J. Kenner's Blog, page 97
February 6, 2013
Hump Day Books from Susan Sey, Ciji Ware, Libby Hellmann, Marquita Valentine, Tessa Adams, Therese Ramin, Tara Janzen, and Katy Madison
Looking for awesome books to beat the mid-week slump? Check out these new or notable reads–great books from your favorite or soon-to-be-favorite authors!
Taste for Trouble (Blake Brothers Trilogy)
Exclusively on Kindle!
Learn more at http://www.susansey.com
A Bitter Veil
$.99 through Feb 9
Learn more at http://libbyhellmann.com
That Summer in Cornwall
“That Summer in Cornwall” is a contemporary, stand-alone sequel to Ciji Ware’s bestselling “time-slip” novel “A Cottage by the Sea.”
Learn more at Ciji’s website.
Drive Me Crazy (Going the Distance Series ~ Book 1)
New contemporary romance
Visit the Red Door to Learn More: Red Door Reads
Soulbound: A Lone Star Witch Novel
New urban fantasy, hot off the presses!
Learn more at Tessa Adams’ website
Winter Beach (Futures and Securities)
New in digital!
Learn more here!
The Chalice and the Blade (The Chalice Trilogy)
Free Fantasy and Romance – “Holds us spellbound!” RT
Learn more at http://www.tarajanzen.com/
Awakening His Duchess
Can a man forced into slavery ever forgive the woman who betrayed him?
Learn more at http://katymadison.com/
Interested in submitted a title for the weekly Hump Day feature? Here’s the info!
P.S. - my current book -- Release Me -- is still on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! Color me psyched! Have you got your copy yet?
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
February 5, 2013
Release Me readers rock! (Check out this Claim Me Kindle page!)
I’ve been so thrilled by the reader response to Release Me … and I’ve been having a blast communicating with readers who’ve left comments on this site, emailed me, or who have contacted me through Facebook or Twitter or Goodreads.
Your enthusiasm for the first book in Nikki and Damien’s story has really come through in those conversations and posts.
Earlier today, I was poking around online to see if the cover copy for Claim Me had posted yet (it has! check it out!), and I saw this:
Right now (or, right when I took this screenshot), Claim Me was in the top 400 Kindle books … and in the top 25 in Erotica.
And it doesn’t even come out until July!
Y’all, that just makes me happy! The truth is, I would write even if I was trapped on a desert island with no one to read my books (though I might have to scratch them on the inside of coconut husks).
But it is so much more fun and rewarding to know that there are readers who are loving the characters and the story so much that they can’t wait to learn what happens next to the characters.
So, readers, I’m celebrating and saying thank you. This is for you!
XXOO,
J.K.
Learn Where to Dump a Body in Austin, Meet Tessa Adams, and Maybe Snag a Signed Copy of Soulbound!
First, off, thanks so much for having me, Julie. I’m a huge fan of your books and am absolutely thrilled to be here today talking about Soulbound, the first book in my new urban fantasy series
[Thank you, Tessa! I'm absolutely thrilled you're here. I love urban fantasy, and so it's incredibly cool to get to host a blog about the start of a brand new series in one of my favorite genres!]
And now … here’s Tessa!!
Soulbound is the story of Xandra Morgan, a witch whose powers come from Heka (Egyptian magic and the oldest recognized magic on earth).
Despite the promise of great power, for most of her life she’s been latent due to circumstances she doesn’t understand. But when Declan, a dark warlock with amazing power, comes into the picture her magic wakes up with a vengeance—much to her dismay.
Because Xandra isn’t like most other witches. She can’t do spells or mix potions or heal. Instead, she sees dead people– not ghosts, but the bodies of people who have died violently. It’s not exactly a cake walk, especially when she’s magnetically drawn to these bodies and forced to endure the pain and terror of the victims as she relives their deaths.
And since a serial killer is on the loose in her adopted city of Austin, Texas (my home town) and that serial killer is seeking to both kill her and get Declan indicted for murder, things get sticky fast …
It’s a dark book, but one that I actually had a lot of fun writing. Though it’s an urban fantasy/paranormal romance, it’s also a murder mystery loaded with clues and twists and turns.
In fact, one of the most interesting parts of writing Soulbound, besides researching Heka, was trying to figure out where around Austin I wanted to kill people (in the book, I swear). For six months I drove my husband and oldest son crazy because wherever we went around town, I was constantly pointing out places that I thought might make good murder sites or body dumps. And since half the time my son’s friends were in the car … let’s just say I got to have a lot of fun at their expense.
So when it came time to do this blog, I thought I’d make a top five list of places in Austin I considered dumping bodies. Some of them made it into the book and some of them didn’t. But all had the dark, creepy vibe I was going for—at least at night.
5. Town Lake/Lady Bird Lake, which is next to/under the Congress Street bridge, a place Austin is famous for because at twilight hundreds and thousands of bats swarm out from underneath it and take to the night sky.
4. The Paramount Theater downtown, a movie theater and performance venue in the tradition of old Hollywood movie houses. There’s one big theater, lots of gold/gilt trim, pictures on the ceiling and red velvet seats.
3. The UT Tower, which was made famous by Charles Whitman in 1966 when he shot and killed 14 people from the top of it. The observation deck was closed for years, but it has since been reopened. It offers one of the best views of Austin.
2. Kerby Lane Café: The best place for pancakes in Austin, bar none. A funky little café that embodies the Keep Austin Weird vibe, Kerby Lane is my favorite place to eat breakfast in town. Most weekends they have a street musician playing music on the sidewalk near the front door to keep the hordes of starving Austinites calm
The Capitol Grounds: Austin is the capital of Texas and our capitol building rotunda stands taller than any other in the country—including the one in DC. This was done purposefully, as the Texas government wanted to make sure that theirs was the most intimidating, beautiful capital in the country.
If you have any suggestions for interesting or spooky places I missed or can use in the next book—either in Austin or someplace else in the U.S. (I haven’t decided where I’m setting it yet)—be sure to leave a comment.
One commenter will win an autographed copy of Soulbound and get a chance to check out which of the sites listed above actually made it into the book.
How about it, readers? Got suggestions for body dumps for Tessa’s next book? Let use know!
P.S. - my current book -- Release Me -- is still on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! Color me psyched! Have you got your copy yet?
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
February 4, 2013
Hot guys, your breasts, and one of the best ad campaigns ever
I absolutely love this You Tube video! Informative, eye-catching and best of all designed to be seen by the people who need to see it.
The video is from Rethink Breast Cancer. Here’s the organization’s description from their website:
Rethink Breast Cancer is a charity helping young people who are concerned about and affected by breast cancer through innovative breast cancer education, research and support programs. Rethink is a national volunteer-driven registered charity with a bold, enterprising and entrepreneurial approach. We are thinking differently about how to beat breast cancer.
Chances are, you or someone you know has been touched by breast cancer. I think this ad goes a long way toward educating women. If you agree, please share!
P.S. - my current book -- Release Me -- is still on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! Color me psyched! Have you got your copy yet?
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
February 3, 2013
Take a break from the Super Bowl to chat about Han Solo, indie v. traditional publishing and more
Tired of watching the Super Bowl? Check out this interview of me by author Judy Teel on her Brain Fog Blog!
Learn about my childhood Han Solo crush (okay, not just childhood) and my thoughts on going indie or traditional for publishing, and my super-secret story idea vault.
Hope you swing by!
P.S. - my current book -- Release Me -- is still on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! Color me psyched! Have you got your copy yet?
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
February 2, 2013
Check out the Book Trailer for Release Me!
Thanks to Headline/Eternal Romance for putting together this awesome trailer!
If you’re in the U.K., you can get a copy of Release Me here!
Order the U.S. edition from your favorite retailers
Random House
Amazon (print)
Amazon (kindle)
Barnes and Noble (print or Nook)
Books-A-Million
Kobo
iBooks
Indie Bound
P.S. - my current book -- Release Me -- is still on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! Color me psyched! Have you got your copy yet?
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
February 1, 2013
Concept is Everything – Please Welcome guest blogger Kathryn Dahlstrom!
I’m happy to have Kathryn Dahlstrom guest blogging today! Kathryn is a talented author who writes across multiple formats. We met through a screenwriting workshop of which we are both alumni — and which helped Kathryn with the book & screenplay she’s blogging about! Check it out!
Julie, thanks a mil for inviting me to muse. We’re members of Producer Hal Croasmun’s Screenwriting U Pro Series Alumni. Hal deals in movie scripts, but his lessons apply to novels in everything but word count. For me, those lessons resulted in both—a screenplay and the novel Children of Angels!
In the course, the main focus is on story concept. If the story idea is fresh and interesting for its genre, it could rise to a bestseller. If the story idea is overused and dull, it could sink. Since I write for tweens (10 to14-year-olds) and love fantasy, I churned out a dozen concepts—from cats that fight dragons to kids who change into eagles. And nothing was strong enough to take through the full journey to screenplay or book.
When the lessons moved on to plotting and I still didn’t have my concept I brainstormed, balloon-charted, stewed, fought, and prayed…. I latched onto angels as fantasy beings who had not been overused. (Really! I respect the zeal vampire-romance fans have for their demigods, and the passion magic-lovers have for schools of wizardry, but I knew I’d have little chance as a Johnny-come-lately with either concept.) But what could I do with angels? I needed a human kid for my main character. How could a kid have angel powers?
My prayers were answered with two words: the Nephilim! As soon as the idea hit, I dropped to my knees because I was too excited to stand straight and anyhow, I had some thanking to do! They’re described in a handful of mysterious verses in Genesis, Chapter 6, which says that for a short time before the Flood, angels made women their wives and their children were the Nephilim – “…famous heroes and warriors.” Cowabunga! I had it: what if the genes of the Nephilim resurfaced in a teen of today and he developed angel powers?
I took the idea through the Pro Series course, finished it as a screenplay…and had Hal blast it into a debris field with rubble all over and hardly a character left standing. He was right, too: the first “superhero-type” plot that I developed from the concept was a cliché. He made me dig deep to find the story’s unique core, which is this: “A young teen, shocked to learn he’s part angel, must battle demonic forces out to destroy him for proving that heaven is real.” When I recited that story line to Hal in a phone chat, there was a long-drawn pause while I waited on him, seeing stars because I was hyperventilating.
Then he said “I think this story will be a hit and I think you’re the one to write it.”
I hung up and went to my knees all over again.
So what if I had to start the story over! This time, I was building it on a plot-from-idea foundation that was strong enough for Hollywood. Children of Angels has already won over a family-fantasy producer, though it’s a long, risky road from novel to film. Never mind! My readers love it and right now, that’s all I care about.
Kathryn Dahlstrom has been writing professionally for 21 years. She began as a magazine short story writer and columnist and is the author of the Good News Club Series, a six-book fiction series for tweens and teens published by CEF Press As a screenwriter, Kathryn was named a quarter-finalist in the American Zoetrope Screenwriting Contest and has had two scripts optioned by film companies. She’s a member of the Screenwriting U Pro Series Alumni, the Minnesota Christian Writers Guild, the Screenwriter’s Network Worldwide, and the American Screenwriters Association.
Thanks so much, Kathryn, for being here today! I think Nephalim are fascinating (even mentioned them in California Demon … but no spoilers!).
Readers, are you a writer? What’s your process for finding the core concept of your story?
P.S. Did you see that I have a Bargain Books section now? Check the Navigation bar or the side bar on the right.
(And OMG, my current book -- Release Me -- hit the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! Color me psyched! Have you got your copy yet?
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
January 31, 2013
Introducing Red Door Reads … and a celebratory price reduction!
I’m thrilled to announce the launching of Red Door Reads. We’re a group of authors who have banded together to highlight some of our books for readers!
I’ll be featuring my indie-pubbed books at the site (backlist and new indie releases), and it’s a great place to go to see on one easy page what I have available … and also to discover new-to-you authors and books!
In celebration of the launch, I’ve set up a price reduction for all my indie titles to 99 cents for Kindle and Nook! The following titles are only 99 cents through this weekend. Enjoy!
P.S. - my current book -- Release Me -- is still on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists! Color me psyched! Have you got your copy yet?
P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!
XXOO
--J.K.
Absolutely #starknaked today! Celebrating the UK onsale date of Release Me with some Twitter fun!
It’s finally January 31, and that means that the paperback edition of Release Me is on sale in the U.K. today! Headline and Eternal Romance got the celebration started this morning on Twitter with an absolutely awesome hashtag: #starknaked
Love it … and why didn’t I think of that? (In case you don’t know, Damien Stark is the sexy, mysterious hero of Release Me. Have you seen the Damien Stark Pinterest Board?)
Come on and join the fun! I’m also celebrating the news that the original U.S. edition of Release Me is back on the New York Times bestseller list and is now going into it’s fourth week on the USA Today list! Yay!!!
