In Stone Cover Reveal.

Hi! I'm super excited to help reveal the cover for one of Entranced Publishing's most exciting upcoming YA releases. 

Beau Bailey is suffering from a post break-up meltdown when she happens across a knife in her local park and takes it home. Less than a week later the new boy in school has her trapped in an alley; he’s sprouted horns and is going to kill Beau unless she hands over the knife.

Until Eighteenth century gargoyle, Jack, shows up and saves her.

Jack has woken from a century long slumber to tell Beau that she’s accidentally been drafted into a power struggle between two immortal races; Demons and Gargoyles. The knife she picked up is the only one in existence capable of killing immortals and they’ll tear the world apart to get it back. To draw the warring immortals away from her home, Beau decides to go with Jack to Bulgaria in search of the mind-bending realm known as the Underworld, a place where they’ll hopefully be able to destroy the knife and prevent all hell from breaking loose. That is providing they can outrun the demons that are chasing them.    

  

You can add In Stone to you Goodreads TBR list by clicking here:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17663217-in-stone

   

About the author:

Louise is a graduate of Garstang Community Academy. She’s currently studying for a BA (Hons) in English language and literature with special emphasis on creative writing. She’s a YA aficionado, Brit bird, film nerd, identical twin, junk food enthusiast, zombie apocalypse 2012 survivor and, above all things, an avid collector of book boyfriends.

Get to know Louise:

On Twitter: @rock_andor_roll

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Louise-D-Gornall/111420465709804

On Her Blog: http://bookishblurb.wordpress.com/ 

Seriously, she's a blast--go follow her!

Lucky in Love.

Relationships take work, but falling in love...that's easy. Right? Love happens everyday. I'll resist the urge to quote Love Actually and point out that is, in fact, all around. (Damn I love me some Bill Nighy, and Alan Rickman and Colin Firth and Hugh Grant.) So why isn't the entire world snuggled up beside their beloved, blissfully happy? Could it all come down to luck? I know I like to say that I won the husband lottery, but I'm not sure I think it's that straightforward. ;)

Are some of us simply lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time?

Maybe we should be carrying good luck charms to increase our chances of meeting "the one".

Is finding true love as simple as locating a four leaf clover?

Colin, the hero in my new novella, The Best Man, would say yes. He knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that luck alone put him on the path of Beth Chase, wedding planner and woman of his dreams. He's still working on convincing her of that. ;)

 Beth Chase is too busy planning perfect weddings to worry about the lack of action in her own love life. But if she was looking for a man, she wouldn’t be looking at Colin Pratt. Her boss swears that Best Man Colin is a quiet scholar and science fiction writer who couldn’t possibly cause a fuss at his own brother’s wedding. He’s clearly never met the man in question. Snarky, sexy and more than a little inebriated, Colin is the final obstacle between Beth and the last perfect wedding she needs to make partner. Of course, when she helps him into a taxi at the end of the night she has no idea that he’s only just begun to poke holes in her professional exterior. Colin might have the skills to seduce a romance professional, but can he convince her that he’s the best man to share her happy ever after?

The Best Man releases through Entranced Publishing on April 29, 2013! You can add it to your Goodreads Want To Read Shelves now.

Prizes

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day and the Lucky in Love Blog Hop, I'm giving one lucky winner their choice of any one e-book from Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor series (Kindle from Amazon or Nook from Barnes and Noble only.) This is a great contemporary series filled with charming heroes and spunky heroines who have the good luck to find their matches and the good sense to hold on to them.

Also, they have really cute covers.

To enter, you MUST leave a comment telling me which Lucky Harbor book you'd love to read.That's it. Easy Peasy.
Want to increase your odds of getting lucky? You can throw your name in the hat up to three more times by tweeting about this giveaway, liking my Facebook page or following me on twitter.
WHATEVER YOU DO, MAKE SURE TO GO THROUGH THE RAFFLECOPTER AND LET IT KNOW! It will ask you to confirm that you posted a comment-if you don't then you will not be entered.

a Rafflecopter giveaway But that's not all. Commenting on this post also gives you a chance at one of the two GRAND prizes for the Lucky in Love Blog hop. United States residents only for the swag pack. Sorry guys. Everything else is international! For more chances at the grand prize, visit other participating blogs. You should especially check out my fellow Entranced Publishing Authors:

http://melindadozier.blogspot.com
http://stbende.blogspot.com/

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

2nd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

Friday Frenzy Twitter Pitch Workshops.

Friday Frenzy Twitter Pitch Workshops

Entranced Publishing has had so much fun with their first ever Friday Frenzy event, but we
know some of the authors felt a little overwhelmed, having to condense a whole query down to 140 characters or less. I mean seriously, you write a book and even condensing it to a standard query is tough. That’s why, for the next two weeks, the Entranced Publishing
authors are banding together to bring you Friday Frenzy Twitter Pitch Workshops!



First you can get some advice on writing twitter pitches on Louise D. Gornall's blog here: http://bookishblurb.wordpress.com/



My advice: Don't wing it. Plan it out and please check your spelling. I think that being on twitter makes everyone a bit more causal, but if you're looking to attract a publisher you don't want to use the wrong 'there'.

Here’s how the workshop works:

1) You post your maximum 140 character query in the space below using this formula:

Name:
Title:
Genre:
Query-(Your Book Blurb-the paragraph that would appear on the back of the book):
Twitter Pitch(es):

2) I give you feedback on it.
3) You give feedback to two other people who have posted their queries – remember,
what goes around comes around. (Yes, if you're one of the first couple of people you are going to have to check back to do this. :))

I’m not alone in hosting this workshop; some of the other lovely Entranced Publishing authors
are doing it, too. So jump on over to their blogs and offer your support to Twitter pitching
authors like yourself.

http://melindadozier.blogspot.com/
http://stbende.blogspot.com/
 http://www.karaleighmiller.com/

Entranced is looking for romance, erotica, YA and NA submissions. You can learn more and check out Editors' Wishlists here:
Also-don't forget to follow Entranced on twitter. Only followers get to participate in #FridayFrenzy and they are giving out lots of critiques as prizes to celebrate their launch next month!
www.entrancedpublishing.com
www.twitter.com/EntrancedPub
www.facebook.com/EntrancedPublishing

Tagging Thyme Meme: 11 Weird Questions Answered…or I'm not afraid of a stuffed badger.

 Yeah, it's another meme. The lovely and talented Louise D. Gornall tagged me and the questions are fun and silly.


1. What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten in public?

I tried escargot. It wasn't bad. I guess that's not too strange though. I'm mostly veggie and have been since I was eighteen, so tell me a weird fruit and I'll give it a go.  

2. If you had to go on an adventure, with elves, dwarves, or hobbits, who would you take and why?

Hobbits. Hands down. This one in particular.

There's drinking and singing and general tidiness. Since this is an adult blog, I'll also mention that thing about big feet. ;)

3. You are at a rural retreat lodge somewhere deep in Wisconsin or Canada. You are approached by a taxidermist who hands you a stuffed badger and asks you to put it in your lap. What do you do next?

I would wear gloves if it was preserved with formaldehyde. I've worked at a few nature centers, a stuffed badger wouldn't throw me. If there were kids around I'd probably chat up the badger's adaptations.

4. If you were given biscotti, would you prefer it with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?

Biscotti goes with coffee in my world. Scones go with tea.

5. In your opinion, who is the funniest man or woman alive today (comedian)

Wow. This is tough. Either Eddie Izzard or Robin Williams.

 


  



6. If you were given thirty seconds on television to say something, what would it be?
 I'd thank my mom.

7. What is your idea of the most romantic date setting ever?
Picnic on a secluded beach at sunset.

8. If you could go on one date with a movie or television star, who would it be and why?
Can I have a platonic lunch with Joss Whedon? He's been on TV. 

9. What is the worst song you have ever heard?
This is an impossible question. (It might be a song an ex-boyfriend wrote.)

10. If you could live anywhere else, where would it be?

I'd love to live in a bunch of places. I'd most like to settle down in Cape Cod. 

11. Who- in your opinion- was the greatest person to ever live? 

My grandma. Or maybe Aristotle.   

Okay- anyone who wants to be tagged should consider themselves tagged. I know Louise just got everyone at Entranced Publishing. ;)

The Next Big Thing

Melinda Dozier was kind enough to tag me for “The Next Big Thing”. It's my second time, so I assume it has since made it's way all around the internet. :)

The idea is simple: I answer ten questions about a current work-in-progress. I've been doing some edits on a story just this morning, so that's the one I chose. 

10 Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

1. What is the title of your Work In Progress?


I'm calling it A Late Thaw.

2. Where did the idea come from for your book?

I went to college in Vermont and it burrowed it's way into my heart. I was thinking about the old advice to write about what you know and I know Vermont. For the record I don't think we should all stick with what we know, if we did we'd miss out on sexy vamps, hunky shifters, steamy spies and time traveling adventures. But this time, I decided to write a love story for a place I love.

3. What genre does your book fall under? 

Contemporary Romance

4. What actors do you imagine playing your characters?

When I think Cole, I think Joe Manganiello, a young Joe Manganiello. He's got the right look and that easy, natural charm. Cole is the best type of Alpha, the kind that doesn't need to prove it all the time and Manganiello could easily play that. Also...yum, right? Honestly, I tend to be personally more drawn to sort of pretty, nerdy guys, but Joe is a force of nature. Or testosterone.

Kiley...hmmm, maybe Zooey Deschanel. She has the dark hair and blue eyes and the quirky charm that men can't resist. She'd need a more tom-boy wardrobe for the part though.

5. Give us a synopsis of your book?

Barret, Vermont, home to nearly as many goats as people. It was the perfect picturesque spot to stop for cocoa after a ski trip or to buy your Christmas tree from a hunky farmer wearing snug jeans and a pair of well-worn boots. Kiley St. Claire wasn’t there for either. She’d come home for one reason and one reason only: make enough money waiting tables at the local tourist trap to survive her final semester of graduate school. Of course she was going to have to see that Christmas tree farmer eventually. That was fine; Kiley wasn’t the same nerdy little girl he’d palled around with. Nope, she was done crushing on Cole Thomas. Totally done.

Cole thought he was ready, but seeing Kiley again is a punch to the gut. She’d rejected him and run away without explanation. The least she could have done was to have stayed away. Still, it’s good. Now he’ll have a chance to say what he’s needed to say for years and then, just maybe, he’ll be ready to move on. He just wished she didn’t look so damn good in her waitress uniform.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I'm polishing it up for submission to publishers.

7. How long did it take you to finish the first draft of your manuscript?

I wrote this one awhile back and thought it was done. I've since decided it needs a little something. I think the first, first draft only took a month or so. It's a short story-around 15,000 words.

8. What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Gosh, I don't know. It's a second chance, friends to lovers story. There are a bunch of those, but I think my voice is a bit different. There's a lot of humor in it. 

On a side note, if you're into second chance stories, you should keep a look out for Melinda's upcoming book, Time Changes Everything.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I suppose I just love the idea of people falling in love over years. Cole and Kiley were always together. It took them awhile to realize what they were to each other. My husband and I were friends for a decade before we tried dating. When we did, it was instant, everything clicked.

10. What else about your book might pique your readers’ interest?

It's a fun story; it takes place over the course of about eighteen hours and could probably be read in a single evening. There's a hot man determined to get the girl, a girl determined to hide her feeling, tacky German-themed knick-knacks, steamy sex, a bunch of mean chickens and an unfortunately named cat.

Okay. I don't have enough people to keep tagging more. Please, if you read this and have a WIP that you want to chat about, consider yourself tagged. Leave a comment and I'll add a link to your site.