K. Ryan's Blog, page 3

Cover Reveal, Giveaway, and Preorder Links!

Hey Everyone!

Finding Emma is now available for preorder at Amazon and Smashwords (Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Kobo will be ready shortly).

To celebrate the cover reveal, I’m giving away a $10 gift card (Amazon or iTunes, winner’s choice), sponsored by Indie Sage Promos. Click here to enter!

Thank you to Paper and Sage for my beautiful, fall-inspired cover! That might give you some hints, right? I love the green and gold, too ;)

Make sure to keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook for #TeaserTuesday and #TeaserThursday…character info and more teasers coming this week.

Ready for the cover?? Here it is:

Finding Emma Prologue

Here’s the prologue for my new book, Finding Emma, which is coming out October 20. There’s a button at the bottom to add it to Goodreads if you’re interested. Enjoy!

Cover Reveal and Pre-Order: Monday, September 14

Prologue

It all started with a cat.

Well, to be fair, it technically started over a year, but maybe I should back up a little bit first. When I was five, I had the bright idea to corner my neighbor’s cat and spray it with a squirt gun and then couldn’t understand why the cat clawed and scratched her way out of that damn corner, leaving my five-year-old self bloody and crying. Thus, after that little encounter, my distaste and general indifference to cats began.

They just always seemed like outliers to me: predatory, creepy, sneaky, destroyers of power cords and furniture. The differences between cats and dogs were staggering–take my childhood dog for instance: a happy-go-lucky, tail-wagging, sloppy-kissing, frolicking in the backyard golden retriever. Compared to the anti-social, complicated mannerisms of cats, dogs just always seemed nicer. Easier than difficult-to-please, cagey, and skittish cats.

Not that I didn’t think all those cute Youtube videos of kittens were absolutely adorable. I mean, seriously, a cat playing the piano? Making grumpy faces? Sure, they were cute, but that was pretty much the extent of how much I ever even thought about cats.

So, I pretty much kept my distance with a carefully-drawn line in the sand between us, especially since, as I grew older, I’d developed a slight cat allergy–slight meaning I felt my eyes watering and my throat closing within 10 minutes of being in the same room as a cat. No big loss on my part, that was for sure.

I guess I just figured I’d always have dogs. And I guess that was before I belly-flopped off the deep end and landed face-first on the cold, wet floor of rock bottom.

So, like I said, it all started with a cat.

Update–> September 1

Hey Everyone!

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I updated, but I wanted to wait until I knew more details before making any kind of announcement.

Let’s start with what you’re probably wondering about first: the status of Carry You With Me, the sequel to Carry Your Heart. Long story short, after CYH came out in July, I sort of hit a wall. I was about 75% done with the sequel and I felt myself really starting to burn out on the story and the characters. I’m not quite sure why; it probably had something to do with the stress of releasing the first book and also the fact that I’d spent so much time with the characters and story already, but I was kind of driving myself crazy. Okay, fine, I was driving myself crazy.

So, I took a step back from writing the sequel to give myself a break and to really figure out what direction I wanted to take the rest of the story in. I didn’t want to just force it to have something to release in September, you know? I love these characters too much to do that to them, but I needed a break, so I started spending time with some new characters (which I’ll talk about in a little bit).

I used that time to evaluate where Caleb and Isabelle needed to go as well as where I wanted them to end up, and in doing that, I decided to take the two stories I’d initially planned and combine them into one. So, just to clarify, I’m writing just one sequel to Carry Your Heart, but the sequel will still cover the ground I’d planned on covering with both books.

When I really stepped back and took a look at both outlines, I just didn’t see a need for two more books. Honestly, I’m really not a fan of when authors stretch out storylines and practically beat characters to death all for the sake of having a series and I didn’t want to be one of those authors. I’d rather tell the story I want to tell and do justice to their story without them overstaying their welcome or overextending where their story needs to go.

That being said, reworking my two outlines into one is taking some time. Some things will stay the same, some will inevitably wind up being thrown out, and others will have to be reshaped completely. Like I mentioned before, I want to make sure this final installment does justice to the characters and that I end their story the right way. I’m really excited about the direction Caleb and Isabelle going in and I really hope the rest of their story is as unexpected and satisfying for you as it’s been for me.

I can’t say for sure yet when Carry You Home (this is the title I’m going with) will be ready for publishing, but I can tell you that I’m already about 40% of the way through. As soon as I’m finished with what I’m working on now, Carry You Home will be my main priority. The good news though is that you’ll get the whole rest of the story at once instead of having to wait around for a third book. That’s a consolation for the wait, right? Right??

Now, on to my last piece of news….I have a new book, Finding Emma, coming out October 20! When I took my little mental break from Caleb and Isabelle, I still needed to write and this new one just sort of wrote itself. Given where am I in my life and the recent changes to it, this one hits close to home for me in a lot of ways I didn’t expect until I wrote it. It’s very personal and feels more authentic to who I am as a writer and a person than anything I’ve ever written. I know a declaration like that should make me terrified to share this with you, since it’s me, unapologetically, but I’m actually more excited to share this with you because it’s so personal, if that makes any sense.

It’s a standalone and the main characters as 26 and 29, respectively, which puts this one in the contemporary romance category–something that’s been a fun change for me to explore.

Here are some dates for you to keep an eye on:

Monday, September 14–Cover reveal and pre-order available for Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords

Tuesday, October 20–Finding Emma release and book blitz!

Monday, October 26-Friday, 30–Blog tour sponsored by Indie Sage Promotions.

If you’re a blogger and would like to participate in the cover reveal, book blitz, and/or blog tour, you can find the sign-up info here: Click me.

I’m also going to start up #TeaserTuesday and #TeaserThursday again with the prologue and some character info going up this Thursday.

You can add Finding Emma to Goodreads here.

And, last but least, how about the blurb, huh?

Blurb:

For the last year, Emma Owens has been quietly detached from everything and everyone in her life. Work. Netflix. Eat. Blog. Sleep. Repeat. In perfecting the art of keeping people at arm’s length and desperate to escape the demons that chased her out of her hometown, she’s learned that life here in Milwaukee is just less complicated and less tragic when it’s a one-woman show.  

In the span of one week, everything about her carefully orchestrated solitude comes crashing down. Then again, she can’t really ignore the scratching coming from her patio door or the hungry, pleading grey eyes reflecting in the moonlight. Those four little white paws and that tiger-striped fur thaws some of the ice keeping her heart on lockdown and she’s attached before she knows what hits her. Emma doesn’t have any better luck ignoring another pair of eyes, and her new neighbor, Finn Matthews, with his shy persistence and a scarred past of his own, slowly chips away at the rest of that ice trapping Emma in her insecurities and her loneliness.

That week, Emma finds herself hoping for something she never thought she’d ever want or need again–a real connection. Taking a chance on her new roommate and her next-door neighbor opens a door she’d previously slammed shut: the door to a new lease on life and the right to forgive, to fight back, and to heal.  

And the craziest part about it?

It all started with a stray cat.

She was lost…and he found her.

**Finding Emma is a full-length, standalone contemporary romance. Due to language and some sexual situations, this book is not intended for readers under 18**

7 Days & Counting…

Hey Everyone!

We’re getting so close to the release date…it’s kinda scary, huh? No, exciting. That’s what I’m going with. I’m excited and I’m nervous (just because this is pretty huge for me, you know?).

I’ve recently gotten on the email subscription train and added a link at the top of my menu on my website. If you choose to subscribe, all I’ll use your email for is to give you updates on any upcoming events from books to promotions. That’s it! If you want to skip looking for the link on my website, you can just click here instead.

I’m also so excited to announce that I will be working with IndieSage PR for my book blitz on July 15 and my blog tour from Aug. 3-7. Mia over at IndieSage has been so helpful, and super-speedy, by the way, and I feel confident that I’m in great hands. We’re going to be doing a giveaway (free copy and gift card) for both events as well as excerpts, author interviews, teasers, and playlists.

Click here if you’re a blogger and want to sign for up for the events (or if you just want to see more info about the promotion).

Last but definitely not least, here are some new teasers for you to enjoy. I missed posting last week’s from Twitter here on my blog, so if you don’t follow me on Twitter, you get a double-dose of #TeaserTuesday today.

New Teaser and Updates

Hey Everyone!

Here’s the new #teasertuesday for you —>

In other news, Carry Your Heart is still only 99 cents for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. That sale will run through Tuesday, July 21 to celebrate the new release.

I’ve also officially begun work on Carry You With Me, book 2 in the series and I’ve sent the prologue and Ch. 1 to my awesome beta-readers already for review/feedback. This time around  the process is already going easier since I’ve got all the kinks worked out in terms of formatting and editing. I’m planning on starting to post teasers for book 2 at the end of July, so make sure to watch for those on Facebook, Twitter, and here on my site.

Right now, I don’t have an official release date for book 2, but it will definitely be released somewhere around the middle of September. I’ll make sure to keep you guys posted as soon as that release date becomes a little clearer.

Thank you and have a great week!

Updates!

Things are finally starting to happen…Carry Your Heart is now available for pre-order on Amazon and has officially been listed on Goodreads!  Pre-order for Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Kobo should be up soon via Smashwords.

Check out the links here:

Amazon Pre-Order

Goodreads