Showing posts with label My Novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Novels. Show all posts

18 Days of Christmas Giveaways: Day 11 Avery Olive


Welcome to Day 11 of the 18 Days of Christmas Giveaways! Today is special for all sorts of reason. One, it's Day 11, which means I'm taking over my own blog lol and posting some goodies. Two, it is my 200th blog post! And three, I am finally releasing the cover and blurb for my upcoming novel, Won't Let Go! Also, as a special treat, I'm going to reveal an exclusive first look excerpt, not to mention, I've got an awesome giveaway two lucky winners will be chosen.

So, let's get right too it, shall we?
The Giveaway Today is:
An Ecopy of A Stiff Kiss
and
An Ecopy ARC of Won't Let Go
The Rafflecopter of the Day is:
         Like Avery Olive on Facebook        

Now, let's check out the cover and blurb!


Seventeen-year-old Alexia Stone never wanted to move cross country. And she certainly never wanted to share her new bedroom with an amnesiac ghostboy desperate for her help.

But after setting aside the assumption she’s gone crazy, Alexia engages in the impossible—she agrees to help the ghost discover who he was and what happened to him. Convinced this mystery is what’s keeping the phantom in the world of the living, Alexia puts her heart on the line to find out what his unfinished business might be.

Ultimately, Alexia must decide what’s more important to her—keeping her phantom boyfriend or helping him finally find peace in death. What she didn’t plan on was not having a choice. One of them must move on, but what if neither wants to let go?
Stay Tuned for Exact Release Date!


And now, for an exclusive first look!

And with a nod over his shoulder in my direction he says, “And that’s Alexia.”

            I give a curt nod and small smile. Stepping on the farthest point of the stair from the new hole, I grasp the railing. Just as my foot reaches the second step, something catches my eye.

            Up towards the sky, I scan the house, glimpsing a grimy window. A sheer curtain rustles. Squinting against the bright light of the sun, I see the curtain move again. This time a shadow, tall and lean, passes over the space.

            Instantly, cool air brushes my neck, hairs stand up on end and a creepy feeling tickles my spine. Shaking off the odd sensation, I look back to the window. The curtain hangs still and no shadow moves. I imagined the whole thing. Nothing there at all.

            “Well, nice to meet you all. Please, please come in and check out your new home.”

            Mr. Realtor holds the door open as we shuffle into the foyer. I want to say I’m awed, but I’m not. From this point all I can see are neat piles of boxes with Mom’s messy scrawl on the sides. It’s really hard to get the full picture.

            “The movers were here this morning. We tried to leave things organized. And missus also tidied up the kitchen and left a casserole in the fridge.” He pauses to wipe beads of sweat off his neck. “The rest of the house still needs a good once over.”

            The house itself feels about ten degrees warmer than outside. My black T-shirt is already clinging to my dampened skin. I’m guessing central air is a luxury I no longer have. Add that to the growing list of reasons why I hate this new life already.

            Only a second later I curse under my breath, knowing I promised myself and my mother I’d make the most of this new change. I can handle letting myself down, but her, on the other hand, not so much. I’ve sort of had my fill of that in the past. Letting her down, that is.

            Mom gazes around. “Oh Charles, look at this place! Isn’t it wonderful?” Both her face and voice are giddy with excitement. Mom points out a huge stone fireplace, tall ceilings, saying something about how a little fresh paint will brighten up the room.

            Speaking of...“So where’s my room?” I ask, trying to hide the small amount of excitement bubbling beneath the surface.

            “Oh honey. If the pictures do it justice, you’ll love it!” Mom smiles.

            Mr. Realtor coughs, rubbing his neck again. “It’s up the stairs. End of the hall.”

            Wasting no time, but still being vigilant, I race up the stairs and down the hall. If the rest of the house is any indication, the room will be a bit of a disappointment, but I cling to the hope that maybe I'm wrong. Grasping the crystal doorknob, I turn it and fling myself into my new room.

            I gasp, hand flying to my mouth.

            It’s not the drab sheers on the window, my four-poster bed leaning up against a wall, or the expanse of the room—filled with boxes—that’s caught my attention.

            No. That would be simple. Easy.

            Instead, I find myself staring at the back of a—person. It’s a he, tall and lean, wearing dark wash jeans and a gray T-shirt, and he’s standing right smack dab in the center of the space. His hair is short and sandy blond. Just as I’m about to speak, his head tilts to the right, and slowly, ever so slowly, he glances over his shoulder.

            Stormy blue eyes narrow at me as a small grin plays on his lips.

            Just when I think I’ve lost my mind—that a stranger in my house is bad enough—the person dissolves into a cloud of dust, swirling in the rays of sunlight brought in from the window until no trace is left.

            I scream. A fierce and terrified, bone-chilling scream that echoes through the room. It’s so loud. The air in my lungs is still expelling when faintly I hear the thud of footfalls frantically running up the stairs towards me...

 

And now for a little more about Avery! Feel free to click on the links, she likes to be stalked on the web!

            Avery Olive doesn't kiss and tell. Except when it comes to writing about hot supernatural guys. She lives with her husband and son in Red Deer, Alberta, where she spends way too much time reading, writing and avoiding house work.

She's the author of A Stiff Kiss, a young adult novel with is a morbid twist on a classic fairytale, in reverse, and Won't Let Go, involving an amnesic ghostboy who just won't move on.

What she is sure of, is that writing will always give her the chance to live adventures untold and hopes to release many more novels in the future.

Blog     Facebook     Twitter     Tumblr     Goodreads

Other Books by Avery Olive
A Stiff Kiss
ISBN: 978-1-937254-33-9
ASIN: B0075M4KA2
Please come back tomorrow, too, as Lynn Rush will be on the blog with 10 Book Confessions and another awesome giveaway!



 
If you are just joining us, take a look at the Rules and Regulations Page for more info on the contest. Or don't. It's really simple, just read the post, scroll down to Mr. Rafflecopter and do the daily task. But wait. What if you don't have Facebook or Twitter or can't do the other tasks before you? Have no fear! As a contingency, on the off chance people can't do the daily task, they can simply leave a blog comment! This way, everyone has equal opportunity to be enter to win the tons of prizes up for grabs! And don't forget, if you missed the previous days, you can go back and enter those too! Just check out The Linky List. The contest runs until December 29th, and of course, don't forget to come back tomorrow.




 

 

 

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

15 Days of Christmas Giveaways: Day 1 Avery Olive


 

Welcome to the kickoff of the 15 Days of Christmas Giveaways. I’m your host, Avery Olive. Please hang up your jacket and stay awhile. I’ve cooked up a fun first post with a prize package that is truly amazing! I like to go big or go home!

Firstly you must know that Today’s task is rather simple. At the bottom, you’ll find Mr. Rafflecopter. He and I are great friends. What he needs from you is a simple comment left on this post. Easy Peasy!

If you’d missed yesterdays posts with the rules and regulations and feel you must read them before entering, you can check those out here.

The Prize Package, you’re entering to win?
1 E-Copy of A Stiff Kiss
1 Special one of a kind canvas tote
1 Mouse Pad
And some A Stiff Kiss SWAG

 

Now, to start things off, I thought hard about my post, trying to come up with something a little different. And since we’re doing the 15 Days of Christmas, well, I thought I’d do...

15 Things About A Stiff Kiss You Might Not Know...

It’s simple, really. I’ve come up with 15 little facts to get you thinking about A Stiff Kiss, my debut novel.
 
1.                    Though the morgue scene in A Stiff Kiss was the first thing I thought about and gave me the main idea for the novel, it actually wasn’t the first scene I wrote. I started from the beginning and didn’t jump ahead.

 2.                    Some very cool people close to my heart have characters named after them. Even Mr. Olive has a character named after him, but no, I won’t tell you who it is!

 3.                    The first draft of A Stiff Kiss was written in a little less than 3 months. In fact the novels that I have started and completed consecutively have all been written in 3 months or less.

 4.                    Silversprings is a mythical town I created. Since I needed to pick a State as a point of reference, I chose Oregon, USA. Though I am Canadian, it made sense to set my novel in the USA since we Canadians do a great deal of things differently. I wanted to make sure I was as consistent as possible, without confusing anyone.

 5.                    Had I ever had another boy, their name might have been Landon. It was always on the top of my baby name chart! Xylia on the other hand, was just a name with a meaning that worked well with the novel. I pulled it from a baby name book.

 6.                    A Stiff Kiss was the first title I came up with...  but given the fact that the title can be interpreted more than one way (if you don’t know what I’m talking about J Sorry, I won’t spell it out) I was desperate to find another title. Here are a few examples of titles that never made the cut because no matter how I looked at it, A Stiff Kiss just suited the novel better, even if it has a double meaning: Kissing Corpses, A Corpse Kiss, A date with a Corpse...

 7.                    Tons of books have that hidden message thing going on. A Stiff Kiss is no different. One of the things I want readers to take away from A Stiff Kiss is the simple act of forgiveness. A person’s life can change undeniably once they’re able to forgive what they cannot change.

 8.                    Though Silversprings is mythical, and the other city/town names mentioned are too, each of them are named after a Cemetery. In fact, a little bit of extra knowledge: every city/town I’ve ever created has been named after a Cemetery.

 9.                    Before A Stiff Kiss got multiple publishing contract offers it was rejected over 54 times. A true sign that in this industry, if you want to make it, you never give up.

 10.                     The first person to read A Stiff Kiss was my super awesome friend and critique partner Steven W. The kicker: We’ve been friends going on six years, talk most every day, and share the journey towards publication together, yet, we’ve never actually met in person. One day, sooner rather than later, I hope to change that.

 11.                     I had to gain permission from Bryant H. McGill to use his quote at the beginning of A Stiff Kiss. The quote fits the book perfectly, and even things in my own life. I didn’t have a backup plan if he said no. I wanted so strongly to use the quote I worried if I had a Plan B I’d never get the permission I needed to use it. The Quote: There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love—Bryant H. McGill

 12.                     The novel and its theme about death allows me to understand it just that much more. If I write about it, maybe one day I will come to terms with my own fears about dying and death. I am terrified when it comes to the idea that one day I will no longer walk this earth.

 13.                     The cover artist, Taria Reed, came up with two mock-up covers. I chose the one I thought suited the novel the best, however, they were both great. Do they show the darker side of the novel, yes, was I worried it might be too creepy, yes, but when I look back now I couldn’t have asked for anything better. It suits the novel perfectly.

 14.                     Though I’ve been writing for many years, I was in the closet. When I signed the contract for A Stiff Kiss I came out of that closet and told my friends and family that I was, in fact, a writer, soon to be published. Some were very surprised to say the least.

 15.                     Some have stated the obviousness of Landon’s last name in relation to the book as being a tad cliché. Phoenix, as it were, is the symbol for rebirth. I did it on purpose, sort of throwing it in your face because I wanted readers to understand, right away, when reading the blurb that the rebirth plot-string was important to the novel. Morana, Xylia’s last name, though not as obvious, really does me death. Which is another throwback to the theme of the novel.

16.                     And because I’m all about one more for good measure, I’ll do a 16. I know a lot of you have asked whether or not A Stiff Kiss will have a sequel, or a prequel or a short story or something else attached to it. My answer: You never know. I will not discount the idea of adding to A Stiff Kiss, it may or may not happen. I’m just not sure when yet.

 And that’s all I have to say about that!

Please take a moment to enter the giveaway below and DO NOT FORGET to come back tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that (and so on and so on) until December 24th to enter to win even more great prizes! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Big News: Latest Novel Sold to CMP!!


Alright, I’ve been waiting for awhile to share this with the world (sitting on awesome news is painful!) But finally, now that I’m back from Holidays (that’s right, I was gone, you might not have noticed) and everything is in order I can finally scream from the rooftops....
My latest novel, Won’t Let Go (Tentative Title) has just been sold to Crescent Moon Press with a release date in 2013!
Please stay tuned for more information!!!
SQUEAL!!! I’m so excited to share this one with the world!

A Stiff Kiss: Paperback's Available!

A Stiff Kiss is slowly taking over the world!

The paperback edition is now available from both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Have you picked up your copy yet?

If you haven't, you should. You can go to the "My Novels" section for all the information!


I've also been told that shortly the paperback edition will be available through Book Depository which offers free shipping world wide, now isn't that awesome?

I realize I've been a little quiet lately and I feel terrible about it, but there are just so many super great things going on that I'm having a hard time keeping up with everything.

I promise to be better! Really, I do!

So what can we expect to see over the next few weeks?

I'm a little behind on posting book reviews. I've read a lot of superb novels and want to share them.
You'll continue to get A Stiff Kiss updates, along with super awesome A Stiff Kiss Blog Tour information.
And, I might even through in a few personal posts just for fun, you know, to keep you on your toes!

And because you guys are awesome.. I think I might just have to have a few contests! Would you like that?

Where Have you Been and What the Crap is NaNoWriMo?

I feel like I’m neglecting my blog just a bit. Sorry for that guys! I’ve been hard at work with my NaNoWriMo project, trying to get as many words down as I can.
Wait, what? You don’t know what NaNoWriMo is? Well shucks, that’s a pity. I’d be happy to explain it to you!
National Novel Writing Month is amazing. It’s where Writers get to sit down during the Month of November, their goal? Write 50,000 words from the 1st to the 30th.
They have set up a great site with tons of resources, including forums to help you through just about every aspect of writing. You can add buddies, other writers who are working towards the same goal as you. NaNoWriMo also collects donations to help out some really great causes to! They have a nifty store if you feel like shopping, chats with great people and if you are a part of NaNoWriMo you can get some discounts on some really great products.
But wait, you say novel writing isn’t really your thing? How about trying Script Frenzy? It’s the same sort of principal as NaNo but instead for the month of April your goal is to write 100 pages of a script! They offer the same awesome things. You can find others that are doing the same thing as you, meet new friends, and well, they have cool T-Shirts as well.
Maybe you’ve decided to write your novel’s first draft, but my God it’s not November! It’s June! Well have no fear because there is also Camp NaNoWriMo. It gives you the same great tools, opportunities and support of writing a novel in November, but you can do it... during a month that isn’t November!
NaNoWriMo also has another, even greater thing they offer! (I know it’s hard to believe isn’t?) They have a Youth Writers Program. During November they have help kids improve writing skills, self-esteem and get’s them involved with literature. They do this with a kid/teen friendly website, great resources and a support system that can’t fail. If there was ever a reason to get kids involved and donate money, this is for sure why! Youth need to understand just how awesome string words together can be! As well as learn more about literature and what makes it so great.
So you see, even though my blog isn’t getting the action it deserves, I am doing something important! And just because we are already in November, doesn't mean you can't join in the fun, you can still sign up! Maybe make your goal for this year 25,000 words, and get out there, make friends and try to accomplish the greatness that is writing a novel’s first draft!

My name is Avery Olive and I am a 2011 NaNoWriMo Participant!
And just so's you know, I've got 14,800 words!
That means, if my math is correct (lol) I've got 35,200 words to go!

An Awesome Book Blurb!

I finally got the all important go-ahead from my Editor to share the book blurb for my novel A Stiff Kiss (Working Title)

So, I'm not going to repost here, but please take a step over to My Novels and have a looksy!

The awesome ladies over at Crescent Moon Press did a great job, and big thanks to my lovely Editor!