Thursday, October 29, 2015

October was my best month ever! (For Books, anyway.)



Holy wow, this was an insane month. Between my computer dying, getting a bunch of editing gigs, and the insane struggle of getting CONJURING DESTINY out AND the wonderful success of a release, I am EXHAUSTED.

However, this book has definitely done the best out of my three independent novels I've released. Still not as good as my commercially published books, or enough to quit the day job or anything, but we'll just say that I published WRENCHING FATE for "beer money" (Ironically I'm now so busy I don't drink as much anymore) and IRONIC SACRIFICE for my internet bill.


Of course, some improvement was expected because:

A.) Book #3 usually is where you hit a spike,

B.) I knew NOTHING about promo when I published my 1st book.

And honestly I didn't really have the money for it when I started anyway. Still don't, for the most part.

C.) This sounds really stupid, but I didn't know how to apply to book reviewers.

D.) Book one, WRENCHING FATE, is FREE now!

However, there were many worries. CONJURING DESTINY was definitely the hardest book I've ever written. So much so that I started it back when I was fifteen and ended up tearing it apart and rewriting it countless times.

Fantasy is hard as well. I had to create an entire world and people for it. I did a nifty guest post on all the different people in the word. You can check it out Here for a chance to win a $25 gift card.

Also, this book is so different from the first 2 in the series. It's kind of a weird book. I guess that's fitting, since Xochitl is a really weird character.

So I was terrified that people would hate it.

However, I was determined to finish it finally and get it out there. Because I can't continue the series without finishing that one, and also, funnily enough, my George RR Martin obsession motivated me.

See, I've spent the last few years getting progressively more angry with him for not finishing THE WINDS OF WINTER.

And in the midst of my cursing him, I realized I was being a hypocrite, because I NEEDED to finish mine! And I have a feeling George is getting close to his.

So instead of bitching about him, I shut my mouth and vowed to finish CONJURING DESTINY before he finished WINDS. (With his writing pace, that wasn't a major challenge) but by God, I DID IT!

So now the book is out and guess what?

People DON'T HATE IT!!


This was seriously the best indie debut I've ever had.

And the reviews are great so far! I even got the coveted "WOW!" Check em out!

Another cool thing is that this release made my heavy metal romance, KISSING VICIOUS sell more than it did when it first came out.



I am really excited. And also hanging back going, "Whoa, I have SEVEN books out." SEVEN.

My first novel, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE came out in April of 2013, so I've been published for 2 1/2 years and I've been building momentum ever since.

I'm finishing my 3rd Heavy metal romance this weekend and I'll have more news on the impending release of book 2 soon, but tomorrow will be dedicated to Horror Movies.

Because I LOVE Halloween.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Conjuring Destiny is here!!!



Holy wow, you guys!

With all the challenges and pitfalls, I thought this day would never come.

Conjuring Destiny is here at last!

Here's the blurb:

Famous rock star, Xochitl Leonine, has dreamt of a world with two moons where a black cloaked man beckons her. One Halloween night, she meets the mysterious stranger of her dreams… literally... and their shared dance becomes a rendezvous in a place of endless night. 

Zareth Amotken has no idea how important Xochitl’s heavy metal band is to her. As an immortal sorcerer, he doesn’t care. He has one goal: to find the prophesied savior of his world. Her voice holds the power to bring back his world’s vanished sun. 

Xochitl’s compassion urges her to help in any way she can. Yet learning the mysteries of her past causes conflict with her future in music. Her destiny in his world and her obligations to her band pull her in opposite directions. How can she long for one while the other is so dire? 

As Zareth introduces her to his people and teaches her to control her powers, she aches for his enchanting kiss. Zareth tries to resist, for their passion will unleash serious consequences, both political and magical. 

As the time to fulfill her destiny draws closer, she must choose between her heart, her duty, and her friends. The wrong choice could ruin everything. 

But if Zareth’s evil half brother succeeds in taking control of her for his own ends, he will take away her choices… and destroy the world. 


If you’re looking for a strange & magical fantasy romance, this book is for you 

From the bestselling paranormal romance author with over 1000 reviews and ratings of her romance books across Goodreads, Amazon and other retailers. 

You can Purchase it on:
 Amazon
iBooks
Kobo
All Romance
Nook
Google Play Books

This is hands-down the hardest, most complex book I've ever written. And my hard drive dying didn't help matters.

But I got it!

This is also the weirdest book I've ever written. Probably because my heroine, Xochitl Leonine is a really weird character.

It's also the point where the series starts delving more from urban fantasy to straight fantasy, kinda like Stephen King's dark tower books, only with a romance with every book and well, not King's delightful brand of craziness, but my own strangeness.

I confess that I'm terrified about how you readers will react to this book, but so far the advance reviews seem positive.

I'm also having a Facebook Party today with a ton of fabulous guest authors. We'll be playing games and having giveaways! If you want in on the fun, click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/566927936780096/

And finally, my blog tour kicks off today. Here's the itinerary, where there will be reviews, guest posts, exclusive excerpts, and of course, giveaways!

Insert blog tour:

10/23/2015
( Fri. )
Promo 
ALL BLOGS
Promotional Book Tours 
All Blogs
10/26/2015
( Mon. )
ReviewBooks to Light Your Fire bookstolightyourfire.blogspot.com
10/27/2015
( Tue. )
ReviewAll Things Book – Review
Guest Post                                                      Taking Time for Mommy 
http://takingtimeformommy.com

10/28/2015
( Wed. )
ReviewMisty Iputi Book Reviews

ExcerptThe Cheshire Cat’s Looking Glass http://cheshirecatlookingglass.com
10/29/2015
( Thu. )
ReviewA Mama’s Corner of the World http://www.amamascorneroftheworld.com
InterviewMythical Books
http://www.mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/


11/02/2015
( Mon. )
Review
                                                                                  http://craftymomof3.com/
11/03/2015
( Tue. )
Review
Guest Posthttp://www.teatimeandbooks76.blogspot.com
11/04/2015 
( Wed. )
ReviewJody’s Book Reviews ~ http://www.jodysbookreview.com
Excerpt
reading with frugal mom http://readingwithfrugalmom.com
11/05/2015 
( Thu. )
Reviewhttp://nikita-mattes.blogspot.com/
Interview


Hopeful Momma http://hopefulmomma.com
11/06/2015
( Fri. )
Review                                                                                                                            Second Book to 
the Right

11/09/2015
( Mon. )
ReviewCluttermykindle

Guest Post                                       Reviewing in Chaos

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Live Riff of NIGHT OF THE DEMONS tonight!!!




Since it's Tuesday, I'm joining the “The B-raters,” a live broadcast show hosted by The Weirding, where we live-broadcast our movie riffing on video in Google Hangouts.

Chris, the main host, actually changed the movie schedule because I found out that it's close to the 27th anniversary of my favorite B-horror movie: Night of The Demons!!!!

I don't know why, but I freaking LOVE this movie. It's the ultimate in 80's cheeseball horror. It also has a wonderfully spooky setting. The makers used an actual old Tudor house instead of sets. The actors literally lived in the place during shooting.

Also, despite the low budget, the effects are kinda nifty. And NO CGI, which was impressive.

And it has a fantastic opening sequence. Behold the glory:




I'll be sharing a ton of trivia about it because I bought the collector's edition, which has a "making of" documentary, interviews, film stills, and a bunch of other nifty stuff.

Totally worth it, though I prefer the old cover.


To join the fun, follow The Weirding on Google + and get the link to the hang out and the youtube video. 

You'll need 2 browser windows open for this to see our commentary as well as the film, otherwise you'll just see us being dorks and the jokes won't make sense, since they're following the movie.

We start at 7:30 Pacific, so be sure to tune into The Weirding page and click on the event link that will be posted soon to join us! 

However, sometimes we get a late start, due to technical difficulties, so be sure to keep an eye on the event page.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Conjuring Destiny Comes out on Friday! Come celebrate with me!


Oh man, the excitement has really been ramping up for this book!

First off, Have you Pre-ordered it yet?

 Amazon
iBooks
Kobo
All Romance
Nook
Google Play Books


Secondly, if you haven't heard, the first book in the series, Wrenching Fate, is FREE!!



Get it here on:

Amazon
Nook
iTunes
Kobo
All Romance Ebooks
 Google Play 

Book 2, Ironic Sacrifice is now on sale for $2.99.


Pick it up at:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
iTunes
Kobo
All Romance
Google Play


Facebook party.

Oh man, I have an awesome lineup of guest authors to join the fun and feature awesome giveaways.

Aside from me, we're going to have

Bonnie R. Paulson
Rissa Watkins
Sara Humfreys
Trina M. Lee
Shona Husk
Cathryn Cade
Paula Millhouse
Jill Cooper
and Ashlyn Chase!

We'll be on Facebook October 23rd from 12pm to 5Pm Pacific time (though you can still participate and enter for the giveaways later than that).

Just click this link to join: https://www.facebook.com/events/566927936780096/

My blog tour also kicks off with interviews, reviews, and giveaways. I'll post the itinerary on release day!

I had a bit of a snafu with my print copies since I lost the cover file when my hard drive died, but I was able to rebuild the cover and they should be available on time!




Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Holy Wow! Wrenching Fate is doing awesome!

Holy wow, you guys, so I released WRENCHING FATE, (Brides of Prophecy, Book 1) free everywhere e-books are sold and it really took off today.

Just look at this:


Okay, that's a little blurry, so I'll see if what I pasted into my email at work (where I couldn't take screenshots) goes:



    Look I'm #1 in Gothic and Vampires! And #115 all around in Free Books!

    In fact, I'm so close that maybe I'll make it into the top 100 Free when I wake up tomorrow morning. That's been one of my goals.

    Because I discovered some of my favorite authors that way.

    So if you'd like, you can pick up your free copy here: http://amzn.to/1QvrJ4c, or spread the word.

    Anyway, I'm up an hour past bed time, so Goodnight, and I'll talk you all soon.


      Gearing up for Conjuring Destiny!



      Huh, for some reason Blogger only let me put this picture up REALLY big or super tiny. Sorry about that.

      Anyway, Holy Wow, Conjuring Destiny comes out in only 8 days.

      It's available for pre-order on
      Amazon

      And getting it ready has been a wild ride. Since this is the most complex book I've ever written, the revision process was equally more involved. Plus, I had to get advance review copies ready on the 1st.

      Ranting about that process could take pages, so instead we'll just say that it involved being stuck at the computer for 16 hours for several days.

      After that, I had some formatting hell.

      But I got the ARCs off to reviewers.

      ...And then my hard drive died and I had to get a new laptop. Thanks to getting the ARCs out, I was able to recover the book and reformat it.

      This last week was dedicated to getting it ready for print and sending it off to the retailers.

      Whew!

      Now it's just fun stuff like preparing for my virtual release party and book tour.

      If you want to sign up for the promo blast and enter to win a $25 gift card, go here: http://goo.gl/forms/TMLMhvbwpL

      And if you want to be part of the tour and feature the book, go here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094FADAB2EA6FF2-conjuring

      I am really excited, and, I admit, terrified. Although so far the advance reviews have been positive, I'm still worried about how this one will be received.

      For one thing, it's different than the first 2 books in the series, and it's definitely more fantasy than urban fantasy.

      For another, fantasy is HARD! I had to build a whole new world and sets of different people and cultures. So I hope I didn't suck at it.

      Also, my heroine, Xochitl, is really weird. She was definitely the most challenging character to write.

      So, I'm crossing my fingers that you all like this one.

      Now I'm going to get back to writing. Hearts of Metal, book 3 and Scandals with Bite, Book 4 need attention.


      Tuesday, October 6, 2015

      Cover reveal for upcoming awesome new book by Shona Husk!





      Desire to Fall will be out October 27 2015.
      In a time of political turmoil on a planet where ménage relationships are the norm falling in love can be dangerous.

      I had the fortune of beta reading an early draft of this book and am so excited to see that it's finally coming out!!!

      It's gotta be the most fascinating sci-fi/ menage novel I've ever read. Okay, it's the ONLY sci-fi menage novel I've read, but I highly recommend it!

      Add it on your TBR on  Goodreads: Today!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26702524-desire-to-fall

      Monday, October 5, 2015

      WRENCHING FATE is FREE!!




      Hello, my lovelies!

      I've been slammed this past week polishing up Advanced Reader Copies of Conjuring Destiny Book 3 in my "Brides of Prophecy" series. because it comes out on the 23rd!

      There's still a lot to do. I need to format it for print, do the final proof, and countless other things.

      I'm also going to be on a virtual tour with a bunch of goodies. Click HERE to be notified of all my stops. I'll also post all the places here as soon as I get the list. :D

      And I need to set up the facebook party!

      Whew!

      But a big thing I also did was set up the first book, WRENCHING FATE as FREE!




      Snag it on

      Amazon
      Nook
      Kobo
      Page Foundry
      and iBooks

      I also gave the book a more coherent blurb. Let me know what you think:


      She’s haunted by her past. 

      Akasha Hope trusts no one. Her parents were shot down by uniformed men, which forced Akash to spend most of her life on the run. 

      She’s so close to getting out on her own, making her own dreams come true when he shows up and disrupts everything. 

      Her new legal guardian. 

      His kindness makes suspicious, while his heart-stopping good looks arouse desires she’d kept suppressed. 

      He promises her a future... 

      Silas McNaught, Lord Vampire of Coeur d’Alene, has been searching for Akasha for centuries. 

      He’s perplexed to discover that the woman who has haunted his visions is anything but sweet and fragile. Her foul mouth and superhuman strength covers a tenderness he’s determined to reach. 

      While government agents pursue Akasha and vindictive vampires seek to destroy Silas, they discover the strength in their love. 

      Can they survive the double threat? 


      Now I'm back to formatting hell.

      Stay tuned because lots of news is on the way!