Hell Transporter Cover Made of Awesome!

In case you missed the reveal on Reading Angel's blog, here is the cover for Hell Transporter, the sequel to Between, due out in the spring. I love love love it!


(Blogger cuts off the right edge but I wanted to make it big enough for you to see. I wish there were a fit-to-frame option!)

Huge thanks to Dave at Woulds & Shoulds Editing and Design who created this cover made from sheer awesome. He's the same designer who made the cover for Between, and the continuity of the two is simply masterful.

And here is the book excerpt posted earlier, from the Hell Transporter's point of view:

My gaze locked onto the girl and a violent, lusty excitement soared in my chest. I would tear her apart, rip her limbs from her body and laugh as her blood soaked into the ground.

You will die tonight. Her whole body twitched and I knew she heard. The war cry that erupted behind me told me the Scot heard as well.

I crashed through the brush toward her. She didn’t move, just shivered like a mouse before the cat’s jaws, but her eyes grew larger than the moon as I bore down on her. She was making it too easy. She was taking the all fun out of it. Bitch.

Summoning the wind’s power, I flew forward with the speed of a raging fire and grasped the girl's hair in my talons, yanking her limp body up off the ground. I didn’t have time to savor her death. The Scot was raining down on me. No matter. One quick snap and she’d be dead. I wanted to see her eyes as she died, as the light dimmed from the inside out.

When she met my gaze, I froze.

You like? :) If you're excited to read Hell Transporter when it comes out in the spring, be sure to mark it as "to read" on Goodreads. You can also pick up the Aiden's Angels logo below to put on your blog!

Hell Transporter Cover Reveal!

Big news!! The cover for Hell Transporter will be revealed tomorrow, December 1st, on Reading Angel's blog! 

****UPDATE: Aiden's Angels have demanded that the cover reveal should happen on SCOTLAND time in honor of Aiden MacRae, so the post is up now! I love you guys!***

I'm so excited for you guys to see the cover, I can barely stand it.

It's beeeeeoooootiful!

But wait, there's more! (No, not a set of knives, though that would be cool, come to think of it. LOL)

In addition to the cover reveal, Reading Angel will also be posting an excerpt from the book written from the Hell Transporter's point of view. *chills* If you missed the teasers I've posted already on my blog, here they are.

Oh, and check out my Awesome Fans! page for two new buttons (one for Between and another for Aiden's Angels). Thanks to the lovely Lindsay Cox for those designs! <33

Support Four Debut Authors & You Could Snag $125!

The utterly fabulous Shannon Mayer has put together a promotion so simple and full of awesome that I am bursting at the seams to share it with you! *squee*

With this contest, there is something for everyone and it’s SO simple to be in on the winning!

On November 28 and/or 29, purchase 1 or all 4 of the debut authors' books listed here. Then forward proof of purchase (the receipt Amazon sends you will do just fine) to motionsrider@yahoo.ca and get up to 4 entries into a draw for a $100 Amazon gift card!

It’s that easy: no reviews, no hoops to jump through. Just a great .99 book or two. Or three or four. AND, if the person who wins the $100 Amazon Gift Card has purchased all 4 books, an additional $25 Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to the winner!

On top of that, 2 random commenters picked from 2 of our participating blogs will receive $5 gift Amazon gift cards. So be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the promo, the books, or the authors. Don't forget a contact email in your comment in case you win!

Winners will be chosen randomly. One entry per person, per book.

All winners will be announced on December 7^th on Shannon's site Wringing Out Words. 

So without further ado (what is ado, really? LOL), here are the four books in the order Shannon gave them to me (just in case you thought I was vain for putting mine first):

It just figures that the love of Lindsey Water's life isn't alive at all, but the grim reaper, complete with a dimpled smile, and Scottish accent.

After transporting souls to heaven for the last 300 years, Aiden MacRae has all but given up on finding the one whose love will redeem him and allow him entry through the pearly gates.

Torn between her growing attraction to Aiden and heaven's siren song, Lindsey must learn the hard way whether love really can transcend all boundaries.

Available from Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks. Prefer a paperback? Order your personalized copy using the widget in the upper right corner of this blog.

When darkness falls, whose side will you be on?


For the past six years, Zoë has been anything but “normal.” Struggling to accept her immortality and thrown into a war that’s been waging in the shadows for over a thousand years, Zoë must now become who she was meant to be, joining the other Chosen to save what’s left of humanity. When the endless night falls over the Earth, will she be able to save the one man who reminds her of what it is to be human, or will it be too late?


Until Dawn: Last Light is a story of death and despair, love and longing, hope and hopelessness, and the ability to survive and keep going even when it seems impossible – when you want nothing more than to give up.

Grab your copy of Until Dawn: Last Light on Amazon for only 99 cents to be entered in the drawing!

A stranger enters a dying town and makes a desperate plea…


The Kayson Cycle introduces the Kayson Brothers, a pair of faith healers who once wowed crowds in a traveling show but went their separate ways after a night in which a healing took a dark turn. Jeffrey Kayson disappeared into the wilderness and William Kayson, wracked by guilt, moved to the failing mining town of Calico Hills to build a nice, quiet life – one that has lasted for over ten years.


His quiet, predictable life crumbles when a mysterious stranger walks into his tavern bearing a proposal to find his long-lost brother and do the one thing that William has sworn to never do again - have his brother heal a woman. William soon learns that he can’t escape his family – or his destiny.


Includes an exclusive sample chapter of The Corridors of the Dead. Please note that this is a Kindle Single, and around 6,000 words in length.

The Kayson Cycle is available from Smashwords, Amazon or Barnes & Noble for less than a buck!

A miracle drug, Nevermore, spreads like wildfire throughout the world allowing people to eat what they want, and still lose weight. It is everything the human population has ever dreamed of and Mara is no different. Only a simple twist of fate stops her from taking Nevermore.


As the weeks roll by, it becomes apparent that Nevermore is not the miracle it claimed. A true to life nightmare, the drug steals the very essence that makes up humanity and unleashes a new and deadly species on the world that is bent on filling its belly. Locked down within their small farm home, Mara and her husband Sebastian struggle against increasingly bad odds, fighting off marauders and monsters alike.


But Sebastian carries a dark secret, one that more than threatens to tear them apart, it threatens to destroy them both and the love they have for each other.


Now Mara must make the ultimate choice. Will she live for love, or will she live to survive?

Pick up a copy of Sundered from Smashwords, Amazon or Barnes & Noble for a chance to win!  

HUGE thanks to all the bloggers who are participating in the event. Love love love you guys! *mwah*

• The Immortal words of Doctor Fab www.shayfabbro.com
• The Beauty Brat http://www.thebeautybrat.com/
• A Novel’s Journey http://anovelsjourney.blogspot.com/
• Haley Whitehall http://haleywhitehall.com/blog/
• Call Sign: Wrecking Crew on the Run http://callsignwreckingcrew.blogspot.com
• Romance by Catherine http://catherinebybee.blogspot.com/
• Believe http://mimibarbour.blogspot.com/
• Carmen Desousa http://carmendesousa.blogspot.com/
• AE Marling http://aemarling.com/
• RS Guthrie http://www.rsguthrie.com/
• Ev Bishop http://evbishop.wordpress.com/
• Labotomy of a Writer http://labotomyofawriter.com/
• Must Inkshttp://museinks.blogspot.com/
• The Romanceaholic http://romanceaholic.com/
• Care Caffrey www.carycaffrey.com/
• Chicklets Lit http://chickletslit.wordpress.com/
• Nathan Everett http://www.gutenbergrubric.com/
• Rants of a Wolf http://aetas-lupus.livejournal.com/
• Letters inside Out http://www.lettersinsideout.net
• Can’t Put it Down book Reviews http://readitreviewit.wordpress.com/category/home/
• Unabridged Bookshelf http://unabridgedbookshelf.blogspot.com
• Indiscriminate Writes http://indiscriminatewrites.blogspot.com/
• Illusions http://lorhainneeckhart.blogspot.com
• Angie West http://angiewest.wordpress.com/tag/angie-west/
• Micheal Young: The Canticle http://www.writermike.com.
• Brianna Soloski http://www.girlseeksplace.com/
• Wendy Carmell http://www.wendycartmell.webs.com
• Heather McCorkle http://heathermccorkle.blogspot.com/
• Sheri Larsen: YA Lit Chat  http://yalitchat.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=05fr2885uha86
• Vanessa Barger Writes http://vanessabargerwrites.wordpress.com/
• J Keller Ford: Dreamweaver’s Cottage http://jennykellerford.wordpress.com/
• Doc Dave’s Voice http://www.docdavesvoice.com
• Kim Cormack http://www.kimcormack.com
• Twin Dragon’s Knowledge http://twindragonsknowledge.blogspot.com/
• What’s Beyond Forks? http://whatsbeyondforks.blogspot.com/
• Scott Bury: Jambalian http://jambalian.blogspot.com/
• Raven Corinn Carluk http://raven.youareannoying.us/
• Madeline Rex http://madeleinerex.com
• What the Cat Read Http://whatthecatread.wordpress.com
• Chazz Writes www.chazzwrites.wordpress.com
• Venture Galleries http://venturegalleries.com
• Far Manor http://farmanor.blogspot.com/
• Blame it on the Full Moon www.blameitonthefullmoon.blogspot.com
• Kelly Hitchcock http://kellyhitchcock.com/blog/
• My Imaginary Beings http://my-imaginary-beings.blogspot.com/
• Louise Wise http://louisewise.blogspot.com
• My Eclectic Bookshelf http://myeclecticbookshelf.blogspot.com/
• Benjamin Jones Writes http://benjaminjoneswrites.weebly.com/index.html
• Alchemy of Scrawl alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com
• Reena Jacobs www.reenajacobs.com/blog
• Sleepless in Samoa http://sleeplessinsamoa.blogspot.com
• Bluebells Trilogy http://bluebellstrilogy.blogspot.com
• Nyx Book Reviews http://nyxbookreviews.blogspot.com/
• Wicked Readings by Tawania http://www.wickedreadingsbytawania.blogspot.com
• Live to Read http://livetoread-krystal.blogspot.com/
• Cici’s Theories www.cicistheories.com
• Hannah Downing www.hannahdowning.com
• My Inner Muse  http://www.kishazworld.com/innermuse/
• Book Flame http://www.bookflame.blogspot.com/
• Dreaming Dreams no Mortal ever Dared http://Dreamingdreamsnomortaleverdared.blogspot.com
• Cold Fire Writer http://coldfirewriter.wordpress.com/
• Passing the Open Windows http://www.passingtheopenwindows.co.za/
• Books 4 Juliet http://books4juliet.blogspot.com/
• Ren’s Blogging About http://renthewriter.com/
• Tibby Armstrong http://tibbyarmstrong.com/
• A Diary of a Book Addict http://adiaryofabookaddict.blogspot.com/
• SS Book Fanatics http://ssbookfanatics.blogspot.com
• Lady Techies Book Musings Http://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com
• Jillian Brookes-Ward www.writers-unlimited.blogspot.com
• Horror. Punk. Buddhism.  http://mepurfield.livejournal.com
• Writers Alley http://writersally.blogspot.com
• Lost in Believing http://lostinbelieving.wordpress.com/
• Melissa Bunnell http://psptutstagsbyq.blogspot.com 
• Palm Coast Twilight Book Club Reviews  http://palmcoasttwilightbookclubreviews.wordpress.com/
• Between the Pages Reviews http://www.betweenthepagesreviews.com/
• Word Spelunking http://www.wordspelunking.blogspot.com/
• The Violet Hour Book Reviews http://www.violethourbr.com
• Moonlight Book Reviews http://www.moonlightbookreviews.com
• Snowdrop Dreams of Books http://www.snowdropdreams.ca
• Creative Reads http://www.creativereads.blogspot.com
• New England Muse http://Newenglandmuse.wordpress.com
• Live by the Pen, Die by the Pen http://blog.daphnejriordan.com/
• Glowy Mushrooms  www.glowymushrooms.tumblr.com
• Fictional Distraction Book Reviews www.fictional-distraction.com
• Breila McValan http://taiyouryu.insanejournal.com/375.html
• Lakisha Spletzer http://indieauthor-howto.blogspot.com

YA Indie Carnival Winner!

Holy buckets of awesome, Batman! I am just full of winners today, aren't I?

Last week, the YA Indie Carnival threw a giveaway bash and today, I get to announce the winner of an ebook of Between:

Paige Bradish

Woohoo! Congrats, Paige!

If you didn't win a copy of Between as part of the YA Indie Carnival or the YA Scramble, never fear! There are more opportunities for you to win!

Reading away the days (ends 9/23)

Goodreads (ends 9/30)
Inky Fresh Press (giveaway starts next week)

Q&A with P.J. Hoover & Massive Giveaway!

Get ready! Today, I'm interviewing the fabulous P.J. Hoover (mwah!) and you get the chance to win a boatload of prizes. Woot! So let's get this party started, shall we?

P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is also a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a Global Warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis, chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden beneath the sea.

The indie publishing process can be a wild ride like a rollercoaster (hey, that's why we're carnies)! What twists and turns (both good and bad) have you been through so far?

Ups are having people tell me they love the story. Downs are the opposite J But that’s okay. At least people are reading which is why I chose indie in the first place.

How are you marketing your book? Any specific tips or strategies you've found particularly helpful?

Truly, I’m trying lots of different things and seeing what works. I participated in a blog tour, I use twitter and Facebook, and I also run a blog of my own. But I think the funnest thing I did was make trading cards for SOLSTICE with hidden content tied to each page. You can read all about them here: http://www.pjhoover.com/trading_cards.php

If you had to give five reasons why someone should read SOLSTICE, what would they be?

1. You loved TWILIGHT, THE HUNGER GAMES, THE LIGHTNING THIEF, or MATCHED.
2. SOLSTICE has red-hot romance to make your world sizzle.
3. Mythology, anyone? It's like opening Pandora's box without the consequences.
4. Ever wonder why summers are getting hotter?
5. It's $2.99. That's less than a latte and lasts a whole lot longer.

Just for fun: If you could buy property anywhere in the world (price is no object- you can tell I love fantasy!), where would it be and why?

I’d either pick a nice piece of property in Tahiti, or I’d go with somewhere very close to DisneyWorld. I love the beach, but I also love the Haunted Mansion.

What's next on the horizon for you?

Just to keep writing and see what comes next. I have lots of projects and ideas I’m working on, but I’m not a kiss-and-tell kind of girl. That said, I do plan to write a sequel to SOLSTICE!

Good luck to you and thanks for stopping by! 

Thank you so much for letting me be on your wonderful blog. I'm super honored!

***

All of the YA Indies are interviewing each other, so check out my interview over on T.R. Graves' blog.

And now for some giveaways! *rubs hands together*

It's easy peasy to win. Just leave a comment below along with your email address AND tweet using the #yaindiecarnival hashtag! Visit all the blogs to increase your chances of winning! Open internationally, winners announced September 16.

Nineteen different books and some swag were included in the giveaway at last count! Check the list of goodies you can win here. And spread the word! #yaindiecarnival

In Which I Dispense Advice (Yikes!)

If you're new here, welcome! *waves* Every Friday, I get together with a host of fabulous ladies who are YA Indie lovers and we blog on the same theme. This week's topic is 3 tips for YA authors.

So, uh... yeah. I'd like to tell you I have this thing down, that sales are through the roof, that Diana Gabaldon Herself has called me up to see if I'd like to get together. Well, that hasn't happened. Yet.

Which brings me to...

Lesson Number One: Dream big but don't forget your goals.
When I published Between, it wasn't because I knew it would be The Next Big Thing. In fact, I knew it probably wouldn't. My main goal was to get it out there, to share this story I love with others who might love it, too. So as fabulous as it would be to say that I'm a bestseller (and that day might come), I can honestly say that I've accomplished what I set out to do. And that's pretty damn awesome.

Lesson Number Two: Make friends.
No one is going to read your book unless they come across it and it's your job to help make that happen. Marketing in the indie world is about making friends, connecting, sharing, and encouraging. While no one likes spam, if you sprinkle in tweets or Facebook posts about your book, people will often help spread the word through comments, retweets and likes. Say thank you and return the favor when you can!

Lesson Number Three: Don't stop writing.
You got on this crazy carnival ride because you had a story to tell, right? Once you've told it, start telling another. And another. You can spend all of your free time doing Lesson Number Two (I will be the first to admit that Twitter is addictive!) but if your new friends love the first book you've written, they're going to want to read more. So be sure to carve out some quality time with your muse. And if your muse happens to wear a kilt, all the better!

Check out some words of wisdom from the rest of the crew!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen Author of The Ghost Boy of MacKenzie House, The Hunted Series and the Hayle Coven Novels.
Courtney Cole Author of Every Last Kiss, Fated, Princess, and Guardian. Also a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Wren Emerson Author of I Wish and a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Nichole A. Williams Author of Eternal Eden, and the upcoming Fallen Eden. She is also participating in the Glassheart Chronicles.
Fisher Amelie Author of The Understorey, as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Laura Elliott Author of Winnemucca and the upcoming 13 on Halloween
Amy Maurer Jones Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy as well as a contributing author in The Glassheart Chronicles.
Rachel Coles Author of Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Whistles, Beergarden, Plagues, Bees of St. John, and Mushrooms.
T. R. Graves Author of Warriors of the Cross.
P.J. Hoover Author of Solstice, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, The Necropolis.
Alicia McCalla Author of the upcoming science-fiction novel Breaking Free
Heather Cashman Author of Perception
Abbi Glines Author of Breathe, and the upcoming Existence and Vincent Boys
Cidney Swanson Author of Rippler
Cheri Schmidt Author of Fateful and Fractured

Another teaser from Hell Transporter!

It's Friday, so you know what that means! The YA Indie Carnival is in full swing yet again. This week has us all sharing a paragraph from a work in progress. For me, that means you get another teaser from Hell Transporter, the sequel to Between.

To catch you up (in case you're new here), Between is a love story between a modern American girl who dies in a car accident and the 18th century Scottish Highlander who comes to take her to heaven. It launched on June 1st, so if you haven't read it yet, be sure to check it out.

There are some whopping twists in Between, so I can only post snippets from the sequel that don't give anything away. Easier said than done! I've posted one teaser already and now (after some studious skimming through the sequel) here's another tiny taste for you!

Setting: Aiden is chopping wood outside the cabin when Lindsey comes out, bringing him coffee. After a brief exchange (which you don't get to read- remember what I said about spoilers???), this happens:

He took my coffee cup and set it on the chopping block with his own, then cupped my face with both hands and kissed me so thoroughly, I didn’t know if my feet were even touching the ground. When we came up for air, he rested his forehead against mine. The woodsy, salty smell of his skin wrapped around me and I wanted to drown myself in his eyes.


Okay, okay, I know it's not much, but it'll have to do for now! If you're in the mood for some other tantalizing snippets, check out the rest of the carnival!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen
Laura Elliott
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nichole A. Williams
Fisher Amelie
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer
T. R. Graves
P.J. Hoover
Heather Cashman

Where does inspiration come from?

It's Friday so it's time for the weekly installment of the YA Indie Carnival! So grab some kettle corn and wander through the blog posts from some awesome authors.

Today's topic is inspired. Or rather, what inspires me.

I suppose everyone is looking for That Thing that will click, to help them write the book they've always wanted to. Stephen King's On Writing has some great insight on inspiration, so if you're a writer (or want to be), I highly recommend you read that book.

For me, I like people watching. I like to try and describe them in my mind using terms other than hair or eye color, just as a fun exercise. I pay attention to how they interact, how they respond, how they present themselves. Every person is a book in and of themselves, a lifelong story with moments worth cheering over and times that have brought them to their knees. 

So I like to make up their stories in my head while I watch them. People watching, to me, is like lying on your back in the grass, calling out shaped in the clouds. It's making much of the little you see, letting your creative soul run wild, and basking in childlike fun.

People inspire me. Because as much as we try to put them in a box, the wind will shift and suddenly, the cloud will morph into something we never expected.

Find out what the rest of the YA Indie Carnival participants have to say!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen
Laura Elliott
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nichole A. Williams
Fisher Amelie
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer
T. R. Graves
P.J. Hoover
Heather Cashman

YA Indie Carnival: Surprises along the way

If you've been following the blog, you know I'm part of the YA Indie Carnival, a great group of ladies who blog about writing and reading self-published novels each Friday. Today's topic is (drumroll, please):

What's been the biggest surprise about going indie?


I've been giving this one some serious thought, since the answers that immediately come to mind are negative. But then, the whole point is to shed some light on the good and bad of going it alone, so it wouldn't be fair to make it all rainbows and butterflies. Every author's experience differs, but here are some surprises I've had along the way.

I've sold more print books than ebooks.
And I'm not sure why, exactly. Certainly, friends and family have wanted print copies that I could sign, which helps, but even readers I've met through Twitter seem to prefer print books and some are willing to pay the price. With so much hubbub about low priced ebooks (and how popular YA paranormal romance is), I thought that ebook sales would quickly outpace their print counterparts. That hasn't been the case so far.

There's definitely something to be said about being in the right place at the right time, and Between has yet to be picked up by sites like Daily Cheap Reads and the Frugal eReader. Hopefully my time will come, so until then, I'll just be patient and continue doing what I'm doing.

I thought it would be easier to categorize my book on Amazon.
Maybe there is a way to do this and I just haven't figured it out, but from what I can tell, Amazon allows you to assign 15 tags to your book (words and phrases that people might use to search for your book). Fifteen tags don't go very far. I see people advertise that their book is a bestseller in some specific category, but I don't see a way to designate categories in the set-up. Also, the categories for Teen Romance and Adult Romance are completely different, so it's incredibly difficult to browse YA titles on Amazon. Sigh...

On the good side:

I'm thrilled by how some people really loooooooove the book.
I figured there would be people who liked it and those who didn't. I never dared hope there would be people who loved it to pieces and would bug me about when the sequel is coming out. One reader sent me an email recently, telling me she'd just finished re-reading Between and that she loved it just as much the second time through! *squee!*

To sum up, the biggest surprise to me about my indie experience so far has been how little is within my control. One of the greatest advantages of going the indie route is that you can control everything: the title, the cover, the font, the price, etc. And yet, when it comes to sales and how people react to the book, you pretty much just have to say a prayer that it all works out.

Find out what the rest of the YA Indie Carnival participants have to say!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen
Laura Elliott
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nichole A. Williams
Fisher Amelie
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer
T. R. Graves
P.J. Hoover
Heather Cashman

YA Indie Carnival: Whatchya Readin?

For this week of the YA Indie Carnival, we're supposed to talk about three indie books that we're reading.

*looks sheepish* I don't have three. :(

Okay, before you slay me completely, let me explain. I only started reading regularly about two years ago. Then I decided to write a book and my reading took a back seat. Now I read about as often as I write, so there's a better balance. But because I went so many years watching movies instead of reading books, there are a gajillion awesome books out there that I haven't read. I have a TBR pile that touches the ceiling, so I don't really have to *search* for something to read.

So the only indie books I've read have been because of a connection to the author, or upon recommendation from someone I know. And when I say "indie" I am talking small-press as well (since one I know in particular uses Createspace to publish).

I've read Elizabeth Isaac's Light of Asteria, Jessica Degarmo's How to Meet a Guy at the Supermarket, and Molly Ringle's What Scotland Taught Me.

But in the spirit of the carnival, I have downloaded Warriors of the Cross by our very own T.R. Graves.

So, just because I haven't read much indie doesn't mean I don't want to or that I won't!

Check out the other participants in the YA Indie Carnival!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen
Laura Elliott
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nichole A. Williams
Fisher Amelie
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer
T. R. Graves
P.J. Hoover
Heather Cashman

Cutting out the Sex Scenes (or Y I write YA)

It's Friday (no, don't start singing that song or it'll be stuck in your head all day... too late)! That means it's time for the next YA Indie Carnival installment and today's subject is (drumroll, please!)...

Why I Write YA

I'll be honest, I didn't set out to write a young adult novel. When I first started writing Between, I'd just finished several of the books in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (which is soooooooo not young adult). I was on fire for Scots and wanted one of my very own, so Aiden MacRae was born. *swoon*

The first draft of Between had lots and lots of yummy sex scenes in it. One early reader said, "Is this MacSteamy or what???" *grin* To be fair, they are all still there, they are just toned waaaaaaaay down from the original manuscript.

A series of things happened to make me revise the book for a young adult audience.

1) After researching the adult romance market, I realized that the book didn't fit the genre very well.
2) I received some comments from beta readers that the tone of the book felt more young adult.
3) I started reading YA and found that the freedom within the genre worked perfectly for the story I needed to tell.

So some harsh and painful editing later, Between was completely revised into a YA novel and I couldn't be more pleased with it. Believe me, all those yummy scenes are still alive in my head, but I don't regret making the switch to YA at all. In fact, the late-teen/college-age demographic is exactly where I wanted to be, I just didn't know it at the time. And I think I'll be hanging out with this group for quite a while.

*high fives all around*

Check out the other participants in the YA Indie Carnival!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen
Laura Elliott
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nichole A. Williams
Fisher Amelie
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer
T. R. Graves
P.J. Hoover
Heather Cashman

YA Indie Carnival: Why Indie?

Every Friday for the next several weeks, I'll be blogging along with my YA indie friends (links to their blogs are at the end of this post). This week's topic is: Why Indie?

Why indeed?

I can tell you that going the indie route is not for everyone. I wrote a guest post for BooksByWomen.org on this very topic not too long ago: "Published! Does it matter how?".

For me, I tried the traditional route. Oh, how I tried. I faithfully read all the agent blogs and followed hundreds of them on Twitter, hanging on their every word in hopes of finding that Miraculous Bit of Advice that would turn all those rejections into The Call I'd Been Waiting For. After over a year of an emotional rollercoaster that ripped my heart out and left me gasping for breath, I decided to can the whole stupid thing. I told myself, what difference does it make if anyone reads Aiden and Lindsey's story? No one wants it, so it's probably crap anyway. They're right, I suck and should just give up.

So I tried writing something new, tried to move on and leave Between alone. Nothing would come. The words dried up on my tongue before I could transfer them to the screen. I couldn't fall in love again, not when my first love sat ignored, relegated to the proverbial nightstand.

I needed closure. That's why I went indie, in a nutshell.

I needed to finish what I'd started, even if no one else wanted it. I needed to hold that book in my hands, needed to clasp it to my chest and feel the waves of accomplishment break over me and wash away the angst, pain and suffering that had built up during The Year of Rejection. When that moment finally came, I thought I would split in two from the sheer exhilaration of crossing the finish line.

Not everyone finishes the race first, second or third. Or hell, even three thousandth. If you're not in the top three, it doesn't matter when you finish, it only matters that you do. And I did.

Now, to finish that sequel. *grin*

Check out the other participants in the YA Indie Carnival!

Danny Snell's Refracted Light Reviews
Patti Larsen
Laura Elliott
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nichole A. Williams
Fisher Amelie
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles. Geek Mom. Book Reviewer
T. R. Graves
P.J. Hoover

YA Indie Carnival Kick-Off!

I saw there was a YA Indie Carnival starting and asked if I could join in. They said yes, so get ready to  binge on cotton candy and popcorn 'cuz we're going on a thrilling ride! Every Friday, we'll post about all things YA Indie for authors, readers and reviewers. This week's carnival topic is all about...


ME!


Okay, not me exactly... (ahem). We're introducing ourselves to give you a sense of what makes us tick and why we do the crazy things we do! So without further ado (just what is an 'ado' anyway?)...


My debut novel, Between, came out on June 1. It's a love story between a modern girl who dies in a car accident and the 18 century Scottish Highlander who comes to take her to heaven.


I fell in love with Scotland (and hunky guys in kilts) while reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (which is not YA). Not being of Scottish descent myself, I hadn't given the wee country much thought before Outlander, but Scotland took up residence in my heart and has moved in for the long haul.


I wanted my own Highlander, so I created Aiden MacRae who (aside from Jamie Fraser) is the epitome of fine in my opinion. I love spending time with him while I write and hearing his accent in my head as my fingers click across the keys. If he could materialize in front of me, I'd be a happy girl (my hubby probably wouldn't like it much though- hehehehe). When I began writing, my voice came out YA (who knew?) so that's how I made the leap from Outlander to young adult. Between still has some steamy scenes (it's definitely for older teens) but YA is its home.


Check back every Friday to learn more about my publishing journey. Get to know the rest of the YA Indie group and leave a comment to say hi!


Dani Snell
Patti Larsen
Courtney Cole
Wren Emerson
Nicole Williams
Fisher Amelie
Michelle Leighton
Laura Elliott
Amy Maurer Jones
Rachel Coles
T.R. Graves
Allie Burke