Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Cover Reveal - Bella's Point by Elizabeth Seckman

Did you know? During Bella's time, American history made drastic historic changes. The passage of the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution outlawed slavery. The 14th made former slaves citizens and the 15th ensured them the right to vote.


Isabella Troy Stanley is a divorced, slave freeing pariah surviving in the shattered post Civil War south the only way a fallen debutante knows how. 
She heads to a Yankee prison and buys herself a husband. 

Jack Byron is the former Troy plantation stable boy and object of young Bella's affection. He rejected her then, and he's still not sold on the idea of marrying her now.  

 It’s complicated.

 Though to Bella, it’s simple: make Jack love her, marry her, and live happily ever after. The plan seems to work...at least until her secret is revealed.



Elizabeth is a wife, a mom, and a writer. She has four wonderful boys, one dusty house, and three published books to her credit. Feel free to check them out and buy them HERE! Erm, the books, not the kids or the house...though all things in life are negotiable ;)

You can find her here - Blog // Facebook // Twitter

Cover art by Sprinkles on Top Studios.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Read a snippet from White Hellebore!

How about an excerpt from White Hellebore? Why not!

"Ready for your present?" His low voice sounded huskier than normal.

"Yes."

Nicholas placed a thin rectangle gift on the table and quickly yanked off the crushed bow. Maybe his super speed had ruined it. At least the present was still wrapped perfectly.

"Never knew you could cut a corner so tight."

"There're a lot of things you don't know about me."

A challenge. She touched her lips with her fingers. "A little mystery suits you. But not too much."

Beneath the wrapper was a decorative box. Inside, rested on a cushion of red, lay a silver pen. Julianna lifted it. It had some weight to it, and engraved on it was "Ace Reporter: Julianna."

"Do you like it? Gavina thought I should have gotten you jewelry, but you hardly ever wear necklaces."

"No." She touched her tiny diamond earrings, a present from her parents after she graduated college, the only piece of jewelry she consistently wore.

"And then she suggested flowers..."

But flowers had always been Justina's thing. Funny that a girl who spent her time running around, chasing cars and stars and dreams, would bother to plant flowers. Not that she stayed still long enough to prune them or tend to them or weed them. Her flowers had been just like her -- wild and free. A small patch of them still bloomed in the springtime every year in a corner of their parent's yard.

"And I know you aren't a reporter--"

"Let alone an ace," she said dryly.

He winked at her, but she could sense his apprehension. He so wanted her to like his gift. "You would have been if you went to school for journalism. Heck, you could quit being sheriff and become a reporter tomorrow. I know you could."

"Why not Julianna Paige?" She traced her finger against the indentations.

"Ah, well... There was a character limit." He chuckled, toying at the collar of his blue golf shirt. He'd left the top three buttons undone, and she could just glimpse the swell of well-formed pecs.

"Um." Julianna grabbed a napkin and wrote, "I love this pen more than you," and slid it across the table.

Now his laugh was carefree. "A pen won't make you coffee in the morning."

"You don't know. You're too busy sleeping after wandering the streets for no reason as Black Hellebore. Plus, we don't live together."

Yet hung in the air.

"Pens can't kiss you," he persisted.

She placed the cold metal against her lips and kissed it.

"Pens can't kiss back," he said hoarsely. He stood, leaned across the table, and lowered her hand. She closed her eyes, ready to accept his kiss, when their waitress cleared her throat.

"Would you like another flask of sake? Are either of you interested in dessert?"

Nicholas looked like he wanted to shove the dessert menu back in her face, and Julianna didn't disagree.

"No thank you," they said together.

After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.



Be sure to get your copy! And if you email me (at Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com) with proof of purchase of either Black Hellebore or White Hellebore or both! you'll be entered to win signed print copies of the entire Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy! Mega bonus points if you buy both Black and White Hellebore in print!

Purchase links: Amazon 

And don't forget to hop around on White Hellebore's blog tour:

Learn about one of the villain's here.
See where Julianna's mind is here.
With more fun to come!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Jessa Russo, Author of DIVIDE, talks about her writing style

So glad Jessa Russo can stop on by today. Welcome, Jessa!

“My Writing Style: Plotter or Pantser?” 

I’m often asked the question—as most of us probably are—of what my writing style is. Am I a plotter, paving my way with outlines and story arcs, character write-ups and plans? Or am I a pantser—a ‘fly by the seat of my pants, go with the flow, write it all out and hope for the best’ kind of girl?

The simple answer: pantser. And proud of it. *grin*

I honestly just sit down and write. My “motto” is Just Write. (Pretty hard one to remember, huh? So much so that I tattooed it on my arm. Lol!)

But seriously, just write. Write until the words come. Because they will, if only you sit back and let them.

When I sat down in 2010 (2009?) to write EVER, I had a barebones idea: a girl who lived with a houseful of ghosts. Over many months and a gazillion revisions (don’t even get me started on what that first draft looked like, ugh!), that house full of ghosts dwindled down to just one: the ghost of Ever’s best friend and secret love. But I didn’t have the storyline to go with that idea, just the characters. And, truth be told, even Ever and Frankie morphed and changed as I trucked along in that world, though Frankie always remained a greaser from the 1950’s, even when he wasn’t.

With DIVIDE, I sat down on November 1, 2012, for my very first attempt at NaNoWriMo, my full intention to finish fleshing out EVADE: Book Two of The Ever Trilogy. Instead, and much to my surprise, the story of Holland Briggs flowed out onto the page—for no other reason than the simple fact that those were the words that needed to be written at that moment, and that was the story I had to tell right then. I knew I wanted to gender flip Beauty and the Beast, and I wanted to do it in such a way that our beautiful ‘Beauty’, main character Holland, wasn’t just a simple reproduction of the perfect, kind, flawless and aesthetically pleasing heroine. I wanted there to be some darkness, some form of a beast within, something that signified, even just a little, the truth that beauty is only skin deep, and we never know what may be lurking beneath the surface. Although, in this case, Holland isn’t result a monster, and has no control over what’s happening to her, but I’m getting off topic. DIVIDE was nearly completed by the end of November—side note: something I adore about NaNoWriMo is the discipline it forces us pansters to have, even, and possibly more specifically, in the case of already published authors—and by April DIVIDE was out on submission and entering contests. Without a plot or outline to be found.

Eventually, I finished the second book in The Ever Trilogy, and, much to the chagrin of fans of that series, I’m going to tell you all that I have no idea how that series will end. Because when I sat down to finish it, I wrote ARK OF DREAMS (my Noah’s Ark redux), and then later, CHLORINE & CHAOS (my erotic romance, writing as Parker Jameson).

So that’s the flaw of the pantser, or at least, the flaw of this pantser. I have every intention of doing one thing, but often, my words take me somewhere completely different. I mean, contemporary erotic romance? Who knew? Certainly not this YA writer. *blushes*

But there it is. I wrote. I followed the words. I let the stories tell themselves, allowed the characters to forge their own paths, and here I am. Forever a panster, and not seeing that changing anytime soon. Because in my case—and only mine, as I don’t speak for other writers—the second I try to rein it in and put some order to the chaos, I lose my way and just end up writing again.

Because that’s what I do. I just write.

So whether you plot or pants or have developed some awesome combination of the two, just do what you do. Just let the words come.


Just Write.

Nicole here: I'm 95% pantser too! Pantsers unite!


From senior class president to dejected social outcast, with just the flick of a match.

After accusations of torching her ex-boyfriend’s home are followed by the mysterious poisoning of her ex-best friend, seventeen-year-old Holland Briggs assumes her life is over. And it is. But not in the way she thinks.

As Holland learns the truth about her cursed fate—that she is descended from the Beast most have only ever heard of in fairytales—she unites with an unlikely ally, good-looking newcomer Mick Stevenson. 

Mick knows more about Holland’s twisted history than she does, and enlightening as it is to learn about, his suggestion for a cure is unsettling at best. Holland must fall in love with Mick in order to break the spell, and save their future generations from repeating her cursed fate. Having sworn off love after the betrayals of her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, this may be difficult to accomplish. 

Complicating things further for Holland and Mick, time runs out, and Holland’s change begins way before schedule. With Holland quickly morphing into a dangerous mythical creature, Mick struggles to save her.

Should they fail, Holland will be lost to the beast inside her forever.


WHITE HELLEBORE Release!

What with the 12-hour long FB party I had yesterday, I completely forgot to post here about White Hellebore's release!

You know you want to keep reading about Nicholas and Julianna and Gavina and the new villainS they face! Be sure to get your copy! And if you email me (at Nicole.Zoltack@gmail.com) with proof of purchase of either Black Hellebore or White Hellebore or both! you'll be entered to win signed print copies of the entire Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy! Mega bonus points if you buy both Black and White Hellebore in print!


After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.


Purchase links: Amazon 

And don't forget to hop around on White Hellebore's blog tour:

Learn about one of the villain's here.
See where Julianna's mind is here.
With more fun to come!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Jessa Russo's DIVIDE

DIVIDE IS LIVE! DIVIDE IS LIVE!



Today we're celebrating the release of DIVIDE--Jessa Russo's upper young adult fantasy fairytale redux of Beauty and the Beast (what a mouthful!)! 

Please join us all day (4/17) on Facebook for the Release Day CELEBRATION!!!
Author visits, surprises, and giveaways you don't want to miss!
Click HERE to RSVP

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes&Noble | Goodreads

From senior class president to dejected social outcast, with just the flick of a match.

After accusations of torching her ex-boyfriend’s home are followed by the mysterious poisoning of her ex-best friend, seventeen-year-old Holland Briggs assumes her life is over. And it is. But not in the way she thinks.

As Holland learns the truth about her cursed fate—that she is descended from the Beast most have only ever heard of in fairytales—she unites with an unlikely ally, good-looking newcomer Mick Stevenson. 

Mick knows more about Holland’s twisted history than she does, and enlightening as it is to learn about, his suggestion for a cure is unsettling at best. Holland must fall in love with Mick in order to break the spell, and save their future generations from repeating her cursed fate. Having sworn off love after the betrayals of her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, this may be difficult to accomplish. 

Complicating things further for Holland and Mick, time runs out, and Holland’s change begins way before schedule. With Holland quickly morphing into a dangerous mythical creature, Mick struggles to save her.

Should they fail, Holland will be lost to the beast inside her forever.


Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Cover Reveal - WHITE HELLEBORE (NA superhero romance by @NicoleZoltack)

I've been so pleased with the reaction from readers concerning BLACK HELLEBORE> A recent review on amazon has a reader hailing it the best paranormal they read in a year. :D

Now, it's time for the cover reveal of it's sequel, WHITE HELLEBORE. Love this story. All of your favorite characters are back with new ones and new baddies. Yes, baddies. As in two. :D No one can dare claim I coddle my characters!

All right, all right, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. I know you're dying to see it!


Told you it was awesome! I'm not biased at all. Nope. Not even a little bit.

BLURB: After destroying Skull Krusher, Nicholas Adams thinks Falledge is safe and becomes a security guard at the museum, watching a valuable statue. Unfortunately, the Egyptian statue houses the soul of a scorned witch, biding her time to have her revenge on the descendants of her cheating lover.

Kiya the witch isn't the only new foe in town as the drug that created Skull Krusher has now transformed a scientist into yet another monster, forcing Nicholas to don his Black Hellebore mask again and save Falledge.

Nicholas has no help this time as Kiya gains possession of his love Julianna's body and brings the soul of Justina, Nicholas's high school sweetheart and Julianna's twin, with her. Despite himself, Nicholas is torn between the sisters. If he can't stop the fiends from taking over the world and destroying humankind, he'd never be able to find lasting, true love.
Add it on Goodreads!

So I'm sure you're dying to know the release date and luckily it's not that far away! WHITE HELLEBORE releases April 21st! Be sure to grab it on the 21st! :D

And I'd love for you to spread the word about WHITE HELLEBORE's cover! :D :D :D