Jo Michaels Blog

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Yassa - Book Blurb and Reviews

Happy Thursday, blogospherians! Today I bring you a little information and a few reviews for my book Yassa. If you've never heard of it, I invite you to pick up a sample at the links provided below. Have some fun and discover this great Historical Fiction novel.

Paperback $9.99
Paperback (large 14 pt type) $17.99
NOOK $2.99
Smashwords $2.99
Kindle $2.99

Synopsis:
When Temujin is ten, he murders one of his half-brothers in self-defense. That one act of brutality shows him the animal that lives inside his heart, sets into motion a string of events that bring a boy named Jamuka into his life, and gives Temujin the idea to write the law he calls Yassa. Yassa law states that, above all else, you are to be loyal to those you pledge yourself to. There is only one punishment for breaking Yassa law: death.

Deep conflict arises between Temujin and Jamuka when they go to rescue Temujin's wife, Börte, from kidnappers. Jamuka sees her, falls in love, and decides to take her for his own. Jamuka attacks Börte and tries to force himself on her. Temujin casts the man out.

Jamuka is bent on revenge for being cast out and is driven to win Börte at any cost. As a result, the two men are plunged into battle over power and a woman. Love drives the conquering of the greatest continuous empire in history in the hopes that the victor will win the affections of Börte.

When the final battle takes place, does Temujin uphold Yassa law and kill Jamuka, or does he make an exception for the love of a friend that has already betrayed him once?

What reviewers are saying on Amazon:
5 Stars - "What would you do for love? What would you do to survive? Yassa, by Jo Michaels offers the warrior's answer to these questions and then some. Written in first person, Yassa manages to give two points of view to its peak turning-point event without breaking a sweat. Some prologues can be ignored and one misses nothing, but readers of this novel should be very careful not to fall into this thinking in the case of this work. The prologue adds a completely new dimension to the work, and enhances the tale greatly.

In a world of marriages arranged for power, and ruthless warlords and warriors, real love is a rare commodity. Yet, even the most brutal..." ~ C.M. Truxler

4 Stars - "I received a complimentary copy of Yassa from author Jo Michaels. Honestly, what attracted me to the book was not the subject matter, but the cover! I might be in love. As far as self-published books go, it's difficult to find an amazing cover design, but I really like this one.

The description of this book gives a very clear indication of what readers can expect: a love story, told from the man's perspective, that goes to all extremes. Yes, there is love and romance in here, but there is also violence, death, and anger.

If you're looking for a fairytale romance, this book is not..." ~ Jones

To read all the reviews on Amazon, including the rest of the ones above, click here.

This one is from Smashwords:
4 Stars - "Ordinarily, I don't care for books written in first person, but I read this one from start to finish. This fictional story of the early life of Genghis Khan and his imposition of Yassa, the system of law, on the scattered Mongol tribes, as he unified them into one people, blends known history with the story of his love for his wife. An interesting and definitely recommended read." ~ Sharon L. Reddy

If you don't have a copy of this book yet, go check it out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

If you've read it, kindly leave a review. Thanks!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

I, Zombie Excerpt

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I bring you an excerpt from my NaNoWriMo novel, I, Zombie. Kindly keep in mind this is a very rough draft so you will find errors. Enjoy!

1 – A is for Atrophy

   Bang, bang, bang!
   Sounds of the axe hitting the front door echoed through the deserted shack, sending curls of fear through the forms huddled inside. Unintelligible moans erupted from their mouths as they pressed together.
   Trixie sent out a thought: Calm. Don’t let them hear us; maybe they’ll go away.
   When the groans died down, they could hear the humans outside walking the perimeter of the structure, looking for a weak point.
   Shuffling of the beings increased and a small hand found its way into Trixie’s. She knelt down near the child and put her scabby forehead to his. He seemed to understand this meant: We’ll be okay; and she felt the tension leaving his body. They stayed that way for a few minutes until a human shouted out, “Here! I found a way in!”
   Instantly she was upright, willing her brethren to move from their corner, closer to the window she intended to smash to make an exit. It was the only route they had. As one, they shuffled toward it.
   “I can’t get this door open!” It came from one of the female hunters.
   She sounded like she was in the basement.
   Off the kitchen, a doorknob was being jiggled.
   Guttural moans erupted from the group again.
   Trixie could just make out the fat heads of huge nails protruding from the jamb. Those humans would have to have a crowbar to get that entrance open. She sent out another thought: They can’t open it. Be quiet. At once, the low droning stopped.
   Her group continued to move slowly.
   She hoped they could make it to her truck. Dragging her useless right leg, she did the best she could to lead the ones behind her to the large window.
   When they got to the house, they’d done what they could to fortify it against the humans giving chase. It was sheer luck the earlier inhabitants had already reinforced most of the windows, entrances, and exits. With speed she didn’t know her group possessed, they moved to secure the house against the certain death on their heels like the hounds of hell.
   She wished she could speak; but the rot invading her skin eroded her vocal chords. While she had a strange connection with those who were like her, allowing access to their minds, she couldn’t communicate with humans.
   This was supposed to be a rescue mission. It was an easy in and out trip. Reports had come in about three members of a family hiding in a nearby barn. Her team was sent to bring them in safely.
   But, here they were, about to get their heads squished.
***

I hope you enjoyed that little peek into my book.

What are you working on? How's your NaNo going?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Cover Reveal - Iron Pendulum by Megan Curd

Happy Tuesday, blogospherians! Today I have a very special post for you from my fellow UtopYAn, Megan Curd. You'll get to meet Megan in one of my tell-all interviews at the end of the month. In the mean time, check out the great cover for Iron Pendulum, book two of The Periodic Series that began with Steel Lily.

By Megan Curd

BLURB:
A month ago, Avery thought the world ended outside Dome Four. Thought she was one of the few of her kind. Thought the war that brought the human race to the brink of extinction was over.

But a month can change everything.

Returning to the dome she longed to escape is a challenge for Avery, but now she knows there’s corruption lurking in the shadows. A massive steam shortage leaves half the dome without power, and people are falling ill. Dying.

And they’re blaming Avery.

A month can change everything. Another month could kill everyone. The clock is ticking.

LINKS:
Goodreads: Iron Pendulum
Twitter: @MeganCurd
Facebook: Author Megan Curd

Buy Steel Lily: For Kindle at $0.99

Now what you've all come for...

The thing I know you're dying to see!

I give you, the cover for Iron Pendulum:

And, for fun, let's have a look at the hardcover!

How completely awesome are those?

What do you think of the cover? Have you read Steel Lily yet?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Monday, November 4, 2013

The Art of Creating a Book Trailer - A Guest Post by Tania Penn

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! I know you all remember Ms. Tania Penn. Today, she's here to give us a guest post about creating a book trailer. Keeping with my Monday posts from the authors attending UtopYA Con in June, 2014, I'm excited to bring you an inside look at what it takes to create something so central to marketing your book. Without further blabbering, I give you:

The Art of Creating a Book Trailer

by Tania Penn

I found out I had the knack by accident, to make book trailers last Halloween. I had been making short one minute films for my (at the time) 6 year old son — he would set his Transformer toys up, put them in a graveyard made out of wiki sticks and play-doh, then I would set it to spooky music while he narrated. We filmed his two ciclids making a black and white silent film set to music for a first grade school project. After a few of those and seeing some book trailers on Facebook, I wondered if maybe I could do the same thing using my Adobe Premiere Elements program that I was using for my son. To my astonishment, it worked! I made my first practice one for The Morning Star, using photographs of actors who were my muse, added some titles and text, and set it to my song that I considered the theme song. Not bad! After showing it to a few author friends, the requests came in. With each one, I discovered I could churn them out pretty quick — about a video a day. All I needed was their idea(s) for their muses, theme song, any particular photos or video they wanted me to put in there, and most importantly, if their book hadn’t been released yet, a bit of what it was about and the synopsis.

My first week, I made about 3 films - I was on a roll! I thought it would be a great way to supplement my income by doing something I loved to do, was pretty good at doing and was getting better at, all whilst sitting on my arse sipping coffee (or a martini, depending on the time!). So now, I had a few videos under my belt (that I did for free, or for some e-book trades), I decided to build my website, create my pay pal account, and sit back and watch the requests for my services come flooding in, now that I had a nice portfolio of videos for authors to check out. On top of that, I started tinkering with book cover design and found that it was pretty easy as well. I was on a roll! I was especially excited because I was drowning in that proverbial pool known as writers block, blech! I needed that creative outlet, and this would give it to me.

Unfortunately, my martini wishes and caviar dreams didn’t exactly pan out…Yet, at least. Call it lack of marketing (I suck at self promotion!), disinterest, a flooded market, perhaps? I priced accordingly after doing some research. Still, I enjoy making them for myself, as well as for the occasional trade. Now that I’ve started writing again with a vengeance, it doesn’t give me as much time for video making (except my own teaser trailers, as well as those for good friends). Truth be told, having the right tools such as iMovie or Adobe, it’s a fun and easy thing to do. However, if any of you are interested, hit me up at www.pennpalproductions.com or e-mail me at twistedwritertanita [at] gmail [dot] com, and I can show you samples of my work on You Tube!

~ Tania Penn

Now that you all know where to get your book trailer done, get on over there and hire Tania! If you'd like to read an interview with Ms. Penn, go here.

Don't forget to add The Morning Star to your Goodreads shelf!

Do you have a book trailer? Have you ever considered getting one made? What's stopping you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday, November 1, 2013

Coralie and Fall into UtopYA Giveaways Last Chance

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today is the first day of NaNoWriMo and I'm off somewhere, hiding in a corner, whipping out a zombie novel! For the post today, I'm reminding you all of your chance to win copies of Mystic~Coralie and all the other great books from the Fall into UtopYA Party! These links will be here all weekend for your sharability and enjoyment. Good luck!

Mystic~Coralie by Jo Michaels

Synopsis:
Coralie Meyers is struggling to find her footing as an actress in New York. A malicious attempt to thwart another girl's career ends in catastrophe and Coralie soon finds herself in a precarious situation.

As the fifth and final member of Women Save the World, a company created by Markaza Turner, Coralie possesses all the cunning the young ladies will need to defeat the evil that's rising under Central Park. If the women fail to save her, evil will rise and destroy the world.

Now that Markaza has gathered four of her chicks: Bronya, Lily, Shelia, and Melody, all that's left to do is bring in Coralie, train her, and go to war. But the ladies are struggling with their powers and their personal demons. Will they find the power within themselves in time to destroy the monster and save the world? Only time will tell; and that's one thing they're short on.

This fifth installment of the Mystic series is a lesson in what lies, hate, and judgment can do to the world when left unchecked.

Dawning Apocalypse by Jill Cooper

Synopsis:
No one can know Natalie works for a supernatural protection agency and is charged with protecting Meadow’s Creek from vampires. But as their numbers swell, their presence doesn't go unnoticed throwing her town under the microscope from the local government and the FBI.

Natalie’s job is pushed even further into the shadows where she must dodge the police, concerned citizens and even her own parents.

Meanwhile a deadly plague grips the town and Natalie suspects it’s more than just a hacking cough. While the stress of working overtime erodes her relationships she will race against time, illness, to face a familiar enemy, save an old friend, and stop an undead seize that wants nothing more than to suck Meadow’s Creek dry.

Welcome to Sugartown by Carmen Jenner

Synopsis:

Ana Belle never wanted anything more than to hang up her apron, jump on her Vespa and ride off into the sunset, leaving Sugartown in the dust.

Elijah Cade never wanted anything more than a hot meal, a side of hot arse and a soft place to lay his head at night where he could forget about his past.

But you know what they say about wanting: you always want what you can’t have.

Nineteen year-old virgin Ana is about to discover that’s not quite true because a six foot three, hotter than hell, tattooed, Aussie sex god just rode into town. He’s had a taste of her pie and he wants more– no really, Ana bakes pies for a living, get your mind out of the gutter.

She’d be willing to hand over everything tied up in a big red bow, there’s just one problem; Elijah has secrets dirtier than last week’s underwear. Secrets that won’t just break Ana’s heart, but put her life at risk, too. When those secrets come to light, their relationship is pushed to breaking point.

Add to that a psychotic nympho best friend, an overbearing father, a cuter than humanly possible kid brother, a wanton womanizing cousin, the ex from hell and more pies than you could poke a ... err ... stick ... at.

And you thought small towns were boring.

BSI: Bureau of Supernatural Investigation by C.J. Pinard

Synopsis:
Supernatural creatures have roamed the Earth since the beginning of time. There was a time when humans would not tolerate having vampires and other creatures in their midst, stealing their young and killing their fellow human beings. These humans took care of business with pitchforks, sharpened stakes, and fires. As the centuries passed, the supernatural creatures learned that they needed to hide in order to survive. As they did, humans evolved, and after a few decades, humans no longer believed the tales from mythology and folklore. Then the creatures became more bold again, showing themselves when they should have stayed hidden.

In 1945, the assistant director of the FBI suffered a horrible tragedy, which he learned later was supernaturally related. He created a small branch of the Department of Justice called the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation – the BSI. Little did he know that there were already men and women policing the world of the supernatural – or the “Fae.” The only difference was that this other group had a huge advantage over the humans running the BSI; they were also immortal, just like the creatures they policed. Should the BSI and the Immortals work together to keep the peace?Follow agents and Immortals from the four supernaturally busiest places in the country – San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, and Washington D.C. and watch the BSI evolve.

Vampires, shapeshifters, succubae, and Immortals. What is the Justice Department hiding?

And, the Rafflecopter and Goodreads giveaway widgets:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Coralie

by Jo Michaels

Giveaway ends November 05, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I do hope you take the time to enter.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Cover Reveal - Darkest Shadows by Allyson Gottlieb

Today you get two great posts! This one and another that'll be coming shortly! I'm so excited to bring you a cover reveal for the next novella in an awesome series by Allyson Gottlieb. I wrote a review here on the blog a while back for the first book, Darkest Legacy, you can read here. There's a little surprise for you in this post, too! Enough of my jawing! Let's get on to the good stuff!

Title: Darkest Shadows by Allyson Gottlieb
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Release date: December 7th 2013

Blurb
The missing story...
A would-be dictator has gone to prison. The dimension is safe from a tyrant's control. But not everything is as perfect as it appears on paper. Tamara Kingsley is supposedly a hero. But she's about to discover that her good deed doesn't actually mean much when it comes to rebuilding a life for herself. No matter how hard she tries to escape it, the stigma of her past is always lurking, holding her back from fully embracing a new life.

And even in Alpha, Valentine hasn't given up. He'll spend the next twenty years planning and scheming, waiting for the opportunity to rejoin the world and have his vengeance. On the top of his hit list? Tamara, of course.

Also in Darkest Shadows, there will be an exclusive short story (called Darkest Before Dawn) that takes place after the ending of Darkest Legacy.

Allyson has given us an interview with her character Valentine, the bad guy from the series. Read on and enjoy!

1. What is your greatest fear?
Being insignificant.

2. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My eye color. Women like it, but even having lived with them for so many years, I don’t think I’ll ever come to like having gold eyes. It is the sole thing where I wish to be ordinary.

3. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Tamara Kingsley.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Overconfidence.

5. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Disloyalty.

6. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Morality—the so-called morality of ordinary people, which is really no more than an excuse for those in power to impose their values and beliefs on the rest of society. Morality is a nebulous and subjective thing, not a true virtue in the real sense of the word. I don’t believe in complete lawlessness, but I also don’t wish to obey an authority that knows nothing of my life and circumstances yet tries to tell me how I am allowed to behave.

7. What living person do you most despise?
Tamara Kingsley.

8. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Do you really have to ask? Alpha. There’s a reason all its nicknames involve some variation of the word “hell.”

No, I correct myself. The absolute lowest depth of misery is being in Alpha and knowing that the person you were closest to is the reason you are there. Knowing that there’s not a single person in the universe missing you.

9. What is your greatest regret?
The obvious answer is “trusting Tamara.” But even though she’s the reason I’m in this hellhole, I’ll never regret the time I spent with her. She is the only person I have ever truly loved, the one who taught me what it is to love and be loved.

No, my greatest regret is for her—that she had to do what she did. Because now she’s left me with no choice. I do still love her, but that doesn’t mean I’ll excuse her betrayal.

10. How would you like to die?
This is a truly ridiculous question. Who thinks about how they want to die?

Sometimes I wonder if living forever really isn’t so different from dying. What good are working lungs and a heartbeat if you can never better your circumstances? Life is dynamic, beautiful for its fragility. Without that capacity for growth and change, what is the point to living?

11. What is your motto?
Nothing but death is insurmountable.

Now, a little about the author, Allyson Gottlieb:

Allyson Gottlieb was born in California, but can't wait to go away to college and trade sunshine, bikinis, and fruit smoothies for autumn leaves, winter coats, and hot cocoa. When she's not busy working on her next bestseller, she can be found devouring books, obsessing over far too many TV shows, spending time with her family and friends... and occasionally doing some homework. She has been writing since second grade and has no plans to stop until she runs out of stories to tell--so basically never.

Find Allyson on Facebook

Are you all ready for the super surprise?

Are you sure?

Darkest Legacy is FREE on Amazon right now! Today's the last day you can snag a copy, go get your mouse fingers clickin' and grab one!

I guess you need a link, huh? Okay, okay. Here ya go:

GIMMIE MY FREE COPY!

Be sure you're posting and tweeting that you picked it up free. Sharing is caring!

I hope you all enjoyed this post. Doesn't Valentine sound like a peachy guy?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fall into UtopYA Final Day

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I bring you the final post for the Fall into UtopYA Party. I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone involved in making the party a success and give a special shoutout to Christine Marquette for organizing the event, creating the posts, and managing the Rafflecopter giveaways. She was awesome! Without further ado, I give you our last post: