Ten days of giveaways and traveling down publishing memory lane and … new book news! Scroll to the bottom for the schedule.
10 YEARS
17 NOVELS (plus 2 novellas and multiple shorts)
OVER 300,000 BOOKS SOLD
OVER 1.3 MILLION FREE DOWNLOADS
TO READERS IN 160+ COUNTRIES
??
Roughly eleven years ago, I set aside the first (very long, and not particularly good ?) novel I had spent more than a year writing. I decided I would let it sit for a while and write something fun in the meantime. And since I’d been watching multiple authors from the blogging community I was part of experiment with self-publishing (some of them having great success), I decided I wanted to try it out for myself. The whole idea really appealed to my DIY/control-freak side ?
And that was when, as I was thinking about what to write, two words popped into my head … Creepy Hollow.
If that happened now, I would probably Google the phrase “Creepy Hollow” to see what else is out there with this name (there’s a Creepy Hollow Haunted House, a Creepy Hollow Scream Park, Creepy Hollow Woods, and probably more), and then I’d put my marketing hat on and realize that the word “creepy” evokes more of a sense of HORROR rather than fantasy. And then I would abandon the name and try to come up with something else. ? But back then … none of this crossed my mind! ?
So I stuck with Creepy Hollow. I decided to write a series of novelettes featuring magical characters that trained to protect humans from dangerous fae. This would be my self-publishing experiment, and then at some point I’d go back to my first (“real”) novel and start the querying process with traditional publishers.
(Spoiler alert: that never happened ?)
So I organized a blog tour (because that’s what we did back in 2012), I designed my own cover (not the most amazing thing I’ve ever designed, but I don’t think it was TERRIBLE ?), figured out how to format an ebook file (anyone remember Sigil and Mobipocket and Calibre?? ?). and in March 2012, I published my very first title!
During that first year, 2012, (while still teaching high school mathematics and also planning my wedding ?) I released the first four novelettes in the series, Guardian, Labyrinth, Traitor and Masquerade.
By the time I reached the end of that fourth instalment, I had decided that not only did I prefer the novel form in terms of length and structure of a story, but I also wanted to have an actual, real book I could hold in my hands instead of short ebooks I could only hold on my ereader. So I decided to put those first four instalments together into one novel, and then to continue the series as novels after that.
Those first four parts are what ended up becoming The Faerie Guardian, the book that is still, to this day, the first “official” book in the Creepy Hollow series.
I still remember my excitment as I opened up the box the day my first author copies arrived and I got to hold MY VERY OWN BOOK IN MY HANDS!
That first year was a lot of fun, gaining my first readers and fans, receiving my very first royalty check, discovering how things worked on the various platforms (Amazon’s organic algorithm was AMAZING back then! I’m pretty sure Amazon ads didn’t exist yet. I didn’t know a thing about marketing, so I did ZERO paid advertising, and the algorithm just pushed my titles out to those who would enjoy them! It’s the same today, I suppose, but with a TON more compeition now ?)
I can’t remember when exactly my mindset changed, but I enjoyed self-publishing so much that at some point during that first year of publishing, it became my FIRST CHOICE. I decided not to pursue traditional publishing. (Not that I would say no to the right deal if it came along, but I decided I was going all-in with this indie publishing thing!)
**GIVEAWAY**
a Rafflecopter giveaway10TH ANNIVERSARY MERCHANDISE
I’ve created a special 10th anniversary design for the merchandise in my Society6 store. If you zoom in on the design, you’ll see that all the main characters (main character + love interest) from all the books I’ve written over the past ten years are featured in tiny text inside the 1 and 0!
i.e. Vi, Ryn, Calla, Chase, Em, Dash, Ridley, Archer, Elle, Dex, Sarah, Aiden, Livi, Adam, Andi, Noah, Sophie and Caleb.
There are some other secondary characters I really wanted to include, but once I started adding them … the list began to grow too long. ?
**SIGNED PRINT GIVEAWAY**
I’m giving away 20 signed, personalized prints with the 10th anniversary design (see the picture below) to 20 random people who leave a comment on this blog over the next ten days. All you have to do to enter is comment on this blog post or one of the others between now and March 10th. ?
SCHEDULE: 10 Days Celebrating 10 Years of Publishing
DAY 1 (2012): It Began with Two Words | Giveaway: Creepy Hollow paperback trilogies
DAY 2 (2013): Full-Time Author!
DAY 3 (2014): Stepping into my Contemporary Romance Shoes | Giveaway: Trouble series paperbacks
DAY 4 (2015): A Return to Creepy Hollow
DAY 5 (2016): Exploring Side Characters’ Stories
DAY 6 (2017): Three Books in One Year: The Completion of Creepy Hollow!
DAY 7 (2018): Creating a New Fantasy World | Giveaway: Ridley Kayne Chronicles
DAY 8 (2019): Fairytale Fun | Giveaway: City of Wishes paperback/hardback
DAY 9 (2020): The Year That Shall Not Be Named!
DAY 10 (2021): BOOK NEWS! Introducing World Of …
P.S. As I mentioned in my social media posts today, it’s difficult to celebrate anything while Ukrainians are living through the horror of an invasion. There’s a tug of war inside me between the excitement and gratitude I feel over reaching this milestone, and the heartbreak every time I pick up my phone and see another BBC update about the crisis. ?? But I wanted to go ahead anyway and share my gratitude with all of you. It’s only because of READERS that I have this career! THANK YOU!
I whole heartedly adore you your ambition and your books
Happy publishing anniversary! I am so glad you chose to do this. You are a truly amazing writer and I feel lucky to have read your wonderful work.
Love your books, Congrats on 10years!!
Congratulations! Your work is amazing and it helped me get started with reading fiction. I recommend it to beginner readers to fantasy. Hope you get even more recognition that u deserve <3
I still can’t get over the character of Vi and Ryn. And the book of City of Wishes. They were so so damn good🤧
Congratulations on your 10 year publishing anniversary, I’ve read all your Creepy Hollow books and love each one.
Thanks for giving us fans plenty to enjoy over the years and I for one look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
Thank you for sharing your journey! I’m so happy that a friend suggested Creepy Hollow, it is now my favorite series. I even named my little girl Violet ☺️.
Congratulations on your 10th anniversary!!
It’s so unbelievably special that you ended up naming your little girl Violet! I LOVE that! 🥰
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! Congrats!! I can’t wait for the next 10 years! Your books have become my favorite comfort books! Thank you for the adventures!
Hi Rachel.
I stumbled on the Creepy Hollow Series just a few days back. I got the first 3 novels initially and finished each of them everyday.
I know there are 6 more books and although I cannot wait to read them, I have to wait till they arrive.
I the mean time I followed you, and as luck would have it, you are celebrating 10 years of publishing.
I enjoyed your blogs but I would like to put something out there
Not a lot of people (famous) that I follow are talking about the crisis in Ukraine. And that little thought you had at the starting of your post, that little gesture has increased my admiration for you.
Thank you❤️
Congrats on the 1oth anniversary! I don’t remember how I came across Creepy Hallows, but I do remember looking you up after finishings it (in about a day) while looking for the next in the series, and thinking how cool it was that you were from my country
Congratulations on 10 years! Love your books!
10 years already! It is great to look back and see everything you have achieved! Congratulations
You were my first favorite fantasy author! A couple others have joined you now (because I’m never good at having just one favorite anything), but I’m so thankful to you for the beautiful worlds you’ve created!
Happy 10th Anniversary .
I love all your books.
I am looking for a new release before I finish a current one.
Thank you
Your books are still my favorite, I reread the creepy hollow books at least once a year ?❤
Love The Creepy Hollow series!! Have read it several times, and each time discover something new. Happy 10th Publishing Anniversary!!
Congratulations!
Your Creepy Hollow books have become one of my favourite series for years, so sad to see it come to an end! Fantastic story!
I’m so happy for you! You are a fantastic author! CONGRATULATIONS ?
You are a fantastic author! I love ? your books! CONGRATULATIONS ?
Congrats on your 10 year anniversary!!! I’m new to all of your books but have loved each one I’ve read so far. Can’t wait to read the rest as well as those still coming! Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
Congratulations! Ibremember starting your series seven years ago!
Congratulations! I have loce readying your books they are so fun and exciting! It’s been great to the character of creepy hollow
Congrats! I actually love the name Creepy Hollow and am glad you didn’t change it.
Congrats on 10 years!!!???
Congratulations on your 10 years!! ? I love your books and they have always been a place I love to escape to! Can’t wait for the next adventure ?
I still really LOVE that Faerie Guardian cover, it’s so beautiful and magical!
Congratulations! Its really nice to be reminded that there is still good in the world even with such big worries. Your books always make me smile. I have read every single one. I think I started with Creepy Hollow after seeing an add and then read the Trouble series while creepy hollow was continuing and have been with you all along the way. It really is amazing to see all that you have accomplished so far! Looking forward to the next 10 years!
Thank you so much for sticking around for every new book since that first one you discovered!
Congratulations on an amazing 10 years!!! I am absolutely in awe with your work! Wish I had found it sooner!
Can’t wait for your big reveal! ?
Idk if you remember but a couple of years ago there was this very young girl who found the creepy hollow series and got 50 completely sucked in that she had the nerve to ask its author to kindly send the rest of the series * for free* via email. As unbelievable as it sounds the author did write back and lets just say that girl was very happy that day 🙂
A lot of time has passed since then- I now see the error of my ways (lol!) but I still have the old love for the creepy hollow series. If anything it grows with each reread. I’m so proud of your journey as an author and now mother to an adorable little one and I am so glad you decided to make that little step 10 years ago.
Congrats on your 10 year anniversary and I wish you the best for the coming years.
I think I do have a vague memory of that, actually! Haha 😂 Thank you for sticking around ever since then!
I love your books! You are definitely a amazing author and brilliant role model.
Thank you!
Congrats on your 10 year anniversary!
This is SO, absolutely, positutely amazing! I’m excited to celebrate and see what comes! Creepy Hollow was the series that revived my love of reading when I was younger, (school led me to hate reading!), and I have treasured them ever since!! Much love for this series and Rachel Morgan! <3
Congratulations… 10 years doing anything is an accomplishment… and still enjoying it … even better 🙂 I hope you get to celebrate many more such anniversaries.. because that will mean we will be getting even more books!
It is very cool to see how your process of publishing went.
Congratulations! Your work is amazing and it helped me get started with reading fiction. I recommend it to beginner readers to fantasy. Hope you get even more recognition that u deserve <3
Can’t believe it’s been ten years for you.
Happy publishing to you !!!!
And
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!
Honestly
Yours was the first books in the fiction genre that I read
I never really adored the fiction genre before that …….
But
As you can see
Here I am reading and re-reading all the books
I’ve been reading the Creepy Hallow series since I was in middle school, and now I’m in college still gushing over Ryn and Violet & now the City of Wishes characters. I can’t believe how much time has passed- yet it feels like it was just yesterday I discovered your books.
Congrats on 10 years of writing Rachel!! I can’t wait to read all your future projects.
It’s been so wonderful to see all your projects unfold over time and see your family expand. I wish you all the best for your next 10 years of writing & publishing!
You are my favorite author! And I read a lot of books!! The Creepy Hollow Series is still my favorite. I loved everything about these books, except waiting for the next one, which never failed to live up to the first one. I love these characters!
Congratulations on 10 years!! I absolutely LOVED Creepy Hollow! It was one of the first YA Fantasy I ever read!
Thank you so much for your Creepy Hollow series and your tenacity to keep pursuing writing. Congratulations and I’m really looking forward to your next series! (Honestly, though, I’m still not over Ryn. =X)
Happy publishing anniversary! Thank you for sharing your amazing characters with us and being brave enough to take that first step.
I love how you found your process and the gorgeous world you created with Creepy Hollow. Still hands down one of my favorite series/world
Congratulations! Your work is amazing and it helped me get started with reading fiction. I recommend it to beginner readers to fantasy. Hope you get even more recognition that u deserve <3
Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary. I love your Creepy Hollow series; you’re an amazing author. That series is my all-time favourite series which got me into loving reading. I can’t wait for the book or series reveal.
Congratulations on 10 years! So excited to celebrate by reading my Creepy Hollow books. Here’s to many more years of magic to come ??
Amazing work! So happy for you and wish you many more years of success!
Congratulations! This is a huge moment for you and so exciting! It is good to celebrate these moments even in times of heartache around the world. Thank you for sharing your imagination with us for the past 10 years!
Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary!
I have no recollection of how I ever came to read The Faerie Guardian, but I do know I have loved the Creepy Hollow books ever since 🙂
Time for a re-read!
Wow, 10 years of talent and amazing writing. It’s been a really exciting journey experiencing your imagination on paper. Wishing you many more years of successful stories and looking forward to the big book news coming up. Thank you so much for giving us a chance to escape reality and live in the fantasy worlds you have created. 🙂
Congratulations! That’s a lot of books sold. I remember when that first book came out.
It is so fun getting to look back with you and see how it all started! I’m so glad you took the leap to self publishing 🙂
just love your stories
Congrats! I actually love the name Creepy Hollow and am glad you didn’t change it.