Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway Hop. I think the really pretty badge is what convinced me to sign up, but I do so love making new friends and seeing old friends again. So welcome or welcome back!

 This hop is hosted by Kathy at I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Laura at Colorimetry.  This is a LAZY hop because there's only 1 entry allowed per site.  And since I'm feeling sort of LAZY myself, I'm making the prize one YA ebook of the winner's choice up to $10.

You can get it from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iTunes, Smashwords, Sony or anywhere else that will allow me to gift you an e-book. 

You can get a book that's already been released or it can be a pre-order.

You can be from any country in the world so long as you can accept an e-book gift.

It just has to be young adult (or middle grade will work too), since that's the genre I celebrate around these parts.

To enter, either follow the blog or like my Facebook page, and then tell me which option you choose in the Rafflecopter entry form.  Easy-peasy.  Then hop on over to the next blog in line and enter to win more book/reading goodness.

Hope you're enjoying the summer!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Debut YA Book Birthdays

This weekend I went to a party to celebrate my awesome dad's 70th birthday.  But today, we're celebrating debut YA book birthdays.  Both are great reasons to celebrate, no?

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.

Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

Drain You by M. Beth Bloom

Every night I'd lie there in bed and look out at the hills behind our house, listening. I knew there'd be consequences.

Actions meant reactions. Sunrises meant sunsets. My fear was too permanent, lasting longer than eyeliner, something I wore every day and didn't wash off.

Quinlan Lacey's life is a red carpet of weird fashions, hip bands, random parties, and chilling by the pool with her on-and-off BFF Libby. There's also her boring job (minimum wage), a crushed-out coworker (way too interested), her summer plans (nada), and her parents (totally clueless). Then one night she meets gorgeous James, and Quinn's whole world turns crazy, Technicolor, 3-D, fireworks, whatever.

But with good comes bad and unfortunately, Quinn's new romance brings with it some majorly evil baggage. Now, to make things right, she has to do a lot of things wrong (breaking and entering, kidnapping, lying, you name it).

There's normal, and then there's paranormal, and neither are Quinlan's cup of Diet Coke. Staying sane, cool, in love, and alive isn't so easy breezy.

Cold Fury by T.M. Goeglein
Jason Bourne meets The Sopranos in this breathtaking adventure

Sara Jane Rispoli is a normal sixteen-year-old coping with school and a budding romance--until her parents and brother are kidnapped and she discovers her family is deeply embedded in the Chicago Outfit (aka the mob).

Now on the run from a masked assassin, rogue cops and her turncoat uncle, Sara Jane is chased and attacked at every turn, fighting back with cold fury as she searches for her family. It's a quest that takes her through concealed doors and forgotten speakeasies--a city hiding in plain sight. Though armed with a .45 and 96K in cash, an old tattered notebook might be her best defense--hidden in its pages the secret to "ultimate power." It's why she's being pursued, why her family was taken, and could be the key to saving all of their lives.

Action packed, with fresh, cinematic writing, Cold Fury is a riveting and imaginative adventure readers will devour.

So, that's this week's lineup.  You in?

Flutter of Luv Blog Tour: Guest Post on Harsh Realities

DRUGS? TEENS? And YA BOOKS by L.M. Preston, author of Flutter of Luv

Believe it or not, even though, FLUTTER OF LUV, isn’t about drugs, there are hints within my short story that show it as a real reality for teens.

Drugs and teens are a typical satire for many movies, shows and books. As a teen I dealt with the issues of drugs, sex, race issues, crime, gangs, teen pregnancy and diet issues. Those were real and difficult issues for me. Truth is, I really didn’t need a book to tell me about gangs – I lived where gangs were. I didn’t need a book to tell me about drugs, I lived around tons of drug addicts and alcohol.  But you know what I needed books for? To show me that I wasn’t alone, that there were other kids that handled these same issues differently. Some kids did it better, some kids suffered and failed, others succeeded. Books gave me that resource, and a safe haven to experience the things I’d seen an to process them.

YEAH, BUT REAL LIFE IS DIFFERENT

Real life is different. No book yet that I have read can really depict the things I experienced and have seen firsthand growing up. Truthfully, living it hurts. But reading it gives us insight without the pain.

I’m talking about this now since I have a young family member going through the effects of drug experimentation. The effects are being placed in a controlled environment in hopes of rehabilitation. The kid didn’t grow up seeing firsthand the effects of drugs. Bypassing crack heads as he walked to the corner store like I did. Maybe, just maybe if he’d seen that reality, he would have thought twice before he opened pandora’s box.

Writing Flutter Of Luv allowed me to  express a bit of my experiences from growing up around all of those challenges and show sho many  of us get desensitized  to those instances.

by: LM Preston, www.lmpreston.com

MY REVIEW:

My thanks to L.M., who provided me with a copy of Flutter of Luv in exchange for my honest review.  But first, the book summary:

Dawn, the neighborhood tomboy, is happy to be her best friend’s shadow. Acceptance comes from playing football after school with the guys on the block while hiding safely behind her glasses, braces, and boyish ways. But Tony moves in, becomes the star Running Back on her school’s football team, and changes her world and her view of herself forever.

This is a short story told in ten episodes similar to an anthology of short stories over the course of Dawn’s and Tony’s realization of how much they mean to one another.

  

This was a really nice short story. 

As someone who lacked both money and a chest growing up, I could really relate to Dawn. Her insecurities felt very real and some of the crap she had to endure really hit home. I applaud LM Preston for giving us a realistic view into Dawn's life, both the good sides and the bad.

And I also really enjoyed how the story was told in episodes, so we didn't have to read about the times in Dawn's life where nothing much different was happening and she was just left to pine over Tony. 

I wish I had seen a little more of the love story developing in the sense of seeing a deeper connection between Dawn and Tony though. Don't get me wrong, Tony did some cute things along the way to show us he was falling for Dawn, but being a hopeless romantic, I needed more to give this story a full 5 stars. [I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.] If you aren't a fanatic about romanticism, then you probably won't have the same issue as I did at all. ;)

So now that you want to read the book and join LM on her launch party festivities, here's how:

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Flutter-Of-Luv-ebook/dp/B0088ELXE2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340973462&sr=8-1&keywords=flutter+of+luv#_

Twitter Party:

Friday, July 27th, 5pm - 6pm, use hashtag #FlutterOfLuv and follow @Lm_Preston

Facebook Party:

Saturday, July 28th,  12pm-9pm EST

http://www.facebook.com/events/340720479326022/?context=create

Blog Tour Stops:

LM Preston’s Ramblings - 7/13/2012

http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

Indies Unlimited - 7/13/2012

http://www.indiesunlimited.com/

A Little Bit Of R&R - 7/13/2012

http://www.alittlebitofrnrreviews.com

Doreen McGettigan - 7/17/2012

http://doreenmcgettigan.com/

Writer’s Alley - 7/17/2012

http://writersally.blogspot.com/

I Want To Read That - 7/18/2012

http://www.iwanttoreadthat.com/

Cheryl Rainfield - 7/18/2012

http://cherylrainfield.com/blog/

The Daily Harrell - 7/19/2012

http://jessie-harrell.blogspot.com/

Word Forge Books - 7/20/2012

http://wordforgebooks.com/blog/

Searching For An Escape - 7/21/2012

http://www.officialmhafh.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/MHAFH

The Write Game - 7/23/2012

http://writegame.blogspot.com/

Stephen Penner - 7/24/2012

http://stephenpenner.blogspot.com/

Black Words White Pages - 7/26/2012

http://www.blackwords-whitepages.blogspot.com

Curiosity Key - 7/27/2012

http://www.curiositykey.blogspot.com/

SomeoneWhoActuallyCares - 7/27/2012

http://someonewhoactuallycares.blogspot.com/

LM Preston’s Ramblings - 7/28/2012

http://lmpreston.blogspot.com

Tribute Books Reviews & Giveaways - 7/23/2012

http://tributebooksreviews.blogspot.com/

Tribute Books Mama - 7/24/2012

http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/

The Character Connection - 7/25/2012

http://thecharacterconnection.blogspot.com/

The Plot Thickens - 7/26/2012

http://theplotthickensbookblog.blogspot.com/

City Girl Who Loved To Read - 7/27/2012

http://citygirlwholovestoread.blogspot.com/

Cover Reveal + Excerpt ~ BROKEN by A.E. Rought

Today I am super-duper, uber excited to take part in the cover reveal for my Oasis sister's debut YA novel, BROKEN.  A.E. Rought has written what I'm sure will be an amazing story and now it has an amazing cover.  You ready for this?

     Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

     A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry’s boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetary and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.
     When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she’s intrigued despite herself. He’s an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely…familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel’s. The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there’s something very wrong with Alex Franks.

     And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks’ estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

Excerpt ~  Okay, so there are 11 of us participating in the cover reveal and posting the entire first chapter of Broken.  But to read it all, you have to visit all of our blogs.  I'm the second stop.  To read the first part of Chapter 1, head over to Trinity's blog.  Then come back here.

Echoes of us fill our seats now, Daniel’s long legs whole, not broken, and stretched across the polished stone. One of his long hands holds the pint, the other hand curls over my shoulder. My profile is clear, aimed at him, beaming love brighter than the moonlight. Curls muss his nearly black hair and cast his face into shadow. A chill October breeze stirs the trees. Branches clack above my head, brittle as old bones. Goosebumps coat my skin, my pulse jumps. When Daniel’s echo turns to me, his face is broken and bleeding, red shiny trails streaming from the crack in his skull, coursing into his hazel eyes.

My breath escapes in a rush. The same loss tears through me. And here I am again, living the hurt over and over, like constantly ripping off a Band-aid to feel the sting. 

Hurting is better than forgetting.

         Daniel wouldn’t want me living in this limbo. He would’ve screwed up his face into a comical mask long ago and shooed me away from here. I’m so weak without him. I struggle to keep my chin up,  and lose the sudden battle with my tears.

To continue reading, head to Katy's blog.

Don't forget, the novel releases January 2013.  Be sure to add it to your TBR list on Goodreads!

Debut YA Book Birthdays

This week's debut YA novels include the following interesting reads ~

The Unquiet by Jeannine Garsee
When Rinn Jacobs moves to a new town she hopes it will be a fresh start-a place where nobody knows about her past. At first, everything goes according to plan. She falls in with the popular girls at her new school and falls for the very cute boy-next-door Nate. But River Hills High School has a secret. The ghost of a girl who died back when Rinn's mom was a student supposedly haunts a hallway. Rinn's not sure she believes it, but when strange things start happening to her friends, Rinn decides there's only one way to know for sure. She needs to ditch her bipolar meds and see what the voices are really trying to say...Fans of films like Black Swan will be fascinated by this psychological thriller.

The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti
 A stunningly written tale of an isolated girl and the shape-shifting boy who shows her what freedom could be--if only she has the courage to take it.

Controlled by her father and bound by desert, Frenenqer Paje's life is tediously the same, until a small act of rebellion explodes her world and she meets a boy, but not just a boy--a Free person, a winged person, a shape-shifter. He has everything Frenenqer doesn't. No family, no attachments, no rules. At night, he flies them to the far-flung places of their childhoods to retrace their pasts. But when the delicate balance of their friendship threatens to rupture into something more, Frenenqer must confront her isolation, her father, and her very sense of identity, breaking all the rules of her life to become free.

A World Away by Nancy Grossman
A summer of firsts Sixteen-year-old Eliza Miller has never made a phone call, never tried on a pair of jeans, never sat in a darkened theater waiting for a movie to start. She’s never even talked to someone her age who isn’t Amish, like her.

A summer of good-byes When she leaves her close-knit family to spend the summer as a nanny in suburban Chicago, a part of her can’t wait to leave behind everything she knows. She can’t imagine the secrets she will uncover, the friends she will make, the surprises and temptations of a way of life so different from her own.

A summer of impossible choice Every minute Eliza spends with her new friend Josh feels as good as listening to music for the first time, and she wonders whether there might be a place for her in his world. But as summer wanes, she misses the people she has left behind, and the plain life she once took for granted. Eliza will have to decide for herself where she belongs. Whichever choice she makes, she knows she will lose someone she loves.

Before You Go by James Preller
The summer before his senior year, Jude (yes, he’s named after the Beatles song) gets his first job, falls in love for the first time, and starts to break away from his parents. Jude’s house is kept dark, and no one talks much—it’s been that way since his little sister drowned in a swimming pool seven years ago when Jude was supposed to be watching her.

Now, Jude is finally, finally starting to live. Really live. And then, life spins out of control. Again. 

Acclaimed author James Preller explores life, death, love, faith, and resilience in his first young adult novel that will grip readers from the book’s dramatic first few pages to its emotional end.


So... what do you think???

HOW TO DATE AN ALIEN series - cover re-reveal

From the author ~ 

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVED my original covers for How to Date an Alien and How to Break up with an Alien, but to some people it was giving off the impression that it was a cutesy MG book.

If you still loved my original covers, the beautiful designs by CA Marshall will still grace my paperbacks. To up the stakes and grace my covers with a hot alien boy, I enlisted the help of the awesome Steven Novak who has designed covers for Rashelle Workman, Megg Jensen, and Angela Carlie.

He understood my vision and my NEED for Ace to have guyliner on the covers. These new covers will be uploaded to Amazon ASAP so hopefully the rest of the world can understand the hotness of aliens.

What do you think of the new covers?

Have you hopped over to Amazon yet and picked up How to Date an Alien for FREE?

Announcing SEAWEED by Elle Strauss

A teen swim athlete discovers a merfolk world that threatens to keep her out of the ocean forever.
 

Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest competition, Colby–who wants more than just friendship, at arm’s length. Then Tor Riley comes to town and he has everything Dori dreams of in a boyfriend–looks, athleticism and mystery. But Tor also has a tantalizing secret and Dori is determined to find out what it is. The truth is crazier than her wildest imaginations and more dangerous, too. Dori has new fantastical enemies , and they will do anything to get to her. Her life, her dreams and her love for Tor are all weighing in the balance. Will Dori risk it all in order to have it all?

 SEAWEED is FREE for a limited time on Amazon! It's also free on itunes and smashwords.



Elle Strauss writes time travel and merfolk chic-lit, light SF and historical YA fiction. To ward off writer's butt she does a bit of hiking, biking and yoga. Elle is married with four children and divides her time between British Columbia, Canada, and Germany.

Cover Reveal: The Vampire Christopher by RaShelle Workman

You may have read RaShelle Workman's first novel in the Immortal Essence series entitled "Exiled." If not, check it out, it's free on amazon. If you have read it, and are anxiously awaiting book 2, "Beguiled,"or haven't read it, that's okay. She has a new series out. Blood and Snow. Here's what a few reviewers have said about the series so far: "...A fun, smart, and sexy read!"  "This book will definitely suck you in (no pun intended) instantly." "Best books that I have read!"

The Blood and Snow series Summary:

"Lips red as rubies, hair dark as night. Drink your true love's blood, become the Vampire, Snow White." Every thousand years the Vampire Queen selects a new body, always the fairest in the land, and this time she's chosen Snow White. *******

Each volume is novelette length. Book 1 is "Blood and Snow," book 2 is "Revenant in Training," and book 3 is entitled "The Vampire Christopher." All three are now available.

Today is the big reveal day for book 3...

Ready!

                Set!

                        Here it is!!!

To purchase Blood and Snow, click HERE.

Revenant in Training (book 2), is FREE from July 11th through the 13th. Pick it up by clicking HERE. 

And, The Vampire Christopher (book 3), click HERE.

Twitter: @RaShelleWorkman

Facebook: RaShelle Workman Author

Website: http://www.rashelleworkman.com

About the author:  Lover of books, baking, and toffee-making. The author of Aligned: An Immortal Essence Short Story, Exiled, Sleeping Roses, and the series, Blood and Snow. Honorary nerd with attitude.

Happy Debut YA Book Birthdays

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July and you're ready to get back to celebrating debut authors.  Up for the party this week are loads of dystopians and ghost stories ...

INSIGNIA by S. J. Kincaid


More than anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.
Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War III. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him?
Gripping and provocative, S. J. Kincaid’s futuristic thrill ride of a debut crackles with memorable characters, tremendous wit, and a vision of the future that asks startling, timely questions about the melding of humanity and technology.

LONG LANKIN by Lindsey Barraclough


In an exquisitely chilling debut novel, four children unravel the mystery of a family curse — and a ghostly creature known in folklore as Long Lankin.

When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolated village of Byers Guerdon, they receive a less-than-warm welcome. Auntie Ida is eccentric and rigid, and the girls are desperate to go back to London. But what they don’t know is that their aunt’s life was devastated the last time two young sisters were at Guerdon Hall, and she is determined to protect her nieces from an evil that has lain hidden for years. Along with Roger and Peter, two village boys, Cora must uncover the horrifying truth that has held Bryers Guerdon in its dark grip for centuries — before it’s too late for little Mimi. Riveting and intensely atmospheric, this stunning debut will hold readers in its spell long after the last page is turned.


THE LITTLE WOODS by McCormick Templeman


Are the woods behind St. Bede's Academy really haunted, or does bad stuff just happen there? When Calista Wood, a new student, arrives midway through her junior year, St. Bede's feels like a normal school . . . until she discovers that a girl had disappeared a couple of months earlier. Some kids think she ran away, others think she was murdered, but it's only when Cally starts digging around that she finds the startling truth.

Watch as Cally enters a world of privilege, weekend-long parties, high school romances, and . . . well-kept secrets. This page-turner will appeal to teens looking for a fast-paced thriller. Written in a voice at once gripping and crystal clear, debut novelist, McCormick Templeman, will take readers on a twisting and turning journey as only a "new girl" can experience.


QUARANTINE: THE LONERS by Lex Thomas

It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.

A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.

In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive.

THE FORSAKEN by Lisa M. Stasse

A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy.
As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.
     The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE DEBUT RELEASES?

Guest Post: Happy Belated Birthday to DREAM SMASHERS by Angela Carlie

Dream Smashers celebrated her first birthday in March all alone. I'm a horrible book parent and didn't even throw her a party. To make up for it, I gave her a facelift. I hope she likes it. And I hope her readers like it, too.

Take a look. Isn't she pretty?

Dream Smashers has needed a new cover for a while now. It's an important story, but often gets overlooked. The original cover, which I love, wasn't sitting well with the readers. It even was nominated for a most ugly cover list over on Goodreads. The second cover was an experiment, something I whipped up myself, and not very professional.  I believe this new cover captures the emotion of the story, but also has appeal for the readers. I adore it!

About Dream Smashers:

Letting go is hard to do, but sometimes, it's all you can do.

Sixteen-year-old Autumn is a human heartache. Everywhere she turns people are stomping on her hopes and dreams. Her mom's a tweaker. She's lived with her chain-smoking grandmother for as long as she can remember. Even her best friend has issues. Autumn seems to be the only responsible person she knows and she's sick of putting up with it all.

When she meets Evan, a hot guy without a worry in the world, she can only wonder if he's for real or just another Dream Smasher.

A girl who no longer wants to care and a boy who cares enough for the both of them. Dream Smashers is a love story, but most of all, it's about letting go.

Thanks to my good friend, Megg Jensen, for inspiring me to get 'er done, and Rashelle Workman who referred Megg who then referred me to the cover artisan Steven Novak. Go check him out. He's awesome.

Dream Smashers is available on Amazon Kindle and wherever else eBooks are sold.  It may take a day or two for the new version to be available.

So tell me, do you like it?

INDIEpendence DAY with Chelsea Fine (+ giveaway)

The Indelibles are kicking off the 4th of July a little early with INDIEpendence Day.  Each participant in this blog tour is going to spotlight an Indie author (no Indelibles - this is a pay-it-forward event!) and hope that you find a new, awesome author to love.

For my part, I bring you Chelsea Fine, who is about a nice as can be and wrote a story I just adore!  So without further ado, I present my interview of Chelsea.

1.  First, can you tell us a little about the Archers of Avalon series and where you got your inspiration for the story.

I first got the idea for my Archers of Avalon series after a conversation I had with my sister about epic love triangles. We were talking about how super tragic it is when two brothers love the same girl, because there's no true "hate" in the triangle (the girl loves both boys, the boys care about each other because they're brothers, etc...) and I thought, "That's what I want to write about: An impossible, heartbreaking love triangle." So, that's what I did. Except I threw a few curses in there, as well as a hunt for the fountain of youth. :)

2.  In addition to that series, you first published a contemporary novel, Sophie & Carter. How was writing a contemporary novel different from your series with super natural elements?

For me, contemporary writing is easier. I don't have to think through things like, "If I was cursed by a wicked witch, what kind of attitude would I have at school?" (I have yet to be cursed by a witch, wicked or not.) For my contemporary writing, I think about things like, "What does it feel like to have my heart completely broken?" Now THIS I understand (thanks to my high school boyfriend, haha). Contemporary stories allow me to draw on my personal life experience, so I find that I write faster and with more honesty.

But...contemporary stories are also more emotionally draining to write. I wrote Sophie & Carter while sitting at a Barnes & Noble and I just cried and cried, haha. Snot was running down my face while I was typing a million miles a minute and I didn't care, because I was writing something raw and honest. But it was emotionally taxing to finish. My Archers of Avalon series, however, is just plain FUN to write. :)

3.  I know you're busy writing away.  What's next on your plate?

Ohmygoodness, so many books! I have a Sophie & Carter sequel I'm working on, the last book in my Archers of Avalon series, a Christmas love story, another YA contemporary romance, and a super secret project my agent and I are working on together. *wags eyebrows*

4.  Tell us your favorite thing about being an Indie author.

The readers!!!! OMG, readers are the BEST! I love hearing from them and reading their reviews and skyping with them....*big sigh* I freakin' LOVE that there are people out there who actually read my stories and care enough to contact me and let me know what they thought about them. It's AH-MAZING! Seriously. I could chat with readers all day long. (And sometimes I do :)

5.  As fun as being Indie can be, I know you recently signed with agent, Suzie Townsend of Nancy Coffee Literary.  How's it been like working with Suzie?

Incredible. Suzie has turned my writing career upside down--in a GOOD way. :) She encourages me...she teaches in me...and she believes in me. Which is priceless.

6.  Just for fun ~

flats or heels? Flats. I wobble on heels.

dresses or jeans? Dresses. Okay, I know this doesn't match my previous response, but dresses are just so comfortable and you can twirl in them and everything.

chocolate or sugary? Uh, chocolate. Hands down.

coffee or soda? COFFEE. I don't care if I'm addicted. I don't care. I don't care.

do you have any tattoos of your own??? No. BUT..I loooove tattoos! I love to design them for my friends and I love how they look, but I know myself well enough to know that if I ever DID get a tattoo, I wouldn't be able to stop. I'd just keep getting more and more until my body was completely covered in ink. And, while that wouldn't be a bad thing, I think I would get to a point where I’d be like, "Wait a minute...I don't have any more skin left to tattoo. Dang it! I need more skin!" and then I'd be all depressed. So, yeah. No tattoos for me.

See, I told you Chelsea is awesome!  For more about Chelsea and her novels, check out her website, follow her on twitter, like her on Facebook, and of course, you can BUY HER BOOKS ~ 

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  

Now, you can win e-book copies of both Anew and Awry simply by following Chelsea on twitter or Facebook.  Leave a comment below with how you're following, your user name & e-mail address to be entered.  And then be sure to continue on to the rest of the stops on the INDIEpendence Day blog tour.  You won't want to miss it!