Cover Reveal: SWITCHED by Cassie Mae!

Hello!  Yes, I’m still around, though I’m just a lurker these days as I work on my next book and earn a little cash editing.  But I try to stay on top of the comings and goings of my closest writer friends, and today is the cover reveal for Cassie Mae’s next book, Switched from Random House FLIRT, launching sometime in December.

SWITCHED

by

Cassie Mae

New Adult Romance coming December 2013

Cassie Mae redefines the New Adult genre with a novel that answers the eternal question: What do you do when you’re head-over-heels for your best friend’s guy?

Ever since high school, Kayla has been crazy for gorgeous football player Talon. But before she could muster the courage to tell him, he became a hot item with her beautiful BFF, Reagan. The only person who knows Kayla’s secret is Wesley, Talon’s best bud—and he’s got it bad for Reagan. Now they’re all in college together, hanging out 24/7. For Kayla, seeing the two lovebirds together is absolutely unbearable. So Kayla and Wesley hatch a plot to drive them apart. But time is ticking and they must act now, before Talon gives Reagan the Christmas gift she’s been waiting for.

Sure enough, the once-happy couple is fighting, Reagan suddenly can’t get enough of Wesley’s goofy sense of humor, and Talon seems to be paying more attention to Kayla than a guy who’s “just a friend” ever should. But something just isn’t right. Then Kayla and Wesley accidentally spend a night together, and discover a hitch they never considered: that switching partners may not lead to a perfect ending after all.

Cassie Mae is a nerd to the core from Utah, who likes to write about other nerds who find love. She’s the author of the Amazon Bestseller REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND, and is the debut author for the Random House FLIRT line with her New Adult novels FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI and SWITCHED. She also has a three book deal with Swoon Romance Publishing, including her book HOW TO DATE A NERD. 

She spends time with her angel children and perfect husband who fan her and feed her grapes while she clacks away on the keyboard. Then she wakes up from that dream world and manages to get a few words on the computer while the house explodes around her. When she’s not writing, she’s spending time with the youth in her community as a volleyball and basketball coach, or searching the house desperately for chocolate.

Author of Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend
Friday Night Alibi to be released July 29th by Random House Flirt
How to Date a Nerd to be released September 24th by Swoon Romance Publishing
Switched to be released December 30th by Random House Flirt

Find Cassie on:

Facebook  &  Her blog

____________

Yay, Cassie!  I'm gonna need an entire shelf for all your books!

And since a happy dance is in order, I just had to include this funny GIF Cassie sent over.

______________  

By the way, while I'm on hiatus, if you'd like to take over for a guest post, reveal your cover, or announce the launch of your book, let me know and I'll get you scheduled.  

  

IWSG - Excuse Me While I Take Another Breath

It's the first Wednesday of the month.  Time for

Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group.

In addition to being on a blogging hiatus, I'm also on vacation, so no real IWSG post from me today.  But if I were to post on my newest insecurity, it would be that I have absolutely no time anymore.  

I want to blog, but I always seem to have some marketing project or chore to see to.  In between those pesky promo duties, I have to earn money.  I do that by editing, which is great, but also gets in the way of my critiques.  

That probably sounds like I have it backwards to you since the editing nets me money and critiques do not.  That's true, but critiquing is a very important part of being a writer.  It's how I learned most of what I now know.  And, more importantly, it's how I give back.  But I just can't seem to find the balance.  

I'm wondering how you all manage that. Any advice is greatly appreciated.  

And I promise to be back next month for a real IWSG post.

I actually have a lot to tell you guys!

It's Here, it's here! FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI by Cassie Mae!

Today's a HUGE day for your friend and mine, the bubbly and vivacious, Cassie Mae.

It's launch day for her book, FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI from Random House.

Go to Goodreads and add it to your TBR.  

I'm turning things over to Cassie's protagonist, Kelli Pinkins.

She has an interesting story about food!  Take it away, Kelli...

Why Falling In Love Changed My Taste Buds by Kelli Pinkins

Geez, that’s a long title for who I am. But hopefully it explains enough that I can just dive right in here to my post.

Oh! Before I forget, thanks to Nancy Thompson, the girl who rocks my purple polka-dot socks for letting me crash her blog for a day.

So, I totally love food. Big fan, and dinner time is so my favorite part of the day because I actually get to sit down with the ‘rents. Even if they are busy talking over or around me, I get to eat some pretty delicious gourmet.

Like this beauty.

Yeah… That’s lobster, and it’s delicious.

Sometimes we get the octopus. Also super yummy, even if it freaks some people out.

Top it off with some tiramisu, and gosh, I’ve got the meal from heaven!

And for my “me time” (or Friday alibi nights) I went with the Twizzlers bucket, and sometimes, when I really was craving it… the lobster bisque. Yeah, I love lobster.

But then Chase stepped into the picture, and things totally flippity flopped. How the heck did a guy make my taste buds go bazonkers and make me want nothing but oranges?

Orange soda…

Orange sherbet…

Orange juice…

Even citrusy gum!

He messed me all up, just because of that super delicious kiss we had. And his cologne. And his car air freshener… He’s ruined me.

If you want to see exactly HOW he did this, you can read about it here. I tell all about how this crazy annoying guy who smells of citrus heaven tangled his heart around mine. And it’s out as of TODAY! 

Pretty awesome :)

Another thanks to Nancy!

Kelli out.

Thanks, Kelli!  Now, please, someone, get me something orangy!

Hop on over to Cassie's place and see who else is on the Friday Night Alibi tour!

And for those of you who don't know Cassie, you can find her on her blog and on Goodreads.

And find FRIDAY NIGHT ALIBI at:

Amazon  Barnes & Noble  Books-A-Million  BooksOnBoard  eBooks.com  Google Play

Diesel eBook Store  iBookstore  Kobo  Powells  Reader Store for Sony

And now, for the really fun stuff...

ENTER TO WIN A $50 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 2 of Nancy LaRonda Johnson's "Salted With Fire" Blog Tour + a GIVEAWAY!

I know I haven’t been around much lately.  I’ve committed myself to writing over the summer, though I admit to being sidetracked by edit and design jobs.  But I’m not complaining, and every once in a while, like today, I get to have a friend over. 

Today just happens to be Day 2 on Nancy La Ronda Johnson’s Salted With Fire Blog Tour, and Nancy’s dropped by to share a little about herself, her book, her passions, and her giveaway! 

Take it away, Nancy…

Salted With Fire

Black magic, murder, insanity… humor, honor and devotion. Salted With Fire is a journey of flash fiction and poetry that shows my writing transformation from worldly to wanting to please God.

Flash fiction is my passion; poetry is my release. I love creating a complete story, with a beginning, middle and end, with twists, drama, compassion and horror, all under 1000 words. Salted With Fire isn’t just a book of stories and poetry, it is my journey as a writer, from writing only for the mere joy of it regardless of the message, to writing stories that highlight God’s will for people, even if the stories are not religious in nature.

Inside are fifteen flash fiction pieces and twelve poems with full-color pictures, and short Biblical discussions after each story.

Bio

Nancy LaRonda Johnson has written short stories, poetry and personal journals most of her life, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Juris Doctorate. A probation officer by day, she strives during her off-hours to write interesting characters who make it through trying times. Her first book, the literary Christian speculative novel Anticipation of the Penitent, about a serial killer and his mother, reached the finals in the Indie Publishing Contest sponsored by the San Francisco Writer’s Conference 2012. Salted With Fire is her second publication. She is working on several projects, including a sequel to Anticipation of the Penitent. Visit her website at www.nancylarondajohnson.com.

Flash fiction one-liners from Salted With Fire:

Too Bad! Too Late!

What would you do if you found a skeleton in your closet?

Secondary Illness

There’s a bit of insecurities – and madness – in all of us.

Sometimes You Get Shot

If you don’t consider the consequences of your actions, Sometimes You Get Shot.

Debt

When Sal doesn’t get paid… there is always Notorious Natalie.

Career Day

Experience the breakdown of one classroom on this special day.

You Are Not Going To Believe This

Perilous things happen when Mr. Titan Talé is not heard.

You Wanna Be a Funambulist?

Once you understand what that means, will you wanna be one?

Taxi!

Marcus would traverse the country to save his daughter.

Freeway

Finding that special, peaceful moment can be dangerous.

Quarter To

When Perry doesn’t heed the warning, he puts everything at risk.

Braden’s Pop

Henry will risk looking like a fool to save his town.

THE LESSON

Will Sandra learn in time before she totally loses it?

The X’es Mark the Spots

Two holes in the backyard; four places set for dinner….

The Other Side

Harry Montgomery drags through his days, until one special boy enters his life.

My Boaz

Some imaginations will cause even God to come in response.

Also enjoy Biblical discussions and twelve poems in Salted With Fire.

.99 cent eBook! – Available in print and eBook:

Amazon

Smashwords

CreateSpace

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NancyLaRondaJohnson

Webpage: www.nancylarondajohnson.com

Blog: www.nancylarondajohnson.blogspot.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: COURAGE (Mark of Nexus #2) by Carrie Butler

Courage

(Mark of Nexus #2)

by

Carrie Butler 

Design: Carrie Butler

Photography: Subbotina Anna & Yuri Arcurs

New Adult (NA)
Paranormal Romance (PNR)

Coming October 15, 2013

(E-Book & Paperback)

Making a deal with the bad guys wasn’t the highlight of Rena Collins’ semester, but, hey, it saved her boyfriend. Now, in order to appease the human-altering organization known as ERA, she’ll crawl under their microscope while they study the Mark of Nexus and plot their eye-glazed version of the future—until she realizes that’s not all they’re plotting.

Wallace Blake has always known his girlfriend is unlike most girls. But now that information has surfaced regarding the two bloodlines that balance his supernatural race, he finally understands why. Rena belongs to one of them. She’s been augmenting his power, all along...

Enter: Corynn Catley. Brought into the country under the guise of an internship, she’s intended to become ERA’s secret weapon. Kind of. Her abilities cancel out Wallace’s, rendering him powerless, but that’s exactly what he’s always wanted. Too bad it only works when his girlfriend’s not around.

All the while, Rena fails to notice the crush her geeky best friend, Aiden Ross, is nursing. He’d give anything for her to see him in a new light—even reinvent himself through questionable means—but there’s a reason people are told to be careful what they wish for. Finding the courage to tell her could put everyone’s lives in danger.

Find Carrie on:
WEBSITE  |  BLOG  |   TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK  |  GOODREADS  |  GOOGLE+  | NA ALLEY | PINTEREST

Find Courage (Mark of Nexus #2) on:

BOOK PAGE  |  GOODREADS  |   BOOK TRAILER

Book Bloggers may start requesting e-ARCs via this form. :)

___________________

Today is the VERY LAST DAY to purchase an e-book copy of

for only

Get yours on:

Amazon Kindle  |   B&N Nook  |  Amazon UK Kindle  |  Amazon CA Kindle

Smashwords   |  Kobo 

Launch Day: PRECIOUS EMBRACE by Dana Mason

Please, come help me celebrate launch day with

my dear friend and pub-sister and the release of her second novel...

PRECIOUS EMBRACE

by

Dana Mason

Book Two in the Embrace Series

Romantic Suspense/Thriller

“A new love, a missing child, a family found.”

A second divorce and a new baby wasn’t the vision Alison Hayes had for her future. Now a single mother with two young boys, she wants to focus on her kids and what’s left of her stagnant career.

When Detective Johnny Rhay Bennett breezes into her life with his country-boy accent, she wants to run. She doesn’t need another man in her life, or another reason to make people talk. But when her worst nightmare becomes a reality, Johnny is the only person who can pull Ali out of her despair, forcing her to stay strong and not give up hope of finding her missing child.

Who falls in love after a one-night stand? Johnny Rhay doesn’t believe it’s possible until it happens to him. With Nashville in his rear-view mirror, he’s determined to convince Alison she loves him too, even if it means moving to the West Coast.

Ali’s not easy, and she’s living on just this side of bitter after her divorce, but Johnny doesn’t care. He’s up for the challenge. At least, he believes he’s up for it until baby Micah is stolen right out from under his nose. Now Johnny has to keep it together and get that sweet little boy home safe before his dreams of having a family vanish too.

Find Precious Embrace on:

 Amazon US   Amazon UK  Amazon CA  Goodreads  B&N Nook  

And coming soon to:
Kobo   iBooks

To celebrate the release of Precious Embrace,

we’re offering Dangerous Embrace
FREE
from July 11^th to July 14th

Sarah Jennings wants nothing more than a quiet life--alone. Raised by an eccentric mother, their life on the road only taught her how to run away from hard times. When she finds herself in an abusive relationship, this lesson serves her well. Eight years later, she’s settled back in her hometown and less fearful than she’s ever been in her life. She’s a first grade teacher, and with few friends and less family around, she has what she wants, a quiet life under the radar where she can be free of her past and live quietly. Until one night and one brutal act of violence changes everything. 

Injured and afraid, Sarah wants to run again, but Mark Summors refuses to let her go.

Mark was born and raised in Santa Rosa. He married his high school sweetheart and never questioned his life, until he found his wife with another man. Now divorced, he wants something more. He's passionate about his job, he wants to protect people, and he devotes his life to it. This time he's protecting more than just another client, he's protecting his future; at least, Sarah Jennings will be his future, once he convinces her she loves him.

When Sarah agrees to let Mark help, she doesn’t anticipate just how important of a role he’ll play in her future or how the violence in her past will come back to threaten them both.

Find Dangerous Embrace on:
Amazon US  Amazon UK  Amazon CA  Goodreads

Dana Mason

Dana Mason starting writing to prove to her computer geek husband and her math & science geek kids that she actually has a brain; it’s just a right functioning brain instead of a left. She’s lived all over the country and uses that experience in her writing and character studies. Her debut novel, Dangerous Embrace is the first in a contemporary romance series about a group of friends from Northern California who learn just how short life can be when you don’t hold on to what’s important.

When not writing, Dana specializes in professional development and training. She’s also a board member on the local Art’s Council and does what she can to support the art community.

Find Dana on:

Her website  Facebook  Twitter  Amazon  Goodreads  Sapphire Star Publishing

THE MISTAKEN 99 Cent Sale and Giveaway!

It’s finally here…the 99 Cent Sale for my romantic thriller,

The Mistaken,

on Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Barnes and Noble!

This sale is for a limited time and runs from now until July 16^th 12:00a. PDT.

I’m also running a giveaway!

Enter below for a chance to win a $10 gift card from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice).

There are several ways to increase your chances, so enter NOW! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Cover Reveal, a New Author Page, a Sale, and Some REALLY Cool News!

Present Perfect

by

Alison G. Bailey

Release Date: August 6, 2013

New Adult Contemporary Romance

Cover by Robin Harper of Wicked by Design

Synopsis:

Amanda Kelly spent her entire life trying to control every aspect of it, while striving for perfection. Her obsession with being perfect, along with her feelings of worthlessness, consumed her. The one thing she thought was perfect in her life was the bond she shared with her best friend, Noah.

Everything was going according to her life plan until she woke up one day and realized she had fallen in love with him. The one thing she couldn’t control was the affect he had on her. Noah had the power to give her one hundred lifetimes of happiness, which also gave him the power to completely devastate her. He was the one thing in her life that was perfect, but she couldn't allow herself to have him.

Her life begins to unravel. Events take over and force her to let go of her dreams and desires. She needs to realize that a person cannot control the events in their life, only their reaction to them...but will it be too late for her to save her relationship with her best friend? Present Perfect is a story of how past events have present consequences and how perfect your present could be if you stopped fighting and just allowed it to happen.

Alison's dream cast!

Find Present Perfect on:

Goodreads  Pinterest  Spotify  Blog

Alison G. Bailey, Author

Bio:

Alison was born and raised in Charleston, SC. As a child she used her imagination to write additional scenes to TV shows and movies that she watched. She attended Winthrop University and graduating with a BA in Theater. While at Winthrop she began writing one act plays which she later produced. Throughout the years she continued writing and producing several one act plays, but then life got in the way and she hung up her pen for a while. On the advice of a friend, she started writing again. In January 2013, Alison sat down at her computer and began writing her first novel, Present Perfect.

Alison lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband, Jef, and their two furry children (dogs).  She’s addicted to Diet Pepsi and anything with sugar.

Alison's philosophy: Don't let your obstacles define you, let them refine you. At times life can get pretty overwhelming, but with a great support system and a lot of humor you can get through it. If you have humor in your life your spirit stays strong and you can tackle anything.

Find Alison on:

Facebook  Goodreads  Twitter  Blog

Promotion by:

Stacy Bailey Darnell

Literary Mania Reviews

Like LMR on Facebook

____________

Starting NOW, I'm running a week-long special promotion.  The ebook version of my debut romantic thriller, The Mistaken, will be on sale for 99 cents on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!
That's 75% off!

PLUS...during my sale (if I can figure out how to use Rafflecopter),
I will hold a GIVEAWAY for a $10 gift card for Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice).

I'd love if you'd consider helping me spread the word.

So grab my badge, compliments of the talented Carrie Butler,
and post it to Facebook, Twitter, or your blog.   

AND CHECK THIS OUT...

After much arm-wrangling and cajoling by many of my author friends,

I finally agreed to start my own author page on Facebook. 

And so now, I humbly beg, if you're on Facebook,

could you do a gal a favor and please, please, please go here and

Thank you!!!!

OH AND ONE LAST THING...

I went online to the King County Library System's website and found this...

Yes, that's my book, The Mistaken, on order,
sans cover art since they haven't received it yet.

But still, I cannot tell you how excited I am by this, because the KCLS doesn't ordinarily stock titles that have not been reviewed by Kirkus, the NY Times, or the Library Journal, yet there it is, on order and soon to be stocked on the shelves of Washington's most popular library system.  

And oh, by the way, in a few months time, it actually WILL be reviewed by the LJ!  

How cool is THAT?!

IWSG - The Backlash of Plagiarism

It’s the first Wednesday of the month.

Time for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s Insecure Writer’s Support Group.

And this month, I’m one of Alex’s minions and

will be visiting as many ISWG posts in my assigned section as I can.

Sooooo…I had all these good things I wanted to share regarding my progress on Amazon.  With the assistance of a well-liked promoter who’s helping me spread the word of a forthcoming event, I was able to reach the attention of a particularly influential book blogger who then subsequently posted her intention to read my book on both her Facebook page and my book’s Goodreads page.  

As a result, I enjoyed a profusion of GR TBRs and Amazon sales, and my rank dropped to its lowest level ever in the mid 4-digit arena.  That was an amazing moment for me.

But then this thing exploded on the Internet at about the same time and kind of sucked the wind from my sails. 

Seems there was a new contemporary romance released on Amazon and Barnes & Noble called Amazingly Broken.  It was all the rage and immediately became an Amazon bestseller.  Shortly thereafter, romance book blogger,  Jane Litte of Dear Author, noticed some passages in this new book that sounded eerily similar to two other books she’d read, reviewed, and loved—Tammara Webber’s Easy and Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful Disaster.

Of course, the online book blogging community went ape over this revelation, with good reason, I imagine, as they take a great deal of their time to read and review books for many indie and small press authors who otherwise get very little publicity.  The trouble was, these bloggers, especially Jane Litte, who felt somehow betrayed even though they’d received the books for free and enjoyed it enough to give it 5 stars, immediately became suspicious of all indie and small press authors and proceeded to conduct a witch hunt of sorts, calling out authors who use pen names or don’t use headshots for their avatars as probable fakes and plagiarists. Funny thing is, Jane Litte is a pen name, too.  

While I understand their anger at feeling duped and am just as outraged by this brazen incident as they are, the backlash their reactions are having on indie and small press authors is significant.  Many are now being frozen out, or made to prove who they are and that they actually wrote what they’re claiming is their book.  So now these bloggers, who proudly proclaim to support and promote indie authors, are lashing out at them.  And just as word and reaction to this event has spread like wildfire among the blogging community, so has the fear this backlash has created spread among us hard-working, honest, and legitimate authors.

Compliments of GR user Candace

As if it wasn’t already hard enough to find and convince a highly respected and heavily followed book blogger to consider reading, reviewing, and promoting our books, now we have to prove we are legitimate, all because one wannabe “writer” decided to take the lazy way and steal the work of others.  While I am highly irritated at those bloggers who lashed out so hatefully, especially Jane Litte who continues her march on this witch hunt, I also have an issue with this fake author, Jordin Williams, who's making it hard on the rest of us.  But that’s as much time and effort I’m willing to give these thieves and haters.  Okay, rant over.