Heirs of War Blog Tour Kick Off!

Today kicks of the Heirs of War blog tour! I am so excited! There are so many great stops along the way, and I am so thrilled by how many people signed up to host.

As some of you might already know, I decided to push back my release date from today to October 13. Before I share the blog tour calendar with you, I'd like to let you know why. Put simply: Kriscinda Everitt is an amazing editor who has a knack for knowing exactly how to get through this hard head of mine. One of the biggest problems with Heirs of War has been POV. At first, it was head jumping. After I fixed that, I still had too many POVs. Some people had issue with this, but others didn't. On my last rewrite, I narrowed it down to eleven POVs. Eleven.

That's still pretty crazy. Unless you are George RR Martin. (Hint: I'm not.) I didn't know what to do with this problem. Write it off as "to each his own"? Rewriting would ruin all the little suspenseful tidbits I feed the readers through POVs like the Cynewards and Kyle.

Only...those POVs might be ruining that suspense. There is such a thing as giving the readers too much information, as it turns out. And I am definitely guilty of this. Kriscinda explained it all very well, and she gave me the choice of keeping the book as is to meet my release date, or rewriting it to narrow down the POVs to just the five girls (Terrena, Isauria, Rhaya, Zelene, and Ariana). I chose the latter because I agree that this will make the book so much better.

So there you have it. I did my rewrites during Dragon Con (sometimes waiting in line for hours can be a good thing for productivity). I'm applying the previous edits now, and then Kriscinda will get another go at it. Come October 13, a much better book will be released.

Up until the release, I have some very cool tour stops planned. I would like to take this moment to thank each and every one of my hosts and reviewers for taking part. You guys are awesome, and I am overwhelmed by the amount of support I have behind me as I move forward.

Heirs of War is on Goodreads and available for preorder on Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. It will be available through Amazon and other retailers after the release date. You can still find the previous version, with all eleven POVs, on Wattpad.

And now, the tour calendar:

Blog Tour: Excerpt from The Lure of Fools by Jason King

Jason King is stopping back by to give us a look at his latest book, The Lure of Fools, which you can purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. I've already added it to my Goodreads TBR list. Be sure to follow Jason on Twitter, Facebook, and visit out his website to stay up to date on his writerly exploits. Here's a reminder of what The Lure of Fools is about, and then you can find the excerpt below. Happy reading!

“Adventure is the lure of fools, and excitement glamour to the gullible. The siren song of the world is as music to the wanderer’s feet, but that dance leads only to the soul-less grave.”

So Jekaran’s uncle has warned him. But that doesn’t stop him from leaping at the exhilarating chance to single-handedly rescue a beautiful woman from a gang of lecherous thieves.

But the bored farm boy quickly finds that he is no match for the group of angry street thugs, and only escapes death by bonding a magical sword that grants him the strength and skill of a master swordsman. Unfortunately, a peasant wielding such magic is forbidden and punishable by death.

Thus Jekaran finds himself a fugitive with his fate tied to that of the exotic and mysterious, Kairah; a fey woman who must deliver a dire warning to the king that, if heeded, could prevent the very extinction of humanity.

Excerpt: 

Adventures in Fangirling: Dragon Con 2013

It's been almost two weeks, and I am just now getting around to writing my Dragon Con post. What can I say? No rest for writers! Especially writers preparing for release.

When my husband and I first decided to go to Dragon Con, I was a bit nervous. We're not exactly very social, and tend to shy away from events that have large crowds. Heck, we go to the movies during the day for that reason. So you can imagine how anxious I was at the thought of sticking us in large crowds packed together like sardines.

Surprisingly enough, it didn't bother us that much. We had a few moments of being completely overwhelmed, but in the grand scheme of things, it didn't matter. It did keep us from certain events, like the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Ball. We tried to go, but the entire bottom floor of the Marriott seemed to packed with people who were trying to get in. We couldn't even discern where the line was through the massive crowd pushing their way towards the door and being redirected by the Dragon Con volunteers (poorly, but in their defense, there were A LOT of people to herd around).

This is me, all smiles as we set out for Atlanta.
I didn't take anymore pictures after we hit traffic.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. We started out Thursday to Atlanta, getting a bit more of a late start than we wanted. Pre-registration was until 10pm, so we weren't really worried about it since we'd still be there by four or five o'clock. Well, what was supposed to be a three hour drive turned into seven hours because of a wreck and a GPS that insisted on taking us around our ass to get to our elbow. By the time we finally got to the hotel, the Dragon Con Facebook feed said they were shutting down the pre-registration lines. So we decided we would get an early start in the morning to register and then head to our panels.

We met two really cool people at the MARTA station who were also first timers, Amanda and Joel. We decided to stick together and headed to registration. The line was HUGE. It wrapped around the building twice. We were pretty sure we were going to be there all day. Luckily, the pre-registration and registration system is very effective. We ended up only being in line for I think about an hour or so. We took one look at the John Barrowman line after that, and decided to go grab some lunch instead. I'm kinda bummed that we didn't get to see him, but we were convinced that there was no way that many people in line would fit into the room for his panel. Turns out, we were wrong. I had a friend who jumped into line 15 minutes before the panel started and still got in. Lesson learned: Trust the lines. But our tummies were full and we did a little bit of exploring, having fun with our new friends until we all got in line for Richard Dean Anderson.

I love that guy. I wish I had pictures, but our camera and our phones weren't agreeing with the lighting, so they are all blurry. He was a hoot. We split up with our friends after that (the guys exchanged numbers) with plans to meet up at the Doctor Who ball. We headed to the Timey Wimey Puppet Show, which was hilarious! I seriously suggest you check them out on YouTube.

After that, we headed to Exploring Folklore in Stargate, which was very interesting. We got a message from our friends saying they were pooped and heading back to their hotel, and then we headed to the Doctor Who ball. And then we promptly fled to the MARTA station. Which is a shame, because we were dressed in the style of Doctor Who (I like to call it cosplay light hehe).

Clara and The Tenth Doctor. Sort of.

New Adult Authors: Kate Roth!

Kate Roth's debut novel, new adult romance The Low Notes, was released by Rebel Ink Press in May 2012 and landed her on RIP's Best of 2012 (the publisher's best-sellers list). Her second novel, new adult paranormal romance, Reckless Radiance, has been contracted for publication by RIP and will be released in September 2013. And Kate is hard at work on her third novel, Natural Harmony, another musically themed romance!
    She is inspired by music, film, art, and of course, other authors as well as the wealth of stories she has heard through her years as a professional hair stylist.
    She writes romance in the New Adult, Young Adult, Contemporary and Paranormal genres. Kate is a small business owner and lives in Indiana with her husband, Adam, and their dog, Sampson. 

 The Low Notes:
   When a chance meeting between high school teacher Kevin Reed and singer Nina Jordan ignites an instant spark, they must decide if it's more important to follow your heart or follow the rules.
    After caring for his dying father, Kevin Reed returns to his hometown of Wexley Falls, bereaved, unemployed and exhausted at the thought of starting a new life. After a failed blind date, Kevin meets young singer, Nina Jordan, who takes his breath away with the sound of her voice. The connection is instantaneous and mutual on their first date, but both are crestfallen when they discover, to their horror, Nina is Kevin’s student at the local high school.
    Deciphering between notions of love and lust, fate and coincidence, Kevin and Nina find themselves unable to turn their backs on what they can't deny in a once in a lifetime feeling. Told from both perspectives, The Low Notes explores a love that feels right even though it seems wrong. 


This is blog #5 and the blog code is: KATEMARA
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Blog Tour: Interview with Jaden Wilkes, Author of Like Falling

New Adult seems to be the name of the game lately on my blog (happily!), and I have another wonderful New Adult author to promote. Today Jaden Wilkes is stopping by to answer all of my questions about her books, her process, and her life. Her new book, Like Falling, is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and don't forget to add it on Goodreads. Be sure to add Jaden on Twitter, Goodreads, and follow her on Facebook for more updates.

Sarah Miller is known as a dreamer in her stifling Mennonite community, but she's hiding something from them all. A simple wish to avoid the strictly enforced life path expected of her...early marriage, babies, and work on the farm.

She wants more, so much more. Education, travel, love...sex...

A chance at university hundreds of miles away is too much to pass up, so she follows her best friend Naomi and decides to take her future into her own hands.

She had no idea this decision would change her in ways she never imagined, will the one person she falls in love with hold her back from everything she ever wanted?

***As with all my work, this novel is intended for those 18+. It is New Adult, but contains depictions of graphic sex, drug use and underage drinking.

****This is not a stand alone, it is a cliffhanger, the first of three books.

Author Bio: Jaden is the pen name of a girl living on the prettiest farm in BC. She shares her space with her husband, her children, and an Irish Wolfhound named Tiberius. She can now be found lurking in the dark corners of the internet looking for artful porn gifs, dirty poems and places to promo her work.

Blog Tour: Eliza Patrick's Playlist for Stay With Me (And a Giveaway!)

Music can be a key source of inspiration for writers. It helps get us in the zone to write. Certain songs can altar our mood, darkening it a brooding shade of heartbreak or lightening to the gentle color of a first kiss. Some lyrics might even alter our story as we know it, taking our characters down paths we never expected.

Eliza Patrick has given me her playlist for her book Stay With Me, along with insight as to what some of the songs mean. For more on Eliza Patrick, see the links below with her bio. You can find Stay With Me on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, ARE, and iTunes.

With one look, I’m his . . .
With one touch, he’s mine . . .
With one kiss, it changes everything between us . . .
I’ve been famous since I can remember. Singing, acting, dancing—I’ve done it all. The tabloids cover my every move, but I don’t want that anymore. I want to be normal, whatever that is.
When I leave Hollywood for college in Vermont, I’m on my own for the first time in my life. This is my chance to figure out who I am and what I want in life.
But it’s a lot harder than I expected. I can’t escape my image. Classes are difficult, and I’m struggling. And then there’s Caleb Fox.
Sexy, intriguing Caleb Fox.
Caleb is the one man who doesn’t want to use me. He breaks down my walls. He challenges me. He wants me. And I just don’t know if I can give him the same—or if he’ll stick around when he finds out my shameful secret that the tabloids haven’t managed to uncover.
Dating him is risky enough, but loving him could break me.

Stay With Me Playlist:

1. Someone Like You - Adele
2. Gravity – Sara Bareilles
3. Starry, Starry Night – Don McLean. Caleb and Hailey both like Van Gogh and one of Van Gogh’s paintings, Starry Night, is mentioned in the book.
4. Dancing Queen - ABBA
5. Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson  
   
6. Make You Feel My Love - Kris Allen
7. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley. This is my favorite song, and I include it for every book I write.
8. Everything I Do I Do It For You – Bryan Adams. I would say this song is very true for Caleb and his feelings for Hailey.
9. Falling Softly – from the Broadway musical, Once. This is the song Caleb and Hailey dance to at the Halloween dance.
10. My Life Would Suck Without You – Kelly Clarkson. I chose this because Caleb’s and Hailey’s lives would suck without each other. ;)
11. Something – George Harrison. Another song I love, and this holds true for both of them with the line, “like no other lover.”
12. To Show Me Your Love – Mike Schmid: This the song that plays in the book trailer. I think it’s very romantic and swoonworthy, much like how Caleb feels about Hailey. 

Like what you've seen so far? There's more! Check out the Rafflecopter entry form below for your chance to win $50 Amazon giftcard and digital copies of Stay With Me, One Hit Wonder, and As You Wish.

Blog Tours: Excerpt from Disciple Part III by L. Blankenship

L. Blankenship is back, and she already has Disciple Part III ready for us! To give us a tease, she's offered an excerpt. You can find a list of retailers selling Disciple Part III here.

Kate fought for her place as a healer in the war’s front lines. Serving her homeland has been her goal since her magical gifts earned her a coveted apprenticeship with the kingdom’s greatest healer. She believes she’s prepared.

But nothing’s simple when defending a besieged capital city — or her heart.

She loves the prince, who means to protect her even though his duties as a knight keep him on the battlements, fighting the enemy’s monstrous army.

Kate’s husband is the one who checks on her, lingers over dinner, and slowly but surely charms her. She’s all too aware that her beloved prince threatened to kill him if he touches her.

As the enemy thunders against the city walls, the kingdom needs more from Kate than just her healing magic. All disciples must put aside their tangled feelings and stand in the homeland’s defense.

Kate believed she's ready for a war. She isn't.

Read on for the excerpt!