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Stop Piracy, Not Liberty

Good morning, folks. . and an especial hello and welcome to all the wonderful people stopping by on my book tour for FEARLESS, which kicks off. . well, right now!

I hope that you’ll hit all the stops on the tour and participate completely.  Today, though, I have to stand in support of all the sites that are black in protest of the proposed bills, SOPA and PIPA.

While the intentions of this bill are admirable, the consequences would be grave for everyone.  None of us like piracy.  We understand that Congress is attempting to protect us.  However, SOPA and PIPA would not end piracy; it would seriously cripple legit businesses and discourage job creation and growth.  Seriously, people. . we’re just maybe beginning to see the glimmers of hope in the midst of this economic midnight.  Do we need to intentionally do something that we know is going to extinguish those glimmers?

Some of the biggest sites and businesses on the internet are dark today in protest of the proposed legislation.  And AOL, eBay, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo! have all written a letter to Congress informing our lawmakers of their grave concerns.

If you want to know more about SOPA and PIPA (and you should), and if you want to sign the protest petition (and you should), go here.

I’ll happily see you back here for the rest of the tour.  I’ll catch you on Twitter and chat with you on Facebook. But for today, I’m standing down.

Welcome to the Tour!

My very first promotional tour for FEARLESS kicks off tomorrow.  I am so excited, and I hope you all are, too.

Since my book is exclusively at amazon.com and under the KDP Select program, we’re giving away a Kindle on this tour. Yes, a Kindle!

AND if you sign up for my newsletter at the tour site, you’ll receive a FREE copy of BREATHLESS, the second book in the King Series. (There’s a sneak preview here on the site. . .just to give you a taste of what you’ll be getting!)

So. . .what are you waiting for? GO over to Taking Time For Mommy and sign up! Enter!

See you on the tour!

New Cover!

Publishing a book, especially independently, requires flexibility and trust.  Flexibility, because what you think is going to work doesn’t always, and trust, because you sometimes have to bow to someone else’s expertise.

The process of publishing FEARLESS offered a steep learning curve.  Editing and formatting was one thing, but designing a cover was quite another.  Even with the most creative minds in my household, we didn’t really have a good grasp on what kind of cover sells books–particularly young adult e-books.

And so I am unveiling here the new and improved cover for FEARLESS. It was designed by Elizabeth Sharp, book cover artist extraordinaire.  (You can contact her here. ) Look for it as part of the website soon.

 

Marica’s Secret

One of the most mysterious characters in FEARLESS is the chemistry teacher, Marica Lacusta. So what’s her deal?

Tasmyn meets her new chem teacher on her first day in King.  Ms. Lacusta is a relative newcomer, too; she arrived in town the spring before the Vaughns moved. Right away, Tas finds Ms. Lacusta a little odd.  She emanates an intensity that just feels a little off.

It doesn’t take long, though, for Tas to realize that there is a very strong relationship between the teacher and Nell Massler. The nature of that relationship is a little harder to ascertain.  Nell seems possessive and jealous of Ms. Lacusta.  How Marica feels about Nell is still murky.

Tas learns a little bit about Marica over the course of FEARLESS, but we’ll definitely get to know her better in the next two books in the King series.  What’s going on with Marica and Nell?  Why did the chem teacher put together a special girls-only club? Why does she seem to have a special interest in Tasmyn?  And why can’t Tas hear her thoughts?

All these answers. . and more. . .will be revealed.

 

 

Reading Lark Interview

I am so excited about my very first author interview–where *I* am the author, that is!!–now available on Reading Lark.

Read the interview here.

It was so much fun to answer the questions that Andrea posed; they definitely made me think a little more deeply about some elements of my book.

I recommend Reading Lark for all of your book review needs–their recommendations are right on target.