Winterborne Now In Paperback

Yes, I realize I'm going a little backwards with the whole ebook to paperback thing, but there it is.  Winterborne is now available in beautiful, smell-the-pages paperback on CreateSpace and Amazon.  


Ravenstoke will be next up.  Just waiting for the proof to approve it!  


Also, please keep an eye out for my middle grade novel in the next few weeks.  If you know any kids ages 9 and up who like themselves a little unicorn and adventure, this will be the book for them.  More to come on that. 


Quote of My Week:  "I love the book! I would buy it if it was published. It was truly was one of the best books I have ever read and I was honored to read it." - Abby, middle grade beta reader 

Keep Those Reviews Coming

I am very excited to see positive reviews coming for Ravenstoke.  Please check out the latest at The Caffeinated Diva.

The Routine

Happy New Year to all!  Right off the bat, I'd like to thank Nicole over at Book Nook Club for a great review of Ravenstoke.  Please spare a few minutes to check out her blog.  A welcome way to kickstart the new year. 


Now that I am officially back into the routine (not to be confused with 'the routine' performed by Ross and Monica on Friends, although that would be awesome), I aim to be a better, more consistent blogger.  This is not a resolution, merely an aim.  I refuse to resolve to do anything, other than ensure that my children are bathed and fed on a semi-regular basis. 


We had a busy Christmas at home with my in-laws to start, and then my parents flew in from the US for a week.  Swapping from one set of parents to the next is always difficult because it means at least one of us (me or my husband) is perpetually, albeit mildly, annoyed for the duration.  There is a lot of jostling for the remote control and begrudgingly watching episodes of shows you didn't even know existed.  There is apparently a woman on TV who is like Supernanny for dogs.  Aside from the absence of the ubiquitous naughty step, the shows are identical in format.  Interestingly, the woman on the dog show kicked off the episode by declaring that dogs should not be treated like people, then proceeded to 'train' the dogs in a style similar to the way that Supernanny 'trains' children.  They really should get their stories straight before shadowing each other on international television.  She also rocks the British accent, a prerequisite for any show that modifies human or animal behavior (or should that be 'behaviour'?).  We then watched an endless loop of Escape to the Country where English home buyers seem to have limitless bank accounts and lots of free time for clarinet playing, painting, and dog walking.  The show basically serves as an ad for the lottery because I immediately bought several tickets for the enormous Euromillions pot so that I, too, may grab my slice of idyllic English life (insert here - the old coach house, the fisherman's cottage, the converted barn with a high spec interior, the country estate, etc.).  I also indulged in a little house porn, flipping through page after page of luxury homes with Farrow & Ball-painted bathtubs and large country kitchens complete with colorful Agas.    


Today, however, the kids are back in school, meals are expected in a timely fashion, and the kitchen ceiling requires painting after my husband struggled with a cork in a bottle of red wine.  (Newsflash - he lost.)  Back to the routine, indeed.                                   


Quote of My Week: "Hey, Jane Austen has a new book out!" - Anonymous (I refuse to divulge the name of this misinformed person, but I can safely reveal that it was not one of my children.)     

5 Star Review for Ravenstoke

The first review for Ravenstoke is in and it's a lovely 5 stars (or 5 butterflies in Anna's case).  Please check out Anna's blog - Books to Brighten Your Mood.

I'll also be guest posting there next week in time for the holidays.  I'll post the link when it's up and running!


Quote of My Week:  "When I'm seven I won't need you to sit in my room before I go to sleep.  That way you can get enough sleep."  (Only 3 more years to go then.  Yay?)

Ravenstoke has arrived...

Ravenstoke, the sequel to Winterborne, is now available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes for the happy holiday price of $2.99.  Now everyone run out (or sit at your computer like I do) and buy e-readers for your loved ones for Christmas and Hanukkah!  Thank you in advance to everyone who buys and reads the book.  I hope you enjoy it!      

Ravenstoke is coming

I'm pleased to announce the sequel to Winterborne will be with you shortly.  I am about to send it off to the conversion elves who will provide me with shiny, new ePub and mobi files for your ebook viewing pleasure.  Writing the blurb has been a little challenging because I'm trying not to include spoilers from book one.      


Here's what I've cobbled together so far --


Loie and Mia's seventeenth birthdays brought more drama and surprises than they ever expected.  Now they are adjusting to the fallout and struggling to keep those newfound powers in check.  When Andreas is called away to England under mysterious circumstances, a new guy is sent to Salcey Ridge in his place.  Cian is smarmy and cocksure and Loie wants nothing more than to sic a hellhound on him.  Unfortunately, Cian isn't the only complication in their lives as the girls must also contend with the reappearance of Mr. Winterborne himself and Loie's most dreaded fear - a part in the school musical.  Can they survive the rest of junior year unscathed?    
  

The Best Laid Plans...Well, I Laid Them Around Here Somewhere

I had every intention of completing Ravenstoke this week, the sequel to Winterborne.  The kids were away and I had four whole days to make it happen.  On Monday night, I awoke in the night with a lovely bout of food poisoning.  Thank you, guacamole.  On Tuesday, I puttered around nibbling on toast and tried to stay hydrated.  By Wednesday, I was ready to make the magic happen and I did bang out a healthy number of pages.  I worked into the evening and my husband didn't even whine when he came home from work to find no dinner ready and nothing viable in the fridge.  Thursday came and I woke up ready to roll up my sleeves for another successful day.  Around 9:30am, I began to feel dizzy.  I thought perhaps it was residual dehydration from the food poisoning.  I drank water.  The dizziness stayed with me all day, like persistent motion sickness.  Even in my sleep, I felt dizzy whenever I tried to flip to my right side.  This morning I went to the doctor.  I am the lucky recipient of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo.  It lasts for a few weeks and the treatment basically consists of making yourself feel dizzy until your brain gets used to it.  Yippee!  Believe me, I fully recognize that this is not serious.  I mean, 'benign' is right there in the title.  It's just Murphy's Law.  I have four days to rally and get my book in order and I manage to snag food poisoning and vertigo in one week.  And as I find reading and writing very difficult to do without a queasy stomach and a swooning head, my efforts (such as this post) will be rather limited.  


So the upshot of all this boohoo-ing is that my book is going past my self-imposed deadline.  I just hope this condition doesn't last too long because I am still hoping to release Ravenstoke before Christmas.  I'm enjoying the characters (old and new) and can't wait to share the latest installment of Loie and Mia's journey!               


Quote of My Week:  "I never thought I was smart enough to get depressed." - the abdominally blessed Jason Stackhouse