Monday, December 30, 2013

Feed Your eReader with Great YA

Curl up with today's hottest YA novels!


One of the things I love about winter is I have more time to read, and with my eReader, I know new books are just a click away. So this winter pour yourself a warm beverage, snuggle up with your favorite eReader, and get lost in a new story. 

 .99 cents



Read EMBRACE today: Amazon | Barnes&Noble
How for would you go to save the people you love? 

Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It’s responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve.

Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he’s a guy harboring a secret, but she’s willing to risk the unknown to be with him.

Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren’t there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can’t find the answers, Madison seeks her own.

Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.



Read REAPING ME SOFTLY today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Ever since a near-death-experience on the operating table, seventeen-year-old Arianne Wilson can see dead people. Just as she’s learned to accept her new-found talents, she discovers that the boy she’s had a crush on since freshman year, Niko Clark, is a Reaper.

At last they have something in common, but that doesn’t mean life is getting any easier. All while facing merciless bullying from the most powerful girl in school, Arianne’s world is turned upside down after Niko accidentally reaps the soul of someone she loves. This sends them both into a spiral that threatens to end Arianne’s life. But will Niko break his own Reaper’s code to save her? And what would the consequences be if he did?



 $2.99


Read A SHIMMER OF ANGELS today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?



Read EMBER today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
When Candra Ember wakes up in hospital after a dangerous encounter with a red-haired woman, she is shocked to discover that seeing a winged boy wasn't her imagination. Candra is exposed to a world of rivalry and sacrifice she never knew existed, and the aftermath of a war to save humanity thousands of years ago. Soon she finds herself relentlessly stalked by Sebastian, a beautiful and arrogant Watcher Angel and romantically pursued by his darkly seductive rival, Draven. Ultimately, dubious about her own goodness, Candra’s very existence compromises a tentative peace in the city of Acheron.



Read HOLD TIGHT today: Amazon Barnes&Noble
What’s one little spell?

When you’re new to magic, one spell can be the difference between getting what you want...and ruining the lives of everyone you love.

Sixteen-year-old Madison has just embraced her magical powers. The trick now is learning how to control them. She and her boyfriend -and fellow witch- can’t even enjoy a simple kiss without getting shocked when their powers collide. Instead of mastering her new skills, though, Madison is stuck watching her kid brother and doing chores.

But being a witch does have its benefits. With a simple spell, Madison instantly conjures the help she needs around the house. Or so she thinks. Her idea of “help” invites trouble of its own as a pair of dangerous yet enticing beings enter her life. When a classmate disappears soon afterwards, Madison discovers she's the next victim of a threat she's powerless to resist...and there’s nothing it won’t kill to make her surrender.

Caught in the crossfire between two dashing but deadly creatures, Madison must figure out which one to trust and how to rid her world of the other—before one of them destroys her and everyone she cares about.

Read IRIDESCENT (Ember Bk 2) today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Candra Ember used to dream of saving the world one person at a time. She never expected to become an angelic weapon and the last hope in the battle against ultimate darkness.

Falling for a Nephilim wasn’t part of Sebastian’s plan. Distraction is something he can’t afford when his rival, Draven, wants what Sebastian has.

Lies, manipulation, and corruption are twisting the lives of the citizens in Acheron. The Arch is missing from Heaven, and a demon is intent on claiming the city. At a time they should be growing closer, grief and paranoia is driving Candra and Sebastian apart.

If the price of restoring the Watchers to Heaven is a human soul, who deserves to be saved?


Read JANUARY BLACK today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor. After his school’s headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief, Matty’s future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a challenge: answer a question for a master’s diploma.

More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.

What was January Black?

It’s a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty’s journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He’s been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost…or call the king’s bluff.


Read MY SISTER'S REAPER today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Sixteen-year-old Zadie’s first mistake was telling the boy she liked she could bring her dead sister back to life. Her second mistake was actually doing it.

When Zadie accidentally messes with the Reaper’s Rite that should have claimed her sister Mara, things go horribly wrong. Mara isn’t the same anymore—Zadie isn’t even sure she’s completely human. To top it off, a Reaper is determined to collect Mara's soul. Now Zadie must figure out how to defeat her sister’s Reaper or let Mara die … this time for good.




Read OPPRESSION today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Elyse knows what it means to keep a secret. She's been keeping secrets her whole life. Two, actually. First, that she ages five times slower than average people, so that while she looks eighteen years old, she's well over eighty. Second, that her blood has a mysterious power to heal. For Elyse, these things don't make her special. They make life dangerous. After the death of her parents, she's been careful to keep her secret as closely guarded as possible. Now, only one other person in the world knows about her age and ability. Or so she thinks. Elyse is not the only one keeping secrets. There are others like her all over the world, descendants of the very people the Greeks considered gods. She is one of them, and they have been waiting for her for a long time. Some are waiting for her to put an end to centuries of traditions that have oppressed their people under the guise of safeguarding them. Others are determined to keep her from doing just that. But for Elyse, the game is just beginning-and she's not entirely willing to play by their rules.


Read PRETTY DARK NOTHING today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
It’s time to choose: Love or lies, faith or fear, darkness or destiny.

Seventeen-year-old Quinn hasn’t slept a full night in twenty-three days. She’s terrified of the demons that stalk her dreams, pull her into a deep dark nothingness and whisper hauntingly of her death. Exhausted, Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, and Aaron, an amnesiac with a psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. If Quinn can learn to trust her heart, and Aaron can discover the secret locked away in his fragile memory, their combined power could banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.


Read SHADES OF ATLANTIS today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Since the death of their parents, Triona Pryor and her brother, Ben, have lived with their aunt and uncle in Camden, Maine. Now in her senior year of high school, Triona loves her family and friends, but she has always felt that she didn't quite fit in...in Camden, or anywhere else. Enter Caleb Wallace, the devilishly handsome man who has recently moved to Triona's small town. While their attraction to each other is instantaneous, it also proves to be dangerous...and deadly. When tragedy strikes, Triona flees to London for solace and to start her life anew. It's there she discovers from an unlikely source that her family has been keeping secrets from her - secrets about not only her birthright, but her ultimate destiny as well. Armed with this knowledge, Triona finds herself thrown into a whole new world and into a battle to save the lives of everyone she loves.

Read TASTE today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.



Read UNREAP MY HEART today: Kindle | Amazon
Only a villain can save the day.

During his thousand year banishment in the Nethers, Balthazar thought of nothing but taking over the Crossroads from Death.

On the day he puts his plans into action, Balthazar finds the Crossroads on lockdown. Death has been stabbed by Brianne’s Bitterness, a blade that slowly leaches him of his powers. In order to challenge Death for his seat and prevent utter chaos, Balthazar is forced into a mission to find the Redeemer, the only being capable of pulling out the blade from Death’s chest. The only person who can identify the Redeemer is a human girl in the Crossroads whose soul is still attached to her body.
Meeting Arianne Wilson pushes Balthazar’s patience to the limit. In a deal he makes with Death, he must protect Arianne during their journey through the Underverse using all the resources available to him. He soon realizes the one he needs to protect is himself. For as much harm as it inflicts on Balthazar's body, trekking through the Underverse with Arianne is proving more dangerous for his heart and soul.

Can the villain remain a villain when love gets in the way? 

Read UPRISING (Children of the Gods #2)  today: 
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Elyse has done everything she can to protect her friends from The Council's reach. As long as they believe she's dead, she has time to rest and train for war. And war is inevitable.

When Kara arrives with the news that Anna and Chloe have been captured, Elyse is faced with the realization that no one is safe until The Council is stopped and Christoph is destroyed. She doesn't need a prophecy to tell her to lead an army. Christoph has done the one thing that ensures she'll fight to the death. He's threatened the people she loves.

It will take more than the words of an oracle to help them fight against the most powerful Descendant alive. To break The Council's oppression and rise up against a plot so many years in the making, Elyse will need to get dangerously close to her enemy. So close, in fact, she may not survive.



More great deals!

Read ASCENDANT today: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
When I was twelve, my mother disappeared. I was the first person to never find her. I’m sixteen now and she has never been found, alive or dead. I’m not the girl I should have been.

When Charlotte Stevens, bright but failing, is sent to stay at her mother’s childhood home in Somerset England her life is changed forever. While exploring the lavish family manor, Gaersum Aern, Charlotte discovers a stone puzzle box that contains a pentagram necklace and a note from her mother—clues to her family’s strange past and her mother’s disappearance. Charlotte must try to solve the puzzle box, decipher her mother’s old journals, and figure out who is working to derail her efforts—and why. The family manor contains many secrets and hidden histories, keys to the elegant mystery Charlotte called mom and hopefully, a trail to finding her.


Read PHANTOM TOUCH today: Kindle | Barnes & Noble
Bridget White just wants to be an average girl, but the car accident that killed her sister took away everything normal in Bridget’s life. Now she spends her days talking to unhappy ghosts and helping them move on to the afterlife. But dealing with death on a daily basis is too much for one girl to handle, so when she finds a way to get rid of her supernatural sight, she jumps at the chance.

There’s just one more job standing between her and normal. When a missing local girl turns up as a freshly murdered ghost, Bridget realizes she’s the only one who can find the killer. Worse still, he’s not done killing. Now Bridget may have to sacrifice her only chance at being normal to stop him from taking another innocent life.


Read SPEAK OF THE DEVIL today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
What happens when falling in love and falling from grace collide?

High school junior Lily Tyler dies along with her two best friends in a car accident, but miraculously she comes back to life several minutes later. Unable to deal with her loss and her survivor’s guilt, she moves to her dad’s. While there trying to heal from this tragedy and come to terms with the event, she meets some people at her new school who are all too eager to help her. Struggling to fight her feelings for two of these strange new acquaintances, Luc and Mo, she finds out their true identities.

Lily must move on from the past, reconcile her feelings for Luc, and find a way to stop a divine war with the fallen angels, all while trying to pass the eleventh grade.


Read SON OF A MERMAID today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Shea MacNamara’s life just got complicated.

After a freak tornado devastates his Oklahoma farm, the fifteen-year-old orphan is whisked away to Cape Cod. Struggling to make sense of his new surroundings, he’s trying hard to deal with feelings of abandonment… and the emotions stirred by a girl he meets along the shore.

Kae belongs to an undersea world hidden from drylanders. The daughter of royal servants, she knows the planned marriage of her Princess to the foreign King should put an end to the war between the clans. But two things stand in the way of lasting peace: the ambitions of the foreign King’s regent, and rumors of the Princess’s bastard child.

Sparks fly when she meets Shea, but could the cute drylander really be the Son of a Mermaid?


Read STALKED BY DEATH (Bk2) today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Jodi knows that any slip-ups made by the Ophi--a special group of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac--will fall on her shoulders... and that Hades is just waiting for them to screw up so he can wipe out the Ophi line.

Unfortunately, Jodi has only convinced one Ophi to join her school: A hot guy named Chase who jeopardizes her relationship with Alex. Jodi loves Alex, but Chase can enhance her powers with just a touch—making her stronger than any Ophi has ever been.

Her mixed emotions send her powers surging out of control, and the dead start rising without her conscious summoning—exactly what Hades doesn't want! If she chooses Alex over Chase, she may lose the battle to Hades, leading the Ophi race to extinction. If she chooses Chase, she might be able to stop Hades for good… but lose everything else.

Jodi needs to figure things out fast--because death is stalking her at every turn.


Read TOUCH OF DEATH today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.

Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.



Keep them coming, pre-order today:

Pre-order BURN OUT today: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
A futuristic blend of Beth Revis's Across the Universe and Lenore Appelhans's Level 2, Burn Out will satisfy the growing desire for science fiction with a thrilling story of survival, intrigue, and adventure.

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth's final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns "red giant," but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.


Holed up in an underground shelter, Tora is alone--her brilliant scientist father murdered, her mother and sister burned to death. She dreams of living on a planet with oceans, plants, and animals. Unfortunately, the oceans dried out ages ago, the only plants are giant cacti with deadly spines, and her pet, Trigger, is a gun--one of the bio-energetic weapons her father created for the government before his conscience kicked in.


When family friend, Markus, arrives with mercenaries to take the weapons by force, Tora's fury turns to fear when government ships descend in an attempt to kill them all. She forges an unlikely alliance with Markus and his rag-tag group of raiders, including a smart but quiet soldier named James. Tora must quickly figure out who she can trust, as she must choose between saving herself by giving up the guns or honoring her father's request to save humanity from the most lethal weapons in existence.


Pre-order WANTED:  DEAD OR IN LOVE: Amazon
Impulsive high school senior Monroe Baker is on probation for a recent crime, but strives to stay out of trouble by working as a flapper at her father’s Roaring 20’s dinner show theater. When she cuts herself on one of the spent bullets from her father’s gangster memorabilia collection, she unwittingly awakens Bonnie Parker’s spirit, who begins speaking to Monroe from inside her head. 

Later that evening, Monroe shows the slugs to Jack, a boy she meets at a party. He unknowingly becomes infected by Clyde, who soon commits a crime using Jack’s body. The teens learn that they have less than twenty-four hours to ditch the criminals or they’ll share their bodies with the deadly outlaws indefinitely. 


Feed Your eReader, young adult books, great YA

Monday, December 23, 2013

ROLOPOLOBookBlog is Giving Away Lots of Books!

Hi everyone!  ROLOPOLOBookBlog is celebrating her one year anniversary by giving away lots of great books, including a copy of Embrace and Hold Tight!

Enter for your chance to win a copy of Embrace or Hold Tight (I pasted the Rafflecopter below), then hop over to ROLOPOLOBookBlog and check out the other giveaways!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Darkly Delicious YA: Chatting about the Holidays



Hi everyone! I'm over at Darkly Delicious YA chatting about the holidays. I hope you'll stop by and let me know what you love about this time of year.


9 Ways to Conquer Writer's Block

I recently reached a point in my current work-in-progress where I needed to check the timeline and hash out the last few scenes. I'm at the climax and I know what I want to happen. I just need to write it. Only I found myself staring at my computer screen wondering how to being the next chapter. I decided this was a good time to revisit one of my old blog posts, and I thought there might be other writers out there that might benefit from it too, so I'm re-posting it here. 

Also, today I'm over at Darkly Delicious YA sharing some of my favorite things about this time of year. If you have a moment, I hope you'll stop by. 
~~~


Writer’s block: the inability to write another word. 

That’s putting it rather simply, and it’s a moment in time all writers dread. So how do you get past writer's block? Below, are some of my favorite techniques.

  • Do something else. Sometimes the answer is to step away from your computer. Take a walk, clean the house, watch a movie, hang out with friends. 


  • Discuss it out loud. You don’t necessarily need a live person to do this. Ramble to yourself, discuss what you want to happen with a stuffed animal, explain the problem you’re having to a picture. You might be surprised how this helps you work though what’s causing your writer’s block.




  • Try a new approach. Put your characters in danger, have them take the hard right over the easy wrong (or vise versa), turn left instead of right.


  • Allow yourself to write crap. It will help you get to where you need to be in the story.


  • Work on a different scene. Often times writing a scene that comes later in the book will help you realize what needs to happen in the one you’re stuck on.



  • Do some writing exercises. There are sites that offer themes, Figment being one of them.



  • Try the cluster technique. Write down a word, any word, then jot down anything that comes to mind when you think of that word.






  • Map out options. To the left is a much neater version of what I often do on a piece of notebook paper.





  • Give yourself a break. Inspiration can't be forced. Allowing yourself to take a short break might just get your creative juices flowing again. 


Writing, conquer writer's block, for writers

Monday, December 9, 2013

Free Books and More: Miscellaneous News


Work on book three in the Embrace series is coming along nicely. The threat is escalating, the plot threads are working, and Madison is challenged in ways she wasn't in the first two books. I'm still in first draft phase, and I already have a list of things that I need to work on, like the lack of snow at the end of January and my characters live in Massachusetts, but those are easy things to fix. There's a progress bar on my sidebar if you want to see just how far I've gotten.



This week marks the kick-off of Darkly Delicious YA
I'm thrilled to be a part of organizing this new blog. We're a collective of traditionally published young adult authors who are passionate about writing suspenseful, intriguing novels for teens and adults. Our works range from contemporary, romance, paranormal, magical realism, or supernatural, each featuring a darkly delicious story line that will leave you craving more. We're kicking off the site with our Top 5 Holiday Secrets, and then next month we'll begin dishing secrets about our books and writing. I hope you'll take a minute to hop over to our site, follow us, and read our posts.



HOLD TIGHT is being featured on Free Book Friday, and there's three paperback copies up for grabs. Click here to enter.

The giveaway ends this week, so hurry!


Don't want to wait? You can get Hold Tight on your eReader for only $2.99.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Spotlight: Claudette Marco, author of Satchel & Sword I


With me today is Claudette Marco, author of Satchel & Sword I: The search for the Saluka Stone. Before we get to the interview, let's learn a little more about this exciting new book:

SATCHEL & SWORD I (The Search for the Saluka Stone)
by Claudette Marco

Synopsis:
In the land of time and Queens, one young woman sought not greed, but justice!

Satchel & Sword I: The Search for The Saluka Stone is part one of a Young Adult Epic Fantasy trilogy chronicling the struggles and perseverance of Nevaline Scarcliff, a 15-year-old foot soldier living in the militarist, matriarchal territory of Amazonia. The greedy Amazonian Queen forces her army to march north to fight against Amazonia's rival territory: Hychester. They must march through the bewitched Blackbern Forest in order to conceal their attack. There, Nevaline and her best friend Cairine wield their Claymores in perilous battles against mercenaries, thieving Harpies, giant, human-eating Pophagi, enemy soldiers, and a group of malevolent sorcerers called the Sables. Nevaline also discovers her true destiny: she must destroy Micdian, the God of Verahain (Purgatory), who descended to earth to enslave all in the continent of Kordalis and the northern islands of the Caátlach Ocean. She must retrieve the Saluka Stone and use it to awaken him and destroy him. Will she recover the Saluka Stone? Will she claim justice and destroy Micdian?

Want to read more? Kindle price $0.99/£0.77!!     Amazon .com | Amazon .co.uk

Please help me welcome Claudette!

Cherie: Tell us about your novel, Satchel & Sword I: The Search for the Saluka Stone in your own words.
Claudette: The struggles of a teenaged girl in a time of societal unrest and the will to never surrender hope for a better future… This is the story Nevaline Scarcliff, a 15-year-old foot-soldier living in the militarist, matriarchal territory of Amazonia.  Her mother died at childbirth and, at eight years old, her father disappears and she is taken into the custody of the Amazonian government. She is placed into the United Warriors Training Camp. After much anger and frustration, she accepts her lot in life as a soldier, training arduously physically and with the sword, her Amazonia-issued Claymore sword, because if she does not, it means her death on the battlefield. But she accepts this because she has been taught patience and shown love by her Mythics teacher Master Sjhong, whom she also loves and admires as much as her own father.

The greedy Queen of Amazonia declares war on Hychester, a territory to the distant north and orders her army to march through the bewitched Blackbern Forest to conceal their attack. But, much to Nevaline’s surprise, her path would veer away from the army.

Cherie: Sounds intriguing. Can you tell us a little about your writing process?
Claudette: I have spent my whole life looking for a career that would best fit my interests and abilities. When I found writing, it felt like two gears clicking perfectly into each other. When I started, the story just flowed out of me. I wrote close to 2000 words a day while working. What I enjoyed most in life was writing the college research essay. So I kept those habits when writing S&S like keeping a notebook for my notes about the story and characters, researching aspects of the Scottish, Mexica, and Mongolian culture which I include as details in the backdrop of the story, and I even drew a map to give the readers a guide for the story.

Cherie: Where did you get the idea for your novel?
Claudette: I was always fascinated by the idea of the Amazon, the female-led government. What would it be like? Who would run it? How would it be administered? Also, I wrote this book during a rough time in my life, and I wanted others to feel empowered by this story, as much as it made me feel at peace with myself and gave me confidence to actually be myself. So, I wanted the message to be that the underdog has hope, one must never give up in their dreams of getting out of a bad situation, or their dreams of achieving something when the future looks like a never ending plateau. I was starting my life from scratch, just finding the career I love doing, so I wanted my main character to be someone just starting out their life as well, and what better person than a teenager. Teenagers have already had schooling, a taste of what life is going to be like when it comes to dealing with rules, improvisation, and formulating goals for themselves. So everything fit.

Cherie: That’s a great message. What was your favorite or most difficult chapter to write?
Claudette: My favorite and, also, most difficult parts to write were not so much chapters but the characters. I spent a lot of time honing what they were going to say, how they were going to react to situations. I needed them to be true to their personality and upbringing, and their actions had to reflect that. For example, Master Sjhong and Farjon are distinct characters that needed an added touch which, I must say, was an exhilarating process for me. I loved this.

Cherie: Can you share with us something about you that we may not already know?
Claudette: I have spent much time trying careers that were not meant for me and I kept trying to make them work because I was afraid of failing. Failure has a pejorative meaning to it which leads people down wrong paths in life, or, something which can be worse, keeps people from living to their full potential. It did both for me, but I kept fighting back, and I learned not to take failure as a strike against me in life. I learned what I can and cannot do. Failure can actually lead to fulfillment, you just have to go for it.

Cherie: So true! What are you working on now?
Claudette: Right now I am working on publishing this trilogy, the second book will come out March 4th 2014, my 34th birthday, and the third I have not decided yet when. I have started the next book which is a Sci-fi adventure.

Cherie: Now that we know about your book and you as a writer, I have some fun questions for you. Try to answer in five words or less: 

Favorite color? Red.

Secret crush? (It can be anyone real or fictional.) Not really a secret, but it always will be Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes, but likes and dislikes must click as well.

Have you ever experienced that head-over-heels, tingly, have-to-get-to-know-someone feeling yourself? The first time I saw Stone Cold Steve Austin on television!

Who are you drawn to the good guy or the bad guy? Both. I love exploring both in my writing.

If you had all the money and time in the world, where would your dream vacation be? Smoo Cave in northern Scotland.

Are you a morning person or an evening person? A little of both.

Favorite author? Agatha Christie

Favorite movie or television show? The Lord of the Rings/Xena: Warrior Princess

Guilty pleasures that get you through the writing/revising process?  Never did get to enjoy myself fully in the careers I tried. With writing, I get to indulge in my fulfillment.

Favorite place to write?  In front of a window with a view of plants, nature.

Who is your mentor (or hero)? My parents Jose and Virginia Marco, and various teachers I have had in school like Sister Terese, Sister Christine Beach, my advisor in high school Mr. Marcus Lewis, my advisor in college Prof.  Michael Mcbride, and countless other teachers.

What book are you the most excited to read? I look forward to anything fantasy/sci-fi. But I like re-reading books more than once like any of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries and Isaac Asimov. One book I really liked was Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

Are there any types of books you don’t read? I read a little bit of everything, except erotica. The bulk of my interests are in fantasy, sci-fi, and mysteries, but I also love reading horror, experimental, and even westerns too.

Thanks so much for being here today!

Author Bio:
Claudette Marco, scrivener of poetry and short stories since she was a child, earned a B.A. degree from Whittier College, soul budding in world wild. After many years of toil, soul searching for relief, she finally reclaimed path towards labor complete: writing. Home locates in Covina, CA. 

Connect with Claudette

Instagram: @Telekorn | LinkedIn: Claudette Marco


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

IWSG: Setting Goals



The first Wednesday of the month is here, which means it's time for IWSG. If you're not familiar with this meme, it was started by Alex Cavanaugh. It's a group of writers who share their insecurities, encouraging words, and support with each other and our followers. If you'd like to join us, great! Click here for more information.

I've always been goal orientated. I also like to create to-do lists. Both of these things help me stay on task. By setting goals, I have a target to aim for and, because I like a challenge, I find a way to hit it. To-do lists help me keep track of the things I need to get done. Because I hate to have items looming over me, I tend to finish my lists quickly. These two tactics have always helped me accomplish what I have to do as well as what I'd like to do, so when work on my current project came to a halt I decided to use NaNo as a way to kick my butt back into gear.  

Last month I set a goal to write 50,000-words by the end of the month. In a way, I accomplished this. I added 21,000-words to my latest WIP which put my total word count at 53.500-words. Mid-month I hit a road block. I had too many plot threads and a few details that really needed to be smoothed out and/or developed better before I could write the last few chapters. I decided to revise what I had so far. As of Sunday night, I revised 34,000-words. That included re-writing a few scenes, deleting the slow parts, adding more detail to what worked, killing one of the plot threads, and, best of all, discovering the missing link needed to add more suspense to the middle of the book. Not too bad for thirty days of writing. If I can keep up this pace I will have a completed draft of book three in my Embrace series done before the holidays. 

If you're finding it hard to complete your projects, I highly recommend setting a goal or making a list. Let me know you're doing it and I'll be right there to cheer you on!

Happy writing, and happy holidays!


Friday, November 29, 2013

Black Friday Extravaganza with Four Chances to Win!


Kick start your holiday shopping with gift cards from your favorite authors! There are four $50 Amazon Gift Cards up for grabs and, as if that wasn't enough, on November 29th, hop over to the Facebook party and you just might win one of the many e-books being given away.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, November 22, 2013

Feature Friday: Kelly from Kindle and Me



Welcome to Feature Friday. A meme dedicated to meeting the people behind the wonderful book blogs we love to follow. 


Today I have Kelly from Kindle and Me here. If you haven't checked out this blog, you really should!

Cherie: How did you get started in blogging about books?
Kindle and me: Kelly joined Anjana the beginning of this year.  Anjana has been blogging for several years. Anjana ran an ad on the blog looking for help. So I, Kelly, replied. I do most of the posts currently.  Anjana is a busy beaver working and going to grad school. She needs an Assistant. Anyone know of one??

Cherie: How did you come up with the name for your blog?
Kelly: Anjana got a new kindle and went with that. Although she says it should have been Me and My Kindle.

Cherie: What’s your favorite part about blogging?
Kelly: Getting word out to others on all that’s out there!! I also like it when someone wins a giveaway and you can feel their excitement in their comments!

Cherie: And we appreciate it! Do you have any pet peeves that make you want to put down the book your reading?
Kelly: Sex at the beginning of a book! Next up are F bombs. I am not a fan, never was!

Cherie: What type of books do you enjoy?
Kelly: Give me a romance any day! I am a fiction person, I want to escape reality.

Cherie: Me too! Do you mind books with similar ideas to other books? Similar concepts, backgrounds, or retellings?
Kelly: Nope, not at all. I like reading the different versions! I have read a lot of Pride and Prejudice retellings lately! I own them all too!

Cherie: Do you like when your favorite books are made into movies, and why?
Kelly: I used to. But my mind plays it differently than the directors mind. I like mine better.

Cherie: If you could choose to be any character from a book, who would it be and why?
Kelly: I can’t think of her name and it is only a side character anyway from The Vampire Academy but she is one of the Dhampir Instructors at the academy who is still  in great shape and kicks butt.  I always wanted to be her and still do. She is kicking butt in the 40 and 50’s!

Cherie: Okay, try to answer the next set of questions in five words or less. If you start a book that isn’t grabbing your attention, how far into the book will you read before you put it down? 40 pages or pure frustration

Secret crush? (He or she can be anyone real or fictional.) err, uh, my husband!

You're a lucky girl to have married your secret crush! Do you believe in love at first sight?
It can happen, but rarely.

Have you ever experienced that head-over-heels, tingly, have-to-get-to-know-someone feeling yourself?
Nope

Are you drawn to the good guy or the bad guy?
good guy (Darn it)

Ha! That made me smile! What’s the first thing you notice about a guy? His face

If you had all the money and time in the world, where would your dream vacation be? New Zealand

Are you a morning person or an evening person? I work nights, nuff said!

Favorite author? I plead the 5th! TOO MANY

Favorite place to read? On the beach!

I’m jealous! There’s no beach near me. Favorite classic? Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

What book are you the most excited to read? Next I am waiting for Richelle Mead’s The Fiery Heart

Are there any types of books you don’t read?
Not Erotica.

Do you have any hobbies?
Reading, Reading and traveling

What book would make a great movie?
Blackmoore A Proper Romance by Julianne Donaldson

What’s the worst cover to a book that you loved?
Somewhere to Dream by Genevieve Graham

It’s your birthday, and your friends got you a giant cake. What character do you hope pops out of your cake and what book is he/her from?
Dimitri from Vampire Academy

Kelly, thanks so much for being here today!

Connect with Kelly and Anjana from Kindle and Me!