Sci-fi, stories, writing

Haven

I am so tickled to be able to say that my story “Haven” was a runner-up in the Writer’s Domain’s Star Wars fanfiction contest!

I first discovered Star Wars when I was around twelve years old, and I was hooked. At that point in my life I had never heard of fanfiction, but oh, I wrote plenty of it in my head over the next several years. I discovered the Expanded Universe–what is now considered “Legends,” and devoured every book and short story I could get my hands on. My favorites were the non-main character stories (even though I identified wholly with Luke), most especially the Rogue and Wraith Squadron books. The stories I told in my head started to weave around similar squadrons and pilots, out fighting for the Rebellion and doing good, saving the day behind the scenes without ever having to use the Force or get involved in the “big” events.

Even though “Haven” is a long way from the high dramas and impossible adventures my teenage self liked to create all those years ago, I’m pleased that the roots of it go all the way back to those stories, with a main character who echoes the characters I used to dream up, and a closer look at the everyday heroes that made the Rebellion what it was–and the Resistance what it could be.

I’ve loved Star Wars from the first, and I’m so pleased to be able to share that love in this story.

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publishing, writing

The Song

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My flash fairy tale The Song is now available at Enchanted Conversations. (Isn’t that cover art stunning? It makes me want to re-read the story, and I normally can’t bear to read my own stuff after it’s published; I can’t turn off my editor’s eye.)

I’m so pleased to be able to share this story with you all! It’s my first ever attempt at an original fairy tale. As for whether or not it has deeper meaning behind the obvious … I’ll leave that up to the reader.

Enjoy!

1920s, Books, publishing, writing

Glamours & Gunshots Cover Reveal

Here it is, at long (really long) last!

You ready?

You sure?

Ok, here we go

……

The cover for Glamours & Gunshots, Book 2 of the Whitney & Davies series, is here!

…….

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Maia Whitney has held men as they died before, but never in peacetime, and never in her aunt’s front hall. But this death is only the beginning, and soon rumors spread among England’s magicians of a deadly Parasite on the loose. When Maia’s friend and fellow magician Lennox Davies becomes the Parasite’s next victim, Maia knows she cannot sit back and wait for others to bring about justice. Before long, Maia, Len, Becket, and their new friend Helen are embroiled in a case that has its roots buried in the shadows of the past … and could leave one of them magic-less forever. 

As with Magic Most Deadly and From the Shadows, the cover was designed by the brilliant Amanda McCrina, who is also an author and whose novel Blood Oath is coming out in June. Isn’t it stunning?

I don’t have a definite release date yet, but it will be either late summer or early fall. I’ve been working on this story for so long, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you!

1920s, Books, publishing, writing

Winner!

The giveaway is closed, the entries have been tallied and a winner has been drawn, and it is …

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Congratulations, Hilma! A signed copy of Magic & Mayhem will be coming your way shortly!

For those of you who missed out on a chance to enter or entered and didn’t win, have no fear, I plan to hold more giveaways in the future. Especially with Glamours & Gunshots coming out so soon.

And speaking of Glamours & Gunshots, the cover reveal for that book will be happening right here sometime this week, so stay tuned for that!

My thanks to everyone who participated in this giveaway, and for those of you who left reviews without wanting to be added to the contest. I appreciate you all!

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Giveaway Update

Hey guys, no fear, the giveaway is still running! I just wanted to add an addendum of sorts as we get closer to Saturday:

Amazon can often take a few days before reviews show up on the book page. That being the case, I am willing to operate under the honor system as we get closer to the deadline. If you write a review between now and Saturday and the review doesn’t go live until after the deadline, leave a comment on the blog post telling me that you’ve done the review, and I’ll believe you.

Quick recap of the updated rules, then:

Leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads on any of my four books and comment on the original giveaway post with either a link to the review or the assurance that the review has been left, and you will be entered to win a signed copy of Magic & Mayhem (or one other of my books, if you already have M&M). One entry for each review, and the entries are based on quantity, not quality. So long as it is honest, I don’t care if the review is one star or five, one word or 100. Contest ends Saturday 5/19 at midnight EST.

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A review of any one of these books will get you an entry! Review more than one, you get more than one entry!

Links to the book pages are in the original post, so go check it out and get busy reviewing and entering to WIN!

1920s, Books, fiction, publishing, writing

Giveaway Time!

Hello friends! It’s been a long time since I’ve done a giveaway, and I think it’s time I changed that.

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The Prize: A signed paperback copy of Magic & Mayhem, my newly-released short story collection (if you already have M&M, contact me and we can work out a substitute of one of my other works).

The Rules: Between now and next Saturday (5/19), leave an honest review on any or all of my books on Amazon and/or Goodreads (links below).

Come back here and leave a comment with a link to your review(s).

Each review is one (1) entry into the giveaway. (Four books, two places to leave reviews, means you could potentially have up to eight entries.)

On 5/20, a winner will be randomly drawn, and on 5/21 they will be contacted about how to claim their prize.

The Reason: Glamours & Gunshots, Book 2 of the Whitney & Davies series, is coming out this year. THIS YEAR. Hopefully even this summer, though let’s not get too carried away.

I would love to stir up a lot of interest for this release, and one way to do that is by having enough reviews on my other books for potential readers to take note of the series and consider purchasing the new book when it comes out. Reviews are an author’s lifeline! Without them, our books tend not to show up in searches, they don’t get featured anywhere, and we lose so many potential readers.

Extra Stuff: If you have already left a review on all of my books but would still like to enter the giveaway, that’s fine, too–send me a link to them and you’ll be entered. Winning does not depend on the quality of the review–even if it’s one-star because you really didn’t like it, BE HONEST. All I’m looking at is that a review has been left, not its content. This contest is open to international participants as well as US!

Easy links for reviewing:

Magic Most DeadlyAmazon and Goodreads

From the ShadowsAmazon and Goodreads

Candles in the DarkAmazon and Goodreads

Magic & MayhemAmazon and Goodreads

To go over the rules one more time:

Between now and 5/19, leave a review on any or all of my books on Amazon and/or Goodreads.

Come back here and leave a comment with a link to your review(s).

Each review is one (1) entry into the giveaway.

On 5/20, a winner will be randomly drawn, and on 5/21 they will be contacted about how to claim their prize.

Prize is a signed paperback of Magic & Mayhem. (this is negotiable if you already have a copy and would like one of my other books instead)

Go forth and review, share this post with all your friends-and-relations, and good luck!