Lashell Collins's Blog, page 16
June 21, 2013
Baker’s Dozen: Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the Baker’s Dozen Fiction Story is live, and boy is it wild! It has a couple of twists and turns that I never, EVER expected! Hats off to blogger Francesca, of Dr. Franny and Mrs. Myself, for the imaginative installment. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it. You can find chapter 11, as well as the previous 10 chapters, right here!
AJ Jarret: A Tour Stop
I just wanted to say a big thank you to AJ Jarrett for hosting a stop along the series book tour for The Pierced Trilogy on her wonderful site. Today she is featuring book 3, Pierced Ever After, and also spotlighting the book specific giveaway, so be sure to check it out and enter for a fun prize!
Also, Pierced Ever After is now available for purchase at other outlets besides Amazon. You can find it at Barnes&Noble, Kobo, and Sony as well.
June 20, 2013
Danica Avet: A Tour Stop
I want to give a great big ‘thank you’ to the lovely Danica Avet this morning for hosting a stop along the series book tour for The Pierced Trilogy on her wonderful site, Unearthly Musings. Today she is featuring book 3, Pierced Ever After, with a spotlight and a tour-wide giveaway so, be sure to hop over and check it out!
June 19, 2013
Lea Barrymire: A Tour Stop
I just wanted to say a quick but heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the wonderful Lea Barrymire for hosting a stop along the series book tour for The Pierced Trilogy on her awesome site! Today, she is featuring a spotlight on book 3, Pierced Ever After, with a short excerpt and two giveaways so, be sure to go check it out.
June 18, 2013
The Joy of Being a Writer
Okay … so I debated with myself for a couple of days as to whether or not to write this post. I didn’t want it to seem as though I was tooting my own horn or boasting or whatever. Because honestly, nothing could be further from the truth. I have a really hard time believing that people are reading my little romance story and enjoying it. But I had an experience a few days ago that left me astounded, and I just had to share it. I was in a hotel room in Atlanta (there for my nephew’s wedding), when I just happened to go to Amazon.com to look at the buy page for Pierced Ever After. And, as the book has only been available for about two weeks now, I was surprised to find that it already had two reviews posted.
You know, every writer dreams of having some big-name reviewer or a well-known, best-selling author give a glowing review of their book. One that they can take a snazzy one-liner quote from and attach it to their inside cover. It makes for great promotion. And maybe … if I’m very lucky … someday I’ll get that attention. But, when I was writing the Pierced books and first began toying with the idea of self-publishing them, I remember telling my husband that I just wanted people to read my story and love it and fall in love with the characters. I wanted the story to touch someone. I wanted readers to connect with it and be moved by it.
Lofty dreams, I know.
Both the reviews on Amazon were fantastic. But one of them filled me with such joy, I called my mom and my two aunts (who were all in hotel rooms just across the hall from mine) and made them come read it as well. Then I did something really crazy. I sent an email to the reader who had written the review and asked if I could share it on my blog. And again … I’m aware that this makes me appear boastful and cocky, and I apologize for that. But I saw my first dreams for my story realized in that Atlanta hotel room when I read that review, and I just want to shout it from the rooftops:
I just finished a marathon session of the second (Pierced by Love) and third (Pierced Ever After) books in the Pierced Trilogy by Lashell Collins and I am blown away by this story and am already missing Samantha and Josh. This story could have easily ended after book two, going the route of most romance books in that after the dangerous situation has been overcome the story is all too quickly wrapped up with a supposed HEA that more often than not feels very rushed. After all that emotion and time invested in the characters, I want to delve into and experience their HEA with them, not just have the author tell me that, “Trust me, they lived happily ever after,” after giving us a short epilogue. What Ms. Collins has written in Pierced Ever After is basically (IMO) a book-length epilogue that explores the characters very deeply, and we really get to know them on a personal level, and not just the H&h, but the supporting characters as well.
Their HEA is not without obstacles and we get to experience with Josh and Sam how they are able to overcome them. We see them grow tremendously over the course of this book (especially Josh) and since it is written in alternating first-person points of view between Samantha and Josh, we learn about them right down to their souls. I normally am not a fan of the first-person style of writing, but this is one of the very few books I have read where, for me, it really worked and I actually liked reading this style of book. To me, that means that Ms. Collins is a very gifted writer and I am hoping that we will be reading more from her soon, especially more of Josh and Sam, as there seems to be a teaser at the end of the book that hints of more to come. So, if you are a romance fan, and I mean ROMANCE (whew!) you can’t go wrong with the Pierced Trilogy. ~ Kathy (Amazon reader review)
A reader fell in love with my characters and connected with the story. It touched her. She was moved by it. And I was moved by her words. They made me want to go hide away with my laptop and do it all over again! They inspired me to keep writing! Knowing that at least one reader out there was moved by something I had written; that someone enjoyed and appreciates my efforts. That is the joy of being a writer!
June 17, 2013
Deal Sharing Aunt: A Tour Stop
Today’s stop along the series book tour for The Pierced Trilogy is a neat little site called Deal Sharing Aunt, and today they are featuring a spotlight on book 2, Pierced By Love, with a short interview of yours truly. So be sure to hop on over and check it out. And be sure to enter the giveaways for some fun stuff!
June 16, 2013
Erzabet’s Enchantments: A Tour Stop
Today’s stop along the series book tour for the Pierced Trilogy is a visually beautiful site called Erzabet’s Enchantments, where book 2, Pierced By Love, is being spotlighted with a guest post. So stop on over and check it out, and don’t forget to enter the two giveaways for some great prizes while you’re there!
June 14, 2013
Cristal Ryder: A Tour Stop
Just wanted to give a quick shout out to the lovely Cristal Ryder, and her blog. Today she is spotlighting book 2 of the Pierced Trilogy, Pierced By Love, so be sure to stop on over and enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for some really fun goodies!
Baker’s Dozen: Chapter 10
Okay, so several weeks ago, I told you about a project I was involved in where 12 random bloggers would come together and write a fiction story together. The brain child of blogger Joe Owens of Joe’s Musings, Joe wrote the first chapter of said story, and then passed it off to blogger number 2 for the next chapter, who then passed it off to blogger number 3, and so on, and so on, and so on. Interesting concept, you say? Yes, it was an interesting concept. One I simply couldn’t pass up; it just sounded like so much fun.
So, if you’ve been following our little story, you know that this week is my turn at the bat, so to speak. And boy, was I scared. I mean, our main character, Forrest, has already been through so much in such a short amount of time: rejection of his marriage proposal, terrorists attacks and threats against his life, people shooting at him, childhood medallions that hold world secrets and strange women who are not what they appear to be. Who can he trust? Where can he turn? And most importantly … what the heck am I going to do with him now that it’s my turn to write the next chapter in his life?
To find out the answers to those burning questions, click here to read my installment of the Baker’s Dozen Fiction Story. And you can also catch up on chapters 1 through 9 while you’re at it!
June 10, 2013
MsRomanticReads: Tour Stop
The series book tour for the Pierced Trilogy continues with a stop at a wonderful site called MsRomanticReads. Today, they are featuring a spotlight on book 2, Pierced By Love, and a really fun interview with yours truly so, be sure to pop over and check it out. I had so much fun answering these questions! Oh, and don’t forget to enter the two giveaways while you’re there!
