Monday, December 31, 2012

The Next Big Thing Blog hop!

I cannot believe I scheduled two bloghops for the same time!! OOPS, I need a secretary. :p Anyway...

My good friend Vivienne Westlake asked me to participate in the Next Big Thing Blog Hop today. Check out her post from last week to see what she’s working on.

She asked me a few questions about what I’ve been writing recently, so here it goes…

What is the working title of your book?
Forbidden: Genesis Trilogy

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I love circus'. In fact, I worked in a carnival several years ago in high school and the stories the old guys told during lunch, the things they'd seen and done, the world they'd traveled. In my mind, at seventeen, I romanticized it. How exciting all the new places would be, but also, how dangerous it could be too. I've always been heavy into fantasy and paranormal and decided it would be really cool to read about a story that tied my love of those stories with my love of the paranormal underbelly. Of course with a generous sprinkling of romance in there as well. ;) Thus, forbidden was germinated and it's been sitting on the back burner for over a decade now... waiting until the day I felt my writing could do my idea justice. Several months ago I decided it was time and in nearly 6 weeks have almost completed the novel.

What genre does your book fall under?

Paranormal Romance Young Adult

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Flint DeLuca: Marion cotillard

Cain: I always have a hard time with picking male actors, so I'll let you all decide when you read the book. He's got dark hair, peircing blue eyes, and muscular. :D


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

His kiss might be her doom...

Favorite paragraph from your book.


She rolled her eyes. “Then I’ll walk.”

“Like. Hell.” The mint of his breath tickled her lips as he thrust his face close to hers again. She inhaled greedily, wishing it was a kiss.

His lips curled, exposing his canines. They weren’t sharp and pointed, like she almost expected them to be. It would be so much easier to believe that he was some sort of vampire enthralling her to feel these things. Lightheaded and dizzy, clueless and  hopeless, desperate longing so sharp it cut like a knife through her heart… but no, what she felt was impossibly human.

Flint was attracted to the forbidden.

And Cain was the fruit she shouldn’t eat but desperately wanted.


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Indie pubbed all the way. ;)

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I'm not quite done yet. But it's in its final stages. I'd say another 3-4 weeks will finish it off.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Hmm... I'm not sure. I read a ton of YA, but none with a carnival setting. Umm... maybe things like Twilight, Beautiful Creatures, The Lux Series... contemporary fantasy/paranormal.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I write books I want to read. A few months ago I was browsing around for romance YA set in a carnival with paranormal creatures and couldn't find much. So I decided to just knuckle down and write it.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
There are different paranormal creatures in this one. There are no vampires, or werewolves. Which are awesome but I wanted to give the readers something new. So I'm writing about the hive (based on the Aswang legend) and beserkers. It's been fun delving into new and different mythology and makes the geek girl in me get all happy. :D

Blurb:

Flint DeLuca has only ever known one way of life, the circus. She's a tightrope walker and used to seeing the extraordinary happen everyday. Or so she thinks. That is until the day she meets Cain. Dark and mysterious there's something about the brooding loner that calls to her. But there's more to Cain than just the attitude, there's a dangerous secret he keeps. A world mortals should never know. Flint doesn't know what he is, and deep down she knows she should stay away, but like the old saying goes... the sweetest fruit is always forbidden.


Here are a few other authors participating in The Next Big Blog Hop. Check out their blogs on January 2nd to see what projects they are currently working on.

Lea Griffith-
Lea Griffith began sneaking to read her mother’s romance novels at a very young age. She cut her teeth on the greats: McNaught, Woodiwiss and Garwood. As she got older, her need to devour all genres of romance–including contemporary, paranormal and sci/fi–grew. Any romance novels she couldn’t buy were borrowed or traded in her quest to read about that elemental emotion that keeps us strong: love. She still has most of those books; dog-eared, their pages yellowed with age, they still bring her joy.
Lea lives with her husband and three teenage daughters in rural Georgia and she writes her own stories now. With two dogs, a cat and a beta fish named Coddy George, there is never a dull moment. When she’s not working her day job you can usually find Lea at her keyboard, using every spare second to write. Shifters, artificial intelligence, and gene splicing, oh my! Nothing is off-limits when it comes to her writing

Jennifer Blackstream-
Jennifer Blackstream is a psychology enthusiast with both a B.A. and M.A. in Psychology. Her fascination with the human mind is most appeased through the study of mythology and folklore as well as all of Terry Pratchett’s novels.

Jennifer enjoys listening to Alice Cooper, trying new recipes (to which she will add garlic whether it calls for it or not), watching television with her family, and playing with her woefully intelligent three year old son.

Jennifer spends most of her time drinking coffee from her X-Men mug and desperately trying to get all her ideas written down before her toddler can find that all magical button on her laptop to make all her work vanish.

A.J. Locke-
A.J. Locke is a writer of Adult Urban Fantasy, an avid reader, and artist. And her books seriously rock! Her novel, Affairs of the Dead, will be published by Etopia Press in 2013.
 
Happy reading!
~Marie

New Years Blog Hop


 
New Years, the possibility of something amazing. A new love, a bestselling book, a new baby, a new... you. I love the infinite dreams and promises of what the New Year can bring. This is always an exciting time for me, the freshness of what may happen... even the not knowing.  So in honor of this New Year (that the Mayans swore we'd never have! *g*) all us authors are doing a fun giveaway. Lots of cool prizes, so stop by, comment on what's a great New Years memory for you and don't forget to give me your email addy so I can throw your name in the pot for all the fun goodies!
 
Can't wait to see you January 1st - 6th!
 
So I'll start and give you an inside scoop to what I'm working on for 2013.
 
I'll be releasing sometime in the early part of the year the first of my Genesis Trilogy: Forbidden. Which is a paranormal YA. Below is the blurb:
 
Flint DeLuca has only ever known one way of life, the circus. She's a tightrope walker and used to seeing the extraordinary happen everyday. Or so she thinks. That is until the day she meets Cain. Dark and mysterious there's something about the brooding loner that calls to her. But there's more to Cain than just the attitude, there's a dangerous secret he keeps. A world mortals should never know. Flint doesn't know what he is, and deep down she knows she should stay away, but like the old saying goes... the sweetest fruit is always forbidden.
 
 
I've also got Hook's Pan, the final installment of my Kingdom Series books slated for release. This book will take us back to Kingdom and the fun and fantasy I delved into with Red and Her Wolf. Dealing with pirates, mermaids, and a pesky fairy godmother named Danika.
 
On top of that, I'll be releasing another YA fantasy series called the Chaos Time Trilogy. The first book: Fire in the Sky will be released soon.
 
So lots of fun stuff in 2013. On top of that, I've decided to give my Kingdom book covers a face lift and will be re-releasing them with their new covers, hopefully soon. I'll make sure to post the new art once they're done. I'm sure they're going to be awesome. :D
 
Now you tell me, what are you looking forward to this year... or, what did you love about New Years past?
 
Don't forget:

There will be over 200 giveaways on each blog hosted by that Author or Blogger. My prize is a 5 dollar gift certificate to either Amazon or B&N.

But that's not all....

We have THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times!
 
 

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $300 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!


Happy reading,
~Marie

Monday, December 24, 2012

Merry Christmas all!

Hope you all have a great one, I'll be MIA for a while. Doing the whole family thing, hope you all are too. Can't wait for 2013! I already have so many books lined up, and since the Mayans did a terrible job of predicting the end of the world, I've got the time to do it. ;)

So to all, Merry Christmas and I'll see you in 2013!

Happy reading,
Marie :D

Thursday, December 20, 2012

On Dublin Street: Recommended Read

At this point I'm fairly certain you've all heard of this book, and have probably all read this book. Rarely do I come across books that I stay awake all night just to finish it. I've read some of Samantha Young's other books, YA's... and was never a huge fan. So I really dragged my feet with reading this one... but there was just so much buzz about it and after the fifth friend told me I absolutely had to read it, I caved and I'm sooooo glad I did! This book is amazing. The heroine is totally messed up, she has some major baggage in her past, which means she's got HUGE committment issues. The hero has been done wrong. I mean neither one are going to win boy scout awards, they're messed up, screwed up, and just plain off. Which is what made them so real. The setting, well... it's Scotland, I mean c'mon... that's about as perfect a setting as you can get. There was no fantasy, no paranormal, but there was blood sizzling chemistry, real and awesome characters that you can't help but root for and a story line that literally sucks you in from the first paragraph.

Seriously guys, if you want a fantastic read (and you're like me with a head stuck under a rock) read this book. You'll thank me later! :D

Happy reading,
Marie

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Wanna do something amazing this Christmas?

Send a sick child a Christmas greeting at this link. When my youngest son was first born (little bean) we thought he was perfect only to discover two days later he was deathly ill with a serious heart condition. The first few weeks of his life was spent in N.I.C.U. and even now (2 years later) that he's all better I can never forget those little ones in there struggling for life, the families desperate for joy and the hope you get when someone remembers you.

All you have to do is go to this link and type in a Christmas message of hope... the children will see the message appear on a telemonitor in their hospital. Easy, and yet it's impact is life changing. :)

Hope you all can do it!
~Marie

http://giving.chop.edu/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&SURVEY_ID=4080&autologin=true

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Hook's Pan updates

Whew, crazy (but fun) week. Quick update... wrote 1k words on Hook's Pan. This one is pretty much going to permanently take place in Kingdom and is definitely shaping up to be more novel length. Fitting end to the series I hope. :) I'll also be introducing new locations in Kingdom, so I think it's going to be fun.

I've also written another 2k on forbidden. That one is nearing it's end... I'm hoping to have both books up for publication sometime in early 2013. I'll know more as I get closer to finishing the books.

Hope you've all gotten your Christmas shopping out of the way, I have and yeah... I'm so grateful. I've seen the lines at the post office today. NOT PRETTY. *shudders*

Happy reading!
~Marie

Sunday, December 16, 2012

And the winners are...

Wow, what a turn out for my little ol' giveaway. It was wonderful to read all your responses and while I wish you could all win, I can only have 3 winners. So, my totally scientific method, letting every member of my family pick a number.

So without further ado... the winners are...

Gift 1: The beautiful charm bracelet goes to...

Lisa Whitefern!

Gift 2: The charm necklace plus your choice of a $5 dollar gift certificate to either Amazon or B&N...

Rhianna

Gift 3: The Hatter necklace, autographed copy of the Kingdom Collection Series, $5 dollar gift certificate to either Amazon or B&N and your name used in my upcoming series novel, Forbidden...

Luveskane

Congratz gals! And to everyone else, thank you soooo much for commenting. I love to read them. I also love to do fun little giveaways, if you haven't already suscribed to my newsletter that's where you'll find all my latest happenings and new giveaways I've got planned. Newsletter suscribers also get little extra perks. ;)

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Reading!
~Marie

Also, as an aside, my thoughts and prayers go to the victims of the Conn. massacre. Such a tragic thing to happen to so many families. (((HUGS))) to all.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

The 3 Days of Christmas Giveaway!!!

Falalalala....lalalah! It's Christmas time, ya'll. Or close enough that it might as well be. This is my favorite time of year. I love the lights, the smells, and yes (I'll shamelessly admit it) the gifts. Though I enjoy buying for others and seeing their faces light up, more than I enjoy having to take the awkward photo holding my new toy. *g*

So in honor of this most joyous of holiday seasons, I'm doing a nifty giveaway. I've only been publishing since July of this year, with no clue what to expect, what's happened has been beyond my expectations. I've gotten to know so many people in so many different parts of the world, have learned that there's a TON of people out there just like me who loves a good fairytale retelling. In a way, I consider my readers part of my extended family.

Which brings me around to the best part... the gifts!

You remember the secret I was lording over ya'll all those days ago??? I didn't want to say anything at the time because I was still waiting for my packages to arrive. They have and so now I can share.

On the first day of Christmas, Marie Hall gave to me....

 
An Alice in Wonderland Charm Bracelet! (And yes, it's as gorgeous as it appears to be)
 
On the second day of Christmas, Marie Hall gave to me.....
 
 
An Alice in Wonderland Charm NECKLACE! Not only that, but you'll also receive a $5 dollar gift certificate to either B&N, or Amazon!
 
 
On the third day of Christmas, Marie Hall gave to me....
A Mad Hatter style necklace/watch. This thing is obscenely cool! Also the alice charm is adorable next to it. But, beings this is the grand prize. You'll not only receive the necklace, the $5 dollar gift card, an autographed print copy of my Kingdom Collection, but for my newsletter suscribers ONLY you'll also get the chance to have your name become a character in my latest book, Forbidden!! (I should warn you, the name will be going to a villain, so expect a dastardly demise *cue manical laughter now*).
 
 
 
So rules, because any good giveaway always has rules...
 
 
For the first two gifts, comment on my blog. Tell me what it is you love about Christmas, or... what you love about fairy tales. Or, just feel free to tell me how much I rock, because yeah.... that would totally work too. ;)
 
For the final gift, either suscribe to my newsletter, or if you have already, make sure to mention that at the bottom of the comment. Either way, make sure to mention you're a suscriber.
 
The giveaway will start immediately and run through the 15th. The winners will be chosen by random and notified through email the next morning. So please, make sure to include your email address at the bottom of your comment.  
 
Prizes will be mailed out that Monday.
 
If you win, I'll contact you privately for addresses.
 
That's it!
 
 
My way of saying a BIG FAT THANK YOU to you all. I appreciate you guys and I hope you're having a very, very Merry Christmas season. :D
 
 
Happy reading!
~Marie Hall


Friday, December 7, 2012

It's been a while....

I'll update that secret soon. ;) For now, just writing to let you know I'm still alive and getting closer every day to finishing Forbidden! I'm not sitting at 65k words, looking like I'll have another 15-20k before I finish. I actually anticipate this one rounding out around 90k after edits though. I've really enjoyed writing this story, but not to worry ya'll, Hook's Pan is still very much in the works. I find that sometimes switching worlds helps me from letting a series grow stale.

And now to end this with my favorite scene of the day:


A warm hand pressed into her back, before sliding around to the side of her arm and latching onto her hand. And though they were safe from the madness of the storm, a different sort of madness settled in Flint’s bones.


Hey look at that, I only pasted two lines instead of an entire paragraph. :D

Happy reading,
~Marie

PS... if anyone is looking for an awesome reading suggestion, Opal (part of Jennifer L. Armentrout's Lux Series) was just released. The entire series is flat out, knock you on your butt, and make you do naked cartwheels out on the front lawn (not that I ever have mind you *wink*) kind of good! Check it out, you'll thank me later. ;)

Monday, December 3, 2012

I have a secret

A really good secret. The kind you love lording over someone because it's just that good. What is it???

You'll find out soon... ;)

But since I'm nice, I'll leave you with my favorite line of the day from Forbidden:


“Do you have a weakness?” Flint couldn’t believe she’d asked it.

He grew very still, just looking at her, his eyes were a deep, deep blue, his irises nothing but a pinprick of inky black. But then she saw them change, glow a dull red and her heart leaped into her throat.

“No,” he said, “I don’t.”


Okay, so it's more like a paragraph... LOL

Happy reading,
~Marie

Sunday, December 2, 2012

SSS Forbidden

Happy Sunday, and now for another round of S.S.S. Forbidden.

These 6 sentences show Flint beginning to discover some uncomfortable truths and Cain comes to help her out the best way he knows how. Which, with Cain, it ain't always pretty... but this is one of those rare times when he actually is nice...


“Flint?”

She didn’t need to look to know who’d said her name.

“What?” His name came out muffled between her fingers.

Cain pried her hands off her face and then slid his sunglasses off, his eyes gently probing her face. The scent of corn and car exhaust smacked her in the nose. She trembled, maybe her dad was right and she was suffering some sort of PTSD, maybe she hadn’t been ready to come back.
 
Happy reading!
~Marie