Tag Archives: Books

Book trailer for Darkness Divides

Cover Reveal for Darkness Divides- Book 3 of the Sensor Series

I’m revealing this cover a little earlier than I usually do before a release date, but thought you all would appreciate getting to see it sooner rather than later. Plus I’m excited by how well it turned out! If you missed the last post or saw it before the update, you can see some “behind the scenes” shots from the photo shoot if you scroll toward the bottom. Here’s the link.

Below you will get your first look at the cover, book summary, and expected release date. Hope this helps build up your excitement for the next novel in the series!

Book Summary:

The blood and violence never ends—it only stops long enough for Melena to relax her guard, to think she might actually survive. For the past year, she’s worked hard to pick up the pieces of her life. The supernaturals in Fairbanks are tolerating her, the angels are shielding her from her enemies, and she’s getting stronger as her body changes into…something else. If not for the man she loves being locked away in Purgatory, she might even believe she could be happy.

But for a sensor, peace is always an illusion. A magical explosion is about to rock the earth between Alaska and parts of Canada, bringing with it a new wave of fear. People she cares about will be hurt and she’s going to need answers. Are her enemies trying to flush her out of hiding or are they up to something even more sinister? It will take all of her newfound strength and the help of every ally she’s got to put a stop to their plans.

Expected release date: April 20th, 2014

*Also stay tuned to this blog for other updates, including the first two chapters of Darkness Divides to be revealed in early April.

New Darkness Haunts cover!

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Many of you will remember the original Darkness Haunts cover that I have been using for over a year now. It was my first book and I was quite proud of it at the time I published it, but I also knew it wasn’t quite the right look for Melena. Sometimes you just have to settle for what you can get (stock photos) and I couldn’t afford a professional photo shoot at the time. My cover artist did a great job with it, though, and it drew in plenty of readers so I can’t complain.

But it was time for change.

After the awesome experience with the photo shoot for Chained by Darkness, I decided I had to redo Darkness Haunts. It just couldn’t stay the same anymore. I am very pleased with how it turned out and hope you all will be too! So here it is:

This was not done alone. There are many people who helped make this cover come to life and they deserve a mention…

I enlisted the aid of several enthusiastic fans of the series who helped me with the planning for this cover. Plus some other projects related to the series such as the Lucas promo pic in my last post and the soon to be revealed Darkness Divides cover. Thanks to Heather, Rachel, and Kristy. You ladies are awesome!

They worked hard with me to come up with the pose ideas, hair styles/make-up, wardrobe, props, and backgrounds. I also had their help in selecting the right model after the casting call. A lot of people don’t realize the level of detail that goes into these things, but it can be much more complicated than you’d think. We exchanged countless emails and spent many hours researching potential ideas. I cannot begin to express my gratitude!

I also have to thank my photographer, Teresa Yeh, for her amazing work. She did a fantastic job coordinating this shoot and was so patient with my nitpickiness over all the details. Not to mention me bombarding her with packages after I started ordering the wardrobe and props! She did an awesome job of finding the right model to fit Melena’s look, too. Haley (the model) did a great job of following my pose/facial expression guidelines and really captured the look I’d asked for!

It should be mentioned that we had one major hiccup just before the shoot. The package I’d sent containing the weapons and related props got delayed due to the snow storms bombarding the northeastern US. Despite my begging and pleading, UPS couldn’t get it there in time. No way was I going through with the shoot if we didn’t have the weapons! The stylist handling the model’s hair and make-up came through for us, though, when she heard what happened. Her husband offered up his gun and knife collection for us to use. I certainly wasn’t going to complain if we could use real ones! It was truly gracious of them and I can’t thank them enough!

You’d think I’d be done with my acknowledgements, but I’m not. After the shoot took place someone had to do the artwork that goes with the model shot (the background and touching her up to fit it). A big thanks to Claudia at Phat Puppy Art for her part in this. She had this cover and the one for Darkness Divides done within a couple of days of receiving the shots. I was blown away!

Then Ashley over at Bookish Brunette moved super-quick to get the typography on there so I could get it out as soon as possible. The photo shoot took place on Sunday (February 16th) and you’re already getting to see it today (February 21st) despite the chain of people involved. Truly, I have an amazing team. This was definitely not a one person operation, but rather something far more complex!

So now onto my explanation for the design on this cover…

It should be kept in mind that it portrays Melena at the start of the series. She’d had some rough experiences in her past that gave her an edge, but the things she was about to encounter in Alaska were unlike anything she’d faced before. It’s the beginning of a journey that has continued to test her at every turn. At this time, she was still innocent in a lot of ways when it came to the supernatural world. Over the course of the books she’s had to learn to toughen up a whole lot more if she wants to survive (as you’ve seen). This cover and the one you’ll soon see for Darkness Divides provide a stark contrast from how she appeared at the beginning and how she’s looking at the start of book 3.

Hope you all like the new and improved look. I’m truly excited to be revealing it! For those wondering, I am working to get a new paperback version available soon. I’ll post an update once it’s ready 🙂

UPDATE!!!

The photographer, Teresa, was kind enough to share some behind the scenes photos of them getting Haley (the model) ready. You can see Nadia, the stylist, working on Haley’s hair. Nadia’s husband was even nice enough to jump in and help. He was also the one to rig up the holster and knife sheath you see Haley wearing on the Darkness Haunts cover. I couldn’t have asked for a better team of people for this shoot!

Darkness Taunts is out!

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Thanks to everyone for being patient with this book release. I’m happy to say Darkness Taunts is live on Amazon, Kobo and Barnes & Noble.

Since some of you are speed readers and will have this book done in a day (despite it being 101k words), I’m letting you guys know now that I will be doing a post on Sunday (July 14th) to give you all some details about Chained by Darkness. I can’t do it at this time because it would reveal major spoilers for DT. If you really don’t want to wait to have your questions answered (after you finish Darkness Taunts), send me an email or use the contact page. I’ll give you a few details to hold you over.

You’ll also notice I included the first chapter of another urban fantasy series by an amazing author, Debra Dunbar, who has a wicked sense of humor. I love her books and asked her to let me put the first chapter of the first novel of her series in the back of mine. Our writing is close enough I think most people who enjoy The Sensor Series will like The Imp Series (her demons are much more personable than mine, though). She has three books out so far with a fourth coming very soon. If you’re looking for something new, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Thanks again for your patience. Hope you all enjoy Darkness Taunts!

Links:

Cover Reveal for Darkness Taunts

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I am super excited to reveal the cover for the second book of the Sensor Series, Darkness Taunts, to you all today. Below is all the latest information on the book, plus the excerpt I promised. You can also find two other excerpts from the novel at my friend Angela Wallace’s blog (she snagged the one with Lucas) and at Bookish Brunette’s site (she has the most action-packed one). Their posts will be up this morning (May 15th). If you are a member of Goodreads, you can add the novel to your TBR list here.

Cover design by Claudia at Phat Puppy Art

w/typography by Ashley at Bookish Brunette

Blurb:

Melena Sanders has managed to avoid all things inhuman for most of her life, but after coming to Fairbanks, Alaska to rescue her best friend from supernaturals she hasn’t been allowed to leave. That is, until her long-time nemesis comes to collect a favor she owes him. Lucas might be half angel, but he’s all bad as far as she’s concerned.

Paying him back might get her out of town for a while, but her new destination will be anything but enjoyable. Mel’s got to help the nephilim take care of a demon possession outbreak in Juneau. Although something like this hasn’t happened for thousands of years, Lucas is certain Melena’s rare abilities are the key to solving the problem.

With violence in the capital city growing, she’s going to have to figure out how to stop it fast before the trouble spreads to other places. Not only that, but working closely with Lucas is changing the dynamics of their hate-hate relationship—worrying her even more than the demons. Getting back to her captivity in Fairbanks never looked so good.

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EXCERPT:

Kariann was kicking my ass and it sucked even more than all the other times she’d done it. To be fair, the six centuries she’d had to build her strength and experience gave her an unfair advantage. She’d smacked me with the flat of her sword at least a dozen times already. I was going to end up meeting Lucas tonight looking like a worn out punching bag—not that he’d care so long as I got the job done.

“Thinking about pretty boy isn’t going to help you fight any better, little sensor,” Kariann derided.

“What makes you think I’m thinking about Lucas?” I asked. Damn that last sword strike made my arm numb.

She laughed. “You just gave yourself away. I had no idea who you were thinking about, but figured you’d tell me.”

“Whatever,” I said. “I’m just pissed at him right now and not thinking clearly.”

She struck at me again. “Sure you are.”

I blocked and slammed her kneecap with the heel of my boot.

She stumbled back and flashed her teeth—fangs included. “I’ll be damned. Maybe thinking of him does help your fighting skills.”

My shoulders sagged. “Are we done yet?”

“Hmmm, when was the last time you hit the gym?” she asked.

“A couple days ago, but I don’t have time for it now.” My body felt like hammered shit. Working out in the gym would have to wait.

“You’re about to go up against demons and they won’t be as nice as I am.” The innocent look she attempted did not work at all.

I sheathed my sword and gathered my things. “They aren’t demons. They are humans possessed by demons, which makes them not quite as strong and a lot easier to take down.”

“Not that easy.” She grabbed my arm. “If you aren’t going to work out, then you’re at least going to get your injuries healed.”

“Oh, no.” I dragged my feet as she pulled me along. “You can’t make me do it.”

My struggles didn’t slow her down. “Wanna bet?”

I should have kept my mouth shut. She tossed me over her shoulder and moved at super vamp speed through the house. As his second in command, Kariann was one of the few keyed to the magic protection barrier surrounding Nik’s bedroom—wouldn’t want just anybody to interrupt the unholy acts that took place in there. She could pass through it without his permission.

As soon as we entered, she dumped me on the floor. I glared at her and got up as gracefully as I could manage. Too bad she insisted I keep my gun put away when we trained. It’d be interesting to see how her brains looked with a big hole in them.

The master vampire stood a few feet away with his hands on his hips. At least he had clothes on this time and no women wrapped around his appendages. That’d make this visit slightly easier to handle.

“I see she came without too much fuss,” he said, grinning at the Amazon of a woman who’d brought me.

“She is not drinking your blood,” I said, backing away. “You can forget about it.” I swiveled on my heels and moved for the door. Kariann stepped right in front of me.

“Melena.” She gripped my shoulders. “You have cuts and bruises all over your body. You could hardly keep your sword up when we fought for reasons you refuse to explain. We aren’t going to let you go to Juneau without at least getting you healthy again. Stop being such a baby and just suck his blood.”

That didn’t come off as sounding dirty or anything. Vamps always had their minds in the gutter. I crossed my arms. “No.”

Nik motioned Kariann aside. “Remember what we talked about last night? If you want to deal with the demon problem, you’re going to have to do it the smart way. Keeping yourself strong and healthy is part of that. Is your stubbornness and pride really worth risking people’s lives over?”

I exhaled a deep breath. He had a point—even if I didn’t have to like it. “Fine, but it has to be from the wrist.”

He bit into his arm and held it out to me. No look of triumph. At least he had the decency not to gloat this time.

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Expect the eBook to release on June 30th. It should be available on Amazon right away followed by Kobo and Nook. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!