Piper Shelly's Blog, page 270

Sometimes, they come way too sexy!

Hey everyone! Feeling good? Fantastic!

It’s Saturday morning, and I just sneaked out of bed needing to get some ideas on paper. Well, no, not really. The cats were driving me crazy and I just took a flight.

Since I’m up already, I thought I could as well do something I haven’t done in a while. Rant. About…? Hm, not sure. I don’t want to bore you for the next ten minutes. So how about…tada…a really sweet Sideshow Bob in my novel? His name is actually Quinn, and believe me the guy gave me more trouble than a stray dog in your backyard.

He only appears a few times at the beginning of LOVING YOUR LIES. In the first three or four chapters, to be precise. As the name Sideshow Bob signifies, he’s not a main character, let alone the hero. But, he came first, and when I started the novel, I was so ready to write a sexy guy. Bad luck… I introduced him as young enough to be attractive to young adults, and I poured all my favorite qualities into him. Smart, perfectly built, black hair, dominant (he’s a cop) but at the same time sensitive enough to break through the protective walls of a seventeen-year-old. I loved everything about him, even the name.

But soon I realized what a bad mistake I’d made. I wrote him so lovely that I couldn’t let go of him when it was time. The man just wanted to stay in the book, and hell, he even tried to become a rival to the actual hero, Julian. That gave me some sleepless nights. Finally I decided if I wanted to get my neck out of the noose for the sake of the story I had planned out, I had to go cold turkey on him.

In the original draft, Quinn made another appearance somewhere past the middle of the book. A personal one. But knowing better, I wrote him out. And when my critique partners whined that I couldn’t leave him back in London just like that after I made the man sexy enough to make your mouth water, I rewrote parts of him in the beginning, too. I altered his behavior and changed his dialogue. Can you imagine how hard it is to push a demanding figure like him back into the lines? It was like I had a permanent argument with him inside my mind, me telling him he can’t do that, and he leaning in close, cocking a brow, and saying, “What are you willing to bet?”

Well, sometimes it’s good to be the God of your characters, because in the end he had to back down. But I think I let him be sweet enough to make an impact on the readers. And they still send me messages, telling me they almost drooled over him… Mission comleted.

Enjoy the read!

Piper

Tagged: characters

Facelift of an old book

Hi all!

Today I want to inform you about a major change about one of my books.

My publishing contract for HER GAME, HIS RULES has expired, and—after a long time of thinking—I decided not to renew it. It remains to be seen if this was the better decision, but right now I’m very excited about what lies ahead. The book got a facelift and a new name.

If you already read HER GAME, HIS RULES, please be aware that the content is totally identical. It’s only the outside that went through a makeover. I would hate for you to download the same book a second time. For all those of you, who haven’t read it yet, get the new edition here. You’ll surely enjoy it!

As per my personal preference, I’m offering you the first half to read for free on my website again.

Cheerio,

Piper

Tagged: writing

Facelift of an old book

Hi all!

Today I want to inform you about a major change about one of my books.

Formerly known as HER GAME, HIS RULES

My publishing contract for HER GAME, HIS RULES has expired, and—after a long time of thinking—I decided not to renew it. It remains to be seen if this was the better decision, but right now I’m very excited about what lies ahead. The book got a facelift and a new name.

If you already read HER GAME, HIS RULES, please be aware that the content is totally identical. It’s only the outside that went through a makeover. I would hate for you to download the same book a second time. For all those of you, who haven’t read it yet, get the new edition here. You’ll surely enjoy it!

As per my personal preference, I’m offering you the first half to read for free on my website again.

Cheerio,

Piper

Tagged: writing

Something…and a little bit

I feel like I should say something. Something like… All of you, who read PLAY WITH ME, loved it, posted a review on Goodreads and Amazon, and keep sending me messages, yeah, all you guys rock!

I never expected this hype about the book to happen, but 12,000 people have read the book in less than two months. And seriously, if you imagine that number of people in one place, you could fill a concert hall with them. This is amazing. Thank you very much!

As a little “give-back-to-you”, I thought some of you might like to get a glimpse at the story as it continues. Tony’s book is already in progress, and here’s an exclusive excerpt from the first chapter.

Happy reading!

HEADING TO THE back of the café, I looked over my shoulder and quirked my brows at my cousin. “Seriously, Cloey, it’s not like the paparazzi are hiding behind those columns and waiting to snap any misstep you make in your life.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but a deeper voice came from another direction. “Watch out!”

My head snapped around at the fierce warning, and I skittered to a halt inches before I’d have crushed into the busboy. He held a protective hand in front of the empty glasses on his tray.

“Whoa! I‘m sorry,” I stuttered. What I really wanted to say was: Hello. I’m Sam, and you’re the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen.

His eyes were blue like the sky over Egypt, and they focused on me for a couple of seconds. Then he scowled over my shoulder.

Cloey pushed to the front. “Hello, Anthony.”

I had trouble figuring out if she tried to sound flirtatious or arrogant.

“Please bring me a martini to the table and—” She looked at me, deliberating, and with a finger to her lips. “A club soda for my cousin.” Under her breath she added, “You’re going to drive home tonight.”

I felt the urge to laugh, but I feared Cloey would just take that for another reason to rebuke me, so I restrained myself. “I don’t think you’ll get alcohol in this place,” I whispered back then turned to the busboy, Anthony, and hoped Cloey would introduce me.

She didn’t. Instead she stalked toward the table at the far end in her high heels and sat down with three of her friends I had met earlier today, adjusting her black mini.

Since she had talked to the guy, he probably was one of those people we actually did converse with. I offered him a smile. “Hi. I’m Samantha Summers.”

“Get out of my way.” He said it in a polite tone, but there was ice in his gaze.

My mouth fell open.

He shoved past me, and I took a quick step to the side. My eyes dried out, because I forgot to blink in my current state of shock.

“Another Summers. Just what we needed.” His growl smashed my last bit of hope for a nice first evening in my new hometown.

Epilogue for PLAY WITH ME

Hiya!

Know the word procrastinating? I think I invented it. I should be working hard on my next release, but what did I do the past few weeks? Found myself spending too much time at social media and answering fan mail. Not that this wasn’t a great lot of fun. I loved all your feedback on PLAY WITH ME and enjoyed to get in touch with some of you.

Now, the outcome of these new friendships is…Liza and Ryan get an epilogue. You all screamed for more of Ryan Hunter, and to be fair, I wanted more of him, too. So last night I carved out a draft for an epilogue. It’s running though the proofing process right now, and hopefully I’ll be able to upload an extended version of the book by tonight.

However, nearly 10,000 people have read the novella already, and I don’t see you spending money again, just to read the few pages at the end. So I think it’s only fair, to make the epilogue free for all of you. I’ll post it on a separate page on my website for a while and hope you’ll find the way there. If you liked it, feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to see what you think.

Cheers,

Piper

Tagged: Play with me

RYAN HUNTER – exclusive interview

You love him, don’t you? I know you do, because I love him, too.

Recently, he got a request for a character interview. For all those of you, who keep telling me you want more of RYAN HUNTER, hop over to Iris’ blog and find out what he has to say. And additionally to it, I’m going to dedicate a page on my website to the guy. So if you have any other questions you want answered, leave a comment, and I’ll try to work them into HUNTER’s site.

Have a happy week, y’all!

Piper

There will be a sequel

All right, you win!

Out of 4,500 people who read PLAY WITH ME in the past three weeks since it’s out, about 4,000 asked me to write a sequel. So, the masses stated their wish, and what a mean author would I be if I didn’t come after it?

You’ll get BOOK II.

Anthony Mitchell…in a few years.

But it won’t be staring Ryan Hunter, ladies. It will be about Tony’s struggles with his Happily-Ever-After at college. So for any special wishes (and yes, I mean it, cause the book isn’t written yet and I’m always curious about your ideas) leave a comment.

Happy New Year!

Piper

Get another half for free!

Seriously…you’re amazing! All of you!

PLAY WITH ME sold 3,000 times in the first couple of weeks. As a speacial thanks to you, I’ll make the first half of another book available, too. For free!!

It’s a new adult, paranormal romance (full length this time ) called HER GAME, HIS RULES. If you liked Ryan Hunter, you’ll love Julian. He’s the sexiest angel who ever left Heaven.

The sound of my grinding teeth reverberated through my head. If I wasn’t careful, I’d wear down my molars in this goddamn place. “My clothes are not shabby.”

Julian pointed to my leg. “There’s a hole in your knee.”

 

Read the first half for free here!

Happy New Year!

Piper

The Deal – it’s for FREE

Okay…here’s the deal.

You get the first half of my novella PLAY WITH ME for free. Yes, I mean it, and no that was not a typo.

Personally, I hate it when I have to decide whether a book is worth the money and I only have the blurb. So to make it easy for you, I wanted to do something a bit unique. You get the first half for free, and at the end of the chapters, you decide if you really want to buy this book or not.

Sound fair?

Just go to the excerpt page on my website and . . . start reading!

“How did you know this was my window?”

“I didn’t. It was trial and error.”

Gag. “How many windows have you tried?”

“Yours.”

Happy Holiday Season!

Piper

A read for the holidays!

Here’s my special Christmas treat for you!

Get PLAY WITH ME for only $1.99 on Kobo Books and Amazon.

Ryan Hunter’s parties are legend… And tonight she’s going to be there.

You love sexy heroes and strong heroines? And even a little soccer maybe? This novella has it all. Grab your copy before December 25th and get a special price!