Bette Maybee's Blog, page 2

SAVE A TREE & 50% Off PHOENIX: THE RISING

Save a tree and 50% off my novel: PHOENIX: THE RISING today only on Evernight Teen. Let's bring my novel back up to the #1 Bestseller spot (just slipped off today!!). All Evernight Teen e-titles on sale today, April 22, for 50% off!
http://www.evernightteen.com/

PHOENIX: THE RISING JUST TURNED ONE!!

That's right!  It's been one year since ET's top seller--Phoenix: The Rising--debuted as the launching title for Evernight Teen, which means both Evernight Teen and Phoenix: The Rising are sharing a birthday! What does that mean? TIME TO CELEBRATE with a BLOG HOP and tons of GREAT PRIZES!!



ET will be raffling off a $100 iTunes gift certificate, taking 25% off all Evernight Teen titles on the ET site from 1/24-1/31, the other authors and reviewers may have their own special prizes, and I'll be giving away TWO $10 Amazon gift cards!

All you have to do to win a chance at one of my $10 Amazon gift cards is A-join my site (just to the right) and B-answer a simple question about the excerpt below. Leave your answer in the comment section along with your email address and I'll contact the winners after February 1!

The excerpt:

“Where in the hell have you been, young man?” Eli spun around, nearly dropping the towel he clutched around his waist. Lucy giggled and waved from her spot near the window. “Surprise!”  “Ah, jeez, Lucy, you about scared the crap out of me! What are you doing in here? Do you know what time it is?” Eli tightened his grip on the towel and marched over to his dresser.“I was worried. I thought for sure something happened to you.” She strolled over to his bed and sat, crossing one long, smooth leg over the other. “What are you doing out so late, anyways? We do have school in the morning, you know.” One of the straps of her camisole fell off her shoulder, revealing tanned, soft skin and a hint of cleavage.  Lucy didn’t make any attempt to cover up. She knew her body was bangin’, and she wanted to make sure Eli noticed as well. Unfortunately, his eyes landed only momentarily on her legs, barely hesitating on them before he turned and headed towards the closet.“I’m well aware that we have school tomorrow, and where I was is none of your business.” To Lucy’s delight, Eli’s use of the flimsy closet door as a dressing screen while he changed into a pair of athletic shorts was about as successful as her own attempt to seduce him. Lucy bit her lower lip as brief glimpses of muscular, naked ass made her blood race in her veins once again. It took everything in her to keep from pouncing on him at that moment. Instead, she rolled to her stomach and batted her eyelashes at him as he approached the bed. “I bet you went to see a gir-rl,” Lucy sang, but the taunting elicited nothing from Eli but a dark, exasperated stare. Lucy slid off the bed and began circling him with the giddy anticipation of a vulture about to dive-bomb fresh road kill. “Hmmm.” She tapped her chin as she pushed further. “Let me see if I can guess who it was. You went to Homecoming with that girl. What was her name?” She raised an eyebrow and smiled in self-satisfaction at her game-playing skills. “Julie, wasn’t it?” The muscle in his jaw twitched. Bingo! She stopped her circle of attack just inches from his nose. God, he smelled good! “You are a naughty boy, Eli Sullivan. I thought you said you didn’t know where she was?” Lucy tapped him on his nose, yelped, and pulled her finger back as a small burst of electricity passed between her finger and the end of his nose...
And now... the question: What was the name of the girl Eli took to Homecoming?  Post your answer in the comment section below, along with your email, and don't forget to join this site so you are sure to be entered into the drawing! Good luck!

Phoenix: The Rising on Evernight Teen                 
On Amazon
On Barnes and Noble                                             
On Goodreads
On Pinterest
On Facebook
On Twitter

ET BLACK FRIDAY 50% OFF SALE!!

Still yearning for an e-version of PHOENIX: THE RISING written by little ol' me? Evernight Teen is having a BLACK FRIDAY 50% off sale on all titles. There are now 18 and PHOENIX: THE RISING is their #1 BESTSELLER! Here you go!

SCAVENGER HUNT! WIN A KINDLE!!

Today kicks off Evernight Teen's Autumn Scavenger Hunt and you have a chance to win...are you ready for it???
A Kindle!
And that's not all!  Three commenters here will receive $10 Evernight gift certificates! Take a look at the books on Evernight Teen and let them know which titles you’d love to read and why. (Of course, I'm pretty partial to that hottie, Eli Sullivan, who's decorating the cover of PHOENIX: THE RISING!!)

Follow the link below to all the participating blogs, then answer the questions. The answers can be found on each author’s blog.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NWZLXTL

The question for my blog is.....

What did I "confess" on Feb. 8, 2013?

One winner will be randomly chosen from the participants who answered all questions correctly.
Other participating authors include:
Sasha Hibbs, Stephanie Lawton,
S.X. Bradley, Trakena Prevost, Diana Stager, Christine Klocek-Lim, Amaris Chapman, Melissa Frost

Want to Win a Signed Copy of Phoenix: The Rising?

Hey, all!

The Pufferbilly Days signing event was a success! I couldn't believe all the folks who showed up. I made many new friends and got to revisit some old memories with many friends I hadn't seen in over 30 years! (Yes, I am THAT old!) Take a look at the print I had signed by all those who stopped by. I'm honored to have gotten all THEIR autographs! It's decorating the side wall of this page, and will also be decorating my wall at home. I love my peeps!

In celebration, I'm going have a drawing to give away one signed copy of Phoenix: The Rising. To enter the drawing, make a comment below AND sign up as a member of this blog. If you are already a member (thank you!), then just make a comment. You will, however, need to be located in the continental U.S. to participate. **sad puppy**. (Sorry my other peeps! Shipping costs necessitate this!) Make sure you comment and sign up by 11:59 pm, Central, Saturday, September 22.

Hope to read your comments and see your beautiful faces decorating my side wall soon!

The ELI SULLIVAN EXPRESS is heading to Pufferbilly Days!

Don't you just LOVE hometown festivals?? Boone, IA, my sweet hometown nestled smack-dab in the middle of the Iowa cornfields, will host Pufferbilly Days this weekend and I'll be having my first official book signing event a the local book shop, appropriately named, The Book Shoppe (dontcha just love it?) on Sunday, Sept. 8 from 11-3!

Now, if any of you have read even a part of PHOENIX: THE RISING, you'll know what I'm talking about when I mention the ELI SULLIVAN EXPRESS in the title of this post. My hottie, Eli Sullivan, is gracing the door of the book shop and has garnered more than a few shocked/curious eyebrow quirks, swoons, and tsk-tsk-tsks by the locals, followed by loads of questions. The shopkeeper giggled as she told me of explaining that this is a gritty, upper young adult paranormal aimed at the Twilight audience, and that the cover is a picture of the Phoenix, a fallen angel (see the wings??) Well, all I can say is that the cover is doing its job by attracting attention and sales.

I'm now in pre-signing event mode, making sure I have enough copies, putting books on reserve, making bookmarks, and getting just-the-right-type of signing utensils stowed in my pack.

As far as Pufferbilly Days is concerned, I'll be heading there to visit the beer tent on Friday night, and....possibly Saturday night, maybe take in the parade, and of course, I'll visit the craft fair! I'll eat a bratwurst (or possibly two) with sauerkraut and mustard, drink overpriced Diet Coke, and visit with friends I haven't seen in years. I'll listen to the Standing Hamptons, drink beer, and laugh as the festivities are periodically accompanied by the whistle of trains as they roar through the middle of downtown Boone, always remembering that this is one reason I love being from a small town in the heart of the Midwest.

Watch out Boone, the Eli Sullivan Express is heading to Pufferbilly Days, and I'm heading HOME!!

http://www.thebookshoppe.net/ai1ec_event/bette-maybe-teen-book-signing/?instance_id=235

FIRST KISS...

FIRST KISS...

Julie held her chin high, praying that her eyes and her voice wouldn’t betray her. “I’m fine. Really.” Her voice cracked as a single tear broke through, sliding down her cheek and over her swollen, split lips. Eli took a step closer and cupped her face in his hands, turning it up to meet his gaze. “No, Jules, you’re not.”
He traced the trail of the tear down her cheek. Her lips parted as his finger brushed them, and she watched in wonder as he lifted his finger, wet with her tear, to his own lips. She shook her head slowly in confirmation as more tears cascaded down her face. “No. I’m not.” She knew he was going to kiss her—and she wanted it to happen—more than she had wanted anything before in her life. Her breath hitched in her throat as vivid streaks of color flickered in the sapphire depths of Eli’s eyes, like tongues of fire in the night sky. She couldn’t wait any longer. Without another thought, she reached up and entwined her fingers in the back of his hair, pulling him close. “Kiss me, Eli,” she pleaded breathlessly.
    And he did.
    Eli’s breath quickened as he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her softly—almost hesitantly—at first. Julie felt a slight sting on her tender, injured lips, and then a familiar sense of euphoria soaked in as the pain melted away and passion took its place...a passion she had never experienced before. Her mind whirled as colors flew in front of her eyes, and she felt Eli respond with the same urgency she was feeling, his kiss pulling her deeper into the maelstrom of lights that now blinded her. Too soon, the colors swirled into a spiral of white light, reduced to a pinpoint, and then disappeared from Julie’s vision...

PHOENIX: THE RISING $0.99 on kindle for one week only... paperback on sale for $12.98.

START YOUR ENGINES!!!

Get those KINDLES fired up folks! PHOENIX: THE RISING (by little ol' ME) and all other Evernight Teen titles: Shrapnel by Stephanie Lawton, Disintegrate by Christine Klocek-Lim, Unraveled by S.X. Bradley, Blood Hex by Erin Butler, Slayer for Hire by P.E. Cunningham, and Elysium by Sylah Sloan are on sale for $0.99 (NINETY-NINE CENTS!!) for one week only! Don't have a Kindle?? You can get a free app for just about any computer, tablet, smartphone or Kindle Cloud Reader here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sa_menu_karl?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

Annnnd, since you're here, why not become a member? I'd love to have you!

Bette

Guy Writing...

I've found that I LOVE writing from the male point of view. After cutting my teeth on Eli in PHOENIX: THE RISING, Collin Jamison, the hot Manhattan executive who has found his way to the quaint Midwestern town of Boone, Iowa, is coming alive in book two of THE TIP TOP CAFE: FOUR SISTERS series, I'LL TAKE MANHATTAN. Here's a snippet from Collin's point of view. Enjoy!
  
Collin watched from a shadowed spot by the cart shed as Jeannie left the country club. He thought maybe she had called a cab, but when she took off walking down the street, he knew she wasn’t thinking straight. He gave her a few minutes, and as soon as he saw her stumble and kick her shoe to the side of the road, he took off.  She was bawling so hard by the time he came up behind her that she didn’t even notice.“Need a ride, stranger?” She glanced at him, but didn’t break her wobbly stride.“Go AWAY!!” The words strangled in her throat.Collin rolled along silently beside her. There was no way he was abandoning her. He had the full scoop on the suit now. Ross Williams. Former classmate. Banker.  The man who held the purse strings of this woman’s life. The man who could make her or break her, and he knew it. That gave him leverage. She was a sitting duck, and from the look of it, he just broke her.Jeannie suddenly stopped walking and moaned. “Okay.” She limped over to the Harley, hiked her dress up and climbed on behind him. He took off without a word. As soon as he hit Highway 30 and opened the throttle, Jeannie wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him, resting her dampened cheek on his back. He knew he’d just rescued her from something, but he didn’t know quite what.After a few minutes, her hands slid from his waist to his chest and she clung to him.  He knew she was upset, but the feel of her body pressed up against him, her breasts warm against his back, her long, naked legs straddling his thighs, was just about more than he could take, and he felt guilty for taking any pleasure from it. Still, even guilt couldn’t make this feeling didn’t go away.Collin slowed as he descended the hill that led to her house.  In some silly, selfish way he didn’t want the ride to end. She was totally dependent on him right now. He felt--foolishly and a bit self-righteously--like the proverbial knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel in distress, and damn, it felt good. At the same time, he was madder than hell that a man could have this effect on her, that another man could have this much control over her life. Collin pulled to a stop beside the garage in his usual parking spot on the crushed, white, limestone. Before he could even turn off the engine, Jeannie swung her leg over the seat and dismounted without a word. The feel of her hands, her legs, her body, separating from him left him cold and empty. The last fifteen minutes he had felt more needed than any other time of his life, and now he just felt … alone.

ET Summer Kick-Off Blog Hop!

Yowzers! What better way to start the summer than with a BLOG HOP featuring the crazy awesome Evernight Teen authors (including YOURS TRULY) and other amazing YA bloggers. Not only will you be introduced to some fantastic YA authors and their newest releases, but you'll also be in the running for some great prizes, including an e-copy of all our great books (including one of my very own PHOENIX: THE RISING), a $10 amazon gift card, and a brand-spanking-new Kindle Paperwhite offered by Evernight Teen.

And now, for your reading pleasure (and a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift-card)...simply leave a comment with your email address after this excerpt (and I'd especially LOVE it if you'd become a member of this blog!):

*** Julie pushed the door open and walked inside. Eli lay silently on the hospital bed, staring at the same game on TV that Simon was watching in the waiting room. He still sported a neck brace, and he looked incredibly uncomfortable. Julie walked by his bed and sat on an orange, vinyl-upholstered chair in the corner of the room. Eli looked over at her and raised his eyebrows. Her heart flipped in her chest. Even in a hospital gown and a neck brace, he was still the hottest guy Julie had ever seen.            “That was probably the worst three dollars I ever spent. I hardly got to see any of the game at all.”
“You mean you didn’t buy an activity pass?”Julie shook her head and leaned back in her seat, trying to appear relaxed. “I hadn’t planned on attending any games. I’m not normally a sports fan.”“Wow, then I feel pretty honored that you came to see me.”Julie smiled. “You should be.”Eli started to smile, and then winced, obviously in pain.Julie hopped off the chair and ran to his side, clutching his hand in hers. A jolt of electricity raced up her arm. She was so glad to feel it, but it immediately began to wreak its normal havoc on her.“Are you okay?” She was now breathing too hard, and those familiar spots of color were beginning to cloud her vision.“I’m gonna be okay, Julie, but you look like you’re about to pass out. You better sit.”Julie nodded. She did feel like she was going to pass out. She took a step away from the bed, intent on heading back to the ugly orange chair in the corner, but Eli still had hold of her hand, and pulled her back.“Sit here, on my bed.”Julie had no time to protest. She knew if she didn’t sit, she’d end up on the floor. She sat, pulled her hands out of Eli’s, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply, trying to gain control of herself.  By the second breath, she was feeling a bit better. She opened her eyes to a smirking Eli Sullivan.“What?” she snapped. His smirk immediately softened into a concerned smile.“I’m sorry my touch has this ... effect on you. It doesn’t seem to affect anybody else quite like this.”“Besa Soobedda.”Liana stood in the doorway. She whispered the words again and nodded towards Julie. The foreign words meant nothing to Julie, but she could see Eli understood them. His brow furrowed.“No, Liana. It’s too late.”Liana backed out of the doorway and disappeared down the hall. Julie looked at Eli suspiciously.“What did she say?”Eli crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the ceiling. “Nothing you need to be concerned with.”“It must be something important if you said it was too late. Too late for what?”Eli started to shake his head, but stopped with a groan and a gasp of pain. “Ah, cripes, Julie. It’s nothing. She’s just a meddling old woman who needs to mind her own business.” Julie was about to push for an answer again when Eli closed his eyes and grimaced. Droplets of sweat spotted his forehead and upper lip.Julie slid off the bed and grabbed a washcloth. She held it under a stream of cold water, rung it out, and laid it across Eli’s forehead.“Is it bad?” she whispered.Eli bit his lower lip. “It’ll pass. It always does.”Julie sat helplessly by Eli’s side and watched as Eli fought silently against the pain that wracked his body ... the healing pain of immortality. It was mind-boggling. Eli should be dead, or at the very least, paralyzed from his injury, and here he was, on his way to being completely healed. Julie wondered how many times he’d already gone through this. Had he ever actually experienced death?The grimace on Eli’s face relaxed bit by bit as his breathing slowed. He was asleep. The worst of it must be over. Julie slid softly off the bed, careful not to disturb him, and curled up in the orange chair. She stared at Eli ... at the steady rising and falling of his chest. He just cheated death. Death. It was something she’d spent most of the last five years thinking about. But it was her own death she contemplated. The thought of someone else dying, someone she ... cared about, frightened her, more than the reality of her own death ever could. Her death was inevitable. It was just a matter of time. ***  REMEMBER TO POST A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card! (Don't forget to sign up as a member of this blog, pretty please!) For a chance to win a Kindle Paperwhite, just click on the ET Blop Hop graphic on my sidebar to take you to Evernight Teen and follow their directions! Also, don't forget to visit the other blogs for a chance at some other great prizes. Thanks for stopping by! And now for the blog-roll! 
1. Christine Klocek-Lim2. The Cinderella Diaries3. Sasha Hibbs4. Susan X Bradley5. Diana Stager6. Love, Laughter, Friendship7. Larissa's World8. Reader Girls9. Kristin @ Young Adult Book Havem10. Amy's Book Den11. Buffy's Ramblings12. Flirty and Dirty Book Blog13. Unputdownable Books14. The Hope Chest Reviews15. Addicted To Novels16. Book Labyrinth17. Book Angel Booktopia (Int)18. Erin Butler19. Stephanie Lawton20. Author Rebecca Hart21. The Book Faerie