Libby Cole's Blog, page 3

Magic Moments With Sea Monsters

A few readers have asked me if you really can go for a night snorkel with manta rays. The answer is 100% yes you can!

I’ve actually done it myself, and it was magical. Magical enough that I knew it had to be included in Hawaiian Heartbreak, and I made sure it was involved right from the first outline.

So, to satisfy curious minds, I’ve found a video of it. There’s a little bit of advertising because I just found it on Youtube, but it’s also a great video, promise!

Did I just add something new to your bucket list?

 

(If you’re on Twitter or Instagram, I love to chat. http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby and http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/)

What’s Next?

Now that the Hawaiian Heartbreak roller coaster is over, what next? Well, I may not look like it, but I do have a plan…

Tess obviously had her own drama going on in the last book. If you go back further, you’ll actually see she had her own background issues happening right from the very beginning.

I always knew problems in her life would end up causing a rift with Kayla. But when it came to that last book, I ran into a problem. I just couldn’t do her story justice and keep it to a similar length as the other two books.

So I’ve been busily beavering away at a story just for her, and now I can finally say I’ve finished the first draft! It’s a full length, standalone book, all about Tess. Although of course there are lots of Hawaiian Heartbreak nods for those of us who’ve been here since the beginning.

I hope you’re as excited about the Tess news as I am. Now to start the first round of editing… Eep.

 

(Current WIP: let the editing begin.)

Come be sociable with me!

http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby

http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/

 

More Freebies!

It may be April 1st, but I promise I’m not fooling! I’ve teamed up with some fellow indie authors, and we’re offering 65 books for free, or 99 cents.

It’s all different genres, so of course romance, but also sci-fi, horror, etc. Jump over to events.supportindieauthors.com to check them out.

Have fun

Hitting A New Milestone

You know how it is when you’re addicted to a book you’re reading? You have stuff planned for the day, but even while you’re hanging out with friends or family you’re secretly looking forward to getting back home so you can read some more?

Well, here’s a secret; writing a book can be pretty much the same. Sure it’s hard work, but when you’re on a roll you begrudge anything that stops you! So, between Easter chocolate and hanging out with people this long weekend, I kept sneaking away for a date with my keyboard, sorting out the latest project.

And hey, you can’t argue with results, because I hit a new milestone.

Yep, past the 40,000 words mark, and past 100 pages. (That’s 100 pages of a Word doc draft, which is more than 100 pages of a printed book, FYI!) Not only is this past where I’d hoped to be by now, but it’s actually the longest book I’ve written so far.

Because of course, the Hawaiian Heartbreak trilogy book were novellas. Sure they can be read all together, making them slightly more than the length of your average book. But each novella is its own distinct story, with its own little life cycle.

Whereas this is one stand alone story, and it’s bigger from the start. Which is proving to be a lot of fun! And so we’ve raced to this little milestone, and I’m taking a moment to celebrate.

I don’t want to jump the gun, but we’re almost at the point where I’m ready to tell you what it is I’m working on. Of course, I’ll tell my mailing list about it first – it’s only fair! If you want to sign up, I also do exclusive giveaways there. You can sign up right here http://eepurl.com/bwTdtD

How was Easter for everyone else? Don’t worry, I don’t expect you all to be workaholics like me!

 

(If you’re on Twitter or Instagram, I love to chat. http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby and http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/)

Gettin’ Sociable

I’ve finally caved, and signed up to more social media than just this blog. I KNOW, welcome to 2016, me.

I’m going for Twitter and Instagram for now, to make sure it stays manageable. First priority has to be the writing, or at least, that’s what I try to remind myself on a daily basis…

The only thing is, I’m a little lonely with my brand new accounts. Come hang out with me, let’s talk even more often!

http://twitter.com/AuthorLibby

http://www.instagram.com/authorlibby/

 

(Current progress: 36,264 words into first draft)

PSA: If You Have A Kindle, Update It. NOW.

Remember when I told you Kindle was making some changes? Well, to bring those changes in, they’re also updating your eReader.

The deadline for downloading the update? March 22. So you have only hours left, hop to it!

This reminder brought to you by my calendar, and my own failure to download the update so far. Fixing that…NOW.

If you’re not sure if you need the update, I’ve got you, boo – here’s a graphic to check whether you need it or not. Now move move move!

Review: RoomHate

Sharing a summer house with a hot-as-hell roommate should be a dream come true, right?

Not when it’s Justin…the only person I’d ever loved…who now hates me.

When my grandmother died and left me half of the house on Aquidneck Island, there was a catch: the other half would go to the boy she helped raise.

The same boy who turned into the teenager whose heart I broke years ago.

The same teenager who’s now a man with a hard body and a hardass personality to match.

I hadn’t seen him in years, and now we’re living together because neither one of us is willing to give up the house.

The worst part? He didn’t come alone.

I’d soon realize there’s a thin line between love and hate. I could see through that smug smile. Beneath it all…the boy is still there. So is our connection.

The problem is…now that I can’t have Justin, I’ve never wanted him more.

*****

This book is a slow build that puts you through the wringer and keeps you guessing. I thought it was going to be one thing, it turned into something totally different, and I loved it all the way.

At the beginning Justin straight up made me mad. I know that’s the whole point of enemies-to-lovers, but man, his attitude drove me nuts. When we had the big reveal of what she did to piss him off, I really didn’t think it was justified. Thankfully, the flashbacks helped me forgive him. There was a kind and protective side there, it was just buried under a mountain of betrayal and hurt feelings.

Amelia was super sweet, but never spineless. In fact, half the time she’s just being sweet to kill Justin with kindness. Atta girl, if you can’t beat them at least make them feel bad about it.  And the way she deals with the curveballs that come her way… Let’s just say, she’s a strong woman.

I probably don’t even need to say my last point, seeing as it’s a book I enjoyed… But these two are pure steamy perfection together.

“Don’t ever forget that I respect the hell out of you,” he said as he stuck his hand up my dress and grabbed onto my panties.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I’m about to fuck you like I don’t.”

*fans self*

Just a side note: they nudged this close to my line on cheating. Thankfully they stayed on the right side of it, but only just. Emotional affairs aren’t cool either, guys.

All up, four stars!

Scentsual Reading

Anyone else like to set the scene a little when they read? Snuggle up on the couch, grab a cup of tea, maybe light a candle if you’re feeling fancy?

OK, I admit I don’t usually light a candle, but I’m considering it now! Because I’ve discovered some book-scented ones. Not as in paper and ink scent (although, I’m down if they want to bring that out). But as in major classic authors, the scent they imagine they would like, and a quote from them.

It’s nerdy amazingness. This one is Jane Austen, which smells like gardenia, tuberose and jasmine. It has the quote “there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort”. Agreed Jane, agreed.

This one is Oscar Wilde, which smells like cedarwood, thyme, and basil. It has the quote “anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination”. I agree, Oscar, but my bank manager doesn’t…

I promise nobody paid me anything for this post (I WISH), this is just the most wonderfully nerdy thing, so I had to share! There’s heaps of candles, and you can get them all here http://www.paddywax.com/Shop/Library

And if I’ve now made you crave the smell of actual books, but you don’t want to be the weirdo sniffing pages… As a side note, these perfumes do exist.

 

You can buy them here http://www.sephora.com/book-P395008 and here https://www.commoditygoods.com/collec... . Or go sniff some books, knock yourself out.

Anyone else getting ready for a sensory overload next time they sit down to read? Which candle do you want to try?

A Shiny New Era

 

I’ve been loyal and faithful for a long time. But it’s time to have a chat with my significant other. I just don’t think I’m a one-store kind of woman.

My books have been going straight to Amazon so far. And I’ve loved working with the ‘Zon – still do, in fact. Their Select programme lets readers who pay a monthly fee treat my books like they’re in a library, checking them out for no further cost to them, while I get paid by pages read.

But. The price of the system is being exclusive to Amazon. So, while I love making books available for readers to try, I can’t ignore the readers who don’t use Kindle. It’s just not fair to them.

This was the first picture that came up for “open relationship”, and it’s being included purely for that glorious bucket hat.

So I’ve had a chat to Amazon about trying an open relationship. Now I’m flirting with iBooks, Kobo, and Nook. They’ve been very attentive so far, which I do like in a partner.

As of now, I can’t see me going back to exclusivity. So hello, Nook and iPad readers! It’s a delight to meet you, let’s hang out some time.

 

P.S. Bonus points to anyone who caught the Lion King reference in the title, and now has the song stuck in their head.

 

(Current book progress: 26,378 words into first draft)

Hawaiian Heartbreak Trilogy by Libby Cole Review!

This review of the Hawaiian Heartbreak trilogy absolutely made my day – partly because of the awesome picture at the end! I hope it makes every reader get to the beach ASAP.

Night Reads

Hawaiian Heartbreak Book #1

Hawaiian Healing Book #2

Hawaiian Homecoming Book #3

The Complete Trilogy

When do you admit a holiday fling is so much more?

Kayla’s always been scared to push her boundaries and take a risk. But it turns out all she needed was a scumbag ex-boyfriend to send her running to Hawaii, hoping to pull the shattered pieces of her heart back together while sunning herself on a white sand beach.

What she hadn’t planned on was falling for someone new. Especially someone tall, tanned, and distractingly sexy. Soon sparks and puns are flying, and Kayla is introduced to a whole new way of appreciating Hawaii’s beautiful scenery. But what starts out as a fun holiday romance turns into a full-blown love affair, with neither wanting to admit the clock is ticking until Kayla has to return home.

A combined volume of all three books in the…

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