Resistance Audiobook Blog Tour Wrap-Up + Holiday Sales

So, technically, this post should have been up on Saturday. Oops. In my defense, I was not feeling well on Friday when I should have written it and I was gone on Saturday for my twin nephews' belated birthday party. SO. MUCH. CUTENESS. Ahem, anyway, here's a little wrap-up of the audiobook blog tour. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the tour and helped promote the audiobook on social media last week!

Spotlights
Morgan Elizabeth Huneke
Elrich's Expressions
Read Write Breathe
The Music of a Story
Backing Books
Written Rest
Tricia Mingerink
Perfectly Quirky in Every Way

Author Interviews
Jenna Terese
Author E.E. Rawls
Allison Grace Writes

Narrator Interview
Liv K. Fisher

Giveaway Winners!
Congratulations to The Princess of Dol Amroth, Amanda G. and E. Rawls! I will be contacting you by email with the code for your audiobook download.

If anyone missed out on the tour, you can still find the Resistance audiobook on Audible and iTunes!

For those of you who may be wondering, Lance and I will begin working on The King's Scrolls audiobook in the next month or so! Just as soon as Lance finishes up his current projects. :)

Thanksgiving is coming up this week. I'm going to spend it with the rest of my family at my brother's house surrounded by my four little nephews and niece. <3 Thanksgiving also means lots of sales either started or about to start. Below you will find the sales I have to offer or are participating in.

I also have 20% off on these Etsy shops all this week through Cyber Monday: Nerd Cat Creations, Just the Write Place, and Blue Jay Shoppe.

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May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

The craziest day of the year has arrived! Heading into town on Black Friday can definitely feel like entering The Hunger Games. But, if you prefer to avoid the madness and shop from the comfort (and safety!) of your home, then you’re in just the right place to enjoy these holiday sales! Today is also the last day to signup to be part of the Ilyon & Acktar blog tour!

Let the Sales Begin!

It’s that time of year again, the rush of holiday sales. Looking to fill in your Ilyon Chronicles set or try out one of my previously published books? Good! Because once again, I’ve put nearly all of my books on sale, plus I have a discount on my entire Etsy shop! The image below is just a sneak preview of all the sales, most of which begin tomorrow! So make sure to check out all the offers on my website. And enjoy Thanksgiving!

How A Star Falls Anniversary

You may remember my review of How A Star Falls by Amber Stokes that I shared as part of the release of the novella. Well, that was a whole year ago! Now Amber is celebrating the one year anniversary!

A Note from the Author

A year ago today (November 18^th), my little star story, How a Star Falls, landed on Amazon. I’m thrilled to celebrate the anniversary of its release with you by introducing a brand-new cover (where the hero, Derrick, makes an appearance) and sharing a fun giveaway with prizes from some of my favorite Etsy shops!

If you journeyed with Derrick and Brielle when their story first released, thank you for allowing them into your heart. And if this will be your first time meeting them, I hope you’ll be encouraged by their story and reminded of the hope of Psalm 138:8: “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.”

Blessings through life’s seasons!

~Amber

About the Book

Sweet New Adult Contemporary Romance Novella

How does a star fall?
Quickly. Completely. Unexpectedly.

Derrick Knolane escapes to Trinidad Head most evenings, avoiding his apartment and planning for the day he'll break free of Humboldt County. Working in a music store might be fine for a while, but it's far from the goal he had in mind when he got his college degree. Not to mention the fact that his roommate is a jerk and his family won't stop trying to run his life.

Then Brielle falls into his world.

She claims to be a star. Not from Hollywood, but from heaven. He thinks she's crazy. Certainly delusional. Yet, he can't just leave her alone on the cliffs. So he takes her home.

And his whole world falls apart.

A heartfelt and fanciful contemporary romance novella, How a Star Falls explores the uncertain season of new adulthood and shows that sometimes the worst inconveniences make for the best miracles of all.

This novella is available in the following formats:

2-hour unabridged audiobook ($6.95)

Paperback ($6.99)

Kindle ebook ($.99)

 

 

 

 

 

Author Bio

Amber Stokes works as a marketing content writer for a Christian publisher. On the side, she self-publishes inspirational fiction depicting the seasons of life and love. Her passion for books compelled her to earn a bachelor's degree in English and run her own freelance editing and publicity business for over a year. Happily, this chapter of her career takes place in the Pacific Northwest—a part of the world she's always considered home.

You can learn more about Amber’s books, sign up for her author newsletter, join the Amber’s Gems street team, and more at www.SeasonsofaStory.blogspot.com.

Cover Designer Bio

Lena Goldfinch writes inspirational historical romance and books for teens. She’s always been a sucker for a good old-fashioned romance, whether it’s a novel or short story, young adult or adult, fantasy or realistic, contemporary or historical. Lena has been a finalist in several national writing contests, including the RWA Golden Heart and ACFW Genesis contests. She enjoys life in a quiet small town with her husband, two kids, and two very spoiled black Labs.

Visit Lena at www.LenaGoldfinch.com.

Giveaway!

Fill out the form below to enter to win one of three prizes from some of the author’s favorite Etsy shops! The prizes are…

· Sparkle Green and Red Christmas Earrings from Baubles, Beads and Stuff

· Silver Compass Crystal Charm Necklace from Jaye L. Knight

· Santa Bunyan Note Cards (Set of 3) from Cindy Lindgren

Why these prizes? The earrings include stars, which fit this occasion for obvious reasons. ;) The compass is a reference to a song mentioned in the story: “If My Heart Was a House” by Owl City (you can listen HERE). And the cards are a little teaser for my next contemporary romance, Where Trains Collide. (Let’s just say the hero’s nickname is Paul Bunyan. Can you guess the heroine’s nickname?)

Note: Giveaway is open to US residents only due to shipping costs.

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Resistance One Year Anniversary

Today is the day! Resistance has officially been out for one full year. And what a year it has been, thanks to everyone who has read and enjoyed it! I never knew when I first hit “publish” how well it would do. I was quite scared about it, actually, because it meant so much to me. But, one year later, it has done very well, won a couple of awards, and is even in the process of becoming an audiobook! If this is just the first year, I look forward to seeing what God has in store for the next few years.

To celebrate today, I have a couple of fun things to share. First, I’ve had several readers sharing on their blogs how they discovered Ilyon. Perhaps you’re wondering how I discovered Ilyon. I’ve mentioned it in interviews I’ve done over the last year, but today I’ll share my story here.

You can thank Donita K. Paul for the existence of Ilyon. You see, it was her book DragonQuest that sparked the initial inspiration for the series. It was June 27, 2011 that I was reading a scene where it was revealed that my favorite character was half-blooded. I remember just pausing there as the creative gears in my head started turning. Now, I’ve written about half-blooded characters before (half Elves in my Makilien Trilogy), but it was never someone that was frowned upon. In DragonQuest, however, it was. So, I started thinking, what if I wrote about a character who’s mixed blood was something people looked down on. What if one side of his blood was a race people feared and thought were no better than animals? To give a better picture of what I was thinking, here are the notes I wrote down the next day—the very first notes I would write for the series.

So I was reading DragonQuest last night and it sparked a very interesting idea. I have sort of a basic plot, but mainly I have two great character ideas. I guess I'll start there.

First there's the main guy because that is where these ideas started. What I'm thinking is in this new fantasy world there is a race of people who are really evil. They can pass as humans if they want to, but have non-human attributes like pointed ears, able to see in the dark, etc. They are cunning, devious, and easily enraged. I'm thinking that even though they appear human, they almost have some animal-like tendencies. Everyone fears and hates them because they are always raiding villages and out for blood. Now, what if my main guy is half human, half one of these people? Think of the inner turmoil that would cause. He would constantly struggle with his mixed blood. Plus, I'm thinking that most people don't believe this race has souls, so my guy will always have this doubt gnawing at him, wondering if God truly can love and save him.

And that is how Jace came to be and where Ilyon started. He is at the core of it all. Every other character and plot evolved around him and his storyline. I started writing Resistance the very day I wrote down those first notes. Next month it will be four years since I first discovered Jace and Ilyon. Four of the books and a novella are written, two are published, and the last two books and (hopefully) a short story are in the process of being written. I never imagined at the beginning what a huge thing it would turn into. When I first started, the series was only supposed to have three books. But that’s how writing goes. You never know exactly what is going to happen until you reach the end.

Now,  my second fun thing to share. If you haven’t had a chance to check Ilyon Chronicles out yet, for the next week I have both Resistance and The King’s Scrolls (for Kindle) on sale for 50% off! That’s $1.99 a piece. Basically, you can get both for the price of one. :) This offer is good through May 26th.

And, just for fun, I also have a 20% off code for my Etsy store. You can go grab yourself some Ilyon inspired jewelry or choose from my other categories. I have lots of jewelry for writers and for other fandoms.

Also, don’t forget to enter my anniversary giveaway. There are several different prizes. (U.S. entries only please.)

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Again, thank you all so much for making Resistance's first year amazing!

Holiday Sales!

First of all, happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I am incredibly thankful for all my old writing friends and readers who have followed me since back in my Molly Evangeline days as well as the amazing people I’ve met and heard from since the publication of Resistance. It’s been an amazing few months being an author and seeing how the interest in Ilyon Chronicles has grown.

Now, if you’ve known me for a while, you probably know this is not my favorite time of year. I hate the cold. I’m the type of person who would have a winter home down south (or somewhere on a Caribbean beach) if I could.

 

Still, the holidays are exciting. And while material things are definitely not the most important things in life, all the sales going on at this time of the year are fun. Especially if you’ve been waiting and hoping to get certain items when they’re more affordable. To add to the fun holiday sales, I’m offering two of my own and have joined up with several other authors offering their books for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. First of all, from today until Monday, December 1st, you can get the Kindle version of Resistance for only 99 cents! This is the lowest price I’ve had on the book so far. So if you haven’t read it yet, now is the perfect time to check it out in preparation for the upcoming release of The King’s Scrolls!

 

I’m also offering free U.S. shipping on everything in my Etsy store from now until Christmas. I have a bunch of writer themed jewelry that made very popular gifts at this time last year. So come check it out! Just click on the banners below to see my sales and make sure to look through the list of all the other great books! And be sure to share with your friends!

Kendra E. Ardnek
The Ankuluen: Cyber Monday
Saffron's Big Plan and Other Stories: Cyber Monday
Do You Take This Quest?: Cyber Monday

Faith Blum
A Mighty Fortress: Black Friday [V4Y5K36D -- 10%] and Cyber Monday)
Be Thou My Vision: Black Friday [7626YZAK -- 20%] and Cyber Monday

Sarah Brown
The Prodigal Pup: Black Friday and Cyber Monday [SB14CP31 -- 25%]
Learning Lessons from Furry Friends: Black Friday and Cyber Monday [SB14CP31 -- 25%]

Kelsey Bryant
Family Reunion: Black Friday [YFY84GHU -- 20%]

Elizabeth Ender
Ransomed: Black Friday [GNE6VUXY -- 30%]

J.J. Francesco
Blood Chain: Cyber Monday

Julie Gilbert
Nadia's Tears: Cyber Monday

Leah Good
Counted Worthy: Black Friday [K7CVNEER -- 40%] and Cyber Monday

Melody Grubb
The Land of Calais: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The Warmth of His Eyes: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Send Me, Lord Jesus: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Rachel Heffington
Anon, Sir, Anon: Black Friday [9MTYHSX3 -- 25%] and Cyber Monday

Rebekah Jones
Journeys of Four: Cyber Monday
Grandmother's Letters: Cyber Monday
A Year with the Potters: Cyber Monday

Jaye L. Knight
Resistance: Black Friday [Q45HN6G9 -- 25%] and Cyber Monday

Tina M. Neely
Diamond Hair Princess: Black Friday

Joel A. Parisi
Shadow Play: Cyber Monday

J. Grace Pennington
Radialloy: Black Friday [Y2XHGYDN -- 25%] and Cyber Monday
In His Image: Black Friday [KXNZ7PYN -- 25%] and Cyber Monday
Machiavellian: Black Friday [UFXGUYMM -- 25%] and Cyber Monday

Jennifer Sauer
Why Rodney Never Should've Gone to the NAPIC: Black Friday [F76DDR7S -- 45%] and Cyber Monday

Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer
Touch My Tears: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Third Side of the Coin: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Cara Simmons
The Haven: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The Leviathan: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The Champion: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Jordan Smith
Finding the Core of Your Story: Black Friday [NL4NJXWS -- 30%]

Rachel Starr Thomson
Reap the Whirlwind: Cyber Monday
Lady Moon: Cyber Monday
Angel in the Woods: Cyber Monday

Therese Heckenkamp
Past Suspicion: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Frozen Footprints: Black Friday

Melika Dannese Lux
City of Lights: Black Friday [FNB98MY6 -- 35%] and Cyber Monday
Corcitura: Black Friday [GU46WHKT -- 55%] and Cyber Monday

T.R. Lykins
Last Heartbeat: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The Life Gift: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Melanie D. Snitker
Calming the Storm: Cyber Monday

Introducing New Sewing Themed Jewelry!

I’ve spent a lot of time over the year crafting fun writer and book themed jewelry, which has been very popular. Then, the other day, I was looking at supplies and came across some adorable sewing themed charms. Since I’ve been doing a lot of sewing lately, it occurred to me that sewing themed jewelry might be just as popular as writer themed jewelry. So I have now added an entirely new section to my Etsy shop with the jewelry you see above! All the pieces are customizable with your choice of bead color. Which is your favorite piece? My personal favorites are the thimble and Singer sewing machine necklaces. :) I only have one of each necklace at the moment. I’m going to see which ones turn out to be the most popular before I put in bulk orders. So if you see one you especially like, you might want to snatch it up. ;)

Dreaming of Spring Jewelry Giveaway

Spring sure seems to be taking its time to get here, doesn’t it? I’m beginning to feel like we’re in Narnia. So I thought I’d host another fun jewelry giveaway while we dream of and wait for spring to finally arrive. The giveaway runs from today until March 20th, the first day of spring. Hopefully by that time we’ll actually see hints of spring. Two winners will be chosen at random to receive their choice of one of my handmade jewelry designs. This includes anything in my Etsy shop EXCEPT for rings and the double strand necklaces. Sorry, these take a bit more to make and ship. Just join below for you chance to win. US entries only please.

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Valentine’s Surprises

Happy Valentine’s Day! I know it’s been a while since I updated this blog. I have WAY too much going on lately. But I do have a couple little Valentine’s surprises to share. One thing, and this is pretty big for fans of my Makilien Trilogy (which I published under my original pen name, Molly Evangeline). Today I published a cute romantic short story that takes place several years after the trilogy and follows one of my favorite of the trilogy’s characters. It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day read. You can get the eBook copy for 99 cents. I have the cover and short blurb about the story below.

Today I’m also offering a code for free shipping on my Etsy shop from now through Sunday. Just use the coupon code FREESHIP on any order of $10.00 or more.

For the last several years, Elmorhirian has watched as his sister and closest friends all marry and settle down. Now, he just has to figure out how to navigate the confusing, sometimes exasperating, captivation of his own heart.

(5,000 Words)

Kindle
Smashwords

Handmade Necklace Giveaway

I've decided to hold my first giveaway just in time for Christmas! Two winners will be drawn to receive their choice of one of my handmade necklaces. The giveaway will run through December 11th. Winners will choose from the list of necklaces below. Enter now for your chance to win one!

Ship Charm Necklace
Copper Flower Lariat Necklace
"Create" (or "Imagine") Charm Necklace
Copper Bow and Arrow Necklace
Compass Lariat Necklace
Aqua (or Purple) Lariat Necklace
Lavender and Copper Lariat Necklace
Writer Pen Nib Necklace with "Imagine" (or "Create) Charm
Aqua (or Purple) Ship's Wheel Lariat Necklace

Congratulations to Aubrey and Marion!


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