Twelve Days of Christmas 2013 Day Four

Happy Sunday, readers of my blog! Do I tell you often enough how awesome you all are? Because it's true! Why else would I be giving you copies of my books? If you want to check out the master list of gifts, go here. I'm sure those folks who follow my reviews are anxious to see what books I've pulled from the pile and added to my list. So, I won't go on and on here. Let's begin with a rundown of the books added thus far:


Renee Novelle Reflections Amazon Kindle $0.99
Marc Nash An Eye For An Eye For An Eye Amazon Kindle $2.99
Robin Murphy Federal City's Secret Amazon Kindle $2.99
*Rebecca Trogner The Last Keeper's Daughter Amazon Kindle $7.99*
*Scott Marlowe The Five Elements Amazon Kindle $2.99*
S.G. Night Attrition: the First Act of Penance Amazon Kindle $4.98
Niramisa Weiss The Liar Amazon Kindle $9.60
L.K. Evans Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 Amazon Kindle $2.99
Kimberley Clark The Species Within (Battles in the Dark #1) Amazon Kindle $2.99
Elle Todd The Elect Amazon Kindle $2.99
Ginette Atcheson The Legacy: Fate Amazon Kindle $0.99
Jay Allan Storey Eldorado Amazon Kindle $3.99
Sarah Mäkelä The Witch Who Cried Wolf Amazon Kindle $0.99
Doris Schneider Borrowed Things Amazon Kindle $4.95
Cat Brown Awakening (The Dark Rituals Book 1)  Amazon Kindle $0.99
Christina Marie Morales Ambience Amazon Kindle $0.99
Felicia Tatum Masked Encounters Amazon Kindle $0.99
Molly Taggart Roots that Clutch Amazon Kindle $2.99
Stephanie Erickson The Cure Amazon Kindle $2.99
Peprah Boasiako The Hitman Amazon Kindle $0.99
Massimo Marino Daimones Amazon Kindle $2.99
Felicia Tatum Mangled Hearts Amazon Kindle $1.99
Beem Weeks Jazz Baby Amazon Kindle $3.99
Cassandra Janey Surrender To You Amazon Kindle $2.51
Judy Goodwin Heart of the Witch Amazon Kindle $2.99
Jerrie Brock Something Taken Amazon Kindle $2.99
Heidi Angell The Hunters Amazon Kindle $4.99
David T Griffith The Bestiarum Vocabulum Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kathy Garlock Gone for a Soldier Amazon Kindle $2.99
Molly Taggart Off Target Amazon Kindle $2.99
Emily Street The Velocipede Races Amazon Kindle $3.99
Heidi Angell Elements of a Broken Mind Amazon Kindle $4.99
Edward M Wolfe Devon's Last Chance Amazon Kindle $0.99 

If you entered and your name doesn't appear in the above list, you forgot to do something on the Rafflecopter. Only those authors with three entries on the excel form made it into this list. If you only left your book pitch and link in the comments, I didn't pick it up. You gotta fill out the form.

Remember, every book that's pitched stays in until the end! I'll announce a new choice every day. If you're an author, be sure you're following along each day to get a new way to join me on social media (this will matter when your review goes up). You can enter a book each day if you come back and fill out the new Rafflecopter form.

The winners of the prizes from yesterday are:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations! I've sent you messages to find out how to get you your prizes!

And, the next author/book chosen for the review pile is...

Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 by L.K. Evans.

Good job! Not only did her sample blow me away, she's also been back every day participating. Yeah, that matters :)

L.K., your book has been tweeted, shared, pinned, and added to my Goodreads TBR list for this contest. Congratulations! I look forward to reading and reviewing it.

From now until day 12, that book will be recognized with an * after the title when I do my rundown.

**Kindly remember there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You did get a purchase and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review.**

Let's move on to today's fun prizes!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to all authors and readers who enter!

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

Jo

Twelve Days of Christmas 2013 Day Three

Happy Saturday, everyone! Well, here we are on day three. The insanity keeps growing! Before we move on to other things (i.e. today's giveaway), I'm gonna list the entries in the contest so far (authors, if you put in a referral link, I removed it. Sorry, I don't do that here), announce the winner of yesterday's giveaway, and tell you the title of the book I chose to review! If you want to see the master page of prizes, go here. Here's my list so far:

Renee Novelle Reflections Amazon Kindle $0.99
Marc Nash An Eye For An Eye For An Eye Amazon Kindle $2.99
Robin Murphy Federal City's Secret Amazon Kindle $2.99
*Rebecca Trogner The Last Keeper's Daughter Amazon Kindle $7.99*
Scott Marlowe The Five Elements Amazon Kindle $2.99
S.G. Night Attrition: the First Act of Penance Amazon Kindle $4.98
Niramisa Weiss The Liar Amazon Kindle $9.60
L.K. Evans Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 Amazon Kindle $2.99
Kimberley Clark The Species Within (Battles in the Dark #1) Amazon Kindle $2.99
Elle Todd The Elect Amazon Kindle $2.99
Ginette Atcheson The Legacy: Fate Amazon Kindle $0.99
Jay Allan Storey Eldorado Amazon Kindle $3.99
Sarah Mäkelä The Witch Who Cried Wolf Amazon Kindle $0.99
Doris Schneider Borrowed Things Amazon Kindle $4.95
Molly Taggart Roots that Clutch Amazon Kindle $2.99
Stephanie Erickson The Cure Amazon Kindle $2.99
Peprah Boasiako The Hitman Amazon Kindle $0.99
Massimo Marino Daimones Amazon Kindle $2.99
Felicia Tatum Mangled Hearts Amazon Kindle $1.99
Beem Weeks Jazz Baby Amazon Kindle $3.99
Cassandra Janey Surrender To You Amazon Kindle $2.51
Judy Goodwin Heart of the Witch Amazon Kindle $2.99
Jerrie Brock Something Taken Amazon Kindle $2.99
Heidi Angell The Hunters Amazon Kindle $4.99
David T Griffith The Bestiarum Vocabulum Amazon Kindle $3.99
Kathy Garlock Gone for a Soldier Amazon Kindle $2.99  


If you entered and your name doesn't appear in the above list, you forgot to do something on the Rafflecopter. Only those authors with three entries on the excel form made it into this list. If you only left your book pitch and link in the comments, I didn't pick it up. You gotta fill out the form.

Remember, every book that's pitched stays in until the end! I'll announce a new choice every day. If you're an author, be sure you're following along each day to get a new way to join me on social media (this will matter when your review goes up). You can enter a book each day if you come back and fill out the new Rafflecopter form.


Here's the rafflecopter from yesterday with the winners of the prizes announced:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

You've won: A Jo Michaels Fan Pass for 2014! It includes every book I release next year and some awesome swag that will include at least two of the items from this store: WriteJoMichaels on Zazzle

Congratulations to you both! I'll be in touch sometime today to find out how to get you your prize.

The title of the book that's been added to my review list for 2014 is...

Are you ready?

Are you sure?

Okay, here ya go!

The Five Elements by Scott Marlowe

I gotta admit, he got me from the sample. What a well written book so far!

Scott, your book has been shared, tweeted, pinned, and added to my Goodreads shelf for this contest.

From now until day 12, that book will be recognized with an * after the title when I do my rundown. 

**Kindly remember there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You did get a purchase and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review.**

You can enter more than once! If you've already entered and have another book you'd like me to add to be considered, enter again!

On to the fun for today! Good luck, readers and authors!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Jo

Unofficial UtopYA Authors Holiday Giveaway Day 14

Hello, and welcome to the Unofficial UtopYA Authors Holiday Giveaway!

What is this giveaway all about? Getting you -- the readers -- into the holiday spirit! Each day there will be a new prize pack being given away, loaded with awesome authors all united by the fantastic YA/NA Convention, UtopYA! We hope you'll love our prize packs, but that's not all that's being given away. To top off the holiday spirit, we're giving away TWO, that's right, TWO fully loaded Kindle HDs! Two lucky winners will receive Kindle HDs, loaded with EVERY book being given away in the giveaway prize packs! So what are you waiting for? Check out today's prize pack, and enter to win one of twenty-seven fantastic prizes! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :)

Without further ado, here are the amazing books in the Day 14 Prize Pack after the jump!

Twelve Days of Christmas 2013 Day Two

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Well, day one of the giveaway and review contest took off like a rocket! If you want to see the master prize list, look here. Let's do a rundown of the fabulous books on my list so far (as you all know, I don't use affiliate links, so these are just the amazon+ASIN in case you want to check them out, too):

Renee Novelle Reflections Amazon Kindle $0.99
Marc Nash An Eye For An Eye For An Eye Amazon Kindle $2.99
Robin Murphy Federal City's Secret Amazon Kindle $2.99
Rebecca Trogner The Last Keeper's Daughter Amazon Kindle $7.99
Scott Marlowe The Five Elements Amazon Kindle $2.99
S.G. Night Attrition: the First Act of Penance Amazon Kindle $4.98
Niramisa Weiss The Liar Amazon Kindle $9.60
L.K. Evans Keepers of Arden: The Brothers Volume 1 Amazon Kindle $2.99
Kimberley Clark The Species Within (Battles in the Dark #1) Amazon Kindle $2.99
Elle Todd The Elect Amazon Kindle $2.99
Ginette Atcheson The Legacy: Fate Amazon Kindle $0.99
Jay Allan Storey Eldorado Amazon Kindle $3.99
Sarah Mäkelä The Witch Who Cried Wolf Amazon Kindle $0.99
Doris Schneider Borrowed Things Amazon Kindle $4.95
Cat Brown Awakening (The Dark Rituals Book 1)  Amazon Kindle $0.99
Christina Marie Morales Ambience Amazon Kindle $0.99
Felicia Tatum Masked Encounters Amazon Kindle $0.99

If you entered and your name doesn't appear in the above list, you forgot to do something on the Rafflecopter. Only those authors with three entries on the excel form made it into this list. If you only left your book pitch and link in the comments, I didn't pick it up. You gotta fill out the form.

Remember, every book that's pitched stays in until the end! I'll announce a new choice every day. If you're an author, be sure you're following along each day to get a new way to join me on social media (this will matter when your review goes up). You can enter a book each day if you come back and fill out the new Rafflecopter form.

Moving on! Bet you're all dying to know who the winner of the printed Mystic Anthology is, huh?

Here's the answer:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Christina! I'll be in touch today to find out where to send your book! It's pre-release so you're getting all kinds of awesomeness.

And the lucky Indie author added to the review list for 2014 is...

Drumroll, please...

The Last Keeper's Daughter by Rebecca Trogner

Your book has been shared, pinned, tweeted and added to my Goodreads TBR for this contest! Congratulations, Rebecca!

From now until day 12, that book will be recognized with an * after the title when I do my rundown.

**Kindly remember there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You did get a purchase and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review.**

Now, we'll move on to today's widget. Good luck everyone!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Jo

Twelve Days of Christmas 2013 Day One

Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome to day one of the insanity! Over the next twelve days, I'll be offering Indie authors the chance to sell me their books and I'll be giving away some awesome prizes to boot. What are the prizes? See this post. Today I'm gonna take a moment to outline just what you get when you receive a review by yours truly. I know I hype it up and all that, but it's worth it. Grab a cup of coffee and join me!

First, I always buy the book I'm reviewing. It's just good manners. I've had many Indies offer to give me copies for review, but then I feel like a louse if I can't finish them for one reason or another (usually bad writing or formatting is the issue). So, I buy them myself. Booyah! Sale for you.

There's one thing you don't get from a lot of reviewers, eh? Every single one I've seen wants you to send them a copy of the book for review. But what does that get you? Well, when they post that review to Amazon, it gets you nothing but words and stars. If your reviewer buys your book, it's shown as an Amazon verified purchase. Score!

Moving on...

In addition to the review showing shoppers I've actually read your book, I start by telling the customer why I picked up the book, where I got it, and sometimes say a little word about the cover art, and then break the review into three parts: 1. From a Reader's Perspective - This is where I tell them about the good, bad, and ugly plot points and character aspects. 2. From an Editor's Perspective - In this section, I outline where the book could use a little work if it needs it and what I liked and disliked about the structure, grammar, and punctuation. 3. Rating - I break the star rating down so they can see I'm not blowing smoke. I then go on to say who might like the book. I do NOT go on and on with filler about the plot, they can get that from the description. I never post spoilers.

My tastes:
I've read books in every single genre on the planet. Yes, really. I enjoy most of them. So don't be shy no matter what you write. I get into books that are well written. Next week, I'll be listing some of my favorite reads of 2013 during this contest. So, you'll see the wide range of stuff I've read and liked.

Where I post reviews:
Everywhere I can find your book. Goodreads, B&N, and Amazon are my top three. But wait! It gets better! I also curate a review magazine on Flipboard that has over 300 regular readers and has enjoyed over 6500 shares of articles I include. My review also goes in there. Keep reading, there's more! Yes, really! I post to two blogs. This one and one over on Tumblr. Each has at least 100 followers (this one has more) and I have a huge list of people who subscribe by e-mail. Add to that, I'll be pinning your book covers with a link to the Amazon page over on Pinterest. At the end of the year, I'll be making a YouTube video (with awesome music) highlighting my favorite reads as well as recapping here on the blog. I also have a large number of people on Goodreads who follow my reviews. So, you get plenty of bang.

Why does this matter?
Because I market your review to the people who read books. I make it really easy for them to buy your book by linking things. That market is those who are hungry for something new and exciting. People looking to snag the next great unknown author. I've spent a lot of time building trust with my readers and most of them love me. You should see the fan mail. :)

So, now that you know how all this is going to help you, I bet you're asking what's in it for me, right? I would be. If you aren't, you might want to think about why...

I'm getting to know new authors, building relationships, and becoming a recognized authority on what's good and what sucks in the literary world. So, yes, there's something in it for me. Hey, at least I'm honest!

Without further ado, let's move on to the Rafflecopter widget for your Day 1 entry. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Kindly remember, there's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if your sample interests me, and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. Last year, I had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

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

Jo

Super Awesome 12 Days of Christmas Contest Announced

Happy Hump-Day, good people of the blogosphere! Yesterday I was so excited! I got a five star review for Mystic~Melody (see it here) and won an ARC of Illusions Begin (TBR Jan 21) by N.L. Greene. I also figured out some things I've been struggling with as far as formatting my books for Amazon goes. I updated The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book with what I learned. Because of that, it's now sitting at #10 on the Top 100 paid list for Graphic Design books on Amazon. So, if you own a copy, go grab the update! If not, what are you waiting for? Anyway, I guess it's time to reveal the super awesomeness. I was gonna do this announcement tomorrow and start on Friday, but realized I have a special post scheduled for that day. Duh! So we'll be doing things a bit differently. I'm announcing today and starting tomorrow. Grab your cup of coffee and let's get going!

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know I do some giveaways and run contests on the holidays and for my birthday every year (that's December and July for all you newbies). Well, it seems December is here and we're just 13 days out from Christmas!

How exciting is that?

It's time to reveal my 12 Days of Christmas fun planned for this year! Lots of prizes await!

Bet you're wondering what they are, huh? I do love building the suspense for you all.

So, without further ado, here's the prize list (number of winners correspond with the days) this page will be updated daily with the link to each giveaway:

• 1 person will win a printed, signed copy of the Mystic Anthology (it's super pretty)
• 2 people will win a 2014 Jo Michaels Fan Package (you'll find out more if you come back on day 2)
• 3 people will win a The Bird bookmark and mini-magnet
• 4 people will win an e-copy of Mystic~Shelia
• 5 people will win an e-copy of Mystic~Melody
• 6 people will win an e-copy of The Abigale Chronicles-Book One
• 7 people will win an e-copy of The Abigale Chronicles-Book Two
• 8 people will win an e-copy of The Indie Author's Guide to: Building a Great Book
• 9 people will win a Mystic bookmark
• 10 people will win an e-copy of The Bird
• 11 people will win an e-copy of The Abigale Chronicles Anthology
• 12 people will win an e-copy of The Mystic Anthology

But that's not all!

Every day, I'll be choosing an Indie author to add to my review list for next year. I'll buy your book from Amazon if you enter the contest and if the sample grabs me. That's TWELVE Indie reviews. Each day, I'll announce a new title. All titles will stay in the pool until day twelve.

**There's no guarantee your book will be reviewed by me. You will get a purchase if you win and I'll try my best to read it. But if I find I can't give it more than 2 stars, I won't write the review. Last year, I had a few I couldn't finish and it led to me not giving a review.**

How are we gonna do this? With a rafflecopter entry form for each day. You'll perform some task I set for you (liking a facebook page, following on Twitter, following reviews, subscribing to the blog, those kinds of things), then you'll leave a blog post comment telling me WHY I should review your book, and enter the title and link of the book you'd like considered on the Rafflecotper widget. Again, no matter which day you enter, your book will be kept in the pile until day 12. However, you won't be entered to win the next day's prize unless you participate on that day. You may enter more than one book throughout the contest.

The forms will be live for 24 hours each, from 7am EST day of through 7am EST the next day. I blog around 8 or 9 so watch for the post to go up so you can enter! I will be checking to be sure you did the tasks outlined on the Rafflecopter. If you just clicked "enter" I'll remove your entry.

Why? Because it's not difficult to do, your book review will be going up on my blog, and it'll be blasted through the channels I get you to follow. This way, you can see when I post them and share them with ease.

I'm gonna try to make it as easy and painless as possible.

I got hold of some wonderful books last year I would've probably never looked at if not for my contest, and I'm looking forward to picking up more this year.

There will be content posts along with the daily prize posts but I'll indicate what day we're on in the title of the post.

Got it?

This is gonna be FUN!

What prize are you hoping to win?

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

Jo

Cover Reveal - Devil Creek

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I have a great cover reveal to share with you all! Tomorrow, we go back to our regularly scheduled program of writing tips and loveliness until Friday. I have an awesome surprise for you all next week (especially you authors) but I don't want to give anything away too soon. You know how I get around the holidays. Let's see how many days I can keep it a secret before I start singing like a canary. Yeah, I'm filling space here at the top of the blog right now to shove the images down under the fold so you have to work for them. Haha! Gotcha! Enough of my rambling, we have a cover to reveal! So grab your comfy chair and a cuppa and let's get going!

Cover Reveal - Devil Creek

by Casey L. Bond

Before we get to the awesome imagery, here's a little bit of info about the book:

Title: Devil Creek
Author: Casey L. Bond
Genre: NA Romance
Length: Around 65K words

I have to tell you, I read it as a beta-reader. I was left with my mouth hanging open. All I can say is, you're in for a treat!

I know, I know, you're all ready to see the cover, huh?

What fun would it be if I just plastered it all over the first few lines of the blog? Bo-ring.

No? Not boring?

Okay! You win! Here it is:

Synopsis:
What is your greatest fear? For Aislin, it is the fear of being alone. She grew up in and out of foster care along with her brother, Declan. When he is killed by an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan, she leans on her brother's best friend, Gabriel. The two become inseparable.

When she catches her fiancée in bed with another girl? She isn’t even that upset. Mad as hell? Yes. As angry as she should be? No. That's the moment she realizes that she isn't in love with her fiancée. She is in love with her best friend, Gabriel. The only problem is that Gabe doesn't think he should cross the boundary between friend and lover with his dead best friend's sister. He wants her. He just doesn't want to want her. And, therein lies the problem.

After Aislin is attacked by a man she tried to love with her head in an attempt to heal her heart from rejection, she and Gabriel have one night of bliss together. Only one though. Gabriel gets spooked and runs. He is afraid. Afraid that Aislin will hate him for taking advantage of her vulnerability. Three years and nine months later, Gabe comes home to find Aislin with a dark-haired wanna-be rockstar and a three year old little girl with familiar blue eyes. Seeing her with Jude, makes his blood boil. But does Gabriel deserve her? No. Does he want her? With every fiber of his being. He will do anything it takes to win her heart and prove his love. He wants a place in her life and in the life of her daughter. What is in the cards for Gabriel and Aislin? Welcome to Devil Creek.

And, here's the full wrap cover!

Yes! Bonus!

Pretty, isn't it?

I'll be writing a review for this book once Ms. Bond is done editing it. I do hope you'll all come on back for that!

What do you think of the cover? Does it look/sound like something you'd read?

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

Jo