Michelle Irwin's Blog: Write On Shell, page 7

Indie Author Spotlight: Shelby Lynne Reeves

About the Author:
Shelby lives in Alabama with her loving husband and their energetic son. When she is not writing or working, Shelby enjoys reading, spending time with her family and friends, and traveling.
You can follow Shelby and her writing journey on Facebook:www.facebook.com/shelbyreevesauthor
Twitter: Shelby Reeves (@shelbyreeves92)
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SK5QR5Y


Picking up the pieces: At twelve years old, Kaylee Harper’s life took a heartbreaking turn when her father was murdered and she was left for dead.Now seventeen, Kaylee’s still living with the unbearable guilt from that night. Things now seem to be looking up for Kaylee. She has Alexis Collins, her best friend who is practically her sister, and Riley Thompson, her boyfriend who is the star running back on their high school’s football team.Kaylee is starting to see that Riley isn’t all that great, but is it too late?Adam Thomas has everything a teenager could wish for, two loving and caring parents, friends, a nice truck, and a starting spot on the school’s varsity basketball team. Now he just wants the perfect girl and he has his sights set on Kaylee.After Adam takes her home one night he has no intentions of staying away, but Riley has different plans and he is not about to let her go.Kaylee’s life is once again turned upside down and this time it’s more than just her that she has to worry about.Can Adam help Kaylee wash away the guilt she carries around and get her to see that she can trust him? Can he make her see that she is not alone?As more secrets are revealed will she finally let Adam in so he can protect her?

It's Live!

By now, you're all hopefully aware of Through the Fire, book 1 in the Daughter of Fire series. Now, I'm proud to announce that the other side of the story is ready to be told! 


Besieged by Rain(Book One – Son of Rain series)Michelle Irwin
Release Day BlitzFebruary 28, 2015
Bottom Drawer Publications is proud to publish Besieged by Rain, book one in the New Adult Paranormal series, Son of Rain, by Michelle Irwin.

The Son of Rain series is a companion series (of sorts) to the Daughter of Fire series featuring Evie Meyers. We say of sorts because Clay’s story, albeit partly told in Evie’s books, is so much bigger. This is not simply a retelling of the story from Clay’s perspective. Clay lives a whole other life that Evie only gets a glimpse of when their story unfolds.
Book Details: NovelGenre: New Adult Paranormal Romance206 pages - 89,000 words


BLURB
Clay Jacobs is a soldier. His family—elite members of a secret organization—are tasked with washing the world clean of all supernatural threats. Each new day brings the opportunity to fight at their side for a cause that he’s never doubted is just.‏
But Clay harbors a dangerous secret. The object of his teenage obsession was not human, and he failed to detect the truth until it was too late to destroy her. Even after she fled, he couldn't bring himself to report her. Now, the memory of the one who got away not only haunts him, it holds him captive and assaults him nightly. Unable to escape her hold on hisWhen his family discovers his betrayal, and threaten to destroy his dreams in the worst way imaginable, Clay has no option but to return to their side and convince them he’s back on the right track. Will he be able to play his part convincingly when the cause he’s spent most of his life fighting for is the very thing that will end his lover’s life?

BUY LINK



GIVEAWAY
Enter the draw over the next 6 weeks until the end of the blog tour and be in the running to win paperbacks, shop vouchers, swag from the author, and e-books.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


FOR MORE INFORMATION
Goodreads Booklikes
www.bottomdrawerpublications.net
info@bottomdrawerpublications.net

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Irwin
Michelle Irwin has been many things in her life: a hobbit taking a precious item to a fiery mountain; a young child stepping through the back of a wardrobe into another land; the last human stranded not-quite-alone in space three million years in the future; a young girl willing to fight for the love of a vampire; and a time-travelling madman in a box. She achieved all of these feats and many more through her voracious reading habit. Eventually, so much reading had to have an effect, and the cast of characters inside her mind took over and spilled out onto the page.
Michelle lives in sunny Queensland in the land down under with her surprisingly patient husband and ever-intriguing daughter, carving out precious moments of writing and reading time around her accounts-based day job. A lover of love and overcoming the odds, she primarily writes paranormal and fantasy romance. 
http://blog.michelle-irwin.com

Indie Author Spotlight: J A Kenney

J.A. Kenney lives in Aurora, Colorado, with a breathtaking view of the Rocky Mountains. In the winter, when the sky is clear, and if she stands on her tiptoes in exactly the right spot.Three cats, a Chihuahua mix who thinks she is a Mastiff, and her beloved husband share her humble abode.She has been writing since she found out that playing alien witches was more fun than tag. Her stories are a blend of science fiction, fantasy, and romance with strong female protagonists.When she is not writing she reads voraciously, sings, skis, rides her Harley, and grudgingly assists with home improvement projects.Contacts:Web: jakenney.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakenneyauthor?ref=bookmarksTwitter: https://twitter.com/JennyAKenneyGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JennyAKenney Life . . . Death . . . RebirthQuicksilver is an ancient immortal warrior. One of a group of alien beings that were once pure energy, living in the void between galaxies, and who have taken mortal form to influence history.The Purists, compelled by a zealot prophet, are immortal extremists who will use any means at their disposal to wipe out all mortal life. Qui and her Conservationist brethren have spent millions of years fighting for their survival.In Silver Strife, Quicksilver has been reincarnated on an Earth devastated by centuries of planet-wide civil war. She awakens in the body of a human Elite named Lini: one of a race of superhumans, bred and trained by a Purist-led government to massacre the remnants of humanity. Quicksilver joins the rebel forces, despite their reluctance to trust a hated Elite, determined to take down the brutal dictatorship that has decimated the human race.From their first meeting, she is drawn to Captain David Mitchell, the rebel officer who aided her escape from the Elite’s gilded cage. Even after swearing to never love again when her last mortal lover was killed saving her life, she finds herself falling for the honorable and driven soldier.When Quicksilver crosses the path of an immortal ally on a top-secret mission behind enemy lines, a decision is forced upon her. She must choose between the fate of the human rebels, her mortal lover, and fulfilling her Conservationist oath to protect all mortal life.My PAGE: http://jakenney.com/j-a-kenney/buy-books/silver-strife/BDP: http://www.bottomdrawerpublications.net/#!silver-strife/cg34Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Strife-Immortal-Quicksilver-Book-ebook/dp/B00L5JMZ80/

Indie Author Spotlight: Kate Bonham

This week's Indie Author Spotlight is Kate Bonham

Kate was born and raised in Sydney, Australia with her two parents and two brothers. She was always a dreamer even as a teen when she would dream of the moment, while in Maths class, her knight in shining armour would come and rescue her from the tedious learnings of algebra and Pythagoras’ theorem. It was at that moment, she realised that if she wanted her knight to come through the door, she’d need to dream him up.

She’s been doing it ever since.

In 2014, she migrated north to the Central Coast of NSW where she lives with her most treasured items: laptop, high heels and countless meerkat figurines.

Fate, is the first novel written by Kate and the first in the Fallen from Grace series.

You can contact Kate through any of the following links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/theauthorwithin Twitter: www.twitter.com/kbonhamauthor Email: theauthorwithin@outlook.com.au

Kate's first book Fate is due out next month.

Blurb:
Ace is a reaper for Purgatory; calming lost souls while they await their final judgment. His latest Death Report was a job like any other, until he interrupts the demons that have been unleashed to kill her. She was just meant to be a job, but she turned out to be so much more.

Faye was unprepared for Ace's entry into her life. Never before had she met anyone who could make her heart skip a beat even as he froze it with fear. Now, not only had he saved her from demons from Hell, he was trying to tell her she wasn't human.

A war has begun between the Fallen and Archangels. The winner gets power over all realms. Has the world's Fate been determined before Faye's true destiny can begin?

Link for pre-order of Fate: http://www.amazon.com.au/Fate-Fallen-...

Fifty shades of . . . can't we all get along?

So . . . there's this book trilogy that has since spawned a movie (and more likely movie franchise). I'm sure you've probably heard of it. And if your Facebook timeline or twitter feed is anything like mine it's blown up with opinions on both sides of the fence. I have friends staunchly for the books, and friends staunchly against. So many opinions are circling, and I thought it only fitting to add my own. One thing I want more than anything else is for everyone to stop with the belittling. To stop with the hatred, I'm so exhausted of scrolling through my timeline and seeing friends hating on each other.

Now before I start, I just want to say I've seen fans of the books belittling those who aren't fans as prudes and idiots. I've seen people who aren't fans call fans mindless idiots. BOTH of these groups are wrong. It is fine and well and dandy to love Fifty Shades. It is also fine and well and dandy not to. Regardless of how big a cultural phenomenon 50 is (and love it or hate it, it is that), it should not be enough to bust apart friendships. How about we all agree to disagree. How about, love it or hate it, everyone is allowed to voice their opinions without being attacked by everyone else? How about it you love it, and you see a post talking about how it's abusive and they have some good points, you either ignore it or read, see if you find anything you can agree with, and then move on? How about if you hate it, and you see a post raving about how much they loved the movie, you could either ignore it or read, see if you find anything you can agree with, and then move on? See how it works? ;)

For my specific opinion on the movie and books . . . well maybe that's a post for another day when everyone is a bit calmer and I won't get abuse from the other side when I mention it, but it should be clear to anyone who knows me.

Indie Author Spotlight: Lacey Roberts

So I know it's Sunday, not Friday, but I had one of those weeks (deadlines, deadlines everywhere) so this is late, but this I'm going to do this week's indie author spotlight in conjunction with a blog tour: This week's spotlight is on Lacey Roberts.

Bio:

Lacey Roberts is the pen name I chose when I began writing Erotic Romance.

I grew up in Sydney but now live in sunny Queensland where I spend my days walking my dogs, reading and writing. Married for almost 41 years, my husband and I also enjoy a great deal of travel.

My plans for the immediate future include travel to the US to meet some of my author friends.

I hope you enjoy my latest release which is set in Canberra, Australia – the Nation's Capital. This story is purely fictional but there are numerous real places and facts covered. I could not have made it as realistic without the advice of the A.C.T. Police Media Centre and the Forensic Medical Centre at Sydney University. I am grateful to both.

Author Links: Website: http://robertslacey1955.wix.com/lacey-roberts

Blog: http://laceyvixen.wordpress.com/ 
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/laceyroberts 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaceyRoberts2014

Blurb:

Take one hot, sexy cop add a beautiful Forensic Pathologist and you have one heck of a steamy love affair.

BUT, who is threatening their lives?

Whose life is really at risk?

AND, why has a young man been murdered and what the hell do snakes have to do with it all?

Excerpt:

Flynn pushed through the glass doors into the Forensics Centre. A young woman at the front desk glanced up. He grinned as she licked her lips and gave him the once over. He was used

to this from women but still hadn't figured out why they responded this way. Without vanity he knew his looks were better than average, but nothing special. Women obviously thought different.

"Can I help you?" she purred.

"I'm looking for where Doc Reid is performing an autopsy." He flashed his credentials.

"Room two, sir."

He nodded, thanked her and strode down the corridor. He stopped at a door where a plaque proclaimed it led to 'Examination Room 2'.

Flynn entered the airlock space and donned a pair of white coveralls, mask and white paper cap. He then stepped into the examination room. It smelled of antiseptic, unidentifiable chemicals and death. Not his favourite place to be.

Lily was bent over the corpse. She appeared deep in thought and he cleared his throat to make his presence known. She straightened and glanced up. "Detective, come in."

He moved closer. "Anything yet?"

"I'm really baffled and wondering whether your crack about vampires is very far from the mark."

Flynn raised his eyebrows.

"The two puncture marks in the neck had some sort of fluid in them that prevented the blood from clotting. Poison of some sort but my initial tests don't recognize it. I've sent it to the lab for urgent analysis."

"That would explain the huge amount of blood loss."

"Yes it would, especially as no major veins or arteries were severed in the area. The other puzzle is the puncture marks on his scrotum. The surrounding tissue is blistered, badly bruised and necrotic."

Lily lifted the sac and pointed out two large puncture marks under the balls. They were identical to the holes in his neck. The skin was swollen, wrinkled and black.

"Christ, what did that?" Flynn's balls reacted to the gruesome sight by trying to climb up inside him.

"I don't know for sure but my guess is a snake."

Flynn's puzzled look questioned her sanity.

"A snake? We don't have snakes that leave bloody great holes like those."

"I know, which is why I'm baffled. It doesn't add up. The aligned puncture holes, the poison which prevented the blood from clotting, and the tattoo on his chest."

"Tattoo?"

"Yes. Look closely. It's a cobra tattooed on his chest."

Flynn dropped his head to study the ink on the victim's chest. "I'll be, it is a cobra. I assumed it was some sort of tribal thing when I first noticed it."

"You need to get close to see the snake head, but once you do it is very clear."

"Snake worship, doc?"

Lily held her hands up, palms out. "We don't have things like that here. Snake worship only happens in Africa as far as I know, and we certainly don't have cobras."

"Give me some answers. All you've done so far is tell me what it isn't. Tell me what it is."

"I don't know. I've never seen it before. I'm going to need more time to figure this out. I'm sorry but I have told you all I know at this point."

"Dinner?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked if you would have dinner with me."

Lily glanced around the room as if expecting something.

"If you're too busy I understand."

"No, no. It's just I have a policy of not getting involved with colleagues."

"Jeez doc, I'm not asking you to marry me. I only want to have dinner with you."

Lily reconsidered. "Of course. Give me twenty minutes and I'll join you."

"Meet you out front?"

"Yes please."

"I have a couple of calls to make. I'll be waiting." With that, Flynn left the room.

Buy Links: http://robertslacey1955.wix.com/lacey-roberts#!deadly-secrets/cbzx

Indie Spotlight: Lauren Dawes

"Swallowing her pained sounds, she forced the fear from her eyes. ‘You killed me,’ she breathed, swallowing down on the hard lump in her throat. It wasn’t often that someone got an opportunity to come face to face with their killer."

A battle for werewolf territory and rights has Rhett fighting for his life and for the survival of the pack. The last half blood—a half human, half vampire hybrid—has been found and Rhett has been chosen as her unlikely Guardian. The pack’s survival hangs on her completing her transformation, but a Sicarii—a vampire assassin—is hunting her to ensure that never happens …

Indigo’s hard exterior is nothing compared to the dark secret she carries within her. Her haunted eyes alone tell of her struggle and desire to live. But what she doesn’t know is that she is hard-wired for survival; the very blood in her veins and the legacy of her father demands it. But when her life takes a violent turn, her heritage and her fate may be the very thing to get her killed …
http://www.amazon.com/Half-Blood-Helh...
B&N: http://tinyurl.com/oocu9nc
iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/ncsd5lx
Kobo: http://tinyurl.com/ng5n4ty
Inktera: http://tinyurl.com/ngcx757

A little about Lauren: 

Born in South Africa and raise in Sydney, Lauren Dawes is an urban fantasy/paranormal romance writer and the author of the Dark Series. In 2009, she quit her full-time Teaching English as a Second Language job to finally begin writing "that book", letting her over-active imagination pour out onto the digital pages. She currently lives with her husband and daughter in whatever city the army happens to post them to. 

www.authorlaurendawes.com 
www.facebook.com/authorlaurendawes

Indie Spotlight: R J Loom

Today's spotlight is on R J Loom:R.J. Loom was born and raised along the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio, where she still resides with her husband, two teenage children and two spoiled dogs. She loves books, music, travel and anyone with a great sense of humor. When she’s not writing, she can be found with her nose in a book, looking for more books to add to her “to-be-read” pile or spending time with her family.The Ilia Stone 
Nia Williams could never have imagined the way her ordinary life would be turned upside down after the death of her grandfather. A chance find unwittingly has her discovering the truth of an ancient Greek myth, plunging her into a world where the legends she only read about in her history books become her reality.Plagued with a strange link to others’ past, she follows the path of an ancient artifact around the world and throughout time as it reveals its story to guide her to contain powers once thought lost to the rise of modern religion.Two men affected by the artifact vie for her allegiance; Gabriel, a man haunted by his own past, and smooth talking Viktor who wants Nia to embrace a life she never imagined.A love sacrificed… An impossible decision…As lines blur between right and wrong, how much will Nia be willing to sacrifice?
http://www.amazon.com/Ilia-Stone-Book-One-ebook/…/B00MSBKEAAStalker links for RJ:
https://www.facebook.com/RJLoom112
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8446799.R_J_Loom
https://www.tsu.co/RJLoom
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+RJLoom/posts
https://twitter.com/RJLoom
rjloom.blogspot.com

Besieged by Rain FAQ and cover

Sometimes, I look back at my old post posts and have a chuckle to myself. I want to pat myself on the head and go, "That's nice dear." As I get ready for the release of Besieged by Rain I'm having one of those moments, in relation to this post. I remembered vaguely mentioning that I was writing Clay's side (okay, so it was a little more vague that saying it was about an alternate character's POV) and I hinted a little more at the full details in this post. Now that it's getting closer, I want to talk a little more about Clay's POV.

Now, the original post I did still holds true, mostly, except for the fact that there will be four books not two. What can I say? Clay is a talkative fellow once you get him on the right subjects. Let's address a few FAQ about it shall we (okay, so only some of these are FAQ, the others are arguments that I can hear people silently levying at me when I talk about Clay's books, even if those arguments are only in my own mind) and before I go on, I'll warn that there may be some light Through the Fire spoilers if you haven't read that yet (and if you haven't you totally should! Hear Evie's side before Clay opens his gob):

Why are you writing his story anyway, isn't it told in Through the Fire? Have you read Through the Fire? If yes, you should easily be able to see why Clay's story needs to be told. There are big gaps in Evie's knowledge, huge parts of Clay's world the he can't share with her, this book will shed light on some of those gaps. It will introduces the Jacobs' clan in a way that will hopefully shed some new insight into their lives and why they (especially Clay) thinks the way he does.

So it's not just a repeat of Evie's books? No. And again, this comes down to the question of have you read Through the Fire. There are some cross-over scenes, naturally, because Clay's story involves Evie as much as Evie's story involves Clay. But Clay's family is very close, and so he spends a lot of time with them as well. For obvious reasons, this time isn't reflected in Evie's story.

So you're not just trying to release more books without any extra effort? *Laughs* Okay, were was I? Oh, that's right . . . *laughs again*. Seriously though, writing a book from another character's POV isn't easy. There is so much that you have to get just right. There is the massive danger that the motivations you thought were solid through one person's filter are completely wrong when examined as the POV character. Thankfully, I didn't have this, although I did learn that sometimes people lie when they're in a certain situation! You have to watch all the little details and make sure everything is done just right. Is it night in the first story? You better make sure it's night in the alternate POV, and that the time-frame for the other person matches up with no inconsistencies.

Why four books? Would you believe that I started this whole process thinking that I might maybe end up with a novella to match up with Evie's book 4.

I read Through the Fire, and I didn't particularly like the things that Clay's family did, why are you writing the story about the "bad guys"? Because all humans (and perhaps most nonhumans) are complex. None of the Jacobs crew are necessarily inherently bad. Yes some of their actions leave a little to be desired when viewed from Evie's point of view. However, without them, and other Rain like them, the world would be a more dangerous place. Clay's books will hopefully shed some light on this, as well as introduce some creatures that were lots of fun to write.

Why are you releasing Clay when there's still more Evie to be told? I want her next book! Okay, this one is a hard one. My publishers and I went back and forth over and over about the best order for release. It was already decided that we would do one book every four months--which was a doable timeframe for editing around the other books they have on their upcoming releases list. But then we had to decide whether to tell all of Evie's story and then come back for Clay's? Do we do two of Evie's, two of Clay's? What was the best for the story that needed to unfold between the two series and what was the best for each series individually? After a lot of debate and discussion, it was decided that there was no point getting to the very end of the series for Evie and then going right back to the beginning again for Clay. I know this puts 8 months between each book, but I trust it will be worth the wait. And because the books are pretty much written (7/8 are drafted to completion and the last is well under way), there shouldn't be any significant delays outside of what we've set. This isn't a series where book one is out and you don't know how long it might be before the next one comes out.

I can only read one series, which should I pick? I've covered this off before, but the way I think of it is Evie is the romance, Clay is the action. The biggest reason for this is that Clay's life is all about hunting monsters,

Let's get serious for a moment and ask the most vital question--is there more book boyfriend fodder in Clay's book? Yes! We get to be properly introduced to Clay's brother, Ethan, and according to my pre-reader, he's definitely book boyfriend material. The only problem is, she's claimed him and she doesn't share ;)

***WARNING*** Spoilers for Besieged by Rain & the Son of Rain series!!!!!!
Do Clay's books follow exactly the same timeline as Evie's? The short answer to this is yes. From the very beginning of Clay's first book to the very end of his last book will cover a very similar timeline as the first of Evie's to the end of Evie's (give or take a couple of months). However, the split between books will be a little different. Clay's books lag just a little behind Evie's.

So, if that's all your questions satisfied and you want to read Besieged by Rain, go add it to your TBR list on Goodreads!

Do you have any FAQ I didn't cover? List them below and I'll answer them (I'll try to keep it spoiler-free or at very least spoiler-lite).

Indie Author Spotlight - Renee Swann

Today's spotlight is on Renee Swann. Renee writes adult fiction as Renee Swann and young adult as C J Hart. Her facebook pages are here: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorReneeSwannhttps://www.facebook.com/AuthorCJHart


CJ Hart has a new book releasing soon The Hunted. 

Summary: 
Just your average boy-meets-girl, boy-kills-people story. 

The Native American Navajo tribe has stories of a monster so wicked, so blood-thirsty, that they are to be hunted down and slaughtered. But are they just legends? Or is something sinister lurking in the shadows? The Yee Naaldlooshi—skinwalkers—have the ability to transform themselves. And they can be anyone. Anything. 

The Hunters—a group dedicated to tracking the creatures—are hot on their trail and they won’t stop until every last one is dead. But are they all as evil as foretold? Seb, alpha of the Taylor, Arizona reservation pack, begins to question the acts of their kind. But he’s broken a rule and must choose between killing the girl he loves or risking everything to save her. Cassie must fight for her survival. The pack is after her. And they’re no joke. Cass is about to find out how sadistic they can be.
This book is currently available for pre-order here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S3EG16C

Renee Swann also has a book My Never: 
Summary:
Monique Cullen is turning thirty. She thinks a life of cats and singledom is ahead of her - until she runs into her high school sweetheart while vacationing in Cairns. Can their love be resurrected? 

Have you had someone in your life that you would do anything for? Monique Cullen did. And she regrets the day they went their separate ways. 

While holidaying in Cairns for her thirtieth, Moni runs into him. Troy DeGaris - single, handsome and irresistible. But can their love be resurrected? 

A little girl weaves her way into Moni's heart, making her second-guess everything she's worked for. And Moni must make a decision - should she follow her heart and stay in Cairns, or return to her home town and stale life? 

Family and friends rejoice at the possibility of these high school sweethearts falling in love again. But Troy's ex-fiancée, is on a mission to tear them apart. Will she succeed? Or will it bring her to breaking point? 
My Never (My Never, #1) is perma-free on all platforms:Amazon US: www.amazon.com/dp/B00EMOA6UOB&N: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/my-never-renee-swann/1120481817Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/my-never-my-never-1-1Google Books:https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Renee_Swann_My_Never_My_Never_1?id=h0x1BAAAQBAJSmashwords: www.smashwords.com/books/view/441516
In addition to her Facebook pages, you can get into contact with Renee in the following ways:Website: www.reneeshearer.comTwitter: @Renee_ShearerGoodreads: www.goodreads.com/ReneeSwann  | www.goodreads.com/CJHartAmazon Author pages: amazon.com/author/reneeswann   | amazon.com/author/hartcj