Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label excerpt. Show all posts

LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS -- this week's writerly news

Just a quick warning: This post is going to be full of exclamation points. (!!!!!) 

Hey, all! It's Friday! Which means that, in a couple of days, If I Speak True's blog tour will begin! This is me right now:

And guess what? Both the ebook AND paperback are already available on Amazon! (Please again refer to the above gif.) (link) 

Also, today the giveaway on Goodreads finally appeared! (link) The giveaway is US only though--sorry guys--because the cost of mailing books is INSANE. (I will share the blog stops, though, throughout the tour, starting Monday, so ya'll can enter to win stuff here AND internationally that way.)

Another thing: the first review came in today--thanks, Beryl!!! (Do I need to mention the above gif?) (link)

There are only a couple more posts on my Tumblr If I Speak True photo-a-day feature... please check it out if you have a chance because the photos and excerpts really do give you a great visual of the storyline! (Remember to start at the first ever entry of the book's cover if this is the first time visiting, and work your way up and to the first page!) (link)

And, last but most certainly not least...

Though I haven't done this in YEARS... I am so excited about If I Speak True's release and the fact that Rowan's novella is almost done and the second book is well under way that I just HADDDDD to share an excerpt from the novella. (SQUEE) This is Rowan and Briscoe at Castle Lennox (Rowan's POV, obviously). Please keep in mind that this is a work in progress and has not yet been edited (or revised) so (minor) things will most likely be changed. Enjoy!


***


I wave my hand. “I was angry at first, I am not going to lie. You had no right to--”


“Yes, I know,” Briscoe interrupts, “and that is why I came today, to tell you--”

“Will you let me finish?”

He clamps his mouth shut and nods.

“You had no right to step in and tell Dahlia the severity of the situation," I continue, "Not because she does not deserve to know--we know she does, she is a part of Ambrosia... but with us being unsure how long it will be until she can come back, sending her home with more reasons to be concerned whilst there, unable to speak to anyone about it at all, is not the proper way to go. But..."

Briscoe's eyes widen. “Yes?”

“But once we arrived back last night, it occurred to me what you were doing. And for that, I am grateful.”

 “She needed to know," he says, sucking in a deep breath, "and you did not want her mad at you--”

“Well that did not exactly happen.” I rub my arm, and we both laugh. The tension dissipates, and I know Briscoe is back to being my brother again.

“But I knew you would not want all of that animosity aimed at you, for who knows how long.”

“I appreciate it. I am sorry for not recognizing it sooner.”

“It did make for a good show." Briscoe grins. He gets in my face and growls. “You are out of line!”

“I am sure I was not that dramatic.” I chuckle, shoving him away.

“No,” He rolls his eyes, “You were more.”

“One day, one day you will see, brother. A lady will look up at you through thick eyelashes of wonder and your heart will stop and your body will melt into pitch and you will lose all reason and want to follow her wherever she goes.”

“Is that what Dahlia makes you want to do? Follow her to Shaver?”

“Dahlia…” I set a hand on his shoulder. “Dahlia makes me want to bring her here and destroy both the Door and the Gate, so she can never leave again.”

***


Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for putting up with my exclamation points!!! 

Have a blessed weekend and see ya'll here on Monday! :D

Indie Author Event at Say It With Books

Say It With Books Indie-Self Published Author Event June 2013
A brand new excerpt of Pity Isn't An Option is featured at Say It With Books' Indie Self-published Author Event! (A big thank you & platter of cookies to them for putting the spotlight on indie authors!) Click HERE to check out the photos, excerpt, & enter the giveaway.

Please spread the word!

Have a blessed weekend,

Jessica

Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie and Wanless (final post)

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“Please don’t tell me—” I lift my head. “Are you finking out on me now, Jonas?” I shouldn’t be treating him like this, I know, but I’m so… mad. It’s my Dad. How can I just sit back and watch him disappear like so many other people have? ~Hattie Akerman

This week marks the last installment of Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie and Wanless--a weekly thing I've done throughout the month of May where I've shared one chapter from Pity Isn't An Option a week). Click HERE to check out the final chapter on Goodreads!

The reason I decided to share the first five chapters is because I wanted people to get a feel of the book and Hattie and Jonas' story. I wanted readers to know where the characters were coming from, to understand what they were going through. PIAO is dystopian, but not necessarily in the way so many YA books are right now. It's a story of loss and hopelessness and finding a way through those to continue, and sometimes a blurb just doesn't get that point across properly.

Come June, Jonas and Hattie will be featured on a few different blogs, and I can't wait to share those posts with you! I've had a lot of fun doing them and *SO* appreciate the writerly world and bloggers who daily go out of their way for indie authors such as myself.

Also, I'm currently looking for a few (serious) readers to review PIAO, and am in a group on Goodreads where you can sign up, if you're interested. Reviews greatly benefit the writer, as you know, because they help get the word out there. So if you're interested and willing to review, let me know and I can direct you to the right thread. (There are many other authors in that group looking for reviews as well!) Keep in mind a review can be one or two paragraphs, or more than that. The point is to explain how you felt about the book in your own words. :)

Have a blessed weekend,
Jessica

Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take Four)

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**Photo courtesy of DP Photography
I'm a little late this week, but better late than never! 

Click HERE to read Chapter Four of Pity Isn't An Option (Jonas' point of view!)

HIJACKED! and Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take Three)

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**Photo courtesy of DP Photography


So my friend, Lisa, at A Life Bound By Books is on a little trip. (Okay, it's a big trip. She's over in Liverpool right now. Liverpool. Yeah, she's doing just fine, yay for her and all that jazz.) Anyway. Somehow--I do not know how this happened--her website was HIJACKED by someone at Wanless Wanderer (Wanless' local paper) Radio!!! Pretty sneaky, don'tcha think? I mean, really! (If Kendrick or his guys find out... stuff's going to hit the fan.) You can check the radio announcement out HERE (but please do not tell President Kendrick, okay? Many families' lives are at stake)!

Oh and Chapter 3 of Pity Isn't An Option is up at Goodreads. Click HERE to read Hattie's point of view (though it would probably be best to read the radio announcement first)!

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!

Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take Two)

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**photo courtesy of DP Photography

Happy Friday, guys! Okay... can I say it? I'm totally in love with my blog. Hafsah rocks. :) To quickly recap this week, we're two weeks into Local Author Wednesday, and so far, Sharon Lathan, author of historical romance, and James Garcia Jr., author of paranormal (as in, vampires), have been featured. Both giveaways are still going, so please feel free to enter Sharon's HERE and Jimmy's HERE.

And now for the second installment of Getting to Know Jonas, Hattie and Wanless! YAY! I've posted the second chapter of Pity Isn't An Option at Goodreads, so if you've already read Chapter One, click HERE to read Chapter Two! (If you haven't read the first one yet and want to start from the beginning, click HERE.) 

Have a blessed weekend!




Getting to know Jonas, Hattie, and Wanless (Take One)

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**Photo courtesy of DP Photography

Happy Friday! :) I'm so excited to have a new and bee-au-tiful new blog design thanks to my amazing and talented pal, Hafsah! This girl rocks (she's a writer, book blogger, designer... and all around awesome gal)! I mean, the cover to Pity Isn't An Option is a testament in itself to her talent--but THIS? I love love love it (possibly even more than PIAO's cover. Gosh. That's a hard one.) If you've been wanting any kind of design (or even if you haven't) feel free to check out her business, IceyDesigns (link).

In honor of the new design and hosting Local Author Wednesday here on the blog and well, a lot going on around here (middle daughter graduating from 8th grade; kitchen being, well, gone at the moment; writing; and other stuff--oh and let's not forget Lovemuffin and my 16th wedding anniversary, too), I thought it would be fun to take each Friday this month to share a chapter from Pity Isn't An Option. This is mainly because I love Jonas and Hattie so much and want to share their story with you all (and introduce you to the town of Wanless), but also because I'm working on the companion novel to it right now and am so excited I just can't help but share a part of them. :)

So, without further ado, click HERE to check out Chapter One (Jonas' point of view) of Pity Isn't An Option on Goodreads.

P.S. Have you checked out this week's Local Author Wednesday author, Sharon Lathan and entered the giveaway? If you're a Pride & Prejudice fan (or even if you aren't yet but love historical romance) you'll love her books! Click here to enter the giveaway! Enjoy!

Have a blessed weekend,

Jessica

This week's news, plus a little visual inspiration

Just a little update on where I'm at with things...

1) It's official... PITY ISN'T AN OPTION is now available for purchase on Smashwords!!! YAY! Smashwords has the following formats available: epub, HTML (online reading format), PDF, RTF, LRF, Palm Doc, and Plain Text. It should also be arriving in Apple and Barnes & Noble's ebook "catalogs" soon--I will let you know when they're available! In the meantime, feel free to check it (and the free sample) out on Smashwords, and spread the word. :)

2) My facebook author page is officially up and running. This week I'll be posting a few excerpts from PITY ISN'T AN OPTION, from both Hattie and Jonas' point of view.

You can find me here.

If you have an author page, feel free to direct me to it in the comments!

3) Starting next week, I'll be posting a 3-part series on the story behind PITY's cover, in which I will share my experience with the whole ebook cover process. The end result turned out great, but there were a few kinks at first (and one of them was quite costly)!

4) I've added tabs to my blog. Haven't figured out how to remove the sidebar stuff yet, so that's the next step. It'll be fixed soon. But if you're interested in an excerpt, I have one up on the "book" tab. :)

And now for the visual inspiration: In PITY, Jonas talks about birds, and Hattie deals with cotton. I love visuals when I'm reading about something I don't know much about, so I thought I'd share my Pinterest PITY ISN'T AN OPTION board with you guys. :) Enjoy!

Be blessed,

Jessica