Spooktacular G*veaway Hop - Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, Champion of Valor

Welcome to Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! This hop is organized by The Diary of a Bookworm and by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer. There are more than 270 blogs participating, and it runs from 6 - 12 April!

I'm giving away winner's choice of an ebook in any format from my Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy! To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Aislinn of Bairbhe dreams of becoming a lady knight to honor the death of her fallen brother. To her mother's horror, King Patrick grants Aislinn's wish and she begins her long years of training.

Despite the mockery of the other pages, and the disdain of Prince Caelan who also trains to be a knight, Aislinn commits herself to her dreams and embarks on a journey of self-discovery and bravery. Through the years, Aislinn and Caelan grow from sparring classmates to good friends. They both know that someday Caelan will marry for the sake of the kingdom, but even that cannot keep them from falling in love. 

The threat of war with the Speicans is a constant threat, and one that grows more frightening as she and Caelan train toward their eventual knighthood. Aislinn has committed herself to serving Arnhem, and has promised herself as King's Champion when Caelan claims the throne. She is willing to give up everything... her childhood, her life, even her heart for Arnhem. No matter the pain it brings.

 

Sir Geoffrey, along with some companions, has been sent away from Arnhem, entrusted by Queen Aislinn for a special mission, and has to leave behind the mysterious lady Celestia. On his journey, he uncovers seeds of a sinister plot, learns a horrible secret, and makes a new friend in exile Jenanna.

Their mission completed, Geoffrey and his companions rush to two different kingdoms to ask for aid. Danger and betrayal lurks around every corner, and even allies have secrets that could prove deadly. Geoffrey's feelings for Celestia grow and wane. After learning some of Celestia's secrets, he begins to have second thoughts about his love for her and is even drawn to Jenanna.

Rumors abound that the Speicans have enlisted a mage of their own, to work unspeakable, forbidden magic. The war between Speica and Arnhem has just begun. Will Geoffrey survive the battle to live another day and discover which woman he truly loves?

The Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen, and it's up to Selliki, the selkie, to get it back. Selliki sets across the continent of Alethereia to find Arnhem, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. Selliki knows that no union between a selkie and a human have ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is. 

The final war between Speica and Arnhem is threatening the entire world. Lucifer has aligned himself with Speica and wants nothing less than to bring about the Apocalypse before its time. In the last battle, cowardice is revealed, promises are broken, and many people die. Trolls fight icthyocentaurs, dwarves armed up against the Drow, angels against demons. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Champion of Valor Release Day!

I'm so excited for Champion of Valor's release!

Stop one on my tour is over at Cherie's blog. Be sure to visit and leave a comment for your chance to win prizes!

I'm also over at Anne's blog today. I would love for you to check it out!

So Excited for the 1st!

I'm so excited I could jump out of my skin!!! Be forewarned, this post may have an excess amount of exclamation points!!!!

Tomorrow, Champion of Valor, the last book in my Kingdom of Arnhem series will be released!!!!

Isn't that a gorgeous cover???? (Oh, guess I'm abusing question marks too now!)

I've been organizing a blog tour for Champion of Valor and I hope you all will thoroughly enjoy it!! There will be prizes at every stop as well as a grand prize - one lucky reader will win the entire series!!!!

Later on today, I'll list the blog tour dates and locations. I'm trying to add more spots, so this will not be finalized yet.

And I have a winner to announce. From yesterdays post, one of the commentors will get to pick a story from the Kingdom of Arnhem series. And the winner is.....Charity Bradford!!! I'll be emailing you soon, Charity!!!

Desert Breeze Publishing Birthday Bash

Welcome to the Desert Breeze Publishing Birthday Bash Tour. Tomorrow the tour ends at the Desert Breeze blog. On May 1st, Stephanie Burkhart will pick the lucky winner of a GC from Amazon.

My giveaway as a part of the tour is a copy of one of my books from the Kingdom of Arnhem series - Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, or Champion of Valor. All you need to do to win is to make a comment on the blog today. I’ll pick a winner tomorrow.

Why I Love Desert Breeze Publishing

I first learned about Desert Breeze through a publisher chat on a yahoo group. As the chat was winding down, Gail Delaney (the EIC) mentioned that she loved series, especially for fantasy and a few other genres. I mentioned to her that I had an unfinished manuscript that would be part of a series and briefly described it to her. She said to send it to her when it was finished.

The story I had mentioned was a Nano story (National Novel Writing Month when authors around the world try to write a 50K in November). I abanonded all other side projects and focused on the novel until I completed it. After finishing it, I submitted to Gail and waited. Shortly thereafter, she emailed me an acceptance for Woman of Honor.

Desert Breeze is a non-erotic romance publisher, which is perfect for me. My novels tend to have crossover appeal. Woman of Honor is a coming-of-age fantasy romance, so it's definitely for YA and adults.

Anyhow, I had mentioned to Gail about the series during the yahoo chat, and we worked together to figure out the direction that the series could take so that the entire series was fantasy romance, each book centering on a different couple.

Woman of Honor is the tale of young Aislinn, a girl who wants to become a knight and finds love along the way.

Knight of Glory is about Geoffrey as he travels across the continent to find allies for Arnhem, while he tries to decide between two very different, mysterious ladies.

Champion of Valor focuses on Selliki the selkie and Gabrael the mage amidst the finals battles between Arnhem and Speica.

I am so happy to be with Desert Breeze the past two years. My covers are gorgeous - Jenifer Ranieri is masterful. My favorite cover of the three is Champion of Valor. The contrast of the dark clouds with the glimmer of light - and the awesome castle - pure genius.

I already mentioned Champion of Valor. It releases May 1st, and I'm so excited for its release! I'm organizing a huge blog tour for it, and I hope you join me. At the end of the tour, I'm going to give away a copy of the entire series to one lucky winner, as well as small prizes at each stop. I'll post more about the blog tour tomorrow.

Champion of Valor blurb:

The Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen, and it's up to Selliki, the selkie, to get it back. Selliki sets across the continent of Alethereia to find Arnhem, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. Selliki knows that no union between a selkie and a human have ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is.

The final war between Speica and Arnhem is threatening the entire world. Lucifer has aligned himself with Speica and wants nothing less than to bring about the Apocalypse before its time. In the last battle, cowardice is revealed, promises are broken, and many people die. Trolls fight icthyocentaurs, dwarves armed up against the Drow, angels against demons. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end.

Cover Art Reveal!

Ah, Champion of Valor! The last book in my Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy. It'll be released May 1st, and I can't wait! I just love this cover, it's my favorite out of all three.

The Mystical Conch Shell of the Sea has been stolen, and it's up to Selliki, the selkie, to get it back. Selliki sets across the continent of Alethereia to find Arnhem, and Gabrael, the mage she loves. Selliki knows that no union between a selkie and a human have ever had a happy ending, but neither can ignore their feelings. Each night, they experience terrible, real dreams that show how doomed their love is.

The final war between Speica and Arnhem is threatening the entire world. Lucifer has aligned himself with Speica and wants nothing less than to bring about the Apocalypse before its time. In the last battle, cowardice is revealed, promises are broken, and many people die. Trolls fight icthyocentaurs, dwarves armed up against the Drow, angels against demons. Only one kingdom will prevail; that is, if the world doesn't end.

I would love to set up a blog tour in May for CoV's release. If you are willing to host me as a guest blogger or for an interview, please let me know! I'm willing to host you on my blog in return!

And now I'll leave you with a brief excerpt from Champion of Valor:

Varun fixed her with a stern stare but did not argue the point.

I hope the Speicans will not know how to use the Conch Shell.

Varun shook his head. I'm afraid with their evil and treacherous ways, they will figure out a way to harness its power. But on to other matters, what did you learn from Tara'zai? Did you locate her brother? Naida thought she saw him the other day.

Tara'zai and Ven'jo are missing. I spoke with Mika'la instead.

The selkie leader closed his dark eyes. Then the Conch Shell might not even be somewhere within the ocean. He swam in a tight circle and then shored up beside her. You must go. Join the war, find the Conch Shell. I trust you to find it if it is on land. The rest of us shall remain, rebuilding our city, readying our army, and searching for the Conch Shell down here.

But...

Isn't this what you always wanted? A chance to see if you and that magical man could ever work out?

Selliki stared at the broken sand tower a few feet away. Marriages between selkies and anyone but their own kind ended disastrously. No female selkie had ever been able to give up her true nature to live with complete happiness on two legs. Not without constantly yearning for the sea. In every case, the selkie spouse abandoned their marriage and returned to the sea. In every case. Selliki knew the risk, but she also knew the calling of her heart, and she loved Gabrael. Even so, she shivered. This task would require her to be away from the water for much longer than she had ever been before. She fixed her gaze upon her leader. I will do as you wish.

Good. May the water be gentle in your passing.

And let the water save you from our troubles. Selliki flipped on her fins and swam away. She approached Naida, one of her closest friends. I have to go. Varun has a mission for me.

Compassion swam in Naida's eyes. Will you be able to see Gabrael at least?

Yes, but I must leave now. Tell everyone I'll be back as soon as I can.

I will, and be safe, Selliki. Naida used her strong tail to lift a portion of the broken sand wall.

Selliki watched the other selkies, her people, work to rebuild their underwater domain. Her entire body screamed to help them, but she had no choice. She had to do as Varun bid her. She ignored the confused looks some of the other selkies threw at her and swam toward the surface.

Nano Wrap Up and December Goals

I was originally going to update you all on my Nano story yesterday, considering it was December 1st, but Talli overtook the blog world in a huge way, and my blog was part of the splash.

But today is all me again.

I wrote just over 50k of Champion of Valor in November, making me a winner! Although I still have a lot of words to add - roughly 40-50k - before the story is completely finished. Then it'll need to be edited and sent to beta readers and edited again. I already wrote the ending but I'm sure some of the details will need to be adjusted/fixed. A lot of scenes were glossed over *insert battle between X and Y* *insert battle between Z and A* lol This book is full of action scenes, which is to be expected, after all, it's about a war.

I really like how CoV is shaping up. I don't want to go into too many details but here's the basic gist:

The final war between Speica and Arnhem draws to an end as allies are gained, lines are crossed, people die, and a mage and selkie struggle to make their love work as Lucifer attempts to bring about the Apocalypse before its time.


I've mentioned this before but book I in the series, Woman of Honor has a mostly historical feel to it, with some fantasy thrown in. Knight of Glory focuses more on the fantasy. Champion of Valor has both fantasy and religious undertones. High fantasy - meaning a medieval type world. In the Middle Ages, religion was a huge part of their everyday lives so I had to include religion.

I've created a lot of problems and dilemmas for my characters. It'll be interesting to see how they fix everything and restore order, and who's let standing to see things through til the very end.

Hubby was a big help, watching the boys in order to let me get some writing in when our sons refused to nap at the same time. Wouldn't have won without him!

I also was a PiBoIdMo winner. I came up with 32 ideas for picture books. Some are better than others but it was a lot of fun to sit and think up picture book ideas. Can't wait until I have some free time that I can devote to picture books.

I guest blogged at Loraine's about previous Nano experiences. Feel free to check it out and leave a comment!

So for the rest of December, I'm going to finish Champion of Valor. If I have time there are a couple of short stories I would like to write. Prime books is publishing an anthology of urban fantasy werewolf stories. Pill Hill Press has a romantic suspense anthology. And Fangtales, the next in the Tales anthologies from Wyvern Publications, scary YA stories about vampires. So December is going to be busy, busy, busy. If I don't get to the short stories, I don't get to them, but I'm going to try. Might as well set the bar high and strive to do all I can.

How productive was your November? Did you do Nano? What was your story about? Did you win? Have you read any good books lately? What are your reading/writing goals for December?

Inspiring Mondays

Credit for picture

Today's picture is a Kelpie. If you've read Knight of Glory, you already know all about this mysterious creature but if you haven't - the Kelpie is a water demon horse. It commonly looks like a lost pony and its mane is constantly dripping. To touch it could mean death, the horse is that cold. And if you should climb onto its back, it will race to the nearest body of water and drown you. Not the nicest of creatures, huh?

Extra little tidbit - the Kelpie will make a return appearance in Champion of Valor. But sh, I didn't tell you that! :)

Writing Update

I'm finally getting back into writing somewhat consistently after giving birth to son #2. Yay!

I had a flash piece that I tried to sell to different magazines. No one wanted it so I chopped it up, changed the bad guy to a paranormal creature and submitted it to Pill Hill Press' Daily Flesh Anthology. A day later, I received a contract for it. Another yay! So now I will have two stories in it: Deadly Flat Tire and Zombies Don't Bite.

I also received contracts for a short sweet Christmas romance story called My Christmas Luck which will be in A Yuletide Wish from Night Wolf Publications.

I submitted a short story to Pill Hill Press' Gone with the Dirt anthology. Since Gone with the Wind is one of my all-time favorite movies, I had to submit a piece to this anthology. My story is called Black Roses and I should be hearing about it soon.

The Prideful Knight had been shortlisted for Pill Hill Press' Shadows and Light II anthology but when the editor looked over their slush pile, rejected it. So I sent them another story which is now on the shortlist.

I started to write a prequel to Hidden in Shadows to submit for an assassin anthology, forgetting that the market wants sword-and-sorcery type stories set before 1700's. So I started another story, with a FMC that I have a couple of other stories about, and submitted that. The editor liked it and asked for the rest of the story so I finished it and submitted it. This story is called Collecting Hearts.

I had written a paranormal romance short for ARe's contest but it wasn't picked as a semi-finalist so I submitted Never Shall We Part to More Scary Kisses. I really like this story. It's different than most paranormal romances.... no vampires or werewolves. But I'm gonna be a tease and not say what creatures. :P

I still have several other short stories currently on submissions to different magazines. One magazine, I've been waiting over 470 days on. It would be worth it though, I receive an acceptance. It's a pro market so that means 5 cents a word. Would definitely make my day to crack that market.

As for novels, a publisher and an agent both have the full MS of Hidden in Shadows. My stomach flip-flops each time I check my email. I also just about ready to start querying Alexia's Pen.

I'm also working hard on Champion of Valor. I've been slowly piecing together an outline and trying to make certain that there aren't any loose ends. I really want this book to satisfy my readers.

So that's my writing update. How's your writing going? What step are you at ? Querying? Submitting? Revising?