Decisions, Decisions, and an Announcement

So this last weekend I made a tough decision. Many of you have probably heard me talk about my YA zombie book at some point in the past. It's one I wrote for my husband, and may have given up on a long time ago if not for him.

 

This last month I received two offers on it, from two small publishers. After a LOT of thinking, I decided to turn them both down and self publish it. I've been thinking about self pubbing it for a long time, in fact I've already made a cover for it, and I decided this weekend that it's the right path for this book.

 

It's a bit scary, but at least I've done it once before now, so I know what to expect. And I have amazing critique partners who are willing to support me. (Seriously, I love you girls so much!)

 

 

So, on September 17th, I will be releasing

FLESH EATING ZOMBIES AND EVIL EX-GIRLFRIENDS.

 

Wish me luck! :)

Cover Reveal: Our Beautiful Child

I am very happy to be helping Annalisa Crawford with her cover reveal today!

One, because cover reveals are so much fun.

And two, because Annalisa is an amazing writer. Her writing is eerie, beautiful, and truly unique.

Plus, she's a pretty great person on top of all that!

 

So, without further ado, here it is!

 

Release date: 10^th June 2014         Publisher: Battered Suitcase Press

“The Boathouse collects misfits. Strange solitary creatures that yearn for contact with the outside world, but not too much. They sit, glass in hand, either staring at the table in front of them, or at some distant point on the horizon.”

… so says the narrator of Our Beautiful Child. And he’s been around long enough to know.

People end up in this town almost by accident. Ella is running away from her nightmares, Sally is running away from the memories of previous boyfriends and Rona is running away from university. Each of them seek sanctuary in the 18th century pub, The Boathouse; but in fact, that’s where their troubles begin.

Ella finds love, a moment too late; Rona discovers a beautiful ability which needs refining before she gets hurt; and Sally meets the captivating Murray, who threatens to ruin everything.

Three women. Three stories. One pub.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I live in Cornwall UK, with a good supply of beaches and moorland right on my doorstep to keep me inspired. I live with my husband, two sons, a dog and a cat.

Despite my location, I neither surf nor sail, and have never had any inclination to try. I much prefer walking along a deserted beach and listening to the waves crashing over rocks. For this reason, I really love the beach in the winter!

Links:

Website // Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Pinterest // Add to Goodreads

Two Releases Today! :)

Today is release day for DON'T FALL!!! I'm so excited! (And nervous. Just ignore the nail-biting and paper-bag breathing. Okay? Thanks.)

 

In this contemporary retelling of Rapunzel, seventeen-year-old Anya leads a secluded life in a house on the edge of town with her adopted mother. She doesn't go to public school, doesn't even have a best friend. But Anya doesn't seem to mind. She has her books, her photography, and her daydreams and would do anything to please her mom.

Until one day at the library, the only place Anya is allowed to go alone, she takes a picture of a beautiful boy. Before long she's lying to her mom, and sneaking out to meet Zander. But Zander wants more than a secret romance. If Anya wants to be with the boy of her dreams, she's going to have to risk her relationship with the only other person she's ever cared about.

 

Little secret, Don't Fall actually ended up releasing a week early, and this happened:

 

 

I may have freaked out a little. :)

 

Rapunzel was always one of my favorite fairy tales, (from way before Tangled) and I really loved writing a contemporary retelling of it. I love Anya and Zander so much, and I hope others love them too! :)

Today is also the release of PERFECTLY MESSY by Lizzy Charles! It's super awesome that we get to share a release day and has been a lot of fun! We're even having a joint FB party tonight! We'll have lots of teasers, give-aways, and pics of desserts. :) You can join us HERE.

 

Popularity isn't everything it's cracked up to be. Justin Marshall knows this better than most. For the captain of the basketball team, small business owner, and son of Minnesota's next governor, life can get pretty overwhelming. But Justin can handle anything as long as he has Lucy, the girl who fell for the man he’s trying to be.

But for Justin and Lucy, finding time together proves challenging. Stolen kisses and whispered promises just aren't enough. That is, until scandalous photos of the couple are leaked to a press intent on creating a juicy scandal during Justin's dad's gubernatorial campaign. And when Lucy becomes fair play for the tabloids and gossip pages, Justin does the only thing he can to protect her: he breaks her heart.

For Lucy, junior year is everything she hoped it would be: new friends, second chances, and a boyfriend she can’t stop kissing. That is, until the boy she’s pretty sure she loves chooses the life his family wants for him, over her.

Now it’s up to Lucy to teach him what it really means to have everything. Because for Justin, being who everyone needs him to be just might cost him the one person he can’t live without.

 

Sounds good, doesn't it? I loved Effortless With You and I can't wait to read Perfectly Messy!

Happy Book Birthday Lizzy!

 

Don't Fall on Amazon & Goodreads.

Perfectly Messy on Amazon & Goodreads.

(Barnes and Noble coming soon!)

Custom Covers

One of my favorite things, other than reading and writing, is photography.

More recently this has led to a love of cover design. So I've decided to share this passion of mine.

I will now be offering custom covers. This means you would get to approve the models for your shoot, we'd discuss ideas for the shoot together,

and you'd have several custom images to choose from. 

 

Most of the models I've worked with, or plan to work with, are young adults, so those are the type of covers I'd love to shoot. (Although there is one premade for sale that is definitely not YA.)

If you have an NA or adult project, just talk to me and we'll see if I can

accomplish the look you're going for.

 

I've added some premades here for people to look over and get an idea of what I can do.

I also shot the cover for these books, although I did not design these covers: 

 

 

Here are a few of the other options Jessica and Cassie got when they booked this shoot with me:

 

All of these images now belong to them, to use for teasers or whatever they choose.

They will not be available to other customers.

 

And one of my premades, just for fun. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Cover Reveal – Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway and Giveaway

I am super excited to be participating in Kelly Hashway's cover reveal for Curse of the Granville Fortune! For one, the cover is totally awesome! Two, the book sounds awesome, three, Kelly is pretty awesome. :)

So, without delay, here it is:

 

Curse of the Granville Fortune by Kelly Hashway

presented by Month9Books!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Find the fortune, break the curse!

The hunt is on for an ancient treasure tied to nine-year-old J.B.'s family history. He's been having visions that make him sweaty, lightheaded, and certain he’s turning into some kind of freak—or worse, going insane. But things are worse than he imagined. The visions stem from a family curse. An ancient ancestor was accused of stealing the massive Granville fortune, and now J.B.’s entire family will suffer.

To break the curse, J.B. must find and return the Granville’s stolen property. But he's not the only one searching for the treasure. As he sets out on his journey through a dark and foreboding forest, he'll battle his worst fears and fight terrifying creatures along the way. And when he meets two others who share the missing pieces of his visions and suffer from the same curse, the three soon realize they need to work together to break the curse before it's too late.

Reading is a thing of magic. It has allowed me to enter into worlds I never would have known. I’ve cried, laughed, and been scared right alongside my favorite characters. And my hope is that one day kids will do the same for my characters. I want kids to see that reading is one of the greatest gifts. Luckily, my daughter already agrees with me!

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

(Winners will receive their book on release day)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

IWSG: Staying Positive

It’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group day! Big, big thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and his cohosts, Mark Koopmans, Joylene Nowell Butler, Elsie, and Lisa Buie-Collard! There are a lot of blogs on this list now, and it's so wonderful that you're willing to go around and make sure they all get comments. :)

If you aren't familiar with IWSG, go check it out by clicking the link above. It's a wonderful group of super supportive writers. This group has helped me countless times. If you're new to writing, or not, you will find help and support within this group.


My first novel comes out, so there's that to feel insecure about! I'm trying really hard, though, to not freak out. What will be, will be, and all that. I'm sure in a couple weeks I'll be singing a different tune. Lol. The freak out will come, but I'm so far I've held it at bay.

All together things have actually been looking pretty good lately. So I'm going to focus on the positive and try not to feel insecure this month.


Here are a couple fun writing quotes to hopefully brighten your day. :)

 

 

 

Have a good day everyone!!

Band Geek Birthday!

 

 

 

How to Seduce a Band Geek releases today!! Congratulations to Cassie Mae!

This is perhaps my favorite book of Cassie's to date. I LOVE Sierra,

and so much about this book is just fabulous!

If you like funny, sweet, emotional YA

you want to check this one out!

 

 

 

Sierra Livingston’s got it bad for her sister’s best friend, Levi Mason—the boy who carries his drumsticks in his pocket, marches with the school’s band, and taps his feet to whatever beat runs through his head. Sierra racks her brain for ways to impress the sexy drummer, but the short skirts and bursting cleavage don’t seem to cut it.

When Sierra gets paired with Levi’s sister, Brea, for a mentorship program, they strike a deal. In exchange for Sierra keeping her mouth shut about Brea ditching the program, Brea lets Sierra dig for more info on Levi to help get the guy of her dreams.

But when Sierra discovers Levi no longer plays the drums, his family has moved into a trailer, and he’s traded in his Range Rover for a baby blue moped, Sierra’s not sure if she can go through with violating his privacy. She’ll have to find the courage to ask him straight out—if he’s willing to let her in—and explore other ways to seduce the school’s band geek.

 

 

You can find it on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.