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!!!!!

Mythical Doorways Blog Tour and Facebook Party!

Mythical Doorways is here!!! Hooray! It released on March 27th, and now is available for FREE on Amazon! The first reviews are starting to roll in, and I've been thrilled by the response to "Threshold" so far! One reviewer said, "This story is quite remarkable. It's a poignant, moving coming-of-age tale with a fantasy twist." And here's how another reviewer described it: "The feels!!! This story was SO good, and that ending was SO worth every minute of not knowing which decision Heidi would make!" *Cue giant grin accompanied by happy dancing*

The blog tour celebrating the release of Mythical Doorways wraps up today! Check out the full schedule of posts here. And TONIGHT, we're finishing up the celebration with a Facebook party! The fun starts at 7:00 pm CDT (8:00 pm EDT), and my featured author slot starts at 9:20 CDT / 10:20 EDT. I hope to see you there!

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

Threshold found a home!

In the midst of all the excitement over Common's upcoming release, I received the wonderful news that my Peter Pan-inspired short story, "Threshold," was accepted into an anthology!!! It's titled Mythical Doorways and will release this spring from the Fellowship of Fantasy! I'm honored to be in a lineup of such amazing authors, and I can't wait to share this story with you! And feast your eyes on these amazing covers!! For more information about my story, check out the "Books" tab above. Also, if you want to stay updated on release notifications for the anthology, click here.

In other fun news, I had the opportunity to visit Karin Beery's blog last week to share about some lessons learned since signing my publishing contract almost a year ago. You can find the post here.

Check back for more updates over the next few weeks!