Elle Casey's Blog, page 10

Faery Worlds excerpts

Hey there, readers!  I joined with a few other writers-of-fae recently in this book bundle.  In it you’ll find my War of the Fae: Book 1 (The Changelings) and 5 other complete novels written by other authors.  Here is a free excerpt for you! The first 8-10 pages of each book.  It’s a PDF file.  ENJOY!

LINK:  FAERY WORLDS excerpts

A stunning collection featuring the first books in six fan-favorite series by bestselling, award-winning fantasy authors! Discover the many worlds of Faerie in these novels filled with adventure, love, and – of course – Fae Magic.

(Best for readers 14 and up)

  REVIEWS:

“Wow. Holy smoking wow. This is one of the few books I’ve read that I can honestly say was totally, 100% original…. However, as unique as it is, it was insanely easy to slip into the story…” - Review for Initiate, Emi London, Octopus Ink

 

“A brilliantly original YA fantasy. This was an extremely fun, exciting, and original book. I couldn’t put it down. The pacing and suspense in this book are perfect.” - Review for War of the Fae, Ally Arendt, Word Vagabond book blog

 

“Fairy Metal Thunder has the same feel that the movie Labyrinth has, this wondrous fantasy world that you’re desperate to have at least a small part of, even to the point of stealing.” - Review for Fairy Metal Thunder, Bending the Spine 

“Feyland: The Dark Realm is pure, delightful fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging quest and romance. It blurred the lines between reality and gaming. I highly recommend Feyland to fans of fantasy, video games, quests and romances.” - Review for Feyland, Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

“The use of Celtic mythology is refreshing… Ms. Johnson uses her knowledge to weave a beautiful story of love, friendship, and legend. The atmosphere that the author created was eerie and haunting and the creatures were truly disturbing. The ending left me breathless!” - Review for Faelorehn, Krista Loya, Breathe in Books

“A fantastic read, full of magic and greed, love and loss, and stories to unfold. I highly recommend this to all lovers of the magical world of Fae.” - Review for Ever Shade,  Anne Nelson, Angel Anne Reviews

Want to make an author cry? This is one way…

Don’t worry, this is not a bad news post.   This a fabulously awesomely awesome good news post that I am so, so happy and proud to put up. I just want to open my arms as wide as the world and embrace every one of my readers in one big group hug.  Thank you, readers for being awesome!

I received this email in my inbox today, and it made me cry.

Elle,

I always want to let people know the power of presence they have in my life, especially when it’s for the best.

Up until a year ago I avoided reading at all cost because of how bad my dyslexia was. It was not only frustrating, but painful in the act of giving me horrible headaches at straining so hard to keep control of the words.. The only books I really read mostly were the Twilight Series, and the Harry Potter books, and it seemed to take me months to get through just one book.

Then I bought a kindle, I was determined to overcome this monster in my closet and be able to read like the other adults around me. So I turned off the TV and picked up the kindle. The first series on it that I read was the Eragon Series, it took me 4 months, 4 months of struggle and frustration, but a frustration that I concord. Then a friend of mine recommended this YA novel called “War of the Fae.” I felt foolish as it was being 29 and already reading YA books, painfully slowly.

However I listened to my friend, and I got “War of the Fae,” I finished this in 3 weeks. I thought ok I can do this, so then I got “Call to arms,” this time finishing the book in about 2 weeks. This continued through out the series, until it was taking me only 2 days to read a book. But I wasn’t only reading it I was finally comprehending the writing, understanding the metaphors, and sentence structure. All the things that I struggled for years to understand. Right down to dropping out of college cause I was told by a student advisor that I just wasn’t cut out to go to college.

With your unknown help Elle, and by reading almost all of your books (which now take an average of a day to a day and a half) I just passed my entrance exam to DeVry University for a double major. The girl who always failed English tested out of all writing courses with 100%.. The only reason why I’m even taking them is because its mandated in my degree to have a writing course.

I am certain that if your books were not recommended to me at the time they were, I never would have felt ready to stretch my wings and go after what I want in life. So even though you could be staring me in the eye and not know who the hell I am. I just wanted to thank you profusely. For without your gift, I don’t think I would be headed in the direction of my own dreams today.

Yours truly,

xxxxxx

[Special note:  For those of you with friends or family with dyslexia, maybe ask them to give War of the Fae: Book 1 (The Changelings) a try.  I have received several notes from readers who suffer from dyslexia telling me my books are relatively easy for them to read and understand, and this book is FREE, so they can try it out at no risk.]

Faery Worlds Book Collaboration Project

Hello, readers!  Here’s a little side project I’ve been working on, headed by the lovely and talented Anthea Sharp.  I’ve teamed up with fellow fantasy authors Tara Maya, Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, JL Bryan, Anthea Sharp and Aexia Purdy to create Faery Worlds, an anthology of six full-length, fae-inspired novels.  We’re hoping to launch the book collection towards the end of the month, so be sure to keep checking back here and on my Facebook page for updates.

Here are the cover images for the individual books in the package, as well as a synopsis and link to each author’s website for you guys to check out.  They all have other books available, so this is a great way to check out several fantasy authors at the same time, all in one convenient package.



Six full-length novels!

A stunning collection of the first books in six fan-favorite series by bestselling, award-winning fantasy authors! Discover the many worlds of Faerie in these novels filled with adventure, love, and – of course – Fae Magic. (Best for readers 14 and up)

Tara Maya – The Unfinished Song: Initiate (Book 1)



Dindi can’t do anything right, maybe because she spends more time dancing with pixies than doing her chores. Her clan hopes to marry her off and settle her down, but she dreams of becoming a Tavaedi, one of the powerful warrior-dancers whose secret magics are revealed only to those who pass a mysterious Test during the Initiation ceremony. The problem? No-one in Dindi’s clan has ever passed the Test. Her grandmother died trying. But Dindi has a plan.


AN EXILED WARRIOR…


Kavio is the most powerful warrior-dancer in Faearth, but when he is exiled from the tribehold for a crime he didn’t commit, he decides to shed his old life. If roving cannibals and hexers don’t kill him first, this is his chance to escape the shadow of his father’s wars and his mother’s curse. But when he rescues a young Initiate girl, he finds himself drawn into as deadly a plot as any he left behind. He must decide whether to walk away or fight for her… assuming she would even accept the help of an exile.

Tara Maya’s Website: http://www.taramayastales.blogspot.com

Elle Casey – The Changelings (War of the Fae Book 1)



Jayne Sparks, a potty-mouthed, rebellious seventeen-year-old and her best friend, shy and bookish Tony Green, have a pretty typical high school existence, until several seemingly unrelated incidents converge, causing a cascade of events that change their lives forever. Jayne and Tony, together with a group of runaway teens, are hijacked and sent into a forest, where nothing and no one are as they seem. Who will emerge triumphant? And what will they be when they do?  www.ElleCasey.com



JL Bryan – Fairy Metal Thunder (Songs of Magic, #1)



A rock & roll fairy tale.
Jason Becker plays guitar in a small-town garage band called the Assorted Zebras, along with a few other kids from his school.  Unfortunately, they have no fans, no gigs, and they’re going nowhere. Then Jason catches a goblin robbing his house, and he chases the little green thief to creepy old Mrs. Dullahan’s overgrown back yard, where he discovers that the miniature doors in her trees lead deep into the fairy world.

Jason returns with fairy instruments that transform the band’s sound into powerful, enchanting music. Soon, the Zebras are drawing huge crowds, but they discover their new gear is brimming with destructive magic they can’t control.

Their shortcut to success turns Jason and his friends into enemies of the treacherous Queen Mab, who wants to keep the fairy world secret from humans. She sends magical hunters to track them down, including one of the most dangerous horned creatures in Faerie…a small unicorn named Buttercake.

JL Bryan’s Website: http://www.jlbryanbooks.com/

Anthea Sharp – Feyland – The Dark Realm (Book 1)


Faeries. Computer games. When realms collide, a hero from the wrong side of the tracks and the rich girl he’s afraid to love must risk everything to fight the treacherous fey.

What if a high-tech computer game was a gateway to the dangerous Realm of Faerie?

WHEN A GAME…

Feyland is the most immersive computer game ever designed, and Jennet Carter is the first to play the prototype. But she doesn’t suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch — or that she’ll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries.

TURNS REAL…

Tam Linn is the perfect hero — in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich-girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he’s the only one who can help her.

WINNING IS EVERYTHING…

Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen… before it’s too late.

Anthea Sharp’s Website: http://www.antheasharp.com


Jenna Elizabeth Johnson – Faelorehn – Book One of the Otherworld Trilogy


I never heard him come after me and even as I climbed the slope and stumbled onto our shaded back lawn, I didn’t look back. It was like the day the gnomes chased me all over again, but this time I was not escaping some horrible little creatures, I was fleeing from an incredibly good-looking guy who could very well understand me completely. I was either saving myself from that serial killer I always imagined lived down in the swamp, or I had finally gone over the deep end . . .
Meghan Elam has been strange her entire life: her eyes have this odd habit of changing color and she sees and hears things no one else does. When the visions and voices in her head start to get worse, she is convinced that her parents will want to drag her off to another psychiatrist. That is, until the mysterious Cade MacRoich shows up out of nowhere with an explanation of his own.

Cade brings her news of another realm where goblins and gnomes are the norm, a place where whispering spirits exist in the very earth, and a world where Meghan just might find the answers she has always sought.

Jenna Elizabeth Johnson’s Website: http://www.jennaelizabethjohnson.com/

Alexia Purdy – Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale #1)



A dark twist on faeries. For Shade, a chance meeting with a powerful Teleen Faery warrior who wields electrical currents and blue fires along his skin, has her joining him on a treacherous mission for the good Seelie Faerie Court across the land of Faerie. Magic and malice abound and nothing is what it really seems to be.
The evil Unseelie Queen and her treacherous allies are around every corner as Shade makes her way across the breathtaking landscapes of the world of Faerie, which exists alongside the mundane human world. Shade discovers her own uncharted magic and meets some of the most powerful warriors in Faerie while battling evil dryads, conniving Teleen guards and challenges on her life with every step in a world where nothing can be taken for granted.

Alexia Purdy’s Website: http://www.alexiaepurdy.blogspot.com/

Pre-Order SHINE NOT BURN today for only 99¢ !!!

Amazon is awesome!  The powers-that-be over there allowed me to give my readers a pre-order opportunity for my first New Adult Romance novel, so I’m jumping on this deal like a big ole frawg, y’all!  Please share the news with your reader friends.  I’ll be posting the first few chapters for free on the site here soon.  In the meantime, get your reserved copy before the price goes up!

http://bit.ly/193ptMEFB

DESCRIPTION:  IT HAPPENED IN VEGAS. I can’t be held responsible. Things that happen there are supposed to stay there, right? Right? Yeeeah. Not so much. … Andie’s just days away from tying the knot, but there’s just ooooone little glitch. Apparently, she’s already married. Or someone with her name is married to a guy out in Oregon of all places, and the courthouse won’t issue her a marriage license until it’s all cleared up. Tripping her way through cow pies and country songs to meet up with a man who gets around places on horseback is her very last idea of how to have a good time, but if she’s going to get married, make partner at the firm, and have two point five kids before she’s thirty-five, she needs to get to the bottom of this snafu and fix it quick … before her fiance finds out and everything she’s been working toward goes up in flames.

 

Promotion time!

Let’s do another promotion, shall we? ♥ Anyone who goes to Goodreads and puts DON’T MAKE ME BEAUTIFUL (Romantic Suspense) on their To-Read list is automatically entered to win. For EVERY 100 entries, I’ll give away a $25 Amazon gift card! Contest goes until Monday, June 10, 11:59pm EST. Click “Want To Read” and it will be put on your shelf, like, BAM. **PLEASE SHARE THIS POST ON YOUR FACEBOOK AND TWITTER ACCOUNTS!**

http://bit.ly/DMMBgr

A ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVEL. No one knew a woman lived there or that she even existed. A monster, living in darkness…

At twenty-six, Nicole doesn’t even look human anymore. The beast made sure of that. So she hides. A monster consigned to a life of fear and solitude. This is all she deserves, she is quite sure of that.

And then one day out of the blue, the autographed baseball caught by Brian Jensen at the latest Marlins game enters her prison and manages to turn her world completely upside down.  Temptation comes in the form of pity at first, and then perhaps something more.  Does she dare to believe the things she’s told, that this is not the life she was meant to live? That being a monster is not her forever-fate? And will she be willing to risk everything, to reach out and accept the helping hands around her? She knows only too well that hands can hurt. Finding out whether they can also heal is a risky proposition, especially when the beast is still out there. Looking for her.

 

**This story was inspired by true events. If you liked the movie “Sleeping With the Enemy”, then you might like this story too. CONTENT WARNING: Violence, foul language, and adult situations. Not meant for younger readers.**

I need oxygen.

I made this graphic today to have printed on postcards.  [SWAG ALERT].   I swear to all that is holy, this man makes me breathless.  Perfect for my summer reads promotion!  Hope you love him as much as I do.  I’ll let you know when the postcards are ready. 

Search Amazon by character type to find good books!

Want to find a good *fantasy or paranormal* book that has certain types of characters in it (demons, witches, vampires, elves, shifters, etc.)?  Follow these instructions and you’ll see, if you scroll down, the ability to search by type of character!! But be aware … very few authors know about this yet, so it might be awhile before a lot of books are properly categorized.

1. Go to Amazon’s main page. Click on the Amazon icon to be sure you’re there.

2. On the left search categories, pick Books > Kindle books

3. Scroll down, on the left, select Science Fiction & Fantasy

4. On the left, select Fantasy

5. On the left, select Paranormal & Urban

Presto!

Voilà! ** Here’s what I saw there today **

Angels (956)

Devils & Demons (1,250)

Dragons (472)

Elves & Fae (631)

Ghosts (1,645)

Gods & Goddesses (148)

Pirates (49)

Psychics (372)

Vampires (3,408)

Werewolves & Shifters (1,613)

Witches & Wizards (1,502)

A change in my publishing schedule and some NEWS

I alluded to some changes on my Facebook page.  Here are the deets!

I’m moving my New Adult Romance novels up on the schedule and pushing Sea Wenches back a few months, so they’ll be out in the 4th quarter of the year instead of the 3rd.  For those of you who are anxiously awaiting that series, I hope you don’t grab any pitchforks and start looking for lighters.  I just need more time to work on them and do the proper research, and I’d like to get these romance stories out of my brain so I can THINK properly.  Seriously, sometimes these characters are so loud in there.

Here’s a little cover action for ya and the blurb is available on Goodreads.  Please go and add it to your Want To Read shelf.    Shine Not Burn by Elle Casey.

 

Can shy writers make a living writing books?

I saw a post written by a shy indie writer who is deathly afraid of socializing online. He’s very, very shy. He wanted to know if he can make a living selling books if he’s totally absent from social media of any kind, including even a website.

Here was my answer: My first job after the military was selling insurance, door-to-door basically. In person, I’m quiet when I first meet people. I’ve been that way all my life. Some of you who know me online might not believe that, but it’s true. I’m a lurker before I’m a poster; I like to get the lay of the land before I speak up, since I don’t really like the taste of shoes. I had to force myself for my insurance sales work to step outside my comfort zone and do things that made me extremely uncomfortable, like walking up to a stranger and asking her if she was having a nice day, commenting on pictures of her grandkids I saw on a mantle, discussing the weather, that kind of thing. I was only able to do that because I had someone to model after. Dewayne Keating.

The way I did it – become a different, more outgoing person – was to imagine this friend of mine, Dewayne. Dewayne was the kind of guy who could walk into a party not knowing anyone and leave as everyone’s new friend. He could go up to anyone, any age, any background, and strike up a conversation. I watched him in action many times with envy in my soul. I also took mental notes. I noticed he always sized a person up real quick and then started a conversation with a question about something he thought both he and they might be interested in. He always asked open-ended questions or things that could be turned into longer conversations involving opinions.

Here was one I remember: “I’m thinking about buying a stereo. Do you guys know the best brand out there right now for a receiver? I have a small apartment.” And then after he got some answers, he said, “Why do you like that one best?” And then “Where’s the best place to buy one?” and “Do you ever buy the extra warranties that come with those things?” It was magic. As soon as a person became the one giving helpful information, they lit up and got animated, happy to be talking to this stranger. A debate started in the group that gathered about stereos. When the conversation dwindled, Dewayne started another one or moved on to another group of people. He was like a conductor in a conversation symphony. He loved meeting people and was always genuinely interested in their feedback. He wasn’t doing it just to BS people.

25 years after meeting Dewayne, I still can picture him working a crowd in my mind. Whenever I feel shy, I pull a Dewayne. I become him for just a few moments until that uncomfortable part passes. Once the conversation starts rolling, the scary part fades into the distance. I leave it behind in the dust, because I’ve found being social is fun once the fear dissipates.

It helps to have a list of conversation starters on hand: Do you live around here? Tell me about your family. Tell me about your job. What do you like to do for fun besides (whatever it is we’re doing).

What does that have to do with whether a shy indie writer can live off of his writing? Well, two things:

1. You can step outside your regular self and be outgoing, just for the sake of your business. Yes, you can. You have the anonymity of the Internet and all the time you need to craft your posts, comments, etc. You are writer, and most social media is writing!

2. You can make a list of twenty topics readers like to discuss and throw them up on your social media every week or so. That will make your readers very happy and bring you the attention as a writer that you NEED in order to sell books for a living.

Can you make a living selling books while also being a recluse? Maybe. I don’t know any indie writer who does that nowadays, but nothing’s impossible. Do you want to increase your chances of success? Then it behooves you to treat it like a business and step outside your comfort zone.

Some inspirational quotes that always help me: Luck is where opportunity meets preparation. The universe helps those who help themselves. If you want to soar with the eagles, don’t hang out with the turkeys. You miss 100% of the shots you never take. Carpe diem.

Be a participator, not a bystander. We are not just a bunch of people living in isolation … we are a community of readers and writers.

I read this article on Huffpost today titled: “Readers Don’t Owe Authors Shit” (link at the bottom of this post). It made me very sad. So much anger and spite from a reader towards indie authors who ask for reviews from readers and indie booksellers asking for readers to come buy books from them, to help keep them from going out of business.

Here is my comment that I posted:

“So sad. Every man for himself! Just give me what I want and screw you! I don’t owe you shit!

How about this: It’s not about owing people anything. It’s about finding good reads and wanting to encourage an author to write more of them by telling people about the books. And how about this, too: You can increase the overall level of reading material out there by talking about the good stuff with other like-minded people.

If you won’t do it, who will? “Some other guy.” Yeah. That’s always a great attitude to have. Let someone else handle making our community a better place to be.

Reading and reviewing is not just about being -part- of a community, but being a -contributing member- of a community. Without reviewing, you’re a bystander … someone decrying pollution and then walking past an empty beer can on the sidewalk, expecting someone else to dump it in the recycle bin right next to you.

Why all the anger? Is it really necessary? Just leave a review for books you love, already. Will it hurt you? No, of course not. You can write a one-sentence review in less than a minute. Will it help the author write more good books? Yes, absolutely. Good reviews sell books. Sold books = income. Income = more writing. More writing = more good books. Why does this have to be so difficult? Can’t we all just get along?

I have a dream…”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brenna-clarke-gray/readers-dont-owe-authors-_b_3062474.html