Kelley York's Blog, page 8
August 25, 2012
New Release: LUCKY BREAK by Kelley Vitollo
Hey, guys! Today my crit partner/good friend is having an AWESOME reveal. Not just for her cover, but for the actual RELEASE of her romance novella, LUCKY BREAK. It's one of the books in Entangled Publishing's launch of their Bliss line. So not only is it amazing, it's on a debut line, to boot!
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Check it out on Amazon HERE!
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One lucky break is all struggling actress Sidney Williams needs. But when living the LA life becomes too much, she heads back to the small town of Shamrock Falls for the vacation she needs to get her life on track—and immediately runs into Kade Mitchell, her former best friend and the boy next door she’s always regretted leaving behind.
Kade, the new owner of Lucky’s—once the most popular bar in Shamrock Falls—is determined to bring the place back to its former glory, and seeing Sidney again is a distraction he doesn’t need. Sure, the chemistry between them is explosive, but Kade can’t let himself fall into a fling with his best friend—not when he knows she’s soon heading back to the glitter of Tinseltown.
Now, with the possibility of her first major acting role looming, Sidney must decide if her lucky break is in Hollywood or right where she left it—in Shamrock Falls.
Check it out on Amazon HERE!
August 23, 2012
Paranormal Drinking Game: Hollowed
Jolene Perry asked if I wanted to do this with her, and it looked like fun. In fact, I recall seeing this list ages ago and getting a kick out of it, but forgot all about it.
The point of this is to take the list, which contains a bunch of overused young adult paranormal tropes, and see how your book stacks up against them. I'm going to copy/paste the entire list, and highlight anything I'm guilty of in red.
~
* If your main character is a teenage girl, take a drink.
Yep. Briar is in her late teens, out of high school...but still a teenager.
* If your main character moves to a new town or starts at a new school toward the beginning of your novel – or is returning to a town or place of residence she hasn’t been to in many years – take a drink.
SAFE on this one. Briar lives in the same apartment with her same roommate in the same city she did for months before the book begins.
* If one or both of your main character’s parents are dead, missing, or otherwise out of the picture, take a drink. If this is the backstory to why she’s moved (see previous point), take two drinks.
Iffy on this one. Briar's parents are together, and are mentioned frequently, but are never directly seen because she lives away from home.
* If the majority or entirety of your book takes place in a boarding school for teens with magical powers, pour one drink for each named character enrolled at said school, and drink all of them in rapid succession. Repeat until liver fails.
Safe again!
* If your main character fulfills ALL of the following: white, able-bodied, heterosexual, vaguely non-denominational Christian and/or agnostic, take a drink.
Iffy on this, too. Briar fits all—except she's a strict atheist.
* If there is a love triangle in your novel, finish your drink and pour another. Or a love any-geometric-object-with-MORE-than-three-points. (Ha, you thought you were being sneaky! Drink, motherfucker!)
Nope, nope, nope. No triangle, nor do I plan on one later.
* If there are vampires and/or werewolves in your novel, dial emergency services, step away from the screen, and play Edward 40-hands with yourself until the ambulance arrives.
Well, kind of caught on this one...
* If either your main character or her love interest are over 100 years old, take a drink.
Safe again!
* If either your main character or her love interest are enrolled in high school for the second (or third or fourth or or or…) time as a result of their age, take two drinks. Yes, L.J. Smith and Stephanie Meyer, you may be excused to go to the bathroom.
No school involved here.
* If your main character is a redhead, take a drink.
Briar changes her hair color. She's a natural blonde, but in this book, it's dyed red. In fact, it was originally dyed black, but I changed it because I couldn't find an appropriate cover image.
* If your main character comes into superpowers at some point, take a drink.
She turns into a vampire, so...obviously.
* If your main character’s acquiring of supernatural powers is due to either her reaching the appropriate but totally arbitrary age, and/or a paranormal family legacy to which she is totally ignorant, take a drink.
Safe!
* If your main character only acquires supernatural powers as a result, somehow, of her love interest, take two drinks.
Safe again!
* If there is a supernatural reason why your main character and her love interest cannot make sexy times, take a drink.
Noah being a bag of dicks isn't a supernatural reason.
* If your love interest is a quintessential bad boy who has never shown emotional interest in any girl before Protagonist sweeps into town, take a drink.
I'll say "safe." Prior to the book, Noah's a sweet guy. And he's been involved with girls before. (Quite seriously, too.)
* If your main character is both strangely attracted to yet superficially repelled by Love Interest, take a drink.
Nope.
* If there is a supernatural reason why their romance is pre-determined and/or inevitable, take three drinks.
Nope!
* If Love Interest’s expressions of affection could, at any point, be mistaken for stalking and/or psychologically unstable behavior, take a drink.
Safe again.
* If there are other people in the world with the same ability as your main character, but she is or becomes the best at it despite having her powers for only a short time, take a drink.
Briar will never, ever be the best. She can have an award for one of the worst, maybe.
* If there is a prophecy of any kind in your book, self-fulfilling or otherwise, take a drink.
Safe yet again.
* If your main character is, in any way, the Chosen One – whether by destiny, fate, or prophecy, take a drink. Since ‘prophecy’ is now on this list twice, take another drink for good measure.
Hahahaha...no.
* If there is, has ever been, or will at some point be a magical object your characters must acquire in order to advance the plot, take a drink.
Nope.
* If your character and her love interest are automatically, instantly smitten with one another from the moment they meet, take a drink. Yes, L.J. Smith, you may go to the bathroom again.
Briar and Noah meet prior to the start of the book. There was attraction when they first met, but things progressed slowly and naturally with their relationship.
* If Love Interest is dark and broody, sexy and angsty, misunderstood and a troublemaker, or some other embodiment of these qualities, take a drink (Acceptable alternatives include: disheveled and detached, emo and sexy-ugly, obnoxious and whiny.)
I don't consider Noah any of these things.
* “We’re in a terrifying situation and I know we need to run but FIRST I’m going to DEMAND an EXPLANATION about your backstory!” You. Yes, you. You know what you did. Just drink.
No explanations here until Quiet Time, children.
* If your narrative voice is somehow remarkably genre-savvy but your character is still a genre idiot, take a drink.
Nope.
* If any characters contract a mystical or demonic pregnancy at some point, take a drink.
Wait...what? NO.
* If Love Interest is foreign (but still white), and/or speaks with an accent (but a sexy one, of course), take a drink.
Noah isn't foreign, and doesn't have an accent.
* If Love Interest or his family somehow has more money than God, take a drink.
Noah is decently well off, but he's not a millionaire.
* If Love Interest – or any character – is actually a god, take a drink.
No.
* If there is a token minority character among your cast, take a drink.
Nope.
* If the token minority character dies or becomes evil or was secretly evil all along, take a drink.
Haha, no.
* If your villain at any point says “As you know…” or “Since I’m going to kill you anyway…” take SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS-SHOTS-SHOTS!
Safe again.
I think I fared pretty well, all things considered! How about you? Do you have a paranormal story you want to put up to the test, or maybe try one of your faves?
Also, be sure to swing over to Jolene's blog for her test for INSIGHT!
The point of this is to take the list, which contains a bunch of overused young adult paranormal tropes, and see how your book stacks up against them. I'm going to copy/paste the entire list, and highlight anything I'm guilty of in red.
~
* If your main character is a teenage girl, take a drink.
Yep. Briar is in her late teens, out of high school...but still a teenager.
* If your main character moves to a new town or starts at a new school toward the beginning of your novel – or is returning to a town or place of residence she hasn’t been to in many years – take a drink.
SAFE on this one. Briar lives in the same apartment with her same roommate in the same city she did for months before the book begins.
* If one or both of your main character’s parents are dead, missing, or otherwise out of the picture, take a drink. If this is the backstory to why she’s moved (see previous point), take two drinks.
Iffy on this one. Briar's parents are together, and are mentioned frequently, but are never directly seen because she lives away from home.
* If the majority or entirety of your book takes place in a boarding school for teens with magical powers, pour one drink for each named character enrolled at said school, and drink all of them in rapid succession. Repeat until liver fails.
Safe again!
* If your main character fulfills ALL of the following: white, able-bodied, heterosexual, vaguely non-denominational Christian and/or agnostic, take a drink.
Iffy on this, too. Briar fits all—except she's a strict atheist.
* If there is a love triangle in your novel, finish your drink and pour another. Or a love any-geometric-object-with-MORE-than-three-points. (Ha, you thought you were being sneaky! Drink, motherfucker!)
Nope, nope, nope. No triangle, nor do I plan on one later.
* If there are vampires and/or werewolves in your novel, dial emergency services, step away from the screen, and play Edward 40-hands with yourself until the ambulance arrives.
Well, kind of caught on this one...
* If either your main character or her love interest are over 100 years old, take a drink.
Safe again!
* If either your main character or her love interest are enrolled in high school for the second (or third or fourth or or or…) time as a result of their age, take two drinks. Yes, L.J. Smith and Stephanie Meyer, you may be excused to go to the bathroom.
No school involved here.
* If your main character is a redhead, take a drink.
Briar changes her hair color. She's a natural blonde, but in this book, it's dyed red. In fact, it was originally dyed black, but I changed it because I couldn't find an appropriate cover image.
* If your main character comes into superpowers at some point, take a drink.
She turns into a vampire, so...obviously.
* If your main character’s acquiring of supernatural powers is due to either her reaching the appropriate but totally arbitrary age, and/or a paranormal family legacy to which she is totally ignorant, take a drink.
Safe!
* If your main character only acquires supernatural powers as a result, somehow, of her love interest, take two drinks.
Safe again!
* If there is a supernatural reason why your main character and her love interest cannot make sexy times, take a drink.
Noah being a bag of dicks isn't a supernatural reason.
* If your love interest is a quintessential bad boy who has never shown emotional interest in any girl before Protagonist sweeps into town, take a drink.
I'll say "safe." Prior to the book, Noah's a sweet guy. And he's been involved with girls before. (Quite seriously, too.)
* If your main character is both strangely attracted to yet superficially repelled by Love Interest, take a drink.
Nope.
* If there is a supernatural reason why their romance is pre-determined and/or inevitable, take three drinks.
Nope!
* If Love Interest’s expressions of affection could, at any point, be mistaken for stalking and/or psychologically unstable behavior, take a drink.
Safe again.
* If there are other people in the world with the same ability as your main character, but she is or becomes the best at it despite having her powers for only a short time, take a drink.
Briar will never, ever be the best. She can have an award for one of the worst, maybe.
* If there is a prophecy of any kind in your book, self-fulfilling or otherwise, take a drink.
Safe yet again.
* If your main character is, in any way, the Chosen One – whether by destiny, fate, or prophecy, take a drink. Since ‘prophecy’ is now on this list twice, take another drink for good measure.
Hahahaha...no.
* If there is, has ever been, or will at some point be a magical object your characters must acquire in order to advance the plot, take a drink.
Nope.
* If your character and her love interest are automatically, instantly smitten with one another from the moment they meet, take a drink. Yes, L.J. Smith, you may go to the bathroom again.
Briar and Noah meet prior to the start of the book. There was attraction when they first met, but things progressed slowly and naturally with their relationship.
* If Love Interest is dark and broody, sexy and angsty, misunderstood and a troublemaker, or some other embodiment of these qualities, take a drink (Acceptable alternatives include: disheveled and detached, emo and sexy-ugly, obnoxious and whiny.)
I don't consider Noah any of these things.
* “We’re in a terrifying situation and I know we need to run but FIRST I’m going to DEMAND an EXPLANATION about your backstory!” You. Yes, you. You know what you did. Just drink.
No explanations here until Quiet Time, children.
* If your narrative voice is somehow remarkably genre-savvy but your character is still a genre idiot, take a drink.
Nope.
* If any characters contract a mystical or demonic pregnancy at some point, take a drink.
Wait...what? NO.
* If Love Interest is foreign (but still white), and/or speaks with an accent (but a sexy one, of course), take a drink.
Noah isn't foreign, and doesn't have an accent.
* If Love Interest or his family somehow has more money than God, take a drink.
Noah is decently well off, but he's not a millionaire.
* If Love Interest – or any character – is actually a god, take a drink.
No.
* If there is a token minority character among your cast, take a drink.
Nope.
* If the token minority character dies or becomes evil or was secretly evil all along, take a drink.
Haha, no.
* If your villain at any point says “As you know…” or “Since I’m going to kill you anyway…” take SHOTS! SHOTS! SHOTS-SHOTS-SHOTS!
Safe again.
I think I fared pretty well, all things considered! How about you? Do you have a paranormal story you want to put up to the test, or maybe try one of your faves?
Also, be sure to swing over to Jolene's blog for her test for INSIGHT!
August 21, 2012
Ask me stuff!
First things first, I was offered an "ask me" spot over at a new writing/book forum, YABookClub! You can register and introduce yourself to everyone. Plus, a few authors (myself included) have our own ask me sections, where you can discuss their books or talk directly to them and pick their brains a bit. I hope some of you will pop on over there and say hi.
[image error]And, of course, catching up on the blog tour...
August 21st, writers write, right? has up an awesome review of Hollowed.
Today, Book Whales YA Reviews will have their review as well.
[image error]And, of course, catching up on the blog tour...
August 21st, writers write, right? has up an awesome review of Hollowed.
Today, Book Whales YA Reviews will have their review as well.
August 20, 2012
More SV plotting, and more blog tour stuff
I'm always so unproductive work-wise on the weekends. But now it's Monday, and I'm diving back in.
I included the tentative first chapter of Shadow Voices in at the ending of Hollowed. But it's looking more and more like that first chapter of Shadow Voices will need to change. Unfortunate, but necessary, and you'll thank me later. (When I have a solid first chapter, I'll likely re-upload Hollowed and post the chapter here, too.) That's the tricky part about including stuff like that at the end of a book, isn't it?
I had 30,000+ words to SV, and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of it needs to change. Which means scrapping it and trying again. Trying to tweak what I have is a lot harder than rewriting completely and just bringing in what I want to keep.
In other news, we have three awesome posts today:
There's an interview over at Aripi Pentru a Visa, along with a fun guest post about Briar and Noah's relationship.
At Nomalicious Reads is another interview, and a sneak peak at one of my favorite scenes of Hollowed.
Last but not least, Books Complete Me posted this stellar review that made me so super happy!
I love all these bloggers. You guys are great.
I included the tentative first chapter of Shadow Voices in at the ending of Hollowed. But it's looking more and more like that first chapter of Shadow Voices will need to change. Unfortunate, but necessary, and you'll thank me later. (When I have a solid first chapter, I'll likely re-upload Hollowed and post the chapter here, too.) That's the tricky part about including stuff like that at the end of a book, isn't it?
I had 30,000+ words to SV, and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of it needs to change. Which means scrapping it and trying again. Trying to tweak what I have is a lot harder than rewriting completely and just bringing in what I want to keep.
In other news, we have three awesome posts today:
There's an interview over at Aripi Pentru a Visa, along with a fun guest post about Briar and Noah's relationship.
At Nomalicious Reads is another interview, and a sneak peak at one of my favorite scenes of Hollowed.
Last but not least, Books Complete Me posted this stellar review that made me so super happy!
I love all these bloggers. You guys are great.
August 18, 2012
Hollowed Blog Tour: Day 4
[image error]The tour continues! Today I'm over at Young Readers, answering some fun interview questions. There's also (yet another!) chance for a giveaway, so be sure to swing by and check it out.
