LOOKIE-LOOKIE! ETERNAL DIGI-GOODIES!

As you all probably know by now, my latest Holloway Pack Prequel novella, Eternal is due to hit E-Readers on July 2nd 2012.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Yep, in less than 22 weeks, readers will be able to get their hands on this scrummilicious tale of eternal love and wolfie-goodness.

Unlike the first in the prequel-duo, however, Eternal is brought to readers through Jem’s POV. Nothing quite like getting a healthy dose of Seanie-baby through the female eye, eh?

And if July 2nd suddenly seems to far away now I’ve baited you with what’s in store, how about I placate you with a handful of Eternal goodies?

Like ….

Eternal Printable Bookmarks (front & back images shown)

OR … how about ….

An Eternal desktop wallpaper, Eternal button, Eternal banner, or Eternal email signature?

All of these are now available for downloading through the Extras page of my website. So if any take your fancy, you need only pop on over to HERE!

Enjoy!

THE ‘WHAT IF’ GAME! #whatifgame

First up apologies for leaving it so long before bringing you this month’s ‘what if’ game. Due to a mega-busy blogging schedule I didn’t think I’d have time, and I (if I’m honest) even considered axing them due to time constraints. But then I received a comment a week or so ago on an earlier what-if game post that moved me, and then I received a blog award and my what-if game posts seemed to be what earned me the award … and so I’m now eating humble pie and delivering what I hould have already delivered.

So, that said, here we go …

Rules are simple: All you have to do is read the below scenario, then imagine it is YOURSELF in there and leave a comment detailing what YOU would do. Not written as a character. But written as yourself.

Okay? Ready?

Here’s your scenario:

Mother said I should never open the box.

Okay, not strictly true.

Mother said I should never open the box … except in extreme circumstances.

I haven’t seen Mother for 15 days.

Not since those … creatures attacked the house. Not since she made me lock myself in the cellar … with the box … and told me not to come out.

Does this count as an extreme circumstance?

The growl of my stomach, the soreness of my lips, the dry desert, which used be my throat, refusing to allow more than one-syllable-sounds to escape … they all argue that if it isn’t an extreme circumstance already then it soon will be.

The surface of the box glides beneath my fingertips that have already gone numb. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need touch to know of the walnut veneer, the gold clasp shaped like a fist that’s afraid to lose hold, the amethyst-looking gemstones embedded into the outside edge of the lid—even in the pitch black, with only the luminous display of my watch as company, my memory won’t allow me to forget what it looks like.

I listen one more time. Just in case. But no noise greets me. Not even from beyond the house.

‘I’m sorry, Mother,’ I whisper inside my mind. ‘I have no choice.’

With fingers too shaky from lack of fuel to fully function, I locate the tiny metallic hand … and with one twist, the lid is released …

Annnnd, the floor is yours. What’s in the box? What happens next?

Feel free to join in and create your own ‘what-if’s. Simply use the hashtag for posting to Twitter.

Available at the following outlets:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

WHSmith & Waterstones

FREEVIEW FRIDAY {INSTINCT} #FVF

Happy Friday and welcome to another day of snippet sharing. If you recall last week, we saw Sean luring Jem into the forest–the first of many ventures shared beneath the boughs. This week’s snippet is another moment spent with Sean & Jem, and for those who haven’t figured it out, we finally gain an understanding of where Jem gets her name from–right after Jem reminds Sean (yet again) that she’d prefer to be called Miss Stonehouse. From my newly released novella Instinct–A Holloway pack Prequel (told from Sean Holloway’s PoV):

“I have a preference for Jem. It has a uniqueness which befits a female who is not like any other I have met.”

“You are quite easily misled.” She smiled. “There is nothing exceptional about me.”

“Your mother must have thought so. Why else would she mark you with an unusual name?”

“Mother named me after my star sign.”

Any guesses as to what Jem’s star sign could be?

I hope you enjoyed the taste. Until next week ….

As I have said before, any and all are welcome to join me in this weekly shenanigan. HOWEVER, if you do so, I URGE you to keep the shared snippets short and sweet. Mine will be a maximum of EIGHT (8) sentences. To help identification of these posts, I shall be hastagging them (for Twitter purposes) as #FVF. Feel free to knick said hashtag for your own Freeview Friday posts.

WIN A HOLLOWAY PACK T-SHIRT: Are YOU Up To The Challenge?

If you’ve been paying attention, you already know I was waiting on a delivery of Holloway Pack goodies. Just as if you’ve been paying attention, you already know I intended to do a giveaway for my ordered Holloway Pack T-shirt.

Obviously, the fact I’m blogging about this means the T-shirt is here:

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

It also means it’s time for the giveaway.

Double-wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

But what to do?

Well, I chatted to Mr B (alternately known as: The Man or Him Indoors), and he thought I should make the contest a fun search for my biggest fan. So, because this idea is his, I’m giving him the freedom to pick the winner.

So … want to win this freakin’ frackin’ awesome Holloway Pack T-shirt*? 

(psst, here’s a tip: clicking on an image will take you to an enlarged version of the pic)

The FIRST EVER HOLLOWAY PACK T-SHIRT–it is also currently the only one in existence.

Cool, no?

I have a (huge-ish) condition, though: Everyone who enters MUST agree to send me pics of themselves wearing the T-shirt**.

If you’re comfortable with that then read on for how to enter:

Mr B wants to know where you’d be willing to wear my prized Holloway Pack T (and it IS prized—it’s taking a lot for me to part with it). Yep, that’s it. He’ll be looking for the whackiest, most random, or funn(i)est local spots when picking the winner. And then I’ll announce the winner with the pics we get to prove their claim.

Make sense?

Also, although comments are ALWAYS welcome here on my blog, please do NOT leave your submitted entry here.

Any entries posted here will be deleted because I don’t want anybody to copy—I want to be sure everyone has come up with their random spots on their own.

So all entries need to be sent to: jabelfield(at)live(dot)co(dot)uk by midnight of January 29th 2012.

Please put: ‘I must have that HP T-shirt dammit’ in the subject line.

And all emails must include the line: ‘I vow to send you my piccies of awesomeness within one week of prize receival’ beneath your entry (see the trust I place in you guys here?).

You have until the end of the week.

Got it? Okay then, go, go, goooooooooooo!

I am sooooooooooo looking forward to hearing from you. This is going to be so much fun.

ALSO, BEFORE YOU GO …. For any who have yet to grab themselves a copy of Darkness & Light, Danielle is currently holding an E-Book giveaway over at Known to Read, where I guest posted. Why not pop on over and say hi?

*FYI: T-shirt size is X-Large

**If you loathe & detest having your pic taken (as so many do), it would be acceptable for you to rope in a volunteer to model it for you–just so long as the pics are taken as proof the task has been carried out.

T&C’s

-          This contest is International and will stay open to entrees until midnight of January 29^th 2012.

-          Winning entries MUST be sent to jabelfield(at)live(dot)co(dot)uk to be counted in the manner described above. All others—posted or sent to anywhere else—will be disqualified

-          Winning entry will be chosen for its randomness by Mr B (all entries will be passed anonymously to him)

-          As soon as the winner is picked, I shall email them and they will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address

-          Prize as stated—no cash [or other] alternatives available

FREEVIEW FRIDAY {INSTINCT} #FVF

Welcome, welcome. It’s Freeview Friday time again–which means another sharing of snippets from my work.

As I have said before, any and all are welcome to join me in this weekly shenanigan. HOWEVER, if you do so, I URGE you to keep the shared snippets short and sweet. Mine will be a maximum of EIGHT (8) sentences. To help identification of these posts, I shall be hashtagging them (for Twitter purposes) as #FVF. Feel free to knick said hashtag for your own Freeview Friday posts.

And onward I go …

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If you recall last week, we saw Sean taking control of the situation–okay, okay, we saw Sean snatch a hold of poor (ha!) Jem and smack his lips to hers. Moments later, his ‘plans’ are disturbed by Jem’s sister heading along the path toward them. This week’s snippet follows on as Jessica approaches, right after Sean has dared Jem to sneak off into the forest with him (naughty boy). From my newly released novella Instinct–A Holloway pack Prequel (told from Sean Holloway’s PoV):

When I reached the edge of the forest, I was certain I had lost—that she would not come—but she grasped bunches of her skirt and darted toward me just as her sister reached her vacated space.

I took her hand and led her beyond the first trees.

Giving chase, Jessica grasped Jem’s arm and stalled our flight. Her eyes pleaded with Jem when she turned back to her. “Mother said we mustn’t go into the forest. And certainly not with the likes of Mr Holloway.”

Poor Sean. He appears to have gained himself quite the reputation, eh? Wonder how that happened.

I hope you enjoyed the taste. Until next week ….

COVER REVEAL: ETERNAL! Wheeeeeee!

Yeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I’m so freakin’ frackin’ excited … because … today is COVER REVEAL DAY for ETERNAL!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Before I go on, I owe IMMENSE thanks to the following bloggers, who have all teamed up with me to stagger the reveal of the cover across the Internet:

Kayleigh @ K-Books, Cassie @ Bailey’s Dark Fantasy Reviews, Veronica @ Mostly Reviews,

Ambur @ Burning Impossibly Bright , Danielle @ Known To Read , Jen @ At Random

Rebecca @ BexBookNook , Jacquelynne @ the Hardcover Harlequin

Mucho gracias, ladies.

Okay, onto Eternal.

I wrote this novella last November. Pretty much signed the contract right away. And now I’ve barely had to wait any time at all to share my shiny new cover (which I LOVE) and blurbness.

So what’s it all about, you ask?

Eternal is the second prequel to Darkness & Light, and the sequel to Instinct (seems the easiest way to explain). When I wrote Instinct, I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave the story there. In Eternal, fast forward three years and discover exactly how it all turned out for Jem as an early 19^th century werewolf.

Yeah, yeah, I know … get on with it already.

So without further ado … I give you … ETERNAL: A Holloway Pack Prequel.

An unmarried woman living in a house of men breeds hearsay and lore. If only the villagers knew the truth.

It’s not Jem Stonehouse’s marital status that brings unwanted strangers to town. Rather, it’s that she is the only female werewolf in existence — a prize to any pack.

Sean Holloway, the love of Jem’s life, has gone to great lengths to protect her. As a new attack becomes imminent, Sean realizes he must take greater measures with Jem’s safety or risk losing her forever.

His first task must be to marry her, but a force greater than the largest werewolf stands in his way.

Her mother.

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

This awesome little sucker will be available in E-Format July 2^nd 2012.

Well … what do you think?

I GOT A BLOG AWARD! :O)

The Liebster award (“Liebster” is the German word for friend or love) originated in Germany.

A BIG thank you hug goes out to Jen at At Random for giving me Liebster Blog Award!

In accepting the Liebster Blog Award, the recipient agrees to:

Thank the person who gave them the award and link back to that person’s blog

Copy and paste the award to their blog

Reveal the 5 blogs they have chosen to award, commenting on their blog to break the news!

Hope those people in turn pay it forward by accepting and awarding “The Liebster Blog Award” to bloggers they would like to honor.

I’m going to pass this award on to:

Ambur @ Burning Impossibly Bright

Not only is she one of the friendliest folk around, her blog is now so bright and funky you need sunglasses just to visit and I enjoy reading her reviews.

Danielle @ Known to Read

She may be pretty new to blogging but her blog has evolved so much in such a few short week and she is an incredibly supportive person.

Kayleigh @ K-Books

Anyone who knows Kay should automatically know why she’s getting this award. I’ve never known anyone who goes out of their way to help others as much as her. And I she writes great reviews.

Aimee @ Aimee Laine

Not only is she one of my best writer buddies, but my absolute favourite of her novels, Hide & Seek, is due for release mightily soon and I’m almost peeing my pants in excitement over it.

Cassie @ Bailey’s Dark Fantasy Reviews

She is one of the funnest (it IS a word) folk on the ‘Net. She constantly makes me smile and always has cool book recommendations on hand when I don’t know what to read next.

FREEVIEW FRIDAY {INSTINCT} #FVF

Welcome to my blog this Friday the thirteenth. With a bit of luck, nothing will crawl out of the blog post and try to eat you. O_o Moving swiftly on …

Yep, I’m back for another round of Freeview Friday. As explained last week, I shall share a weekly snippet with you from one of my works. And, as always, any and all are welcome to join me in this weekly shenanigan. HOWEVER, if you do so, I URGE you to keep the shared snippets short and sweet. Mine will be a maximum of EIGHT (8) sentences. To help identification of these posts, I shall be hashtagging them (for Twitter purposes) as #FVF. Feel free to knick said hashtag for your own Freeview Friday posts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, from my recently released novella Instinct–A Holloway pack Prequel (told from Sean Holloway’s PoV):

With one stride and a reach of my hand, I snared her arm, bringing her to me. A small squeak escaped her as my hand cupped the back of her head, her hands raised to press against my chest when I tasted her lips.

I brushed over her cheek to her ear. “I hear the trip of your heart, the hastening of your breaths. Tell me you do not desire me.”

Her voice no longer held steadiness as she answered, “I do not.”

I came back for another sample of her mouth, smiled to myself as her fingers twisted within the loose folds of my shirt, and recognised the stir in my groin when her tongue darted out to meet mine.

Goodness, Jem’ll never know what’s hit her.

I hope you enjoyed the taste. Until next week ….

DREAMING OF BOOKS GIVEAWAY HOP!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

FIRST UP, I’D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO ENTERED FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COMMENT. I ENJOYED READING EVERYONES RESPONSES. SEEMS THERE’S A BIT OF A MAJORITY VOTE FOR READING IN BED GOING ON, EH? AND THE COMMENTER WHO ADMITTED TO READING IN THE KHAZI MADE ME SMILE BECAUSE SOMETIMES THAT’S THE ONLY PLACE I CAN FIND PEACE TO READ IN MY HOUSE, LOL.

ANYHOO, I’LL MOVE ON AND ANNOUNCE THAT THE WINNER OF THE STATED PRIZES IS:

SHERYL CULLUM (COMMENT #31)

CONGRATULATIONS TO SHERYL!

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR JOINING ME FOR THE BLOG HOP. BE SURE TO CHECK BACK FOR FUTURE GIVEAWAYS. AND I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT REST OF THE WEEK.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Yep, another day, another hop. And this one is hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer and Martha’s Bookshelf.

Many thanks to them.

(Please note: clicking on the hop image will take you to the linky-list of participating blogs. There are TONNES! So it is definitely worth checking them out as there will be some awesome prizes up for grabs across the blogs).

Okay, onward with the hop.

What tasty morsels I have to offer you good folk is what you’re really interested in so …

One Lucky Being shall win:

ONE E-Copy (for Kindle/E-Reader) of my latest release, Instinct: A Holloway Pack Prequel …

ONE bar of Galaxy Cookie Crumble to nibble on whilst enjoying abovementioned reading material …

Aaaannnnd … ONE signed Darkness & Light Bookmark (front * back image shown) …

So how do you win?

Simples: simply leave a comment below and tell me your favourite spot, where you love to curl up to read.

Got it? Okay, go go goooooooo!

Terms & Conditions of giveaway:

This Blog Hop runs until midnight on January 18th 2012 and the draw will take place after that date.

Winner will chosen using random.org

I will contact the winner via email provided, and the winner has 72 hours to accept the prize

Winner must also give permission for their email to be passed onto my publisher for delivery of their prize (J.Taylor Publishing will not contact you for any other purpose)

Prizes as stated—no [cash or other] alternatives will be offered
And whilst I have you here, don’t forget my short story, Fated Encounter is still available for FREE. Go grab yourselves a copy.

Simply click HERE for Ebooks or HERE for Kindle.

2012 READING GOALS—WHAT’S YOURS?

Okay, so let me start by saying I reeeeeeeeaaaaaally wanted to scream my latest news from the rooftops for this post, but alas having a contract means I have a marketing schedule to uphold and you’re all going to have to wait a little longer for what you all probably already suspect (sorry).

So … instead, I’m going to chat about my reading plans for 2012 and leave you all guessing for a little bit longer.

Onwards:

I’ve never set myself reading goals before. I simply read. And then I read some more. But since being on Goodreads, the marvellous folk I’ve met do a fine job of sweeping me up in their craziness. One of their crazy ideas is setting themselves personal challenges with regards to their reading.

So … I joined in.

The done thing is to start yourself a thread in the group for your personal challenge, openly declaring the challenge you’re setting yourself. So I went in. and I challenged myself to read 50 books throughout 2012.

Not merely content with that, I added to my challenge.

You see, I have a LOT of singles (titles not part of a series) sitting in my Kindle that I got for free (mostly through Pixel of Ink—love that site).

More than EIGHTY, in fact (just see image for proof–that’s on my Goodreads personal challenge thread and shows only SOME of them).

But due to my LOVE of series reading, they keep getting ignored.

So … on top of my challenge to read 50 books in 2012, I set the additional challenge of: for every series I read, I then have to read one of my freebie singles before I’m allowed to start on a new series.

Good challenge, no?

And that should have been that.

Maybe it would have been … if one Carole-Ann hadn’t sidled into my thread and told me my challenge number wasn’t high enough and I should up it to 72.

Now I respect Carole-Ann. Enormously. And if she thinks I’m up to that raised challenge, then I most probably am.

So I listened to her. And my 2012 reading challenge became: read a minimum of 72 books before year’s end and for every series I get hooked on, I MUST read a single freebie before I’m allowed to find another series to hook my talons into.

See? Simples! *Gulp*

How about yourselves? What 2012 challenges do you intend to rise to?