Branded Teasers

So this weekend I've been up at a Writer's Retreat in a cabin in the mountains. It's been wonderfully peaceful, and provided me with the reset I've badly needed. Most of all, I've had the free time to do things I've wanted to do for a while, but with my busy life, I haven't. One of those things is making teasers for my books.
Today, I have for you some images and excerpts for Branded.

Yay!!! I've meant to do these for so long that I'm really excited! So don't forget to get your copy and leave a review ;-)

Terrorists have invaded Sydney, and Allison King barely escapes her brother’s wedding reception alive. She and her siblings flee, but their parents are killed by firing squad. 

Now Ali’s on the run and terrified. While searching for other survivors, she is captured by the General who leads the invasion. He’s smitten by Ali, and when she refuses to submit to his whims, he brands her for death. In a wild act of defiance, she snatches the branding rod and sears the mark onto his face. Marking not only him but also sealing her fate. Ali manages to escape and flees into the bush once more where she finds a group in hiding. Even with the scars left by the General, Ali learns to love and falls in love with the young man who found her—Damien Rogers. 

But the General is hunting her. When he discovers their location, and finds her with another man—Damien—his wrath is kindled and his obsession is inflamed. Ali must put herself on the line or the General could kill her family, those who help her, and most significantly, the man she loves.

Amazon

Reviewers Needed!

Hey guys!

So I'm looking for some reviews for Branded and Papina to go up on Amazon and Goodreads. If you're interested, or know of someone who might be, leave me your email in the comments and I'll send you a copy.

Thanks!

Goodreads:
Terrorists have invaded Sydney, and Allison King barely escapes her brother’s wedding reception alive. She and her siblings flee, but their parents are killed by firing squad.
Now Ali’s on the run and terrified. While searching for other survivors, she is captured by the General who leads the invasion. He’s smitten by Ali, and when she refuses to submit to his whims, he brands her for death. In a wild act of defiance, she snatches the branding rod and sears the mark onto his face. Marking not only him but also sealing her fate. Ali manages to escape and flees into the bush once more where she finds a group in hiding. Even with the scars left by the General, Ali learns to love and falls in love with the young man who found her—Damien Rogers. 
But the General is hunting her. When he discovers their location, and finds her with another man—Damien—his wrath is kindled and his obsession is inflamed. Ali must put herself on the line or the General could kill her family, those who help her, and most significantly, the man she loves.

Goodreads:
Forrest and Braydon Miller moved to the small town of Papina to follow their dreams and start a family. Braydon loves her new life in the quiet town, kept alive by the prestigious boarding school overlooking the valley. She is so proud of her husband's work, helping the teens on the reservation.
Until one day, Forrest doesn't come home.
Scandal spreads when one of the teenagers is found missing, too. But Braydon refuses to believe her husband would leave her. When the teen is found, she isn't talking—literally.
While Braydon's heart is breaking, she needs to hold her crumbling life together, raise her son, and find a way to love the teenager enough to find the truth of what happened to her husband.

Featuring... Blog Tour Banners

I have joined in many blog tours to help other authors along the way. So, here are some of them! And I may have thrown in my own too. lol.

Release of the Final Book - Kiya: Rise of a New Dynasty by Me!

Amazon

Amazon

And so ends my debut series. Today marks the release of the third book in the Kiya Trilogy; Kiya: Rise of a New Dynasty. I have said from the beginning this is my favorite of the three books. So much happens. It's so emotional, tragic, but beautiful too. Naomi's life never ceases to throw new curve balls at her as she fights to keep her family alive.

I hope you've enjoyed these books as much as I do. And yes, I love these books! Naomi is like my best friend and is the type of woman I want to be.
Thank you to Curiosity Quills for signing Kiya and taking the leap of faith on these books. They've taught me so much through this process and I feel I am a better writer for it. For my editor, Mary, for teaching me about passive voice and how to be a stronger writer, for Jessa, who signed Kiya in the first place, Courtney for helping me with all the non-fun writing stuff like marketing, and keeping everything organized, and Lisa for always being enthusiastic and willing to listen and help.
I feel I've been so blessed through all this. I'm so grateful for being given a gift that makes me so happy and can support my family by using it. The Kiya Trilogy has blessed our lives in a way that I cannot fully express. So thank you, to all of you, for reading, reviewing, being enthusiastic and generally amazing as I have begun my writing career through this humble Hebrew girl.

To say thank you, I'm giving away a signed copy of the entire trilogy (US only). I will put together three packages, one for US, and two for international. Just enter below and follow the blog tour! Also, for more prizes and to chat with me and other authors, stop by the Facebook Party today only.

Add Kiya: Rise of a New Dynasty on Goodreads.

Amazon B&N Kobo

Now, read Branded, and watch out for the Cadence Anderson Series. Book 1, Deceptive Cadence, comes out this summer (June 16) with Curiosity Quills Press.

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Branded Release Day!

Today is the release of my Romantic Suspense novel, Branded. For the next few weeks follow the blog tour and show some love to the wonderful people who stepped in to help me out. A special thanks to J.R.Richardson for making the tour banner and book trailer.

I will be running a tour giveaway, which you can find on the rafflecopter below. Also, add Branded to your Goodreads list here. Or buy it here.

I am excited and nervous about this book. Being set in my hometown, it holds a special place in my heart. But it touches on controversial issues. Don't worry, Nick makes them all better!

I hope you enjoy this book like you did the Kiya Trilogy. It's very different in many ways, but still has sexy male leads! I can't live without them ha ha!



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Branded Blog Tour Hosts Needed

So it looks like I have a date for Branded; Feb 5. With that, I need to get the tour rolling. So, dear bloggers, please help me out by signing up here:

I know Kiya 3 is also coming up soon, so please, if you can only do one, hang out for that one. I want the Kiya Trilogy to go out with a Bang!

Thank you!

Cover Reveal: Branded by Me!

I am so excited to reveal this cover for my first non-Kiya book. I love this cover and I hope you like it too!

Blurb:

Terrorists have invaded Sydney, and Allison King barely escapes her brother’s wedding reception alive. She and her siblings flee, but their parents are killed by firing squad.

 Now Ali’s on the run and terrified. While searching for other survivors, she is captured by the General who leads the invasion. He’s smitten by Ali, and when she refuses to submit to his whims, he brands her for death. In a wild act of defiance, she snatches the branding rod and sears the mark onto his face. Marking not only him but also sealing her fate. Ali manages to escape and flees into the bush once more where she finds a group in hiding. Even with the scars left by the General, Ali learns to love and falls in love with the young man who found her—Damien Rogers. 

But the General is hunting her. When he discovers their location, and finds her with another man—Damien—his wrath is kindled and his obsession is inflamed. Ali must put herself on the line or the General could kill her family, those who help her, and most significantly, the man she loves.

Goodreads

Excerpt:

The man ordered the soldiers to wait outside and he shut the door behind us. He stepped up behind me and ran his fingers through my hair. "You smell awful."

"Good."

He chuckled and ran his hands over my hips. "I think I'll send you to get washed first."

I pulled away in disgust. He snatched my hair and pulled me back against him. His arm wrapped around my waist and he held me tight.

"You should be flattered. I'm the General who led the takeover of the Sydney region. I'm very powerful, and don't usually take an interest in filthy western women." He let go of my hair and wrapped his hand around my throat. "But I like you, you're beautiful."

I struggled to pull free, but his hand tightened around my throat.

"Stop struggling." He whispered. "You can't get out of this. There are soldiers everywhere, so if you somehow manage to break free, you won't get far."

"Don't you dare touch me," I snarled.

He snickered, dropping his hand from my throat to grope my breast. "It will hurt less if you just submit."

The words of woman back in the room echoed in my ears, "The only way out is total submission or in the back of a truck."

A special thanks to those who have helped out: Cassandra Page, Aldrea Alien, Anabel Gonzalez, Lisa Collicutt, Lauren McKellar, Lisa Swallow, Clare Dugmore, Eliza Tilton, Mara Valderran, Darci Cole, Indie-licious, Rene Gilley, K.A Last, Sharon Bayliss, Dawna Raver

Inspiration Music - Battle Hymn

I reference this hymn in "Branded" as the song sang by the rebels in their uprising. The Battle Hymn of the Republic is stirring, and MoTab performs it magnificently!

Volunteers for the Branded Cover Reveal needed

Please sign up to help me with my cover reveal for Branded on Nov 7th. Thank you!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1liV1DwgZfTU4DkQtoE0fmszyuUdGclxl4d3ZNEi5NDg/viewform

A Year Ago...

A year and four days ago I signed a contract. A contract that said my novel would be published. My dreams were coming true! So, I thought I'd look back at the past year and reflect on what I've accomplished to remind myself how incredibly bless my life is!

On Oct 5, 2012 I sent a signed contract to Curiosity Quills Press for the first book in my Kiya trilogy, Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh. Since then, they contracted all three books. This has proved to be the best thing for me. I've learned so much along this road, and met so many wonderful and supportive people.
In November, I turned 26 and my daughter turned 2. Every day I'm grateful for her and the joy (and often insanity) she brings to my life. This year we've worked through potty training, tantrums, a strong personality shining through, and a lot of sass.
In March, my husband and I celebrated four years of marriage. I don't know how he does it, but he makes me laugh every day. He's shown me what real love is. But times have been tough with him at school. We've both had to work part time, and the combined income barely gets us by. The royalties from my book have really helped us out more than I can tell. Although far thousands of dollars, it's enough to cover things we were neglecting.
The day Kiya released, an email landed in my inbox offering me a contract for Branded. I never expected Branded to get signed, but I entered it in a comp to win a Amazon gift card and BAM. I'm nervous and excited about this one.
I wrote Deceptive Cadence, a 2 book series that even now lingers with me. I believe it's my best story yet, and I'm hoping for it to be my next published work.
I'm currently querying, after extensive rewrites, Dancing in the Athenian Rain. And here's a picture which is so perfect for it!

My life is far from perfect. But I try to find the best things I can in what I do have. I'm published, I have three more books lined up for release, and hopefully many more to come. I am a mother of a beautiful girl and happily married.
This year has been incredible, emotional, and life changing. Here's to another year of life!

photo credit: Suus Wansink via photopin cc

The Latest

What my stories are doing.

Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh - It's been sitting the the top ten (mostly top five) on Historical Romance: Ancient World for almost a month. Curiosity Quills is currently compiling auditions for the audio book. A review tour is on its way to precede the release of book 2.

Kiya: Mother of a King - I am now in edits. The cover is on it's way. It's currently being refined, ready for the cover reveal. The release is lined up for Oct 25th.

Branded - My stand alone with Soul Mate Publishing now has a mock up cover! I will do a reveal after Kiya 2's cover reveal.

So that's it right now.

Thanks for following along on this journey.

An Invitation to Pitch to Soul Mate Publishing

I received this from my publisher for Branded. If you're going to be in the area, give it a shot!

Soul Mate Publishing

An Invitation to Pitch to Soul Mate Publishing

Cindy Brannam, Char Chaffin, Debby Gilbert, and Cheryl Yeko from Soul Mate Publishing will be attending RWA Nationals in Atlanta. All editors will be setting up pitch appointments to take place at a designated location at the Marriott Marquis.

Anyone interested in pitching to these editors can email them directly to request a pitch appointment.

Cindy Brannam: Cindy’s looking for fresh voices in Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction, Contemporary and Historical romance — all heat levels. (No erotica, F/F, M/M or multiples.)  Cindy@SoulMatePublishing.com

Char Chaffin: Char welcomes all genres, and is constantly on the lookout for imaginative, edgy, romantic passion that will sweep her away. Paranormal/fantasy is also a favorite of hers. Char@SoulMatePublishing.com

Debby Gilbert: Debby’s looking for unique twists in all genres of romance. Debby@SoulMatePublishing.com

Cheryl Yeko: Cheryl welcomes Romantic Suspense, Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Contemporary, and Erotica.Cheryl@SoulMatePublishing.com

Progress Report

So, tomorrow marks the last day of the Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh blog tour. I must say this month has been absolutely nuts. It's been a giant juggling act, and on top of everything my husband and I have been taking turns getting sick. Thankfully, our two year old hasn't picked anything up (touch wood!)
But now, Kiya has been out a month. I feel like things will settle into a groove for it, and I've done all I can to get the ball rolling. I guess I'll just have to sit back and wait.
I just finished proofing book 2 and sent it in to be placed in my editor's queue. I've also sent the final book in to my Acquisitions Editor for reviewing. Book 2 will be coming out Oct 25th if you missed that little detail :-)
Branded is all submitted now too and is lined up for a November release. No specific date yet, but it's on its way. November is a crazy month for me on a normal year with my birthday the day after Halloween, then my Dad's a few days later, then my father-in-law's, then my daughter's, then thanksgiving. Phew! I better be super organized this year!
Also, after some great advice from an editor, I am planning on self-publishing the Cadence books. These won't come out until after the Kiya trilogy is complete, but I've decided to self pub because I've realized why they keep getting rejected. This editor pointed out to me that with my MC going from 25 to 14 and slowly aging up, it's almost impossible to market as it's not YA or NA. So there you have it. I'm hoping to release Deceptive Cadence in July 2014.
So now I'm reading. Yes, reading. It's been so long since I just read something I'm really excited about it. I have a few NetGalley books, plus a nice collection of books I won, so hopefully you'll be seeing some reviews here soon.

My Shiny New Book Deal!

Yup, I'm very excited to announce I got a new book deal. It's for Branded, which I mentioned once before during the Next Big Thing blog hop, as well as two Six Sentence Sunday posts (Here and Here) The deal is with Soul Mate Publishing and I'm excited to see what a different publisher has to offer since I've loved Curiosity Quills so much. But don't worry, the rest of the Kiya trilogy will still come out with CQ. As I said, I love them!
But Branded is different from CQ's normal genres, which is why it's going with Soul Mate. It's a Romantic Suspense with religious and racial themes. I love it, and worked hard to keep it from being racist while also touching on real and sensitive matters.
So anyway, keep an eye out for it and I'll definitely keep you posted!