Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 87

Friday Feature: Tell Me When by Stina Lindenblatt

Please help me welcome my agency sister, Stina Lindenblatt today! Her book Tell Me When releases January 20, 2014 through Carina Press. Yay, Stina!
                             
Amber Scott should be enjoying life as a college freshman. She should be pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian. She should be working hard to make sense of her precalculus math class.She shouldn’t be waking up her college roommate with screaming nightmares. She shouldn’t be flashing back, reliving the three weeks of hell she barely survived last year. And she definitely shouldn’t be spending time with sexy player Marcus Reid.But engineering student Marcus is the only one keeping Amber from failing her math course, so she grudgingly lets him into her life. She never expects the king of hookups will share his painful past. Or that she’ll tell him her secrets in return, opening up and trusting him in a way she thought she’d never be able to again.When their fragile future together is threatened by a stalker Amber thought was locked away for good, Marcus is determined to protect her. And Amber is determined to protect Marcus…even if that means pushing him away.
And if that's not enough to entice you, here's a picture teaser:

Find Stina online: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest * Goodreads
So, what do you think?

Writer Wednesday: Blurbing Books

Being asked to blurb a book for another author is a huge honor. At least I feel that it is. I've been lucky enough to be asked to supply blurbs for Michelle Hansen, Catherine Stine, Heather Lyons, and Sherry Ficklin. Every time I'm asked to blurb a book I get this excited feeling in my gut because I'm ecstatic that someone wants my name associated with their book.
Well today I want to share the cover of the latest book I blurbed, Losing Logan by Sherry Ficklin. This book is seriously awesome. I LOVED it. The hard part about blurbing it was getting myself to stop gushing over it and put that praise into words Sherry could use for her book. Without further babble on my part, here's the cover of Losing Logan.

Normally finding a hot guy in her bedroom wouldn’t irritate Zoe so badly, but finding her childhood friend Logan there is a big problem. Mostly because he’s dead.
As the only person he can make contact with, he convinces Zoe to help him put together the pieces surrounding his mysterious death so he can move on. Thrust into his world of ultra popular rich kids, Zoe is out of her element and caught in the cross-hairs of Logan’s suspicious ex-girlfriend and the friends he left behind, each of whom had a reason to want him dead. The deeper they dig to find the truth, the closer Zoe gets to a killer who would do anything to protect his secrets. And that’s just the start of her problems because Zoe is falling for a dead guy.

Add it on Goodreads.
Have you ever been asked to blurb a book? What book would you love to blurb?

Monday Mishmash 1/20/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Tween 2 Teen Best of 2013 and Most of Anticipated of 2014 List  Tween 2 Tween chose Touch of Death as one of the best reads of 2013 and chose Face of Death as one of the most anticipated reads of 2014! I couldn't be more ecstatic. Read the full list of books here.

2. Arisia  I'm on my way home from Boston today after the zombie prom to launch the release of Face of Death. Pictures to come!

3. Face of Death  My official release day is the 28th, but the ebook was released on the 14th and Amazon will ship the paperback tomorrow.

4. Model Position Cover Reveal  I'm happy to share the cover of Model Position, and upcoming NA romance by Kitsy Clare.



For Sienna, love and art are perilous games. Is she ready to take that gamble? Sienna is a beautiful, talented artist poised on the precipice of soaring into theglamorous, yet cutthroat Manhattan art scene.Dave Hightower is a hooked-up, handsome heir to the hippest gallery in NYC, Gallery Hightower.
5. Silent Starsong Cover Reveal  Check out this awesome cover of TJ Wooldridge's upcoming release! (How cute is that alien?)

Eleven-year-old Kyra is meant to continue the Starbard's proud family legacy of interpreting the future from the stars' songs. Her deafness, incurable by the best medics, breaks her mother's heart and pushes her father to explore anything to help his little girl--including the expensive purchase of a telepathic alien servant to help Kyra communicate on a planet inhospitable to unfixable genetic defects.Marne's telepathy is too weak for his Naratsset culture, so he is sold into slavery and expects to die at the hands of human owners--until he meets a human child who begs her father to "save" him. Her kindness introduces Marne to a new world--one where he would risk his life to save a human from her own people's abuse and the stars' songs can touch even a deaf girl and a defective telepath.
When an intergalactic terrorist organization kills Kyra's father, driving her mother to madness, Kyra and Marne only have each others' friendship--until even that is threatened by the danger surrounding the Starbard heritage. But can the two friends, not good enough for either of their cultures or families, manage to keep each other safe when several different worlds threaten their lives?
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Hold Tight by Cherie Colyer

What's one little spell?
When you’re new to magic, one spell can be the difference between getting what you want...and ruining the lives of everyone you love.
Sixteen-year-old Madison has just embraced her magical powers. The trick now is learning how to control them. She and her boyfriend -and fellow witch- can’t even enjoy a simple kiss without getting shocked when their powers collide. Instead of mastering her new skills, though, Madison is stuck watching her kid brother and doing chores.
But being a witch does have its benefits. With a simple spell, Madison instantly conjures the help she needs around the house. Or so she thinks. Her idea of “help” invites trouble of its own as a pair of dangerous yet enticing beings enter her life. When a classmate disappears soon afterwards, Madison discovers she's the next victim of a threat she's powerless to resist...and there’s nothing it won’t kill to make her surrender.             Caught in the crossfire between two dashing but deadly creatures, Madison must figure out which one to trust and how to rid her world of the other—before one of them destroys her and everyone she cares about.
Read Hold Tight todayAmazon | Barnes & Noble


Cherie Colyer is the author of  YA paranormal thriller/romance, EMBRACE (available now), and HOLD TIGHT (August 2013), from Omnific Publishing. Check out her website and blog for news on her books and bonus material. Follow Cherie on Twitter and/or Facebook for updates on writing, book and special offers. 
What do you think?

Writer Wednesday: When Was the Last Time You Paid it Forward?

Lately I've been thinking about giving, and that includes giving back to the writing community. It's no secret I love this community. I think writers are some of the greatest people and fully believe we need to be in this journey together to keep sane.
So today I want to remind you to take the time to pay it forward. Think of how other writers have helped you, whether it was to read and critique your query letter, offer feedback on a manuscript, point you in the direction of a good writing course or freelance editor, review your book, or help you tweet good news. Now think about what you've done for other writers lately. Could you do more?
One way I pay it forward is by being a volunteer judge at Rate Your Story. For those of you who aren't familiar with RYS, it's a site where you can submit your stories to have rated for free. Yes, free. I've been a volunteer judge there since the site was created over two years ago. Today, I received a nice note from someone who uses the site thanking me for my time and for helping others. It made my day to know that giving my time at the site was appreciated by others. 
Another way I give back is by featuring MG, YA, and NA books every Friday. It's so easy to help authors promote their books, and I'm happy to do my part. That goes for everyone reading this. If you would like your book featured, just contact me and we'll schedule your post.
How do you give back to the writing community?

Monday Mishmash 1/13/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:The Monster Within  The release date for The Monster Within is being pushed back until June 17. I'm actually really happy about this because it allows me to get the Touch of Death series out first, including the novella from Alex's POV, and I'll get to sign The Monster Within at BEA! Yay!Blurbing books  I was asked to blurb a really awesome book called Losing Logan by Sherry Ficklin. It's SOOOOO good, guys. I couldn't put it down. Seriously. Just awesome.School Visits  I'm heading back to my daughter's school today to work with a fourth grade class on the stories they are writing. How cool is that? I'm excited.Editing  I'll be editing for a new client this week, but in order to stay true to my 2014 goals, I'll also be working on the plot of a new book of my own.Zombie Prom at Arisia  I'll be heading to Boston on Sunday for another zombie prom at Arisia to celebrate the upcoming launch of Face of Death. Can I just tell you how much Face of Death makes me cry every time I read it? I really love those characters and wrapping up their series was tough.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Wanted Dead or In Love by Kym Brunner

Today I have Kym Brunner, a fellow Darkly Delicious YA author, with a great character POV for her upcoming debut novel, Wanted Dead or In Love. I'm loving this premise!


Kym Brunner's debut, WANTED: DEAD OR IN LOVE, about two teens possessed by the spirits of Bonnie and Clyde who soon discover that the legendary outlaws plan to continue where they left off.

*Blurb taken from Goodreads.

Merit Press – June

Two teens. Bonnie and Clyde.
Whoever inhabits the bodies at the deadline . . .survives.
Being impulsive, I act first, think later. I don’t recommend it. Now I’m on probation for something stupid I did at school. If I get arrested again, the judge will give me jail time. To keep out of trouble, I work as a waitress at my dad’s Roaring 20’s restaurant, dressed like a flapper. Didn’t take long for me to screw up again. Here’s what happened: Dad showed me the spent bullets that they pulled out of famous criminal lovebirds, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow’s dead bodies––items he bought at a gangster memorabilia show. Who would have known that Bonnie and Clyde’s spirits were locked inside that container, waiting to be freed? Not me certainly, or I wouldn’t have done it. Opening the container wasn’t enough to make Bonnie’s spirit search for a new body to inhabit, but given my lousy luck, I cut my finger on the stupid thing, opening the door for the whiny, love-starved Bonnie Parker to enter my body.
Course, at first I didn’t really believe that she was inside of me (who would, right?) so later that night, after I met this cute but dull guy named Jack, I showed him the slugs. Bad move. Turns out Clyde hadn’t lost an ounce of his slyness, easily infecting poor Jack and quickly committing a crime. Luckily, Jack finds a way to get back in charge, but after doing some investigation, we find out we have only 36 hours to ditch these outlaws or we’ll share our bodies with them indefinitely. See what I mean about bad luck?
Take it from me––spontaneity’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. 
The real Kym Brunner (who feels much more at home in jeans and a sweater).









Kym Brunner (as 17-year-old Monroe Baker, dressed for work at her dad's 1920s style restaurant.)

So, what do you think?

Writer Wednesday: 2014 Goals

I'm not one for resolutions because I feel they're too easy to toss aside. So here are my writing goals for 2014:Balance writing and editing:  I need to get better at doing both at the same time. I tend to focus solely on writing or solely on editing. This year, I want to edit in the morning and write in the afternoon and evening. It's all about balance.Find new ways to market my books:  I'm not one to go around begging people to buy my books. In fact, in person, you wouldn't know I'm a writer. I don't mention it. But I do want to find some creative ways to get my work out there for people to know about.Revise two books that are already drafted and draft two or three new books:  I have an Ashelyn Drake contemporary romance to revise and a Kelly Hashway paranormal to revise. I would also like to write two or three of the ideas I have brewing in my head.Continue with my new blog format:  The format I set in place in September with Monday Mishmash, Writer Wednesday, and Friday Feature seems to be working well, so I'm sticking with it in 2014.Now, just for fun, here's what I'm hoping for in 2014:
Two or more book contractsGreat book salesTo sign at BEA againTo make more money than I did last year with my writing and editing

What are your goals or things you're hoping for in 2014? 

Monday Mishmash 1/6/14

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:Touch of Death and Stalked by Death Chosen as Best Books in 2013!  I'm ecstatic that both Touch of Death and Stalked by Death made blog lists for best books in 2013. Touch of Death was chosen as Best Paranormal by Patrice Caldwell over on Whimsically Yours, and Stalked by Death was chosen as Best YA by Sherry Ficklin over on Curvy Writer!Free Monthly Newsletter  My free monthly newsletter goes out this evening. If you aren't signed up but would like to receive one, click here.#SHP2014 Twitter Chat  Thank you to everyone who came out for the Spencer Hill Press Twitter chat last Thursday night. The chat was crazy fast and so much fun. Lots of ARCs were given away, including two of The Monster Within.Snow  I'm kind of done with snow this season. Seriously, been there, done that. I'm ready for spring.2014 Goals  I've got my goals for this year all set. I'll be posting them on Wednesday.That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Savor by Kate Evangelista

Today I have fellow Darkly Delicious YA author, Kate Evangelista, sharing her book Savor.
Mature and explicit content. Not recommended for readers below 18-years-old.  Yup, you’ve got to be that old to read my story. Consider yourself warned.

I’m Dakota Collins, a tough talking, eye patch wearing, workaholic photography student. Why am I important? Well, maybe because I get to spend an entire month with Vicious, only the sickest indie rock band out there.
You see, I needed a subject for my Spring Showcase introspective in order to graduate. During a chance encounter at a club I’d been sent to cover for the Daily Gossip, our ironically named college paper, the features writer I usually teamed up with introduced me to the band—by accident, I might add. It involved a run in with a scary, bald bodyguard. Anyway, long story short, I signed a contract to take pictures of Vicious.
I should have known their handsome yet way too serious for his own good bassist, Luka Visraya, wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself. He’s gorgeous and all, but the way he smiles spelled trouble with a capital L. I’m in for a long month with him around.
Crazy shit happens and then some. So, if you want the skinny on Vicious and the events revolving around my stay at Lunar Manor, read my story.
Again, refer to the warning above.

Savor Exclusive Excerpt
“Dakota Collins!”            I lowered my camera. The use of my full name never came with good consequences. I blinked my vision back at her even if I wanted to spend the rest of the night taking his picture. Sweat rose over my upper lip. I may just have found my subject for the Spring Showcase.            The only problem?            I had to find a way to convince him to be in my project. Something told me this wouldn’t be easy. By the way my heart beat in my ears, drowning out the music and Silvia having a fit in front of me, I wanted it too much. I wanted him too much.             “This the guy you were saying?” I showed Silvia the picture I’d taken. This seemed to pacify her because she sidled closer, mesmerized like a moth to a flame.            “Luka Visraya,” she said with a moan like she’d just tasted the most luscious chocolate before taking a long gulp of her cocktail. The name didn’t register. Silvia must have noticed my blank expression because she continued. “He’s the bassist for Vicious.”            Still no pings of recognition in my head.             She slapped her thigh. “Where have you been? It’s weird that you haven’t heard of them. Their songs are on the radio like every second.”            Of course I hadn’t heard of them. I liked listening to country and I hardly kept up with current events.            “Name one?” Okay, I had a name. Luka. Exotic. A bassist. Part of a band I should know about. So he’s famous. I slowly felt my chances of asking him to be my subject slip from my grasp. If he was someone famous, fat chance he’d say yes to a graduating photography student like me. I just about deflated when Silvia mentioned one of their songs. “Oh, I know that one!” By accident. It played in the radio of the cab I rode in to Sacrifice. I stared at the picture of him then lifted my gaze to where he sat. “He’s gone.”            “What?” Silvia whipped around in time to come face to face with a wall of man. “Whoa!” She pushed at him. “Watch it, buddy!”            “Give me the camera,” he said in a threatening tone.             Big. Beefy. Bald. The three Bs that made up the quintessential bodyguard.             I clutched my DSLR closer to my chest and looked up at him with my good eye. “And why would I do that?” The patch didn’t seem to intimidate him because he just reached out. So much for my Bond villain aspirations. I moved away from his grubby hand. No one touched my camera but me.            Despite her size, Silvia came between me and the mountain. “We’re here to cover Sacrifice for our college paper. You don’t have the right to take away my colleague’s camera.”            Yeah! You give it to him, Silvy.             Not that I couldn’t take care of myself. But if Silvia wanted to play hero, I wouldn’t stand in her way.             “What seems to be the problem here?” a soft, authoritative voice chimed in.             The bodyguard moved aside to reveal the Gothic Lolita. She stood at just about the same height as Silvia, but she possessed an older aura even if she seemed to be our age.             “She’s been taking pictures,” Baldy said.            Lolita’s kohl eyes landed on me then shifted to my camera.             “As I was saying to the big guy,” Silvia explained. “My colleague and I are covering the opening of Sacrifice.”            “For what paper?” Lolita asked without taking her eyes off me. I clutched my camera like an extra appendage. In some ways it was. After losing half my sight, I relied on my camera like an extra eye, seeing the world through its lens. I would rather die than lose it.             “The Daily Gossip,” I said before Silvia could answer just to relieve some of the awkward tension building in me under her gaze. “We study at Wexler U.”            She tilted her head, crossing her arms.             “Okay,” I quickly stammered out. “I get that the name of our paper sounds like a tabloid, but the Daily Gossip is a cool campus paper.” The last part maybe only I believed since Silvia raised her eyebrow at me, but Lolita and the mountain didn’t have to know that.             No one spoke after that. Even in a noisy club, the silence in our group rang in my ears. Not waiting for the situation to get any more awkward, I plowed forward with my own selfish intensions.             “You know Luka.” I said it more as a statement, but it came out like a question.             Lolita nodded.                “I’m Dakota Collins and I’m graduating this spring. I was wondering if Luka would be interested in—”            “What would I be interested in?” a smooth voice joined our group.             The walls of my throat closed, chocking the rest of what I had to say. All eyes turned to Luka. Silvia dropped her empty glass. It bounced off the bodyguard’s shoe and landed in a clatter but didn’t break. Even with my height, I still had to look up at him.             “What are you doing here?” Lolita admonished. “You should be backstage.”            One side of his lips came up. God. Without the scowl, his face lit up. I had to stop the urge to lift my camera and start snapping away. And his eyes were piercing blue. The kind that stretched over my mother’s farm in the summer. Damn.Seeing him up close, I knew I’d give any one of my kidneys for a chance to take his picture in a formal shoot.             “We have five minutes. Chill, Yana.” He tugged at one of her pigtails.             “Luka,” Silvia managed. “I’m a big fan. Will you sign my chest?”            Bypassing my petite colleague, Luka’s intensely blue gaze studied me. He reached out and I flinched back. His fingers almost grazed my patch. What the hell was the matter with him? Trying to touch my eye patch was tantamount to poking a bandage over a wound and asking the person if it hurts.             Gothic Lolita—Yana—yanked Luka’s arm down. “I’m so sorry!” Her whole aura changed. She went from all business to panicky. “My brother sometimes forgets his manners. He didn’t mean anything about touching your…” She bit her lower lip, maybe trying to keep herself from saying the wrong thing.             That little faux pas cleared my head of the Luka haze and spurred me into action. “Luka, will you let me take your picture for my final project?” I didn’t know where my courage came from, but I knew if I didn’t take this chance, I’d regret it. I had to have him as my subject.             Still not removing his gaze from my face, like my patch transfixed him, he tilted his head to one side very much like his sister did earlier.            “Luka, don’t!” Yana said, but from the consideration on Luka’s face, she was too late.             “You’re a photographer?”            “Yes.” I nodded, in case the word wasn’t enough.             “And you’d like me to be the subject of your project?”            God yes! This time, I could only nod. I didn’t want him to see how eager I was. And I couldn’t live with myself if I embarrassed myself further.             I waited with baited breath.            It seemed everyone in our group waited with baited breath for what the golden god had to say about my brazen request. I soon realized when Luka spoke, everyone listened. The way he pronounced every word precisely yet still spoke so smoothly, like butter on warm toast, captured everyone’s attention. To say he captivated us was an understatement. Something in me certainly wanted to hear him keep speaking. He could read from an accounting textbook in that voice and no one would get bored.            “I need to know that you’re good,” he finally said.            Something about his words seemed to hold a different meaning. I must have missed the alcohol in the soda Silvia had given me. Maybe I was drunk and this was all a blackout dream.             “What are you saying?” Yana faced Luka all the way now, her petite form all rigid.             He unleashed a full on megawatt smile my way. I almost had to cover my eye from it. At my side, Silvia gasped. Her long nails dug into my arm. Like staring at the sun, I couldn’t take my gaze away from him no matter how bad it was for me.             “We’re about to perform. I want you to take several pictures then send them to Yana. If she approves, we’ll see about your request.”            Then, like smoke, he disappeared into the crowd.
Buy Links
Amazon
B&N
Book Depository
Crescent Moon Press


When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master's courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing. Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing. Today, she lives in the Philippines and writes full-time.

Author Links
Website
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Facebook
Goodreads Author Page
Add Savor on Goodreads.

What do you think?