Melissa Pearl: Author Interview and More

I am so excited to share this article from examiner.com. 

I am thrilled to be featured on the site. 

I would love for you all to check it out. 

You can do so HERE.

Thanks!

The Witching Hour Blog Hop!

Thanks for stopping by for The Witching Hour Blog Hop!

What better way to celebrate Halloween than with witch and magical themed books?  And a chance to win an $50 Amazon Gift Card?

Discovery by Brina Courtney 

Discoveries can be dangerous. Discoveries can be deadly. Nine months ago, Teagan Matthews' boyfriend disappeared and took her sense of stability with him. But when the opportunity to live with her aging grandmother in Salem arises, she decides it's time to get on with her life. A new home, new job, and new friends are adding up to a beautiful summer... ...until a young girl's body shows up one night in town, wearing a pentagram necklace exactly like Teagan's. Now a guy looking remarkably like her missing boyfriend has arrived in Salem along with a mysterious stranger who may have some answers that Teagan has desperately been searching for. Teagan must now decide who to trust. It's a matter of life... and her death. 

Masquerade by Cambria Hebert 

I'm disfigured. Scarred. Ugly. When I look in the mirror, I see a stranger. When I look over my shoulder, no one's there… Yet I feel watched. Hunted. Afraid. And then he tells me I’m beautiful. He tells me I’m safe. I believe him. Until someone tries to kill me. Secrets abound, danger is near, and still… my heart desires a boy with whiskey-colored eyes and far too many secrets. Secrets that could cost me my life. To stay alive I have to look deep, beneath the masks everyone wears, to find the truth. To find myself. 

Hear No by Lizzy Ford 

It’s only the end of the world at stake … Nathan’s job for the past three thousand years has been to clean up supernatural messes. Jaded, ruthlessly effective and selfless, he’s seen it all and can handle anything - demons, homicidal angels, even bad bosses. His latest challenge: A creature named Shadowman is seeking out the three keys it believes will open portals between earth and hell. Nathan must eliminate the human host guiding Shadowman to the keys. Except Nathan isn’t expecting the woman anchoring Shadowman to the human world to be beautiful, witty, innocent and completely unaware of the creature manipulating her. Worse, she makes him feel alive for the first time in his long existence, and he haphazardly discovers she’s meant to become the love of his life. Life becomes more complicated when Nathan helps rescue one of the key holders, a deaf girl charged with protecting the secret of who Shadowman really is: the first of four demons headed to the human world, intent on bringing about the Apocalypse. They will succeed, unless Nathan kills the woman he loves, and sends the demon back to Hell. 

Unknown by Melissa Pearl

A young adult epic fantasy set in a colourful medieval world. Embark on a treacherous journey into the unknown. Unseen (Book 2) and Unleashed (Book 3) also available. ***** One prophecy...Two seekers...A journey into the UNKNOWN. ***** Darkness is covering the land. As the city of Mezrah grows with power and greed, the rest of the world can only stand by and wait for their inevitable destruction. The only hope against this growing power is an ancient prophecy that people have stopped believing in. Then a star begins to fall. Princess Kyla of Taramon stopped trusting in the power of light the day her father died. Trapped in a city she does not care for, under the watchful glare of her mother, the queen, she struggles to accept her fate. Then a star begins to fall. Jethro has loved Kyla for as long as he can remember. Learning that she was to marry his cousin drove a wedge between him and the feisty princess. Watching her from a distance is a torture he is unable to free himself from. Then a star begins to fall, sparking an ember of hope and sending these two seekers on a treacherous journey into the unknown. 

Forged by Greed by Angela Orlowski-Peart

Young Adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy novel.

Two Seattle 16-year-olds, Jatred and Jasmira, are not your typical star-crossed lovers.  They are not even your typical Shape Shifters. Sure, they try to live an ordinary life. At least, as ordinary as the Prince and the Princess of the rivaling ancient Races--the Winter wolves and the Summer leopards--can live. But eventually they learn that not much about their existence can be normal. Especially when the Races' two commanding Goddesses are involved.

One of the Goddesses is on a quest to tilt the scale of power to her side. The other will never let it happen, even if it means kicking Jatred and Jasmira's love to the curb. Nothing is off limits, including removing Jatred's memories of Jasmira. To complicate things even more, there are the Universe's powers to consider. They are trapped in an ancient Amulet in order to protect the stability of the world. But the Universe has a mind of its own, and when the powers are unleashed, the forces of nature are disturbed; earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions shake the Earth. All Shifters of both Races are summoned by their respective Goddesses to fight in the name of, or against, the normalcy of the world. 

Kiss of Fire by Rebecca Ethington 

Joclyn Despain has been marred by a brand on her skin. She doesn't know why the mark appeared on her neck, but she doesn't want anyone to see it, including her best friend Ryland, who knows everything else about her. The scar is the reason she hides herself behind baggy clothes, and won't let the idea of kissing Ryland enter her mind, no matter how much she wants to. The scar is the reason she is being hunted. If only she knew that she was. If only she had known that the cursed stone her estranged father sent for her 16th birthday would trigger a change in her. Now, she is being stalked by a tall blonde man, and is miraculously throwing her high school bully ten feet in the air. Joclyn attempts to find some answers and the courage to follow her heart. When Ryland finds her scar; only he knows what it means, and who will kill her because of it.

Giveaway

  a Rafflecopter giveaway    

Summer's End Sizzlin' Sale + A Giveaway!

Wohoo! Everyone loves a good sale and this on is a brilliant one. A bunch of great authors are featured, along with their 99c books!

If you'd like to join in the event, you can follow this link: Summer's End Sizzlin' Sale.

Here's the book I'm featuring - Unknown (The Elements Trilogy, #1)

It's a YA romantic fantasy. The entire series is already released, so if you love it, you won't even have to wait to find out what's going to happen.

Also - Golden Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #1) is currently FREE!

Now, as part of the fun, the authors from this event have to answer a question or two and you guys have to hunt for the answers in our posts. Cool!!

So my question is: Which is my favourite book cover?

Tricky! I love cover art. I could spend hours looking at books. To narrow it down, I've decided to focus on one cover artist - Eden Crane. She's the bomb! I'll feature some of her work and you guys can guess, which cover is my favourite.

So here goes. Here are my top covers that Eden has done recently. Yes - two of them are mine and I am SO happy with the work she did for me :)

Doesn't Eden do the most amazing work?

So - did you guess my favourite cover yet? 

That's right. I saved the best for last. Beyond (due for release Oct 2013) is my favourite cover by Eden Crane. Yes - I know it's my own book, but I can't help it. She has captured my characters perfectly and I can't WAIT for everyone to read it in October :)

You can add both Before and Beyond to your TBR list by clicking the links below:

Before on Goodreads.

Beyond on Goodreads.

Have fun with the sale!! I hope you manage to stock up your reading devices with some goodies.

Don't forget to check out the event and discover the answers to all the other authors' questions.

Summer's End Sizzlin' Sale

And here's the Rafflecopter giveaway as well.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Indie Life - It's All About the Sequel

I'm very excited to be part of The Indelibles Indie Life series. These posts run on the second Wednesday of every month and include ideas and articles from a wide variety of indie authors. Check out the links below to learn more about INDIE LIFE.

I have been published since 2011 and it has not taken me long to figure out that in this game, writing series and sequels is the way to go. I have seven books published now with another one due for release in August and looking back over my stats, my trilogy is the strongest seller by far.

It makes sense though, doesn't it? Readers invest their time in these characters, get to know them, fall in love with them. Of course they are more likely to buy another book involving these people. It's a great way to develop a lasting readership or build a fan base. Speaking as a reader, I don't like saying goodbye to characters I fall in love with and it's fun watching them grow throughout a series.

From a writers viewpoint, it's great business. You can put the first book on sale, or free, and this leads to subsequent sales for the rest of the series. I have found this to be hugely successful for me, which is why I decided to go for rapid fire releases with my second trilogy. The first two books are already out - Unknown in June and Unseen in July. The 3rd book - Unleashed - is due out in August. I am then going to spend my marketing budget in September. That's when I'll run some sales, pay for some advertising, do a blog tour, etc. Once the readers can access all three books quickly. I have never done this before and am really interested to analyze it all at the end and see how it's paid off.

If you're anything like me, you have a million stories in your database and new ideas constantly popping into your head. Writing series takes staying power. I am always tempted to keep releasing new stuff, stand alone stories, but I am curbing that desire for now. Sure, I'll still do the odd stand alone, but from the results I've seen in my own writing, they will never take off as well as my series.

How Much Should A Book Cost?

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

I have just released my latest novel - Unknown - so YA Indie Carnival's discussion today is quite timely. I had to ask myself this very question as I uploaded my book the other day. 

How much should this book cost? How much is it worth?

It saddens me to realize that a book's cost and worth are two very different things. When I think about all the hours I've poured into my novels and the money I've spent on editors to make sure they a quality reads, I cringe to think that I may only sell them for 99c.

But the thing is, there is no point putting in all this time and effort and publishing it online then not selling one single copy. So pricing is a very important consideration.

When it comes to pricing, I try to think like a reader. I don't mind spending up to $5 for en e-book. I'll even spend up to $8 if it's an author I really love. Now I don't know any indie authors that would price their stuff that high. Most of the authors I know price their books at either 99c or between $2.99 - $4.99, which I am always happy to pay. It's WAY cheaper than the $25+ I used to spend on paperback novels.

Personally, I would love to charge $3.99+ for all my books. They are all over 60,000 words long, they are a decent read and I feel like they are worth that much, but from a marketing stand point, I choose not to do that. I am trying to find a happy compromise. 

So - my very first book (the first of a series) is permanently free - Golden Blood. The next two books in the series are $3.99 each. Some people don't like this, but I figure I'm giving them one book for free, so they're picking up an entire trilogy for just under $8, which really isn't bad. My two stand alone novels are $3.99 each and my latest release (the first of a series) is $2.99. 

By making $2.99 my lowest price, I am able to benefit from 70% royalties on Amazon and it also gives me room to move with specials. I try to run some sort of special every couple of months on my books. I don't mind dropping the price to 99c for a short period of time. It's a great boost for my rankings. I tend to only do this with first books in a series though.

Now I don't know if I have it right. I still have much to learn about marketing, but this strategy seems to be working for now.

How about you?
What do you think books are worth?


If you'd like to find out what the other carnival goers think, you can follow the links below. 
And don't forget to check out our latest news on our YA Author Club site.

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
15.	Heather Sutherlin - YA Fantasy

Indie Life - It's All About The Release

I'm very excited to be part of The Indelibles Indie Life series. These posts run on the second Wednesday of every month and include ideas and articles from a wide variety of indie authors. Check out the links below to learn more about INDIE LIFE.

I have talked about a variety of things over the past five months - from attitude about writing to getting the exposure we need in order to make our writing a success.

Following along that line, I want to talk about "The Release." That moment you work so hard to obtain. Weeks and months of hard work have been poured into your book, it looks fabulous, it reads well, your beta readers love it and now it's time to share it with the world.

I have always struggled with this moment in my book's life. It's nice to let it go and pass it on to the world, but I also find it really challenging. How do I get the world as excited as me and then how do I turn that excitement into actual sales?

I have read articles that say it's all about the pre-buzz. Getting people so excited about the book that when you do finally release it, they're so desperate they buy it straight away. I have done this a little, not much. I probably should have started months earlier and maybe I will with my next book. For now, let's focus on the actual day of release.

I am learning as I go and there are plenty of things you can do with the release of a book:
- Facebook release parties
- Blog Tours
- Giveaways
- Paid advertising
- Asking people to spread the word for you
- Book signings

These seem to be the most popular that I know of, but which are the most effective and what can you afford to do? You have no doubt spent money on editing and cover design, how much is left to throw at marketing?

Because my funds are tight and I want to produce quality, I tend to put most of my money towards editing and cover design, but I have quickly learned that spending money on marketing is just as important. In an attempt to use my funds wisely, I have decided, with the release of my trilogy, to save up most of my funds and spend it once the third book is released.

Unknown - Book 1 - came out yesterday. So far I have asked people to spread the word and have gathered up a few reviews. I'm also running a giveaway on my blog. All very low cost things. I will be doing the same for Unseen - Book 2 - when it comes out in July.

However in August, when Unleashed - Book 3 - comes out, I will be pulling out all the stops. I have an FB event planned for shortly after the release. I have a blog tour running in September and shortly after that I will be paying for advertising on the first book. I'm really hoping that combining the marketing funds for all three books will help me gain the trilogy some decent momentum. I will hopefully see a flow on effect from sales, because all three books will be available at once.

It will be interesting to see and I can't wait to come back in October and let you know how I got on.

So what do you do when releasing a book? How do you turn your enthusiasm into book sales?

Unknown Release Giveaway!

Well, Unknown is ready to go. Eeepppp!!!

As with any release, it is an awesome and scary thing. I can't decide if I want to dance in circles or throw up!

But it doesn't matter how I'm feeling, that PUBLISH button has been pressed! Unknown has flown into cyber space and no longer belongs to me. I know I wrote it, but for some reason whenever I publish a book, the moment I upload it and send it on its way, I feel as though it becomes the property of the readers.

So, to celebrate the fact I have passed another book over to my dear readers, I thought I'd run a little giveaway.

The prize is very simple: one paperback copy of Unknown.

The entry is also very simple. All you need to do is answer one question in the comments section below. On Friday I will use Random.org to select one winner from the comments section. Entries close on Friday 14th, 8am EST. 

Okay - so here's my question... last week, I introduced you to some of the characters you will meet in Unknown. All you need to tell me is - which character intrigues you the most...who are you most looking forward to meeting when you read Unknown?

Here are the links to last week's blog posts:
The Three Main Characters
People in Taramon
People in Mezrah
Two Very Special Children

Good luck with the giveaway. I look forward to reading your answers!!

If you'd like to purchase a digital copy of Unknown, you can pick one up on AMAZON or SMASHWORDS.

Unknown Character Intros - Two Very Special Children

I don't want to give too much away, but I can't not mention two very special children in this story....

Adamar and Mya.

I love these two. They are magical little humans that bring the story to life and help Kyla and Jethro through some of their most desperate times along the way.

Kyla and Jethro discover Adamar in the Canyon Lands. He is a peaceful kid with deep dimples and a ready smile. He has a way with people and can calm down any situation. He loves animals and animals love him.

Mya appears in the Forest of Gesham. In spite of her petite stature and adorable smile, her eyes sparkle with a wisdom beyond her years. She is very in tune with nature. To me, she is a little ray of sunshine and I've adored writing all my scenes with her.


So that's it with the character introductions. I've had so much fun giving you little snippets about these people and letting you into The Element world.

Next week, look out for a pre-release giveaway!

Unknown Character Intros - People in Mezrah

So far I have highlighted the three main characters and other key characters from Taramon.

Today I want to highlight some people from Mezrah - the eastern city and the home of King Ashan, a powerful force of darkness that threatens to take over the world.

Mordekai - used to be a well-respected seer until he became obsessed with the prophecy. He has a strong belief that the God of Light will return and save the world from King Ashan's reign. He has a good soul and clings to his faith with a stubborn tenacity.

Nikara - Mordekai's apprentice. In spite of the evil that dwells in Mezrah, she loves her home. She has dreams of a grander life than living with the ageing seer. She is a talented woman and secretly dabbles with magic when Mordekai is not looking.

Safeer - the ambassador of King Ashan. He is an arrogant man who loves the power of working for King Ashan. He takes great delight in visiting Taramon on a monthly basis and seeing the queen and councilmen squirm as he dishes out more orders from his mighty ruler.



King Ashan - has become more beast than man, therefore I have no image to represent him. He is fuelled by a potent elixir brewed by a powerful sorcerer in the heart of the Black Forest. He has become an ominous threat. People are terrified of him. His evil is beyond compare. Nothing pleases him more than seeing people suffer. His only weakness, a fear that the prophecy might in fact be true.

Tomorrow I'll do my final character introductions...there are two very special people I'd like you to meet.

Unknown Character Intros - People in Taramon

Yesterday I highlighted the three main characters in this story: Kyla, Jethro and Athra. They all come from the city of Taramon, so I wanted to highlight a few key people from the northern city.

Taramon is filled with good-hearted, hard working people. It has been a pillar of light for centuries, but is now suffering under the threat of a very dark reign from the eastern city, Mezrah.

Some of the key characters from this city are:

Queen Elaina - Kyla's mother and the matriarch of the city. When her husband, King Heron, was killed in battle the full responsibility of power fell on her. This was something she was very unprepared for. In an effort to keep her people safe, she made what she thought was the best decision and signed a treaty with Mezrah. Now Taramon must submit to constant demands placed on them by Mezrah's king - Ashan. In spite of her loss, she has proven to be a strong woman and is doing her best to train her reluctant daughter in the ways of governance.

Varon - The queen's right hand man and Athra's father. He has been a tower of strength for the queen since her husband passed. They have become close friends and she always turns to him for advice before making any major decisions.

Benyamin - Jethro's father. Athra's uncle. Varon's brother-in-law. He is a good man with a solid faith. Injured in King Heron's war, he walks with a marked limp, but he has not let the injury overcome him. People in the city look up to him. He is a member of the queen's council.



There are obviously many other characters from Taramon, but these three play a significant role in this trilogy. I'll let you meet a few other key characters before the release of Unseen.

Tomorrow I'll introduce you to four very important characters from the city of Mezrah.

Unknown Character Intros - The Three Main Characters

Unknown is due out in less than two weeks. Eeeppp!!!

I'm super excited about this series. It's my first try at epic fantasy so it's been a challenging project to work on, but so much fun.

Over the next week and a bit, I thought I'd do a little extra blogging and introduce you to some of the characters.

During the planning stages, I spent some time finding images of actors that looked like the characters in my head. I know everyone sees characters differently, but I've had these images on my wall the whole time I've been writing and by the end of the trilogy, I was picturing the characters as these people.

Today I want to introduce you to the three MCs - Kyla, Jethro and Athra.

Princess Kyla of Taramon is a feisty girl. She hates being a princess and despises the idea of one day having to be queen. She longs for adventure and to explore every corner of the earth. She feels trapped inside the castle, under the scrutiny of her mother. Her father, one of the only people to truly understand her, died when she was young. It was a crushing blow. She is an able fighter, brilliant with a bow and if she could have been born a boy, she would have been the happiest person alive. She is betrothed to Athra.

Jethro is Athra's cousin and used to be Kyla's best friend. When he learned of their betrothal he was heart broken. Unable to explain his true feelings to Kyla, he crept away from the friendship and things have never been the same. He has been raised to believe in the God of Light. He has a true heart, a healthy serving of courage and like Kyla, longs to explore the farthest reaches of the earth. Having been secretly trained by his father, he is a very capable fighter. His sense of humour has helped him through many tough times and his loyalty to the people he loves is unbreakable.

Athra is the future king of Taramon and absolutely loves that idea. He is passionate about the city and the people within it. He is a natural leader and longs to free the city from the oppressive darkness. He likes to do what is right, but can also be extremely stubborn. He cares deeply for people and loves Kyla, in spite of her un-lady-like antics. He has already mapped out their future together and longs for the day they will marry.

So there you have it, three main characters that I have grown to love. Each of them have a very long journey to walk throughout this trilogy and I have loved watching them grow and develop throughout their harrowing experiences. Don't worry, for those of you rolling your eyes that this is another love triangle, it really doesn't fit the typical love triangle bill - you'll have to read it to see what I mean ;-)

If you'd like to add Unknown to your reading list, here is the Goodreads link.

Tomorrow I'll introduce you to some more citizens of Taramon.

So Many Things To Tell You!

Okay, time for one of my favourite posts of each month...my progress report. I love filling you guys in on what I'm doing, because I love finding out what other authors are up to. I guess you like to write the kinds of posts you enjoy reading.

So, what have I been up to?

 I got back from my girls' week away on Friday night. I had the best time. Hanging out with friends in a new place is so much fun. Guilin is a beautiful part of China and although the weather was not the greatest, it didn't take away from the beauty. Here's one pic I took from the boat cruise we did down the Li River.

Writing wise, I have been a very busy lady. After making the decision to release my trilogy in rapid succession, I have had no time spare. It took me an hour to map out a schedule to make sure I could fit everything in. So far I'm only a couple of days behind schedule.

Unknown is in the final editing stages. Unseen is written and with critique readers, and Unleashed is planned. I hope to start on that next week. Trying to do this has been a trip, but a totally amazing experience. I feel like I'm being pushed to my limit on so many levels and it's good for me. I'm out of my comfort zone and I am learning so much.

So as you can imagine, I am in a bit of a writing flurry at the moment, but I am also squeezing other things in. I was invited to speak at an international school a couple of weeks ago and presented my stuff to three different English classes. It was great. I had so much fun talking about what I do and answering a bunch of great questions.

I also ran a Bookbub ad with Betwixt and was excited to see some real movement with that book. The proceeds are going to a charity, Love146, so it's awesome to be able to hand over a really decent donation. Thank you so much to everyone who helped me spread the word about my Betwixt sale and everyone who bought a copy. Your support means so much to me.

April is a relatively quiet month for me. I'm going to be spending most of my time in my writing/editing cave. Thankfully I love hanging out there.

I do have a few little surprises planned though, so keep your eyes and ears open.

If you'd like to be the first to find out my latest news, you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter.
Melissa Pearl's Updates.

So that's me - what have you been up to?

So Many Things To Tell You!!

February disappeared on me. It seriously did! I can't believe we are in March already. This year is flying by and I'm loving every moment of it.

I had some fun in February with a giveaway running on YAlicious and this blog.

Congratulations to the Valentine's Day winners: Lindsey and Danael.
Also a big thumbs up for the Indie Author Month winner: Christelle.
I hope you enjoy some fun reading over the next few weeks.

So what do I have to tell you for the month of March...

Well - my biggest news is probably my change of plans. After much deliberation, I have decided to go for rapid fire releases of my upcoming trilogy. I was originally going for 3 months between each book, but I have changed my mind. After some tricky scheduling, I have given myself the goal to release the books June, July and August. Yikes!! No, no, it's okay. I can do this. I am going to be spending many days in my writing cave and it is a huge workload, but I am really happy about my decision. I love the fact readers will not have to wait long between instalments.

In mid-February we had the Unknown Cover Reveal, if you'd like to check it out. You can also add the book to your TBR on Goodreads.

Read an E-Book Week is currently underway at Smashwords and I have enrolled all of my books. Use coupon code REW50 to get 50% off. Golden Blood is also FREE. You can find out more on my SMASHWORDS AUTHOR PAGE.

I am gearing up to run a big sale for Betwixt. As many of you know, I am donating $1 from every sale to the charity - Love146. So at the end of March, I'll be doing a big push for the book and hopefully can earn a little more money to pass onto this amazing organisation.

On YAlicious this month, we have a huge line up of fantastic authors highlighting their books and writing a little something about them. Alivia Anders visited yesterday with her new release, Ethereal and this Thursday we have Cambria Hebert featuring Recalled! Yay!

Other than those few things, I am going to be buried in my writing cave, working on Unseen (Book 2) of The Elements Trilogy. I'm hoping to have the 1st draft finished by the end of March, and then will be straight final edits and formatting for Unknown (Book 1). Wish me luck!!

If you'd like to be kept up-to-date with my news, you can sign up for the my monthly newsletter.
SIGN UP LINK.

What are you up to in March?

Unknown Cover Reveal

I am skipping my "So Many Things To Tell You" post this month and instead dedicating it to my most important news.

Unknown now has a cover!!
Thank you so much to Ruth Little for modelling for me. You're gorgeous!! And thank you to the very talented Brenda Howson. What would I do without you? xx

It is with great pleasure, that I introduce you to my first YA Fantasy book. For a little fun, I'm doing a one off, old school fantasy series... and believe me, it is SO much fun. Although I am looking forward to returning to a more contemporary style next year, I am loving the swords, arrows, horse riding and adventure that comes with the series I'm creating.

I hope you will all enjoy reading it as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

Unknown is the first book in The Elements Trilogy and is due for release, June 2013.

Darkness is covering the land. As the city of Mezrah grows with power and greed, the rest of the world can only stand by and wait for their inevitable destruction. The only hope against this growing power is an ancient prophecy that people have stopped believing in.

Then a star begins to fall.

Princess Kyla of Taramon stopped believing in the power of light the day her father died. Trapped in a city she does not care for, under the watchful glare of her mother, the queen, she struggles to accept her fate.

Then a star begins to fall.

Jethro has loved Kyla for as long as he can remember. Learning that she was to marry his cousin drove a wedge between him and the feisty princess. Watching her from a distance is a torture he is unable to free himself from.

Then a star begins to fall, sparking an ember of hope and sending two seekers on a treacherous journey into the unknown.

If you'd like to add Unknown to your TBR, here is the Goodreads link.

Will You Venture With Me?

Last week I put forward the question - is it okay for an author to write in multiple genres?

If you'd like to read the post, you can check it out here.

I asked the question because I guess I've been a little worried about writing in a slightly different genre. You see, my next project is a YA fantasy... and I'm talking old school fantasy - you know with magic and mythical creatures, adventure and a treacherous quest.

It has been SO much fun to work on, but it's also been super scary. I've never done anything like this and it is stretching me so far. I've nearly given up a few times, but I feel like the story is good and worth telling.

Doubts have accosted me at every turn, but for some reason, I keep on ploughing ahead. Hopefully I will look back and be grateful for my tenacity, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

So - to my dear readers - who I respect and appreciate so much... in June when the first book of this trilogy is released... will you venture with me? Will you journey into new territory? Will you take a step into the Unknown?

UNKNOWN COVER REVEAL COMING FEBRUARY 19.

So Many Things To Tell You!

Well, November is finally here, so it's time for my monthly progress report.

October went by in a flurry of activity. To celebrate Golden Blood's birthday, I listed it for free. This brought the book into the spotlight and it was great to see so much activity happening around the trilogy. It is such a buzz to see something you worked on for so long entice so many readers. I'm so glad you have been enjoying the books.

Golden Blood turned one on November 4th so I have decided to continue the celebrations and keep the book FREE, on all sites, for another month.

November has been the cause for another celebration - the release of Betwixt!! I feel like it has taken forever to get here, but finally I can share this book with you. It has been such a privilege to work on this project and the support of, and response to, this book has been overwhelming. Thank you to all my reviewers, I'm so glad you loved the book and have been willing to tell everybody about it as well.

I wanted Betwixt to be an emotional story that explored the effects tragedy can  have on people's lives and the healing power of unconditional love and forgiveness, but I didn't want to bog the story down so that reader's came away depressed either. Finding that mix of humour and sorrow seemed to come quite easily and it makes me wonder if this story was meant to be written all along.

If you haven't read it yet, I really hope you enjoy it :-)

The book can be purchased on any of the Amazon stores or on Smashwords. It will also be available on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple and Sony very soon.

For every copy of Betwixt sold, $1 will be donated to Love146 - a charity fighting against child sex trafficking and exploitation.

A Tale of Many Reviews is hosting an awesome-sauce blog tour for me from the 3rd - 8th of December. So keep an eye out for that :-)

So November has started with a hiss and a roar, but I have no intention of slowing down. The rest of the month holds lots of goodies for me. The two major ones are:

1. YAlicious blog. Brenda and I are making some changes to the blog and are hoping to host many amazing authors, spotlight some fantastic books and get some good discussions going. I'll keep you posted on progress, but so far for this month I have lined up a couple of author visits, a book review, a movie review and hopefully a visit from a book reviewer.

2. My new fantasy trilogy. I am now in the first draft stage of Book One - tentatively entitled - Unknown. My goal is to have it finished by Christmas. Hopefully I can pull that off :-) I've had so much fun planning out the story and creating the world. It is going to be a challenging project, but it's good to test your skills every now and then, right?

Thank you so much for everyone who is joining me on my writing journey. I love being able to share all this cool stuff with you.

I have just started up a Book Updates Newsletter as well, so if you'd like to sign up, you'll receive a bi-monthly update on where my books are up to and what specials or giveaways I have going on. Follow the link below to sign up.
Melissa Pearl's Book Updates