Evolution of a Book Cover (aka Dude, that’s fickin awesome! How’d u do that?)

Posted on June 11, 2012 by admin

It’s been drawn to my attention that I have an unusual perspective when it comes to being a writer. Not only do I write and market all my books, but I also create the covers–from scratch. And not stock photography, pre-fabby, template kinda scratch. I’m talking non-Betty Crocker insta-cover, going-the-full-mile kinda scratch. The kind of covers that truly start with nothing but a camera and an idea.

Here’s what I got to work with. (Yes, I am speaking in my muppet urban vernacular in this post, because it’s fun and trendy, so you’ll have to deal).

You see this? I got a regular girl, a camera, and my brain. That’s it. That’s all I start with. (Want to see everything bigger? Click the image and it’ll open full size).

We usually shoot a few different outfits, something plain–but who likes plain? I mean, why not pull out all the stops and throw on a ball gown? These are Young Adult book covers after all. (And once you own a ballgown, I’m convinced you’ll wear it everywhere. Because they are that much fun! It’s only a matter of time until ballgowns become street clothes). Anyway, a big dress with lots of folds in the fabric adds texture, depth, and interest–in other words it photographs really fricken awesome!

Next, I find stuff that will help the flow of the final image and tie into the story. In this shoot, the model is wearing Collin’s ring and holding Shannon’s dagger. The images were shot (usually) with one large soft box and fill light. I wanted high contrast between the skin and the background and dress, so I made sure this series had more evenly lit skin in the shots for the TORN cover below. On the Demon Kissed cover (jacket pictured below), things are much more shadowy. The short lighting gives that tense ominous feeling that I <3.

After the model is set up, we start shooting. The shoot runs 2-3 hours depending on what we are doing. Going into a new shoot, I usually have an idea of the kind of feelings I want from the final image and then try to figure out the poses that match. So its like reverse-engineering a little bit. The entire series will have all the covers shot on the same day at the studio.

Most images tend to be low-key (dark images with a lot of black) since that reflects the mood of the Demon Kissed series. When I shoot romance covers next week for more Ella Steele’s upcoming releases, they’ll be brighter to match the moods of those books. (YES! I’m writing more romance under the name Ella Steele. I’ll talk more about that in another post).

I can’t tell you how important it is to make sure the mood of the book matches the mood of the cover. If you have happy hearts, bright colors, and unicorns–then read Demon Kissed–you’ll have a wtf moment and your brain will explode. Okay, maybe not explode, but if you were looking for something fun and light, and got something dark and sexy, you might not be too happy with me. The cover is one of the things that worried me about going the traditional publication route, since I’d have no control.

So, if you remember one thing from this post it should be this: MOOD MATTERS.

After the shoot, we look through the images. You might be thinking, FUN! Well, in a way it is, but what is actually happening is that I am looking at a series of sister shots (a bunch of shots that look nearly identical). It’s like looking at a filmstrip, and playing spot-the-diff. After going through each and every image, I’ll chose the one that I like best for the cover.

The 4 images above are unedited and uncropped. They’re straight out of camera – which I NEVER show to anyone cuz it’s like walking around the mall in nothing but underpants, and I’m not that kinda girl. But for the sake of art, I decided to post them today, so you can see the process that goes into making the book cover. Parts of making the cover are fun. Parts are tedious. I mean, do you see the difference b/t #1 and #3? Imagine looking at 30 shots of those, where the differences are so minor most people can’t see them. This is where being a freaky OCD perfectionist helps. I can use my super-critical skills for good instead of evil, and all while not donning a cape. (Although capes are really fun, right?)

So I chose an image. We hold a huge ceremony and bust open champagne and… well, no. Not yet. But keep your cape on. We’re almost done and you’ll want to fly and show all your friends.

The next thing is editing the image. My models wear stage make-up when we’re shooting. It makes editing go a lot faster. The thick make-up hides skin issues and makes certain that the model still has color on her face after the cover is fully processed. During the final stages of making the cover, the image’s brightness is pushed, and it’s possible to lose skin tones, so the edited image above is actually intentionally underexposed.

The next step is pulling her off the background and starting the cover design. If you purchase stock to make your covers, this is where your cover begins. If you’re a control freak like me, look at all the things you didn’t get to control! Sometimes it pays to use stock, but if you are writing a series, promoting the hell out of it, and then have the same cover models as everyone else–well, it’s not very good branding. Dude, I’ve seen at least 17 covers, all by different authors, who have the same exact couple on the cover. The images were being used by the Big 6 and Indie authors.

It makes your branding moot when other people have access to the same images.

Business brains might be thinking, Yes, but is a photo shoot cost-effective? The answer: Hell yes! Stock images are expensive and now Indie authors can’t buy the little images because the pixel dimensions are too small for Amazon’s new requirements (they are asking 2500px on the longest side for ideal viewing). You want ideal viewing. That’s the whole purpose of the cover – to lure in readers. Having it showing like crap won’t help you. So, your covers suddenly shot up in price if you are using stock. Price a photoshoot. You can find anything from $30, which can include the disc, and up. Photographers’ rates are all over the place. In other words, it’s worth looking into.

So I chose the shot I want to use, but it’s not perfect. It’s not EXACTLY what I want. It has the feeling, and she looks pretty, but it needs something. I can see Shan’s blade and Collin’s ring, but I want the dress to pop more. Although I LOVE purple, the Demon Kissed cover is purple, I want this cover to be different.

So, for TORN, I decided to make her gown red to match her lips.

As soon as I change her gown to red, I can see everything. I know I want the gothic-ish overlay. The entire series uses those to help tie them together. I need to add her Martis mark to her forehead, the violet mark Ivy has in the book. I change her eye color and make them rimming violet, like in the book. And I brightened her hair. It was getting lost a little bit after applying the layers of the overlay.

So, now my image has about 35 layers. Here is a screen shot of what things look like at this point. (And I’m working in CMYK for print. I’ll convert it later to RGB for computer screens. I’ve found it’s easier to maintain rich colors that way).

Next, I take my cover image (minus the words) flatten it and drop it onto the print template. I check my gutters and crop lines (the little blue/ green rulers) to make sure everything lines up correctly so that it will print right. My books are printed at a standard trade paperback size, in this case 5″x8″. If I just made the template at 5×8, when the book is printed, it won’t look right. You have to leave extra room so the cover can be cut before it’s bound to the rest of the book. You also need to leave a place for the barcode. Your printer can give you the margins so you can place guidelines on your cover to make sure everything lines up correctly. If you can do the interior margins, this is the same kind of thing.

Next, the text is added. All my covers have large text on the back. It’s the hook from the first book in the Demon Kissed series, then they go into their own description. Then I add my other book covers from this series to the back of the book. Again, images lend to mood. The more images you have, the better. There’s a jewel pic on the spine, a little glimpse of the cover pic. And the number in the series, author, publisher, etc. I also put on the back cover a new series that is coming out next.

And this is what it looks like when the jacket is complete and ready to print.

It’s kind of cool to see the process from start to finish. It has that awesome-esk feeling of seeing a before and after shot. Below is another completed book jacket. It’s for the first book in the Demon Kissed series. Remember how I told you that I LOVE purple? Yeah, well, I have to make a consious effort not to make every single cover purple. That also means my favorite cover in the entire series is this one… cuz it’s PURPLE!

That’s the evolution of a book cover. It starts as a hunched-over, slobbering hairy guy, and ends with a pretty girl in a dress holding a dagger. Tah-dah!

GET DEMON KISSED NOW:

H.M. Ward is the bestselling author of the Demon Kissed series, and an award winning photographer. To see all of her covers, click here.

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The Taleist Self-Publishing Survey & Typical (and not so typical) Indie Novel Sales

Posted on May 31, 2012 by admin

So I was flapping around on Twitter like a maimed bird, and saw references to a survey of Indie authors called the Taleist Survey. I was intrigued. Can you say spontaneous purchase?

From the description, I felt like I stumbled on the marketing mecca of Indie author awesomeness! Or at least Vegas – lots of sparkles and flash. I like sparkles and flash!

This is one of the first studies I’ve read about the current state of the Indie author market that was done on this scale. Me hopes for more in the future. Okay, so I admit that I’m a bit of a marketing whore and totally wanted this book for that marketing section. So I slapped down my $4.99 and read that bad boy.

So. There were two a-dher things with the marketing that I skipped. Other than that, I was surprised to find many of the stats and figures were a reflection of my experience. I’d be lumped into the people who live off their writing. I’m in that younger crowd of go-getter chicks with a higher level of education, who tends to write more than your average Joe, had an agent, and chose to self-publish. I brought my own fanbase with me, but I snagged them before my 1st book was released. I jumped in without a net and hoped I wouldn’t land on my head. My head’s okay. So far, so good.

Things that surprised me – chicks dominating the Indie sales. Wahoo! Go girls! Women make up most of that pool of super-sellers, and of that group the biggest chunk of the pie is going to romance writers. Which makes sense since other stats say romance titles make up 40% of all book sales. I write mostly YA and just started writing adult romance (SCANDALOUS under the pen name Ella Steele). This book had no spring board. It’s doing well, better than some of my other titles, chugging along at a steady rate. I didn’t know what to expect shifting genres like that. I wish there were more details in the survey about writers who wrote dual genres. Alas, it wasn’t there. The top catagories were romance, thrillers and sci-fy. Not YA. I’m an anomaly. But you can see that those three genres dominate the market by scanning the top seller list at any time. So the facts mesh. They are lining up like nice little ducks.

I would have liked to see more information on sales platforms and the affect on profits. The survey mentioned that most people had all their eggs in the Amazon basket, but didn’t address the other platforms very much. Maybe that was because the survey is only for sale on Amazon. Screw B&N! Ha ahahahaa! Okay, maybe not. My B&N sales are roughly the same as my Kindle sales. Just saying. Might be worth looking at in the future, book survey boys.

You might be wondering what the average income for a self-published writer was in 2011. According to the survey, it was $10,000. Don’t get all excited, because the average is an average isn’t actually what most people make–it’s not the typical self-published author’s total sales for last year. Out of about 1,000 people that responded to the survey, ~1/2 answered questions regarding income. So you’re down to around 500 responses. The pool is kinda small. The average author – the median – only netted $500 last year. The average was bumped up by the superstars rocking it out to the tune of $100,000 last year. Those rock stars had 8 or more books that they were selling. They took more time to write, edit, and professionally awesomeify their books.

At one point in NOT A GOLD RUSH the author hypothesized that the self-published rock stars just had better books. All fingers point that way if they sell more, had an agent, and walked away from traditional publishing with a drooling puppy fan base in tow.

I’m not sure what I think about that. Maybe I have self-esteem problems and can’t admit my books are good. I’d say that the book can’t suck, but that’s a far cry from saying that its better than the rest. A solid C book can rock the sales charts. We’ve all seen it and wondered how it happened.

I think rising to rock star status is primarily based on three things:

Avoiding sucking.
Writing something that has obvious marketability.
Luck.

Avoiding sucking. That’s self-explanatory. As for the marketability, I have to remind myself that at times. I had an awesome idea and then think about it as wonder who would want to read that? If the only person you can think of is your mom and that weird guy on the bus–you know, the one that thinks you’re hot–well, you probably can’t rock that title. But then I read the comments of the WOOL guy (Hugh Howey), and think, What do I know? Can you really predict these things? According to him, the answer to that is a big fat, hell no. He’s adorable, btw. The way he’s handling his instant rock star status makes me what to pinch his cheeks. His book follows step #1. It’s great. And it’s marketable with mass appeal… even if you hate wool. Dude sold movie rights last week. It fits into the top three best selling genres, too.

Luck plays a part too. Right place right time. I think that goes that way for everyone. I’m not the lucky one in my family, so I’m hoping to be standing next to my brother at some point and having a money tree fall from the sky with a legacy contract stuck in the branches. I’d kill the tree with my blackthumb (in case you wondering why I wouldn’t fight him for the tree). We both know what a sucky gardening girl I am. :D

All in all, I think The Taleist Survey had interesting information. I’d hoped they would have released more of the actual stats, instead of presenting mostly their interpretation of the facts and figures. Sometimes my crazy brain connects other dots and sees other parallels. Not giving out more data made me unable to do that. An appendix with all that stuff would be nice. Ah-hem.

This is the book, in case you wanna peek: Not a Gold Rush: The Taleist Survey Prime members can check it out for free.

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The Role of Bunnies in the Apocalypse (aka the Grackles are Evil Post)

Posted on May 28, 2012 by admin

You might see one of these birds, known as a grackle, and think – oh, a nice little crow. You might even think it’s pretty and cute like this little grackle right there.

But, don’t let it fool you. (They don’t really look like that. See the evil grackle depicted below).

This is the evil kinda bird that inspires birds everywhere to become evil.

Don’t believe me? Well let’s examine this foul fowl. (Bitchin’ 60′s lingo! oh yeah!)

It has beady little black eyes.

All the better to see you with while it pecks your eyes out.

Good birds have nice big eye balls like Precious Moments figurines.

Its plumage is the color choice of creatures of the night everywhere.

Okay, think about it. Would Big Bird be such a good guy if he wasn’t yellow?

It’s never alone. If you happen come across one grackle, get ready to duck and cover b/c there are 40,000 more grackles behind you, ready to peck your eyes out. They are like flying rat roaches. Nice animals don’t swarm. When was the last time you saw a swarm of 1000 cute and fluffy bunnies? Btw, if you do see a pack of bad ass bunnies, its only b/c the grackles saddled them up cuz they didn’t want to fly anymore. Cute bunnies work well for their MO.

Sure, people will think, “Oh look a cute bunny, and another, and another.” Then they notice there are 1000s of bunnies!!! But it’s too late. The bunny decoys lured the stupid human right where the grackles wanted.

Now the dumb human is surrounded, and the grackles are thinking “I call the eye balls!!!!” There is never only one grackle. If you only see one, it’s already too late. You’re a dead man.

Its name is evil. GRACKLE. Does that sound like a nice little love bird to you? Any name that makes you scrape phlegm out of your throat is indicative of a bad bird.

Let’s try these famous/ nice bird names: Big Bird. Sounds pretty. Sounds nice. No throaty scrape-ie sound.

And that’s the end of the list. Why? Cuz most birds are evil! Yeah, Ravens, Crows, and the ultimate evil bird – GR(insert phleg

m here)ACK(spew a little)LES(cuz they are never alone).

Its call is unnatural. Have you ever heard these things? You’d expect a crow caw or bird song of some sort, but no. Evil birds don’t sing. That’s why Disney didn’t paint a grackle tweeting back at Snow White from its perch at the end of her pretty little finger.

They make horrid noises that make listening to fingernails on a chalkboard sound pleasant. Grackle calls sound like crushing a cat in a trash compactor. Now multiple that by 1000 because grackles never travel alone. If you don’t remember that part, you are totally screwed!

Anyway, that noise is not birdsong. It’s a war cry that the evil birds screech before they dive to peck out your eyes.

The first time I saw these flying rat birds was at night. 1000′s of them swarmed in the dark. The filled every tree within sight, making them look like they were topped with tar. Add in the awesome sound, and I finally understood why the movie The Birds was freaky.
The first time I saw it, I thought it would be like being pelted by butterflies. Who’s afraid of birds?

With an attitude like that, it’s easy to see why a bird apocalypse is inevitable. Grackles could use their bunny army decoys and then swarm in en masse.

People would be like, “Look, pretty birdies!” while the evil grackles took over the earth.

Grackle Apocalypse Survival Tools:
1. Duct Tape – Wrap your house, doors, windows, porch, everything! with the sticky side of the duct tape facing out. Actually, you need to have that neighbor down the street do it – you know, the one you hate and wish would suddenly have to move to Antarctica. Tell him you’ll do his house next. That way you are safe in your sticky grackle-proof house and your crappy neighbor is stuck outside during the grackle attack. Since mean neighbors are dumb, he won’t notice until it’s too late.

2. ~~One Cat~~ – Oops. That won’t work. Grackles eat cats. Obviously they make those hideous grackle sounds the loudest in trees, b/c they are eating live cats up there, and using trash compactors to tenderize.

Use cats as bait to lure the flesh eating grackles to your mean neighbor’s front porch.

Place the cat on the mat.

Ring door bell.

Run like hell.

3. Bunnies – Use bunnies as double decoys. This will fool the grackles since they use bunnies to attack. A few randomly placed bunnies will make the grackles think they already invaded your house.

Be sure to put little saddles on the bunnies. This makes them extra cute, and only the really evil grackles use bunny saddles. All the marginally evil grackles will stay away.

Disclaimer:

This is not an exhaustive list of how to defend yourself against grackles. The author cannot be held liable if you get pecked, attacked, or eaten by grackles. Big Bird is in no way affiliated or involved with grackles of any kind. Emo Elmo does not exist, nor was he in a grackle gang. Snow White does not fraternize with evil birds, and avoids all grackle-like birds since she was in the woods when her step-mom tried to have her heart hacked out by a crazy-ass hunter. Sam Butcher continues to create very cute Precious Moments figurines, none of which were attacked by grackles.

This post was written, in satire, entirely for the purpose of getting the readers ready for CURSED by H.M. Ward, the sequel to DEMON KISSED. Now you know what grackles are…be prepared. Tape, kitty, bunny! CHECK!

This is a reposting of a blog from June 8, 2011. CURSED is on sale for $3.99 this week! Go grab it!

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Reviews & Signed Copies of Scandalous by Ella Steele

Posted on May 8, 2012 by admin

Look what I got! And this is only the 1st bunch I signed. My hand is gonna fall off!

If you want to grab a signed copy of SCANDALOUS by Ella Steele (my adult fiction pen name), you still can! Follow this link for ordering info.

And for those of you who were wondering if this book is for you, here are some of the reviews and they are all spoiler-free!

“This read was amazing! Always living up to my expectations, amazing writer, even stepping out of her norm! It def made me blush, and still couldn’t put it down! Must read!” -Tiffany via Facebook

“I love the cover! This was a very fast read. I read it very quickly. I was always wondering what was going to happen next. I figured something had to happen it was just to perfect. I like perfect … I loved the painting in the book. I could picture them (Jack & Abby) in my mind when reading. Especially when he gave her the tour. The cover of the book is pretty much how I pictured the painting would look. The ending was perfect for their story :)” -Brittany Spare Time Books

“Scandalous had such an appeal! The combination of art and sex was swoon-worthy since I love to paint myself. When I was reading this book it reminded me why I loved art so much and realize the the hidden depths of the creative world that I didn’t even know existed. Jack Gray and Abby Tyndale’s story was one to remember. If I could, I would so love to get one of Jack’s paintings in my hands!” -Christina My Fair Books

“I am writing this on 3hrs of sleep because I stayed up to finish this delightful book. It is a quick read that intrigues you from the cover to the last page. I loved the art that was portrayed, and in my opinion the cover is a wonderful rendition of “The Scandal”. Abby and Jack are wonderfully flawed characters who would sacrifice anything and everything for the one they love. I am amazed at the depth and growth of the leads…I can say that even though it will be a tough day at work with little sleep I still have a smile on my face, a flutter in my stomach and have to take deep breaths remembering certain scenes like the patron walk in the gallery. Bravo Ella Steele! I base my 5 star rating on readability of a book, the unwillingness to put it down and the way the story/characters stay with you.” -Sarah via Goodreads

“This might be the sexiest book I have ever read! H.M Ward has stepped out of her usual YA genre and created a masterpiece! Sooooo freaking sexy!” -Lesile via Amazon

Grab a copy of Scandalous now via Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords. If you ordered a signed copy, those shipped out today. Check your mail boxes for something steamy to read this weekend!

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Get Scandalous for under $5 today!

Posted on May 1, 2012 by admin

romance novel, erotic romance book, 50 shades of grey

SCANDALOUS by Ella Steele (my adult pen name) was released today! Get it for only $4.99 for the next 24-hours! That’s right, save at least $3.00 by grabbing SCANDALOUS now.

Kindle – Paperback – Nook – Signed Paperback

And yes, the woman on the cover has no bodice on–that’s paint! The book cover is awesome! I totally LOVE it and it goes with the book so wonderfully. It’s awesome when that happens.

So, are you ready for a sizzling spring read? Go grab it now and get enamored with Jack and Abby. And of course, I LOVE to hear what you think. Make sure you leave stars and a note saying what you liked about this book on Amazon. I check those, ya know. :o) I appreciate every single review, and I cannot wait to hear what you think about this one. My editors thought SCANDALOUS was kinda pushing the line, and I want to see what you guys think.

And I know I’ve said it already, but SCANDALOUS is not a kid book. It’s a hot, sexy adult romance with sexual content inappropriate for younger readers. That’s why my adult books are under a pen name. Anything by Ella Steele is a mature book with adult content.

Get SCANDALOUS during the next 24 hours for only $4.99: Kindle – Paperback – Nook – Signed Paperback

Thank you super fans! You guys are totally awesome. I wouldn’t have written this book if you guys hadn’t asked for more hotness. ;o)

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Enter to Win a Free SIGNED Copy of Scandalous

Posted on April 30, 2012 by admin

In honor of the release of my first romance novel SCANDALOUS (May 1st, 2012) I’m giving away a signed copy! The winner will get the 5″x8″ beautiful paperback and it’s signed by the author! Winner will be selected at random on June 1st, 2012.

To enter, just make a comment and make sure I can contact you via email. (blog comments have to be approved b4 they appear – don’t freak out if it takes a little bit for your post to show up). You can gain additional entries by tweeting the link to this giveaway @hmward and/or reposting to your facebook page and tagging me at facebook.com/hmward (to enter the tag type @hmward – it needs to show as a hyperlink to my page so I can see it). So that’s 3 ways to enter! Good luck!

And remember, SCANDALOUS will be discounted on May 1st! You can get this steamy read for less than $5 on Kindle and Nook on May 1st only! I’ll post links as soon as they are available.

Thank you to all my awesome fans who wanted something a little hotter than my YA books. And I know I’ve said it already, but SCANDALOUS is not a kid book. It’s a hot, sexy adult romance with sexual content inappropriate for younger readers. That’s why my adult books are under a pen name. Anything by Ella Steele is a mature book with adult content.

And yes, the woman on the cover has no bodice on–that’s paint!

Description: “Millionaire Jack Gray earned his fortune creating erotic art for discerning clientele. He doesn’t use a brush to depict these hauntingly beautiful portraits—he uses bare skin. A sterling reputation is the only thing standing between Jack and poverty as he skirts the thin line between fine art and cheap sensationalism. To ensure that his character remains beyond reproach, an assistant observes his sessions.

While interviewing for a new assistant, Jack hears her voice—Abby Tyndale—the girl who got away. The last time Jack saw her was over a decade ago. After years of romantic tension she had nearly kissed him, but then disappeared without a trace. He hasn’t seen her since. Until now. When he learns that his lost love joined the clergy after she fled to West Texas, his heart sinks. She’s forbidden, forever set apart by her vows.

Jack’s life quickly spins out of control as Abby grows closer to him, and worsens when his client list is stolen. The financial blow alone is damning, but it’s the scandal brewing beneath the surface that he fears the most. Jack and Abby’s livelihoods rely on their reputations. A single scandal will destroy them both. While fearing a contrived scandal, they have courted a very real one as their romance reignites.

This erotic romance is an addictive tease that will leave you breathless and begging for more.”

Want to buy a signed copy of SCANDALOUS now? Follow this link to the ordering page. Grab this book on Kindle, paperback, or Nook today!

Details: On June 1, 2012, check your email to see if you won. You need to claim your book within 24 hours. Email for full details. Must be at least 18 years old. Open to residents of the 50 US States. Sorry, no international at this time. Void where prohibited. No cash value.

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Sizzling Spring Books: 2012 Releases for May & June

Posted on April 26, 2012 by admin

Who’s ready for some sizzling spring reads? There are three novels coming out, nearly back to back this Spring.

romance novel, erotic romance book, 50 shades of grey

SCANDALOUS – MAY 1, 2012

This is the adult romance book under the pen name Ella Steele. That’s still me. SCANDALOUS is under a pen name because it’s way too hot for my younger readers. I didn’t want to confuse them and have their parent’s beat me with a broom. So, if you’re too young, give it a few years. If you’re older and like steamy romances, pick it up and prepare to get hot under the collar. It has everything from forbidden love, deception, lost love and a main character to die for. Ah, Jack’s super hot. *fans self*

Pre-order is up for signed copies.

ASSASSIN: FALL OF THE GOLDEN VALEFAR (Demon Kissed Series, Eric #1) – MAY 10th

This is the next book in the bestselling Demon Kissed series. For those of you who have been reading since book #1, keep reading. This fits into your storyline as book #6, and picks up where book #5 left off. If you haven’t read Demon Kissed and wanted the intense, dark paranormal feel-you can start in ASSASSIN. The Demon Kissed series has three entry points: Valefar Volumes (Collin’s story), Demon Kissed (Ivy’s story), and Fall of the Golden Valefar (Eric’s story). The darkest of these book is the end of Ivy’s story and the beginning of Eric’s. Fall of the Golden Valefar begs the question: Can super-sexy bad boy Eric be redeemed?

BANE: VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE #1 – JUNE 15th

And OMG, this is the first book in the much anticipated new series Vampire Apocalypse! This new series contains stand-alone books that can be read in any order. Follow Kahli’s adventures through a frozen post-apocalyptic world where vampires dominate and food is scarce, including human blood. The vamps will die off if they can’t correct the problem. Kahli is the last wild human and she alone holds the key to their survival. This is a kick-ass survival story with lots of romance and forbidden love thrown in, cuz we like things hot! The sample chapter will be posted soon. I can’t wait to share it with you!

That’s the Spring 2012 line up for new releases by H.M. Ward. Pre-order for signed copies is up for all three books. Grab yours now! Signed copies are limited, especially the first print runs of these titles. If you are collecting, make sure you put your order in ASAP.

I can’t thank you guys enough for giving Demon Kissed a try over a year ago. Since then it’s been on the bestsellers list, and so has every book following it. The facebook fan pages have nearly 50,000 fans combined! Over 300 fans have left stars and wrote reviews for the books on Amazon and B&N, which is beyond amazing! The Demon Kissed series has a total rating of over 4.5 stars on Amazon! I can’t tell you how excited I am to have such an incredible response to my stories, and can’t wait to share these three new books with you and see what you think!

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Description for SCANDALOUS by Ella Steele

Posted on April 22, 2012 by admin

romance novel, erotic romance book, 50 shades of grey

SCANDALOUS by Ella Steele

Release date: May 1, 2012

Description:

“Millionaire Jack Gray earned his fortune creating erotic art for a discerning clientele. He doesn’t use a brush to depict these hauntingly beautiful portraits—he uses bare skin. A sterling reputation is the only thing standing between Jack and poverty as he skirts the thin line between fine art and cheap sensationalism. To ensure that his character remains beyond reproach, an assistant observes his sessions.

This erotic romance is an addictive tease that will leave you breathless and begging for more.”

Ella Steele is my pen name for my adult fiction books. Preorder for SIGNED copies of SCANDALOUS is up on the official website.

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Scandalous (A Steamy Romance) by Ella Steele

Posted on April 15, 2012 by admin

romance novel, erotic romance book, 50 shades of grey

COVER REVEAL!

This is for my romance book SCANDALOUS. Release date May 1, 2012.

It’s under my pen name Ella Steele since it’s an adult romance book. And as the massive 45,000 fan base requested, the steam was left steamy. In fact its so steamy I made sure to use a pen name, because I didn’t want to confuse any of my younger readers.

It’s hot! ♥ the cover!!!!

Full description will be posted soon!

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Ooooh Ahhhhhh! Glowing Nook eReader!

Posted on April 13, 2012 by admin

Okay, I’m not a techie all drooling over the latest and greatest ereaders, tablets, and what-have-yous. If things were left to me, I’d still have a Commodore64, Atari, and AOL v 1.2. But when I saw the new Nook I got really excited! It’s eink AND its lit! Eeeep! Let me give you a little background as to why this is exciting…

Some of you know that I’m a Kindle girl. I wasn’t always a kindle girl, in fact I was anti-ereader in general. The screens fried my eyes, and the lack of paper screws with my memory. (Recall drops on electronic devices). Anyway, I got hubby one a couple of years ago. He was all drooling and so I gave him one for Christmas. I started using it, because my little village would run me through with pitch forks for trying to buy a book with Succubus in the title. Gasp! The horrors! (Succubus Blues, yeah, a real book. Pretty good too).

The instant gratification thing with the ereader was good too. If I finished a book after the mall closed, I could still read that night. Anyway, the first six months of my ereader experience sucked. I HATED the kindle. If you go back on the Demon Kissed wall you can see my rantings about evil kindles. Around the nine month point, I seemed to adapt to the little thing. Now I LOVE it. Recall issues are gone, and this techno-idiot got her very own Kindle last year. I’m in Kindle<3!

Then this Nook comes along (pictured at top). Okay, this feels a little like checking out other guys, since I’m kinda keen on my Kindle. I have the cute little one (pictured left). It’s lightest Kindle they have, battery lasts for months, and I have a zillion books on it. But, getting the little kindle light to stay on it at night (for reading in the dark) is a major PITA. Not to mention that I can’t make it waterproof like the rest of the kindle. No floating in the pool and reading at night, which is a favorite pass time.

Do you see the Nook GlowLight, all glittering, saying “Hey sexy, come get me! I’m just what you need!”

Eeeep! *Fans self* Why Mr. GlowLight, I’m a one ereader kinda woman. There’s no point in trying to seduce me into changing me ereader. Oh, who am I kidding, you don’t have to say anything else… You had me at glow.

Guess what I’m ordering!

Nook me, baby!

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