Michelle Irwin's Blog: Write On Shell, page 10

Giveaway, Excerpt and Pre-order links

Oh boy! The last few days have been CRAZY! So the book is slowly going up for preorders in all the right places. Just have a few more to go, including the paperback link on Amazon (but I'll come back and put it up here when it's in).

Also, there are two giveaways that the lovely crew at Bottom Drawer Publications have put on. One is for a copy of the paperback via Goodreads:
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Goodreads Book Giveaway


Through the Fire
by Michelle Irwin

Giveaway ends October 27, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Enter to win

The second is for two copies of the ebook at Booklikes: BookLikes Giveaway

So where can you buy the book? Well, pretty much anywhere ;) 
BDP
All Romance
Book Strand
Smashwords
Amazon
Within a couple of days, it should be in a few more places too, including the paperback available on Amazon etc.

Paperback at Barnes & Noble

Summary:​Evie Meyers’ life is one spent on the run. Every minute of every day, her life is in danger if anyone should suspect the truth about her ancestry. Her father was willing to risk everything to keep the truth hidden, even from her, but the lies he fabricated were exposed when her high school crush, Clay Jacobs, inadvertently stumbled upon her secret. His discovery puts Evie at risk from a secret organization tasked with washing the world clean of nonhumans—and Clay is one of its deadliest soldiers. Forced into a war she doesn’t understand, all because of what she is, Evie is left with no choice but to flee with her father to escape persecution.

When Clay reappears in her life, battle scarred and mysterious, Evie is unprepared and terrified as he forces his way back into her heart. When the battle catches up with her, and a tragic accident tears apart the peace she discovered, she finds herself alone and without the protection of her father, or her lover. Now, she needs to keep her secrets hidden and learn to survive on her own in a world that wants her dead, all while searching for the missing piece of her heart.
Excerpt:​​Chapter One

I WAS HALFWAY up my drive when the sight of three delicate star-shaped flowers wrapped in soft cream paper resting against my doorstep stopped me in my tracks. A prickle of fear crept over the back of my neck, and the air around me warmed by a few degrees. That simple bouquet of white might have been innocuous on any other doorstep, but in front of my house it was something much more dangerous. It meant that I’d been discovered.
Forcing myself to move, I approached the parcel with caution. The closer inspection did nothing to quell the unease that held my heart in a vice-grip. Magnolias. There couldn’t have been a surer sign that the one person from my past who knew my secrets and wanted me dead had found me.
I twisted around to face the road, carefully scrutinizing each of the cars parked along the side of the quiet street. The possibility that his gaze could at that very moment be firmly fixed on me was enough to cause the now-familiar tingles to spark in the tips of my fingers.
He can’t be here, can he?
The tiny hairs on the back of my neck raised as I realized that yes . . . yes he could be.
It was what he did after all. Hunt. Kill. Destroy.
My skin flushed with heat at the possible sinister motives behind the flowers. Since the incident a few years ago, I’d come to accept that this would forever be my body’s natural reaction to stress. My heart clenched with fear at the danger implicit in the situation even as my stomach fluttered with the recollection of what those flowers had once represented—what he had once meant to me. Memories of the time I’d walked with him beneath a canopy of those blooms, and everything that came after, overwhelmed me. A shudder raced down my spine.
What does it mean? Another, more vital, thought pushed the others out of my mind. How could he have gotten close enough to leave flowers?
Neither Dad nor I had the slightest suspicion that danger lurked nearby. If we had, then we would have been miles away long before the flowers could have turned up. I didn’t understand it because we were usually so adept at avoiding exposure. We had to be; it could prove deadly otherwise.
How did he find me?
I pushed the thought out of my mind and began to consider the houses around me. I shifted my gaze toward the windows and scanned them all, examining each one for the telltale fluttering of curtains or shutters suddenly snapping closed when my eyes fell onto them. Once I was sure that there was definitely no one watching me, I bent to examine the floral package in more depth.
Are they a warning? The thought struck me as ridiculous even as it crossed my mind. From what I understood about his family and their beliefs, the flower couldn’t have been a threat or a warning either. People like me didn’t get warnings. Just death.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence? I wasn’t sure I believed in coincidences that significant, but it made some sense. It certainly made more sense than the fact that he’d leave flowers; he wanted to kill me, not date me.
My heart rested somewhere in the region of my throat and pounded heavily as I reached out with one hand and pushed the paper aside to see if there was a card or note somewhere on the offering. Almost instantly the flowers began to wilt, so I drew my hand away and gave my fingers a gentle shake before clenching them into a fist.
Calm down, Evie.
I took a deep breath and released it slowly, concentrating on slowing the pace of the blood racing through my body.
It might be nothing, just a gift from an overly friendly neighbor. It’s not like magnolias belong solely to him.
Considering that Dad and I had already been in the house for a little over two weeks, and were careful about timing our comings and goings to avoid too much attention, it seemed unlikely, but I was determined not to panic . . . yet. Confident that I’d calmed myself enough to be able to reach for the flowers again without completely destroying them, I leaned forward and unwrapped the paper before pulling it away from the flowers to examine both sides.
Blank.
I folded up the paper and pushed it into the pocket of my jeans before reaching for the flowers and standing back up with them in my hands.
Why are they here? Why now?
Turning back toward the street, I scanned the whole scene once more to ensure I hadn’t missed anything. It’s probably nothing, I justified to myself as I considered the empty street. They can’t be from Clay—it’s impossible.

1st Anniversary

Today is my one year anniversary! It's very exciting. It's a little scary to think this journey has been going on for a little longer than that, but we're almost there--we're almost at the start! I can't wait to bring you all along on the next twelve months and beyond. Thank you for being here, for listening to (reading) me rant and rave, and celebrate, and, well, everything in between.

Cover Reveal - Winter Wolf

Add To Goodreads: http://goo.gl/ETVmz4

Katalina Winter has been living for eighteen years, with a secret hidden inside of her, a secret not even she knew.With this secret comes consequences, expectations, one's she's not willing to fulfill; she'll give her heart to whom she wishes, even if he is, a Dark Shadow wolf...Join Katalina as she navigates her way through this world at war, where the alpha is law, and only the strong survive. You will see the power of true love, and the length's people will go to destroy it.**Please note this is a YA Stand alone novel, no cliffhangers**


Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA




I've being reading books for as long as I can remember but I never thought about writing until I read Nalini Singh - Slave to sensation which is the first book in her psy-changling series.At first I just wrote fan fiction until one morning I woke up with a story of my own. Lincoln and Lexia were born!  I spent 6 solid months writing and re-writing and now their story is out in the world and I am currently working on the final book Holocaust due 2015.After the birth of my 3rd child I wrote Winter Wolf a YA Paranormal Novel which is due for Release in November.I have lived in England, New Zealand and currently live in QLD Australia but to me England will always be home.I've been a dish washer, Admin assistant, horse groom and now spend my days looking after my 3 children and writing as often as I can.

Goodreads Author Page: http://goo.gl/csLV9sAmazon Author Page:    http://goo.gl/C36Xl6Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RachelMRaithbyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelm.raithbyauthorTwitter: https://twitter.com/Rach1986UKInstagram: http://instagram.com/p/uM1tIDlEX4/Website: http://rachelmraithby.com/Blog: http://rmraithby.blogspot.com.auHosted By:

Pain, pleasure, and editing

Editing is painful.

Cutting words, trying to find just the right word choice, making sure there are no errant commas, and also that there are commas in all the right places. And that's just copy editing.

Then there's content editing: examining and second guessing the choices of your characters, ensuring that their decisions are both consistent with their nature and with the world and rules that they exist in. Looking at the flow of the piece and trying to figure out if you should start earlier, later, scrap and rewrite.

Despite how painful it is, despite how hard it can be to ensure things are just right, it's actually something I've learned to love over time. In the very beginning of my writing journey, back when I wrote my very first novel, the idea of having to read it over and over just seemed so horrid and such a waste of time. My thoughts were along the line of, "What more am I going to come up with that I haven't already done?"

I can now look back and laugh at my naivety. The truth is, there is a lot that a good edit can bring out or polish in a story that is impossible on first draft. Each pass over makes the writing tighter, cleaner, clearer. Will there still be some errors? Yes, without doubt. It's impossible to catch everything, even with multiple sets of eyes, but there will be fewer of them. And double bonus, the story will be stronger

So, I am declaring my love for red pen. Yes it hurts, but it's a damn pleasurable pain when you see the end result.

Release Day - Cutting Out (a M/M contemporary novel)

Bottom Drawer is proud to present Cutting Out by Meredith Shayne, a contemporary m/m romance based in New Zealand.

Book Details: NovelGenre: Contemporary MM RomanceAuthor: Meredith Shayne
 Summary
BDP

Amazon
All Romance
Barnes & Noble
Book Strand
Kobo
Smashwords

On Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23280855-cutting-outOn Booklikes:http://booklikes.com/cutting-out-meredith-shayne/book,12925937
For more information:www.bottomdrawerpublications.net
info@bottomdrawerpublications.net
About the Author
Meredith Shayne
A scientist in a past life, these days Meredith Shayne mainly uses her scientific training to poke holes in television pseudoscience. Originally from Australia, she moved to New Zealand to start a new life a few years ago and hasn't regretted it for one minute, even if she frequently wishes that the New Zealand weather was a little better; if she's forced, she'll admit that the refreshing lack of animals that can kill you in New Zealand makes up for a little rain.
Meredith travels a lot, so much so that she has developed a shameful love of airplane food and knows her passport number by heart. When she is at home, she enjoys baking, horrible music from the 1980s, reality television, and gloating any time Australia thrashes the living daylights out of New Zealand on the sporting field.
Find Meredith at her website:
www.meredithshayne.com

Giveaway!

I've had a rafflecopter giveaway running for Through the Fire, and I just realized I totally forgot to share it here. So here I am, sharing it here.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Unless you can be a unicorn - Cover Reveal

[image error] Cover by Regina, of Mae I DesignUnless You can Be A Unicorn, is set to release on Oct. 12, 2014. Delphina will be posting teasers and more on her FB page throughout the week. 

Introducing the family

We're heading into the final rundown of days before the release of Through the Fire (I think it's officially 27 days to go, but I always get lost trying to work that out with time differences and the like), so I thought I'd share some mini character bios, including some inspiration pictures for each of them. I thought I would start with the main characters and their families:


Evelyn Meyers Nickname: Evie
Date of Birth: April 18th HoroscopeHair Color: Red (with multihued highlights)Eye Color: Purple/Lilac




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David Meyers Date of Birth: September 9th HoroscopeHair Color: ChestnutEye Color: Amber/Light BrownRelationship to Evie: Father




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Clay Jacobs  Date of Birth: February 2nd HoroscopeHair Color: Dark brown (almost black)Eye Color: Dark brown (almost black)





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Louise Jacobs Nickname: Lou
Date of Birth: February 2nd Horoscope Hair Color: BlondeEye Color: Sky-blueRelationship to Clay: Twin sister



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Ethan Jacobs Nickname: Eth
Date of Birth: June 16th HoroscopeHair Color: Dark BrownEye Color: Dark BrownRelationship to Clay: Older brother




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Troy Jacobs Date of Birth: November 1stHoroscope
Hair Color: Dark Brown (with salt/pepper highlights)Eye Color: Dark BrownRelationship to Clay: Father






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Add to Want to Read on Goodreads

I'm Your Man - New Release

I’m Your ManJoanne Rawson

Book Details: NovellaGenre: Contemporary Chick LitAuthor: Joanne Rawson
Summary
Ruth Jones loves her boyfriend Justin. He is handsome, has a killer body, and the sex is awesome. He does have one major fault though. He travels so much with work that she only gets to see him once or twice a week, and that is his reasoning for always wanting to . . . stay in. At first she’s happy that he only wants to be with her, but over time, his habit of jibbing out at the last minute for every family occasion, work function, or any bloody occasion that involves socialising, really does her head in. All she wants, for goodness sake, is for people to get to know her boyfriend. Okay, so she wants them to see she has a hunk of a boyfriend, but is that so wrong?
When Ruth wakes up in a hotel room one morning suffering from a major hangover, she tries to piece the events of the previous night together. Feeling let down by yet another no-show by Justin at a work function, she headed to the bar and ordered a drink. The last thing she remembers is sitting next to an average-looking guy with a nice accent and large hands, and wondering just what those hands could do given half the chance. When the bathroom door opens and Mr. Average walks out, she realises that at the ripe old age of thirty-three, Ruth Jones has experienced her first one-night stand.
A one-night stand that is about to send her world into utter turmoil.  
Excerpt
A WAVE OF nausea ascended from the pit of my stomach to my throat, not sure if I was annoyed more with myself for getting so drunk or the recollection of what I had got up to last night. I rolled over, curling myself up in a ball. I am Ruth Jones, for goodness sakes, Recruitment and Training Officer, a respected cog in the company for her hard work and dedication to one of the UK's top high street fashion stores. How many times had I told new young managers that even though they were technically off duty at company social events, eyes would still be watching them? But that was precisely what happened to me. Last night was a work function, in a sense, a big retirement party for the company’s Managing Director.It was one thing getting shitfaced at the weekend, waking my neighbours at four in the morning trying to get into their apartment with my door key, or giving a taxi driver my address, then waking up twenty miles later and finding myself at my parent’s house, which I’d moved out of fifteen years ago. Maybe, just maybe, my philosophy of life—to work hard, play hard—had gone seriously wrong this time. You see, it started with Justin saying he would meet me at the hotel. An hour before the party, he called uttering his usual pathetic excuse; well actually, this time no excuse at all, just, “Sorry babe, something has come up.” With that he’d hung up and, when I tried to call him back, conveniently his phone was off.You would think after four months I would have grown accustomed to the sneers of my colleagues as I made my solitary entrance, after guaranteeing Justin would be accompanying me for sure this time. Last night, however, I was well and truly pissed, not only from the amount of wine I had consumed to blot out the pain of being publicly dumped again, but also the humiliating cracks of, “Justin not with you again?” and “I’m beginning to think he’s a figment of your imagination, Ruth.” It was acceptable, to a point, from my family and friends, but from my colleagues, come on, really? So I had no alternative; I left, in shame, and headed for the public bar.I could remember seating myself at the only vacant stool and ordering a glass of wine. At that point—I had still been coherent then and therefore still able to recall it—the man to my left turned and gave me one of those healthy-teeth smiles that said, “my dentist advised Colgate toothpaste,” and in an accent I knew that was not from London, said, “I hate drinking alone too. May I buy you a drink?”
Buy Links

The e-book is available for sale for $1.99 via the BDP Digital Shop and other online booksellers
Publisher Shop
Amazon
Apple iBooks
All Romance
Barnes & Noble
Book Strand
Kobo
Smashwords
 On Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23211309-i-m-your-manOn Booklikes:http://booklikes.com/i-m-your-man-joanne-rawson/book,12920642
For more information:www.bottomdrawerpublications.net
info@bottomdrawerpublications.net
About the Author
Joanne Rawson
Joanne Rawson was born and brought up in Derbyshire, England. After leaving college in 1984, she headed off to be an au pair in the Loire Valley, France for one year.
‪Returning back to England, she worked for Derbyshire Education Authority in special education, and then for Derbyshire Social services working with adults with learning and physical difficulties.
‪In 2005, Joanne and her husband decided to give up their hectic lifestyle, after ten years of managing branded restaurants around London's M25, and spend their time in England, Goa, and Malaysia. Now a published author, she writes romantic novels and short stories.
She can be found on her website: http://www.authorjoannerawson.blogspot.com

It's all coming together

I know, I know, I've been really slack over here. What if I told you there was a very good reason for it? There is. Edits. Lovely, lovely edits. Which is a statement I never thought I'd say. I'll go into that in a future post, but I used to think editing was the work of the devil. Since embarking on this journey though, I have discovered that I actually love it. Watching a story get sharper, and cleaner, and more shiny and fantastic on each pass is something a little magical.

Why so many edits? Because the next few months are going to be hectic but oh so fun! In the next six months, I will be sharing not one, but THREE new releases with you.

My upcoming release schedule is as follows:

2014:

October 31st - Through the Fire (Daughter of Fire Book 1)








December 13th - Happily Evan After (currently available for pre-order) 

2015:

February 28th - Besieged by Rain (Son of Rain Book 1)

The release dates of the 2nd book in each of the series are still to be advised, but Daughter of Fire book 2 (Rise from Ash) should be approx. June 2015 and Son of Rain book 2 (Among the Debris) approx. October 2015. 
I'm so excited to share these books with you all as well as a few other surprise ones I'm working on as we speak.

What other books are you looking forward to for the rest of 2014?