My Book's on Audible & Why it's Weird!!

My latest release, RISE OF HOPE was just released on Audible. I knew they'd selected it for audio of course, but when that happens, the author really is given no idea when it might come out. Considering some of the specific words in my book, I thought they may reach out to me for pronunciations. I was told they might. I'd be waiting, wondering, thinking there'd been some mistake, that they'd changed their minds. Nope LOL. It's just suddenly out there. And it's totally weird. I listened to a sample yesterday. And I could only listen to about two minutes before I had to shut it off. Why? Well:

• I can't tell you how strange it is listening to another voice read my words back to me. I mean, up to this point, the only time I've heard my book is in my own head!
• The narrator is a woman and for the short part I listened to, did a really good job. BUT she reads it at a different pace than I do. And has a different accent to me. Double weird!
• It made me realize, there are people out there who have read my books. This may be a "duh" and I know this intellectually, but this is real, hard, solid evidence. This women obviously spent a LOT of time with my book and my words.
• It gave me goosebumps, in a "this is so cool and neat but weird and I'm sorta freaked out" way. Hey, I'm a writer. No better way to describe it LOL.

Perhaps it just me, but it's a rather surreal experience. I'm not sure how many people out there really buy and listen to audio books (I hope it's a lot), but it really is something freakin' COOL!

If you'd like to listen to a sample, it's up here at Amazon. I'm out of the country at the moment and for some reason, can't see it directly on Audible, but people have let me know it's there. Or here :). If you do listen or do buy it as an audio book, I'd love to hear what you think!

Rise of Hope. A taste...

There'd be no dispute from anyone who has read any of my books that I like my heroes alpha. Also, a bit moody on occasion and a teensy bit tortured. The hero of my upcoming book, RISE OF HOPE is no exception. Actually, Seth is probably all of these and more rolled into one. Of course, he has some very good reasons and you all know the heroine (Devon) will eventually kiss it better and make everything bearable for him, right? In that vein, I thought I'd share one of Devon's first impressions of Seth. Yeah, they don't first meet in the best of circumstances.

The imposter glanced at the knife, unconcerned. She knew he carried no weapons, her bodyguards had searched him thoroughly, but he didn’t need one. He was weapon enough. She wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

 

Of course, does she really want to? ;)

 

Rise of Hope releases from Carina Press on August 27. You can find all the details on my website.

1 Week & Counting...

So...this is where it gets exciting. It's one week out from my new release on August 27 and there's equal amounts of excitement and anxiety. It's always exciting to see a new book move out into the public arena. I write for readers after all, so this is the culmination of that work, the achievement of that ultimate goal, but for me, it's a beginning as well. Kind of like a birth. Plus, I get to hear what people really think of the book :).

There are also a few firsts to celebrate. This is the first paranormal romance I've written. I've always loved the genre as a reader and it seemed natural to move into it as a writer. I figured I would get there eventually. Also, it's the first series I've written. RISE OF HOPE is book 1 of my Fabric of Fate series. It was interesting to experience the differences of developing not just a single book story arc, but a series arc as well. RISE OF HOPE is the first of a 5-book series. The story overall revolves around a secret, ancient race of humans on the brink of extinction and their fight to survive and I play with the role that fate plays in all of this. I also had some fun coming up with a series tag line:

TheVadïm...will fate alone determine their future or can they carve out their own destiny?

BLURB

A secret ancient race of humans with fantastical abilities, the Vadïm are on the brink of extinction. Many of their women are imprisoned by an organization known as The Assembly, their history all but lost...
Devon Monroe has been a prisoner her entire life. She's determined to make sense of the strange markings on her body, to learn why no one may touch her, to find where she belongs. That means escaping into the unknown, where she has no choice but to trust her self-appointed protector.
Soldier-for-hire Seth Eastman has a job to do: deliver Devon to safety. When Seth discovers the markings on Devon's body, he's stunned at what they mean. And at how she awakens his long-suppressed needs. As they struggle to escape detection and search for the truth of the Vadïm, can he ever hope to claim her for his own?

Stay tuned this week as I share excerpts from the book throughout the week!

Revisions ARE like brain surgery

I'm deep in edits for book 1 of my paranormal romance series. I mean, DEEP in edits. Some of the changes meant I had to disconnect some of my scenes, change the transitions. When I write, the rhythm of the book is extremely important to me and when I mess with that...I have to ensure I build it back up again so the flow is seamless. It's as if I need to make sure those fine emotional threads aren't thinned out too much throughout, that they hold firm and don't let the external plot overshadow them too much. I know. It's weird. I'm weird, because I love this process. I love to finesse with a book, I love to review words and phrases to see what could be made better and I love getting to spend time with my characters again. And although it's not "hard", revisions really are like fine, delicate, intricate brain surgery LOL.

Oh, and by the way? The book just got bumped to an August release. Yay!! And I hope to actually have a title soon...