The Winners of The Marquis Giveaway

Thank you to everyone who entered the big Marquis giveaway. I wish everyone could win. Here are the three winners:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As the first place winner, Lynda as won a digital copy of The Marquis,

an ARC of The Alpha, and a signed copy of Fearless.

As the second place winner, Rosemary has won a digital copy of The Marquis

and an ARC of The Alpha.

Finally, as the third place winner, Trisha as won a digital copy of The Marquis.

Emails have been sent to the winners.

Another big thank you to Shannon Lawrence for hosting the giveaway for me.

The wicked neighbors post was so much fun!

The Alpha blog tour and the 13th Floor tours in 2013

A great big thank you to everyone who participated in The Alpha's cover reveal. And I'm blushing at all the wonderful comments too. Thank you so much.

A few of you asked if I made my own covers. Yes, I did. I bought the model images from Dreamstime, and I played around in Photoshop with them until I had exactly what I wanted. I wanted something simple yet intense. I have the first four covers of the series done. The fifth one is giving me trouble. I have a definite image of Harriet (the banshee) in my head, and I can't seem to find any models that suit her. It's a case of wishing I could've had the cover done first and then come up with the character.

The Alpha's blog tour is scheduled for January 13th - 17th. If you'd like to host me on the tour or any of the tours next year, please send me an email at christinerains [dot] writer @ gmail [dot] com. All the dates for the tours and cover reveals are listed on my 13th Floor series page.

Please add 1302 - The Alpha "to read" on Goodreads.

Another huge thank you to everyone who hosted me on the 1301 - The Marquis blog tour. You guys are awesome. The final giveaway is still going on until the 27th. Check out The Warrior Muse's blog for details.

One final bit of exciting news: Fearless got a massive boost during my blog tour. It's still sitting in Amazon's top 100 free ebooks for paranormal under fantasy. It made it as far as #27. My brilliant editor added the first chapter of The Marquis after the end of Fearless. Hopefully this will help push up sales for it. So if you don't have your copy of Fearless yet, grab one, and get a preview of The Marquis too!

Final Day of The Marquis blog tour

It's the last day of the tour. Wow!

What a fantastic time I've had.

Thank you to all the wonderful hosts and

to all the people who commented.

A big congratulations to Heather Holden
who won a digital copy of The Marquis
from Aubrie Dionne's blog!
Check out Heather's site.
She's an awesome artist.  
 

But wait! The fun isn't over yet.

I have a guest post on choosing the perfect title for your book at Livia Peterson's blog.

This is always difficult for me, but there are some tricks to finding the best name.

On the 13th Floor, there are some noisy and fearsome tenants. But I'm sure you've experienced worse neighbors than them. We want to hear about your experiences.

I've listed 13 types of bad neighbors on

Shannon Lawrence's blog.

There's also one final big giveaway!
Three AWESOME prizes!
International entries are welcome.
1st prize: one digital copy of The Marquis, an ARC of The Alpha, and a signed copy of Fearless
2nd prize: one digital copy of The Marquis and an ARC of The Alpha
3rd prize: one digital copy of The Marquis  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today's tidbit: When I wrote The Marquis, my favorite parts involved Vetis. He's one of my favorite types of villains. When I wrote The Alpha, I loved writing about the heroine. Strong and feisty woman falling for a geeky guy. Now I'm writing The Dragonslayer, and I'm falling in love with the hero.

Come back tomorrow for The Alpha cover reveal!

Day 7 of The Marquis blog tour

Two more guest posts on the tour.

I'm talking about being a writer mom on

Jackie Felger's blog.

How she manages to write with four boys amazes me. I only have one and I'm lucky to find a few minutes to myself!

Come on over to Kyra Lennon's blog

to learn a little about the romance between the hero and heroine of The Marquis, Marc and Mae. Love is in the air!

Today's tidbit: I originally had a different name for my heroine. I was going to call her Innes. She refused the name, told me to sit down and listen instead of spending so much time on baby name sites. Her name was Mae, and though it looked a little too much like Marc, she refused to let me change it.

Day 6 of The Marquis blog tour

I have two great stops today on the tour.

First I'm sitting down to chat with my new and very brave beta reader, Clare Dugmore.

We talk about the story and her experience being a beta reader for me.

Next I'm popping over to the lovely

Gwen Gardner's blog. 

I have a guest post on the need for balance in writing paranormal romance.

Today's tidbit: I was worried that the romance in The Marquis would be overshadowed by the conflict between Marc and Vetis. It turned out that the romance was the most powerful aspect of the story.

In other story news: the paranormal crime anthology, Mortis Operandi is now available. My short story, "Immaculate" is featured within. It was one of the stories I wrote and submitted this year as part of my 2012 goals. I'm happy to be part of this great collection of stories.

Day 5 of The Marquis blog tour

The blog tour continues with another great excerpt and giveaway today on Aubrie Dionne's blog.

Congratulations to Hilary Melton-Butcher who won a copy of the novella from the first giveaway on Cherie Reich's blog. Enjoy!

Do you have your copy of The Marquis yet?

Amazon

B&N

Smashwords

Kobo 

Today's tidbit: I dedicated The Marquis to my father. He passed away in 2007. I originally had a longer dedication than what's in the book now. It read: "For my dad who battled against his demons and lost, but he always believed in me." Even five years later when I go back to visit family in my hometown, people will mention how my father talked about me being a talented writer and ask if I'm still writing.

Day 4 of The Marquis blog tour

Today I'm being interviewed by

M. Pepper Langlinais.

She asks some deep and clever questions about the series and the 13th floor itself.

I love this isn't your standard author interview.

Today's tidbit: I've been in buildings that have a 13th floor. They were sadly mundane. Years ago, I worked as a security guard in a building that did not mark it had a 13th floor. It did have one, but it was left unfinished and used as a storage area. I don't know why it was left that way. It was a new building in a big city, but it seems even today people still hold on to those old superstitions.

Day 3 of The Marquis blog tour

I'm over at my other  fabulous CP's blog today,

Tania Walsh.

She has an awesome weekly series on mythological creatures. In honor of her love of beings of lore, I wrote a post on the central ones in The Marquis: demons.

Today's tidbit: There are several BIG mythological beings in the 13th Floor series such as giants, dragons, and Zeus.

Day 2 of The Marquis blog tour

Today I'm over at Nick Wilford's blog

with a character post.

Usually writers profile their heroes and heroines, but I gave it a little twist. I wrote about the villain, a trickster demon called Vetis.

 

Today's tidbit: I love writing villains. Years ago when I played online RPGs, I would always get requests to take on the role of one of the big bad guys. Sometimes I felt a bit typecasted, but I enjoyed it too much to protest.

The Marquis is here!

The first novella in my 13th Floor series,

1301 - The Marquis is now available!

Amazon

B&N

Smashwords

Kobo

The first stop on my blog tour will be over at

Cherie Reich's blog.

My talented CP and editor.

None of this would've been possible without her.

She's sharing an excerpt and

giving away one digital copy of The Marquis!

Today's tidbit: My protagonist, Marc gave me a lot of trouble because he isn't the chatty type. Usually my characters won't shut up. He just stands around and glares. Give me words! At least he gave me a lot of action.

Life after Hell isn't more exciting than watching football and fixing a busted pipe. Once a powerful demon, Marc enjoys his quiet existence and a good cup of coffee. With big ambitions to gain his master's favor, a trickster demon named Vetis shatters Marc's peace and vows to deliver Marc's head to the fires of Hell. Not before he destroys everything Marc cares about, of course.

Marc's power has diminished over the years. Heaven will never grant him absolution, and he refuses to return to Hell. Running isn't an option. The city of Carmine is his territory. It's also home to his favorite cafe owner, Mae Hopkins. The dame has a lovely smile, but it's her heart and soul that shine bright.

While his city burns and his love is captured, Marc must decide to surrender or let hate and anger fuel him to become the fearsome beast he so loathes: The Marquis. If the Marquis rises, Vetis can be defeated and Mae saved, but Marc would be lost to his demon forever.

Four Days Until The Release Of The Marquis

Four days until the official release of the first book of the 13th Floor series. 

 The clock is ticking.

What will Marc sacrifice to save

his city, his friend,

and the woman he loves?  

The Marquis is already available on

Smashwords.

You can mark it "to read"

on Goodreads.

1301 tour, tabs, NaNo update, and reminders

Thank you to everyone who responded about the 13th Floor blog tours. You guys are awesome! I have the second, third, and fourth book tours filled, but I would love to have a few more for next month. If you have a day open between the 13th and 20th, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it. I will also happily do a couple of stops on the same day if you're interested in helping with one of the tours next year.

You might have seen I learned how to create tabs on my blog. (Thank you, Stephen Tremp!) I have one specifically for The 13th Floor series. I have all the dates up there for all the cover reveals, release dates, and blog tours.

I'm doing well with NaNoWriMo. I'm over 45000 words, and I'm writing the final battle. I hope to complete the novel by the end of the weekend. For those of you who've hit 50000, congratulations! And for those who are still typing away, keep going. There's still one week left. You can do it!

Don't forget the Writers4Writers Group has their first monthly event on December 6th. It's a great way writers can help their fellow writers.

Next week, the marvelous Kyra Lennon starts her Blindsided Tour. She'll be stopping by here on Wednesday. Yay!

The Marquis release date and 13th Floor blog tours

First, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in my cover reveal. I've gotten such excellent feedback on it. You all made the release a grand success!

Please add The Marquis "to read" on Goodreads.

I'm still in good shape for releasing The Marquis on December 13th. Just in time to buy as you're doing your holiday shopping! Yes, I'm going to say it's official.

1301 RELEASE DATE:

DECEMBER 13th

I'm setting up a week long blog tour for it running through December 13th - 20th. If you'd like to be a part of my tour, please email me at christinerains [dot] writer @ gmail [dot] com. Make sure you put "1301 blog tour" in the subject heading. If you want a specific date, please reply soon and let me know. I understand this is short notice. I have a bunch of posts scheduled on my blog into the new year already. I know how fast things build up.

 1301 BLOG TOUR:

DECEMBER 13th - 20th

If you cannot participate in this blog tour, and you still would like to help, have no fear! The 13th Floor series has six novellas. The Marquis is the first one. I'll be doing mini tours for each release, and a big one when I release the whole collection late next summer or autumn.

At the end of the December tour, I'll be revealing the cover for 1302 - The Alpha. The novella is written and I'm aiming to release it on January 13th. (A Sunday, I know, but I'd like to keep my release dates on the 13th of each month.) If you'd like to participate in The Alpha's cover reveal and/or mini tour, please email with "1302 reveal and/or tour" in the subject heading.

1302 COVER REVEAL:

DECEMBER 21st

1302 BLOG TOUR:

JANUARY 13th - 17th

Next we have 1303 - The Dragonslayer. A modern day dragonslayer, and oh by golly, wait until you see this cover! I want to release it on February 13th. Again, if you'd like to participate in The Dragonslayer's cover reveal and/or mini tour, please email with the appropriate subject heading.

1303 COVER REVEAL:

JANUARY 18th

1303 BLOG TOUR:

FEBRUARY 13th - 17th

I'm not going to set official dates for the rest of the series yet. I would like to have 1304 - The Harbinger out on March 13th. April will be too busy for me in real life, so the next two dates would be May 13th and June 13th. I'm giving myself some wiggle room with the dates, though. You never know what real life is going to throw at you.

Whew. I'm dizzy looking at all those dates, but it feels good to have them settled. I'm really excited about this series. I hope everyone else will love it as much as I do.

1301 - The Marquis cover reveal

Title: 1301 - The Marquis

Author: Christine Rains

Genre: paranormal romance

Release date: December 13th (tentatively)

Life after Hell isn't more exciting than watching football and fixing a busted pipe. Once a powerful demon, Marc enjoys his quiet existence and a good cup of coffee. With big ambitions to gain his master's favor, a trickster demon named Vetis shatters Marc's peace and vows to deliver Marc's head to the fires of Hell. Not before he destroys everything Marc cares about, of course.

Marc's power has diminished over the years. Heaven will never grant him absolution, and he refuses to return to Hell. Running isn't an option. The city of Carmine is his territory. It's also home to his favorite cafe owner, Mae Hopkins. The dame has a lovely smile, but it's her heart and soul that shine bright.

While his city burns and his love is captured, Marc must decide to surrender or let hate and anger fuel him to become the fearsome beast he so loathes: The Marquis. If the Marquis rises, Vetis can be defeated and Mae saved, but Marc would be lost to his demon forever.

Isn't the cover awesome? My stomach still flip-flops when I look at it. Thank you to everyone who participated in the cover reveal. The response has been fantastic. You guys are the best!

Wicked Wednesday - The Marquis

1301 - The Marquis

Life after Hell isn't more exciting than watching football and fixing a busted pipe. Once a powerful demon, Marc enjoys his quiet existence and a good cup of coffee. With big ambitions to gain his master's favor, a trickster demon named Vetis shatters Marc's peace and vows to deliver Marc's head to the fires of Hell. Not before he destroys everything Marc cares about, of course.

Marc's power has diminished over the years. Heaven will never grant him absolution, and he refuses to return to Hell. Running isn't an option. The city of Carmine is his territory. It's also home to his favorite cafe owner, Mae Hopkins. The dame has a lovely smile, but it's her heart and soul that shine bright.

While his city burns and his love is captured, Marc must decide to surrender or let hate and anger fuel him to become the fearsome beast he so loathes: The Marquis. If the Marquis rises, Vetis can be defeated and Mae saved, but Marc would be lost to his demon forever.

This is the story where I thought I was having trouble with the male point of view. It's Marc's story, and he's a male who doesn't use a lot of words. Usually my protagonists chatter away to me. Marc's more of a grunter. Yet my CP's and my critique group all liked it. None said there was any problems with the POV. Whew. One of my CP's likened it to Hellboy. Woot!

The Marquis has a strong noir flavor. More so than the other novellas. It also sets the background with what's happening in the city of Carmine which will affect all the other stories.

Another thing I liked about writing this story was the relationship between Marc and Mae. There's none of the fiery passion of youth. They're older (Marc by a few thousand years), and it's a slow burning romance. One where the two people know actions mean a lot more than pretty words.

If you haven't done so already and would like to take part in the cover reveal for this book, please send me an email with "1301 cover reveal" in the subject heading. I'll be unveiling the cover on November 13th. Email me at christinerains [dot] writer @ gmail [dot] com. Thank you!

Sign up for the 1301 cover reveal

In case you missed my Wednesday post about The 13th Floor series, I'm revealing the cover for the first novella on November 13th. If you would like to take part in the cover reveal, please email me and put "1301 cover reveal" in the subject heading. I'll send you all the info. My email address is christinerains [dot] writer @ gmail [dot] com.

I'm tentatively setting a release date for the first novella as December 13th. I want to have it out before Christmas at least. I'll know more if I can meet that deadline within the next few weeks. Then I can start to organize a blog tour.

I'm tremendously excited about my covers for The 13th Floor series. I actually have the covers for the first three already done. They're absolutely brilliant! I'd love to share all three right away, but I know, I know. I need to build up the anticipation and tease readers with several reveals rather than just one. But, oh, I love these covers!

Have a fantastic weekend! And for those participating in NaNoWriMo, write, write, WRITE!