Laura Howard

6/27/13

COVER REVEAL: Scorched Treachery by Rebecca Ethington

Title: Scorched Treachery (Imdalind #3)

Author: Rebecca Ethington

Expected release date: July 12th 2013

Genre: Paranormal (with action and romance) 

Age Group: Young Adult 

Cover designed by: Okay Creations 





While Joclyn is trapped in the tormenting hell of Cail’s mind, the battle around her only continues to grow and spread. * Edmund has infiltrated the underground hallways of Prague, guiding the massacre that would end the lives of the last of the great magical race. In her attempts to stop him, Wynifred has been captured and her magic restrained. Chained up in the ancient dungeons of Prague, her fate is left in the hands of her father, who has tried to kill her before. With Ryland’s screams and Sain’s fragmented sights as her only company, Wyn must rely on something that has been hidden deep inside of her for centuries to help them break free. * Ilyan’s whole life has been building up to one purpose. Protect the Silnỳ. He knows what he must do, and he has no doubt in his ability to do so. But when his father’s magic removes Joclyn’s mind from her body, he is left protecting the shell of the one person he loves. Desperate to find a way to break her free of her prison, he makes a choice. And that one choice changes everything. Now, Ilyan finds himself bound to Joclyn in a way that he never knew to be possible. 

They say that blood is thicker than water, but Black Water burns, and Ilyan’s heart may not be strong enough to keep the water pumping through his veins and give the girl he loves back into his brother’s care. Even if he can, it may not be safe to do so. Reading order: Kiss of Fire (1), Eyes of Ember (2), Scorched Treachery (3)






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  About the Author Rebecca Ethington is a story teller and author from Salt Lake City, Utah. She has been telling stories since she was small. First, with writing crude scripts, and then in stage with years of theatrical performances. Rebecca’s first stint into the world of literary writing, The Imdalind Series, was released in October 2012 and since its release each book has been found in several top 100 lists on Amazon. Rebecca is a mother to two, and wife to her best friend of 14 years. Her days are spent writing, running, and enjoying life with her crazy family.


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6/26/13

Summer Book Crush


Hot sun, hot sand, cool drinks, dark tans. Ahhhh. But your summer won’t be complete until you land a new BOOK BOYFRIEND, right? Lucky for you, we’ve got you covered!  


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  SUMMER BOOK CRUSH offers 50+ titles in many genres. This means 50+ chances to (fictitiously) fall in love. And the best part? Each of these gems is only 99¢, but for a limited time only. The SUMMER BOOK CRUSH event starts on June 26th and ends (yes, even the best things in life end at some point) on June 28th. So don't wait up! Mingle with our BOOK BOYFRIENDS and invite all your friends to participate too. There are plenty of BOOK BOYS to share!

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 Find your summer’s fling between the pages of a book. And don't stop on one - after all we have many BOOK BOYFRIENDS for you to mingle with.

* HAPPY READING * HAPPY SUMMER *

6/21/13

The Writers Voice


Tour Co-hosts:
The Writers Voice is a multi author blog where prominent authors from around the web come together and share their thoughts on all things literary or otherwise. Here is a peek at our team of authors!

Is there one piece of advice you wish
someone would have given you
before you started writing?

“There is so much I have learned since I started but really, I could only have learned it by doing it so I feel it turned out perfectly. For other authors, don’t be afraid to be authentically yourself and write characters that aren’t the norm and always make sure to stay humble.”
–Emma Michaels


“I wish someone had told me to do this sooner. If I’d started years ago, I’d have that many more books out there!”
–Raine Thomas


“Plot out EVERYTHING. I wasted a lot of time writing my first book, because I didn’t plot out the story and the major events. It took a lot of meandering before I realized I needed a plan of action before sitting down to undertake a project like that. Now I plot out everything. I know some people work better the other way, but I will always like having a clear goal to work towards. I see it like this—if you’re embarking on a journey, you will always have a map, otherwise you’ll end up very lost and very frustrated.”
–Frankie Rose

“Believe in yourself and your craft”
–Quinn Loftis


“It’s not going to be easy, so you have to love writing and you have to have a lot a faith in yourself to make it worth it. Develop a thick skin and resist the urge to read reviews on your books as much as possible!”
–Shana Norris

“Not that I can recall. Before I became a published author I was a book blogger so talking to so many different authors really showed me that it is not as easy as people who aren’t in the literary field believe it to be.”
–Tanya Contois



“You can never edit enough.”
–Carlyle Labuschagne

“Hire a proofreader.”
–Brenda Pandos


“Don’t be afraid to ask others for help, their opinions, and moral support. I let my personal lack of faith in my ability to write hang over me like a dark, dream-crushing cloud for too long. Two minds are always better than one. Don’t be insecure about your work. If your writing inspires someone else to give you advice, you’re on the right track.”
–Amy Maurer Jones

“Yeah, actually, there is. When I was writing Dehumanized I didn’t realize how the word-count was so important to the length of the novel. I thought I literally had to write three hundred pages on Word! It was very daunting…but I strived and before I knew it I ended up with Dehumanized being five hundred pages! If someone had told me it was all about the word count rather than the page count, I wouldn’t have been so stressed about it!”
–Michael Loring



“Go past your view of perfect and walk away for a few weeks - go back and read the book and edit it.”
–Devyn Dawson



Thank you for reading!
We hope you will join us soon at
The Writers Voice

6/11/13

Cover Reveal: Very Bad Things by Ilsa Madden-Mills

 Title: Very Bad Things (#1 Briarcrest Academy)
 Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills 
 Expected release date: September 10, 2013 
 Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance 
 Cover Designed by: Toski Covey Photography and Sommer Stein            from  Perfect Pear, Model is Mariah Jane Scott   





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 Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any nineteen-year-old girl could desire. She’s an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school. She’s perfect… Leaving behind her million-dollar mansion and Jimmy Choos, she becomes a girl hell-bent on pushing the limits with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex. Then she meets her soulmate. But he doesn’t want her. When it comes to girls, twenty-five-year-old Leo Tate has one rule: never fall in love. His gym and his brother are all he cares about…until he meets Nora. He resists the pull of their attraction, hung up on their six year age difference. As they struggle to stay away from each other, secrets will be revealed, tempers will flare, and hearts will be broken. Welcome to Briarcrest Academy…where sometimes, the best things in life are Very Bad Things.  



About the Author Ilsa wrote her first work at the age of twelve when she penned a little ditty about a handsome prince who had no sense. Since then, she’s written plays, poems, and numerous short stories. Very Bad Things is her first full-length novel and part of a new series called Briarcrest Academy. She graduated summa cum laude with a master’s in English. After graduation, she directed plays, worked with autistic children, helped start a children’s clothing company, and eventually had a family. Now, she spends her days with two small kids and her Viking husband. When she’s not typing away at a story, you can find her drinking too much coffee, jamming out to Pink, or checking on her carefully maintained chocolate stash. She loves to hear from fans and fellow avid readers. You can find her on Facebook and a soon to come author website.
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5/30/13

Seriously? A SERIES???



Greetings readers! My blogging prowess has been utterly lackluster in the weeks following the release of The Forgotten Ones, for which I apologize. Hopefully today's guest post redeems me in your eyes!

Anna Cruise has been writing and drooling over boys since middle school. Lots of years have passed but some things never change...





Did you just type The End on the manuscript you've been slaving over? Did you shed big, sloppy tears as you typed the final words of your denouement? Did you drag your feet—endlessly—while hammering out those last pages, simply because you didn't want to say goodbye to your characters?

Well, guess what?

You don't have to say goodbye. And you shouldn't say goodbye.

I know what you're thinking. Wait a minute. I just finished this goddamn book. What the hell is she talking about?

I'm talking series. 

Yep. Series.

Right now, you're thinking: Uh, I wrote a stand-alone book.

I'm here to tell you there's no such thing. Every single book can be turned into a series. Every single one. And even if you wrote a book that you had no intention of continuing (like, you didn't put in one of those annoying cliffhangers...your book actually has an ending!!) the simple fact is that you can always continue the story. There is always a loose thread, a place to pick up, a new idea to explore with the characters you've gotten to know so well. It doesn't have to pick up where the previous book ended. It's not a straight continuation. Maybe it's a storyline that didn't get fully explored. Maybe it's a minor character that deserves a bigger story. Maybe it's a different point in time. But you can find that thread and weave it into something bigger. 

Look, series sell. Big time. Readers want more stories. Because, just as you've gotten close to the characters you gave birth to, your readers have formed attachments to them, as well. I can't count how many reviews I've received where people mention how they wanted the story to go on, where they've actually docked me a star because they simply wanted more story. These characters become friends...friends that they don't want to let go of, you know? 

So, should you write a series just to satisfy your readers? No. Because you'll benefit, too. Not simply in sales (do you know what the click-through factor is when you hyperlink the next book in your series in your e-book file? Me, either. But it's good.) but in reader loyalty, too. Your readers will become deeply invested in the stories you weave and that means they'll become pretty invested in you, too. Your fan base will grow, your interaction with your readers will grow (as long as you engage along with them) and your sales will absolutely grow, too.

There you go. Congrats on typing The End. 

Now sit your ass back down and type Chapter 1. 

To the next book in the series you didn't know you were going to write.

Because, trust me...your readers will want it.




I love reading series, even though it can be hard to wait for the next installment! 

How do you feel about writing series?

5/25/13

Love Notes by Heather Gunter

Love Notes by Heather Gunter

Young Adult Contemporary






How do you cope when the people you care for hurt you the most? When the way you feel on the outside, smothers you on the inside. And when you are left to face your demons alone, will you learn that only you have the power to overcome them?

Charlie has never had it easy. Between the constant moving and the incessant fat comments and jokes from her father, her self-worth is nonexistent. Her reflection in the mirror shows her nothing but a plain Jane. Music is the only thing that keeps her sanity in check.

Charlie catches the eye of the town star quarterback, Maverick. With her curves, her brunette hair, and the voice of an angel, Maverick has never met anyone like her. Everything that is different about Charlie just makes Maverick like her more. Unfortunately, Charlie doesn’t see it herself.

Proving it to her may deem harder than he thinks, especially when tragedy strikes and tears them apart.

Now standing on her own two feet she may finally learn exactly who she is, what’s she’s capable of and how very un plain Jane she really is.


Excerpt:


I turn to Will, “Dude was that really necessary?” Will just throws his quirky smile up and shrugs his shoulders.

“Couldn’t be helped bro. It looked like you were drooling all over yourself. We are talking baby drool bad. And I, being your best friend and all, am here to help keep you from the massive embarrassment you were fixing to bestow upon yourself.”
I hang my head, stare at the floor and smile. “Can’t help it Will. I like her, I like her a lot.”
I knew I wouldn’t catch any ribbing from him, considering his infatuation with a certain red head.
Will starts chuckling, “Yeah, yeah, I know. I could tell. You forget, I’ve known you since diapers. I have to say though Maverick, I’ve never seen you so, so....Twitter paited.”
Nice. A Disney reference.
“You ass,” I laugh, and playfully punch him in the arm and grab him into a headlock. Of course, it doesn’t faze him and he’s laughing like the tool he is. I let go and he finally stops laughing and turns serious, like the switching of a light.
“Nah, seriously dude, I can tell you like her. She’s hot Maverick, and seems really nice. She also doesn’t seem very into herself, which is rare. Plus, I also saw her walking with Tori earlier. So I know she’s got to be cool.”
I instantly feel a pang of jealousy. I must have gotten a look on my face and Will can read me like a damn book.
“Now, now don’t get all territorial and go pissing all over her. That might turn her off,” he says. I simmer down because I know he still has feelings for someone else. It was the fact that he noticed. But then again, anyone would notice. How could you not? I just don’t want any competition. The thought of someone else with her was driving me insane.




When not writing or updating her Into the Night Reviews book blog, you will find Heather curled on the couch reading, surrounded by her children and four dogs. Her cravings for music and books are insatiable. One of her favorite things to do is sing and used to have a dream of becoming a singer. The dream has since changed and is now to become a full time writer. She holds a strong anti-bullying conviction and voices it regularly. She resides in Canton, GA with her husband, 3 boys, 4 dogs, 1 cat and 2 ferrets.


Links:

5/23/13

Presenting Morgan Media and MY Animated Bookmark for The Forgotten Ones







I LOVE this amazing Animated Book mark from Rachel Morgan of Morgan Media. 

I first met Rachel after I saw her book covers via Twitter. They were so gorgeous I asked her who designed them. I was blown away when she told me she did. 

Now she's offering her talents to the indie world, be sure to check her out!





Morgan Media is a small business offering quality services to indie authors at affordable rates.


Message from Rachel Morgan, the founder of Morgan Media:

"I'm an indie author, and it's taken me many, many, MANY hours of work to figure out how to navigate every step from finished manuscript to published work. There's the ebook formatting and the print book formatting and the ebook cover design and the print book cover design. Then comes the marketing--of both yourself and your book--and for that you need blog tour buttons and blog headers and Facebook fan page cover images and artwork for bookmarks and button badges and postcards and whatever else you might want to give away as part of your book launch. All of this takes a spectacular amount of time that you probably don't have, especially if you're busy promoting one book and trying to write the next one. So why not get someone experienced to take care of most of these steps for you? That's what Morgan Media is for."


Find Morgan Media in the following places online: 


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