Kiya Blog Tour: Historical New Adult

To day my friend Katie Hamstead is taking over my blog to talk to you about New Adult in Historical Fiction. Her novel, KIYA: HOPE OF THE PHARAOH takes New Adult back to ancient Egypt. Take it away Katie!

New Adult is a contemporary heavy genre. In this rising new category of books, we see mostly college kids, and some urban fantasy, maybe a dystopian. But History hasn’t really taken much of a place in the New Adult ranks.

The truth is, I had no idea what New Adult was when I wrote Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh, and when I started querying it, I called it Young Adult because it really didn’t feel like an Adult book. Naomi/Kiya is only eighteen in the beginning, so her voice starts out quite young.

But, when I began querying, I noticed a new category of books people were talking about; New Adult. Eighteen to twenty-something protagonists leading the way. So, with my rejections mounting because she got married, and people had babies, and the moderately mature themes, I decided to bump it up to New Adult.

Best decision of my life. Suddenly, Kiya wasn’t getting rejected. Suddenly I was getting full requests. Then, I got my offer.

I hope people see New Adult in the same light as Young Adult, an age group category, and allow it to expand into all genres. I’d love to see more historical New Adult as writers explore humanity in all spheres. Kiya is meant to touch on the silent voices of women thousands of years ago who were expected to have babies and raise children, nothing else, but they still had thoughts and feelings which burned inside them just like women today.

 

 

Oh yes, Kiya. Make him love you, make him hold you in his highest regard....

 

When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…

The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.

Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Neferitit who is out for blood.

 

Blog - http://kjhstories.blogspot.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Katie-Hamsteads-Stories/247238178656484

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16163811-kiya

Twitter - @katieteller1

Purchase links:

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/KIYA-Hope-Pharaoh-ebook/dp/B00CL19O4E/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

B&N - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115222092?ean=9781620072479

Kobo - http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/KIYA-Hope-of-the-Pharaoh/book-UEJu3ZkRU0mQbeZ2dn-1bA/page1.html?s=hbNCyCarDkyw9AyXhJFcbQ&r=1

Cover Reveal: Endre - Genre NA feature Norse Mythology!

NA is here to stay and genre NA is fast rising in popularity. So here's a cover reveal for the sequel for a hot genre NA featuring Norse Mythology.

Endre

by ST Bende

Book II of The Elsker Saga

 

Title: Endre (Book II in the Elsker Saga)

Author: ST Bende

Release Date: September 23, 2013

Publisher: Entranced Publishing

Genre: New Adult paranormal romance

 

 

 

Sometimes, finding your destiny means doing the exact opposite of what The Fates have planned.

Winning the heart of an immortal assassin was a dream come true for Kristia Tostenson. Now she's knee deep in wedding plans, goddess lessons, and stolen kisses. But her decision to become immortal could end in heartbreak -- not only for Kristia, but for the god who loves her. Because while Ull would do anything to protect his bride, even the God of Winter is powerless against the Norse apocalypse. Ragnarok is coming. And the gods aren't even close to ready.

 

About the Author:

Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia, ST Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s Coffee) and Europe… where she became overly fond of the musical Cats. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired the ELSKER series. She hopes her characters make you smile and that one day pastries will be considered a health food.

 

You can follow ST Bende on Twitter @stbende, or send an e-mail to stbende@gmail.com.

 

Author social media links

Blog: http://stbende.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/stbende

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stbende or @stbende

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/stbende/

 

 

 

ELSKER

by ST Bende

Book I of The Elsker Saga

 

Release Date: April 22, 2013

Length: 61,000 words

Publisher: Entranced Publishing, Blush

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Blurb:

Kristia Tostenson prefers Earl Grey to Grey Goose and book clubs to nightclubs, but when she transfers from her one-stoplight town to Cardiff University in Wales she falls in love with Ull Myhr. Her new boyfriend isn’t exactly what she was expecting. He’s an honest-to-goodness Norse God — an immortal assassin fated to die at Ragnarok, the battle destined to destroy Asgard and Earth. Kristia’s crazy visions are the only thing that can save their realms.

Her orderly life just got very messy.

 

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MaJIgkk-CI

 

Buy Links:

 

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Elsker/book-h7Bk69_5n06_14jqUhk-Cg/page1.html?s=MDjO03uxek-K4vwciTWJxA&r=1

 

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Elsker-The-Saga-ebook/dp/B00CGL33S2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366782935&sr=8-1&keywords=elsker

 

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elsker-st-bende/1115161284?ean=2940016665375

 

Entranced: http://www.entrancedpublishing.com/imprints/blush/elsker/

Cover Reveal: This Love by Nazarea Andrews

I am so happy to be hosting a cover reveal for my friend Nazarea Andrews. Check out her gorgeous cover!

This Love

By

Nazarea Andrews

Mel Stevens of The Illustrated Author created the cover art.

 

She wants a summer job and a ride to a wedding.
He wants an assistant and a distraction from the mess his life has become.
They didn't know they needed each other.

Avery Emili needs two grand. Two grand and a plane ticket--her sister is counting on her to get to Jamaica for the wedding. But the semester is over, and tutoring college freshman and high school students has dried up until the fall.

Atticus Grimes needs help--the messy split with his wife left the twenty-eight year old professor scrambling to keep things together as the semester winds down. Now he's got a research grant he has to actually do research for and all he wants to do is drown himself in a tall bottle of bourbon.
When Avery sees his ad for an assistant, all she's thinking is a summer job. But as they spend time together, in the office and out, both of them begin to realize something is there. Something that can't happen--he's a professor and she's a student. And both of them have histories, pasts that won’t let go. Can two broken people pulled apart by expectations find a way to be whole?

 

Coming JUNE 2013

Add it to your to-read list on Goodreads!

 

About the Author:

Nazarea Andrews is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. She loves chocolate and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, and overgrown dog.

You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

 Enter to win an ARC of This Love

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

See what my book will look like aka SLEEPER Cover Reveal

A few years ago I was drifting off to sleep and I let my mind wander. A girl popped into my head. She a gorgeous African-American girl who was the main character in the story what was evolving in my mind. Now she's on a cover!

So here it is, my gorgeous cover for SLEEPER.

Sleeper Blurb:
After a life saving heart transplant, eighteen-year-old Mishca Richardson is plagued by nightmares and an urgent desire to find her birth parents, which she puts down to post-operation depression. But her new heart seems to bring more than a second chance at life in the form of speed, strength and love at first sight.

Add it on Goodreads here!

About Moi!

I'm a writer from Mackay in Queensland, Australia with short stories published in anthologies and was also runner-up in the Australian Literary Review's Young Adult short story contest with KARMA. By day I'm a mild-mannered a public relations executive (okay, maybe not so mild) and by night I transform into a crime fighter, no wait that's not right. By night I write weird fiction and soulful contemporaries while my hubby, two sons and cat are fast asleep.

You can find me on
Facebook Twitter
On the Web and 
In the  Blogosphere. 

My cover captures the essence of the story beautifully and I love it. Hopefully you do to. Feel free to show my cover artist with love in the comment section for being so talented.

Distract me with LOL Cats!

Four days until Sleeper cover reveal so I thought I needed some Literary LOL Cats to distract me. Today's theme is - Movie adaptions of books.

ENJOY!

 

 

Double Cover Reveal!

I am so happy fo show you two of the coolest Entranced covers EVER in today's double cover reveal for Awakenings by Pitch Wars success story J.E Shannon and Adorned by Georgeann Swiger.
 
Drum roll.....
 

 

 

 
 
Aren't they GORGEOUS!
 
So here's the deets:
 

Awakenings will be available August 26!

Evie Shepard's nightmare begins when she finds herself buried alive, with no idea how she got that way. As she struggles to remember what happened to her, she begins to notice changes about herself. Her senses are heightened, her movements are quicker, she is incredibly strong....her heartbeat has stopped. It's then she makes a disturbing discovery. She wasn't buried alive. She was murdered. Somehow she has come back...

And she wants revenge.

 

Awakenings on Goodreads:

 

About the Author   



J. E. Shannon currently lives in Florida, but is a Missouri native. She spends most of her time reading, writing, and taking care of her small child and two crazy dogs.  

You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook or at her blog.

 
 

Adorned will be available November 4!

When seventeen-year-old Anya finds out she’s actually an angel being trained to protect humanity, she discovers that becoming an angel has nothing to do with wings and haloes. For Anya, becoming an angel has to do with death—her death.

Micah, the angelic soldier ordered to protect her until she transitions from human to angel, promises her death will be a glorious experience as long as she follows his rules. But getting Anya through this life and to the next isn’t as simple as Micah expects. His job becomes even more difficult after he unwittingly performs a miracle that exposes Anya’s hidden angelic light. 

With her secret out, Hell’s legions begin targeting her. Unfortunately, Hell’s minions are the least of Micah’s worries. He’s more concerned about the forbidden human emotions he’s developed toward Anya.  Even more troubling, is she seems to love him too. And giving in to those feelings, could mean dire consequences for them both.

About the Author

Georgeann Swiger earned her degree in journalism from West Virginia University, and then spent five years as an anchor/reporter at WBOY-TV in Clarksburg, WV.  After having children, she left television news to be a stay at home mom. During that time, she discovered creative writing was more fun than writing about real life tragedy.  Imagining interesting characters and having them come to life on the page is now her passion. When she’s not writing, she works as a substitute teacher.  She lives in Reedsville, West Virginia with her husband, two kids, a beagle dog and a temperamental cat who tries to rule the house.

You can find her at her Website as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

 

So... tell me what you think of these gorgeous covers and the stories!

 
 

 
 
 

Effective #FF tweets

Hash tags are a fantastic Twitter tool and Follow Friday, aka #FF, is a fantastic way to share the love and get your twitter friends some followers.

But it's one of the hash tags that I believe is used the least effectively. Clumping a large group of people together with a #FF tacked on is hardly going to inspire your followers to start following one of your recommendations. And retweeting a group like that tends to frustrate people as it clogs up @ streams. And if you're retweeting it to show your followers you have a #FF I would ask why? They're already following you.

I try to make my #FF tweets meaningful and to justify to my followers why I believe the person I'm tweeting about is worth a follow. I try to minimise how many people I put into a #FF tweet, with the exception of my group blogs as their involvement in the blog is the reason.

So here's some of my favourites from today:

Remember - give your followers a reason why they would find your #FF recommendations interesting and you're more likely to share the love successfully and possibly get cool #FFs in return.

So what are some of your favourite #FFs that have been about you? And what makes you click on a #FF recommendation?

Cover Reveal Sneak Peek and Sign Up Sheet

It's about a week until my full cover reveal, and I'm so excited. I'm very grateful to all my blogger, twitter, writer and Inkpop friends who have signed up so far. If you haven't gotten in on the action yet, you can sign up here!

SLEEPER is my debut novel and is a New Adult Speculative Fiction. I'm excited that Entranced publishing has faith that New Adult is more than just sexed up YA contemporary.

About Sleeper

After a life saving heart transplant, eighteen-year-old Mishca Richardson is plagued by nightmares and an urgent desire to find her birth parents, which she puts down to post-operation depression. But her new heart seems to bring more than a second chance at life in the form of speed, strength and love at first sight.

 About me:

Sharon is a writer from Mackay in Queensland, Australia who has short stories published in anthologies and was also runner-up in the Australian Literary Review’s Young Adult short story contest with Karma. By day she is a public relations executive and by night she writes weird fiction and soulful contemporaries while her husband, two sons and cat are fast asleep.

The cover

This is just a small part of the gorgeous cover, but hopefully it'll tempt you to want to see more. A bonus is everyone involved in the cover reveal get to see it early. And you can see for yourself why people have been so blown away by it so far.

 

 

Here's some things about the cover:

• It blasts away the YA and NA cover trends of the last year (there's no unnecessary formal dress, no red writing, no face so obscured that you don't no what they look like).
• The MC looks how the MC should look! Mishca is of African-American descent and the model matches - no white wash!
• It has a distinctive Aussie flavour to it - which I love seeing as the novel is set in Australia.
• It's a cover that will mean a lot more to you after you've finished the book as the symbolism is perfect.

So if you have a blog or a Tumblr then you can sign up to be part of the reveal, and if you've got Twitter or Facebook then you can share the reveal post on Friday, May 3.

Cover Reveal for Sacrifice + Giveaway

BOOK AND AUTHOR INFO:

 

Sacrifice – A Fall For Me Prequel by K.A. Last

Series: The Tate Chronicles, #0.5
Publication date: May, 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

Seth’s heart is breaking. He knows his decision will hurt the one person he keeps breathing for, but he can’t take it anymore. He can’t be near Grace knowing she will always be just out of reach.

Grace is oblivious to Seth’s turmoil. She loves him unconditionally, but not in the way he wants. They both know that in Heaven physical love is forbidden, and to break the rules is to defy everything they’ve ever been taught.

When Grace and Seth are sent on a mission to save a young mother and her unborn child, Grace must face the fact that Seth won’t be returning home. She doesn’t understand Seth’s decision and hates him for it. But what neither of them realise is how big a part that single decision will play in shaping their entire future.

What would you sacrifice for the one you love?

Add SACRIIFICE on Goodreads and Book 1: Fall for Me 

AUTHOR BIO
K. A. Last was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and moved to Sydney with her parents and older brother when she was eight. Artistic and creative by nature, she studied Graphic Design and graduated with an Advanced Diploma. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she concentrated on her career before settling into family life. Blessed with a vivid imagination, she began writing to let off creative steam, and fell in love with it. She now resides in a peaceful leafy suburb north of Sydney with her husband, their two children and a rabbit named Twitch.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win a Kindle or you could also get IN STONE

IN STONE eBook + Kindle Fire Giveaway

 

THAT'S RIGHT! THIS BOOK HAS GARGOYLES! SQUEE!!

 

IN STONE will be available July 29!

Beau Baily is suffering from a post break-up meltdown when she happens across a knife in her local park and takes it home. Less than a week later the new boy in school has her trapped in an alley; he's sprouted horns and is going to kill boy unless she hands over the knife.

Until Eighteenth Century gargoyle, Jack shows up and saves her.

Jack has woken from a century long slumber to tell Beau that she's accidentally been drafted into a power struggle between two immortal races: Demons and Gargoyles. The knife she picked up is the only one in existence capable of killing immortals and they'll tear the world apart to get it back. To draw the warring immortals away from her home, Beau decides go with Jack to Bulgaria in search of the mind-bending realm known as the Underworld, a place where they'll hopefully be able to destroy the knife and prevent all hell from breaking loose. That is providing they can outrun the demons that are chasing them. .

 

About the Author

 

 Louise is a graduate of Garstang Community Academy, currently studying for a BA (Hons) in English language and literature with special emphasis on creative writing. YA aficionado. Brit bird. Film Nerd. Identical twin. Junk Food enthusiast. Rumoured Pink Power Ranger. Zombie apocalypse survivor. Avid collector of book boyfriends.

 

You can find Louise on her Blog, on Twitter and on Facebook where she's anything but as still as a stone gargoyle.  

Giveaway – Open Internationally

 

To celebrate her upcoming release, Louise is giving away an ecopy of IN STONE and a Kindle Fire to one lucky reader! One runner-up will also win an ecopy of IN STONE. UK and US residents are eligible to win the Kindle Fire. If you live outside the UK or US and your name is drawn, you will receive an Amazon gift card valued at £160 (GBP) instead. The winners will be announced July 29. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

Best YA Covers nomination

I'll be hosting a poll on Aussie Owned and Read for the best YA cover on April 25. As it's ANZAC

day I'll be doing an Australian specific poll as well as an international poll.

Simply fill out this form to nominate a cover. Remember to include a link for me to the graphic so I know I'm getting the right version.

Anyone can nominate! So get cracking!

What I did when I was made an offer.

Most of my Twitter and Facebook friends already know this, but my New Adult Speculative Fiction SLEEPER is being published by Entranced Publishing in December 2013.

The announcement came during Pitch Madness so I couldn't blog about it. But I making up for lot time now.

So I actually got the offer in January, but because I had multiple submissions I had to wait for them all to come back and then work out what I was doing.

I had queried Eden Plantz specifically as her wish list at the time fitted my story. Naturally, I started stalking her on Twitter. I saw a tweet that read she was going to make an author very happy, but her internet was down. Of course I thought there was no way it would be me as I'd not long sent in my submission. The next day I sent out a new lot of queries and literally minutes after I had I had an email for Eden making an offer.

And I kinda went like this:

Then a little bit of this:

And some of this:

So then there was a waiting game as those queries I'd just sent off resulted in swiftly requests for fulls as well. So it ended up being a couple of months between the offer and me being able to sign and announce it.

After Eden had offered, a very persistent Ashley Christman insisted that I was perfect for their Marketing Director Role so now I'm on both sides of the publishing world.

I'm loving the close knit family feel of Entranced and I can't wait to get into edits with my editor.

I want to thank everyone who supported me, especially the Sommies - you guys rock.

Ettiquette for authors after you've signed

I've seen a lot of posts out there around how authors should behave before they've signed with an agent or a publisher, but there's no much around after you've signed, with the exception of the whole DON'T RESPOND TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS.

So here's some pointers on what you need to do once you've signed.

Know your industry: Understand how publishing works, be informed and know your role in this. (You should have done this already, but if you haven't then catch up).

Know when to announce: Whether you've sign with an agent or a publisher ,it's not okay for you to announce it until you're told you can. This is especially the case for publishers as a lot of them will want the first announcement to be on Publishers Market.

Understand editors have a job to do: They're not trying to destroy your literary baby. It takes a village to publish a book. Editors are there because of their experience and knowledge. They can see things that are needed that you can't and will also consider commercial factors that you've never even thought of. Work with them, not against them.

Respect social media site guidelines: Goodreads has Guidelines for Authors so make sure you read them and behave accordingly on the site.

Don't insult your agent/editor/publisher online: Even little comments complaining about edits, formatting or errors can put people's noses out. I have a friend who had their Big Six publisher make a huge error in her book. It really upset her. But I never saw her talk about it online at all. I also know of a case where an author's publisher didn't fulfil their marketing obligations and the author didn't do a peep online. It reflects poorly on you and your publisher.

Remember, agents have put their faith in you and are your advocates. Even if they're not performing for you they way you want, online isn't the place to vent. If you want to get a new agent, chances are they'll check your social media and if they see you going off about agents and publishers then it's not going to be in your favour.

Don't insult potential readers: Don't speak badly of other genres and categories - your readers could like those too. I've seen an author insult potential readers by degrading YA (why would you turn your nose up at readers of the best selling category?!).

Be understanding: Things happen. To memory I'm yet to read an eBook that hasn't had a mistake in it. Even Big Six published ones. Just let your agent/editor know and they'll deal with it.

Be aware of your obligations: There's an expectation for authors to do their lion's share of the publicist. Be ready for it and deliver. You'll have deadlines to meet. Publishing is a time sensitive industry so you need to be on the ball.

In doing some research for this article I found this great site, Pocketful of Books, that has a section dedicated to Bad Author Behaviour. It highlights some of the various ways authors have done themselves damage with poor online behaviour. Do yourself a favour, behave on line and don't get added to this list.

And here's a list for authors on how not to behave whether agented or unagented, published or unpublished.

The key to remember is online you are very visible. Someone is always watching. People will see your posts and it's likely to get back to your editor or agent. Even if you delete, people can screen shot it before you do. This has happened many times.

If you behave poorly regularly and give your agent or publisher a bad reputation, you may find yourself without and agent or a publisher. Once you have a reputation like that it's hard to erase.

Publishing is a very small industry, so play nice.