Deirdre Riordan Hall's Blog, page 5

Fight Camp: Firebird Born Release!

You've heard the hype: "Fight Camp is like summer camp on steroids." 
You've pre ordered & checked out the Pinterest aesthetics board.
You've added Fight Camp to your Goodreads TBR & told your friends about it.
At last, release day is here! Fight Camp: Firebird Born, book one in a two part series, is now available. 
ICYMI or have been living under a rock or in the Republic of New Dominia and news like this isn't available... Read on...

When government officials recruit sixteen-year-old Aran Fenn to summer camp, she leaves her idyllic home in Domain AL and crashes into a violent reality of aggressive campers and ultimate fight training. As she struggles to trust her bunkmate—who knocks her out on the first night—and Cal—who helps heal her wounds in secret—, she quickly realizes telling the counselors that she wants to go home isn’t an option.

Weeks pass and Aran prepares for the trials, including a high voltage tug of war, crossing a bed of hot coals, and enduring ten minutes in the Cage. She learns she's supposed to be at a different camp to exploit her intelligence, but fight camp is supposedly the better of the two. She's also told her green eyes are a life-threatening liability and finds out that after the Last War the Regime isolated the people to create a stronger army, rendering her life a science experiment.
Aran doesn't want to fight, but rather get home to her family even if that means letting go of her budding romance with Cal. However, when she learns the reality of her world, she's willing to put her life on the line and do whatever it takes to gain freedom.
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Get your copy of Fight Camp: Firebird Born


US // UK // AU
Add to your Goodreads list.
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YOU'RE INVITED! Join me and five other authors Tuesday 7/18/17 on Facebook for an EPIC release EXTRAVAGANZA! Hang out with authors, chat books, ask questions, and win prizes!

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The cover reveal for book 2, Fight Camp: Firebird Rising, is August 1. Bloggers, please comment below if you'd like to take part! And the book launches August 15th so stick around because there's more action-adventure, dystopian-romance coming your way!

Why I Chose to Self-publish After Two Successful Traditionally Published Books

Or: Why I'm self-publishing 10 Books in 10 months


I went to my first AA meeting (Alcoholics Anonymous for those unfamiliar) when I was in fourth grade. No, I wasn't an extremely young person with a substance abuse problem. However, my mother didn't have particularly strong boundaries or a sense of what might be appropriate for kids, never mind the fact that the other attendees probably weren't thrilled to share their issues with the ten-year old sitting in the circle eating store brand vanilla cookies and drinking apple juice. But you know… Life.
Prior to this, my mother used to drive a white Thunderbird circa the 80s. She had a red bumper sticker that said, "Shit Happens." Once she drove it off the side of a cliff. It was a small cliff, but still. The thing survived. So did she. Incidentally, the engine exploded outside of Queens and that was that. Anyway, the point is yes, shit does happen. It happens all of the time. Shitty things. Shitty people. Shitty emojis. Shit pickles. For a long time I wholly believed in that phrase—it was printed on a bumper sticker after all!—and that when shit happened, well, it was shitty. Instead of the popular earworm from the Lego movie: "Everything is awesome," my childhood anthem was, "Everything is shitty."
But I've come to understand that although shit happens it isn't so much the shit itself that causes the problem, it's how we react, respond, or run from our shit. Sometimes we flip our shit, fly off the handle, go bonkers. This often results in broken glass, lawsuits, and headaches. We can also run, and just say, "Screw it. I can't handle this shit." This often results in the shit coming back to us in one form or another much like Karma, but only because it's a lesson the Universe still wants us to learn. A third option is we can just wallow in our shit like a pig in mud. "Oh, woe is me, my life is shit."
Alternately, we can respond. This is like the yoga-spa-meditative answer to life. This is digging deep and realizing that the world and the man aren't out to get me, however there is no escape from my problems or my emotions. (For many years, I was under the impression that feeling what we dub negative emotions is bad and should be avoided at all costs. That's not to say I enjoy depression or anxiety, but they're often indicators of a life out of balance and ultimately serve a purpose in our growth as individuals and as part of the community at large. But I digress...)
So respondingto life (versus reacting) might look something like this: "Wow, this is a really shitty situation. It makes me feel like shit (or any given variation on feeling shitty). How the heck did I find myself here? Why am I surrounded by so much shit? What did I do to contribute to this shit pickle? Was I shitty to so and so? What is my role in this shit sitch? And then the big leap… What can I do to change this? Or in other words, how can I clean up the shit from my side of the street?
I'm not saying when really, really bad things happen it's our fault. No, what I'm saying is that I've completed 27 manuscripts, totaling well over 1,770,077 words. (Not including projects that I never finished), and when only two of those are traditionally published, one of which hasn't earned out its advance, I might find myself wallowing or pointing fingers or wanting to throw my laptop out of a second story window. This isn't to say I'm not incredibly, extremely, sometimes struck dumb with gratitude about my opportunity in the publishing world. I've met some incredible people, learned getting a book from draft to bookshelf is a collaborative team effort, and being read by readers is a privilege. All of that is true and very much on my heart. What I'm saying is I might once or twice have felt like, well, why don't agents/editors want my next book? (This is the finger pointing) Why aren't readers reading my work? Why, why, why? Why me? Why not me? (This is the wallowing).
But I've realized this isn't shit. This is life and damn, it's grand because I have the opportunity to grow. How? By dialing back all the frustration and whining and using what sometimes feels like overwhelming and shitty emotions as fuel. It's time to get creative. To analyze the situation as objectively as possible and then ask myself, "Okay, now what? What's next?"
It's responding instead of reacting or running.
I've been thinking a lot lately about words like tenacity, persistence, and perseverance. The road of an artist, a creative, and author is traveled one brushstroke, one word, one step at a time. It isn't always easy, but neither is love. And that's why we do it. Right? I write because I have to, because I have stories to tell, because it fills me with a kind of joy I don't find elsewhere. And when I write I'm not thinking about sales or fans or even holding the published book in my hands. Rather, I write for the sake of writing even when it's challenging, even when my character is in a corner, even when sales are lousy. Even when it's shitty for goodness sakes! It can feel severe at times, harsh, but I persevere because with every word I'm a little closer to the love and light in the world and to me that is success.
So if I'm already successful then what do I fear I have to lose? Because that's what feeling shitty is: fear. It's being afraid of daring, failing, succeeding, shining. It's being afraid of living a life where everything is indeed AWESOME. And being able to handle your shit when it isn't.
This brings me to the notion of the shit sandwich. Mark Manson of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck fame and also highlighted in Liz Gilbert's Big Magic posits this: "WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF SHIT SANDWICH AND DOES IT COME WITH AN OLIVE?"
The idea is that in life, "everything sucks, some of the time." To follow the theme of this essay, I'd say, somethings are shitty, some of the time. What this means is that life has its ups and downs, ebbs and flows, highs and lows. Our endeavors, passions, and dreams all take dedicated action, hard work, sweat, diligence…and more. According to Mark, the shit sandwich question becomes, "what struggle or sacrifice are you willing to tolerate? Ultimately, what determines our ability to stick with something we care about is our ability to handle the rough patches and ride out the inevitable rotten days." And I'll add, even then, not wholly focusing on the shitty stuff because when we focus on shit, chances are we'll see, if not get, more of it.
This resonates with me on a high frequency. This is what writing and publishing and being in it for the long game means. It means I'm going to keep writing. I'm not quitting after 1,770,077 words. Not after hundreds (okay, thousands) of rejections from literary agents—I've lost track. Not when sales average around the $2 range for weeks. And certainly not when life happens.
I'm going to keep writing and growing and getting better at craft and storytelling and doing what I do because it makes me happy. If it connects me with millions or just brings a smile to the faces of a handful of people or tears to the eyes of a girl from Hungary or enters the hearts of a thousand or so people who see themselves in a story I write—, either way it’s a win. It's not quantity, but the quality of the experience. 

When the dog wakes me up early, and I still find the energy to get in a chapter or three. When I lose track of time and find myself in that magical, expansive place of creation. When I come to a deeper understanding of who I am and who you are and what it means that the universe has our backs because we're all connected I'm living life.
That's my shit sandwich and, I'll gladly eat it with an olive.
Okay, moving on from shit. I got off track. Way off track. I was talking about AA meetings, but now you get a better sense of my childhood and how over the years it's provided me with opportunities to deeply reflect on life.
So have you ever been to an AA meeting? Or a therapy group formatted similar to one? If we were in the mildewed basement of a church somewhere in Massachusetts, I'd start by saying, "My name is Deirdre Riordan Hall. I'm a traditionally andself-published novelist who enjoys eating a particular kind of shit sandwich layered with creative writing, teen fiction, fantasy, and romance. It's lovely to meet you."
What made me come to this meeting?
Remember I mentioned I've written 27 books? I call them my backlist and in order to move what felt like stagnant energy surrounding my writing life (in other words, my shit sandwich had gotten kind of stale), I decided to shift my energy. Just before New Year's, I had what one of my high school besties might have called a "flash of brilliance." One of those light bulb moments. Don't get me wrong, I mulled it over with charts and graphs and a lot of bubbles in my stomach, but in the end I decided to call it, "2017, an epic year in self-publishing." Or "Ten books in ten months." Or "This is my shit sandwich, want a bite?" Okay, no, not that. But ambitious and nutty and awesome, I know! That's me in three words.
I needed to share those older books to make room for the new!
I did this because I write in a variety of genres: contemporary and fantasy, even moving between women's, teen, and middle grade. By self-publishing, I can easily shift between all of these, whereas traditional prefers you pick one and stick to it. Not always, but much of the time.

I also decided to return to my roots as it were: back in 2012, I think, I learned about self-publishing and got up the guts to go for it aka I followed my bliss with the, ahem, Follow your Bliss six book romance series.
Self-publishing gives me a lot of creative freedom, from content to cover design. That also means I also have to do or outsource it, but I enjoy the process, or at least am willing to eat the shittier parts of it (with olives, natch).
Although I can sing the praises of my publishing team at Skyscape all darn day (they're amazing, creative, inspiring, insightful, and really, really awesome). As a writer, it's also nice to have full creative freedom. Lately, I'm all about freedom in time and finances and life in general.
A while back, I contributed to Forever YA with a post about being a hybrid author if you're interested in knowing more about my experience.
Also, here is my editorial schedule, as it were:
1/17: Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told women’s romantic comedy2/17: How Not to Fall in Love women’s romantic comedy novella3/17: Chasing Days a young adult novel4/17: Spent a young adult novel5/17: Tide a young adult fantasy, Sea & Sand Series6/17: Anchored a young adult fantasy, Sea & Sand Series 
>I also snuck in My Essential Oils Journal because I'm obsessed with them & needed a way to keep track<7/17: Fight Camp Book 1: Firebird Born a young adult dystopian8/17: Fight Camp Book 2: Firebird Rising a young adult dystopian9/17: An Irish Dancer's Handbook (just what it sounds like)10/17: Fairy Cakes middle grade magical realism
Previously Published:Through the Jungle a FREE prequel & sequel to theFollow your Bliss series:To the Sea a new adult novelSurfaced a new adult novellaIn the Desert a new adult novelMirrored a new adult novellaOn the Mountain a new adult novelKindled a new adult novella
Sugar a young adult novel Pearl a young adult novel
Book Promotion 365: how to reach readers and share your work with the world non-fiction
So this is life. Life happens. Books  happen.
If you'd like to try the shit sandwich I mentioned, if you eat them every day for lunch, or if you enjoy the results of my shit sandwiches (no, don't go there; remember, this is a metaphor), we're in this together. This thing called life. We're in the same community, supported by the same universe. It's hard and it's awesome. It's shitty and it's beautiful.
Life is the kind of paradox that will leaves me wonderstruck on the daily, even if I have a shit sandwich in my hand. You too?
 P.S. If you know anyone who might gain insight from reading this, please share!

Fight Camp: Firebird Born Cover Reveal

It's cover reveal day! Yay!

Epic Sci Fi Summer Loop Giveaway on Instagram

Welcome to the Epic Sci Fi Summer INSTAGRAM Loop Giveaway. There are a total of 8 authors participating, which means you have the chance to win 8+ books, swag, and a $30 Amazon Gift card! If you complete the loop, you'll be entered to win the following prizes:A signed copy of Deviants by Maureen McGowanA digital copy of Double Life by S. Usher EvansA signed copy of Imitation by Heather HildenbrandA signed copy of Fight Camp: Firebird Born by Deirdre Riordan HallDigital copies of the three-book City of Legends Series by Cheyanne YoungA signed copy of In Between Seasons by Cassandra GiovanniA digital copy of Blood & Water by Briana MorganPlus book SWAG & a $30 Amazon Gift CardVISIT ME ON INSTAGRAM TO GET STARTED.Here's how to do the loop aka the rules. (It's kind of like a game of telephone ;-)1. Follow all of the accounts in the loop. If you tap the photo, the name of the next author for you to visit is tagged.
2. Tell a friend! Comment below with a friend you'd think would like to enter too! Also feel free to comment! We'd love to know what is going to make your summer epic!
3. Remember you must follow ALL Instagram accounts (there are 8) in order for your entry to be valid. We’ll be checking!
4. Once you get back here, you’ve completed the loop!
5. Winners will be announced on July 5, 2017*This giveaway is not endorsed or sponsored by Instagram.
Hope you have fun & do let me know in the comments below or on Instagram what's going to make your summer epic! 

Anchored Release Day!

I've written a lot about patience and why it's important, especially in the writing and publishing world. But it's so stinking hard to wait for things, amiright? 
Patience is one of my most valued, but least cultivated virtues. (Sigh.) But when I get to the last page of a book and there's the hint of a cliffhanger or I'm actually dangling over the edge, I just want that next book so bad and have to wait a year or more (gasp!) for the followup. #readerproblems. 
Well, not this time, friends. Anchored , the second  novel in the Sea & Sand series comes out today! Just about a month after Tide. How's that for awesome? Or as Tyler would say, "Totally radical, dudes." Kidding. Sorta. Actually, Sean his bestie is more into the surfer speak, but I digress.
It's release day! Yay! Celebrate with me on social and share with your friends because good friends share good books ;-)

As men continue to succumb to the sea, Tyler fears for the safety of the people in Land's End and struggles to maintain the secrecy of the underwater world, including the origins of his girlfriend, Amara, former mero, aka mermaid.                                              But the biggest mystery of all is his connection to the ocean.
After his aunt passes away, Tyler puts pieces of his genealogy together when she leaves him and Kiwa, a local girl and surfer, her house and maritime legacy. The ex-friends are at odds after she deceived him, yet she has answers.
However, Kiwa's gone missing.
Going on information gathered about the history of the mero, Tyler and Amara travel from Atlantic to Pacific. There, they make a startling discovery about ghost pirates, an angry sea king, unrequited love, and an ancient curse.
However, everything they're looking for is a lot closer than they realize.
Clues and sea relics lead Tyler to the Magna Maris, an ancient document outlining how to break the curse and reunite the inhabitants of the sea and put an end to the theft of the souls of men.
Unfortunately, Amara believes she's the curse breaker.
Tyler has to convince Amara they can be together while fighting an epic battle for life on land and below the ocean, along with grappling with the truth of who he really is.

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Get your copy of Anchored
US // UK // AU
Goodreads
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Please share the Sea & Sand Series love with your Twitter, 
Facebook, & social media friends:
Copy and paste to Tweet:Never trust a mermaid's kiss. Tide & Anchored, a two book series told on the sea & sand #youngadult  #fantasy https://www.amazon.com/Anchored-Sea-S...
Copy & Paste for Facebook: When sailors go missing off the coast of the Atlantic, Tyler learns alluring and beautiful doesn't mean harmless, leaving it up to him to stop the mero. But when a girl goes missing, questions about his family ancestry prompt Tyler and Amara on a trip from Atlantic to Pacific to find answers and save mariners from losing their souls to the sea. Along the way, he has to find a lost relic, face the mero, the skylo, a boat of ghost pirates, the Great Sea Council, and Poseidon along with the truth of who he really is. https://www.amazon.com/Anchored-Sea-S...~ ~ ~
There you have it! Thank you so much for joining me on this mermaid and magic journey. I'd love if you leave a review on Amazon & Goodreads, and of course tell your friends and family how much you enjoyed the books. 
And stay tuned because there's more fiction from me coming your way!

Romantic Summer Reading Challenge

Hey, book lovers! This one is for my women's fiction readers. Remember those summer reading programs from when we were kids? You would read a certain number of books and get a pizza. Or maybe if you completed a list of books you received a certificate and a prize from the librarian. Why should the fun end just because we're adults? Join us this summer for the inaugural Romantic Summer Reading Challenge . 

Now through midnight (CDT) September 4, read all ten books on our reading list to win prizes. This year’s featured books include:
The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen by Victoria Alexander  New Attitude by Kathryn R. Biel  Playing House by Laura Chapman  Makeup & Murder by Stephanie Damore  Click Date Repeat Again by KJ Farnham  Love, Hate, and Other Lies We Told by Deirdre Riordan Hall  Tequila & Tailgates by Andrea Johnston  Reality Rocks by Liberty Kontranowski  Pas de Deux by Wynter S.K.  This is 35 by Stacey Wiedower
How does it work? When you finish each book on the list, leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Then, once you are done with all ten, copy the links on the entry form, complete the rest of the information, and submit it. After September 4, everyone who completes the challenge will receive a free ebook from one of the authors’ backlist. You will also be entered in the drawing for a chance to win one of ten prize packages created by the authors (valued at $20 each) and the grand prize of a $100 Amazon gift card. (No purchase necessary to win. Prize packages limited to U.S. residents only this year.)

What if you’ve already read one (or more) of the books on this list? It still counts. Just post your review and share the link on the form. 

If this sounds like fun way to discover new authors, score a free book, and enter for a chance to win prizes, please join us! You can also follow the Facebook page , which will include author takeovers that give you a chance to interact with authors and other readers throughout the summer.

I'm so excited for this unique challenge + the great prizes!!! Please share the summer reads you're most excited for!

Multi-Author YA Summer Giveaway!

Summer is officially here! I've teamed up with 8 Young Adult authors to host this amazing summer giveaway that will run the entire month of June. Here's what one lucky winner will get: 9 Signed Paperback books + swag from these authors:  Linda Budzinski Natalie Decker Jennifer DiGiovanni Cassandra Giovanni Rebekah L. Purdy Amy Sparling Patricia B. Tighe Cheyanne Young & Moi!A $10 Starbucks Gift card + a bottle of nail polish (donated by Natalie Decker) A $10 Amazon Gift Card (will be emailed to the winner) A Cute Heart Books tote bag for all your summer book needs SEE BELOW TO ENTER:a Rafflecopter giveaway

What *else* will you be reading this summer? Let me know below.

Anchored Cover Reveal

I love it, I love it, I love it! I love this cover. I love all the covers, but *this one* goes so beautifully with Tide that I can't. even. It's like they're book fraternal twins. Is that weird? No, no it's not. 

The two stories in the Sea & Sand series so deeply appeal to the fantasy and magic and mermaid lover in me. I spent  many days on the beach plotting this story, watching surfers (okay, and surfing -- I longboard like Kiwa), writing, and then revising that I feel like the characters and setting and mystery are kissed by the sea.
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An early reader of Tide and Anchored have said this story is a great match for readers who enjoyed the Syrena Legacy—Of Poseidon is a fave!—by Anna Banks. Another said she thought of The Vicious Deep by Zoraida Cordova, which is a HUGE compliment. 
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So what else will you find within the pages?
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Windswept beaches
Rocky shores
Surfing
Storms
Mero aka Mermaid
Skylo aka Sea dogs
Men lost at sea
An angry sea king aka Poseidon
Ghosts
Pirates
Loss
Deceit
Love 
Romance
Adventure
A road trip
Mystery! Lots of mystery

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Ready to see the cover? Scroll down...
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 As men continue to succumb to the sea, Tyler fears for the safety of the people in Land's End and struggles to maintain the secrecy of the underwater world, including the origins of his girlfriend, Amara, former mero, aka mermaid.                                              But the biggest mystery of all is his connection to the ocean.
After his aunt passes away, Tyler puts pieces of his genealogy together when she leaves him and Kiwa, a local girl and surfer, her house and maritime legacy. The ex-friends are at odds after she deceived him, yet she has answers.
However, Kiwa's gone missing.
Going on information gathered about the history of the mero, Tyler and Amara travel from Atlantic to Pacific. There, they make a startling discovery about ghost pirates, an angry sea king, unrequited love, and an ancient curse.
However, everything they're looking for is a lot closer than they realize.
Clues and sea relics lead Tyler to the Magna Maris, an ancient document outlining how to break the curse and reunite the inhabitants of the sea and put an end to the theft of the souls of men.
Unfortunately, Amara believes she's the curse breaker.
Tyler has to convince Amara they can be together while fighting an epic battle for life on land and below the ocean, along with grappling with the truth
Preorder your copy of AnchoredUS // UK // AU
Add to your Goodreads List ~ ~ ~Please share the second book in the Sea & Sand Series with your Twitter, Facebook, & social media friends:
Copy and paste to Tweet:Never trust a mermaid's kiss. Tide & Anchored, a two book series told on the sea & sand #youngadult  #fantasy https://www.amazon.com/Anchored-Sea-S...~ ~ ~ ICYMI:If you want to see more of the inspo behind the book, check out my Tide Pinterest board!~ ~ ~Okay, so I need to know, do you love the cover? If Tide featured Amara on the cover, whose silhouette do you think is on the cover of Anchored?

Rebel Cause Blog Tour!

Before we get into the good stuff, I just have to say, Cassandra Giovanni is one of my faves. Why? Because she's cool (the new mama rides a long board and does street skating for goodness sakes), is an amazing graphic artist, and writes edgy stories with tons of heart. 
Okay, I'm done gushing. Read on to find out more about her latest book, Rebel Cause, read an excerpt, find out about her other books (there are many), and enter to win a giveaway.
Reese White has spent her whole life trying so hard to be perfect, that when she looks in the mirror, she doesn't know the person staring back at her. Sure, she's always gotten high grades and excelled academically, but she's never put much time into herself. Now, as she heads off to college, Reese realizes she's remained so hidden inside a book that she's invisible to everyone, including herself.

Kellin Lake has always seen Reese, his little sister's best friend, the beautiful girl hidden behind baggy clothes and good grades--but he's hiding, too-- even from her. Tattoos, lip piercing and lead singer in a metal band, he's a rebel without a cause. But that's just to the people at school. At home, he covers it all up, and he's the boy with the angel's voice, and a 4.0 only his parents know about.

When Reese flips the switch and takes control of her looks, they make an arrangement-- pretend to be in a relationship to elevate Reese's social status. It's simple. Kellin helps his sister's best friend, and Reese isn't invisible anymore. No one falls in love. No one gets hurt. But what Reese doesn't realize is Kellin is already in love with her.

And now things get a hell of a lot more complicated. Amazon ~ FREE on Kindle Unlimited
Limited Time Sale

Out of Beat: FREE
Amazon

Behind the Lens: $0.99
Amazon


EXCERPT ONE“So are you going to explain what all of this is about?” Lindy asks as she holds the door open for me to the mall.“I may have asked Tyler out on a date…and he rejected me.”And I’m insanely jealous of any girl I see your brother kissing…Lindy is silent for a moment, and all I can hear is the sound of her heel’s clicking on the ceramic tiles and noise of my too big jeans as they drag on it.“No shit,” Lindy replies, and I look at her bubble gum pink sweater, floral tank, and skinny jeans.I bite my cheek before looking straight ahead. “Apparently, you’re more his type.”“Like I’d ever go for that,” Lindy replies, her lips curling under as she sticks her tongue out. “So what is this, a makeover?”“Exactly.”The smile grows on Lindy’s face as she looks me over. “Are you sure you want to do this?”I nod. “I know exactly who I am, and it’s time for me to show it.”“So are we going for preppy?” she asks as we begin to walk again.I shake my head. “Not at all.”“What are we going for then?”“I love you, Lind, but I am definitely not you,” I answer as we walk past Express and Lindy’s head stays fixed on a mannikin in a set of dark wash skinny jeans and a tight black v-neck tee. I stop, and she slams into me. “Think Kellin’s type.”“Softcore rebel without a cause?” Lindy asks as I turn into the store and grab my size in the jeans and the smallest version of the shirt I can find.“Exactly, except I love the music he plays,” I reply.Lindy shakes her head at me, taking the pants and putting them back down and grabbing a smaller size. “Right, then you’ll want pants that are actually your size.”“How do you know what size I am?” I ask.“I’ve seen you in a bathing suit. You’re tiny beneath all that cotton.”I take the pants from her and head into the dressing room. When I come out, Lindy has a pile of jeans for me just as skinny as the ones I’ve slipped into but in a variety of colors including a pair of ripped ones. I grab them from her hands and smile.“Perfect,” I reply.“Reese, you’re going to make Tyler have a heart attack,” Lindy says as she looks me up and down with the widest smile I’ve ever seen on her.“This isn’t about Tyler,” I reply as I turn to the full-length mirror.“Who is it about then?”My heart stutters for a moment as Kellin’s face comes to mind. I shake my head, before looking up at the girl in the mirror and smiling. “Me.”“If I know you well enough this shirt is going to be right up your alley,” she says, draping a black t-shirt with silver scroll and skulls over my shoulder.I take a deep breath. “How did you know?”Lindy shrugs. “I knew you were hiding a rebel under there; now we just need some band t-shirts.”I turn to her. “And dye.”“Dye?”I nod. “And I’ll need to get contacts…and make-up.”“We don’t want you to overdose on make-over here, Reese,” Lindy replies, chewing on the inside of her lip as I smile at her.“I know exactly who I want to be, now are you going to help me or not?”“Lead the way,” Lindy replies as she shakes her head with a laugh.EXCERPT TWO“Yeah, I’m not the ugly friend anymore,” I reply, picking at the strands of my ripped jeans.Kellin scoffs. “You never were.”I look up, raising my eyebrows at him. “Come on, Kell. I wasn’t pretty before.”He shakes his head, his lips in a harsh line just like his jaw. “That’s bullshit, Ree. You’re the same girl you were before, except your clothes fit a little too good and you stopped wearing glasses.”“Don’t forget this,” I reply tossing my hair over my shoulders, and staring at him through my bangs.He reaches over and runs his fingers over my chin in a way that makes me inhale deeply.Breathe, Reese. Breathe.“I do like that color on you,” he replies, his hand falling over mine and weaving our fingers together.“I thought you would, ” I answer without thinking, squeezing my eyes shut as I think of exactly how that sounds like I did this just to impress him.“I’m glad you considered how I’d feel about the change.”“You’re one of my best friends…besides Lindy, so of course I thought of what you’d think,” I explain, and Kellin’s hand pulls away from mine to go to the steering wheel.He stares ahead, and I’m struck by the urge to take his hand back into mine again because now it feels wrong for his hand not to be there. We sit in silence until I finally speak.“Are you mad at me?”“Why would I be mad at you?” Kellin asks as he shifts the truck into park.“I don’t know…you just seem angry,” I reply as I watch him squeezing the steering wheel with white knuckles.“Not at all.”“You sure?” I ask as he jumps out and moves the seat forward so he can grab his guitar and amplifier.“Of course.” He slides the guitar over his back, taking the amp in one arm, so his biceps bulge as he holds out the other for me. “Ready to make an entrance?”“Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask as I look at the already crowded venue.“Absolutely positive.”Being Kellin’s arm candy is strangely satisfying. Girls eyes follow us as we enter the room, and narrow on me when I kiss his cheek before he goes on stage. At the end of the show, I can feel their stares as he pulls me into his arms to hug me, and then slings his arm around my waist, tucking his hand into my front pocket.“Guys, this is my girlfriend, Reese,” Kellin explains. “Joey Schmidt,” he nods to the screamer. “Carl Fague,” he nods to the drummer, and finally the bassist. “Johnny Temple — who you already know as Temp.”“In other words, Schmidt, and Fague,” I fill in the blanks of how he usually refers to them.“Exactly.” Kellin’s lips twitch as he looks at them staring at me.
Cassandra doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character’s stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. Besides being a writer, Cassandra is a professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.
Cassandra Giovanni is published by Show n’ot Tell Publishing based out of Connecticut, USA
Connect with Cassandra on Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter.  Learn more about her and her novels at her website, www.cgiovanniauthor.com and read the first ten chapters of each of her published novels through her Book Catalog. Finding the Cure
Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Google Play ~ B&N

In Between the Seasons (The Fall Series #1) Amazon ~ B&N ~ Goodreads
Love Exactly   Amazon ~ B&N ~ Goodreads
 Walking in the Shadows  Amazon ~ B&N ~ Goodreads Rebel Cause Giveaway

Tide Release!

Book debut days never get old. I'm as excited today as I was when To the Sea, my first book to reach readers, was published. Incidentally, it's also features surfing (and kissing!) but that's beside the point. TIDE my first YA fantasy hits shelves and ereaders today! Yay! I'm so excited for this one not only because it features surfing, the ocean, adventure, and mystery, but also because it's fantasy AND is part of a series. The Sea & Sand series to be exact. The follow up ANCHORED comes out next month, so get your copy asap so you won't have to wait long to read the next book! 



Never trust a mermaid's kiss. Tyler McColdrum has a bright future on the professional surfing circuit until his father tragically dies at sea. Unable to pay the bills, Tyler and his mother leave California and move to his late grandfather's cottage in Land's End, Maine—a world away from the life he's known. Not even the stormy Atlantic can douse Tyler's surf stoke, but when mariners go missing off the coast, legends as old as the sea itself suggest something lurks beneath the surface. As the police investigate, his friend Kiwa—the only female surfer for miles—indicates there's more to the McColdrum family history than blood and bone. Amara is a beautiful mermaid, a mero, who wants a life on land away from her sinister sisters. As charming as mero are, with musical voices and a tempting gaze, they're also brutal and cruel, stealing the souls of sailors. As Initiation nears, Amara learns Poseidon selected her as consort and her desperation for freedom increases. When Tyler encounters Amara, he falls hard for her. The ocean is no longer safe for him, but he trusts their love can overcome her mero nature. As locals and officials wage war against the sea, trying to keep mariners safe, Tyler and Amara struggle with how to protect each other.With one foot in the sand and the other in the sea, Tyler must choose love or the surf as the tide quickly rises.~ ~ ~
US // UK // AU
Add to your Goodreads TBR!
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Never trust a mermaid's kiss. Tide #youngadult  #fantasy available 5/16 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... 
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When sailors go missing off the coast of the Atlantic, Tyler learns alluring and beautiful doesn't mean harmless, leaving it up to him to stop the mero or lose more souls to the sea.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y1JZFD9/
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I'm so excited for you to read this two book series! Anchored, the follow up launches June 13th. Oh, and the cover reveal is in just a couple of weeks: May 30th to be exact. 
Thank you for reading!