2012 - Things I'm Grateful For

YA writers and bloggers unite each week to share their thoughts on what it's like going indie in today's publishing world.

Yay for Thanksgiving!! We don't celebrate it in NZ, but it's always so well advertised that we all know about it... and it always gets me thinking.

At Indie Carnival we thought this would be a great chance to mentions some of the highlights from our year and the things we are grateful for.

I have a wonderful life and find myself with a million things to be thankful for, so I'll just stick with the writing related ones in this post.

2012 has been an amazing year for me. I have released three books - Pure Blood (#3 Time Spirit Trilogy), Forbidden Territory (#1 Mica and Lexy Series) and Betwixt.

I am so grateful for...

- every person who has purchased these books. You guys are helping me write my next book... and my next... and my next.

- everyone who took the time to review the book or tell me what they thought about it. I so appreciate all your support, enthusiasm and honesty.

- the marketing & writing lessons I've learned throughout the year. I have come so far and learned so much. I know I have a long way to go still, but I'm definitely a better writer than I was last year. Long may I be able to say that :-)

- the fun I've had putting these books together. I love writing. I just love it!!

 - Brenda Howson, the co-author of Forbidden Territory and the YAlicious blog. Also my graphic designer. I love you, chick :-)

- ZealousDesign, the website that distributes my books for me in New Zealand.

- the schools I've been invited to visit and the awesome kids I've met. Some of them even wanted my signature. How cool is that?!

- librarians!!! I have met so many of you this year and I think you are all wonderful. Your passion for reading and sharing books with the younger generations is awesome. I have so appreciated your support and enthusiasm.

- the amazing people I've met and connected with through Twitter and Facebook. There are so many cool writers and bloggers out there who love to support indies. I have enjoyed building friendships with you and helping to support your careers as well. The writing world rocks!! Squee!

- Inklings - my writing group that I can go to about anything and they always understand. I love you girls.

- Indies Unlimited - another amazing group that has given me so many opportunities this year. I have learned so much from all of you and I love being a part of this awesome team.

- YA Indie Carnival. You guys are an amazing bunch of writers and I am so honoured to be associated with you. Tina & Laura - I have to give you special mention. You have done the most amazing job with this group and I so appreciate your time and effort.

- the coming year. I have four books planned for 2013, plus the launch of my own website. Excitement!!! There is so much to look forward to and on the days I feel low, I just need to think of all the things I mentioned above and all the cool things that await me in the future and I can do nothing but smile.

If you'd like to find out what the other carnival goers are grateful for, you can follow the link below.

And you can also check out the YA Author Club for the latest updates and news on what we're all up to.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series	4.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga
5.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	6.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
7.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	8.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
9.	Ella James	10.	Maureen Murrish
11.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings	12.	A Little Bit of R&R
13.	Melissa Pearl	14.	Terah Edun - YA Fantasy

NB: We are taking next week off, so there will be no Friday post from me on the 30th :-)

And The Winners Are...

Wohoo!!! The winners for the Forbidden Territory Blog Tour have been picked by Random.org.

And the winners of the Prize Packs are...

- Artemis
- Rose
- Marla

And the winner of the Grand Prize is...

- Jen Hutchinson

Congratulations winners!! We will be in touch via e-mail within the next 24 hours.

Thank you so much for everyone who checked out this blog tour. We really hope you enjoy the book when you get your hands on it.

Thank you also to all the amazing bloggers who participated in the tour. You are all officially legends!!

So Many Things To Tell You!!

Well, it's the beginning of July and you know what that means... time for my  monthly progress report.

June flew past so fast, my head is still spinning, but I had a ton of triumphs. A few highlights were...

- I finished my first draft of Betwixt and have had a few critique partners get back to me with really positive comments. Such a thrill :) Today is the day I promised myself I'd get it to my editor, so after this post, I'm doing my final read through then flicking it off to her. Nervous!

- I spoke to the New Zealand School Librarians Association. What an awesome bunch of people. School librarians rock. They are always so enthusiastic and encouraging. They love to get kids reading... and so do I. It's always such a buzz meeting them. Subsequently, I've managed to arrange two school visits in a couple of weeks, plus also sell some more of the trilogy. It was a great chance to promote Forbidden Territory too.

- Another totally spunky thing that happened, was I popped into our local library to ask if I could leave some Forbidden Territory bookmarks on the counter. They were so excited they ended up inviting me to the FUSE launch party, which is a initiative to get teens reading. How cool is that?!? Brenda's coming down to join me and we'll have fun chatting to the kids and promoting our new book...

Which brings me to July!!
Wow - there is SO much to celebrate this month. I will try to be brief as there really is a lot to say :)

- The release of Forbidden Territory!! Wohoo!!! The book can be purchased from Amazon stores or through Smashwords...

- Speaking of which, Smashwords is having a huge July sale. A heap of books are available at discounted prices - some are even free. If you'd like to pick up Forbidden Territory for 25% off, just click the link below and use the coupon code SSW25.
FORBIDDEN TERRITORY ON SALE!!

- Another fun thing happening this week is the Forbidden Territory blog tour. You can check out the schedule and enter the giveaway here. There are some pretty fun prize packs to win.

- Brenda and I are also running another giveaway through Goodreads. If you'd like to win a paperback copy, you can enter here. There are two up for grabs :)

- And the last thing I wanted to mention was the INDIEpendence celebrations going on. There are some fantastic indie authors to discover. It's definitely worth taking the time to discover them.
INDIEpendence Day Celebrations.

Thank you so much for all the blog tour participants who have given their time to read and review Forbidden Territory for us. You are all such fantastic people and we have LOVED working with you :)

Whether you're cooped up indoors with rain pouring outside (c'est moi) or lounging on a hot sunny beach somewhere (hopefully you!), I hope you have a wonderful July!!

Forbidden Territory - Tour Schedule and Giveaway

Hey everyone!!

Brenda and I are VERY excited to be hosting the Forbidden Territory Blog Tour.
We all hope you have a wonderful time checking out these awesome blogs and learning more about the first book in the Mica & Lexy Series.

The blog tour is running from July 2nd - 6th, but we have decided to open up the giveaway on the day of publication - JULY 1st.

Make sure you stop by and enter to win some cool prizes.

But first things first.... the tour schedule....

July 2nd
J. C. Hart - Just Cassie
Review and Interview


Parchment Place
Guest Post - Location, Location, Location


July 3rd
Maji Bookshelf
Review


Book Briefs
Review, Giveaway and Dream Cast Post


Dragonfly Scrolls
Interview


July 4th
SJ Byrne
Guest Post from MC, Mica Latham, about geo-caching


My Book Chatter
Review and Interview


July 5th
The Life of Fiction
Review and Giveaway


Laura's Magic Day
Review


July 6th
Novels on the Run
Review and Excerpt


My Home Away From Home
Guest Post from Mica & Lexy about keeping secrets


Claire Reads
Guest Post - Series vs. Stand Alone novels


July 7th
Winners will be announced!!

And now for the giveaway. Please spread the word far and wide. The more, the merrier.

We are giving away 3 prize packs, which include:
- a digital copy of Forbidden Territory
- a friendship necklace like the ones Mica and Lexy wear
- Forbidden Territory and Time Spirit Trilogy bookmarks

We are also giving away a Grand Prize, which inclues:
- a paperback copy of Forbidden Territory
- a friendship necklace like the ones Mica and Lexy wear
- bookmarks
- a digital copy of Golden Blood (Bk 1 of the Time Spirit Trilogy by Melissa Pearl)









a Rafflecopter giveaway

Only One Week To Go!!

Brenda and I are getting uber excited.

Forbidden Territory is being released on July 1st!! Followed by a very fun blog tour including awesome blogs from all over the world.

We have busily been preparing guest posts and answering fun interview questions. We can't wait to share it all with you guys.

This weekend I will post the schedule and giveaway info... because, let's face it, what's a blog tour without giving some stuff away :)

We really hope you can join us!

Oh yeah - and don't forget to check out the Mica & Lexy Series Facebook Page too :)

http://www.facebook.com/MicaLexySeries

In the meantime, here's the Forbidden Territory Book Trailer for you to enjoy.

A Taste Test Blog Tour

Here is the schedule and giveaway information for the Taste Test Blog Tour. Don't miss your chance to get to know some fantastic new authors and win some very cool stuff.

Happy touring everyone!

PARTICIPATING BLOGS:

http://can-duu.blogspot.com - CJ Duggan's Blog

http://www.michelleahansen.com - Michelle A. Hansen's Blog

http://heather.bishoffs.com - Nolia McCarty's Blog

http://yalicious.blogspot.com - Brenda Howson's Blog

http://lmpreston.blogspot.com - LM Preston's Blog

http://melissapearl.blogspot.com - Melissa Pearl's Blog

Each author will be featured on all six blogs on a particular day with different guest posts and interviews - all of them are short, sweet and a ton of fun to read.

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Monday 21st - CJ Duggan
Tuesday 22nd - Michelle A. Hansen
Wednesday 23rd - Nolia McCarty (aka Heather Marie Adkins)
Thursday 24th - Brenda Howson

Monday 28th - LM Preston
Tuesday 29th - Melissa Pearl

PRIZE PACKS:

CJ Duggan
Summer Pack - Beach bag, lip balm, bookmark, autographed The Boys of Summer print

Michelle A. Hansen
A printed copy of Painted Blind, a signed Painted Blind 8x12 cover enlargement, a Painted Blind promo pack containing bookmark, postcard, hand made soap and lip balm

Nolia McCarty
Digital copies of Heaven Below and Eternal Youth

Brenda Howson
The same type of necklace worn by Mica and Lexy in Forbidden Territory, a bookmark and a digital ARC of Forbidden Territory

LM Preston
A keychain, a magnet and an ARC paperback copy of The Pack - Retribution

Melissa Pearl
The same type of necklace worn by Mica and Lexy in Forbidden Territory, a bookmark and a digital ARC of Forbidden Territory


A Taste Test Prize Pack
Digital copies of:
The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington
My Enchanted Life by Laura Eno
Painted Blind by Michelle A. Hansen
Eternal Youth by Julia Crane and Nolia McCarty
ARC of Forbidden Territory
ARC of The Pack: Retribution
Golden Blood by Melissa Pearl
Paperback copy of:
From Fame to Shame by Veronica Blade
Bookmark and lip balm from CJ Duggan


a Rafflecopter giveaway