Penned Con Re-Cap and Book Releases

Oh goodness…a week ago today, I arrived in St. Louis for Penned Con. I have no words to describe what this event means to me or how the charity the proceeds go to  touch my heart.

I had a looooong six hour drive to get to St. Louis. I know what you’re thinking…six hours isn’t that bad and you would be right. I’m one of those, however, where the motion of the car is soothing. My parents used to say that when going on trips, I would be asleep before we got out of the driveway.
Anywhoooo…the arch coming into view makes the solitary car ride worth it.

 

 

The first official day of Penned Con was a learning day for authors and assistants. There were panels and discussions, but there was also a chance to meet and mingle with fellow authors who you might not get to see because, yeah…Penned is busy busy busy.
Table set up began early in the evening.
That was followed by a Murder Mystery game with authors and VIP’s. I liked to think of it at, Live Action Clue. What do you get when you put a bunch of authors and readers together to solve a murder? Over-active imaginations that come up with plot twists that don’t come close to solving a “murder”. lol

Friday and Saturday were filled with books, Readers, authors, more books, and parties. I got to see author friends I only get to see at signings, readers who never fail to ask when the next book is out and those who are as new to me as I am to them, but we all come together to share our love of books and reading.

Did I mention that Book 3 of the Veil Series, Veiled Hearts Revealed released on Friday and Breathe Me to Life released on Tues. Both books made their print debut at Penned Con.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H1MHHKX

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H4KDZ4Y

Both books are still available for $0.99.
Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

Cover Reveal

I am so excited to share with you the cover of Veiled Hearts Revealed~The Veil Book 3.
Veiled Hearts Revealed, Coipeail and Celine’s story, is the last book in The Veil series. It will be making its print debut at Penned Con. This series has been a labor of love. What started out as a NaNoWriMo project went on to be a 3 book story and now it’s time to visit with new characters and see new worlds.
Here is the Pre-Order link if you would like to see how Celine and Coipeail’s story unfolds. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H1MHHKX

Cóipeáil, the King’s shadow, never knew who he was beyond his bond to his Fae father. Born and bred to be his master’s mirror and guardian, when he was sent to find a human female, he didn’t know what it would mean to fall in love with her.

Hidden away on an island thought lost, Celine found paradise with a man she’d never known she wanted. But, love wasn’t enough, not for the bonds of fealty her lover obeyed, or to keep him with her when he doubted his own worth.

Her heart bruised by rejection, Celine set her course on a new path, determined not to let his absence break her. When he returns, wanting a chance to rekindle the flame between them and prove that his love for her was never in question, only his worth for the beautiful woman he wants as his mate. Will the feelings she’s never relinquished for him be enough to bind them back together?

Is love enough to bring a human and a Fae together for eternity?

I’d like to thank Suzanna Lynn of Funky Book Designs for working her magic! I would also like to thank the Eclectic Bard Books team for working to get this book to press.

Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

Reaching the End of the Tunnel

Ladies and Gentlemen…I wrote the lovely words, “The End” on the final chapter of the final book in the Veil Series. Veiled Heart Revealed is in the hands of my editor.

What does this mean? Well, I’ll tell ya. It means, barring any surprise hurdles, I will have print copies of Veiled Hearts Revealed AND Breathe Me to Life at Penned Con! Woot Woot!  I will need to discuss with my publisher when the release of ebooks will be. So, I’m not going to give you a date on that….yet.

The back cover for Breathe Me to Life is in the process of being created, and the blurb for Veiled Hearts Revealed has been sent in to be placed on the back of its cover. Things are falling into place…yay.

What am I doing while I wait for my edits you ask. I’m doing some research for my next short story. I’m researching shifter species that don’t get enough love and attention. What’s your favorite little known/talked about shifter?

Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

School. Has. Started!

It’s that time of year where the dulcet tones of children and teens everywhere (at least in this part of the country) have turned into whining, and smiling, laughing faces turn into pouting ones. School is back in session!

To be fair, not all the whining is that of the kids. I admit I’ve been doing my fair share of whining about having to wake up earlier than I had to do as recently as last week. I’ve already had a morning of sleeping through alarms. It’s been an adjustment…coffee helps.

Anyway…here is the  update as to where I am in my writing.

Breathe Me to Life is off to the formatter. The back and spine for the cover is off to the cover magician.

Veiled Hearts Revealed is almost done being written. I have missed the deadline between my publisher and I. I will be talking with them about a release date soon-ish. The cover is done! I can’t wait to share it with all of you. I’ll do that when I have a definite release date. It’s so pretty.

In a little over 30 days, I will be heading to St. Louis for Penned Con! More on that later!

Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

 

WOTR Re-Cap and Moving Forward

It’s been almost two weeks since Writers on the River. I don’t have enough words to let you know how wonderful this event is. If you have the opportunity to go to it next year, I highly recommend you attend. The proceeds of this event go to the charity, Thistle Farms.

I had such a wonderful time there, it was hard to say goodbye to my fellow authors and to the readers. The energy at this event is such that, as a writer, I felt like my creativity received a much need boost of adrenaline, and my spirit felt renewed.

That being said, I did have to drop out of one of the projects that I had hoped to participate in. Unexpected life challenges necessitated my withdrawal, and the organizers were more than understanding…for that I am eternally grateful.

On August 12th, I get the rights to Breathe Me to Life back! I have spoken to my cover artist and not only is she working on the back cover for it, she has started working on the cover for the third and final book in the Veil Series. The title of which, in case you were wondering what I went with, is Veiled Hearts Revealed~The Veil Book 3. I hope to be able to share a sneak peek with you soon-ish.

Here are a few pics from WOTR…

 The custom made tea cup books created by Sarah Ahrens Mick

Author Group Photo

The following are fellow authors, wonderful reviewers, awesome readers, and a handsome cover model.

Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

 

Minute by Minute

It has been a while since I’ve posted here or on any social media platform. I want to thank my publisher, Eclectic Bard Books, for their endless patience.

There are times when the whirlwinds of life leave you tumbling through the air so fast and so far from what is your norm, that you don’t know which end is up. You can only get through the day, minute by minute, from one breath to the next, with the hope that the next day will be a better one. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s worse.

Friday, I will be heading to Peoria for the Writers On the River book signing. For the last two months my plans for this event have been in limbo. It wasn’t until Monday, that I was sure I was going to be able to go. My siblings, however, thought I should, because what will be will be. So, I thank them for this much appreciated respite.

My table will be short on swag, but I’ll have pens and magnets to give away. Aaaand I’ll have books! I hope you can stop by and say “hi”. I’d love to see you.

Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

 

Signing Season

My signing season is fast approaching. I cannot believe it is already past the half way mark of June. The year is half over people. How did that happen? Where did the time go when we weren’t looking?

This year I am only doing to events, Writers on the River and Penned Con. One of the things I love about these events is that their proceeds go to charities. This will be my third year going to these events. I cannot say enough about the heart and soul the organizers pour into them to make sure that the readers and writers have a wonderful experience.

The books I will have at Writers on the River are Beyond the Veil of Whispered Dreams and The Veiled Path to Destiny. Unfortunately, Breathe Me to Life will still be under contract with the Once Upon A Twisted Time box set. However, if you are able to make it Penned Con, the rights for that story will have been returned to me and I will have print copies there for sale. With luck and the grace of my muse, I will also have the third book in the Veil series at Penned Con for sale as well.

Ack! I need to get in touch with my cover artist!

Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

 

 

Distractions and Snippets

I’ve been working on Veiled Hearts or Veiled Hearts Revealed. I’m still bouncing around those two possible titles for the third book in my Veil Series. There is also the question of, since this is going to be a short story or novella, is it really book 3 or is it more book 2.5? These are just two of the random thoughts bouncing around my head and are not really helpful when trying to write.

The last week and a half has been full of distractions. The kind of distractions that don’t allow for sticking your head in the sand. Nope, the ostrich method was not an option…and I don’t mind telling you how much that sucked.

Every day I get a little more written. Not as much as I would like, but every word on the page is one more than was there before. Anyway, I thought I’d give you a brief, unedited, subject to change, snippet of Celine and Coipeail’s story. I’m not going to do a lot of these snippets for this story because it is going to be shorter than a full length book. This sneak peek is from chapter 1.

The Veil Book 2.5/3

Through the panes of beveled glass, the first streams of the morning’s light pierced the darkness of her room, cutting a swath between the twin curtains fluttering on the current of the wind flowing through the open window. A new day was about to begin. Lying beneath a multi-colored comforter, Celine found she no longer looked forward to uncovering new discoveries, but the day and her employees didn’t care about her current melancholy. The minutes and hours would continue to tick ever forward. Her staff had expectations that she would continue to garner business to ensure their healthy paychecks padded their pockets and checking accounts. She was needed, and yet…she wasn’t.

Raising her hands, she scrubbed her face, and groaned. “Alright, Celine. Enough of this pity party. Get your ass out of bed and get going.”

Her body and mind still at war about leaving the warmth of her bed, she laid there a bit longer until the fullness of her bladder, making itself known, settled the argument of whether or not to get moving. She threw back the covers and shivered as her feet made contact with the cold wood floor. Hurrying to the bathroom connected to her room, Celine’s ears listened in vain for sounds of her cousin, Daria, moving around, even though she knew she wasn’t here. Daria wasn’t even in the same realm, which just made the silence in the house that much louder. Shaking her head, Celine tapped down the maudlin feelings threatening to rise within her chest, and got on with the business answering the call of nature.

Stepping out of her room, the scent of freshly brewed coffee tickled her nose. “Thank the gods for whoever inspired the person who made programmable coffee makers.” © Jolanthe Aleksander 2108

Until next  week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

 

 

MPD-Pending

There are some weeks where you want to climb into a book and escape from the real world. This is okay, unless you are working on a couple of different deadlines and every minute of writing time you can squeeze into a day is essential to meeting said deadlines.

To meet these deadlines, I’ve been trying to work on two different stories at the same time. No, there is no way to get them mixed up. They are different sub-genres beneath the romance genre. On one hand, it’s sort of good to step into a different world when the one you’re working on is giving you fits. On the other hand, there’s a real possibility that I may develop multiple personality disorder before the summer is over. I’m sure one of my personalities will let you know my mental status then…or my publisher may let your know where my padded room is located. If you come to visit, I’ll be the one in the bedazzled, purple, hug-me jacket. A girl has to have her bling.

So, until next week…do what I wish I could take a week or so to do, and read a good book or two. Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe~

 

 

new direction

While working on the third Veil book, I had an eureka moment. It was a moment similar to one I had when working on Breathe Me to Life. This is a short  story. Not everything has to be shown or told…just the important bits that pertain to getting the story from point A to point B.

This little revelation, while awesome, also led to a couple of chapters being wiped out. That was a major ouch, but in looking at them, I wasn’t completely happy with them, and they were dragging the story out unnecessarily. But yeah…OUCH!

Sacrifice the word count for the sake of the story. The story is what is important. It’s a hard lesson to learn and to remember, but an important one.

Until next week…Happy Reading!

~Jolanthe Aleksander~