Pure Blood Giveaway

It's happening. The trilogy is coming to an end. Pure Blood will be released on February 16th and you can finally find out if Gemma and Harrison are going to make it.

In celebration of this momentous event, I am running a giveaway. Over the next 10 days you will have the chance to enter this competition and win copies of Pure Blood, a complete set of the trilogy and I've also thrown in an Amazon gift card, because who doesn't love those!

The only thing you have to do is like my Facebook Page, everything else is your choice. The more things you do, the more points you get and the greater your chance of winning becomes.
Entry details are below, it's very simple and straight forward. I love Rafflecopter :)

Over the next few days I will also be posting excerpts from the book, a character interview or two and having fun as we build up to the book's release.

If you have any questions you'd like to ask any of the characters or myself, please leave me a comment on Facebook, or here, and I'll see what I can do about answering them.

So - without further ado, I would like to present you with the cover and blurb of Pure Blood and give you a chance to win!

Have a great week everyone :)

PS - Amanda - thanks again for a great cover babe. You rock!

It is only a matter of time before Gemma's parents find out she traveled through time to bring Harrison back into existence. The fear of being found out is a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she refuses to give up on everything she's fought for. Harrison is worth the risk.

The couple draws closer together as they battle opposing forces from all sides. They stay strong until Gemma's parents welcome an exchange student into their home. Simeon, a gorgeous Californian, is as smooth as coffee and, supposedly, a fellow time spirit. Gemma's parents expect her to take him everywhere and, of course, fall in love with him. After all, he is the boy they have chosen for her. 

No longer able to sneak off alone, Gemma must watch every step as she waits for the inevitable nightmare to catch up to her. Her parents ultimate goal is to get that last necklace and open the box hidden in their safe. If they do, Gemma knows her entire world will unravel.

As the danger mounts, Gemma must decide if she has the courage to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the ones she loves and stop to her parents' destructive plans.

Short Story update

I'm having one of those days where I have no idea what to blog about. Does anyone out there ever have that problem?
But I've committed to blogging every Monday and so I shall.

Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to Roland D. Yeoman who left some great advice in the comments section of my last post.

I agree that my story needs to start with a decent hook. I have completed my first draft and am happy with my initial workings, although I'm not sure about the intro. It intrigued my friend, but will it be enough to hook the judges?

In an effort to make this story the best it can be, I am going to post my first paragraph and see what you guys think.
Any feedback is most welcome.

At this stage, I'm wondering if the hook is strong enough or whether I need to reorder my story, start with the end and circle back around. My only hesitation with doing that, is it might spoil the twist at the end.

Anyway - enough chat from me.
Here's the first paragraph. Is it enough to make you want more?

(At this stage the story is called Dear Eric, but I'm not sold on the title yet)


DEAR ERIC

Dear Eric,

Mrs Kemp wants us to keep diaries for the rest of the term, something about writing freestyle. We don’t have to hand them in, it’s just practice. I think diaries are a dumb idea. I’d rather direct my thoughts to a person.

I’ve chosen you.

Truth is, I really like you, but I’ll never have the courage to tell you. If school were a movie set, you would be Robert Pattinson and I would be an uncredited extra.

To you I’m invisible, which is why you will never read these letters, because if you knew how I felt about you, I’d die of shame.

Contest!!

Hey everyone,

Just to let you know that Megan Rebekah's running a contest on her blog. She's up to 500 followers! Whoop! Whoop!
Prizes are AWESOME.
Definitely check it out :)

http://meganrebekahblogs.blogspot.com/

Happy competing!

''Dear Lucky Agent'' Contest: Middle Grade and Young Adult

I try to read the blogs I follow daily. Sometimes I don't always fit it in, but when I do it is completely worthwhile.

Today I noticed a "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest is being run through Guide to Literary Agents. This blog is AWESOME and always has really helpful stuff.

Anyway the competition is running for about two weeks. It's really easy to enter and the prize is a critique of some of your work. You should check it out.

Here's the link...

http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/Dear+Lucky+Agent+Contest+Middle+Grade+And+Young+Adult.aspx

Happy writing everyone :)

I WON!!! Addition

I forgot to mention...

I entered this competition as Melissa Guyan.

I WON!!!

Call my ridiculously slow, but I just realized today that I should have made this post ages ago. I guess I didn't want to show off, but this is a writing blog and I should be willing to share.

I won the Manukau Libraries Short Story Competition! I totally didn't expect to and nearly didn't send a story in, but knew I'd regret my laziness later.

The competition was to write a prequel or sequel to a short story that was written in the late 80s called, "The Watermelon."

I wrote a sequel. Now short stories aren't really my forte and I ended up deleting most of my first draft and starting again, but here is the finished version.

All the finalist entries have been published on the website. Here is the link.

I hope you like it :)

http://www.manukau-libraries.govt.nz/EN/News/Pages/'Watermelon'shortstorycompetition.aspx

(It's listed on the right side of the page.)

The dreaded synopsis

I am just preparing to enter a couple of competitions in the UK. The first one is called Chapter One Promotions Novel Competition

http://www.chapteronepromotions.com/competitions/novel-competition.htm

It looks pretty cool and the prize is wicked. Five hundred pounds and the chance to work with an editor for two years as you complete the novel. It then gets published.

All you have to send in is your first three chapters and a one page synopsis.

UCH! That's where I come undone... THE SYNOPSIS!!!

I have read so many blogs and sites on how to write a good one and I still feel like I cannot master the skill. Especially trying to put an entire plot into one page! I have been procrastinating big time because I'm a worried I'll do a really bad job.

You'd think a synopsis would be easy right? Just explain what you're books about.

Sure - no problem. But how do I do that in a way that will make the judges, editors, agents - whoever - sit up and think, "Man, this is good!"

I almost find a query easier. At least with a query you can leave the person hanging, hungry for more. With a synopsis you've got to put it all out there, but in a really enticing way.

HELP!

Wish me luck.

I'll let you know how I get on. If anyone out there has any other advice on how to make a synopsis stand out, I am more than happy to receive it :)