CUTLASS Cover Reveal & GIVEAWAY!!

I have this friend who wrote a YA story about pirates and deadly stones and falling in love. And then she announced her decision to self-publish. I waited, impatiently, to see the cover. And you guys? It was worth the wait! 

Behold...

Blurb:

Notorious pirate Barren Reed has one thing on his mind: Revenge against the man who killed his father. So kidnapping his enemy's fiancé seems a perfect plan…until he actually does it. 



Larkin Lee is more than a pretty face and fiancé to a powerful man. Her fierce personality is enough to make any pirate want to push her overboard. 



But when the King of the Orient comes to Barren with a task—to find the Bloodstone, a powerful gem thought only to exist in legend, Barren sees another opportunity to destroy his enemy. Together, Barren, Larkin and a crew of pirates set off to find the stone, only to discover it caused the death of Barren’s own mother and Larkin’s, too. As his strongest allies turn into his greatest enemies, and the life of the girl he kidnapped becomes more important than he ever dreamed, Barren’s quest for revenge becomes a fight to save the Orient.

It'll release for your reading pleasure April 23, 2014. 

I mean, isn't this gorgeous?!

Add it to your list here: Goodreads 

Meet Ashley here: Website and here: Blog

Chat with Ashley here: Twitter and here: Facebook

Rafflecopter Giveaway: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NATURE

If you peruse the About Me section of my blog, you'll notice I have this thing for nature. Mostly evergreens and water. And if you read my manuscript, DEADLY SPLENDOR, you'll see just how deep my love for all things nature really goes.

One day I'll share the circumstances in which I wrote DEADLY SPLENDOR, but for now I'd like to tell you about the threads woven through the story. Threads spun from my heart.

On the five acres I lived while writing this story were great evergreens. Some were clustered throughout the property and some were along the tree line of the forest beyond the fence. But one in particular caused me to write a story in which the folkloric females of Norse mythology, the Huldra, hid. In DEADLY SPLENDOR, my characters (who descended from these folkloric women) have the ability to change their skin to the color of bark. To hide high among its branches, completely concealed. I wish I had a picture of this gorgeous tree to show you, but so far pictures haven't done it justice. It sits by itself, completely dwarfing the very large nearby evergreens. And I can't seem to get far enough away from it to fit the whole tree into my camera lens. I do have one picture, though, of the forest's tree line a few winters ago.

Also, in DEADLY SPLENDOR you'll see rare plants used for healing and for hurting. You'll see dabs of history hailing the women who practiced holistic medicine in the days of the European Inquisitions. You'll almost feel the seaweed of the Puget Sound, and practically brush your legs along flailing ferns in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.   

I guess what I'm trying to say is, even in my fiction nature has a very important place in my heart. 

What about you? What do you find yourself drawn to? Wanting to read or write about?

YA Books to Movie!

Every now and then I browse IMDB for upcoming movies. Today I found out there's a few movies being made from YA novels. (Though, as we know, just because they are planning on making them, doesn't mean they actually will.) Thought I'd share the links. I put the book cover picture over the movie link. Let me know if you have some to add.

                                                       http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1686821/

                                                      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1718855/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1520490/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517273/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3076690/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1564777/?ref_=sr_3

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1661439/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1837552/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2132302/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986270/

Movies optioned by Stephenie Meyer's production company, Fickle Fish

http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2013/01/23/anna-dressed-in-blood-stephenie-meyer/

http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2012/04/19/stephenie-meyer-options-down-a-dark-hall/

QUERY & MS ISSUES I'VE NOTICED

Lately I've been doing a lot of manuscript and query critiquing, and I'd like to talk about a writing issue I've noticed. One that can possibly help with your query as well as your manuscript.

No base plot thread. No main point. Basically, what is the main character hoping to accomplish? Or what do they need to learn?

I'll use a few popular movies and books to explain.

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake: In the first chapter you meet Cas, a ghost hunter, and you see that his goal is to find a ghost named Anna and kill her.

How to Train Your Dragon (movie): Early on you see that Hiccup is not like the other vikings. He wants to be accepted and loved by his dad, which means he needs to learn how to deal with dragons, one way or another. 

TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer: In the first chapter Bella is new to town, and not too happy about her move. She sees Edward and is intrigued; she wants to get to know him, see him again.

FIRST GRAVE on the RIGHT by Darynda Jones: In the first chapter the main character, Charley, is approached by the ghost of a dead guy asking for her help to find out who murdered him. Also, a very old undead being contacts her and whispers a name no-one should know, other than her.

From the get go, the reader/viewer has an idea of what to root for. It's as though the writer has left bread crumbs on the plot trail, enough to keep the reader/viewer traipsing down the trail. Hopefully enough to make the reader want to run down that trail, full speed ahead because they just HAVE to know if the main character is successful. (Of course there's other factors in writing a can't-put-down story, but I'm focusing on this one.)

I see the main plot thread as the main color of a tapestry, woven through the center. You need it to keep the rest of the threads together, to make them mesh and the complimenting colors pop. The story opens, you show the inciting incident (what spurs the main character). Then at about 15% in (give or take) you have the first plot point (when the MC decides to venture out and change things up, while still sticking to the basic plot thread.)

For example, in How to Train Your Dragon a band of dragons attack the viking's village and Hiccup tries to help, to make his dad proud, but he screws up and ruins everything and in the process hurts a black dragon, Toothless. That's the inciting incident. When he meets Toothless and helps him, deciding there may be another way to save the village from dragons, that's the first plot point. All the while, he's still seeking acceptance from his dad and the villagers while trying to keep the village safe from future dragon attacks, which is the main plot thread.  

Look at your manuscript. Does your main character have a goal/motivation? What is it? Why? This question should be answered (hinted to, at least) in the first couple chapters. It's what causes the reader to continue down that path, knowing which way it's headed and promises more bread crumbs. And it shows the reader what's so special about your story. What makes it unique.

So if you're having trouble creating a query, it could be because either you're not realizing and showcasing your main plot thread, or you don't have one.

Tell me in a couple sentences, what's your main plot thread?

After You Sign Your Agent

Wondering about the process of traditional publishing? That unknown of AFTER you land an agent? I was too. Until I read this:

Books. From Manuscript to Offer.

How Does a Publishing Auction Work?

If you know of other great posts, let me know and I'll add the links. :)

Write On Con is COMING!!!

Just a quick post.

WRITE ON CON

Yes! It's coming. August 13-14.

Why do I love this one so much?

~ Because it's how my agent found me.
~ Because it's a writing conference you can attend in your PJ's
~ Because it's free
~ Because you meet the friendliest, most helpful writers in the world
~ Because they are writers who know their stuff, so their help with your query actually helps
~ Because I have two other friends (at least) who signed with their agents through WOC

I'm sure there's more, but there you have it. Write On Con is where I met most of my critique partners, too.

So set your calendars to those two days in August.

I'm not pitching (obviously) but I'll still be there, offering query critiques and making friends.

COVER REVEAL!

I like covers. Yes I do. I like covers. How 'bout you?

Allow me to introduce the cover for Victoria Scott's teen thriller (Scholastic) FIRE & FLOOD.

YAY!! 

Makes me wonder if that flame there at the bottom is raised and shiny and stuff. 

Want to know more about the book? Here's Victoria's site: http://www.victoriascottya.com/work/brimstone/

Thursday's Children: Conference Contests

Doing well in contests in inspirational, wouldn't you say? Last year around this time I had been querying DEADLY SPLENDOR for two months. I stumbled upon information for a writing contest with big benefits, and that's when I formed a plan of attack.

I would enter the contest, and if I finaled...

I'd get to sit at the editor's and agent's table to share lunch with them during the conference.

And...

I'd get an extra long pitch appointment with the editor/agent of my choice at the conference.

And...

I'd get a lovely purple ribbon attached to my very visible name badge that indicted that I was a finalist, to wear during the conference.

I just really wanted to final.

The conference holding this contest took place in Seattle, so it was within driving distance. Perfect.

I polished my first seven pages and sent them in, right around this time last year. A while later I got an email indicating that I was a finalist in the YA division. (YAY!!!) Then I went to the conference. I got to pitch to two agents and an editor, and on top of those, I got an extra long pitch with another agent. I got to sit between Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency and Liz Pelletier of Entangled during lunch. Chatting with them was a blast. And DEADLY SPLENDOR won second place in the YA division!

But most of all, I was encouraged. See, by the time the conference rolled around, I had been querying my ms for seven months. I had grown tired and wondered if it wasn't marketable. But being a finalist and meeting professionals in the business helped give me the encouragement to keep going.

This is a timely post because that contest is accepting entries until the end of this month. Whether you're within driving distance or not, you can enter. (One of the finalists in my division was from the east coast.) It's called the Emerald City Opener and it's an amazing opportunity. One of the finalists in my division went on to sell her ms. The other, Amy Deluca, went on to be a finalist for the RWA Golden Heart this year.

And...

This year I'm a judge for the YA division. :)

So, if you want more information about this contest, or entering contests in general, let me know. If you've already entered a writing contest, which was it and how did it go?

AFTER You Sign With An Agent: REVISIONS

Hi guys! Today I'm over at Lauren's blog discussing the whole revision process AFTER you sign with an agent. :) Go here to check it out. And if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments.

On Daring to Dream

While I've dreamed about one day becoming a published author my whole life, I've only just started writing toward publication about four years ago. In that four years I've lived in three different states where I've attended five or six writer's groups and met all kinds of INTERESTING folks.

My best friend, Rayna, and I still joke about the Dolphin Woman. During a meeting, Dolphin Woman took about an hour or more reading her piece, arguing with the critiques offered, and then listing the brain power and abilities of dolphins.

But Ms. Dolphin isn't the type to squelch your dreams of becoming published. Ms. The-Odds-Are-Against-You, though, may take a crack at it. And it's not that she's TRYING to dissuade you, but sometimes it feels like it.

Have you met people like this? The ones who feel it their duty to explain to you how impossible this business is? I totally have in my travels. More than once. I was in a group where a few traditionally published authors explained how unlikely it was that I'd get published. How long it'd take. How it was all a game of chance. And while in theory, I agree with some of what they said, we all know what their words really were:

A pat on my head. You know, the way an adult would pat the head of a child who explains that there are unicorns living in the back yard.

It kinda feels like that, doesn't it?

Of course these head-patters don't stop patting your head once you get full requests, or even once you sign with an agent. Because you still dream of unicorns in the back yard and they're still there to tell you such animals don't exist.

But there's a difference between simply dreaming for the sake of it, and actually doing something about that dream. A difference between wishing you were a published author and working toward becoming a published author.

I HAVE met people who explain that one day they will be published. They tell me their book idea, even graciously offer me the chance to write it for them (no thanks!). But they haven't once sat down to actually write the thing. To plot it. To research the process of becoming published, whether it be self or traditional or small press.

And that, my friends, is the HUGE difference. YOU ARE writing! You ARE researching. And you ARE working toward your dream. So when someone tries to pat you on the head for believing in such a ridiculous dream, just remind yourself that one day you'll get close enough to that unicorn in your back yard and YOU WILL ride it all the way to cloud nine!    

 

Look! Unicorn boots! You can learn more about them here.

Thursday's Children 5-2

It's time for another Thursday's Children post where we blog about what inspires us.

*taps fingers on desk*

What inspires me? 

I think, hope. 

It's that thing we can't see or touch, but has the power make our dreams tangible. We writers have the gift of microscopic vision when it comes to hope. We can find the tiniest shred and cling to it as though it were the only shield left in our writerly battles. We also lose it easily, giving in to despair, only to have another writer come along and offer us a piece of theirs, until we're steady enough to search out for our own again.

I can't think of any other goal in my life that I've devoted so much to, worked so hard for, as writing. From the outside, it had to have looked hopeless. Nothing about me screamed author. And yet because of the hope in my soul, a fire burned in my heart, melting away doubt and burning my inadequacies till they were nothing more than crumbled charcoal stirring in the wind. 

On the back of the amazing announcement that I'm now agented, I think it only fitting that this week's inspiration be hope. :) Happy Thursday, guys! 

What gives you hope? 

                                                            Do you see the little bird?

Thursday's Children

I'm new to the Thursday's Child thing, but thought I'd give it a try.

I was asked what inspires me, and while there's a ton of answers I can give to that question, today's answer is Evergreens.

They are magnificent, mystical, full of history, and just downright magical. While hiking, I know I'm in the presence of greatness. Muse-feeding greatness. 

My manuscript, DEADLY SPLENDOR, is about a group of sisters who are descendants of man-eating folkloric women. They derive from a few different types of creatures, but one in particular was said to live in the mist surrounding evergreens. The huldra. The backs of the huldra looked like bark, to help them blend in. A huldra woman would sit on the lower branches or rest against the trunk of a tree, at the edge of the woods, waiting for a man to cross her path. With a wink and a come-hither hand gesture, she'd lure the man deeper into the forest. He'd trail her as the evergreens grew dense and the sunlight withered to nothing more than strands of yellow filtered through layers of branches. That's where her sisters would lay in wait for meal time. 

You'll see evergreens in every book I've written. Because they inspire magical stories. What inspires you?

*I took these pictures during a hike*

      

Poverty in YA Fiction?

This isn't the lean-to. It's a pump house on
my parent's property.

Today I read a post stating that YA fiction deals with bullying and other social issues, but not poverty. Is that true? Have you read a YA story with a character living in hunger and poverty? I'm assuming the author wasn't including dystopian or post apocalyptic stories.  Just a guess. ;)

I'm asking, because I did write that kind of story. It's my work in progress, Shattered Choices. My female main character never mentions her hunger, but you certainly see she's living in squalor.

I loosely modeled my MC, April, after the girl living across the street from me. I was in high school and she was too. I lived in the boonies. Way out. And across the country road from me, was a shack. Normally it was empty. It had barely any windows still intact. The roof was caving in. Blackberry brambles had taken over the rotted front porch and grew up the outside walls.

The history lover in me would stand in my long, gravel driveway and stare at that lean-to, wondering what it had looked like when it was newly built. Who had lived in it.

My parent's driveway & my muddy dog. :)

And then one morning a new girl stood at my bus stop. She was quiet and my age. After a few days of getting on the bus in silence, I started a conversation, excited to make a friend who actually lived near me. Because NOBODY lived near me. I don't remember her talking about herself much.

I do remember her greasy hair. How she wore too much makeup, and applied it on the bus, after the sun lit up the dark morning sky. I remember how her clothes carried the scent of mildew. How during the one time she'd let me in her house, I'd noticed they used a lantern for light and sheets of thick plastic stabled over the window holes to help block the cold wind keep any kind of heat in the home. When I asked how they were able to shower without electricity and water, she explained that her family took rolls of quarters down the street to the lake camping grounds and used the public showers, once or twice a week.

After maybe a month or two, she stopped boarding the bus. Stopped walking the woods with me. And I

never saw her again.

The woods behind my parent's house at twilight.

I knew her for such a short time, I don't even remember her name. And the lean-to doesn't exist anymore, it was bulldozed. But she definitely left an imprint on my heart, because the night I dreamed what would lead to Shattered Choices, she was the girl Lucas would cross dimensions for. She was the girl he fell in love with. And she was the girl he'd risk everything to save.

Maybe one day Shattered Choices will be published and teens will be able to learn about, or relate to the painful reality of poverty in our country.

So what YA novels have you read dealing with poverty and hunger?    

Allura & David's Song

Reminds me of the way Allura feels about David in DEADLY SPLENDOR.

Be In The Know

So much going on this week, guys. At least for the writer who has a finished manuscript and is ready to query. :)

It's the last day to submit a query for Write On Con's Pitch Fest. Need more information? Go here.

Then we've got Brenda Drakes Pitch Madness kicking off this Friday. Check it out here.

Also this Friday, those writers who submitted a snarky sample of work to Liz Pelletier in hopes of being chosen to write her spec book, will be notified as to who made it to the next round--the interview round. Haven't heard about this one? It happened really quickly. I think it started on Twitter then turned into a blog post and then BAM the submission window was over. Still, Liz reported receiving 118 samples. Want to be in the know? Check it out here.

If you're thinking about entering Pitch Fest and/or Pitch Madness, let me encourage you to do it. If your manuscript is query-ready, of course. I entered Pitch Fest, I plan on entering Pitch Madness, and I threw my sample in the ring for Liz's spec book opportunity. And let me tell you, I am NOT LUCKY at these blog contest things. Thankfully, I've done well in regular conference writing contests, but for some reason I fail miserably with the whole online avenue.

But it's fun, anyway. I get to meet other writers. I get to encourage and critique. I get to receive encouragement and critiques. :) And I think it helps me to become a better writer and build that thick skin everyone's always talking about.

Is there anything else happening this week in a writerly way? Have you entered any of these?  

*And now an adorable picture that made my morning.*

Readjusting My BIG-GIRL Tights

*sigh*

I think it's time to readjust my big-girl tights. (They're black with sparkly mermaid tails, by the way.)

For the last eight years my family has been moving around the country. A lot. Every six month to two years, in fact. During that time I did not work outside the home. Oh, I did births as a doula and taught childbirth classes, but that wasn't even part time. It was here and there. 

But before all the moving around, I was an optician. 

And now we're done moving. We're settled. My kids are both in school. 

It's time to go back to work--part time--as an optician. 

Ask me how I feel about this and you may get different answers from one moment to the next. Because despite the fact that I've been looking forward to joining the workforce, I'm incredibly scared that it'll do away with my writing time. That the responsibilities of life will gobble up my dream and spit me out. 

I know this doesn't have to be true.   

My best friend and critique partner works full time. Many authors have careers outside of writing. I get that. So why do I feel as though I'm unwillingly trading one future for another? 

Because I'm sick of these flip-flop feelings, I need your help. Do you work outside the home? What do you do? How has it changed your writing? Good or bad? Thanks guys! I really look forward to hearing about your experiences! 

The THING I Do

There's this thing I do. 

No. Not that. 

*Blushes*

The OTHER thing. 

I do it when I'm having a tough writerly day. Or maybe even a good one. I do it for inspiration to keep pressing on. Or the guts to dare to dream. 

You can do it too. 

Think of one of your favorite authors. They have to be living and breathing and fairly current. Okay, got one in mind? Next go to their webpage. Find their blog. Scroll down to see when they started their blog. Click on it. The very first month of the first year. And read. Was it before their first book came out? Was it before they even had an agent or a first book? 

Yeah, those are the best. 

Read their hopes and wishes to one day get an agent. To one day get a book deal. Note the lack of comments they received on their posts. Connect with them in their frustrations over waiting and desperately wanting. 

And then read their good news. The day the planets aligned for them. And how they got there. 

I promise, it'll plaster a hopeful smile on your face. That fire burning inside, pushing you to introduce the world to those characters in your head, will increase till it's a roaring blaze.      

A Rough Week

Last week was rough. And yes, you can go ahead and assume what type of rough, because it was such a hard week, I'm sure more than one explanation applies.

So I vowed something to myself. I vowed not to check my email all weekend. And since it's become such a regular part of my day--like every five minutes--I even moved the email icon on my phone to the last app page. Did I still pick up the purple iPhone to check? Yes. But by the time I swiped to the last page in a fog of email addiction, I was coherent enough to remember my vow.

I can't say that this impromptu weekend fast from all things email has given me any perspective. But it has temporarily lifted the weight of the "What's in my inbox? Is it a rejection?" burden.

And you know what? Maybe it has given me an ounce of perspective.

In my four years of trying, I have not had as rough a week on my path to publication as I did last week. I think that counts for something. It's another notch in my belt, if you will. An algae covered, slippery stepping stone on a river whose stream I'm traveling against, and I didn't fall. I slid a little. But I quickly gained my footing, stilled myself to correct my balance, and decided more than ever to press onward.

My critique partner/best friend recently reminded me of my favorite saying: The darkest hour is before dawn. And I'm hoping this time, it's true. :)

Does that saying encourage you? Have you been on a writing high lately, or a writing low?  

PS. After you comment, this post is VERY good. I suggest giving it a read, especially if you're in the query trenches or submission hell.

Re-Introduce Myself

Today is the Re-Introduce Myself Blog Fest in which I tell you a little bit about myself and hopefully make a few friends in the process. :) If you want to join in on the fun you can go here to sign up.

So here's a little about me you may not already know:

I don't like to cook, but most nights I prepare dinner from scratch. While taking classes to become a doula, I learned the risks of eating processed, chemical-filled meals. So I try to give my family nutritional foods with a side of yummy. But, last summer when my kids went to CA for two weeks to visit their grandparents, my hubby and I made a trip to the grocery store and filled our cart with quick-cooking junk food. And we chemicaled it up for those two weeks! So yeah, I highly dislike cooking, but I do it because I care. And because when those breaks from healthy-eating come, they are totally worth the wait! ;)

Liebster Questions Answered

I've been chosen to receive the Liebster Reward.

Man. I haven't gotten one of those since I started my blog. Feels like forever ago...

I met a friendly YA writer on Twitter and we've been chatting since. She listed me as #1 to receive this award, so I am grateful. If you want to visit this friendly YA writer, her name is Amber and her blog is here. :)

Here's the 11 questions Amber's given me to answer:

1) Describe your current manuscript in three sentences.
     That still, small voice isn't your conscience, it's your Watcher. By Watching seventeen-year-old April's life sphere, Lucas knows the outcome of every decision before she makes it. But when he sees a deadly consequence coming April's way, he skips the small voice part and goes straight for rule-breaking, leaving her life sphere shattered and his Watcher status ruined.

2) What is the most important thing you try to achieve in your writing?
     Assuming we've already included the necessities like character arc, conflict, voice, plot points, and all that, I'd say I try to focus on pacing. That's a huge deal to me. I want to open my ms at any point in the story, and immediately get sucked in. I want my books to be unputdownable. :)

3) What has been your biggest writing high?
     The writer's conference I attended in October. Before that, I'd entered Dark Waters in blog contests and not done so well. I had started to think maybe my story wasn't as unique as I had thought. But at the conference, published/seasoned authors taught me the correct way to pitch. And I learned it wasn't my story that had issues, it was the way I introduced it. And the excited feedback I received from agents and authors once I started pitching my story correctly was super encouraging. Dark Waters also won 2nd place in a writing contest during the conference so it was a weekend of writing highs.

4) What are your three favorite books?
     I can tell you my three favorite series, if that's okay. Right now I'm addicted to J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I absolutely loved the Twilight series; it made me bawl my eyes out, guys. And I couldn't put down Julie Kagawa's The Immortal Rules.

5) What's the primary focus of your blog?
     When I started it three years ago, my focus was to share the well-traveled road to publishing. Since then I've realized posting query and request stats is unprofessional unless you're telling your "how I got my agent" story. So now I try to share anything I've learned about writing, make connections, and talk about books. Oh, and dogs. I always want to talk about dogs. :)

6) Name three interesting bloggers/Tweeters you'd like to get to know better.
     Can't do it. In one way or another, I want to get to know as many writers as I can. We can all learn from each other and encourage one another.        

7) What is the single best piece of writing advice you have ever heard/read?
     When I first started writing, I bought "how to" books and searched the internet for tips. I quickly learned writing is an art, and everyone approaches it with a different set of brushes. So I went straight to the canvas to study the colors. I bought bestsellers in my genres and read them. If I loved them, I read them again...with a highlighter and a pen, making notes on pacing, character growth, dialog, and plot points. If I didn't love them, I asked myself why. So the best piece of advice is to read in your genre. A ton.

8) How would you sum up your writing experience?
     I'm not sure how to answer this. I've written since I can remember. In elementary school I won first place in my school district for best novel. In high school I took every journalism and creative writing class I could, and when I was a senior and had completed my English credits early, I spent my 4th period class time at the local community college taking their English class. But I had babies and traveled and didn't start writing fiction again until the summer of 2009.

9) What's your plan for publication?
     I'm currently seeking agent representation. :)

10) What's been your biggest challenge as a writer?
     That's easy. Confidence in my work.

11) What keeps you going?
     My CPs who guarantee me my stories will one day be in print. Plus, I adore making stuff up and telling love stories, so I can't not write.  

Whatcha Reading?

Hi! What are you all reading this January? I'm half-way through City of Bones, and enjoying it.

And today I just picked up a book I've been waiting to read. I'm a member of RWA, and so is the author. When I found out she was going to attend the Emerald City Writer's Conference last October, I had every intention of meeting her. I even used all my raffles tickets on her basket containing a copy of this book and swag! Yet, when she walked up to my part of the check-in table and told me her name, I searched for her packet, gave her her badge, and COMPLETELY failed to make the connection that this was the same name on the book cover I'd been drooling over on Goodreads! Oh, well. Maybe next year. :)

 Here's the premise, doesn't it sound fun?

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other twenty-something girls—with one tiny exception: They're the products of a curse that backfired and gave each of them unique powers that make them, well, a little weird…

The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region—until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders if the vampires of Tahoe are plague-ridden.

Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the area safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and—oh, yeah—not lose her heart to the wrong guy or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, he's coming for her and her sisters. 

This Wird girl has never had it so tough.



Oh! And I almost forgot to tell you. I came across these sites and they're fun. Okay, continue on your day.
How to dress like a Disney princess is here.
How to dress like a Disney villain is here.

But tell me, which page are you going to first? The princess or the villain page?