Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings #RevealWeek: Introducing Silver Bells

After quite a magical adventure in “Merry Christmas and the Naughty or Nice Truth”, 9-year old Chrissy Deigh is completely heartbroken that the most magical day of the year will be 1 year away once again. Christmas Day may be over, but Chrissy’s story is just getting started.

There are 4 brand new characters in the second installment of Chrissy’s Christmas Adventure. Today, I will introduce Silver Bells. You can see my other characters reveals in the blog archive.

Must’ve made a bad first impression.

Silver Bells is a worker from the “Wish Fulfillment” (a department that answers letters to Santa and fulfills the wishes of kids 1-92) division of North Pole Incorporated. Compared to the “red” collar Toyland (a department that sets up and delivers toys direct to Santa’s sleigh), Silver’s white collar line of work involves answering letters…lots and LOTS of letters from kids all over the world. With only a few years of experience under his belt, the young man straight outta of Harvard is enlisted by new C. E. O. Missy “Mistletoe Toel to a brand new and challenging task: To be the chaperone for Chrissy Deigh, the first ambassador of North Pole Incorporated.

“Ambassador” or glorified “Babysitter”?

Author’s Notes

One of the first sketches of Silver.

Silver is a very laid back, yet worry wart of a character. He is always at odds with both of his bosses; Both the C. E. O. who is somewhat cold and dismissive over his advice and Chrissy who often has her way around with her little antics. An avid video gamer, he is never away from his portable gaming console. Perhaps video games are the only thing that keeps him sane from his demanding job. Despite that, he is a very talented writer and his letter to a very important child will be a major factor in the story. This is a character to watch out for.

“Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings” is a middle grade novel for ages 9 and up. It will be available for purchase December 2016. Go to merrychrissy.com or follow my social media for the latest updates.

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Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings #RevealWeek: Introducing Partridge Pear

After quite a magical adventure in “Merry Christmas and the Naughty or Nice Truth”, 9-year old Chrissy Deigh is completely heartbroken that the most magical day of the year will be 1 year away once again. Christmas Day may be over, but Chrissy’s story is just getting started.

There are 4 brand new characters in the second installment of the Merry Chrissy series. Today, I will introduce Partridge Pear. You can see my other characters reveals in the blog archive.

Partridge showing off his bling to Chrissy.

 

Partridge Pear is a character that is very much determined to be a successful businessman and dissatisfied with the taste of failure. Following in the footsteps of his father who helped modernize the North Pole as “North Pole City”, Partridge controls a vast business empire that’s exclusively involved with the “Merry Metropolis”. His magical power company founded by his father keeps the city running and from freezing to death at the same time with a shield of magic surrounding the city limits. His consumer electronics division however is lagging behind a hip and plucky upstart. 

Flying in the darkness.

Partridge’s trump card to steal attention (and business) away from his competition is a revolutionary product that allows people to use Christmas Magic in daylight. (Christmas magic in the world of “Merry Chrissy” can only be used at night.) Thanks to some connections, Partridge enlists the help of none other than Chrissy Deigh to push and promote the wearable magical bracelet.

Author’s Notes

One of the first sketches of Partridge.

Partridge is a graying man in his 60’s who’s accomplished a lot in his life. He inherited a business from his father that is doing well, but not well enough to his standards. He realizes that the extraordinary popularity of Chrissy in the North could lead to something bigger. He harnesses the excitement about this magical Christmas girl just to promote his brand new product which is rather exploitive I might add. You may think he’s a “Steve Jobs” type of person, but I consider him more of a “Steve Ballimer” type of person…without the angry outbursts laced with curse words and jumping up and down like a monkey.

“Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings” is a middle grade novel for ages 9 and up. It will be available for purchase December 2016. Go to merrychrissy.com or follow my social media for the latest updates.

Introducing Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings #RevealWeek! Plus Merry Chrissy 1 book updates

Wow. Been such a long time since I updated the blog. Its for a very good reason. Over the course of nearly two years, I’ve been hard at work on the sequel to “Merry Chrissy and the Naughty or Nice Truth”. Writing a book while working on a full-time job is certainly a tough task. I’m glad I endured the many tireless days and nights, adjustments here and there and the many illustrations that will accompany the story. This story as with all of my stories is a truly 100% individual effort. No publishers, no agents, no promotional budget and certainly no advance. Of course, its now up to the reader to discover the world of Merry Chrissy.

 Updates on the 1st Merry Chrissy book

In an effort to keep the storyline in check with the sequel and forthcoming Merry Chrissy 3, some editing was done to the the first title originally released in 2014. Most changes with the story were cosmetic and minor, nothing too jarring. The bigger changes made were primarily with presentation. Namely with the quality of the illustrations in the digital eBook versions. Illustrations now have descriptions for accessibility. The eBooks were revamped from the ground up. If you have purchased “Merry Chrissy and the Naughty or Nice Truth” online before, the the FREE update will be available to download now. Of course, if you haven’t purchased the first book yet, I HIGHLY recommend doing so. The sequel “Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings” starts where the first one ends. Reading the first book is absolutely crucial to fully understand Chrissy’s second adventure.

Merry Chrissy 2 #RevealWeek

I’m introducing 4 new characters that will be featured in the newest Merry Chrissy adventure. Starting on Monday, December 5 and ending on Thursday December 8, a brand new character will be “unwrapped” for the world to see. On Friday December 9, the release or “unwrapping date” for “Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings” will FINALLY be revealed. (Hint: It will be released in December, but sooner than you think depending on the type of device you have).

A Delayed Awakening.

In the past few months, I’ve been preparing to get my second novel and 4th overall project, “Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings” for release this holiday season. While a lot of the work has been finished, the important parts of the book — namely editing and proofreading will take longer than expected. The edit and prooreading processing costs money and time, both which I don’t have much of (especially when you’re saving it for the future). It is with great sadness that I must delay the release of “Merry Chrissy and the After Christmas Awakenings” to 2016. While this is being delayed, it not only gives me time to focus on those two major steps with tender loving care, it also gives me the opportunity to make adjustments to the first release and start work on the upcoming 3rd installment that will close out the “Merry Chrissy” saga. Who knows, if I play my cards right, I can release BOTH Merry Chrissy 2 AND 3 in the same year!

I can’t give you any promises that will happen, but I’m aiming for it. It’s going to be a lot of writing and drawing between now and the end of next year, but I hope doing so will ensure that the Merry Chrissy saga is given the attention it deserves.

I started with picture books of Maddie Mckenszie back in 2012 and moved on with Merry Chrissy as a simple NaNoWriMo project in 2013. I’m staying in this game and I will never, ever give up on my dreams. If I have to wait a little longer for this project to be perfected, so be it.

Merry Chrissy's "Unwrapping Date".

Today is a kinda bittersweet moment for me. This project started more than 1 year ago when it was a NaNoWriMo project that was simply an outline with not much direction. I made up characters on the spot and winged it at times, but I eventually crossed the finish line with diligence. Still, I had a lot of work to do after the first rough draft was finished. I knew it was a mess and I kept making it the best I could. Now 63,000 words, 87 illustrations (took 6 months alone) and 5 revisions later, I’m putting on the finishing touches to my first, real novel. Much like Chrissy’s story, there were many bumps in the road into making this book a reality. Luckily, I pulled through and poured in many days and nights, sometimes missing out on social events to get this project finished on time. After all, it’s a Christmas novel and it needs to be out for the holiday.

So, you might wonder, when can you get your hands on this book?

In honor of Chrissy’s unrelenting Christmas spirit, I’m not calling it a “release date” but an “unwrapping date”. 

“Merry Chrissy and the Naughty or Nice Truth” will be unwrapped on December 5th, 2014.

For the first time ever, I am doing a pre-order. You can pre-order the eBook at Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and Google Play. It will be available on Barnes & Noble Nook around the time of release as will the paperback copy. The cost of the book will start at $2.99 for the eBook, a significantly affordable cost compared to other books released by mainstream, traditional publishers. Giveaways and promos will run shortly after. Keep your eyes on my twitter accounts @ronaldhennessy and @chrissydeigh for future developments. You can also check out merrychrissy.com

Let’s Celebrate! – Two MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS about the future of Maddie Mckenszie.

For the last two and a half years, my original creation Maddie Mckenszie turned from a few whimsical sketches on Christmas Eve in 2010 to a starring in her very own Children’s book in 2012. Of course, getting noticed has been the hardest part of making this book. I’m not going to give up. Never. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. As Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them.”

Today, I have two major announcements to make about my children’s book series “Maddie Mckenszie”. (Yes, I said SERIES, “The Most Annoying Little Sister” is just the beginning.) First, I am proud to formally introduce to the world my BRAND NEW book. The title of this book will be…

Maddie Mckenszie and the BAD Birthday Party Manners

If you haven’t figured it out yet, we get to see little Maddie celebrate her 5th birthday! However, let’s say last year’s Birthday party was…a little rough. She had a nasty Temper Tantrum and a BIG mess was made. Maddie this year wants a fancy tea party for her Birthday. Obviously Maddie’s parents and big sister Margaret are a bit hesitant in making those wishes come true, but they all approve it on ONE condition – her manners MUST IMPROVE. Maddie’s friends and family assist her in manner lessons which may or may not involve disastrous results. Is outside help needed? Will they make Maddie turn from a little brat into a distinguished young lady in a short amount of time? Find out THIS SUMMER!

Right now, the book is about more than 70% done. I am TARGETING a mid to late July 2013 release via Amazon exclusively (It’s much faster to put out my title that way) by paperback. The DIGITAL version will follow shortly after also on Amazon. Other digital and hardcopy formats will follow in the future.

Now for the SECOND big news of the day. For the very first time,  Maddie Mckenszie will be featured at a convention! My books will be featured at “Intervention – The Premier Showcase of Online Creativity.” in Rockville MD (That’s near Washington D.C. for those not familiar with the area.) Friday August 23-Sunday August 25 in their Artist Alley. This is my first EVER AA appearance so I’m extremely stoked and nervous at the same time. I look forward to seeing you there and checking out my books.

By the time August rolls around “Maddie Mckenszie and the BAD Birthday Party Manners” will be ready and of course be sold at Intervention along with my original title “Maddie Mckenszie: The Most Annoying Little Sister Ever!”

So once again, two big announcements: Brand new Maddie Mckenszie book on the way and featured at Intervention. If you want to know when the book comes out, please follow @maddiemckenszie on twitter for updates or check out maddiemckenszie.com.

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