Farewell

Posted on October 5, 2012 by | Comments Off

Last time I posted, I mentioned there were changes planned for this blog. Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t work out as planned. Life gets in the way. Fortunately for some of us, so does success.

Those of us remaining discussed our options for a while, and came to the conclusion that none of us really have time to use this blog effectively. We’re all at different places in our writing lives than we were when we started here, and sometimes moving on means leaving things behind.

We’d like to thank everyone who followed the blog and commented on the posts, and I’d like to thank my fellow YA Beyonders for including me in their group. The blog is now closed.

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Party Time!

Posted on September 28, 2012 by | 45 Comments

Welcome to the Launch Party for WANING MOON, Book One in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy.

I’m so happy you stopped by to celebrate with me. I’ll be honest; I haven’t really had a launch party before. I know, isn’t that crazy? This is my fourth book release in a year and I haven’t taken time to properly celebrate my accomplishment. Well, today’s the day, and I’m glad to share it with all of you! 

Today also marks my last official post here at YA Beyond. I’ll miss hanging out with my gal pals here, but duty calls and I have two more books to write for the trilogy, so my Healthy Teen Tips Friday will be on hiatus.  Don’t worry though, I’ll have a page on my website with links to my Healthy Teen Tips.

I have lots of fun planned, so check out some of the links on this page and leave a message below to enter into the random drawings. I’ll pick at least five winners throughout the day. Included in the gifts and prizes today are e-book copies of WANING MOON, signed hardcopies of the book, e-copies of SOUL REDEMPTION, the short story prequel to the trilogy, and a $25 Amazon gift card. I also have some cool WANING MOON swag to give away.

First things first. If you haven’t picked up your copy of the book and plan to do so, all the buy links can be found on my Homepage. While you’re on the book’s Amazon or BN page, please click the “like” button and scroll down to where you see the “tags.” You can click on the boxes next to the words there that describe the book and help others find it. It only takes a sec. I appreciate that, thanks! 

Ways to win today!

1) 10 at 10-The first ten people to buy the book at 10:00 a.m. EST will receive a signed hardcopy of WANING MOON and a digital copy of SOUL REDEMPTION for FREE! To register your purchase and be considered, go to the contest page on my website, fill in your information and put the time you bought the book in the message section.

2) The next thirty buyers after that, who register on my contest page will receive an e-book copy of SOUL REDEMPTION, a creepy short story about Lily’s brother Zeph. In Soul Redemption Zeph has to come to terms with his ability to take life with a touch—while still holding onto his humanity—a tough dilemma for a thirteen-year-old. For a first chapter peek of SOUL REDEMPTION, pop on over to Figment.com. I hope you like it!

3) Leave a comment below and your name will be entered to win the above mentioned prizes. I’ll pick five winners throughout the day, (maybe more!) so make sure you drop a comment below.

I’ll be posting excerpts from WANING MOON throughout the day as well. Here’s a brief synopsis of the book:

          In the year 2057, in a post-apocalyptic world where a polar shift threatens the survivors of a widespread pandemic with extinction, sixteen-year-old genetically enhanced Lily Carmichael has more immediate problems. Her uncle is dying of cancer and her healing abilities are ineffective against the blood ties that bind them. In order to find a cure, Lily must leave the protection of her quiet town and journey to the trading city of Albany, all while avoiding the Industry, an agency that would like nothing better than to study and exploit her abilities.

 Seventeen-year-old Will Callahan has been searching for his father since severe storms blasted through the Midwest, killing his mother and sister. When he learns that his father may be in the city, he catches a ride with Lily, a girl who has come to his rescue more than once. As the two embark on a dangerous journey, the tension between them grows. But the secrets Will’s keeping could put Lily in far more danger than traveling to the city with him, and if he was any kind of man, he would have told her to run the minute she found him.

To read the first chapter of WANING MOON, listen to my character’s playlist, or see who I would cast in WANING MOON, the movie, check out The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael page of my website.

More exciting news is that I will be on a blog tour for the next month. That’s right, 18 sites between October 1st and the 31st. I’ll be answering interview questions, talking about YA lit, why I think Dystopian is so hot, and letting readers take a peek inside an indie author’s life. You can find all of my coming events here at Goddess Fish promotions, or check the calendar page of my website.

Now kick back and have a chocolate malt or a margarita—whatever floats your boat.

 

 

Play along if I break into song or start tossing trivia out there. I can totally be persuaded to give away extras!

 

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Posted in adults reading YA, Contest, Indie authors, PJ Sharon, YA Lit

Changes Are Afoot

Posted on September 25, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Though my feet haven’t actually changed…

Beginning next week, on October 1, things will be changing a bit around this blog. We’ll be saying goodbye to PJ Sharon–though I hope she’ll come back to visit! And we’ll be reconfiguring the posting schedule.

We haven’t finalized anything yet, so I can’t go into too much detail, but I just wanted to give readers a heads-up because I’m like that…and because I have a cold and a sprained neck (don’t ask), so between cold-brain, pain, and medication, I couldn’t think of anything else to blog about.

Have a great week!

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Posted on September 21, 2012 by | 6 Comments

With October right around the corner, I thought I would share a creepy Middle Grade novel by the awesomely talented, J.D. Gordon. 

Here’s the low down on FIELD OF SCREAMS.

While baseball is the game of the day for Andy Biggs, an evil force lurks beneath the old Maryknoll Stadium. A ghostly witch doctor is turning teens into zombies to help summon the demon Jumlin into humanity. It’s up to Andy and his band of paranormal sidekicks to save the world and thwart the witch doctor and even Jumlin himself!

This is what reviewers had to say:

“The perfect follow-up to Kritterkreep, Field of Screams is the book you’ll find your child reading under the bedcovers with a flashlight. And if truth be known, you’ll be reading it when they’re done.”

— Kerry Frey, author of Buried Lie: A Young Ace Roberts Adventure

“Jimmy has taken every boy’s baseball fantasy of being in the big game and taken it to an entirely different world!”

— Dan Griffin, president, Glen Ellyn Little League

“Andy Biggs and his best friend, Juan, are at it again, fighting off a triple play of zombies, ghosts and evil spirits. But will they be able to save the girl, save the day and still save the game?”

— Lisa Motola Hudon, author of Watch Your Step At The Wishing Well and Just Another Day In Paradise

Buy Links for FIELD OF SCREAMS:

http://www.amazon.com/Field-Screams-J-D Gordon/dp/1930076142/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341550396&sr=1-4&keywords=field+of+screams

J.D. (Jimmy) Gordon, the author of this intriguingly spooky tale was a firefighter and paramedic who was born and raised in Chicago, where he developed a taste for the finer things that the Windy City has to offer – pan pizza, live blues and the Cubs.

Jimmy dropped into the world of literature, literally. After falling off a train and breaking his knee, he had to spend quite a bit of time recuperating. While visiting the firehouse his peers asked what he planned to with all that time away. This was when Jimmy said the words that he now claims to have changed his life. “I should write a book.”

Despite some skepticism from his peers (“You don’t even use punctuation on your run reports!”), he completed a novel, Island Bound, and made it a point to use punctuation throughout.

Another injury, sustained on the job, ended his career in the fire service. Aside from writing, Gordon spends his Spring and Summer as an umpire for high school and youth baseball. He now lives with his wife and children in Glen Ellyn IL, a suburb of Chicago.

If you’d like to check out J.D.’s website: www.jimmygwrites.com

You can follow J.D. on Facebook:

 http://www.facebook.com/jimmy.radzinskijdgordon?ref=tn_tnmn

Jimmy has been in and out of the hospital, so comments may not get an immediate response, but I’m sure he would love to hear what you think about his book and any well-wishes are welcomed.
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Posted in adults reading YA, Book Review, Guest Author, Indie authors, PJ Sharon, sports

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Cover Reveal!

Posted on September 18, 2012 by | 3 Comments

This book isn’t young adult, but it is *appropriate* for teen readers (it contains some strong language and some sexual references and innuendo; consider yourself warned). My first non-YA urban fantasy novel, Vengeance Is Sweet, will be out very soon from MuseItUp Publishing, and is available for pre-order now here.

Here’s the cover and blurb:

Omara is a demon of vengeance. Working for Hell, she deals with humans who have killed or harmed children and other innocents. When she bends the rules once too often, Omara is placed on probation, but is brought back to work after a battle between two factions, one of which wants to destroy the largest human city to prove a point, wipes out nearly half the vengeance department.
Omara’s first assignment after probation is to “venge” Alejandro Ruiz, a man who allegedly drove his ex-wife to suicide. But when Omara visits the human world to observe Alex, she realizes he is innocent. With the help of her friend Ghast, an angel who didn’t so much fall as choose to relocate, Omara must prove Alex’s innocence to save him and his six-year-old daughter Keeley–a child who holds the key to the survival of humanity.

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Posted in Jo Ramsey

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