L.E. DeLano's Blog, page 35

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews – I Love ‘Em!

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Today is an auspicious day! TRAVELER now has 50 reviews on Amazon! Cue the confetti! This is it, the world is my oyster!!

Actually, it just means I have one more review on Amazon than 49, but I’ll take it. I have well over a hundred on Goodreads now, and scattered reviews across other bookseller sites, and so far (knock wood) they’re predominately good.

But that doesn’t mean I disregard or shrug off the bad ones – and there have been a few. Some have valid criticisms that have made me better, some chew over a point just to chew it, one made a claim that literally made my blood boil (oh well, whatta ya gonna do) but all of them taught me something about my writing, my personal stumbling blocks, and the nature of the writer biz. I wouldn’t trade a single one of them.

Most of all, I’m grateful for them. Reviews are a valuable tool for any reader – both the good and the bad. And yes, I like to see a mix of both when I go hunting for books. It makes the author seem more “real” if there are a few dissenters – like they didn’t just have an army of friends sticking up glowing reviews to stack the deck. Getting a well-rounded view of the pros and cons of any book is incredibly helpful.

So if you’ve reviewed my book – thank you! From the bottom of my happy-dancing writer heart, thank you! You are the unsung hero of the reading world, and you deserve all the praise I can heap on you.

You are what keeps me going some days.

 

 

And the #Giveaway winner is . . .

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@LifeWthnThePgs, courtesy of Twitter! You, my darling get the whole package!

Signed copy of TRAVELER
Personal Journal
Glitter Mousse scented candle from the Nox To Lumos Candle Co.
Set of Antiqued Pirate ship and TRAVELER- themed mirror bookmarks
$25 Amazon Gift Card

As for the rest of you – don’t despair! All is not yet lost!!

Since the grand prize winner ended up being from Twitter, I’m giving a consolation prize to Instagram user @megabunnyreads,  Tumblr user @xcyansparksx and blog commenter, Meigan ! You all get signed books!

Thank you to all who participated! I’ll have one more giveaway of goodies over the summer, and then in the fall – look for the ARC giveaway of DREAMER!!

Last Day For My #Giveaway – Act Now!

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Last Chance! My giveaway closes at six p.m. EDT (US) tonight! Just head over to the original blog post for the giveaway and leave a comment, or comment on one of the social media links in the post.

Just a reminder that this giveaway includes:

Signed copy of TRAVELER
Personal Journal
Glitter Mousse scented candle from the Nox To Lumos Candle Co. (If you haven’t read the book yet – Glitter Mousse is a serious addiction!)
Set of Antiqued Pirate ship and TRAVELER- themed mirror bookmarks
$25 Amazon Gift Card

Go forth and retweet, reblog and spread the word!

There’s Still Time To Join A TRAVELER #Giveaway

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That’s right – there’s still time to hop on the giveaway train! And you’ve got two different ways to win!

First, head over to Dark Faerie Tales and read my guest post about the many worlds of TRAVELER – you can enter the giveaway to win a signed copy via a link at the bottom of the page. This giveaway closes in 6 days!

Second, scroll back to my original giveaway post and comment there (or on one of the other social media links provided) to win a goody package that includes a signed copy of TRAVELER, a personal journal, a set of antiqued bookmarks, a “Glitter Mousse” scented candle from the Nox to Lumos Candle Company, and a $25 Amazon gift card! This giveaway closes on Monday!

Good luck to everyone who enters. Have a great weekend!

These Are The Moments That Make It All Worth It

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That, my friends, is a fan letter. And it’s not from a on old friend, or a family member, but from someone who only knows who I am from buying and reading my book.

And she just made my day.

I can’t show you the whole letter, since it discusses some spoilers, but oh, I love that she laughed and cried and shrieked and fist-pumped right where I wanted her to.

This kind of stuff makes it all worth it – all the hair pulling, the forehead hitting the keyboard, the lying awake at night with my characters yelling at me, the brainstorming sessions in my car on the drive home from work, the late nights and the second-guessing.

Thank you, McKenna, for reading me. And for reaching out.

And With One Line, It’s Decided

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As I’ve mentioned, I’ve had the battle of the books running through my brain lately. It started out as three different stories picking at my grey matter, then I dropped one and it became two that were consuming me, pulling me in two different directions in a creative tug-of-war.

Then a sneaky little tendril of a story started weaving its way in, seducing me with it’s subtle background music, and somehow it took root and started to grow.

So I’ve been throwing out a line here and there from each of my budding projects, and seeing which ones scored with various Twitter/Facebook and private beta readers. I tossed out one of the stronger bits today from the new story – which is utterly unlike TRAVELER or DREAMER (and one of the other stories is kind of in the same vein and it was winning over the other remaining story). And people are liking it. Even loving it.

And I love it. A lot.

It’s pure fantasy, and magical and mystical and throwing me into a wild rollercoaster ride of emotion already, and that’s just the outline!

Oh, you’re going to love this one. You’re just going to love it.

 

 

I have my face against his shoulder . . .

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When I look up at him, something in his eyes changes – a shifting within us both that steals the breath from our lungs.

#LoveLines
From: “DREAMER”
Topic: “Change”

 

Another Giveaway! Check Out My Guest Post On Dark Faerie Tales!

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Many thanks to Bridget from Dark Faerie Tales for hosting my guest post today about the many alternate worlds of TRAVELER!

Here’s a bit:

TRAVELER is one wild ride, and with Finn watching her back, an immortal dream god giving her direction, and her family and best friend as stabilizing forces, Jessa uses her wits and acquired skills to figure her way through this tantalizing and tilted new landscape with a writer’s eye for unfolding adventure.

You can read the whole post here – and I’m happy to say that Dark Faerie Tales is also hosting my giveaway! Here’s your chance to land a free signed copy of TRAVELER! Head over to the site for details!

My fingers itch to slide the pen from where it’s clipped to the journal . . .

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. . . to open it up to a crisp, white page and work out everything that’s inside me with swirls of ink across the paper, but I still can’t do it. I don’t think I can, anyway.

#1lineWed

Topic: “Black” / “White”

Tidbit Tuesday: A Bit Of DREAMER And Jessa’s Surprising Performance

One of the admittedly fair criticisms I’ve sometimes heard about TRAVELER is the complete lack of female friends for Jessa. That’s actually by design in the first book – Jessa is an incredible introvert, choosing to live in her stories until Ben becomes a steady buddy and a potential love rival for Finn. I won’t apologize for my love triangle. I love love triangles and mine is not your usual sort of love triangle.

Anyway, I seeded a female friend for Jessa into book one, but she really blooms in DREAMER. So here’s your re-introduction to Olivia, in one of Jessa’s many alternate realities. . .

Olivia finally releases her death grip on my hand and gives me an enormous shove from behind, as an older guy hands me a microphone. A spotlight hits me right in the face and I squint as my eyes adjust. I finally notice the crowd, and they’re all staring at me.

The pieces begin to fall into place.

Oh my God. I’m singing karaoke. In front of people. A lot of people.

I don’t sing.

I mean, I really, really don’t sing.

My panicked eyes find Olivia, and she’s doubled over, laughing, the traitor. I narrow my eyes back at her as the memory trickles in.

She bet me that I wouldn’t score as high as her on my pre-collegiate interviews today. She was right. I didn’t even come close, and I’m really perturbed about it, too.

And now I have to sing here at Martinetti’s open mic karaoke night, as my loser’s price.

“Liv . . .” I mouth, pleadingly.

“Sing!” She shouts back, and the crowd – many of whom go to school with us – echoes loudly behind her.

I let out a groan as the music comes blaring over the speakers.

My eyes widen and I give her a searing look.

“Oh, you did not do this to me . . .” I grumble under my breath.

I am in no way, shape or form qualified to sing Somebody to Love by Queen. Or anything, for that matter. But a bet is a bet, and my memories assure me that Olivia will never speak to me again if I don’t honor our agreement. Dammit.

I open my mouth to sing, and nothing comes out. I swallow, and try again. Something comes out this time, and I focus on the words scrolling on the video prompter in front of me. Hey, I’m doing this! I’m singing!

Then I look out at the crowd, most of whom are staring at me like I’m up here strangling a frog. Because that’s what my voice sounds like. Like I’m strangling a frog. Oh, God.

I shoot another panicked look at Olivia, and she’s smiling and shaking her head as if to say, You’re not getting out of this.

I go back to looking at the prompter, and the irony of singing about dying a little when you wake up each morning isn’t lost on me, the girl who’s been murdered in more realities than I can count.

And with that thought, the tears rush to my eyes, and I blink them back furiously as I stare at a spot on the floor and try to pull myself together. My voice falters, and I’m really not sure I’m going to make it through this. My eyes swing back to Olivia again, but she’s not there.

Instead, I feel her arm come around my shoulders from behind, and her hand wraps around mine on the mic as she starts to sing with me, and wow, can she wail. Her voice is amazing, and the crowd is singing along. So am I, for that matter, and I don’t need my memories to tell me why I adore this girl. We end to thunderous applause, as we join hands and take a bow. Then I hand the mic off and walk right out of the restaurant.

The cold hits me in the face, and a moment later, a blast of warm air as Olivia comes through the door, carrying my coat and my backpack.

“Hey,” she says. “You did better than I thought you would.”

“That’s because I had you.”

She bumps my shoulder with hers. “You’ve always got me. But damn, you really can’t sing.”

Liv always tells it like it is, and you’ll be seeing more of her in DREAMER –  coming Feb 2018!