Amanda LeMay's Blog

I've been watching people share their joy of tidying up on social media lately and I have to admit, I'm inspired to do some tidying up myself. I could use it as an excuse to get out from in front of my keyboard.

Then again, the 30-book max thing...that's not gonna happen here.

And that's where Valentine's Day came in. I was thinking about making and sharing a small list of my most favorite romance books...keeping it down to maybe 5...well, 10...umm 25?

Okay, okay, the list morphed into something beyond measure so I gave up. Because I LOVE books and I LOVE ROMANCE! And not just one day of the year. ALL year.

(I mean, seriously, take a look at the books I've read in my Goodreads library, I'm all over the place on romance!)

And if you do check out the books I've read and don't see your favorite romance there, leave me a recommendation! I'll be sure to tidy up enough to fit in another book!

Did you know authors have Black Friday deals too??

Oh, yeah!! Check out this line-up of awesome ebooks!!

http://bit.ly/Hot4theHolidays
#bookdeal #amreading #hot4theholiday

Book Hang-Over. The big BHO

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. That period of mourning, really, that happens right after you finish an amazing book and you just can't seem to move on. I give you Nalini Singh's latest book in the Guild Hunter series...

Archangel's Prophecy

I tend to stay far, far away from books that cause me to 'ugly cry', and really, I didn't 'ugly cry' so much as GASP uncontrollably and wish I could read faster to get to the end. This book...THIS BOOK...tore my heart out.

Then I went back and reread the last few chapters...over and over and over. Okay, it's a cliffy, and if you don't appreciate when authors ripped your guts out and leave you hanging...well...then...just wait a year, THEN READ THIS BOOK, ya know, right before the next book in the series comes out.

In the meantime, after this epic read, I was suffering severe BHO. Bad. So I completely switched genres and picked up a book that's been on my Kindle TBR pile for way too long -

Shacking Up

I so needed this book! It's fun and it's light and I'm smiling a lot...though I can see how someone else might balk at the lack of 'trigger' warnings - SPIDERS! Well, a pet tarantula, to be exact, but the thing is crawling all over and just yikes... *shivers*. To balance out the *shiver* factor, there's also a pet ferret. Helena Hunting picked the perfect compliment to creepy and crawly with cute and cuddly! Once I got past the spider thing, falling in love with Bancroft, or Bane for short, has been pretty easy.

Good thing spiders don't bother me or yeah...but they're really a beneficial insect/bug/whatever. (Just keep repeating that and everything will be okay.)

Yep, it's official. It's Pumpkin Spice time!

(Not Cinnamon Pine cone time, people, so just cut that out!)

Besides that, I'm in total countdown mode! SIX more weeks and Dance of the Hunter's Moon will go live! And I will have accomplished what I set out to do when I started this writing gig...3 books in one year.

So, yeah, I'm kind of excited!

There's another reason I'm kind of excited...

I was busy writing along on book 4, Promise of the Wolf's Moon , when I realized there was a sh*t-ton of backstory info I needed to get down. See, PotWM is Seff's story and Seff has been there throughout the first 3 books. He's seen a lot. He's done a lot. So, 20,000 words in, and I'm thinking I need a prequel before book 4 - a 3.5, if you will.

So, if all y'all don't mind, NOVELLA TIME!

I haven't come up with a title yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I do.

Also, since the next book in the Sakana series is six weeks away, (it's up for pre-order, if you're interested), I put the first ebook, Kiss of the Winter Moon , on sale!

If you haven't already, One-Click that puppy!!
http://bit.ly/KissoftheWinterMoon_amazon
http://bit.ly/KissoftheWinterMoon_kobo
http://bit.ly/KissoftheWinterMoon_itunes
http://bit.ly/KissoftheWinterMoon_nook

(B&N is lagging on the price change...I've already sent them a request to get on the ball.)

Are you like me, wondering where all those pages you LIKED on Facebook went to?

Yesterday, I was like... Dude, where's my stuff?

You know, all those pages I choose to follow?

After spending (more than) half the day discussing the why/when/where questions with other authors, I found the answer posted in a video by the wonderful author, Adriana Locke. (You can find the video on my FB page.)

Pages Feed.

Yep. Pages Feed.

What the heck is Pages Feed and where do I find it?

Oh yeah...it's over on the left side bar nestled under EXPLORE. Can't see it? Click 'more'. Scroll down a bit, it should be right there - Pages Feed.
(Well, this works for your laptop and iPad, but I still can't find it on my iPhone.)

Facebook is supposed to be all about family and community, and I'm all for that...except for when I CHOOSE TO FOLLOW someone or some organization. Having to click Pages Feed is just another step I didn't want to do.

I do understand...to a point. And that point is when my friends post a link on their personal profile page to an article, directions for a Christmas wreath, or just brag about their kids and the post is removed and marked as SPAM. Yes, this has happened in the last 2 days.

What's next? Will (heaven forbid) Kitten Pics be targeted as SPAM? There is NO point to FB if we can't post Kitten Pics!!

Kinda just kiddin' here. Kinda.

Anyway...the basic rule comes down to this...No advertising on personal profile pages. Ever. If you have a business page, don't advertise on your personal profile page. Nobody enjoys Facebook jail.

So, from this point on, no one will see me advertise my books on my profile page. And, if I understand the rules correctly, I can't advertise any other author's books on my personal profile page either. No links to those great sales you may miss out on. The link to that new bakery that just opened, sorry, I won't be posting that either. Checking in at my favorite restaurant? I'm not sure whether that will be considered 'advertising' or not, so not doing that either.

Any ads you may see on your FB news feed will be 'sponsored' (paid) ads.

Well, at least until I hear otherwise, (and I'll be sure to share with you), my FB personal profile page will be link-free. If you want to see the latest book news and links to sales, you'll need to click "Pages Feed" to find it. Or you could sigh up for my newsletter at amandalemay.com.

And then, FB may ch-ch-ch-ch-change something. Again.

Simmer Time ~ the time after I've finished editing/revising my latest manuscript, this one being the 3rd book in the Sakana Series, Dance of the Hunter's Moon .

Simmer Time ~ time to step away from my computer and DO STUFF I've put off because I was busy editing/revising my latest manuscript, you know, like go outside, work in the garden, run to the local Farmer's Market, and just basically catch my breath before I need to get back to work.

But, before I step away from my computer, I took a moment to write out a review for my new favorite book. This is the 3rd book in the An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir ~ If you like epic fantasy and haven't read this series, you might want to try it. Check out my review below...

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you love George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, (which I do), you'll probably love this series as well. This 3rd book is full of battles, love and regret, twists and turns. Just as one answer is revealed, another question comes up. Though we get multiple points-of-view, almost every scene seems to have a visit by one character - the Nightbringer. By the end of the book, I was left wondering, who is the Nightbringer? Is he good? Or is he evil? And because this story ends in a cliffhanger, I'll have to wait, (and not too patiently, I might add), for the next book.



View all my reviews

Happy *almost* July Fourth!!

Did you see? Tuesday, June 26th, was quite a day for NEW BOOK RELEASES!!

WOW! Not only did Shadow of the Summer Moon go live, but so did a slew of other wonderful books! Here are just a few...










If you're interested in what NEW BOOK RELEASES will be coming out in July, take a look at this list posted by Vampire Book Club!

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Yes. I'm suffering from a moderately severe case of Book Hangover.

THIS BOOK...

Oh, yeah...and like Lucy Hutton, I can admit it...I love Joshua Templeman.

See, and that's a problem since all I want to do is go back to the beginning and start all over again. Not just reread all those special parts, nah...I want the whole shebang.

But, I have 'stuff' to do, (like making my word count for the day!) and previewing the paperback copy of Shadow of the Summer Moon.

And...that's where the cure kicked in.

Self-publishing means I have to do all the stuff. Well, most of it. Write the thing. Proof-read, edit, proof-read again, kill my darlings, (i.e. "even if it's my most precious part, cut it or make it un-cut-able"), send it off for pro-editing, get it back, cry little tears, make corrections...this kind of thing goes on for a while. Then, after all that, download my baby and preview it...page by page. (Didn't I already do this, like, one hundred times? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did.)

So, I click 'preview', sit back and wait while it processes, thinking the entire time about how I could grab my Kindle and start rereading my most recent favorite book when this pops up...

WARNING

Uhhh.... what?

An hour later, I've fixed all but one of the problems and resubmitted the file. There's still that one pesky WARNING, but I have faith it will work out just fine.

And for that one hour, I was cured of Book Hangover. I can get on with my life now. Make my word count for the day. Then, go out and enjoy the sunshine with my Kindle and my two new BFFs, Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman.

#iamwriting

And not just a #MondayBlog post either!

It's #summervacation! That time of year where I #WriteLikeaMadWoman and never worry about #WordCount because it just happens!!

Any other year, I would hide in my #writerscave and severely limit social media visits because, yeah, #WritersLife. This year, that's not going to be possible since my second book in the #SakanaSeries, #ShadowoftheSummerMoon, is going LIVE on June 26th...and, because #IndieAuthors are not backed up by a big publisher, we are all about getting our books out there all on our own. (Don't ask me how this works because I'm still learning!)

So, if you don't see me much this summer, know that I am spending my time wisely and #NotAtTheBeach...well, until August...and then yeah, you can bet I'll have my toes in the sand.

There are so many great books coming out this month, two I cannot WAIT to read...





A Reaper at the Gates (Embers Quartet #3) by Sabaa Tahir out on 6/12/18. I LOVED the first two books in this series, Ember in the Ashes & Torch Against the Night. I was thrilled to see there were two more books coming.

And





Iron and Magic (Iron Covenant #1) by Ilona Andrews out on 6/26/18. This is a spin-off from the Kate Daniels series, which I LOVE, so I'm sure I'll love this one just as much.

The second book in my Sakana series is also going live this month on the 26th...





Check out Vampire Book Club for an extensive list of upcoming releases.

Happy Reading!