Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 103
January 20, 2013
Monday Mishmash 1/21/13
Happy Monday! Here's what's on my mind today:
Touch of Death launch party! I've been at Arisia all weekend (in fact I'm still there) for the launch of Touch of Death. Sunday was the big zombie prom! Pictures to come.Love All The celebration continues because Love All officially releases tomorrow, January 22! Yay! But guess what? You can buy it now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.Promotion I did a reading at Arisia, and let me tell you, I'm much more comfortable in front of teens than adults. School visits are less intimidating than speaking to a room full of adults.Me crying... again So, I made another video on the release day for Touch of Death. I tried not cry. I really did. I didn't work. So here I am, embarrassing myself again, if you'd care to watch.Blurred Cover Reveal My writer friend and YA Bound sister, Tara Fuller's new book Blurred has a gorgeous cover.
Cash is haunted by things. Hungry, hollow things. They only leave him alone when Anaya, Heaven’s beautiful reaper, is around. Cash has always been good with girls, but Anaya isn’t like the others. She’s dead. And with his deteriorating health, Cash might soon be as well.
Anaya never breaks the rules, but the night of the fire she recognized part of Cash’s soul—and doomed him to something worse than death. Cash’s soul now resides in an expired body, making him a shadow walker—a rare, coveted being that can walk between worlds. A being creatures of the underworld would do anything to get their hands on.
The lines between life and death are blurring, and Anaya and Cash find themselves falling helplessly over the edge. Trapped in a world where the living don’t belong, can Cash make it out alive?
GoodreadsAmazonBarnes and NobleBook Depository
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
Touch of Death launch party! I've been at Arisia all weekend (in fact I'm still there) for the launch of Touch of Death. Sunday was the big zombie prom! Pictures to come.Love All The celebration continues because Love All officially releases tomorrow, January 22! Yay! But guess what? You can buy it now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.Promotion I did a reading at Arisia, and let me tell you, I'm much more comfortable in front of teens than adults. School visits are less intimidating than speaking to a room full of adults.Me crying... again So, I made another video on the release day for Touch of Death. I tried not cry. I really did. I didn't work. So here I am, embarrassing myself again, if you'd care to watch.Blurred Cover Reveal My writer friend and YA Bound sister, Tara Fuller's new book Blurred has a gorgeous cover.
Cash is haunted by things. Hungry, hollow things. They only leave him alone when Anaya, Heaven’s beautiful reaper, is around. Cash has always been good with girls, but Anaya isn’t like the others. She’s dead. And with his deteriorating health, Cash might soon be as well.
Anaya never breaks the rules, but the night of the fire she recognized part of Cash’s soul—and doomed him to something worse than death. Cash’s soul now resides in an expired body, making him a shadow walker—a rare, coveted being that can walk between worlds. A being creatures of the underworld would do anything to get their hands on.
The lines between life and death are blurring, and Anaya and Cash find themselves falling helplessly over the edge. Trapped in a world where the living don’t belong, can Cash make it out alive?
GoodreadsAmazonBarnes and NobleBook Depository
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
January 17, 2013
Adults Reading YA
A lot of adults, myself included, read YA. I love that. The YA market is full of great books. There's no reason why adults shouldn't enjoy the books.
Having said that, I think when adults read YA, they have to read as if they are teens. Here's what I mean. When I write, I write for teens. They are my target audience, not the adults reading YA. It's funny because when I read reviews of YA books, I notice a difference between what adults think about the books and what teens think about them.
When I read a YA book, I tap into my inner teenager. That's not tough for me because she never left. She's my emotional side. The part of me that lives for perfect moments. In short, she's way more fun than grown-up me. And she's the one who loves YA books. They're meant for her. Maybe part of the reason why I enjoy reading and writing YA is because I can relive that time of my life. I can forget adult responsibilities for a little while and be a teenager again. That's a great thing. But I also take that into account when I review books. I know I'm reviewing a book meant for teenagers, not adults. So I let my inner teen out and share her thoughts in my review. It allows me to love a naive character and accept that an MC is making a choice based on her heart and not what she should do.
Do you think there's a difference between teens reading YA and adults reading YA?
Having said that, I think when adults read YA, they have to read as if they are teens. Here's what I mean. When I write, I write for teens. They are my target audience, not the adults reading YA. It's funny because when I read reviews of YA books, I notice a difference between what adults think about the books and what teens think about them.
When I read a YA book, I tap into my inner teenager. That's not tough for me because she never left. She's my emotional side. The part of me that lives for perfect moments. In short, she's way more fun than grown-up me. And she's the one who loves YA books. They're meant for her. Maybe part of the reason why I enjoy reading and writing YA is because I can relive that time of my life. I can forget adult responsibilities for a little while and be a teenager again. That's a great thing. But I also take that into account when I review books. I know I'm reviewing a book meant for teenagers, not adults. So I let my inner teen out and share her thoughts in my review. It allows me to love a naive character and accept that an MC is making a choice based on her heart and not what she should do.
Do you think there's a difference between teens reading YA and adults reading YA?
January 15, 2013
Touch of Death is Officially Here!
Yesterday was the day I'd been waiting for for over a year. My debut YA novel, Touch of Death, released into the world. Yes, Amazon released it early and the ebook came out in December, but January 15 was my official release EVERYWHERE!
So to celebrate, I'm holding one last giveaway. This time it's for a finished copy of the book. And yes, there will be SWAG, but it will include some never before seen items. Here's what one lucky winner will receive:
A signed first edition of Touch of Death
AND...
A prize package including:
Touch of Death bookmarksA mirror with the 13th sign of the zodiac on itTouch of Death stickers13th sign of the zodiac stickersA stuffed zombie deerA box of mac and cheese (courtesy of Alex)A blood stone in honor of Medusa's bloodstone locketzombie buttonkey (Because Abby has keys to all the rooms in the Ophi school)
Sound good? All you have to do is enter below. The giveaway will run until 11:59pm on January 31. And yes, the giveaway is international because I love you all no matter where you live. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
So to celebrate, I'm holding one last giveaway. This time it's for a finished copy of the book. And yes, there will be SWAG, but it will include some never before seen items. Here's what one lucky winner will receive:
A signed first edition of Touch of Death
AND...
A prize package including:
Touch of Death bookmarksA mirror with the 13th sign of the zodiac on itTouch of Death stickers13th sign of the zodiac stickersA stuffed zombie deerA box of mac and cheese (courtesy of Alex)A blood stone in honor of Medusa's bloodstone locketzombie buttonkey (Because Abby has keys to all the rooms in the Ophi school)
Sound good? All you have to do is enter below. The giveaway will run until 11:59pm on January 31. And yes, the giveaway is international because I love you all no matter where you live. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
January 13, 2013
Monday Mishmash 1/14/13
Happy Monday! Here's what's on my mind today:
Book releases! Touch of Death officially releases tomorrow! Squee! And Love All releases in 8 days! Arisia I'm leaving for Arisia in Boston on Saturday. I'll be on a promotion panel, doing reading, signing Touch of Death, and of course attending the Zombie Prom! I'm so excited!Picture book contract FutureWord Publishing, who published my first PB May the Best Dog Win, is going to publish Cricket's Drive Around Town. I'm excited to work with them again.Giveaways I'm giving away a copy of Love All and SWAG as part of the Bad Boy Rehab Hop. Make sure you enter here. And look for a huge Touch of Death giveaway on Wednesday.New covers Love All got a facelift. It's slightly different and the other two books in the series now have covers, too!
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
Book releases! Touch of Death officially releases tomorrow! Squee! And Love All releases in 8 days! Arisia I'm leaving for Arisia in Boston on Saturday. I'll be on a promotion panel, doing reading, signing Touch of Death, and of course attending the Zombie Prom! I'm so excited!Picture book contract FutureWord Publishing, who published my first PB May the Best Dog Win, is going to publish Cricket's Drive Around Town. I'm excited to work with them again.Giveaways I'm giving away a copy of Love All and SWAG as part of the Bad Boy Rehab Hop. Make sure you enter here. And look for a huge Touch of Death giveaway on Wednesday.New covers Love All got a facelift. It's slightly different and the other two books in the series now have covers, too!
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
January 10, 2013
Reaper's Novice is Here!
*If you're looking for the Bad Boy Rehab Hop go here.
I'm so excited to announce that Reaper's Novel, a fantastic YA paranormal by Cecilia Robert released yesterday! Yay! I'm so happy for Cecilia. Here's a little about the book:
17-year-old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.
Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.
And check out this amazing trailer!
Cecilia Robert lives in Vienna with her two children, has an incurable obsession with books, TV and medieval architecture. When not working in her full time job, catching up with her two children, writing or reading, she can be found, knitting or crocheting, taking photos of old buildings.
Stalk Cecilia: Blog: http://cecereadandwrite.blogspot.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/CeCeMRGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5263768.Cecilia_RobertFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/CeciliaMRobertPinterest: http://pinterest.com/ceciliarobert/
Cecilia is offering an ebook of Reaper's Novice to one lucky winner. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'm so excited to announce that Reaper's Novel, a fantastic YA paranormal by Cecilia Robert released yesterday! Yay! I'm so happy for Cecilia. Here's a little about the book:
17-year-old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.
And check out this amazing trailer!
Cecilia Robert lives in Vienna with her two children, has an incurable obsession with books, TV and medieval architecture. When not working in her full time job, catching up with her two children, writing or reading, she can be found, knitting or crocheting, taking photos of old buildings.
Stalk Cecilia: Blog: http://cecereadandwrite.blogspot.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/CeCeMRGoodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5263768.Cecilia_RobertFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/CeciliaMRobertPinterest: http://pinterest.com/ceciliarobert/
Cecilia is offering an ebook of Reaper's Novice to one lucky winner. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
January 8, 2013
Bad Boy Rehab Hop
I'm taking part in the Bad Boy Rehab Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and cohosted by The Book Hookup. The timing couldn't be more perfect because my YA contemporary romance novella, LOVE ALL releases January 22, through Swoon Romance, and it features a bad boy my MC can't help but be tempted by.
Seventeen-year-old Meg Flannigan isn't very self-confident, but what girl would be after her sophomore-year boyfriend dumped her by making out with another girl in front of her locker? Now a senior, Meg catches the eye of not one but two guys at school. They show up at her tennis matches, vie over her attention, and both are gorgeous. Sounds good, right? Not if one of the guys is her boyfriend and the other one wants to be.Meg doesn't want to lose Ash. They've been together for almost five months, and she’s falling in love with him. But Noah. Ah, Noah. He’s so irresistible, and Meg isn't ready to send him away either. But if she strings both along, she might be the one left in the cold. This love triangle is sure to end in a broken heart. But will it be Meg’s?
Love All is book 1 in the Game, Set, Match, Heartbreak Series by Kelly Hashway!
In addition to the book, I'm giving away SWAG. You'll get these awesome Love All coins:
and a Game. Set. Match. Heartbreak drawstring bag!
All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter form below for your chance to win. It is an ebook novella, so you'll need an ereader or Kindle for PC. This giveaway is open internationally, so good luck to all!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And don't forget to check out the other blogs participating in this hop.
January 6, 2013
Monday Mishmash 1/7/13
Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:
Bad Boy Rehab Hop I'm taking part in the Bad Boy Rehab Hop (hosted by I'm a Reader Not a Writer and The Book Hookup) and I'm giving away a copy of my upcoming YA romance novella, Love All, along with SWAG. Stop back on Wednesday to enter.Zombie Prom I'm counting the days until January 20, which is my launch party in Boston! Woo hoo! I can't wait to meet everyone from Spencer Hill Press in person! And I get to meet my agent in person for the first time, too! :)Edits I finished my second round edits on The Monster Within last week. I love that book so much. It releases April 2014 through Spencer Hill Press, and wait until you see the cover! I love it!Reviewing I'm trying to catch up on all the books I promised to review for blog tours. Eek! There are so many!Scene13 I've joined up with more than twenty-five other authors with books coming out in 2013. We'll be blogging over at Scene13 about a lot of fun topics. January will be filled with posts about our characters' New Year's resolutions. My post goes up on the 9th.
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
*My free monthly newsletter goes out at 5pm EST today. If you'd like to receive one but aren't signed up, you can sign up here.
Bad Boy Rehab Hop I'm taking part in the Bad Boy Rehab Hop (hosted by I'm a Reader Not a Writer and The Book Hookup) and I'm giving away a copy of my upcoming YA romance novella, Love All, along with SWAG. Stop back on Wednesday to enter.Zombie Prom I'm counting the days until January 20, which is my launch party in Boston! Woo hoo! I can't wait to meet everyone from Spencer Hill Press in person! And I get to meet my agent in person for the first time, too! :)Edits I finished my second round edits on The Monster Within last week. I love that book so much. It releases April 2014 through Spencer Hill Press, and wait until you see the cover! I love it!Reviewing I'm trying to catch up on all the books I promised to review for blog tours. Eek! There are so many!Scene13 I've joined up with more than twenty-five other authors with books coming out in 2013. We'll be blogging over at Scene13 about a lot of fun topics. January will be filled with posts about our characters' New Year's resolutions. My post goes up on the 9th.
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
*My free monthly newsletter goes out at 5pm EST today. If you'd like to receive one but aren't signed up, you can sign up here.
January 3, 2013
What is a Release Date Anyway?
Okay, if you are reading the title and thinking I've lost my mind, just hang in there for a second. Yes, I'm well aware that a release date is the day a book becomes available. But... I've learned a few things about release dates and I want to share them with you today.
First, don't get married to your release date. Touch of Death has always had a release date of 1/15/13, but... the ebook released early on December 23, 2012 and Amazon decided to release the paperback on December 30, 2012. Why? Um, your guess is as good as mine. Spencer Hill Press asked me about releasing the ebook in time for Christmas and I was all for it, so that was no surprise. Amazon, however, was. Still, I'm celebrating my book birthday on January 15, 2013.
Love All had a release date of 1/15/13 but it changed to 1/8/13 and now it changed again to 1/22/13. The next two novellas were scheduled to release in March and May but have been moved up to 2/5/13 (Serving Up Heartbreak) and 3/12/13 (Perfect Match).
I'm completely fine with all the changes. Why? In short, my books are still coming out. So what if it's not on the dates I originally thought? My point is, I've seen writers cry over changes in release dates. Don't. It happens all the time. And your books will still release. Celebrate and be happy about that.
What do you think about changes in release dates?
First, don't get married to your release date. Touch of Death has always had a release date of 1/15/13, but... the ebook released early on December 23, 2012 and Amazon decided to release the paperback on December 30, 2012. Why? Um, your guess is as good as mine. Spencer Hill Press asked me about releasing the ebook in time for Christmas and I was all for it, so that was no surprise. Amazon, however, was. Still, I'm celebrating my book birthday on January 15, 2013.
Love All had a release date of 1/15/13 but it changed to 1/8/13 and now it changed again to 1/22/13. The next two novellas were scheduled to release in March and May but have been moved up to 2/5/13 (Serving Up Heartbreak) and 3/12/13 (Perfect Match).
I'm completely fine with all the changes. Why? In short, my books are still coming out. So what if it's not on the dates I originally thought? My point is, I've seen writers cry over changes in release dates. Don't. It happens all the time. And your books will still release. Celebrate and be happy about that.
What do you think about changes in release dates?
January 1, 2013
Writing Romance
Many of you know that in addition to writing paranormal novels, I also write YA contemporary romance. Well, on January 22, my first novella in the Game. Set. Match. Heartbreak series releases through Swoon Romance. Yay! So I thought I'd talk a little about writing romance.
Here's what I learned while working on the GSMH series. First, you can't write emotions without feeling them. I had to become sixteen again to write Love All. Why? Because that's when I first fell in love. First loves are incredible. They are all-consuming. You feel like your heart will stop every time your boyfriend (or girlfriend) walks out of the room. I had to tap into those feelings and relive them.
In Love All, Meg has a great boyfriend named Ash. He's the kind of guy you want your first love to be. But here's something you should know about me. I've been in a few love triangles. I hate to admit that, but I'm an open book on this blog. My involvement in them stemmed from my own insecurities, and so does Meg's. Meg's past, complete with a cheating boyfriend, has left her with little confidence. I've been there. I've felt that heartbreak. Yes, I cried a few times while writing this series, but I had to.
So here's my advice to you. If you want to write a romance, be prepared to relive first love, heartbreak, infatuation, attraction, longing... The list goes on. It's not easy to make yourself that vulnerable, but you can't write a good romance without being willing to go there.
Do you agree?
Here's what I learned while working on the GSMH series. First, you can't write emotions without feeling them. I had to become sixteen again to write Love All. Why? Because that's when I first fell in love. First loves are incredible. They are all-consuming. You feel like your heart will stop every time your boyfriend (or girlfriend) walks out of the room. I had to tap into those feelings and relive them.
In Love All, Meg has a great boyfriend named Ash. He's the kind of guy you want your first love to be. But here's something you should know about me. I've been in a few love triangles. I hate to admit that, but I'm an open book on this blog. My involvement in them stemmed from my own insecurities, and so does Meg's. Meg's past, complete with a cheating boyfriend, has left her with little confidence. I've been there. I've felt that heartbreak. Yes, I cried a few times while writing this series, but I had to.
So here's my advice to you. If you want to write a romance, be prepared to relive first love, heartbreak, infatuation, attraction, longing... The list goes on. It's not easy to make yourself that vulnerable, but you can't write a good romance without being willing to go there.
Do you agree?
December 30, 2012
Monday Mishmash 12/31/12
Happy Monday! Here's what's on my mind:
New Year's I hope everyone has a great New Year's. Stay safe, and may 2013 bring you much happiness and success.After Christmas sales I'm going shopping today to hit up all the after holiday sales. The Monster Within I'm diving back into edits on The Monster Within, which will release April 2014 through Spencer Hill Press.Novellas It's official. I love writing novellas. I'm working on another one and it's a YA contemporary romance. I'm very excited about it.Editing clients I love my editing clients. They kept me really busy in December, but I had a blast reading their manuscripts. I hope they keep them coming.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
New Year's I hope everyone has a great New Year's. Stay safe, and may 2013 bring you much happiness and success.After Christmas sales I'm going shopping today to hit up all the after holiday sales. The Monster Within I'm diving back into edits on The Monster Within, which will release April 2014 through Spencer Hill Press.Novellas It's official. I love writing novellas. I'm working on another one and it's a YA contemporary romance. I'm very excited about it.Editing clients I love my editing clients. They kept me really busy in December, but I had a blast reading their manuscripts. I hope they keep them coming.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?
