patients in the hospital once a week, and the other days I school/study/homework it up.

Luckily, I woke up this morning with a sort of brainstorm. I ran from bed to my laptop, still bleary-eyed and uncoordinated. I typed another chapter, which now, is a huge deal. I used to spit out chapters like nothing, but since I've had such a rough time with my sequel it's been like pulling a tooth. I don't think there's ever been something I love so much that I actually avoid doing sometimes... anyway, there's a new chapter added on, I hope to write one more before bed tonight, and that'll leave me with about two chapterd until the sequel is officially closed. This is a big step, guys, even though you can't see anything.

Here's a challenge for you, now. If you are able, leave a comment below this post, answering this question: What is your favorite thing about vampire books? You know, what draws you to them so? The romance? The love triangles? The action? Anything. Write your thoughts. Start a discussion. Jump start your imagination. :)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

We're moving forward!

Hey guys! My poll over there is tied! How the devil can I make a decision based on what my readers want if it's tied??? Get voting!

:)

Anyway, I figured I'd drop in and let you all know what's going on in my life and in the life of my book, Insperatus!

First of all, I am going to be creating a new website soon. I don't have a projected date yet, as I'm waiting on a few different things, but I will keep you all posted about it. The biggest advantage in creating this new website will be direct-buy online, on the Kelly Varesio/Insperatus Website, instead of through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or other third parties only. This handy dandy feature allows me to not only remove a third party, it will also allow you to buy copies directly through me, wherein they can be personalized however you like! Sound exciting or what?

I also want to let all of you who have read Insperatus, and even future readers, know that the sequel is near finished! I have tied all the pieces together, finished my finale, and am closing the ending--which total, will only take me about 5-10 more pages of writing. This is a big step for the sequel [who's title will be released once editing is finished] and it is a long-awaited green light for the next step.

For now, the rest of 2009, I will not be touring/signing for Insperatus as there are a number of other concerns that unfortunately take priority. However, I am definitely attending Wizard World 2010, in Philly, again, and will also be booking to guest at many other conventions. So starting in 2010, I hope to again be actively promoting Insperatus on the road. Until then, I am finishing my sequel, working with websites, and searching for a good agent. Oh, and I'm still attempting to survive within the rigorous RN college program--which thankfully ends its first semester December 15th! That means homework and studying are in order for the rest of November (wow, how did that happen already??) and the beginning of the Christmas month.

Until next time; hope everyone had a spooktastic Halloween--I know I did--and many wishes for all the upcoming holidays!

-k-

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I want YOU to VOTE!

So luckily, this past weekend I went camping in Lancaster with my laptop...

And I completed two more chapters of the sequel to Insperatus!

This leaves me with only about eight more to write! I tell you this, because I am giving YOU, my readers, the opportunity to take part in the ending!

What does this mean? Well, I've started a poll, to the right of this update. You technically don't get to know WHO I'm talking about in regards to the poll question--could be an old character face, could be a new one--but nonetheless, I need YOUR HELP! I've decided to turn my writer's indecisiveness into reader action, so please.

VOTE.

The ending of my sequel depends on YOU.

-k-

~Insperatus Excerpt~

~Prologue~

The men’s drunken laughter and endless taunting filled the frigid air as a lantern was lit from around a darkened, stone corner. The shadowed guard moved back further into a bend by the dungeon cell, watching the flickering light of the lone lantern grow brighter, the smell of beer filling his nostrils. The light finally exposed the two inebriated sentries shoving a bloodied and shackled prisoner through the dungeon’s narrow hallway. The prisoner was a young man, perhaps in his early twenties, and his body was battered and bruised. As the lantern swung side to side, a swollen and bleeding bite mark could be seen on his neck.
The two sentinels staggered, each one holding onto an arm of the dragging prisoner. As they approached the last cell, by the shadowed man in the bend, the young prisoner was unceremoniously tossed into the iron-barred maw, collapsing upon impact. Locking the cell, they stumbled away, still laughing, and the lantern’s light faded off behind the corner.
The only form of light was that of the crimson-outlined moon filtering through a dusty, barred opening at the height of the cell. The young man, wet with sweat, moved to his knees and stared at his ghostly white hands. The guard felt faint as he watched the prisoner suddenly hunch over and grab his stomach. The writhing man in the cell was wincing and panting. The guard could tell he was trying to bear up despite having been battered by the soldiers. With blood dripping down his neck, the prisoner looked up into the dim light of the cell and let out a stabbing cry. Four of his teeth speared into a point, appearing lengthened and sharp. He felt them inside his mouth, hands shaking hard, a look of shock surfacing on his face. He was changing, and with each change came horrible agony. His pain was evident in his posture; he was bent and twisted. His light brown hair streaked darker.
The guard could see through filtered light that the prisoner’s once unobtrusive eye color was now a brilliant shade of red. The prisoner pulled himself to the other side of his cell where a dusty shard of a worn mirror was hung. His curiosity, despite his terror, was all that could have driven him to search his exterior, and the guard suddenly realized why he had been ordered by his own chancellor to place the mirror there.
Using the last bit of strength he had, the prisoner pulled himself up and looked into the mirror, but he shrank back with fear as he witnessed his strange appearance. As he brought up his hand to feel the mirror, he realized that his reflection was slowly vanishing; soon, there was no reflection at all. He had only a moment to see himself as a strange apparition. He was now a pale and gruesome sight.
The guard could not help but feel pity for the man. The prisoner’s expression had gone from fear to something strangely numb. The captive slid his trembling hands over his stomach, to his chest, and stopped. His breathing—his panting—ceased. His hands rested there until he panicked; he could feel nothing, his heart was not beating. He turned with revulsion and eyes cold as ice toward the watching sentry. The guard watched in abhorrence, with knowledge that the boy saw the guard’s own fear and antipathy within him. He dropped his spear at the sight of the young man and ran off behind the corner.
The prisoner’s eyes had glared at him so questioningly. The sentry heard the man still: panting heavily, cursing whoever heard, and yelling for answers.
But neither the guard, nor anyone else ever answered his echoing screams.

~Chapter 1~

The town was filled with the common bustling and busyness of life. Ladies held umbrellas high to shade their delicate skin from a blistering sun, and gentlemen walked with them, their suits fashioned to please. It was a rather common-man town, but it was a wealthy one nonetheless. The houses were quaint and lovely; gates were swung open and carriages were stationed elegantly along the roads; fields stretched across the plains with horses running blithely among the moss. In the midst of the town activity, the town’s surgeon ran the hospital, the bank was flourishing, the grocer and baker’s shop were eventful, the wine house and auction barn had its customers. There was even a learning institution near Sherwood Street called Barnard that was thriving.
It was May of 1843, and just past the boarding school, across the railroad tracks, Rein Pierson bent over to brush the dust from her dress. She stood straight, looking up at the sky and squinting. The weather in Teesdale was warm and the sky was clear, but it was dreadfully windy, and she had no umbrella or hat to shade her. She did not mind the sun, however, or darkening her skin in it. The weather was too gorgeous to hide from.
Despite enjoying the sun, the wind was so frustratingly fierce that it stirred the dirt from the road high into the air, making her cough. Her hair had been pulled back in a chignon, but she realized she had not made it tight enough. All she could see were the black, wavy wisps of her hair pulled from their placement as they tangled and blew into her eyes. Pushing them behind her ears, she lifted her dress above her ankles to walk across the wide, dirt road.
Opening a large iron gate, she saw old Jonathan Kendrick tip his hat to her. He was hunched over and sweating while raking his yard, as he did every day, around his prized flowers and small trees. He chose to do it himself over his servants.
“Good day, Rein,” he said to her as he propped his arm on the rake, wiping his tanned forearm across his face.
She smiled back in greeting. “Afternoon, Mr. Kendrick. How are you today?”
He glanced up at the beaming sunlight, his heavily wrinkled eyes bunching up. He laughed looking back at her. “Ah, I’m well, dear girl, not granting the sun being hotter today than it should be, but I can see you do not mind it.” Rein smiled as he took another break of laughter. “Is it Saria you’re looking for?”
“Yes,” she replied, shading her eyes with her hand. “Is she home?”
“She’s most likely waiting for you, dear girl! Check around by the garden. She spends all day in that garden of hers behind the estate.”
Rein smiled at him again and thanked him with a nod. She let go of her dress, letting it fall and drag in the dirt, and walked around the back of the estate into the garden.
Saria, a small, thin girl, sat in the garden with her head tilted to the side. She was almost hidden between the ivy and the different sorts of flowers she was watching from the bench. Her parasol was high and her bonnet large, shading her well from the sun. Her dark, braided hair was neatly tied in a ribbon, and she was in a most elaborate dress. She motioned for Rein to come near, but as she approached Saria’s face grew grim with shock.
“Rein!” she called with frantic distress, sitting tall and slapping her hands on her thighs. “Dear Rein! What are you doing to your dress?”
Rein looked down at herself and laughed a little. “It is an old dress, Saria.”
“An old dress especially! It is much too beautiful and antique to be dragging in the garden! Look at the bottom of it—already filthy!”
Rein blinked a few times as her hair blew into her eyes again. “Why do you worry so about my dress?” she asked, taking a seat next to Saria on the garden bench.
“Oh, please do not make me say it!” Saria huffed with intolerance.
Rein smiled. “I merely came to ask you if you’ve spoken with your father yet.”
“About what?”
“Oh, please, Saria, the trip! Have you spoken to him about the trip?”
Saria looked bemused for a moment, but then sighed with a giggle. “I did, I did, yes. Have you written to your own father?”
“I don’t need to write to him,” Rein answered impatiently. “He is still in France, and I’m sure he won’t respond. He hasn’t for fourteen years.”
Saria looked sad for a moment. “You want this much to leave?” she asked with a sigh. “America is beautiful, I am sure, but I do not think your idea of leaving England for it is suitable enough for my parents.”
Rein stared down at her feet. “It isn’t that I want to go to America. I just want to see the ocean, on a ship. Visit a place far from here—”
“Oh, Rein! Can you not give up these dreams of yours? We’re meant to be here! We are barely even allowed to travel around the town, let alone to another country!” She sighed. “Rein, it’s hard to have a serious conversation with you when you are so careless and obstinate about your attire! Look at you; you’re dustier than an ox! Your beautiful face is filthy and your dress—”
“Is dress all you can think about?” Rein asked with a moan. Her smile won Saria over. “I’ve looked into it,” she continued on, forgetting Saria’s distaste. “I’ve spoken to Mr. Harold, the baker, and he said he’s been there. It's wonderful. He said there is a port as close as Easington.”
“But we have no reason to go,” Saria replied, her green eyes looking hopeless. “Can I do nothing to change your mind?”
“Saria, it’s only a trip. Only for a little while. Imagine seeing the ocean on a steamboat! Wouldn’t it be wonderful?” Rein looked at Saria’s father on the front lawn. “I have no one to stop me from going. My father has no choice. I have been out of Barnard long enough to do what I please. I have the money.”
“You know that my parents tried very hard to get you out of that boarding school to live with us, but your father—” Saria cleared her throat, and then she smiled. “And I must agree, Rein, that I would enjoy a trip away from here.” Her smile became mischievous. “And I am going with you…I’m just trying to persuade you to stay.”
“Persuade me to stay?” Rein repeated, still pushing the lingering thought of Barnard from her mind. “Why persuade me?”
She slid her hand across her head to make sure her hair was in place. “I don’t know. I just think it’s an insensible notion. I do want to go with you, though.” With a bite of her bottom lip and a teasing smile she pulled three pieces of paper from her hand purse.
“I’ve even made arrangements,” she said slyly.
Rein’s eyes widened and she smiled with overjoyed delight. “Tickets? You have tickets? You rag, Saria! You love to torment me, don’t you? Well when? When are we going?”
“Tomorrow! I’ve talked to my father and he’ll take us. Well, to the ship, anyway. Edgar, one of our senior butlers, is going to come with us. But knowing him, he’ll leave us plenty be, and—”
“Saria, that’s so wonderful!” Rein said, hopping off the bench and throwing her arms around Saria. “You already have tickets—my goodness!”
“Apparently it’s one of the finest ships there are,” Saria said, pulling away. She looked down and brushed off her bodice. “Oh, Rein! Look what you’ve done, hugging me like that! My dress is nearly covered in dirt!”
“I don’t have a bit of dirt on me,” Rein said with frustration. “I don’t understand why you pester me so much!”
Saria sighed and then giggled, throwing her arms around Rein despite the dirt. “Oh, I love you just as you are, Rein! You beautiful piece of God’s creation! You should just learn to work with your beauty instead of working against it. If only we were blood sisters, perhaps I’d have a slight chance of having as much beauty as you!”
“Don’t say such a silly thing, ever. You’re perfectly handsome! And tomorrow will be fine—great!” she said with a laugh, turning and making her way toward the front of the house. “We’ll have so much fun together! It will be worth it, I promise.”
“I am sure it will be.”
“My! I have to pack!” Rein burst with excitement. “You will enjoy it, won’t you?” she called, turning around to face her friend.
“Yes, of course I will. It just isn’t common for women to leave home. We have everything we need. I’m not yet nineteen and you’re barely twenty. We’ve still time to find nice gentlemen, marry, have children—” Saria stopped abruptly. “Oh, my! Nice gentlemen will be absolutely abundant on a steamship, won’t they?” She clapped her hands together. “And any on a steamship ought to be rich, too, you know.”
Rein shook her head with a grin. “Sometimes your intentions worry me.”
Saria laughed. “Well then I shall meet you at your gate a little after noontime with my father. Is that all right? Then we can have lunch before we go.”
“That’s perfect,” she returned. With a wave of her hand, Rein turned and exited through the iron gate, full of excitement for the next morning.

~Chapter 2~

The sky was black with night, and the combination of the ocean mist and the downpour was freezing on Rein’s face. There was a beautiful full moon that lit the ocean’s surface enough to see the boat’s reflection in the water. But a thick fog made it hard to see any farther than a yard or two. Despite the chilling downpour, the waves were rather calm. She shivered; her skin was crawling with chills. She was on the small boat with only Saria, Mr. Kendrick, Edgar, a skipper, and a small rowing crew. Despite the terrible weather, Rein did not complain about having to ride on a dinghy for a few miles to the new steamship that would eventually take her to America.

...