EGMONT AUTHORS BLOG HOP: THE ETERNITY KEY BY BREE DESPAIN

Hello All!!!
Below we have a fun interview with the author of The Eternity Key, Bree Despain. The Eternity Key is scheduled to be released on May 12, 2015!

Book 2: The Eternity Key

Fan-favorite author Bree Despain continues her modern-day romance trilogy inspired by the Greek myth of Persephone and Hades with this second book in her Into the Dark series. 

Haden Lord, the disgraced Prince of the Underrealm, has chosen love over honor and will do everything in his power to protect Daphne Raines, the human girl he was supposed to bring to the Underrealm. Haden’s choice is put to the test as the Skylords and a figure from his past arrive in Olympus Hills with a plan that could destroy all of the realms.

Embracing her destiny as the Cypher, Daphne begins to understand the immense power of her musical ability to control the elements, but she must come to terms with her feelings for Haden and what she must sacrifice in order to protect him and her friends.

Believing the Key of Hades is the only thing that can stop the Underrealm Court from releasing the monstrous Keres on the mortal world, Haden, Daphne, and their friends set out to find the Key before Persephone’s Gate opens again on the spring equinox.

Nice!!! Author deets and a fun interview are below:

Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the upcoming Into The Dark trilogy.  Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.​​

1) What inspired your story, and how did you go about fleshing it out?

The inspiration for the story came from the Deathcab for Cutie song "I will follow you into the dark" combined for my intense love for Greek mythology. I started thinking about what it would like to be someone who had to convince someone else to follow him into the dark (or the unknown). I liked the idea of basing a character on Hades from Greek mythology who had the difficult task of convincing a mortal girl to return with him to the Underworld. From when I first got the idea to when I finished writing it, I spent about seven years developing the story.

2) I know every writer has a process. What is yours and are there any fun and quirky aspects to yours?

I am naturally a very slow writer (about 500 words a day) but since I usually have really tight deadlines, I've had to train myself to write much faster. I am big fan of speed writing now. What I do is set a timer for an hour and then try to write 1000 words before it goes off. It really helps me turn off my internal editor and push through difficult scenes. Sometimes I do two or three of these speed sessions a day, which means I can average 2000 to 3000 words--and I usually end up happier with what I've written quickly than I am with the sections I agonize over while writing slowly.

3) What is your favorite part about being a writer?

Two things: I love that get to make stuff up for MY JOB, and I love all the wonderful people I get to meet because of that job.

4) What do you do for fun when you're not writing?

I live next to a lake so I enjoy paddle boarding and kayaking, or going for long walks or leisurely bike rides. I also love watching TV shows and movies--and I love that I can count watching TV as "working" because it's research.
  

5) What inspires you daily?

Again, I love TV and movies. I love reading. I love learning new things. I love music. I love consuming stories in as many forms as possible. The more I surround myself with stories made by other people, the more I want to create my own.

Sounds like a fun read from an amazing author!

Happy reading and writing!

BOOK BLITZ: EYES UNVEILED BY CRYSTAL WALTON

Hey All!!!

Coming to the stage today we have a sweet and contemporary new adult romance! All deets are below:

Eyes Unveiled (Unveiled Series, Book 1)

by Crystal Walton 

Release Date: 02/01/15

259 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Twenty-one-year-old Emma Matthews lost the song in her heart the same night she lost her dad. With an unfulfilled promise and an ultimatum shadowing her junior year of college, maybe it’s better that way. You can’t hurt if you can’t feel.

But when the reflection she sees in musician Riley Preston’s eyes borders dangerously close to the one she’s spent the last five years searching for, Emma discovers her walls can’t guard her heart from its fiercest desire. Terrified of what she’s experiencing, and even more afraid of what she might lose, Emma grapples for the courage to hold on to one dream without abandoning the promise of another.

Contemporary New Adult Romance novel Eyes Unveiled lets you relive those heartfelt moments when you don’t know how you’d survive a day without your best friend, when you’re trying to figure out who you are and what you’re supposed to do with your life, and when falling in love changes everything.

Music. Friendship. Self-discovery. Hope. Purpose. Identity. Within this inspirational love story, you'll find you have a song of your own to share.

Buy Links:
Amazon

Now say it with me...awwweeeee!!! I love how beautiful and blissful this story sounds, even in the blurb. We have more on the author below:

About the Author

Amidst multiple moves up and down the east coast, Crystal received her bachelor of arts from Messiah College in PA, married her exact opposite in upstate NY, and earned her master of arts from Regent University in VA, where she currently resides with her husband. Crystal writes contemporary new adult fiction fueled by venti green teas from Starbucks. 

When not working her accounting day job, she's delving into the wonder of words, supporting her Starbucks habit, or laughing over movie quotes & singing eighties songs with her husband.

Author Links:

   

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

BOOK BLITZ: MY SOON TO BE SEX LIFE BY JUDITH TEWES

Hey All!!!

Today we have an awesome looking reading nugget from Bloomsbury Spark titled My Soon-To-Be Sex Life by Judith Tewes! Even the title sounds super fun! You'll find more deets below:

My Soon-To-Be Sex Life

by Judith Tewes 

Release Date: 06/24/14

Bloomsbury Spark

Summary from Goodreads:
Charlie is down to her absolute. Total. Last. Resort.

Despite a thoroughly comprehensive list of potential cherry poppers, er…suitors, and careful plotting, Charlie is three weeks into her devirginization campaign, still untouched, and getting desperate. In the movie of her life, this aspiring screenwriter is giving herself a PG, for please, get some.

Her project goes into freeze frame when her mom checks herself into rehab and packs Charlie off to live with her estranged, or just plain strange, grandfather, Monty. How is she supposed to get a date when she has to go pick up his Depends?

Enter Eric, a hot rehab grad on the road to redemption, and the only one who can make Charlie rethink her strategy. The more she gets to know him, the more convinced she becomes that is the one, and not just another to add to the list of people who will abandon her.

In this hilarious and heartbreaking story of one girl’s detoured road to womanhood, Charlie’s list develops a life of its own – right when she realizes there’s so much more to lose.

Buy Links:

Amazon│B&N│Kobo

Nice! This seems like such a fun read! Now, my own devirginization experience was nowhere near this fun (that's putting it lightly people), but I wish it could have been. I can completely see how at that age one could put so much pressure on this pivotal experience. Such a cool idea! Author intel is below:

About the Author

Judith Tewes - author and screenwriter - resides in small town northern Alberta, where she: writes, sings, plays bass guitar in an all-woman band, walks her three crazy labs, and suspects she's living the life of a superhero's alias. Her edgy, contemporary young adult fiction is full of heart with a side of snark. 

She also writes paranormal YA under the pen name, Judith Graves.

Author Links:

   

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

SEE MY INTERVIEW ON DIVERSIFY YA!!!

Hey All!!!
So, I'm being featured in an interview with DiversifYA! I'm so excited to share my experiences with this great group who's sole purpose is to create a more diverse and open market within the YA industry.

You can see my interview with them here.

Happy reading and writing!

WHAT WEDDING PLANNING TAUGHT ME ABOUT WRITING!

Hey All!!!
As many of you know, I'm in the mist of the storm of wedding planning...and it has been a major source of both joy and frustration in my life to say the least. Between having to research 10 vendors for every thing that we need, and having to make tons of decisions about décor and themes and such, I'm exhausted. Not to mention the ever present political things that come up during this process...things like being asked, "Can you invite so-and-so that you've never met a day in your life because they're my friend?" by loved ones when they know darn well that you're trying to keep to a budget. But now that I'm coming to the end of the "major items I have to get off my list", I am able to stand still and look at what this process has taught me...many of these lessons are great when placed towards my writing.

1) Make a List and Check it Twice! - When I first started wedding planning, I went with where my interests lay. If I wanted to look at DJ's, then I looked at DJ's. If I wanted to search dresses, then I did that. That led to lots of fun searching, but no real progress. So, the fiancé sat me down and talked to me about making sure I had a list of to do's and keeping to it. After that I started really using the lists given on The Knot and Wedding Wire and have been really organized ever since.

The same determination and strategy-based focus is a must when it comes to writing...especially for the tasks that you don't particularly care for. In my case, I'm not good at social media and being overly aggressive online. I'm more of a homebody who likes to watch movies and do some heavy reading, and that doesn't bode well for the promotions side of this business that I need to do. So, I'm looking to put myself on a major schedule so I can do what I need to, which is to promote my work!

2) Don't Sweat the Small Stuff! - There are few processes as stressful as planning a wedding. You make decisions daily that will either make someone unhappy (such as not giving every single person there a plus one) or you're worried about the linens not being right, or there not being enough food, or of something going wrong! But the thing is, something will inevitably go wrong. Yes, I've been thinking about this one day for as long as I can remember, but the most important part of it is that I'm finally marrying the man of my dreams. If someone wants to talk badly about the fact that they didn't like our décor then they can kiss my behind (and I really do mean that). I don't want to spend my time worrying about anything that doesn't involve the relationship and foundation of the marriage I'm going in to.

When you're putting your book (or baby, as I like to call it) into the world, it's very easy to get caught up in the negative talk in your head. Things like, "What if no one reads it?" or, "What if everyone hates it?" can easily get you off the track of putting your work out there. When it comes down to it, we write to put our stories out into the world. So, don't worry about folks not liking it and not understanding your genius. The only person who has to fully understand you is you!

Well, you and maybe your significant other =).

Happy reading and writing!

EVERNIGHT TEEN EARTH DAY 50% OFF SALE!!!

Hey All!!!
My publisher, Evernight Teen, is having a 50% off sale today for Earth Day!

The theme is, "Save a tree. Read an eBook!"

Feel free to go to the Evernight Teen website to get some great deals on some great reads.

You can also get great deals on Evernight Teen books at AllRomance ebooks.

Happy reading and writing!

WINNER ANNOUNCED TOMORROW

Hey All!!!
So, I'll be posting the winner of the Evernight Teen 1st Birthday Blog Hop tomorrow! I'll also email the winner.

Tune in to find out if you've won!

Happy reading and writing.

EVERNIGHT TEEN 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY BLOG BLAST AND CONTEST!!!

Hey All!!!
So my publisher, Evernight Teen, is turning the big 1 today, and is having a great contest to celebrate!!! You can enter to win on the Evernight Teen Blog here.

The grand prize is a $100 gift card from iTunes, which is always a good find.

I'll also be giving a $10 Amazon gift card to a winner on my blog! Just leave the answer to the below question in the comments section of this post.

1) What does Jazz ask Khan to do if she ends up turning Suecai?

You'll find the answer below, so make sure to keep reading!

Just a little info on the fabulous book I published with Evernight Teen. Cursed is about one young girl’s journey to fight the darkness within herself. The main conflict is Jazz’s fight to maintain a sense of humanity in spite of the growing hunger that starts to take over her. This journey also forces her to open her eyes to new possibilities – to the love she’s always had for her closest friend, Khan.

You'll find a blurb from my book that's hot, hot, hot below:

When he walked out the bathroom, the nerves I’d thought I’d turned to steel started to quiver. What if he refused me? Khan was just as stubborn as I was. How could I possibly ask this of him? How could I get him to understand?

I took a deep breath and looked at him. “Khan, we need to talk.”

“Uh oh, that’s never what a guy wants to hear from his girl.”

My stomach fluttered, but I refused to give into the distraction. “I have a plan…in case we don’t find and kill the Gunshi. But I need your help to pull it off.”

He didn’t look taken aback, just more determined than anything. “Jazz, it’s too soon for you to give up now. We’ve got some really good leads, we can do this!”

I shook my head. “I’m not giving up, Khan. I never give up…you know that.” I smiled at him and was rewarded with one in return. “But…being a leader means having to think outside of myself…you and my dad taught me that. We have to prepare for all possibilities – even this.”

His dark eyes flashed and, for a second, I thought I was in for a long and hard fight. Then understanding washed over his features and he nodded. “As long as you promise this doesn’t mean you’ve given up.”

“Not even close – and giving in doesn’t even sound like me.”

He snorted. “That’s for sure.”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I think we can do this, but if not…I have a forgetting tonic to erase my memories. That way, in the very least, the vermin can’t use my knowledge against everyone I love.”

Khan jerked. “Where in the hell did you…?” Then he groaned. “Claudine.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “She always has been good at knowing what I need.”

His face was hard. “Okay, so I’ll make sure to wipe away your memories. I’ll erase everything that makes you, you – everything I’ve grown to know and care about. We done?”

I paused. “Not quite.”

He flinched. “I figured something more was coming when you said, ‘In the least’.”

I almost didn’t have the guts to continue. “Think about it, Khan. You can’t just leave me there, a newbie Suecai with the urge to feed. What if I came across my mom one day? Or your dad?

“You might not be able to do it immediately – there’s no telling how strong I’ll be at first or how protected – but eventually you’ll have to take me out! I shuddered at the thought. “What else can we do?”

The rage flew through his features even more quickly than when I’d told him I couldn’t be his Valentine in the sixth grade.

“Anything, Jazz,” Khan whispered. “We fight. We search. We keep pounding the pavement until we find that bastard. We do anything and everything.”

Words escaped me. A boulder set squarely on my chest and wouldn’t budge. I should’ve known this wouldn’t be easy – hadn’t I spent my entire life traipsing around Chicago with Khan? I shouldn’t have expected anything else.

Khan seemed to take my silence as an opportunity to change my mind. “You could learn control, Jazz, become a full-fledged Dorgai.” There it was, that secret hope I held deep in my heart that I was too scary to speak out loud.

“Khan, that’s impossible. There’s no way I can learn control if I’m forced into feeding too fast. The only way we halfers manage it is by taking an entire year to ease into the process. All of Dad’s advisors are agreed that I’ll become an uncontrollable Suecai.”

“I can’t believe that, Jazz. It can’t happen. Not to you.”

I couldn’t focus. My need to be rational kept battling the little girl within me reaching for a solution, any solution.

I didn’t notice Khan moving until it was too late.

Before I could say something to break the bubble, Khan stood over me, his face inches from mine. His eyes were warm and I could feel the heat of his breath, minty from his recent trip to the bathroom. My heart stopped. And then he was kissing me, slow and deep at first, and then with a heat and passion I’d only guessed he possessed.

 

 

You can buy my book on Amazon and Evernight Teen. And don't forget to like it on Goodreads!!!

Happy reading and writing!!!

BUY CURSED NOW!!!

Hey All!!!
Cursed is available in ebook and paperback forms!

You can find it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Cursed-Guardian-Chronicles-Trakena-Prevost-ebook/dp/B00H9MWJ9C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387158523&sr=8-1&keywords=trakena+prevost

You can also find it on Createspace:

https://www.createspace.com/4570656

Don't forget to put reviews up on Amazon and Goodreads!!!

Happy reading and writing!

CURSED BOOK COVER!!!

Hey All!!!
Here it is. My cover for Cursed, a YA Urban Fantasy to be published with Evernight Teen!

Isn't she gorgeous!!!

More details soon to come.

Happy reading and writing!

EVERNIGHT TEEN, TEEN READ WEEK SCAVENGER HUNT!!!

Hey All!!!
My publisher, Evernight Teen, is holding a Teen Read Week Scavenger Hunt on their website. You can find a link to the hunt here.

Myself and all of my fellow Evernight Teen authors are playing a game of hide and seek with our blogs in the form of a scavenger hunt. And we're giving away a brand-spanking-new Kindle Paperwhite eReader! The winner will be randomly chosen from all the correct entries.

Teen Read Week is a national adolescent literacy initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association. It began in 1998 and its purpose is to promote and encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.

 

Happy Reading and Writing!

I'M GOING TO BE A PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

Hey All!!!
So, you may have noticed the wonderfully fancy button that I've recently added to my blog. And I can confirm that I will be officially published with Evernight Teen! I'm not sure as to the date yet, but I'm excited for you all to be able to read Cursed in the very near future.

I'll be putting together a post with all the details in the next few days.

Until then...happy reading and writing!

MY WRITING BRAND - AN AUTHOR OF COLOR WHO WRITES DIVERSE PARANORMAL FICTION

Hey All!!!
Recently I've been delving into learning the marketing and branding side of the business of writing. Turns out that you have to do more than just write an amazing tale with relatable characters to make it in this business...much more. In addition to writing and editing, you have to have your brand fully developed, a platform established, and a hefty presence on social media and the like. It's serious business to say the least.

Instead of getting properly overwhelmed, which is my normal M.O., I decided to take this whole marketing and branding piece of writing one sliver of work at a time and dissect it like we used to do in A&P in high school. First up, my author branding!

An author's brand is his or her core philosophy when it comes to writing. What is the message that you'd like to share with the world? And why? What drives your passion for putting in the blood, sweat, tears, and pulled out hair that this process takes? There are a lot of resources out there that can help you to develop a brand. The website I looked into can be found here. You just have to apply the plethora of information out there to you.

As far as my brand, here goes nothing:

I am a writer of color who writes diverse paranormal fiction. What makes my writing different from the slew of books already out there is the fact that mine features a diverse cast of characters. We live in a world where you find a proverbial rainbow of folks in every high school, college, and office - and I'm not just talking race here. We have different cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations, different socioeconomic groups. So why do we not see this same type of diversity in the books on our shelves? Especially the books out there for young folks.

There are so many different kinds of people out there who love paranormal fiction. I want to give all lovers of paranormal fiction a voice, as well as to build worlds in my books that reflect the world around us, in all its glorious diversity!

So that's my brand. Maybe I'll post a chapter or two of my writing here...hopefully you all like it.

Happy reading and writing!!!

MARKETING AND WRITING

Hey All!!!
So, I've found myself at the crossroads that many authors face to when it comes to perfecting their craft: The art of writing vs. the art of marketing.

Many writers find the art of writing an easy skill to focus on. It's something we want to do, need to do. No one has to tell me the importance of determining my writing style, or of making sure I continue to stay in the habit of writing daily. And no one has to point out how much better my writing becomes when I steer clear of being wordy and focus on the properly plot points.

But when it comes to the art of marketing I tend to immediately feel overwhelmed and squeamish. What is the line between promoting a book and being a good ol' fashioned bug-a-boo? Let's be frank, no one strives to be that guy or gal who is on your Twitter feed every hour, on the hour, asking you to buy his or her wonderful book. Like I tell my new hires in orientation, you don't want to be the person who starts a job, guns blazing, talking about what needs to be done to fix a company (unless you were specifically hired to do that). So, how does one navigate the map of marketing without crossing this crazy line?

That's what I'm researching now, and I hope to find a resolution soon.

Happy reading and writing!

THE LIFE OF THE PARTY, I AM NOT: MY STRUGGLE TO NOT SUCK AT SOCIAL MEDIA

Hey All!!!

So, today I got slapped. And I don't mean the light tapping that you give your rambunctious two year old...no, I got the real deal, knock the taste out of your mouth, good ol' slapping.

See, I participated in The Houston Writers Guild Conference today - side note, if you're serious about writing and live in the Houston area this conference is a really good resource - and they spoke a lot on the importance of social media and reaching out to your audience. The speakers talked about how you should build a platform and a brand and how talking to you all on a regular basis was something I must do...and all I could do at hearing that was to hang my head in shame.

I've never been good with the whole "social thing" as I liked to call it in high school. Sure, I was a cheerleader and all, but I got that mostly based off the fact that I had seriously sharp motions, killer jumps, and halfway decent tumbling skills. If it had been the popularity contest it was in my mother's day I would've been toast - no matter how sharp my motions or how superb my jumps were. The life of the party, I am not.

I started getting down on myself in the conference main hall, thinking on how I have this blog that I'm not good at updating and how I need to do better, to be better, and I had one of my awesome ah ha moments.

What I need to do is to put blogging into my routine. I need to have some time framed out at least three times a week to really focusing on you all, and on imparting some sort of information into the void. So that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Come Hell or high water.

We'll see how this goes...and wish me luck!