Colonization Blog Tour - Guest Post with Aubrie Dionne

Please welcome sci-fi romance author, Aubrie Dionne.

Colonization is her newest book, and by far, my favorite of all her stories.

You can read my review of it here.

Take it away, Aubrie!

Why I Love Working with Inkspell Publishing:

When Inkspell publishing agreed to take Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed last spring, I was ecstatic. I’d had two offers from two different publishing companies, and Inkspell won hands down. Their website is gorgeous, their covers are phenomenal, and I loved the sound of the stories they had coming out. I thought my book would be a perfect fit.

Not only that, but they have a print contract for most of their books, which is hard to find nowadays with small publishers. Having a print book is a great marketing tool. You can only do a Goodreads giveaway if the book is in print, and some reviewers won’t take ebooks, not to mention book signings, so print definitely opens more doors.

As I got to know the people at Inkspell, I loved the company even more. They are polite, courteous, and always get back to me as soon as possible, unlike other companies I’ve dealt with that don’t return my emails at all. They make me feel special, and they support my book wholeheartedly. I think it’s important to find a company that believes in you and your work.

As I started to read the ARC’s coming out of Inkspell, I was amazed. Want by Stephanie Lawton was so irresistible, I couldn’t put it down. I ate it up like chocolate balls and ice cream. Frozen by Annabelle Blume was another steamy hit. Book after book that I read I liked. I knew I’d truly found a home for my YA books.

Aubrie Dionne is an author and flutist in New England. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. Her newest YA sci fi novel with Inkspell Publishing titled: Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed, was released in October. When she's not writing, Aubrie teaches flute and plays in orchestras. She's a big Star Trek TNG fan, as well as Star Wars and Serenity.

Visit Aubrie at her website and her blog. You can find her on Goodreads and Twitter.

Colonization is now available on Amazon, B&N, and Inkspell Publishing.

Blurb: Finding a new home has never been so dangerous.

Andromeda has spent all seventeen years of her life aboard a deep space transport vessel destined for a paradise planet. Her safe cocoon is about to break open as Paradise 21 looms only one month away, and she must take the aptitude tests to determine her role on the new world and her computer assigned lifemate. As a great-granddaughter of the Commander of the ship, she wants to live up to her family name. But, her forbidden love for her childhood friend, Sirius, distracts her and she fails the tests. The results place her in a menial role in the new colony and pair her with Corvus, “the oaf”.

But when Andromeda steps foot on Paradise 21, her predestined future is the least of her worries. Alien ghosts from a failed colonization warn her of a deadly threat to her colony. And when Sirius's ship crashes on the far ridge in an attempt to investigate, she journeys to rescue him with Corvus.

Andromeda now must convince the authorities of the imminent danger to protect her new home. What she didn't expect was a battle of her own feelings for Sirius and Corvus.

Can she save the colony and discover her true love? 

GIVEAWAY TIME!

   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday tidbits

Whew. Back from my long weekend away. I'm glad to be home. I like to travel, but I love my cozy house and comfy bed. I never sleep well in another bed. And traveling with a small child isn't fun. Thank goodness for chocolate. For me!

I haven't done any more writing yet. I haven't done any reading except a few magazine articles here and there. Here's a few things I picked up I thought I'd share with you.

I learned there are three types of YA books: YA (teens), Upper YA (late teens to early twenties), and New Adult (early twenties to twenty-five). The growth in the YA genre is phenomenal and not just amongst young people either. I know a lot of you write in this genre and that's great.

There's a genre called "Gentle Fiction." Usually set in small towns with strong bonds between family and neighbors. The plots center around home, family, and true love. All told in a heartwarming and sweet manner.

I discovered there's such a thing as a personal writing coach. Teacher? Critique partner? Cheerleader? Could be a good thing or could be a scam. Sort of like a life coach.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

YA books and Campaign good news

Recently, I've had the chance to read more YA books. I haven't read much in this genre because what I've read in the past, I haven't liked. I'm also a writer of adult books. I like to read about adult characters. Yet there's been so many great YA books around that I've heard about, I thought I'd give the genre another chance.

I started off with Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series. A very good start! I loved it. Then I read Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. Wow. It was a phenomenal book. The hype was right. I have the next two books on reserve at the library.

My next pick was another popular paranormal romance series called the Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine. My good luck came to a sudden end. It took over 70 pages for the story to really get started. I didn't like the characters. It had an intriguing premise, but I had no sympathy for anyone. Perhaps I should have read Caine's Weather Warden series instead. For any of you that have read it, is it worth picking up?

Okay. Surely the next book had to be better. I've been waiting a long time to read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs. It has a fantastic cover and one of the best book trailers I've ever seen. Yet the book failed to live up to my expectations. It was a decent story, but it didn't wow me. It seemed like Riggs tried too hard to make the story fit the photos.

Right now, I'm reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. So far, I'm not impressed. I'll read the whole book unless it becomes horrible, but there's only been a few books that ever made me stop reading.

I'm still willing to read more YA paranormal and dystopian books. Where do I go next, though? Do you have any suggestions?

In other news, I won a copy of Stone Cold Seduction by Jess Macallan. Yay! When I finally get my Nook, I'll have a book to read.

My entry in the first challenge of the Campaign has been judged and made it to Stage Two. I'm honored and excited. The Campaign has been so much fun. Here's what the judge had to say:

Hi Christine! I'm Elizabeth Moss and you were put in my part of the judging element for the campaign challenge.

I'm delighted to say I loved your story and you'll be going through to Stage Two!

So congrats!

What I love about your story is how it begins so dramatically in media res. The backstory is expertly revealed in the sparse phrase 'My demon hunting background' - no more is required. The action is in your face from the start and doesn't let up until the door swings shut again. Soren is sexy, and you can see why she's torn. (And in case we were in doubt, you cleverly slip in that 'she doth protest' to ensure we know this is boy on girl action.) Exciting, breathtaking, dynamic, telling dialogue, and all I can ask is - what happens once they're inside the car together??

Love it. Best of luck with the next round.