A New Story and a Blog Tour (with a Giveaway!)!

Happy New Year, friends! Once again, I'm embarrassingly late with this update. Between several rounds of illness in our house and the holidays, it's been a busy stretch! But I have some exciting news!

First of all, I had a new release in December! My short story, "Fairy Lights," (which I like to think of as "Steampunk Cinderella"), was published in the Winter 2019 issue of Deep Magic! Deep Magic is an e-zine dedicated to clean fantasy and science fiction, and I was SO excited and honored they chose to publish my story! I had the opportunity to read the entire issue last month, and the stories are fantastic! You can grab your copy HERE. Isn't the cover gorgeous??

AND, Common was featured in a blog tour! As part of winning the Excellence in Editing Award (which I talked about in this post), I won a tour with Celebrate Lit, and it's been fabulous! Each post has featured a lovely review, and it's been such a blessing and encouragement to hear so many kind words about my book! Thank you SO MUCH to all the readers who took the time to read Common and share your thoughts! Today is the last day of the tour, which includes a giveaway for a themed basket with a signed paperback copy of Common, a beaded velvet bookmark, a handmade book sleeve, and a wooden "Have courage & be kind" sign (each of the posts has a link at the bottom to enter the giveaway). You can find the tour home page HERE, and here's a list of all the stops:

Among the Reads
Books, Life, and Christ
My Devotional Thoughts
For the Love of Literature
Pause for Tales
Debbie's Dusty Deliberations
Through the Fire Blogs
Texas Book-aholic
Library Lady's Kid Lit
Rebecca Tews
Blossoms and Blessings
Emily Yager
Reading Is My Superpower
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy
Janice's Book Reviews
Locks, Hooks and Books
For Him and My Family
Inklings and Notions
A Reader's Brain
Mary Hake

I hope your 2020 is off to a great start! Hopefully next time I'll have some updates on Tales of the Mystics, Book Two - Traitor! Until then, happy reading!

ENCIRCLED IS HERE!!!

It's here!! Encircled is finally here!!!!! The third published book with my words in it, and the first in which I played a significant role in the publishing process (beyond just the writing, of course!). What began with my critique group getting excited about a contest for fairy tale retellings and my vision of a modern-day Snow White character encountering a dryad prince on her strolls in the forest has turned into a gorgeous, real-life book! (For more behind-the-scenes details on how my Snow White retelling, "Edged in Silver," came about, make sure to check out my guest post on Kandi J. Wyatt's blog!)

Despite having an amazing critique group and loving the idea of putting together our own anthology of fairy tale retellings, I'll admit there were many points along this journey when I thought it was never going to happen. When several members of our group who initially started on stories had to back out. When we tried to wrap our minds around the amount of investment and work it would take to publish a high-quality product ourselves. When we faced list after list of difficult questions we had to agree on in order to move forward.

But we did it! I can honestly say that despite all the challenges and hard work, it's been a wonderful experience. Our group has really bonded through the process and worked through every disagreement with respect and good humor. Each member has given generously of her own talents and specialties to make this a true team effort, from editing to formatting to marketing. And I think all our efforts have made the reward of seeing our dream become a reality that much greater. (And seriously, isn't it gorgeous??) In fact, there may even be talk of another Ever Afters anthology in the future... :)

I hope you've enjoyed following the posts in the Encircled Blog Tour so far, I know I have! The tour wraps up on April 18th, so we still have a few days to go! (See this post to get the full schedule - I've been trying to update the links as each post goes live.) And did you hear about the giveaway?? The Ever Afters have teamed up with the Just-Us League to host an epic giveaway celebrating their fairy tale anthologies releasing in April! Enter below for a chance to win one of FOUR sets of prizes!

Grand Prize (U.S. residents only)

• Two paperbacks (Fractured Ever After and Encircled)
• Book cozy
• Slipper ornament
• 3D-printed bookmark (pick one design)
• Set of four signed illustration prints

First Prize (U.S. residents only)

• Two paperbacks (Fractured Ever After and Encircled)
• “Fairy tales do come true” charm bracelet
• 3D-printed bookmark (pick one design)
• Set of four signed illustration prints

Second Prize (international)

• Two ebooks (Fractured Ever After and Encircled)
• 3D-printed bookmark (pick one design)
• Set of four signed illustration prints

Third Prize (international)

• Two ebooks (Fractured Ever After and Encircled)
• Choice of 3D-printed bookmark (pick one design) *or* set of four signed illustration prints

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Here's a little more about the Just-Us League's newest anthology, Fractured Ever After:

Old classics are fractured into exciting new tales in this international collection of magic, mystery, and adventure.

Some heroes go searching for their happily ever after: a dragon cocoon hunter explores the dangerous woods for his sleeping beauty; a prince forces a perfect romance on an unsuspecting maiden; and when a girl leaves town, she must quickly decide to trust—or be wary of—a new stranger.

Destiny is thrust upon others: a disconnected emperor struggles to retain his title; a frog prince leaves his pond in search of answers; and after Rapunzel is rescued, a new quest is awarded to her savior.

Whether it is destiny or choice, all actions have consequences: sibling rivalry pushes one little piggy to extremes and a princess must choose to follow her heart or step up as future queen.

Prepare for an adventure as these eight fantastic fairy tales transport you to places beyond your imagination.

Fractured Ever After is the Just-Us League’s seventh anthology, an illustrated collection of fractured fairy tales. It can be preordered here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q5H39GH.

Thanks so much to everyone who has helped spread the word about Encircled through the cover reveal, blog tour, Instagram photo challenge, and in so many other ways! We're so very grateful, and we hope you love our stories!!

Encircled Pre-Order Goodies, Instagram Photo Challenge, and Blog Tour!

Encircled comes out in less than two weeks!!! Eeeeek! We have been so busy getting ready for this release and have all kinds of fun stuff going on to celebrate, so I wanted to make sure to keep you guys in the loop!

First of all, have you heard about the pre-order goodies? If you pre-order a copy of Encircled, make sure to fill out THIS FORM! Everyone will receive printable downloads of this gorgeous postcard and bookmark, plus you'll be entered in a giveaway for a pair of homemade socks, an e-copy of To Catch a Magic Thief by E.J. Kitchens, and a bar of New Zealand chocolate! Also, remember that Encircled is currently set at a special pre-order price of $1.99, the price will go up to $2.99 later in April.













Next, we're only a few days into our #encircled Instagram photo challenge, so there's still plenty of time to join in the fun! We have lots of fairy tale-related prompts for you to get creative with, and it comes with a chance to win an e-copy of Encircled and a bar of New Zealand chocolate! (Can you tell we love chocolate??) Make sure to stop by Jebraun Clifford or J.M. Hackman's Instagram profiles to get all the details about how to enter. And check out my Instagram profile to see the photos I've posted for the challenge so far :)

And last (at least for now, there will be more coming soon!), we have our Encircled Blog Tour schedule all put together and ready to start next Monday! I can't wait to see all these reviews, book spotlights, and features for each author! Here's the full schedule, I'll try to update it with specific post links once they're available:

Monday, April 8th

• Author Interview with Tori V. Rainn – Heather Hayden

Tuesday, April 9th

• Review of Encircled – Allie May

Wednesday, April 10th

• Guest Behind-the-Scenes Post with J.M. Hackman – Pam Halter
• Book Spotlight – Iola Goulton

Thursday, April 11th 

• Book Spotlight – Jackie Castle
• Author Interview with Jebraun Clifford – Beyond the Borders

Friday, April 12th

• Review of Encircled – Katie Brown

Saturday, April 13th

• Review of Encircled – Teisha Priest
• Guest Behind-the-Scenes Post with Laurie Lucking – Kandi J. Wyatt

Sunday, April 14th

• Author Interview with E.J. Kitchens – Elisabeth Wheatley

Monday, April 15th

• Book Spotlight – Tammera Ayers

Tuesday, April 16th

• Author Release Day Spotlights – Laurie Lucking, Tori V. Rainn, J.M. Hackman

Wednesday, April 17th 

• Review of Encircled – Ginger Solomon

Thursday, April 18th

• Author Interview with S.E. Clancy – Michele Israel Harper

Stay tuned, because the blog tour also involves an epic giveaway! It's going to be a fabulous few weeks, I hope you enjoy all the various festivities! Thanks in advance for helping us celebrate :)

A Winner, A Release Date, and Blog Tour Signups!

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who helped me celebrate Common's first birthday last month! I so appreciated all your love and creativity! And I'm excited to announce we have a giveaway winner! Congratulations to...Jebraun Clifford! I'll be in touch about mailing your prize :)

Here's a picture of me and Leah baking cookies to mark the end of the Common birthday celebration!

In other news, I have tons of updates about Encircled, my critique group's collection of fairy tale retellings! We've set a release date of April 16th, which is only a month away! Eeeeeeek! We'll be revealing the gorgeous cover on March 20th - if you'd like to get a sneak peek at the cover and help us share it with the world, you can sign up to be a part of our cover reveal HERE. And, we're in the midst of planning the Encircled Blog Tour, which will run from April 8th through April 17th! If you're interested in participating, you can find the signup form HERE. *Both forms include an opportunity to be an advance reviewer of Encircled!*

I hope everyone is having a fabulous March, I'll be back next week with the Encircled cover reveal!!


P.S. Please consider voting for Common in the Christian Indie Awards if you haven't yet (it's in the Young Adult category), you can find the ballot HERE. Common is also eligible for the Alliance Award this year, a readers' choice award run through my favorite writing conference, Realm Makers :) Stop by HERE and nominate your three favorite fantasy / science fiction books that released in 2018! If Common happens to be one of them (YAY!!), it's ISBN-13 you'll need for the nomination is 978-1943788279. Thank you!!!

Happy Birthday, Common!!! (Plus TWO giveaways!)

Today is Common's first birthday!!! It's hard to believe my little story has been out in the world for a whole year already - and what a year it's been! As incredible as it was to see my words turned into a gorgeous book, the prospect of releasing it into the public was more than a little daunting. But I've been amazed over and over again by how readers are connecting with Leah and Rafe, showing incredible enthusiasm for Common and future books to come. THANK YOU!!!

So, what better way to celebrate Common's birthday than with a giveaway?? Since Common was inspired by Cinderella, I just had to snatch up this beautiful wooden "Have courage & be kind" sign when I saw it on Etsy! And I can't wait to share it with one of you!! Here's how you enter: show how YOU are celebrating Common's birthday! That's it! It can take whatever form you want - a fun picture of your book, having a special birthday treat, sharing about the giveaway, posting your review of Common, etc. I'm excited to see what you come up with! Just make sure to tag me and use the hashtag #HappyBirthdayCommon so I can count your entry! (Posting on multiple social media platforms counts as multiple entries. 🙂) The giveaway will close at 11:59 pm CST on February 28th, 2019. Depending on shipping costs, if the winner lives outside the U.S., she may instead receive an equivalent Etsy giftcard. Good luck!

But I mentioned TWO giveaways, didn't I? Just in time for Common's birthday, my writer friend Deborah O'Carroll is having a giveaway for a signed paperback of Common! You can find out the details of the giveaway (plus the sweetest review 💙) HERE or by clicking on the picture below.

Thanks in advance for celebrating with me and all your Tales of the Mystics friends!!

Back to School Sweepstakes!

Happy September, everyone! I hope your fall is off to a great start! I got together with some fellow YA authors to celebrate the new school year with a giveaway for TWELVE paperbacks!!! I may be a tad jealous I can't enter... :)

The giveaway ends Saturday, September 8th, and is open to U.S. residents only. Enter by filling out the Rafflecopter below - your first set of entries comes from signing up for all of our newsletters (these are some fabulous authors, so you definitely want to hear what they're up to!), then you can get bonus entries by following us on Instagram!

Now, do you want to hear about the books included in this amazing prize?? I thought so! Here's the lineup:

• The Coronation by Livy Jarmusch (the lovely lady who organized this event!)
• Regal Hearts Season One by Livy Jarmusch
• London in the Dark by Victoria Lynn
• When Beauty Blooms by Victoria Lynn
• Unblemished by Sara Ella
• The Rejected Princess by Katie Clark
• Purple Moon by Tessa Emily Hall
• A Higher Ransom by Aleigha C. Israel
• A Dim Reflection by Aleigha C. Israel
• A Marvelous Redeemer by Aleigha C. Israel
• Common by Laurie Lucking (that's me!)

Stay tuned, I'll have at least one more exciting announcement later this week :) Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Reader Appreciation Giveaway!

The summer is flying by, and it's high time I posted an update! It starts with good news, then moves on to even better news!!

Common is in the running for a Lighthouse Literary Award! YAY!!! But I need YOUR help! Voting is open throughout the month of August, and I would be so very honored if you would consider stopping by and casting your vote! (It includes a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card!) I've included voting details below.


Now, for the even better news. My readers are AWESOME. It's just a fact. You guys have been incredible when it comes to sharing about my books, leaving reviews, inviting me to visit your blogs, voting for Common in contests, etc., and I'm so unbelievably grateful. So I wanted to put together a little giveaway that celebrates YOU!

Here's how my Reader Appreciation Giveaway works. You get to claim an entry for every:

1) story of mine you've read (so if you've read both Common and "Threshold," you get 2 entries, and remember that reviews are very much appreciated!!);

2) contest in which you've voted for Common (there are currently 3 places you can vote, each contest page is linked in the descriptions below)

• Literary Lighthouse Awards - click on "Vote for your favorite book!" in their Rafflecopter and then make your selection (hopefully Common, but there are a lot of other great books on the list, too!);

• Kindle Book Review Readers Choice Awards - vote by typing Common as a comment to the post (make sure to also enter the Rafflecopter for a chance to win a Kindle Fire!);

• Swoony Awards - vote on Goodreads (Common is currently #51 on the list, but hopefully it will be higher soon!) or here if you're not on Goodreads; AND

3) social media platform on which you share about this giveaway (make sure to tag me in your post so I can count your entry!)

Submit your entries by commenting here or anywhere I post about the giveaway on social media. Make sure to tell me how many entries you get! Haven't had a chance to read Common or Mythical Doorways yet? No worries, there's still time! The giveaway will stay open until 11:59 pm CST on Friday, August 31st.

The best part? The amazing prize!! One randomly chosen winner will receive this gorgeous circlet from the Enchanted Jewelry Shop - you even get to choose your gem color! (This giveaway is open internationally - if the seller isn't able to ship to your location, I'll send you an Etsy giftcard for the equivalent amount instead.) PLUS, for every 20 entries, we'll do a bonus giveaway for a $5 Amazon giftcard!

So get reading, reviewing, voting, and sharing!! And THANK YOU!!!!!

Five Stars from Readers' Favorite!! Plus some Mythical Doorways fun :)

You guys!! I heard earlier this week that Common had received a review from Readers' Favorite, and it got FIVE STARS!!! Eeeeek! The review was so detailed and sweet, I may have gotten a bit teary-eyed while I read it :) You can find the full review here, but I'll share a few lines: "The entire reading process was a magical journey in itself. Readers will find it difficult to stop reading, just as I did. Common makes you want to go on and on until you realize you have reached the end of the story. It just has that kind of magical pull." Can you see why I'm grinning over here?? 

I also had a few more guest posts over the past few weeks! I stopped by Linda B. Davis's blog to share about my life before I became an author, the process of publishing Common, and what I'm up to now - find it here. Then I had an opportunity to visit Toni Shiloh's blog to chat about the joys and challenges of writing companion novels, which you can find here.

In other exciting news, the Mythical Doorways anthology releases in just over a week! Yay!!! I've been reading the other stories this week, and there are some great characters and worlds in this book, and a fantastic variety! You can now find it on Goodreads, and it's available for pre-order on Amazon!

We also have some fun events coming up to celebrate! The Fellowship of Fantasy is hosting a writing contest for short pieces inspired by the Mythical Doorways theme. Submissions are open until March 26th, winners will be chosen by popular vote, and the prizes are sets of amazing fantasy books!!! (One prize will be awarded for the 15 and under category, the other for the 16+ age group.) Find all the details here, and then get writing! In addition, there will be a blog tour from March 27th through 29th hosted by the lovely Laura A. Grace at Unicorn Quester, and a Facebook party on the evening of March 29th! Last, Fellowship of Fantasy is partnering with Deep Magic E-Zine for a very special giveaway! Using the Rafflecopter below, you can enter to win the Spring edition of their quarterly publication featuring wonderful, clean fantasy fiction. Find out more here: http://deepmagic.co/giveaway-fun/.


About Deep Magic E-zine
The name Deep Magic pays homage to C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. Deep Magic is a quarterly e-zine dedicated to creating a safe place for minds to wander in the worlds and universe of SFF. We want all who visit to feel welcome and confident that they will encounter professionally written fiction of the highest quality that is safe for all to read.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Release Day to Common!!!!

You. Guys.

The day is finally here!!! The day I've been dreaming of for ages and yet hardly dared to dream of at all...it's TODAY. Today, my debut novel releases! A gorgeous book with 291 carefully formatted pages that has MY NAME ON THE COVER!!!! (You knew this post was going to involve a lot of exclamation points, right?)

I have been in love with books and stories since I was a little girl. Many years later, as a college student, I didn't sell back my books as so many of my classmates did, because I couldn't bear to part with them. Even the ones I didn't like! I've always just had this strange reverence toward books, the need to cherish them.

But the idea of creating my own book? That was too much to hope for.

I remember so clearly the day I wrote the first scene of my first manuscript. I'd done some soul-searching while pushing my newborn around in his stroller on a beautiful fall day, and come out of it with the crazy idea to write a book. I even had a story idea - something I'd imagined years before but never thought to write down. After my son fell asleep, I opened my laptop, stared at a blank Microsoft Word document for a few minutes, and then started typing. It was so much fun! Way more fun than my memories of grade school creative writing assignments.

But then my husband came home. I'm in the habit of telling my poor husband EVERYTHING at the end of each day. So part of me really wanted to tell him about my writing, and yet...part of me really didn't. I confessed at dinner, waiting in trepidation for the laughter or scorn. Not because my husband is that kind of guy, but because I felt I deserved that kind of reaction. Instead, he nodded and said something along the lines of "Cool. That sounds great." And that inner spark that had been lit grew a little bigger. Because maybe I wasn't crazy or unworthy to write a book after all.

That was over five years ago, and I've learned and grown so much along this writing journey. It hasn't all been as fun as that first moment, but it's been one of the most challenging and rewarding ventures of my entire life. In some ways today feels like a culmination of all that dreaming and hard work, in others just a major stepping stone, because I have so many more stories I can't wait to tell, and I hope this will be just the first book of many!

Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me, I'm beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to share Common with you!

So excited, in fact, that I decided we need to celebrate with a giveaway!! I am SO GRATEFUL to everyone who preordered Common or is considering purchasing it - THANK YOU! And now that the books are starting to arrive, I want to see you all hanging out with Leah! So here's how the giveaway works. To enter, post a picture of yourself with your copy of Common, either a paperback or on your e-reader, or a picture of Common outside or somewhere around your house - feel free to get creative! Then post it on Facebook, Twitter, and / or Instagram, and make sure to tag me so I can count your entry! If you haven't ordered Common yet, don't worry! I'm keeping the giveaway open until 11:59 pm CST on Wednesday, February 28th, so you have 2 whole weeks to post your pictures! You can purchase your copy here. (***UPDATE: I initially said the giveaway would close on February 21st, but you guys have ordered so many copies of Common that it's on backorder! Yay!!! So to give people who order over the next few days time to take and post their pictures, I'm extending the entry deadline to February 28th.***)

I suppose you'd like to know what I'm planning to give away... :) The randomly chosen winner will receive the $10 Amazon giftcard bookmark and gorgeous handmade mason jar luminary pictured below!! So start snapping those pictures - I can't wait to see what you come up with! (The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only - I'm so sorry to my friends outside the U.S., the shipping is just too hard!)

Also, the Common Blog Tour is still underway! We've had so many fun posts so far, sharing everything from my writing process to a character interview to visuals from the world of Common. So make sure to check out all the posts from the past week and a half, and stay tuned for a few more fun posts to wrap up the tour. I'll list all the blog tour stops below, but first I have to mention that the release celebration continues with a Facebook party TOMORROW, February 15th, from 8:00 to 10:00 pm CST. It's going to be a great opportunity to hang out with fun people, chat about amazing books, and enter for a chance to win even more giveaway prizes! I hope to see you there!!! You can RSVP and see some sneak peeks here.

As promised, here's the full list of blog tour posts. Thanks again for stopping by to celebrate with me today!!!!

Monday, February 5th, Review of Common, Pam Halter, www.pamhalter.com
Monday, February 5th, Interview with Laurie Lucking, Taylor Bennett, www.taylor–bennett.com
Tuesday, February 6th, Visual Post, Nancy Moors, www.antrimcycle.com
Tuesday, February 6th, Behind-the-Scenes Feature, Rae E, www.anewlookonbooks.com
Wednesday, February 7th, Visual Post, J.M. Hackman, www.jmhackman.com
Wednesday, February 7th, Guest Post: Author’s Journey, Kristen Stieffel, www.newauthors.wordpress.com
Thursday, February 8th, Guest Post, Laura A. Grace, www.unicornquester.com
Friday, February 9th, Interview with Laurie Lucking, Jebraun Clifford, www.quillsandinkblotts.wordpress.com/
Friday, February 9th, Review of Common, Erica Hogan, www.booksaholic.wordpress.com/
Saturday, February 10th, Top 3 Post, Laurie Lucking, www.landsuncharted.com
Sunday, February 11th, Behind-the-Scenes Feature: Laurie’s Writing Process, Liv Fisher, www.livkfisher.blogspot.com/
Sunday, February 11th, Review of Common, Jebraun Clifford, www.jebraunclifford.com/
Monday, February 12th, Character Interview, Brenda Anderson, www.brendaandersonbooks.com
Monday, February 12th, Visual Post, Jannette Fuller, www.jannettefuller.com/blog
Tuesday, February 13th, Interview with Laurie Lucking, KaLyn Cummins, www.authorkacummins.com
Wednesday, February 14th, Release-Day Feature, Laurie Lucking, www.laurielucking.com (Release Day)
Thursday, February 15th, Facebook Party Feature, Michele Israel Harper, www.micheleisraelharper.com (Facebook Launch Party)
Friday, February 16th, Review of Common, Cathrine Bonham, www.dolphin18cb.wordpress.com

Love is in the Air Giveaway!

Common is almost here, and it's in its first giveaway!! I've banded with some other authors from the Fellowship of Fantasy to put together a giveaway called "Love is in the Air" of TEN ebooks plus an awesome dragon essential oils diffuser necklace! Entries start today and go through February 18th!

Common is a perfect fit for this giveaway because in the midst of the adventure and personal growth, at its heart it's a love story. Leah and Prince Raphael's relationship has elements of friendship, self-sacrifice, and romance, all of which gives Leah the courage to embark on a quest to save her kingdom. Common's Valentine's Day release date definitely wasn't a coincidence :)

Want to find out more about some of the authors and their books? Check out their websites!

H.L. Burke: http://www.hlburkeauthor.com/

Kandi J Wyatt: http://www.kandijwyatt.com/blog
Lea Doue: http://www.leadoue.com 

L. Palmer: lpalmerchronicles.com
Janelle Schmidt: http://jenelleschmidt.com
Tammy Lash: http://tammylash.wordpress.com/
Katy Huth Jones: http://katyhuthjones.blogspot.com/


Also, everyone who enters this giveaway can be a winner, because even if you don't win the necklace and entire set of books, one of the books in the giveaway, White Wolf and the Ash Princess, is free this week! You can grab it here!


Enter the giveaway below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway