Category: Critique Partners

Serenya’s Song NEW COVER Reveal Party!

by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Critique Partners, Mysti Parker, Party, Pet the Cover, Serenya's Song

My friend and critique partner is having a cover reveal for her novel, Serenya’s Song, TONIGHT! Here’s the link and more information:

https://www.facebook.com/events/558913810796302/

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Serenya’s Song, Book Two of the stand-alone Tallenmere fantasy romance series, was born in April 2012. To better reflect its place as the darker middle-child of the series, cover artist Caroline Andrus and Mysti tore the original cover down and redesigned it! Special thanks goes to KY photographer Alicia Carlton and KY model Courtney Leigh Collins for providing a beautiful image for Serenya!

On Sunday, April 28 from 5-9 PM EST, Mysti wants to show off this new beautiful cover, so please join her for a night of prizes, games, music, and merriment! Share this event AND bring a friend!

Schedule/Prize List:

Cover Reveal, Blurb, Trivia / Weekend Spotlight OR Interview
Song & Excerpt
What’s Your Hobbit Name? / Notebook & Mug
Song & Excerpt
Add Your Own Caption / 4 E-Copies of Serenya’s Song
Song & Excerpt
Share the Cover / Signed Print of Serenya’s Song
Song & Excerpt
LIKE & Share / $25 Amazon Gift Card

Join the Party HERE: https://www.facebook.com/events/558913810796302/

To learn more about Serenya’s Song and the Tallenmere Series, visit Mysti’s Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4625596.Mysti_Parker

This book is so good, and you can bet I’ll be at the party!

 

 

A Ranger’s Tale New Cover Release Party

by Lindsey Loucks, posted in A Ranger's Tale, Critique Partners, Mysti Parker, Pet the Cover

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My lovely writer buddy and critique partner, Mysti Parker, has a new cover for her already released A Ranger’s Tale. It’s an amazing book. I loved it so much, I proclaimed myself the president of Mysti’s fan club.

 

So, to celebrate the new cover, she’s throwing a party tonight!! Here are the details:

 

The world of Tallenmere was born in January, 2011 with this first exciting story about Caliphany, an elven noblewoman who longs to leave her gilded cage, and Galadin, the half-elf former pirate who trains her to do just that. To better reflect its place in the burgeoning series and Caliphany’s choice between two good men, cover artist Caroline Andrus and I tore down the original cover to make room for a whole new look!

Join us for this exciting reveal party on Facebook, Friday, March 29 from 5-10 PM EST. Bring a friend, too. There do be prizes, mateys!

*$25 Amazon.com gift card

*Signed Print copy of A Ranger’s Tale

*And MORE!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE PARTY: https://www.facebook.com/events/103766896485420/

Blurb:

In the world of Tallenmere, an elven noblewoman longed to leave her gilded cage. A half-breed former pirate wanted nothing more than to escape his guilty past. Easier said than done…

High elf Caliphany Aranea leads an enviable life as King Leopold’s niece and daughter of Sirius, Leogard’s most famous wizard. Yet, being forced to follow in her father’s footsteps and being betrothed to a man she doesn’t even like makes her want a taste of life outside the city walls.

As a young boy, half-elf Galadin Trudeaux witnessed his parents’ death at the hands of pirates. After being raised by those same murderers and forced to do their bidding, he escaped and now lives an honest life as a sea merchant and ranger.

When two brutes at Leogard Harbor attempt to kidnap Caliphany while she dreams of faraway lands, Galadin comes to her rescue. Impressed by his skills, she asks him to train her as a ranger. Though he is hesitant at first to train a woman of her class, Caliphany’s hefty sack of gold finally persuades him. Unfortunately, her father is not amused, and the two must escape before Caliphany faces a forced marriage and Galadin faces a noose.

From that moment on, she and Galadin embark on an adventure of a lifetime. Only if they can survive the trials ahead, will they find a love that stands the test of time.

****

You can find the brand new version of A Ranger’s Tale with its shiny new cover at all major online bookstores, including:

Amazon.com

B&N

Smashwords

Lulu

All Romance eBooks

Coffeetime Romance

 

About the Author

Mysti Parker (pseudonym) is a full time wife, mother of three, and a writer. Her first novel, A Ranger’s Tale was published in January, 2011 by Melange Books, and the second in the fantasy romance series, Serenya’s Song, was published in April 2012. Book Three, Hearts in Exile, is expected to be born in the summer of 2013. Mysti reviews books for SQ Magazine, an online specfic publication, and is the proud owner of Unwritten, a blog recently voted #3 for eCollegeFinder’s Top Writing Blogs award. She resides in Buckner, KY with her husband and three children.

 

Mysti’s other writings have appeared in the anthologies Hearts of Tomorrow, Christmas Lites, and Christmas Lites II. Her flash fiction has appeared on the online magazine EveryDayFiction. She is currently a book reviewer for the online speculative fiction magazine SQ Mag and has served as a class mentor in Writers Village University’s six week free course, F2K.

 

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The Tallenmere Series:

A Ranger’s Tale

Serenya’s Song

Hearts in Exile (coming summer 2013)

www.melange-books.com

www.mystiparker.blogspot.com

Twitter: @MystiParker

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mysti-Parker/103786449704221

mystiparker@yahoo.com

 

Make Nice With Your Muse

by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Critique Partners, First Drafts, Ideas, Mood, NaNoWriMo, Sequels, Story Ideas, The Grave Winner, What Gifts She Carried, Word Count, Writing
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

No no NaNoWriMo. I won’t participate in you this year or next year or never but I will cheer for participants from the sidelines.

 

Why? I’m a slow writer, like 1000 words in three hours slow. I try not to stress about making things look pretty in a first draft, but I do anyway. Plus, I have to stop and picture what’s happening in my head. It’s like watching a movie in painfully slow motion.

 

But I’m using NaNoWriMo as inspiration to learn how to not worry so much and speed up the pictures. I’m also using it to get inspired to write after I get home from school. I used to think a sleepy brain tells sleepy stories, but a sleepy brain is the norm now, and sleepy brains still have stories to tell.

 

The story I should be telling is the sequel to The Grave Winner, but it’s still coming together in my head. So my muse has hammered another story into my brain (ow!) while I let the sequel percolate. That’s the story I’m working on now, and I feel like I should make nice with my muse in case it flips me the bird and abandons me.

 

This new story has ghosts in space, in case you’re wondering. It also has some sexy times in it because it’s not YA. The title is A Boy and Her Scratch.

 

The sequel to The Grave Winner is coming, I promise! Please don’t hate me, Fabulous Editor Melissa and my Must Have Critique Partners and my Totally Tubular beta reader and everyone else who has made it this far through my ramblings!

 

Anyone else have a muse? Anyone else pet it and feed it cookies so it won’t flip you the bird?

 

P.S. I voted today!

Dead of Eve

by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Book Birthday, Cassandra Marshall, Critique Partners, Dead of Eve, Pam Godwin, The Stars Fell Sideways

Halloween is almost here, and I have the perfect book for you to read to scare yourself senseless. It’s called Dead of Eve, and it’s written by Pam Godwin, who is one of my critique partners. Believe me when I say it’s a well-written thrill ride!

 

Here’s the cover and blurb:

A virus devastates humanity. Few men survive. The rest are monsters. The women are dead, except Evie.
Through a quirk in her genetics, she survives. When her physiology begins to evolve, she must come to terms with what she is and accept her role in finding a cure.
The mutated hunt her. The men brutalize her…except three. Cryptic warrior, contrite lover, caring enemy; they are fiercely protective of the last living woman, but divided in their own agendas. Can they come together to protect the only hope for humanity?
Evie must survive.
Content advisory: Guns. Gore. Sex.
You can buy it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble,  Smashwords, and Kobo.
Also, on a completely unrelated note, I have the winner of The Stars Fell Sideways by Cassandra Marshall ebook winner! If you entered the giveaway, I wrote your name on a slip of paper and picked one at random. And the winner is Pam! Congratulations, Pam. I’ll be emailing you shortly…

 

The LOOK Challenge

by Lindsey Loucks, posted in Crescent Moon Press, Critique Partners, Jennifer Wells, Look Challenge, Salt In the Cupboard

My poor, neglected blog. Between work, the nonsense that is my immune system, and my overall laziness, I’ve been away far too long. *wags finger and give self a stern look*

Anyway, back in August, my Crescent Moon sister, Jennifer Wells, tagged me in the Look Challenge. Here are the rules:

  • Find the first usage of the word “look” in your work in progress and paste the surrounding paragraph(s) into your blog.
  • Invite as many people as you want to take part in the challenge with you.

So, here are a couple paragraphs of my romantic horror novella, Salt In the Cupboard:

As I take a step forward, the door bursts open. My heart leaps into my throat. I cry out. My cheeks heat at the surprised face of Ian Reese, my chemistry lab partner from last year. His hair has been shaved into a buzz cut, accentuating his sharp cheekbones and those blue eyes that shoot static to where my heart should be. A black t-shirt hugs every dip and curve of his muscles, and his jeans hang from his hips in a sexy peel-me-off kind of way. Holy. Cow.

“Alexis,” he says with a smile that could melt the sun. “How are you?”

“Ian.” I look away to mentally fan myself. “I’m great. You live here, too?”

“As of yesterday.” He juts his chin to his right. “Apartment twelve.”

“Twenty-six.”

He nods. We stand in awkward silence because I can’t think of anything else to say. Our date that never happened mixes through the cool air and hangs heavy with the clouds.

 

Not many people have seen this story, not even my beloved critique partners! I’ll explain why in an upcoming post, along with some BIG news!

I’m inviting everyone who sees this to participate in the Look Challenge. I’ll be LoOkInG for your post!