February Update...

Happy Monday Everybody!

2019 has been rather busy for me so far. I've been working on finishing up a novel that I'm hoping will be done writing by early March and then I'll go through and do my personal edits, send it off to my assistant who has been clamoring to read this one (I send her snippets and she's chomping at the bit for the rest). I'm working with a consultant to brush up on some things that I needed help with and gearing up for BrazCon, which is this weekend.

BrazCon will be in Manvel, Texas this year. I've never been there, but it's not extremely far off, so my assistant is picking me up bright and early and off we'll go. I've got some fun swag ready and I'll have a door prize that I'll turn into to the people running that side of things. I'll also be selling LIMITED number of paperback copies of ALL my published books (yep, even All's Fair In Love & Lion is coming along this time). I'm also going to be on a panel around 11:30 a.m. (I think that's the time) about writing. I don't know what the questions are, yet, so this should be interesting.

Because of several things going on--getting a new phone, a family wedding, and such, I won't be at RWA Nationals in New York City in July. I'm looking at going next year, which will be in San Francisco. So stay tuned for more info on that later in the year.

I'm also planning a sequel to the WIP (Work In Progress) I've been writing lately, and I have 2 more books to write in the Immortal Dreams series, which have been started and have titles, I just have to finish writing and editing them.

Allergies have been driving the whole Averie Household crazy. Youngest is on meds, and I've been popping throat lozenges, but I think we're doing better.

This Fall is a milestone birthday for me, but I won't say which milestone. I need to keep a little mystery about myself going. *Laughs*

I've also been checking out some Book Tubers on YouTube. It's like reviews except on YouTube. They seem like a lot of fun and really are into reading and talking about books, which is right up my alley! I've been enjoying Hailey In Bookland.

Author Avery Flynn's Tomboy just came out, which is book 3 in her new series. I've read the other two and enjoyed them, so I had to pick up my e-book copy of this one, too! (It's also available in paperback, I believe).

I need to finish up Alyssa Cole's A Princess In Theory, which has been fun (I love fairy-tale-ish stuff!) and then I have a whole stack of other books in my TBR section of my bookshelf to get to reading. Including, but not limited to, C.C. Hunter's upcoming release--I have an arc copy of Another Life!

Movies:  I missed Bohemian Rhapsody in the theaters, so I'm hoping to stream that soon. I also want to see The Nutcracker And The Four Realms (I've seen mixed reviews of that, but we'll see, I might just love it). There are a ton of movies coming that I'm looking forward to, including the new Avengers movie.

What movies are you looking forward to releasing? What books are you reading/looking forward to? Comment in the comment section to let me know what's on your list of looking forward to/reading!

Have A Momentously Merry Monday!

Conference, Announcements, & More...

Happy Wednesday, Thursday, or whenever you read this, darling readers!

IMMORTAL DREAMS basket (bag of goodies)
I donated for the conference raffle

Things have been super busy in the Averie Household (although, when are they not?) And also busy in my writing life, too.

This past weekend, I attended the Northwest Houston chapter of Romance Writers of America (NWHRWA--which I am a member of this chapter) Lone Star Writer's Conference.

The conference consisted of being broken up into 2 parts, a morning speaker and an afternoon speaker.

ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE & LION
basket I donated for the raffle

Kerrelyn Sparks speaking at
the 2016 Lone Star Writer's Conference

In the morning we had the incredibly talented, NY Times Bestseller, Kerrelyn Sparks (of the Love At Stake series fame). Kerrelyn is someone I know personally and haven't seen in more than a year, so it was great to see her again, catch up, and hear what she had to say. She talked about different hooks, and about the different parts of writing and how to work within each part. She likened writing to the 4 quarters of a football game (the football part goes over my head, I'm not a football fan, but she broke it down nicely, so I wasn't lost). She also said "You're not JUST a writer. You're never JUST anything." she said that instead of comparing yourself to another writer and their successes or whatever they've done, to compete with yourself. To be the best writer, plotter, or whatever part of writing is your strength.

She gave away some copies of her novels, as well as copies of the ARC of her March 2017 release, How To Tame A Beast In Seven Days.

Me & Kerrelyn
at the 2016 Lone Star Writer's Conference

I really enjoy Kerrelyn's writing and speaking. She's so sweet, funny, and generous. She's a great friend, talented author, and very supportive of other authors. So, yeah, I recommend her for speaking or checking out her work. 

I missed the announcement of the Lone Star Writer's Contest finalists, but they should be listed on the website soon if they aren't already (link is near the beginning of this post).

Sandra Beckwith speaking
at the 2016 Lone Star Writer's Conference

In the afternoon, the extremely helpful Sandra Beckwith from Buildbookbuzz.com spoke, and she had a lot of helpful hints and tips for marketing and promoting. Some ideas I've heard, and some of them I hadn't. There are a few I intend to try and see what happens. She says she has a lot of information on her website, so that's good for those who have or haven't heard her speak. If you get a chance to attend any of her workshops, I recommend it.

If you haven't been following me on Facebook, you probably missed my news!

I recently signed a contract with my publisher for a new Immortal Dreams novel. This novel, entitled Perfect Love is Laney's best friend, Hailey's story. (That's right Immortal Dreams fans, I've finally written Hailey's story!) I don't have a release date, yet, but I'll update when I have more information.

C.C. Hunter will have a brand new release THIS MONTH. Miranda's story, which has been highly anticipated, arrives Oct. 25th. This is the last book in the Shadow Falls series It should be quite an exciting finish to an incredibly imaginative and fun series.

Also, those of you who pre-order Midnight Hour will be able to get a brand-new Kylie-Lucas story entitled, Fighting Back, so get those pre-orders in BEFORE the release date! Click here to Pre-Order from Amazon. Click here to Pre-Order from Barnes & Noble. I'll have to do a more in-depth post about this, but right now, go pre-order Midnight Hour. :-)

Anyway, as you can see, there is a lot going on. I'll update more at another time, and give more of a look at C.C. Hunter's Midnight Hour in a different post, but for now, darling readers, (and for my Immortal Dreams fans, Immortals) I wish you the best of the rest of the week and hoping you're having a great start to October!

Have A Wonderfully Whimsical Wednesday!

Running The Averie Marathon...

Happy Tuesday Everybody,

Whew! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update this blog. Things are chaotic in the Averie Household and some days I feel like I'm running a marathon.

Recently I was talking with a friend of mine who mentioned she was starting a writers' group somewhere. I'm not able to be a part of the group, but she wants me to come out and do a talk. I'm very flattered and thrilled to be asked, so I inquired what she'd want me to talk about. She mentioned networking. We chatted a bit about that and my wheels have been turning ever since. (We're looking at me doing the talk sometime in the summer, we haven't set a date, yet). I'm looking forward to it.

My illustrious critique partner, Tess St. John, has just released the 5th and final book in her Undercover Intrigue, romantic suspense series. The novel is entitled Eyes Of A Stranger and for a limited time it's on sale for 99 cents on Amazon Kindle. I haven't read this one and am really looking forward to seeing how she wraps up the series. The romantic suspense have been my favorite out of all the many genres she writes. I like her other work, but this series has been my favorite. I'm so happy for her. She works so hard and has done some incredible things with her work.

Another new release that I am excited about (and have read--and enjoyed) is Stacy Hoff's Desire In The Arctic (sequel to Desire In The Everglades, but you can read them out of order, but I recommend reading the first one before picking up this one). What can I say about this novel aside from fun, adventure, suspense, and romance all rolled into a heart-warming novel is worth sitting down with a good cup of coffee (or tea, or wine, or whatever drink you prefer) and enjoying. Stacy has an incredible imagination and never ceases to intrigue me with her ideas. This one is also available on Amazon Kindle.

I continue working on my WIP (Work In Progress) as much as possible and I'm making some progress on it. I'm not sure when I'll be done, but I'm hoping before too many more months go by I'll have it written and working on editing and getting it critiqued. 

I'm also working on critiquing a fellow author's work. We've worked with each other before and I really want to help her out. She's a very imaginative author who nails emotion in her novels quite well.

What are you reading these days?

Have A Tremendously Terrific Tuesday!

Birthday Week, ASTRAL LOVE, New Releases & More...

Happy Monday Everybody,

It's my birthday week...did you know that? And yes, I may be over 30, but I STILL get excited about my birthday (which is Wednesday, the 15th). I'm hoping to do something special for my readers that day, but we'll see.

There is A LOT going on in my life. Currently working on 2nd

round edit read through for my publisher on Book Two in the Immortal Dreams Trilogy, Astral Love, which is supposed to release on October 28th. So yes, there's a lot of "I need to get this done!" going on in my head. I'm excited about the Trilogy continuing and hoping that my readers enjoy this next installment. It took me on quite an adventure.

On October 4th I attended my chapter's Lone Star Writer's

On left: My editor from my publishing house
On right: Me (Bethany Averie)

Conference, which happens every year. I had a lot of fun. My editor was in town and so I got to spend some time chatting with her, talking about my progress and everything that's been going on. She was very kind about everything and encouraging, which was wonderful.

Bob Mayer and Jen Talty did a wonderful job with their presentations, and Bob presented an interesting idea on how to set up goal and motivation for the protagonist and antagonist. A different way of looking at things.

The Make-Your-Own Sundae Bar, which was a new thing this year, was a big hit! Many people exclaimed how excited they were

that there was Blue Bell Ice Cream available (a well-known brand of ice cream in Texas--with its headquarters here in the Lone Star State). I did, in fact, indulge in one with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Yum. (Sorry no pictures of that!)

Also, I will be posting my review of an upcoming October release...I don't know if it'll be before or after the novel comes out, but it's a C.C. Hunter novel--take a guess which one...it's a surprise.

I know it's only October, but I'm one of those goofy people who is looking forward to Christmas. In fact, I actually have to start my shopping early--well, hopefully get to this year, there's A LOT going on, as I've said, so we'll see how early a jump I get. Generally I start in September.

Offspring has Halloween costume, so we're all set for the big October Holiday. Offspring is very excited because once again there is Trick-Or-Treating with some cousins, so lots of excitement there.

Pal of mine, author SC Montgomery has a debut YA out, Lines In The Sand, which you can find on Amazon and Barnes & Noble for your reading pleasure.

Also, another author friend of mine, Judythe Morgan, has a new novel out, Claiming Annie's Heart. You can find it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Have A Merrily Marvelous Monday!

Updates, New Releases, & More...

Happy Tuesday Everybody,

Status report:  Book Three, Immortal Love (of the Immortal Dreams Trilogy) is over halfway written. It's not yet as far along as

I'd like, but it's making progress, which is good. Unfortunately sinus/migraine headache issues, and some other stuff got in the way this past week of me getting much writing in, so I'm trying to do much better this week. I'm relieved to tell you my headaches are better.

Book Two of Immortal Dreams Trilogy:  Book Two, Astral Love, will release in the Fall of this year. From the schedule I received from my publisher it looks like some time in October (Ooo! Looks like a birthday present for moi. What do you all think?)

Facebook:  There is now a Facebook page for the Immortal Dreams Trilogy. If you "Like" the page you will be able to keep up with updates. Things that will be exclusively posted there! (Such as Teaser #2 is already posted there) and cameo appearances from characters Laney and Jason. Who knows? Maybe one of the Immortals will take over my keyboard and make an appearance. But you will need to "Like" the page to get those updates. I may even do a sneak-peek-before-big-reveal cover reveal there (that's something I still have to make a final decision about, but I'm giving it very serious consideration).  Click here to get to the Immortal Dreams Trilogy Facebook page.

Nationals:  I will NOT be at the 2014 RWA National Conference. I just can't swing it. However, I do know there will be MANY other great authors there, so if you're going, be sure to check them out.

Conference:  I'm waiting for registration for the NWHRWA's annual Lone Star Writer's Conference to open up. It's taking place the first Saturday in October. To check the details please click here. It looks like it's going to be another good one.

There are a TON of new books out there. If you're interested in the new books my publisher is releasing, check the SMP website here.

My talented critique partner, Tess St. John released Last Chance in June. To check it out, click here for Amazon, for Barnes & Noble, click here.

Author pal/critique-er/word-sprint partner/awesome person, Patti Korbet, released This Year's Love in June. To check this novel out, click here for Amazon, and for Barnes & Noble, click here.

Recently the oh-so-talented Marie Hall released Hood's Obsession (a novel connected to her Kingdom Series--it features The Big Bad

Wolf and Red Riding Hood's daughter!) To check it out on Amazon, click here. For Barnes & Noble, click here.

The amazing Christie Craig released a novel with two other authors called Three Southern Beaches, which looks like  fun. To check this novel out, click here for Amazon. For Barnes & Noble, click here.

I know I'm forgetting probably more than one person, so if you or another author you know had a novel released this year (that is from January to now) feel free to post about it in the comment section of this blog post!

**Please Remember:  All comments come to me for approval. Once I see them and approve them, they will be published and appear in the comment section. If you make a comment and it doesn't appear by the end of this week (Friday, July 25th) please send me an email about it. Doing comments this way has cut down on some of the issues this blog had in the past, it also cuts down on identical posts. Thank your for your patience and understanding**

Hope everyone has a Tremendously Totally Terrific Tuesday!

Updates & 2014 Upcoming Releases...

Happy Friday All,

I've been thinking about what kind of post to write, and well several ideas have been floating in my mind. I couldn't nail down one, so I waited until I could. And I still haven't, but I thought I'd give it a go to see what happens. (Bear with me LOL).

I'm awaiting 1st round edits for Immortal Dreams Book 1: Divine Love.

I'm still waiting on the paperback version of All's Fair In Love & Lion (I'm sorry that's been taking so long).

I'm waiting on the cover art for Immortal Dreams Book 1: Divine Love.  The form has been turned in to the artist, so I guess just waiting on them.

I am so looking forward to this cover you have NO idea. I love this Trilogy. I do, I really do. There's just something about Erich and Laney that has me going bonkers. My beta reader is awaiting Book 3. She's loved the first 2 and is ready for the third one. 

If you're a member of Goodreads, all 3 Immortal Dreams Trilogy books are up on Goodreads for you to press that "Want To Read" button. I haven't put in much of a blurb, yet, because I wanted to wait closer to Divine Love's release date to do that. However, don't let that stop you from pressing the "want to read" button. The more "buzz" that is created, the better. 

Here's a very general overview of the Immortal Dreams Trilogy: 

18 year-old, senior high school student, Laney Alberts mourns the death of her beloved father. Even though it happened a year earlier,

it might as well have been yesterday.  Enter Erich Magnus. There's

something about this guy, and it's not just his god-like good looks, cocky attitude, leather jacket, and silver Corvette. There's something more, something deeper. What Laney hadn't bargained on was her place in the whole crazy situation. Secrets will be uncovered, lies revealed, and to put it into Laney's words "major suckage" ensues. Can they figure it out before the world is taken over by chaos? Find out starting June 18, 2014 when Immortal Dreams Book 1: Divine Love is released!

I realize that's not the most awesome blurb in the world, and I promise I have another one that should be better yet to come, but that's what I can offer at the moment.

Meanwhile here's a list of books (besides my own, of course) that I'm really excited about (in no particular order) and some of these you can pre-order, too:

Kiera Cass's The One (Book 3 in The Selection series)--May 2014

C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls After Dark:  Reborn (spin-off series to her Shadow Falls series)  -- May 2014

Kerrelyn Sparks' How To Seduce A Vampire (Without Really Trying)  (next installment in her Love At Stake series)  -- April 2014

Jennifer L. Armentrout's Opposition (book 5 in her Lux series)--August 2014

Katie McGarry's Take Me On --releasing May 2014   also looking forward to Breaking The Rules (a new Noah & Echo story!)--December 2014

Lesley Livingston's Transcendent (book 3 of Starling series)--December 2014

There's other books I'm looking forward to reading that I already have but haven't gotten to, but these are the ones that are releasing this year.


What books are you looking forward to seeing released THIS year?

Have A Fabulously Fun Friday!

If You Say His Name...

Happy Thursday  Everybody,

Recently, I struck a deal with author Marie Hall (which it’s kind of funny for me to say

“struck a deal” given the character of this novel). She was kind and generous enough to allow me the opportunity to read and review her upcoming release, Rumpel’s Prize. 

This novel is filled with suspense, adventure, sizzling romance, and mystery…just like Rumpelstiltskin himself.

Rumpel is a cursed man of darkness. His life is made up of deals, contracts, dancing-around-the-truth, secrets, and loneliness.  He knows nothing else, and in many ways, he revels in his life. After all, he's powerful and he's feared. He gets what he wants and nobody can do a darned thing about it.

But he's a man on a mission. A very important mission, so he travels the land of Kingdom, seeking the answer to his problem. To aid him in his quest is his list of names who have contracts with him.

His travels takes him to the home of Gerard and Betty Caron (you can read their story in Gerard’s Beauty) where their nineteen year old daughter, Shareya lives.

Tucked away from all human contact, Shareya harbors a frustrating and horrible secret. And while she loves her family dearly, the secret has made her life very difficult.

When Rumpel visits, and calls in on the contract her father, Gerard, made with him, Shareya is horrified by the terms with which Rumpel decides to fulfill the bargain. To save her beloved father from Rumpel’s terms, Shareya agrees to take her father’s place and travel with Rumpel to his castle. For three months Shareya will remain at Rumpel’s castle. One day out of each month will be the day of the test—the day she plays Rumpel's game.

Three tests/games, three months. Shareya is determined to fulfill her promise, and return home. Rumpel is equally determined to figure out the answer to his troubles. What neither of them bargained on was love.

The question is, will love be strong enough and real enough to withstand Rumpel’s secrets?  Or will the whole thing tear them apart?

Find out in Marie Hall’s newest release, Rumpel’s Prize on April 1, 2014 (Marie assured me it wasn't a joke) in the Alpha’s After Dark Anthology.

Have A Tremendously Thrilling Day!

All She Wants For Christmas...

Happy Tuesday All,

Wow, it really has been a long time since I updated. I was working on fixing up my new novel to send out, and had a bunch of other obligations so my life has been packed lately. I still have a lot on my plate, but I wanted to take the time to give a heads up on a few things. (By the way, new novel has been sent out, yay!)

I'll be guest appearing on another blog (scheduled for Dec. 3rd), I'll do my best to update the blog so you can get to the post. It'll have a bunch of my favorite Christmassy traditions in it, so stay tuned. If you're following me on Facebook or Twitter, I'll definitely have the links on there. I need to update my website--the last time I tried there was some sort of problem and it didn't go through. 

In the meantime, the ever-talented Christie Craig has a new Romance out just in time for the holidays, and today I'm going to give you my official blog review of it:

Savanna has had a run of bad luck lately. When her mom was dying, her husband decided to sleep with one of his employees, in their house. She came back from spending time with her mother, only to find the two together. Now divorced, and having had to give up the house, she finds out that the fact she didn't put her car's title in her name is coming back to bite her in the rear...in the form of a Santa-suit wearing repo man all because her ex-husband screwed her over by taking out a loan on the car's title and not paying it back.

She runs to her neighbor's house--hunky cop, Mark Donaldson, to ask him for help. Unfortunately, his hands are tied and he can't do a thing.

And although Mark is unable to assist her, he can't help but notice how attractive Savanna is. She, on the other hand, has deemed him a jerk. (Albeit, a hunky jerk).

Unable to get help anywhere, she drowns her troubles in the form of lunch with her best-girlfriends and confesses all she wants for Christmas is her ex-husband dead with a bow tied around his.... (you fill in the blank). 

What Savanna didn't bargain for was her words spoken in anger to be taken seriously. She comes home only to find her ex laying on the floor dead. This time, however, when she runs for Mark's help, the cop is determined to prove her innocence. Not only that, serve and protect take on a whole new meaning when Savanna's involved. 

You see, for the first time in Mark's life, he may have just found the woman right for him.

But is it meant to be or will doubts and murder get in the way of could-be?

Find out in The Cop Who Stole Christmas. For a Limited Time you can get this fun novel for only $1.99 on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook.

Have A Totally Terrific Tuesday!

Who's The Gilty One?

Happy Tuesday Everybody,

As promised, today is a special treat...an official blog book review and it's a brand-new release:

Laura Childs strikes again with her newest Scrapbooking Mystery, Gilt Trip.

When Carmela Bertrand and her best pal, Ava Gruiex attend a high society shindig celebrating the release of Jerry Earl Leland from jail (only because Carmela designed the invitations and Margo—Jerry Earl’s wife—decided Carmela must be at the party), the last thing on their minds is murder.

However, when searching for something to dab a stain on Ava’s blouse, Carmela runs across a murder victim stuffed in the dryer. And not just any victim. Jerry Earl himself. 

With her boyfriend/detective, Edgar Babock, out of town, his no-nonsense assistant Bobby Gallant is on the case. And he has no interest in Carmela sticking her nose in the investigation. In fact, Carmela has no interest in doing that either—even going so far as to promise Babock she won’t.

However, when the distraught widow begs (okay, let's be honest, leaves no room to say no) Carmela finds herself in the middle of a messy situation filled with business enemies, and prison gangs (one that references “the end of the world”) and a host of other things she hadn't planned on being a part of.

The whole thing gets worse when Jerry Earl’s assistant is next on the murderer’s hit list.

Can Carmela figure it all out so the right person goes to jail—or will she be too late?

You can purchase your copy of Gilt Trip today,  October 1, 2013, from the following...

Barnes & Noble and Amazon 

Hope everyone has a Tip-Top Tuesday!

Updates, A Debut Release, & Coming Soon...

Happy Wednesday Everybody,

Yesterday I received my 2nd round of edits, so I'm currently in the edit cave working on that. However, there's a few things I needed to reveal...

Be sure to continue checking the margin of this blog. Details of another blog appearance have been nailed down, so I added them to the schedule. I'll be the guest of chapter mate (and talented author), Teri Thackston on her blog, Gimme A Little Kiss on July 28, 2013. 

Congratulations to one of my other chapter mates, Jenn Langston, on her debut release of her Historical Romance, His Perfect Bride! It's available now through Amazon Kindle. 

Talented author pal of mine, Mary Lindsey, has a new Young Adult (YA) Paranormal coming out, Ashes On The Waves.  This Poe-inspired novel is available June 27, 2013. It'll be available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

So what books are you looking forward to releasing?

Have A Wonderfully Whimsical Wednesday!