Thursday, December 12, 2013

Storm Warning Release Day Launch

C. Quinn and E. Lee's amazing new novel in their Broken Heartland Series, STORM WARNING, is out today and we are excited to join in the release day launch for it. STORM WARNING is a thrilling Young Adult Contemporary you are not going to want to miss! Check out what we have for you today and then enter to win in the release day launch giveaway! There's also a fantastic excerpt for you. But be aware! The Storm Is Coming...



EXCERPT:


Hope’s Grove was small. Everyone knew about her parents, and she was already dreading facing them since the news of her dad’s affair had hit. But facing them without her brother and her best friend would be her worst nightmare.
After the girls had said their goodbyes and she’d watched her friend’s taillights fade down the drive, Ella Jane scuffed her boots along the winding dirt road that led her home.
She was about halfway there, watching the sun sink low in the evening sky, when the unmistakable rumble of a pickup truck came barreling down the road behind her. She stepped aside to let it pass without looking back. But it didn’t pass. It slowed practically to a stop right next her.
She turned, wondering what the heck the driver’s deal was. There was more than enough room for him to go around. But the smiling face beneath the backwards trucker hat sent the words on the tip of her tongue swirling away with the dust the truck had riled up.
She bit her lip and grinned. Warm brown eyes gleamed in her direction. “Hey there, Ellie May. Need a ride?”
She rolled her eyes. Why Brantley Cooper couldn’t call her by her actual name was beyond her. But as long as he was talking to her, she really didn’t care much what he called her. He can call me ‘flower’ if he wants to.
He was a year older than her and a year younger than her older brother, Kyle. Smack in the middle of their ages and grades in school and usually smack in the middle of their arguments. Coop kept the peace. Balanced them out perfectly.
The three of them had met at the same time as kids but Coop and Kyle had become like brothers instantly. She’d always tagged along wherever they went. Kyle had whined about it when they were younger but Coop always made her feel welcome. He held doors open for her so she didn’t get left behind, made sure to invite her despite her brother’s protests, and lately he’d even stopped by and hung out even when Kyle wasn’t home. And this year, she’d be a junior and Coop would be a senior. With her big brother away at college, she couldn’t help but fantasize about what might happen if she and Coop spent time together alone.
“Hey, Coop. Lynlee just left so I was just…” She glanced toward home. Kyle wasn’t back from football camp yet, and her mom was baking herself to death, trying to keep her mind off of everything.
“Yeah, I heard the Wicked Witch was moving west. You up for some fishing? I have to drop my bike off at the house but we could swing by the lake after.”
She should get home. She knew she should. Should order a pizza and convince her mom to take it easy for a night. Except…it was Coop. And in all her sixteen years, he was the one boy she’d never been able to say no to.
“Yeah. Yeah I’m up for it.”







ABOUT STORM WARNING (Book 1 in the Broken Heartland Series):

Sometimes you don’t see the storm coming until it’s too late...

Severe Storm Warning Tip #1:
Be alert to changing weather conditions. Look for approaching storms.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #2:
If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #3:
They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.

Situated just outside of Oklahoma City, Calumet County is divided into two drastically different communities: Hope’s Grove and Summit Bluffs. One is the small backward town where dirt roads lead the way to field parties and railroad tracks. And the other, a sprawling suburb where paved drives lead to the landscaped lawns of the wealthy and privileged.

For five teenagers smack in the middle of Tornado Alley, summer is heating up fast. The winds of change are blurring the invisible line that divides the rich and the rural.

One has a secret.
One has a crush.
One has been lying.
One will get caught.
And one might not make it out alive.

They’re from two different worlds…but one summer is about to change everything.

About C. Quinn and E. Lee:

Whether you believe in destiny, divine intervention, or just plain ol' dumb luck, several things happened in 2013 that caused E. Lee and C. Quinn's paths to cross. It may have been that the stars aligned perfectly, or the fact anytime Luke Bryan was mentioned on a social media site both of them were tagged, or maybe it was just that their small town roots and country girl attitudes were magnetically drawn together—calling out to one another, “Y'all should write a book!” Despite geography keeping them apart—Lee in Illinois and Quinn in Alabama—they did. Thanks to three-hour phone calls, ridiculous amounts of online chats, and umpteen Google Docs—Storm Warning is the first book in their edgy new Young Adult series,  Broken Heartland.




Monday, December 9, 2013

Book Blitz: Mine To Tarnish


Mine to Tarnish (Mine .5)
Release Date: 12/02/13

Summary from Goodreads:
Katherine’s place is the same as any woman’s—on the shelf next to the dresses and bolts of cloth. When she’s sold to a warlock, life grows even bleaker. Her new owner is as old and rancid as he is cruel, driving her to do the unthinkable: run.

Nothing prepared her for being on her own. And she’s definitely unprepared for the warlocks hunting her down. But she must stay one step ahead because if caught, the best she can hope for is death.
Available from:

Book One:
(linked to Goodreads)

About the Author
Janeal Falor lives in Utah where she’s finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years without moving. In her spare time she reads books like they’re nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she’s still going on about the voices in her head.


Author Links:
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***GIVEAWAY***
10 e-ARC copies of Mine To Tarnish, PDF, Mobi, or ePub (INT)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz Organized by:

Friday, November 15, 2013

The Sisters Blog Tour





The Sisters Synopsis:
Gabrielle, the Angel of Karma, isn’t happy about a lot of things that have happened since she came to Earth to learn more about humans. She’s especially not happy that the Book of Barabbadon has fallen into her enemy’s hands, that demons are becoming significantly more powerful, and because of the dark changes in Lucas since the attack on him. And her anger is beginning to show.
Her superior and her brethren—even Lucas—thought she was handling everything pretty well until they learn she wants to go after a human trafficker so she can see him face karma. It’s something she does only when compelled to do so because of a human’s particularly good, or, in this case, heinous acts. But their concerns aren’t from her desire to be more involved with her duties, or even because of the human she wants to see reap what he’s sown with her own eyes. It’s because of whom she wants to use to carry out what she has in mind—a trio of demons called the Sisters. They possess troubling powers, thought to still be strengthening, and were locked away by Gabrielle many years ago. Gabrielle, and those who care for her, know the Sisters are more than a little dangerous even for the Angel of Karma—they also know the Sisters will be looking for vengeance of their own.
Teal Haviland Bio:
Teal Haviland lives in Tennessee with her daughter and her four-legged friends. She enjoys photography, travel, reading, music, cooking, daydreaming, writing (of course), and above all spending time with her family and friends.
Teal grew up with a love for anything fantastical or outrageous. After years of dreaming of worlds where fairies, angels, demons, and shape shifters (to name a few) exist, she finally decided to begin writing her stories down. Inception, book one in her series The Reaping Chronicles, is her first published novel.

Links:
Goodreads The Reaping Chronicles ~ Inception page ~http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16067691-inception
Facebook The Reaping Chronicles page ~ https://www.facebook.com/thereapingchronicles
Author website ~ http://www.tealhaviland.com/


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Fairytales Can Come True: with a lot of help and hard work!

 My daughter got married last week. It was a joyous occasion with family and friends. I'm still catching up on my sleep, resting my back, and putting away wedding stuff while basking in the happiness of it all, and I wanted to share a few pictures with you.

I was amazed at how many people helped us out with decorating, invitations, food, setting, photography, cleaning up, etc. We couldn't have done it all without them. I was a basket case by the end and couldn't make a decision if my life depended on it, but it was wonderful to see it all come together. So many people said how lovely it was. My daughter wanted a woodland fairytale wedding and said it was all she'd dreamed of, so the hard work paid off in the end!

For the last several months, planning the wedding has taken up most of my spare time, but I've been revising a little in between. Tonight I meet with my critique group to find out how my revisions went on the first hundred pages of my WIP (A modern day Beauty and the Beast tale). Hopefully it's much improved and all my hard work on the revisions and all the help and critiques will pay off as well!


Monday, October 7, 2013

Improving Character, Plot, and Setting

I'm excited about how the rewrites on my WIP are going. I've been able to work through some of the major issues of my manuscript which included:

Character: I figured out what my main character's motivation was and made it clearer. I've made my character more proactive. Instead of accidentally stumbling upon clues, she goes looking for them. Her actions not only bring her closer to her goal, but also cause more problems and opposition from others along the way.






Plot: I've fixed some of the pacing problems by cutting less important scenes down and expanding more important ones with greater detail, dialog, introspection, action, and conflict. I've given each scene one or more specific purposes: character development, plot advancement, setting the scene, building suspense, etc. . .


Setting: I chose a specific location for my story and did research on the area to make the setting more authentic, realistic, and detailed. I incorporated local legends into the story, and I'm using actual businesses: restaurants, stores, etc. in my scenes. Since at times I find narrowing things down to be limiting and not conducive to my plot, I've left the wilderness area in my story vague so I can have more freedom with the setting.

What are some things you've done to improve character, plot/pacing, and setting in your novels?

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Rekindling the Writing Spark

I haven't blogged for a month. Sorry to all three of you who regularly read my blogposts! I was in a slump after coming close to publishing a novel (as in doing rewrites for an editor, sending the story back in, and never hearing back) and took a break from writing for a few months. I've still been reading and doing research and thinking about it, but I lost some of my enthusiasm after 11 years of regular writing with several bites from editors but no acceptances.

I researched agents, had my WIP critiqued with fresh readers who pointed out the major problems (and, oh boy, were they some major problems! Like character and plot and pacing), have been going through a workbook on plotting and re-plotting my story, and now I'm rewriting and breathing new life into my novel and am excited about writing again.

Here's a recap of the things that rekindled my writing spark:

Leaving my novels alone for a month or so: I set it aside. Refused to look at it or do any editing or revisions.

Researching: I researched agents and aspects of my novel, such as the setting, more in depth.

Plotting: I wrote down the major plot points and problems my character faces in the novel, figured out what her main objective was, and what the core or thesis of my novel was. I also wrote a one sentence pitch summing up the gist of my novel.

Doing character sketches: I answered questions about each character such as motivations, hobbies, interests, where they were from, profession, fears, personality quirks, weaknesses, accomplishments, prize possessions, etc. I made a time line of major events for each character throughout the novel. Since I'm very visual I made a collage of pictures representing my main character's personality, which helped me see her more clearly. I made a family tree for each of my characters and wrote about their family dynamics. And I wrote dialogue for two of my characters having a heated discussion. This helped me get to know my characters better.

What have you done when you've needed a kickstart for your writing and gotten you going again?



Saturday, August 17, 2013

Guest post by Cas Peace: What's in a Theme


I'm excited to share this guest post by Cas Peace, author of King's Envoy and King's Champion, on themes in novels. Enjoy!




WHAT’S IN A THEME?
It wasn’t until long after I had finished writing my triple-trilogy Artesans of Albia fantasy series that I realized there were several themes running throughout the novels. I didn’t set out to deliberately explore these topics – they appeared naturally as part of each character’s life. I guess there are themes in every fiction novel, otherwise there would be no plot, but I confess that mine snuck up on me.
Having realized this, and then taken a good look at my writing with the aim of spotting them, it became clear that the main subjects were personal development, humility, and the potential consequences of personal power.
At the start of Book One, King’s Envoy, Taran Elijah is a despondent and desperate man, struggling with a deep, yet unfulfilled desire to learn the control of his power. Taran’s yearning has been frustrated by the death of his mentor (who also happened to be his father), and the fact that the Artesan power is in serious decline in the realm of Albia.
The concept of “what lengths might a person go to in order to achieve their potential” had been on my mind for many years, planted by a seemingly-insignificant scene from a 70s children’s TV show. Little did I realize then that it would be the catalyst that kick-started my entire Artesan series. Only now was I discovering just how fundamental to the series this question had become.
Although Taran is not the central character, the story follows him through several stages of his life. By the end of Book Three, King’s Artesan, he has made significant progress. In many ways he alters beyond all comprehension, yet in one major factor his nature remains unchanged. I didn’t plan this, and it fascinates me. With no conscious help from me, Taran took control of his destiny and his nature developed at its own pace.
He is also not the only character to have his mettle exposed and tested to the extreme. Humility in power is another strong premise running throughout the series, and two other characters demonstrate completely different sides to this fundamental topic. As I don’t want to give too much away, you’ll just have to read the books to find out who they are and what effect this conflict has on the plot!

Give away: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2f8dd3
Author website: http://www.caspeace.com/
Book Links:
Cas Peace
Author of the fantasy novels
King's Envoy and
King's Champion
and the non-fiction book
For the Love of Daisy

www.caspeace.com
www.rhemalda.com
http://rhemalda.com/authors/p/cas-peace-2/
Watch the King's Envoy book trailer:
http://rhemalda.com/2011/04/kings-envoy-book-trailer/
Find me on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/cas.peace