Win a SIGNED copy of CATALYST (Vampire Apocalypse #2) by H.M. Ward

Enter to win SIGNED copy of CATALYST Vampire Apocalypse #2 by H.M. Ward!

Stop drooling and I’ll tell you how to get your hands on one of the 1st signed copies of the second book in this bestselling series!  Simply leave a review of BANE on Amazon, Goodreads, or B&N after you finish BANE to enter.

I’ll choose a winner before Sept. 12, 2012. That user will be posted on THIS blog post, so make sure you check back. Respond within 72 hours or the prize will be given to someone else. This giveaway is for US only.  No cash value.

If you haven’t read BANE yet, what are you waiting for? It’s only $0.99 right now! SALE! Go get it!

Get BANE at these retailers:

      

Thank you to everyone who already left a review! You are entered too! Just post on this blog to validate your entry. Good luck!

 

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Cover Reveal CATALYST (Vampire Apocalypse #2)

Cover reveal for VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE #2 – CATALYST!!!  This is the second book in the series.

Kahli is the last surviving wild human. Book two continues where the first book ends.

And in case you have trouble telling series order – all the Vampire Apocalypse series titles are in alphabetical order: Bane is #1, Catalyst is #2, Divergent is #3, etc.

Release date: Sept 2012

I’ll post the exact date when it gets closer.

Haven’t read Book #1 yet?

Go get BANE Vampire Apocalypse #1 on:

    

Thanks so much! You guys rock!!!

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Cover Reveal: TRYST by Ella Steele (A Short Erotic Romance Novella)

TRYST by Ella Steele (A Short Erotic Romance Novella) is scheduled to be released this weekend.  It’s a little bit hotter than SCANDALOUS.  It makes me blush just saying that I wrote it.  Seriously.  I thought about using another pen name and not telling you all I wrote it.  Then I thought, you guys liked my other stuff, and were good with me cranking up the hotness, so, I thought, what the hell.  I’ll try it.  If you like it, totally let me know.  Writing romance/ romantica makes me blush.  Hope it does the same for you, cuz it’s gonna be a hot July!

TRYST will be released July 15, 2012.

The full length Ella Steele romantica novel will be released by the end of the month.  Sorry the dates aren’t more concrete.  I wasn’t sure I was going to write more of this genre, but I had a couple of ideas and my editors liked them, so here we are.  :o)

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Sneak Peek: VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE: BANE (Book #1) by H.M. Ward (Paranormal Romance)

Sneak Peek: Chapter 1 of VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE: BANE (Book #1) by H.M. Ward

That day lingered at the back of Kahli’s mind like a nightmare. The memories and emotions bled together, making every terrorizing moment painfully clear.  Kahli and her mother were not halfway through the crystalized trees when the first ray of light burst forth. Icy pines jutted up out of the ground forming towering spires. Kahli remembered everything: The crisp scent of the morning air, the sunlight on her face, her mother’s voice—even and urgent—telling her to stay hidden. Every piece of information was stored with acute detail in her mind.

Making their way down the icy slope of the mountain had taken longer than expected that day.  It was nearly ten years ago now.  She was barely seven. Just after they’d entered the woods, Kahli’s mother turned sharply. Instinctively, she grabbed her daughter’s hand, and searched the landscape behind them. Mother’s heart stopped. The Trackers were too close.  If she didn’t do something, they would both be captured.

Her grip on Kahli’s small hand tightened. Leaning closer to her daughter, she whispered in her ear, “Run.”

Kahli blinked, shaking her head. It felt like she was stuck in a dream and time had stopped.  Her mind couldn’t comprehend what her mother had done.  What she said. This couldn’t be real.  But it was.  Mom ran directly toward the Trackers, leaving her behind.

Ignoring the terror that rushed through her tiny body, Kahli finally turned and sprinted in the opposite direction.  The pounding of her heart echoed in her ears as she gasped in the frigid air.  Cold dry wind whipped her small cheeks.  Kahli’s spiked shoes cut deep into the glittering snow, but they left no foot print, only tiny holes left by the spikes.  They would soon be covered with the dry powdery snow that blew through the air like dust.

Kahli ran until the stitch in her side felt like it was going to burst.  Her legs screamed in protest, burning, begging her to stop, but she didn’t.  She couldn’t. Sucking in huge breaths, Kahli ignored the needles pinching her lungs and fled.  She didn’t look back.  There were no sounds other than the thumping of her heart and the howl of wind ripping through the trees, nothing that indicated pursuit. She didn’t know what her mother heard, but she knew without a doubt that there was danger behind her, and that her mother had run straight into it.  Kahli stumbled, forcing her feet to continue.

The brightness of the frozen trees shone in her eyes like a thousand suns, blinding her.  They should have passed through these woods earlier.  It was her fault they were here now, trying to escape from creatures that couldn’t be outrun. Her heart hammered harder, her small body filled to the brim with fear, shaking as she ran. The ski mask that covered her face to protect her from the wind made it difficult to see.  She’d nearly collided with a tree. It didn’t fit quite right.  The worn wool was slightly too large for her small head. Kahli untied her hood and tore off the mask. She decided it was better than slamming into one of the ancient aspens. Gasping for air, she shoved the mask in her pocket.  Fiery red hair streamed behind her as she fled.

Nearing the edge of the woods, Kahli slowed.  A sound carried through the trees to her left.  Jerking her head toward the noise, Kahli saw her mother rush through a thicket of briars, shattering them into tiny fragments as she thrashed her way through.

Breathless, Mother reached for Kahli, and shoved her into the frozen thicket.  The branches gave way without shattering, concealing the small child.  Leaning down, Mother breathed so hard that Kahli could barely understand her.  “Stay in there. Don’t come out.”  She put her finger on her lips, and backed away from her daughter’s frightened green eyes and small round face.

Mother was within reach when the Trackers burst into the clearing.  A large man with a thick coat that barely concealed his round belly said, “Thought you could escape, did you?”  He wore white like we did, so he could blend into the landscape.  The man moved towards Mother, who stood utterly still.  The dark-haired man examined her, sliding his eyes up and down her thin frame.  Her fingers fisted at her sides, ready to fight.  The man’s narrow eyes ignored the gesture.  Stubble lined his jowls, as if he hadn’t shaved for days.  He scratched his chin like he’d forgotten something.

A boy appeared next to him.  He couldn’t have been more than 8 years old.  His gangly frame seemed too tall for his thin body.  He was like the other man—pale with dark hair.  Stepping into the clearing, he stopped behind the man.  The boy appeared frail, but Kahli knew he wasn’t.  That boy was a Tracker, a vampire, like the fat man.

Kahli pressed her face to the cold ground, trying not to breathe.  She didn’t know what they were doing.  Tears stung the corners of her eyes as terror coursed through her veins, but she remained hidden as her mother said.

Mother held her chin up high, “I evaded you long enough.”  She’d lost her mask.  Wisps of dark hair blew gently away from her face.

He laughed, reaching into the bag he carried across his chest.  “Not much good it did you.”  He removed something that glittered in the sunlight.

Mother stepped away, ready to run.  But she didn’t want to flee and leave her daughter with the Trackers.  Even the boy was dangerous, but there were no other options.  When the man moved to wrap the gleaming metal around her wrists, Mother lifted her foot and stabbed the man in the leg with the spikes of her shoe.  A wild howl tore from his throat. The nails pierced his skin, leaving long deep holes in his flesh.  Blood covered his shin in long lines where metal met flesh and blackened blood poured down his leg.

The dark haired boy came to life.  He moved faster than she could see.  Before her mother got in another shot, she heard her hit the ground. A gush of air was forced out of her lungs when she fell on the packed snow.

The fat man reached for Mother, jerking her to her feet.  “You’ll pay for that.” Without another word, his hand collided with the side of her face.  The sound filled Kahli’s ears.  Her tiny stomach lurched within her, her small eyes wide and frightened.  His hand landed squarely on her mother’s jaw with such force that her head turned to the side.

Mother didn’t scream.  She just closed her eyes.  When she reopened them, she glared at him.

The man ignored her glare, and cast his gaze at every tree in the clearing.  The holes in his leg had already healed, but his pants were stained with blood.  The boy watched, standing nearby, his eyes scanning the trees.

He addressed the boy, his dark eyes searching the gleaming forest. “She doubled back.  There has to be a reason.”

The boy was quiet for a moment and then asked, “Do you think she has young nearby?”

Mother didn’t move.  Her expression remained the same.  Kahli’s heart was beating so fast within her tiny body that she thought they would hear it.  She stuffed her mittens into her mouth to keep from crying.  They’d find her.  They knew she was there.  Hidden at their feet.

The man nodded, his lips snaked into a grin, “It stands to reason…”

The boy stepped forward and began to move methodically through the clearing.  Looking between the branches in the frozen thickets, his ungloved hands pushed through thorns, bending back the branches.  The ice-covered brambles slid against his pale skin, but he did not bleed.  He continued pulling vines and branches, parting them and peering into the shadows until he was next to the exact place Kahli was hiding.

Kahli held her breath.  Her mother’s eyes were glued to the boy’s back as his hands were dangerously close to her daughter.  Mother’s entire body was stiff.  She swallowed hard, watching the boy get closer and closer.

Kahli’s heart slammed into her ribs.  Air wouldn’t come. She couldn’t breathe. The boy crouched, parting the thicket and bent down low.  He was standing just above her, his hands right above her head.  And then he stopped.  His blue eyes stared into the dark place where Kahli hid deep within the thicket.

His eyes locked on hers.

Kahli’s small body was frozen.  A scream was stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.  Her teeth were biting into her mitten, and she couldn’t stop.  Every part of her wanted to scream.

His blue eyes remained fixed on hers, but the boy didn’t move.  He simply stared. She wasn’t certain if he saw her among the shadows or not.  After a moment he turned away.  The branches flew back into place, concealing Kahli.

“There’s nothing here, but frozen thorns.  Whatever she had is gone,” the boy stated.

The man grunted, displeased.  “Then find her.  You know the situation we’re in.  Bringing in a wild female and her young would fix everything.  We’d be welcomed back by the Queen herself.”  He beamed, imagining it.

The boy nodded, dark hair falling in his eyes, “Yes, Sir.”  And he took off between the trees, tracking down a girl that was hidden right in front of him.”

BUY BANE: VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE #1 TODAY

         

-Excerpt from VAMPIRE APOCALYPSE: BANE (Book #1) by H.M. Ward, a paranormal romance novel.  Release date: June 15, 2012.  Please note that this is not the final copy.  Changes may be made prior to publication.
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Shattering the Myth: You CAN use facebook to promote your book! (marketing basics for writers and authors)

I was in YAlitchat on twitter the other night and won a book for SHATTERING THIS MYTH:

YOU CAN’T PROMOTE YOUNG ADULT BOOKS ON FACEBOOK.  <–BUSTED!

I honestly didn’t realize that was a myth.  Then we started talking about it and I realized there’s a simple reason why I didn’t buy into the myth.

I have over 43,000 facebook fans and have sold over 15,000 YA DEMON KISSED books in less than a year.  

And I focused entirely on facebook.

As the Tweeting rolled along, I noticed that there are a TON of writers out there who don’t know marketing basics.  And why would you?  You’re a writer, not a marketing maniac.

But in today’s market you have to be both.  This is the reason I didn’t go the traditional publication route.  The publishers and agent asked me - how do we convert the facebook fans to buyers?  I couldn’t believe they asked me that.  I couldn’t believe they didn’t know.  That’s their job.  How did I know, and they didn’t?  I pulled my manuscript and walked away.  And I haven’t looked back.

The marketing world is shifting, and it’s not only affecting publishers.  I’m self-employed and have been for years.  Learning these things is so important.  Even if you are traditionally published.  No one – NO ONE – can promote your books better than you.  Period.

So, how do you learn these things?  Most of us didn’t go to school for marketing.  And learning by trial and error is expensive.  And stupid.  Well, guess what? There are easy ways to avoid costly mistakes.

BOOKS.  You’re gonna slap yourself in the head when you realize how much you can learn on your own.  When a person first looks at marketing there is a total information overload.  If you look for marketing books on Amazon or in BAM – there are TONS OF THEM.  There are words you’ve never heard before.  And what kind of marketing information do you need?  Traditional?  Networking? Gorilla?  If you’re like me your first thought was, WTF is Gorilla Marketing?

Marketing as a whole appears daunting, but it isn’t once you are aware of the basics.  And that’s what I’m going to talk about.

There will be a series of blog posts about some of the basics of marketing, including stuff about social media, expensive/stupid things that don’t work, and marketing techniques that are so simple – you can do them right away.  And you can use this info if you are traditionally published or Indie.

So what’s MARKETING anyway?  Marketing is what you do to promote your book.  It’s the means of getting your ads in front of people.  Think of an ad as a static means of communicating that you have a book for sale.  Marketing is active.  It’s how you go about promoting your book.  See the ‘ing’?  That infers you’ll be doing something.  Don’t expect money to fall from the sky just because you have a pretty ad.  Life doesn’t work that way.

Since this topic scares the hell out of people, I’ll start small.  Think of it as an introduction to help you understand this crazy world of promotion.  If the word marketing makes you feel queesy, think of it as ‘making your book visible to the public.’  Because that’s what you will be doing.

While we are talking about marketing, you will read the term ‘channel.’  Each ‘channel’ is a different means of advertising your work.  Examples of different channels are: a movie theater ad, a newspaper ad, and a cardboard display at Barnes & Noble.  Typically, marketing is done most effectively using three different channels simultaneously.

Each is channel different.  Each channel targets differently.  There is statistical information for each, including typical response rates.  Based on what I was hearing on Twitter, I wanted to talk about some of the most common marketing channels used by authors.  It should help you consider what is effective and reconsider what’s not.

PRINT ADS: PHYSICALLY PRINTING AN AD

Think twice about doing anything in print.  This includes but isn’t limited to postcards, mailings, billboards, newspaper ads, etc.  You can tell it’s a print ad if the marketing campaign requires you to physically print something.

Print is very costly with a low return rate – and that is assuming you created your ad with a call to action, correct prompts, and a deadline.  How low?  Say you do a mailing.  You make a pretty little postcard and mail those babies.  The cost is $100′s of dollars, and that is assuming you create your cards and mail them yourself to a small number of people (1,000 or less).

What is the statistical response rate on snail mail?  1%-3%.  That’s it.  Using snail mail to entice people to buy your book is expensive.  Example: A mailing of 1,000 pieces can easily cost you $1 a piece.  That’s $1,000 that you would need to recover before turning a profit.  Mathematically, a 3% response rate on your book is 30 people.  The average author is making $1.14 profit on a book, which means – if you did well – that you made $34.20 from that mailing.  And honestly, 3% is high and is usually from a targeted mailing – not a wide spread, un-targeted mailing.  (We’ll get into target demographics in another post).  Do the math.  How many books would you have to sell to make that postcard print run and mailing financially worth it?  The math doesn’t add up.  And any time the math doesn’t add up – DON’T DO IT!  This promotion cost you -$965.80.  That sucks.  And it doesn’t have to be that way.

Some people will cry and ask - Well, what else is there?  Marketing is expensive and return rates suck on everything!  Yeah, that’s just not true.  Some very effective marketing is very cheap.  Most people think of mail when they go to promote their book, because they get so much crap themselves.  But there are better ways to spend your money.

Come back later for the next marketing post: Marketing for Writers & Authors Part I: Making the Most of Your Online Presence.  It’s simple, easy, and cheap and/or free.  And you can do it right away!

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Review of YA Paranormal Romance Novel: Satan’s Stone by H.M. Ward

Here is a review from the latest book in the DEMON KISSED series by H.M. Ward - SATAN’S STONE.  It sums up the book very well without spoiling anything.  And her idea of PETA approved vampires is hysterical!

5 STARS – 1/31/12

“Wow. I literally read this entire book in one sitting (if you don’t count getting up to have dinner). Satan’s Stone is the 4th book in the Demon Kissed series, and they are only getting better.

One of my favorite characteristics of the Demon Kissed series in the last 3 books was their ability to completely blindside me, and Satan’s Stone kept up the trend. I absolutely loved the fact that one minute I was sure beyond a doubt about something, and the next I would be proven completely wrong with some fun new plot twist. The story continues to be excitingly original and unpredictable.

Prehaps even a little more than the other Demon Kissed books, Satan’s Stone has a dark side that I absolutely revere. I’ve had my fill of books bursting with fluff and rainbows: a few examples being supernatural guys who leave because they’re “afraid of hurting” people, no main characters ever getting hurt (very unrealistic), and vampires suitable for PETA. Satan’s Stone makes my heart race with everything from the heartless demons, to the black magic, to the edge-of-death experiences that are an all too common experience for the characters.

The one and only complaint I have for Satan’s Stone is a small one. As she did in some of the previous books, the main character Ivy continues to lie and hide things from the people that care about her and it does get to be a little irritating. Other than that, Ivy continues to be the refreshingly strong and powerful heroine that I love.

Satan’s Stone was an amazing addition to the Demon Kissed series and I enjoyed it thoroughly. If you haven’t read the first 3 books, I highly recommend that you do! I am dying to read the next book, which comes out in March.” -Linny Milliron via Goodreads

I want to personally thank everyone who takes the time to write a review.  It’s beyond awesome when a reader and a writer connect, and one of the ways that happens is when people take the time to write detailed comments like this one.  It lets you know the flavor of the books without giving anything away.  Thank you so much Linny!  And everyone else who has written reviews!  This series wouldn’t be a bestseller without awesome people like you!

The final book in the DEMON KISSED series – THE 13th PROPHECY – will be released March 6, 2012.

To purchase the 4th book in the DEMON KISSED series, click here.

For more information about this series, please visit: www.DemonKissed.com.

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