Megg Jensen's Blog, page 9

An Interview, An Author, and a Magic 8 Ball - Angela Carlie Edition

Angela Carlie is, quite possibly, one of the awesomest people on the planet. Seriously. I wish she lived closer to me instead of on the other side of the country. I've known her online for a few years now and last year I begged her to join DarkSide Publishing. She agreed, making me one happy chickie!

Read on to learn more about her!!!!


MJ: Tell me a bit about your novel, Loramendi's Story, in your own words - not the official synopsis.

AC: Loramendi's Story isthe first novel in the Lords of Shifters series. It's about a teenage girl namedLora whose mother has been missing from her life since she was one year old.She falls for a hot windsurfer and she discovers that her life has been afaçade. When she begins to go through a physical change, the truth about herlife is finally revealed and she's forced to accept her destiny.This novel is full ofadventure, romance, and sexy shapeshifters.
MJ: Did you pants or plot while writing your first draft?
AC: 100% pantsed this one.
MJ: What's your next release going to be?
AC:   I'm currently workingon the second novel of the Lords of Shifters series. It's not yet titled, but Ihope it will be available to the public sometime early 2012.
(note from MJ: since this interview, Angela titled her book Spider Wars and it has this amazing cover!!!)
MJ: Now for the fun stuff!!!
MJ: Wolves or vampires or zombies?


AC: Zomvamplows

MJ: When you were a teen were you a cheerleader, a sporty girl, the smart one, the band geek, or something else?

AC: Something else. I wasa loner with literally only one friend who I never saw because she always hung outin the art room while I hung out in the auditorium or … somewhere else. ;) Ihad daisies painted all over my car, wore bell bottoms and leg warmers, but notat the same time, and worked at a veterinary hospital.

MJ: Do you have any pets? 

AC: Yes! Four cats and twodogs live with us at the moment.
MJ: Now, I need YOU to ask ME a question about absolutely anything under the sun. It has to be a yes or no question and will be answered by my 9-year-old's all-knowing Magic 8 Ball! The question can be serious or silly - it's up to you.

AC: I recently read onyour FB page how fearful you are of scary movies. I used to be a paranormalinvestigator once upon a time. We investigated hundreds of locations. At onelocation in particular, we investigated a building that had been reportingactivity for years. It's now a famous haunted location. But, at that time, ataround 1 am, a fellow investigator (a psychic) and I were on the third floorthat once housed a brothel, in a room where abortions were performed and womenoften died. We were alone and setting up equipment in the dark. The air wasthick and we felt like we weren't really alone at all. In the room next to us,one of our motion alarms went off, screaming at us through the wall. We bothshot up and made a run for it (very unprofessional, I know). In the process, mylarger psychic friend pushed me out of her way to make her escape. My right legfell through a hole in the floor and I was stuck, laughing and crying at thesame time, all by myself.
My question: If youand your best friend were in the same situation, and you were the psychicfriend, would you have gone back for your friend stuck in the hole near thescary room with possible activity or would you have kept running all the waydown the stairs to safety?

(Do you have any idea how long it took me to read all of that to my Magic 8 Ball?!?!?!)


M8B: Outlook Good

MJ: Well, of course that's the answer! I would never leave a friend stuck in a hole in a possibly-haunted house. I grew up in a possibly-haunted house. Not afraid! :D




Thank you SO MUCH to Angela Carlie for participating in my interview series. You have to read Angela's books. Why? (1) Her books rock and (2) She's made of all things fabulous

Find Angela on the web:
WebsiteAmazon.comBarnes&Noble.com

Contest Winners & Future Plans

My three winners for ecopies of Sleepers have been contacted. If you haven't heard from me, then you didn't win ... this time. As anyone who follows me through Facebook or my newsletter knows, I like to give things away a lot, so if you like free things, then follow me. ;)

It's the beginning of the year (well, kind of, since we're nearly a couple weeks in) and I feel like I should let you know what will be happening on my blog.

First, I'll probably be blogging less this year than I did last year. At least here. I've joined three other blogs, Indelibles, Author 2 Author, and The Writer's Voice. Since I'll be blogging in those places, I'll have less to say here. However, that will make what I do say here more important. There'll be less random posts to wade through when what you really want is to know the details about releases, etc. If you want to keep up on my other posts, please follow me on Facebook, which is where I notify my peeps when I have a new post up.

As for writing, I'm working hard on Afterlife and will have it out by summer unless something drastic happens, like I fall off a boat and a shark eats both of my arms. I doubt this will happen since I live in Illinois. You can all relax now.

I plan to release the sequel to Afterlife later in the year. In addition to those, I hope to get at least one more book out, but until I know for sure, I don't want to jinx anything.

I have loved every moment of the past year. I chose to epublish in December of 2010 and Anathema came out in February of 2011. It's been the most fascinating time in my life. Who knew I could make a career out of the one thing I love most in life - creating new worlds. Thank you to each of you who've been on this journey with me (OMG, I sound like a chick from The Bachelor, don't I?).

Love you all!!!!!

~Megg

Introducing the Indelibles

Welcome to the Indelibles Blog Hop!


In celebration of our official launch, we are giving away a KINDLE FIRE! If you'd like to start at the beginning of the INDELIBLES ON FIRE GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP, then please start here: http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/


If you are already mid-hop, then welcome to your next stop! By following the link at the bottom of this post, you can proceed to the next author (and check out the awesome, individual giveaways we are doing along the way!). If you are entering to win the KINDLE FIRE, don't forget to make a note of the keyword at the end of every blog post - the words spell out a phrase you will need to enter the contest on the last stop.


Marketing guru Shelli Johannes Wells has teamed up with twenty-four other indie and small press authors to bring you the Indelibles.

[image error] "We are indie authors who write middle grade and young adult fiction. We are dedicated to leaving a permanent mark on the world with our stories and words. We are the Indelibles."
Each week, we'll explore fun, fabulous, and fierce topics for today's teens, drawing on pop culture and themes from the books we write. Check out our official launch Monday, January 9th for fun giveaways at http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/. We'll also be having a "blogger" chat on January 11th and a writer/author chat on the 18th to answer questions about self and indie pubbing. See our blog for details.
And now with no further ado, I will introduce myself: I'm Megg - a mom, wife, and novelist. I know a little about a lot of things, like tae kwon do, swing dancing, rollerblading, and dolphins. I write fantasy - not the vamp/werewolf kind - the magic/royalty kind. Finally, I can say that useless degree in medieval history has been put to work. ;) I am a regular contributor at Author 2 Author and The Writer's Voice. You can read more about me on my oh-so-thrilling bio.This week, along with the Indelibles Fire giveaway, I'm also giving you the chance to win an ecopy of my novel Sleepers (3 total up for grabs!). Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck and hope to see you around the web (Facebook and Twitter)! :D
An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can't calm the fires raging inside her.
Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she's always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen's alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?


 
The keyword for this stop on the hop is: GROUP
Continue the hop and visit the next Indelibles author, the most excellent, and one of my favs, Sarra Cannon!!!! 
(enter to win 1 of 3 ecopies of Megg's fantasy novel, Sleepers, in the Rafflecopter form below) a Rafflecopter giveaway<a href="http://rafl.es/enable-js"&am... need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.

Win an ebook copy of the ENTIRE Cloud Prophet Trilogy!

Haven't had a chance to get all three books in the Cloud Prophet Trilogy yet? Now's your chance to win them! The winner will choose from a Kindle (mobi), Nook (epub) or PDF copy of the wildly popular bestselling Cloud Prophet Trilogy!

Just enter below!!!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
<a href="http://rafl.es/enable-js"&gt... need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.

Favorite eBooks of 2011!!!!!

Before I start my post, I just wanted to let you know if you sign up for my mailing list, you'll find something special in your stocking Christmas morning! ;)

I wanted to give props to my favorite book of 2011 and I thought it would be a blast to ask others what theirs were too.

My fav ebook of 2011? Easy. Beautiful Demons by Sarra Cannon. Demons, cheerleaders, magic. Awesome!

Heather McCorkle recommends: Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

Elle Strauss recommends: Kiss Me, I'm Irish by Bella Street and The Clearing by Anne Riley

Cheri Lasota recommends: The Year-God's Daughter by Rebecca Lochlann

Cory Putnam Oakes recommends: Blessed by Cynthia Lietich Smith

Danyelle Leafty recommends: The Boyfriend Thief by Shana Norris

RaShelle Workman recommends: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Sarra Cannon recommends: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Angela Carlie recommends: Ethereal by Addison Moore

Both Angela and Magan Vernon recommend: Shine by Lauren Myracle

Laura Pauling recommends: Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

GP Ching recommends: How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon, Into the Shadows by Karly Kirkpatrick, and Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie

...and a few more recommended on my Facebook page:

Catalyst by Shelly Crane and Callum & Harper by Fisher Amelie (both releasing on Dec. 24)

Tangled Tides by Karen Hooper

Escaping Destiny by Jeffrey Pierce

I hope everyone takes some time to relax and enjoy a good book over the holidays! :D

Cover Reveal: Sleepers Rebooted

When I originally commissioned the artwork for Sleepers from Robin Ludwig Design, I was absolutely in love with it. I still am.

But as I prepared to continue with the trilogy, I had a really hard time coming up with concepts for what I wanted the other two covers to be. I had heard about artist PhatPuppy months ago and knew she designed some cover art for Amanda Hocking. I spent hours going through her website, falling in love with multiple pieces of artwork.

The more I combed through her art, the more I realized that there were pieces that embodied exactly what I was looking for. A couple were perfect, in fact. I decided to take the plunge and use her artwork for my next two books. Yet...it wouldn't match Sleepers original cover and I needed this trilogy to make sense visually. It was agonizing for me, but I decided to recover Sleepers.

Here it is and I hope you love it as much as I do!!!!!!!

 
Thank you so much to the 83 bloggers who are revealing Sleepers' new cover on their blogs today. I am eternally grateful to each and every one of you!!!!!! :D
If you haven't read Sleepers yet, I have it priced at only 99 cents!!!! Check it out now! :D

Severed's Blog Tour!!!!!

Wow, I can hardly believe this day is here. It's just one in a trail of many to come, but today I'm announcing my stops for Severed's Blog Tour. Yes, I'm that close to release and I'm more than a little freaked out. So instead of dwelling on how this is the beginning of the end of the Cloud Prophet Trilogy, I'm just going to go ahead and stop kvetching. Right? (OMG, totally ignore the tears...please...)

Severed's Blog Tour Stops:

Monday, November 28th: The Bookish Brunette
Tuesday, November 29th: Magical Urban Fantasy Reads
Wednesday, November 30th: The Caffeinated Diva Reads
Thursday, December 1st: Two Chicks on Books
Friday, December 2nd: The Top Shelf

Monday, December 5th: Can't Find a Bookmark
Tuesday, December 6th: That Bookish Girl
Wednesday, December 7th: Read 2 Review
Thursday, December 8th: Me, My Shelf & I
Friday, December 9th: Hesperia Loves Books

Monday, December 12th: The Writer's Voice
Tuesday, December 13th: Words to Follow
Wednesday, December 14th: Woven Myst
Thursday, December 15th: Smash Attack Reads!
Friday, December 16th: Books with Bite

But I know what you're really wondering. Will there be prizes?! OF COURSE! I don't launch with prizes, you know that! I'll reveal the prizes and how to win on my launch day, November 25th. There are going to be so many ways to earn chances to win. It'll be epic! :D

Ask Me Anything!

[image error] Okay, so I decided to make one of my Severed blog tour stops a Q & A. But I need you guys to ask me the questions! Ask me a question about my personal life or something about writing. Whatever!

Comment below with a question (no more than three per person) and I will choose 5 - 10 to answer on a vlog tour stop. I'll be giving you credit for the question too (either by first name or user id, whatever you leave in the comment).

Oh - and one lucky commenter below will win an e-ARC of Severed!!!!!! (Winner chosen by random.org)

Contest starts now and ends November 10th at midnight CST.

Once Upon a Time or How I Got an International Publishing Contract

Once upon a time, there was a girl who grew up on a farm and loved nothing more than books. She dreamed of writing a novel and, maybe someday, finding someone who liked it enough to publish it.

Unfortunately, my life wasn't a fairy tale. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. I queried and queried and queried. Rejection, rejection, rejection.

But then an amazing thing happened. My friend, Karly Kirkpatrick, turned out to be my fairy hotchickwriter (because if I call her a godmother she will probably rip me in two). She told me about this thing called epublishing and then sprinkled fairy dust on me. It worked. I was hooked!

Yet, to be honest with you, I still felt like I lacked validation. Did I need it? No. But it's nice to get it.

[image error] Then one day, I got a message from some random dude named Mark Williams. He told me how much he loved Anathema and asked if I would write a guest post for his blog. It turns out he was half of the outrageously popular Saffina Desforges writing team. They are bestsellers in the UK with their debut novel, Sugar & Spice.

[image error] We struck up a friendly relationship and at one point I thanked him for telling me how much he liked Anathema, particularly because he had nothing to gain from it. Mysteriously he kind of fell of the face of the earth and I barely heard from him again. Odd, that. Mark lives in Africa and I thought maybe he'd been eaten by a lion.




[image error] A month or so later, I happened to see this post. Go ahead and read it. I had a Sally Field moment: "He likes me, he really likes me!" It was a little embarrassing. Luckily nobody saw it but me. I felt like I finally had some validation and it felt good - I won't lie. I emailed Mark and asked him why he didn't tell me about this before the big announcement. He reminded me of what I'd told him a few months ago, about how his praise meant a lot because he had nothing to gain from it. Mark was afraid I would think he was trying to get a piece of my publishing pie.

I laughed. Really hard. Seriously, how could anyone take this as anything other than a compliment? Not only did a HUGE UK bestselling writer love Anathema, but he took inspiration from it to start a new epublishing business. Um, wow! (He's probably already made a bajillion more dollars, pounds, whatevs, than me anyway...as if Anathema could help him...I'm the one with something to gain here because in the last six months I think I've sold ten books in the UK.)

So, I think you can guess my big news. I've signed on with his new company MWiDP to have my ebook published and promoted in the UK, Germany, and France. I haven't been this excited about publishing or my future in it for a long time. So, thank you to Mark and his partner Saffina Desforges. You guys have made my year. I hope this partnership will be long and fruitful! What I doubly love about this arrangement is that it's so non-traditional. One of the best parts of epublishing has been blazing new paths with like-minded writers. A year ago, I wouldn't have believed any of this was going to happen.



Mark has all of these amazing ideas about my books and has been a great sounding board. He really listens to my feelings about Anathema and how I think it should be represented. Then he'll surprise me with ideas of his own - and, seriously, he has some awesome thoughts for how the Cloud Prophet Trilogy will be marketed.


One odd thing about Mark, though. I've never seen a picture of him. He lives this really mysterious life in Africa (he's told me tons about it ... so cool). I want to add him to my collage of British guys I adore, but I don't have a picture to steal a face from. So.....I did my best. ;)

Paperback SALE!!!!!

I have too many paperback copies of my books sitting in my office and instead of just staring at them, I would like to offer them to YOU!

I can fit up to 3 of my paperbacks in a U.S. Post Office Priority Mail envelope (which is a flat rate shipping fee of $4.75 plus $1.80 insurance for domestic mail - international is at least double the fee and will be calculated individually).

Wait ... where's the savings? You can choose any combination of my paperbacks (Anathema, Oubliette, or Sleepers) for $5 per book up to 3 books. Three copies of Anathema? $15 (plus s&h&i). One of each? $15 (plus s&h&i).

How do you take advantage of this? Simple. Email me your choice of paperbacks (up to 3) and I will send you a PayPal invoice. Easy peasy.

BUT WAIT ... THERE'S MORE!

I'll sign the books and include bookmarks!!!!!

This is until my supplies last, so ACT NOW! (Wow, I totally sounds like an infomercial...maybe I should have vlogged this? LOL!)