Deadly Kisses Book Trailer Reveal

I have the honor of knowing Butch DeLuca, a local New Hampshire artist, who took on the project of making a book trailer for my book, Deadly Kisses. I trusted him completely with my baby (I mean book) and gave him free reign. (No pressure there, eh Butch?) I was blown away how he "got" my book and the world that I created. He brought Aiden and Bee to life in a way that I had always imagined. I hope you love the video as much as I do.

If you adore Butch's work give him an email at butchdeluca1(at)netzero(dot)com and Soundcloud

Blogger Book Fair Welcomes Juli Caldwell

Welcome to the Blogger Book Fair. What is the Book Fair? Only 5 days of awesome! Find new books and buy them for a discount or get them free from July 22-26th. Click here to see the full list of participants, and be prepared to get enough books to last you the whole summer.

Please welcome my guest Juli Caldwell. Thanks so much for stopping by today, Juli!

 

Cover Art by Morteque

http://morteque.deviantart.com/

https://www.facebook.com/MyBeautifulDarkness

You can find it on Amazon, Smashwords, and in paperback at CreateSpace! 

So far, great reviews for Psyched!

"This is one of those books you just can't put down. What I love about Psyched in addition to a great, spooky story is strong characters and narrative voice. Aisi is the most awesome chick, strong-willed, sassy, and deals with some crazy stuff happening with a spunkiness that I loved... Psyched is well-written, riveting, surprising and genre-busting. Teens will love this book, but it definitely has a more wide-ranging appeal."

and...

"Aisi Turay is one awesome girl. She has power to see the dead...as in their souls...This is a great read, filled with suspense. I NEVER knew from one chapter to the next what was happening. It is well written and a very enjoyable...and a bit scary!"

Psyched is part ghost story, part suspense, part demon-hunting thriller, part budding romance.It's the story of a girl named Aisi who's doing her best to keep it together for her wreck of a family. She is smart, sassy, and sarcastic enough to keep things interesting. When she meets Vance on the single worst day of her life, she finds a guy who just might be the first person ever to get her, to believe in her, and to out-random her with bizarre observations at the worst possible moment. There's just something about him that she knows she can trust.

Together, Aisi and Vance wander through the memories of others to unlock the secrets of her past while battling a demon who wants to ensure she never finds what she's looking for. Aisi vanquishes demons all the time, but Malus Indolus is too strong. And he has plans for her...and her family.

Psyched is Juli's second novel, the first as an indie writer, and her first experiment with her true love as a reader: paranormal fiction. Her debut novel Beyond Perfection is also available.

You can find Juli on Twitter, Facebook,  and her blog.

Sounds awesome, right?  Juli was kind enough to share an excerpt with us. Enjoy!

“What was that thing, and how did you get it to go away?” he persisted.

Aisi took a deep breath. She glanced over her shoulder to ensure their mother was still asleep, although she didn’t need to. The woman was still snorting and moaning down the hall. “Before I can answer your question, I need you to pinky swear that you’ll never tell anyone what I say. If you breathe one word of this, I’ll paint your toenails hot pink in your sleep and give you an atomic wedgie every day for the next eighty-five years. And I’ll tell all your friends you play with dolls. Got it?”

Leo’s eyes widened, but he nodded and extended his scrawny pinky toward her. She grabbed it decisively with her own. “Okay. The pinky swear is official. This stuff is legit. You break this and I can sue.” She thought a minute, trying to decide where to start. “Is that the first time you saw that dark shadow, Leo? Or have you seen it before?”

“That’s the night terror,” he said simply, and Aisi closed her eyes with a shake of her head. Her mom had told them for months that night terrors were nothing more than bad dreams. He would grow out of them eventually, she promised. That promise to her kid was just as worthless as everything else she said.

Leo continued, swallowing hard and looking as terrified as he had the night before. He whispered to her, as if speaking about the night terror aloud would call it back to him. “It comes sometimes, and I scream because it won’t stop growling at me and then it goes away when Mom comes in. Sometimes I see other stuff, too. Kind of like people but…” He struggled to find the right words in his limited kindergarten vocabulary. “But kind of foggy, too. They can talk to me. They’re mostly nice, but the night terror growls at me. He laughs when I cry.” Tears filled his big brown eyes, but he rubbed them angrily on his sleeve. “Can you teach me how to make it go away?”

Aisi reached over and affectionately rubbed the tight curls on his mostly buzzed head. “Yeah. I can. First you need to know what they are. The foggy people…those are ghosts. They’re okay, mostly just annoying. They’re sort of lost, but you can help them not be lost anymore.”

She pursed her lips, remembering the whiner in bobby socks who wouldn’t let her sleep last night. A faint horn sounded in the distance as she thought, but she ignored it as she looked out the window and down the long gravel driveway that led from their dilapidated house to the two-lane highway leading to town. “You just have to tell them to look for a light. I never see it, but they always do. Then they go away.” ‘Go toward the light’ was cliché, but effective.

“I want to make the night terror go away,” Leo said.

She sighed. “That one is a little trickier. It takes work. That thing you call a night terror? That’s a demon. They’re pretty hard to get rid of. Once they decide they want to scare you, they keep scaring you. Fear is like…” Her eyes rested on the box of cereal between them. “…Fear is like chocolate frosted sugar bombs to a demon. They like the taste of it, you know? They’d eat it all day if we let them, but we can’t ever let them know we’re scared. That’s where they get their power.”

Blog Hop Interview for KitLit/YA Authors

My writer friend, Jadie Jones has invited me to participate in a blog hop interview. After my questions I'll tag three other writers who will get to answer four questions of their choice from a list on their blog next week. It has been fun to go back, and see who answered what questions. Make sure you visit Jadie, and while you're at her blog check out her new book, Moonlit, which I can't wait to read the sequel too!

Here are my answers that I chose from the list I was given.

1. What are you working on right now? I'm still working on the Deadly Kisses series. Book two, Deadly Darkness will be published in late 2014 by WiDo Publishing, so I've been busy writing the final book to the story called Deadly Escape. It will definitely be a bittersweet moment once the series is complete.

2. Why do you write what you do? What better way to relive all your firsts by writing a YA book. That and I think teens are awesome, and an inspiration to me (Maggie S. I'm pointing to you, kid).

3. What is the hardest part about writing? Plotting.

4. How does your writing process work? Don't laugh, but I'm pretty simple. I sit my bum in the chair and just go, go, go.

Tag you're it! Look for these writers answers on their blog the week of the 29th.

Laura Howard, author of The Forgotten Ones

Nancy Cavanaugh, author of Mystic Romance and Amrita

Laura Diamond, author of Shifting Pride, New Pride, and Endure

Wendy and Charles Siefken, author of Kai's Journey

Blogger Book Fair Welcomes Misty Moncur

Welcome to the Blogger Book Fair. What is the Book Fair? Only 5 days of awesome! Find new books and buy them for a discount or get them free from July 22-26th. Click here to see the full list of participants, and be prepared to get enough books to last you the whole summer.

Please welcome my guest Misty Moncur. Thanks so much for stopping by today, Misty!

Sometimes, the fiercest battles in life are not fought on the battlefield.

Keturah was not content to stay home while her brothers marched out to battle against the Lamanites. She fought her way into the army, but now she's in Judea building embattlements and fighting boredom. The other soldiers resent her, her brothers are becoming strangers, and Zeke's jealousy is getting worse.

Working to gain the trust of the men in her unit, she completes every order with determination. A spy mission into Antiparah. A secret assassination at Cumeni. A guard detail to Zarahemla. From burying the dead to whiling away hours on guard duty, Keturah will do whatever it takes to protect her religion, her freedom, her peace, and her family. But in a camp of two thousand boys, the most important thing she has to protect is her heart.

Fight For You is the second novel in Misty Moncur's Stripling Warrior series, all of which are available FREE during the Book Blogger Fair. Check them out! And follow Misty's blog for the cover reveal of Fight For You coming up next month!

Misty Moncur wanted to be Indiana Jones when she grew up. Instead, she became an author and has her adventures at home. In her jammies. With her imagination. And pens that she keeps running dry.

Misty lives in a marsh near a very salty lake in Utah with her husband and children, where they sit around of an evening and read their Kindles. Well, she does anyway.

Connect with Misty at the links below.

Visit Misty's blog
Like The Stripling Warrior Series
Connect with Misty on Goodreads
Add Daughter of Helaman to your To Read list
Follow Misty on Twitter
Follow Misty on Wattpad
Follow Misty on Tumblr

Continue the Stripling Warrior series on Wattpad!

Blogger Book Fair Welcomes Heather Allen

Welcome to the first day of the Blogger Book Fair. What is the Book Fair? Only 5 days of awesome! Find new books and buy them for a discount or get them free from July 22-26th. Click here to see the full list of participants, and be prepared to get enough books to last you the whole summer.

ALSO Deadly Kisses is FREE today so click here after to nab it!

Please welcome my first guest Heather Allen!

The Just Breathe Trilogy tells the story of brother and sister, James and Ever Harding and their journey into an unknown world where unbelievable things are possible.

Forever Breathing (Book #3)

Ever Harding has finally found where she belongs, with Jack in the sea. Just when she thought she could start her new life, a new threat forms on the horizon. She must make her biggest choice yet. Is she willing to risk everything to save the love of her life and all she holds dear?

James discovers yet again that his purpose is greater than anything he could ever imagine. He thought he had it all figured out, but sometimes things can be very deceiving. Is he willing to stand up for all he believes is right?

In the final book of the ‘Just Breath’ trilogy, Ever and James find themselves not against each other but fighting together to preserve the freedoms of others. Will they be able to defend the right to choose when the odds are hugely against them?

    Forever Breathing Excerpt – James’ POV

I turn a corner and find myself greeted by the point of a spear. The shock that I just about swam into this spear quickly turns to anger. I’m about to hit someone or at the very least yell at whoever would allow this when my eyes roam over the small, milky, white hands holding onto the end of the spear. My eyes follow the small arms up to meet clear, scared, green eyes. She is just about the cutest girl I have ever seen. I’m taking her in as she speaks to me in a sweet voice and all I can do is grin.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

I just stare at her and my upturned mouth goes completely dry. How this is possible under water, I have no idea but I feel as if cotton is filling my cheeks.

She repeats her questions with more anger, “What are you doing in these caves? Who are you?”

I try and clear my throat to find my voice. I must look like such a prick grinning at her like this but it’s all I can do. She is so adorable and holding that spear that is almost too big for her.  I’m entranced and I can’t pull myself out.

As I speak, I push the point of the spear away from my face to avoid any mishaps.

Finally my voice cracks as I introduce myself, “Hi, my name is James.”

“Why are you here?”

I have to be careful with the answer to this one. If she is a Lior, I could be in big trouble. I look her up and down trying to decide which side she might be on. Her fin is an array of blues and greens shimmering with the movement of the water around us. She is wearing a blue bikini top but it’s partially covered by her long dark, almost black, hair. I look back up into her face and notice a straight perfect little nose and small pink lips.

I decide to chance it. She looks like she could be on either side.

“I’m looking for the Erebus that live here…”

She cuts me off breathlessly, “Why do you want to see the Erebus? Did Roman send you?”

And the spear swings back into my face, inches away from my cheek.I push it away with more resistance this time and smirk at her, “Hey, watch it with that, you could put an eye out.”

She frowns and raises her voice slightly, slowly enunciating each word, “I asked, why. do. you. want. to. see. the. Erebus?”

I want to just laugh at the feistiness of this girl but that will probably get me poked with that spear. I’m truthfully not even sure she could do any damage, she’s so petite.

“I’m not a threat, I can guarantee that. I just want to talk to whoever is in charge. “

She snidely asks, “What makes you think I’m not in charge?”

I can’t help it, a small chuckle escapes my lips. The spear swings back around and sticks a few inches into my arm. I watch, shocked as blood seeps into the water. I know this is nothing to my body because of my healing abilities but she doesn’t. I’m about to go off on her when I watch as the spear falls to the floor and her hand covers her opened mouth. She obviously didn’t mean to hurt me. Her eyes are so worried.  She surprised herself more than me. I decide to have a little fun.  Putting on my best agonized look, I grab my arm as if in pain. I’m enjoying this way too much.

My Start as an Indie - Heather Allen

What a wild ride already! I am still such a newbie but amazed at the support and friends I’ve made in this new world of Indie! I have met some amazing authors and who would have thought they all self-published. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I started this thing, well really not a thing, writing, about 2 years ago. I concocted a story about a girl with magic powers yada, yada, yada. I had my husband read the first ten pages (there were only 60) and he couldn’t understand or get the picture I was trying to portray. I gave up. Girls and boys, don’t do that, never give up! Shame on me!

A year later I started Just Breathe, a new story swimming around up there. It seemed to shape up pretty nicely and after a year I had a full novel. This time I decided to avoid the husband and try for someone more appropriate for my audience. I grabbed my neighbor’s daughter, a young adult, and a reader at that. I must have chewed my finger nails to the cuticles, waiting for her to stroll over day after day. Finally, she came knocking with a smile on her face. She loved it! I was so happy with just that one little step in the right direction. And each part has been another step in the right direction ever since.

I recently released the third book in the trilogy, Forever Breathing. Let me tell you, it has been quite the journey. The third is of course my favorite but you have to read Just Breathe and Barely Breathing first.  I have learned so much and refined my craft in such a short time. I’m very eager to continue on this adventure, the sky is the limit!

You can find Heather:

 On her blog

Facebook 

Twitter: @kelconcar

Just Breathe – booktrailer 

Goodreads  

Buy Links:

Just Breathe-

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Itunes/ibooks  

Smashwords   

Letting Technology Work For You

Hey everyone!

So I discovered this little thing called the square. The best part is that the device is FREE, it's the size of a quarter, and easily fits in my purse. 

        CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS

I can now use the square on my Android phone to accept credit cards when I sell books at my local farmer's market. Not many people are carrying cash or checks anymore, so this has been awesome. I used it at my last book signing at the library with great success. There is a small fee for every swipe, but now I can sell books anywhere I go. It makes me feel all businesswomany minus the heels. 

I also looked at a similar device to be used with PayPal, but it was a couple of bucks more, and it wasn't free.

I love the age of technology!

Do any of you authors use this? Love it or hate it?