It's my birthday on March 31st! To celebrate I have made The Space Between .99 until Sunday (the big day!)
So, spread the word and make sure you get your copy. Also, The Host comes out Friday, so I'm double happy. It was one of my fave books last year. I hope you all check that out too because it looks so good I can't stand it! Eep!
So, as I prepare for my newest novel I decided to post about research!
What is research?
Well, it's obtaining knowledge. This can be for any reason, but for an author it's to make our work authentic! Something the reader can stick their teeth into and feel how real our work is. You have to research EVERYTHING. For me, a general rule of thumb is to know 100 things about my story world. By doing this, I should be able to make 100 different stories for my researched characters to go into.
What do I use for research?
Anything I can find!
I once made my husband stop at a rest stop so I could take pictures and analyze the area. I had a story scene in a similar location and wanted it to be authentic. I followed my brother once as he took pictures through urban areas of the city so I could see the process because I had a character who was into photography.
I also use the internet. Sites like WebMD if my characters are sick or to look up how long it takes for an injury to heal.
For The Space Between, I watched many films documenting international adoptions of Asian American children and their experiences post adoption. I also studied the adoption process through the states and identified what countries do and don't allow international adoptions to the United States.
Here's one of the movies I rented for research of The Space Between. I found this one very moving, and the below clip that complements it.
What else is research good for?
One of the fabulous things I love about research is I'm learning new information that I can use in everyday life. Research helps me grow as an individual, and though it may be tedious and sometimes mind boggling, it's fulfilling to know what I'll get out of it in the end :D
Now, I ask you: What's your research process? Favorite websites? Things you love to learn? I want to hear it all!
Hey, everyone! I have a really quick post here. I just wanted to post the final week of The Crimson Hunt blog tour, and let everyone know a special annoucement. To celebrate the last week of the tour:
Hey friends! Happy Monday! It is happy because I have lots going on this week! Today is the kick off of The Crimson Hunt tour! Not only that, but I'm on NA Alley this week and we are having some new adult all-stars join us all week. There will be interviews, prizes, and more! I'll post both schedules down for you below. I hope you stop by and have a great week!
Eep! So my writing besties book is coming out soon (you can see a sneak peek in my new release The Space Between ;D), and today is her cover reveal! Check this bad boy out!!!
Coffee and Cockpits by Jade Hart Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance Release Date: March 2013
By day, Nina Poppins is a professional flight attendant, who lives to travel, and isn’t afraid to chase her dreams. By night, she’s an award winning salsa dancer who wears sexy corsets and garter belts. She keeps her two lives separate, and none of her colleagues suspect that cool, demure Nina has a hot, spicy side. Liam Mikin is a co-pilot who can get any air-hostess he wants with one blazing look of his blue eyes, and he wants Nina. He knows her secrets and is determined to win her affections. Nikolai Rivers is an aircraft engineer who can dance as well as Nina and enjoys getting hot and heavy with her on the dance floor. But frustration chafes him at being held at arm’s length. However, his opportunity to break her exterior comes when an airplane malfunctions on a flight to Samoa, stranding all the crew on the Pacific island indefinitely. Liam and Nikolai see each other as a challenge and start a race to be the first to earn Nina’s attention, but what they didn’t count on was the consequences of being island-wrecked, or the problems that come with fighting for the same girl...
About the Author:
Jade Hart is a self-confessed book worm who is happiest glued to a lap-top with an eternal battery life and typing up stories running rampant in her head.
Her three favorite things are: 1. Unlimited books on an Ebook Reader 2. Cracking the sugar on a creme brulee 3. Bunny rabbits
Jade currently resides in Middle-Earth, but has lived in Australia, England, and Hong Kong and uses her many travel experiences as muses for her work.
When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, her rumor-laced notions are shattered. Handsome, considerate, and seemingly sane, Wallace Blake doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, screaming and banging on the walls of his dorm room. Hell, he doesn’t look like he spends his nights alone, period.
Too curious for her own good, Rena vows to uncover the truth behind Wallace’s madman reputation—and how two seconds of contact had left her with bruises. Of course, there are a few minor setbacks along the way: guilt, admiration, feelings of the warm and fuzzy variety…
Not to mention the unwanted attention of Wallace's powerful, supernaturally-gifted family.
They’re a bloodline divided by opposing ideals, two soon-to-be warring factions that live in secret among us. When Rena ends up caught in their crossfire, Wallace has no choice but to save her by using his powers. Now they’re really in trouble. With war on the horizon and Rena’s life in the balance, he needs to put some distance between them. But Rena won’t let go. If fighting is what it takes to prove her own strength and keep Wallace in her life, then that’s what she’ll do—even if it means risking a whole lot more than her heart.
Book Trailer
About the Author:
Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.
Happy Monday, friends! So I think those who follow me know by now how impatient I am. The Crimson Hunt released over a week early, LOL. So it's not surprising that I couldn't wait any longer for my latest release. Not only that....
Yes, you read that correctly. My new adult contemporary romance is FREE as in zero dollars until March 6, 2013.
Not only that, but it's time for the release giveaway!
Grand Prize:
Hard Copy of The Space Between
+
The Space Between Inspired Charm Bracelet
(This is a duplicate of mine, which means you and I are twinsies!)
Sign Card and Bookmarks
+
eCopies of three of my favorite NA reads
2nd Prize:
The Space Between Necklace
+
Sign Card and Bookmarks
3rd Prize:
The Space Between Keychain
+
Sign Card and Bookmarks
That's a total of three winners folks!
Bonus Entries!
What's special about this giveaway is you can earn up to 20 extra entries per day just by spreading the word during the FREE promotion. That's right. I said 20 per day! After the free period of the novel's release is over you will get up to 2 extra entries per day. (Details on the Rafflecopter)
Don't forget to state the novel is FREE in your FB and Twitter posts. "20 entries" Offer ends 3/6/13!
Happy entering and please spread the word. I want everyone who wants one to be able to get a copy.
Hey friends! Hot of the press I have the cover and blurb for book two in the Eldaen Light Chronicles: The Bringer's Quest! I hope you enjoy it!
Made by Mooney Designs
Expected Release: Summer 2013
Official Blurb:
Time can bring about many positive changes. For Ariel Richmond, getting her magical necklace to work isn’t one of them.
The year has introduced new comrades and friends, and every day they find their place within Ariel’s alliance. But Ariel herself is at a standstill. While her world advances around her, she’s forced to watch other’s successes. And as her frustrations about her progression toward leadership grow, she and Luca are driven further apart.
Luca sees Ariel’s situation, not as a hindrance, but as an unexpected strategy. Her stalemate keeps her out of battle, allowing him and her coalition to insure her safety from the world that threatens to destroy her. His constant fight to protect Ariel also acts as a shield, making it easy to distract himself from the nightmares of his past and hide his darkest secrets from the woman he loves.
As Luca hides behind his walls, Ariel is forced to become a leader on own. When a surprise from her past arrives willing to aid her, Ariel struggles between the priority of leadership and that of love.
Time ticks away and the enemy won’t wait for the Bringer of Peace to become a leader. The hunt for blood is on whether Ariel is ready or not.
Eep! I'm so excited to bring you this cover reveal, friends! I've read this book as an ARC and it's amazing, and Lynn is also a dear friend. I hope you all enjoy the cover for her newest novel!
Violet Dawn (Violet Midnight Trilogy #2) by Lynn Rush Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance Publisher: Crescent Moon Press Release Date: April 1, 2013 In the darkest place, the Light shines brightest.
Emma’s love saved Jake from life as a vampire. But their happily ever after is threatened by a savage Vamp seeking retribution for destroying the Avenos Trinity of Evil.
A mysterious stranger enters the mix, coinciding with the first Vamp attack in months. Emma’s new friendship, and the suspicion and deceit surrounding it, further drives a wedge between her and Jake.
To complicate things, Emma is bitten by a Vamp with abilities no one has ever seen before, and that bite has left its mark.
A mark that might tear Jake and Emma apart forever…
What people are already saying about Violet Dawn:
"Fast-paced, action-packed, Violet Dawn is basically everything you'd want from a vampire hunter novel and then some. Emma has kick-ass written all over her." ~Kate Evangelista, author of Taste
"Rush knocked this sequel out of the park." ~Carrie Butler, author of Strength
About the Author:
Driven to write, Lynn Rush often sees her characters by closing her eyes watching their story unfold in her mind. Lynn Rush is a pen name that is a combination of two sources – Lynn, the first name of her mother-in-law, who passed away and Rush – since the author is a former inline speed skater and mountain biker. All of Rush’s books are dedicated to Lynn, her namesake, and a portion of the proceeds benefits cancer research and awareness.
Title: Strength
Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.
