Kaylene Winter's Blog, page 12
August 18, 2021
TIMELESS COVER REVEAL
Holy crap you guys, are you ready???
I’m so excited to present you with the TIMELESS cover reveal featuring the gorgeous, sweet, bad-ass Enrico Ravenna as Zane Rocks, LTZ’s prodigy guitar hero.
BEHIND THE KEYBOARDThis is a new feature, where I’ll tell you a little bit about my thought process in writing. Obviously, today is all about TIMELESS.
TIMELESS is the first book I wrote AFTER I met the model for my character, in this case Enrico. When we did the first photo shoot in Minnesota back in February, RESTLESS had just come out offering the first “insight” into Zane’s back story. Sure, you get little snippets of him from ENDLESS and the other books in the series, but I very deliberately kept Zane a little mysterious.
Anyway, back in February, I had a fairly good outline of TIMELESS and who Zane was as a person. Sweet. Considerate. Energetic. Passionate. Confident. The question was, how did he get there considering how tenuous his relationship was with Carter, his addict father?
I also knew who Fiona was, she’s an homage to every rocker girl I ever knew. Strong-willed. Feisty. Sensitive. A little damaged but trying her damnedness to hide it…or maybe, overcome it.
In RESTLESS, I also dropped a couple of little hints about Zane and Fiona. Their moms were BFF’s. They talked about how cute it would be if their kids grew up to get married. And then later, Zane looks at an old photograph when he goes to live with Carter…
That’s when it hit me. The perfect way to tie in Zane’s disconnection from Carter, and how to address the years Carter missed during the height of his addiction. Ultimately, TIMELESS is a childhood-friends-to-lovers coming-of-age romance (wow, that’s a mouthful) but it’s also an exploration of family, and what it means to be a family. How family dynamics play into the decisions you make, not only as a kid, but as a new adult. Or, a more mature adult.
Back to Zane, though. I mentioned I hadn’t met Enrico, and I’m SOOO glad that I did before I wrote “his” book. Enrico is not only a well-known model and actor, but he’s a licensed private detective, a former professional cyclist, and is a master in Krav Maga. We talked extensively about it in Minnesota, and I wanted to work it into Zane’s story so I did. I hope you love this little nod to Enrico.
You can pre-order TIMELESS now – Pre-order it here.
OR, if you’d like to sign up for an ARC – make sure you first get on my MASTER LIST and sign up for an ARC here.
BOOKBUBI know, I know! I keep bugging you about BookBub. The thing is, it’s a really important platform for authors, especially if we can get 1000 followers. I’m really close, so if you could take a minute and follow me, I’d greatly appreciate it: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kaylene-winter
GOODREADS
PUT TIMELESS ON YOUR TBR List here .
TIKTOK LIVE:If you want to see me, Enrico, Brandon, Garret and Shorty LIVE – please follow me on TikTok here.
On August 21, we’ll all be in LA at a photo shoot, and we may turn up “in the wild” at other locations around the LA area. #LTZinTheWild
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August 13, 2021
LTZ MERCHANDISE!!!
It’s been in the works for MONTHS and Monday is the day when my official merchandise shop opens for business. I love creating an immersive world, and the shop is no different. I hope there will be something for everyone!
Clothing:Of course we have Less Than Zero T-shirts, but there’s so much more! Tank tops. Sweatshirts. Beanies. Baseball caps. Jackets. Something for every climate. As an added bonus, we have an LTZ concert T, a Limelight shirt and one from The Mission.
Collectible Items:Hands down, my favorite items in the store are the bracelets and necklaces. You guys, they are so dainty and beautiful. Each book has its own matching set, which say: “Love is Endless” “Love is Limitless” “Love is Fearless” and “Love is Timeless.” My plan is to wear them all. AT THE SAME TIME!!!
Useful Stuff:I love merch that has a good useful purpose. If you’re like me, you’ll find water bottles, phone cases, notebooks and…fanny Packs! And Backpacks! Tell me this, doesn’t the repeated logo design look like a designer brand? Hmmm… maybe I smell a spinoff??
One of the most exciting announcements I have today is the Book Boxes we’ve put together. Each book has its own box with curated items including… candles! I’ve worked with a great partner Wild Escents to create custom candles that smell like your favorite LTZ book boyfriend!
I’m also going to be selling signed copies of all of your favorite paperbacks.
WHEW! That’s a lot. Follow me anywhere to be first in line when the store opens!
TIMELESS COVER REVEAL: Holy hotness… stay tuned on 8/17/21
PROMOTIONS:Please add Timeless to your TBR on GoodReads.
You can also enter to receive 1 of 50 copies of ENDLESS that I’m giving away.
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:Jenna Galicki! I’ve been such a huge fan of Jenna’s for so long, it’s so cool we’re friends now. Her Radical Rock Stars series is amazeballs, and I’m just as excited as you are to read the prequel. Here is some more info:
Cover Reveal and Pre-order for Punk Rock Prelude (Prequel to The Prince of Punk Rock)
Radical Rock Stars Book 0.5
Pre-order now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09C88YSKW
Tommy Blade is a rock star on the rise—and he has a secret.
Cover Design by Chloe Belle Arts
Release Date: August 24
Catch up with the series now: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084GX685V
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August 6, 2021
PRE-SALE, PROMOTIONS AND POWER LISTS
Holy moly everyone!
My head is spinning. Literally. Figuratively. So much to tell you all…
Weeks are flying by leading up to TIMELESS, which is up for presale NOW! Here is a link:
Pre-Order for Timelesshttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B8THVF2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4
SO MUCH GOODNESS!My entire team is gearing up for an EPIC new photo shoot in Los Angeles in two weeks. You NEED to follow me on Instagram and TikTok because I will bring you so much behind the scenes goodness. We will be live with our models. You’ll get to see us setting up for the shoot. Regina and I will be goofy. The entire awesome photo crew will be on hand to give you EXCLUSIVE insight into what it takes to make something like this happen.
When we’re done? BAND SHOTS! That’s right! All of the guys will be together and it is going to be EPIC.
Why? You ask. Well, I’ve been a busy bee. Not only did I finish TIMELESS, but all of the LTZ books will be available in audio really, really soon. If that weren’t enough, you’ll see all of the dudes appear in a super cool rockstar romance anthology in November. But wait, there’s more! Oh, and it’s so good.
So good.
Nah. I’ve got to keep something secret. Next time.
FUN AND COOL THINGS
Psst. Can you please do me a favor. Pop over to GoodReads and vote for TIMELESS on the “Most Anticipated” list for September. Here is a link:
I also have a GoodReads giveaway going on – enter to win an e-book of ENDLESS. Here is a link:
One more promo, I’ve teamed up with BookFunnel and a lot of other rockstar romance authors to offer you a cool way to discover new books. Here is a link: https://books.bookfunnel.com/ppprockstarromance/c0zk73lrh3
Meanwhile, remember to follow me here:
I appreciate you all so much, without you guys none of this would be quite as fun. Have a wonderful weekend!
Kaylene
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July 23, 2021
ROCKSTAR ROMANCE AUTHOR FREE PROMOTION
When I began this journey over a year ago, I looked up to so many rockstar romance authors. Four in particular are: Jaine Diamond, Cari Quinn and Taryn Elliott, Carian Cole, and Crystal Kaswell. Their books and characters are so realistic and compelling. The interconnectivity of the books was thrilling to me – I still can’t wait when any one of these authors release a new book. I drop whatever I’m doing and read it!
Loving these amazing authors led me to so many other amazing rockstar romance authors like Lisa Suzanne, Piper Lawson, Kacey Shea, and Michelle Mankin. It was so cool to be able to expand my library with more rockstar romance awesomeness.
The common thread among all of these authors is that while the premise is a “rock star” in the romance, there are so many other elements that make them wonderful reads no matter what genre you prefer:
Intricate storytellingExcellent writingInteresting plottingAmazing character developmentRealistic dialoguePaceAnd that all important cool-factor.Today I feel like the actress who is nominated for their first award and sees Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Kate Winslet and Viola Davis next to their name. That’s how awesome what I’m about to tell you is…
All of us have collaborated to bring you NINE FREE BOOKS!!!
That’s right – if you’re looking for a rock star book boyfriend while you wait out the next few weeks until Timeless is released, I have nine free books for you! That’s nine smoking hot rock stars for zero pennies! Here are the links!!!
Sing Your Heart Out by Crystal Kaswell -> https://amzn.com/B01685Y1X2 The Power to Break by Lisa Suzanne -> https://geni.us/TPTB Good Girl by Piper Lawson -> https://geni.us/GG_AmazonDetour by Kacey Shea -> https://amzn.com/B071J88373/ Dirty Like Us by Jaine Diamond -> https://geni.us/DirtyLikeUsRestless by Kaylene Winter -> https://amzn.com/B08S6LZ6LJTalon by Carian Cole -> https://amzn.to/3hJhtumPlay Dirty by Cari Quinn & Taryn Elliott -> https://geni.us/PlayDirty-amzThe Complete Tempest Rockstar Series by Michelle Mankin -> http://mybook.to/TempestBoxSet1-6As always, I hope you’re having an amazing week. The next coming weeks I’m going to hit you with so much good stuff it will make your head spin. In the meantime, please try anyone of these books by my fellow rockstar romance author friends.
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July 8, 2021
ROMANCE INSPIRATIONS & BLIND ITEMS
Hey everyone, hope your summer is off to a great start. My husband surprised me with a quick trip to Maui for our 18th wedding anniversary, which was special because that’s where we got married! We are so fortunate to have a good friend who let us stay at his house. Our beachfront anniversary dinner was spectacular.
My husband is my favorite person. For many reasons. Not only is he handsome and charming with a rogue Irish accent, but he’s funny and generous and loyal. He’s strong, has a huge heart and protects me with everything he has. We have been through a lot over the past decades, from owning businesses together to losing parents to traveling the world. There’s no one I’d rather go through life with.
Honestly, there is a little bit of him in every one of my male characters. From a phrase to a gesture to a character trait.
Which brings me to….TIMELESS! It’s with my editor right now!
Next week I’m going to share a TON of dates for you to mark on your calendar, this week I thought I’d bring back some blind items for you to try to guess.
BLIND ITEMS – Production CrewOne of my jobs back in the day was working production at big stadium events. I got to do a lot of weird and fun jobs – see if you can guess!
BI1: This 90’s solo artist was known for his ballads, remakes of classic R&B songs and gorgeous hair (as well as celebrity actress wives). Hands down, the nicest most courteous performer I’ve ever seen. He hung out with the production crew. His entire touring team were wonderful. He smiled and joked. And, he was actually really great live!
BI2: This metal band, who were most popular in the late 70’s/80’s, were from another country. They had a ton of hits in the early 80’s and were on MTV quite a bit. They also skewed a bit older than a lot of the other bands on the channel. My job was to guard the dressing room at the Seattle Coliseum, to keep the scantily clad groupies at bay. Hands down, the most aggressive ladies I’ve ever seen at a show. Thwarting their efforts had to sting a bit…
BI3: This extremely (still!) sexy solo rocker did something that wasn’t sexy at all. He acted like a complete and total diva. He was the opening act for a much bigger band (at the time), but the Seattle Coliseum only sold about three thousand tickets out of a seventeen-thousand seat venue. After two songs, he stormed off stage. After the shows, one of my glamorous jobs was to collect all of the towels from the stage and the dressing rooms and put them in giant laundry bags. I saved this guy’s room for last. When I went to pick up the last towel, which was in the shower area, I discovered it was covering a pile of poop. He didn’t have a dog with him…
On that note, I’ll bid adieu for this week.
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June 23, 2021
LIMITLESS COVER REVEAL
At long last, we have our new cover!
All the way from Minneapolis, Minnesota— Garret McCall in all his glory.
Garret was such a pro on the shoot we did with Regina Wamba. I’ve never seen someone transform into a sexy rock star drummer with the snap of a finger the way he did. He was such a good sport, spending hours in the make-up chair getting all of Jace’s tattoos put on. He even got behind the drums and gave it a whirl.
Carson, who plays Alex, is also such a pro. Can you believe these two only met the day they did the photo shoot? I can’t imagine a more perfect duo to bring Alex and Jace to life. One of my favorite details about this shoot are the Black Frye boots that Carson wears throughout.
I hope you were able to join Garret and I in my Rockstar Romance Reading Group last week. If not, just click on the Announcements section and you’ll be able to watch it. He’s such a doll, and so talented.
I hope you love being immersed in my LTZ world as much as I love creating it.
AUDIO BOOKS!I have a really exciting announcement: As we speak, the LTZ worlds are being recorded into AUDIOBOOKS! I’ve spent the past couple of months “auditioning” the voices of my beloved characters. I’m pretty sure you’re going to love them. Each book will have dual narrators, just like the chapters. I’ll be announcing release dates by the end of summer, maybe sooner.
MORE!Timeless is going to my editor the first week of July. I’ll spend the rest of the month refining and editing and honing and proofreading, and I’ll have pre-order up really soon. In parallel, I’m working on finalizing the cover.
Oh, one more thing— Did I mention I’m getting the band back together? Make sure you follow me on all of my social channels for exciting behind the scenes material, announcements and maybe even a chance to participate in the LTZ band photo shoot.
Stay tuned.
Until next time!
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June 11, 2021
EXCLUSIVE READER GROUP
Hey everyone, I took a couple of weeks off after the exciting release of the new ENDLESS cover, I hope you liked it! It was super fun to travel for the first time for vacation. My husband and I, together with three other couples visited Punta Mita, Mexico and it was the first time in a long time I took a few days to just relax.
Oh and of course work on TIMELESS. My first draft is due to my amazing editor, Grace, in a few short weeks and I’m really excited to share Zane and Fiona with you all. I fall in love with my characters as they tell their stories through me, and these two are no exception.
I’m also enjoying working on new content for all of my social platforms and have big plans to do more live events on Facebook, IG and TikTok – you can follow me on all of these platforms, links are in this newsletter.
Which brings me to the point of this newsletter: If you want EXCLUSIVE CONTENT like interviews with the “real” characters in my story (e.g. the models), talks with other authors, different bloggers, and the other awesome people who help make the Less Than Zero world possible, you must join my exclusive Facebook Reader Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockromance
MEET GARRET MCCALL (AKA JACE)Do this by Monday and you will get to meet the incredibly talented and handsome Garret McCall, aka Jace, who will be joining me for a video chat Monday, June 14, 2021, at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST in my reader group!
We will have other exclusive content like sneak previews of upcoming works, chances to help me name characters, and the ability to talk about all things LTZ uncensored!
I hope to see you there!!
NEW RELEASES BY MY FRIENDSI love to lift up my fellow author friends and want to tell you about some new releases while you wait for the delicious cover of LIMITLESS and for my new book TIMELESS, out in September.
FALSE START: By Sasha Marshall: – a really cool story about football, a kitten and 14 dates. Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092JGT41Z/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
NO BETTER THAN ME (The Breakables Book 2): By Tylor Paige. A rollercoaster ride of rockstar deliciousness.
HARRISON’S WEDDING: By Sian Ceinwen. Another installment in her popular Cruise Control Heroes series dropped last weekend!
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May 18, 2021
ENDLESS NEW COVER REVEAL
Today’s the DAY!!!!
I’m so excited to reveal my gorgeous new cover for Endless!
What do you think?
She ripped out my heart…
My only dream is to escape my abusive childhood.
Leading Less Than Zero to the top of the charts is my ticket out.
Until Zoey Pearson gives me a new dream.
And passion beyond anything I thought possible.
Nothing prepared me for it to end. Abruptly. Definitively.
My songs of heartbreak have made LTZ the biggest band in the universe.
But nothing I do can make me forget her…
I let him go so he could follow his dreams…
My love of music led me to Ty.
He’s a gorgeous, sweet rocker who was made just for me.
The man he trusts most asked me to let him go.
So I did and I’m having a hard time living with my decision.
Now he’s the hottest rock star in the world
Because of chart-topping songs that eviscerate me.
Ty’s changed, he’s immersed in a life of excess and debauchery.
I don’t recognize the man I can’t stop loving…
When fate throws us together eight years later, fireworks are explosive.
But our hearts are still fragile.
Will Ty forgive Zoey for shattering his heart?
Or will his past bad deeds come back to destroy her?
ENDLESS is a steamy, complicated, angsty, rollercoaster, delicious second chance romance…
Available for purchase now! http://getbook.at/ENDLESS
Did you see the gorgeous trailer for ENDLESS? Watch it here!
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May 13, 2021
ENDLESS TRAILER REVEAL
Just a short post today.
One of my favorite things about the photo shoots I did with Regina Wamba and all of the gorgeous models is the video footage that came out of it. You may have seen some of the trailers for FEARLESS, today I’m super excited to present the official trailer for ENDLESS:
Watch the gorgeous trailer here:
If you, as a reader or blogger, want to get a first look at the new cover of ENDLESS, there is still time to sign-up to participate:
http://bit.ly/CoverRevealPromotionEndless
Don’t forget to add Endless to your Goodreads TBR:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53779206-endless
Or purchase today:
Have a great weekend, See you next week for the Cover Reveal!
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May 5, 2021
SUPER EXCITING AND EXCLUSIVE LIVE MAY EVENTS
As I’m gearing up for the re-release of ENDLESS with its BRAND NEW COVER on MAY 18, I realized you need to know about all of the cool LIVE events I have planned.
REGINA WAMBA VIDEO CHATRegina is my creative goddess, she’s responsible for my covers and my photos and everything down to LTZ’s logo. I know you don’t want to miss my video chat with her where you can ask questions and learn all about her creative process!
FACEBOOK
THURSDAY MAY 6
NOON EST/9 AM PST
www.facebook.com/groups/rockromance
www.facebook.com/kaylenewinterrockerromance
www.facebook.com/groups/myromancelounge
BRANDON KATZ/TARA SALERNO VIDEO CHATThis one is VERY exclusive for my Reader Group members – if you haven’t joined – do it NOW here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockromance
Join me as I talk to “Ty” and “Zoey” aka Brandon and Tara about modeling (Brandon has graced the covers of a ton of books) and the experience shooting during a pandemic. You’ll be able to ask questions and interact with this gorgeous couple, and I’m so excited for this event! Like I said, this is exclusive so don’t forget to join my private reading group.
FACEBOOK
MONDAY MAY 10
9 PM EST/6 PM PST
https://www.facebook.com/groups/rockromance
TIKTOKWe are at nearly 7,000 followers on TikTok y’all! How did this happen? Well, the rain room. That’s how it happened. I post exclusive behind-the-scenes videos from my photo shoots and this month, I’ll be popping in for some LIVE chats with all of you! Make sure to follow me on TikTok @kaylenewinter
That’s it, a short little update this week as we gear up for the new ENDLESS cover reveal next week!
Kaylene
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