Some Announcements... and also, butter knives are dangerous

This post is all about letting you know. "Because the more you know.... the better." <--- That would be a cheesy line from a local TV station we had growing up. It was their signature whatever.

Anyway.

First, you need to know that I have a new book coming soon. Whisper will be out April 19th -ISH. Here's the cover, done by Char Adlesberger (genius!) on the right-hand side bar. --------->

What do you think? Gorgeous, right? She does good work. Okay so it will be out for Kindle and Nook for $2.99. I'm not sure how much the paperback will be. Hopefully around $11 like the others. I'll see what I can do. And if you click the cover picture on the right side of the blog, you can add it to your TBR pile on Goodreads.

Whisper is special to me because it came about as a much-needed journalling project after Tyler died. I think that is an entire blog post in itself that I will have to do another time. but there is ALOT of my emotional "Stuff" in there so the MC is a version of myself in a way. My sister is beta reading for me and she called and was like "whaaa? There's a lot of hints of us and our own childhood in this thing." Yeah, I know. Go with it.

And its a little different from my other titles thus far. There's reincarnation and possibly an immortal or two, and death is faced and conquered. As in my real life.

Oh and a hot Indian boy ;) #requiredingredient

I am looking forward to hearing what you all think of it.

Also, on the list of announcements, Across the Galaxy is FREE through Saturday for Kindle. Here's the linky:
ATG FREE  It's currently like #4 in Sci-Fi Adventure, with Bob Mayer's Atlantis and other uber-amazing stuff. Nice list to be on.

I've always been against the idea of offering my work for free because I know my work has value. Books take a long time to write. And its hard, its work, its frustrating and amazing and makes you want to gouge your eyes out one minute and weep at your own genius the next. THAT should not be free, in my opinion.

But I've been pretty overwhelmed of late. With all the love and support from readers and the lovely mail I get encouraging me about Tyler. And I wanted to give something back. So, this is my thank you for your support. If you've already read it, pass the link on to a friend who hasn't. But this is for you guys. Thanks. I love ya.

Also, Decended by Blood by Angelina Kace - a fellow Accendo Press author of mine - is FREE this weekend as well. its got the hottest vamp you've ever seen. Mirko. He's on my sidebar. You can look but you cannot touch. He's mine. I will cut you with a butterknife. (incidentally, that's something i ALWAYS say and then "Lo and behold" guess what I did to my OWN HAND yesterday? Embarrassing, totally.) So be sure to get that for Kindle while freedom rings. Linky here.


And lastly, and possibly most important, and definitely most interesting:

My friend/sensei/mentor/drinking buddy/lunch date/role model/husband's golf partner (I could go on but you get the idea) Warren Murphy, author of the The Destroyer series, Grandmaster, and my favorite book EVER, The Forever King, has just released a new book (he's come out of retirement AND hiding for this.)

It's called Savage Song and its a novella (25k words) and its AMAZING!!!

As a rule I do not usually review or recommend books, especially from the platform of my blog. but this. THIS. . . this is an exception of epic proportions. Here's the cover and synopsis:

She is the world's greatest entertainer;  in a few brief years, she has changed show business forever and tens of millions of people follow her every move.  Now it looks like someone is trying to end her career for good. She's not the kind to roll over and play dead for anybody.

Enter Remo Williams, the Destroyer, and Chiun, the Master of Sinanju and the world's greatest assassin...who has a warm spot in his heart for the singing star.  Killers, stand back.  You're messing with the wrong girl and you ain't seen nothing yet.

Available for your Kindle 3/23/12

Her name is Madam Googoo! sound familiar? haha. It's great! There's humor and a badass assasin and rock stars and guessing the intended identities of each "name changed to protect the innocent" was a lot of fun. So be sure to check it out. You'll be hooked! 

Also- there is a contest going on at their blog. They are giving away a Kindle Fire, so be sure to enter. Linky here. 

There are two kinds of people in this world.

"There are two kinds of people in this world.
There are thinkers and there are doers.
There's winners, there's cool guys, and there's buddies..."
- Sam Witwiki, Transformers 3
I love this movie. Sam Witwiki is one of the best characters ever created, second to his parents.

Speaking of Winners.....
Congrats to Sarah K!!!!

You've won a signed paperback of Across the Galaxy with the new cover, in all its glory - Woot Woot!  Thanks for following along on the blog tour and showing Across the Galaxy the love it deserves. I will be doing more giveaways with the new cover coming up soon. So stay tuned. Hint- one will be available to you ONLY if you are a newsletter recipient so if you haven't already signed up for that, do it now. The "when" and "where" will be random and spontaneous so keep an eye out in your inbox ;)

Also coming up is a "Big Reveal" of the biggest and most revealing nature so stay tuned for that, as well.

Okay so now I am going to get serious for a sec.

Most of you know that I gave birth to a baby boy in December and he passed away five days later. His diagnosis was cardiomyopathy, heart muscle disease. His name was Tyler. I did a blog post after letting everyone know because my pregnancy was sort of common knowledge in the blogosphere, and then I did a follow-up post in January talking about that first month of recovery, or mourning, or whatever it should be called.

Since then, I've gotten quite a few emails and messages from readers and bloggers. Some, like me, have lost babies or children at a young age. Some are struggling with how to cope with a sick or disabled child. Some just want me to know their thoughts and/or prayers are with me. ALL of them told me how encouraged they are by my story and my willingness to share. I've received countless comments, compliments, and encouragement about my "strength and bravery."

Let me say first that I am beyond flattered. I did not anticipate that reaction. It sort of baffles me actually, because I don't feel like I've done anything worthy of that sort of admiration. I've trudged along day-to-day, and I get out of bed in the mornings. I pack lunches and drive to soccer practice. (so we showed up at the wrong field that first day, I got it right eventually!) And I write, because that's a constant release that I couldn't operate without. But there's plenty you don't see. I snap at my kids and husband for no good reason. I dam up the tears most days lately because if I let them come, the pain is so crushing I think I'll die under its weight. I still have the crib up because I feel like taking it down would be moving on. I'm not ready for that. There are things you don't see. Evidence of grief. Its important you know that.

But maybe me telling you this sort of thing is exactly WHY its encouraging. Maybe we all need to feel like we're not alone, whether its misery or joy. Maybe my reaction isn't your reaction. Sometimes I am blown away at how easily I've accepted Tyler's death. Not that its easy. Don't hear me wrong. But I've accepted it as what was best for him. I'm not angry. At least not at any person or at God. And that is a big blessing to me. Because I'm twisted up enough with the sadness to know I'd be a mess with all that anger heaped on top. And maybe your reaction would be anger. I've been there, about other stuff in my life. I've felt victimized. Maybe that's why I don't anymore. but maybe you would. Or you do.

I can't address that, because I'm not willing to offer two cents on something I don't feel. But the sadness is huge enough that I can get that. I can get wanting to ignore it because it feels too big to embrace. I can get feeling heavy under its weight. I can get the longing. I'm sure there are more types of grief than just my own that this would be fitting for.

Hopefully telling you how I feel and where I'm at encourages you. Because I have no words of wisdom to offer, except that they tell me it gets easier. Not healed, just better than it is. And hopefully simply knowing you aren't alone is uplifting. I'm not sure if what I'm doing here makes me brave or courageous. Maybe living in the face of death does. Or maybe its willing to admit that you struggle. If so, I'm a warrior. And so are you. Everyone struggles. I think its your reaction to it that makes you who you are.

As for my writing, as I said before, I am still hard at work because telling someone else's story is the best escape from my own. And it does make me feel better to pour some of it into someone else and then pour them onto paper. I was scheduled to get right into Book 3 of the Dirty Blood series, but after everything that happened with Tyler I decided to take a break from that. I need to get my head screwed on straight before I can get back to Tara and the gang. They deserve witty and funny and sexy. I don't feel much of any of that right now but I'll get there. At least on paper.

And lastly, because I want to leave you on the up-slope, click below. This was the first belly laugh I had after Tyler. Mostly because my six-year old keeps walking around the house talking about "one-legged ninjas."

"ReLaunch Across The Galaxy" Blog Hop

In January 2011 I published Across The Galaxy.

January 22nd to be exact - (Happy Birthday Lisa! <--- my sister)

13 months later Across The Galaxy has sold hundreds of copies and has allowed me to become part of the BEST online community of writers and bloggers I can imagine exists.

I am so grateful to this story in my head and the One who gave me the passion to get it out onto paper (or comp screen). I'm also grateful to my mentor and sensei: Warren Murphy. (Author of The Forever King, one of my top 5 fav books ever!) Without him, I would've never heard of JA Konrath or the e-publishing revolution that was already underway when I came into the picture.

And mostly - thanks to everyone who has bought and read this book. I wouldn't be here without readers. Its still sort of surreal to get 'fan mail' and letters from people who just want to thank me for writing and providing them with a way to escape their every day 'stuff'. Surreal but awesome!

Now, even though this reads like a sappy acknowledgement page in a book, I'm not usually the mushy type so let's move on...

Marking a year as a self-published author is pretty exciting when not only has that much time passed already, but I'm now making the kind of money writing that I would've made off an advance from NY for these titles. Woot Woot!! And I am sooo happy doing it myself because that means I can do something fun and crazy like change a cover anytime I want.

And since I can, I did. Here's the background on that decision.

Across the Galaxy's original cover was made by a professional photographer. He used a stock background and snapped a really cool pose of my cousin Krystle (Twitter name: @KrystylePole if you want to tell her how awesome she looks!) - who, by the way, is in Vegas this weekend competing in a Pole fitness competition. Go Krystle!!!!

Okay, back to the point. Anyway so my love for ths cover is deep and completely biased because of the story behind the cover. That being said, the marketer in me knew this cover needed... something. The cover competition out there is hard, and even though I love this one, its not necessarily competing to get your attention like so many other YA fantasy covers.

Enter Char Adlesberger. College student from Colorado and GENIUS cover artist! She took my book description and my request for something "edgy" and gave me this!!!

A-MA-zing!!!!!!!!!

So, now that I've caught your eye, on to the details of the HOP. Because I can't do something as cool as a new cover and NOT give stuff away!!!

The schedule is listed below. Each blogger will feature the book and brand new synopsis along with a giveaway of an e-book version of the book. Some will also host a review, interview, or fun facts about yours truly. On the last day, head over to Accendo Press' site (my publishing group) to enter to win a Kindle cover with signed bookmarks!!

2/26/12 - Cambria Hebert, A Diary of a Book Addict

2/27/12 - Nightly Reading

2/28/12 - AwesomeSauce Books

2/29/12- Magnet 4 Books

3/1/12- Fiktshun

3/2/12- Taking It One Book At A Time, Bookish Babes

3/3/12- The Readiacs

3/4/12- Sassy Book Lovers

3/5/12- Talk Supe, A Book Vacation

3/6/12 - Accendo Press  - giveaway of a Kindle cover and e-book of your choice!

And now for the BEST part of this post - You can enter here to win a prize pack from me that includes signed bookmark swag for Dirty Blood (pictured above) and Descended By Blood by Angeline Kace - and a signed paperback of Across The Galaxy with the brand new cover!!

check it:

Here's how to enter:
Leave a comment with your email address below. For an extra entry you can 1- become a follower of the blog and 2- tweet about the giveaway and new cover. Mention me: @HeatherHildenbr in the tweet so I can track your entries.

The contest ends 3/12 and the winner will be announced 3/13. Good luck! 

how to be pregnant and NOT cut somebody!

If you're reading this and you're the type who likes striking up conversations with strangers in grocery stores, get PREGNANT. Personally, I have nothing against a little small talk with the mothers of grown children who wants to share mom stories about when their kids were younger, give advice, blah blah blah. Usually it's harmless and polite and not altogether un-enjoyable.

But when you're seven months pregnant and so big you can't see your feet - much less your own who-ha - its none of those things, because the convo goes something like this:

Retired age lady: "Oh." <smiles and eyes my belly> "When are you due?"
Me: "December."
Lady: <smile drops to a frown and eyes go wide.> "Oh. So big already."
Me: <try not to cut someone with my license. Paste on a smile.> "Um, yeah, apparently I make big babies. My last one was ten pounds so...."
Lady: "Oh my."
"Me: "So he'll just be big." (basically, I'm still being defensive here)
Lady: "Oh well, yes, that's quite large. My goodness." <eyes me like I shouldn't even be walking around>
Me: "Well... bye!" <makes a mad, waddling dash of an escape into the next aisle>

And then, in said aisle....
The process repeats itself.

Geesh. My pasted smile is wearing thin. I know I'm big, people! Trust me, I'm the one who carries it around. And it's not that much fun most of the time. Babies are fun. Thinking about the baby is fun. But carrying him at waist level, with nothing to hold him up but my stretched-thin skin, yeah - not so much fun. But thanks for pointing out just one more thing to make me feel bad about myself for: How fat I am.

I feel bad for the girls who are having baby #1 that have to endure those looks and comments. I don't remember getting very much of that with my first - or second, for that matter. I had a lot of strangers come up and randomly touch or rub my belly, but at least no one looked at me like I needed to go on prego-mama weight watchers. And the thing is, I've gained less weight this time than I did both times before. It really is ALL belly weight! (okay, and boobs but the guys reading this really don't need to hear all that.) Anyway, the point is, I don't care if I DO look like I've gained fifty pounds in each limb or something. I'm PREGNANT!!!! There's a reason for the extra padding and either way, it's none of your business. So quit looking at me with those judgy eyes before I make you a character in my book and then kill that character.

Whew. <deep breath> I feel better.

Oh, book progress. Yeah, let's talk about that real quick because that'll make me look less hormonal and nuts after all the spewing. Haha.

Revisions are coming along. Slow and steady. We're still shooting for a Thanksgiving release. And there are so many things I wish I could tell you about it!!! But I won't give anything away. At least not yet. Later this month, I will reveal a snippet on a very special blog post that I will tell you about later. =) And you'll love it and hate me and want more but that's all I'm going to say for right now.

Pregnancy makes me evil. hehe.

Oh and in the meantime, head over to A Cupcake and a Latte for a giveaway of Dirty Blood and Across the Galaxy for her 1000 Followers Giveaway.

Places I'll be while I'm gone

A big fat summer hello to all my readers. *waves&grins* I just got in from the beach so I'm feeling very warm and summery and fun right now. I also wanted you all to know I am going to be out of town for a few days so I wanted to post today with some goodies, giveaways, and general places you can find me while I'm gone. (If that last part makes any kind of sense then good for you.)

Goodies: This sort of goes hand in hand with giveaways, because prizes in the form of books are the best goodies, in my opinion. First, I am doing another Goodreads giveaway for a signed paperback of Dirty Blood. The giveaway runs until 8/8 but go ahead over there now and enter so you don't forget. You can enter here.

Another fun one is the Great Indie Summer read Giveaway over at coffeemugged. Katja is awesome because she's managed to coordinate over a hundred books and prizes for this giveaway which goes on through sometime in August so get over there and find out all the ways you can get entered for that one.

One more is a HUGE giveaway going on over at Jagged Edge's blog for TONS of books and swag, including a chance to win a signed paperback of either Dirty Blood or Across the Galaxy.

Whew. Okay, I think that's it. I could be wrong and if I forgot one, oops.

Something else cool happening is on Tuesday night, some book reviewers over on JournalJabber will be doing a live blogtalk radio show, discussing one of my favorite topics: werewolves. more specifically, they will be talking about Dirty Blood, along with other awesome werewolf titles. You can go here for the details and you can listen in or join in the chat room to put in your two cents about Dirty Blood. I will try and connect for this but not sure about the sketchy service I might have when it comes to cell phones and internet connections in the mountains. So its iffy. But check it out and support them. Cambria, one of the reviewers doing the show, won a contest I ran awhile back and she is getting a character named after her in Cold Blood. So excited for that!

Now, last but not least, I will TRY, in the midst of the mountain of packing I have to do yet, to post a #samplesunday post (slightly early) later tonight. If I do, I'm going to post it over on the Accendo Press blog. So keep checking over there. It's http://www.accendopress.com/. Let me know what you think.

Alright readers. I'm off. Out like a fat girl in dodge ball. Have a fabuloso week!

Contest Winners and SPAM

 I am so excited to announce the winners of the Race to Reviews contest for Dirty Blood!! Just yesterday we reached a total of 20 reviews between the three major retails sites (Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Amazon). I tallied entries and have your winners so the grand prize winner is ... *drum roll*.....

TEE!!!! 

Tee will receive the following books in her prize pack: a signed paperback of Dirty Blood, an ebook of Across the Galaxy, an ebook of DreamKiller 1 and 2, an ebook of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby, an ARC ebook of Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace, and an ARC ebook of Cold Blood, due out this fall.

The two runner ups, who will receive two books of their choice from the list above are....

Heather at Nightly Reading

A Book Vacation

All winners must contact me by Thursday at midnight to receive their prize. You can email me at heatherhildenbrand@yahoo.com. Otherwise, we will go to the next runner up. *All winners were selected randomly with www.random.org.*

Congratulations!!!

Also, stay tuned for the announcement coming soon. I am in the process of uploading the 2nd installment of DreamKiller, my urban fantasy mini-series. DreamKiller 1 is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords for .99 and is a short story of about 5000 words. You can read about it by clicking on the DreamKiller tab above. The story follows Marlena, a 'special' with the ability to literally make her dreams come true, as long as she plays it out exactly as she dreams it. So far, she's been forced to use it to silence her enemies...

DreamKiller 2: Fight or Flight is longer (11,000 words I think) and should be available by the end of this week. I am making it available on its own first and then I will be offering a combined version for $1.99. I will let you know when it's available.

The Race to Reviews contest for Across the Galaxy is still running, so as I mentioned in my last post, if you would like a copy of it in exchange for an honest review, please email me and let me know. (ebook format only)

Also, just a quick headline I want to share. I read an article recently that even your Kindle is no longer safe from SPAM! There have been reports of people buying books, only to download it and open it on their Kindle and find it was an ad for something or a blank file. Here's what the article said:

"Reuters reports that spam has taken form on the self-publishing platform for several factors - namely how cheap and easy it is to republish another work already available, or to just make something else up altogether:

Aspiring spammers can even buy a DVD box set called Autopilot Kindle Cash that claims to teach people how to publish 10 to 20 new Kindle books a day without writing a word..."

You can read the entire article here. It's something to watch out for and honestly, makes me a little nervous. But I also think that Amazon is well aware and expect a solution or at the very least, some sort of tweaking or tightening up of their KDP publishing process very soon. What do you guys think?

Giveaways and the definition of stupid

I wanted to be sure and announce this giveaway going on now. Not just because my books are being included, but because there are so many awesome books being given out. You won't want to miss this. The giveaway is being hosted by Mindy in honor of her 30th birthday and you can enter on her website at magicalurbanfantasyreads by filling out the form. Good luck!

A quick update on my Race to Reviews giveaway. We are inching closer to 20 reviews for Dirty Blood. Currently, we have a total of 18 combined between Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Amazon. If you want to get entered between now and the drawing, all you have to do is post a review OR click on tags and email me which tags you've used and you'll get an entry.

*Side note: For whatever reason, Barnes and Noble seems to only be showing star ratings instead of the reviews I know were once there. Not sure if this is a change to the site overall or what. I am still counting the two reviews that are there, because I know who they are from, and because I did see them with my own eyes when they first went up. Going forward, if you want to be entered for Barnes and Noble, you can click and give a star rating. Just email me and let me know.

Now, to review the prizes:

Grand prize: signed paperback of Dirty Blood, ebook of Across the Galaxy, ebook of DreamKiller part 1 and 2 (part 2 is not out yet but its ready enough that I'm adding it to the list!), ebook of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby, an ARC of Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace, due out later this summer.

Across the Galaxy is lagging behind in the review department, with 8 total reviews between the three sites. I blame myself, since I've been so caught up in Dirty Blood's release these past few weeks. So- I am having a reviewer call. If any bloggers would like to receive a complimentary copy of Across the Galaxy in exchange for posting an HONEST review, please contact me at heatherhildenbrand@yahoo.com. I am also thinking that Across the Galaxy needs some more love since its been neglected for awhle, so I will be thinking up some giveaway ideas and stuff to make it feel better.

BTW - personal update: Still no news about the job situation. My hubby found out they have given him one more look-see in the magical fate-deciding computer, so we will have to wait another month to see what will happen with that. We were originially told that June WAS his last chance and so we braced ourselves, but now, at the eleventh hour, we find out that July will actually be his last chance. Apparently that's standard procedure, though the person in charge of knowing this information didn't actually know this information. At least not until last week. So, we are going back through the whole process again and hoping we get picked up to stay in the Navy, because in an economy like this, job security is highly coveted. Personally, I wonder if any one of them knows all the ins and outs of this process we're going through, including the guy whose job it is to know.

Now, I know what you're thinking, but I can't say it. I cannot sit and say, or type, that the Navy is stupid because as a military wife, that could get me in trouble. And that could get my husband in trouble. No seriously. If your smiling like I'm just being funny, I'm not. Sailors have lost a paygrade for wives that broadcast their personal, and not always exactly positive,  feeling of the military. So, I won't say the Navy is stupid. Even though the official definition is this:

stu·pid  (stpd, adj. stu·pid·er, stu·pid·est

1. Slow to learn or understand; obtuse.

2. Tending to make poor decisions or careless mistakes.

3. Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless: a stupid mistake.

4. Dazed, stunned, or stupefied.

See number one? Slow to learn? Yes, and number two. Well, anyway, I just wanted to refresh myself of the definition. No particular reason. Nothing to do with the Navy. Nothing to do with the fact that I'm frustrated about having to wait another month. Or the fact that lots of my stress could've been avoided had I known we HAD a whole other month to wait. Nope. Not me.

Alright, so we'll all wait with bated breath until mid July. *sucks in huge gulp of air, hoping to make it last*

Goodreads Winners

My contest on Goodreads ended yesterday and I am so excited to announce the winners. Each one will receive a signed paperback from me in the mail very soon! The giveaway was a huge success, with over 1000 people entered for each book. For everyone who entered, don't forget to go purchase your copy and leave a review. My Race to Reviews contest is still going on, with the grand prize including a copy of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby and an ARC of Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace. Now, on to the winners:

Congratulations to KRISTEN for winning Dirty Blood!!

and

Congratulations to Ann Marie for winning Across The Galaxy!!

Another cool thing that I found this weekend was a recent review posted on Goodreads for Dirty Blood. Here's an excerpt:

"...Dirty Blood has a really great plot. It was simple yet complex. There were layers to the story that unfolded as you read. When I got to the middle of the book I could not put it down, I was hooked. It is not your run of the mill werewolf story, but it still held firm to all the things we love about werewolves..."

You can read the entire review here. She even lists rules a werewolf story should have and I loved it! And the best part? The review was posted by Cambria. The same Cambria who will be named as a character in Cold Blood, book 2, after winning a contest over at Nightly Reading a couple of weeks ago. So, yay! Thanks, Cambria!

Shout Outs, Contest Revision, and Summer Lovin'

First off, some shout outs are in order.

Last week, Heather over at Nightly Reading ran an awesome giveaway for Dirty Blood and the winners have just been announced. Congratulations to Cambria for being the grand prize winner!!! There will be a character named after her in Book 2, Cold Blood. And I am really excited because I love her name and its already a perfect fit for the character I have picked out for her. Also, congrats to Alicia for winning the signed paperback. Its on its way. Also, Tezza and Regina, congrats on winning an ecopy of Dirty Blood, as the runner ups. And thanks again to Heather for running an awesome contest and showing indies so much love!

Okay, real quick, an update on Race to Reviews. A couple more reviews have come in for Dirty Blood, putting the score at:
Dirty Blood - 14
Across the Galaxy - 5

So, obviously, Across the Galaxy needs some love. The reviews it has received have all been excellent and it really is a great story and unique and different from other fantasy out there right now. And here's the thing, it's only .99 on Amazon right now so go get it and read it, so you can be entered for the contest! And don't forget that tagging either title also gets you an entry, so if you don't have time to review, just click on the tags at the bottom of the screen for each book and then email me the tags you used. You can even just copy and paste them from amazon so you don't have to type them, and you're entered. Simple. Easy.

Also, in the interest of time, and the fact that humans, by nature, are impatient, I am lowering the goal from 30 reviews to 20. Which means, when we hit 20 reviews (only 6 more to go for Dirty Blood!!) on one of the titles listed above, I will draw a winner for the 5 free books (which include a paperback of Dirty Blood, and an ebook of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby). And don't forget, you'll also get an advanced copy of Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace!

Alright, so....

Now that's out of the way.

We can talk about what I can't stop thinking about....

Summer!!

It FINALLY feels like summer here. Okay well, minus the humidity, which is nice. It was 90 yesterday but there wasn't that choking humidity with it, so it felt nice. I am so excited. I love summer. I only tolerate the existence of winter for 2 reasons. Christmas. And so that I will appreciate summer MORE. Every day in summer, I get to wake up and decide: "what should I do today? the beach, the pool, or the water park?" Yeah I know, you hate me right now. It's cool.

So, the fact that it was finally warm enough to go to the pool on Saturday and to get IN the pool yesterday, is really exciting to me. Unfortunately, it also means time away from the computer, because as much as I love being a writer, and connecting with you guys every day, summer is calling and I just want to be out there...

Seriously. I've had the following song lyrics stuck in my head for like two days now...

I've got chills. They're multiplying. And I'm loo-oosing control. Cause the power you're supplying'. Its electrifyin!

And what could be more summery than Grease?!

John Trovolta in leather will ALWAYS represent summer to me.

BTW, for those of you who read my last blog post, the bird smell is finally gone thanks to apple cinnamon Air Wick, AND Herman the Worm (aka the fetus) is doing great. He's already a big'un!

moving on from Wentworth Miller...

Oh my goodness. I just heard some horrible news and I needed to share it with someone who would grieve with me. (This means you). Wentworth Miller, from Prison Break, is gay. This can't be. He's been my digital boyfriend for years now. (Yes, my husband knows.) This sucks. Now we have to break up.

I know, calm down. You're just as shocked and upset as I am.

I actually found out about it a couple of days ago but I didn't want to believe it when Angeline told me, so I chose denial. I finally googled it this morning.(because Google knows everything) Apparently, he's still maintaining that he's straight, even though he's had like zillions of pictures taken with Luke McFarlane who IS out of the closet... I just can't believe it. I watched Prison Break from the beginning and I never even suspected. I loved that show. Everyone knew that was my sh*t. Sigh.

I guess I'll have to pull myself together. I still have Christian Bale, right?

Thanks for being there for me. Since you're here, I'll fill you in on a couple things.

First, I've got TWO giveaways going on right now. We still have Race to Reviews going (score is Dirty Blood - 8, Across The Galaxy - 6) but I am also doing a giveaway on Goodreads, one for each title.

If you want to enter those, you can click here for Dirty Blood and here for Across The Galaxy. The contests run til June 5th so don't forget to go enter. All it takes is one click and you're in there like swimwear.

Also, Soulkeepers author, GP Ching, is running a contest on Twitter. When she reaches 1000 followers, she will be giving away a free eBook. The thing is, the winner gets to pick the book! How cool is that?! She will have a list of a bunch of titles available from various authors, and the winner can choose which book they want to receive. That would be a really hard choice for me. There's alot of great books on that list. Dirty Blood is on there, too, but I wouldn't be hurt if you didn't pick it. Mainly because that means you would just go out and BUY Dirty Blood instead. =) Anyway check her out and see what books she has to offer. Its a cool idea for a contest.

Oh and one other thing. Dirty Blood is now available in paperback!! Yay! You can go here and order from Create Space, which is powered by Amazon.(it will appear directly on amazon.com very soon) OR you can order through my blog and it will be signed for the same price. <grin> so excited!! It looks beautiful in print!

Some things worthy of mentioning... and other stuff

This week has been miserable and wonderful all at once.

Miserable because I've been ill <--- perfect word for the all around nastiness I feel which kept me on the couch for most of the week. Boo!!

But wonderful because of all the nice things people are saying about Dirty Blood. Katrina over at Page Flipperz has the most recent review, I think, which was not only a super awesome review, but ALSO got her entered into my Race to Reviews giveaway. =)

Speaking of.. Let's update those numbers, shall we?

Across the Galaxy reviews/entries  - 6
Dirty Blood reviews/entries - 5

*Don't forget: if you 'tag' either book on Amazon, you get an entry for that too, but you MUST email me with what tags you used so I know to enter you for it.

Oh and another thing that must be said: Congratulations to A Book Vacation for winning the Dirty Blood giveaway this week over at the Bookish Babes. Enjoy ;)

Whew. Okay I'm actually sort of tired of talking about myself (or, more accurately, my book). Who ever thought I would say that? haha.

I'm sure I'll recharge and be back at it again later, fully amped to talk about and promote myself and my masterpeice, but for now, I need to take a break by thinking about something totally random and having nothing to do with me. I just read Water for Elephants which was brilliant but I can't talk about that because that sentence had the word 'I' in it so nevermind.

Oh, but that brings Robert Pattinson to mind, since he is in the movie. I could definitely sit and talk about him, as he's gorgeous and yummy and ... yeah you don't want to sit and listen to me though. It gets sappier and sappier. I'll just take a moment to myself. <pause. deep breath> Okay, I'm good now.

Actually, if I'm honest, there is an actor I love more than Rob. Its an affair that has been around since I was like twelve (yeah, I'm good at commitment) and I've never wavered in my devotion. CHRISTIAN BALE. Oh wow, he's just... Even when he was crazy in American Psycho. I usually can't watch movies like that (scaredy cat) but I watched that one, just to support him. I'm sure it meant alot to him that I did that.

It all started with a movie called Newsies and if you've never heard of it, then sadly, you have no idea that Christian can sing and dance - and you're missing out!! He was romantical and handsome and a bad boy and sweet all at once and I just couldn't help myself. (I was twelve!!) I think that was the beginning of my love for bad boys.

Oh and if you're wondering, yes, my husband knows about this. He's okay with it. He's still got a thing for Olivia Newton John so he can't say much.

So. I'm curious now... Who is your favorite male actor?

Race to Review Update

The race to 30 reviews is going strong and I want to give you an update on where things stand as well as some more awesome news in the prize category.

First, backstory:
As you know, we're doing a race to 30 reviews, to see which of my titles can get to 30 reviews first. (Across the Galaxy or Dirty Blood.) When one of the titles reaches 30 reviews TOTAL (on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords COMBINED) I will draw winners.

So far, the standings are as follows.....

Dirty Blood - 3
Across the Galaxy - 5

How you get entered: Write a review on one of the following sites: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords, OR add tags to the book on Amazon. (You must email me that you've tagged the title and what tags you used for this entry to count)

*Note: You can be entered mupltiple times if you review on every site or for both books.

What you'll win:

Here's the big news!!!!

On top of everything I already listed for the Grand Prize winner of each book's drawing, Angeline Kace has offered an ARC of her paranormal romance, Descended by Blood, coming summer 2011, when its ready. Its got vampires and secrets and hottie mcnaughtys so you won't want to miss it!!

So here's a recap of the grand prize packs:

Dirty Blood drawing, Grand Prize: Signed paperback of Dirty Blood, E-copy of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby, E-copy of Across the Galaxy, ARC of Cold Blood, Dirty Blood's sequel when its ready, ARC of Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace when its ready.

Across the Galaxy drawing Grand Prize: Signed paperback of Across the Galaxy, E-copy of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby, E-copy of Dirty Blood, ARC of Cold Blood, Dirty Blood's sequel when its ready, ARC of Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace when its ready.

~ That's FIVE free books per winner!!! ~

both drawings will include 2 runner ups who will get 2 free e-books of their choice. (Choose from any of my titles as well as Jennifer Sommersby or Angeline Kace).

I'm pretty excited about this contest and I can't wait to start seeing those reviews pop up so we can draw those winners!! Hurry, go now!!

Oh, wait, one more thing:

In other exciting news...

 Sleight is currently #21 on Amazon for the "YA Love & Romance" category. YAY Jenn!!! I am soooo excited for you and you deserve it because you are an awesomesauce writer!

And I am on lovlivlife reviews today with a special guest post about werewolves: 'The Para and The Normal'. It's pretty awesome. Check it out.

Okay, now I'm done.

Race for Reviews Giveaway!!

Before I say anything, I have to give a shout out to Andrea at the Bookish Babes, for giving Dirty Blood such a great review. You can check it out here. She's also doing a giveaway on her site for Dirty Blood now through April 30th, as well as an interview by me. Go read it and come right back. I'll wait...

Okay, now that you're back...

I know there's been so much hype that you're all at the edge of your seats about the mysterious giveaway that I know for a fact I've mentioned at least twice now. For those of you who've been paying attention, I originally stated that I'd unveil the magnificent giveaway by end of last week so I'm running like 3 days late. (story of my life right now)

I took a little longer to really hone the details because I wanted to get it right. I am doing a number of giveaways in the coming weeks through other sites, and I didn't want to overlap or repeat myself. I also wanted to do something unique and something that is mutually beneficial, if you will.

So, Reviews.

Reviews are pretty important to us authors. They lend a certain credibility where there might not yet be any, especially for us newbies. And I'm a writer, a story teller, a liar - for a living. So I'm not offended to know that the reader doesn't trust me enough to take my word for it. They need to hear from some regular joe's, instead. (i.e. YOU)

This whole process becomes especially important as a self-published author, like moi. Reviews are sort of a life line in the marketing-advertising-promoting-platform-building smash up that we are always juggling. Now - let me stop and point out right here and now that I don't mean Stepford Wife-like reviews. I mean honest, opinionated, though never cruel, real life impression of my story kind of reviews. Those are the ones that count.

So. The details of the giveaway is this:

I'm going to have a RACE TO 30 REVIEWS!


Let's see how fast we can hit 30 reviews EACH. The first contestant in the race is my new paranormal romance: Dirty Blood. And the second, my YA Fantasy: Across The Galaxy. ITS A RACE!

Every review posted gets you entered into the drawing and as soon as we hit 30 reviews, I'll draw the winners. THIS IS A TWO PART CONTEST so there will be 2 sets of winners, one for each title. And yes, you can enter for both, and potentially win both! AND, if you've already read one or both, and left a review, it already counts towards the contest. AND if you've read one or both, but haven't left a review, go do it NOW!

So, here's exactly how you can be entered: (1) Choose either Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com or Smashwords.com and leave a review for one of my books mentioned above.
(2) You will receive an entry for EVERY review you post, so if you post to all three sites, you get three entries
(3) if you tag the book on Amazon, you will receive an extra entry. (Email me the tags you used so I know.)

As soon as we reach 30 reviews for a title, I'll do the drawing for that title. Here's what you'll get:

Dirty Blood Grand Prize: signed paperback of Dirty Blood, e-Book of Across the Galaxy, e-Book of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby, AND an ARC of Cold Blood, the sequel to Dirty Blood, when its ready. (ARC will be ecopy)


Across The Galaxy Grand Prize: signed paperback of Across The Galaxy, e-Book of Dirty Blood, e-Book of Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby, AND an ARC of Cold Blood, the sequal to Dirty Blood, when its ready. (ARC will be an ecopy)


Two runner ups (for each drawing) will receive: 2 eBooks of their choice. (Can choose any of my titles as well as Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby) as well as ARC of Cold Blood when its ready.

The race is on.
Ready... Set... Go!

The Iron King... a review for you, a review for me.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Just finished reading this for the 'YA Addicted Book Club' I am a part of on Goodreads. Here's the deal with it: At first, I wasn't that into it. The story line seemed a little bit "younger" YA than I normally read. But it got interesting and I hung in there and I'm glad I did. It ended up being a cute spin on familiar fairy tale ideas. Tir Na Nog and the Seelie Court and piskies instead of pixies. And some newer types of characters, too. The machines, in particular, were very creative. The world the author built was reminscent of a hundred different fairy tale ideas, all smashed together, and it was fun to hear a familiar term (dryads, silkies, sirens, etc) but spun differently. The relationships and story layers, were definitely age appropriate and roped me in. And the tension and impossibilites of the romantic relationship there has me already reaching for Book 2.

***
Another recent review you might want to peak at. Andrea, over at Bookish Babes, just posted this for Across the Galaxy:

 "...Across the Galaxy is a beautifully descriptive book. Author Heather Hildenbrand does a terrific job of placing the reader into the scenery. While reading of Arizona, I felt myself visualizing the terrain, the orange and red of the sky, the heat. As I was taken 'across the galaxy' into each ensuing world, the imagery given made each planet feel real. The animals, trees, grass, water; every detail was given its due. True escapism at its best.
  Each character in the story, beginning with Alina, is set up in a realistic way. Their emotions, reactions, the conversations were all believable. I felt as if I got to be a part of the characters getting to know one another. There wasn't any of the "insta love" I've read in a lot of books. When Alina meets Ander, also a native to her home planet, they actually take the time to get to know one another in a real way. That was very, very refreshing. But as they do get to know each other, that chemistry is smoking hot!..."
Click here to read the rest....

Thank you so much Andrea, for your enthusiasm and fabulous review!

Dirty Blood... at last.

Wowzer, peeps. LOTZ going on in Heather-Heather land!

But it's bound to be that way after a book release, right? And I'm having so much fun. It feels like Christmas and my birthday because I'm getting so much love about Dirty Blood AND Across the Galaxy today, AND I just bought Cassandra Clare's: City of Fallen Angels, which I'm about to dive into, so yeah, good times.

Oh, and for those of you that checked, yesterday: Amazon was trying to make me look like a liar! Dirty Blood was uploaded on Saturday afternoon; PLENTY of time to go live on Amazon by Monday. At least, in my experience. Apparently, they had issues, though? Because, according to my computer, it didn't go live until this morning. So yeah, launch day was kind of a tease. But it's there now. Click here to check, if you don't believe me. And buy it, too. That'll put me in my place. Hehe.

Here's the 4-1-1 on my books:

Andrea over at The Bookish Babes is reading Across the Galaxy, and will be reviewing when she's done. She's posted a teaser on her site here. I have to be honest, I read the excerpt, and was like "I wrote that?? Huh, not bad." Seriously... I don't mean that to be egotistical, I just really had forgotten. Anyway, she's got Dirty Blood on deck, as soon as this one is done, so she's a doll. Thanks Andrea!

Also out today is an Author Spotlight post by MD Christie - one of my #TGNO girls. Check it out here. She's awesomesauce.

In the works:

A giveaway, forthcoming on this blog. Stay tuned for deets.

A review/author interview by Wenona Hulsey.

Goodreads giveaway (paperback version!), coming soon.

OH- and coming as soon as she gets her butt in gear: a guest post by Jennifer Sommersby, author of Sleight. Awesomest book I've read in forever! Her kids were out of school all last week, and if you know anything about kids, you know that means she had her hands full. Back to work, Jenn!!

Where to Find Me... and Books that make you cry.

    I've got a couple of things going on right now and wanted to be sure and let you know about them all. Plus, I'm assuming you're just dying to know, and I'm doing you a favor by telling you. So the first is my author interview by Genevieve Ching, over on her blog, So, Write. Big Thanks to her for posting it, and it has a little about me, so that might be fun since I try to stay kind of hush hush about personal stuff. You can read it here: http://genevieveching.blogspot.com/. I also have a book giveaway going on over at my new Goodreads-YA-book-club friend Heather's blog (incidentally, she has the best name ever!!). You can read those details here: http://nightlyreading.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/giveaway-and-author-interview/. Heather's going to do a review and interview post for me when she finishes reading the book and you can enter for a free digital copy of Across the Galaxy by going on her blog and following her instructions. The contest runs through March 25th I think. Don't quote me, though. Check her site. I've got another interview coming up, too. I think on March 20th, but I can't remember that for sure either. Wow. This is too much to keep up with. I need an assistant.  Wouldnt that be cool? Anyway I'm also putting together a couple of giveaways for the launch of Dirty Blood, which will begin in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned for that. Editing is going well - unless I just jinxed myself by typing that statement - and I am still hoping to have it released by the end of the month.

In honor of Fun Friday - that's what we called it in elementary school, anyway, whether it was really fun or not - I am doing a poll. BOOKS THAT MADE YOU CRY. Leave a comment and let us know what book it was and why. Misting up doesnt count, either. There had to be a falling tear somewhere in there. No cheaters. Nicholas La Salla gave me the idea in his comment on my previous post. I think its a fun way to learn about new books to read, that must really be worth reading if they made someone cry.

My answer is easily, hands down : New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer. There have been others (Linger, Maggie S.) but at the end of New Moon, I bawled like a baby. Here's the thing about my answer, though. It's tricky. Because at that time, I was going through some pretty messed up stuff in my personal life, and for whatever reason, that book touched a cord with the existing pain, and it all shook loose. So, it was a great book, IMO, but I think I was only half crying about the book. There's no way to tell, but Stephenie Meyer does a great job with portraying loss, so I still have to give her credit.

Oh, one other is this: "This is Graceanne's Book". I can't even talk about it. It's lifechanging. Go get it. Now.

Alright, how about everyone else?

Tell everyone you know, and maybe some strangers, too.

For a limited time, expiring I'm not sure when, I've priced Across the Galaxy at .99 on Amazon!! So, pass the word along to fellow Kindle readers. I will see how this goes and am thinking about leaving it that way until Dirty Blood is released, to help boost my reader base for when I launch the new book. I'll definitely give you fair warning before I raise it again, though, so no worries. And I was really hoping to get a bunch of work done on my rough draft, trying to get it ready for beta readers, but my 5 yr old is home sick (again, yes, you may remember he was home sick last mon and tues as well) so I don't think I'll get much done today. Instead, I'm probably going to curl up with Linger (Book 2 of Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater) So, hopefully this won't set me back too much, but basically it just means I still don't really have a firm release date, either. Sorry. You'll know when I know, though, so calm down - and maybe go buy my book.

Can March come in like a lion, please?....

     I want to give you a sales update for February. Okay, well, no I don't WANT to, actually, because the numbers are kind of puny. But I committed to it when I started this blog and I'm going to keep my word - for now. And because it's still exciting, no matter how few copies I sell, because at least I'm published and I know my work is good, just unknown, which will eventually change. So here's what I ended with:

Across The Galaxy - 11 (incl B&N and AMAZ UK)
DreamKiller            - 5

     And to be honest, I'm pretty stoked about these numbers because I look at it like this: In January, pretty much all of the copies I sold were to people I knew and that were doing it to support me (and read it, too, don't get me wrong) but February I was all on my own. These 11 copies were ALL to people that I've never met and/or that were genuinely interested in reading my book. And all I can think is, it's probably not a whole lot less than I would've sold if I'd been paper published as a new no-name, first time author with no marketing by my publisher because my name isn't Janet Evonovich or Nora Roberts. So, I'll take it. And I can't wait to see what March does, since I'm still hoping to release Dirty Blood before the month is over.

Also- the 5 star review that Across the Galaxy received is now posted on Barnes and Noble. So exciting!

Review/Interview at Mystic Thoughts

A review for Across the Galaxy (my first!!) and interview have been posted here: http://mysticthoughts-xc.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-is-heather-hildennbrand.html#more

So excited by the feedback she gave. Leave her a note to tell her thanks, and add her to your list of reviewers.

Who says you can't accomplish anything with 2 sick kids at home on your couch?

'Bad News Borders' and my ongoing to-do list

     Well, Borders made it official. They filed for bankruptcy. If you've been following the news, you saw this coming but still, it was kind of like a WOW moment. And then I had to just sit back, prop my feet up, and take a long gulp of JA Konrath's kool-aid. Because it's a pretty big hint I've made the right choice for me, by e-publishing. And if any indie author still wasn't sure if they'd made the right choice, they are now.Read about it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/16/borders-files-for-bankruptcy_n_823889.html

     As for my raging to do list, here's an update. I am on TWITTER! Got it up and running yesterday and you can msg me @Heatherhildenbr. (My whole name won't fit, oh well.) So that's exciting. And I'm really trying to work on getting my FaceBook Author page filled with all the info I want to have. I've uploaded my covers there and have provided links to Amazon, so you can find my work.

     I also rewrote my product description for Across the Galaxy today. I like it better for a couple of reasons. One- it's shorter. I had three mini-paragraphs going before and I think it was just too long and gave too much information. This one is shorter but still has all the info you need to get interested but not too much. Two- It leaves you hanging a little more as to the main plot line/big picture which is a better way to sell books. BTW, I found a great post that helped me write a better book description on Karen McQuestion's blog here: http://mcquestionablemusings.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-method-for-writing-book-description.html

Here's the new description, being uploaded to Amazon as we speak - let me know what you think:

ACROSS THE GALAXY


Orphaned as a young girl, Alina Leone has spent the last few years in dusty Arizona, being raised by her guardian, Peter, and wishing for a friendship that isn’t filled with lies and deception about exactly what she really is. Just before she can begin senior year she meets someone from her past – a talking wolf from another galaxy who won’t stop calling her ‘Empress’ - and in a single moment, her future is changed forever. She becomes a fugitive, on the run from the Shadows, the same monsters who killed her parents, and flees to the safety of the planet Bardawulf for refuge. But not everyone in this magically protected fortress is what they seem.