New Author Blog Hop

This is a really exciting hop for me because I actually get to put myself out there as an AUTHOR.  Somebody pinch me!  I can't thank Saba at Of Thoughts and Words and Michelle at Oh! For the Love of Books enough for putting this hop together so that we newbie authors can get to meet each other and share our books with other book lovers.

So, for those who have come to get to know me and/or Destined better, here's the scoop:
* I majored in classical studies but somehow ended up as a lawyer
* I'm blessed with an amazing husband and two beautiful little girls
* Destined is my debut novel and is a YA retelling of the ancient myth of Cupid & Psyche

The back of the book description:

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear. 

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined. 

Destined is a fresh and heartachingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Psyche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell.


You can find it at any of these places:
Amazon (paperback) or (Kindle)
Book Depository
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Goodreads
Smashwords

And there you have it -- that's me and my novel in a nutshell.  I can't wait to hop around and meet all the rest of you.

BONUS: If you leave me a comment (through the close of the hop on Nov. 30th), you'll be entered to win an e-copy of Destined.  Just be sure to leave me your e-mail address too so I know how to contact you!  Thanks for stopping by and happy hopping!

Happy Debut YA Book Birthday

I don't know about you all, but after all the fun and excitement I had last week, I could curl up and nap for about 2 days.  What?  You didn't celebrate the release of Destined like I did?  Oh well.  To each their own. For those of you looking to celebrate some new releases this week, check out these debut YA titles by my fellow Indelibles authors. CONGRATS, ladies!

YESTERDAY was the birthday for the print release of Clockwise by Elle Strauss
A teen time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward. Boy watching with her best friend would be enough excitement for fifteen year old Casey Donavan. She doesn't even mind life at the bottom of the Cambridge High social ladder, if only she didn't have this other much bigger problem. Unscheduled trips to the nineteenth century! When Casey gets talked into going to the Fall Dance, the unthinkable happens--she accidentally takes Nate Mackenzie, the cutest boy in the school, back in time. Protocol pressures her to tell their 1860 hosts that he is her brother and when Casey finds she has a handsome, wealthy (and unwanted) suitor, something changes in Nate. Are those romantic sparks or is it just 'brotherly' protectiveness? When they return to the present things go back to the way they were before: Casey at the bottom of the social totem pole and Nate practically the flag flying from the top. Except this time her heart is broken. Plus, her best friend is mad, her parents are split up, and her little brother gets escorted home by the police. The only thing that could make life worse is if, by some strange twist of fate, she took Nate back to the past again. Which, of course, she does.

FRIDAY is the debut of Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs #1) by Karen Amanda Hooper
Yara Jones doesn't believe in sea monsters-until she becomes one.

When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people-until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process-or she might open the gateway to a love that's deeper than the oceans.

“...adventure, family secrets, and sizzling romance. I couldn't put it down!" ~Rae Carson, THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS

What say you? Will you be picking up either of these intriguing new Indie reads?

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!

Today is way more than my birthday.  It's Destined's birthday.  You can now get Destined in paperback format from Amazon or download a copy from Amazon for Kindle, Barnes & Noble for Nook  or Smashwords. Hey - I just learned it's even available on Book Depository.  

Tonight I'm having a launch party at Jane Doe in Jacksonville and all are welcome!  I'll be signing books while sipping wine and enjoying the ambiance of the coolest boutique in Jacksonville.  I hope you'll join me if you're in the area.

Even if you're not, you can help me celebrate by joining in the blog tour -- today's stop is at Stuck in Books -- where you can enter to win an official Destined prize pack.  You can also check out some of the fabulous reviews Destined's been getting on Goodreads.  (Be sure to add it to your TBR list while you're there.)

But, I didn't think it was fair that someone else got to give you a present and I didn't.  SO, I'm having a book birthday giveaway here on my blog too.  You can win the ONLY doodled-in copy of Destined (this was too much work to do again), an autographed bookmark, and Psyche's butterfly ring as shown on the cover.  **Due to shipping costs, the giveaway is for the U.S. only**

I'll leave the giveaway open for one week -- that means I will pick a winner on Thanksgiving.  Good stuff, right?  You can tweet once a day for extra entries. THERE IS A RAFFLECOPTER FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST TO ENTER BUT YOU MUST BE IN THE POST AND NOT JUST ON THE BLOG. CLICK THE BLOG TITLE. SORRY ABOUT THAT.

In the meantime, all I want for my birthday is your comment... you don't even have to tell ME happy birthday as long as you pass your good wishes on for Destined.  :)

Happy Debut YA Book Birthday

It's that time of year, when the world falls in love...

Oh wait, I meant, it's that time of week, when we share birthday love.

This week's happy debut YA book birthday wishes go out to:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days. 

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color. 

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now. 

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior. 

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting asThe Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices,Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

Oh, and then of course, there's Destined. But you all already know about that.  :)  OMG!! OMG!! SQUEE!!

2012 Mythology Challenge

If you follow this blog, there's a "chance" you like books with mythology in them.  Am I right?  Well then, what could be better than a MYTHOLOGY CHALLENGE?

I'm planning on participating in the challenge -- hosted by About to Read -- in which the only goal is to read 10 YA or MG novels that have some sort of mythology in them.  Could be Greek, Norse, Irish, Russian, you name it!  (Oh, and I'm pretty sure Destined qualifies...)

If you'd like to participate too, head on over to About to Read and sign up. 2012 is right around the corner. Might as well set an early New Year's Resolution!

Happy reading, everyone!