Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Recent Reviews


I did this last year with The Sapphire Flute, and it was so cool, I thought I'd do it again with The Armor of Light. I'm going to post links to recent blog reviews and an excerpt from the review that was particularly meaningful to me. I would totally recommend following the links and reading the whole review though.

Happy Reading!



Words and Works Blog: "Karen writes with passion and a talent for description that puts the reader inside the mind and skin of the characters she so colorfully details on the page. While reading her stories I get a 3-D panoramic vision as if I were in an IMAX theater. There were heartrending scenes of loss, humorous scenes with uncontrolled new skills, fantastic underwater and cave scenes, mind-boggling shape-shifters, and terrifying evil-doers."

Melissa's Bookshelf: "Hoover has made fantasy and adventure new again for me. I am completely captivated by the quest of the Chosen Ones (of whom we've only met a few) to unite the magical keystones and save their world. There is a wide array of characters on both the side of good and that of evil who are wonderfully developed. Relationships between many of the characters are molded, deepened, and in some heartbreaking cases, torn apart. With this second book the pieces of the puzzle really begin to come together, as we follow Ember's and Kayla's separate adventures that are destined to join as one. I truly cannot wait to see what Hoover's next book in the series brings to the story as we discover the next keystone and Chosen One."

Notes from the Writing Chair: "The Armor of Light is a wonderful continuation of the exciting story in that began in The Sapphire Flute. I love both of the main characters, Ember and Kayla. They each have unique strengths and weaknesses and I could relate to both of them. The book is full of action, danger and just the right amount of romance. The exciting ending took my breath away! Now I can't wait to read the third book!"

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Upcoming Release--Looks Interesting


After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she's eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she's determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O'Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it's not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target.

Full of romance, mysticism, and intrigue, this dark take on Navajo legend will haunt readers to the final page.





About the Author:
Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid writer. Seriously!!! She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible

Several years ago Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. The fifth novel she write, SHIFTING, is being published by Walker Books September 27, 2011.

Blog: www.suzettesaxton.blogspot.com

web page: www.bethanywiggins.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10224627-shifting

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Bethany-Wiggins/dp/0802722806/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316660383&sr=1-1

Thursday, September 8, 2011

A BIG Goof!

So, I was double checking some typesetting stuff tonight in the digital book because of a comment by a fellow writer. I got about half way through and I realized . . . chapters 23 and 24 were exactly the same!

It was one of those palm to the forehead moments.

Thankfully, it is now fixed, and if you've already downloaded The Armor of Light, I apologize profusely, but if you want to read chapter 24, you'll need to download it again. With Smashwords, I know there is no additional cost. If you downloaded it through Amazon or Barnes and Noble and need a coupon code, please let me know. I am so sorry. I have no idea how this got past me.

Thank heavens the paper versions are correct!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

It's Launch Day!

It's finally here! The Armor of Light is now available lots of places! Oh, you want to know where? Well, let me give you some links!

The E-Book is available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Smashwords.com. And if you're bemoaning the fact that you can't get an autograph with an e-book, there's this awesome new thing called a kindlegraph that will send me a request, and I'll personalize a page for you to upload onto your kindle. You still get your autograph! It's so awesome!

Now, for paper copies, you'll need to go to either my personal createspace sales page (my preference), Amazon.com, or my local bookstore, The Purple Cow. They ship. If you choose that option, just click on books and do a search for The Armor of Light. And of course if you want autographed copies, or posters, magnets, bookmarks, etc., go to my blog.

This has been quite the journey, let me tell you! I had no idea how much work went into creating a book until I started up on this Indie route, but crazy as it sounds, I love it! I find that I really enjoy typesetting and polishing it up so it shines. I love working with my editor, Tristi Pinkston, and my artist, Deirdre Eden Coppel. They have been fantastic and this book wouldn't be the same without them.

And guess what? I've already got my first review on Amazon, and what a whopper it is! Wow, I almost cried when I read it. So awesome. I'm just going to steal it and re-post it here. I don't think the author would mind. :D

"The Armor of Light, by Karen Hoover book 2 in the Wolfchild Saga fantasy series is a fantastic novel that draws the reader into the world of Rasann - a place of magic full of battles between good and evil. Once you start reading you can't put it down. If you fell in like with Ember and Kayla in the Sapphire Flute, you will love them in the Armor of Light where all the same characters are back, and new ones have been stirred into the mix.

"Karen Hoover has a talent for description that puts the reader inside the mind and skin of the characters she so colorfully details on the page. While reading her stories I get a 3-D panoramic vision as if I were in an IMAX theater. There were heartrending scenes of loss, humorous scenes with uncontrolled new skills, fantastic underwater and cave scenes, mind-boggling shape-shifters, and terrifying evil-doers, and dragons.

"Issues we face in the real world are mirrored and expertly explored in this young adult novel such as self-esteem, class systems, environment, the meaning of love, choosing between right and wrong and taking responsibility for your actions. In my opinion her fantasy writing skill is near that of Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card and Terry Brooks."

Margaret L. Turley
administrator of Writers Unite to Fight Cancer

How cool is that??? I have now been compared to two of my favorite authors of all time--Madeleine L'Engle with The Sapphire Flute and now Anne McCaffrey with The Armor of Light. I think I've died and gone to heaven.

To celebrate the day, I'm doing a giveaway. I'll do a drawing for six people (Because it's September 6th) who do all of the following things:
6) Follow my blog
5) Link to this blog on Facebook
4) Like The Armor of Light on Goodreads
3) Like my book somewhere else (you tell me where)
2) Purchase a digital or paper copy of The Armor of Light (I know, I know, I'm shameless)
1) Post a comment back here telling me you did all of this.

In return, you shall receive a poster of The Armor of Light, Bookmarks, A bookplate for the paper copies of the book or a personalized kindlegraph for the e-books, and two random books in the genre of your choosing (one of my favorites--I hope you like fantasy or mysteries. lol).

You might be wondering why I chose today of all days to release this book. Well, those of you who know me or have followed my blog for a while know how much my mom influenced my writing over the years. She's the one who told me I could do anything if I wanted to do it bad enough. She was my biggest cheerleader and fan, and the person who heard the first draft of everything I wrote.

Today would have been her 80th birthday. So, Happy Birthday, Mom! I'm celebrating this day in honor of you!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Winner of the Awesome August Blog Hop


I apologize for being a bit late with this, but I did use Rand.org and we have a winner from the blog hop. And that winner is . . .

Chelsea Rafferty!

Congratulations, Chelsea! You'll be hearing from me shortly. And thanks everyone for entering!