Indie Author Spotlights

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

As I mentioned in my last YA Indie Carnival Post, we're switching things up a notch this year and I'm really happy with the proposed changes. If you'd like to find out more, you can read the post below.

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It's a new year and a new format for YA Indie Author Club . We'll be rotating our weekly posts in order to spice it up at bit for our members/followers. With our new setup, we'll alternate biweekly between our Indie Author Series and our Indie Author Spotlight.

With the biweekly Indie Author Series, we'll continue our current mission where we write topics geared toward helping other indie authors. In the spirit of paying it forward, we'll make a special effort to share/promote people, sites, software, etc. that make our jobs a little easier. Whenever possible, we'll provide coupon or referral codes for discounted services from the people we depend on to help us with our writing, editing, book covers, marketing, etc.

With the Indie Author Spotlight, we'll be interviewing a new indie author every other week. You'll want to visit the YA Indie Author Club Sponsor's sites in order to participate in any potential giveaways.

Follow this link to see a scheduled of the proposed topics for 2013. We're looking forward to your visits, comments, and support.

January Sale!

It's time for my monthly progress report, but to be honest, with being away on holiday, I don't have that much to share just at the moment. I am slowly finding my feet again and getting back into the swing of things.

I really needed a break and I enjoyed every moment of it. It's good to be back though.

To celebrate the start of a new year, I am having a JANUARY SALE on all my books.
Golden Blood is FREE and the rest of my books are on special at $2.99 for a limited time.

Here is my Amazon Author Page where you can purchase the books.

I hope everyone has had an amazing Christmas and is gearing up for a fantastic 2013. I know I'm excited :)

If you'd like to stay up to date with my news, please sign up for my monthly Book Updates Newsletter. This will keep you posted on all my latest book news and any specials or giveaways I have running.

I have some more exciting news brewing in February and I can't wait to share it with you. In the meantime, have an awesome start to your year everybody!!!

2013 Resolutions

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

The dawning of a new year often brings on a bunch on new resolutions. Whether we follow them through or not, it feels good to set them. It makes us feel motivated, inspired and ready to start a new year with fresh enthusiasm.

We are making some changes to the Indie Carnival this year, which is really exciting. I'm so pumped about 2013. It's going to be a year of YA Indie awesomeness! Bring it on!

I have a few resolutions for this year. 

My writing goals are to:

Write and publish four books...

Unknown (Elements Trilogy #1 - June)
Unseen (Elements Trilogy #2 - September)
Unleashed (Elements Trilogy #3 - December)

Forbidden Waters (Mica and Lexy Series #2 - release date to be decided)

My marketing goals are to:
Launch my new website (currently under construction) - www.melissapearlauthor.com
Help promote other indie authors and work with each other to spread the word about our books
Increase my social media followings and build up my newsletter subscribers

My reading goals are to:
Read 12 books. I know that doesn't sound like many, but writing takes up most of my free time. I feel like a-book-a-month is attainable for me.

If you'd like to find out what the other indie goers have planned for this year, then you can check out their sites 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

YA Indie Carnival Giveaway

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

Yay! I love a good giveaway, don't you?

This one is completely awesome, featuring a ton of books from some amazing writers!

Giveaway Package Includes:
Transfer Student by Laura A.H. Elliott

Shadow Slayer (Shadow Series, #2) by Laura A.H. Elliott

Vampires Rule (The Rule #1) by K.C. Blake

Werewolves Rule by K.C. Blake

Raven (The Raven Saga, #1) by Suzy Turner

December Moon (The Raven Saga, #2) by Suzy Turner

The Lost Soul (The Raven Saga, #3) by Suzy Turner

The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw by Suzy Turner

Golden Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #1) by Melissa Pearl

Black Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #2) by Melissa Pearl

Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) by Melissa Pearl

Of Sun & Moon (Midnight Guardian, #1) by Bryna Butler

Warriors of the Cross (Warrior, #1) by T.R. Graves 

Guardians of the Cross (Warrior #2) by T.R. Graves 

Enemies of the Cross (Warrior, #3) by T.R. Graves

Red Madrassa (Algardis #1) by Terah Edun 

Pazuzu's Girl by Rachel Coles

All you need to do to enter is follow the YA Indie Carnival blogs. One entry per blog you follow.

The competition is open until Friday, December 21st and the winner will be announced on Monday, December 24th.

Good luck!

NB: This is the last post for this year. Both myself and YA Indie Carnival are going on holiday. I will be back in the new year with my writing resolutions for 2013. In the meantime. I hope you have a very blessed and happy Christmas.

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Good Stuff To Know

Once again, I have accumulated a bunch of awesome stuff to share with you :)

I found a great post on How To Tweet So People Will Listen by Nina Badzin. It included some great, easy to follow, tips on how to use Twitter more effectively.

I read a great guest post on Morgen Bailey's Writing Blog about Why You Should Enter Writing Competitions by Ben Skinner. I thought he made some really great points.

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is currently open for entries until January 14th. So if you're looking for a free competition, then this might be the one for you.

I found quite an inspiring post by Ashley Barron about following your dreams when it comes to writing. It's called: Money, Self-Publishing, and Marketing Plans. I really liked what she had to say.

Thanks to Yvonne Hertzberger's awesome Tuesday Tutorial on Indies Unlimited, I discovered a great site called, Bublish.com. It's a place where you can leave excerpts from your novels and then write a little description about why you wrote the passage or what it means to you. You can check out one of my bubbles here.

And speaking of Tuesday Tutorials - Indies Unlimited has published a book of the tutorials. It is an excellent resource and definitely worth checking out. Tutorials and Tools for Prospering in a Digital World.

I have read some great books this month, one that I loved was Valor by Taylor Longford. I rated it 5-stars. It's currently FREE on Amazon, so I thought I'd let you know about it. If you're looking for a paranormal romance with a unique twist, then this will be perfect for you.

A Personal Ad For A Character I Love

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

Today the Indie Carnival is having fun creating personal ads for characters from books they have enjoyed. I am actually going to choose a character from the book I am currently reading. I only have about four chapters to go so I feel like I know her pretty well. So, I would like to introduce you guys to....

MacKenzie from Valor by Taylor Longford. 

High school student from Grove Pine, Colorado. She is intelligent and kind with the courage of a lion. Owns a dog called, Hooligan. Has a shock of red hair that is not only stunning, but could mean she's actually a witch. Oh yeah... and she's in love with a gargoyle named Valor!!!

Even though I have not finished this story yet, I highly recommend it. It has been keeping me up late into the night and I cannot wait until my boys go to bed so I can finish reading it tonight!!
NB: Valor if currently listed for FREE.

If you'd like to read some more personal ads then follow the links below.

Next week: we are running a Christmas Giveaway, so be sure to stay tuned for that. There are some awesome prizes!


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

So Many Things To Tell You!!

Well, it's the beginning of December, so time for my monthly progress report.

November saw the release of Betwixt, so that was a great lead-in to one of my favourite months of the year... December. Why do I love it so much?

 Because I love Christmas!! The family time, the presents, the decorations, the food, the history... I love it all.

And speaking of Christmas, that is my first piece of news. I am involved in the Christmas For Authors celebration that is being run by Young Adult and Teen Readers. If you'd like to take part in the Treasure Hunt Giveaway, you can check out my recent blog post here. This celebration will be running throughout the month and there are so many giveaways and awesome prizes. It is definitely worth joining in the event.

December has kicked off with a bang for me as A Tale of Many Reviews is currently hosting the Betwixt Blog Tour for me. Day One was filled with amazing reviews. I am so excited that people are enjoying it so much. Thank you so much to all the participants. I feel honoured to be featuring on your amazing blogs. There is a giveaway running and there will be plenty more posts to come - including interviews, a tweet chat between Nicole and Dale and a few other goodies. If you'd like to follow along, you can check out the tour schedule on my YAlicious site - Betwixt Blog Tour.

The first book of my fantasy trilogy is well underway. In fact I am hoping to finish it before I fly home for Christmas (in two weeks!! Squee!!). I am finding this project extremely challenging, but also so much fun. I have never written anything like this before and it's really stretching me. I currently have a "Name That Troll" competition running through my updates newsletter. The person who comes up with the best name for my monstrous yet completely adorable baby troll will win an Amazon gift card. If you'd like to participate, you can sign up for my Book Updates and Giveaways Newsletter. Entries close December 21st.

I had a photo shoot last week with some of the students from Suzhou Singapore International School. One of the teachers there helped me out and snapped some shots of these gorgeous kids. They are going to be the faces on the covers of my fantasy trilogy - The Elements Trilogy. The books are tentatively titled - Unknown, Unseen, Unleashed. I can't WAIT to see what my talented graphic designer comes up with. We've been discussing ideas and I think these covers are going to be pretty awesome-sauce.

On my YAlicious blog this month I have some pretty cool posts coming up - I have the amazing Patti Larsen visiting the site on Thursday, a surprise book blogger will be doing an interview for me the week after that. I also have some posts planned while I'm away for Christmas, including a giveaway, so keep your eye out for that.

In the meantime, I really hope you have a fantastic December filled with lots of warm, Christmas fuzzies. I know this season can sometimes be stressful, but it's also a season of giving and reflection and I hope you can all come away feeling better for it :-)