M. Pierce's Blog, page 2
June 27, 2014
10 facts about my books
Due to some technical complications, I am posting this blog tour content here:
Prompt: Share 5-10 facts about the books
I wrote Night Owl in less than two months. I had a day job at the time, so I would wake up around 5:00 a.m. and write before work, then get home later and write into the evening.
Night Owl opens with a description of a collaborative writing project between the main characters, Matt and Hannah. The story they’re writing involves Cal and Lana, a demon and a human with supernatural powers. I’ve actually written that story with someone.
Only a handful of people in my actual life (that is, my offline life) know that I’m the author of Night Owl. Even some family members are in the dark.
Although I took much of the inspiration for Night Owl from my actual life – people I know, things I have seen – I have never been to the Finger Lakes region of New York, where Matt has his infamous breakdown. I would love to go there one day.
I originally intended to make the sequel to Night Owl a paranormal novel in which Matt becomes a vampire. Crazy, right? I wrote 11,000 words of that novel. Now it makes me laugh.
My editor and agent didn’t love my proposed titles for the second two books in the Night Owl Trilogy, Last Light and After Dark. Book two nearly got named Daydream. I was saved by the sales department, who agreed that Last Light and After Dark were good titles.
My muse for Hannah read and loved Night Owl.
Nate Sky is based loosely on my oldest brother. Not only are Matt’s alcoholism and addiction issues based on my personal struggles with substance abuse, but there have been multiple times when my oldest brother had to “rescue” me out of bad situations. Like Matt, I’ve detoxed in the hospital many times and experience delirium tremens and withdrawal firsthand. I’m six years sober.
I started several bad novels before Night Owl, which are all unfinished or unpublished. One of those novels was also named Night Owl. I liked the title enough that I decided to keep it for my erotic romance.
I had no outline for Night Owl as I wrote it, and no plans for Last Light and After Dark when I signed with my agent. I wrote Night Owl in a state of constant surprise, never knowing where it was going. When my agent and I decided to try to sell Night Owl and two proposed books, I quickly wrote vague synopses. The whole trilogy has been spontaneous like that.
June 17, 2014
June 11, 2014
NIGHT OWL: The blog tour . . .
JUNE 17
As the Pages Turn
As You Wish Reviews
Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents
Jessy's Book Club
Just Booked
K & T Book Reviews
LJ's Secret Addiction
Love N. Books
Nestled in a Book
Perusing Princesses
Rude Girl Book Blog
JUNE 18
A Love Affair with Books
Kimerin's Confessions of a Bibliophile
Red Cheeks Reads
Stephanie's Book Reports
Tattooed Book Review
Turning Pages At Midnight
Tabby's Tantalizing Reviews
Shayna Renee's Spicy Reads
Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews
Naughty Books and Bits
Recommended Romance
JUNE 19
Book Lovers Obsession
Desert Divas Book Addiction
In Stefter's Humble Opinion: The Book Barista
Judging Books By Their Covers
Soul of the Single Lady Book Club
Biblio Belles Book Blog
Book Boyfriends Rock
Sassy Savvy Fabulous
Nette's Bookshelf Reviews
Taryn Lee's Book Blog
Keepin It Real Book Blog
JUNE 20
A Literary Perusal
BestSellers & BestStellars
Bookoholic Anom
Books Unhinged Book Blog
Keep Calm & Read Romance
The Suburban Eclectic Review
Reading Is My Superpower
In Stefter's Humble Opinion: The Book Barista
For the Love of Books by Jaime
Talk Supe
Addicted2Heroines
JUNE 23
Booklovers For Life
Books to Breathe
No BS Book Reviews
Tiffany Talks Books
Unknown Books Reviews
Renee Entress's Blog
Rumpled Sheets Blog
Chicks That Read
mustreadbooksordie
My Book Muse
Same Book, Different Review
JUNE 24
TheSubClub Books
Author Groupies
Kota's Book Kollection
Nose Stuck In A Book
Sparkling Pink Bookshelf
Books & Other Spells
Schmexy Girl Book Blog
The book Whore-der's Delights
Christine's Blog
JUNE 25
read that
Sassy Divas Book Blog
The Biblio-Files: Confessions of a Book Whore
Fab Fun and Tantalizing Reads
Southern Belle Book Blog
The Book Bellas
Jazzy's Notebook
Bridger Bitches Book Blog
Jezabell Girl & Friends
Kayla's Reads and Reviews
JUNE 26
Dirty Girl Romance
My Secret Romance Book Reviews
Penny Dreadful Fiction Book Reviews
Book Consumed Diva
The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog
Literary Nook
Blondie & Ginger's Book Blog
Booze, Bookz, and Bad Boyz
My Daily Romance
who you callin a book whore
Mean Girls Luv Books
JUNE 27
Book Babes Unite
Channelling Cloretta
Meleth Bookaddicted
Penny For My Thoughts Book Blog
Summer's Book Blog
It's a book affair
The book obsessed momma
Ramblings From This Chick
The Book Avenue
Submit and Devour
Surrender to Books
JUNE 30
All Booked Out
Cocktails and Books
Hooked on books
I ♥ Bookie Nookie Reviews
Reading DelightZ
The Book Trollop
The Lovely Books
The Scarlet Siren
Night Owl Reads
The Rock Stars of Romance
Reading Between the Sheets
April 24, 2014
Original paperback giveaway
Hey everyone.
So, it seems I've fallen into a one-blog-post-per-month habit. Which is sad. I used to write here quite freely about my publishing aspirations and frustrations. Do you remember when I was formatting my .mobi file of Night Owl for Amazon? How I ranted about the code and linked a bunch of helpful internet resources? What about my cover-making nightmares? Maybe you recall some of the more hideous manifestations of the Night Owl cover. #noregrets
That was just last fall, in 2013, but it feels like a very long time ago. Some of you have been with me from the start. Some of you even downloaded Night Owl for free during the five-day giveaway on Amazon. Some of you wrote the first few reviews for Night Owl and were among the first to like my FB page and follow my Twitter account. Others of you read Night Owl more recently, and supported the book by telling friends and writing reviews, and often reaching out to me with kind words. You stuck with me when I signed a book deal -- my life's dream -- and even when the pre-order for Last Light appeared with a high price (which we're still working on changing).
Remembering all this keeps me humble. It also keeps me in a state of constant gratitude toward you, my readers. I don't think of this as "my publishing experience." This is pretty much our experience -- something we've done together. Just this morning, a reader (who has become a friend) emailed me. She said, "It's crazy, but a book can change a person's life in more ways than I thought possible." How right she is. I could never have anticipated how Night Owl would change my life. I have come into contact with people so kind, smart, and sincere that I know they'll be my friends wherever this journey takes us -- and connections like that are incredibly rare.
During this process, I've also been amazed by the dedication of various book blogs to writing reviews, promoting authors, and building reading communities online. You all know that I owe a huge debt of thanks to many blogs, and I like to talk about them and -- to whatever degree I can -- try to build up the blogs that helped build my book's success.
And since I'm talking about firsts for Night Owl, I want to point you toward the very first book blog / book blogger to pick up the book and reach out to me. The blogger was Lisa and the blog was True Story Book Blog. I'm not going to go on and on about the ways in which Lisa has helped me, and been a friend to me, but I will say that it seems kind of perfect to be giving away a copy of the original Night Owl paperback on True Story Book Blog this week. Make sure you check out Lisa's post even if you enter the giveaway here, because she's got a short graphic teaser from Last Light.
Thanks again for all your support and kindness to me. I can't say thanks enough.
Sincerely,
M. PIERCE
March 12, 2014
My new favorite store
TARGET
You may be wondering what this is about.
The giant Target logo.
This post.
Let me explain.
As of now -- although things can always change -- the amazing best favorite store ever TARGET yes TARGET the VALHALLA OF BOOKS (and other stuff like food and furniture) is planning to carry Night Owl when the paperback releases July 1st.
I am trying to contain my excitement. And like I said, these decisions are always subject to change. But -- as of now -- this is a thing. So we will be camping outside Target. Taking pictures of Night Owl on the shelf. Buying it, of course. Standing on the aisle corner preaching about it. Who's with me?
Also: I'll probably do a Targety-themed giveaway when this news is concrete.
Love,
M.
March 3, 2014
Night Owl Trilogy cover reveals + giveaway!
I'm so excited to reveal the covers for the St. Martin's paperback editions of the Night Owl Trilogy!
And -- I'm giving away a few things to celebrate these awesome covers, created by the talented Kerri Resnick.
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below to win one of 10 prizes! Open internationally. The prizes are:
1 signed Night Owl paperback ( with the new cover, prize sent in July )
4 signed bookmarks ( see the bookmark )
1 Night Owl inspired keychain ( see the keychain ) made by this talented woman.
4 Night Owl e-books
AND -- be sure to check out True Story Book Blog, Aestas Book Blog, and Heroes and Heartbreakers for some additional stuff -- blurbs for the books and the new e-book covers! That's right, we have six covers total for these books -- different covers for the paperbacks and e-books -- and I love them all. Please note that the book blurbs are subject to change and do contain some spoilers, so if you like to go into a book blind, don't read those!
As always, thank you for your continued support. You guys are the best.
Yours,
M.
February 27, 2014
Frenched all week
To celebrate the release of FRENCHED by Melanie Harlow -- a sexy contemporary romance going live on Tuesday, March 18th -- the author and I have arranged a week of giveaways, teasers, interviews, and more. We hope you enjoy it! Here's the schedule:
MONDAY, March 10 -- Read a teaser from FRENCHED on melanieharlow.com
TUESDAY, March 11 -- Enter to win an e-book copy of FRENCHED on melanieharlow.com
WEDNESDAY, March 12 -- For once, I get to be the interviewer. Read Melanie Harlow's answers to my questions on melanieharlow.com
THURSDAY, March 13 -- Win a signed copy of the new Night Owl paperback + one of these bookmarks -- open US only -- enter at melanieharlow.com
FRIDAY, March 14 -- Participate in a live chat with Melanie Harlow and myself over on Melanie's Facebook page. We'll be chatting about reading, writing, and our books, and answering any questions you might have! One randomly selected participant will receive a gift from me. Open internationally! The gift will be revealed during the chat. The time for this chat is TO BE DETERMINED.
SATURDAY, March 15 -- Read an interview with one of the characters from FRENCHED at melanieharlow.com
SUNDAY, March 16 -- Read more FRENCHED teasers (with pictures!) at melanieharlow.com
MONDAY, March 17 -- Enter to win a signed paperback copy of FRENCHED at melanieharlow.com
And finally, on Tuesday . . .
February 26, 2014
NEWSLETTER . . .
I have one.
Finally.
Succumbing to the pressure. Etc.
You can sign up in the sidebar on the left, or right here:
And I promise not to spam your inbox.
In fact, I'll probably mail once a month -- if that.
You can expect links to exclusive content -- teasers & promotional stuff -- giveaways, news and updates about my books, and maybe the occasional article involving morose reflections on life.
Thanks for signing up! If you don't receive a confirm subscription message, check your spam folder. If it's not there, contact me and I'll add you to the list.
M.
February 22, 2014
FRENCHED
AUTHOR MELANIE HARLOW is currently seeking blogs to participate in the FRENCHED blog tour, running March 18 - April 2. Please consider helping my friend release her fun, sexy novel!
Participating blogs may choose to read and review FRENCHED, or, due to time constraints, just share the cover, book blurb, and buy links. All participating blogs will have the opportunity to share excerpts from the novel, prizes from myself or Melanie, alternate POV scenes from Melanie, and more -- so please sign up while these are available!
If you're a book blogger who wants to help announce the novel, sign up for the RELEASE EVENT. If you'd like to read and review the novel, sign up for the ARC BLOG TOUR. Both sign-up links can be found here: http://atomrbookblogtours.com/2014/01/24/release-event-arc-tour-frenched-by-melanie-harlow/
Thanks in advance to any bloggers who can help with this!
. . . . . . . . . .
ABOUT FRENCHED
When Tucker Branch, playboy heir to Branch Bolt and Screw, screws and bolts a week before their wedding, Mia Devine wants nothing more than to crawl under her newly monogrammed sheets and plan a funeral for her dignity. But her friends convince her that bitter tastes better when it’s drowned in Bordeaux, so Mia grits her teeth and packs her bags, determined to make the best of her luxurious Paris honeymoon—alone.
She never planned on meeting Lucas Fournier.
The easygoing bartender’s scruffy good looks and less-than-sympathetic ear annoy her at first, but when she takes him up on his offer to show her around the city, she discovers that the romance of Paris isn’t just a myth.
Nor is the simultaneous O.
The last thing Mia needs is another doomed love affair, but since she only has a week, she figures she might as well enjoy la vie en O with Lucas while she can. But each day—and night—with Lucas is better than the last, and suddenly her heart is telling her this is more than a rebound fling.
Is it just the seduction of Paris…or could this be the real thing?
FRENCHED ON GOODREADS | MELANIEHARLOW.COM | MELANIE HARLOW ON FACEBOOK
February 16, 2014
My friend won’t do a cover reveal
My author friend Melanie Harlow has a book coming out soon. It's titled Frenched and it's a very steamy contemporary romance.
Melanie recently had her book cover designed, and she insisted on quietly posting the cover on her site -- rather than doing a proper reveal with all the necessary fanfare -- because, and I quote, "No one cares... no one's looking."
Well, I beg to differ Mel.
You're a great friend and writer, and I care, and I'm looking.
I know all too well how embarrassing it can be to promote your own book -- to feel constantly like you're jumping up and down on the sidelines, waving frantically, hoping to catch the attention of busy readers and book bloggers.
Begging for reviews. Gifting your book. Emailing and re-emailing.
I know. I was there. I'm still there.
And I know how tempting it might be -- the thought of releasing your e-book and simply stopping at that, because all the self-promotion that goes hand-in-hand with self-publication is vaguely humiliating.
But if there's one thing I've learned about the indie community, it's that we take care of our own. Indie readers are loyal, passionate, and actively seeking new voices and books. Indie writers and determined, devoted to their craft, and tremendously supportive of their fellow authors. And even though I've accepted a traditional book deal, I still consider myself an indie author. I will never forget the book bloggers and early readers who came alongside me and showed me the ropes, who reviewed and supported my book for no reason but love of a good story, and I'll never stop reaching out to help my fellow authors -- especially when they're as talented as Melanie Harlow.
So I'm revealing your cover, Melanie. It looks great.
Melanie on Facebook (So close to 1000 likes...)
