Denise Grover Swank's Blog, page 25

Sacrifice blurb

Sacrifice is getting closer to publication! I've hired a developmental editor, the awesome Alison Danso, who has been a tremendous resource– even if she suggested a few major revisions. But I loved her ideas. Her main suggestion was my original intent for the book but could never figure out how to make it work. Alison did. So I'm working hard on finishing revisions and still hoping for a March release, just late March now.

Still, some things are still on schedule, like the book cover. The cover artist, the talented Laura Morrigan, needed the blurb to work on the back cover of the print book. I usually find blurbs incredibly difficult, but I had this one within a couple of hours. Tell me what you think!

 

Sacrifice

The third book in the Amazon bestselling The Chosen series by Denise Grover Swank.

She was dead.

No. She only wished she was.

Everything Emma loves has been ripped away—Jake, Will, and her unborn baby. Within minutes of confronting her new reality, Emma is thrust in the middle of a war between two supernatural beings and she's the prize. After convincing Emma that Will is dead, Raphael insists that he's the only hope for saving her son, but she resents Raphael's dangerous supernatural hold over her. After a revelation from Alex, Emma suspects the only way to escape Raphael's control is to find the fourth element—Water.

He was losing his mind.

You can't love someone you don't know.

The Vinco Potentia thinks Will knows something about a woman he doesn't remember.  Will's only memory of Emma is their few minutes together in the forest, but he is consumed with emotions for her—love and belonging. When James shows up and helps Will escape, his story seems off and Will wonders what he's hiding. So while James wants to find way to sever Will's connection to Emma, but Will's not convinced he wants to be free.

You are not bound to destiny.

The book stolen from the Vinco Potentia holds the key to a new set of rules and everyone involved will stop at nothing to get it. Torn between her destiny and her desires, Emma will face her biggest sacrifice yet.

Chosen (#1) was #1 in contemporary fantasy on Amazon.

 Hunted  (#2) was #1 in Hot New Releases on Amazon for both contemporary fantasy and romantic suspense.

Pricing in Self-Publishing

Here's my  insight into pricing self-published books and one genre: romantic suspense

For a self-published author, romantic suspense is actually a very hot, well selling genre on Amazon, which is odd since it's decreasing in print with traditional publishers. But let's look at the top 20 in romantic suspense on Amazon:

#1 is currently Golden Lies by Barbara Freethy and ranks #21 in the Kindle store. Which means it's probably selling about 3000-4000 (maybe 5000 it gets sketchy here) or more copies a day to maintain the rank. It's price is $1.99. Self published

#2 Daddy's Home by A.K. Alexander and ranks #51 in the Kindle store. It's probably selling over 1000 copies a day. It sells for $0.99 self-published

#3 is Obsession (Faces of Evil) by Debra Webb #65 in the Kindle store It sells for $0.99 self-published

#4 A "boxed set" of four previously published High Heel Mysteries by Gemma Halliday. The author got rights to her previously traditionally published series and self-pubbed it. It ranks at #86 (and probably sells about 600 copies a day to maintain that rank) and sells for $2.99 self published

#5 Loose Ends by Terri Reid, #106 in the Kindle store. It's probably selling 350-400 copies a day. Sells for $0.99 self-published

#6 Impulse by Debra Webb It's #151 in the Kindle store and sells for $2.99 self-published

#7 Wild for You (Book one) by Sophia Knightly. Ranks #155 in Kindle store and sells for $0.99 self-published

#8 Deadly Desires by Ann Christopher Ranks #157 and sells for $1.99 HOWEVER it's usual selling price is $5.99 and is published by Kensington NOTE: this the first book on the list from a traditional publisher AND it's price has been slashed. traditionally published/price slashed

#9 Secrets, Love and Lies by Rosanne Dowell ranks #220 and sells for $2.99. Two things to note: Ms. Dowell has other published books AND this book just came off a Free listing. It was offered for free for an unknown number of days. When this happens, typically books jump from free to higher up in the ranks, then fall– sometimes quite quickly. (It has to do with Amazon algorithms) It would be interesting to check the rank of this book in a couple of days. self-published

#10 Silent Witness (Book two in a series) by Rebecca Forster ranks #222 and sells for $2.99. self-published

The first REAL traditionally published, full price book we find on the list is #12– The Witness by Dee Henderson. It ranks #302 and sells for $8.99. It was released in Feb 2006 by Tyndale Press. It was recently listed for free (you can see this in the "also boughts" most of the books in there are priced $0.00, a sure sign the book has come off a free promo.) Traditionally published

RS ranks #13 -#19 are ALL self-published and sell for $0.99 to $3.49 (Barbara Feethy)

Sidenote: #19 is Chosen by Denise Grover Swank >grin< and ranks #526 and sells for $0.99. I sold 150 copies of Chosen yesterday to maintain that rank. self-published

#20 Fearless in High Heels (part of High Heel Mystery series) by Gemma Halliday is #533 in the Kindle store. It sells for $4.99 and it's interesting to note that this is the ONLY book $4.99 or higher on the top 20 to be there without benefit of a free promotion. self-published

So, what have we learned?

1) Romantic suspense on Amazon is dominated by self-published authors.

2) Almost all are low priced:

Seven $0.99 books
Three are $1.99
Seven are $2.99
One is $3.49
One is $4.99
One is $8..99
The last three book are anomalies.

Most traditionally published books often peak on the list then quickly fall.One can hypothesize that it's because of price given the above statistics.

But here's the problem for self-published authors: On books selling less than $2.99, the author only receives 35%. So for every book I sell of Chosen I make $0.35. At $2.99 and higher, the author can choose to opt into 70% (I have no idea why someone wouldn't, but it's an option.) The author get 70% plus a small "delivery" fee for each book sold. I make $2.04 on Hunted and $2.05 on Here. (It has to do with the size of the file.) One exception to receiving 70%: when the book is sold to a few foreign countries, I only receive 35%.

So it's obvious that I sell more books at a lower price, but I make more money at $2.99 or more. What's the best price?

There's no one price fits all solutions. The author has to decide their primary and secondary objectives. My primary objective when I published my first two books was to establish myself in the publishing world. I wanted readers to take a chance on an unknown, debut author. I wanted my name to be recognized. My theory was that I would gain readers and develop a core reader base. My secondary objective was to make a living selling books.

Some self-published authors say they won't "give their books" away and price them $4.99 or more. And that's fine. That's their choice. Let's say an author who sells an ebook titled Sunny Days on Amazon for $4.99 is making around $3.42 a book. I have to sell 10 copies of Chosen to make as much as one book of Sunny Days. But Chosen is #19 on the romantic suspense list and #7 on the contemporary fantasy list. Amazon is promoting Chosen and Hunted (it ranks #33 on the romantic suspense list and #24 on the contemporary fantasy list) and I don't have to do a thing. It recommends it to buyers based on their previously purchased books.

My young adult book Here has only hit the top 100 in young adult fantasy/science fiction once and not long enough to catch onto the Amazon algorithms so it struggles to maintain sales. (I sell from 15-20 copies of Here a day.)

So let's say that Sunny Days is like my book Here and sells 15 copies a day. For an unknown author, I would think that would be on the high side. Most higher priced ebooks I come across have overall rankings in the thousands, which means they are probably lucky to sell one or two books a week. But we'll be generous to Sunny Days and give it 15 sales a day. And then we'll say that Chosen sells 150 copies a day.

One day's profit:

Sunny Days– 15 books at $3.42= $51.50

Chosen — 150 books at $0.35= $52.20

It's nearly equal profit.

And let's be realistic. Chosen will fall. It is falling. It's a fact of life. It's expected. Sunny Days might maintain it's 15 sales a day for eternity. My book Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes consistently sells an average of 30 books a day and has for four months. My hope is that Chosen and Hunted will do the same and by that time, I'll have new books released that with any luck at all, will hit the top 20 of their genres.

But in the meantime, thousands of more readers will know my name. I've sold 18,000 copies of Chosen in four months. At 15 books a day, Sunny Days will have sold 1830. Authors are sick to death of hearing about branding themselves, but if the author wants to make a living writing books, they need to build a base of readers. The first way to do that is write a good book, and let's hope at this point that's a given. But the author has to get the reader to take a chance on their book.

All that being said, I plan to raise the price of Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes in March. I will debut a new cover and the book has 48 reviews on Amazon with an average rating of 4.7. It's established and I think it will tolerate a price hike to $2.99. At the moment, I also plan for all my future books to be priced at $2.99. I believe that I will be able to make a living writing by pricing my books at this price point and still catch the eye of the price-conscious book buyer.

Bottom line: pricing books is subjective. It all boils down to the author's objective.

Failure

Warning:  The author is blatantly honest in this post.

As December drew to a close and I spent every moment possible editing Sacrifice, the Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge taunted me every time I signed on. "You have read 46 books of your 52 books. You need six more books to complete your goal."

What's a Goodreads Reading Challenge? At the beginning of the year, you can challenge yourself to read a specific number of books. I picked 52 last year. I probably read that the previous year anyway. I just hadn't recorded it. Besides, if your a writer, you need to be reading. Since I can easily read a book in a day or two, it seemed easy enough.

Then I published four books in six months, as well as writing a first draft and editing TWO books in that time period.

(The fact that I'm insane has already been established in previous blog posts.)

No big deal, right? So I didn't get those six books read.  Let it go. Only I couldn't. I saw those six books as a sign of failure. I set a goal and I didn't achieve it.

Plaster a scarlet F on my chest.

December was a huge month for The Chosen series. Chosen was in the top 5 of contemporary fantasy on Amazon the entire month. It was #1 for one and a half weeks. The rest of the time it was usually two or three. Chosen was also in the top 10 of romantic suspense the entire month, spending several days in the #4 position.  Chosen climbed into the top 100 of overall Kindle sales for three days, hitting as high as #81. The day Hunted released it debuted on both top 100 lists for contemporary fantasy and romantic suspsense. Hunted was #1 New Release for both contemporary fantasy and romantic suspense at the same time for a week and climbed as high as #5 in contemporary fantasy and #8 in romantic suspense.

Sounds like I'm bragging, right?

I'm so proud of those stats. Beyond thrilled. Yet I feel like a failure. If Chosen were better would it have stayed in the top 100 in overall Kindle sales longer? If it were better would it still  have gotten a few one and two star reviews? If Chosen were better, wouldn't the sales of Hunted have been higher?

I've spent most of my life as an over-achiever, my own worst critic.  I compare myself to others. I sometimes hold myself to impossible standards. I make no secret of the fact that I'm driven. I wouldn't be right here, right now if I wasn't.

But sometimes I'm my own worst enemy.

Every book I write gets harder. The anxiety is overwhelming, the fear of failure taunts me with every word I put on the page. I thought that the more I learned, the more books I wrote, I would become more confident. My previous successful books would prove to me that I could do this. Instead, I wonder if this is the book that falls flat. If this is my personal version of season three of Battlestar Galactica.*

I took last week off, a much needed rest. I still did some business work but no writing or editing was allowed. I planned to start writing Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons on Tuesday, but when I started writing doubts raced through my head. Is this scene too forced? Is this funny enough? Am I really in Rose's voice?  I began to doubt my plot, doubt my voice, doubt my ability to write the book.

I was frozen with fear.

I wondered why it couldn't be like writing Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes. That manuscript was pure joy from the moment I began to the day I wrote The End thirty days later. Rose took charge and plunged through that book so quickly I could hardly keep up. And I let her. I held on tight, rubbed my wrists when carpal tunnel began to set in, and let her go. What happened was pure magic. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes was like getting struck by lightning, in a good way if that's possible.

And then last night I had a light bulb moment.

Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes was fun because I let it be. I gave Rose control with no agenda, no deadlines, no expectations. The book was barely plotted. Parts were as much of a surprise to me as they were to readers. Rose rambled. She's a true southern girl, complete with run on sentences. And I let her. I let her say what she wanted to say, the way she said it. It's no wonder I began speaking with a southern accent. A twenty-four year old Arkansan woman lived in my head. I let her go off on wild tangents, say the most random things. It was her story and she was telling it. My job was to put it on the page.  There was a time to clean it up, but first draft wasn't that time. The multiple revisions and edits that came later would take care of that.

Last night I realized that in this one thing, I need to let go. I need to trust Rose and let her tell her story. I need to stuff my worry in a tin can and bury it in the backyard. The first draft is going to be messy and I need to let it be.

I need to have fun.

And so I made a pact with my crit partner last night. We are both going to write messy, beastly first drafts and we will read them without judgement. There is no wrong. There is no stupid. There is only ways to make it better.

For the first time in a very long time I feel like a weight has been removed. I can breath a little easier and I feel a little freer. I'm excited to get back into Rose's head. Still, I know my doubts will return. I'm not naive enough to think this single proclamation will hold the anxiety monsters at bay. But it's a start. I plan to take this one day at time. One step at a time. One word at a time. Until I write The End.

 

*I spent most of my week off watching Battlestar Galactica on Netflix. I LOVED the first two seasons but have spent the first eight episodes of season three asking, "What happened to this awesome show?"

 

Winter Indie Book Fair

Did you find a new Kindle, Nook, or iPad under the Christmas tree? Browse the Indie Book Fair and find a new ebook to break in that reader!

These great new books were released Nov 2011-Feb 2012 by Indie authors, priced right so that taking a chance on a new author doesn't have to break your wallet. (Check out last fall's previous Internet Book Fair for other great Indie finds.)

[Indie = self-publishedor small-publisher, for the purposes of this post]

Note: Links are given for Amazon, but most authors publish across all e-book formats. Click on the author's name for additional purchasing options, including paper copies.

For Your Browsing Pleasure

Contemporary (Adult)

Build a Man by Talli Roland (Chick Lit) 

Slave

to the rich, rude and deluded, cosmetic surgery receptionist Serenity Holland

longs for the day she's a high-flying tabloid reporter. Unfortunately, every

pitch she sends out disappears like her clients' liposuctioned fat, never to be

seen again. Then she meets Jeremy Ritchie — the hang-dog man determined to be

Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor by making himself over from head to toe and

everything in between — giving Serenity a story no editor could

resist. With London's biggest tabloid on board and her very own column

tracking Jeremy's progress from dud to dude, Serenity is determined to be a

success, even going undercover to gain intimate access to Jeremy's life. But

when Jeremy's surgery goes drastically wrong and Serenity is ordered to cover

all the car-crash goriness, she must decide how far she really will go for her

dream job. $0.99

on Amazon

The

Golden Sky by Elisa

Hirsch (Memoir) 

The

night I met Cade I never would've thought that two years later, after we

were homeless street musicians in Hawaii, we would have a little girl and

another baby on the way.  Our son was born with the type of birth

defects that make televangelists cringe. The "death home" gave him a really

nice funeral, the kind I'd never wished to attend. We lost it after that,

totally cemented in our grief.  Cade got into drugs, joined a rock

and roll band, and I kicked him out of the house. That was how I met: Earl

(an old man and unlikely best friend), the "big sag" (a middle aged woman

who still flashed folks), Todda (the stripper next door), and Chris

(a cowboy who fell in love with me). It wasn't until I killed a rogue

skunk, and my daughter nearly choked on a fry, that I gave my husband

another chance.  But could our marriage recover from the death of our

son? $2.99 onAmazon

Someone

Else's Fairytale by E.M. Tippetts (Contemporary Romance) 

Jason

Vanderholt is the hottest actor under thirty with legions of screaming fans.

Chloe Winters is a college student who hasn't gotten around to watching most of

his movies. When they meet by chance, he is smitten, but it just

isn't her fairytale. In fact, it could be her worst nightmare as her past,

attracted by the bright lights of the media, comes back to haunt her.$0.99 on Amazon

Historical Romance

(Adult)

The Duke's Divorce by Anne Gallagher Available late January 2012

A

simple trip to the Scottish Highlands finds the Duke of Cantin with a bride he

does not want.  With her impeccable beauty and fiery disposition, Fiona

takes Society by storm.  As their prearranged divorce proceedings draw

near, can Fiona change his mind? Check author's website.

Literary Fiction

String Bridge by Jessica Bell 

Greek cuisine, smog and

domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting

when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to

play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a 'proper' career

and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and

plots a return to the stage—and the person she used to be. However, the

obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that

awaits … $6.99

on Amazon ALSO:  Music Sample!

Mystery

Sherwood Ltd. by Anne R. Allen

Sherwood. The name immediately

conjures up images of Richard Greene, Michael Praed and Russell Crowe. Or maybe

that sly fox in the Disney version. Only, in Anne R. Allen's latest rom-com

mystery the fox is a coyote and there's no Robin Hood. Or is there? In her

usual inimitable fashion Allen peels back the layers, one hilarious subplot

after another, until you just never know what's real and what's not. Rather

like the Robin Hood legend. When the Manners Doctor, Camilla Randall, flies

into Robin Hood airport with a suitcase in one hand and a book contract in the

other she thinks she's leaving all her problems behind and is about to start a

new life. If you look very carefully you may just spot the Sheriff of

Nottingham, Maid Marian and even Little John hidden away. But as for Robin Hood

himself… You'll just have to read it and find out.  $2.99

on Amazon

Short Stories and

Anthologies

The Initiate (Cloud

Prophet Trilogy) by  Megg Jensen (YA Fantasy)

Over

a thousand years ago, the gods left Eloh's people and took their magic with

them. To win back their favor, her people sacrifice ten female initiates every

ten years. No has ever survived. There has never been a Chosen One. Forced into

becoming an initiate, Eloh will try to find a way to beat the odds, stay with

her boyfriend, and survive the fires that threaten to consume her. But will her

lack of faith in the gods and her disbelief in their magic doom her to a

painful death? $0.99 on Amazon

Eight by Karly Kirkpatrick (YA Paranormal Short Story Collection)

Prepare

to be thrilled and chilled by Kirkpatrick's eight short tales in EIGHT. These

eight stories, while short, pack a big punch. There are demon spirits, zombies,

and even some human baddies. Each story comes complete with author's

commentary. It also includes the previously unreleased short Grenades. $0.99

on Amazon

{CoverComingSoon} In His Eyes by The Indelibles (YA Anthology) – Available February 14th

Just

in time for Valentines Day, The Indelibles bring you a one-of-a-kind young

adult anthology! Twenty original short stories, all from the point of view of

our favorite male characters – some are old flames from our novels and some

were dreamed up especially for this anthology. Let these imminently crushable,

swoon-worthy guys show you what romance looks like – in his eyes. Add to Goodreads

TBR

The contributors to IN HIS EYES include

award winners, frequent "Top 100" placers, and hot 2011 debut authors: S.R. Wells, C.K.

Bryant, Elle Strauss, Susan Kaye Quinn, Jessie Harrell, Magan Vernon, Lisa

Nowak, Heather McCorkle, RaShelle Workman, Ali Cross, Karen Amanda Hooper, Cory

Putman Oakes, Laura Pauling, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, Sarra Cannon, Katie Klein,

Cheri Lasota

Transcendent: Tales of

the Paranormal by

Lani Woodland, Melonie Piper, Rita Webb, Wendy Swore, Melanie Marks, Heather McCubbin and Evan Joseph (YA Anthology)

Discover the secrets of a siren, fly with a hawk

girl over the mountains of Montana, and flee supernatural party-crashers as the

décor comes to life in this magical journey through paranormal stories. Along

the way, watch for ghosts in a haunted house, or ride through the moonlight

with a stranger. Save a comatose boy who has lost his soul, and don't forget to

bring your garlic and wolfsbane—you never know when the shadows will snag you. Transcendent

includes eight stories of magic, love, death, and choice by some of the newest

names in young adult fiction.$0.99

on Amazon

 

Young Adult

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn (Paranormal/Science Fiction) 

When everyone reads

minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep. Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone

who can't read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can't be

trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best

friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf's mind and nearly

kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and

an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she's dragged

deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone

she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her. $2.99 on Amazon

Bound by C.K. Bryant (Paranormal Romance) 

When a photo shoot ends

in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia,has been keeping a secret.

Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira's life forever and thrust

her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What

happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and

the shape-shifting warrior she's falling in love with. No longer the timid

mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and

physical strength to endure and survive. $3.99 on Amazon

Become by Ali Cross (YA Urban Fantasy)

Sixteen-year old

Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it's cold and

lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she's sent back to Earth where she

Becomes the evil she despises and the good she always feared. When Desi is

forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her Choice has been made—that

she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has

created her to be. What she doesn't count on, is a reason to want to

change—something she's never had before—a friend. $3.99

on Amazon

Exiled by RaShelle Workman (YA SF Romance) 

Worlds

divided them. Chance brought them together. Only love will save them.

An alien princess exiled to Earth. An arrogant boy. One week to get back to her

planet or she'll die. And, her only chance for survival? She must help the boy

find his soul mate.

Piece of cake! $0.99

on Kindle

The Secret of Spruce

Knoll by Heather McCorkle (Urban Fantasy)

Following

the tragic death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll

to live with an aunt she's never met. Little does Eren know the entire

town of Spruce Knoll is filled with "channelers"—a magical group of

people who immigrated to the small Colorado town when they

were driven out of their own lands. Channelers are tied to the fate

of the world. As the world slowly dies, so do they—and they alone

have the power to stop the destruction of Earth. Soon, Eren learns

she not only lives among them, but she is one. When she meets local boy Aiden,

his charm convinces her that being a channeler may not be all bad though. $4.99 on

Amazon

Destined by Jessie Harrell (Retelling) 

When

Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most

beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with

the one creature even the gods fear. As she feels herself slipping closer into

the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender

touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to

expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined. $0.99 on Amazon

Darkspell by Elizabeth Mueller (Paranormal Romance) 

Winter Sky believes she

is everything ordinary . . . until she is kissed by Alex Stormhold. As

seer of Stormhold Coven, Alex is sworn to be Winter's protector against the

darkness that hunts her.  Violently thrust into a magickal realm she

always thought impossible, she stumbles upon a disturbing secret of her own.

Will love prove thicker than magick? $3.99 on Amazon

Untraceable by S. R. Johannes (Thriller) 

Grace has lived in the

Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her

about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival. When her dad goes missing on a routine

patrol, Grace refuses to believe he's dead and fights the town authorities,

tribal officials, and nature to find him. One day, while out tracking clues,

Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a

secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace

travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father. Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and

lives. Soon she's enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And

it's going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer)

for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves. $2.99

on Amazon

 

Rival Demons (Book 5 of

the Peachville High Demons Series) by Sarra Cannon (Paranormal Romance) Available January 20th

After narrowly escaping death at

the hands of the Order of Shadows, Harper finds herself thrust into the strange

and beautiful world of the shadow demons. But crossing through the portal

doesn't mean she is safe. The Order of Shadows is determined to bring her home

and transfer the Prima line to the Harris family. They send their most vicious

hunters after Harper. Hunters who will not stop until they have found their

prey. Determined to keep her safe, Jackson takes her deep into an underground

world filled with dangers of its own. Here, Harper will begin a journey that

will teach her more about herself and her own path than she ever imagined

possible. Add

to Goodreads TBR

The Legend of Victor

Standish: Under a Voodoo Moon by Roland D. Yeomans (Urban Fantasy/Romance) 

Can love kill? Yes

… if you love a ghoul who hungers for your flesh only slightly less than she

does your heart.  Yet to the lonely street orphan Victor Standish, who has

risked his life for a meal, to find love (even for one magical French Quarter

night) is worth dying in the morning. $2.99 on Amazon All profits go to the Salvation Army.

Getting Sideways (Book 2 in the Full Throttle Series) by Lisa Nowak (Contemporary) 

Getting shipped off to live with his

uncle Race was the best thing that ever happened to fifteen-year-old Cody. Then

a wreck at the speedway nearly ruined everything. Cody's making every effort to

get his life back on track—writing for the school paper, searching for the

perfect girlfriend, and counting the days until he gets his drivers'

license—but there's no escaping the nightmares that haunt him. A

chance to build his own car seems like the perfect distraction. Until Cody

realizes he'll have to live up to Race's legendary status. But that's the least

of his worries, considering he doesn't have his dad's permission. All he has to

do is the impossible: keep Race from discovering his lie until he can convince his dad that racing's safe. Yeah, sure. That'll

be easy. $3.99

on Amazon

Tangled Tides by Karen Hooper (Sea Monster Memoirs) 

Yara

Jones doesn't believe in sea monsters—until she becomes one. When a hurricane

hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up

in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides

believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the

sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be

done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more

precious. Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at

nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people—until he falls for Yara.

The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and

the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process—or she

might open the gateway to a love that's deeper than the oceans. $4.99

on Amazon

Here by Denise Grover Swank (SF Romance)

Sixteen

year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend

Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new

talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and

Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can

explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the

accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before. Classmate Evan Whittaker paid

Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he's

volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that

his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he

wears a pendant she's been drawing for months. When the police show up one

night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that

Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he's really

from.  $2.99 on Amazon

The Veil by  Cory

Putman Oakes (Paranormal Romance)

Seventeen-year-old

Addison Russell is in for a shock when she discovers that she can see the

invisible world of the Annorasi.  Suddenly, nothing is as it appears to

be—the house she lives in, the woman who raised her, even the most beautiful

boy in town all turn out to be more than what they seem.  And when this

strange new world forces Addy to answer for a crime that was committed long

ago, by parents she has never known, she has no choice but to trust Luc, the

mysterious Annorasi who has been sent to protect her.  Or so he says . . .

$7.99

on Amazon

Embrace by Cherie Colyer (Paranormal Romance)

Madison

is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took

her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly

hate her. It's responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other

mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her

luck is about to improve. Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and

intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he's a guy harboring a secret,

but she's willing to risk the unknown to be with him. Her world really spins out of control, however, when

her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren't there and

desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can't find the

answers, Madison seeks her own. Nothing can prepare her for what

she is about to discover. $6.99

on Amazon

Onyx Talisman by Brenda Pandos (Paranormal Romance)

Unrest stirs deep in Scotts Valley. Filled with

uncertainty, Julia anxiously awaits Nicholas' return. Phil, holds the pieces of

Julia's fragile psyche together, secretly hoping Nicholas stays away forever.

But Alora secretly conspires to reclaim her talisman and strip Julia of

everything she holds dear. Little

do they know, a war is coming and more than one vampire would like to see the

Prince of Vampires overthrown. Can Julia bargain with fate? Find out how it all

ends in this explosive grand finale of The Talisman Trilogy. $3.99 on Amazon

How

to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon (Science Fiction)

High

school senior Alex Bianchi's estranged father gets her an internship at Circe

Operations Center to pad her college applications. But Circe isn't your typical

military base. It's an alien-run operation center and not all of the aliens are

friendly, especially the one that tries to kill Alex on her first day. When

Ace, a dark-eyed Caltian, enters and saves the day, she can't help but be drawn

to him. Can these star-crossed lovers survive when they're on the brink of

intergalactic war? $2.99

on Amazon

Fireseed

One by  Catherine Stine (Science Fiction/Thriller)

Fireseed One is a

journey into a tricked-out near-future earth where 18 year-old Varik has

inherited a vast ocean farm, following the suspicious drowning of his Marine

biologist father. When Marisa, a beautiful and devious terrorist, destroys the

world's food source, Varik is forced to travel to a lethal hotzone, teeming

with dangerous nomads and a strange cult to search for a magical hybrid plant

that may not even exist. The catch? He must take Marisa along, the only person

who seems to know way, way too much key information.  $2.99 on Amazon

 

The Missing by M.A. Leslie (Paranormal)

Eight-year-old, Ethan Doyle is just a normal kid whose biggest problem in life was to fight for the attention of his busy parents from his older twin siblings. But, after his aunt and uncle tragically die, his family takes in his teenage cousin, Kelsey, and moves to a spooky old, manor house in a new town. At first, everything seems fine, but when he begins to see and speak to a spirit named Lucas, his biggest problem becomes, just staying alive. Lucas was ten years old when the spirits of the house came to him and asked him for help setting their spirits free. Unfortunately, he never made the deadline and as a result the spirits took him and made him a part of the house as well. As he soon finds out, the only way he can save his own soul is to save the souls of the missing boys in the house. With his own deadline in place, Ethan enlists the help of his cousin Kelsey to solve the twenty-year-old mystery of THE MISSING. $0.99 on Amazon

 

Princess Kandake by Stephanie Jefferson (Fantasy) Available February 1, 2012

In Nubia a woman can be whatever she chooses. At 14,

Kandake knows exactly what she chooses…Prime Warrior of Nubia. But her

grandmother has said that she will follow her father on the throne. Refusing to

abandon her warrior dreams she continues to train. When her brother is kidnapped,

Kandake learns she must be both queen and warrior to win his release! See Author's Website 

Middle Grade

Blink of a Dragon by 

Chosen: Live Chat on Tuesday, January 3

On Tuesday, January 3 at 6:30 PST, Indie Elite is hosting a chat so readers of Chosen can chatwith me and ask questions about the book.  There's no registration, but if you follow the link below, you can sign up to get a reminder sent to you a day or hours before.  I'd love for you all to attend! (Someone please show up! LOL) However, if you haven't read the book, we will be discussing scenes from the book and spoilers will be flying.

Also, a word of warning: I'm pretty chatty.

The link to the room is here:  http://theindieelite.blogspot.com/p/live-chats.html

See you Tuesday night!

Jolyn's Blog Blitz

Did you ever get a song stuck in your head? Or part of one? How did you get it out? Did you avoid the song at all costs in the blind hope it would stop hammering you into submission? Or did you listen to the song over, and over, and over, until you were so obsessed that all you could think about was that delicious, devilish little laugh….er, what was I saying? (Right. Song stuck in my head. Ahh…I mean, your head.) Now, I know this has happened to every person reading this post, so I'm hoping you'll relate to my little story here.

Let me give you some background. In October, I released Connected (Twists of Fate #1), and here's a brief description of the story: A rock group's rhythm guitarist, Rhys Alexander, dies and finds himself bound inside the body of a woman he's never met. Can she help him move on to the other side, or will he end up finding the love of his life…after his has already ended?

For a time, I had this for free on Wattpad (where I posted as I wrote it). And several readers asked me how in the world I came up with the concept. The short answer was 'By taking the longest route possible.' The more involved answer is this…

It all started with a song—Imagine that, huh?—which began with a synthesized-sounding guitar and a sinful, maniacal laugh that made my gut quiver. (Yes, I do realize this may be an issue I need to fully address later.) It was Disturbed's "Inside The Fire". Add a little Framing Hanley (with that oh-so-sexy voice), and Tavion, lead singer of the band Persevere, was born. And what kind of woman would knock a strapping rock star to his knees? Why, a best-selling author, of course.

So here I had two people who worked in the entertainment industry, but were worlds apart. What could possibly bring them together? The answer seemed so simple, really: Fate. Then my next though was "What if Fate was a living, sometimes-breathing, entity? What an interesting point-of-view that would be!" And it spiraled from there. I dug deep into the protag, Devan (the name of the girl in Disturbed's song), and put pieces of me and my personality into the mix. Naturally, then I had to mock myself and my works along the way. (i.e., Suddenly Impending Reprisals became Devan's masterpiece, and guess what…it made it all the way to the NYT Bestsellers list! Way to go, Devan!!)

Now, the question was 'What inspired me to write Connected', and so far, I'm telling you how I started writing Twisted (Book 2). Yeah, well, I'm getting there. (Remember how I said it was the longest route possible?)

So there I was, writing Twisted and having a hell of a time. And then the unthinkable happened (insert suspenseful music here)…I got writer's block. I'm talking a stint of writer's block that could only have originated from the deepest, most vile and sulfuric, bowels of Hell. And, man, was it stubborn! Over a year went by before I picked it up again, and even then it wasn't because I came up with a grand master plan, or that my head was swimming with ideas. No. It was simply because I missed my characters. So I started to reread/revise/edit the 30K words I had written, hoping it would shake something loose. Enter: two new inspirations.

The first was the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. In the series, paired up mates can sense each other's emotions and I got to wondering "What would that be like?"

The next piece of inspiration came from Avenged Sevenfold (A7X). I was studying up on rock bands for Twisted (and can A7X ever ROCK!!), and checking out the band members (*drool*) and it inspired a new character—Rhys.

From Ione and A7X blossomed Connected (finally!) where Rhys' spirit was stuck inside Addison (my protag), and they could sense each other's emotions.

But I had one problem. I absolutely REFUSED to walk away from Twisted again. Soooo…how could I use this? Well, first of all, Rhys couldn't be a lead singer since that's what Tavion is. And secondly, I wanted this to be a fast-hitting novella used to compliment Twisted's story. What I needed was a supporting member of the band… Hello, Rhys, my luscious rhythm guitarist!

But then I had another problem. (Because I needed more, right?) I couldn't picture Rhys in Tavion's band, Persevere, which is a more mature, established group. No, he belonged with some just-making-it-big band that wasn't afraid to play with the formula, to take chances, and was just enjoying the ride and what life had to offer. He belonged with the guys of Black Codex.

Then problem #3: How did Black Codex and Persevere tie in to each other? I mean, if Connected leads into Twisted, they have to know each other somehow, right? Well, as luck would have it, they're all friends. (Who knew?!) Eh, okay, so actually two members from Black Codex are brothers and they grew up with a guy from Persevere, so, by association, they became friends. (It's all in the details, right?)

All right. Now what? I didn't want to introduce Fate (my sassy, capricious entity) in Connected even though he's definitely hard at work behind the scenes. It would've been too distracting from the plot, and I had plenty to maneuver already! (Hello…dead rock star stuck in some chicks head!!) So what I did was plot Connected so it all occurs during the same timeframe as the first half of Twisted. Perfect! Then when people read Twisted, they'll get all the behind-the-scenes-extras that were going on in Connected that either 1) I didn't have time for, or 2) I couldn't smoothly transition in.

At the end of my long-ass journey, not only did I have Connected, but I shook myself loose on Twisted…aaand came up with storylines for the other eight band members. (I'll spare you the details on those. LOL) Thusly, the Twists of Fate series was born.

So, let me ask you again: Did you ever get a song stuck in your head…?

For more information on the Twists of Fate series: http://jolynpalliata.wordpress.com/ro...

Twists of Fate series Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Twis...

To purchase Connected (Twists of Fate #1): http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_...

Savvy Authors Chat: Self-Publishing Myths

Savvy Authors (www.savvyauthors.com) asked Trish McCallan to chair an online chat about self-publishing. What makes Trish qualified to lead this chat? She released her book Forged in Fire in September and hit #5 in the top 100 romantic suspense list on Amazon and stayed in the top 10 for four weeks. Trish's first book has been so successful, she quit her job to write full time. This woman knows her stuff. She studied sales and rankings months before she released her book. Trust me, you want to hear what she has to say!

Imagine my surprise when Trish asked ME to co-chair the chat with her to discuss Self-Publishing Myths.

You can join us both on Thursday, December 29th 9:00 p.m. EST. Savvy Authors is taking registration for this event.

Winners of My Favorite Things Giveaway!!!

Thank you to EVERYONE who participated in this giveaway. I know how hard it is to write a review and the time you spent to do this for me has not gone unnoticed. I wish I could give every single one of you a prize. Sigh. But I can't. So without further ado– the winners!!!

Collection of all four eBooks: # 173 Marcy Theriault Dunaway for her review of Here on Facebook

Collection of autographed print copies of all four books: #205 Avery at Avery's Book Nook for her review of  Here on Tumblr

$20 Starbucks gift card: #161  Marcy Theriault Dunaway  for her review of  Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes on Facebook.

$20 Barnes & Noble gift card: #24 Kay Bratt for her review of Here  on Amazon (She got five extra entries for that review)

And the winner of the Kindle Fire: —————–

How about a video interlude of Emma drawing the winners?

(TO COME there were technical difficulties with this video. Like it's sideways. And I've covered the mike for a good portion of it. Video editing is required.)

(The video is more to show that this was a truly random drawing.)

The winner of the Kindle Fire is #142 Carey Westerfield for her review of Hunted on Amazon!!!!!!!!

(She had received five extra entries for being one of the first ten reviews of Hunted on Amazon.)

Congratulations to the winners! Thanks to everyone for participating! I wouldn't have sold 5000 books of Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes and so close to 10,000 books of Chosen if you all hadn't read my books and then told your friends that you loved them!  ALL of you have helped share my books with the world.

Thank you.

 

Look What's #1– Chosen!

This is truly a dream come true! Chosen has been chasing the number one spot for over a week. Rankings change every hour, but I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can. And at the risk of sounding obnoxious, this isn't just for the Kindle store. This is ALL contemporary fantasy books, print and Kindle combined.

P.S. Hunted is STILL #1 in Hot New Releases on Amazon for both contemporary fantasy AND romantic suspense!

Here– On Tour with Chick Lit Plus

I'm on another fantastic blog tour with Chick Lit Plus! I just can't say enough wonderful things about Chick Lit Plus tours– from Samantha Robey, the coordinator, to the bloggers, and the INCREDIBLE boost in sales for both Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes and Chosen. My previous experiences have been more than I could hope for!

My first stop on the tour is at none other than the Chick Lit Plus site– a fabulous five star review! Samantha said, " I was so excited to host Denise again – for the third time – because her writing is truly phenomenal. The worlds she creates, the characters that will stick with you, and the way I can just not close her books has made her one of my top authors of 2011."