A.E. Jones's Blog, page 22

Upcoming Release Celebration – Excerpt Time!

TO HAVE AND TO HOWL will release in one week! To celebrate the upcoming unveiling, I will be sharing several posts with you over this week. This first post is an excerpt for your reading pleasure of the new book.

There will also be an exclusive excerpt reveal later in the week on the Heroes and Heartbreakers site as well and I will share that with you too!

And of course, we can’t forget about teasers. Since Julia the heroine in this book is a lawyer, I have created 5 video teasers about practicing law with a paranormal twist! Stay tuned and I’ll share those with you as well over the week.

So without further delay, join in on the celebration and check out the excerpt below…

Love and law are not so different in their pursuit of truth.

Chapter 1

Julia Cole entered the empty Tribunal chamber, her heart pounding in sync with the staccato click of her heels on the stone floor. She hesitated at the front of the gallery, resisting the urge to walk those few extra steps to the prosecutor’s table.

She wasn’t used to sitting in the audience when a trial took place, and if she had been able to convince the magistrates, she would have been prosecuting this case. But the magistrates shot down her request immediately. Not because she was a human wanting to try a supernatural case, or because she was normally a defense attorney, but instead they cited conflict of interest. Her husband was one of the victims. In her head, she knew they were right, but her heart was still kicking and screaming about it.

Today would not be a fun day. But then, fun had not been seen or had for a while now. Determination—yes. Single-mindedness—most definitely. Anger…well, anger had become her constant companion.

Julia sat in the front row and closed her eyes. She had been sitting in this same seat throughout the final week of the trial, absorbing every nuance, and staring the accused supernatural supremacist in the eyes. She would not be cowed. And since Thomas could not be here, she would be his representative, his presence, his voice. She would not allow her husband’s message of tolerance to be silenced.

Today was the day. The verdict would be announced. And all the victims and their families would receive justice. There could be no other outcome.

The room filled up quickly. Throughout the trial, the magistrates had kept the chamber closed unless someone was called to testify or, in Julia’s case, petitioned to attend. Now people crowded the benches and lined the sides of the gallery.

Jonathan Godfrey, the prosecutor, entered the chamber and nodded to her. He was a powerful foe in the courtroom, but in this instance, he had carefully considered her input and insights from the beginning.

Thomas’s brother, Devin, arrived with his wife, Alex, who sat down next to Julia and squeezed her hand. Filing in behind them were Devin’s teammates, the men who helped capture and bring the supremacists to trial.

She looked back at the four men and acknowledged each in turn, Charlie, Giz, and the twins, Connor and Jack. Jack had almost lost his life in the pursuit. She owed him and all of them for what they had been willing to sacrifice for this case. Even Alex was kidnapped and threatened. Julia wasn’t sure if anyone would ever know the full extent of the crimes committed by these bastards.

And speaking of bastards—Tobin, the leader of the supernatural supremacists, swaggered into the room between two guards, his hands secured in glowing handcuffs. The supremacist gang had elected him as their representative in court. Why, Julia had no idea, but she also didn’t understand why the idiots had followed him to begin with.

The room buzzed, anxiety jumping from person to person like static electricity. The guard at the front of the room gestured for them to rise. She stood with the rest of the crowd as the magistrates entered and sat at a raised bench in the front. There was no jury of your peers in supernatural court. Three magistrates heard the cases and rendered a decision.

The head magistrate raised his hand for silence and then motioned for everyone to take a seat. Julia pulled out her notes from the trial and the gold pen Thomas gave her. She gripped the pen so tightly she thought it might leave indentations in her fingers.

The head magistrate stood. “The case is concluded. In the matter of extortion, gunrunning, drug smuggling, kidnapping, attempted murder, and murder, we find Josiah Tobin and the Vipera gang guilty as charged.”

The room erupted into shouts and sobs.

Julia’s vision narrowed into a thin tunnel. The world tilted and went fuzzy…she shook her head hard, once, and deliberately slowed her breathing.

Had she heard the magistrate correctly? She turned to see Alex and Devin hugging beside her. It had actually happened. She wasn’t imagining things. She had dreamed of this so many times, the reality was hard to believe.

“Order!” the magistrate yelled as he slammed his hand on the bench and the sound vibrated through the room as if amplified by a speaker. The crowd settled down, and everyone took their seats again.

“Normally we would pronounce sentence immediately. However, in human courts of law, we understand that victims and their families are permitted to speak before sentencing. Prosecutor Godfrey has requested that this practice be followed here. We have decided to allow his request. The floor is yours.”

Godfrey cleared his throat. “Thank you, your honors. Julia Cole has asked to speak on behalf of the victims.”

Julia blinked. She blew out a breath and then inhaled, imagining herself breathing into a paper bag. She and Godfrey talked about the possibility of this happening, but he wasn’t sure the magistrates would allow it. Now the time had come.

She could do this. Delivering closing remarks in a courtroom was second nature to her. She would speak for all the victims and their families today. Someone needed to be their voice, and she was more than ready to speak on their behalf.

Well…what do you think?

Preorder:   Amazon   ibooks    Kobo    B&N  

A Paranormal Writer’s Halloween

Yes, I know. I didn’t write my Monday blog yesterday. But since Halloween was today, I decided to hold off until one of my FAVORITE days. As many of you who have been following me for awhile know, I am in love with Halloween. Costumes, parties, decorations…you name it…and I’m doing it.

Each year I dress up for work and keep it a secret until the day. My coworkers pester me for weeks, hoping I’ll slip up and give them some sort of hint. But no dice. I like to build the anticipation. Kind of like with my stories!

Is it any wonder I write paranormal? Halloween is about escape and childhood and memories of a wonderful time. I think it’s worth the trip, don’t you?

Let me know what you think about this year’s costume. Marge Simpson was a hoot for me to wear, especially the wig!

Halloween is Coming – Contest Time!!

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Hello my friends! Tonight’s blog is more of an invitation, than my normal meanderings…

Halloween is coming and as part of the celebration of my favorite holiday, I (along with 47 other AMAZING authors) are giving away a huge collection of paranormal & sci-fi romances to 2 lucky winners, PLUS a brand new eReader to the Grand Prize winner!

You can win my novel TO HAVE AND TO HOWL, plus books from authors like Robyn Peterman and J.T. Ellison.

Enter the giveaway by clicking here:   http://bit.ly/parascifi-oct2017

Good luck!
AE

Attract Them in 30 Seconds

Have you ever watched a cowboy riding a bull? Eight seconds to ride that animal and convey a story of grit and determination (and hopefully not broken bones and stitches).

And not only is the cowboy holding on for dear life, the audience is as well. For an author, our books offer hours of entertainment, but when we are telling a potential reader about them, we don’t have that luxury.

My newest book releasing November 13th is almost 80,000 words, but the description of the book is less than 150. And that’s not an easy feat, let me tell you. But what is even harder is telling a story in seconds. And that’s what a book trailer does, in 30 seconds you need to know what that story is all about. Now, my hands are sweating thinking about it!

But I’m up for the challenge. Check out my newest book trailer below…

 

 

Cover Reveal Times Three!

As promised, my paranormal wedding planner series is getting new covers! Yay! And in true “Ta-Da Fashion” I am showing you all three at once, including my cover for TO HAVE AND TO HOWL which will release on November 13th, but can be ordered now! So check it out all out below and tell me what you think of the new covers and the new book!!!

And if that isn’t enough fun for you, for a limited time, the first book in the series, IN SICKNESS AND IN ELF is on sale for 99 cents! So if you haven’t tried this series, give it a whirl. And if you can do me a favor and let your friends and family know about my series, that would really help a writer out

Let’s Have Some Fun

It’s time to make some noise, my friends! I’ve been hinting about what is coming with my wedding planner series, but now I’m going to lay out the plan over the next few weeks just for you.

This week, I will be doing a cover reveal times three! Not only will I be sharing the new covers for book 1 and book 2 of my series, but you will also get to see the cover and blurb for TO HAVE AND TO HOWL (and preorder the book if you are so inclined

Rejuvenating Your Heart

This weekend I spent time visiting family. Something I don’t get to do that much with my crazy schedule. But I think that it is so very important to make the time. It rejuvenates the soul, the heart, and the mind.

And in doing that, it makes me a better person and in turn a better writer. Look at it this way, if I don’t experience family and love, how do I expect to write about it? Even though the characters and stories are from my imagination, the feelings and reactions to love and family translate in real form to my written words.

And that can be said for any part of our lives.  Reach out to your family and friends and embrace what really matters. After the heartbreak of what happened in Vegas last night, we need to hold on tight to those we love.

 

 

A Writer’s Version of a Face Lift

Have I intrigued you? Well, the sort of face lift I’m describing doesn’t involve a plastic surgeon. For writers our platform needs to change as we grow and change as well. So I have been doing a little “tweaking”…hee hee.

The first tweak was to my website. I changed it up a little bit, so check it out when you get an opportunity.

The next tweak is a biggie – drum roll please – after thinking long and hard about it, I am changing my paranormal wedding planner covers. No, I did not fall and hit my head. Let me explain. While I think my current covers for the series are beautiful and my cover artist did everything that I asked her to do, I don’t think that they capture the true “spirit” of the series.

So mid-October, I will be revealing not one, not two, but THREE new wedding planner covers! The first two will be new renditions of IN SICKNESS AND IN ELF and FROM THIS FAE FORWARD. The third cover will be TO HAVE AND TO HOWL, the third book in the series that will be releasing the second week of November! Yay!

I can’t wait to share them with you! We’re going to have a fun-filled fall together – I promise!!

Wishing Life Away

[image error]This weekend I was at the store and I walked by the home and garden department to find that it was being stocked with – you guessed it – Christmas items. Trees, decorations, lights…you name it and it was there. And I shook my head at the ridiculousness of Christmas being set up in September.

And this of course got me thinking about our tendency to want things to come faster. Who doesn’t look at the clock at work and sometimes wish for it to be five o’clock? Our hope for the weekend to come sooner? Or hope for holidays or special events to get here sooner?

I totally get that, but I sometimes thinks we spend a lot of time wishing our life away! It’s hard to immerse yourself in the moment. But I think we might be more content if we did that more often.

For me, the truly unique characters in my writing world, are the ones who see every moment as an adventure instead of looking to the future for happiness. The perfect example of that is Misha, the larger-than-life demon who plays an important roll in my Mind Sweeper Series. He sees his friends, TV shows, food, work, well…anything really, as an adventure. Which makes the reader (I hope) want to embrace him. At least, that’s what I’ve heard anyway

Binge-worthy Entertainment

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Growing up, I was a TV junkie. Name it and I watched it. One of my favorite magazines was the TV Guide Season Preview Guide. I loved reading about the new shows coming, and I would highlight the guide and plan out what I would watch.

Now, with my job and my writing, I have very little time to watch TV anymore. A little sad, but I have a new addiction – writing stories.

There are a couple exceptions to my no-TV-watching life. One of those exceptions is the show Supernatural. You’re probably not surprised about that, right