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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.



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.

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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:





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.




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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.
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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
BUY LINKS:

What Others Had to Say:

"I certainly won't be forgetting Nash's debut, FORGET ME NOT! A vividly fast-paced tale with adventure, secrets, and kissing!" -Kimberly P. Chase, Author of THE APOLLO ACADEMY.


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.
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! 

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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.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Katie-Hamstead/e/B008T8M8PA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
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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:

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.


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.

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 Rafflecopter giveaway
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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.



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