Friday Reminders

The voting for BigAl's Books & Pals Readers' Choice Awards continues. My book, THE HARBINGER (Vol. 4 in the 13th Floor series) was nominated in the Fantasy category. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could vote for it. PLUS, voting enters you in a giveaway for a chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card.

If you haven't heard already, Smashwords is having a huge sale this week. You can already download THE MARQUIS (Vol. 1 in The 13th Floor series) for free, but for this week only, you can get THE ALPHA (Vol. 2) free too! Use coupon code REW25. Plus, I'm offering The 13th Floor Complete Collection for 75% off! Use coupon code REW75.

 

And last, but certainly not least, I have my 500 Followers Giveaway set to go live on March 10th. 500 is a big number. So the grand prize winner will get a BIG prize pack with books from 14 amazing authors! So come back on Monday and celebrate with me.

 

Sidelined cover reveal

Title: Sidelined (Game On Book 3)

Author: Kyra Lennon

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Release Date: March 31^st 2014

Blurb:

At the age of twenty-one, Bree Collinson has more than she ever dreamed of. A handsome husband, a fancy house, and more shoes than Carrie Bradshaw and Imelda Marcos combined. But having everything handed to her isn’t the way Bree wants to live the rest of her life. When an idea to better herself pops into her head, she doesn’t expect her husband to question her, and keep her tied by her apron strings to the kitchen.

Isolated and unsure who to turn to, Bree finds herself falling back into a dangerous friendship, and developing feelings for the only person who really listens to her. Torn between her loyalty to her husband and her attraction to a man who has the perfect family she always wanted, she has some tough choices to make.

While Bree tries to figure out what she wants, a tragedy rocks the Westberg Warriors, triggering some dark memories, and pushing her to take a look at what’s really important.

Sidelined is the third book in Kyra Lennon’s Game On series. Game On (Book 1) and Blindsided (Book 2) are available on Amazon and Smashwords.

About the Author:

Kyra is a self-confessed book-a-holic, and has been since she first learned to read. When she's not reading, you'll usually find her hanging out in coffee shops with her trusty laptop and/or her friends, or girling it up at the nearest shopping mall. And occasionally hanging out with rock stars, because that’s how she rolls!

Kyra grew up on the South Coast of England and refuses to move away from the seaside which provides massive inspiration for her novels. Her debut novel, Game On (New Adult Contemporary Romance), was released in July 2012, and she scored her first Amazon Top 20 listing with her New Adult novella, If I Let You Go in November.

You can find Kyra at the following places:

Website: http://www.kyralennon.com/

Blog: http://kyralennon.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyralennonwrites

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KLennonWrites

Pinterest: http://gb.pinterest.com/kyralennon/

Instagram: http://instagram.com/kyralennon

* * * * *

P.S. Please don't forget to vote for THE HARBINGER in the Fantasy category in BigAl's Books & Pals Readers' Choice Awards. You might win favor with the Greek gods!

P.P.S. This week Smashwords is having a huge sale. You can already download THE MARQUIS (Vol. 1 in The 13th Floor series) for free, but this week, you can get THE ALPHA (Vol. 2) free too! Use coupon code REW25. Plus, I'm offering The 13th Floor Complete Collection for 75% off! Use coupon code REW75.

The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues, Creepy Freebies, & Giveaway Winners

It's another fabulous Friday on the tour, and we've got a fun stop today. The geeky lone wolf named James from THE ALPHA has written a guest post you don't want to miss. Check it out on the wonderful Cecilia Robert's blog.

 There's a chill in the air, or is it something else?

It's Creepy Freebies time again.

Check out the treats from these talented authors on Milo James Fowler's blog:

Ellie Garratt

Jeff Chapman

Anthony Rapino
Lyndon Perry 

Now on to the giveaway winners! I had two giveaways happening this week.

The winner of the Creepy Freebies giveaway is:
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now for the winners of my blog tour (week 3) giveaway

  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners!

Emails have been sent.

Join the More Than Just A Kiss Blogfest

Sweet, sizzling, fiery, awkward, mind-blowing. We want to read your kissing scenes.

 

The rules are simple:

1. Sign up on the linky list and post the badge on your blog.

2. On one of the days of the week of September 9th, post a kissing scene on your blog. It can be either fiction or non-fiction.

3. Please do not exceed 250 words.

4. This is a blogfest, so visit the other participants and have fun!

But wait! This is more than a blogfest.

We're offering prizes!

The scenes will be judged by these amazing romance authors: Cecilia Robert, Laurelin Paige, Kyra Lennon, and Christine Rains. (Hey, that's me!) We will choose three posts to win these awesome prizes.

Prize 1 - A critique of a kissing/intimate scene from your WIP (not exceeding ten pages). Critiques will be done by Cecilia Robert, Kyra Lennon, and Christine Rains.

Prize 2 - A critique of a kissing/intimate scene from your WIP (not exceeding five pages). This critique will be done by Laurelin Paige and Christine.

Prize 3 - A critique of a kissing/intimate scene from your WIP (not exceeding one page). This critique will be done by Cecilia and Christine.

BONUS PRIZES:
Cecilia, Kyra, Laurelin, and I will each choose one of our favorites to give out some fantastic ebooks.
Cecilia – TRULY MADLY DEEPLY YOU and REAPER'S NOVICE.
Kyra - IF I LET YOU GO
Laurelin - FIXED ON YOU
Christine – All six volumes of the 13th Floor series.

 

SIGN UP HERE!

 

My kiss today comes from 1302 - THE ALPHA.

“You did it without a thought of yourself. That’s what a pack truly does for each other. You might be a lone wolf, but you’ve done more for me than anyone in a long time.” Her thumbs ran along his jaw, feeling the light growth of stubble.

A rough yet quiet sound reverberated in his chest. James' hands remained by his sides. Body tense and eager under her, he made no move to turn this into something more. He wanted to, she had no doubt about that, but he held himself back. His control and respect amazed her.

“It was the right thing to do.” He swallowed. His nostrils quivered and his lips parted slightly.

Stefanie couldn’t help herself any longer. Her mouth mashed to his. No sweet first kiss. She was never that type of girl. She was fire and passion, hot right from the start.

Her hands held his head in place, but slid up so she could play with his hair. Soft and thick, reminding her of silken down. Tongues twined and teeth clinked. Her hips pressed down and his answered, rubbing up. Too many layers of clothing between them for her, but they couldn’t contain the heat from the friction as it seared up through her body.

James murmured her name as he ran his hands up her thighs to rest on her rear. Fingers dug in and pulled her harder against him. She growled her approval and nipped at his lower lip.

Join me tomorrow for the 13th Floor Collection cover reveal!

Friday Five for August 30, 2013

1. First, I'm all giddy over Heather Musk's thoughts on THE ALPHA. She talks about Stefanie's strength as a wolf and a person. Pop on over and share your thoughts on the book.

2. I've been reading a lot this past month. A bunch of great indie books as well as big series like The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney. (Thank you so much to Clare Dugmore for recommending it to me!) I'm trying to keep up with reviews, but I don't have enough blog dates open for them all. On Monday, I'll have my review for POLAR NIGHT by Julie Flanders up, and later on in September, I have one for INDIESTRUCTIBLE.

3.  I'm way ahead of schedule for proofing the novellas for the 13th Floor Collection. I've also gotten a headstart on writing posts for the blog tour in October. It feels good to know I have a lot of breathing room. It's a big difference from earlier this year when I was frantic trying to meet my deadlines.

4. Having my son back in school has done wonders for both of us. He's excited every day we go to school, and he's even used the bathroom there by himself. A big deal for a boy who hates public bathrooms! I feel refreshed having three mornings a week to myself. I'm less stressed. By the end of the summer, I was feeling pretty frazzled. Next Wednesday is my first day to be the teacher's assistant. (Since it's a co-op nursery school, each parent has to volunteer ten times for the school year - about once a month - and help in class as well as bring the day's snack.) It's actually a lot of fun. I've always been a nerd when it comes to school. I love to go even when I'm not in class.

5. It's the long Labor Day weekend. We have absolutely no plans. It's lovely. I am ready to relax, maybe do some swimming at the lake and hiking, and sleep in. Eight o'clock is sleeping in for me! An extra hour makes all the difference. Enjoy your weekend, folks!

Arrows, Shadows, and Sales

Pop over to Arrows of Anteros and check out my flash piece, "Not Every Story Has A Happy Ending." This is how having a child has affected my writing. I have my little moments!

Today is Groundhog Day! Did the groundhog see its shadow where you live? All this day means to me is the opportunity to watch "Groundhog Day" again and again on television. A Bill Murray classic.

I haven't done a sales update lately. It's out of my curiosity how sales go for other authors that I share mine with you.

1302 - The Alpha
Amazon: 82
B&N: 24
Smashwords: 3
Kobo: 5
Total: 114

1301 - The Marquis
Amazon: 36
B&N: 6
Smashwords: 2
Kobo: 1
Total: 45

L'il Gal Al and the Zombies of Amarillo
Amazon: 1
B&N: 7
Smashwords: 111 (free)
Kobo (no stats as they don't count free downloads)
Total: 119

Fearless
Amazon: 5919
B&N: 3
Smashwords: 1123
Kobo: (I have no idea!)
Total: 7045

Fearless continues to do very well. It was in Amazon's top 100 for fantasy paranormal for most of January. It's free and a great way to hook readers to buy my other books.

Most of my sales for The Marquis came after the release of The Alpha. I'm hoping that with the great interest in The Dragonslayer, readers will buy it and the other book in the series.

Wicked Wednesday - a few things I picked up

It's been a while since I've done a Wicked Wednesday post. I hope to get back into the regular swing of things. So much has been happening, and I've been very busy with my 13th Floor series. I'm learning a lot about the genre and what's hot. This week I'm going to share a few things with you.

Werewolves are still a hot topic. You read on a lot of sites that the popularity of werewolves and vampires is diminishing. Perhaps agents and publishers are tiring of them, but readers still want more. The Alpha has already sold four times as many copies as The Marquis. People hear werewolf and their ears perk up. A new twist to the alpha trope? Now they're even more interested. I'm curious to see what happens when I get to the vampire's story in my series.

Paranormal romance fans like sarcasm and humor. The posts from my tours that received the most feedback were the funny ones. I think humor attracts people in general, and fans of this genre like a certain edge to their humor. I will never be Joss Whedon, but I'll do my best with this.

Covers matter. With The Marquis, people were seeing more urban fantasy. It wasn't sexy enough. The Alpha got more attention with Stefanie on the cover. Intense and gorgeous. The Dragonslayer has gotten the most attention. Shirtless Xan has caused a lot of people to drool. With paranormal romance, the hotness factor does count.

What have you learned through promoting your books?

Final Day of The Alpha blog tour

I can't believe this is the last day already.
What fun this tour has been!
Thank you so much to the generous hosts and to everyone who visited.
Today I'm giving back with a huge giveaway!

But you'll have to go to Cherie Reich's blog for the details. Find out why geeks make better boyfriends than Alpha males!

I'm also chatting with Clare Dugmore.
We'll be answering some geeky questions and debating who's the sexiest geek. Come over and add your two cents!

Today's tidbit: I dedicated The Alpha to my husband. Yes, geeks are sexy.

Come back tomorrow when I reveal the spectacular cover for 1303 - The Dragonslayer.

Day 4 of The Alpha blog tour

I can't wait to show you what's in store for today!

Come on over to Kyra Lennon's blog.
I'll be chatting about Stefanie and James,
my Alpha female and her geeky love interest.
Romance where the woman is the aggressive one.

Next I have a guest post on worldbuilding at Elizabeth Arroyo's site.
Find out how I came up with my ideas for the fictional city of Carmine and the building the 13th floor is located.

Today tidbit: The city of Carmine has become a character herself like the 13th Floor. I consider both the city and floor female. The first books in the series will show more of the city while the final two books will be more about the 13th floor.

I'd like to announce the five lucky winners of my 400 Followers Giveaway. Thank you to everyone who entered. You're awesome!
a Rafflecopter giveaway   
Congratulations to the winners! Emails have been sent. And if you didn't win this time around. Don't worry! I'll be having another great giveaway tomorrow. 

Day 3 of The Alpha blog tour

Do you have your copy of The Alpha yet?
Amazon * B&N * Smashwords * Kobo

Two stops on the blog tour today.
First, I'm over at TF Walsh's site with a guest post continuing on with the supernatural creatures theme. Can you guess what I'll be talking about?

Then I'm popping over to Nick Wilford's blog.
I'll be telling you about the bad guys from my book. They're a different sort than Vetis from The Marquis.

Today's tidbit: I didn't intend to include werewolves in my 13th Floor series. Yet Stefanie came to me and told me she lives in 1302, so I better get typing! I considered not listening, but it was the twist on the paranormal romance trope of the Alpha that won me over.

Day 2 of The Alpha blog tour

Today I'm visiting with two of my fellow
W4WS co-hosts.

I'm talking about finding your character's
voice on M. Pax's blog.
Sometimes it can be tricky, but I have a few exercises that will draw out even the most stubbornly silent of characters.

I have a tantalizing excerpt over at
C.M. Brown's site.
It'll wet your appetite for more!

Today's tidbit: Finding Stefanie's voice in The Alpha was much easier than getting Marc to talk in The Marquis. With Xan in The Dragonslayer, I'm finding he's not chatty, but he has interesting inner dialogue. He's a bit like me in that aspect. I don't say much, but I'm constantly talking to myself in my head.

Day 1 of The Alpha blog tour

Today's the big day!
The Alpha is now available!
Amazon
B&N
Smashwords
Kobo

The first stop on The Alpha blog tour
is at Reading, Writing and Everything In Between.
I'm sitting down with the wonderful
Heather Musk for an interview.
Come on over and say hi. 

Today's tidbit: The cover for The Alpha was a quick and easy choice for me. I saw the image on Dreamstime, and I knew it was Stefanie. She has an intense gaze. A bit wolfish too!

Friday Five for January 4th, 2013

1. It's been an unhealthy start to the new year in my house. Everyone is coughing and grumpy. Our holiday stay-cation wasn't much fun with the sickness.

2. Yet the new year started off really well with Fearless popping back up into Amazon's top 100 for fantasy paranormal. I've also won two books and a crochet bag in giveaways.

3. My son woke up this morning and immediately started talking about a big black cat in the kitchen climbing the walls. He was excited about how big this cat was. When I asked what the cat was doing, he said it was looking for food. "Really big food." This made me happy, because it's the first time the boy has told me about a dream and we both know it was a dream.

4. I'm slowly catching up on everything. If I buckle down, I can get back on schedule. I panicked a little lot with how much time I've lost to being sick, but it's not something I could predict or control. It's better for me to rest and take it easy. I can work when I'm feeling fine. That's difficult for me to do. I push myself a lot.

5. Only nine more days until the release of 1302 - The Alpha, the second book in the 13th Floor series. I have a great tour lined up. Hope to see you there. Have a great weekend!

Happy 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May your year be happy, healthy, and

full of good books!

Join me and all of the other brave writers tomorrow for the first IWSG post of the year.

Only 12 more days until the release of the second book in the 13th Floor series,

The Alpha.

 

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!

1302 - The Alpha cover reveal

Title: 1302 - The Alpha, (The 13th Floor series, #2)
Author: Christine Rains
Genre: paranormal romance
Release date: January 13th, 2013

Having been cooped up in her apartment for months, Stefanie Porter didn't think one run in the woods would matter. The wolf within her needed to stretch her legs, but obviously she didn't have very good instincts. Her former pack found her, and they almost catch her too, but a mysterious lone wolf jumps in to help Stefanie escape.

The pack is driven by their cruel Alpha, Wyatt. He refuses to give Stefanie her freedom even after she lost the challenge to lead them and left their territory. She can hide in her apartment, or the lone wolf can teach her some of his unusual urban survival tricks. James Roberts might be a bit geeky, but he's smart and looks hot when the argyle sweater comes off. He has a ridiculous ambition to become a superhero, and it might be admirable if Wyatt couldn't rip him limb from limb.

With the pack scouring the city for her, Stefanie must convince James to teach her, or fight not only for her life, but his as well.

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!

Wicked Wednesday - The Alpha

1302 - The Alpha

One run in the woods wouldn't matter. Stefanie Porter had been cooped up for months in her apartment. The wolf within her needed to stretch her legs and play under the moon. Her wolf obviously didn't have very good instincts, because her pack found her. They almost catch her too, but a mysterious lone wolf jumps in to help Stefanie escape.

The pack continues to hunt her in the city. They're driven by their cruel Alpha, Wyatt. He refuses to give Stefanie her freedom even after she lost the challenge to lead the pack and left their territory. She's strong, an Alpha herself, and he wants her for his mate. There's no one to stop him from doing that through any means necessary either.

Stefanie can hide in her apartment, or she can try to convince the lone wolf to teach her some of his unusual tricks. James Roberts might be a bit geeky, but he's smart and looks hot when the argyle sweater comes off. He has ambitions to be a superhero, and it might be admirable if Wyatt couldn't rip him limb from limb.

With the pack scouring the city for her, Stefanie must learn what James has to teach her before Wyatt finds her, and she has to fight not only for her life, but the lone wolf's as well.

(This blurb will likely be tweaked several times!)

This one has been so much fun to write. It's a twist on the typical paranormal romance where the strong woman falls for an Alpha male. In my story, Stefanie is the Alpha and James is not. I love having her as the aggressive one, taking charge, and making the first move.

This story is also my homage to geeky men. I love geeks! Intelligence, obscure comic book references, and a nice set of dice turn me on more than big muscles and an overbearing attitude.