Showing posts with label Deviation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deviation. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Generation's cover and a bonus scene

Generation (The Imitation Series, Book 3)
Releasing October 13, 2015




After months of pretending to be Raven Rogen, Ven feels less like a clone and more like a human than ever. But when Raven’s father, Titus—the same man who engineered Ven—discovers her plan to escape, everything she’s worked so hard for is taken away in one explosive moment.

Now she’s imprisoned in Twig City, the secret warehouse where she grew up. She spends her days plotting ways to get back to the outside world, determined to topple Titus’s empire and free every last Imitation. But Titus’s reach is extensive and his plans are more deadly than she realized.

In the shocking conclusion to the Imitation series, one wrong move could mean the end for Ven and everyone she’s come to love.

AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON.COM



**SPOILER ALERT – SPOILER ALERT**
If you have not Read Deviation Yet
STOP NOW!

Bonus Scene from Linc
*Two Months After the End of Deviation*

The car is warm despite the chill outside. My window has fogged and I shift trying to get a better view. My legs cramp at being bent so long. I stretch them slowly, first right and then left. My knee pops and I wince. Anna looks over, an apology on the edge of her lips.
“I’m fine,” I say.
She presses her lips together and I know what she’s thinking. We could leave. But neither of us is willing to give up with so little to report back.
The mission is to watch Marla, the woman Titus uses as his gatekeeper out of Twig City. She’s one option among a scant few that we’ve come up with as a way in to look for Ven. Melanie suggested we follow her and try to find a weakness, something we can use against her. But the woman is a robot. She goes to work, she comes home, she watches The Biggest Loser. If we don’t find anything tonight, we’ll move on. I need to watch, to spot something we can exploit. I can’t do that through frosted glass.
Maybe my breaths are too heavy. I will myself to calm down. Anna’s still watching me, her brow furrowed like she’s still trying to come up with a way to fix me. If she only knew.
I pretend not to see her and stare through the window. Outside, the darkness is lit by the soft glow of the street lamps but it’s eerie to me. Shadows encroaching on the light. Monsters plotting. Everything in my life feels like a damn threat these days.
“You could climb in the backseat,” Anna offers finally.
I sigh. Anna’s always trying to please others.
“I’m good,” I repeat, pretending the stiffness doesn’t linger when I reposition my legs and tuck them underneath the dashboard. We’ve been here six hours and counting. Not how I wanted to spend the night—with a girl who isn’t Ven.
As usual when I think of her, I wince at the ache it brings. Anna’s gaze sharpens as she studies me across the shadowed interior of Melanie’s car.
“She’s fine, you know,” Anna says.
I consider pretending not to catch her meaning but it’s no use. I’ve been an open book with a harsh ending for months now. I pretend to stare at Marla’s townhouse at the end of the street but I don’t register a damn thing about it. Inside my head, Ven’s eyes blink back at me, trusting. Her lips pucker affectionately. All of the images are reminders that I failed her.
“How do you know?” I ask and hate the tortured sound of my own words.
“Ven is a fighter. She always has been. She’ll find a way to be okay.”
I ran a hand over my hair, rubbing hard as if that will erase the images that taunt me. “You sound really sure about that. But you can’t know. Not really. She’s in there and we’re out here and no one has even seen her.” Anger, helpless rotten fury, wells in my veins. Without meaning to, my hands ball into fists in my lap.
“He won’t kill her,” Anna says. I don’t know whether to be relieved or dismayed that she sounds so sure. Anna can be hopeful to the point of naïve. But right now, it’s all I’ve got to cling to. “If he was going to do it, he would’ve done it long before that night,” she adds.
I lean my head back on the seat, giving up the pretense of actually performing any recon. “How do you do that?” I ask.
“Do what?”
I look over in time to see her blink at me, so unaware of her own strength. Like Ven. I grimace, shove that aside, and force myself to focus on the present. “Be so optimistic all the time,” I say. “Even when things look completely hopeless you’re upbeat.”
Sh shrugs. “My Authentic was that way. Maybe she influenced me. Maybe it’s partly my personality.” She sounds uncertain and I glance sideways at her.
“And the other part?”
“Families don’t give up on each other,” she says. And it’s a matter-of-fact kind of thing that knocks me for a loop. Guilt gnaws at me. She’s right. And she’s family too. All of them are now and I’ve been so wrapped up in losing Ven and trying to get her back, I’ve forgotten all of them are messed up too.
“You’re right,” I say, forcing myself to sound like I mean it. For Anna’s sake. I twist to face her squarely. “We are family. And families always fight.”
She smiles at me but I look away. I don’t know how to tell her that particular kind of smile, the warm, fuzzy feeling it gives, reminds me of Ven. I don’t deserve a smile like that when I lost her to  a man like Titus Rogen.
I clear my throat and look around for something to say. “How’s your arm?” I ask.
She holds it up and even in the dim lighting I see the scar is already fading. “Much better,” she says.
I grunt, glad to see the infection didn’t cause permanent damage. Cutting out a GPS tracker is risky business. But she’s right, it looks a lot better. Much more healed than my sorry ass broken heart. I look up at Marla’s house one last time and start the engine. There’s nothing for us here. We’re going to have to do this another way.



Haven’t Started the Series Yet?
Get Imitation for Your Kindle or Pre-Order Your Paperback Coming May 19!

Everyone is exactly like me. There is no one like me. 

Ven wrestles with these contradicting truths every day. A clone of wealthy eighteen-year-old Raven Rogen, Ven knows everything about the girl she was created to serve: the clothes she wears, the boys she loves, the friends she loves to hate. Yet she’s never met the Authentic Raven face-to-face. Imitations like Ven only get to leave the lab when they’re needed—to replace a dead Authentic, donate an organ, or complete a specific mission. And Raven has neverneeded Ven . . . until now.

When there is an attack on Raven’s life, Ven is thrust into the real world, posing as Raven to draw out the people who tried to harm her. But as Ven dives deeper into Raven’s world, she begins to question everything she was ever told. She exists for Raven, but is she prepared to sacrifice herself for a girl she’s never met?
Coming Soon!
Get Your Copy NOW!



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Sunday, January 11, 2015

Teaser Time: Seven 11 Blog hop is back!

It's time for the monthly Seven 11 blog hop!
If you don't already know what the Seven 11 blog hop is, it's this:

A monthly hop (on the 11th of every month, silly) where i share 7 lines to tease you from a wip or whatever I basically feel like. You're welcome. 

This month, it's Deviation (released Dec 30, 2014). 

Some of you may be experiencing de ja vu right now. It's cool, me too. Deviation was originally released by yours truly as a self-published title in March of 2014 but then right around that same moment in time, I signed the series to Alloy Entertainment (CW anyone?) and now it has a new home and therefore IS A NEW CREATURE!

I rewrote this entire story from beginning to end. So if you think you know about Deviation during March-July 2014 (these are the months the old version was available), you probably aren't correct. TO jog your memory (or introduce you), here are the 7 opening lines to the story.



I have always been two people at once. Today is no different.

I am Raven Rogen and, especially when they’re not watching, I’m also Ven. Sometimes, my identities separate into two sets of habits, two sets of desires, two sets of miseries. But then, on days like today, they collide and I am both at once.

In this moment, though, I am mostly apprehension. My palms are clammy but I don’t wipe them, fearing the three guards standing sentinel will notice my discomfort. The walls in the room are gray concrete slabs lit by a single incandescent bulb. 


To further jog your memory, for my Love Birds that have been around for a while. This is the previous cover, circa March 2014:

And THIS is the new cover:





Alloy's art design dept is kind of badass.


And if you haven't read book 1 (Imitation), you should 1-click that one first since it's on sale now through Jan 25.

Now, on to the goodies!!

GIVEAWAY time! 

A few days ago, I posted an annoucement about social media changes coming in 2015. Here it is in case you missed it:

It's become increasingly hard to reach and interact with new readers and friends here on FB and other social media outlets. Because of that, I'm making some changes to where I hang out in 2015.
The bottom line is that the EASIEST and most effective way for me to reach you is through my Love Birds newsletter. I don't want any more missing posts or not staying connected and I want you all to get the most from seeing new projects I have coming. As an incentive for you (& a THANK YOU), I am running a contest for subscribers to win signed books!
If you're signed up for already, you're entered! If not, sign up before Jan 15 (***NOW EXTENDED TO JAN 20) and I will pick 3 newsletter subscribers to win a signed paperback of Dirty Blood!


Basically, the bottom line is that you really oughtta be a Love Bird (<-- my newsletter groupies) and get me in your inbox. You can sign up here. I'll pick a winner later this month.


And finally, the HOP. This is a hop, remember? Which means there are a slew of other word-ninjas that you need to check out when you leave this page. And they are:

Felicia Tatum - Young Adult
S.M. Boyce - YA Fantasy
Steph Nuss - contemp romance, 18+ 
Bethany Lopez - NA Romance, 18+
Justine Winter - NA Romance, 18+
Kayla Smith - Young Adult
Alicia Sheehy - YA Romance
SC Ellington - Romance, 18+
Amanda Aksel - Women's Fic/Romance



Now, go discover your next favorite author!




Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Seven 11 Blog Hop: Imitation deleted scene teaser




It's time!
The monthly Seven 11 Blog Hop!
Where I share seven lines from a wip or new release to tease ya AND you get a link to a bunch of other awesome authors to check out.


This month, I'm sharing seven lines from Imitation, from a scene that got cut from the newly published version which re-released July 29 from Alloy Entertainment. 



If you didn't read that story, you should click here. It's a fun one!

Okay, on to the deleted stuff. Here goes:


Raven Rogen is the shallowest Authentic I’ve ever seen. 
She graduated from an elite private school months ago and is taking a gap year before college to do “charity work,” which mostly consists of buying tickets to fashion shows and galas for good causes. She doesn’t seem to be making her way in the world so much as following a golden path someone—her father?—has laid out for her. Josephine has never shown me Raven’s family, but I know her father is well-off, involved in politics and nonprofits, and he expects her to be the face of the family.
She’s never mentioned a mother.

***
And, if you haven't heard, book 2 will be out Dec 30 but you can pre-order yours now right here.


And don't forget to check out some other awesome authors worth reading, here's your list!

Young Adult:




New Adult:






Happy Teaser-Reading!
xoxo



Thursday, July 31, 2014

How Alloy Entertainment and I became buds.

I don't know if you really want to sit and read the entiiiirre story that is my friendship tale between myself and Alloy but I've been holding all this in for a WHILE now. Besides that, this is my blog, not yours, which puts you at my mercy. But then, the human attention span is only 7 seconds, which I've already exceeded depending on how fast or slow you read. So. I will try to compromise and tell you the high points--in all their embarrassing glory.

It's like this:
Back in March, I got an email from a publisher that was interested in purchasing the rights to Imitation (and the series). They said a ton of nice things about my ability to string words together and the story I'd created and my brain as a whole. I was obviously mucho flattered, like any author would be. But I also had never heard of them which, in my mind, made them small potatoes. Not that I wasn't the same size potato doing this on my own, but from a business standpoint, small potatoes is not enough to make me sign on a dotted line. Or a dashed line. Or any sort of signature line that you can really picture here.

SO I sort of told them no.

Yeah. I'm an idiot.

Luckily, they're persistent.

Whew. Can you imagine being the girl who told the freaking CW "No?" I would never live that one down. Anyway, on email round 2, I finally got my shit together and Googled them. And yeah. Now we ALLLLL know (Including Heather) that Alloy = CW = WfreakingB. Like, Les Morgenstein signed my contract. Holy shizz.

Once I figured out the WHO--and sufficiently happy danced--I went back to the metaphorical table and got to know everyone and said "hell yeah, let's do this" a lot of times in a row. Whatever THIS is. (seriously, for the business-savvy indies reading this, I put much more thought into it than I'm letting on here. It was a killer deal and I couldn't say no, trust. but this way is more fun to read about. Calm down, yo.)

My 2 fabulous editors got me on the phone long enough to repeat all the nice things to me, only with voices instead of typed words, and I fell hard. They're telling me I'm brilliant and a story-weaving goddess. I mean, you'd fall too. No question.

So, the deal was outlined. Terms were named. Stuff happened. Paperwork got signed. The rest, as they say, is history. I'm vaguing it up right now because honestly, the terms aren't important here. Not to you, the reader. What's important is this:

The story is essentially the same.
(I define the word "Essentially" like this: the characters, plot, and ending are the same. Most of the middle is tweaked to be awesome and different and re-readable, trust me. Linc is more Linc. Daniel is more ... Daniel. Ven has more muchness--to put it like the Mad Hatter. Go read it. Again, even.)
Oh, the cover is tweaked too, which makes it more hellaciously awesome. Check it:

Don't worry. I fought for this cover to remain--because you guys would have my head if I didn't. I pretty much told them they were putting their own lives at stake if they changed the cover. So, you're welcome.

And Deviation. here's the deets about that: It's not "essentially" changing. It's COMPLETELY changing. That's on me. I had some problems (if we're being honest) with the first version and I kind of told my editors (because I'm just this side of insane when it's due yesterday) that I am throwing the whole thing out and starting over. Some other things needed to happen inside this story that just didn't, so this deal, for Deviation and it's readers, is the best thing that could've happened since sliced clones. (ew, right!)

Aaaaannnd there's a new and UH-mazing cover for that one as well!!!!

So awesome, I want to lick it.

Or something else equally creepy. It's brilliant.
And available for PRE-ORDER. GO now, sillies! I'll wait!

Anywho.
I couldn't tell you all any of this because of the 3rd party that's sort of silently involved in all this. (again, not important for the readers because it doesn't change the story, etc but I owe you an explanation.) This whole thing with Alloy is a partnership that is called "Powered by Amazon." Which means they have both hands and at least 3 feet in the pot as well. Decisions weren't really singular here. They were made as a group and as such, the group was informed of the decision to KEEP QUIET on EVERYTHING about this until D-Day. Or P-Day (publishing day?? get it??) or whatever.

AND FINALLY I get to talk about it!!! Yayyy! and party and celebrate and converse and revel and throw confetti and dance in the metaphorical streets in my virtual underwear (or whatever happens with the wine cork popped)...

In short, I am fracking over the moon about this whole thing!
And not only that, I've been so lucky to be able to share this experience with two other incredible authors. Tracy Banghart and Aimee Salter also have books available today under the new Alloy/Powered by Amazon label. If you enjoyed Imitation, you will love both of these. You definitely want to check them out.


Every Ugly Word by Aimee Salter


Click here to check it out on Amazon!
Aimee's blog has some powerful words formulated into an inspiring message. Check it out.





Rebel Wing by Tracy Banghart

Check it out on Amazon!
and check out Tracy's blog for a chance to win something.

And last but never least, a love letter to all of my dedicated readers: THANK YOU guys for sticking with me and being patient while I basically went "radio silent" these last few months. I hated not being able to share the details of my current wip with you. But now, all the things! Let's talk about all the things! To answer any more questions, I'm taking part in a Twitter party on Thurs, August 7 from 8-10p eastern.

#YAauthorparty will be for YOU GUYS, the fans, to ask anything you want about the books, the publishing deal, or the process we went through to re-release these amazing stories to you all. See you there!! And thanks for hanging in! Mwah!

(P.S. if you want to tweet a question early or at all, be sure to use the hashtag #YAauthorparty so I can find you and tell you what you want to know!)

And if you want to read the official press release via the New York Times because you're into that sort of newsy thing, the link for that is here.

And--if you want to stay updated on future stuff like Deviation's re-release or anything else, make sure to sign up for my Love Birds newsletter so you can get all the info as it comes in. (see top right corner of the blog.)

xoxo

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Extra, Extra...!

SO MANY THINGS. New things. Old things. Anticipated things. Surprising things <-- can't tell you about those yet. But I want to!!

First-this.
Deviation is out!!!
woot woot!!!

This cover just amazes me. Fascinates me. Seriously, Emily Tippetts is a genius and sort of my new idol. After these past few weeks I'm now convinced, she can do everything. I mean, everything. If you want to know how to turn water into wine, you should probably email her. Just sayin'.

Anyway, Deviation, book 2 in the Clone Chronicles, is now available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.
Coming soon in pb and everywhere else that's important. 

And to kick things off, there's a giveaway (there should always be a giveaway) and it's this:




And the tour kicks off at A Book Vacation with Shana who rocks because she made me this:





And goes to places like Happy Tails and Tales on 3/15 with Maghon 
who will have a special announcement!!!!
and end with Kristen at Seeing Night Reviews
and then Cameron at What the Cat Read on 3/26. 
Be sure to enter the giveaway by then!!


Also, in the "New and Fantastically exciting department" is this AWESOME ANNOUNCEMENT I CAN FINALLY SHARE WITH YOU ALL!!!

I feel like I should do a cheerleader kick here--but I don't know how, so I'll just say it:
I am officially the proud (one-third) owner of a publishing company!!!!!!
OH yeah-- you heard me right!!! Check it:


And the best part is that we're not your average, run-of-the-mill publisher. Oh no (I don't do anything average and I don't really know what run-of-the-mill looks like so...)

What are we about?
This.

While sharing marketing tips and discussing cover art, independent authors Amanda Aksel, Heather Hildenbrand, and Sara Panek all came to the same conclusion; wouldn’t it be great if there was a publishing house that offered all the resources of traditional publishing, while still allowing the creative freedom of independent publishing? They set out to create their vision, and Elephantine Publishing was born.

Elephantine is a collaborative publisher. Our goal is to partner with you to turn your love of writing into a successful career for years to come. We work side by side with our authors through every step of the publishing process to create a unique and professional title to share with the world. Using strategic marketing, we provide our authors with industry tools and resources to build readership and grow sales.

Our aim is simple. We seek to provide access to all stories worth telling, whether or not the words fit into a neatly labeled box. Words that resonate in your bones. Stories you’ll never forget.

***
I am so excited to be able to FINALLY share this news with you!!! 
(THIS is where I've been hiding for months.)
I hope you'll check us out.
I'm pretty proud of my elephant baby.



AND ALSO 
in the "EXCITING STORY OF MY LIFE" department
(I'm just full of good things lately and I love it)
I am still in Guam, still soaking it up. 
Still hanging out in places that look like this:

And I just want you guys to know I am so GRATEFUL for so many awesome readers and bloggers. You guys are what makes this possible for my life!!! Thank you so much for giving me this gift!! <3
Every day I wake up in awe of the life I get to lead. 
Much love. 





Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Guam and New Adult new releases

WHERE THE HECK IS HEATHER???
Uh, yeah, she’s in Guam.

I feel like this is probably a typical conversation right now among some of you. I have been here for 11 days now and I’ve been pretty quiet online because, really, I’m in GUAM!! And it looks like this:


And this:



Yeah, you’re seeing right. I took this from the back of the motorcycle. The ocean is that close to the road. It’s amazing. So much beauty and sun to soak up!
Okay, but I have been working here. Between trips to beautiful beaches and hiking to waterfalls, I have been working on Deviation. It comes out 3/12 and I can’t wait to share it with you!!!
The awesome Shana at A Book Vacation has made a killer tour banner and I’m getting the prize pack together and sending out review copies. Things are happening. Also, some of you have asked me and YES, there WILL be an NA version of Deviation. It will be called The Girl Who Was, a sequel to The Girl Who Wasn’t which came out a few weeks ago and looks like this:



It’s available now for Kindle and on Smashwords for any format. I am really excited to do this companion version!! It’s a gritty, sexy version of Imitation which is how I saw the story to begin with but because it’s the SAME story as Imitation, I wasn’t sure of the response. And so far, everyone has loved it. So I am going to do the same with book 2. It should be out by end of March. I will keep you posted.
For now, it’s back to the beach…