Marian Tee's Blog, page 23

An Excerpt of YA Romance Drawn by Marian Tee

As I am having trouble adding this as the inside flap for Drawn, let me share this excerpt here and my

“I can’t believe nobody’s realized how sexy you are,” he mutters.
    At first I think he’s joking, but when Yuki keeps on scowling I end up gasping for laughter.
    His scowl worsens. “You don’t understand, senpai.” He pinches my cheeks – hard enough to make me yelp. “I told you I don’t want to share my toy. If people ever start seeing us together too often, they’re going to look at you more and more. And if you keep on with your fantasies, then they may catch you looking like you’re having an orgasm---”
    “Yuki!” It’s impossible not to turn red with all the images running through my mind now.
    “Don’t you know that a girl having an orgasm is the biggest turn on for guys?”
    “Umm, no?”
    I didn’t think his scowl can get any uglier, but it does. “Well, now you know,” he says grimly. “So promise me you’ll do your best to stop fantasizing in school, senpai.” A brooding look settles on his face. “What is it with you and your fantasies anyway?”
I’m not ready to tell him about my weird childhood encounter with porn nor am I willing to let Yuki know about my dreams of becoming a mangaka. He’s half Japanese, after all. Even if I’m drawing manga for girls, he’s still part of the target market. If he laughs at my drawing, it would annihilate me.
    “I promise I’ll do my best not to let my fantasies get the better of me,” I say instead, hoping it’s enough to distract him.
    It is. Yuki’s answering smile is breathtaking. “Good. And you don’t have to fantasize about other guys either. At least not when I’m around and I’m able to do this---” He bites my ear, hard enough that I almost gasp.
“---and this,” he murmurs as he kisses the side of my neck.
Weird, hot, wet sensations threaten to swamp my body, and I quickly move away, almost gluing myself to the window on my side so that he doesn’t get to kiss any other part of me.
“I’ll stop, I promise!” I say fervently.
Yuki laughs, but he moves back to his side of the seat.

Thank You for Buying Books by Marian Tee

So it's almost 10 in the morning here. I just had about 3 or 4 hours of sleep but I'll do my best to catch a few more winks before resuming work. The thing is, that's going to be really hard because my publisher's email was such a GREAT and WONDERFUL surprise.

For those of you who don't know my three books - the last ones I will be releasing this year - are finally out in Amazon. They will be ONLY out in Amazon for the next 3 months I think since they're enrolled under Kindle Select. But anyway those books are -
Drawn
Death Loves Me Not
The Werewolf Prince and I

They are currently priced at $8.97 each - my publisher's decision, not mine. And frankly, I thought people would wait until maybe my publisher changes my mind about it, but hey, what do you know? People still went ahead and bought of it. Sooooo I am really, really happy that you think my stories are worth that much. =D Heh. I know some may say I shouldn't say something like that coz I'm devaluing my work and all that, but I also know how hard it is to earn money these days so it means A LOT to me that you're willing to shell out that much money to read my work. And again I have to emphasize, it means A LOT.

So to those who did buy it THANK YOU.  I would love to hear from you guys - if you don't care to review my work, that's totally fine - but I'd really love to hear from you guys just so I can thank you for reading my stories. :) Like any author, I feel uber blessed every time someone I don't know tells me he/she has read my book and - hopefully - liked it as well.

I will try to keep you posted on other stuff that's happening but for now it will be oyasumi for me.

Fingers crossed I wake up to MORE great news later on. Tee-hee.

P.S. If you find it weird that I keep on adding my name to my blog pos

New Marian Tee Books - Just 1 More Day to Go

I can barely wait myself!!!
I am really excited about all three coming out. Two of those have had fairly good request rates with agents. I actually got an offer of representation for the YA horror Death Loves Me Not and I did get represented by that agent - she is well-known even though she isn't based in NYC - but it didn't work out.
The other YA I will have out tomorrow - Drawn - actually have pending requests with agents. Unfortunately at that time, I wasn't able to send my manuscript since I had MAJOR trouble at work. Don't want to go into details, but let's just say that it put me off writing. I didn't want to send the manuscript in until I gave it one good final polish.
BUT as it happened I didn't get to send it at all. When I saw Evren doing really well with my current publisher - I started out as one of her article writers :) - then I thought I might as well get her to publish my other books. You see, it's become really clear to me that - aside from a great story - it is of paramount importance that
a) You have a WONDERFUL book cover
b) You have an EXCELLENT person promoting your e-book.
I'm lucky enough that my publisher gets to do a&b for me. :)

So anyway I just wanted to share those two things about my YA books. I am really proud of them - especially Drawn, which actually drew interest from several of  NYC's top agents. Many of them are notorious for their quick and massive number of rejects so getting ANY interest from them at all is flattering - IMHO.

As for my adult contemporary romance, The Werewolf Prince and I, this one I am sure to blush about for years. It's my first attempt to write something this steamy. Maybe it's already bordering on semi-erotica - and I think it should since my publisher tells me she will categorize it as such. BUT the steamy scenes are not the only thing you can will have to look forward to. I honestly think its H&h - Domenico and Misty - make a really cute pair. I know, I know. I make them sound like a YA pairing but....they are really cute together!!! Well, okay, I'll leave it to you guys to decide.

Anyway, I'm just really happy about my trio of releases tomorrow - and that would NOT be possible like ever if not for my SUPER PUBLISHER FAITH C. MARTIN. So this early, I am already thanking her! She's my early Christmas gift, heh.

Okay, I'm going back to work now. I have my own surprise waiting for her - hopefully I get to deliver it right before she kills me for sending another

The Romance in My YA Horror Death Loves Me Not

Now that Death Loves Me Not will soon be out, I'm pretty sure that just one look at its cover - and especially its back cover blurb - will tell you that this book has something to do with scary stuff. It may or may not give you chills and thrills, but the genre it belongs to is unmistakable, right?
Well, that got me to thinking about those who have read Evren and liked what they've read. Would they care about buying DLMN as well?
I hope so.
Because it does have a love story, too. There always is in most horrors since it's love that often propels characters to perform selfless and courageous acts.
I'm pretty happy with how the romance develops between Eden and her best friend Stud. It's no conflagration and with sparks flying all around at first sight. It's more like a slow burn that steadily heats up as they realize their feelings have to be acknowledged, one way or another.
But...I'll leave that for you to discover. Meanwhile, here's an excerpt to show you what I'm talking about.

I couldn’t concentrate on the movie, not when Stud’s fingers kept accidentally grazing mine when I dug for the bowl of cheese popcorn we had shared. And it was accidental. It had to be.

This was not right.

            My phone made another insistent beep. It could have played an MP3 tune instead, but I just hadn’t been able to muster enough interest to make the switch from default to trendy. I looked forward to the day that having the coolest ringtone in the planet would be the most important things in my life.

            “That’s him,” Will chortled.

            I love Will to death, but sometimes I could also cheerfully strangle her.

            “Will,” I hissed, sneaking a look at Stud, hoping he hadn’t heard her.

            But he had, and he saw me looking at him, and he knew then.

            Will gasped.

My heart sank.

Most times, she was irritatingly intelligent just when I needed her badly not to pay attention.

            “Who’s him?” Stud asked with a grin, sharp as a knife, and it slashed my conscience mercilessly.

            I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came.

            “Liam,” Will answered brightly. Maybe she thought she was coming to my rescue, but she was just digging me a bigger, deeper grave.

            “She asked me if I could hook her up with some guy---”

            “Will!”

            “Did she now?” Stud drawled, leaning back against his seat.

            I squirmed under his gaze. “I just thought I should start living a, well, more normal life.”

            “Do I know him?” Stud asked of his sister.

            “Don’t worry. He’s not like you,” she said sweetly before turning back to me. “Now, stop keeping me in suspense and just answer him. He said he’s going to text you now so that’s him. I’m sure of it.”

            Doing my best to ignore the icy blue gazes of the twins, I unlocked my phone and checked my inbox.

            Hi. Will gave me your number. My name’s Liam, by the way. Liam Somerset (just in case you wanna Google me and make sure I’m not a psychopath). :D Hope you don’t mind me texting you out of the blue.

            Oh, wow. Will had really done her homework this time. The last couple of guys she had recommended thought proper capitalization was only for folks aged sixty and above. They also spoke the same weird text lingo, one that I had never quite gotten the hang of. It went something like this: hw bout a D8, shawty?

            I hadn’t even known D8 was a ‘date’ until Will told me. I actually thought it was a kind of car or place or something. And I had no idea why he thought I was short.

            I texted my reply but had to backtrack several times because Stud was no longer pretending he wasn’t trying to read my message, causing my fingers to trip all over themselves. My phone beeped in flattering speed after a few moments.

            Will and I have this fun run the day after tomorrow.

            Fun run? Where did Will get this guy?

            I’m wondering if you’d like to come and join us. It would be a cool way for us to get to know each other. If you find me boring or weird, you could just run away or something. :P

            A teenage guy, humble?

            He was either ugly or he was faking it.

            I sneaked a suspicious glance at Will but she just winked at me. That wink was a bad sign. It was usually preceded or followed by crazy stuff, which could be bad or good. You never could tell with Will.

Me: Umm...sure...what time and where?

Liam: Well, the fun run sorta starts at 5 AM...think you can make it?

Me: Lol. I guess so. I’ll just tuck in early.

Liam: Cool! I’m really looking forward to meet you. Will’s been raving nonstop about you. I’ll pick you up. Just text me your address.

Me: Actually, I’m staying @ Will’s place. Do you know it?

Liam: Yep. I’ll probably go with Hades then.

Me: Hades?

Liam: Hadrian? Will’s date? So, I’ll come by around 230. That ok?

This was the first time I had heard of someone named after the Lord of the Underworld. I mean, Will knew that was what Hades meant, right? I sneaked another look at Will, but this time, she steadfastly ignored me. I resumed texting with a frown.

Me: Yeah, sure.

Liam: Great. I’m really looking forward to see you.

            Stud stood up so suddenly, I looked up in surprise then wished I hadn’t when I saw his eyes, which had dulled into an unemotional shade of blue.

            “I have to go.”

            No, he hadn’t.

            I made him go.

            I needed him to go.

            I knew that, and I knew that I had to do what I did, but it didn’t make me feel any better.          

            “You’re such an idiot,” Will said. She tossed a kernel of popcorn into her mouth. “He loves you. He loves you not. He loves you.”

“Shut up, Will.”

There was just one last kernel left. “He loves you not.” She took a half-bite. “He loves you!” she sang and took the last bit in, munching noisily.

YA Romance Novel DRAWN by Marian Tee - 5 Things You Should Know

In celebration of the upcoming release of DRAWN - my first YA contemporary romance novel - here are 5 interesting things I would like to share about this book.
#1 The name of the male protagonist, YUKI HIMURA, was derived from the names of 2 of my favorite anime / manga characters.
For those who don't know Kenshin HIMURA is the main character of the anime / manga Rurouni Kenshin. He's an ex-samurai who goes around doing good deeds to make up for his bloody past. He's my #1 anime crush, heh.
And below you have Kaname (the guy) and Yuki (the girl). They're both pureblood vampires and though they were raised as siblings, Kaname is in love with Yuki. I am rooting for Yuki x Kaname, personally, but I have 100% respect for all the shippers of the Yuki x Zero pairing. If you read the same books that I do (like the Top 10 of Amazon's Erotica bestsellers) then you may recall one book referring to this anime. :) Her female protagonist ships Yuki x Kaname, too.
#2. You may have noticed that the girl in the cover of Drawn is a brunette even though she's been described as a redhead. Just think of that hair as her wig when she was COSPLAYING as Yuki. :) And she does in one of the latter chapters. Just saying. Thought you'd like to know.
#3 I talk a lot about MANGA in the book. I'm kind of sad that English-translating manga publishers in the US like TokyoPop have closed, but thankfully you can still indulge yourself with the ones being faithfully translated and published by companies like Kodansha and VizMedia. If you have an iPad, I highly recommend you download Manga BRR Reader. This great app allows you to download scanlations straight to your iPad and store it for offline reading. :) But of course, nothing beats having your own copy of these wonderful works when they become available in your country.
#4 I have never been to Florida so forgive me if I may have misrepresented anything about the state in any way. It was unintentional definitely. I'd love to hear any feedback you'd like to give so that I can make my setting more real. :)
#5 Hopefully, you will be delighted to know that Drawn is just the start of Yuki and KC's story. After all, they haven't exactly...well, you'll know what I mean once you've read their story.

Enjoy and lots of love to those who would download, purchase, or review Drawn!

Quick Update and My Haunted House Adventure

This is going to be a really, really quick update as I have about half a novel to finish proofreading. I am really excited about this and fingers crossed my publisher will get this out by Friday alongside two other novels that I have long completed in the past. I am also finally adding the cover of Death Loves Me Not - my YA horror - to the My Books page. I'm really in love - in a terrified kind of way - with this cover so I'm excited to hear if you guys feel the same. It is very creepy, isn't it?

Oh, and last weekend we had a holiday, thus allowing us to spend a few days vacationing in Baguio, the country's summer capital. I tweeted about this in the past. Hopefully, I will soon be able to share a couple of pictures here but what I'm really excited to tell you guys about was my long-anticipated visit to 14 Laperal, aka the White House and Baguio's most famous haunted house.

Here's a sneak peek of the house. Look closely and you'll see me in one of its third-story balconies. According to its caretakers, it's the balcony where one girl jumped to her death years and years ago and to this day haunts the balcony. One caretaker says he occasionally catches a glimpse of her just standing there at night, dressed all in white and crying. Cuh-reepy. I know.

Evren Lands Me a Spot in Amazon Author Rank's Top 100

Wee! Look what I found! While tinkering with my profile in Amazon's Author Central, I noticed this little line appearing below my book's info.
So apparently, the Amazon Author Rank is based on overall sales of all books of an Author that are presently available in Amazon. It's updated by the hour.
I find it pretty amazing that I managed to rank at all so that #99 spot is a huge thing for me. And I know I owe it to you guys for buying / borrowing / reviewing Evren.
THANK YOU and virtual hugs to all of you!

My thoughts on erotica...

So here's the thing. I used to hate WRITING erotica. Hated it with a passion, but it took EL James' Fifty Shades trilogy to make me realize that I hated it for all the wrong reasons.
You see, the erotica stories I mostly read were, umm, just porn on paper. And when I was asked to give it a try, I just knew I wouldn't be able to do it.
But apparently, there are so many things I hadn't known about erotica.
#1 I thought didn't get published in Amazon - I mean, even before the 50 shades craze. I thought they weren't sold on "respectable" sites so I hunted elsewhere for them. In the end, the ones I got to read were straight from the "literature" section of a porn site.
I did get to read Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty trilogy but it didn't feel erotica to me because it was Anne. Rice. She writes all sorts of cool stuff. Of course she'd make erotica read like classical lit.
#2: Most of the "erotica" stories I got to read - and thought was being asked to write - featured non-consensual encounters and pairings between people who IRL can't be together.  Like, they just CAN'T because it's the greatest TABOO of all. So, umm, no, that's gonna be another pass for me.
But then I got to read 50 Shades. I know many won't agree with me, but I really think the story and characters are great. They weren't perfect - no book is and I freely confess to skimming a few pages when I read older Stephen King books - but they were NOT trash either. Or at all! If anything, EL James should be credited for reviving a genre that never really took off in the first place.
Anyway, my first attempt at writing erotica would be The Moretti Werewolves series. They started out more as a paranormal rom-com but somehow along the way it sort of meandered into erotica as well. It's not hardcore erotica, but it's...sexier than anything I've written and I hope you guys let me know what you think when you've read it. :) I really, really look forward to hearing

So I've been invited to this horror board in Pinterest

I am very much into horror. It may not seem like it since the books I write and which have been published all have something to do with romance so far. But take my word for this - I heart horror, and that's something you would realize right away if you check out my pins in Pinterest (just look for Marian Tee or marianwrites).

So anyway, as the title goes...I feel pretty honored I've been invited to pin my stuff as well to Horror Movies, which - as the title so aptly implies - is all about scary flicks. I haven't pinned any of my stuff to this board yet but I will soon. I still have a huge list of Asian horror flicks I want to talk about. Meanwhile, you can visit my other blog Horror Haven to see what movies I've reviewed so far.

Speaking of scary stuff, I'm excited to say that my YA horror Death Loves Me Not may be out on Amazon next week. Fingers crossed it will scare its readers, which is all I want really. Morbid, I know. =D In any case, I'll keep you guys updated about this. I am really, really proud of this particular story because it's my first venture into horror writing. More about this next time, but for now ----

Have you watched any good scary movies lately? I'm dying to find some really good English horror movies. The last ones I watched were Paranormal Activity 4 and Sinister. Feel free to give me recommendations ANYTIME you think of something. :)

More on Evren ranking and sequels...

I'm back with some great news.
*happy dance* Romance. I am amaaaaazed that it's climbed up this far in the rankings and I'm really, really hoping it can break into the Top 1000 for overall rankings soon. Right now, it's sitting at #1090+ so it's close...but it can be closer of course.

So, people who have read Evren are asking when the next story in this series will come out. I wish I can say that would be - surprise! - tomorrow, but unfortunately I haven't yet finished with its first draft even. Also, right now I'm mainly concentrating on polishing other manuscripts. BUT what I can do say is that the second book in the Evren series will be about Dyvia