Feudlings is on sale for .99!

So...you know my little debut novel that is almost 2 years old? WELL. It's on sale for the first time ever. My little award winning Feudlings is only .99 pennies for a limited time! If you haven't gotten it yet...what are you waiting for?!

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Memes!

I've been entertaining myself lately creating memes for my books. I already had some that the fabulous P.S. Cover Design and Author Services created for me, too. I think memes might be my new favorite thing :) Also, I have absolutely no idea how to say meme.

Meet The Character Monday--Neveah

Neveah is the very first friend Ari makes when she gets to her new school in Park City in Feudlings. I adore her. People ask all the time who inspired my characters, and most of them have a little of someone I know in them. But not Nev. She's all her own, and she and Livi nearly took over the story AND they've found their way into my Riders of Paradesos series, too. She's spunky, fiery, a flirt, and yet she has no desire at all to be tied down to some boy. She's got goals in life and despite a pretty hard childhood, she's upbeat and doesn't judge.

Meet Nev:

Name: Neveah

Age: 17

Book/Series: Feudlings/Fate on Fire with cameos in Warrior Innocent

Job: Student, friend maker, fiercely loyal sidekick. Driver of getaway cars

Hometown: Saint George, Utah

Family: Nev's dad died when she was young. She has one older brother and her mom. They live with Livi and Livi's mom to help make ends meet, so Nev and Livi are more like sisters than best friends.

Appearance: 5'5", African-American. Big brown eyes, long black hair in hundreds of braids. Slender but is definitely not the athletic type.

Best Friend: Nev is insanely popular. She makes friends with everyone, and she's not afraid to keep people in line. She's very close with Ari and Charity and Hunter and Shane, but Livi holds this girl's best friend spot. They were raised together and they held tight to each other when life got hard.

Meet the Character Monday -- Will!

Will was inspired by my imaginary twin brother growing up. My siblings are all lots older than me, and there weren’t a lot of kids in our neighborhood, so I invented a brother to play with. All these long years later, I finally had an opportunity to bring that imaginary brother to life in Will. He’s strong, loyal, caring, funny and sarcastic. Even though he's trapped in a colony, hunted by his own family, and unwilling to put his personal life first, he's never bitter. He is the tie that holds Ari to her humanity when she feels like she's a monster.

"I'm an uber-powerful warrior. I don't need a babysitter. I need a brother who reminds me that I'm not a monster. Who loves me and always has my back. Who reminds me that I still have hope. If not for you, I would be lost. Remember that, Will." ~ Ari, Feudlings in Smoke

This is how I picture Will in my head, except with red and black hair

Meet Will:

Name: William Langley Delacour

Age: 27

Book Series: Fate on Fire/Feudlings in Smoke

Job: Computer Programmer. Will owns his own company and employs most of his colonists. He's also Guard to the Edren Prodigy, his sister Ari. 

Hometown: He was born in Pennsylvania and lived there until he was 17, when he refused to fight in the war and the Family threw him out and then started hunting him. He made his home in a protected colony in Washington, where no one but Ari can get in or out without a saldepement spell.

Appearance: 6'1". Lanky, with wild red and black hair and brown eyes. 

Best Friend: Ari, first. Dani, although he's in love with her and can't admit it. And Ward, the colony's most powerful healer.

Girlfriend: Dani, or at least he would like her to be, but the war and protecting Ari comes first.

Meet the Character Monday--Charity!!

Ready to meet our resident Seer? When I created Charity, I basically put every single thing I've ever wanted in a best friend into her. She's incredibly loyal. She only sees the good in people, and she never gives up on them, no matter how hard they push her away. Plus, she's kind and sweet, but she has a killer sense of humor that you never see coming. And she won't back down, even from Hunter's temper. This girl definitely has a backbone!

Her only flaw is that she's been told her whole life that she's a worthless seer. That she has no real magic. And it takes Ari to show her that she's probably the most powerful seer ever, she just, ironically, can't see it.

Meet Charity:

Name: Charity Delyle

Age: 17

Book Series: Fate on Fire/Feudlings in Smoke

Job: Student. Seer. Cousin to the Prodigy. Best friend. Mediator when Hunter and Ari try to kill each other.

Hometown: Detroit, Michigan.

Family: She was taken from her family when she was a baby and raised by the Carules Council. Her parents gave her up because they were so ashamed that she had no magical ability, and they named her Charity after the seer who had the prophesy of the war and refused to try to stop it. She is Shane's cousin, although they're super close--more like sister and brother.

Appearance: 5'6", super slender. Big silver eyes, white blond hair.

Best Friend: Before Ari, she had many friends but not a best friend. Nev and Olivia were her closest friends, except for Hunter and Shane and they had to be. But once Ari came, she quickly took the spot and stayed there for forever.

Boyfriend: Eventually, Hunter, although it takes super extreme measures before he'll realize that protecting Shane and following the war isn't the only thing in life he can have.

Meet the Character Monday--Hunter!!

Hunter is quite possibly my most popular male character. He's just a little bit bad boy, super gruff, says it like it is, and isn't afraid of anything--except failing Shane and losing Charity.

The reason I love his popularity so much is because his personality is based on my husband. Almost down to a T (I'm totally not sure where that phrase comes from so I'm not positive I'm using it correctly). Hunter is obsessed with football--watching, playing, talking about it. He drives a big black truck and he's Ari's favorite person in the world to drive insane.

But Hunter has to be larger than life. He's the Guard to the Carules Prodigy, after all. He has to be huge and threatening and imposing and all that scary stuff, even if he has a heart of gold.  So I drew inspiration for his character from Heath Miller, my favorite Tight End ever (He plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers, in case you were wondering). My husband pictures him more like Chris Hemsworth. So I'm posting both for you to see :)

You be the judge

Name: Hunter Millen

Age: 17

Book/Series: Feudlings side character and has his own book--Feudlings in Sight/Fate on Fire series

Hometown: Edgewood, New Mexico/Detroit, Michigan

Family: His dad died when he was 12. But Hunter was taken from his family when he was very young and raised by the Council. He snuck in visits and phone calls to his mom, little brother and little sister, all of whom make appearances in Feudlings in Flames.

Appearance: 6'1", super broad shoulders. He's got golden eyes and short blond hair.

Best Friend: Shane Delyle. Even though he's sworn to protect him as his Guard, Hunter and Shane have been best friends since they were really young. Shane drives Hunter nuts sometimes, but he's always there when Shane needs him--no matter what.

Girlfriend--Charity Delyle. Shane's cousin and their seer. Hunter and Charity fight their feelings until the war is over, and it takes almost losing her completely before Hunter will finally admit he's in love with her. But he fights to get her back and swears to never let her go again.

Meet the Characters Monday--Ari!

I'm starting this new thing on my blog. Every Monday I'll introduce you to one of my characters. I stole the idea from my sweet friend R.K. Grow. You can check out her blog here.

So OF COURSE my first character is going to be Ari. She's the one who started it all, right? Without Ari, there would be no Feudlings. Without Feudlings, I wouldn't have had the confidence to write Warrior Beautiful. So it only makes sense that we begin with her.

Ari was born because I was reading my two daughters a story about a princess who was trapped in a tower. Instead of rescuing herself, the princess asked a dragon to go get a BOY who then climbed in the window of the tower and helped the princess climb back out. I was SO ANNOYED that I stewed about this for days, and my stewing became a daydream about a girl who was tough enough to beat ALL THE BOYS.

Ari.

And how I love her. When I was writing Ari, I borrowed her strength. When the lady at the bank yelled at me, instead of running off to hide (which I normally do), I yelled back. I stood up for myself. I had a backbone.

SO. Meet Ari

Full Name: Arianna Delacour
Age: 17
Book/Series: Feudlings/Fate on Fire
Job: Edren Prodigy--Strongest sorcereress to ever live. Has to kill or be killed by the Carules Prodigy to end a three-hundred-year war. Also, high school student.
Hometown: She has a permanent home in Pennsylvania with The Family. But she's grown up in boarding schools all over the world, and home to her is her brother's colony in Washington more than any other place.
Appearance: 5'10". Tall, slender, black hair with red streaks. Big brown eyes.
Best Friend: Charity Delyle
Boyfriend: Shane Delyle (The Carules Prodigy)

Ari isn't afraid of anything. She says what she thinks. Everything she does is 110%. But she's been hurt a lot and doesn't trust easily. The one person in the world she feels safe with is her big brother, Will. She struggles with the fact that she's her grandfather's assassin and feels like she's a monster. She LOVES football and has a boot fetish.

Meet Ari on Facebook! She's got her own page :)

https://www.facebook.com/ari.delacour?fref=ts

Feudlings in Smoke is HERE!!!

I absolutely love this story. It's Will's story. And it's based on the imaginary brother I had growing up (I didn't have any real ones around at the time). So I'm super excited that it's finally here!

Here's the blurb :)

Watching helplessly while your baby sister saves the world alone? It kinda sucks. 

Will Delacour is one of the most powerful sorcerers to ever live. He’s Guard to the Edren Prodigy—his sister, Ari. But he walked away from the war, refusing to fight in a cause he didn’t believe in. He was deemed a traitor by the powerful Family, and now there’s a price on his head that leaves him trapped in a prison of his own making. And he can’t even tell the love of his life what she means to him because of the magical war that still controls their lives.
Instead of embracing his destiny, Will is forced to watch as Ari goes into battle over and over again, facing her enemies alone. She might be okay with it, but he’s not. He might not believe in the war, but he believes in her, and he knows his place is fighting by her side. Somehow, Will has to find a way to be there when Ari needs him, even if it means he forfeits his own life in the process. 

Find it here on Amazon and (soon) Barnes and Noble!

Feudlings is on Amazon's top 100 books for 2013!!!

This has been a tough month. Lots of health issues, lots of family issues. My writing has suffered. I'm a slacker. And I'm a drama queen, so of COURSE I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself (It's a drama queen thing. Really), when one of my sweet friends and fellow author at Astraea Press pointed out the most exciting thing ever.

Fuedlings has made it onto Amazon's top 100 books for 2013 in the Teens and Children's category.

Amazon 2013 Top 100 in Kids and Teens


She posted it on one of our pages. I read it, and she was so excited, and I couldn't figure out why because, as previously mentioned, I stay off Amazon and I thought this was just another rank that comes and goes hourly. But she used Unicorns and Popcorn in her post, so I figured it must be bigger than I suspected. So I checked again.

It was.

This is for the entire year. This doesn't change. Feudlings is ON THAT LIST forever. There are a gazillion books published on Amazon each year, and the YA market is huge. So for Feudlings to make that list...I was completely blown away. And very excited. And now I go back to the link and stare at my pretty book on that list and wonder how this is possible. And I squeal. A lot.

A Feudlings Warrior Beautiful Christmas

Hey there! Are you ready for the Christmas story I promised you? Blogger always messes up my formatting so I posted it on Wattpad--go check it out!!

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

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!

Giveaway of a signed paperback copy of Feudlings!

I reached 400 likes on my Facebook page, and to celebrate, I'm doing a giveaway! All you have to do to enter is "like" my page!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Feudlings Trailer!

The awesome Opal Campball at Astraea Press created a book trailer for Feudlings -- and then she got it featured on USA Today! Check out the link, here

AND you can see my brand new video on the side ---->, but here it is in the post, just because I love it so much :)

Feudlings Release!

Holy Hannah, I am...I can't even describe it. Today a lifelong dream came true! How do you possibly describe that? I can't. So this post will be short :) 

The one thing that stood out to me today is the support I received. I can't believe how many people supported me, cheered me on, bought my book, liked my photos, hosted me on their blog, created giveaways to see me in print...it blows me away. I have the most AMAZING friends and family EVER. I don't know how to say thank you. I don't know if there are words that can really do it justice. And I'm an emotional wreck, so I'm simultaneously sobbing and laughing. My mother is a bit worried ;)

SO. Here are the buy links and the COVER for Feudlings! Check it out and I hope you will all love it as much as I do!

Nothing makes a new school suck worse than discovering the guy you’re in love with is your prophesied nemesis.

Ari is the most powerful flame-throwing sorceress ever, and her people’s last hope in an ancient war. But she’s also a seventeen-year-old girl, and in her free, not-hunting-nemesis times, she jumps from school to school, trying to figure out regular people her own age and pretending she’ll get the chance to graduate.

Shane lives a double life. He goes to school and masters the art of popularity, hiding the fact that he has a fate with a slim chance of his survival. He’s destined to end a 300 year-old war by killing or being killed. He knows he’s hunted by a powerful enemy who’s not afraid to die. Only problem? He has no idea who that enemy is.

When Ari shows up at Shane’s school, angry and sullen and determined to keep him at arm’s reach, neither of them realize they are supposed to be killing each other, not falling in love. Until Ari does realize it, and she almost dies – by Shane’s hand.

BUY LINKS: 

Astraea Press Website

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashwords

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

Staying on My Feet in Query Trenches

I have loved to write since I could write, and before that I just passed stories on to my stuffed animal friends by word of mouth, like my ancestors (the word of mouth part, not the stuffed animal part).

So because I have been writing so long, I thought I was a good writer. I won awards in high school, I did amazingly well in English classes (you'd never guess, now, judging by my spelling capabilities). I majored in English and even worked at a publishing company for four years.

And then I wrote Feudlings. After being awake for nine months straight with my new baby, and spending a lot of time in my own head, I had the whole story bouncing around my brain. I wrote it because the story was in my head and I loved to write. I did NOT write it with any intention of getting it published. 

And then I let family read it. And I let friends read it. And they loved it. They encouraged me, because they are good friends and family. And I decided, after much terror and tears and whining, that I would try to get it published.

It was exciting, at first, before I knew what I was doing. I went to conferences and there was so much to learn.

But now I've been at it for a while. I don't like rejections, I never have, but especially rejections on my writing, which is the only thing I'm good at! I'm tired of querying and being told no. I'm becoming jaded. I see bitterness in the future.

The worst thing is that, for a while, I didn't want to write. I didn't see the point, if I couldn't get Feudlings published, why keep writing? It took my nine-year-old to remind me that I write because I love it, and not because someone else should love it.

So. I took a deep breath. I started writing again. I started to feel better. I kept querying, but I sought professional opinions on my work (I was going to say professional help, but I know what ya'll would be thinking).

I still don't love querying. Of course I still long to have someone say yes, to say they love my writing as much as, say, my sisters or niece or husband do. But I think the most important thing when querying is to remember that all those "no's" do NOT define your writing or who you are. When you start writing for someone else, you lose miss out on the true gift of writing, which is the ability to bring to life the stories in your head. Whether or not the world ever sees those words, it's a gift you give to yourself.