Hailey Edwards's Blog, page 90

Everlong is an EPIC finalist!

I got an email tonight with one of my favorite words in the heading–Congratulations! Granted, I thought I'd won a book from a blog, but that's beside the point…

After reading the email five or six times, deciding it was, in fact, written in English, and that it had been sent to the right person, I absorbed the fact Everlong is a finalist in the Fantasy Romance Category of the 2011 EPIC eBook Awards Competition!

You could knock me over with a feather. I am so thrilled. I've never entered a contest before, and if my dad hadn't loved this book enough to pay the entry fee, I wouldn't have entered this one. (I'm a chicken.)

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Patriot Secrets by Jerri Hines

In the midst of the struggle for America's bid for Independence, Hannah Corbett makes a fateful decision, descending into a world of deceit. Spurred by revenge, she heads to New York, setting in motion a dangerous game for which there is no return. Searching desperately for the man who betrayed her family, she faces the cold and brutal reality of the life of a spy. Caught in a web of lies, living with betrayal, she is trapped. She has nowhere to turn except to a man it would be treasonous to love, setting duty and desire at war . Her heart is ripped apart when she must choose between the man who risks his career and life to protect her and the only thing that has remained constant in her life…her belief in her cause.

You can read more here or visit the author's website here.

Jerri also runs Novel Works. It's a promotional page on Facebook for authors with new releases. Contact Jerri for more information on signing up.

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Six Sentence Sunday

All I can say is, I'm glad I started early with these two. They have so many unresolved issues, they tend to attack first and ask questions later.

"Guess I'll see you at the meeting." I turned on my heel and smiled to myself. I'd escaped with the last word for once, and I liked that.

"Emma?" Warm breath fanned the base of my neck. "I think you forgot something."

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For more Six Sunday fun, check out the official blog.

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Fabulous Fingernails

It's no secret that I love, love, love nail polish. I have been Tweeting and Facebooking about the latest colors and trends, which resulted in a few of my Twitter pals asking about nail polish application tips. I figured I would turn to my source for all things sparkly (or wolfy), my friend, Lana.

She was nice enough to type up a quick guest blog to cover the basics of nail polish application, and how best to extend the life of your manicure.

I'll also leave you with a few of our favorite sites to see all the newest colors and swatches, so you can decide how deep is your love. Plus find comps that might save you a few bucks at the register.

All Lacquered Up

Swatch and Learn

Body and Soul

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Hi all!  Hailey has asked me to write about my process for applying nail polish.  First I figured I'd tell you a little about me.  I am a self-proclaimed nail polish junkie.  I admit it, if I see a gorgeous new nail polish color, I have to have it!  Regardless of the fact that I may already have several similar colors at home.  Drugstore, beauty store, department store, it's all good to me.  Although I try to draw the line at $10 there are times that I just have to have a color that goes above my budget.  So, without further adieu, my process:

First, I file my nails while I still have my old polish on.  I just do a light filing to smooth out any rough edges or snags.  I then remove the old polish, making sure to get it all off.
Apply base coat.  I know a lot of people like to skip this step, but it can help protect your nails from yellowing, especially if you like those darker colors and it gives the polish a smooth base for application.  There are all kinds of base coats on the market in all different price ranges and everyone has their favorite.  After trying just about every base coat in every price range I have found that Sally Hansen Hard As Nails gets the best results for me.  And you can pick it up at just about any drugstore for under $5.
Apply your color.  Depending on the color, I usually apply 2–3 coats.  Try not to apply to thick of a coat as this can cause nail polish to peel or chip easier.  I usually wait a minute or two between coats.  Also, one of the best hints to help your manicure last longer is to "wrap" your nails.  This means to polish the tips of your nails, you'll end up with a little polish on the undersides of your nails, but no one will notice.
Finally, apply top coat.  This is an essential step because it seals the color in and will make your manicure last longer.  I usually wait between 10-20 minutes after applying color to apply my top coat.  And, again there are a whole lot of top coats on the market, but my favorite is the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails.

So that's it!  I find that my manicures usually last between 5-7 days before I start getting any major chipping.  I also apply cuticle cream daily, although you don't want to do this right before a manicure because any moisture on your nails can cause your manicure to chip or peel.  Hope this helps!

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Six Sentence Sunday

This will be my first year participating in National Novel Writing Month. I have a sequel to write, so a 50K sprint is looking good right about now.

(You can find me here if you want a writing buddy.)

Anyway, my Six Sunday shares for the rest of this month will be excerpts from character exercises. It's been a while since I've gotten to hang out with Emma and Harper, and I've never been inside Emma's head. So learning her, and how she interacts with her hero, has been interesting.

I have my fingers crossed that I'll have both plot and two cooperative demons by November first.

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Here's Six from Emma's book.

Harper's gaze strayed toward the sky. While he stared up, I glanced down and saw a set of identical depressions in the soft ground where he'd stood. Carved deeper than his other footprints, I decided he had indulged me. Stood there watching my enjoyment.

"So eager." His chuckle raised hairs along my nape.

You can find more Six Sunday fun on the official blog, right here.

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Kindle for the Web

Amazon has created a very cool new app I've been playing with this morning. "Kindle for the Web" allows you to embed the first chapter of your book into a blog post (or your website) exactly like you would a Youtube video.

There are a couple of nice features. Such as the Aa button that allows you to change the font size, line spacing, words per line, even the background color.

In addition to a "share" button, there is also the "Get Kindle Edition" button, which is a one-click link directly to your book's Amazon page.

Give it a spin. Play with the settings. It's one more reason to love Kindle.

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Ch-ch-changes

Admit it, you thought I was going to blog about Jim Butcher again, didn't you? Although I am tempted…nah. I have progress to share. I finished my revisions on Wicked Kin two days ago. It's been sent out to a few brave souls who will read it over and mark up any suggested changes, dropped words, etc.

Wicked was a little over 60,000 words when I submitted it the first time. It's now 70,348. I think I scrapped 5,000 entirely. Then rewrote about 90% of the book. The first two of Nathaniel's povs were the only material I kept and even those were tweaked.

After Wicked is contracted (yes, I am employing the power of positive thinking) and before it is released, I'll share the thousand words or so that inspired me to write a novel about Nathaniel. I have loved him from word one. His world, his voice, everything about him is magical to me. I hope that I'm able to share him with you all someday soon.

So while I can't say I enjoy revisions, they do strengthen a book. Further edits tighten it up and give it a nice shine that makes me all tingly inside. I mean, after months of plotting *shudders*, writing, revising, tweaking, deleting, you want the best for your book. Yes, that means sending it out into the world and having it return a little worse for wear and sporting those lovely red lines and comment bubbles. Although, I have to admit I do get a sick thrill editing them.

Sometimes your critique partners or betas can suggest changes that take you by surprise. Such a simple thing as a change in word choice can make such a powerful difference.

God willing, I will have my crits returned and edits applied in time to resubmit Wicked around the first of November. I'll have my fingers crossed that the massive changes I made will make my editor happy. She had one request for my revisions, and I did that. The rest…well, it will be a surprise. Hopefully, the good kind.

Six Sentence Sunday

This week's excerpt is from a fresh, new wip.

"You run a diner. I'm a customer. As long as I'm paying, I don't see any reason for me not to be here." He smiled. "Besides, I have a thing for the owner."

For more SSS fun, check out the official website here.

For Graylin

I'm posting these pictures of Eric Etebari because Graylin has a crush on him, and I have some awesome candids taken of him during FeverCon.

This was FeverCon's first year, and it was held this past weekend in Atlanta for fans of Karen Moning's Fever series.

Here is Karen with Eric.

And so her hubby doesn't feel left out, here's Karen's hubby, Neil.

Thanks to Krissy Castillo of Stone Mountain Soaps for sharing her photos with me!

Ooh yeah. Then there's this. Where birthday girl, Jayzee, got her birthday spanking from Eric.

Six Sentence Sunday

This is my last share from Wicked for a while. Enjoy!

"This way you're in charge. You set the pace." Deep breaths flared his nostrils, cut his words short. "Stop when you need to."

On his knees, head tilting back and sweat gleaming, he was beautiful. And he was hers, at least for now.

For more SSS fun, check out the official blog here.

And now for some candy 'cause I'm jealous of Dee's posts every week.

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