Two Thousand and Twenty-One

Well...it's been an absolutely wild year! This time last year, I had made myself the goal of having 20 published works to celebrate 2020. And while that goal was lofty, it was made even more impossible-feeling by the events that rocked the world. However, I exceeded my goals and now have 21 published works. You can read about all of them here.

This year I also started a new website and a newsletter with some friends. It was a pretty productive year, as I published my sci-fi series that I'd been talking about forever, another body swap book, and some short stories and novellas. I'm proud of what I accomplished, but I also pushed myself harder than I should have.

So this year, I'm simplifying my goals. I still want to maintain a healthy balance of writing and publishing, so my plan is to publish at least two books and write at least four. If you catch me exceeding these goals early in the year, don't call me out on it, but please do check in on me. Sometimes I need to be reminded to slow down.

I'm praying and hoping for a better year for everyone in 2021. Whatever you choose to set as a goal or resolution for yourself, remember to live with grace. Not just for others, but for yourself as well. We're only human and we can only stretch and bend so far before we break.

Finally, if you're interested in this kind of thing, I have another personality test for you. This time it's based on the Ryson siblings, featured prominently in the Onepian Chronicles.

Happy reading, everyone!

- Natasja

20/20

What a crazy year, right? 2020 is definitely not turning out the way anyone imagined it would. At the beginning of this year, I really wanted to have 20 published works, whether that would be novels, novellas, or short stories.

It would be a feat, for sure. I had a few books already written to back me up and I was working on other stories. Everything was going great.

Then March hit. And nothing went great for anyone. But I have to say, I'm proud of all my friends and family for persevering. Those of you who went through hell for a few months or are still there but holding on... You are amazing!

I'm also proud of myself. Yes, I think I can say this every once in a while. Especially since... I made my goal! That's right, in a couple of months, I'll have 20 published works out there in the world.

Next month on October 8th, I'll be releasing the 7th book in my Onepian Chronicles series. "Lost on Nagasan" is the story of Owen who travels to Nagasan with his friends, Thalia, Layla, Liam, and David. When two of his friends get kidnapped, he takes it upon himself to rescue them. You can pre-order the book here.

I left a loose thread at the end of the book that one of my characters wasn't happy about, however. So I ended up writing an extra story for those who wanted to know about that thread. I'll be making this story available on Amazon after the release of "Lost on Nagasan." I can't tell you too much about it just yet, but you can get a look at the cute cover here.

So yes, that's my big number 20!

  ...

But also, I've been working hard on the 8th book in the series and if all goes well, that will hopefully get published this year, too. As in, I might surpass my ridiculous goal. Wish me luck. And as always, happy reading! 

- Natasja

19/20

Hello my lovelies!

Those of you who have been following me know that I had set myself a goal of having 20 published works in 2020. I can't believe I'm saying this, but right now, including the 3 pre-orders I have up on Amazon, I'm actually at...19! You can read about my upcoming novels here.

Let's look at some covers!!

I design all my covers myself, with input from trusted friends. There's certainly a learning curve to designing covers, but I'm really enjoying it and I love the outcomes. How do you think I'm doing so far?

My vision for the Onepian Chronicles covers was a lot of stars and silhouettes to give an air of mystery and other-wordliness. What do you think? This particular one came out darker due to the nature of its story line.

I've played around with this series a couple of times. When it came time to design the third cover, I scrapped the concept I had for the first two, redid them with people, and came up with this. Do you prefer people on covers like I do?

I still have a bit of writing to do to reach my goal of 20. Right now, I'm working on a few different things, so I'll have to see which one will come first. But if all goes well, I'll publish one more thing by December 31st.

I still need some help with one of my books, by the way. I'm running a contest to see who can come up with the best band name to put into my new Swapped Lives book My Brother's Wedding Singer/The Art of Being a Girl. If you want to enter the contest, go here. You could even win one of my e-books!

As always, huge shout out to the people who have supported me along my journey. Without you, I would not have made it this far and it's possible none of my stories would have ever seen a bookshelf. Thank you!

- Natasja 

Take the Knockout Girl personality quiz!

If you've ever related to the characters from my Knockout Girl series, now's your chance to find out just how alike you are to them! Take the 2-minute quiz below to find out. Feel free to share your result on your favourite social media platform!

I would love to hear feedback on this quiz. If you liked it enough, I'll probably make more for my other serieses, so please let me know. Happy reading!

- Natasja

New covers, new books, new website!

I've got a lot new things happening right now. At the end of June I'm celebrating 8 years of being an author. Last year to celebrate, I released a second body-swap book and changed the cover on the first one. I'm working on a third body-swapper, but I've had to push its release to September. I still want to celebrate though, so I have all new covers...again!

You'll also notice that I named the series. The Swapped Lives series is all about young people who switch bodies with other young people. If you haven't read them yet, you'll find a lot of the same things I've got in my other books–sports, coming-of-age themes, overcoming obstacles, achieving big dreams, and romance. And of course, like all my other books these ones are clean reads, and they're perfect for middle grade and up.

Update on my 20 books in 2020 goal: With two pre-orders up right now, I'm currently at a grand total of 16. I might actually make it. Wish me luck! Check out To Earth and Back and Summer on Semerde on Amazon.

More news: I have a new website!! My author brand was starting to get too big for this blog, so I've moved all information about me to the new site. I'll still keep blogging, so you'll also be able to find my blog there, as well as all my books, my coming soon books, and a contact form. Check it out: https://natasjaeby.wixsite.com/natasjaeby.

Last little piece of information: some of you may know that I share a newsletter with three other amazing indie authors. We call ourselves the Indie Wordsmiths and we recently made a video together introducing ourselves. Check it out!

Happy reading!

- Natasja

Happy mumbleday!

 

It's been a while since I've checked in. I keep wanting to give an update to my 20 books in 2020 goal, but life gets in the way. The whole world has been thrown into chaos over a virus–something we can't even see, but we can most definitely feel.

If you're like me and you're working from home and homeschooling your kids, just know you're not alone. And even if you're not working and now struggling to figure out how you're going to make ends meet, then you're still not alone. Take comfort in the fact that we, as an entire human race, are enduring this time together and hope that the outcome is better than we imagine.

Now for the books! I'm still releasing books in the Onepian Chronicles on a regular basis. You probably already know that Co-Piloting the RR5 has just come out. On May 12, I'll be releasing The Last Prince of Onepus. More info on that soon!

In the meantime, if you want a little taste of the Onepian Chronicles before committing to the whole series, check out my Free Reads! section. You can have Bride for Onepus and Nagasani Dreams for FREE, no catch, no emails needed. Just read and enjoy. With these titles, I'm at a grand total of 14 published works. Only 6 more to go!

And now for some of my favourite quarantine memes, because sometimes memes are the only way I can cope:

Happy reading!!

- Natasja

The Onepian Chronicles - Part 2

As you know, I'm on a quest to have 20 published works by the end of this year. I've just recently set up some pre-orders in The Onepian Chronicles which brings me to a grand total of 13. I consider this to be a pretty huge accomplishment! Check out what I've got going so far:

 A Bride for Onepus is a prequel novella that is currently free if you sign up for the Indie Wordsmiths newsletter. It's the story of two strangers who–for their own separate reasons–agree to get married. Can they make it work? Find out here.

 Quest for Onepus is the official kick-off to The Onepian Chronicles. Two strangers stranded out in space and a family with a busted ship. What else could go wrong? This book is available on Amazon in ebook, paperback, and KU.

 

 Remember that family from the first book? The RR5 is a story of adventure, action, and romance told from the perspective of the oldest son. The ebook version is on pre-order on Amazon and will be available on February 13 (along with the paperback).

 Co-Piloting the RR5 is a companion novel to The RR5, which tells a variation of the same story from the second oldest son's perspective. While the story is familiar, his take on it–and his own romance–is vastly different from the original. The ebook version is on pre-order on Amazon and will be available April 9 (along with the paperback).

I couldn't leave the younger sister out of the series. So here she is with her own story of mystery, action, and romance with a spy theme to it. The ebook version is on pre-order on Amazon and will be available May 12 (along with the paperback).

I know what you're thinking. "Why did she leave so many names out of these loosey-goosey blurbs?" You know, sometimes even names are spoilers and I don't know how to avoid that. But if you want more in-depth descriptions of these books, just click or tap those links. You'll see everything and then the mystery will be gone. Have fun.

I've still got at least three (hoping for four) more books in this series that will be released this year. I've also got more novellas and short stories for you. Keep checking in and sign up for the Indie Wordsmiths newsletter if you want that info straight in your inbox. 

As always, happy reading!

- Natasja

The Onepian Chronicles

I've previously mentioned that I have a science fiction romance series that I've been working on for years. I finally reached a place where I feel confident about it and have started publishing it! The first in the series, Quest for Onepus is already available on Amazon. I've also got a prequel up called A Bride for Onepus that you can read for FREE for signing up to the Indie Wordsmiths newsletter. You can find both of those here:

    

As you know, I'm hoping to have 20 published...somethings by the end of 2020. Currently, with these two new ones, I'm at 10. Wish me luck!

Happy reading!

- Natasja