A journey of self discovery – guest post from Elizabeth Arroyo

Thanks for having me Vicky!

I’d like to share a little bit of my journey toward publication. What led me here.

It started with Oprah

Live your best life.

I use that Oprah motto as my mantra–no one can define it but me. My earliest memory of the need for change in my life began much in the same way Elizabeth Gilbert starts her book Eat, Pray, Love–on the bathroom floor balling. On that floor I desperately wanted answers. What was wrong with me? Why did I feel so empty inside?  I have a great family. My kids are healthy. I have a home. Had a job. What could it be?

I realized then that it wasn’t about looking outside for my answers. I wasn’t empty on the outside. I was surrounded by people I loved and loved me. It was a journey I had to take on the inside. I had to take a moment to reflect on me, my missing parts.

I did and I found out that I was lacking in many aspects of my life.  Which led me back to writing.

I always wanted to publish my books, to earn a living with it, to share a part of me with the world  because that is what authors do. We share a part of our reality, our fears, our hopes, our dreams. We reach into our imagination and hope the reader follows. We share a piece of ourselves through the written word. Which is why the publication process–querying, receiving critiques and feedback, and finally getting out into the real world is so heart-wrenching. But necessary.

So in all my infinite wisdom (not), I offer these suggestions for transformation:

  • Be in constant change, always reinvent yourself because the possibilities are endless.
  • Find what is right for you and try it out. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel just adjust it.
  • Have a support group, someone in your corner. It helps.
  • And remember to live your best life.

About the author:
Elizabeth has worked in the community for the bulk of her professional career. She enjoys quiet moments, action flicks, and dancing with her four-year-old.  THE SECOND SIGN is her debut novel. You can find more information about Elizabeth at:

Website: http://www.elizabetharroyo.com.
Blog: http://chandarawrites.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elizabetharroyo.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EArroyo5

THE SECOND SIGN
Dark YA Paranormal Romance
Sapphire Star Publishing

When a demon guardian comes to collect seventeen-year-old Gabby’s soul, she refuses to give it up. She’s not demon. She can’t be. Her father and twin brother are angels. The demon gives Gabby twenty-four hours to decide her allegiance, and then starts killing her short list of friends, leaving a message behind: She is the Second Sign.

As Gabby and Jake—her almost boyfriend—begin to unravel the mystery behind the Second Sign, she learns Jake may be the key to saving her soul. But it means a sacrifice has to be made that will change their lives forever.

The Second Sign

Watch Trailer http://youtu.be/omcmt6q8PIw

Guest post: New Pride

Today I’m welcoming Laura Diamond to the log to talk about her new novella. Laura has a great blog full of writing and book goodness so I’m excited to host her here. Take it away Laura!

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New town, new love, new terror.

It’s here! My prequel novelette, NEW PRIDE, releases today. I’m SO stoked for it to run wild in the world.

NEW PRIDE was born from my upcoming novel, SHIFTING PRIDE (coming December 7, 2012!). In SHIFTING PRIDE, the main character, Nickie, searches for her missing father, Richard…and NEW PRIDE is all about Richard’s journey to independence and new love.

Throughout writing SHIFTING PRIDE, I often wondered what Richard’s life was like when he was a teen. I wanted to know more about him and what made him tick, so that’s how the idea for NEW PRIDE blossomed. Through writing the novella, I learned about Richard’s values, motivations, and it really helped me understand his actions in SHIFTING PRIDE.

Interestingly, NEW PRIDE started out as a short story, but Richard was such a strong character and had so much to tell me that he demanded a novella, LOL!

Really, it was a pleasure!

I couldn’t picture NEW PRIDE being anything else than what it is.

To celebrate, I will be giving away copies of NEW PRIDE to several lucky fans! Please click the link below and fill out the form on my fan page to enter. Thanks!

http://authorlauradiamond.com/?page_id=37

You can purchase NEW PRIDE on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/New-Pride-Shifting-ebook/dp/B009ZN1WYQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351795210&sr=1-1&keywords=new+pride+laura+diamond

 NEW PRIDE Blurb:

A shape-shifter without a pride, Richard Leone strikes a tenuous friendship with power hungry, Derek, from an unstable, rogue group. On a hunt in the forest, they encounter a gorgeous brunette, Molly, partying with friends around a campfire. Derek tells the rogue pride and they bristle at humans trespassing on their territory. Richard risks life and tail to protect his secret and the humans—especially Molly—while simultaneously trying to win her heart. When Molly is kidnapped, he faces taking on the rogue pride alone, but quickly finds he has to put his trust in Derek, not only to rescue his new love, but to ensure the rogue pride doesn’t wreak havoc on his new town.

Author Laura Diamond:

Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, horror, and middle grade. Her short story, City of Lights and Stone, is in the Day of Demons anthology by Anachron Press (April 2012) and her apocalyptic short story, Begging Death is in the Carnage: Life After the End anthology by Sirens Call Publication (coming late 2012). Her debut young adult paranormal romance, SHIFTING PRIDE, is coming December 2012 by Etopia Press. When she’s not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond–Lucid Dreamer , and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion. She is also full-time staff member for her four cats and a Pembroke Corgi named Katie.

How to find Laura Diamond on the web:

Blog: http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/diamondlb

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laura.diamond.52

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorLauraDiamond

Amazon.com Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Diamond/e/B009Y7L432/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_8

Website: www.AuthorLauraDiamond.com

YouTube interview:

In The DM Zone—Talking about SHIFTING PRIDE

*GROUP HUG* Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to celebrate with me and for helping me spread the word. This wouldn’t be happening without you. Yes, you! Without you, I’d have given up a long time ago. ;)

I hope you enjoy NEW PRIDE and SHIFTING PRIDE.

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Thanks Laura!

I’ve never read a novella before, what about you? What are your thoughts on the format?

Victoria

xoxo

Guest post: The Second Sign

Today I’m excited to welcome my crit partner, the rather talented Elizabeth Arroyo! Elizabeth’s debut book will be released next year and today she reveals the cover and synopsis and tells us the story of how the cover came to be. So over to you Liz!

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Book Cover Reveal
The Second Sign by Elizabeth Arroyo

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

Genre: Young Adult Dark Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance

Release Date: February 07, 2013

Synopsis:
Bred to believe in the war between angels and demons, Gabby has come to the conclusion that love is responsible for war, jealousy, and all the other deadly sins she can think of. So when she’s exiled to the middle of nowhere for getting kicked out of her fifth school for fighting, she doesn’t expect to meet Jake. Much less fall in love. But Jake is quickly drawn to the eerie beauty of her violet eyes while Gabby is unsettled by their undeniable connection.

When a demon guardian comes to collect her soul, she refuses to give it up. She’s not a demon. She can’t be. Her father and twin brother are angels. The demon gives Gabby twenty-four hours to decide her allegiance, and then starts killing her short list of friends, leaving a message behind: She is the Second Sign.

As Gabby and Jake begin to unravel the mystery behind the Second Sign, she learns Jake may be the key to saving her soul. But it means a sacrifice has to be made that will change their lives forever.

From concept to cover

First, I want to say that Sapphire Star Publishing involved me in every aspect of the cover design. Though we went back and forth with images, I was given the opportunity to choose the cover design I felt best represented the book…which was just amazing. They are just an awesome group.

I looked at countless published YA book covers to get a feel for what was already out there, and I looked for images on different stock photo sites that represented the overall theme of the book until I found “the one”.

The image represented the book to a tee.

Although we didn’t use the original image I found, the designer used it as a marker for the underlying theme. From there we chose the background which is accurate to the setting. And the model, who was perfect. A few tweaks later, she was Gabby.

What I love about the image are the grays and blacks which are softened by the globes of light suspended above the model. I also love that the wings aren’t symmetrical. They look almost clumsy. And without giving away too much, her expression is dead on with Gabby’s spiraling character arc. Because it’s such a gorgeous cover, we decided to use a more simple clean edge font so as not to distract the eye from the image.

I think it’s perfect. But of course, I would…. =)

Check out Elizabeth:

Website: www.elizabetharroyo.com

Blog: http://chandarawrites.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EArroyo5

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/elizabetharroyo.author

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Thanks for stopping by Liz! I can’t wait to read this when it’s released!

What do you guys think of the cover?

Victoria

xoxo

Valentine’s week – Guest post from Brooke and Mckenzie

Today we have a guest post from Brooke and Mckenzie – two best friends who wax lyrical about love and life. Today they share their thoughts on Valentine’s. Happy reading!

Victoria

xoxox

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This year for Valentines day we would like to share with our readers on what makes it special for us.

As they say; women tend lead with their hearts, we definitely are suckers for something heartfelt over something cliche and over the top. Lots of monetary value is nice, but if there is not much sentiment put into it, it just feels impersonal.
Another thing we are into is something more on the “cute” side as opposed to shopping for lingerie, pulling out whips and making the whole night revolve around having sex. We believe in a relationship with regular passionate sex and if we have to wait until one  specific day a year to do that, clearly that would make us very dissatisfied in a relationship.
 
Some sweet gestures are of course flowers, often roses are what’s expected but maybe something different would always be nice. Something to make it stand out from all the other times. Planning a day of events or things you like to do together is also really sweet or staying somewhere nice. As long as the day is about you two and not just a rose and dinner at a restaurant, again then off home. That is quite cliche and more like Friday night date with the boyfriend.
 
Regardless of what the plans of the day/evening are, keeping it personal is always key.
 
Mckenzie: The cutest thing I remember someone did for me was cook a whole meal and set the table with candles, themed tablecloth and even got me my favourite wine. It was a perfect setting, just not with the perfect person. Unfortunately, after all that, I failed to feel happiness in the relationship. But regardless, I will always remember the gesture and always hoped that one day I could have all that again, just with the right person in order to actually feel swept off my feet. 
While for some couples this is a good time to celebrate their time together, it can also be a wake up call or a point to evaluate the relationship. If you feel dissatisfied or feel like something is missing, it is important to not give up. I once went on a lunch  date on valentines day just because I would never give up trying to find the person that I want to be with and that would want to be with me. 
 
This year I am spending Valentines day with the boyfriend. He has made us reservations at a very fancy hotel in the city and we will be checking in early and spending the whole afternoon/evening in the area. I think at some point we are grabbing food, going skating and then swimming in the pool. I definitely look forward to it and believe that this year I will be happy to be spending it with him and not feel the emptiness I did the year before.
 
Valentines day to me always means hope, hoping for what is out there or hoping that you will always have happiness. You cannot predict tomorrow or whether you will always be happy with that person. But if you see yourself celebrating many more valentines with them, then that is great. If not, it is important to not wait any longer and move on to finding the right one for you. While you settle deeper into a relationship with the wrong person, the right person could be passing you by and you might miss that chance.
 
Happy Valentines Day!
 
Brooke and Mckenzie
 
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Don’t forget to leave them your feedback and then hop on over to their blog!
 

Valentine’s week: Guest post from lovelylici1986 @ conchsaladesque

Today we have a guest post from LovelyLici who blogs over at Conchsaladesque where she shares stories from her life in The Bahamas. Here she tells her how she met her girlfriend – enjoy!

Victoria

xoxox

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It’s funny, isn’t it? The way that love sort of just… Shows up. You may or may not be looking. You’re probably not expecting it. You just happen upon. “Oh! Is that you there?!” It sort of looks at you shyly and smiles, and you say, “Long time, no see!” You try to mask your utter shock, but it knows. It knows you didn’t know that it was on the way. Somehow, it’s okay with that. The thing about love is… It doesn’t need an invitation. It shows up when it’s good and ready, and whether you were expecting it or not, you kinda have to let it in.

 Some time in 2010 – I’m really not sure which month – I really got into the whole twitter thing. I was tweeting, and following, and mentioning, and DMing. One night, a Bahamian artist (Did I mention that I’m from The Bahamas?) said she’d be ustreaming. I thought, “Oh, cool. I needed something to do while procrastinating. I’ll tune into this ustream, and see if it’s interesting.” Well, I ended up watching a chatting for bit. The artist mentioned that my first name is very much like her middle name. I thought, “Ok, cool, I guess”. Well, from then, we starting following each other on Twitter (versus the one-sided twit-lationship where I was following her, and not being followed back). We chatted a bit back and forth, as we did with lots of other people.

 Fast-forward to November 2010. I tweeted about dessert. Specifically, I tweeted about an absolutely amazing dessert at my godfather’s and dad’s restaurant. It’s a guava bread pudding drizzled with brandy sauce, served with bailey’s ice cream. Close your eyes. Repeat those words. Picture it on a plate. Taste it. Yesss. Greatness. That tweet met a reply from the same Bahamian artist, saying that she was oh-so-very-interested in trying the dessert. One or two messages were sent and received, and BAM. We’d arranged to meet at the restaurant for dessert. To cut this bit of the story short, we met up a few times for good times.

 One fateful night, I went over to her place for a game night. It was one of those game nights where no one ever played any games, but many drinks were had. There was lots of random talking, and then things got very specific. By the end of the night, she and I were questioning our “friendship” as we wondered if there could be something more…

 Fast-forward, yet again, about month. We’re totally in a relationship. Before either of us realized it, we were in deep. In like. In love. In a complete state of drunken happiness. We, at first, were a bit concerned about how quickly things changed, developed, and grew. There is often fear of jumping into something too fast, not knowing what the future holds. I mean, really, we were just two random people who interacted on twitter. Who later met in person, over some amazing dessert. And then became friends. Ended up living a life that was totally unexpected and completely un-predicted time. Neither one of us expected it.

 This Valentine’s Day is just 10 days short of our first anniversary. Nothing has died. The fire of love, happiness, and overall excitement still burns brightly, and keeps us warm. Have we had arguments? Yes. Disagreements? YES. Times when we really didn’t want to speak to each other? Yes, indeed. It’s just that love has taken up residence within us. It’s like the magnet was planted in her, and the steel was planted in me. Things happen. Emotions run high. Words are released into the world, never to be retrieved by the speaker. Fragile feelings are sometimes hurt. That just doesn’t change the magnetism that is love. It will always attract the two people it has planted it’s two part in to one another. It serves to bring them together – in times of happiness, struggle, sadness, and even anger. Two can do better what one can do alone.

 The sweetness and warmth of the guava bread pudding has never subsided. We still taste it every time we see one another. The effect of the brandy has not worn off. We still feel the warmth, every time we touch. The sweetness of the baileys ice cream has not lost its touch. It still is there to cool the passion that raw emotion can bring to a situation. The lessons of twitter remain in our minds. Even where words are few – limited to 140 characters or not – thoughts and feelings are abundant. We may not have the time or the will to say all that we feel, but we are fitted with magnet and steel. The connection is there. It has taken up residence in us. It’s not going anywhere.

 Have you ever heard that song, “We Found Love” by Rihanna? You didn’t really need to hear the song. Some of the (very few lyrics) are, “We found love in a hopeless place.” Believe me. We both saw our surroundings and situations as hopeless where love is concerned, but look at us now. Full of hope for our future together, and bringing hope to the people around us who are still looking/waiting for what we’ve been fortunate enough to find. Valentine’s Day comes around every year, so with every one that you see, know that it brings you more hope. :)

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Don’t forget to leave Lovely your feedback and then hop on over to her blog!

Valentine’s week: Guest post from Patrick @ livelonglovelife

Today we have a guest post from Patrick who blogs over at livelonglovelife where he shares his wisdom, musings on life and poetry. Here he shares his own true life love story, enjoy!

Victoria

xoxox

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Love could happen to anyone, at anytime, and any place. It happens to the most notoriously known jail mates, it happens to the broken hearted, it happens when you are feeling low, and when you barely expect it. It could sneak to you like a thief in the night.
 
I have been in and out of love several times, so love is not so foreign to me. It’s a good thing to fall in love, no feeling is comparable to it. Love has no limits to what it could lead you to do or boumdaries for that matter for places it can take you.
 
This time I found love in a weird place and thus never really opened up about it. But tis the season of love and we have been together for two years and counting so I am going to open up here for the first time. Don’t judge me yet, just remember that love always gets it’s way.
 
It happened in November 2009 when I came out of a troubled relationship for luck of better words. It was bad. We fought and argued about everything all day long and finally after two years decided I had had enough. That was after I found out there was another man involved. I packed my bags and travelled across country with a broken heart never  to be mended again so I thought. I hated relationships and lost all my trust in it. I vowed never again to fall in love. I might have been wrong.
 
Love is so strong that saying no to it is close to impossible. I moved in with my cousin who helped me get over my heart break awfully quickly. A few weeks later we got back in touch. We talked over the phone and tried to mend things back but my heart had been so hardened that I could barely stand looking at another female species. We therefore decided that it was good while it lasted and let by gones be by gones. For several weeks I stuck to my words and avoided any contact whatsoever with women. Wekk deep inside I knew something more powerful was yet to take control over me. The need to feel loved started creeping in me and before I knew it I was craving it. So I talked to a bunch of women but the moment they mentioned a relationship I was out the door just like the trust I had lost. At home, Facebook was my antidote. I chatted the night away.
 
Towards the end of December there was a special girl that caught my eye. I tried to fight the feelings that I was beginning to catch for her. At one point I had a period of paranoia where I thought I had been chatting with another man so I asked her for her phone number. That’s when it all started.
Normally I wouldn’t be on the phone for hours. But what was even weirder was that we hadn’t seen each other eye for eye. Months went by and a connection was starting to build up. I told her about my past relationship and that I was not looking forward to a serious one but she only blatantly agreed. A few months later it became so obvious that there was no turning back. We had fallen head over heels in love with each other.
 
She was too good to be true, I kept thinking. I was getting anxious and wanting to meet her. She was all the more anxious to see me. I was amazed at how long I had to wait to meet her and still hold on. This had to be love. But she was worth it. She had all the qualities that attracted me to her even more; understanding, funny, christian, family-oriented, educated, and hardworking. I would just get an adrenaline rush everytime we talked. Her voice so musical, her laugh gave me goosebumps. I started bragging about her to my friends and showed photos of her to everyone that I knew just to get an opinion. Of course I never told the truth aboout how I met this diva.
 
March came and finally we were talking about meeting up. Right around March 18th she arrived at the airport and just seeing her for the first time after four months swept me off my feet. Her hair glided over her shoulders, her lips so kissable, her eyes were crescent shaped, and had a body of a model. She was a beauty, I became weak at the legs and when she smiled I felt chills run down my spine. I was love struck again and it felt amazing. We locked each other up in our arms just like old lovers. During her stay we were inseparable just like siamese twins joined by the hip. We celebrated love but it was short lived when she returned to her home. I wished she could have stayed forever, it was painful to watch her leave. But those few days were memorable. I had fallen back in love and found my future wife. We spoke on the phone all the more just to fill up the void. The visitations became more and more frequent.
 
Whenever we were together it was so much fun and travelled a whole lot. Eventually we decided it was best if we moved in together. While we did, things moved on pretty fast and May of last year we became proud parents of our wonderful son. He has been the center of our focus and changed both of our lives immensely. We have continued to grow blissfully in the shadow of the umbrella of love. In fact on October the 3rd we got engaged. The proposal got her by surprise and it has yet been the peak of our interesting journey of love.
 
She has been the best companion and intend to stay together for the rest of our lives.
 
In fact I can hear the wedding bells.
 
 
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Don’t forget to leave Patrick your feedback and then hop on over to his blog!

AWAITED cover reveal – guest post by Lynn Rush

Today I’m excited to welcome author Lynn Rush! Lynn is about to publish her second novel and is sharing the reveal of the book cover and her thoughts on the cover journey. I really enjoy Lynn’s blog - it gives great insight into publishing and she always stumps me with her movie quotes quiz. Over to you Lynn!

Victoria

xoxo

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Hey, Vicky. Thanks for having me here today!! I’m super excited to share my big cover reveal with you all!

So much has led up to this point, and it mostly feels like a dream to be honest with you.

Way back when I first contracted Wasteland (which released in September 2011) I never dreamed I’d have a second book coming out just eight months later…let alone five by the time August 2013 rolls around.

It’s a total dream.

But I do have to tell you, getting the cover is a SUPER FUN part of the process! I always wonder what the publisher/artists are going to come up with. Wasteland’s cover turned out so well, I was thinking, “Gosh, how will they ever come close to it?”

But they did!!

They did a great job with Awaited. I love the colors and the mysteriousness of the whole thing.

All the time I spent pouring over submissions, contracts, edits, tweaking, fine-tuning…it was SOOO worth it. I have to tell you, I’m so thankful for Crescent Moon Press. Not only for their talented artists, but their willingness to work closely with the author on their cover.

Yep. They talked with me about it. Kept me in the loop of things. Sure, they have final say on everything, but I can honestly tell they cared what I thought. Wanted me to be happy with the cover.

This whole journey has been absolutely amazing. I’m not saying it’s been perfect and free from bumps, but really, what part of life is ever smooth as glass and problem free, right?

Whether you’re a writer or not, press on toward your goals, my friends. The journey is the best part of it all.

Thanks for sharing part of this my journey with me!

 

Awaited

(Wasteland, #2)

 Lynn Rush

 Release Date: May 2012

PublisherCrescent Moon Press

The voice is a powerful thing…

 Synopsis from Goodreads:

Russell Leonard is a centuries-old Guardian who’s lost faith in his purpose. So when he’s charged with procuring the first female Guardian in over two centuries, he can only hope it’s the red-headed beauty who’s been haunting his dreams for months. And if it is, he intends to claim her as his. But when he finds his dream woman, Annabelle is mute and bears no Guardian’s Mark.

He soon realizes she’s been tainted by an ancient evil. Russell must somehow release the secrets trapped within this delicate, mute beauty, to help her tap into the only weapon powerful enough to silence a millennia-old demon—her voice.

 Add Awaited to your Goodreads to-read shelf

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Share your feedback with Lynn below! And don’t forget to hop over to her website!

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