Just wanted to give everybody a few updates on KINDRED. Originally, due to not wanting to give any *approximate* dates that were too early for release, I think I greatly overshot my initial September expectation. Looks like I might finish this book as early as this weekend! Of course, it still has to go through my trusty editor(s) before I put it out there, but looking into the very near future I’m a little more confident about the progress that I can give an *approximate* release date that I’m going to try my best to honor. If I don’t make it, please don’t throw stuff at me!

So, I’m going to say that the release date for KINDRED – Book Two in the Darkwoods Trilogy is expected on July 20, 2012 (which is also Isaac Mayfair’s twentieth birthday!)

For anyone curious as to what KINDRED has in store, I can say that things are definitely getting more complex, more heartbreaking and more shocking. Not only will you be thrown into a rollercoaster love story that will leave you wondering if it will end in tragedy, but you’ll be introduced to a new character, an archaic entity as original as she is dangerous. You’ll finally know what a ‘Praverian Chronicle’ is and I can assure you that you’ve never met another being like her.

Also, I wanted to extend an advanced offer for any reviewers who have already read THE MAYFAIR MOON, enjoyed it and are interested in receiving a free copy (Kindle, Nook or paperback) of KINDRED to read and review as well. If you’re interested, please do the following:

• Send me an email to jredmerski {AT} yahoo {DOT} com
• Include your book blog address so I know what blog you’re from
• Subject line: KINDRED Advanced Review Request
• Include the format you prefer

That’s it! I just want to get a reviewer count early for various reasons. I will send out these copies the day of release.

Lastly, I created a giveaway on Goodreads (hosted by myself and not Goodreads) a short time ago for a signed copy of KINDRED and the winner is Mag at Geek Chic! I actually chose the winner the old-school way and put all of the names who entered, in a hat! Yes, I did, lol. :-) Anyway, Mag won, so congrats! However, I know a few of the reviewers who loved THE MAYFAIR MOON prefer paperbacks (Lauren, for instance), so no worries, you’ll also get one. :-) Just make sure you email me and tell me what format you prefer!

Please not that the cover displayed is not final.

Thanks!

-THE MAYFAIR MOON *FINAL* PAPERBACK GIVEAWAY-

There will be another paperback giveaway (2 copies available – U.S. only) over on Goodreads for THE MAYFAIR MOON – Book One in the Darkwoods Trilogy starting Monday 4/30. This will be the *last* giveaway for this title before Book Two, KINDRED, is released later this year! So, be sure to enter the giveaway because unless it’s a giveaway hosted by a book blog site, there will not be another one!

-THE MAYFAIR MOON PRICE INCREASE-

OK, I’ve already done several FREE promotions on Amazon for a Kindle copy of THE MAYFAIR MOON, had the book priced at $0.99 for long periods of time and $1.99 for the majority of the time. I’ve given away more than 3,000 copies between free promotions, reviewers and other various giveaways. Starting June 1st, I’m setting THE MAYFAIR MOON to it’s permanent price of $2.99 and leaving it that way (this is subject to change depending on circumstances).  So, I encourage anyone who has been thinking about checking it out, or who has intended to purchase it, but hasn’t gotten around to it yet, to snag your copy before June 1st and the price goes up!

-BOOK TWO, KINDRED, IN THE DARKWOODS TRILOGY-

I’ve been furiously typing away working on the second book in the Darkwoods Trilogy, titled KINDRED and can say it will be released later this year – sorry I don’t have a more detailed time-frame just yet. In the meantime, you can check out the official blurb for KINDRED (just click on the book cover above) to get a first glimpse into what’s next for Adria and Isaac. And you can add it to your to-read shelf on Goodreads – so please check it out! KINDRED will be sexier, the love will be deeper, the tragedies will be more unbearable and the ending will be intense!

Thanks!

-Jessica

Where to start? This book is a rarity, especially for someone like me. I do tend to give a lot of 4 and 5 star reviews when I publicly rate books because I think I rate differently than most people: If a book holds my interest past page 100, then it’s at least a 3 star book. To the end, 4-5 stars. Usually.

With that out of the way, I need to stress that if I could give THE WEIGHT OF NIGHT (PROGENY #1) 6 stars, I would easily and it would be only my second 6 star rating (after David Moody’s AUTUMN series) NOT for a book by a well-established author like Gaiman, McCormac, Rowling or Rice.

I know it’s sort of cliché to say this, but this book instantly sucked me in (I have a soft spot for mental intuitions – please don’t ask me why, LOL) and I read the first night until my eyes burned and I needed clothespins to hold them open. And I know it’s also cliché to use the phrase ‘diamond in the rough’, but that’s exactly what this book is. It needs more exposure, more publicity, more get-me-the-hell-out-of-this-box. I’ll get to that more in a moment.

Now, setting all the clichés aside, I have to stress how absolutely great this book was. Written by an independent author, I felt like I was reading something I just bought right off the best-seller shelves at Barnes & Noble. The writing style is amazing: clean, quick, crisp, believable and polished. I hate those moments when I cringe reading something that is obviously out of place, or dialogue that totally misses the mark. That did not happen once in THE WEIGHT OF NIGHT. Like I said, right off the best-seller shelves at Barnes & Noble. The descriptions were spot on – not too long, or too short – and I had no problem seeing absolutely everything the way Stegall described it.

Did Stegall use an editor? If not…wow. Doesn’t really need one.

Now onto the story itself.

THE WEIGHT OF NIGHT tells the story of eighteen-year-old Alexis, who finds out something extraordinary about herself, which leads her on a dangerous journey to find a killer amidst the sudden death of her mother and of someone else very close to her.

Enter gods, demigods and deities!

As if it couldn’t get any better! But this book doesn’t simply touch on Ancient Greek Mythology, no; it involves an entire cast of characters. The way Stegall played these characters out was not only mandatorily familiar so that those of us already acquainted with Greek Gods can relate, but also entirely unique at the same time. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I was thoroughly impressed with the whole idea of The Progeny. It was very well thought out and Stegall so easily pulled it off as if he does this sort of difficult thing every day.

And I absolutely loved Alexis’ ‘best friend’, Keats, and found myself through most of the book crossing my fingers and hoping they would finally ‘lurv’ each other! I won’t give that away either. I’m only bringing it up to describe how well Stegall wrote the relationship between Alexis and Keats. It’s just one of those stories when you can’t help but root for them in the sidelines, biting your lip out of prolonged unrest.

The only thing that bugged me about the story was how easily Alexis accepted and ‘took on’ her new role as one of The Progeny. I feel like her acceptance of it could have been made more believable if Stegall dragged it out just a tad bit longer, added more conflict and struggle inside her. But despite that, I can say that I was still satisfied with the way things unfolded. Go figure.

The last couple chapters had me on the edge of my seat! At one key point near the end I was so surprised that I caught myself smiling hugely.

Now, to explain my feelings on getting this book out of that dark little box on the Amazon shelves of somewhere around 460,000! Seriously?! I’m completely aghast at where this book is in the rankings. It’s a GREAT read, so I know it isn’t the book’s fault. This leads me to believe that maybe the author needs to try harder with promoting. Re-add the books details on Goodreads (it probably disappeared during Goodreads recent wipe-out of Amazon-related information). Join Amazon’s KDP program (if he hasn’t already) and put the book up for free for a couple of days to generate interest. Tweet about it more. But more importantly, I think this book is EASILY a YOUNG ADULT book. Yes, I said it. I believe it is right on the level for seventeen-year-olds and can even be a good read for teens as young as sixteen who prefer more complex, sophisticated stories (think THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH – nothing modern-day teenagish about that and that book frickin’ ROCKED among teens!) as opposed to flat-out teen novels that focus on teen life and behavior. THE WEIGHT OF NIGHT is a YA/Crossover novel, great for older teens and adults of all ages.

This leads me to the cover. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the cover design, but what I think may also be stopping this book from getting in the hands of the right readers is that the cover art, to me, seems more like something you see for an adult thriller novel, or some other genre that teens and young adults tend not to read. I think if the cover was redone to target the young adult crowd, it might do better. Of course, this is strictly my opinion! I could be completely ignorant! But I’m even having a new cover made for my book for the same reason, so it’s not an attack. I do know, however, that teens and young adults LOVE puuurdy covers!

Anyway, I LOVED this book and I will DEFINITELY be reading future installments.

Finally, after a long and bumpy extremely difficult road with this novel, I’m happy to announce that DIRTY EDEN will be released sometime this weekend and will be available on Amazon either Sunday or Monday. The Kindle version will be available first and then the paperback version 1-2 weeks later.

I have to stress – especially to all of my NON-loving YA literature friends out there – that DIRTY EDEN is so different from THE MAYFAIR MOON that you might wonder if I suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Who knows, I might. She really couldn’t tell you.

If you like dark humor, finely crafted F-bombs and strange worlds with even stranger people, then you might like DIRTY EDEN. However, I don’t recommend DIRTY EDEN to anyone who:

• is scared of evil children
• is a hamartophobiac
• is a narcissist
• doesn’t like rats who like Teriyaki Chicken
• is offended by foul-mouthed Blue-Jays
• is a prude
• cannot decipher the life or death instructions: “Sp…sashit nyer…ace!”
• has bad memories of venereal disease
• discriminates against men with wooden legs, or
• is eyeball squeamish

(Click the images for larger view.)

Despite the ‘extremely difficult road’ I went down while writing this novel, I have to say that I totally had fun with it! There were no rules and I love writing without rules. Unlike anything else I’ve written, DIRTY EDEN was almost 100% a do-whatever-the-fuck-I-want novel and I took full advantage of that freedom. I just hope everyone else likes it as much as I liked writing it because it was certainly a dark and bizarre journey.

Once the print version is available, I will be putting up 2-3 signed copies on a Goodreads giveaway, so be looking out for that! In the meantime, if any reviewers out there would be interested in reviewing DIRTY EDEN, contact me through my contact page and I’ll send you an eBook file right away. I have noticed while scouring the net for YA book reviewers that there aren’t nearly as many reviewers out there that like to review and publicize adult books. If anyone knows of any, please pass them along to me!

And if you’re wondering, no, DIRTY EDEN ain’t no erotica.

Lastly, please visit my friend, Daniele Serra’s web site! He did the kick-ass artwork for the cover. He’s pretty amazing!

P.S> I’ve also put DIRTY EDEN up on Goodreads with a release date of 3/12 – go here to add it to your to-read shelf and help spread the word! :-)

(Click on the images for full view.)

Also, on my Book Blog Tour (March 19-23) hosted by A Tale of Many Reviews, I’ll be offering up as part of the Grand Prize, a sterling silver ‘Mayfair Moonstone’ charm necklace , so be sure to visit their site for full details and your chance to win! I’ll also include in that Grand Prize a hard copy version of the book and other goodies.

Onto other news: I’m happy to announce that my not-so-young-adult novel, DIRTY EDEN, will likely be published by the end of February! I’m really looking forward to seeing what you all think of that one. It’s COMPLETELY different from THE MAYFAIR MOON in so many aspects and let’s just say I don’t hold anything back . If you like dark and gritty adult humor, unconventional views and strange, creepy alternate realities, then you might like DIRTY EDEN.

Also, I’ve already had one book blog review and even my first author interview over at Mina Burrows’ blog ‘Books for Paranormal & Mystic Minds’ – she’s been great! AND I have a book blog tour coming up in March, hosted by the wonderful people over at A Tale of Many Reviews. So, anyone out there runs a book blog and would like participate in the tour for THE MAYFAIR MOON, follow that link and sign up!

I’m in the process right now of publishing a physical copy of THE MAYFAIR MOON and I can’t wait! Soon, it’ll be available for Kindle AND for anyone out there who don’t yet have an eReader, or who just prefer a book they can hold and read.

:-)

Yesterday marks a huge day for me as I finally published my first novel on Amazon and I’m pretty much…terrified. I spent a week going over the book one last time, addressing Heather’s recommendations (from Red Adept Reviews)  and then sat staring at my computer screen for a tortuously long time on the night of the 6th, before taking the plunge. I decided to enroll in Amazon’s KDP program, which means the digital selling of my book is exclusive to Kindle for at least 6 months. If you are an Amazon Prime member and own a Kindle, you can read my book for FREE using the ‘Lending Library’! After that, I can start selling on Nook and other platforms. Paperback copies will be available at a later date all depending on how this eBook process unfolds.

Right now, I need reviews and ‘likes’ on Amazon and abroad!

On my book’s Amazon page, just to the right of the cover you’ll see a graphic like the one above. Be generous and ‘like’ it – I will be in your debt. If you happen to purchase ‘The Mayfair Moon’, I would love a good review! :-) I’m also looking for book reviewers out there who might be interested in delving into my story and telling their readers what they think of it. So, if you know any personally, please send then my way!

As with any new author, I’m both excited and scared out of my mind, but this step in my lifelong journey to become a published author is (it feels like) long overdue, and despite being afraid, I’m also happy. :-)

I really hope you all like it!

I got my official Red Adept ‘Alpha Read’ results back today on my novel, ‘The Mayfair Moon’ and I couldn’t be more pleased and excited. My Alpha Reader was ‘Heather’ and she did exactly what I hoped she would do: She pointed out and described in detail everything that she DID NOT like. Honestly, I was worried that whoever read my novel might feel in some way obligated to sugarcoat the truth, but that was not the case. Heather was blunt and to the point, which is now helping me to make this book the best it can be. She has opened my mind to a few things I was unaware of and even confirmed a couple of things I myself thought was a bit ‘off’. I cannot stress enough to every writer out there how important it is to get someone who doesn’t know you and who would be less inclined to bias, to read your book before you consider publishing (self-published, indie and even traditional).  I am now on to the next step in my publishing process: another brief edit to address all of Heather’s recommendations and then on to the step that both terrifies and excites me: publishing.

Despite the mentioned negative, I’m very happy to say that her positive opinions greatly outweighed the negative and that she “really enjoyed it!” and hopes to “…get to read the sequel some day!”.

What a way to start a new year! I’ve been sick with nervousness since I sent Red Adept my manuscript, unable to write or do much of anything for fear of my Alpha Reader absolutely hating it. And now, I’m looking at my road to publication in a whole new way. I’m still scared to death, but I’m going into it with a lot more confidence! :-)

I know this might sound like some kind of prompted publicity, but it’s purely my UNprompted opinion and a big Thank You to Red Adept, but I would recommend Red Adept services to any aspiring published author and I personally will be using them for my future projects.

As for ‘The Mayfair Moon’, I am hoping to publish this month! So, I guess I better get back to work.

Alright, folks! I’m getting a Kindle around February and I want to help give indie/self-pubbed authors some deserving praise and exposure, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m setting aside $50 to put toward the purchase of eBooks to read on my new Kindle. If you’re a self-published author and you write fiction, all you have to do is:

1.  Be following me on Twitter.
2. Be an indie or self-published author.
3. Comment on this blog post with the title of your book, genre and a link to your book on Amazon. (This is important, so read carefully: to help my paranoia, DO NOT shorten your URL so that it removes the ‘Amazon’ from your link, or I will not click on it.)
4. Also post your Twitter username.

That’s it. I will take the first however many eBooks posted (and that qualify: see below)  that equal to $50 and will buy them when I get my Kindle. In addition to purchasing your book, after I have read it and if I like it, I will rate your book on Amazon and on Goodreads and write a short-and-to-the-point review. If I can’t honestly give you at least 4 stars, I will not rate or review at all because I don’t want to give anyone public negative feedback. Keep in mind, it might take me a while to actually get to your rating and review because I’ll have several books to read ahead of yours, but I will purchase your eBook around the same time I purchase the others.

In addition to purchasing, rating and short-reviewing your eBook, I’ll tweet when I’m reading yours along with a link to your eBook on Amazon and a link to your web site/blog. The only things to keep in mind before submitting are the following:

1. It MUST be fiction
2. It MUST be either, paranormal, fantasy, young adult, paranormal romance, horror, middle-grade fantasy, dystopian, science fiction, post-apocalyptic, or anything else that you think fits these genres. I also love a good southern story with rich southern characters, or historical novels about society’s struggles and triumphs (e.g. The Color Purple), or a tragic love story (e.g. The Notebook). I’ve never been too interested in strictly romance novels, or crime and mystery, things like that. However, if you think your book has the potential to change my tastes a little, go ahead and post it and I might give it a try. I can’t guarantee it’ll be counted among one of the first chosen, so please take that into account.

I have been trolling Amazon’s eBook phenomenon for months and am really excited about finally jumping on the eBook reader bandwagon myself. Also, I want to help out any way I can with giving great indie and self-pubbed books/authors some publicity. Every little bit helps, right?

Lastly, even if you don’t post the link to your book in time for it to be among the first $50, I still encourage you to post your link for me anyway! I’m always on the lookout for great indie/self-pubbed books and I might end up checking it out later, regardless.

I have been trying to come up with a few interactive ways to get fresh eyes and opinions on my fiction and have decided on trying out a Chapter Swap with a fellow writer. Or two. Or three.  I know it’s probably difficult (I say ‘probably’ because I have yet to try it myself) to just ask someone you don’t know, “Hey, would you be interested in reading the first chapter of my novel and telling me what you think?” and they be even slightly interested. So, I’m reaching out now to other writers who are as interested in having unbiased, fresh opinions on their work, as I am.

Here’s how it works. I’ts quite simple.

If  you have written a novel and would like to swap your first chapter with mine, you can send me an email through my contact page to request a swap. Include a link to your site and your Twitter page, if you have one,  as well as the title and blurb for your book.

Depending on how many requests I get, I’ll let you know if I choose to swap with you, or not. (This is no popularity game! So please don’t be offended. If I don’t request a swap with you it only means I had more requests than I can take on, not because I didn’t like the sound of your book, or anything like that.)

After I read your first chapter, I will give you my 100% unbiased opinion of the plot, character(s), pacing, dialogue and even editing, in return for your overall about mine. I admit, I’m no professional editor and I’m no professional anything really, but having a fresh mind that will genuinely take the time to read your work  and not charge you for it, can be invaluable.

Also, it’s totally private! Both parties agree not to discuss the work with anyone else, especially in public.

The book I am interested in swapping right now is my YA Paranormal Romance - The Mayfair Moon. Below is the info.

One-sentence Blurb: After a frightening encounter with a werewolf, Adria Dawson loses the love of her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious boy and his legendary family.
Three-word Description: crossover, love, controversial
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Word Count: 82k
Status: Complete

Longer Blurb:

After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses the love of her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious boy and his legendary family.

 Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

 As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.