Saturday, October 15, 2016

Cover Reveal - Red's Tangled Tale

Everyone knows the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Well, at least they think they do. History would have many believe Red was a naïve little girl who brought treats to her grandmother in the dark of the forest. History had it wrong.

After the curse of the wolves came to Timbergard, Red’s father was the only soul brave enough to enter Blakx Forest. However, when the wolves claimed his life, his young daughter took up his bow and began hunting the beasts to fill her need for revenge.

When Captain Hook shows up in the village in search of the rare burning ash that lies on the far borders of the cursed forest, Red agrees to help get him safely through the dangerous land.

The trek through the forest becomes precarious when the group is cornered by a pack of wolves. Red is forced to make a decision that will alter the lives of everyone, including individuals she has yet to meet.
The cover of the much anticipated "Red's Tangled Tale," book two in The Untold Stories, has been revealed!

With only two weeks until publication, you can now preorder your copy at Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo and Smashwords (Amazon will not have a preorder for this title but will carry it on November 1 when it is released).

In addition to the cover, fans will get exclusive teasers as well as a teaser trailer over the next two weeks, building to the anticipation of the release.

If you would like to join in the fun of the release, be sure to join the Facebook Party wherein numerous authors have come together to celebrate the release and will be giving away amazing prizes.

Lastly, you can help spread the word by participating in the Thunderclap campaign which will announce the release to social media on November 1 (link below).



Friday, October 14, 2016

New Release - Devilry - Plus a Kindle Giveaway

"Darkness is Rising"

Release day of 'DEVILRY' 
(Book 3 of The Meadowsweet Chronicles by Katie M. John) 


Hello, and thank you for having me. I'm super excited to be here with you during the release week of my latest Upper YA novel, 'Devilry' (Book 3 of The Meadowsweet Chronicles'. To celebrate both this, and the awesome #OctoberFrights Blog Hop that I currently taking part in, I am giving away a brand new 6"Kindle e-Reader so that one lucky person can spend the next few weeks snuggled up reading a whole host of spooky reads - or paying it forward to a young reader as a gift. 

'Devilry' is the 3rd book in The Meadowsweet Chronicles, which is a dark and delicious mash-up of all those fabulous folktales, horror stories and occult tales that I grew up consuming with an almost insatiable appetite. From ghouls, ghosts, poltergeists, headless hunts, ritual sacrifice, demons, witches, magicians, zombies, black magic and shape-shifting (to name a few), The Meadowsweet Chronicles provides hours of entertaining writing, and reading. It tells the tale of the warring covens, The Meadowsweet Sisters and the Ravenhearts, who are locked in a generational battle over governance of the portal to 'The Ancient Ones'. If their in-fighting wasn't enough, there is also the Chase family, who are both gifted and cursed with the legacy of being Witch Hunters. 

In light of significant chapters of Book 3 being set in Haiti, 20% of profits from all sales of the book (both eBook and paperback) between now and Dec 31st will be going to Oxfams Haiti Emergency Hurricane appeal. 

If you are yet to catch up with the series, then you can download Book 1 'Witchcraft' for FREE on all eBook platforms, all I ask is that if you enjoy it, you spread the word and drop a short review on Amazon. 


So who am I? 
Sorry, I was so excited to tell you about my new book that I forgot to tell you who I am. My name is Katie M. John and I am an author of several bestselling YA series and stand alone novels. You can find out more about me and my books by visiting my website www.katiemjohn.com (there are some lovely free books to pick up whilst you're there). I live in London (UK), am married to a handsome giant and am mummy to two Mud-Puddle fairies. I am also the human slave to a mysterious cat called, Misty, who has a strange love of pipe-cleaners. 



Links to the Books: 
FREE Download: Witchcraft Book 1 of The Meadowsweet Chronicles. 
AMAZON US amazon.com/dp/B00NG5CLTE
AMAZON UK amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NG5CLTE
iBOOKS  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id950645919

DEVILRY Book 3 of The Meadowsweet Chronicles. 
AMAZON US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L9RZHN2
AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01L9RZHN2

The Giveaway... 
Details of the giveaway and the make of the kindle etc can be found on the official blogpost HERE - or if you just want to jump straight on in there and enter the rafflecopter run giveaway, you can enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck to you all!

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

Jo 

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Utopia Con 2017 - New Ticket Packages Available!

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I bring you information! I know you're all super excited about this. Reader only tickets for Utopia Con 2017 are now available. Get your clicking fingers ready, and let's get going.



I'm going in order via price, least expensive to most expensive, I'm not getting into vendor table costs, and I'm just giving you an overview of the details. For more in depth explanations and the refund policies, please visit the official Utopia website ticket page here:

Exhibitor and Signing Hall ONLY (Choose Friday-June 23 OR Saturday-June 24)
Sales end June 22
Access to the Exhibitor and Signing Hall ONLY from 11AM-5PM
Price: $15 plus fees

One Day Admission (Choose Friday-June 23 OR Saturday-June 24)
Sales end June 22
Access to all official events. Does NOT include access to Master Classes, private events, or any other event that is listed for an extra charge on the website.
Price: $55 plus fees

Silver Ticket Package (Includes admission Thursday, June 22-Sunday, June 25)
Sales end December 31
Includes a welcome bag (while supplies last) and access to all official events. Does NOT include access to Master Classes, private events, or any other event that is listed for an extra charge on the website.
Price: $105 plus fees

Titanium Ticket Package (Includes admission Thursday, June 22-Sunday, June 25)
Sales end December 31
VIP Registration/Badge. Includes a welcome bag (while supplies last), t-shirt, lunch Friday and Saturday, early seating for the awards, and access to all official events. Does NOT include access to Master Classes, private events, or any other event that is listed for an extra charge on the website.
Price: $180 plus fees

Master Class - Revising Like a Pro (Thursday, June 22 at 4PM)
Sales end June 22
Bestselling author C. J. Redwine will teach pacing, character development, conflict arcs, prose, and more.
Price: $50 plus fees

Master Class - Save the Cat! (Friday, June 23 at 10:30AM)
Sales end June 22
Jose Silero teaches authors how to give their stories a strong "spine" and create a transformative journey for the protagonist.
Price: $75 plus fees

Master Class - Improv for Writers (Friday, June 23 at 2PM)
Sales end June 22
Two improv professionals (who are also authors) will teach writers how to get out of their chairs and get moving to create dynamic worlds and action for their characters.
Price: $75 plus fees

If you want information on promotional opportunities, those are also listed on the official Utopia Con website.

In case you need that link again:



What do you think? Will you be going?

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

Jo

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Why I LOVE Being Indie - #PoweredByIndie

Happy Tuesday, everyone! An impromptu post today, brought to you by a fantastic event being held over on Amazon. As you know, I love celebrating the Indie author by reviewing, sharing their bookish things, and doing interviews and readings and such. Because I'm also an Indie, I know how difficult it is to find the support you need anywhere in order to get your books out.

Huge shout out to Amazon for doing this: POWERED by Indie

How amazing is that?

So, what they've asked us authors to do is tell everyone why we love being Indie authors and use the hashtag #PoweredByIndie in our social media shares. I'm in. It's a beautiful thing.

You need to get on that right after you read my lovely post below. HA! Seriously, keep reading.

Why I LOVE Being Indie

I published my first book back in 2012. When I started, I didn't know up from down, where to go, or what to do with what I'd written. I've made mistakes along the way, but because I'm Indie published, I learned what to fix and how to fix it. Then, I went on to write a book about those very things, hoping others wouldn't have to struggle as I once did. I pay it forward.

  • I don't live under deadlines other than the ones I self impose.

I have the creative freedom to unleash my design prowess on my books (and covers) and make them something unique. Not only in the pretty I put on the interior pages (did you know I was one of the first Indies to add imagery to my print books?), but also in the stories I write.

  • I write for myself first. All my books are stories I want to read. If other folks enjoy them, that's the cream on my pudding.

Self-publishing is FUN! Writing, designing, being a leader in so many new ideas that are emerging... It's all rather exciting. I get to try new things, like my Ferocious 5 projects, and watch others follow in those footsteps.

  • There's only one rule in this world: Produce the best book you can each and every time you publish. That's it, and that's so amazing!

If I need to take a day off to do something for myself, I can. No one is breathing down my neck to get anything done. When I finish a book, if I don't think it's ready, I can push the publishing date out--unless I've announced it, of course (that would be rude). But it's really and truly up to ME.

I love that freedom.

  • My royalties are my own. I don't have to share a darn thing with anyone. Any money I spent getting my book ready to hit the hands of my readers can be recouped more quickly, and I can start making a profit pretty early on.

Self-publishing platforms are amazing. They're the reason I can do what I do without having to jump through gigantic, flaming hoops while riding a one-wheeled bicycle that's also aflame, without sending out a million query letters only to end up cowering under a table in the corner, sucking my thumb, gripping my blankie at the form letters declining my submissions.

But there's one thing I have to say about being Indie that takes the cake over all else. Stay with me here!

I LOVE THE COMMUNITY.

I bet most of you are scratching your heads at that, huh? Well, allow me to explain!

Indie authors, whether best-sellers or those just starting out, understand the struggles of being Indie authors. Several, if not most, of them reach out, offering help when and where they can, helping others avoid the red spot of shame we get from banging our heads into our desks too hard.

They read. They share. They lift you up when you're feeling down. It's an amazing thing to be a part of such a vibrant, creative community.

Dedicated readers of Indie-published works throw themselves into their work, reading, reviewing, and loving the thing that brings us all together: books.

Most Indie folks are just nice people.

I can't begin to tell you about all the amazing people I've met by being Indie. Folks I'm not sure I would've ever had the opportunity to get to meet in real life if I were traditionally published. Authors, readers, bloggers, superfans, booktubers, editors, designers... The list goes on and on! Each one of those people are cherished (probably more than they know), and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

So, there you have it. This is why I love being Indie.

I want to hear YOUR stories! Post them in the comments below so I can read and visit your blogs, and don't forget to share them all over the web with #PoweredByIndie.

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

Jo

Cover Reveal - Fraud (Frenzy #5) by Casey L. Bond

Title: Fraud
Author: Casey L Bond
Genre: NA Paranormal
Cover Model: Ashley Caruso
Cover Designer: Cover Me Darling
Cover Photography: Nadege Richards of Vellum and Wing Photography
Editor: Stacy Sanford
Expected Release Date: Oct. 31, 2016
Hosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Blurb:
Every curse has a beginning.
Every curse has an end.
But no curse is fulfilled without sacrifice.
Someone has been lying to Porschia Grant—someone she loves. And the secrets withheld might spell disaster for her and the world.  Much like curses, lies can hurt. They can ruin everything.
When everything falls apart, is happily ever after even a possibility?
Hunger is deceitful.
Award-winning author Casey L. Bond resides in Milton, West Virginia with her husband and their two beautiful daughters. When she’s not busy being a domestic goddess and chasing her baby girls, she loves to write young adult and new adult fiction. You can find more information about Bond’s books via the following links: 

Thursday, September 29, 2016

New Release - Under - Othala Witch Collection - Sector 5

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today, I have yet another release in the Othala Witch collection series! All the books available for purchase are linked at the bottom of this post. Get your clicking fingers ready, and let's get going!

Restating once again: Get the newsletter for all the Fallen Sorcery collection novels here. Follow FS on Twitter here. Like the page on Facebook here.

Follow the entire Othala Witch Collection on Amazon here, and get more awesome Fallen Sorcery release news by following that author page on Amazon here.

Now, on to the info!

About the Othala Witch Collection:


Many years ago, the Original Sixteen witches were able to contain an outbreak of demon-like creatures from overtaking the earth. But doing so came at a cost. For the human race to survive, the world had to be divided into sixteen sectors, trapping the Ravagers to the Outlands beyond, and trapping the humans in.

The Original Sixteen served as Regents over each of these sectors, and when they died, the strongest of witches took their place, using their own personal enchantment abilities to protect their sector. In the process, communication was lost. The only solace that remains is the knowledge that if another sector fails, their own may still survive.

But what happens when your sector is the one to fail? What happens when the world inside your walls is just as bad as the one outside them? In this collection of sixteen adult dystopian paranormal romance tales, each and every one of the sixteen sectors is about to find out.

Under - Othala Witch Collection - Sector 5:
Author: Rebecca Hamilton and Conner Kressley
Genre: Adult Dystopian Paranormal Romance
Length (print): 204 pages

Blurb:

We were soldiers in a war that could never take place, and our focus had to stay there.

After her parents die in a mysterious fire, Razz discovers that her sister had been the intended target. Now Razz must find a way to keep her sister safe in the Circle…but the Circle is no place for little sisters wanted dead by the Regent herself.

When the same mysterious magic that took her parents’ life follows on her sister’s trail, it becomes evident that the only hope of survival is accepting the help of Razz’s arrogantly attractive coworker to escape the Regent’s army.

But what if saving her sister means risking the lives of everyone else?
 
 
Alchemy - Othala Witch Collection - Sector 9:
Author: Noree Cosper
Genre: Adult Dystopian Paranormal Romance
Length (print): 194 pages

 
Blurb:
Zoe Delarey has been hiding her entire life.

She's not a normal girl, even by witch standards. Created by her father with forbidden experimental magic, Zoe is an alchemical child.

When the Regent suspects her father has broken sector laws, he hides her away in a secret stasis chamber protected by powerful magic.

But it isn't her father who wakes her. Instead, Bastian, a handsome stranger after her father’s secrets, releases her from the chamber. With her father arrested, Zoe finds herself on the run from the Witches Council. She has no choice but to accept Bastian's help, even though she doesn't trust him. He might be rescuing her; he might be using her... Zoe is not sure.

Thrust into the real world for the first time in her life, she needs to learn to control her magic and, at the same time, get a handle on her feelings for Bastian. Neither of which is going to be easy. Especially when Zoe turns out to be the key to saving the sector from the savage beasts that prey on the lives of the people.

Will she fulfill the secret destiny that runs through her blood?


All books in the collection (if they're linked, you can buy* or preorder now):
Sector 4: Immortal Winter by N. R. Larry and Rainy Kaye
Sector 6: Red Magic by A. C. Andrijeski
Sector 7: Savage by Conner Kressley
Sector 12: Forbidden by Shannon Eckrich
Sector 13: Sea Cursed by Amy Lee Burgess
Sector 14: Forgotten by Heather Marie Adkins
Sector 15: Wildfire by Jaret Martens
Sector 16: Faye Magic by Jo Michaels

If you'd like a peek at the other covers, visit the Othala Witch Collection page on the Fallen Sorcery website here.

What do you think? Gonna check them out?

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

Jo

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Utopia Con 2017 - Ticket Prices are Increasing FRIDAY! Get Yours NOW, and Get Your Freak ON!

HA! I bet you all took that title as something entirely different than it means. But hey, you're here, you're reading this, and you're engaged! Win for me. *grin* So, now that you're all in, let's get to it.

Here are the guests coming to Utopia in 2017:

Ann Aguirre, NY Times bestselling author of YA and Adult books, such as Razorland series, Immortal Game series, Jax series, Dred Chronicles.
Isaac Marion (Author), NY Times bestselling author of WARM BODIES
Abbi Glines, #1 NY Times bestselling author of romance and YA books
Vilma Gonzalez of Vilma's Book Blog, Austin Book Fest and USA Today columnist
Daniel Errico, NY Times bestselling children's book author and creator of original animations on Hulu

Get your tickets or tables HERE.

The 2017 theme? FREAK SHOW! Here's a glimpse of some of the amazing graphics:


But wait! There's more! Come on, you knew that was coming, right? *grin*

Check out these awesome panels!



Did I mention that you can get tickets at earlybird prices through Friday? Well, here's that link again (you know, in case you missed it the first time).

Tickets HERE!

Oh man! I forgot to mention this one other cool thing that's happening in 2017. Remember back at the beginning of this post when I said Isaac Marion (Author), NY Times bestselling author of WARM BODIES will be attending? Well, he'll also be doing voiceover commentary for a screening of the WARM BODIES movie! You DO NOT want to miss it!

Yep, I know. Amazing things are happening. You clicked that ticket link, right?

What do you think? Will you be there?

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

Jo