K.C. Neal's Blog

YA Spring Fling - Lots to Win!

It's time! The YA Spring Fling is here with TONS of great stuff for you to win--ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks and swag. Head over to Sarah Dalton Books to enter!

The giveaway includes young adult books from all of your favorite genres:

Historical Paranormal & Time Travel
 
Contemporary
Dystopian (hey, there's Helia's Shadow! :) )










Fantasy & Urban Fantasy  

Horror  
     Paranormal  
















Science Fiction
 


Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

YA Spring Fling Giveaway and Q&A with Rachel Cole

The YA Spring Fling giveaway runs from March 20th to April 3rd. You can win eBooks, paperbacks, audiobooks, and swag from some of the most awesome YA writers around. I'll post again on the 20th with a link to all the giveaway goodies.
But you don't have to wait until the giveaway opens to win something . . . .
If you sign up to the mailing list before the 20th you’re guaranteed at least one free eBook of your choice!
 
Q&A with Author Rachel Cole What’s your favorite thing about spring?

Longer days and warmer weather and the promise of summer coming in the next few months.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Connecting with readers through the written word -reaching them emotionally, making them
laugh or cry.

Tell us more about your books.

I write both short fiction and novels in a mix of genres from heartfelt to humorous for a variety
of ages.

Coffee or Tea?

Tea with milk and a little sugar, please.

Plotter or Pantser? 

Both. I like to have a road map with the major turning points in place to keep me on track, but
I love the discovery and inevitable surprises that crop up between those points. Some of my
best writing occurs while pantsing.

Are there any books involved in the YA Spring Fling that you’re secretly lusting after?

Too many to list. Most of the Dystopian list, a fair few of the Contemporary list, and a couple
of the Historical and Time Travel list, too.

What was the last YA book you read?

Lumiere by Jacqueline A. Garlick.

Why do you write YA?

That's a good question. I didn't grow up reading YA and I didn't particularly enjoy my teenaged
years, but I haven't forgotten what it's like to be that age, so when I get a story idea that calls
for YA, I'm not afraid to tackle it.

What are your top tips for surviving a bad review?

1) Everyone has an opinion. Even the most popular and well­loved books have people who
dislike or even hate them.

2) Read your best reviews. All of them in one go. I always find the glowing reviews cancel out
the negatives.

3) Don't respond to the reviewer. If you must, go vent your frustrations to fellow writers in a
private email or forum.

What inspires you?

My readers inspire me.

Where can readers find your books?

My YA short stories are available through Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. Visit my Amazon
author page to learn more. Http://www.amazon.com/author/rachelel...

Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

Coming in 2015! Eee!!

We aren't quite done with 2014 yet, but I'm already SO excited about what's coming in 2015! Here's what's in store the first half of next year. Be sure to visit AuthorKCNeal.com (I'll continue to post updates on the blog here, but I've moved all of my links and book info over there).

Here's What You Can Look Forward to in 2015:February 2015 – Helia’s Shadow Part Two (Starlight Age Book Two). If you read Part One, you were left hanging! Sorry about that . . . okay, I’m not really sorry at all heehee. Don’t miss the dramatic conclusion to Helia’s story.April 2015 – Arrival Day (Starlight Age prequel). This is the story of Kalo’s first questioning of the Talan Universal Mission, the Arrival Day when he pulls 6-year-old Helia back from the edge of the stage, Gordon’s early years trading with the Outlanders, his introduction to the secret Haven anti-alien group that would become Minnow’s militia, and Zira’s early plot to escape the cityship and end the Mission and Reku’s reign. Arrival Day captures the pivotal moments when these Talans and Earthborns became the leaders of a revolution. A must-read for Helia’s Shadow fans!May 2015 – Scourge of Angels (Dark Times Urban Fantasy Series Book One). Weapons of war reduced much of Earth to a wasteland, but that wasn’t the worst of it. They also unleashed the Sethari Nephilim, and that’s when hell really broke loose. The Sethari, descendants of unions between mortals and fallen angels, hunt humans with relentless bloodlust. Humans cling to existence while searching for the key to releasing the Sethari’s enemy, the Ahlmai Nephilim. Recruiting the Ahlmai is humans’ only hope of driving the murderous Sethari back to the dimension of hell they came from. Gin fights for survival in the South Quarter, and believes she’s as safe as anyone can expect to be in the dark times. But she’s destined to join a much larger battle that spans Heaven and Earth.June 2015 – Arise: The Conflux (Pyxis Series Book Three). Corinne, Mason, Angeline, and Sophie must face their most powerful enemy, but Ang and Mason are still weak from Harriet’s attack. Even with Zane on the way and an unexpected offer of help from a former enemy, Corinne is still struggling to strengthen her union and her own abilities. Will Corinne and her friends survive winter solstice? Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

Helia's Shadow for Kindle is Here! (Get 50% off!)

Helia's Shadow Part One is now available for Kindle! This week only, the eBook is 50% off - just US$ 2.20!
Get it here:http://amzn.to/1uWmKi3
Awesome feedback from early reviewers :) ...."[A]n amazing story filled with adventure and intrigue.... so full of action and emotions that you cannot help but be captivated. I highly recommend Helia's Shadow Part One to anyone who liked Divergent or The Hunger Games. Helia reminds me of strong heroines like Tris (Divergent) and Katniss (The Hunger Games), but she is her own amazing character." –Ivey Byrd (The Hopeless Reader review blog)

"Helia's Shadow is a breath of fresh air that we all need.... recently every science fiction book I have read has been similar, with the same story lines and plot twists. Helia's Shadow however was different.... kept me up till dawn, on the edge of my seat and craving more of this incredible story." –Kat Silver (Kat Silver review blog)

"It captured my attention from the first chapter and within a few hours I was already halfway through it. It almost pained me to set the book down, that's how good it is." –Ashley (Hyper Ashley review blog)
  Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

More Helia's Shadow ARC Reviews

ARC readers Ivey (The Hopeless Reader) and Jackie (Sated Faery) posted their reviews last week - take a look!


Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

First Helia's Shadow ARC Review

Kat sent me such an enthusiastic, heartfelt email when she finished reading the Helia's Shadow ARC. It made the YEARS I spent working on this book feel totally worth it. Here's the first ARC review of Helia's Shadow on Goodreads. Thank you, Kat!

Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

Helia's Shadow Cover Reveal!

Here it is! 
Add Helia's Shadow to your Goodreads shelf!

Thank you Najla Qamber Designs for the cover design, and LunarLight Design for the typesetting!

Helia's Shadow Part One: Into Darkness
Nineteen years ago, aliens arrived on a dying Earth with advanced technology and the promise of ensuring human survival in exchange for a place to settle. They were hailed as the saviors of humans and Earth.
Today, 16-year-old Helia is preoccupied with her secret romance with an alien boy, and convincing her over-protective mother to let her follow her dream of becoming an engineer. But the human-alien partnership is shifting. Humans are disappearing without explanation, and the aliens are tightening their grip on Haven, the last city on Earth.
When the aliens falsely accuse her mother of a crime punishable by a life sentence at the harsh lunar prison, Helia discovers the aliens never intended to help humans at all. Now, she must join forces with alien rebels and convince the young rebel leader that humans aren't expendable.
If she succeeds, humans have a chance at survival and she has a chance at love. If she fails, the dwindling human race will die out in slavery.
Interested in reviewing an ARC of Helia's Shadow? Please join my mailing list - subscribers will get first shot at ARCs!

For more info about Helia's Shadow and The Starlight Age Series - including an excerpt - please visit my website: AuthorKCNeal.com :)

Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

Helia's Shadow Teasers

I've posted these in various other places (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook), but I thought I'd share them here too in case you missed them. :)






Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

Helia's Shadow Cover Reveal Sign Up is Open

The cover reveal is set for August 16! Anyone with a blog can participate - I'd love to have you!
>>  Cover Reveal Sign Up Here  <<

Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!

My New Office/Story Lab - Sneak Peek

I'm still putting the final touches on the redecoration of a spare room that will be the story lab (because "office" sounds stuffy and boring and not the kind of place where creative things happen!). I love the way it's coming together!

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I didn't have a lot of funds to work with, so I only spent money on paint and painting supplies--I repainted the walls, trim, and a couple of pieces of furniture--and furnished the room by "shopping" from the rest of my house.

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I used paint colors from the Martha Stewart line. I love the MS paint chips--when you flip them over, they all have coordinating colors. Idiot proof color design!

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I sanded, primed and repainted this table (in Endive, the pale green in the paint chip pic above), which was the dining table at my family's cabin for almost 30 years.



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I bought this awesome lamp last year, but hadn't found a good place to put it. It's perfect in this room.
[image error] The dog seems to approve!


Please visit http://kcneal.blogspot.com/ for more info and features. Thanks for reading!