Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Shift!!!

ShiftFrontFinal

Leena's revelation has changed everything.

Now that Denora knows his greatest secret, she's not sure that she can trust Silas. As more of her family's secrets unfold, she is more desperate than ever to rid her brothers of their curse. Trying to find a balance between her life with magic and her life before, things become complicated when she meets Conner and her relationship with Silas becomes strained.

Conner offers her everything she could want - excitement, attraction and a normal relationship - but people are not always as they appear, and Denora might find that normal isn't really what she needs.

*****

Shift, the second book in the four part urban fantasy series, The Crow Series, is now live in ebook and paperback through Amazon!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Excerpts and other Fun-ness.


 First, just a little reminder that the second book in The Crow Series, Shift, is now available for  pre-order through Amazon!

All the edits and tweaks are going well and the book is set for official publication on December 31st.

If you want a sneak peek at the new adventures of Silas and Denora, I've started posting some new excerpts in The Crow Series section of the blog. I'll be posting more in the near future, once all the publishing craziness is over and I can breath properly again.


*****

For now, here's a look at part of the first chapter to whet your appetite:
 
We crept along the length of the web, moving smoothly across the surface. All eight legs, graceful and strong. The web vibrated under our feet - a gentle shake, but we felt it like a beacon. We turned to where the small gnat shook and shivered some distance away.

Deftly maneuvering across the threads towards the struggling insect, I could almost taste its fear and a cold dread settled in my stomach. I knew what would come next.

I attempted to assert my will, turning our attention away, but the creature was stronger than I was. It paused, confused for only a moment, before quickening our strides towards the target.

The gnat wiggled, pulling frantically against the threads. I panned our eyes across the room, distracting the spider long enough for the gnat to pull its legs free, but the wings were stuck firm.

The web spread across a high corner of the living room ceiling. I could see the rows of brown cardboard boxes stacked throughout the room. Sienna lounged beside my human body where it stretched across the couch in dreamless sleep. The cat was busily grooming his orange striped fur, too preoccupied to wonder at my shallow breathing and blank staring eyes. A leather-bound book was left open across my chest. It was the only thing in the apartment that I hadn’t packed for the move.

The spider was fighting me for control. The more the gnat struggled, the stronger it became. The web beneath our feet hummed when the downstairs buzzer sounded, echoing throughout the space.

Soda was downstairs waiting with the moving van.

Out of time…

I focused my attention - funneling my consciousness back into my own body as the buzzer rang a second time.


Sienna yawned, stretching his paws out across my lap as I slowly blinked my eyes and the room came back into focus. I unsteadily rose to my feet, stashing the leather-bound book of spells under the couch cushions and made my way to the door. My head was pounding - a sharp pain digging in my temples.

Headache must be a side-effect of the spell.

I hit the intercom, allowing Soda upstairs, and rubbed my temples hard with my fingers, trying to make the pain subside.

“Hey Birthday Girl!” Soda greeted me with a crushing hug as he entered the apartment, “How’s it feel to finally be legal?” He was bundled up for the cold weather - a thick, black turtle-neck sweater beneath his jacket. His bright blue hair, the same brilliant color as his eyes, was tucked neatly beneath the green and blue plaid newsboy hat he had taken to wearing lately.

I blinked hard a few more times, knowing he was expecting an answer.

“Old and tired.” I mumbled, hugging him back softly. The pain in my head was making me feel dizzy. Soda’s eyes scanned the rows of boxes and dismantled furniture in the living room.

“Is all this going to your Great Aunt’s place?”

I nodded slowly - anything more forceful and I felt as if my brain were going to pop out of my skull.


Happy Reading :D

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Shift - Cover Reveal

ShiftFrontFinal
If you haven't seen it yet, this is the finished cover for Shift. The cover art was done by Tom McGill.

Shift is the second book in a four part urban fantasy / paranormal series set in New York City.

Here's a peek at the back cover:

shiftback

And the blurb:

Leena's revelation has changed everything.

Now that Denora knows his greatest secret, she's not sure that she can trust Silas. As more of her family's secrets unfold, she is more desperate than ever to rid her brothers of their curse. Trying to find a balance between her life with magic and her life before, things become complicated when she meets Conner and her relationship with Silas becomes strained.

Conner offers her everything she could want - excitement, attraction and a normal relationship - but people are not always as they appear, and Denora might find that normal isn't really what she needs.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Shift Pre-Order


The Pre-Order for the ebook version of Shift is now live on Amazon. I've set the pre-order price to $2.99 for those who want to reserve their ebook early. I've been looking into ways to set up a pre-order for the paperback, but as of right now, it looks like the paperbacks will either be released on December 31st with the official publication of Shift, or shortly thereafter, depending on how long it takes me to finish the formatting. I've been reading about ways to do a pre-order for paperbacks, but it is very complicated and time consuming so I think I'll save trying it out for a future book.

As stated in a previous post, I am going exclusive with Amazon for this book and trying out their KDP Select feature. If it doesn't work out, I'll be releasing it for other eReaders, but I've had so little success so far with the Nook and Smashwords that it just hasn't seemed to be worth the time and effort.


Pre-Order the Ebook
The cover showing for Shift is NOT the final cover (more like a placeholder while we get the final cover finished). Also, for some reason the amazon page is showing the blurb with html which I am trying to fix, and is listing the page numbers for the book as 38. I assure you that is NOT the correct pagecount, as this book is longer than the first.

Other than some small bumps and hiccups, the pre-order process wasn't all that much different or more difficult than the normal book set up. The only difference is that Amazon has now given me a deadline to upload the finished manuscript and cover - which I suppose is good, because now I really have to get my butt moving to get everything finished (I have to have it to them by December 21st.) If I don't meet their deadline, Amazon is going to punish me by taking away the pre-order feature from me for a whole year - yikes!

Also want to remind you guys that the Crow ebook is on sale for 99cents. I'm not sure yet how long I'll leave it at the sale price, so get your copy while it's cheap(er).