DARK BREAKS THE DAWN Pre-Order Giveaways!!

Coming May 30th, 2017!!

DARK BREAKS THE DAWN 

Pre-Order Extravaganza is HERE!!!

I am SO excited to share the pre-order giveaway details with you all! I've been working on this for months, and I hope you will be as thrilled with the MANY options of what you could win as I am! 

Before I get to the giveaways though, here are the entry details: 

1. PRE-ORDER DARK BREAKS THE DAWN and take a screenshot or picture of your receipt!

Pre-order links - 

Support Indie Book stores by ordering a Signed/Personalized copy 

from The King's English CLICK HERE

Pre-order from AMAZON CLICK HERE

Pre-Order from Barnes & Noble CLICK HERE

Pre-Order from Book Depository CLICK HERE

2. Email me the picture of your pre-order receipt via 

DarkBreaksTheDawn (at) Gmail (dot) com and include your mailing address  

in the body of the email to streamline the shipping process ON OR BEFORE May 29th, 2017.  

THAT'S IT!! So easy, right??

Now to the REALLY fun part....what you could win! 

Dark Breaks The Dawn is a fantasy re-imagining of Swan Lake with some new twists. I've always loved Swan Lake, it's my favorite ballet and that music. Wow. Also, swans have always been my favorite birds. (I guess I have that in common with Evelayn, the main character in the book.) So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw my cover for the first time -- I actually got emotional, I loved it so much. And that image, along with the story's roots in Swan Lake, and Evelayn's love for swans inspired the items in the giveaway. Are you ready??

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ALL Pre-orders will receive a signed bookmark:

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The FIRST 30 pre-order entries will ALL receive this cool swan pendant necklace:

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 I will do drawings from ALL of the entries (including the first 30) 

for the following prizes at the end of the giveaway:

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10 Runner-ups will receive this necklace:

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1 Grand Prize WINNER will receive this necklace:

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1 Grand Prize Winner will receive this necklace: 

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1 Grand Prize Winner will receive this necklace: 

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1 Grand Prize Winner will receive this necklace: 

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1 Grand Prize Winner will receive this crystal paperweight:

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THE ULTIMATE GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive this Crystal Swan Diadem!!!!

 How GORGEOUS is this?!?! 

ARE YOU FREAKING OUT YET?!?! I know I am!! You have SO many chances to win something, so hurry and get those entries in to me! 

**(All prizes will be announced and mailed after the giveaway closes on May 29th, 2017. 

Giveaway is open internationally because I love ALL my readers that much! )**

GOOD LUCK AND HAPPY READING!!

*P.S. I will also be giving away a few of these items at 

my launch party on May 30th, 2017. *

Friday Five

1. Christmas wrapping paper is irritating me this year. It seems to be tearing with very little provocation and it's making me crazy! I have a gift almost perfectly wrapped, when bam! Huge tear right in the middle. What the...? Grrr. Thank heavens I'm done wrapping now (finally) except for the presents I still need to get my hubby.

2. As I was wrapping all the gifts, I realized my kids are getting a lot of books this year. Strange how that happened. He he.

3. I was remembering this week back to when I was a teenager, (which wasn't THAT long ago... ahem) and what I usually asked to get for Christmas. I almost always asked for books and music. Not clothes, or make-up, or whatever else I probably needed. I loved getting books and CDs to listen to while I read those books. Or wrote my own books.

4. That thought spurred another memory. When I was eight or nine, my paternal Grandmother (who we called Far-Mor, because she was from Sweden and that's what you called her there), used to invite each of me and my sisters down individually to spend weekends with her and Far-Far (my paternal grandfather). When it was my turn, we'd go to dinner, and watch movies. Then I'd get to sleep in the "pink room" that she decorated just for all of us grand-daughters. We'd get up in the morning and make breakfast, and then she'd always take me to the mall to pick out some little gifts for her to get me. Without fail, I'd go to the book store. She usually ended up buying my two or three books because I could never make up my mind. Then she'd take me to lunch at the cafe at Nordstrom's, and we'd talk about all the books I loved. She died when I was fourteen, because of cancer. I know she's in a better place and with us still, but I can't help but wish sometimes that she was here on earth with us.

5. Which made me think of this last thought. At this time of year, I miss Far-Mor the most. After she and Far-Far moved to UT, it became our tradition to have a Swedish Christmas Eve every year. She would cook and bake and prepare for days and days. They lived in Pleasant Grove, up on the hill, so on Christmas Eve, we'd all pile in the Suburban (necessary with five kids), and head down to Pleasant Grove. We'd walk into her house, and the smells were just divine. Mashed potatoes, Swedish Meatballs, fresh Pepparkakor (these amazing Swedish cookies she'd make), little smokies, more cookies and desserts and food and mmmmm.... And there in the middle of it all would be Far-Mor, her Swedish Christmas music playing on an old tape player in the warm kitchen. Her cheeks were always a little rosy from the heat of the stove, and because as she cooked, she'd dance around the little kitchen, singing along in Swedish. She was tall like me, and strawberry blonde--your typical Swede. We'd devour our Swedish Smorgasbord, and then go to the tree (decorated in swedish flags and fake candles--for safety), and open all our presents from Tomten (the Swedish Santa Claus). She and Far-Far always spoiled us silly, giving us tons of presents. Then on top of all the store bought gifts, she always knitted us these beautiful sweaters every year (and it usually took her all year to make all five sweaters). I loved her intensely, as did my whole family, and after she died, she left a huge void in all of our hearts. Wow, I'm going to make myself cry. Anyway, my family keeps this tradition alive every year. My mom now has the Swedish Smorgasbord at her house, and makes almost all of the same food that Far-Mor did, even the Pepparkakor. Now that we're older, we all pitch in as well. It's something we all look forward to every year, and even after we've gotten married and have to try and juggle all the in-law's schedules too, the Swedish Christmas Eve is non-negotiable for all of us. I know that even after my parents leave us (which better not be for a LONG, LONG time), my sisters and I will carry on this tradition.

So, tell me, what are you Christmas (or Holiday) traditions that you prize the most?

You know what 200 means...

*note: well, when I checked my blog earlier on Tuesday, I had reached 200... but apparently someone decided to unfollow me. *sad face* Apparently my rambling answers about loving Benihana and desserts and lots and lots of books and movies was too much for someone. Now I'm down to 199. But, you know what? It's close enough. So...

It's time for a contest! Woohoo! Thank you all for caring enough about what I have to say to follow me and comment on my posts. It means more than you know. As a way to say "thank you" I am going to do a contest. The only thing I'm having trouble deciding is... what to give away?

So now is your chance to let me know. What would you--my lovely, wonderful, awesome readers--like to win? Please vote in the comments and I will announce the contest prizes and what to do to enter on Friday!

1. A package that includes a book (maybe two or three depending on which ones I get) and some chocolate or candy.

2. A package that includes a gift card to Barnes & Noble or Amazon or something like that, and some chocolate and candy.

3. A ten page critique of your manuscript.

Let me know which one sounds the most appealing to you (and if you have any requests, let me know!) and I will announce the actual contest on Friday.

Thank you again; all of your support and kindness has been astounding.

QUERY CONTEST - ENDS TODAY!!

Happy Friday everyone! This is just your quick reminder that the query contest closes today at 12:00 MST - (2:00 pm EST, 11:00 AM PST). If you want a chance to win a query critique, click here and give me your best twitter pitch!

So, I'm curious... what book (or books) is/are coming out in 2010 that you are just dying to own? I can think of quite a few that I can't wait to have on my book shelf. Or, more realistically, in the huge pile next to my bed. I loved PARANORMALCY and can't wait to buy it (August 31st!). Kiersten's book is a wonderfully fresh, funny, romantic and unique take on the YA paranormal genre. I highly recommend it. And of course, MOCKINGJAY. Oh boy, I can't wait to see how this trilogy is going to end. Happy? Sad? Peeta? Gale? (Come on, go for Peeta! ahem...) Or maybe she'll kill them all. (Yikes, I hope not.)

There are so many amazing books coming out, but since those are both being released in August, they're on my mind right now.

Further on in the year is NIGHTSHADE (also loved it! I'm totally team Ren though. Not sure that's what she intended...), and one of my personal favorites MATCHED (duh, if you've been reading this blog long enough, you know how much I love Ally's book--all of her books really, but this one in particular). I know these are technically next year, but I also can't wait for DARKEST MERCY (the final Wicked Lovely book), and THE IRON QUEEN. CRESCENDO and FIRELIGHT and ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and... Okay, I better stop. This list could go on and on and on.

So tell me, what books are you just dying to get your hands on?

Happy weekend everyone, and best of luck to all of the query contest entrants! I'm glad I'm not judging it, you guys have some great pitches.

Last day FTW... and the power books can have

Well... today is the day. (Did you know that FTW means "for the win"? I learned that from Lisa and Laura. You learn something every day. Thanks ladies, hehe!) We only have until 4:00 pm MST to try and get 20 more followers so that I can pick a winner for the signed paperback of WINGS. (It's looking pretty grim to get to 100 for the hardback of SPELLS.) If we don't make it though, that's okay. I really appreciate all the new followers that have signed up in the last week, and I promise to give y'all another chance at a giveaway soon. The best part is that existing followers will get two entries automatically in the next one. So keep an eye out for that...

As for me, I'm feeling better thank heavens. I think I should be back to full health tomorrow. Revisions are going well, which is always nice. I caught up to what my agent has sent me so far last night, so I got to take a little break today and read something else. I'm wondering... do books affect you like they affect me? When I was younger, a depressing book or movie could make me upset literally for days. Sometimes even more than a week if it was truly powerful. Not like crying constantly the whole time, but just down. Unable to stop thinking about it. I'm a little bit better at not letting things get to me so deeply these days (I don't have time to be down and crying all day about a character in a book dying when my 5 year old wants to play tag, and the 1 year old is dumping out the whole box of Teddy Grahams in the drawer, or whatever chaos is ensuing that particular day). However, sometimes they are sad enough to still get to me.

The book I just read was for a neighborhood book club, and not one I would normally pick up. Why? Because it's about the holocaust. Holocaust books are very, very hard for me to read; I know because of how many I've read. What happened during WWII is horrifying. I finally had to stop reading books about it, or be careful about which ones I picked because I'd get so depressed an upset afterwards. And this one in particular is about a part of the holocaust I've never known before (which is somewhat horrifying in and of itself). It's called SARAH'S KEY, and it was (not surprisingly) very depressing, but also very good.

It taught me a ton about France's role in the holocaust. But it though it was an easy read (as in, a fast read) it was also incredibly hard to read because of what happened. I know Sarah is fictional. I know her little brother being locked in the cupboard is fictional. (That's not a spoiler, it's on the jacketflap.) But I personalize things. I kept imagining my little 4 year old boy (who barely turned five) being in that cupboard, waiting for his sister to come back. I kept imagining feeling how devastated beyond all comprehension and words it would be to have been those mothers locked into camps with their helpless children. They had no food or water or provisions and then they were cruelly, brutally torn away from their babies, toddlers, and children and shipped off to Auschwitz to die. Despite how hard it was to read though, I'm glad I did. It was powerful and a reminder of what happened. (Just as a disclaimer if anyone wants to read it, be warned there are disturbing images, and some language in this book.)

So I'm curious. What books have you read throughout your life that have never left you? The ones that made you feel emotions so deeply that you felt like the characters were real? The ones that left you haunted or hurting, or maybe in a good way--jubilant and uplifted--by their stories, real or fictional?

That's what I love the most about books, the power to take you places, to teach you things, and to make characters become as real to you as your own family and friends. Books are powerful. Words are powerful. Don't you think?