New Release by Lynn Spangler: From Tragedy Comes Love

Hey there! This is brand new by fellow AP author Lynn Spangler. It's a short, sweet story available exclusively through Astraea Press!

About the story:

This story was written in memory of my mother. She influenced parts of the story. I hope after you read the story, that you appreciate the ending. I know my Mom is in Heaven looking down on me now. I love you, Mom!

Cover Reveal for Feudlings in Sight

Please help us celebrate Astraea Press's first cover reveal; my very own Fate on Fire novella, Feudlings in Sight! Available THIS Thursday on Astraea Press, Amazon, and all other major ebook retailers!

Blurb: Boys of war suck at romance.
Charity Delyle has lived in the shadow of her Prodigy cousin and his powerful Guard since the day she was born. And she doesn’t mind—really. Except that being in Hunter’s shadow means that he can’t see her. And she’d like that to change.
Hunter has one purpose in life: Protect the Prodigy, or die trying. That means a social life, school, and even Charity come last until the war is over. For the most part, he’s okay with that—he can lose everything if he has to…except his seer.
Starting at a new school should be much safer than living in a war-ravaged Carules headquarters. But this new school is different than the others. Friendships are forged and destinies are questioned, and Hunter’s decision could cost them all everything they've been hoping for.

Excerpt: “Okay, do you want to practice the ones we learned last week or just start new ones?” She had carefully color-coded the spell book with sticky tabs — spells they had mastered, spells they had practiced, spells that would come in handy one day — she was very organized. And if the Council ever found out she put sticky tabs in a book that was over three hundred years old, they would kill her completely dead.
“Learn as much as you can, Shane. Gonna be hard to find a place to practice in the mountains of Utah, surrounded by Normals.” Hunter idly traced spells in the air, letting them fizzle and die without igniting them.
“Well, alright.” Charity flipped to the red section — spells that would come in handy one day. She started at the top. “This one is called an Al-able.” The odd word rolled awkwardly off her tongue. “It’s like… it looks like it’s sort of a flat triangle of flames.”
Hunter and Shane both walked over, studying the spell in the book before tracing it slowly into the air. The spell wouldn't actually ignite until they lit it with the flames roiling through their blood, but they both wanted to make sure they could do it correctly so as not to explode them all to pieces or something.
 “No, no, Hunter. Less harsh lines. Softer.” Charity glanced down at the page and then up at Hunter’s disaster of an attempt. Sighing she laid the book on the metal next to her and pushed herself to her feet. She took Hunter’s hand, trying hard to ignore the way her own blood seemed to explode into flames. There’s no magic there, she told herself harshly. “Like this.” She led his hand through the spell until the air smoked and the image burned in front of them. She looked up, got caught in his gold eyes.
 He watched her, an unreadable look on his face.
 It made her heart stutter in her chest. Before he could say anything she dropped his hand. “Now try it on your own. I can’t do everything for you, you know.” Charity grinned playfully, dodging out of the way as he tried to push her over. She rescued the book from the twisted metal and perched, watching them expectantly. “Go. Do something.”
 Shane rolled his eyes. “Give the girl a book and she’s suddenly the boss.” He moved away several feet so he wouldn't accidentally ignite her. He’d done it before, and Charity didn’t relish the idea of it happening again.

Buy it here:
Amazon
Astraea Press

BIO: Wendy Knight was born and raised in Utah by a wonderful family who spoiled her rotten because she was the baby. Now she spends her time driving her husband crazy with her many eccentricities (no water after five, terror when faced with a live phone call, etcetera, etcetera). She also enjoys chasing her three adorable kids, playing tennis, watching football, reading, and hiking. Camping is also big: her family is slowly working toward a goal of seeing all the National Parks in the U.S. You can usually find her with at least one Pepsi nearby, wearing ridiculously high heels for whatever the occasion may be. And if everything works out just right, she will also be writing. Twitter: @wjk8099 Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyKnight Blog: www.writethroughthenoise.blogspot.com Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7009940.Wendy_Knight a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post with Kelly Martin!

Last week I participated in a book blast to celebrate The Deception of Devin Miller. I asked Kelly to come back so we could get to know her a little better. She's doing a blog tour to celebrate her new book, and it's all about the lists! Check it out!

I want to thank Wendy for having me on her blog today. She’s one of my besties from Astraea Press and a sweet lady. I’m on a tour talking about my new book, THE DECEPTION OF DEVIN MILLER. I decided to make this tour all about lists (because I like lists ;) )

Since Devin is a teen novel, I wanted to write my top five favorite teen movies. So… here ya go…

TWO WEEKS until Feudlings in Sight is released!!

I've been a busy girl since Feudlings released in August. The sequel, Feudlings in Flames, has been in editing and is waiting for it's turn to come out (September 3!!), and I wrote a short novella to go along with them -- a peak into Hunter and Charity's lives before Ari even comes along (although she does have a cameo. Shhhh! Don't tell!)

I can't release the cover yet, but I CAN release the back cover blurb. So here it is! The novella will be available on August 1 wherever ebooks are sold!

AP Press Thanksgiving Blog Hop!

*********** WINNER - Amy Cavenaugh!!!********* Send me your address and I'll mail this out!

Hey! So this year some of my Astraea Press author friends are doing a Thanksgiving blog hop. If you want to hop backward, Nell is sending everyone my way. How fun is that? And I wanted in. So...tada! Here it is!

Five things I'm thankful for: 

• My awesome family. My kids are amazing, my parents, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, in-laws -- They're all incredible. I'd be lost without them. 

• My husband - Yes, he's part of my family, but he gets his own category because he's literally the best husband ever. He works ten hours a day, makes dinner, and does all the grocery shopping, as well as help with the kids and put up with my....strangeness. There's no other word for it. 

• My insane imagination - K this one is a mixed blessing. I love how I can daydream about anything, anytime. This can also be a bad thing, if, say, I'm supposed to be paying attention to something else. Also, thanks to my insane imagination I have some of the most terrifying nightmares ever. BUT - terrifying nightmares can make great stories (after I stop shaking like a small dog)!

•  Facebook - Before you think I'm completely insane, hear me out. I have daily conversations with cousins I haven't seen since we were kids. I know friends' kids names and what they look like even if they live clear across the country. Facebook allows me to develop deeper relationships with so many more people that I would have otherwise lost.

• Writing - It truly is my escape. All those daydreams I was telling you about? They bounce around in my head til I write them down. When I'm upset or angry or so happy I'm bordering on obnoxious, I write. I love to let others read my work and drag...er...bring them into my worlds. I love to create characters that I would love to be and situations I'd love to read about. 

Which neatly leads me into why I'm so grateful for my readers. Yes, I could write my stories. Yes, I could read my own stories, but they don't truly come to life until I can share them with others. And when I want to quit, when doubt completely takes over and I'm positive I'm the worst writer on the planet, it's my readers who remind me of what writing is really about - sharing stories with those I love. And also, they remind me that quitting isn't an option, which I am also grateful for. 

I am also grateful for Astraea Press, for offering me the contract for Feudlings, a story about two magical teenagers, Ari and Shane.Ari has been hunting Shane since she could throw her first spell. Now she’s falling in love with the nemesis she is prophesied to kill – until Shane tries to kill her first. It comes out in March 2013!!!

NOW - leave a comment below AND follow my blog and I'll let rafflecopter choose one winner of a signed copy of Shadowcry by Jenna Burtenshaw and a matching bookmark!The contest ends November 23rd.

AND THEN hop on to the next stop -   Lindsay Down's Murders and Mysteries

My Big News!

If you read my last couple of posts, you know the story. I was about to quit, but fate had other plans...well, here are the details, now that THE CONTRACT IS SIGNED!! *passes out*

Hubs had been sick all day. It was 10:30 pm, and I was so tired, I was just playing a Facebook game, waiting until I was tired enough to sleep (sleep and I...have our issues). I saw that I had an email, so I clicked over. It was Stephanie Taylor from Astraea Press, saying that they loved my book. The contract was attached. I thought, hmm. Cool, and went back to playing my game.
About ten minutes later, it hit me. Wait, WHAT?! I fell out of my chair. I climbed back into my chair and re-read the email, getting shakier by the second. And Hubs was unconscious, completely un-wakeupable (yes, that's a word). Luckily, I had Facebook and my iwritenetwork friends, so I told all of them. And then I didn't sleep.
Fast forward a few days, and I'm doing all my research, comparing royalty rates and company reviews, stalking authors that write for each company  (I had a second publisher offer, after I told them Astraea had offered...ya know what, it's a long story. Just see here), and I kept telling my Hubs, I know I need to weigh pros and cons, but I really just like Astraea. That's who I feel I should go with. Part of it was that the emails to Stephanie were super-fun, more like I was talking to a friend than a potential holder-of-my-life-in-her-hands.
Hubs, of course, agreed that I should do whatever I felt was right. But I did more research, more stalking, more praying and weighing. And on Monday, October 1, I signed my contract, and my first book, Feudlings, is slated to come out in March 2013!!!