Bitterroot: Part 1 is available now!

There is nothing quite like a new release--I get so excited and nervous and silly every single time. This one is no different. Except that it is.... Werewolves AND vampires!??! 

If you know me or have read any interviews I've given on the subject, then you know that vampires have always scared me. I've been too afraid to write them and get them wrong somehow. So, I've refrained. and finally--I've done it. Owen is delicious and moody and slippery and mysterious--and deadly. I hope you like him!!! I want to hear from you guys! Please let me know your thoughts after reading! Then again, being a werewolf girl myself, Carter holds a special place in my heart too. Who is your favorite?? I can't wait to hear!

BITTERROOT Part 1

by Heather Hildenbrand & SM Reine

Seventeen year-old Regan Vuk has lived her whole life under the shadow of her future: the pack alpha. She is fast, smart, and determined. According to her own pack members, she is a shoo-in. But Regan’s dad has a secret.

Seventeen year-old Charlie spent her adolescence drifting from place to place with a mother desperate to hide her illegitimate daughter from the unforgiving reality of werewolf pack dynamics. All Charlie has ever wanted is to know her father--and the family that's been kept from her all these years. But most of all, she wants a place to belong in the world. Where she doesn’t have to pretend she can’t sprout fur and paws at will. Being kidnapped on her way home from prom was not she Charlie had in mind.

When Charlie finds out the only way to fit in with her new family is to defeat her long-lost sister for the role of alpha, she refuses. That is until she learns that the strange and alluring vampire she's befriended, Owen, is the same vampire prince that's been promised the winner.

Regan has no doubt that, although she loathes the vampires, it will be her who "wins" Owen.

Only problem: Charlie's already fallen for him.

Bitterroot is a Young Adult Paranormal with a dose of sibling rivalry... Who will you root for?

Just .99 for a limited time! 
Get it for: Kindle / Nook / iBooks

Contest! Help spread the word about Bitterroot!

Share the following message on Twitter, FB, or IG OR follow me on any of these platforms and get entered to win a signed swag pack including a paperback of Seasons of the Moon by SM Reine & Dirty Blood by ME! Contest ends 9/26!*

2 sisters. 1 vampires prince. Can family survive forbidden love? #Bitterroot for .99. http://bit.ly/Bitterroot1

*Contest not affiliated with FB, IG, Twitter, or any other outside entity. Must be 13 years or older. Void where prohibited.

Happy reading!

Indie Author Guide and you guys

Today, I have a new cover for you guys and while it might not be quite as breathakingly exciting as my fiction covers, it's a thrill for me because it's a brand new accomplishment in my skill set. Non-fiction!

On Monday, November 18, I am releasing The Indie Author Guide: A Self-Publisher's Toolbox. This is a how-to-when-to guide designed to help new and even established authors navigate their author business. It's exciting for me because it's a way to pay forward all of the cool things I've learned as an author and businessperson. And it's a way to help others go (or, in some cases, NOT GO) where I've been. And I love that my knowledge gets to help someone else along this awesome publishing journey!

Here is the awesome and eye-catching cover by the lovely Emily Tippets:

About The Indie Author Guide: A Self-Publisher’s Toolbox

Whether you’re an aspiring author or have been published for a year, this guide is full of information, links, and support sites that can help increase sales and streamline your business as a self-published author. This guide is not like other self-help books on publishing. It includes very specific how-to instructions along with a timeline so you also know when to implement each item. If you’re looking for vague instructions or easy banter, this guide is NOT for you. If you need a little sarcastic humor and someone in your ear telling you to get off your butt and make your dream happen, this IS the guide for you!

What’s inside:

–An extensive list of links to editors, cover artists, formatters, and bloggers is included. 

–Marketing, blog tours, release day blitzes

–Formatting, cover art and artists for hire, editors, what to ask when hiring out

–Garnering reviews, how and where to meet bloggers

–Where to find review groups, beta readers, critique partners

–Branding, blogging, and social media

–Time management, daily goals, sales strategies, what works, what doesn’t.

All of this and more is included in this hold-your-hand-style guide.

Heather Hildenbrand is the YA and NA author of more than eight novels including the bestselling Dirty Blood series. She is a co-founder of Accendo Press, a collaborative publishing effort dedicated to publishing stories that ignite the imagination, a fiction author, and the owner of Phoenix, an author consultant and coaching company that provides support and information for new and experienced self-published authors as they navigate the waters of self-publishing and marketing.

****

In January 2011, I published my first book, a YA high fantasy called Across the Galaxy. It's been almost three years and the best roller coaster ride ever. I've learned a lot and met so many amazing people along the way. In a very short time, business connections and acquaintances have become the best friends I have ever had. Self-publishing was truly the best business decision I've ever made. I haven't regretted it, not once. And I'm not the only one who counts this as a great decision. Nor am I the only one who learned the hard way. If I can make your journey easier, more enjoyable, more rewarding ... I'm happy.

If you're writing or have written a novel and are contemplating self-publishing, I hope you'll pick up a copy of The Indie Guide or email me for help. Along with the Guide I am launching Phoenix: Author Ink, a company designed to coach and mentor authors as they build their brand and their business. I also provide story help in the way of content editing and feedback. The company officially launches on Monday so look for a contest with a SWEET prize pack and I hope you'll help spread the word!

Breaking Radio Silence

I'm such a slacker.

I just looked at the date of my last blog post and it's been a ridiculous amount of time. So much so that I now have people/readers/bloggers emailing me asking if I'm okay or still here or whatever. Sorry, guys. I'm fine, just slacking.

To be fair, I think I had some slacking time coming, though. I've already published two books this year and three last year and before the indie movement of publishing books faster than we change our underwear that would've been a lot. Either way, I've been holing up in my blood-red-walled dining room and concocting sentences out of everyday words and putting them to digital paper at a much slower rate than usual. Also, there's Real Life, which has been chaotic and unpredictable and spinning me around like Dorothy inside that twister. (And yes, I've officially landed in Oz. I mean, it must be Oz because I don't recognize ANY of the scenery here.) All of that adds up to the fact that I've become a hermit and a stalker even by internet standards, reading FB posts without commenting and dialing back my obsessiveness with Twitter in a way that a 12-stepper would be jealous of. (Side note: Instagram is where you'll probably find me these days.)

The thing is, I miss you guys. And apparently you miss me too--or you're just nosy, if the emails I'm getting daily are any indication. Let's go with you miss me. I like that one better.

Here's my solution: Since half the questions and emails I'm getting revolve around Dirty Blood and the series and "when the hell is the next book coming out anyway?" I propose a Q&A via vlog wherein YOU, the reader, send ME, the author, all your nosy, um, I mean, well-thought-out and concerned questions about WHATEVER YOU WANT and I will answer them and post the video here for your viewing (and listening) pleasure.

And to sweeten the pot--because that's how I roll--I am offering up a signed paperback set of ALL 3 BOOKS: Dirty Blood, Cold Blood, and Blood Bond to one winner and e-book sets of the same titles to TWO more lucky winners.

Check out the new cover for the omnibus currently available on Amazon:

Sweet, right? SM Reine has mad skills...

You can enter for the set via the rafflecopter below. PLEASE be aware that I will pick and choose which questions I answer. If you ask me something dumb, be prepared for a dumb response. I reserve that right as someone who is good with words on paper but not always via vocal cords. You've been warned.

P.S. Contest ends 11/15 (or midnight 11/16 to be exact). I will (hopefully) post the vlog on Fri 11/16 and announce winners then. Yay!


a Rafflecopter giveaway