Resistance Goodreads Giveaway

I wanted to post a quick update to let everyone know that I have a giveaway for 3 autographed copies of Resistance going right now! It runs until June 20th. Make sure to enter and add it to your read list! :)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Resistance

by Jaye L. Knight

Giveaway ends June 20, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Resistance Cover Reveal + Giveaway

Today is a moment I’ve been anxiously awaiting for probably the last two years or so—the reveal of the cover for Resistance, the first book in my NA (New Adult) fantasy series, Ilyon Chronicles! Seriously, it really has been that long. I started putting the cover together very shortly after I started writing the book almost three years ago. I was always very excited about it, and now I can finally show everyone!

This is personally my favorite cover I’ve ever put together so far. Between the forest background and the gold and black sword, it fits the story so perfectly. I certainly had fun tweaking it over the last couple of years. (I will be posting on my “behind the scenes” Ilyon Chronicles blog in a couple of days showing the transformation from the first test cover to the finished version.) And I’m quite excited about how it looks with the rest of the series. Yes, I do have all six covers put together, at least in temporary form, and I desperately wish I could share them all! Sadly, that will have to wait. But I can tell you that all six books will have the same torn paper at the top as well as the swirly border in the background to tie each of the six books together.

 

My main vision for the covers of this series was to have them be simple, but bold. That seems to be a trend with a lot of popular mainstream fantasy novels these days, and I thought it would work well with Ilyon Chronicles.

 

Below you can read the back cover text, and as an added bonus, I’m sharing a short excerpt from the book. Also, be sure to enter the giveaway for one of two of my handmade sword bookmarks inspired by the cover! And check out what others are saying on the blogs listed here.

 

The Kindle version of Resistance will release on May 20th. I will do my best to have the paperback ready at the same time, though it may get delayed depending on how the first proof copy turns out. (Cover colors can be tough to get to print just right.) To celebrate the release, there will be a week long blog tour May 20-27. It will include reviews, interviews, a giveaway, and more! Mark your calendars, and check the blog tour page in May for more information. Hope to see you there!

About the Book

 

“Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”

Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.

 

Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair lives every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.

 

Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.

Excerpt

 

    Just when he lowered his guard enough to relax, a grating voice sent tension knotting across his shoulders.
    “Look what the excitement dragged into town.”
    Jace ground his teeth together and turned. He should never have stopped watching his back. Wrong move on his part.
    Flanked by two of his smug-faced friends, a red-haired young man smirked at him, his eyes harboring all sorts of ill will. Jace barely bit back a sharp retort, but the other man’s smirk only grew at his silence. He peered around Jace.
    “Rebekah, what are you doing with this . . .” He glanced back to Jace and turned up his wide nose. “. . . half-blood?”
    Jace balled his fists. Warmth seeped down his arms and into his muscles, pulsing with the preparation for a fight, but he fought to still it.
    Rebekah came to his side, her face set in a frown that looked entirely out of place. “Stop it, Morden.”
    He gave her a condescending little grin. “Why don’t you run along? We’ve got business here.” The grin stretched wider. “I’ll gladly come find you later.”
    Rebekah put her hands on her hips, glaring at him, and opened her mouth to speak, but Jace beat her to it.
    “A gentleman would treat a lady with more consideration.”
    Morden snorted. “And what would you know about that?”
    A blaze erupted inside that Jace struggled to contain. He breathed in hard, cursing the impulses he had to battle so often. He couldn’t let it take control of him. Not again.
    “Come on, Jace, we still have to find something for Kalli.” Rebekah’s soft voice quieted his growing agitation, and she tugged lightly on his stiff arm.
    His blood still burned hot in his veins, calling him to action, and was almost too strong to resist. He thought of Rayad who told him time and again to go to Elôm when he struggled like this. He forced himself to turn away from Morden and whispered silently, “Elôm, I need help.”
    But Morden, who must have caught the movement of his lips just before he turned completely, let out an incredulous laugh. “Are you praying?”
    Jace froze. His heart thundered.
    “Who could you be praying to? Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”
    An evil pang of doubt knifed through Jace’s heart, colder and more painful than the steel of any dagger, and robbed the breath from his lungs. His eyes settled on Rebekah’s face, but it was her pitying expression that caused the weak grip on his emotions to fail. Heat flared in his muscles. He spun around and smashed his fist into the side of Morden’s jaw, sending the man reeling. Regret followed, but it was too late. Morden’s friends caught him by the arms and steadied him as he shook his head to clear his vision.
    Jace dragged deep breaths into his tightened lungs and waited for Morden’s next move. Just walk away. The silent plea went out in desperation. If only it would just end here. But satisfaction lit Morden’s eyes, and his lip curled in a malicious sneer.

Copyright © 2014 by Jaye L. Knight

 

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Finished Editing Resistance!

And no, this is not an April Fool’s Day joke. ;) Sunday afternoon I finished my final read-through of Resistance, and yesterday I send it to my editor, Amber Stokes, for the final proofread. This means the intense editing stage I’ve been going through for close to a year is finally over. It has been crazy. The last week was insane. I felt like I’d been through a war by the end of it. My mom too. We were both reading through it simultaneously with my deadline looming. We managed, but it was brutal. Now, however, I can barely stop smiling. For one thing, I’ve never put this much work into a book . . . ever. I didn’t even know this much work could go into a book. But I’ve also never been so satisfied with a book. I am just thrilled with how it came together. Both my mom and my beta readers deserve a lot of credit for helping me get it to this point.

So now that I’ve survived this, perhaps I can relax a little bit until I get the corrections back from Amber and need to start formatting the book. I have to say I’m looking forward to the formatting. I do love to see the pages come together, though I’m sure about ten chapters in I’ll be ripping my hair out. That’s usually how it goes. But, between then and now, I have the excitement of the cover reveal which will be on April 11th. I can hardly wait to share the cover. It’s my favorite I’ve done so far, so stay tuned for that. And if you have a blog and would like to participate, go here and email Amber.

Also, now that I made my editing deadline, I can finally announce Resistance’s release date: May 20th! That will be the Kindle release day, anyway. I’m hoping the paperback too, but it may take a few extra days depending on how the proof copy turns out. Sometimes the cover colors are hard to get printed just right. That day can’t come soon enough for me. Holding this book in my hands will be more meaningful to me than any I’ve done previously. Plus Amber is putting together a blog tour for the week of the release, my first ever, so this should be all kinds of fun. I look forward to sharing more!

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
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Book Review—The Captive Maiden

Happily Ever After …Or Happily Nevermore?

Gisela’s childhood was filled with laughter and visits from nobles such as the duke and his young son. But since her father’s death, each day has been filled with nothing but servitude to her stepmother. So when Gisela learns the duke’s son, Valten---the boy she has daydreamed about for years---is throwing a ball in hopes of finding a wife, she vows to find a way to attend, even if it’s only for a taste of a life she’ll never have. To her surprise, she catches Valten’s eye. Though he is rough around the edges, Gisela finds Valten has completely captured her heart. But other forces are bent on keeping the two from falling further in love, putting Gisela in more danger than she ever imagined.

* * *

The Captive Maiden is the fourth book of Melanie Dickerson’s fairytale retellings, which I have enjoyed immensely. I particularly loved how three of the four books, including this one, followed members of the same family. It was good to read Valten’s story. As much as I loved Gabe in The Fairest Beauty, I had to feel bad for poor Valten when he lost Sophie. This story totally made up for it.

I thought Valten and Gisela had a very cute love story. I really liked how real Valten seemed, especially in his insecurities when it came to women. It was very endearing to me. His character growth was very good in learning to let go of his pride and let God work instead of trying to do everything himself.

My favorite part of this book was the tournament in the first half. It was very vivid and exciting. I loved the scenes between him and Sophie during it and the feast. It had the perfect fairytale feel.

One of my only complaints about the book was the number of times the characters escaped only to be recaptured. It seemed to happen over and over to the point of being tiresome and a bit unrealistic. Still, it didn’t detract too much from the story. My second complaint might be sort of petty and has nothing to do with the story, but the cover. The model is clearly wearing an 18th century style gown, not 15th century. But then, I’m a costumer/reenactor so I would notice something like that.

While it may not be my favorite of all the books, it was a good continuation, and I really can’t complain about a sweet romance like this. I definitely recommend it and the others to anyone who enjoys a good medieval tale or fairytale retelling.

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review.

Book Review—A Match Made in Texas

In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can't keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straits with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she's also giving each couple a little nudge toward love?

A Cowboy Unmatched
Neill isn't sure who hired him to repair Clara's roof--he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?

An Unforeseen Match
Hoping to earn an honest wage on his way to the land rush, Clayton ends up on Grace's doorstep, lured by a classified ad. He may have signed on for more than he expected though--and he may have found the one woman who can keep him from moving on.

No Match for Love
Andrew can't fathom how refined Lucy ended up as the caretaker to his dotty aunt, and somehow her arrival has prompted even more bizarre occurrences around the ranch. When they join forces to unearth the truth, will the attraction between Andrew and Lucy develop into more?

Meeting Her Match
When the tables are turned and a tenderhearted meddler becomes the beneficiary of a matchmaking scheme, her world is turned upside down. As her entire life changes, will she finally be able to tell the banker's son how much she cares for him?

* * * *

I was delighted to discover I could get this book to review because I pretty much devour anything that has Karen Witemeyer’s name on it. A Match Made in Texas is a wonderful collection of romantic novellas all linked to a town in Texas and a particular matchmaker. Of course, I especially enjoyed A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer. She is one of my favorite authors, and I just loved her books about the Archer brothers. So I was very anxious to read about Neill, the last of the Archer brothers to find a girl. It had me giggling plenty of times, and then getting nervous near the end. I would have loved to have it novel length, but it still felt very complete. Each story was very cute and enjoyable, and I highly recommend them to anyone who enjoys a good historical, Texas romance. And, might I add, it has an absolutely gorgeous cover!

I received this book free from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.