TNEE recap Part 1: The Road Trip

I'd say the popular yearbook quote from the 70's is fitting for this: WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN.

I went to The Novel Experience Book Convention last week. I planned on bringing my boyfriend to act as my assistant since he used to Live in Vegas and could act as my sherpa through that crazy city. He also has much experience with trade shows and similar events and boy did that pay off.

The adventure began far before Vegas, though. Because I couldn't afford two plane tickets, we decided to drive. Alas, the car we'd planned on taking had a computer issue that would cost big bucks to fix and he can't fit in my tiny car so we resorted to taking his 1963 Ford Falcon convertible. We would stop in Reno for the night to visit his dad who scheduled an appointment to get some dearly needed front work done on the car.

I was totally imagining driving through the Nevada heat with the top down. You can laugh now.

We took the scenic tour down highway '95 and it was gorgeous. However, between high winds, rain, and treacherous steep grades and passes, it was also kinda scary.

But we saw some beautiful sights:

This is us leaving Coeur d'Alene

The landscape changes a bit in the middle part of Idaho

Then goes back to trees nearing the south.

This was in some White Water rafting town. I still don't know what that skeleton originally belonged to.

We also passed through an area near Hell's Canyon with all these houses on giant hilltops, but I didn't get a picture. :(

Night fell by the time we left the Idaho border and dipped down into Oregon. By then, freezing cold wind was blowing INSIDE the car due to a leak in the firewall. His heater didn't work very well so by the time we got to Reno we were wrapped in blankets with teeth chattering.

His dad greeted us at 3AM and ordered us to go to bed.

In the morning his dad (a kind, brilliant, and amazing guy) took us out for breakfast and then took us on a tour of his wife's antique store. My sweetie ended up buying me this amazing vintage jacket that went PERFECT with a dress I had for the VIP signing.

I was also shocked to discover that Nevada didn't look like the landscape from the Roadrunner cartoons.

Then we got the sad news that the car would take a few days to be fixed. But then his dad decided to loan us his car to take to Vegas.

That was a much smoother, warmer trip. I got to see all sorts of crazy sights, starting with giant military bunkers and fields of buried missiles. Then there was this creepy lake that looked prehistoric. And then there was the infamous Clown Motel... that overlooks a $@%@ cemetery. Can we get any creepier?

Then we passed some brothels and area 51 before it got dark just in time for me to see the lights of Vegas on the horizon. 

(To be continued) PART TWO and PART THREE

THE NOVEL EXPERIENCE BOOK-SIGNING in LAS VEGAS!!

I am so excited to announce that I'll be at The Novel Experience Convention and Book signing at the Planet Hollywood this week!

The signing is at the hotel on Saturday, April 4th from 10-5. And it is FREE and open to the public!!

I'm going to be signing copies of my newest release, BITE AT FIRST SIGHT! It technically releases on the 7th, but I was able to have it available early for the signing. YAY!

I will also have copies of BITE ME, YOUR GRACE and ONE BITE PER NIGHT. I will also have copies of both of my "Brides of Prophecy" books, WRENCHING FATE and IRONIC SACRIFICE. If you're in the area, you'll definitely want to pick them up because not only are they hard to get in print, they'll also be discounted from 12 bucks to 10 bucks.

I bought some nifty swag as well!!

TEA, Lighters, bookmarks, and other fun stuff. :D

AND I'll be raffling off a gift basket full of books, a tee shirt featuring a hot Scotsman, and homemade huckleberry jam!

This is my first big book-signing I've participated in and I'm so excited and nervous! So if you're in the area be sure to come see me and the other fantastic signing authors!

EXPLOSION OF AWESOME NEWS!!!

First off, for the first time in history, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE, book ONE of my "SCANDALS WITH BITE" series is FREE until April!

Here are all the links:

Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Kobo
Google Play
ibookstore

And ONE BITE PER NIGHT is discounted for the first time at $1.99!!!

When Vincent Tremayne, Earl of Deveril and Lord Vampire of Cornwall becomes guardian to Lydia Price, he vows to get her off his hands as soon as possible. But once Lydia sets eyes on the enigmatic earl, she is determined to win his heart…for eternity.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

Kobo

Second off: Book 3, BITE AT FIRST SIGHT is going to be available a little early in a few stores, as well as the big book-signing at the Novel Experience Booksigning in LAS VEGAS! The signing is on Saturday, April 4th from 10 AM to 5PM at THE PLANET HOLLYWOOD and ADMISSION IS FREE!

And I just got my author copies in!!

I will have all three books in the SCANDALS WITH BITE series for sale at the signing in addition to the 1st two BRIDES OF PROPHECY novels. I will also have some bitchin' swag. I will post more on that in a few days.

If you can't make it to Vegas, here's the blurb and pre-orde links! 

 Rafael Villar, interim Lord Vampire of London arrests aspiring physician, Cassandra Burton, in the cemetery, mistaking her for a vampire hunter. Cassandra longs to study the vampire and heal his arm. They form a bargain: One kiss for each treatment. As Rafe is healed, Cassandra’s scientific mind is in danger of being overruled by her heart.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

Kobo 

And now for the BIG NEWS!! 

I just signed on with Nephele Tempest with THE KNIGHT AGENCY!!!

She attended THE POWER OF THE PEN conference in Spokane that was held by INLAND EMPIRE CHAPTER of ROMANCE WRITERS of AMERICA!

She was one of my dream agents. I've been querying her for years. And she wants to represent me and my heavy metal romance!!!

Oh, and there's another HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT! ... which I will announce soon. 

OMG, BITE AT FIRST SIGHT is almost here!!!

Holy WOW! Book 3 in my Regency Paranormal romance series, "Scandals With Bite" is almost here! It releases on April 7th! ....But if you're going to be in Las Vegas for The Novel Experience Convention and Booksigning on April 4th, you'll be able to pick up a copy early!

If you live near the Spokane/ Coeur d'Alene Area, I'll be signing copies at the Coeur d'Alene Hastings!

And for all my online readers far away, be sure to friend me on Facebook because I'm going to be throwing a virtual party on the big day with a bunch of incredible guest authors and giveaways aplenty.

There will be more details on that soon as well as the itinerary for my virtual tour.

::Cue infomercial voice::

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

My publisher is currently giving away 5 copies on GOODREADS! 

And to add to the excitement, they also made book 2, BITE ME, YOUR GRACE  free everywhere that ebooks are sold:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Kobo
Google Play
ibookstore

They ALSO made Book 2, ONE BITE PER NIGHT only $1.99. 

When Vincent Tremayne, Earl of Deveril and Lord Vampire of Cornwall becomes guardian to Lydia Price, he vows to get her off his hands as soon as possible. But once Lydia sets eyes on the enigmatic earl, she is determined to win his heart…for eternity.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

Kobo

I don't know how long those sales will last, so GET THEM NOW!

And, of course be sure to Pre-order BITE AT FIRST SIGHT!

 Rafael Villar, interim Lord Vampire of London arrests aspiring physician, Cassandra Burton, in the cemetery, mistaking her for a vampire hunter. Cassandra longs to study the vampire and heal his arm. They form a bargain: One kiss for each treatment. As Rafe is healed, Cassandra’s scientific mind is in danger of being overruled by her heart.

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

Kobo 

Events and Goals for 2015

Goal: Get more teeth fixed

My teeth are a mess. I'm hoping to be able to get at least 3 done this year. Getting the 1st one done next week.

Axes of Evil II: Rise of The Metal Gods release!

One of my short stories will be featured in a heavy metal horror anthology! I think it comes out later this month or next month.

Later in the year I'll be able to release it as a freebie, so stay tuned!

Goal: Finish Editing Website

My freelance editing business has started to pick up so I really need to get the website finished so more clients can find me.

Bite at First Sight Releases April 7th!

The third book in my Scandals With Bite series and one we've all been looking forward to because it's Rafael Villar's story! I gotta say, that grumpy Spanish vampire was fun to work with, and Cassandra, the heroine was a blast as well!



It's up for Pre-Order!

Goal: Finish Brides of Prophecy Book 3

After 2014 being almost all edits, I want to focus more on writing this year. My goal is to finish at least 2 full manuscripts, but I'm going to push for 3.

First priority is book 3 in my Brides of Prophecy series... which I also need to come up with a title for. I'll be asking you all for help with that soon!

Event: Power of The Pen Conference

I am pleased to announce that my local RWA chapter will be holding a conference on March 7th at The Red Lion Hotel in Spokane, local writers won't want to miss it!

Registration info is Here!


Event: The Novel Experience

I am excited to announce that I'll be attending  The Novel Experience Convention and book signing in Las Vegas in April!

Aside from writing, READERS will be another major priority this year. This convention will be the perfect opportunity for me to meet and interact with some of you!

There will be parties and dinners and a lot of opportunities to just hang out. I'm planning on bringing some fun swag and hope to take a reader out to lunch.

And a big piece of awesome news for the signing, BITE AT FIRST SIGHT will be available EARLY!!

Registration and Hotel info Here.

Aaaand... the first attendee who emails me after booking their room at The Planet Hollywood  will get a FREE VIP TICKET from me. The link to reserve the hotel room under the convention discount is here.

2014 Recap

2014 was an exciting year for me. I figured I'd share some of the highlights

First off, I dipped my toes into the Indie pool and launched the first book in my Urban Fantasy Romance series, BRIDES OF PROPHECY.

These characters have been in my head for FOREVER, but since the traditional publishing houses are reluctant to take on paranormal, especially vampires, I couldn't find a home for these stories there. But since that world is so important to me, I decided to release the series myself.

I present, WRENCHING FATE! 

After that, I also got two new front teeth... okay, two crowns and a filling. After nearly dying from an abcessed tooth in 2013...seriously, I almost DIED. I decided that taking care of my crappy, poor white trash teeth was a priority. I still have a long way to go.  

Umm...I'm not posting pics of that.

In May I got to attend the RT BOOKLOVERS CONVENTION in the city I've always wanted to visit, NEW ORLEANS!!

Me and author Sarah Humphreys at a Mardi Gras party they threw for the attendees. How cool is that?

It was such an incredible and busy experience that it took 4 blog posts to recap it. Here's part one if you want to read about the awesomesauce.

Unfortunately, just a few days after I got back, a good friend of mine passed away. RIP, Bill Kieffer. You will always be dearly missed. :(

I'll never forget all the times we had fun talking about music, movies, and other quirky things. I'll never forget the time we got drunk on the front porch talking about every topic in the book until the sun came up. I'll never forget that you chose to aid me in a crisis, despite disapproval from some people you'd known longer.

Okay, after the sad stuff...

Over the summer, I was invited by editor, Alex Johnson to submit a short story to a heavy metal horror anthology. 

I ACTUALLY had one gathering dust in my hard drive because I never found a home for such an oddity even though it won 1st place in the 2012 Idaho Writer's League Short Story Competition. 

AND IT WAS ACCEPTED!

I'm pleased to announce that I will be featured in AXES OF EVIL II: RISE OF THE METAL GODS, which will be released soon!

Check out this badass Iron Maiden inspired cover!

And if you're a metalhead, you'll know which album inspired this!

I finally had the opportunity to return to another beloved project. The restoration of my 1980 Datsun 210. 

Her name is Little Beast. I'd rebuilt the engine, but her body's been a bashed-up mess. But I finally found new body parts for her so hopefully she'll be on the road and pretty by next year.

Right now her front end is all torn up, but do you see her shiny engine compartment?

I got some requests for the Heavy Metal Romance I wrote back in 2012.

It's called HIS ROADIE for now...and good lord, we need to find a better title. But right now I have 2 publishers looking at it and the first sent me a Revise and Resubmit request and now I'm waiting to hear back. Even if they don't accept it, I got some excellent feedback that helped to make it a better book.

I fell in Love.

It's really hard to nail down the exact time that happened, especially since we were friends for so long, but damn he's wonderful. I call him "Sexy Genius." Our first official "date" ended up with us working on a car together... which is totally my style. And I've never been treated so well.

Huckleberries.

An annual North Idaho tradition. In 2013, I had to sell all of mine. This year I got to keep some to eat! Seriously, if you're ever in the Northwest, you have to try these berries! 

Release of ONE BITE PER NIGHT!!

This was another important book for me.

When I got the offer for Bite Me, Your Grace, I had NO ideas for future books in the series. But it was a 3 book deal so I had to come up with something.

I wanted to put a different spin on the guardian/ward trope, and play with another fun setting in England: Cornwall, namely a castle! Ideas for a heroine came into play, but I was at a loss for a hero. I didn't want to the typical "tall dark and handsome alpha vampire" that I did with the last book. I wanted something different.

So, I had an acquaintance that had really cool hair, striking looks, and was as kind as he was mysterious. I inspired the hero after him.

We ended up getting to know each other and he actually came to my signing!

I now call him "Sexy Genius"

ONE BITE PER NIGHT ended up being well received with reviewers. I was almost too scared to click on the link to Publisher's Weekly's review because they can be mean sometimes. (They were pretty nice to me with BITE ME, YOUR GRACE, though they threw in a bit of snark).

Publisher's Weekly LOVED IT!!!

But there was no rest for the wicked. 

Since I'd decided to go hybrid, I also had my Indie series to deliver.

In October, I released Book 2 in my "Brides of Prophecy" series: Ironic Sacrifice

Before I was published, this book was a favorite of my beta readers. Razvan is definitely the most alpha hero I've ever written and people LOVE him!

He also has a twin brother, but you won't get to know him until book 4.

Thrills and Chills Book Signing

That month I also had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a multi-author Halloween themed book signing with Shelley Martin, Bonnie R. Paulson, Frank Zafiro, and Kaye Thornbrugh.

It was a blast!

Edits, edits, edits

Honestly, I would dub 2014 as "The Year of Edits" for me. I did not write a complete brand new manuscript the entire year. Instead I hacked away at stuff I wrote in 2012 and 2013 and added thousands of better words. 

Not only that, but I also launched my freelance editing business and despite not having gotten around to putting up an official website, word of mouth grew, and I made almost as much money off of editing as I did on book sales. And as a bonus I got to help some awesome authors make their books shine!

Art projects

I was an artist before I was anything else, and it was a joy to finish off the year with my first love.

Here are the pieces I did:

Freddy Krueger: Pumpkin Carving

Pinhead from Hellraiser: Scratchboard

Trippy Zebras: Scratchboard

My aunt's dog: Pencil.

All in all, I had a pretty good year, but I have more goals for the next. Stay tuned! 

New Release: Kissing the Devil by Shannon Eckrich

There are three rules in the small town of Leeds Point, New Jersey:

Never stay out after dark.

Never go into the Pineys.

And, more than anything, never speak of the Jersey Devil.

Serenity Cantwell knows all too well the Jersey devil exists. The recurring nightmares of his glowing green eyes make their way into her dreams, causing her to relive her encounter with the beast every single night. But as people she knows start to disappear, and end up dead, in the middle of the Pine Barrens, she pushes away her fear of the forest in search of answers.

What she finds will change her life forever. Secrets will be revealed, a curse will be set in motion, and friendships will be tested. But most of all, love could prove to be deadly.

Purchase Link: http://smarturl.it/kissingthedevil

Author Bio:

Shannon Eckrich is a YA paranormal author with Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing. Her novel, Haunting Lia became an Amazon International Bestseller shortly after its release in October 2013. The first installment of her Elemental Short Series, Goddess of Fire: Burn, quickly followed suite when it was released in June 2014.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorshannoneckrich

Website: https://www.shannoneckrich.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShannonEckrich

TSU: https://www.tsu.co/authorshannoneckrich

Check out these other books by Author Shannon Eckrich:

Haunting Lia : http://smarturl.it/hauntinglia

Goddess of Fire: Burn: http://smarturl.it/goddessoffireburn

Goddess of Fire: Smolder: http://smarturl.it/goddessoffiresmolder

Goddess of Fire: Ignite: http://smarturl.it/goddessoffireignite

Goddess of Fire: Inferno: http://smarturl.it/goddessoffireinferno

Goddess of Fire: Fire and Ice: http://smarturl.it/goddessoffirefireice