Dawn Pendleton's Blog, page 13

Getting back to a schedule

I was, quite sadly, very sick for the last half of last week, and so I didn't end up posting on Friday, which makes me sad. But I am working through my schedule right now to line up my fellow author posts for the next month or so, since I will be caught up in my release, and probably forget.

Memory loss is a total side effect of spending so much time with imaginary characters - you kind of lose track of reality. Well, I do, at least. But anyway.

I have some exciting authors coming up for you, and it starts this Friday! :)

In other news, I will have the ARCs of Broken Promises available sometime next week! Yay! If you help an indie out, you can be a part of my Blog Tour, which is scheduled for May 13-17! Only those who promise to post reviews will receive an ecopy of the book via my blog tour agent.

On that note, I must say how eternally grateful I am for said blog tour agent. I didn't even really know what  blog tour was, let alone how to organize one, and Damaris has taken me under her wing. Total props to her.

I'll see you all again on Wednesday for some totally awesome news!

Such a slacker!

I must confess, it's the truth! I have been crazy busy finishing my book (umm, awesome!) and then editing it, as well as dealing with blog tour stuff (which is insane, and I am so happy I have someone organizing it for me). So I have been one busy little bee. But I have some news...
I officially have a blog tour scheduled for Broken Promises!!! The dates are May 13-17, and there are already a lot of bloggers who want to delve into my story. How crazy/awesome is that? I never imagined my life would lead me to this moment, but now that I am here, I am floored by the amazing support of the people around me: fellow authors, bloggers, friends, and family - they are all so wonderful!

There are only 34 days until Broken Promises is live, and I cannot wait! I will be doing a giveaway for the blog tour, as well as a real life release party that night in my hometown! It should be fun!

That's all for today, since my brain is already turning to mush. On Friday, I will have another NA author featured! :)

My Dearest Book Club

Until last year, I had NO idea what good a book club was. But I always wanted to be a part of one. But I live in a small town and so the book clubs are few and far between. So I started my own, you know, because I'm ambitious like that.
We're a small group - including me, there are four of us. Well, four that meet regularly. We have a Facebook group and a few people who participate online and not in person. But those four women have become my super agents of life. Book club, in my opinion, is about more than just reading a book and talking about it. It's about sharing your life - the ups, the downs - with people who car about you and can give you advice or an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on.
I adore these women and I think that every woman should be a part of a group like mine, whether it's a book club or a mommy's group, or whatever. If you aren't a part of one, you should seriously look into it, because they are the ones who you can really rely on in your life.
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It's Monday again!

So, I've been crazy busy working on Broken Promises for the last two weeks, and can you believe it? I am already halfway done! This is been my most successful writing month EVER! I just can't even fathom that I will be done soon and shipping it off to the editor. And then you will all get to read it on May 7!!!
Okay, so... News.
I will be having a blog tour for my release. I am so excited for it! If you don't know what a blog tour is, you should do further research (especially if you're an author), but here's the basic details. When you have a release, you contact book bloggers with your book info (and usually a free copy of your book) for them to read and either feature you on their blog, or do a review of your book. If you do get on their blog, it can really benefit you as the author because you get that much more exposure to more readers. My blog tour will begin May 13, if you're interested in being a part of it!
Next, I have been seeing a lot of negative stuff lately on books that end with a severe cliffhanger. While I personally enjoy books like that (for the most part), I wanted to let you all know that Broken Promises does NOT end with a cliffhanger! It is part of a series, but each book should be able to stand alone, as well. :)
And my final point - Have you entered to win the free registration I am giving away to the New Adult Sleepover Weekend? Enter here. If you haven't heard of NASW 13, I encourage you to check out the site and really consider going. There are going to be 60 new adult genre authors there and there are a ton of giveaways and free stuff! Think about it!

That's all for me today. Have a great Monday!

Cover Reveal and Interview with Ashleyn Poston

Today I have the extreme pleasure of bringing you fellow new adult author, Ashleyn Poston. I've met Ashleyn through the New Adult Sleepover Weekend website, where we are both featured authors. We kind of hit it off, I mean, we're going to be roommates in Savannah and everything for the NASW! Just sayin...
So here is her interview:

What is the name and release date of your current WIP or release?

Roman Holiday, out late May/Early June 
 
What genre of New Adult are you published in?

Contemporary at the moment, but I have a paranormal in the works (The Dark Underneath, August 2013). It’s different than what I usually write, so it’s a breath of fresh air!

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?

Roman Holiday is supposed to be a four-book series with a prequel and a novella between each book.

 
How are you published? 

I am a self-published author. A few years ago, I would never have dreamed of
self-publishing, either because it got such a bad rap, or because I was too scared. After 46 rejections from both publishers and agents, one of the people I highly respected in publishing read my manuscript and told me that if I had faith in it, then other people would too.

Tell us about something that has just happened or is about to happen in your life that you would like to share.

Well, I’ll be at the New Adult Sleepover in Savannah, GA in December! So I’m super psyched about that!
 
What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 30 or less words, what would you say?

Roman Holiday: See Roman, this is what happens when you
go about spreading lies.
 
Where were you born and where do you call home?

Lexington, South Carolina!
 
What books have influenced your writing? 

Valiant by Holly Black, Dragon’s Bait by Vivian Vande Velde, and Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I love the way they tell stories, and although they decide to tell their stories in 3rd person, I find a lot of inspiration in the way they structure their books around character development as a way to influence the plot.

 Is there an Author that you would really like to meet?

I would have loved to have met Diana Wynne Jones before she died.
 
What book would you like to read again? 

All of them! Ha... if I had the "First Time Reading" experience all over again, I’d love to meet Howl again in Howl’s Moving Castle.
 
Do you have any advice for other writers? 

When someone tells you can’t do something: try it. Do it. Success isn’t measured in how many books you sell, but how you feel presenting them. Being a writer isn’t about the money, it’s about the art. Strive to be seven people’s favorite author, not one-hundred people’s seventh favorite author.

 Any pets that you would like to tell us about?

I have a cat named Pepper who is my soulmate. She licks my eyelids in the morning to wake me up. It’s true love, I’m telling you.

White wine or red? 

White! I’m not a meat person anyway.


Coffee or tea? 

Coffee! Nectar of the gods.

 Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream?

Strawberry, fo’ sho’.

 Laptop or desktop for writing?

Audrey II, my purple laptop, has been ever-faithful to me. And yes, it is named after the big talking green man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors.

If you were deserted on an island, who are 3 famous people you would want with you?

Channing Tatum, Chris Pine, and Emma Stone.

Where is one place in the world that you would really love to visit someday?

Florence, Italy---it’s the setting for my next book, actually! The Dark Underneath.

One of your favorite quotes 

"If music be the food of love, play on." - Shakespeare

 An actor or a book character you have a crush on.

No matter how old I get, I will always have a crush on Artemis Fowl the Second.

 What is a movie or TV show that you watched just recently and really enjoyed?

I recently started re-watching Veronica Mars... definitely takes me back to the good ole days!

If your book was made into a TV series or Movie, what actors
would you like to see playing your characters? 

Roman - Aaron Johnson
Junie - Jennifer Lawrence
Maggie - Raven-Symone
Caspian - Bradley James 
Boaz - Matt Dallas

And now for Ashleyn's amazing cover!
 
　


　


 When the death of his bandmate forces twenty-one-year-old rockstar Roman Montgomery to return to his real hometown to do some damage control, he runs into the last person he ever wanted to see again―his childhood sweetheart.

Eighteen-year-old Junie Baltimore has problems of her own. Heartbroken from her first love and mourning the death of her father, Junie isn't ready to return to the small coastal town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for her mom's remarriage. When she runs into Roman with his cheshire grin and emerald eyes that still make her weak
in the knees, she's determined not to swoon―or be swooned.

 But when an obsessed paparazzo hell-bent on destroying Roman slut-shames Junie on every tabloid in the country, she begins to understand why he left, and broke her heart, in the first place. Maybe it wasn't because he's ashamed of his past. Maybe it's because there is something here he wants to protect.

And  maybe it's time someone protected him.


Get in touch with Ashleyn:
 
My blog/website: www.ashleynposton.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashleyn-Poston/500143596670288?ref=hl
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/AshPoston
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ashposton

Rachel Freaking Higginson!

A few months ago, in November, I stumbled on the works of an author named Rachel Higginson. The first book in her Star-Crossed Series was free, and I thought "Why not?" So I downloaded it and fell in love right away with Eden & Kiran. Amazing characters, truly.
So I have kept up with Rachel on Facebook and Twitter, and when she's released a new book, I generally go buy it. Her newest release, The Rush, was scheduled for release this Friday. But... To the utter bliss if her fan base, she dropped it early: late last night. She Tweeted the news and since I have severe insomnia sometimes, I immediately purchased it. After less than six hours, I finished reading it.
Holy moly!
Not only is she a mad genius with a pen (figuratively), but her novels are soo... addictive! And really, that doesn't even begin to explain it. Her words draw you in and you fall in love with her characters. You want to dive into their world and never come back to reality. Never. I am, in fact, very upset to be finished with the book and so I decided to blog about it (and her) because I just can't get enough.
So. The Rush. There are no adequate words to describe this book. I don't want to post too much, since I'm sure there are too many people who haven't read it. All I'm saying is READ IT! Right now. Don't wait! You will not be disappointed.
It's too bad I live on the east coast and not in Omaha... I would totally be her stalker if I lived nearer to her. I guess that's good news for me, huh? Yay for no stalker charges! :)
If you want to catch up with Rachel, you can visit her blog: http://rachelhigginson.blogspot.com/ 

Also, I just want to point out that she writes these AMAZING books with four small children at home. She's my idol. She's an inspiration to those of us who only have husbands to care for and complain about not having enough time to write!

Okay, now you may go forth and buy her books! One of these days, I'll get an interview with her, but with her busy schedule, it might be awhile. And I will be patient, because it will be worth it! :)

A true story

I don't know that I actually chose to be a writer. For as long as I can remember, I've just been one. In the last few months, though, my writer status has changed a bit. No longer am I just someone who writes, but I am an author. With my debut New Adult novel out in May, my life is going to change in the most incredible way.
But that's not all. I have had the amazing privilege of meeting fellow NA authors along the way. It's been an amazing experience. Fellow authors are friendly and helpful and they support each other. It's like I have finally found my calling in life. If I only ever sell a single copy of my novel, I won't complain because this journey has helped me grow. I am a better person for it.

Now that I've finished all the gooey stuff, let me update you on Broken Promises. It's hard to believe I only started writing it last week. In those ten days, I've written more on this one piece than I ever have before. I'm known for my short stories (mostly from my short attention span), but this story just begs to be written. It will likely be right around 60k words, which means I am almost half-way done with it! In ten days! I should be finished with it in another week or so, if I keep up this rate! But I am not releasing it early. The reason is, I want to keep my word and have some time to build up some buzz around it. 

So on May 7, you'll all be able to buy your copy! I will also to a paperback copy giveaway on the day of release! Lots of things to look forward to. But I know people hate to wait, so I thought I would post a teaser from the book, to give you something to look forward to. Don't judge too harshly - I haven't sent this to an editor yet!!
So here it is:  

Luke followed me and when we were several doors down in the hallway, I stopped. 

“Why are you going along with him?”

“Why? He’ll kick my ass if I don’t. Joe isn’t exactly someone I want to piss off, Mal,” he replied, his teeth flashing at me from beneath his wide mouth. My breath caught in my throat but I regained my composure quickly. 
 
“You’re afraid of a dying man? You give new definitions to the word masculine,” I laughed at him and kept walking down the hallway. 

I felt his hand on my arm and he pulled me into an empty room. 
 
“You think this is easy? You broke my damn heart three years ago and I’ve been the one here, taking care of your dad. I’m the one who watched his health fail and brought him to the hospital more times than I can count. I’m the one who made sure he was taken care of. And what the hell have you been doing for the last three years? You’ve been living your life without a care in the world, including your dying father,” he spat. He backed me up against the wall and moved closer until his face was inches away from mine. 
 
“And don’t refer to your dad like he’s incompetent! He’s a stronger man than anyone I’ve ever met, and falling short in his eyes is the last thing I would ever want to do, aside from spending any amount of time with his spoiled rotten brat of a daughter, of course,” he sneered. 
 
I couldn’t speak. What could I say? There were no words for the emotions he evoked in me. Guilt flooded my entire body, along with another emotion, one I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Desire. 
 
No matter how ill-suited we were for each other, I was still painfully attracted to Luke in a way I couldn’t explain. And it was more than just the way he stood up for my dad or even the way he looked. He’d grown up over the years. And he was right. I was still a spoiled rotten child hell-bent on getting my way. Tears gathered in my eyes but I didn’t bother to brush them away. I was afraid if I moved, Luke would stop staring at me with that hungry gaze. 

I bit my lip and his eyes flicked to the movement. When he looked back to my eyes, his were even hotter and I thought he might kiss me. He leaned in closer and I closed my eyes. His fist slammed into the concrete wall next to my head and my eyes flew open, surprised to find him further away. 
 
“This is stupid, Mal. We need to stay away from each other,” he whispered. He looked at his hand against the wall and not at me. “Come on, I’ll take you home.” He turned away and went back into the hallway. 
 
The tears fell, unhindered and unbidden. 

Fridays are for fun...?

I'm not going to lie, I stayed (mostly) away from the computer for the weekend because of the way I ended the workweek. It was an interesting Friday.

So, I was up extra early Friday morning (if you know anything about me, you know how much I despise an early morning), to drive an hour and a half to pick up my sister and we headed off to the bridal shoppe. Her wedding isn't until April 2014, but we wanted to get a head start. It was such a FUN morning! The second dress she tried on was so gorgeous! We quickly decided it was "the one."  The rest of the afternoon went well. I dropped her at home and then headed to finish up the work to be done at the house (we are selling at the end of this month). Once my hubs got out of work, we packed away the last few boxes into our cargo trailer and he had me drive it to his work, where we were going to store it until we buy a new place. Let me give you some background - I have never, ever driven a truck with a trailer attached. I was so nervous. Then I found out he wanted me to back it into this little alcove behind his work building. I gulped but with his help. I managed to do it. Not bad, right? It was frightening, but I am not opposed to learning new things!
Once the trailer was parked, we took my truck (yes, it's mine) where we are staying right now. As I backed into the driveway, I heard a pop and when we got out of the truck, the left rear tire was whistling.

I popped a tire. It was almost dark, but hubs needed the truck the following day, so we changed
the tire in the dying light and managed to drive it back to his work, where we
traded vehicles and brought his work truck home. Needless to say, when we
finally got home, I made myself a drink, sat in front of the TV, and relaxed for
the remainder of the night.

After the eventful  day, I took the weekend off from the computer. I didn't write, didn't check email, and I was barely on social media. It was nice to recoop and have the time away. But today, I am back to the grind. I plan to get at least 10k down this
week on The Guardian Series, and another 10k on The Broken Series. :) Have a
great week!

Author Magan Vernon

Every Friday for the next few weeks, I will feature a different New Adult author as part of a promotion for the New Adult Sleepover Weekend! 

Today, I bring you Magan Vernon. 

 
Magan Vernon is a Young Adult and New Adult writer who lives with her family in the insurance capital of the world. She is in a very serious, fake
relationship with Adam Lambert and constantly asks her husband to wear guyliner. He still refuses. She also believes her husband is secretly an alien, disguised  as a southern gentleman. 



Dawn:  What is the name and release date of your current WIP or release?

Magan: The Only Exception will be published April 9th, 2013  for eBook and paperback.
 
Dawn: What genre of New Adult are you published in? 
Magan: NA Contemporary and YA Science  Fiction
 
Dawn: Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?

Magan: This is a stand alone, but a potential companion novel with the character’s best friends is in the works.
 
Dawn: How are you published? (Traditional or  self)

Magan: My story is long and boring about how my first NA  novel was with an agent that couldn’t sell it in 2009 because no one wanted  college aged pro-tags. In 2011, I self-published my first book and  continue to do so. But if a traditional deal came a calling I would look  into it. They’d have to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse, though.
 
Dawn: What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 30 or less words, what would you say?

Magan: I’ll go with The Only Exception: Liberal girl moves in  next door to the uber conservative governor’s son and tries to figure out  if there is room for romance in politics.

Dawn: Is there a particular movie that you preferred over the book version? 

Magan: Not movie, but I tried to read the Gossip Girl books and couldn’t  get through them. The show is way better.

Dawn:
What book are you currently reading and in what format?

Magan: The Espressologist. I have a signed copy from Kristina Springer. I’ve read so 
much sexy NA or books with really hard hitting issues that I wanted something fun and light. The Espressologist is definitely that.

Dawn:Who designed the cover of your book?

Magan: Regina Wamba

Dawn: Do you have any advice for other or aspiring writers?

Magan: I think my husband gave me the best advice after a rejection late in 2009 and I ate a box of girlscout cookies. “If you are going to get this upset about a rejection,
maybe this isn’t best for you. Pick yourself up and keep going or stop it all together.”

Dawn: What are 4 things you never leave home without?

Magan: Cell phone, keys, baby wipes, and ID.

The Only Exception will be published April 9th, 2013  for eBook and  paperback.


Where can your readers stalk you? 

My blog/website: 
www.maganvernon.com
 Facebook: 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Magan-Vernon/215620155165079
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5237606.Magan_Vernon
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MaganVernon

 

Links to buy Magan's book(s):

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=magan+vernon

Smashwords:  
http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=magan+vernon
 
Barnes & Noble: 
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/magan-vernon?store=allproducts&keyword=magan+vernon


 

Debut Novel Cover Reveal!

I can't even tell you all how excited I am about my very first NA Novel! Writing it, along with all the other details and whatnot, has been the most amazing experience ever! I have gotten to know so many fellow authors of NA and they are a great bunch of people!
Between the excitement of the New Adult Sleepover Weekend in December and my partnering relationship with fellow author Tracey Manning to write a series together, this book kind of surprised me.
I'd had something totally different in mind for my very first New Adult novel, just a few short months ago. I'd even written several chapters. But it just wasn't meant to be. The idea for this novel came out of the blue and man, I am in lover with it! Broken Promises After three years in Boston attending college, Mallory Wells has come home to Casper, Maine to care for her father, who is dying from cancer. She left Casper without looking back, leaving her small-town life and everyone in it, behind. Including her sexy high school sweetheart.
Luke Bates was devastated when Mallory left him for the city life. He managed to pull himself together and move on, even if only just barely. When Mallory shows up in town, Luke vows to stay away from her at all costs. So why does he keep checking in on her and her father, showing up when he's clearly uninvited? Maybe Luke isn't as 'over her' as he thought.


And now, the cover reveal for Broken Promises!!! I can't even tell you how in love with this cover I am. I can sit at the computer and stare at it for hours. And as much as I'd like to, I just can't keep it to myself anymore! It's so exciting!
Broken Promises will be available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords on May 7, 2013.