Happy autumn! It’s been so busy here since school started! Summer was busy with fun activities and relaxing with the family, which I loved, but I got so little work done. So I’m happy to have been able to focus more on work this past month.
I’m loving my new schedule with the two bigger boys at school all day and just The Gentleman (who still naps in the afternoon!) home with me. I’ve been able to get a lot done, and I’ve really been pushing myself on the ELIXIR SAVED revision. This is seriously the book where everything has taken forever. Other exciting news for ELIXIR SAVED includes an upcoming cover reveal (sneak peek below)!!!
I’m also gearing up for a long weekend writing retreat at the Highlights Foundation! A writer friend and I are doing an Unworkshop. I’ve heard wonderful things about the Highlights workshops, so I’m excited to experience the place for myself. The idea of the Unworkshop is that you have time to focus on whatever project you’d like; they provide the meals, the lodging, and an inspiring rural setting. The plan is to get some major words written for my witchy middle grade book. Picture MEAN GIRLS meets THE CRUCIBLE!
Indie Author Day at the Norwalk Public Library is also coming up on Saturday, October 12. The full list of authors attending hasn’t been released yet, but based on past years, I’m guessing there will be large number. I’ll be there with ELIXIR BOUND and PIRATE ISLAND.
It’s finally time to reveal the big ELIXIR BOUND news that I’ve been teasing about for the past few weeks: it’s getting a makeover! Susan Tait Porcaro, the super talented illustrator behind the PIRATE ISLAND cover, created a brand-new cover for my YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND! (Check out her website http://susantaitporcaro.com/ to fall in love with all her work.)
I truly loved the old cover, but this one with the bottle and vines and the forest is exactly what I wanted for the new cover (scroll down to see the full paperback cover below). It conveys the magic and atmosphere of ELIXIR BOUND perfectly. And when ELIXIR SAVED, a companion novel, comes out (I think I’m going to actually pull off having it ready for a 2019 release!), it will have a cover with a similar feel.
So what does it mean when a book gets a new cover? Well, for those of you who already have the old version, it’s still the same book inside, so that’s not gonna change. For anyone who decides to get the new version, it will include a map of the Great Peninsula and an expanded blurb.
Katora Kase isn’t the firstborn son nor does she possess the type of magic that can conjure spells or bewitch others.
In the land of the Great Peninsula—an epic fantasy world ruled by the Great Mother Nature and her offspring—those things aren’t a measure of one’s worth. And what Katora does possess is the subtle magic running through her blood that marks her as the next guardian of a secret healing Elixir that is her family’s legacy. It is such a highly guarded secret that Katora doesn’t know of its existence until a rare snowstorm blows through with a message for her father, the current guardian.
Katora sets off on a quest into the wilds of Faway Forest to find the flowers that give the Elixir its potency. Even though she is accompanied by her sister, her brother, an old family friend, and the handsome son of a mapmaker, she feels alone. For it is her decision alone whether or not to bind herself to the Elixir’s magic to serve and protect it until a new guardian is chosen. The forest hosts many dangers, including wicked beings that will stop at nothing to gain power, but the biggest danger Katora may face is whether or not to open up her heart to love.
The new cover also means that ELIXIR BOUND isn’t currently available for purchase, but I’ll update you all once it’s back up for sale. (FYI, I still have a few paperbacks of the old cover kicking around, so it you really wanted that version, email me at katielcarroll(at)yahoo(dot)com (replace the “(at)” with “@” and the “(dot)” with “.”) and we’ll work something out.
The best places to get the latest information about me and my books is to subscribe to the blog over on the sidebar there (mobile users, scroll all the way down and click on Desktop to view the sidebar) or follow me on Facebook and Twitter (@KatieLCarroll). Here’s the full paperback version of the cover!
Someone Else’s Soul Meradeth Houston
Published by: Bleeding Ink Publishing
Publication date: May 7th 2019
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Suspense
There are 14 strangers who share her face, and one company is determined to erase them all.
Everyone has secrets, and it’s Diana Kane’s job to know them. It’s a talent–being able to see into someone’s life from the scuffs on their shoes to the way their hold their hands–a talent that sets her apart from everyone. When a mysterious stranger drops into her life dangling the possibility of something she’s longed for, a real connection with someone who might actually understand her, she’s too intrigued to refuse.
But when David Addington shows up to their date knowing too much about her, and the top secret agency she works for, Diana realizes their meeting was anything but coincidence. David has more than his share of surprises, including an impossible claim about Diana’s past and photos of an inexplicable woman who shares her face.
When her life begins to unravel around her, Diana has no choice but to put her faith in the mysterious David and the man he claims is his father. As she struggles to piece together the truth about where she came from, she’s forced to face the reality that her entire life has been manufactured, along with fourteen other women who share her exact same DNA. Confronted with the troubling reality that she’s nothing more than a research experiment that’s pushed the boundaries of science and ethics, Diana must rescue the others like her before the company can erase them as mistakes. She will have to put all her skills to the test in the ultimate game of survival…
Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:
>She’s a Northern California girl. This generally means she talks too fast and use “like” a lot.
>When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA. For fun!
>She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It’s her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!
>If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights.
Today I welcome Kelly Hashway back to the blog for a special double cover reveal of her latest YA paranormals UNSEEN EVIL and EVIL UNLEASHED. Welcome, Kelly!
Cover Reveal: UNSEEN EVIL and EVIL UNLEASHED are both coming your way April 3rd! Check out these awesome covers and preorder your copies today!
UNSEEN EVIL blurb:
How can you fight what you can’t see?
Seventeen-year-old Kaylan Bradford has no idea what she wants to do with her future, but dying sure as hell isn’t on top of her list. Yet everywhere she goes, strange accidents happen, each one nearly taking her life. Someone or something is after her.
Reese, the sexy new guy in town, immediately takes an interest in Kaylan, and something about him makes Kaylan feel more alive than ever. Reese isn’t the only new face in Kaylan’s life, though. Riley is beyond gorgeous, and he saves Kaylan’s life more than once.
But Reese and Riley are both keeping secrets—secrets about Kaylan’s future. The more Kaylan discovers about herself, the more the attempts on her life begin to make sense.
Kaylan is desperate to change her fate, but when she discovers the identity of the one who’s trying to kill her, she may not have a future at all.
Kaylan Bradford thought having her boyfriend decide her future for her was the worst thing ever. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Discovering the truth about her past sets in motion a slew of events that unleash evil on the world.
Determined to fix her mistakes, Kaylan resorts to traveling through time, but every move she makes only creates new problems for her to deal with. People are dying, and she’s to blame.
She’ll need to figure out how to battle the ultimate evil…even if it means battling herself.
Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but that didn’t stop her from jumping out of an airplane at ten thousand feet one Halloween. Maybe it was growing up reading R.L. Stine’s Fear Street books that instilled a love of all things scary and a desire to live in a world filled with supernatural creatures, but she spends her days writing speculative fiction and is a USA Today bestselling author. Kelly is also USA Today bestselling romance author Ashelyn Drake. When she’s not writing, Kelly works as an editor and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized.
I’ve had the pleasure of getting an early read of LA Dragoni’s latest paranormal romance GUARDIAN’S TOUCH, Touched by Afterlife, Book 2. I have thoroughly enjoyed both books in the series and am thrilled to be part of the cover reveal for book 2. Welcome, LA!
Guardian’s Touch, Touched by Afterlife, Book 2
by LA Dragoni
Life has returned to normal for Tamara and Dex after helping a horde of ghosts cross over. Their brush with the afterlife affirmed one thing: happily ever after is real.
When odd pranks around the farm escalate to destruction, Tamara fears mischievous teenagers are vandalizing the neighborhood. Then Dex starts to act out of character. Meanness slips into his usually playful disposition. One day he even ridicules a co-worker publicly. Tamara watches helplessly as he seems to lose the ability to control his own actions. When Dex’s abnormal anger turns violent—toward Tamara—their happily ever after is threatened. Desperate to help Dex and herself, she sends out a silent prayer for help.
Ghost Touch, Touched by Afterlife Book 1 ebook is marked down to just $0.99 for a limited time.
For fifteen minutes each night a portal opens in Tamara’s barn and a horde of ghosts spills into her yard. Their leader, Cal, a quiet, unassuming cowboy, fulfills an aching loneliness the death of Tamara’s mother left behind. Tamara can help the ghosts cross, but can she let Cal go?
Available in ebook, audiobook, and print from Amazon.
LA Dragoni isn’t too particular about who falls in love or where they fall in love. Whether it’s paranormal, mythical, or time travel, LA simply considers it her job to divine their story and share it with you. She lives in Central Oregon with her husband and children, but haunts ghost towns and cemeteries throughout the west, in search of the next adventure to sift through her storytelling brain. Learn more about LA and her work at ladragoni.com
