Jeaniene Frost's Blog, page 23

$1.99 ebook sale for The Beautiful Ashes and Nola StoryCon update!

As if the mass market release last week wasn't enough, now for a very limited time, you can discover The Beautiful Ashes, book one in the Broken Destiny series, for only $1.99 in ebook.*

Sometimes, falling in love really is the end of the world… 

Ivy has always seen things that she cannot explain. Strange things. Otherworldly things. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is imprisoned in a realm beyond Ivy’s reach. The one person who can help her is the dangerously attractive rebel who’s bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

The fate Adrian has fought to escape is here – but he never expected the burning need he feels for Ivy. With destiny on one side and desire on the other, Adrian must help Ivy search for the powerful relic that can save her sister. Yet he knows what Ivy doesn’t: the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could destroy the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side, Adrian on the other, and nothing but ashes in between…

Get your copy here: The Beautiful Ashes (A Broken Destiny Novel Book 1)

*Discount price guaranteed during sale period for U.S. residents only.

Next up is Nola StoryCon, which we announced just last Wednesday, and WOW, have readers responded! In less than a week, our website crashed multiple times from too many hits, readers reserved more than triple of our original room block at the convention hotel, and you sold out all the author tours. Tickets for the event itself go on sale 10/15/15 and with this incredible response, you might not want to wait to reserve yours. Go here for all the details.

Mass market release and secret project revealed!

The mass market edition of The Beautiful Ashes, book one in the Broken Destiny series, released yesterday. In case you haven't seen it before, here's the hot cover and the back cover description.

Sometimes, falling in love really is the end of the world… 

Ivy has always seen things that she cannot explain. Strange things. Otherworldly things. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is imprisoned in a realm beyond Ivy’s reach. The one person who can help her is the dangerously attractive rebel who’s bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

The fate Adrian has fought to escape is here – but he never expected the burning need he feels for Ivy. With destiny on one side and desire on the other, Adrian must help Ivy search for the powerful relic that can save her sister. Yet he knows what Ivy doesn’t: the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could destroy the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side, Adrian on the other, and nothing but ashes in between…

Order online at:  Amazon,Powells, B&N, BooksAMillion,IndieBound or go to your favorite local book store.

Changing topics, remember that Super Secret Project I've been working on with some friends? I finally get to reveal what it is, so without further ado, I give you....



Nola StoryCon, A Mardi Gras for readers featuring book lovers and the Big Easy, hosted by Jeaniene Frost, Melissa Marr, Ilona Andrews, Kelley Armstrong, and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Check out our amazing guest author lineup for Nola StoryCon! Lara Adrian,  Jeanette Battista,  Jenna Black,  Rachel Caine,   Kresley Cole,  Zoraida Cordova,  Cora Carmack,   Jay Crownover,  Kimberly Derting,  Sonali Dev,Kami Garcia,   Molly Harper, Kevin Hearne,  Wendy Higgins,  Beverly Jenkins,  Sophie Jordan,   Laura Kaye,   Katie McGarry,  Chloe Neill,  Jana Oliver,Pamela Palmer,   Aprilynne Pike,   Kristen Proby,  Gena Showalter, Rachel Vincent,  Jaye Wells,  Sarah Wendell, and  Samantha Young .

With special guests: Charlaine Harris, Nancy Yost from NYLA, and Merrilee Heifnetz from Writers House.

Nola StoryCon has a two-day schedule filled with panels, a mass signing, a dessert social, full dinner, After Party with games, tours, and more. To find out the dates, events, hotel, and all that other stuff, go to the official website at: http://nolastorycon.com/

I'm so excited at how the convention turned out, and I hope to see many of you there in 2016!

The Sweetest Burn cover!

At last, I can reveal the cover for The Sweetest Burn, book two in the Broken Destiny series!

The breathtaking second novel in New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Broken Destiny series finds Ivy and Adrian rekindling their alliance – and passion – as the struggle for the fate of the world begins . . .

Conquering a supernatural realm turned out to be easier than getting over a broken heart. But her initial victory has made Ivy a target for revenge, forcing her to reunite with the dangerous – and dangerously sexy – Adrian. Ivy isn’t sure which will be harder: finding the hallowed weapon that will repair the crumbling walls between demon and human realms, or resisting Adrian, who’s decided that come hell or high water, he will make Ivy his.

At first, Adrian tried to resist his feelings for Ivy. Now, determined to break the curse that dooms their love, he’s vowed to save her and to have her. If only he can persuade her to forgive his past sins.  But defying destiny—and surrendering to the smoldering desire between them —will bring consequences and sacrifices they never imagined…

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The Sweetest Burn releases on March 29th, 2016. You can pre-order your copy at Amazon, BooksAMillion, Barnes&Noble, iBooks, Powells, or  your favorite retailer. Plus, add it to your Goodreads list with this link:

I love the cover, and I am so excited to share Adrian and Ivy's continuing adventures with you once the book releases in March. If you haven't already discovered the Broken Destiny series (angels, demons, minions, gargoyles, and star-crossed lovers with opposing supernatural destinies!) the mass marketing edition of The Beautiful Ashes, book one, releases next week. Don't want to wait? Get it in ebook or audio now.

On a different topic, I've been teasing a little on this site and on my Twitter page about a certain Secret Project I've been working on with some author friends. I still can't spill the details yet, but I CAN say that the big announcement drops on the 30th, so you might want to follow THIS twitter page so you don't miss out when the news goes live ;).

That's it for me for now.  Talk soon, everyone!

Night Prince 4 title and song rec requests

As the subject line states, we now have a title for the fourth and final book in the Night Prince series, otherwise known as the Vlad and Leila books :). And the title is...

INTO THE FIRE

I'm also delighted to say that cover model Paul Marron, who appeared on the previous three Night Prince covers, WILL appear on the final cover as well. I haven't seen the cover yet, but I'm very excited to see what the art department comes up with since they're done such a great job with my other book covers.

And finally, I also have a tentative release date for INTO THE FIRE, which is summer 2016. Once I have a definite date (and a cover!) I'll be sure to share those with everyone.

Speaking of the book, as per my usual routine, I'm compiling my iTunes list of songs to write it to, and I would love your recommendations since your prior ones have introduced me to so many new songs and bands. If you aren't familiar with my music tastes, check out my previous book "playlists" here, here, and here. Thank you in advance for your suggestions! iTunes thanks you, too, since they're about to get a good chunk of my money ;).

Contest winners

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest giving away copies of the new mass market paperback edition of The Beautiful Ashes, book one in the Broken Destiny series. Nearly six hundred of you entered the contest, so I know most of you won't be happy with these results, but twenty of you will :). So, without further ado, the winners are...

Shannon Haveri, Courtney Case, Alyson Staels, Jamie Manning, Barbara Elness, Jessica Gregor, Suzset Rogers, Susan Garwood, Kat Barnes, Joanne McDonough, Jennifer Dickerson, Raven Click, Kayla Brown, Amanda Clemmer, Stephanie Archabell, Caroline Mazurek, Heather Shadix, Sarah Murphy, April Simms, and Toni Bowers.

All the winners should have already received an email with instructions on getting your copies. Thanks again to everyone who entered, and congrats again to the winners!

Giveaway!

I'm SO late in posting this, my apologies! However, let me make it up to you by offering lots of free books. Look what I got in the mail this week:


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yep, a whole box full of the mass market edition of The Beautiful Ashes, book one in the Broken Destiny series. I am giving away 20 copies of the mass market edition, which doesn't officially release until September 29th (ebook, audio and Trade editions are available now.) So, if you would like a chance to win a signed copy for yourself, just follow the instructions below.

1. Send an email to  jeanieneprizes AT gmail DOT com.  (obviously replace the “AT” with an “@” and the “DOT” with a “.” in your email.)

2. Make sure to include your name and the email address you want to be contacted at if you win, if it’s not the email you’re sending your entry from.

3. You can only enter ONCE. Duplicate entries will be deleted.

4. Contest starts now and ends Wednesday, September 9th at 11:59pm EST. Winners will be announced September 10th on my website blog.

5. International entries are welcome.

 

All winners will be chosen by Randomizer. Good luck, everyone! :).

The Sweetest Burn update

Hi, everyone! I have some news about The Sweetest Burn, book two in the Broken Destiny series. First up, the release date is March 29th, 2016, which is a little later than I originally thought it would be, but there is a very good reason why: The Sweetest Burn will release in mass market format first.

I am so pleased by this, and I know that many of you will be, too. Book one in the Broken Destiny series, The Beautiful Ashes, first came out in Trade paperback, which is the bigger - and thus more expensive - version of paperbacks. In fact, the mass market release of The Beautiful Ashes doesn't release until September 29th (next month) and I know that many of you have been waiting for it. If you haven't seen the hot new cover for the mass market edition of The Beautiful Ashes, go here.

With The Sweetest Burn releasing directly to mass market on March 29th, 2016, now those of you who prefer that format won't have to wait for it like you did for The Beautiful Ashes. And now, those of you who waited to get started on the Broken Destiny series with the mass market release of book one won't have long to wait until you find out what happens next with Ivy and Adrian :).

In fact, speaking of The Sweetest Burn, I turned in my revisions for it on Friday of last week, and I am hoping to be able to share the cover soon with all of you. I also owe you guys a giveaway, and while I'm late on posting it, I have a good reason for my tardiness. In addition to doing revisions, I've also been working on a Special Secret Project with some friends for the past two months, and I will finally get to reveal what it is at the end of September. I've been teasing about this Special Secret Project for the past week or so on Twitter (I can't help it, I'm excited! :)) and although I can't tell you what it is yet, I CAN tell you what it isn't. So, that being said...

It's NOT a movie or television project. Seriously, unless I win the Powerball, I will never be able to work on those independently with some friends because I don't have tens of millions of dollars and/or Hollywood connections ;).

It's NOT a book or anthology.

You'll find out what it IS on September 30th, so stay tuned!

The mass market edition of The Beautiful Ashes, with new cover

Hi, everyone! I'm so happy to "officially" reveal the new cover for the upcoming mass market edition of The Beautiful Ashes, book one in the Broken Destiny series. The description has also been tweaked for the new format, so I'm including that as well. Click on the cover to enlarge it, if you want (and with those pecs, why wouldn't you want to? ;))

Sometimes, falling in love really is the end of the world… 

Ivy has always seen things that she cannot explain. Strange things. Otherworldly things. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers the truth is far worse—her hallucinations are real, and her sister is imprisoned in a realm beyond Ivy’s reach. The one person who can help her is the dangerously attractive rebel who’s bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

The fate Adrian has fought to escape is here – but he never expected the burning need he feels for Ivy. With destiny on one side and desire on the other, Adrian must help Ivy search for the powerful relic that can save her sister. Yet he knows what Ivy doesn’t: the truth about her own destiny, and a war that could destroy the world. Sooner or later, it will be Ivy on one side, Adrian on the other, and nothing but ashes in between…

You can pre-order your copy of the Mass Market edition from: Amazon, Powells, B&N, BooksAMillion, and Indiebound. Or, pick it up in your local book store when it releases on September 29th, 2015.

Of course, the ebook and audiobook versions are available now from: Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Downpour.com, Audible.com and you will see the new cover on some of these retailers as well.

As some of you might recall, the Trade edition (a bigger-sized paperback) of The Beautiful Ashes was released last year. Why was the cover changed for the mass market edition, some of you might wonder? After receiving a lot of feedback, my publisher and I realized that the Trade cover, which you can see here, was causing many readers to mistakenly believe that the Broken Destiny series was YA, or Young Adult. Let me unequivocally state that this series is not YA. It's New Adult, or NA, which a good deal of readers were unfamiliar with because that designation is relatively new. What's the difference? NA, or New Adult, can and frequently does have explicit sexual content, and this adult material is obviously not intended for a young audience. So, in order to alleviate any further confusion, my publisher and I wanted to the mass market cover to convey - at a glance, hopefully - the adult content in this novel. Considering how that content gets far, far more explicit in The Sweetest Burn, book two in the Broken Destiny series, we're stressing this difference not a moment too soon, in my opinion ;).

Toward this end, the cover is in the process of being updated for all the ebook editions, too, so you'll see the difference pop up as those retailers make the change. And, I'm happy to say, the models on this new cover will be used on the covers for the rest of the Broken Destiny series.

Thanks for reading my long-winded explanation on this, and I hope you like the new cover as much as I do :).

PACK, a werewolf romance novelette

Pack, the werewolf romance novelette that I originally wrote back in 2008 for the Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance anthology, is now available as a single ebook for only $1.99.

Lost in the woods…
Marlee Peters is tired of putting her dreams on hold, so when her friends can’t continue on a long- anticipated hike of Yellowstone National Park, she goes on without them. But Marlee isn’t alone in the woods; she’s being hunted by a pack of frighteningly intelligent wolves. When a fight for survival takes an impossible turn, Marlee realizes that the enigmatic stranger who saves her might either be her dream come true…or her waking nightmare.

Big, bad wolf…
As the pack’s enforcer, Daniel is sworn to keep the existence of werewolves a secret. He knows that Marlee’s bites may change her life in a way she can’t imagine, but if they don’t, he can’t let her tell others about his race. Yet Marlee is awakening Daniel’s most primal urges, and soon, neither one of them will be able to resist the call of the wild…

Order at: Amazon and B&N. iBooks and Kobo links will be live next week.

Some backstory: As I said, back in early 2008, I wrote a werewolf romance story called Pack for the Mammoth Book Of Paranormal Romance anthology. Later, Pack was re-published with authors Ilona Andrews and Meljean Brook in an e-book-only anthology called Under Her Skin. In the years since, Meljean, Ilona, and I have dipped more into self-publishing, so we decided to break up the anthology and self-publish our stories as individual novelettes instead. While I was rereading Pack in preparation of this, I made some scene additions to add depth to the characters’ thoughts, motivations, and feelings. You see, the old anthology that I’d written this for had a word-count limit that I’d already far exceeded, so I’d left those things out in the previously-published versions. Then, I posted it for free on my website blog for a limited time as a gift to my readers. Since then - proving that I cannot stop tinkering with a story unless deadlines force me to - I also added more content in the form of additional scene tweaks as well as an entire new chapter featuring a love scene between Marlee and Daniel. I'm so pleased that re-publishing this story on its own allowed me to add this additional material, because the end result is over twenty percent more content in this version versus the previously-published editions, and - I believe - a better story overall.

I hope you enjoy Pack, whether this is your first time reading it, or whether you read it before in an earlier version.

Audio readers: I am trying to get this out in audio, too. More to come on that.

Meds, poetry, and crystal creatures

I know, what a subject line, right? Believe it or not, it fits this post. As many of you know, I’ve had vivid dreams from as far back as I can remember. A few of those dreams have ended up inspiring plot points or even entire novels (the Night Huntress series started from a dream, in fact.) Because of this, I’ve learned to keep a notepad and a pen close to my bed because if I happen to wake up in the middle of the night after being struck by inspiration, I want an easy, convenient way to write the idea down. I am simply too lazy to stagger around looking for paper at two or three in the morning, and this had led to more than once where I’ve woken up and realized that I’ve forgotten what, in my sleep-addled state, I was sure was a winning idea.

Add in the other fact about me that many of you probably also know: I suffer from migraines. Nothing to worry about, it’s hereditary, and one of my go-to migraine medications is Maxalt. Now, Maxalt has the benefit of being non-narcotic, but it has the disadvantage of making me very loopy. My friends calls it my Zombie pill because of how it affects me.

Well, yesterday, I had a migraine and before bed, I gave up on Tylenol and took a Maxalt. Cue my mostly being able to sleep, but with my mind spinning from a combination of my already-strange subconscious along with the effects of the Maxalt. Add in a childhood memory of the first poem I’d ever written, and you have me staggering out of bed at who-knows-what-hour to write down my inspiration to amend a problematic line from said poem.

Let me explain, but to do so, we need to rewind the clock back to when I was twelve years old. So, picture pre-teen Jeaniene, watching my mother about to dust a spider web off of the living room chandelier – watching, not helping, mind you, because again, I am lazy. In that moment, I was struck by literary inspiration for the very first time.

“Stop!” I told my Mom. “Don’t ruin his web. That’s the spider’s home!”

I don’t know what my mother replied. Probably a version of “Well, it’s my chandelier, so the web goes” because really, who wants to live in a house filled with spider webs?

The spider web vanished under her dusting cloth, but the inspiration stayed, and I went to my room and wrote the very first thing I’ve ever written. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that it turned out to be more of a mini story than a poem, and a paranormal story at that because I wrote it from the perspective of the spider. As you’d expect, it wasn’t very good (I’m still a bad poet to this day, although I still enjoy writing poetry) and it also had a glaring grammatical error that I didn’t realize at the time because, well, I was twelve. When I realized the error in my teens, I tried to amend the poem, yet couldn’t because I could not think up another line that rhymed while still being consistent with the poem’s rhythm.

Well, last night at age forty-two, that line finally came to me, and I wrote it down before stumbling back into bed. Because seeing it and remembering this poem made me smile when I woke up, I am now sharing it with you. I am able to do so only because I put that poem in a binder folder and gave it to my grandmother when I was twelve. Decades later, when my mother and I were going through my grandmother’s belongings after her death, I found that binder folder and thus the poem. My grandmother had kept it all of those years.

The poem is called Crystal Creatures.

Inside the world of a chandelier,
a tiny silk web lay.
Lodged firmly in between the lights
at its center, a spider stayed.
He was very young and very scared,
for this was his first web.
He should have been catching all sorts of bugs
but only caught dust instead.

So he checked all his threads
to make sure they’re secure
and even smeared on some more glue.
Despite all his efforts,
his web remained empty
and he didn’t know what else to do.

He went to his neighbor from across the lights
to ask for some helpful, friendly advice.
But all that he got for his time and his trouble
was an angry reply that he leave, on the double!

Beaten now, he crawled back in shame,
deciding to move to the nice window pane
when all eight legs stopped
and his chelicerae dropped.
In the corner of his silvery web
a tiny bug struggled in a silken-glue bed.
He scurried on over as fast as he could
and looked down on the proof that all had worked as it should.

Quivering with triumph,
he rolled up his meal
and added more glue for a proper, tight seal.
Then he crawled to the middle of his thread-woven bed
and laid down to rest his tiny, proud head.