How is it Almost Summer?

As my title suggests, time has been flying by for me! I’ve been keeping busy with writing, family, and that annoying day job (who needs money, anyway?). Because of that, it’s been way too long since I posted an update. So, it’s time to share some of what’s been happening with me!

First, thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of Redemption’s release. It’s hard to believe the Resistance duology is actually over, even almost a year later. But I’m grateful for all of your love and support through this crazy time. I’m busy working on a new series, so keep an eye out for more information about that. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it involves magical portals, dragons, and all sorts of fun goodness.

In May I was lucky enough to attend my first official book signing/sale at a convention! I went to the Wilsonville Festival of Arts. Even though it was a bit hot, and I may have gotten a tiny bit sunburned, I still had so much fun!!!!! I can’t wait for the next one.

I’m also planning to have a giveaway soon, so keep an eye out for details on that!

Hopefully you all have been having a lovely Spring and start to Summer. I promise not to be so much of a stranger going forward!

As always, please feel free to reach out to me at any time! I love getting messages and talking to people, so don’t be shy!

Happy National Authors Day!

I was recently informed that today is National Authors Day. So, writers, take time today to work on your favorite project if you can. And readers, show your favorite authors some love by reading or reviewing their books!

Speaking of books, who wants a chance at free books? (I think a better question would be, who doesn’t want a chance at free books?) Well, if you answered “Me!” to that first question, then read on!

In honor of Redemption’s release, I have decided to giveaway a little prize pack to one lucky follower. Here are the details:

The winner will get:
A signed paperback of Redemption and Royal Thief
A limited edition metal Royal Thief bookmark
A container of loose leaf black tea
This is giveaway is just for the US. But if you’re an international follower, you can still win something! Just let me know in your comment. For my international lovelies, you can win:

1. An ebook of Royal Thief and Redemption in the version of your choice
2. One book from The Book Depository, valued at $20 or less.

Sound good? Well then follow the steps below to enter!
1. Follow me
2. Comment with your favorite book
Bonus Points:
1. Tag a friend in the comments
2. Reblog this giveaway
3. Add Royal Thief and/or Redemption to your To-Read list on goodreads (be sure to give me your Goodreads name so I can verify it)
4. Follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or my blog (laurakehoe.wordpress.com) (each follow gets you an additional entry, just be sure to mention it in your comment so I know!)

Feel free to email (laurakehoe4@gmail.com) with any questions! This giveaway is going on throughout all my platforms, so be sure to follow me more places to eat extra chances!
This giveaway ends November 15 on midnight Pacific Time!

Redemption

Redemption News!

Hi everyone!

Thanks to all of your wonderful support, I have some exciting news. Redemption is now available as an ebook at Amazon and Bookbaby! It will be available on all other retailers soon.

If you want a print copy of Redemption, don’t worry! They should be hitting the shelves within the next two months. I had a few issues with the printing company, but now everything is good to go!

As always, if you have any questions, comments, insights, etc. please feel free to reach out! I love hearing from you all!

Exciting News!

Hi Everyone!

First off, thank you so much to all those who helped support my kickstarter, either by backing, or jsut spreading the word! I can’t tell you what all of your love and support has meant to me. So, again, THANK YOU!!!!

Alright, now on the the news: Redemption has a cover! If you follow me on my other social media sites, you might have already heard about this, but in case you missed it, here is the gorgeous cover:

 

What do you think? I’m pretty happy with in, myself.

And, the final bit of news is that Redemption will be released at the end of July! I have a few final housekeeping things to finalize and then it will be good to go! So if you’re excited to see what happens next with Amara and the Resistors, get ready to get your preorder in!

(On a side note, if you have reviewed Royal Thief and left a review somewhere, don’t forget to fill out this form and you’ll receive a free ebook of Redemption in the format of your choice).

Updates

Hi Everyone!

If you’ve been following me on my other social media sites, you may have seen that I’ve started a Kickstarter for Redemption (the sequel to Royal Thief). You can check it out here.

So what does that mean for you? Well, unfortunately, it means that Redemption will not be released for a little while. But, it also means you have the chance to get your copy before it is officially released to the world. Plus you can snag some cool bookmarks and bookplates along the way.

You may be wondering what exactly your money will go to. Self publishing is great in so many ways. There’s so much freedom flexibility. But one of the more problematic aspects is that an author has to do everything themselves, or pay for a professional to do it. Now that Redemption has been edited, the next expenses will be the cover art, formatting, and distribution. To give you some idea of the cost, my initial payment for Royal Thief totaled around $1,800 for the cover, distribution, ISBN’s, and a few other things. That wasn’t counting the printing costs, or shipping, which added a bit to the total.

 So that’s where you all come in. I’m so excited to share Redemption with you guys. I really think you’ll enjoy it. Without all of your support, I wouldn’t have made it this far. And with your continued support, Redemption can take off.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you are welcome to reach out (through email, or any of my social media accounts). I love talking to all of you!

Happy April!

Is it really April already?! It seems like this year just started! But with the start of April comes a lot of exciting opportunities and news!

During the month of April, there is an awesome event going on Read Self Published Month! One of the hardest things for many indie authors is actually getting their name out in the world. So a group of authors and readers have teamed up to highlight some of our favorite indie reads. For more information, check out this post. You can also check out this facebook event, where you’ll find information about all sorts of giveaways and games that will be going on this month. If you’re an indie author, it’s not too late to sign up! And if you’re a reader, then head on over so you don’t miss any of the fun!

And speaking of getting your name out there, I’d also like to take this time to highlight another fantastic resource for indie authors—and anyone who loves to read. The Book Robinhoods connects authors and reviewers. Readers will have the chance to read and review a bunch of really great books, while authors have the opportunity to introduce their books to a wider audience. Check it out! You can sign up with this form for authors and this one for readers/reviewers.

Don’t think I’ve forgotten about my writing either! Redemption (sequel to Royal Thief) is still on track for publication. You should see it hit the shelves late Spring/early Summer. Make sure to get your reviews of Royal Thief in and fill out this form for a free ebook of Redemption!

That’s all for now! If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, etc. that you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I love hearing from all of you.

The Good, the Bad, and….the Freebies!

Alright, folks, I have news to share with you. First off, as you may have already realized, the sequel to Royal Thief (Redemption) is not going to be released when I’d originally planned. This summer, I announced that I was hoping to release Redemption Fall of 2017. Unfortunately, some personal matters cropped up and so I have had to push back the release date until Spring of 2018. I’m really sorry about this. But I’m confident this book will be worth the extra wait! It’s turning out to be pretty dang good, if I do say so myself.

But, there’s some good news! Because I pushed the release date for Redemption, that gives you all more time to take advantage of my special twofer deal! I mentioned in the last post that I was offering you the chance to get a free ebook copy of Redemption if you posted a review of Royal Thief. And that offer still stands! All you have to do is read Royal Thief and then post a short review on whatever online site you want (Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.). Then you’ll need to fill out this form and I’ll send you a copy of Redemption when it’s ready for publication. That’s it! In my previous post, I had a link to a different survey, but because of some technical issues, I had to create a new form. But, if you’ve already filled out the old version, don’t worry! I’ve got your responses.

So, that’s it for my latest news. Thank you so much to all of you for your support and enthusiasm. I wouldn’t be able to do anything of this without you guys! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or just want to pop in to say hi, feel free to shoot me an email at laurakehoe4@gmail.com. Or you can reach out through any of my social media sites. I always love hearing from you all!

Houston, We Have a Title

First, I wanted to direct your attention to my other blog, The Book Unicorn, where Megan Cutler hosted a blog takeover to discuss her fantasy novel, Island of the Lost Forevers. Megan is a fantastic writer and I would highly recommend checking her out!

This summer has been insanely busy for me (and I’m sure many of you can say the same). Between family, vacation, my non-writing job, and editing like crazy, June and July have been a whirlwind. It still doesn’t seem possible that it’s almost August. How did that happen?

Anyway, that’s my long way of apologizing for the lack of communication since April. But, I do want you to know there are exciting things coming soon, which will hopefully make up for any neglect. So without further delay, here’s the latest developments on book two of the Resistance Duology!

The most exciting news is we finally have a title for book two: Rebels and Redemption. This will pick up pretty much right where Royal Thief left off. I won’t go into too much detail, in case some of you haven’t read Royal Thief yet. But I’m pretty excited with how book two is progressing.

And you know what else is exciting? Free books! Who doesn’t love free books? I know I do. From now until Rebels‘ release, I’m offering the chance to receive a free copy of this second book. All you have to do is write a review of Royal Thief on the site of your choice (Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Nobel, etc.) and fill out this form so I know you’ve done it. Once the book is released, you’ll be sent a copy in whatever format you prefer. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at laurakehoe4@gmail.com. This applies to anyone who’s already written a review as well!

Well, I think that’s it for now. I’ll let you guys know when I solidify the release date for Rebels and Redemption. Hopefully you’ll be hearing from me again really soon!

Welcome to Read Self Published Month!

Happy April Everyone!

I’m so excited to be participating in Read Self Published Month! Throughout this month, myself along with a bunch of other fantastic authors will be hosting giveaways, blog takeovers, and all sorts of fun things. For more information about this great event, check out the Facebook page.

As part of this event, many of the participating authors are hosting blog takeovers. Yesterday, Zach Chopchinski started things off with an awesome post about his Gabrielle Series (check it out at http://zachchop.com). And today, it’s my turn.

Last November, I finally achieved a dream of mine. I published my first novel, Royal Thief. This story features an evil king, an enterprising thief, and a group of headstrong rebels. You can check out more information, as well as a sneak peek into the first chapter, right here.

I get my inspiration for writing from all sorts of things: books, movies, my own life, people I’ve met…you name it and I’ve probably found some sort of inspiration there. But for this particular book, I can think of two things in particular that had a profound effect on Royal Thief’s development.

First, there’s one of my all-time favorite musicals: Les Miserables. I remember sitting in my room, listening to the soundtrack for the thousandth time, when I got the idea for Amara. And if you’ve seen or listened to Les Mis (or read the book) you probably have a good idea which character inspired Royal Thief’s infamous criminal.

The second inspiration came from a childhood favorite: Eragon, by Christopher Paolini. When I was a kid, my mom got me this book because it had a dragon on it (and anyone who knows me knows my undying love for dragons, even as a little kid). Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it work to have dragons Royal Thief, but the Resistance was inspired by Paolini’s Varden. Ever since I read about them I knew I wanted to include a rebel group in one of my books.

What about you guys? What books/events/whatever have served as inspiration? Answer in the comments below. And be sure to check out the next stop on the Read Self Published Month takeover, K. Ferrin to see what they’re up to! Their website is http://www.kferrin.com