I finally did it! I set up Pinterest boards for Unexpected Metamorphosis and Unexpected Entrapment. If you would like to go deeper with Alissia, then you will definitely want to check out her boards. Each board contains songs, clothing, sayings, and other personal and fun things that go along with each novel. Over time I will add more to them so you may even want to follow them on Pinterest.

While there, be sure to also follow the new Guiltless Reads/Clean Reads board I’m in the process of setting up. I will be adding many books to that board, and it will give you an opportunity to find other novels that don’t contain strong language or sexual content. If you are an author that would like to be added to that board, you can click on the author link in the above menu and see the guidelines in the author guest post section. I’ll set up a separate form soon.

I am in the process of researching promotions via Pinterest so stay tuned for more on that. For now, you can help by repinning and sharing. Let your Pinterest friends know about the boards. If they like what they see, they should check out the Alissia Roswell Series.

Exciting news for this website: Since branding myself as a clean author, I have found that marketing can sometimes be difficult for me among many of my fellow romance authors. Most of the romance genre contains a lot of sexual graphics, and it can be a problem for me since I prefer not to be affiliated with that market.

I am a member of many author groups, and I don’t participate in the majority of the marketing they provide because it’s just too graphic for me. Most of my support and networking comes from clean authors, and I have recently decided to get more involved with these authors.

Starting next week, this blog will host authors for guest posts every Monday. On Thursday, some of their books will be featured on this site, and during their visit on my blog, they will do a giveaway (usually ebooks). This site will eventually be a place for readers to find books that follow certain guidelines when it comes to sexual content and cursing. There will also be a new Pinterest board to help you browse the books.

If you enjoy clean reads, please stay tuned and get ready to meet some fabulous authors. I would appreciate if you would help spread the word and participate with the authors when they visit.

I am also looking for beta readers so that I can eventually provide a service to help out my fellow authors. If you have an e-Reader of any kind and you love to read, please contact me via the comments button in the menu. I will soon have an official form to fill out. However, I’m posting this right before an appointment so I won’t have it ready at the time of this post.

Let me know your thoughts. Also, get ready to meet some great authors and win some clean reads. As always, all we ask for in return is an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads.

Welcome to my stop on the MFRW Summer Vacation Blog Hop! You’re just in time. Last summer the first book in the Alissia Roswell Series titled Unexpected Metamorphosis was released, and the second one titled Unexpected Entrapment is scheduled for an ebook release at the end of this month, with the paperback version to be out next month.

What does that have to do with you? Well, it’s giveaway time! I’m spending this summer in celebration mode. I’ve just changed the price to FREE on Smashwords for the ebook version of Unexpected Metamorphosis, and if you have any type of ereader, you can download it there for free. That price will soon trickle into Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Ibooks, and even Amazon.

Don’t have an ereader? No problem. I’m in the middle of doing a social media giveaway for a signed copy of either of the books, and I plan to give out more paperbacks this summer via Pinterest, Goodreads, and other social media outlets.

If you enjoy reading passionate, fantasy romance without the guilt, then be sure to follow me on my list of social media outlets on the right. I also do an occasional newsletter (very rare) where I try to keep my readers up to date on what’s coming in the following months.

I’m so excited about this release and have already begun writing the third book in the series. I’m hoping to have it out by December. If you want to learn more, you can read the first two chapters of the first novel, or you can read an excerpt.

People are falling in love with Alissia Roswell, and the first book is receiving high ratings from reviewers on various blogs, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to click on one of the names in the link below. This is a great opportunity for you to meet and check out a variety of authors. I love these blog hops! I mean, you just click on a name, and you’re off to meet a new author. You don’t know what to expect, and it’s a surprise.

Last year my friend Melissa and I went to the Romance Novel Convention in Las Vegas, and the first night of the convention kicked off with a large celebration. Wanting everyone to have fun, I was on the lookout for people who seemed to be shy and alone. I have a strong personality and am known to randomly walk up to strangers and introduce myself, and that is how I met Lindsey J Parsons.

I was immediately drawn to her (especially once I heard her accent). She was alone and watching everyone on the dance floor, and once she informed us she was at the convention by herself and was from the UK, we told her she would be our friend and would hang with us while there. (We really did claim the poor woman. She had no way to escape us, even if she wanted to.)

The rest of the week, we sought her out and greatly enjoyed her company. I nicknamed her my little wallflower, because she was so sweet and quiet (the opposite of me). However, it was our last night together that we truly got to know her better. The three of us ventured out of our hotel and walked the nearby strip. Knowing we would have to get up early in the morning for the big book signing did not even sway us from staying out until after two in the morning.

We laughed so much that night. I teased her about her proper accent (so opposite from my southern one), she would roll her eyes and shake her head, while Melissa would apologize for my mouth — which Melissa usually does. By the time we walked back to our rooms, we swore Lindsey would have to come and visit us, and she invited us to visit her.

The next morning she was dressed in her Return of the Effra shirt, and her table was covered in posters, bookmarks, and other swag. She was truly ready. Her banner was one of the best at the convention, along with her beautiful book covers.

Once the signing was over, Melissa and I had a flight to catch, and Lindsey had lunch with a couple she had met on the Internet through a writing club. In the end, even with her quiet personality, she had met more people at the convention than I had, as she got many waves as we walked through the halls.

We said goodbye and swore we’d see each other again. Once I got home, she participated in a book giveaway on my blog. I often saw her archery wins on Facebook, and we would chat via Facebook on occasion. However, I soon got busy. As the months went by, I often wondered why I had not seen anything on Facebook from her, but I guessed she was busy with her writing, like me.

I thought of her on the day I started to fill out the form for the Dragon Con convention, thinking she would be the perfect author to be at my side. However, I got distracted and put the form aside, without contacting her. Each time I opened my desk drawer, I was reminded of her with the stack of bookmarks she had signed and given to me for giveaways, and I would remind myself to check on her.

During this time, I also stopped calling my dear friend Melissa. I’m at a stage in my life where I enjoy solitude a bit too much, although one would never know that by meeting me. I’m not shy or quiet around people. I really am the opposite.

Where I once used to host parties and fill my schedule with people, I now choose to stay home and write, read, bake, or spend time in my organic garden. There are many things a person can do while alone.

Recently, Melissa and I had a long talk about our distant friendship, and we fixed things. She is who my first book is dedicated to, and you just don’t walk away from a friend that special.

Yesterday we were on the phone, and we got to talking and laughing about Lindsey. As we talked, I pulled up Lindsey’s author page and was shocked to discover that she had died unexpectedly from an aneurism at the beginning of January. Words cannot explain the sadness in my heart.

I am lucky in that I’ve never really had to deal with the death of a loved one. Except for my grandfather’s passing when I was a young child, it has only been pets. Yes, I’ve gone to some funerals during my life, but none of them truly brought out what I experienced when it came to Lindsey.

It was unexpected. She was my friend, and she was truly a beautiful person. Although I did not know her for long, she made an impact on me that rarely happens. I chose to claim her as my friend, not an acquaintance. She was my friend, and that says a lot with me.

I spent last night pondering how I didn’t check in on Lindsey. It took me six months to realize she was gone. I have been selfish with my time — my life, and I hope this post is a reminder that if you haven’t checked in on your friends in a while, do it. Do it now. You never know when the last goodbye will be.

If I had known that I would never be able to speak to Lindsey again the last night we chatted via Facebook, I would have said more. If I had known that I would never see her again when we parted ways in Vegas, I would have hugged her tightly — even though I don’t usually give hugs.

I’m a believer in life after death so when I think of Lindsey now, I have hope that one day I may be able to see her again. I imagine myself giving her that tight embrace and telling her the words I think of when I think of her. I would smile and say, “Lindsey, my dear, you are a beautiful soul.”

Until that day, I have her book that she signed and gave to me. I haven’t had time to read it, but now I’m eager. And not because we’re the same fantasy genre author with many similarities. No, it’s because I want to find a piece of her in her writing. You see, writers always hide parts of themselves in their writing. Sometimes it’s blatant, yet sometimes it’s subtle. However, it’s always there. Lindsey is in the Return of the Effra Series somewhere, and I now cherish the book she gave to me. Once I finish reading it, I plan to put it away in a special place, and I plan to keep it.

Lindsey J Parsons, you will be greatly missed, and I hope to see you again one day.

 Melissa, Lindsey, me, Meg, and Raven – the night of the costume ball.

 Beautiful Meg and her mother Raven. Me, dressed as Alissia Roswell — eyes and all. Lindsey and her love of dragons.

 Melissa and I strutted our stuff at the red curtain.

 Lindsey showed off the wings of the dragon costume she made.

 She even made a tail on her dragon costume.

 Lindsey and her beautiful book covers and banner — very impressive! She took pictures of me at my banner, and I played around giving sexy shots and trying to fix my Spanx. After a while, she looked down at my camera and told me she had accidentally been recording me. Luckily, there is no recording of all the crazy I was doing, but we all got a laugh at the thought of there being evidence of my picture taking ways.

 Melissa, Lindsey, Raven, and her daughter Meg.

 Melissa and Lindsey.

My dear Lindsey — we laughed so much that night.

 We spent two hours in this bathroom, just sitting there laughing and talking. Some of the women walking in would notice our author tags and would ask for our pictures and stop and talk to us. Two girls stopped and played with Lindsey’s hair. They even took hair pins from their own hair and put them in Lindsey’s.

Ready for another chance to win a signed copy of Unexpected Entrapment? All you need to do is change your social media profile pic to the cover of Unexpected Metamorphosis or a selfie of you holding a copy of Unexpected Metamorphosis (ereaders show the cover also).  This works for Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.

If using the picture below, copy or download it, and then use it as your profile pic. Leave a comment on my  social media outlet, and I’ll add your name into the list of entries. The contest will run until Monday, June 30, and you will get an entry for each week you have it as your profile pic. You’ll also get more entries for each social media outlet you do this on.

This is a great opportunity to show your support of the Alissia Roswell Series and let others know about it. If you have not yet read Unexpected Metamorphosis, feel free to play along, and you can win a signed copy of the book of your choice.

Unexpected Entrapment is the second book in the series, and the ebook is set for release at the end of this month, with the paperback to follow in July.

Thank you and good luck! You can find me at each of these locations:

Facebook

Twitter

Google+

Tumblr

Instagram

I was invited to participate in the “My Writing Process Blog Tour” by author Hillary K. Grigonis, author of the non-linear novel, Kaleidoscope Me.

Question #1: What am I working on?

Right now I am working on the Alissia Roswell Series. Unexpected Entrapment, the second book in the series, is about to be released, and I have already begun writing the third novel. The series is a fantasy romance about a woman who was pulled into a new reality, much different from ours. Her body soon begins to change in mysterious ways, and the adventure begins with her searching for many answers.

She had a violent childhood, and trust does not come easy for her. Readers get to delve deeply into her mind as it is often haunted by her past. She is put in a position where she is forced to rely on others, and this is a big struggle for her.

As for the romance, I promise that it is highly passionate, yet clean.

Question #2: How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Everything in the Alissia Roswell Series is completely new and created by me. Although I love vampires, elves, and all the other mystical creatures, this series (along with others in my head) revolves around creatures I designed. That pretty much means my readers don’t know what to expect. I’m not limited in any way, and I let my imagination completely run free.

What I hear often from my readers is how much they love the world itself. It truly is a beautiful place, and I put a lot of thought into its design.

There’s also my guilt-free writing style. I am among many people who love to read fantasy romance, yet that genre seems to be getting darker and dirtier theses days. I love a great adventure and steamy romance, but I don’t want to read detailed sex scenes or have to read through a lot of cursing. Even some of the young adult novels I’ve read contain these things.

I’ve found that my conservative writing style is not shared by most authors, and I am in the minority group. I guess that makes me different from most. I know I will never cross certain lines, and I can assure my readers that although I am truly trying to keep it real, I write in a way that keeps their mind from going into dark places. I want to be able to tell a story without my readers feeling guilty afterwards.

Question #3: Why do I write what I do?

I have always been a lover of fantasy novels and movies. I tell my husband often that if I’m going to read or watch something, then I truly want an escape from reality. I love it when I’m taken to a new, magical place. You never know what to expect when it comes to fantasy.

As for romance, I guess it’s just a part of who I am. It’s just better if it’s mixed in with a lot of fantasy 🙂

Question #4: How does your writing process work?

I’m a panster writer. Although I have a bunch of scribbled notes written on various notebooks and journals, I don’t write many details down. I usually keep it all in my head. I see a lot of the scenes perfectly and replay them continuously in my mind until I type them out. I love it when I finally get to a big scene I’ve had in my mind for a while. Once I type it out, I don’t have to think about it anymore, and it’s a massive relief, although the scene is quickly replaced by another. My brain is busy, and I often wish I could pause it.

As for writing, I’m not one of those authors with music playing in the background. I get distracted easily and have to be alone in silence, unless I’m in a waiting room. I take my laptop with me when I go to an appointment, and I’m often typing while waiting at one of my children’s events or appointments. At home, if the children get loud while I’m trying to work, I go into my bedroom and turn on a sound machine. It blows air and drowns out all the noise in the house.

My favorite place to work is from one of my porches. I love being outside, and when the weather is right, I’ll sit outside with a cup of hot tea and a stash of dark chocolate. That’s where I’m most productive. I’ve found that typing next to the fireplace is least productive, as I often get too comfy and get drowsy.

The real process and advice I can give is to just write, even when you don’t feel like it at times. Unless I’m exhausted, I find that when I force myself to sit down and write, it soon starts to flow.

Up next week on the Blog Tour…

Tricia Stewart Shiu is an award-winning screenwriter, author, and playwright, but her passion lies in crafting mystical stories.
A creative spirit from a young age, she experimented with acting and wrote one-woman shows and plays. She produced a short performance piece called Doing Lunch, which made its way into a short film trilogy directed by Hal Trussel. That film won “Best Dramatic Short” at the Houston Film Festival in 1993.
The author is also a spiritualist and metaphysical adept. She has studied mediumship, pagan and Huna rituals.
Shiu’s Moa series – Moa, The Statue of Ku, and Iron Shinto – sparked by her firsthand encounter with an ancient Hawaiian spirit, takes readers on a journey of exploration through her world of spiritual healing. Each chapter of the books begins with a meditative ritual that pertains to that chapter. The rituals from the first book have been published in both eBook and audio form as The Gatekeeper’s Guide to Ancient Essential Oils and Rituals.
Tricia Stewart Shiu currently lives in Southern California with her husband and their ten-year-old daughter, Sydney. Sydney is a gifted artist, whose photographs adorn the covers and illustrations grace the interiors of all three Moa books.