• E-reader, here I come …

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    Well, I have finally decided to break down and get an e-reader. Hello, twenty-first century. Jennifer is finally here. LOL.

    I know, I know, I’m a little late to the party since e-readers have exploded in popularity in the last few years. But hey, better late than never, right? Plus, I think it’s kind of ironic that I’ve done some e-publishing with the Bigtime series, and I don’t actually have an e-reader myself. So I have decided to treat myself to an e-reader for Christmas.

    Why? Well, for a couple of reasons. Mainly because it seems like there are more and more e-books and e-stories that I want to read, especially when it comes to prequels, 99-cent stories, and things like that authors are doing to tie-in with their books. I have e-book reading apps on my computer, but I never actually sit and read on the computer because it’s just not as comfortable as curling up on the couch with a book. And hopefully, this will also help eliminate some of the books and clutter from my house.

    Don’t get me wrong. I’m probably always going to like paper books better, especially when it comes to actually going to a bookstore/library and browsing through all the titles. Nothing’s ever going to replace that for me. But the convenience and portability of an e-reader has a lot of appeal to me.

    Right now, I’m leaning toward getting a Kindle Fire, just because I want something that will let me read e-books and surf the web. That’s really all I plan on using it for. No apps, no games, nothing like that simply because I never seem to have time for stuff like that. Plus, with the $199 price I don’t feel like that’s too much for me to invest in case I don’t like it. Although I am going to look at the reviews for the Fire over the next few weeks before making a final decision.

    I’m also considering the NOOK Tablet, but at $249, it is a little more than the Fire. I also wonder if I order the Fire whether or not I will get it in time for Christmas, since it looks like they are filling orders on a first-come, first-serve basis, but that’s not a big deal to me.

    What about you guys? If you have an e-reader, what kind do you have? What do you like/not like about it? If you don’t have an e-reader, are you planning to get one?

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    A Karma Girl Christmas e-story …

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    Some of you may have seen this already, but I have released a new Bigtime e-story. It’s called A Karma Girl Christmas.

    Why did I decide to do this e-story? Basically, for fans of the Bigtime series. I’ve gotten so many nice comments about the books/series over the years, and several people have asked me if I planned to write more books/stories in the series. So I decided to write A Karma Girl Christmas so fans of the Bigtime books could read at least one more story in the world. Plus, I just thought it would be fun to write a holiday story.

    A Karma Girl Christmas is a 14,000-word story. It’s told from the first-person point of view of Carmen Cole, aka Karma Girl, the heroine of the first book in the series, Karma Girl. Here’s a little more about the story:

    It’s Christmas time in Bigtime, New York, but society reporter Carmen Cole isn’t in the mood to celebrate since her husband, Sam, has to go on a business trip and might not make it home for the holiday. But Carmen has plenty to keep her busy, since she moonlights as Karma Girl, a member of the Fearless Five superhero team.

    On Christmas Eve, Carmen, as Karma Girl, is assigned to guard toys, clothes, food, and more that are intended for needy children and their families. But an ubervillain also has his eye on the toys and plans to steal and then sell them to the highest bidder. Carmen will have to use all her empathic powers just to stay alive, not to mention make sure Christmas is a happy one for all the kids who are counting on her. It’s all in a night’s work for a superhero …

    Note: This is a 14,000-word story that takes place after the events of Jinx, the third book in the Bigtime paranormal romance series. It can also be read as a stand-alone holiday story.

    A Karma Girl Christmas is available as a 99-cent download on the following sites:

    Amazon

    Barnes & Noble

    All Romance Ebooks

    Smashwords

    You can read an excerpt of the story here.

    A big thanks go to Wheezley, my friend, Nick, and all the folks in my critique group for taking the time to read the story and offering their advice and suggestions, as well as my copyeditor/proofreader for her work on the story. The cover was designed by Kimberly Killion of HOT DAMN Designs, and Michael Zapp of ZappTek once again did the e-formatting.

    I had a lot of fun writing the story, and it was nice to revisit the characters from the Bigtime books. If the e-story does well, I may try to write some more Bigtime e-stories, maybe one from Fiona Fine’s point of view. We’ll see how it goes.

    Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the return trip to Bigtime with A Karma Girl Christmas. Happy reading!

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    Mythos Academy updates …

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    So I thought I would do an update post for the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series and let everyone know what’s going on with the series:

    1) Kiss of Frost, the second book in the series, will be released on Nov. 29. Gwen and the gang are back for more adventures and run-ins with Reapers of Chaos and mythological monsters, this time during the academy’s annual Winter Carnival weekend. Here’s the back cover copy for the book:

    Logan Quinn was trying to kill me. My Spartan classmate relentlessly pursued me, swinging his sword at me over and over again, the shining silver blade inching closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes practically glowed with the thrill of battle …

    I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Academy, and I have no idea how I’m going to survive the rest of the semester. One day, I’m getting schooled in swordplay by the guy who broke my heart — the drop-dead gorgeous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invisible archer in the Library of Antiquities decides to use me for target practice. And now, I find out that someone at the academy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword — with Logan’s help — I just might die by the sword …

    You can read an excerpt here. The book is up for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other booksellers.

    2) I’m happy to announce that some foreign rights have been sold for the Mythos Academy series. Shown with this post is the German cover for Touch of Frost. I’m not sure when this will be released, but I’m guessing sometime in 2012. I’ll let you know when I get more information.

    3) Dark Frost is the title for the third book in the series, and it is set for a June 2012 release. The on-sale date will be May 29, 2012.

    4) I’ll be doing a blog tour for Kiss of Frost, starting in mid-November and probably running through the first week or two of December. I’ll link to the various posts here on my blog.

    5) I have bookmarks for Kiss of Frost now, along with the ones for Touch of Frost, so if you want some of those, send me an e-mail to find out how to get them. Please note that I ask folks to send me a self-addressed stamped envelope with two stamps — 88 cents — on it. I ask overseas folks to include at least $2 worth of U.S. postage or international postage coupons with their return envelope. This helps me cover postage costs.

    Those are all the updates that I have at this time. I’ll post more information here on the blog as it becomes available.