Today is the release of the author of the Kiya Trilogy and Branded, Katie Hamstead's latest novel, Papina.
Blurb: Forrest and Braydon Miller moved to the small town of Papina to follow their dreams and start a family. Braydon loves her new life in the quiet town, kept alive by the prestigious boarding school overlooking the valley. She is so proud of her husband's work, helping the teens on the reservation.
Until one day, Forrest doesn't come home.
Scandal spreads when one of the teenagers is found missing, too. But Braydon refuses to believe her husband would leave her. When the teen is found, she isn't talking—literally.
While Braydon's heart is breaking, she needs to hold her crumbling life together, raise her son, and find a way to love the teenager enough to find the truth of what happened to her husband.
Blurb: Forrest and Braydon Miller moved to the small town of Papina to follow their dreams and start a family. Braydon loves her new life in the quiet town, kept alive by the prestigious boarding school overlooking the valley. She is so proud of her husband's work, helping the teens on the reservation.
Until one day, Forrest doesn't come home.
Scandal spreads when one of the teenagers is found missing, too. But Braydon refuses to believe her husband would leave her. When the teen is found, she isn't talking—literally.
While Braydon's heart is breaking, she needs to hold her crumbling life together, raise her son, and find a way to love the teenager enough to find the truth of what happened to her husband.
Bio:
Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
Today we have an awesome cover reveal. Not only one but two great books I love. These are the two first books from The Collective series by my CP Stacey Nash and Published by Harper Collins Australia.
Now look the covers:
About the Book:
Genre: YA speculative fiction.
Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother’s favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. They’re not just jewellery, they’re part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewellery’s power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device – and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she’s Enemy Number One. She’s forced to leave her father behind when she’s taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.
Pre-order buy links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Forget-Me-Not-Stacey-Nash-ebook/dp/B00K1Q9NA6 & http://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-Stacey-Nash-ebook/dp/B00K1Q9N5G
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/forget-me-not/id881490143?mt=11 & https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/remember-me/id881501730?mt=11
This is book 2 and as soon as I have buying links I'll post them so you can pre order it too.
About the Author:
Stacey Nash writes adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. When her head isn’t stuck in a fictional world, she calls the Hunter Valley of New South Wales home. It is an area nestled between mountains and vineyards, full of history and culture that all comes together to create an abundance of writing inspiration. Stacey loves nothing more than writing when inspiration strikes.
First
I have to thank my awesome writing parabatai (excuse the use of TMI here but am
reading COHF!) Stacey Nash. Please go visit her blog and be ready because soon
Forget Me Not will be released and you don’t want to miss it.
1) What
am I working on?
Right now I’m working on the revisions of my YA
contemporary novel named Dutiful Revenge. It’s a great mix of Diaries of a Princess
and a political thriller. Of course it has a sweet romance in it. My next
project will be the second book of Glowing Shadows my NA Urban Fantasy. I’m
very excited to continue that story.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I think my work differs because I grew up in
between two countries Mexico and Spain. Countries with lots of tradition and
culture. I grew reading all the magical realism in Mexican literature. I think
all this show in my work, my NA novel is set in Madrid, which is a place I love
that I think that haven’t been used so much in novels of my genre.
3) Why do I write what I do?
I write what calls to me at the moment.
Sometimes my writing starts from an emotion and from that emotion the story
grows. So the emotion, the character are the ones that tell me what kind of
story they need, it could be fantasy, contemporary or anything in between but I
have to admit I can’t write horror. Also every single one of my books no matter
the genre has romance in it. For me it is always needed.
4) How does my writing process work?
It depends on the story and on my family.
Usually I make an outline for several days detailing more in my mind than in
paper who my characters are, what they need and how to get them there. After
that I try to write all I can while the characters are having this crazy
conversations in my head, they usually love to talk while I wash the dishes so
I have to run to take notes afterward. Once the first draft is done I close it
and don’t open it for several weeks. The more the better to see where I can improve
it. In that meantime I usually read lots on the genre so I can have a better
idea before tackling the revisions.
Now I'm going to tag my awesome friend and CP Ashley Maker. She'll post on Monday so be sure to go take a look at her blog.
Armed
with a keyboard, microphone, and an energetic imagination, Ashley Maker is a
combination author/songwriter from Oklahoma with a passion for all things
creative. UNDER THE TREES, a Young Adult blended historical romance, is her
debut novel, releasing from Cliffhanger Press, LLC in the fall of 2014. Songs
inspired by the book can be heard from Seeking Never, the recording band she
sings in with her guitar-playing husband Corey. A newbie vlogger and former
editor, Ashley spends much of her time writing, procrastinating on social
media, and waging a revision war against pronouns. The rest of her time is
spent doting on her daughter and cuddling with a myriad of family pets, most
notably Johnny Cash, cat writing buddy extraordinaire.
Today Katie Hamstead is visiting again as a part of
the blog tour for book 3 of the Kiya series.
Title: Kiya: Rise of a New Dynasty (Kiya
Trilogy Book #3)
Author: Katie Hamstead
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Genre: New Adult Historical Romance
Release Date: February 25th
2014
Blurb:
Tut
has grown into his position as Pharaoh, but he is a wild young man. Naomi fears
for him, not only because of his recklessness, but because he has put his trust
in Ay–the man determined to destroy Naomi—despite her and Horemheb advising
against it.
Meanwhile,
death and slavery hang over
Naomi and her family. With fear of the booming Hebrew numbers causing talk of
enslaving them, conscription is reinstated and
Naomi fears for the lives of her other children. Especially since Ay's children are now adults, and just
as dangerous as their father. They
threaten to take Itani, conspire against Tut, and push for power.
But Tut is in trouble. While Ay's daughter draws Horemheb's
attention, and Naomi deals with the struggles of her family, everyone's
distraction could spell death for the young Pharaoh.
I loved this book is my favorite of the series so I
really recommend it.
Now Katie is going to talk to us about writing a
series.
*****
When I first started planning out Kiya, I
had thought it would be only one book. But as I thought about events I wanted
to cover, I realized I needed to make more than one book. So I decided to make
it into three books.
The very original concept ended at the end
of book one, with Naomi fleeing with Tut. Sort of a riding of into the sunset
to live happily ever after. But then I realized, there was more to the story
than an HEA, especially when Horemheb started smashing my head for more
attention than I originally intended.
So I worked out events I wanted to include
and constructed a timeline. Then I needed to decide how I would begin and end
each book. Book two at first started with the third assassin entering her
father’s house in Thebes, but I felt like her journey through the desert needed
to be addressed and it created a great action opening scene.
A great deal of time passes in these books,
so book three skips over six years so the momentum isn’t slowed. That was a
difficult decision to make, but necessary. The plot needed to focus on the main
people; Naomi and Tut.
Once I had where I’d break the stories
worked out, the rest fell into place. There were times during book two where
historical events lacked, so I became concerned my filler for Naomi’s life
wouldn’t make it long enough, but it worked out in the end.
About the Author:
Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s
early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild
bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
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Title: Forget Me Not (Book I in the Collective series)
Author: Stacey Nash
Release Date: February 17, 2014
Publisher: Entranced Publishing, Rush
Genre: YA speculative fiction
Blurb: Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother's favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. When the brooch and the pendant are worn together they're no longer pretty pieces of jewelry -- they're part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewelry's power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device -- and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she's Enemy Number One.
She's forced to leave her father behind when she's taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18130928-forget-me-not?from_search=true
Blurb: Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother's favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. When the brooch and the pendant are worn together they're no longer pretty pieces of jewelry -- they're part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewelry's power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device -- and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she's Enemy Number One.
She's forced to leave her father behind when she's taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18130928-forget-me-not?from_search=true
BUY LINKS:
What
Others Had to Say:
AUTHOR BIO
Stacey grew up in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. It is an area nestled between mountains and vineyards. Full of history and culture, it provides wonderful writing inspiration. After dabbling with poetry during her teen years, Stacey stopped writing until after university when she was married with young children. Now she loves nothing more than spending her days with her children and writing when inspiration strikes.
Stacey grew up in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. It is an area nestled between mountains and vineyards. Full of history and culture, it provides wonderful writing inspiration. After dabbling with poetry during her teen years, Stacey stopped writing until after university when she was married with young children. Now she loves nothing more than spending her days with her children and writing when inspiration strikes.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
My Review:
Forget Me Not is a book close to my heart, not only because I have read
it lots of times. Thanks to the lovely author trusting me to do it. But because
it’s a story that made me completely love Science Fiction. I don’t usually love
this genre but with this book I just couldn’t stop.
The MC Anamae, has a voice true to a teenager but still strong and moving. I liked her from the first moment as I did with her best friend Will. I loved their friendship and how Will cares so much for her.
This story
really makes you believe fiction is
real as Mae says in the book. Teletransportation, invisibility, share your
thoughts. All that is possible and you see it as it could possibly happen.
I was intrigued with the Collective. I just needed to know what they really did and why.
The character that I loved most was Jax, the bad boy, but he’s just not the average bad boy he’s tormented and sweet and confused. Just perfect.
Nash starts this adventure with an amazing writing that reminds me of Cassandra Claire and Jane Austen. Yes an odd mix but perfect for this story and so moving.
I can’t wait to see where this story will take me.
And just because I can't end this post without sharing with you something of Jax:
Now I know you want to buy it so go ahead!
As you might have noticed Katie Hamstead a dear friend of mine is a very prolific author. She's here again with the cover real of the last book on the series of Kiya.
Title: Kiya: Rise of a New Dynasty (Kiya
Trilogy Book #3)
Author: Katie Hamstead
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Genre: New Adult Historical Romance
Release Date: February 25th
2014
Blurb:
Tut
has grown into his position as Pharaoh, but he is a wild young man. Naomi fears
for him, not only because of his recklessness, but because he has put his trust
in Ay–the man determined to destroy Naomi—despite her and Horemheb advising
against it.
Meanwhile,
death and slavery hang over
Naomi and her family. With fear of the booming Hebrew numbers causing talk of
enslaving them, conscription is reinstated and
Naomi fears for the lives of her other children. Especially since Ay's children are now adults, and just
as dangerous as their father. They
threaten to take Itani, conspire against Tut, and pushing for power.
But Tut is in trouble. While Ay's daughter draws Horemheb's
attention, and Naomi deals with the struggles of her family, everyone's
distraction could spell death for the young Pharaoh.
About the Author:
Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s
early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild
bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
I know it's been a while since I posted but I'm back and with a great guest post.
Katie Hamstead is here again with a new release that you don't want to miss:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Katie Hamstead is here again with a new release that you don't want to miss:
Title: Branded
Author: Katie Hamstead
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Genre: New Adult Romantic Suspense
Blurb:
Terrorists have invaded Sydney, and
Allison King barely escapes her brother’s wedding reception alive. She and her
siblings flee, but their parents are killed by firing squad.
Now Ali’s on the run and
terrified. While searching for other survivors, she is captured by the General
who leads the invasion. He’s smitten by Ali, and when she refuses to submit to
his whims, he brands her for death. In a wild act of defiance, she snatches the
branding rod and sears the mark onto his face. Marking not only him but also
sealing her fate. Ali manages to escape and flees into the bush once more where
she finds a group in hiding. Even with the scars left by the General, Ali
learns to love and falls in love with the young man who found her—Damien
Rogers.
But the General is hunting her. When he
discovers their location, and finds her with another man—Damien—his wrath is
kindled and his obsession is inflamed. Ali must put herself on the line or the
General could kill her family, those who help her, and most significantly, the
man she loves.
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Being Katie and Aussie she will share with us about writing a novel set in Australia:
A Novel Set
in Australia
Branded
is set in the Sydney area, mostly the western suburbs and Blue Mountains. I set
most of my contemporary books around there simply for the fact that it is where
I grew up.
I
heard somewhere once that you should write what you know. So when it comes to
things that involve high school, university etc I set my stories in the
schooling system I am familiar with. My time as a foreign exchange student and
the few years I have lived in the USA have taught me the basics of the American
school system, but I don’t know it the way I do the Aussie one.
For
Branded, the concept also originated when I lived in Australia still. I came up
with the concept in 11th grade English, and wove ideas together
while staring out at the bush on hiking and road trips. The bush is a place
that has this ancient spirit to it, it’s hard to explain, but I am completely
in love with it. So Branded has some beautiful settings that I wanted to
showcase.
Knowing
the bush like that, I know easy it is to disappear. So with a map for my
characters to go by, it was the perfect place to provide refuge to the people
who escaped the carnage of the “invasion”.
Plus,
not many books are set in Australia, so why not? J
About the Author:
Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s
early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild
bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.
Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
Thank you Katie! So you can buy Branded here if you're interested and don't forget to visit the rest of stops of Katie's blog tour.
Also enter the giveaway just filling the rafflecopter below:
A new year and
new guest posts by awesome authors sharing with us what they know, what they
like, and what they write.
Today the author
Sashi Kaufman is visiting, she’s the author of this awesome YA Contemporary
that will release on March, 1st.
 |
| click the image to see the book on goodreads. |
Andrew West goes to an all-girls school and he still can’t get a date. If that’s not bad enough, his Mom is the headmaster. Everyone seems to have the wrong idea about Andrew. His teachers think he’s a good student who doesn’t apply himself -he really is trying. The kids at his old school thought he was a goth. His cousin Barry thinks he’s gay.
When his Thanksgiving break goes tragically awry he decides to run away. He catches a ride with a strange group of older teenagers. The Freegans are street performers and dumpster divers. As Andrew travels the country with his new friends he leaves behind the expectations of others and discovers what he expects of himself.
When his Thanksgiving break goes tragically awry he decides to run away. He catches a ride with a strange group of older teenagers. The Freegans are street performers and dumpster divers. As Andrew travels the country with his new friends he leaves behind the expectations of others and discovers what he expects of himself.
So now I leave
all of you with Sashi and this amazing post.
Here’s What I Know
Here's what I know
about the phrase, "Write what you know."
I think it's deadly
if you interpret it too literally.
If everyone only
wrote exactly what they knew, then literature would be composed of little more
than a series of highly dramatic self indulgent journal entries. You know, like
facebook.
My current work in
progress has a main character who is a partially deaf seventeen year old guy.
He plays soccer too. I played soccer until 8th grade but that's about all we
have in common, at least on the surface. As I hammer out this first draft I
periodically get the giggles when I know I've mixed up corner kicks and goal
kicks. Or when I realize I have no idea if hearing aids have a test button.
Here's why I feel
qualified to write about someone so different from "what I know". I
think we have spheres of knowing and if something is within one of those
spheres then I feel qualified to write about it. For example, I am a daughter
and a sister. Therefore I feel pretty qualified to write about families. I'm
also now a mother. I wrote characters who were parents before I was one, but my
writing about parents definitely changed once I became one. In my debut The
Other Way Around the main character Andrew West runs away from home with a
group of older teenagers who are street performers and dumpster divers. When I
first wrote the draft his mother was kind of a dragon lady. Whenever they spoke
on the phone she was harsh and uncaring and he was selfish and unsympathetic to
her fears about his well being. My editor (also a parent) pointed out
that I might try a a little harder to imagine the experience from her
perspective and that might soften and deepen my portrayal of her. He was right.
In the time between first draft and this particular set of revisions I had
become a mother myself. And that changed everything that I knew about how to
write that part of the book. I hope it made it better.
Does that mean that
everyone who is a parent should write about parenting? Or that if you're a
sister, you know what it's like to be or have a brother? No, not necessarily.
Everyone has different spheres. I like to think that the home I grew up in,
where few gender stereotypes were modeled or visible, made me particularly open
to what makes us human more than what makes us male or female. You can read my
book and see if you agree :)
It's possible to
research the rules for penalty kicks or the buttons on a hearing aid. More
challenging to research feelings. I remember high school and middle school
vividly and the feelings I attach to those experiences. I remember the fear of
being different or being excluded -which are some of the things my main character
wrestles with. I remember the desire to have someone I was attracted to notice
me and I remember the desperation and despair when they did not. I remember the
incredible breath in your mouth tension before a first kiss. I remember the
ones that made my knees wiggle, and the ones that mopped my face with spit.
The more you are
open to experience and the feelings that come with it, then the more you know.
The better you observe yourself, your reactions as well as the people around
you and their reactions and feelings, the more you extend your spheres of
understanding.
I believe that
readers will hold you accountable for a character who rings false more than a
detail about soccer rules. So write what you know. Write everything you know.
It's probably a lot more than you think.
Sashi Kaufman is a middle school English and science teacher who
lives in Portland, Maine with her husband and daughter. She is also an amateur
trash picker. The Other Way Around is her debut novel and it will charge into
the world on March 1st 2014.
on twitter @sashikaufman
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