Book Update: New Covers, Website Update, and Question About My YA Book
Before I go into my update, I just want to say thank you to everyone for posting a ‘getting better’ comments on my blog and in giving me great advises about health. As you all know from my previous post, I have not been feeling well for over a year now. Maybe even longer, but I just never thought to do anything about it. I kept thinking it was because I had worked too hard (two full-time jobs plus writing romance books in the little spare time that I had managed to sneak in for the past five years).Anyway, I saw my GP and had numerous blood tests done. As expected, I am low in Vitamin D and also anemic. These, and add in the fact that I have Alpha Thalassemia, which is a red blood cell disorder that is pretty common in Asian ethnicity, especially South East Asian, I'm not surprised I’m always tired. Alpha Thalassemia means I have abnormally small red cells. It’s an inherited red cell disorder. The alpha version is quite minor compare to the beta and many other serious ones. Although I have to be careful when I found myself a man if I want healthy children. LOL! Gotta check his blood before any relationship can proceed further. ^_^That aside, I also found out that my TSH level is on the higher end of the upper limit. It’s exactly at 4. With this TSH result plus after checking my symptoms and consulting doctor google (and also Dr. Eric Berg), I came to the conclusion that I might have Adrenal Fatigue. Now I need to get better by eating healthily, with an increased amount in certain types of food etc. Still need to do more research on that. ^_^Life and health aside, I will now update about my books. If you’re reading this from my website, you can probably tell that the theme color has changed. I’ve just updated it. LOL! Also, I’ve updated most of the book covers as well. I just can’t help myself. The Vegas Billionaires series especially changed drastically. They are no longer pictures of couples. I find that I like the covers better with hot guys in powerful suits and pretty girls in cocktail dresses. I hope you guys like them, too. If you’ve already bought/downloaded the books from places such as Google Play, Amazon, or iBooks, the new versions should be updated soon.Also, the paperback version, which will not be out until October on Amazon, will have these new covers. Why only on Amazon? This is because I will be publishing it through Createspace, which is a subdivision of Amazon. Doing a hard-copy through anywhere else is impossible because it is tedious and expensive.
And finally, I want to ask you my fans about my Young Adult books that I’m going to release in late October. I’m currently in a dilemma where I don’t know if I should publish the book wide or just on Amazon via KDP Unlimited. Wide means Amazon, Google Play, iBooks, and Smashwords etc. And Amazon just means Amazon only.I ask this because I currently don’t know if any of you who read and like my romance books would like to also read my YA books. I mean it is quite different, although my writing style is the same. I don’t think an author can change her style of writing. At least I personally I think I can’t because my style is a part of me. LOL!Just so you have some idea of what the book is about, here’s some information and an excerpt.Title: The Blood Alchemist ChroniclesCategories: Young AdultGenres: Fantasy, Romance, Action, Mystery, Superpower, Supernatural/ParanormalHmm… I think I should also add in reverse-harem as a tag too because there are a ton of hot guys in the books. So far, and it’s just volume 1, there are like nine bishounen already.Setting: Alternative Britannia during the Reign of Queen Victoria.Publishing Style: Novels, serialized volumesSynopsisWhen seventeen-year-old Daniella Romano masquerades as the son of a low-ranked Chinese lord, and waltzes, with her comrades, into the Earl of Middlemarch’s birthday party in order to assassinate a high demon, her revenge plans turn sour. There, Daniella meets Zach—a Greek god if she ever saw one—who suspects she is an imposter and will not let her escape his sight. Amidst the exuberant atmosphere, a man shoots the powerful King of Darnia, Daniella incidentally witnesses another influential lord slaying the culprit, and her friends are captured, ultimately becoming the prime suspects in the case of treason.Now it is up to Daniella to use her wit, wiles, and skills as a blood alchemist—an inherited ability to control and transmute blood into powerful weapons—to save her friends.Set in an alternative world of Britannia during the reign of Queen Victoria, The Blood Alchemist Chronicles is a mashup of fantasy, action, supernatural, super power, mystery, and romance.ExcerptToday, the 21st of April, was an important date for Daniella Romano. It not only marked the beginning of her outrageously daring escapade into the famous, lavish world of Mayfair, but also, it was her seventeenth birthday. A sense of dread lurched into the pit of her stomach as she studied herself in the mirror. She noted her face was pale, though her eyes, the color of chestnut, were bright with excitement and anticipation.“Oh, bother!” she muttered under her breath. She realized she didn’t look one bit like a Chinese nobleman about town, despite her best efforts. She thought in dissatisfaction she looked too young and feminine. Dear Lord! Why was it so hard for a girl to pass off as a boy?She caught her lower lip between her small, white teeth as she cocked her head to one side, scrutinizing her own reflection in the mirror. She considered cutting her raven hair shorter, as it was resting snuggly against the nape of her slender neck.No, no, she told herself. She looked just fine. After all, she didn’t want to look like a peacock, and attract attention to herself. Tonight, she needed to blend in.Blend in? She wanted to laugh at the word. She, Daniella Romano, had never been able to blend in anywhere, especially not at a party packed with English socialites. She stuck out like a sore thumb. She was a half-cast, a mixed race of the East and West, a hunxuer, an in-between child society despised, especially one who had the Claymore trait. Humanity considered her utterly abnormal, fully armed, and highly dangerous—a treacherous, threatening being to civilization—and she’d be executed mercilessly upon capture.Once again, the thought of impersonating a Chinese lord and stepping into the limelight of a famous earl’s birthday party made her more than a little nervous. She felt a pang of uncertainty, and those unanswered questions popped into her head.What if something goes wrong? What if we get caught?“Darn it!” she swore under her breath, irritated with herself for being such a ninny. She closed her eyes and took a few slow, deep breaths to calm down.In her mind’s eye, she was back there again, in that dark, dead alley with Louisa, her best friend. They had just returned from the New Year celebration when the demons appeared out of nowhere, high on the rooftop. Their skin was pale against the moonlight, and she knew immediately she and Louisa were their dinner.They had come charging, their fit and powerful bodies expertly somersaulting in the air and landing mere inches from them. In the blink of an eye, one had caught Louisa in his firm grasp, ready to devour her. Daniella had tried her best to fight them off, but she had been too weak and inexperienced, and they killed Louisa, taking her corpse with them.Daniella frowned darkly and fisted her hands at the reminder of that night. Louisa. Oh, Louisa. Why did they have to kill her? She had been such an innocent girl.Why, indeed? They were monsters, these demons. They certainly didn’t have the morality to think it was wrong to slaughter another breathing, living being. To those otherworldly creatures, the act of killing was simply sport, an entertainment for them to enjoy. Second, of course, to the simple fact that human life’s qi sustained their strength, was food for their survival.Tears welled in Daniella’s eyes as she commanded herself to take control, to stop the emotional pain from overwhelming her. The pain of losing someone she had loved so dearly, so unconditionally.Now that she had tracked those bastards down, there was simply no way she would back out. This plan of hers was ludicrous, to say the least, but she had to do it. Louisa’s death would not be in vain. Those life-sucking creatures had to pay for what they had done, no matter that they were nobles.And what better way to get the job done than to waltz into Hasting House while there was a party on in full swing?Shuffling her own, undoubtedly smashing, birthday fete to one side, which she knew her friends had planned to throw for her, she must now ready herself to attend that of the Earl of Middlemarch.She returned her attention to her attire and touched the silky black cravat about her neck, the one she had spent at least fifteen minutes tying into the perfect knot. She carefully straightened the dark-blue, double-breasted coat about her slender frame, very glad indeed it hid her femininity well. She, however, couldn’t say the same of the tight, gray trousers.Damn the devil’s tooth! They fit her too perfectly, showing her slender legs and, dear Lord, a very feminine backside. She sighed in frustration. Surely she had asked Shin to get her a bigger size? Ones that didn’t draw attention to her feminine attributes? Not that she had much of those since she was considered a walking stick by most of her peers.“Shin. Shin. Shin,” she muttered.On cue, Saito Shin appeared at the doorway. Daniella noticed the surprised look in his ebony eyes once he had a good look at her.“Whoa! You look like one of those pompous lords,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Just don’t get too close to those old lords who prefer pretty boys, eh?”Daniella couldn’t help herself and boxed his ear. If anyone were to worry about being snapped up by old lords with an appetite for pretty boys, it would be Shin. He was by far one of the most gorgeous lads she had ever known. Second, of course, to his older brother Ren, whose aquiline features and dark demeanor set most of the females’ hearts fluttering with ardor.Instead of getting upset with her, Shin laughed. That was Shin all right. He was completely different from Ren, who was more serious in nature. Daniella was sure that happy-go-lucky attitude was going to get him into trouble one day.She finally let his ear go, which she noted with guilt was now burning red. It must be quite painful, and she was glad indeed that he was simply being Shin. He was carefree, forgiving her occasional mistreatment of him, and most of all, supportive. That was why he was her other best friend. And he was also one of her accomplices tonight.“You’re not going to take that off?” he asked, eyeing the gleaming of an earring in her left ear.Daniella absentmindedly touched the cool metal, her fingers and thumb caressing the deep-green stone dangling beside her delicate neck.“No,” she replied. She knew it was unconventional of her to wear one earring, especially now that she was masquerading as a noble lad, but she had always worn it. It was a part of her. Without it, she felt empty. With it, she felt she had a past, of which she knew nothing. It was as if the ten years of her life before she had been saved by her two foster fathers, Marco Romano and Zhang Li, seven years ago, had been wiped from her mind. It was as if she had never had a past, a childhood.“We’re going to get into trouble,” Shin said, folding his arms across his impressive chest.His ominous statement drew Daniella’s attention from her thoughts of her empty past. She cocked her head to one side. “Then don’t tell,” she said pointedly.“Ren’s going to find out anyway,” he replied stubbornly. “He’s going to beat us good.” He sounded nervous.Daniella couldn’t help herself and chuckled in amusement. She could already see the aftermath of Shin being beaten by his older brother, his person in a disheveled mess, as he usually was after their daily battle exercises. Ren, with his blood katana—the powerful, infamous Murasame—and Shin, with his two double-edged blood swords, Twin Sabers.“Not us. He’ll beat you. Ren would never beat me,” she said confidently.He snorted indignantly. “I’m his brother, yet you get the special treatment.”Daniella smiled and slapped his shoulder to ease his wounded pride. “Dear, dear,” she said.Shin sighed. “Just let’s get this over and done with.”Suddenly, Daniella felt her stomach knot in dread again. “All right, shall we, then?” she stated, not so confident now.Shin nodded, rather unenthusiastically.“But first, my trousers,” Daniella said.Shin frowned. “What of them?”“I need a bigger size.”“What for?” Shin cocked his head to one side. “Those fit you just fine, no?”She harrumphed. “No, they do not. These are too tight on me. I surely cannot fight in these things.”Shin rolled his eyes. “You and your tomboy ways,” he said in exasperation. “How will you ever find yourself a husband when you’re always fighting with demons?”Daniella raised a brow. “I’m not interested in finding myself a husband just yet, dear Shin. Now, the trousers, if you please.”Shin turned on his heel and said, “Follow me. There’re plenty of dull, black trousers in Tristan’s costume closet.”“Is that where you got these?” she asked incredulously. “I thought you went out and bought them.”Shin shrugged. “As if I have the money, Dan. Besides, Tristan wouldn’t notice them missing in the slightest, since that type is too dull for his taste. We’ll replace them in their rightful spot once we’re done with them.”“Sure. Sure,” Daniella murmured as she followed her friend out the door.* * *The official website for my young adult books will be launch in late October this year before the book is due to release. Cover reveal is coming soon. If you are interested in reading my young adult books, please help decided if I should go WIDE or stay with AMAZON ONLY by doing this quick survey here. ^_^That’s all for now, and once again, thank you for the ‘get well’ comment and reading my books and loving them. ^_^
And finally, I want to ask you my fans about my Young Adult books that I’m going to release in late October. I’m currently in a dilemma where I don’t know if I should publish the book wide or just on Amazon via KDP Unlimited. Wide means Amazon, Google Play, iBooks, and Smashwords etc. And Amazon just means Amazon only.I ask this because I currently don’t know if any of you who read and like my romance books would like to also read my YA books. I mean it is quite different, although my writing style is the same. I don’t think an author can change her style of writing. At least I personally I think I can’t because my style is a part of me. LOL!Just so you have some idea of what the book is about, here’s some information and an excerpt.Title: The Blood Alchemist ChroniclesCategories: Young AdultGenres: Fantasy, Romance, Action, Mystery, Superpower, Supernatural/ParanormalHmm… I think I should also add in reverse-harem as a tag too because there are a ton of hot guys in the books. So far, and it’s just volume 1, there are like nine bishounen already.Setting: Alternative Britannia during the Reign of Queen Victoria.Publishing Style: Novels, serialized volumesSynopsisWhen seventeen-year-old Daniella Romano masquerades as the son of a low-ranked Chinese lord, and waltzes, with her comrades, into the Earl of Middlemarch’s birthday party in order to assassinate a high demon, her revenge plans turn sour. There, Daniella meets Zach—a Greek god if she ever saw one—who suspects she is an imposter and will not let her escape his sight. Amidst the exuberant atmosphere, a man shoots the powerful King of Darnia, Daniella incidentally witnesses another influential lord slaying the culprit, and her friends are captured, ultimately becoming the prime suspects in the case of treason.Now it is up to Daniella to use her wit, wiles, and skills as a blood alchemist—an inherited ability to control and transmute blood into powerful weapons—to save her friends.Set in an alternative world of Britannia during the reign of Queen Victoria, The Blood Alchemist Chronicles is a mashup of fantasy, action, supernatural, super power, mystery, and romance.ExcerptToday, the 21st of April, was an important date for Daniella Romano. It not only marked the beginning of her outrageously daring escapade into the famous, lavish world of Mayfair, but also, it was her seventeenth birthday. A sense of dread lurched into the pit of her stomach as she studied herself in the mirror. She noted her face was pale, though her eyes, the color of chestnut, were bright with excitement and anticipation.“Oh, bother!” she muttered under her breath. She realized she didn’t look one bit like a Chinese nobleman about town, despite her best efforts. She thought in dissatisfaction she looked too young and feminine. Dear Lord! Why was it so hard for a girl to pass off as a boy?She caught her lower lip between her small, white teeth as she cocked her head to one side, scrutinizing her own reflection in the mirror. She considered cutting her raven hair shorter, as it was resting snuggly against the nape of her slender neck.No, no, she told herself. She looked just fine. After all, she didn’t want to look like a peacock, and attract attention to herself. Tonight, she needed to blend in.Blend in? She wanted to laugh at the word. She, Daniella Romano, had never been able to blend in anywhere, especially not at a party packed with English socialites. She stuck out like a sore thumb. She was a half-cast, a mixed race of the East and West, a hunxuer, an in-between child society despised, especially one who had the Claymore trait. Humanity considered her utterly abnormal, fully armed, and highly dangerous—a treacherous, threatening being to civilization—and she’d be executed mercilessly upon capture.Once again, the thought of impersonating a Chinese lord and stepping into the limelight of a famous earl’s birthday party made her more than a little nervous. She felt a pang of uncertainty, and those unanswered questions popped into her head.What if something goes wrong? What if we get caught?“Darn it!” she swore under her breath, irritated with herself for being such a ninny. She closed her eyes and took a few slow, deep breaths to calm down.In her mind’s eye, she was back there again, in that dark, dead alley with Louisa, her best friend. They had just returned from the New Year celebration when the demons appeared out of nowhere, high on the rooftop. Their skin was pale against the moonlight, and she knew immediately she and Louisa were their dinner.They had come charging, their fit and powerful bodies expertly somersaulting in the air and landing mere inches from them. In the blink of an eye, one had caught Louisa in his firm grasp, ready to devour her. Daniella had tried her best to fight them off, but she had been too weak and inexperienced, and they killed Louisa, taking her corpse with them.Daniella frowned darkly and fisted her hands at the reminder of that night. Louisa. Oh, Louisa. Why did they have to kill her? She had been such an innocent girl.Why, indeed? They were monsters, these demons. They certainly didn’t have the morality to think it was wrong to slaughter another breathing, living being. To those otherworldly creatures, the act of killing was simply sport, an entertainment for them to enjoy. Second, of course, to the simple fact that human life’s qi sustained their strength, was food for their survival.Tears welled in Daniella’s eyes as she commanded herself to take control, to stop the emotional pain from overwhelming her. The pain of losing someone she had loved so dearly, so unconditionally.Now that she had tracked those bastards down, there was simply no way she would back out. This plan of hers was ludicrous, to say the least, but she had to do it. Louisa’s death would not be in vain. Those life-sucking creatures had to pay for what they had done, no matter that they were nobles.And what better way to get the job done than to waltz into Hasting House while there was a party on in full swing?Shuffling her own, undoubtedly smashing, birthday fete to one side, which she knew her friends had planned to throw for her, she must now ready herself to attend that of the Earl of Middlemarch.She returned her attention to her attire and touched the silky black cravat about her neck, the one she had spent at least fifteen minutes tying into the perfect knot. She carefully straightened the dark-blue, double-breasted coat about her slender frame, very glad indeed it hid her femininity well. She, however, couldn’t say the same of the tight, gray trousers.Damn the devil’s tooth! They fit her too perfectly, showing her slender legs and, dear Lord, a very feminine backside. She sighed in frustration. Surely she had asked Shin to get her a bigger size? Ones that didn’t draw attention to her feminine attributes? Not that she had much of those since she was considered a walking stick by most of her peers.“Shin. Shin. Shin,” she muttered.On cue, Saito Shin appeared at the doorway. Daniella noticed the surprised look in his ebony eyes once he had a good look at her.“Whoa! You look like one of those pompous lords,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Just don’t get too close to those old lords who prefer pretty boys, eh?”Daniella couldn’t help herself and boxed his ear. If anyone were to worry about being snapped up by old lords with an appetite for pretty boys, it would be Shin. He was by far one of the most gorgeous lads she had ever known. Second, of course, to his older brother Ren, whose aquiline features and dark demeanor set most of the females’ hearts fluttering with ardor.Instead of getting upset with her, Shin laughed. That was Shin all right. He was completely different from Ren, who was more serious in nature. Daniella was sure that happy-go-lucky attitude was going to get him into trouble one day.She finally let his ear go, which she noted with guilt was now burning red. It must be quite painful, and she was glad indeed that he was simply being Shin. He was carefree, forgiving her occasional mistreatment of him, and most of all, supportive. That was why he was her other best friend. And he was also one of her accomplices tonight.“You’re not going to take that off?” he asked, eyeing the gleaming of an earring in her left ear.Daniella absentmindedly touched the cool metal, her fingers and thumb caressing the deep-green stone dangling beside her delicate neck.“No,” she replied. She knew it was unconventional of her to wear one earring, especially now that she was masquerading as a noble lad, but she had always worn it. It was a part of her. Without it, she felt empty. With it, she felt she had a past, of which she knew nothing. It was as if the ten years of her life before she had been saved by her two foster fathers, Marco Romano and Zhang Li, seven years ago, had been wiped from her mind. It was as if she had never had a past, a childhood.“We’re going to get into trouble,” Shin said, folding his arms across his impressive chest.His ominous statement drew Daniella’s attention from her thoughts of her empty past. She cocked her head to one side. “Then don’t tell,” she said pointedly.“Ren’s going to find out anyway,” he replied stubbornly. “He’s going to beat us good.” He sounded nervous.Daniella couldn’t help herself and chuckled in amusement. She could already see the aftermath of Shin being beaten by his older brother, his person in a disheveled mess, as he usually was after their daily battle exercises. Ren, with his blood katana—the powerful, infamous Murasame—and Shin, with his two double-edged blood swords, Twin Sabers.“Not us. He’ll beat you. Ren would never beat me,” she said confidently.He snorted indignantly. “I’m his brother, yet you get the special treatment.”Daniella smiled and slapped his shoulder to ease his wounded pride. “Dear, dear,” she said.Shin sighed. “Just let’s get this over and done with.”Suddenly, Daniella felt her stomach knot in dread again. “All right, shall we, then?” she stated, not so confident now.Shin nodded, rather unenthusiastically.“But first, my trousers,” Daniella said.Shin frowned. “What of them?”“I need a bigger size.”“What for?” Shin cocked his head to one side. “Those fit you just fine, no?”She harrumphed. “No, they do not. These are too tight on me. I surely cannot fight in these things.”Shin rolled his eyes. “You and your tomboy ways,” he said in exasperation. “How will you ever find yourself a husband when you’re always fighting with demons?”Daniella raised a brow. “I’m not interested in finding myself a husband just yet, dear Shin. Now, the trousers, if you please.”Shin turned on his heel and said, “Follow me. There’re plenty of dull, black trousers in Tristan’s costume closet.”“Is that where you got these?” she asked incredulously. “I thought you went out and bought them.”Shin shrugged. “As if I have the money, Dan. Besides, Tristan wouldn’t notice them missing in the slightest, since that type is too dull for his taste. We’ll replace them in their rightful spot once we’re done with them.”“Sure. Sure,” Daniella murmured as she followed her friend out the door.* * *The official website for my young adult books will be launch in late October this year before the book is due to release. Cover reveal is coming soon. If you are interested in reading my young adult books, please help decided if I should go WIDE or stay with AMAZON ONLY by doing this quick survey here. ^_^That’s all for now, and once again, thank you for the ‘get well’ comment and reading my books and loving them. ^_^
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