Something About Courage and Tons of Giveaways

Last weekend, while in downtown Corpus Christi, we came across this little beauty.

It’s a real ship, yo. Actually, it’s an exact replica of Christopher Columbus’s ship, the Nina. (The Pinta and the Santa Maria are in dry dock at a nearby museum.) Check out how freakishly small this baby is. Or was.

The sad thing is I don’t remember how many people actually crewed this ship, but seriously, I don’t know where the people actually fit. So I stood there, staring at it, and wondering how the heck they sailed halfway across the world in it, and thinking about courage. These guys. They had no radios. No GPS or electronic anything to tell them they were sailing in the right direction. They didn’t even have engines. Their entire journey was dependent on wind.

And they sailed from Spain to America in this TINY, TINY ship.

I’m sorry, but those guys—serious, HUGE courage. HUGE.

I talk about doing hard things sometimes. About how tough the publishing industry has become, and how taking chances (in all aspects of life) is tricky and hard and freakishly scary. But guys, this tiny ship really gave me some perspective. I will never have to pack up my whole life and family and travel into the scariest unknown on a rickety little ship with no radio to call for help if we happen upon a kraken or something.

Kinda made the scary things in my life feel a little less scary.

What about you? What scary thing have you put in perspective recently? And how did you find courage?

Oh, and BTW, next week, WAY fun promotions happening:

Starting Monday, DESCENDANT will be on a very special promotion. From June 2-6, you can download it on Amazon for FREE. That’s right, free. (I am not an author who believes in giving away my art for free, so this is something that is unlikely to happen again soon—if ever.)

Also, I’m giving away three print copies of BIRTHRIGHT on Goodreads, and three digital copies here on the blog (check back here Monday for the Rafflecopter form). No purchase necessary, but I’d love a little help spreading the word, if you will.

At the same time, I’m running a Review Blast for BIRTHRIGHT, because that poor baby book needs a little love. So if you’ve read it (or if you read fast) be sure to leave a review, and then go here to enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

So yeah. Next week, be prepared. I will be all over the internet promoting. I hope you’ll forgive me. I promise, by the 7 or 8^th, I’ll be done for a bit. 

Fun Stuff Coming Up!

Guys! I feel like I have so much to tell you. It’s not that I’ve been keeping secrets, or taken a break from posting, but suddenly I have a list of THINGS to share.

When I was writing my posts for the week, I looked at my calendar and realized that June is over and July is upon us. And HolyCrapSummersHalfwayOver, and there are some FreakishlyCoolBeyondAwesome things coming up fast.

Like a really fun Birthday Bash promotion, in honor of my birthday, and also DESCENDANT being published, and in which you can buy my book and get free stuff, be entered to win free stuff, and then get more free stuff for participating. It runs July 1-9^th, and there are lots and lots of ways to participate, and did I mention free stuff and prizes? Yeah.  Maybe keep that in mind and if you’re planning to buy or gift a copy of DESCENDANT, you may want to wait until July 1st, and check back here for the details on how to get your free stuff. (I mentioned free stuff, right?)

Party. Balloons. Party favors. YAHOO!

A few weeks after that, I will be doing a little traveling, some of which *might* involve research for a manuscript which *might* be a sequel to DESCENDANT. This trip will also involve a few days in Utah, during which time I may set up a signing if I have time. (I’ll let you know!)

Also, have you ever attended WorldCON? If you’re at all into science fiction / fantasy of any kind (Star wars anyone? No? Star Trek maybe? Game of Thrones?) it’s pretty much a week of unbridled awesome. And this year, it’s called LoneStarCON, because it’s in San Antonio, which is only two hours away from me, which means I WILL SO BE THERE! So far, I am not planning on being on any panels or participating at all because I hesitated too long, but I don’t even care. I have my reservations and have paid my fee and at the end of August, I AM GOING. (So if you’ve ever considered attending, you should come this year and find me and say hi.)

What else? Oh yes! My friend Tova (the one who made my awesome DESCENDANT lip balms and body sprays) at The Way of the Witch has recently launched an Ailment app, which will is geared toward helping people find holistic, natural remedies to whatever ails you, kind of like Abby in DESCENDANT. Cool, right? I recommend checking that out if you’re at all into natural healing.

Okay, last thing. I have some seriously big goals for the next few months, and lots of important tasks vying for my attention, so aside from a few extra promotional posts, I’m going to cut back to one post a week until September.  And because it seems like a good time to experiment, I’m going to try posting that once-a-week post on Tuesdays. (Obviously, I’m feeling rebellious.)  

Thanks so much for reading and for understanding and for just being awesome. That’s all for now!

*Don’t forget to check back on July 1^st for an opportunity to participate in the Birthday Bash Promotion and get lots of free stuff!

TodayTodayToday TODAY!

It’s officially official. My book comes out today!

The sun will come out, tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow…I mean today, today TODAY…there’ll be sun…

Yeah, I’m singing. And now maybe you are too. I’d apologize, but…NAH! If you have a song stuck in your head, maybe you’ll remember who put it there in the first place, and maybe then you’ll remember why.

That person is obviously me. And the reason? MY BOOK IS OFFICIALLY BORN! Release day is here, and this is reason to celebrate. To throw confetti and dance around and eat nummy treats and all that. And that is what I will be doing today.

Also, packing like crazy. Because tomorrow I leave for Utah. So while I’m not doing a huge “MY BOOK IS OUT LET’S CELEBRATE” online party YET, I am still planning an online celebration in conjunction with the blog tour. There are prizes involved. And teasers. And playlists. And other fun things you won’t want to miss. This awesome celebration starts May 6^th and goes through the 31^st, so there will be lots of chances to win, and lots of things to see.

But also, also, ALSO…there’s this:

As soon as DESCENDANT reaches 50 reviews on AMAZON, I will post a deleted scene that is not in the book or on any website anywhere. At 75 reviews, I’ll post another one, and at 100 reviews, one more. If by some amazing chance, we pass 100 reviews and make it to 150, um, I might be forced to give away some really, really special stuff. Like doodled galleys, and swag, and maybe something else. Something big. Maybe I could spring for a Kindle? Maybe. 

(Also, I’d love to make that many reviews on Barnes and Noble and Goodreads, and if we reach 50, 75, and 100 there as well, I will be forced--FORCED, I say--to offer other fun prizes. Tip: your one review can be pasted into all three sites.)

Now, just to clarify, these aren’t just random scenes. They’re ones that are relevant to the story, original scenes that were ultimately cut from the book for various reasons, but that matter. I want to share them with readers, and I am not a patient person, so I’m going to make that offer now. The catch? All this has to happen by May 30th. *gulps* Yep, a time limit. Can we do it? I believe it can be done. 

So go forth and purchase, and be sure to REVIEW! (But please read the book first! One star reviews from people who haven’t read books are just plain mean.)  You can buy it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. (And psst! It's on sale!)   

Huge hugs! Thanks for celebrating with me today.

Let IT Begin

And by IT, I mean launch prep.

So a few things I feel I should make public. First, I hope all my friends who are not writers (and even those who are) will forgive me for any promotional efforts that might feel excessive or over the top. I promise I will do my best to not over do it, but I think everyone has a different threshold of tolerance. I hope I don't cross yours. (But I promise not every post will be about me and/or my book. Most won't, so please do keep coming back.)

Also, be prepared for an unusual number of contests, excerpts, and mentions of reviews, etc, because that is what writers do when their first book is released. And their second. Maybe even the third. Okay, let’s face it. We do it for all of them until we become well enough known that our work promotes itself. Yeah.

Now, this is where I could use your help. 

I’d like to hear about your favorite unique promotion for a book or product. For instance, Bree Despain gave away custom nail polish that matched the covers of The Dark Divine series. Elana Johnson gave away a limited number of exclusive custom art pieces by the talented Dustin Hansen when she released Surrender.

Those are two of my favorites. Now I’d like to hear yours.

And, um, if you share an idea (not T-shirts, bookmarks, or posters) and I do something similar, you will receive the first of that type of prize for helping me out. No drawing. No tweeting or sharing or anything else required. Deal? Okay.

And…GO!

Spring Things

I don’t know about you, but I’m really quite relieved to say goodbye to February and usher in March. It’s like the light at the end of the long winter tunnel. Also, this spring I am looking forward to lots of things. Spring THINGS!

Like my cover reveal. Because I’ve been waiting to show that off for weeks and weeks, and now I finally can!

And blog tour and book launch planning, searching for contest prizes, stuff like that. Because I like to give things away, and I am ridiculously excited about the release of DESCENDANT and can’t wait to share it with the world.

And like spring break. Wherein we take our kids and drive a few hours to Galveston, TX, where there is a cruise port, and we board a ginormous ship and leave all our troubles behind for a week. (Yes, it’s a Carnival Ship, YES, we were scheduled to sail on the Triumph and had to change our reservation, and no, we are not nervous to sail on the Magic, because we’ve cruised before and we know that what happened a couple weeks ago is not something that happens often. It’s like flying on a plane. Crashes happen so rarely that when they do, it’s BIG news. But there are thousands of planes taking flight every single day.)

I am also anxious for spring flowers and planting season and sea turtle hatching season. (Oh my goodness, there’s a national beach near me where this is a seasonal thing and you can go watch the baby turtles waddle out to sea. True story!) And dolphins in the harbor and baby bunnies which show up randomly on my front lawn.

And Cadbury Mini Eggs, because, well, who isn’t excited about those?

Now it’s your turn. What are you most excited about this spring?