PARANORMAL PALOOZA GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate the arrival of 2014 and thank all of you—my beautiful, fun, amazing followers—some of my favorite authors and I have donated digital copies of our (YA and NA) paranormal books to create a giveaway of eleven thrilling books you won't want to put down!

INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY:

ONE and TWO by LeighAnn Kopans: When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak. It makes you a One.

Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover. If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances.

Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.

Merrin's mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub's internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it's more important to fly solo, or to save everything - and everyone - she loves.

 

INTO THE DEEP and HIDEN BENEATH by Lauryn April: Ivy Daniels is a high school junior still learning who she is. After almost drowning, Ivy finds herself with an ability she doesn’t want, an ability to uncover secrets which quickly begins to redefine what she thinks about the people around her as well as herself. Because of this ability, Ivy becomes the one thing that stands between an angry teen and the death of every student on campus. The only problem is she doesn’t know who wants everyone dead. Will she figure out whose secret is that they’re planning to blow up her school, or will she fail to find him in time? Through her search to do the right thing, Ivy discovers that knowing the thoughts and secrets of those around her may just tear her apart.

 

THE AWAKENING & OTHER STORIES and BENEATH MANHATTAN SKIES by Emma Meade: Put on the kettle, close the curtains and curl up by the fire. Dive into 8 short tales, each with a slice of the paranormal.

Ghost Story - Who is the shadow in the window of the abandoned house, and what or who is he waiting for?
The Awakening - It's time for Sabrina to wake up and face the light.
End of the Line - Cassie wants to die. When midnight rolls around, she stands on the tracks waiting for the train to come.
Milsa Loris - The once magnificent kingdom of Milsa Loris comes alive one night each winter. The King's witch is brewing up a little magic, sure to make the soup all the tastier.
The Old Vampire - Hailey spent her life dreaming of a dark prince falling in love with her. He never showed up, until now.
The Knocking - Alison's grandfather has one eye on the next life. After all, he's heard a lot of rapping at his door lately.
The Boy on the Beach - Kate's grandmother warns her about the boy with the green eyes. Will she pay heed?
Snowglobes- It's busy at Calvin's Cabins this Christmas. Eddie and Maggie are a young couple in trouble. Not to fear, Calvin is always ready to lend a hand.

 

THE DAY ZOMBIES RUINED MY PERFECTLY BORING LIFE and THE TIME ZOMBIES BECAME THE LEAST OF MY WORRIES by Jen Naumann: Emma Ferdig has heard the term “life sucks, then you die”, but she never knew she was supposed to take it quite so literally.

It’s senior year. Emma should be looking forward to escaping her mundane small town, and going on to college—finally. Her biggest worries should be the fact that she’s feeling something more for her life-long best friend Finn, and how she’s going to make things happen between them. But all her plans for a less-sucky future go out the window with the discovery of a seriously creepy woman in her backyard. As it turns out, zombies are real.

In the first book of the Boring Life Series, Emma’s life is turned upside down as she’s forced to leave everything behind, running off with Finn and a group of extremely odd misfits that include Finn’s jackhole brother Cash, and his unorthodox girlfriend Marley. In an instantaneous journey across the Midwest, they’ll learn horrifying secrets, trust the wrong people, and make deadly mistakes. As they do all then can to try and survive the impending apocalypse, Emma will realize that maybe her painfully boring life hadn’t been such a bad thing, after all.

 

HEART WAVES, BREAKING WAVES, and WAVES OF LOVE by Danielle Sibarium: Jenna Kingsley has a gift. She knows things. With a simple touch she can pick up personal information from jewelry or objects. While at a neighbor's party, a voice mesmerizes her. Jenna is momentarily frozen as a ring is placed in her hand. White electricity surges through her and a dire prediction is made. "It's like Romeo and Juliet. You're going to break my heart." From the moment they meet, Jenna is enchanted and entranced with Reece Walton. She's thrilled to learn he's spending the summer two houses away from hers. Every moment they spend together is magical. But she can't get the prediction out of her mind. As the summer draws to a close and secrets are revealed, can Jenna get past the fear of being left with a broken heart to live in the moment with Reece or will her fear of being hurt fulfill the prophecy?

 

The winner will be announced on this blog February 1st. Be sure to spread the word, and don't forget to come back each day of January to enter!

Good luck, and Happy New Year!

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Supernatural Author

Fall is the busiest time of the year for my family, so I apologize for the lack of posts! Between football, volleyball, dance, tae kwon do, confirmation, harvest, homecoming, and a million other things I won't bore you with, I've been crazy busy working on getting the sequel to The Day Zombies Ruined My Perfectly Boring Life out. The cover is ALMOST officially ready to be released (stay tuned!), first draft is off to the editor, and the trailer is done. As soon as winter arrives, I'll be ready to take a day or two off. And by that I mean a girls' trip to New York City in which I'm sure we'll walk a few hundred miles and get very little sleep. Did I mention I have ADD and seriously don't know how to sit still?

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to get through the Supernatural series with my daily workouts (sometimes seeing Sam shirtless is all the motivation a girl needs). Yesterday I watched episode 18 of season 4 (how many freaking episodes can they pack into a season???) in which the Winchester brothers meet an author who just happens to be chronicling their lives, word for word. I especially enjoyed this one as the poor author was freaked out, thinking everything he was writing was coming to life. At one point he stated something like, "I'm like a god. A really sick one." Okay so that wasn't an exact quote, but you get the idea.

It was pretty amusing to consider the possibility as an author, then it suddenly started to freak me out a little. If my books were to come to life, I would also be considered a bit sick, sadistic even. I would be responsible for hundreds of deaths! Then I remembered it's fiction, and told myself to chillax. Still, there were some amusing stereotypes of authors involved (guy in his robe, drinking all day long), and even a slam to M. Night Shyamalan that irritated me a bit as I happen to be a big fan. But this was probably my favorite episode to date, mostly because it hit home. If you're into anything paranormal and haven't watched Supernatural, I suggest you jump on Netflix and give it a try. If nothing else, Sam and Dean are certainly easy on the eyes.

Looking forward to a month filled with horror movie marathons, Halloween parties and best of all, NEW EPISODES OF THE WALKING DEAD!

Celebrate The Small Things Blog Hop

Happy Friday, everyone! WARNING: my post this week for VikLit's "celebrate the small things" blog hop is filled with so much awesomeness, your screen may explode.

1. My editor wasn't so fond of the ending for Cheating Death and I've gotten a lot of crap for some of my harsh endings, so I rewrote it into something tear-inducing. I was a total mess when I wrote it, but I think everyone will love it. Or at least I hope.

2. I made the book trailer for Cheating Death. And I'm so proud of my creation. It was a lot of work, but it definitely projects the feeling I was aiming for.

3. I organized and hopefully successfully launched the blog hop tour for Cheating Death. Thank you to all of those who are participating! Find more info on the blog hop here.

4. I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of being a published author, and I will have released four books in that time. Seriously, can I just maybe take a nap now?

5. I was hired by a fellow author to create her book cover. Together we chose the most stunning image and I can't wait to share it at some point! I swear to you I'm a high every time I work on it.

6. I lost another five pounds this week, which means I am up to ten pounds in just two weeks. Plus I'm that much closer to being able to eat pizza and drink beer again. On a limited basis, of course...there's no way I'm going to screw up my weight and have to do this all over again.

7. I was given the okay to start exercising again, and that means I'm back to watching Supernatural episodes! I can't believe I didn't get into this show sooner. The paranormal stories are just awesome. And I'm so in love with Dean, Sam and their crazy-hot dad. Jeffrey Dean Morgan's smile can melt my soul into a mere puddle.

8. I got my first pair of Uggs. I was tired of my feet getting cold in cheap boots from all this snow and my daughter was tired of me borrowing her Uggs all the time, so I used birthday money from my in-laws and bought my own. They are heavenly.

8. I finished John Green's Looking for Alaska. That man can write. But why does he feel the need to reduce his readers to a blubbering mess each time? Review to come on next week's video blog.

9. My husband and I painted the outdated den that's filled with a million nooks and crannies. We also put new flooring in it, therefore finishing one of the last rooms in the house that needs remodeling. We were so relieved and exhausted that we celebrated with a small glass of alcohol. And boy, did it taste delicious.

So that's about it for my awesome week. If you're a blogger and want to take the time to celebrate the small things in your life, be sure to sign up below!

Writer Wednesday: Emma Meade

I met the lovely and talented Emma Meade through Twitter quite some time back. Although separated by a very large pond, we discovered a mutual passion for anything paranormal/supernatural and I quickly became hooked on Emma's books. While busy preparing to release a sequel to her first vampire novel, Under the Desert Moon, she was kind enough to take a minute to answer a few questions. Because that's how awesome she is.

1. Your new release End of the Line was originally a short story that appeared in The Awakening & Other Stories (a collection of short stories). Are there any others that you think you may possibly turn into a full length novel at some point?

End of the Line is probably my favourite of the whole lot, though The Knocking is a close second. That one is about my Grandad and still gets me when I read it. I'd like to go back to Cassie's story (End of the Line) and see if I can figure out where she went from there. One day - hopefully I'll get back to her. I have so many stories, novels and half completed novels lying around the place, I want to get to them in 2013 and see what I can publish from that lot first.

2. Who or what inspires you as an author?

I get my inspiration from other books, TV shows, films and music - music plays a key role. I love to create imaginary worlds. Some of my characters feel like real people to me.

3. What are some of your favorite books?

I know a lot of people will roll their eyes, but I adore the Twilight books, especially the first one. I found Twilight quite randomly back in 2008. I'd been browsing YouTube looking up fan videos for various TV shows (as far as I can remember) and I stumbled upon a fan video based on the first book. I was so intrigued, I went Googling and hopped it to the nearest bookshop to buy Twilight. I fell in love instantly with Forks and the love story. It took me completely in and will probably always be among my favourite books.

Others I love include Dark Angel and Flowers in the Attic by Virginia Andrews, The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith, The Stand by Stephen King, anything written by Marian Keyes, and the Tegan's Blood books by L.H. Cosway. (The latter are both amazing Irish authors).

4. From what you've seen, is the publishing world in Ireland different from the United States?

I don't think it's very different. It's obviously on a much smaller scale over here. Some publishers in Ireland will still accept unsolicited manuscripts, but for the most part it's still better to have a literary agent if you're going the traditional route.

5. How many books have you written at this point in your career and what are you working on now?

Hmm, I need to think about this. I guess one novel published and a couple of short story collections. But I also have half a dozen finished and unfinished novels that have yet to be edited and prepared for publishing. I am trying to get into those later this year. Fingers crossed they can be polished enough to see the light of day.

6. If one of your books could be made into a movie, which one would you like to see it happen to and why?

I'd love to see Under the Desert Moon made into a film. I fell in love with the Arizona setting when I wrote it and the characters feel like a part of me. :)

7. What do you like to do in your "down" time?

I don't get much of that - but I guess I like to catch up on my favourite shows like The Walking Dead and The Vampire Diaries. Chilling out with a few friends on a Friday evening and catching up over wine and nibbles is always a good way of winding down. Then I have my two little nieces who don't know the meaning of giving Auntie Emma 'down time'.

8. What are some of your favorite movies and television shows?

Buffy is still my all time favourite TV show, closely followed by Roswell, Friends, The X-Files, The Vampire Diaries and Dark Angel. Movies would have to include Reality Bites, The Last of the Mohicans, The Lost Boys, The Goonies, Stand By Me, Dirty Dancing and Twilight.

9. Are you the type of author that listens to music while you write? If so, what type of music or what songs?

I have to have a quiet space to write usually but I definitely use music to inspire me to write. If I'm stuck or just not feeling it I just put on my iPod and go to the appropriate playlist. That gets the creative juices flowing. The stories about Alex and Tristan from the Night Sighs collection are all down to Bruce Springsteen. Without him, those characters wouldn't be alive.

10. If you could be a character in any book, who would you choose and why?

Jenny from The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith. She has a darkly gorgeous Shadow Man in love with her willing to give her the world, in fact all nine of them.

11. If the zombie apocalypse were to happen, who would you choose (real or fictional) for your survival team?

My Dad, Buffy, Willow, Rick and Daryl (The Walking Dead), Max and Alec (Dark Angel) and the aliens from Roswell. :)

To win a digital copy of Emma's collection of short stories, The Awakening & Other Stories, enter Rafflecopter giveaway below!

Ways to follow Emma: Twitter, Goodreads, her website

Where to find her book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble 

Emma Meade lives in Ireland and loves vampires, slayers, witches, ghosts, aliens & shadow men (or at least the youngest of the Shadow Men), and regular people who live extraordinary lives (think Slayerettes and you’re on the right track). Writing supernatural short stories, watching marathon re-runs of Buffy and attempting to complete novels are some of her favourite ways of escaping reality.

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Feeling Inspired

I've probably mentioned a few thousands times just how much music inspires me. I swear sometimes  there's even a soundtrack for my life (especially when I have music playing 24/7). Music can change your mood on a dime - it can make you feel sexy, happy, sad, scared, excited and even violent (that last one is maybe just me when the radio only gets country). When I think of vacations, I make a playlist. When I'm preparing for a special photo shoot, I make a playlist. There's a handful of songs for every occasion. I often think another great career choice for me would've been a musical director for movies.

While finishing up a total re-write of my fourth novel Cheating Death, I stumbled across two gems that really got my writing gears going.

Seven Devils by Florence + the Machine

A huge shout out to my Twitter friend Katrina for officially introducing me to this one. I'm pretty sure I've heard it before, but when I mentioned that I was looking for spooky music, she suggested this one. It totally nailed the sexy/spooky/haunting feel I was aiming for and I often play it on repeat while writing.

Gratuitous Sex and Violins by Christopher Lennertz (Supernatural soundtrack)

Honestly, I wish I could get my hands on this one for my book trailer. It's beautifully haunting with just a tint of sadness. I guess part of my love for the Supernatural series I only recently got into has to do with the excellent music selections.





So thanks to these two songs and a few others, I see the end in sight for book #4. Hopefully by the end of February I'll have a song picked out for the book trailer that's just as haunting and beautiful as these two. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for my new book cover, coming even sooner!

Supernatural: Super Awesome!

Confession: I only work out because I know two hot guys named Sam and Dean are waiting for me.

For those of you who don't watch Supernatural, those are the two brothers on the CW series who hunt paranormal myths and urban legends mostly across the Midwest. I don't watch the show just because they're hot (because if I admitted that it would make me a cougar and I'm not ready for that kind of commitment). I watch it because it's so awesome - like X-Files awesome. And yes, I know I'm really late to the party considering the series is in its 8th season.

I've known about this show for a long time and I usually watch a lot of the shows on CW. For some reason, however, I didn't try watching an episode until a later season and just couldn't get into it. I have a bad habit of giving up on shows if I don't watch them from the very beginning.

Enter Netflix.

For Christmas we bought a large flatscreen with internet for our theatre room, so I decided to give Netflix another try. There are probably a dozen series waiting in my queue, but I really wanted to give Supernatural a chance. From the first episode I was hooked. The brothers have a relationship that's amusing to watch, the paranormal stories are so right up my alley and there's just enough of the scare factor to keep me satisfied and not overly freaked out.

So every morning when I have a hard time crawling out of bed and getting on the elliptical machine, I think of Dean's beautiful eyes the creepy stories that are just waiting to be told and just like that, I'm up. If only the Winchester brothers could motivate me to do everything hard in life...maybe I could reward myself for cooking and cleaning each time with an episode.