A Fan For Life – Plus a Turkey in a Pink Bra

Below is a letter from a fan. I am always so grateful every time one of you takes a second to write me. I read all of them and it’s beyond awesome because:

One life touches another, offering hope, laughter, and joy.

My books have done that for you guys and your letters do the same thing for me. Life is hard, and it’s awesome to find so many friends out there.

I know I sound like a dork, but it’s been a truly amazing experience and to share your lives is just wow. Anyway, I thought I’d share this fan note with you guys. And yes, the she’s the proud owner of the Turkey Vulture in the Pink Bra. :)

Thank you so much.

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“Dear Ms. Ward,

I am used to reading paranormal and fantasy novels, but I had recently given into social pressure (and curiosity) and was introduced to the romance/erotica genre via the 50 Shades and Crossfire series. I had my doubts but I realized that I actually liked some of what I was reading (although the quality of the writing in 50 Shades leaves a lot to be desired, but that is another topic of discussion!).

This past June, I was looking to load up my Kobo with a bunch of new books for my summer reading. We were going a little road trip with the kids and I wanted a little something to keep me busy while the hubby was driving and the boys were arguing in the backseat. Having seen Damaged on Kobo’s top 50 best seller list for a while and with Damaged 2 in the top 10 not long after it’s release, I figured to give them a try. Besides, they were inexpensive and the description caught my attention.

I started reading Damaged without any particular expectations besides light entertainment (I mean, how serious can you take a book with a half naked gorgeous dude plastered on the cover right?). Let me just say that my husband got REALLY annoyed with me, because I basically ignored him throughout the entire road trip! What a surprise!!! I would stop breathing whenever things would get intense between Sydney and Peter, I would break out in a huge grin during their comical banter, I even laughed out loud during the squirrel and turkey scenes!

There are certain things I particularly enjoyed while reading Damaged 1 & 2:

- Contrary to some romance / erotica books out there at the moment, it was not overloaded with sex. I realized that the power of anticipation is so much stronger!!! This series was so much hotter than some more descriptive stuff I’ve read.

- You put a lot of emphasis on storyline and description than in sex and dialog. Sex and dialog are good in a book, but you need context to make it great and you that so well!!!

- THE DANCING!!! I danced for 15 years and miss it tremendously. When the dancing started in the first book, I was hooked! What a fun and interesting spin on the story! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! In fact, you inspired me so much, that I’ve signed up for swing classes this fall… I have been talking about starting up dancing again for the past 5 years but never actually did it. This book convinced me to go back!

- Sydney is a strong, SMART and funny female character! I hate being inside the head of a stupid, weak and wishy-washy character (Anna in 50 Shades, Abby in Beautiful Disaster).

- The devil is in the details: even the secondary characters are great! I laughed during the “abs of steel” scene in the dorm room. Everything seemed so real. You make the reader feel like they are there in the room with them. Every little detail makes an enormous difference in the reading experience.

After having read Damaged 1 & 2 twice, I bought all The Arrangement books that were out at the time (1-8). I had emotions flying all over the place. I had so much trouble getting through number 4 because I was crying so much. Reading through tears in not easy. You make Avery’s emotions so accessible to the reader, we feel her pain and sorrow along with her. Again, this can only happen when the author takes the time to describe the character’s emotional journey in great detail.

Since I enjoyed Damaged and Arrangement, I bought Secrets, Scandalous and Trystan Scott. I enjoy your writing style and it is interesting to see the evolution of your writing. Once I had read them all, I got curious and checked the order in which you wrote them and, not surprisingly, my order of appreciation of your works go along with the order of release dates. You get better and better with every book!!!

Your newest books are my favorite (especially the Ferro books) but there is not a single one of your books mentioned above that I didn’t like.I love your female characters. They are all women that I can admire: strong willed, smart, funny, true to their beliefs.

I am officially a fan for life!

Thank you so much for your time and creativity. I look forward to reading more of your work in the future!

From,
Melanie-Anne B.
Quebec, Canada

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Cover Reveal for THE ARRANGEMENT 11

The cover for THE ARRANGEMENT 11 by H.M. Ward! You guys asked for a cover with a ring on it, so here ya go!

This title will be released before the end of the moth, the weekend of Oct 27th. I’ll post the links as soon as it’s been uploaded. Paperback will appear ASAP. I know there are a lot of paperback readers and I don’t want to keep you guys waiting, but it takes a little bit longer. :)

11 is NOT the final volume. People are asking for an engagement, a wedding, and baby Ferro. Can you imagine? Sean as a daddy. ;) More info on serials vs novels is over here. Have an awesome weekend!

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New Release: THE ARRANGEMENT 10 (The Ferro Family)

THE ARRANGEMENT VOL. 10 was released today!

Volume 10 in the New York Times Bestselling Arrangement Serials

When Avery realizes that her latest client wasn’t Sean she doesn’t know what to do. This person has invaded her life on a personal level and to make matters worse she doesn’t even know who he is. The only good thing that came from it has been seeing Sean again, but now that he’s in front of her, she doesn’t want to let him go. However, it’s time for Avery to stop pretending and move on with her life, and she knows that Sean Ferro will not be part of it.”

Genre: New Adult Romance
This story unfolds over multiple volumes approx. 20,000 words each.
~The Arrangement Vol 1-10 are on sale now.~
FERRO family novels: DAMAGED & STRIPPED

GET THE ARRANGEMENT 10 AT THESE RETAILERS:

         

B&N, iTunes, and paperback will be available soon.

Nook usually goes live pretty quick. If you can’t wait to read the book, you can grab the kindle edition and read it on your Nook. Google for directions. iTunes readers can grab the Kindle app and read it that way, if you don’t want to wait. Oh, and here’s the link to the book on Amazon UK, too.

I’ll update the links as they become live. Thank you so much to all the fans who love this series!

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Cover Reveal for ARRANGEMENT 10

Here is the cover for ARRANGEMENT 10. I have tons of people asking about the release date. I’m aiming for sometime next week. I’ll post the links as soon as the book is live.

No, this isn’t the final book in the series. If you have no idea what a serial is or if you’ll like it, please check out this post before jumping in. When will 11 come out? Soon! These are released about every 4 weeks.

Someone asked if my novels go on forever too. No, they don’t. Each novel series has 2 books. That’s it. The rest of the serials are complete at 5 books each (SECRETS and TRYSTAN SCOTT). THE ARRANGEMENT serials tangle in and out of the Ferro family novels. Each series is stand alone, meaning you don’t have to read the others to know what’s going on.

Thank you so much for all the emails, messages, and posts about continuing this series. For those of you that love Sean and Avery, another serial THE PROPOSITION will begin this fall and features Bryan Ferro. I can’t wait to share it with you!

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THE ARRANGEMENT 8 & 9 Are (Finally) on iTunes

ARRANGEMENT Vol 8 and Vol 9 are finally up on iTunes. Shut up! I know, right? Anyway, they’re finally there. Wahoo! Happy dance!

Trystan Scott 4 and 5 are being added and should show up any time now, too. Sorry it’s taken so long to get my entire list over there, but it’s finally done.

I will do my best to get ARRANGEMENT 10 ASAP, however, since these are live launches (meaning they go live as fast as the vendor can do it) it will take at least a week for them to show on Apple. For the die-hard fans, grab the kindle copy with the kindle app.

Here is the link to ARRANGEMENT 8 on iTunes

Here is the link to ARRANGEMENT 9 on iTunes

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Is THE ARRANGEMENT a Series?

I’ve been getting emails from awesome fans who are curious about THE ARRANGEMENT series. It has a huge fan base – hundreds of thousands of people – and lots of new readers. Many of you already noticed, but some haven’t so I wanted to make it clear.

Yes, THE ARRANGEMENT is a series. 

There’s some confusion over what that means. My serials are not one book slashed into pieces. I know some writers do that, but I don’t. I’ve actually been asked to speak about the construction of my serials at several writer’s conferences next year, because the way they’re written is unique. Quite frankly, if I took CURSED there and slashed it into pieces, it would suck. But, that’s another topic, so I won’t go into that right now.

Pictures help make it more obvious that THE ARRANGEMENT is not one book broken into volumes. For one, it’s too big. eBooks are amazing, but the tactile sense of reading is lost. If a book holds my attention and I love the story, the time taken to read it flies by and I have no idea how many pages I read. That doesn’t happen with paper. It’s easy to see how much I read and where the end is, so I took a few pics for the ereader fans.

The stack of books on the left is the Arrangement series 1-9. Cursed is on the right, and is one of my full length novels. It’s the 2nd book in the Demon Kisses series and is about the same size as Damaged and Stripped (both are novels). Some of my novels are a bit longer, some are shorter, but it’s average novel length for me (and most romances.)

So, if THE ARRANGEMENT series were presented in novel format, they’d be onto their 4th novel at this point in time. Every 2-2.5 volumes is about novel length. The Arrangement is a series the same way DEMON KISSED is a series. Multiple books tell the story, but these come out way faster.

Why was this story written as a serial? Because there are readers who like this format, a lot. It has perks that novels don’t have.

Here are the main serial novella perks:

  • They come out faster and the reader only has to wait 4 weeks instead of 4 months. Waiting 4 months for the next title from my favorite author sucks. Most of my fav authors put out 1 novel a year. I hate that. I want more. Now. Series like THE ARRANGEMENT offer that desire for new titles.
  • Serials are less risky for the reader. If I like it, I keep reading and one book didn’t eat up a ton of time.
  • They give the reader the option to read something new between novel releases.
  • Serials are less daunting. If someone hands you a huge ass book, it can be intimidating. Novella length books don’t typically present that apprehension.
  • They’re fast and fun. This kind of book is supposed to be fun, and not take a lot of effort, which is why lots of people love them.

THE ARRANGEMENT series was originally written for fans to have something to read between novels. Then it became a fan-driven series where the fans’ comments are actually affecting the story line. It’s become an organic story, and is way cooler than anything I dreamed up when I started.

A note about it from a fan:

“Ugh!!! Okay, I’m going to get serious a little bit here and defend our girl Holly, ’cause let’s face it, she’s the best! I’m getting ready to post my amazon.com review for The Arrangement 2 and I’m reading other people’s reviews…I respect other people’s points of view and sometimes I will dislike stuff that other people like and that’s okay. That’s why there are so many diverse authors out there publishing.

The one argument I have trouble with is when people call The Arrangement series a scam. I did the math. It costs approximately the same price PER PAGE for an Arrangement serial (in e-format) as is does for a 50 shades novel (in e-format). Considering that you can fit about 4 Arrangement serials into one 50 Shades novel (page count and total $) and that 50 Shades was a trilogy, we can EASILY make it to 12 books and reach the same total price and page volume as 50 Shades… no one called it a scam!

If you think of books like the Crossfire series, which will probably go onto 5 books (and is more expensive per page), we could make it to 21 Arrangement serials and not go over the Crossfire budget!!!

I may be completely off the track by using this argument & it may not be right to compare series and novels in this way, but it just gets me upset when people write hate reviews and don’t take the time to get their facts straight or even bother rating their review based on the material they’ve read (’cause most of them even say they liked the book!).

Needless to say, my review will be a lovely one full of praise and flowers! ;-)” -MelanieAnne

People ask if these will be bundled at some point. Right now there are no plans to bundle, but there are plans for the series to go on sale like the rest of my titles. The entire Trystan Scott series was on sale recently. All the titles go on sale at some point, so keep your eyes glued to the facebook page to make sure you don’t miss it. Massive sale alerts also go out via email, so make sure you’re on that list. (Text AWESOMEBOOKS – 1 word – to 22828 or click here to get on the list).

And, I know you’re all going to ask, so here it is: THE ARRANGEMENT Vol. 10 will be out in the next couple of weeks. No, it’s not the final book in the series. I’ll make a huge post when the final volume comes out. This volume came out a little slower than usual because of Trystan Scott 5 and Stripped. Releasing 3 titles is one month is crazy, but I don’t want to make you guys wait any longer. So BAM! 10 is coming too!

Oh, and people are asking if they HAVE to read each series to know what’s going on in the novels. NO, you don’t. Each series is stand alone. That means you can read DAMAGED and skip STRIPPED and you won’t be lost if you pick up THE PROPOSITION (Bryan Ferro’s story) later this fall. It’s totally okay to know one brother better than the rest. ;) If you hate cliffhangers, stay away from serials in progress like THE ARRANGEMENT.

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Last Chance! Get a SIGNED Copy of STRIPPED by H.M. Ward

LAST CHANCE! Get a *SIGNED* copy of STRIPPED!

Get a copy of STRIPPED that’s signed by the author! Wahoo! There are only a limited number, so grab them while you can.

They’ll be shipped out around the end of September and each one will be signed by the author.

A SOLD OUT sign will appear before you buy when there aren’t any more.

US ONLY! Sorry, I’m an international mail idiot. These will be shipped via Priority Mail in late Sept. I’ll post on Facebook when they go out.

Purchase by clicking here.

All orders are processed securely via PayPal.

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STRIPPED by HM Ward Was Released Today

It’s been months since pre-order went up for STRIPPED on Amazon. I cannot wait to share this novel with you guys!

In case you missed it, here’s the description:

“The V Card. Virgin. Most of us want to punch that sucker ASAP, and hide the fact until then, but not Cassie Hale. Three years ago she frickin’ covered hers in glitter and laminated the thing, proudly telling me that she’s waiting for the perfect guy.

So when I see her half naked, tangled together, rolling around on the floor with another stripper, I’m kind of shocked. Okay, that’s an understatement. I’m enthralled. I have to know what cracked her picture perfect world and landed her here, and I hope it’s something horrible-an event that broke her the way she broke me. Because, that’s who Cassie Hale is–the woman who stole my heart and crushed it in her hand.”

Type: Novel (approx 330 pgs), 1 of 2
Related Works: DAMAGED & THE ARRANGEMENT

Here’s what fans are saying! Eeep!

“Quite possibly her best work! I couldn’t put it down!!” -Joanna

“Just finished Stripped and LOVE is not strong enough of a word for how much I was sucked into Jon’s story!” -Michelle

“Stripped is a jewel that will have you turning pages, laughing, blushing and hoping.” -April W.

“I thought Sean was the bomb, but now I’m liking young Jonny even more.” -Roxanne K.

“Holy smokes the Ferro brothers are hot!” -Shannon

“Jonathan Ferro is just as riveting, suspenseful, exciting and heartbreaking as Sean and Peter.” -Michele A.

GET STRIPPED NOW AT THESE RETAILERS:

          

iTunes and Nook will be posted ASAP, hopefully later today.

Happy reading! I can’t wait to hear what you think! All the people saying they love Jon better than Sean is making my head spin. Totally can’t wait to see which brother makes you swoon the most. :)

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ARRANGEMENT 8 Released Today!

Guess what came out today??!?!?!?!

~Volume 8 in the New York Times Bestselling Arrangement Serials~

Nothing ever goes the way it should. Marty is barely a friend any more, and the roommate from hell is doing Naked Guy on my couch again. It’s bad enough that it feels like my life is coming apart at the seams.

There’s one man that has held it together for the past few weeks, but things change. All it takes is a few words and everything shatters.

Genre: New Adult Romance
This story unfolds over multiple volumes approx. 20,000 words each.
~The Arrangement Vol 1-8 are on sale now.~

GRAB IT NOW AT THESE RETAILERS:

      

People have been asking if they should read DAMAGED 2, before reading this book. You don’t have to, but if you want the most WOW factor, recommended reading order is ARRANGEMENT 1-6, DAMAGED 1, ARRANGEMENT 7, DAMAGED 2, ARRANGEMENT 8. These series twist together in parts, but you don’t have to read both to know what’s going on. Oh, and here is the link ARRANGEMENT 8 the Amazon UK site!!!

Happy reading! And Happy 4th of July!!!!

 

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