Bethany Hagen's Blog

Nothing is more terrifying than the witch who wields red magic.

Witches must choose the path they will follow, and Darlena Agara is no exception. She’s been putting
it off long enough, and in her case, ignoring it has not made it go away. In a moment of frustration,
Darlena chooses to follow Red Magic, figuring she had outsmarted the powers that be, since there’s
no such thing as Red Magic. But alas, Darlena’s wrong (again) and she becomes a newly declared Red
Witch.

Her friends are shocked and her parents horrified by the choice Darlena has made. As a Red Witch,
she now governs one third of the world’s chaos. She is the walking personification of pandemonium,
turmoil, and bedlam, just as the patrons of Red Magic would have it to be.
But Darlena believes there must be more to Red Magic than chaos and destruction, and she sets out on
a journey to achieve balance. Only doing so puts her at odds with the dark goddess Hecate, who simply
will not allow Darlena to quit. She encourages Darlena to embrace who and what she is and to leave
good magic to the good witches. If only Darlena could, life would be simple, and she would not be the
Daughter of Chaos.

DAUGHTER OF CHAOS is the first in a YA paranormal trilogy.

Ready?!  Okay, here you go!

Isn’t it wonderful?  I love how fierce Darlena’s face is fierce but determined (and that hair!)

Jen has put together a lovely giveaway for Embrace by Jessica Shirvington and Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout!  Go here if you want in on that goodness!

Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a
variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where
she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).
She is also a former reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of
SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.
A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. When
she isn’t crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches writing composition at a community college.
Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are
stories for another time.

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guess what

guess what

guess. what.

This:

I know.  I KNOW.

See, here’s the thing.  Here’s the gritty, God’s-honest-truth thing.  I was nervous about the cover.  I was nervous because, before I even sold my book, I’d heard the horror stories about publishers designing less-than covers.  I was nervous because I’ve spent several years in the library world, and I have seen the world’s worst covers…from the copycat to the banal to the cheesy to the holy-s***-they-put-Comic-Sans-on-a-cover.  I was also told that, as an author, my tiny plaintive cries would be ignored, drowned out by the cogs of Big Publishing.  And you know what, it happens sometimes.  Clearly.  (Enjoy this gem I found hanging out on my mystery display at the library.) Maybe it even happens often.

But not this time.  Not with this book.

Dial has an amazing team, all around, and Landry Park has a fantabulous champion in the inimitable Nancy Conescu (aka Editor Lady) who makes the magic happen and just plain gets the book.  She not only gets it, but sees what it could be, how much better it could be, and has helped me carve and tone and add and make it a better, much stronger story.  You know what’s extra awesome?  She kept me in the loop through the whole cover process.  She told me about the concepts, the photographer, even The Dress.

And when I saw the finished thing?  I fell immediately in love.

Immediately.  Like when I first held my newborn children or when I first tasted Tank 7 beer or when I first saw Michael Fassbender play Edward Rochester.

It’s the perfect synthesis of science fiction and romance.  It’s the perfect representation of the “future historical” atmosphere I was trying to achieve.  The girl is delicate and lonely-looking, but proud.  Upright.  The estate is exactly how it’s described in the book–three stories, gray stone, wide lawns.  The cover is suffused with blue light, the same Cherenkov light that suffuses the novel itself.  It speaks to content, it speaks to atmosphere and above all, it’s striking.

So I am very very happy.

RT was kind enough to host the reveal, which made me super excited because I adore RT.  It’s one of the few genre blogs that I faithfully follow as a librarian, PLUS the annual RT convention is the funnest, loudest, friendliest convention in the world.

Here’s something else that blew my mind: Landry Park is on Amazon.  Now, I know Amazon isn’t the arbiter of all things literary, and they are certainly not the sole gateway for getting books (a shout-out here to my local indie Mysteryscape, and the library [obvs.])  But seeing my book in an actual marketplace is kind of mind-boggling in a good–if surreal–way.

So that was my day!  I spent last night covered in old adhesive, breathing in solvent fumes and living out my childhood fantasy of being an archeologist while I picked adhesive out of 217 (actual number, btw) screw heads with an X-Acto knife.  Then I spent the morning at karate, and the rest of my day being a librariador.  Tonight, I’ll go home after work, snuggle the kids for a bit, and then watch MST3K with my hot cop husband.

And I’m doing all this with a book that has a face now.

Well, of course you do.

Here’s why:

Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth’s final years, Tora yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns “red giant,” but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.

*hugs description to chest*

I love pure sci-fi.  Love it love it love it.  LOVE.

So, befitting a book as amazing as this, is an amazing cover.  BEHOLD:

Yeah…mama like.

Anyway, drooling aside, there’s extra awesome because there is a *drumroll* GIVEAWAY!  The contest runs through Tuesday, July 9th, and the winner gets the YA Book of their Choice PLUS a copy of DEFY THE DARK (an anthology featuring several of my friends, so trust me, you need this book in your life.)

Don’t forget to find the beautiful author in all the right places:

Kristi Helvig
Author of Sci-Fi novel BURN OUT coming Spring 2014 (EgmontUSA)
“The last girl on Earth…just got company.”
Available now for preorder on Amazon!
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KristiHelvig
Facebook: www.facebook.com/KristiHelvigAuthor
http://www.kristihelvig.com

So, last year one of my critique partners told me that she was thinking of writing an adult romance novel and would I think about reading it?  The closest thing to adult romance I’d read at that point was Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequels, which does feature a lot of Jondalar and Ayla doing it in their cave and then in other people’s caves.  But she was my CP and I loved her and I told her I’d be happy to read it.  And then she could disregard my “not enough drying meat and woven baskets in the background” comments.

Little did I know that I would be addicted (ADDICTED) to Laurelin’s books.  They are sexy and funny and touching, and they make me have all the feels.

So that’s why I jumped at the chance to host her cover on my blog, even though I write YA (which features feels but no boinking, cave or otherwise.)  I know that you will love Fixed on You as much as I did.

Yeah, that’s right.  Garters.  And a suit.

Expected release date: July 31, 2013

Summary:

Stalking and restraining orders are a thing of Alayna Pierce’s past. With her MBA newly in
hand, she has her future figured out – move up at the nightclub she works at and marry the
manager, David. He’s perfect for her because, although he’s attractive, he doesn’t get her all
turned inside out and upside down like some other men have. It’s a safe plan, one that assures
she’ll remain in control of her obsessive love disorder.

But what Alayna didn’t figure on is Hudson Pierce, the new owner of the nightclub. He’s smart,
rich, and gorgeous – the kind of guy Alayna knows to stay away from if she wants to keep her
past tendencies in check. Except, Hudson’s fixed his sights on her. He wants her in his bed and
makes no secret of his plans to seduce her. Avoiding him becomes impossible after he offers a
business proposition Alayna can’t turn down and she’s drawn further into his universe, unable to resist his gravitational pull.

Soon Alayna’s charmed by Hudson in every way possible and the control over her old behaviors
slip. When she learns Hudson has a dark history of his own, she realizes too late that she’s fallen
for the worst man she could possibly get involved with. Or maybe their less than ideal pasts give
them an opportunity to heal each other and finally find the love their lives have been missing.

About Laurelin:

Laurelin Paige is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to
the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however.
When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Mad Men or the
Walking Dead, or dreaming of Adam Levine. She is represented by the wonderful Bob Diforio
of D4EO Literary Agency.

Author social media links:

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

!!!

Okay, so brief backstory here:  I had the chance to meet the hilarious Leah Rae Miller through a group of author moms on Facebook.  Turned out that we are music twins! (in addition to sharing a ton of political and literary perspectives.)  We both love Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Fiona Apple, and we’ll exchange good writing music from time to time.  Leah is one of the most genuinely intelligent, funny and warm people I’ve had the honor of meeting, and I couldn’t be more excited for her debut, coming May 7th, 2013.

The incomparable Leah!

Born and raised in northern Louisiana, Leah Rae Miller still lives there on a windy hill with her husband and kids. She loves comic books, lava lamps, fuzzy socks, and Cherry Coke. She spends most of her days reading things she likes and writing things she hopes other people will like.

Now, in case you need a refresher on The Summer I Became A Nerd:

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl’s body isn’t just unknown, it’s anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

________________________________________________________

I know, right?  *grabby hands*

Ready. For. The. Cuteness?

ADORBS.

_____________________________________________________

Pre-order Links:

Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/Summer-I-Became-Nerd/dp/1620612380/

BN.com- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-summer-i-became-a-nerd-leah-rae-miller/1113610315

Additional Links:

Goodreads- http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14744489-the-summer-i-became-a-nerd

Twitter- https://twitter.com/LeahR_Miller

Website/blog- http://leahraemillerblog.blogspot.com/

Be sure to catch the Marked-to-Read contest on Goodreads in the weeks leading up to THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD’s release on May 7, 2013. Watch Leah’s site, http://leahraemillerblog.blogspot.com/, for details on how to submit/enter to win, because I know you’re just as excited as I am!