Liz DeJesus's Blog, page 7
April 17, 2014
New author portraits
Here's a sneak peek at some of my new author portraits. :)
All photographs were taken by Katie Faulkner © 2014.
All photographs were taken by Katie Faulkner © 2014.
April 14, 2014
Kind of a bestseller...
Okay…so a lot has happened since yesterday. I’ve been promoting my book’s sale like crazy over the past few days. On facebook, twitter, google +, tumblr…even a few well placed ads and one thing led to another and First Frost has soared all the way to the top.
How high?
I took screen shots. :)
I’m keeping my favorite author of all time Marissa Meyer company!! :D
And here’s the cherry on top. :D
I was a B&N Top 100 Bestseller: Nook Books!!!
That’s the highest I’ve ever gotten on B&N. :) I’m over the moon over this! I still can’t believe this is all actually happening to me. I keep waiting to either wake up from a dream or discover that this is all an elaborate prank. But I’ve been hitting the refresh button obsessively and it’s all very real. :) Although now comes the sucky part, where I get to watch my book go down the chart until poof! off it goes. Back into obscurity. But man, did I enjoy seeing my little book have that moment in the sun. A point where hundreds (possibly thousands) of people saw my book and my name. :)
I’m going to have stickers made where it’ll say B&N Nook Bestseller. Because now it’ll be true! :D
April 13, 2014
First Frost excerpt
Bianca got out of her car and ran inside the house. She called for her mother as she searched for her upstairs in all of the rooms. Nothing. She quickly ran downstairs and was ready to go down to the basement when a strange turquoise light caught her eye. She looked out the kitchen window; she couldn’t believe what she saw. Her mother was throwing what Bianca could only describe as balls of turquoise fireballs at a woman wearing a black hood. Bianca couldn’t see the woman’s face, but she could see her pale hands and slender fingers.
Bianca tried to make sense of it all. She kept expecting to see a special effects crew to come out from behind the trees and tell her that it was all part of an elaborate prank. But no such thing happened. All she knew was that a strange turquoise flame was coming out of her mother’s hands.
She knew that her mother sometimes read old dusty books on witchcraft, but she didn’t know she had actual powers. She thought about all the little quirks her mother had. Things that Bianca thought were essentially Rose. Her mother talked to plants and trees. She would sometimes stare off into space as though she were looking at something in another world. Something only she could see. She read tarot cards to random people and would tell them things about his or her life as though she were reading an open book. Bianca always thought she just made really lucky guesses. She chose not to believe in this other world and everything it stood for. Magic represented a life out of the norm, and Bianca desperately wanted to be normal. Just like everyone else.
Bianca pulled herself out of her thoughts. As she looked at the blue and green flashes in the backyard, she quickly realized that this was something she couldn’t escape. Normal was no longer a part of her world. Normal was no longer an option for her.
Bianca didn’t know what to do. She was frozen in place. She was afraid to distract her mother for even a second. She ducked behind the screen door; at least this way she could still hear what they were saying to each other.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t come?” the witch shouted. “Oh, I knew you’d be back,” Rose replied.
Bianca slowly lifted her gaze and peeked above the screen. She saw her mother standing behind the shed on the left side of their backyard. The witch was still too far away for her to get a good look at her, but Bianca could tell that she was on the far right corner of their yard.
“Where’s the book?” the witch demanded.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rose replied with a smirk.
“Don’t be coy with me. You know very well what I’m talking about.”
“Sorry. I can’t help you.” Rose’s breathing was becoming more labored and she was drenched in sweat…obvious signs of exhaustion, but Bianca could tell by the look on her mother’s face that she wouldn’t give up.
“The wards in the museum are impressive. I couldn’t get past them. But maybe…she’ll know where the book is,” the witch said as she looked in Bianca’s direction and threw a sickly olive-colored fireball at the screen door.
Bianca shrieked and jumped out of the way. The screen door fell off its hinges and landed on the kitchen floor with a loud thud.
“Bianca!” Rose screamed.
© Liz DeJesus 2012
Purchase a copy of First Frost wherever ebooks are sold.
Kindle
Nook
iPad
Bianca tried to make sense of it all. She kept expecting to see a special effects crew to come out from behind the trees and tell her that it was all part of an elaborate prank. But no such thing happened. All she knew was that a strange turquoise flame was coming out of her mother’s hands.
She knew that her mother sometimes read old dusty books on witchcraft, but she didn’t know she had actual powers. She thought about all the little quirks her mother had. Things that Bianca thought were essentially Rose. Her mother talked to plants and trees. She would sometimes stare off into space as though she were looking at something in another world. Something only she could see. She read tarot cards to random people and would tell them things about his or her life as though she were reading an open book. Bianca always thought she just made really lucky guesses. She chose not to believe in this other world and everything it stood for. Magic represented a life out of the norm, and Bianca desperately wanted to be normal. Just like everyone else.
Bianca pulled herself out of her thoughts. As she looked at the blue and green flashes in the backyard, she quickly realized that this was something she couldn’t escape. Normal was no longer a part of her world. Normal was no longer an option for her.
Bianca didn’t know what to do. She was frozen in place. She was afraid to distract her mother for even a second. She ducked behind the screen door; at least this way she could still hear what they were saying to each other.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t come?” the witch shouted. “Oh, I knew you’d be back,” Rose replied.
Bianca slowly lifted her gaze and peeked above the screen. She saw her mother standing behind the shed on the left side of their backyard. The witch was still too far away for her to get a good look at her, but Bianca could tell that she was on the far right corner of their yard.
“Where’s the book?” the witch demanded.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rose replied with a smirk.
“Don’t be coy with me. You know very well what I’m talking about.”
“Sorry. I can’t help you.” Rose’s breathing was becoming more labored and she was drenched in sweat…obvious signs of exhaustion, but Bianca could tell by the look on her mother’s face that she wouldn’t give up.
“The wards in the museum are impressive. I couldn’t get past them. But maybe…she’ll know where the book is,” the witch said as she looked in Bianca’s direction and threw a sickly olive-colored fireball at the screen door.
Bianca shrieked and jumped out of the way. The screen door fell off its hinges and landed on the kitchen floor with a loud thud.
“Bianca!” Rose screamed.
© Liz DeJesus 2012
Purchase a copy of First Frost wherever ebooks are sold.
Kindle
Nook
iPad
April 12, 2014
First Frost Eggs-travaganza
LOL See my play on words there? I thought it was funny. :D I felt like celebrating the arrival of Spring (finally! Hopefully I'm not the only one that was sick of snow and cold). So I'm putting First Frost on sale for 99 cents everywhere ebooks are sold!
Amazon Kindle
Barnes and Noble Nook
iPad
Kobo
Smashwords
For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”
Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.
She’s about to find out how wrong she is.
Amazon Kindle
Barnes and Noble Nook
iPad
Kobo
Smashwords
For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”
Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.
She’s about to find out how wrong she is.
April 11, 2014
Fairy Tale Friday
In this week's edition of Fairy Tale Friday I'm going to talk a little bit about one of my favorite fables, The Tortoise and the Hare. It's a classic story. The first time I read it was in a little collection of books that my parents got for me. My favorite character was the turtle. Mostly because it reminded me of myself when I was growing up. I was very shy, introverted and didn't really fit in with anyone. I liked the moral of the story 'Slow and Steady Wins the Race' and it's something that I've applied to everything in my life. I get a lot done by doing a little bit everyday. I may not be able to write several thousand words a day, but I do my best to write at least 250 every day. Slow progress but it's better than nothing, you know what I mean?
Which is your favorite of Aesop's Fable?
Here's a little something I found on Wikipedia:
The story concerns a Hare who ridicules a slow-moving Tortoise and is challenged by the tortoise to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, takes a nap midway through the course. When the Hare awakes however, he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, has arrived before him. The later version of the story in La Fontaine's Fables (VI.10), while more long-winded, differs hardly at all from Aesop's.
As in several other fables by Aesop, there is a moral ambiguity about the lesson it is teaching. Later interpreters have asserted that it is the proverbial 'the more haste, the worse speed' (Samuel Croxall) or have applied to it the Biblical observation that 'the race is not to the swift' (Ecclesiastes 9.11). In Classical times it was not the Tortoise’s plucky conduct in taking on a bully that was emphasised but the Hare’s foolish over-confidence. An old Greek source comments that 'many people have good natural abilities which are ruined by idleness; on the other hand, sobriety, zeal and perseverance can prevail over indolence.
The tortoise and the Hare pt2 by HannahChapman on deviantART
The Tortoise and the hare by beavotron on deviantART
Which is your favorite of Aesop's Fable?
Here's a little something I found on Wikipedia:
The story concerns a Hare who ridicules a slow-moving Tortoise and is challenged by the tortoise to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, takes a nap midway through the course. When the Hare awakes however, he finds that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, has arrived before him. The later version of the story in La Fontaine's Fables (VI.10), while more long-winded, differs hardly at all from Aesop's.
As in several other fables by Aesop, there is a moral ambiguity about the lesson it is teaching. Later interpreters have asserted that it is the proverbial 'the more haste, the worse speed' (Samuel Croxall) or have applied to it the Biblical observation that 'the race is not to the swift' (Ecclesiastes 9.11). In Classical times it was not the Tortoise’s plucky conduct in taking on a bully that was emphasised but the Hare’s foolish over-confidence. An old Greek source comments that 'many people have good natural abilities which are ruined by idleness; on the other hand, sobriety, zeal and perseverance can prevail over indolence.
The tortoise and the Hare pt2 by HannahChapman on deviantART
The Tortoise and the hare by beavotron on deviantART
April 8, 2014
Bublish excerpt
So I found this new website called Bublish. And basically what it lets you do is share an excerpt of your book and then you can write the story behind the story. For example; in this snippet I'm sharing with you guys I'm going to tell you what inspired me to start First Frost the way I did.
http://bublish.com/bubble/add/1475/2545#
http://bublish.com/bubble/add/1475/2545#
April 7, 2014
Zombie Ever After Fan Art!!
Yesterday was pretty much the best day ever. I got my first official piece of fan art for Zombie Ever After. This is supposed to be my character Neve Blanche (who is based on Snow White). The art was done by Richard DePew. :D
How awesome is that?!! And the cool thing is Zombie Ever After isn't even out yet! *happy dance* Now this is what I call creating a buzz. :)
How awesome is that?!! And the cool thing is Zombie Ever After isn't even out yet! *happy dance* Now this is what I call creating a buzz. :)
April 1, 2014
Zombie Ever After Sneak Peek Part II
Eye-patch: Check
Hot red head: Check
RPG: Check
What else would you want? See more of Red in the upcoming “Zombies Ever After”
Artwork by Mik Jimenez
Story by Liz DeJesus
Colors by Lynn Kranz
http://www.emeraldstarcomics.com
http://www.lizdejesus.com
March 28, 2014
Zombie Ever After Sneak Peek
A quest for eternal youth unleashed a zombie apocalypse and nearly destroyed the human race. Now, in the year 2113, Neve Blanche was living the perfect life until her beloved father caught the virus and turned her world upside down. ‘Happily Ever After’ just got a lot bloodier…
March 20, 2014
Update
Okay...so I've been a busy bee for the past few months. I'm still working on Shattered Frost (slow and steady wins the race), while simultaneously working on Zombie Ever After (although now the bulk of the work is on the artist and the colorist), promoting First Frost & Glass Frost online and offline and scheduling as many events as humanly possible.
I'm also putting together a Fairy Tale Workshop with my new BFF and Partner in Writing Crime Esther Wheelmaker. This will mainly be a How To Write your own Fairy Tale Retelling type thing, should be tons of fun! :D
Also did my very first Teen Writer's Workshop a couple of weeks ago at the Festival of Words. I was so NERVOUS but excited at the same time. Made lots of sales that day of the print copies of First Frost & Glass Frost so that was awesome. :)
Going to be at Captain Blue Hen Comics on Main Street, May 3rd for Free Comic Book Day. I'll be handing out a sampler of Zombie Ever After and giving away limited edition Zombie Ever After lip balms to the first 10 people to come to my table. So that'll be a lot of fun. Going back to the Baltimore Comic Con in September. And *drum roll* I got a table for this year's Faerie Con East!!!!!!!!!!!! I got a pair of fairy wings from
This is kinda what they're gonna look like. :D
Working on a lot of other projects behind the scenes with Joanne Reinbold and Justynn Tyme (Director and Assistant Director of The Written Remains Writer's Guild).
Thanks to a lot of help from a lot of wonderful people I'm so proud to announce The Hockessin Art and Book Fair!!!!!!!
http://www.delawarescene.com/event.php?id=11560
New Castle County, Department of Community Services announces an exciting new event that will celebrate local independent and self-published writers and feature artists who are inspired by books. The Hockessin Art & Book Fair is a collaboration between the New Castle County Art Studio, Hockessin Library and Hockessin Community Recreation Center; and the Hockessin Bookshelf and the Written Remains Writers Guild.
Seriously, I remember sitting down with Joanne and Justynn during Writer's Breakfast Club talking about the lack of events for authors and artists in our area (mostly I was complaining about having to drive all the way down to Maryland to participate in events for authors) and then I talked to Rebecca from the Hockessin Bookshelf and she connected me with someone at the PAL Center...long story short it was approved by the COUNTY. O_O I still can't believe it.
And now there are more things in the works all to support local, independent authors and artists. We have a lot of talented people in this state and it's about time people knew about it. I'm pretty sure I'll be at this fair with a box of tissues crying my eyes out because I still won't be able to believe that it's actually happening.
So yeah...I'm a busy bee. This is taking a lot of planning, meetings to attend, letters that need to be typed up, time spent away from family and loved ones. But it makes me happy to be able to contribute to something in any way, shape or form.
I'm also putting together a Fairy Tale Workshop with my new BFF and Partner in Writing Crime Esther Wheelmaker. This will mainly be a How To Write your own Fairy Tale Retelling type thing, should be tons of fun! :D
Also did my very first Teen Writer's Workshop a couple of weeks ago at the Festival of Words. I was so NERVOUS but excited at the same time. Made lots of sales that day of the print copies of First Frost & Glass Frost so that was awesome. :)
Going to be at Captain Blue Hen Comics on Main Street, May 3rd for Free Comic Book Day. I'll be handing out a sampler of Zombie Ever After and giving away limited edition Zombie Ever After lip balms to the first 10 people to come to my table. So that'll be a lot of fun. Going back to the Baltimore Comic Con in September. And *drum roll* I got a table for this year's Faerie Con East!!!!!!!!!!!! I got a pair of fairy wings from
This is kinda what they're gonna look like. :D
Working on a lot of other projects behind the scenes with Joanne Reinbold and Justynn Tyme (Director and Assistant Director of The Written Remains Writer's Guild).
Thanks to a lot of help from a lot of wonderful people I'm so proud to announce The Hockessin Art and Book Fair!!!!!!!
http://www.delawarescene.com/event.php?id=11560
New Castle County, Department of Community Services announces an exciting new event that will celebrate local independent and self-published writers and feature artists who are inspired by books. The Hockessin Art & Book Fair is a collaboration between the New Castle County Art Studio, Hockessin Library and Hockessin Community Recreation Center; and the Hockessin Bookshelf and the Written Remains Writers Guild.
Seriously, I remember sitting down with Joanne and Justynn during Writer's Breakfast Club talking about the lack of events for authors and artists in our area (mostly I was complaining about having to drive all the way down to Maryland to participate in events for authors) and then I talked to Rebecca from the Hockessin Bookshelf and she connected me with someone at the PAL Center...long story short it was approved by the COUNTY. O_O I still can't believe it.
And now there are more things in the works all to support local, independent authors and artists. We have a lot of talented people in this state and it's about time people knew about it. I'm pretty sure I'll be at this fair with a box of tissues crying my eyes out because I still won't be able to believe that it's actually happening.
So yeah...I'm a busy bee. This is taking a lot of planning, meetings to attend, letters that need to be typed up, time spent away from family and loved ones. But it makes me happy to be able to contribute to something in any way, shape or form.
