My Brief Hiatus

For any of you who haven't heard, my husband and I are moving to China with our boys. My husband has accepted a teaching job at an international school in Suzhou (near Shanghai).

We fly out on August 1st.
Exciting and super scary all in the same heartbeat.

There is so much to do and I know the move is going to be a massive adjustment for our family.

In preparation for this, I am slowly pulling back from my social media commitments. Unfortunately, blogging is the first to go :(

I am actually very sad about this. I am going to miss blogging very much. Thankfully Brenda is keeping the YAlicious blog going, so you can still keep up with our news from there.

So goodbye for now. I WILL be back in September. Looking forward to catching up with everyone again then :)

One Of My Motivations

Before having children and jumping on the writing train, I was a school teacher. I taught 11 - 13 year olds. Such a great age and so much fun to interact with.

One of my main motivations when I started writing was to produce fiction for those kids who didn't love reading. The amount of times I'd sit with a student trawling through a plethora of books, trying to find something that would spark their imagination. It was all about finding something they were interested in, and that was written in a simple, fast-paced manner.

So - when I decided to really get serious about writing, one of the things I carefully considered was making sure my work was easy to read, fast-paced, filled with a ton of action and dialogue, and because I was one of those girls that hated reading at school, I also wanted to make sure each of my stories had a strong romantic element. I swear, if books like the ones I write and the ones that are readily available today were around when I was a kid... I would have gotten into reading a lot sooner.

This is why I have started writing YA. I have some adult stories that I want to write eventually, but for now YA is where I'll kick around. The beauty with YA is that adults seem to enjoy it just as much as teens do :)

I think books are filled with magic. I think they ignite the brain and teach children things they can't learn anywhere else. I take my hat off to people like J. K. Rowling who have written books that have children scrambling to get to the bookstore. Now, I'm not sure if she specifically wrote those books with her children in mind or whether she just had a really massive story that she had to get onto paper, but I think it's important to consider what motivates us.

Why do you write?
What do you want your books to achieve?

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

YA Indie Carnival - Fireworks Fiction... Scenes With Sparks

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


Ooooo - this should be fun. I can't wait to read what other people post this week!!


I've been trying to think about books with sparky scenes and I keep coming back to Betwixt. I guess it's fresh in my brain as I'm currently working on edits.


The two main characters, Nicole and Dale, have a very sparky relationship. They are constantly bickering, but secretly, I think they both kind of like it.


It was a struggle to find a scene that doesn't contain spoilers, but I think this one will work.


Nicole and Dale have just bumped into Sophie, a shy senior who is totally besotted with Dale. Little does Nicole know that Dale has his sights set on somebody else... :)

The corridor is empty as we make our way back towards the quad. I turn to Dale, completely flummoxed.

“What is wrong with you? That girl is on your doorstep, man. Let her in!”

“Maybe I don’t want to let her in.” 

“What, you think you’re gonna do better?” 

Dale stops in his tracks and gives me a dark look. 

I cover my mouth with my hand and wince. “I didn’t meant to say it like that. What I mean is… she seems sweet.”

He tips his head to the side, his right eyebrow jumping north, adding extra power to his droll expression. 

I stupidly keep talking. “Come on, she totally looks like your type.”

“How would you know what my type is? You don’t even know me.” Dale turns and starts walking again.

I run to catch up with him. Glancing at his mangled face, I say, “Is it because of the scar? Because there are some awesome plastic surgeons in LA. They could fix that up for you.”

“No, it’s not because of the scar and I don’t need it fixed. I like it this way.”

“Really? Why?”

He closes his eyes and sighs. “It’s a good reminder.”

“Of what?” I look up at his pinched mouth.

“Nothing.” He shakes his head.

I bite my lip, unsure how to respond. My curiosity is definitely peaked. “I was just wondering if the scar made you feel-“

“Would you shut up about it! Jeez, Nicole! You have the sensitivity of a shark.”

My mouth drops open and I shoot him a scowl that I totally forget he can’t see. “I was just trying to be helpful.”

“How?!” He spins to face me. “How is your constant chirping in my ear helpful?!?”

“I… she’s a girl who likes you!” I point back down the corridor.

“You don’t have to play cupid, okay. I can look after my own love life.”

“What love life? You barely have any friends, let alone a girlfriend.”

He groans and looks to the ceiling. “You want to help me out, Nicole?” Leaning towards me he gets right in my face and yells, “Stop talking!”

If you want to read some more sparky scenes, check out the links below.

And don't forget to check out the latest news on the YA Indie Carnival Blog.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	Heather Self	4.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga	6.	Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
7.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	8.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
9.	Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series	10.	Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
11.	Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey	12.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
13.	Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy	14.	Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga
15.	Courtney Cole Writes	16.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
17.	Ella James	18.	Maureen Murrish
19.	Valerie Sloan	20.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings

Cutting Back

Due to an increased work load and the move to China looming, I will be cutting back my blogging.

Instead of blogging three times a week, I will now be blogging twice - once at the beginning and once at the end.

Brenda blogs mid-week on our YAlicious blog, so if you'd like to check out her awesome posts, jump over there.

Today's one is about pick-a-path stories. Fun! I used to love reading those!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous week :)