What H*** is the Matter with Bookstores - Black Friday Blues

I told myself I wouldn't write this post, I told myself I wasn't gong to but screw it.

After getting tons of coupons for Barnes and Noble in the mail, and in my email for Black Friday, I decided to go to my favorite place in the whole world.

I started browsing around and I was looking for books from small publishers I know and like, guess what they weren't there. So then I tried to find newly released books from other Big 5 publishers, guess what, they weren't on display either. I will tell you what I did find, a whole small rolling cart filled with the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth (I haven’t read this trilogy yet, it’s next on my list I just waited until the whole series was out), 5 book shelves filled with Cassandra Clare’s novels, and 4 shelves filled with the horrible Twilight Saga. Then when I asked the sales person for some of the books, said they didn't have them in stock, but she could order them for me.

I was angry and depressed. All the books I wanted to read and they didn't even have them. Then for the sales woman to tell me she could order them for me, I can order them myself but I still like to go to brick and mortar in support of them.

An author friend of mine Jessica Spotswood of Born Wicked and Star Cursed was discussing with other authors how it’s hard for their books to sell when they don’t even have a big selection of newly released books. After what I witnessed today she’s right, there really was no selection for me to pick from. The only books I saw were either

A). the ones I had already read

 or

B). They were the books that are already hyped up by franchises.

The bookstores would have had more books to display new authors and releases if Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series wasn't taking up four shelves, 5 shelves of Cassandra Clare books, and a whole table of Veronica Roth’s books. The bookstores can make room they just put in the books that are hyped up because they think it will bring them business. I say it’s high time for them to down the ones that have been sitting there for years and let new authors work shine.

*Big sigh* Now I have to go to Amazon and Barnes & Noble to go order all the books I wasn't able to get.

Happy Thanksgiving!

To everyone out there, Happy Thanksgiving!

For a little blogging fun, here is some music that sort of relates to Thanksgiving.

Double Cover Reveal for Rebekah L. Purdy

Today Rebekah Purdy and Entangled Teen are revealing the covers for LEGEND OF ME, releasing in early 2014. And THE WINTER PEOPLE, releasing July 1, 2014! Check out the gorgeous covers, exclusive excerpts, and enter to win an eARC of each!

On to the reveals!

About the Book

LEGEND OF ME

Author: Rebekah Purdy

Release Date: Early 2014

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Brielle has grown up hearing tales of a beast that kills humans, leaving behind only a scattering of bones and limbs. Or so the village elders say. She thinks it’s just their way of keeping children in line, though it doesn’t explain her grisly premonitions of blood, claws, and severed heads.

When Lord Kenrick, Knight of the Crowhurst Order, shows up asking questions about the legendary monster and Brielle finds a mangled body in the woods, she begins to wonder if the grim stories are true. Her attraction to the handsome knight grows as she spends time with him searching for clues to the creature’s existence, and she becomes even more determined to help him discover the beast’s location.

But as her seventeenth birthday approaches, her nightmares worsen. If Brielle doesn’t figure out the connection between Kenrick, the monster, and visions of a ghostly woman in the woods soon, more people could die. Including those closest to her…

Exclusive Excerpt!

Brambles scratched my legs, snagging my skirt. Gnarled trees bent in gruesome forms, while thick shadows splayed out beneath them. A heavy gloom settled over the woodland as wisps of fog slithered like snakes against the ground. I shivered.

Don’t think. I picked an animal trail to follow, stepping over dead branches and forest debris. Blood pounded in my ears and the hair on the back of my neck prickled. I twisted around to glance behind me.

Nothing there. Only the trees. Urgency gripped hold of me and I picked up my pace once more. As I scrambled through the thicket, an overwhelming scent of rotten meat made me gag. I covered my mouth with my hand and stopped running when a bright red piece of fabric caught my eye. With hesitant steps, I moved toward it.

“Oh God.” I stumbled. There, sticking out from beneath a barberry bush was a severed arm, its finger pointed at me in accusation. My breath came in gasps as I scanned the rest of the clearing.

My foot nudged against something and I looked down in horror to find the head of Liam Gatekeeper staring up at me.

I screamed, backing away as fast as I could. All around me were pieces of his body scattered like breadcrumbs. I shielded my eyes with my hands, until I bumped into something else.

With another scream, I whipped around only to find myself faced with an oak tree covered in dried blood and deep claw marks. My vision darkened and I prayed I wouldn’t faint, that I wouldn’t be stuck in the woods. Because somewhere out here, a monster lurked. If I didn’t believe it before, I did now. The beast was real.

About the Book

THE WINTER PEOPLE

Author: Rebekah Purdy

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Pages: 320

ISBN: 978-1622663682

Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble

An engrossing, complex, romantic fantasy perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore or Maggie Stiefvater, set in a wholly unique world.

Salome Montgomery fears winter—the cold, the snow, the ice, but most of all, the frozen pond she fell through as a child. Haunted by the voices and images of the strange beings that pulled her to safety, she hasn’t forgotten their warning to "stay away." For eleven years, she has avoided the winter woods, the pond, and the darkness that lurks nearby. But when failing health takes her grandparents to Arizona, she is left in charge of maintaining their estate. This includes the "special gifts" that must be left at the back of the property.
 


Salome discovers she’s a key player in a world she’s tried for years to avoid. At the center of this world is the strange and beautiful Nevin, who she finds trespassing on her family’s property. Cursed with dark secrets and knowledge of the creatures in the woods, his interactions with Salome take her life in a new direction. A direction where she’ll have to decide between her longtime crush Colton, who could cure her fear of winter. Or Nevin who, along with an appointed bodyguard, Gareth, protects her from the darkness that swirls in the snowy backdrop. An evil that, given the chance, will kill her.

Exclusive Excerpt!

The sky darkened with ominous storm clouds. Giant flakes fell onto my face, sticking to my eyelashes and cheeks. Snow blew unhindered across the yard into what looked like small tornadoes.

Oh God. It’s happening again. The frigid air. The creaking of the treetops beneath the wind. Even the way the snow blew across the yard.

I only had one more feeder. Just needed to toss the seeds in then I could leave. Be safe.

The pond water rippled, while the trees bent beneath the strong gusts. Soon, everything became so white I couldn’t see the house. In the distance a strange tinkling sounded, like dozens of wind chimes.

What had the shrink told me to do?

Ten, nine, eight. Breathe. Seven, six, five. Shit!

 Panic stole my thoughts. I backed away from the pond as the flurries swirled toward me. Chasing me.

Then, I bumped into something—something that felt quite human. A firm chest, arms, hands. Not something, someone. A shriek tumbled from my lips and I spun around to face my captor.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” a soft masculine voice said, pale hands clinging to my arms as he kept me from falling.

My gaze followed those long fingers, up black leather sleeves, to the most gorgeous face I’d ever seen. My breath caught in my throat. I’m gawking. But I couldn’t help it. His raven hair shot with strands of blue, his face pale and perfect, like an ice sculptor had chiseled it into existence. His eyes—oh God, his eyes. They were the palest blue I’d ever seen. Glacial. He had to be over six feet tall, muscles evident through the tight shirt he wore beneath an unzipped jacket.

His mouth turned up at the corners as if enjoying my scrutiny. A cocky grin that made my cheeks warm.

“You’re trespassing.” I tried to keep the tremble from my voice. “This is private property, or can’t you read the signs?” Bravo, that’s right, scare him off with your bitchiness.

He chuckled. And it sounded like the low song of the chimes. “Doris doesn’t mind me coming around. In fact, I’ve met you before, Salome.”

My name on his lips made my knees go buttery. I groaned inwardly.

“You know my grandma?” I fidgeted with the bucket still in hand.

He gave a nod. “Yeah, I’ve known her for years. But I haven’t seen you since you were a child.”

Warning bells went off in my mind, but I pushed them aside. If he knew my grandma, then he must be okay. “Funny, I don’t remember you at all.”

“Don’t you, Salome?” Strands of my hair blew about my face. He reached a hand out as if to touch them then stopped, dropping his arms back to his side.

“No. Grandma’s never mentioned you.”

He gave me another cocky grin. “Well then, maybe we should be reacquainted.”

“Or maybe not.” I snorted. “I’m not sure how you got on the property, Grandma keeps all the gates locked.”

He produced an antique-looking skeleton key. “She gave me this. Like I said, Doris has known me for a long time.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything, it’s just my grandma never mentioned I’d have visitors.” In fact, I wondered why she didn’t ask this guy to watch her house instead of me.

The arrogance left his face and he stared at me. “Perhaps, we can try this again.” He held his hand out to me. “I’m Nevin.”

About Rebekah

Rebekah was born and raised in Michigan (just look for the mitten-shaped state on the map). She’s lived there most of her life other than the few years she spent in the U.S. Army.  At which time she got a chance to experience MO, KS, SC, and CA.

She works full time for the court system and in her free time she writes YA stories. Pretty much any genre within the YA realm is game for her, but her favorites are fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, thrillers, light sci-fi, and some time travel.

She also has a big family–she like to considers them the modern day Brady Bunch. When her hubby and her met and got married, he had 3 children from a previous marriage, she had 2 and  have 1 together. It’s a lot of fun though.

And she can’t forget her other family members–yep, they’ve got some pets: 4 dogs, 3 cats,  and 1 turtle. Everyone in the family has one…she won’t bore you all with their names (unless you really want to know). Okay, you talked her into it! Jack, Pearl, Grr…(yes that’s her dog’s name), Callie, Shadow, Mooshoo, Grouchy, and Sorbert. Other than writing some of her other hobbies include: reading (mostly YA of course), singing, swimming, football, soccer, running, camping, sledding, church, hanging with her kids, and traveling.

She belong to a fabulous writing group called YA Fiction Fantatics (YAFF) and you guessed it they all write YA!

REPPED by Jennifer Mishler and Frances Black of Literary Counsel.

And that’s her in a big ‘ol nutshell.

Website /Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

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FINISHED! Another Successful Year

I FINISHED MY NANOWRIMO STORY! I really did not expect the word count to go higher than sixty thousand words but I finished, and I couldn't be happier. It's well over ninety thousand words, but when I finally go back and edit I will most likely throw out a lot of things I added in for the sake of word count.

I guess I can either inquire with editors for the stories I want to self publish, or I cna go and start working on book two in my New Adult series, and it won't follow the same heroine, each book is a different character's story.

Reign Chosen

New Reign! The series is just getting darker!

NaNoWriMo Pep Talk from Marie Lu

So during the month of NaNoWriMo we get emails from published authors. This one that I am posting is one of my favorite pep talks from NaNoWriMo from New York Times best selling author Marie Lu the author of a dystopian series Legend, the books are Legend, Prodigy, and Champion.

Hey Wrimos,

You’re past the halfway mark. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you can see the faintest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. But you can barely breathe. Your brain feels sore. Things might be getting a little rough, right?

I’m not going to give you inspirational words. I’m not going to tell you how hard it is to be a writer or how courageous you are to be doing this (which you are, by the way, didn’t you know that already?). You don’t have time for all that—you’re trying to finish a novel! Today, I’m going to give you some practical tips on how to make it through the third week. The dark swamp. The mines of writer’s block.

Pull your favorite, tattered, dog-eared book off the shelves. Find a chapter that leaves you breathless. Start typing it out in a new document, word for word. Don’t just type blindly; think about what you’re writing. For me, something about this exercise helps me see the genius in the other writer’s storytelling, and will stimulate my own writing and thoughts. Be careful, of course, that you don’t end up plagiarizing it right into your novel… but there’s something to be said for drawing inspiration from another.

Write a long list of all your characters. Then, start drawing random lines connecting random characters to each other. Don’t think—just connect. Afterward, look down at your page. Try to figure out a connection between each of the two random characters you just linked—something scandalous, maybe, or something sweet. Something three-dimensional and unexpected. Some explosive scene that throws the two together.

Turn to a different creative venture. This is the point in NaNoWriMo when you start feeling exhausted, which makes you lazy, which makes your storytelling lazy. Words might not be inspiring you anymore. So turn to writing’s creative cousins. Art. Music. Games. And so on. I personally will draw my characters. You can do the same, even if you don’t usually draw or you don’t want to draw your characters. Take 10 minutes and make a map of your world, even if you’re writing contemporary. Where’s the post office? What’s the layout of this house? What places do your characters love to visit? Draw a random box in the corner. Make that a secret/forbidden/abandoned place. A love hotel. A bar with a hidden basement.

Turn to music: make a playlist of music that matches the mood of your story. Don’t just play it back, either—plug in some good headphones, close your eyes, sit back, crank the volume, and get lost. Play the scenes of your story out in your head. Imagine the lyrics matching your story. Listen to the story arc inherent in the song. Go to where your characters are. Somewhere in the darkness, you might see the spark of a scene.

Of course, none of this can trump the ultimate, time-worn advice:

Just Keep Going.

Write an entire monologue with your main character if you have to. Spend a chapter just exploring the life story of an antagonist. Write a scene with nothing but dialogue between your hero and your villain. Write a steamy love scene between your favorite couple. They don’t have to be scenes in chronological order. They don’t even have to end up in your book. But they will help you to keep going.

So keep going. You’re almost there. Just a little more. You are stubborn. You are exhausted. You are determined. You are a Writer.

Marie

Update

So not including the scenes I typed up in a separate document for me to add into my story later during the revision process, I have so fat typed up approximately 30,000 words. Which is really not bad considering how busy I've been with the amount of work my statistics and anatomy class have been pilling up on my.


While I have been working on that I am also in the process of self publishing two of my trilogies next year. I'm hoping I can maybe get the first book of both of them out by February. I queried both of them to agents and publisher, both with flat out rejections. I even mentioned how on one of the trilogies all the manuscripts were complete because I know how now publishers are looking for authors who can get them more than one book a year. Sadly, all gave me the same responses.

The second trilogy I wrote I completed book one, and got half of book two completed. I worked too hard on these stories to just leave them sitting on my flashdrive for another ten years until the trends died down. It was mostly the elements that got the agents down, but the stories were really unique and like nothing ever seen before. I showed the first five chapters to several of my professors and they really like them. So I'm looking to self publish them. If I do self publish them, I'll keep you posted.

NaNoWriMo Pep Talk from Holly Black

A NaNoWriMo pep talk from one of my favorite authors Holly Black.

Greetings fellow writers,

Here are some things I wish someone had told me when I was writing my first book. I want to say them to you in the hopes they will help and encourage you. Even if you’ve heard them before, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded.

1) No one can tell if the writing was fun or if it was hard. Trust me. I know it seems like writing that pours out of your brain in a passionate flood should be better than writing that comes slowly and miserably, but the only person who will ever know the difference is you. So no excuses—get the word count done.

2) You don’t have to believe you can; you just have to do it. I remember everyone telling me I had to think positive when I was writing my first book. If I believed I could do it, then I could! If I pictured myself published, then it was going to happen! Which sounded great, except…could I do it? If I didn’t think I could, was I doomed to fail? What if I was almost totally sure I would fail? I am here to tell you—what matters is sticking with it. Even if you don’t know if you can make it through NaNoWriMo, just get through today. Then get through tomorrow. Don’t worry about the day after that, until it’s today. Then you know what to do.

3) There aren’t good books and bad books. There are finished books and books that still need more work. Please don’t let wondering if there’s a market for your book or wondering if the book you’re writing is genius or evidence that you should be heavily medicated get in the way of the writing. Remember, right now you are not writing a good book, you are writing a good draft. Later, you will have lots of time to kill your darlings, make the suspense more suspenseful, to add foreshadowing and subplots. Later you will have time to change the beginning or change the ending or change the middle. Later, you will have time to cut and polish and engooden. For now, trust the process and write (that said, if you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and realize what’s wrong with Chapter 7, then by all means, jot that down for later).

4) Figure out what happens next. Some people swear by outlines; other writers are like to find the story along the way. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, before you quit for the day, write a little bit of the next scene or a couple of lines on what you think will happen next. That way, you are never looking at a blank page.

5) Write for your reader self, not your writer self. You are the best audience for your own work. If you would absolutely love a character like the one you are writing about, if you adore books like the one you are working on, then you are going to know how to make the book appealing—write it like you were the person who was going to read it. Remember the fun bits, the juicy bits, the stuff you linger over in other books—the good stuff.

6) Talk it through. When you get stuck, sometimes it helps to talk through the book out loud—even if only your cat is listening. Sometimes hearing the plot is enough to engage a different part of your brain in solving the problem.

7) Give yourself regular rewards. A fresh cup of coffee (even if it is your 353rd) when you get to the end of a scene, an episode of your favorite show, a snack, a couple of minutes rearranging your My Book is Awesome mix—if you give yourself regular motivational rewards, you will have small goals to work toward.

Over the course of this November, you are going to feel frustrated, despairing, elated and exhausted. You will walk around in a foggy haze at your job or the bank or the supermarket. People will talk to you for twenty minutes and you won’t have heard a word they said because you just thought of a fantastic new subplot. You will look up things on the internet that make you look like a serial killer. But it’s good practice—just think, once you become a professional writer, that’s how you’ll behave all the time!

Holly Black

Reign A Chill in the Air

OMG MARY AND BASH!

Cover Reveal: Sneaking Candy by Lisa Burstein

About SNEAKING CANDY:

All I ever wanted was to make a name for myself as Candice Salinas, creative writing grad student at the University of Miami. Of course, secretlyI already have made a name for myself: as Candy Sloane, self-published erotic romance writer. Though thrilled that my books are selling and I have actual fans, if anyone at UM found out, I could lose my scholarship…and the respect of my faculty advisor, grade-A-asshole Professor Dylan.

Enter James Walker, super-hot local barista and—surprise!—my student. Even though I know a relationship is totally off-limits, I can’t stop myself from sneaking around with James, taking a few cues from my own erotic writing…if you catch my drift. Candy’s showing her stripes for the first time in my real life, and I’ve never had so much fun. But when the sugar high fades, can my secrets stay under wraps?
Add on Goodreads

Author Bio:

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University. She is the author of the YA Novels: Pretty Amy and Dear Cassie and the NA Novella: The Next Forever. Sneaking Candy is her first full-length new adult novel.

Links: Website Blog Facebook Twitter Author Goodreads SNEAKING CANDY Goodreads

Entangled Embrace Launch

Entangled Embrace is Entangled's New Adult line, launching today with three fantastic books! If you are looking for something new and mesmerizing, embrace the endless possibilities that this brand new Entangled Publishing new adult line offers!

Trouble Comes Knocking by Mary Duncanson

A girl who can’t forget…

Twenty-two-year-old Lucy Carver is like Sherlock Holmes in ballet flats, but her eidetic memory is more albatross than asset, and something she usually keeps hidden. When she notices that something’s amiss at her dead-end job, she jumps at the chance to finally use her ability for good. That is, until, a man is murdered, and she becomes the target of the killer.

A detective on his first case…

Detective Eli Reyes is overbearing, pompous, way too hot for Lucy’s own good, and seems as determined to ruin her relationship with her boyfriend, John, as finding the murderer. He brings Lucy in on the case, thinking she can help him get to the truth, only to cut her loose when he realizes he’s gotten far more than he ever bargained for.

A past that won’t go away…

When memories from her childhood invade her present, Lucy discovers a mystery bigger than she could have imagined. With the killer still after her, and Eli nowhere to be found, she takes things into her own hands, determined to expose the truth no matter what—before trouble comes knocking…again.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Goodreads

Hushed by Kelley York

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn't protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he's never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn't matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another. Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who's ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer's committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn't get what she wants...

And what she wants is Evan's death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Goodreads

Definitely, Maybe in Love by Ophelia London

Her theory of attraction is about to get a new angle...

Spring Honeycutt wants two things: to ace her sustainable living thesis and to save the environment. Both seem hopelessly unobtainable until her college professor suggests that with a new angle, her paper could be published. Spring swears she’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.

Whatever it takes, however, means forming a partnership with the very hot, very privileged, very conceited Henry Knightly.

Henry is Spring's only hope at publication, but he's also the über-rich son of a land developer and cash-strapped Spring’s polar opposite—though she can't help being attracted to the way he pushes her buttons, both politically and physically. Spring finds there's more to Henry than his old money and argyle sweaters…but can she drop the loud-and-proud act long enough to let him in? Suddenly, choosing between what she wants and what she needs puts Spring at odds with everything she believes in.

Definitely, Maybe in Love is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice that proves true love is worth risking a little pride.

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Goodreads

Giveaway

To celebrate the launch of the new line, Entangled Embrace is giving away a Kindle Fire, an iPod Shuffle, and a $25 B&N Giftcard!

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Reign Hearts and Minds

New episode! Having Reign come on after The Vampire Diaries just makes my Thursday.

Dracula - My New Favorite Show!

So we all know the classic novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. When I was originally an English major and we read Dracula, my heart just burst. Stoker is the king of vampires.

Recently NBC launched a new show about it, and I have been watching it ever since it aired around Fall.

Dracula is brought back and moved to London and pretends to be Alexander Grayson in order to see revenge on a secret society group Order of the Dragon who have been after the vampires for years. While trying to seek revenge on the group, the only person standing in his way of revenge is a beautiful woman whom he believes to be a reincarnation of his old lover.

What I like about the show is how it gives a unique twist to the already familiar story. Plus what I really liked is how for the casting they got the sexy Jonathan Rhys Meyers for Dracula. He does an amazing job, just like how Gary Oldman did the film Dracula back in the late 80s and 90s. I sometimes wonder why they didn't even think of casting him for Edward in Twilight, he could have pulled it off. What I am curious about is if they are going to follow what happened in the classic novel, or do what most producers do and make up the rest of the story. I'm too filled with excitement to find out.

Happy NaNoWriMo: Start Writing

Happy NaNoWriMo! Today is the day folks. Today kicks start for us writers to get that story down in 30 days or less!

If you want a fun coach who gets your cracking at the keyboard, follow YA Author Susan Dennard on twitter she's @stdennard. She is awesome and she and her fellow author friend Sarah J. Mass have NaNoWriMo battles, which are funny! But Susan is awesome, and a great coach! 

Best of luck to all the writers out there!