Writers Make the Best Friends -Guest Post by Author Nikki Jefford

Today I am happy to bring to you our host for the day, Author Nikki Jefford. Nikki is currently in the midst of her amazing Spellbound Trilogy blog tour for  her novels, Entangled and Duplicity. Without further ado, Nikki, the floor is all yours.

Writer Friends Make the Best Friends

One of the most rewarding things about writing is meeting other writers.

What I love about author friendships is there isn’t another person on the planet who can understand the agony, distress, joys and triumphs of producing a creative work close to your heart.

Authors have a pay it forward mentality, at least the ones I roll with, and look out for their own. No one else is going to be able to sympathize as much when sales suck, you lose part of your document or entire novel (Lucy!), your book gets bashed, and pirated by harpies too cheap to spend 99 cents on an ebook.

And sorry to break it to you, but as soon as you join the Author Club at least three of these things will happen. Slow sales. Check. Book bashed. Check. Pirated. Check, check.

Then there’s the other deflator… no one in your life gives a @#$% that you wrote a book.

Okay, I’m being dramatic. I’m a writer. So sue me. Actually, don’t sue me. I’m broke. I said writer!

But you will find that people you’ve known forever, and therefor know that publishing a book has been your lifelong dream, will barely acknowledge this achievement. And if you go indie, heaven help you because that just doesn’t count.

I don’t want to sound unappreciative because I have family and friends whose support goes above and beyond anything I could’ve asked.

But it is interesting to see what kind of turnout you receive when push comes to shove. I know exactly who bought my book when it was first released. I kept a list. I’m neurotic. So sue me, but don’t. (See above.)

Writer friends were the first people to purchase my novel, including Lucy, even though I sent her a coupon code for a free copy. (Touched!) Since I was new to the YA genre, I came onto the scene with no connections, contacts, or YA writing friends. I wasn’t even familiar with twitter until six months ago. I began wiggling my way in by visiting YA author blogs, which led to a group project and meeting five fab authors including Lucy Swing and Kira Saito (who I’m pretty sure was The First Person to buy Entangled. I stop at her blog today, too.)

What disappointed me most was that a couple of my oldest and closest friends were less than enthused and they more than anyone know my purpose in life is to write.

What surprised (and delighted) me the most was that after my Facebook announcement, that Entangled was on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, several popular girls from my high school (Dimond High class of ’96) left messages on my wall that they’d purchased the book.

I was floored!

The popular girls at my high school (in Anchorage, Alaska) were actually super nice. (It was the nerds who were snots!) One of the girls who bought my book also stopped by a “party” I threw senior year and was nice enough to say, “It’s still really early, people don’t come till later” before heading out for another commitment. No one else ever showed, but I’ll never forget how cool she was about it.

Maybe the real title of this post is Kindhearted People Make the Best Friends because their generosity sticks with us through the decades.

Thank you to author friend Lucy Swing for hosting me today, making the beautiful Spellbound blog tour banner, and rounding up new followers and sales via twitter when Entangled entered The Dead Zone at the beginning of last month.

Enter to win the SPELLBOUND SWAG PACK (International)

· Evil Eye Amulet and Bracelet: In Duplicity, Gray wears an evil eye pendant, also known as a nazar, to protect herself from a spell that’s causing havoc over the witches and warlocks in her coven. The evil eye (a Turkish amulet) is used for both luck and protection against envy.

· Two Headed Quarter: Two Grays are better than none and two heads are better than one, especially when flipping over who gets to choose which movie to watch with a trick coin. Adrian returns in Duplicity and opens a magic shop.

· Entangled bookmark

 Ends June 8, 2012.

Don’t miss the Cover Reveal of book three, Enchantment, at designer Najla Qamber’s review site: Unputdownable Books on June 7^th.

http://unputdownablebookies.blogspot.com/

Extras:

Entangled book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZnDgYFCVVw

Duplicity book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCwY_Mj_Syk

Buy links:

Entangled amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Entangled-Spellbound-1-ebook/dp/B007BCORJK/ref=zg_bs_3017_15

(Entangled is available for ebook at amazon. It will return to Barnes & Noble and Smashwords once KDP select ends July 15, 2012.)

Duplicity amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Duplicity-Spellbound-2-ebook/dp/B0084V0L7E/ref=sr_1_12?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337562757&sr=1-12

Duplicity Barnes and Noble buy link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/duplicity-nikki-jefford/1110951776?ean=2940014446969

About:

Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who found paradise in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands where she is, once more, neighbors with Canada. She has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Alaska Anchorage and was a reporter before returning to her first love: fiction.

After a whirlwind romance in France, Nikki married Sébastien in March 2000. They reside with Cosmo the wonder Westie.

Find her at:

http://nikkijefford.com

http://twitter.com/NikkiJefford

Lost

Hi Guys,

For thoseof you waiting on the sequel to Feathermore, Fallenmore, I have bad news... I have lost all of my content in my laptop and with it, Fallenmore is no more.
I finally got a new laptop today and i will begin writing ASAP. Nontheless, I will not be publishing it in June. I will not be ready by then.

So sorry for the inconvenience, trust me, I am going CRAZY!

XOXO

Wordsmith Wednesday #3

This amazing new meme is brought to us by the wonderfully talented, Hope Collier.

The objective:

Show us a scene from your current project. It can be creepy, adventurous, romantic, etc. Just a snippet to let readers see what they're in for!

The guidelines:

* Must be from a current work-in-progress (WIP). Nothing already published.
* You may choose from any section of the manuscript, but be mindful not to include spoilers.
* Keep it clean and YA audience friendly, please. No erotica.
* Stay under 300 words or about one page. It can be as little as a few lines if you prefer. We just want to give readers a chance to see everyone's selection.
* Link back to Chirenjenzie so we can enjoy others' work as well!
* Include the guidelines in your post.

WIP: Fallenmore (Feathermore Trilogy, #2)

PUBLICATION DATE: June 2012

This time instead of an excerpt I will be unveiling Fallenmore's blurb. What do you all think?

"After Jade's world was torn apart, she is unsure of where she belongs, if anywhere at all. Deceived by those she trusted the most, she must now accept her fate and the life that lays before her.
The voices are back but this time, they are trying to lure her into the darkness. But could they be telling her the truth? That the only person she has been able to trust since the death of her boyfriend, Avan, is lying to her too? If the voices are right... Could she really trust him?

In Fallenmore, the second book in the Feathermore Trilogy, Jade will embark in a quest through the pits of Hell. The question now is, will they ever let her out?"

Easter Blog Hop Winners

Hi Guys!

So many of you entered the Easter Blog Hop, you are all amazing! I gave away 10 copies of Bloody Valentine and 10 copies of Feathermore. Below are the winners! I will be emailing the ebooks this afternoon.

BLOODY VALENTINE WINNERS:

Breanne Weaver 
Ginnie Hutto 
Autumn Nauling 

Amanda Collins
Karen Anderson 

Afrae Ahouzi 
Essence Coleman 
Gale Adkins Nelson 

Ann-Marie Wilson

Carrieann Mirassol 

FEATHERMORE WINNERS:

Johann Appleton
Julie Miller
Kaylene Green
Linda Foster
Lisa Markson
Monica Gutierrez
Natalie Cleary
Rachel Marks
Sian Lewis
Yamna M Mir

My Book Boyfriend #4 - Loki Staad

Let's be honest, we all fall for the MC, whether its a female or a male. I, in particular, fall in love with them all!


Thank you Missie at The Unread Reader for coming up with this, it is sooo much fun!

My Book Boyfriend this week is: Loki Staad from the Trylle Trilogy by Amanda Hocking.

We meet Loki in book two,  Torn.

My Loki is played by Australian actor Dan Feuerriegel. You can currently find him playing the role of Agron in the HBO hit series Spartacus.

HOT!

Loki Stats:

EYES: Carmel
HAIR: Shaggy and very light, almost blond.
BUILD: Muscular

"The corner of one side of his mouth curled up a bit, and he leaned in closer to me. For a moment I was afraid he might kiss me, and as my heart hammered in my chest, i realized that i was more afraid that he wouldn't."

"His eyes were still locked on mine, but I pulled my gaze away, searching his face. His tanned skin was smooth and flawless, his jaw strong and yet somehow delicate. Loki was quite stunning in his own right, and I think I'd been trying to ignore that since I met him."


" "I'm not going to do that to you," he said quietly. "What I told you before is still true, I want to know that when you're with me, it's because you want to be, not because you have to be."
"Loki-" I started to protest.
He put his hands on my face, and thy felt warm on my skin, even though they should've been cold from scaling the wall. He leaned in to me, but he paused before his lips touched mine. His eyes met mine, searching them for any resistance, but I didn't have any.
His mouth covered min, and warmth stirred inside me. He tasted sweet and cool, and his skin melled of fresh rain. My knees felt weak, and my heart battered against my chest. His hands moved back, tangling in my hair and pressing me to him.
I wrapped my arms around him, and he felt strong and powerful against me. I could actually feel his muscles, like warm marble, and I knew he could crush me if he wanted to. But the way he touched me ws passionate and delicate at once." "

Ever since the moment we were introduced to Loki, and how he helped Wendy escape, I knew there was something about him I adored. Don't get me wrong, I friggin' LOVE Finn... but Loki... there's something special about him; he is wild, passionate and would stop at nothing for what he wants.

Every time I imagined Loki, I saw Dan and I truly believe this is the PERFECT MATCH!

Now, I haven't read the final book in the Trylle Trilogy, Ascend, but I am staring it tonight. Hopefully there is a whole lot more Loki for me to swoon over.