Mayandree Michel's Blog, page 2

Sacrifice is here!

Yay! Sacrifice is finally out and can be purchased at Amazon.com in paperback and ebook, and at Barnesandnoble.com in ebook.

Thank you so much to all the readers who gave Betrayal a try and encouraged me to continue the series. To show my appreciation, I'm giving away a signed copy of Sacrifice and a fun coffee mug that has the image of both Betrayal's and Sacrifice's covers.

If interested, please enter for the giveaway below. The contest ends Sunday, September 2nd.
This giveaway is open to US and Canada residents only, sorry.

Good Luck and Thanks for entering!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winning!!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 5 Mythology book giveaway and thank you to the generous authors for adding their exciting books to the bundle.

The winner of the book bundle and surprize swag is Bethany McConville!
Congrats!!!

Please contact me @ mayandreem(at)hotmail(dot)com with an address to send your prize.

Mythology 5 Book Giveaway!

Mythology is hot and more and more retellings and exciting new stories are finding their way into young adult books.Whether you like dark myth, Greek myth, mermaids, sirens, or a light and funny take on myth, there is a story for every reader.If you already love mythology or are new to it, here's an awesome way to satisfy your myth appetite or get your feet wet: I've teamed up with a group of fantastic authors who have graciously helped me create a mythology book bundle. The bundle includes 1 signed paperback novel from each author and some cool surprise swag!!!

Click here for more details.

Your opinion counts

I'm about to embark on a project and would really appreciate you all if you could help me out a little. I love to sketch scenes and every now and then I paint in watercolors for the sheer fun I have in doing it (and of course when my boys let me). What I sketch and paint are no where near being masterpieces and are in no way ever going to be hung and auctioned in a gallery, but they are some of my most valued possessions. Even though I almost never show them to anyone other than my family.

Here's where you guys come in - well those of you who have read Betrayal. If you've read Betrayal and liked it, you may be able to help me out a little in this endeavor. I figure if all goes well and this little project turns out nicely, I'll be forever grateful to you and might show it to you when it's done, maybe :/.

I know. It's kind of crazy to me too - my shyness about showing my artwork, especially after I've written a book and published it for all to read. To tell you the truth, sometimes I'm still surprised that I actually published a book that anyone on the planet can download and read. I even posted my picture.
That was pretty ballsy, but I really believed in my story and it all turned out pretty darn good.

Anyway back to how you guys fit into the equation. I love several scenes from Betrayal and can't decide on which one I like more than the other to sketch and paint. So I've decided that maybe a survey could help. I would LOVE it if you'd email me @ mayandreem@hotmail.com or leave me a comment of your favorite scene in the story. I prefer emails rather than comments so that we don't give away any spoilers.

I'd love to get started on it right away so the sooner you contact me the better. I hope to have the scene painted by the time Sacrifice releases (fingers crossed).

Thanks a bunch and I look forward to hearing all your opinions!

Sacrifice release date

Sacrifice , the second book of the Descendants series will be out on August 27th. I'm so excited to finally set a date for the release. Sacrifice will be available to purchase in print from Amazon.com and in digital from Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.

If you're not familiar with the Descendants series, Betrayal is the first book in the series and here is the description:

BetrayalWhere there is love and power, there is always... betrayal.
At seventeen, Cordelia is an ordinary teen with an extraordinary and frightening secret. A secret that induces vivid dreams which she not only experiences true love, but crippling fear while barely escaping with her life each night.

After a life altering event, Cordelia has an unexpected encounter with Evan, the mysterious boy from her dreams, who reveals who and what she is, a descendant of the Greek gods. At that moment everything she knows of her world is a lie, and she must leave the present and go into the past to assume the role she was put on this earth for, safeguarding her ancient empire amidst evil forces that toil hastily to destroy it.

In a race against time, Cordelia must decide if she is truly a part of this dangerous world, or risk defying the gods, and ultimately lose the boy who has put a claim on her heart.
Betrayal - $.99 @ Amazon.com & Barnesandnoble.com


Thank you to all of you who have been patiently waiting for the release of Sacrifice . I've got some cool stuff planned, just for you, in the upcoming weeks so check back here often. Oh and check out the book trailer for Sacrifice in my last post.

I'll be hosting a blog tour for Sacrifice around the time of the release. If you've read Betrayal, have a book review blog, and would like to participate, email me asap: mayandreem@hotmail.com.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Greek Mythology, so it goes without saying that I'm super thrilled about the fast growing mythology trend in YA books.
Leigh Michael, author of Sprite, has a great post on the growing trend: Now trending: YA mythology. Read it here

The visuals

Since I last posted, many of you have left me comments or emailed encouraging me to continue writing and publishing Sacrifice. I appreciate all of your kind words. It really means the world to me.
Here's the update: Sacrifice has already been revised and is in the editing stages. I intend to publish the novel as soon as possible but I just haven't decided if I will publish digitally yet. I understand the need for a digital version, but I'm just trying to research ways to secure my work. I'll let you all know what I decide once I do. A few of you have suggested that I publish the original version of the story. I don't think I ever will. I've shelved it for obvious reasons. I only ask that those who downloaded it, to please (out of respect and the fact that it doesn't belong to you)not upload it. You have my appreciation!!Ok, now that that's been said, I'd like to get past this and share some visuals on Sacrifice. I enjoy making book trailers because I'm an artist at heart but I drove myself a little nuts making this trailer a few months ago and since then I've tweaked it a bit so that it reflected the new storyline better. I think it gives a sense of where the story is going. I hope you all like it. I'm up for suggestions so leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Sacrifice Book Trailer


War has never been won and love has never been saved without… SacrificeAs the new Empress of the Ischero Empire, Cordelia fights for the safety of her divine disciples, including Victor – the only powerless demigod, from the threat of Hades’ Apolluon. While Cordelia awaits her anointment from Zeus, she finds solace in her growing relationship with Evan and believes that everything is falling into place, until the Apolluon increase their attacks on the Ischero and the mortals of Nickel City. Just when Cordelia believes things can’t get any worse, Victor vanishes, bringing about a new threat to end her union with Evan for good, and the mortals begin to suspect that the Ischero are nothing like them at all. Due to the growing persecution from the residents of the town, Cordelia decides that relocating is the answer. In the new city, just as the members of the empire begin to find peace, familiar faces begin to emerge and true identities are revealed. In order to guarantee her empire's safety, Cordelia must decide between saving herself and making the ultimate sacrifice without any help from the gods.


To publish or not to publish ONLINE?

I have to blow off some steam and I guess this may be the best place to do it. It's no secret that my first novel was uploaded on "sharing websites" illegally after it was published by me a year ago. For about nine months or so I've contacted the numerous sites about copyright infringement and have been able to remove my book from a few, but my novel is still available to download illegally as so many other author's books are. Maybe some author's are ok with this, but it's not cool to me.


But I really lost all hope when the copy of my final draft of my second novel Sacrifice was uploaded on a sharing site - before its even been published!!!.You can't imagine how devasted I was when a reader emailed me, telling she was so excited that my book was available to read online. Since I only asked a few people to read it for feedback, I'm not 100% sure which person leaked it. Each one denied it. If it was a mistake, I could forgive you. If not... well karma will deal with you.
I don't even know how many people downloaded it. Thankfully, I was able to have the draft removed after emailing the site about copyright infringement.


Since then I've had to basically rewrite it in order to have a fresh story. It sucks because I felt the storyline was really good the first time. I had even pushed the date out from December just to ensure that the editing was done properly. I liked the fact that I could publish my own work online. I liked the sense of control. But its bad that once you publish something online you lose some of that control over how your book is distributed. People think that it's ok to share stuff that doesn't belong to them on the internet just because they've been able to obtain it. And those who download it thinking it's a freebie doesn't make it right. It's dishonest. Someone said I shouldn't be upset. That this is the risk of publishing online. But I am upset because I feel that it's really f*cked up when you haven't even published it yet!! It's a shame and unfair and I'm still pretty damn pissed.


I was so broken up over this (and still am) that I was ready to stop writing the trilogy. If it weren't for my family pushing me to revise it and all the devoted readers who enjoyed Betrayal and look forward to reading the next installmet, the story would have ended with Betrayal and I would never publish anything else to the internet. I want to make my books as accessible as possible and I like reading a book on my nook but I'm not sure if I want to upload an ebook version anymore. I'm still undecided on that.


The worst is that Sacrifice will not be available for a while. I will do my best to publish it as soon as I can, but right now, the new draft is being edited.


I apologise for not answering comments or emails from readers who either wanted to let me know how much they enjoyed my first novel or to inquire about the next installment. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. I appreciate your continued interest and hope that you all hang in there a little longer to read the second novel.

Birthday Gifts

Quite a few of you filled out the form to win a copy of Betrayal and I really appreciate your interest. Whether you read it or give it away on your book review website as a prize, it's really cool that there is still so many readers interested in reading Betrayal.

The winners are:

Rachel Hoyt and Jenna Farden

Congratulations to you both!

Please email me at mayandreem@hotmail.com with an address to mail your copy. Please let me know if you would like it signed.

Thanks again to everyone for helping me celebrate an unforgettable year!

Happy Birthday Betrayal!

As of today - April 1st, my very first published novel has been available to read for one whole year. I am very excited because I never thought that I would ever publish a book AND have it received so well. I'm still pinching myself.


I love Betrayal. I really, really do, and not because I wrote it but because I love Greek Mythology, historical fantasy and paranormal romances which is why the story means so much to me as do the characters. They are practically alive as far as I'm concerned.


And with soooo many great books out there to read, I thank and appreciate every reader who gave my indie book a try. Thank you for taking the time to read it and review it. I appreciate you all for all the praise for both the story and the cover and for speading the word about it, whether by mouth or in written word. Betrayal's success is owed to all of you readers, book review bloggers, and book review site members. I love you all!!!


Well, in honor of Betrayal's successful first year, I'm giving away a signed paperback copy to TWO readers who are interested in reading it or to a reader who has read the digital version and would like to own the paperback. The winner will be picked and announced here on Friday, April 6th at midnight.


Just fill out the form below to enter.

The awesome book I'm reading right now...

Like I've stated in the past, I don't really write reviews on books, but I'm almost finished with an amazing novel (that I know I'll be reading again) and had to speak out about it and the brilliant author.

Kenya Wright is an exceptionally talented new indie author who befriended me on Goodreads. Thank you Kenya or I might not have found her book Fire Baptized (awesome cover, right?) and missed out. Kenya's novel is a unique mix of urban fantasy, romance, mystery and paranormal.
It's about a Mixbreed named Lanore - a real kick-ass kind of girl that can produce and control fire. She is forced to live locked away in caged cities called the Habitat with the rest of the supernaturals. Kenya brings us a fresh and creative twist on supernaturals. The world she has created is grim, gritty and fascinating. As I keep reading I am shocked by the turn of events. The characters are original and I can't decide which of the two guys in the story I love most!

Here's the blurp:

Since the 1970s humans have forced supernaturals to live in caged cities. Silver brands embedded in their foreheads identify them by species: a full moon for Vampires, a crescent moon for Shifters, a pair of wings for Fairies, and the list goes on, for each supernatural species has been tagged and categorized by humans.
Lanore Vesta is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds, second-class citizens shunned by society. She stays to herself, revealing her ability to create fire only during emergencies. All she wants to do is graduate college and stop having to steal to survive. But when she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she catches the attention of a supernatural killer. Now all she wants is to stop finding dead bodies in her apartment.
Enlisting help from her Were-cheetah ex-boyfriend MeShack and a new mysterious friend named Zulu, she is steered through the habitat's raunchy nightlife. But their presence sometimes proves to be more burden than help, as they fight for her attention.
While the corpses pile up, and the scent of blood fills the air, Lanore is left wondering: will she find the psycho or die trying?

Fire Baptized is the first installment and what I believe to be a great start to the Habitat series. I'm loving the story so far and just wanted to share it with everyone. You should definitely check it out and add to your TBR piles. It's available right now on Amazon for $.99!!

Check out the book trailer


Kenya Wright's website: kenyawright.com
Kenya Wright's excellent blogposts:


Also check out two songs from Foster the People - Torches album that I can't stop listening to:


Life On A Nickel

Call It What You Want