It's Time For A Holiday...

Hey Everyone,

Well, 2013 has been an epic year for me. I've managed to publish The Elements Trilogy, Before and Beyond - the two Betwixt Series novellas, two Indie Inked samplers and put together three omnibus books. I've also written the 1st draft of two books I'm publishing next year - True Colors and I Know Lucy. I've been invited to be a panelist at UtopYA Con next year and I've signed a publishing contract with Evatopia Press.

I'm really proud of what I've achieved and I can't wait for 2014. I have another 6 books planned and I can't WAIT to share them with you!

My brain is now ready for a little break. My family and I are going away for a week to a sunny resort in Thailand then returning for a snuggly two weeks in the Suzhou cold. It'll be my boys first winter Christmas so it'll be a good experience for them.

I'm planning on getting a bunch of reading done. My kindle is packed with goodies that I'm super excited about getting into.

What's on your reading list?

If you want to add a few more - here are some of my favorite reads from 2013 (in no particular order).

Anna Cruise:
Maverick - If I Fall - It Was You - It Was Me - It Was Us - Down by the Water

Ella James: Selling Scarlett - Taming Cross

Taylor Longford:
Defiance - Chaos - (I read the 1st three in this series last year. I have LOVED them all so far!)

JA Huss: Losing Francesca

Alexia Purdy: Ever Wrath

Cambria Hebert: Text

Shelly Crane: Wide Awake - Wide Spaces

Komal Kant: Impossible

Ruben Gretchen: The Happiness Project

Simone Elkeles: Wild Cards

What have you read and enjoyed this year?

Thank you so much for everyone who has read and followed this blog throughout 2013. I have had so much fun highlighting authors and introducing you all to some top quality reading.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a very Merry Christmas :)
I will be back on January 6th with more author highlights, cover reveals, interviews, discussion posts, giveaways and a ton more fun.

COVER LOVE - July Edition plus COVER REVEAL for Taming Cross by Ella James

As many of you know, this is my favourite post of the month. I love book covers, there is something so delicious about them and I have some gorgeous ones to share with you today.

First off - here are two by the talented Eden Crane. I love her stuff and am very excited to be working with her for the first time. She did these two covers for Komal Kant - an author I adore. I can't wait for both these books to come out. So excited!!

Add Echoes of Melody to your reading list.

Add Wrong Side of Town to your reading list.

Next up with have a saucy little cover by Lizzy Ford. I think it's the lips that my eyes get drawn to first. They are very luscious and I'm immediately intrigued by who this woman is.

Add Star Kissed to your reading list.

Another cover that caught my eye and took my breath away this week was Exit Stage Left by Patti Larsen. It is SO gorgeous and I cannot tell you how excited I am that Patti has written a contemporary romance. I can't WAIT to read it!!

Add Exit Stage Left to your reading list.

And finally - the big cover reveal. I love doing cover reveals and I'm very excited to be a part of Ella's one. The sequel to Selling Scarlett does not disappoint. Check out - Taming Cross! 

TAMING CROSS by ELLA JAMES

For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.

Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything.

If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her.

What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?

Add Taming Cross to your reading list.

Indie Inked Solstice Sale - Wednesday's Books of the Day!

For the next week, we are going to be doing daily highlights for the Solstice Sale. Remember, we are also running an amazing signed paperback giveaway.

Entry details are on the Rafflecopter form below.

We have an awesome line up for you today.

IMPOSSIBLE by Komal Kant

Ashton Summers is on her way to becoming the most popular girl in school and nothing—or no one—is going to stand in her way. Especially not Luca Byron, her freak neighbor, with his tattoos, loud music, and distracting green eyes.

Luca Byron has three goals in life: get through high school with a low profile, make sure his garage band becomes something more than a hobby, and try to forget about his insufferable ex-best friend, Ashton, who he can’t get out of his mind.

The last thing Ashton and Luca want to do is rekindle their friendship, but when Ashton takes a tumble down the social ladder, Luca—with his new makeover—is the only one who can help her rise up again by pretending to be her boyfriend. At first, being together is unbearable and annoying, but things start to change as Ashton and Luca discover the real reasons they drifted apart seven years ago.

Now, keeping their hands off each other seems impossible.

Purchase on AMAZON.

THEIR PROMISE by Brina Courtney

One moment can change your life forever.

One moment to find love.

One moment to lose it.

Purchase on AMAZON and BARNES AND NOBLE.

FLUTTER by Melissa Andrea

As Sara and Adan struggle to overcome their own separate battles -
There is a far more determined evil that is stalking the shadows and waiting to annihilate them both.
Sara will figure out that not everything is what it seems and knowing what she can and can not trust will be the key to finding out the truth to what happened to her, the reason why she had been buried alive and who she really is…

Sara and Adan will discover the hidden meaning to why she was the reason he existed and why he would be the reason she survived & together they will fight to change the rules and rewrite their fate.

Purchase on AMAZON.

THE DARK FAERIE TALE SERIES by Alexia Purdy

Purchase Ever Shade on AMAZON and BARNES AND NOBLE.
Purchase Ever Fire on AMAZON and BARNES AND NOBLE.
Purchase Ever Winter on AMAZON and BARNES AND NOBLE.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Which Book Characters Have You Fallen For?

I like to break up my author guest posts and giveaways with the odd discussion post. Sometimes it's hard coming up with a topic, but today was an easy one.

Falling in love with book characters.

Have you ever done it?
Do you think it's important that you do?

Personally, I think you get so much more out of a book if you end up swooning (even just a little) over one of the characters. And what's even more important is that you go all mushy over the love story within the book.

If I go through the list of books I've read this year, the ones that jump out at me first are the ones where I fell in love with the characters and the relationships they were in.

The books that come to mind are:

The Greystone Series by Taylor Longford. The beauty of this series, for me, is that I ended up loving the entire family of gargoyles so it made it easy to devour the books. I have enjoyed each book more than the one before and I can't wait for Taylor's next release! Each love story was so easy to root for and I know the rest of the series will be the same.

The Hunting Lila Series by Sarah Alderson. I TOTALLY fell in love with Alex. It was hard not to fall for him! It was easy to imagine I was Lila and swoon :D I know Sarah has a few more stories planned with these two. It's going to be awesome!

The last book that comes to mind is Impossible by Komal Kant. I was smitten with Luca by the end of the book. He was such a great character and perfect for Ashton. I loved the scenes with the two of them together, they were hot and intense. The passion between those two was fantastic!

Have you read any books lately with great romances in them?
Who have you fallen for lately?

YAlicious April Giveaway!

It's time for another giveaway. We have had so many amazing authors visit YAlicious over the past couple of months and I thought we should celebrate this awesome fact. Many of these lovely people have been generous enough to donate books to this giveaway. Thank you so much authors. You rock!

I, being the lover of multiple winners, have put together four prize packs stuffed full of e-book awesomeness. The giveaway runs until May 2nd. Check out entry details below.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Prize Pack 1

Prize Pack 2

Prize Pack 3

Series Prize Pack

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Komal Kant's Top Five Ingredients In A Contemporary Romance

Komal Kant is here today to tell us about contemporary novels. Yay! It's like one of my favourite genres.

It is so, so cool to have you here, Komal!!

So here are Komal's Top Five Ways To Know You're Reading a Contemporary Novel...

So, as a writer (and reader) of contemporary novels, there are certain things that I have come to expect from a good contemporary novel. These things are what make us so invested in the story and the characters. They make us fall in love, laugh, cry, and sometimes scream out in frustration. I’m specifically focusing on Young Adult/New Adult Contemporary novels for this post. These are some of the elements I think most contemporary novels share. Feel free to add your own! =)

Hot/sexy male character who makes you swoon

Come on. Isn’t this one of the main reasons we read contemporary, to add to our list of fictional boyfriends? What’s a good contemporary novel without a sexy male character for us to drool over?

More drama than a soap opera

It ain’t a contemporary unless there is some major drama going on. So and so slept with the ex-tennis instructor of the butcher’s son. Oh my!

Main character or love interest has a tragic past or serious issue

She has a broken family. He has a violent past. She has commitment phobia. He is allergic to shellfish. Whatever the issue is, you can be sure that at least one of the characters will have something that they need to overcome.

Steamy make out/sex scenes

Um, hello? Of course there has to be a little steaminess present! I love reading about the character’s first kiss or how they get all tingly when the hot guy is near. There can never be enough steaminess to make us swoon!

Misunderstanding

She said WHAT? Misunderstandings can often make up a good portion of a contemporary novel. It’s that super annoying moment when the main characters misinterpret what has been said or done, but we eat it up anyway because we know things will work out in the end, despite the drama. It’s all part of what makes contemporary novels so addictive!

What do you think is a must-have in a YA or NA Contemporary novel?

You can purchase Komal's AWESOME contemporary novels on Amazon.

Impossible

Falling for Hadie

Komal Kant is the author of IMPOSSIBLE and FALLING FOR HADIE, which are the first two novels in her Young Adult Contemporary series. She is currently working on her first YA Paranormal novel, RUNAWAY MORTAL, which is about a girl accused of murdering her powerful angel Headmistress.

Komal lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband, and one too many dogs and cats (although she never seems to think she has enough!) Komal talks too much, laughs too loud, sings out-of-tune, and generally says inappropriate things at appropriate times. She is overly enthusiastic about video games, comic books, Spiderman, Batman films, Byronic heroes, horror movies, baking and pretty shoes.

If you'd like to connect with Komal online, you can check out the links below.

Website

Facebook

Twitter