Angela Addams's Blog, page 11

Release Day Facebook Party!!

Everyone Needs a Little Blackmail and Mayhem Party! Hosted by: Julie Particka (a.k.a Seleste DeLaney) and Angela AddamsWhere: https://www.facebook.com/events/577128505759490/When: August 11 from 12:00 - 9:00 pm EST

Join us for some naughty fun and shenanigans! There will be loads of giveaways happening all day from each participating author as well as a grand prize of a $30 Amazon GC and one ecopy of a book from each of the authors! That’s a LOAD of books!!

Our dirty, filthy line up of hot and heavy authors is: Amanda Young, Abigail Baker, Rebecca Brooks, Keri Lake, Kerri Carpenter, Tina Donahue, Avery Flynn, Katee Robert, Mary Anne Marshall, Jodi Linton, Lisa Burstein, Jodi Redford, Teri Anne Stanley, MK Meredith, Julie Particka and Angela Addams!

Newsletter Signup Party!!

I'm liking the newsletter thing a lot. So much that I want more people to sign up for it. I've decided to have a NEWSLETTER SIGNUP PARTY!!

What's that? Well, I'm going to have a two part contest.

Part 1: You sign up for my newsletter HERE and you're automatically entered to win a $25 Amazon gc (those of you already signed up are automatically in the draw)

The winner will be randomly chosen and announced in my August 1 newsletter.

Part 2: In the August 1 newsletter will be a new contest! You'll find a rafflecopter link to enter to win a prize pack with a bunch of cool goodies, including a signed paperback copy of Wolves' Bane, a limited edition Order of the Wolf keychain, magnets, stickers and more!


Great idea, right? I thought so ;-) 
Sign up for the NEWSLETTER, get a chance to win some cool stuff! Yay! 

To Pitch or not to Pitch

Things are going to be changing around here, folks. I've decided that I'm going to keep the blog for announcements here and there, release information and things I've learned on my writing journey.

So, if you're looking for exclusive excerpts from upcoming releases, special contests, early cover reveals, you're going to want to get yourselves signed up for my newsletter.

SIGN UP HERE
I'm sharing an exclusive excerpt from Mayhem (release August 11) in my July newsletter...it's a super steamy one, folks,  you probably don't want to miss it. 
Now, on to the learning bit...To Pitch or not to Pitch...
One of my goals while at the RT Convention in Dallas was to pitch to agents/editors. That's right...a live, in person pitch to one of those supreme beings who hold all author's dreams in their grasps.
Now, I know that the general consensus among authors is that many of us would rather not do the live and in person thing...it's stressful and pitching in person allows for the opportunity to mess up...which I did...a few times. But I went in with the expectation that this would be a good learning experience at the very least. 
Here's how it went for me:
Pre-Con - I drafted a pitch...wrote it on cue cards and then practiced it with a friend. I was making a lot of mistakes here...reading mostly from the cue cards, in one case I even skipped one of them and lost a huge component of the story in the process (but was too nervous to notice). She gave me some feedback and we adjusted the pitch so that it flowed better. It read like a blurb, which is good but was very scripted...which was maybe not so good...keep reading. 
At various times, the days leading up to the departure, even on the plane, I would pull out my little cue cards and reread them a few times.
Pitch Day 1 - I had two appointments. I was nervous. I basically read from my cue cards. This was not a good idea. I could hear myself reading in an awkward way, my nerves popping out, making it seem like I really didn't know my story well, or was uncomfortable speaking in general (which is not true--I do it every day at work). My voice didn't shine, and my personality was coming across as awkward. Although I did get some good feedback and a request for pages, I knew I had to and could do better.
Pitch Day 2 - I had two appointments and I decided to wing it. Now, by wing it I mean I decided to just be myself, be comfortable and talk about my story. I also used the feedback I got on day one and rolled it into my new pitch...this proved to be an excellent idea because there were some buzz words given to me that got attention right away. So, I walked in, introduced myself, chatted for a bit and then just started talking about my story like I would an old friend that I know very well. And guess what? Day two proved to be VERY fruitful. Two full requests and a lot of enthusiasm. I considered it a major success. 
So, what I've learned from this experience is that it's good to be rehearsed and prepared but it's better to pitch with your heart and trust that your confidence about the story will get you what you want in the end. Your voice and your personalty are just as important as your written words, maybe more so.
I've got some exciting things to share in the next couple of months...and I'll be doing it first on in my newsletter...so sign up!! 

And then she came back...

So, I survived the RT Convention in Dallas...do I get some kind of badge or something? lol

What a fabulous, exciting, totally exhausting time I had! There was wicked weather, humidity the likes of which my hair couldn't comprehend, and lots and lots of books!

There were some bucket list things I set out to do while in Texas.

1) Eat steak and eggs, Texas style.

And HOLY CRAP, it was the best steak and eggs of my life! Yes, that's butter sauce all over the top of it. Heart attack city but so, so worth it.

2) Meet up with some of my fabulous writing friends.


I finally got to meet D.B. Reynolds in person! It was so awesome being able to chat with her in the flesh rather than our usual on line chats. She has been a good friend to me over the years and I loved being able to give her a hug in real life! (Yes, you read that right. I hugged at RT. A LOT!)

And I also reconnected with Julie/Seleste, a long time writing friend. We've met up in person before in Toronto but that was a long time ago (way back when I was pregnant with my son). She was gracious enough to help me navigate the insanity of the giant book fair and we had lots of fun sitting across the aisle from one another throwing chocolate kisses.


The book fair was quite the experience. I got to meet some of the wonderful reviewers who have been so supportive of The Order series. I also had the pleasure of sitting next to Cherry Adair, who is totally hilarious and very generous. She gave me some stickers to put on my books and kept me chocolate fed and laughing.


I also got to spend some time with Kyla Holt, another writing friend who I'd never actually met in person. She's super sweet and a blast to hang out with. She promised me she would come up so Canada soon so I'm expecting a visit any day now ;-)



And Jodi Redford, who, sadly, I didn't get a picture with, but who gave me some great advice and tips for some of my future goals. Awesome lady to get to know and lots of fun to chat with.

There were many other amazing ladies that I met at the convention, readers, reviewers, bloggers and authors who made the whole trip very memorable.

The last thing I did that I'd set out to accomplish was...

3) Meet Kresley Cole!!! And I did...


She was wonderful and autographed a book for me. :-D

I also got to meet and get an autograph from Christopher Rice, which is great since I met up with his mom back in November too. Full family experience in my author life. lol

RT is a crazy hectic, fun time. I met a lot of new people, readers, reviewers, bloggers, other authors. Everyone was friendly and I really loved Texas; the accents are so awesome.

I plan on sending out a newsletter in the next couple of weeks where I'll reveal the cover of Valiant Heart, book 6 in the Order of the Wolf series.  It's super hot and you don't want to have to wait so get a glimpse of Lance ;-)

So if you're interested in a sneak peek, sign up for my newsletter.

HERE
That's it for now, folks. I'm sure other tid bits from the con will pop up here and there...it's just too much to process all at once. 

I'M GOING TO MY FIRST CONVENTION AS AN AUTHOR!!!!!!

BE WARNED: There are going to be a lot of exclamation points in this post.



Yes, this is totally something to pull out the FULL CAPS for!!!

I'm going to be attending the RT Convention in Dallas, Texas from May 14-17. I'll be signing copies of Wolves' Bane at the Giant Book Fair (my first signing EVER!!!) And I'll be giving away a lot of cool stuff!!!

You'll find me on official author duty giving away goodies:

on Thursday May 14 at...
10:00- 11:00 Samhain’s No Waiting Dating
AND
2:00 -2:30 Club RT
On Saturday May 16 at...
11:00 – 2:00 Giant Book Fair ROW 8 signing Wolves' Bane 
AND
6:00 – 7:45 Fan-tastic Day Party
You'll also see me around and I'd love to chat with readers so don't be shy about saying hi...just look for the long red hair and a lot of tattoos.


 In other news...
Mayhem is up for pre-order!! (August 11 release) Trust me, this one is a scorcher so you don't want to miss it. 
AmazonKoboB & N
So there it is...lots of exciting things happening! Check my tweets for updates while I'm at the convention...I plan to run some spur-of-the-moment contests while I'm there so if you're attending, be sure to check in.

And the Winner Is…..

Spell Weaver's release and blog tour was a success! Thanks to everyone who retweeted and shared over the past couple of weeks.

The winner of the prize pack is Kelsey! Congratulations! Kelsey has won signed copy of Wolves' Bane, a limited edition Order keychain and a signed bookmark!

Thanks to all of the wonderful bloggers for hosting me and helping me spread the word about my newest release. Also, thanks to Beas Book Nook for helping me run a smooth tour.

And finally, thank you to all of the readers who have purchased a copy of Spell Weaver! I really appreciate it!

Next up is Mayhem…pack alpha and super hottie. You can pre-order his book now!

AmazonKoboB & N  Release August 11, 2015! 
I guess I better get to writing the next Order book, huh? ;-) 

Spell Weaver! Release Day and Blog Tour!

It's release day for Spell Weaver! You can pick up your copy at: 
Amazon B & NKoboSamhain
I've got a blog tour starting today as well and I'm giving away a prize pack:

I'm giving away a signed copy of Wolves’ Bane, limited edition 
Order of the Wolf keychain and a signed Cursed bookmark! 
Giveaway is only open to Canadian and U.S. addresses.  



Follow the tour and read some excerpts, interviews, blog posts and a few reviews. 



April 7th  Paranormal Haven
                   Thoughts of a Scot
April 8th Manga Maniac Cafe
April 9th Rabid Reads
April 10th Musings and Ramblings
April 11th Carol Kittie Reviews
April 12th Musings of an Independent Artist
April 13th I Smell Sheep
April 14th Beas Book Nook 
I'm really excited to be sharing the next Order of the Wolf book! 
Thank you to all the readers, reviewers, and bloggers who have helped me spread the word about my series. I value your support more than I can say. 

Exciting Things!!

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions but I did say that I'd post more frequently on here so I'm sticking to my word.

I have a few exiting things to talk about.

First, I just found out that Fresh Fiction named Wolves' Bane as the Fresh Pick this week for Supernatural Thursday! Yay!

Also, I have the gorgeous cover for Mayhem which is set to release in August!




And finally, I've signed a contract for book 6 in the Order of the Wolf Series, Valiant Heart! It's set to release in November :-) This is Lance's story, folks, and I know a lot of people are very into his character.


I'm busy working on edits for Mayhem, planning my blog tour for Spell Weaver's release in April and also have a secret project in the works that's currently with my amazing beta readers. So, yeah, there's a lot of exciting things happening!

You want romance? I'll give you romance...

As you all undoubtedly know, I am not a huge fan of the Valentine's Day shenanigans. It's not that I don't like romance, I just don't like romance that's forced upon me in a contrived way and I certainly don't like romance that's overly sappy or printed on a card or teddy bear or...well, you get the idea.

My husband and I have been married for ten years. We just celebrated the big 1-0 a few months ago.
We've been together for seventeen years which is a long time of togetherness. I can be a tough person to be with. I'm stubborn, a workaholic, I can't cook well and I hate cleaning. Despite all of that, he never lets me forget that he loves me, not only in words (and recently also in text--he was a late comer to the smart phone phenomena) but also in the little things he does to make sure my life is better (my car is drivable,  the house looks nice, the way he takes care of our kids, cleans my gun, etc).

We got married here at Casa Loma. You'll look at the pictures and think fairy tale I'm sure.  I never really considered it over the top romantic until I was talking about it one day at work and was told that it was the most romantic place EVER! To me it's the place that we went on our first date (well, we sat outside actually because it was after hours) and one of many old mansions that we have toured over the years.  The point is that it's a place that means something to both of us and it's not romantic because it looks like a castle, it's romantic because it was the place that first connected us by our love of old architecture....one knot that tied us together at the very beginning which has spawned thousands of other knots over the years. So, after seventeen years of knots, we are all tied up and I couldn't imagine not having him at my side.

So there, I did a little mush just for V-Day ;-) Now where's the chocolate?

It's February! There are Contests!! Yay!

Okay, so February is kind of a blah month for me. I'm not a huge V-Day fan (although I do like chocolate) and it's typically the coldest, most dreary time of year up here in the great white North.

So, to spice things up a bit, I'm participating in two super fun blog events that have prizes to go along with them!

The first contest is happening over at E.J. Stevens Blog. For a chance to win an e-copy of Wolves' Bane, all you have to do is comment and you're entered! The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Feb. 18!

The second contest is actually a super fun Scavenger Hunt hosted by:


I've got a blog post happening on Feb. 4, all you have to do is comment over at Coffee Time Romance and More for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of Wolves' Bane! A random winner will be chosen on Feb. 12! Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you!

For a chance to win a signed paperback of Wolves' Bane, click here!

For those of you participating in the Coffee Time Romance and More scavenger hunt, your clue is below! Good luck!



I hope these festivities help brighten up the February dreariness!