Lilly Avalon's Blog, page 10

All of my books are now available on Kindle Unlimited!

Hello my lovelies!

I haven't been around much, I know. There has been a lot going on IRL and it has sort of thrown a wrench in my ability to stay connected online, not to mention prevented me from working on any writing projects. Things are slowly starting to fall back into place, so I'm hoping to be able to get back on track and stay active on Twitter and Facebook more. And I also have a lot planned for the rest of the year. Be on the lookout for upcoming blog posts regarding my plans and some things I've been learning about myself and my writing.

In the meantime, I have an announcement...

All of my books are now available on Kindle Unlimited! *
This isn't going to be permanent because I do want my Nook, Kobo, etc. readers to still be able to access my books. I just wanted to test this out and see how it goes. As of right now, they're all listed under KU, but it may go back to all sites in 3-6 months. So, if you have KU you should take advantage of this rare opportunity to read my books!


Links to each book on Amazon:Resist on Amazon Longing on AmazonMore Than Words on AmazonUnexpected on AmazonCan't Stay Away on Amazon
* Here All Along is already available for FREE everywhere (including Amazon), so there's really no point in putting it on KU.

Thanks for reading and I hope you do take a chance on one of my books!

It's release day for CAN'T STAY AWAY!

Can't Stay Away is finally here!

| Add to your shelf on Goodreads |
Buy Can't Stay Away:
| Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords |

Piper Winchester is fresh out of college. With only three weeks until her father remarries and five weeks until her first business venture launches, she's got her hands full. She certainly doesn't need any distractions to get in the way of building the future her father's always wanted for her. But when a familiar boy with bright green eyes walks back into her life, she's thrown for a loop.

Four years ago, Chase MacKenzie left for college without looking back. He didn't mean to disturb the peace then, and he definitely doesn't want to do that now. Once he lays his eyes on Piper again, there's no way he can leave without fixing what went wrong in the past. Although she's more determined than ever to push him away, he still manages to get under her skin. Regardless of what happens between them, there's one thing that will always be standing in their way...

He's about to become her stepbrother.

~~~~~
Advanced Praise:
"So, Lilly, you have me right where you want me. On my knees, asking for a continuation of their story." ~ Karen from Karen's Book Haven

" Can't Stay Away was a wonderful book it was romantic, funny, emotional, steamy and left me wanting to follow the couple right after the very last page." ~ Jodeen from Jojo the Bookaholic

"Looking for a romantic and hot read with substance and without a cliffhanger - Lilly delivers it for you in a swoon worthy package." ~ Sherin on Goodreads

~~~~~

It's a new year! That means news...

Hello my lovelies!

It has been way too long since I've blogged or talked about anything on here. And that's just ridiculous and I must fix it immediately! So here's a post getting you caught up on everything.


Can't Stay Away Preorder
First, and most important, Can't Stay Away is finally available for preorder! I was worried I wouldn't be ready in time, but I managed to get it together. :)

Preorder Can't Stay Away :
| Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords |

Can't Stay Away release blitzFMR Book Studio (same company that hosted the cover reveal) is hosting the release blitz for Can't Stay Away . The blitz will be happening on February 29th 2016. If you have a book blog and would like to sign up, here's the form you can fill out. If you're not interested in or are unable to do the release blitz and would like to do something else to promote the book on your blog, please let me know! I love doing guest posts and interviews and giveaways on blogs. Email me at lillyavalonxoxo@gmail.com and I'll get back to you soon.


Book saleI decided to lower the cost of both Unexpected and Longing to 99 cents each, which means you can now purchase 4 of my books for only 99 cents! ( Here All Along is available for FREE and Can't Stay Away is up for preorder at the regular cost)



Unexpected ~ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

More Than Words ~ Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

Resist ~ Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

Longing ~ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords

What's nextAs of right now, I'm not writing anything, at least nothing specific or consistent. The plan after Can't Stay Away is to write and publish the final book in the Resist series, Forever . I made a promise last year that I would be good and start catching up on sequels/series that I need to finish. I've decided to do Forever first because it's going to be shorter and I already have the majority of it plotted out. Once I actually buckle down to write it, I'll add it on Goodreads.

One thing I would like to get back to is the short story anthology on Wattpad called Irresistibly Yours . I already shared one story, but I haven't finished writing the second story. I have about a third of it written, I just haven't taken the time to finish it. So that needs to be written and shared this year, too.

Other than those two things, I haven't made any further decisions as to what else is next. I'm kind of at a standstill when it comes to which story is begging to be written the most. I'll have to look through my list of stories and see if any of them jump out at me.

~*~
Thank you for reading! I'm hoping to have another post or two up soon. There have been a few things on my mind lately and I want to kind of get them off my chest and explain my online absence (among other things). Until then...

I'm participating on NaNoWriMo this year!

Guess what, my lovelies?

I decided that I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year.

I am officially insane.

Why? Because I just finished my current WIP, Can't Stay Away ... like JUST finished it on October 31st. And I'm going to start a new story today... and write the whole thing... 50,000 words... in 30 days...

*sigh*

Anyways! I wanted to let you guys know I'll be hiding away in the writing cave for most of the month, but don't worry, I'll be posting updates on Twitter constantly to let you know what's going on. Plus, there will be a recap of the month in early December when I've dug myself out of the "I just wrote 50,000 words in 30 days" haze. ;)

If you're a writer and you're looking for writing buddies, add me here! I'm always looking for more!

Trick-or-Treat Reads Book Blog Hop #TrickOrTreatReads

Hello all!

I'm participating in the Trick-or-Treat Book Blog Hop hosted by Patricia Lynne! The point of the hop is to go around to different blogs and get free books from authors--so it's like book candy. Isn't that super awesome?!

I'm offering two books: Resist or More Than Words . You can download them for FREE via Smashwords with a coupon code (located underneath the cover above the Goodreads link). This code will be good for TODAY ONLY.


Coupon Code for Resist: AH48W
Add to your Goodreads shelf
| Smashwords |


Coupon Code for More Than Words: LJ57S
Add to your Goodreads shelf
| Smashwords |


Be sure to check out the rest of the blogs on this hop and pick up your bookish candy treats!

Can't Stay Away Cover Reveal!

Hello lovelies!!!

In the midst of writing Can't Stay Away , I found myself browsing stock photo sites. Two of them had credits that were about to expire, so I decided I'd look for some photos for book covers and teasers. I already had one picture in mind for CSA, but then I came across another that was absolutely perfect. So perfect, even my cover artist, Marie Landry, wanted to steal it from me. She (ever so reluctantly) made the cover for me, and it is so gorgeous. Just so GORGEOUS. Since I'm insanely biased, I'll let you guys be the judge of that...

HERE IT IS!
Release date: February 29th 2016

Piper Winchester is fresh out of college. With only three weeks until her father remarries and five weeks until her first business venture launches, she's got her hands full. She certainly doesn't need any distractions to get in the way of building the future her father's always wanted for her. But when a familiar boy with bright green eyes walks back into her life, she's thrown for a loop.

Four years ago, Chase MacKenzie left for college without looking back. He didn't mean to disturb the peace then, and he definitely doesn't want to do that now. Once he lays his eyes on Piper again, there's no way he can leave without fixing what went wrong in the past. Although she's more determined than ever to push him away, he still manages to get under her skin. Regardless of what happens between them, there's one thing that will always be standing in their way...

He's about to become her stepbrother.

Add Can't Stay Away to your Goodreads shelf

Since this is a super early cover reveal, the book blitz sign-ups probably won't be available for a little while, but I'll definitely link everyone to it once it's available!

In the meantime, feel free to join my reader group on Facebook, Lilly's Lovelies, and/or sign up for my newsletter (I promise not to spam you). There are perks to being part of the reader group/subscribing to the newsletter--perks of the ARC and giveaway nature. Not to mention several exclusive teasers for upcoming books.

Let me know what you think of the cover in the comments!

High hopes and the actualities of being an indie author

When I first started publishing, I had no idea where it was going to go. I just wanted to write my stories and share them with the world. I knew what my first story would be, but I wasn't sure what would be next.

Then I published my first book, Here All Along . It was a short story, but several people fell for Adrian and Hazel and wanted more of them. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to continue their story. It was my intent to make Here We Are (the sequel) my next project, but when the characters weren't speaking to me, I had to move on.

That's when I wrote Resist . I knew when I started the story that it would end on a cliffhanger and require a full-length sequel. When I wrote the sequel, Longing , I thought it would end there. Somehow the idea for Forever ( Resist #3 ) came to me since I didn't want to let go of Allegra and Devlin just yet. Also, while I was writing Longing , a companion novel for Sonya became necessary.

After I started writing Longing , an idea that had been in the back of my head began talking to me. I started writing it because I needed to get it all out before the inspiration went away. In 12 days, I had finished a novella called More Than Words . I thought that the story was complete, until I was driving home from work one night and a continuation for Dana and Landon struck me, and now there will be More Than Anything , book #2.

I had set Unexpected aside more than a year ago to write Resist since something wasn't working for Ryan and Alina's story. I picked it up again and started telling it in dual POV and the gears began turning again. Along the way, we meet Willa, a girl who becomes a friend of Alina's. When I finished Unexpected , I knew that the story was complete. But Willa? She wants me to tell her story now, too.

So... now I have a sequel to write for both Here All Along and More Than Words , plus the third book in the Resist series, plus a companion novel to the Resist series, and very likely a companion novel to Unexpected .

Did I have any idea this would happen?

No. Not even slightly.

I want to write these stories. I really do. They're always on my mind, sitting there in my subconscious, spinning around and being thought about off and on. Not only that, but there are several other stories I haven't told you about bouncing around in there with them.

I'm sure some of you are getting curious. Wondering if you'll ever hear what happens next for Adrian, Hazel, Allegra, Devlin, Dana, Landon, Sonya, and Willa. Am I going to just tease you with the possibility of it forever while writing a bunch of new stories with new characters? Let me be the first to assure you that I have every intention to write them.

I just honestly have no idea when.

I keep having high hopes that I'll be able to get to one of them soon, but then something prevents it. Sometimes it's that the inspiration isn't happening. Sometimes it's a plot conflict that isn't resolving itself. But sometimes? It's life.

As an indie author, I have to do the majority of the work myself. This includes investing the money and contacting reviewers. Some of us pay people to help with covers and formatting (like me). Others make their own covers and do their own formatting. Plus, a lot of us work outside the home and some have responsibilities and/or health issues to contend with. All the above adds up to limited time and resources to getting our books out there.

Frankly, it sucks. Not being an indie author, because I love being an indie author. It's the obstacles that get in the way of writing. If I could hide away in a cabin in the woods with a limitless supply of caffeine, chocolate, and rum, I could write these books in no time! But alas, that's not the case. And it's frustrating to say the least when all I want to do is give you all these books so you can see where all the characters end up. Hell, even I want to know!

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that even though I have all these books I want to write, I've had to become more reasonable in what I expect of myself. I kind of jumped the gun by adding both Here We Are and More Than Anything to Goodreads when I wasn't even started on them. Now they're up there and people are anxiously awaiting the sequels. Plus, I wrote a post on this blog regarding my 2015 book plans...and honestly, with the exception of Unexpected , the majority of that post isn't coming true. I'm currently working on a story that didn't even exist in my head back then.

So, from now on, I'm going to do things a little differently around here. First off, I won't be telling anyone about the title of a book or adding it to Goodreads until I'm at least 10,000 words in. That way I won't be teasing you with books I'm unable to write right away.

Secondly, the books mentioned in this post that haven't been written will slowly get written. I would like to spend the next couple years working on them and getting as many out as I possibly can. I don't want to be one of those people who makes promises they can't keep. I don't want to let you down or get your hopes up.

As of this minute, I'm working on a new book called Can't Stay Away . I put it up on Goodreads after I reached the 10,000 word mark (and am currently at 20,000 words). It will be my next published book that I am hoping to have out by the end of 2015 (fingers crossed). After I finish this book, I'm unsure of which one is next. One of the above sequels/companions is definitely high on the list of "next book" after the current one.

When it comes to these stories? They all will get written. That, my dear friends, is the one thing I can promise you.

It's release day for UNEXPECTED!

Unexpected is finally here!


| Add to your shelf on Goodreads |
| Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Smashwords |

Ever had one of those days? Alina Lyons is having one. Everything keeps falling apart and going wrong. Just when she thinks it couldn't get worse, it does. After a case of mistaken identity and a broken heart, she finds herself questioning the things she thought she knew. She wonders who she can turn to or trust anymore.

An unlikely bond with her former best friend's ex, Ryan Wilcox, sends her life in a new direction. He offers her a place to stay while she gets her life back on track. His friendship is exactly what she's been missing—what she's been needing. Alina's never felt this alive. As time goes by, the dynamic of their relationship becomes more than either of them expected. A few innocent kisses could lead them in a new direction, but are they prepared for what's on the other side?

Only one way to find out.

~~~~~
Advanced Praise:
"This was the first novel that I had read from Lilly Avalon, and it was phenomenal. I loved her writing style, and the storyline and characters she created were extraordinary." ~Julia from The Perks of Being a Bibliophile (read full review here)

"Sweet, passionate and endearing, I was more than happy to let Ryan be my book boyfriend for the evening." ~Heather at Obsessed with Myshelf (read full review here)

"I found Ms. Avalon’s writing to be refreshing, humorous, entertaining, and thoughtful, with just enough delightfully sensual teases and steamy scenes sprinkled throughout to keep my heart and respiration rates up." ~Empress DJ at Books and Bindings (read full review here)

"Fans of friends to lovers stories will love this as much as I did. Not only do we get the story of friends becoming more, we get to see the characters becoming friends in the first place. It made for a fantastic book!" ~Sabrina at Escaping Into Books (read full review here)

~~~~~

~~~~~

First Chapter Reveal for UNEXPECTED

Hello lovelies!

I've decided to do something special for everyone and share the first chapter of Unexpected . You know, because I'm a huge tease. *wink wink* Anyway, I hope you enjoy your first look at Unexpected!

~~~~~*~~~~~
It's been one of those days.

You know the kind—the one where you want to rename Murphy's Law after yourself. No matter how hard you try to make it better, it just gets worse. All you want to do is go home, crawl under the covers, and sleep through the rest of the day. That's right. Now it's known as Alina's Law.

The last twenty-four hours of my life have been hell. It started yesterday afternoon when I met up with my boyfriend, Drew, for coffee. When he told me to meet him at the Mocha Shack, he made it sound important. I thought maybe he got a raise or possibly promoted at work. Turns out, he asked me if we could put our relationship “on hold” for a little bit. His explanation—if you could call it that—was that he's too stressed with his job and doesn't want to upset me if he can't meet his boyfriend obligations.

This, unfortunately, isn't the first time he's done this to me. Before I left, I told him this is the last time I'm allowing him to play this card. Next time he asks for a break, it's going to be a break up. He reluctantly agreed.

While I drove home, my irritation over Drew turned into outright anger. His previous “relationship breaks” happened not long after we started dating. We reached the six-month mark a couple weeks back and had even been discussing moving in together. Now he wanted to take a break? Again? As soon as I got home, I sent him a text message telling him he'll have to grovel for me to take him back.

Once I got out of my car, I was stomping as I walked to my apartment door. That's when I accidentally dropped my cell phone on the sidewalk, cracking the screen. It was a brand spanking new phone, too—only a week old. Practically straight out of the box. Since it was already too late in the day to get a replacement, I had to survive without it the rest of the night.

I couldn't find the obligatory pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in the freezer, so I settled on the chocolate chip cookies I made Friday night. I poured a glass of milk and watched a cheesy B-movie on cable. I tried to stay up to talk about what happened with my best friend and roommate, Victoria, but she must have stayed late at the sports bar where she’s currently working part time. I ended up going to bed before midnight to get enough sleep for my early shift at Geoffrey's Diner.

I barely got any sleep—I kept tossing and turning since I couldn't stop thinking. Then this morning when I went out to my car, my back right tire was flat. I had to wake up Warren, the neighbor from across the hall, to help me fix it. As if I wasn't late enough already, I was stuck for an extra five minutes at a train crossing once I got on the road.

Upon arriving to work, I discover my Monday shift had been given away to someone else. My jerk of a boss—The Geoffrey of Geoffrey's Diner—told me I had no excuse and I should have called. I showed him my damaged cell phone, but he just shrugged and told me, “Sorry.” And what do I do in response? I quit my job on the spot. I stormed out the front door, and I may have flipped Geoffrey off as I was walking away.

It's now three o'clock on June first and we're approaching the twenty-four hour mark of the start of Alina's Law. Everything is hitting me all at once as I sit on my bed, replacement phone in my lap, the only good thing about today. What happened? And what am I supposed to do about it? It's too bad Victoria is still sleeping. I could use someone to talk to about this.

Leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, I weave my fingers into my hair. I wince at how greasy it feels. I took a shower this morning, but apparently changing the tire reversed the effects. I sigh and walk to the bathroom to take a second shower. When I flip on the lights, one of the three bulbs burns out with a spark that causes me to jump. “Really?” I say out loud to the universe, rubbing my hand over my forehead. I turn to go find a new one, but throw up my hands. I'm not in the mood to change it now. I'll take care of it later.

After stripping off all my clothes and throwing them into the hamper, I climb under the hot spray of the shower. I let the water wash over me, warming my body and rinsing the last twenty-four hours off my skin. God, this feels good.

When I'm done showering, I'm going to change into pajamas and relax on the couch with a good book. I have a few romance novels to catch up on anyway. Who wouldn't want the distraction from life if they went through what I just dealt with? I've met my quota of bad things for the day. It's probably best for me to avoid leaving the house at this point. Today can't get any worse if I do that, can it?

Out of the corner of my eye, the bathroom door opens. Despite the lack of light, I can make out Drew's silhouette through the shower curtain. Looks like someone's already changed his mind. He better be prepared to grovel, I think, smiling. I expect him to say something, but instead he steps inside the shower behind me. My jaw drops. Drew usually saves the sexual stuff for the bedroom. Anytime I suggest something outside the box, he either refuses or makes excuses. Him coming in here with me? Now that's how to grovel.

He touches my shoulders, tracing his fingers down my back to my waist. He steps forward, pressing his front into my back. The sudden feel of our naked bodies touching causes me to shiver. Both of his hands come around under my arms and up to my breasts. He caresses them, his thumbs teasing my nipples in slow circles as he kisses along my shoulder.

I'm entranced by his touch; I've never felt anything like it before. Melting into him, I reach behind me, grabbing his ass to pull him closer. His hard length presses against my backside, making him growl. Still holding on to me, he pushes me up against the side of the shower wall. My breasts touch the cold tile as the hot water slides over my back between our bodies

Damn, this is sexy.

One of his hands descends from my stomach, going lower. A finger slips between my legs and I open immediately to the invasion. He strokes my flesh as I let out a shivering breath. His finger slides inside me once...twice...three times...then slides out. I bite my lips when his expert fingers rub over my clit with featherlight touches. He doesn't increase the pressure; he knows what he's doing. I can feel the smile against my skin when he kisses my shoulder blade. His other hand comes up to stroke the edge of my breast. Such a light touch, and yet it's like lightning zipping through me.

Is it possible to feel too good? Because this almost is. It's almost as though one of my romance novels has been brought to life to balance out the universe. I consider it a victory. Screw you, Alina's Law!

I want—no, need—to have him inside me. Reaching back between us, I wrap a hand around his length, slowly moving up and down. He growls again, making me feel like a naughty girl. It's the first time I've felt like one with him, the first time he's allowed me to feel like one. Removing my hand, he spreads my legs apart a little, sliding himself between my folds. My mouth falls open as he rubs against my center, then directly on my clit. A low groan vibrates from his throat and I want to swallow the sound as I taste his lips.

He's never reacted like this, so wildly primal. It turns me on in a brand new way. In fact, ever since he set foot in the shower, everything has been a thousand times better than any other time we've fooled around. How can that be? I'm coming alive with every touch. I'm a butterfly discovering her wings after emerging from the cocoon. It's like he's a different person. I'm so close; I can feel the pleasure increasing, building to greater heights. It usually takes much longer for me to reach an orgasm. Yet I know the instant he thrusts into me, I'm going to explode.

It's obvious based on how roughly he pushes against me that he's losing a battle with his self-control. His breath is erratic and hot against my ear, turning me on all the more. When his teeth graze my ear and tug on my earlobe, a tiny cry comes from my throat before I can stop it.

“You're so goddamn hot,” he whispers, his hands sliding up my sides.

That's when I tense against him. That voice...it's not Drew. I gasp when the voice finally registers in my brain. “Ryan?”

He stops moving entirely, loosening his grip on my hands. “Alina?”

Turns out I was wrong before. Today could totally get worse.

~~~~~*~~~~~

Ever had one of those days? Alina Lyons is having one. Everything keeps falling apart and going wrong. Just when she thinks it couldn't get worse, it does. After a case of mistaken identity and a broken heart, she finds herself questioning the things she thought she knew. She wonders who she can turn to or trust anymore.

An unlikely bond with her former best friend's ex, Ryan Wilcox, sends her life in a new direction. He offers her a place to stay while she gets her life back on track. His friendship is exactly what she's been missing—what she's been needing. Alina's never felt this alive. As time goes by, the dynamic of their relationship becomes more than either of them expected. A few innocent kisses could lead them in a new direction, but are they prepared for what's on the other side?

Only one way to find out.

| Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Smashwords |

More Than Words is available for FREE for a limited time!

Hello lovelies!

More Than Words is free for a limited time! It'll only be for a few days and I don't know the exact moment it'll go back to 99 cents, so you'd better download now before it's too late. *wink, wink*


| Goodreads | Amazon |

All of her friends know her as Dana Darling, the clean romance writer. She's never written a steamy novel, not even in her head, but now her publisher needs her to write one. It doesn't appear too difficult at first, but then Dana's lack of sexual knowledge creates writer's block.

That's where her friend Landon comes in. She needs pointers on positions and dirty talk, and he owes her a favor. They agree that it's strictly business and clothes are mandatory, but once they get to work, it's another story entirely... one that's being written between the sheets and not on paper. 

*More Than Words is a 12,000 word erotica novella*

*muah*