New Summer Release, Freebies, and a Party

It's finally here! Happy summer to all of my Blogger followers. This will likely be my last post here at my BlogSpot site. It's been a great place to hang out, but in an effort to streamline my efforts, I've moved my main blog to my new website here. If you'd like to follow along and get monthly updates on where I am and what's happening with my writing life, stop by and subscribe to my page. In the meantime, I just had to tell you about some great news.

WESTERN DESERT, Book Two in the Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, a YA dystopian trilogy, is now available. Join me in celebrating at my launch party on Tuesday, June 25th at the Secretsof7scribes blog where I'll be serving virtual drinks and hors d'oeuvres (recipes at least), and giving away prizes like a NOOK Simple Touch, signed copies of a few of my books, and a cool swag bag. I hope you'll stop in and say hi and enter to win! Contest ends midnight, June 30, 2013.

Here's a little more about my latest book.

WESTERN DESERT, Book Two in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy, takes off where WANING MOON ends. Genetically enhanced sixteen-year-old Lily Carmichael, and seventeen-year-old Will Callahan embark on a journey across a sun-ravaged and decimated U.S. in the year 2057, bound for the Western Desert on a dangerous rescue mission. The survivors they meet along the way put Lily’s healing abilities to the test and challenge Will’s resolve to find his missing father—no matter the cost. But even with the burden of life and death on their shoulders, and the Industry hot on their trail, the greatest challenge they face is trusting their hearts to each other.

Amazon

BN

Smashwords

Create Space (for print books)

If you haven't read WANING MOON, Book One in the trilogy, you can get it FREE this week on your Kindle from June 24-28th.

Here's the short blurb for WANING MOON. To read Chapter one, check it out on Wattpad.

In the year 2057, in a post-apocalyptic world where three quarters of the population has been wiped out by a global pandemic, and a polar shift threatens the remainder of earth’s inhabitants, sixteen-year-old genetically altered teen, Lily Carmichael, faces bigger challenges—escape capture by a rogue government agency, save her family, and avoid falling in love.





SOUL REDEMPTION, the short story prequel is available for FREE on Smashwords, or you can read it on Wattpad. This story is about 50 pages (15,000 words) and gives you a look behind the scenes of who Zeph (Lily's younger brother) really is, and what it's like to be a thirteen-year-old with the ability to take life with just a touch. I hope you'll enjoy Lily and Zeph's journey. And here's to Will and Lily's blossoming romance!

Thanks for being such avid followers. I hope you'll stay with me at my new website and blog home, and keep tabs on my journey. If you want less frequent updates, but want to know about new releases and special promotions, consider subscribing to my Newsletter.

 Peace and Blessings to you all! PJ

A-MAY-ZING!

What a wild and crazy month it's been! I'm one month out from the release of WESTERN DESERT, Book Two in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael. June 24th is the big day.

Aside from all the last minute details of producing the best book for you, my readers, I'm planning my release promotions, blog tour, and all the infinity of details required to get this next show on the road. There are more moving parts in this publishing process than sending a space ship to the moon...at least it feels like it. But in the midst of chaos come some bright spots of encouragement. SAVAGE CINDERELLA has had a very good month! It won first place in the NERFA (National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards), and is a finalist in the Colorado Excellence in Romance Fiction contest. I'm awaiting final results. Incidentally, WANING MOON placed second in the NERFA contest!

SAVAGE CINDERELLA has also been nominated for a RONE Award from InD'tale magazine. I would so appreciate your vote if you've read and enjoyed the story. You do have to register to vote, but it's very simple and means no obligation for you. The site assures you won't be spammed. If you have a moment, I hope you'll stop by and vote between May 24-June 1st. My friend, Katy Lee, author of the inspirational romantic suspense, REAL VIRTUE has also been nominated and could use your vote, too. Thanks so much, everyone!

I'm also very happy to announce that HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES is available on audio book through Amazon.com, audible.com, and I-Tunes.com. If you love audio books and would like to receive deals on your favorites, sign up for audible.com and get discounted prices on the audio books you love.


I think that's it for now. My website will likely be down for the next several days as my DH and I do some upgrading. I hope you'll stop in and visit me soon. I'll let you know when I'm back up and running! Have a great rest of your spring!

Prize winners and more contests

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop!

The winner of the audio book copy of HEAVEN IS FOR HEROES is Shadow Kohler. Congratulations! I'll send out the audio book as soon as I have them.



And speaking of cool prizes, check out my friend Jordan K. Rose’s contest badge on the upper right hand side of this page. She’s asking for help naming her first book in the Eva Prim series. The winner will receive an ARC (advanced reader copy) and acknowledgement in the book! The contest runs from April 1-30th, winner to be announced May 1st on her site. Just click on the badge and it will take you to Jordan's contest page. Good luck everyone!

I would also love some help with the title for my third book in the Dystopian trilogy, The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael. These are my current top three picks.
1) Turning Tides
2) Storm Surge
3) Winter's Sun

I'd love to hear which one you like best, or if you have an idea for something better. I'm all ears! Since so many of my contest winners are loving SOUL REDEMPTION, the short story prequel to WANING MOON, if you leave a comment with a suggestion for a title for Book Three, and a valid e-mail address, I'll send you an e-copy.

WANING MOON is available for 2.99 through Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords


Look for WESTERN DESERT, Book Two in the trilogy, June 24th!


PJ

March Mayhem

I’m so happy to be welcoming Spring this year. I missed my annual sojourn to the beach for my birthday since February didn’t offer much respite from the cold and cloudy days of winter. The good news is that I have a feeling we are in for a warm-up soon. I’m already hearing the birds chirping out their springtime song. March is going to be another busy month for me, but one that offers lots of exciting and fun projects.

Here’s what’s on the agenda:

I completed the first draft of WESTERN DESERT, Book Two in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael trilogy, so I’m in revisions! Yayyyy!!! I’ll send it off to the editor right before I leave to go to Epi-CON in Vancouver, Washington, from the 13-18th. Epi-CON is a writer’s convention that promises to be educational as well as lots of fun. I’ll be joining Jennifer Fusco, Katy Lee, and Melanie Meadors from my CTRWA group and I’m betting it’s going to be a blast. I’ve never been to the Pacific Northwest, so I’m very excited about the opportunity to visit there and be at a book-signing event as part of the reader’s luncheon. It will be nice to meet some locals and get to know some new readers.

I’ve also completed my run with KDP Select, a program where I had Heaven is for Heroes and On Thin Ice available only through Amazon for the past three months. It wasn’t as successful a venture in terms of direct sales, as it was when I did it last spring with Savage Cinderella, but it did allow me to get my books into the hands of about 20,000 new readers who got to read them for FREE! How cool is that?

Now that the books are off of Select, I’ll be able to upload all of them to some new distribution channels for me, going directly to Apple (i-Tunes) and Kobo to allow for the widest distribution possible. I’m excited about this as I’ve seen an uptick in sales through Smashwords to these vendors. Publishing it directly to these distributors will allow me more freedom to play with pricing and make changes faster, as well as hopefully gaining a little more exposure on their sites so I can reach readers who have i-Pads and Kobo e-readers. Amazon isn’t the only game in town, and although B&N is struggling to compete, Apple and Kobo are bringing their A-game to the table. I’ll let you all know when the books are available on these venues.

Another March project I have going is cover designs for both WESTERN DESERT, and my short story prequel to the Lily Carmichael trilogy, SOUL REDEMPTION. I’ll be offering Zeph’s story for FREE on all channels, hoping to reach readers who might like to jump into the trilogy now that Book Two is on the near horizon (slated to release in June). I think you’ll enjoy reading this 14,000 word (about 40 pages) short story that is told from the POV of Lily’s thirteen-year-old brother Zephron. With the ability to take life with a touch, he struggles with his darker nature and trying to find his place in the world. You don’t have to read the short story to understand the trilogy, but it definitely gives you a deeper perspective of the conflict that runs throughout.

Read here for an excerpt. The FREE download should be ready by the end of March so you can find out what happens next.

So I think that’s it for March. BUT...

COMING SOON:

Stay tuned for a blog hop in April with tons of cool prizes, and the Book Lovers Buffet coming in May where you can load up for summer reading with a boatload of $.99 books!

As if that's not enough, check back in April for news of a new heaven is for Heroes audiobook!!! I can't wait to pick out a narrator for Jordie.


Have a happy Spring!


What does your month of March look like? Any fun trips planned? Are you as anxious for daylight savings time as I am?