COVER REVEAL: Make Believe Anthology

You might recall, around 10 days ago, I announced that my short story, ESCORT TO INSANITY, had been contracted for the MAKE BELIEVE anthology.

Well, the time has come to share the cover and blurb.

Here’s the cover:

It’s so pretty. LOVE the red against the white.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand here’s the blurb:

Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski

An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place. 

With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ways to undo the oath, and in her quest, finds not everything in her life is as she expects.

The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford

There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death.

After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.

Birthright by Lynda R. Young

Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible. 

She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she’s never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.

Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.

Petrified by Kelly Said

A mysterious storm has replaced summer with winter, devastating crops and smothering Castle lands in snow.  Prince Sterling August stands alone as a leader, lost in personal grief as well as a desire to help his people but with an inability to do either. 

The answers he needs await him, but without Lochlyn, a woman who’s just as isolated as Sterling, he’ll never see what stands before him, cloaked in illusion.

Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton

Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.

The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.

Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield

From a charity auction, to a stroll in the park, to the craziest night of her life. Nicole Harrington can’t help but wonder how a simple event went so drastically wrong.

Of course, the male escort she booked is wholly to blame. Not only charming but shrewdly intelligent, Benjamin Gold drags Nicole into a platoon of unimaginable problems—ones from which she’ll have to find the courage just to survive.

Yeah, mine’s the crazy sounding one.

Well, what did you expect?

So, whatcha thunk? Like?

MAKE BELIEVE will be available December 3rd.

Pssst, if ya wanted to add it to your Goodreads in the meantime, all’s ya gotta do is click on the link.

NEWS: New ‘Darkness & Light’ Cover!

Yep, you did read that right.

Darkness & Light has been allocated a new cover.

Why?

Well, my editor contacted me some weeks back and told me they were considering changing the cover so that it will ‘fit in’ with the other covers of the series as an entirety.

They wanted something that was more relatable to the Blue Moon cover.

They also wanted something that was going to look like it belongs with any covers they’re planning to produce for future Holloway Pack titles.

In layman terms: They want the covers, when all standing side by side, to look as though they are part of a collection and to be recognisable as part of that collection.

On top of that, they reasoned that Darkness & Light was almost One Year Old (O_o) and they thought it would make a nice (almost) anniversary marker.

To be honest, I was wondering what on earth they might come up with. The image of the wolf duet has been in my head a long time. And I’m pretty restricted in my ‘vision’ when it comes to imagining visual art and the end results, so to see something else ‘in my head’ was nigh on impossible.

However, my editor sent me the result, and after a couple bits back and forthing and a few tweaks made here and there, I’m happy with the finished article.

And here it is:

For now, the new cover will only be available in the E-versions of the book.

But that’s not the ONLY news!

To help promote its new look, Darkness & Light will be available in E-format throughout the month of June at the bargain price of 99c (or 70-summat-pence to us Brits).

Whoo-hoo!

AND …

The new E-version of Darkness & Light will sport three Sean Holloway POV scenes at the back.

Two of those (Of All the Burger Bars in All the Towns … & Mates Reunited) I have already made public on my website and are available for viewing any time.

However, the third one, titled: ‘Welcome back, Jem‘ has never been released anywhere, and for the time being, will ONLY be available via the new E-book.

So if you know anyone who hasn’t managed to nab a copy yet and would like one, be sure to spread the word and let the peeps know.

So … what do you think?

FREEVIEW FRIDAY {ETERNAL}! #FVF

Hey all, and happy Friday. Thank you for stopping by. Today, I’ll be sharing another mini-excerpt from my PNR novella Eternal,  due out in a little over 7 weeks.

Following on from last week, we get a taste of Sean’s mood over trespassers in the forest … here’s your taste of Eternal:

“ … Why are they all coming? How do they all know to come?” With a groan, he spun and resumed his pacing. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, enhancing the bruises that had begun to appear along his biceps. “Every one of them that has come was already aware of …” He trailed off though I knew he had been about to say my name. “Jem, for the fourth time, will you please go upstairs?”

Hmmm, what do you think she said? Think she complied?  ;)

I hope you enjoyed this weeks snippet. See you next week for another round of FVF

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 TEN (10) 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.

NEWS: Escort to Insanity is Contracted!

Sometime last winter, around November time, my editor approached me with a propostion.

“Hey,” she said, “we’re thinking of making a winter anthology for December 2012. We want you to be the headliner. You interested?”

“Sure,” I said. Coz I was.
So then I had a problem. I’d agreed to provide a story. But I had no story.

Last time they asked me for an antho submission, I gave them a Holloway Pack short.

I couldn’t do that this time.

Because, due to the fact the anthology will be released the same day that Blue Moon launches, I have no Holloway Pack happenings that will fit into that slot time-wise.

About that moment, when realisation sank in, my head kinda went ‘Eeeeeeeeeeek!’

Because it meant I had to write a new story. One at fairly short notice. One with an unfamiliar plotline. One set in a ‘world’ I’d had no time to get to understand. One with new characters I knew absolutely nothing about.

But I panicked not. Okay, not much.

I simply took a singular idea that popped into my head … wrote down around 300 words to solidify that said idea would be where the story would start … and kept going back to it and playing around with the folks like they were Barbie and Ken on a bender … and voila …

ESCORT TO INSANITY was born.

It’s different to Holloway Pack. Different cast. Different tone. Different (dare I say it?) supes.

And I just recently signed a contract for it.

So it’s official.

I’m heading up a winter anthology.

MAKE BELIEVE is coming December 2012.

You can find out about the other contributing authors at: Jennifer M. Eaton | Jenny Keller Ford | Terri Rochenski | Kelly Said | Lynda Young

Exciting, no?

WHO WANTS TO WIN AN ARC OF ETERNAL?

I’m MEGA excited to share this giveaway with you all! For the first time EVER I’ve been invited by my publisher to host a giveaway of an ARC of one of my books so I’m muchero happy.

Yep, I have ONE ARC** of my soon to be released novella, Eternal. A Holloway Pack Prequel. Sequel to Instinct. Not due out for over 2 months. Here’s what I’m talking ’bout:

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.

RELEASE DATE: July 2nd 2012

So do YOU fancy it? Here’s all you have to do:

1) Leave a blog comment below stating why you think you should win.

2) Then take note of your comment number and hop on over to this Rafflecopter Form to validate your entry, where you can find out other ways to enter.

Off you go, go, go, goooooooooooo!

Good luck!

**Please note, the ARC is in E-format.

SCHEDULING THE ETERNAL TOUR!

Well, after checking my calendar, I realised there are only 10 weeks (+3 days) left until the release of

Eternal: Holloway Pack 0.5.

TEN WEEKS?!?! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!

Anyhoo, I figured, with it being so close, and all, that I’d better get my finger out and start scheduling one of my mini-blog tours I like to do when I have a new novella to release.

So … CALLING ALL BOOK BLOGGERS!

If you fancy hosting me between the dates of July 2^nd – July 31^st—whether for an author interview, character interview, guest post (though I won’t be able to conjure very many of those), etc—then please drop me a line.

I can be contacted at the email address in the sidebar (top right) or you’re welcome to message me via my Contact Form.

Many thanks in advance to all who respond. I’ll get back to you all as soon as possible.

WOLFIE WEDNESDAY: SEAN POV SCENE!

Hi, all. And welcome to a lovely Wednesday, otherwise known Wolfie Wednesday in JABLand or hump day to all the more normal folk out there.

As the post title suggests, I’m here to tell you about a new Sean POV scene from Darkness & Light. After posing the question for which scene to rewrite from the man’s perspective, and listening to the feedback, I decided to go with ….

The Burger Bar Scene!

Yup, that scene where Jem’s sat jotting away in her pad and Sean rather rudely interrupts her concentration (how dare he?!) to introduce himself. You know the one?

Well, now you can get to see it from the other side of the coin. And I have aptly (imo) named it:

Of All The Burger Bars In All The Towns …

So I’ll just quit waffling and tell you … HERE YOU GO … because it’s now posted on my Website with all the other free reads.

Hope you enjoy.

HEADS UP: ANTHOLOGY CALL!

For some reason, I felt a yen to share this one. Yes, yes, it IS possibly because I happen to be headlining, hehehe.

However, I figured as I know a fair few writer folk, and have quite a few connections with said writer folk through Twitter and whatnot, I figured I’d give them all the heads up just in case it was something they fancied.

So … from the blog of J. Taylor:

Make Believe… where illusion can’t hide all the secrets.

Make Believe, our winter 2012 anthology, will feature stories based on the photo above. No matter the setting, no matter the characters, something in the photo above must influence the writing, the characters, the scene, something in the story.

However, as it so very obviously looks like Red Riding Hood, we will accept no Red Riding Hood stories. Your story must be unique an not a rewrite of the famed, old tale.

This is a winter release to capitalize on Christmas and New years, so keep that in mind when formulating your stories or submitting.

Make Believe features J.A. Belfield author of Darkness & Light and Instinct with her tale,  Escort to Insanity.

We’re looking for 3-5 other awesome stories, by wonderfully creative authors such as yourself, to complete the 40,000 – 50,000 word Anthology due to release December 3, 2012.

Have a story you want to send? Make sure it:

• is at least 5,000 but no more than 10,000 words in length
• includes something that is relevant or related to the photo at the top of this post
• has a happily ever after (HEA) or happily for now (HFN) ending (whether it’s romance or not)
• is not erotic. Your story may be romance with high sensuality but should not be erotic.
• is written for the 18+ audience

What will not be considered:

• Any story that falls into our ‘we do not publish’ category in our Author F.A.Q.
• Previously published stories
• Stories previously declined by J. Taylor Publishing.

Make Believe is open for submissions from January 12, 2012 through April 11, 2012 unless filled prior to the close. Authors will be paid a percent of sales and be provided with a copy of the ebook as well. All Anthologies and Novellas may be put into print, but initial release is in ebook.

Ready to submit?

Use our submissions form to submit, however, in the field labeled: “Attach your first chapter (5000 words max) in PDF form only” include your entire story instead.

Any questions?

Contact us!

What do you reckon? Sound up your alley? Well, you still have a couple of months. So get writing.

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?

NEW YEAR GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL WHO TOOK THE TIME TO ENTER. A COMMENT HAS BEEN DRAWN AND THE POSTER CONTACTED FOR THEIR PRIZE SO I CAN NOW ANNOUNCE THAT THE WINNER IS …

COMMENT #52: JODI TRUDEL

CONGRATULATIONS TO JODI.

TO EVERYONE ELSE, PLEASE CHECK BACK AS THERE WILL BE MORE GIVEAWAYS HAPPENING IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

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

 

Yes, the New Year is almost upon us and to celebrate I’m participating in the New Year Blog Hop Giveaway as run by I’m a Reader Not a Writer and Babs Book Bistro:

So … what goodness do I have for this hoptapular event, you ask?

I am giving away one copy of my about-to-be-released novella: Instinct (A Holloway Pack Prequel):

And … one copy of Into the Unknown, featuring my short story: Marked.

So … do what do YOU need to do to win?

Easy peasy: Simply leave me a comment below (with a contact email).

Off you go, go gooooooooo! And don’t forget to click the hop image above to the complete list of blogs hosting giveaways for more chances to win prizes.

Good luck!

Terms & Conditions:

This Blog Hop runs until midnight on January 3^rd 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