Coming Soon! The Glassheart Chronicles

The Glassheart Chronicles by Fisher Amelie, J.L. Bryan, Courtney Cole, Wren Emerson, Amy Jones, Tiffany King, Nicole Williams












I am happy to announce the upcoming release of The Glassheart Chronicles.

This book is a series of short stories written by several talented young adult paranormal romance writers including yours truly. The book features short stories featuring the characters the participating author's fans already love. The anticipated release of this book is slated for August 1st.

Head on over to Goodreads and add to your TBR pile!

A review for The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




In the Throne of Fire, Carter and Sadie Kane are back with a new mission. The tape they sent out after the conclusion of their quest for the Red Pyramid met the ears of several magicians. This book begins with Carter and Sadie training a handful of new teen magicians at Brooklyn House. In this mythical Egyptian adventure Carter, Sadie and the rest of the Red Pyramid cast of characters return. They are joined by their new team of young magicians and a few new Gods (a really sweet dwarf and a hippo) as they set out on a new quest to awaken Ra, the sun god, the god of order. Apophis, the god of chaos, is getting closer to freeing himself from his prison thanks to Set, the god of evil, and his little stunt at the Red Pyramid. Once again, it is up to the Kanes to maintain the balance between Ma’at (order of the universe) and chaos.

The second installment in Rick Riordan’s Red Pyramid series did not disappoint. The book is packed with action and adventure from cover to cover as Mr. Riordan cleverly scripts to life the legends of Egyptian mythology. This author’s writing style is both intelligent and entertaining. He has perfected a world that is entirely fascinating to the young adult reader and simultaneously intriguing for the mythological enthusiast. He does an excellent job of creating the voices and emotions of teen characters. His writing is equally suspenseful, scary, sad, provoking and funny. Parents and Grand - parents, I beg of you as a mother and a teacher, please place Rick Riordan’s books on your Christmas and birthday lists. Your children will be both entertained and educated after reading them. I highly recommend this book for everyone (ages middle grade and up). I give The Throne of Fire 5 stars.



Amy Jones, author of Soul Quest

http://amyjonesyaff.blogspot.com

http://www.soulquesttrilogy.com





View all my reviews

It's going to be a blast!

Coming Soon!
The Soul Quest Blog Tour
August 1 – 7, 2011



Have you heard the news? Well, pay attention!








The Soul Quest Blog Tour will feature reviews of Soul Quest by various book bloggers, author interviews, giveaways and an author guest post. Plus, the release date for The Guardians of Souls, Book Two in The Soul Quest Trilogy, will finally be announced during the tour AND made available for purchase. Additionally, information related to other writing projects by author, Amy Jones will be announced.

Blog Tour Schedule

August 1st – Neri @ In the Name of Books
August 2nd – Megan McDade @ Reading Away the Days
August 3rd – Jennifer Grogan Sternberg @ X - treme Readers
August 4th – Keira Lea @ Keira Lea
August 5th – Rachel Harris @ The Ending Unplanned
August 6th – Heather Webb @ Heather Webb
August 7th – L. Carroll @ Lor Mandela

Book Bloggers
The seven lovely and brilliant ladies mentioned above have graciously offered to be hosts for my blog tour. Each of them will feature something fun and exciting for you on their scheduled day of the tour.

Guest Posts
Yours truly (me, myself and I – all three of us, if need be) will write one or more guests posts for the tour. I will try to feature a different post for each host to make it extra special.

Author Interviews
My wonderful hosts have some fantastic interviews planned for the tour. No doubt, these very creative ladies will have some fun Q & A time scheduled.

The Giveaway
I will be setting up a giveaway for Soul Quest on my blog during the week of August 1 – 7, 2011. Any interested person can click on the link provided on the tour hosts blog to enter. I will give away 5 ecopies of Soul Quest to 5 lucky winners.

The Guardians of Souls, Book Two in the Soul Quest Trilogy
The long anticipated release of this book is nearing. To celebrate its birthday I will kick off another blog tour at the end of August. I am currently looking for hosts for this tour. Please contact me by email to express your interest (amj@columbus.k12.nc.us). Please include what you would like to host on the tour (review, interview, guest post) so I can send you the necessary materials to prepare.
A Giveaway will be scheduled for The Guardians of Souls and will be conducted in the same fashion as the Soul Quest Giveaway/Soul Quest Blog Tour, only this time I will give away 10 ebooks to 10 lucky winners.

Now, what are you waiting for? Go tweet this, post it on FB, tell your Grandma (you know she would love a copy of Soul Quest), spread the word.

XOXO

A Shade Tree: Amazon Now Selling More Kindle Books than Print Bo...

A Shade Tree: Amazon Now Selling More Kindle Books than Print Bo...: "Amazon began selling hardcover and paperback books in July 1995. Twelve years later in November 2007, Amazon introduced the revolutionary K..."

What do you know about Pixel of Ink?

Pixel of Ink is a blog which is set up to promote Kindle ebooks who average a 4 star review rank and sell for less than $3.00. They offer a wide range of information on their blog but I am most interested in their sponsorship program for authors.

What do you guys know about Pixel of Ink? Has anyone used this blog and received significant results? The site has many requirements set up before your book will even be considered for sponsorship (which I believe is a good thing) but I'm very careful with how I spend my money. Are the books featured really 'the best of...' or are they just featured because their author paid the sponsorship fee? I hope I am not offending anyone with this post. If you have paid for sponsorship it is completely your right to have done so. I would just like to know if the money spent was worth it? Did it boost your sales rank or just make you 100 bucks poorer?

Here is an example of my concern. When I was young little chickadee I was a model. I know how the modeling world works. If someone thinks you have what it takes to secure work you will get an agent with out paying a dime. Yet, everyday I hear about young girls paying thousands of dollars for agency representation from agencies that never find them any paid work. I had an agent, worked and was paid. I never spent a cent. These poor young girls have been the victims of a scam. It is both unethical and cruel to take advantage of a person's ignorance.

So, is Pixel of Ink for real or not? I thank you in advance for your honest opinions. ...and please don't hate/kill me for my concerns. Again, I hope I did not offend anyone.

Apologies to my blog meme buddies!

Hello blogging friends,

I must take a moment to apologize and explain my lack of participation in my usual blog meme events. School is out for the summer and this is the only time I get to really hone my craft at writing, uninterrupted (or less interrupted anyway). I am currently working on a short story for an anthology I have been invited to participate in. I believe there are 6 indie authors participating in this anthology, all of which are super cool people and talented writers. I feel very lucky to have been invited into this project. I will let you know more about this project soon. The anticipated release for the anthology is August 1st.

Once I've completed my short story for the anthology I must reconvene to the larger project at hand... completing The Guardians of Souls, including editing and formatting by August's end.

I will post my progress periodically. I am also hosting another giveaway (Lucky 200!) for anyone who might be interested. The details have already been posted on this blog. I will also begin a blog tour for Soul Quest the first week of August (August 1 - 7, 2011). I am currently working on my blog tour calendar and have slated my hosts blog tour dates. My hope for this tour is to increase the awareness of Soul Quest, promote the anthology and The Guardians of Souls simultaneously.

Wish me luck! It is going to be a busy summer...

Well, I'm off to pick up my son's ADHD meds. I may need to get some prescribed for myself before this summer is over, lol!

Wink!

Reading away the days!: Author Interview: Amy Jones

Reading away the days!: Author Interview: Amy Jones: "Hey Amy! Thanks for taking the time out to do this interview with me. Could you tell me a little about your debut YA science fiction and fa..."

Lucky 200! A new giveaway...

This giveaway is going to work a little differently. I am going to reward the winner of this giveaway when I reach 200 followers. The book the winner will receive will be a YA paranormal romance that is yet to be determined.






Here's what I want my entrants to do:

1 - follow me (+1)
2 - Recommend 3 YA paranormal romance books that you would love to read. This is how I will determine the winning title.
3 - follow me on Twitter (see link in left sidebar) (+1)
5 - Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter
6 - Like me on FB (see link in left sidebar) (+1)
7 - friend me on Goodread (see link in left sidebar) (+1)
8 - Make a comment on another post on this blog. (+3)

Of course, you don't have to do all of these things it just increases your chances of winning. For example, if you earn 6 points I will enter your name 6 times in the giveaway. If you earn 2 points I will enter your name twice. See how it works?

Thanks for your support and book ideas! Good Luck to each of you!

One Hundred and Counting Giveaway!

Well my friends, the results are in! Drum roll please (duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh...)

The winner of the One Hundred and Counting Giveaway is Lora1967!

Thank you to all of those book lovers who entered in this giveaway. I appreciate your participation and invite you all to enter my next giveaway which I am calling Lucky 200!

Stay tuned for details for my new giveaway and congrats to my One Hundred and Counting Winner, Lora1967!

Lora - I will email you shortly about delivery.

XO

Check out my Book Trailer for Soul Quest!

I have been tinkering with ProShow Gold this weekend and this is what I've come up with.



Not too shabby for a novice, eh...

What do you think?

Dump it Post!

What keeps you from your writing? What happens in your life that gets you side tracked from the exercise of writing?

my 7 year old's ear infections, a whining dachshund, my kids, the telephone ringing, my job, my hubby, laundry... Dumped!

Whether you are an author or a reviewer, just dump it here!

Tick Tock! Tick Tock! Don't miss out on your chance to win Passion by Lauren Kate!

I am celebrating my followers with this giveaway. I recently reached my goal of one hundred followers and now approach 200, yay! As my blogging friend community continues to grow I would like to take the opportunity to express how much I value your friendship, support and amazing thoughts and ideas.

Enter to win here!

The winner must:

1 - be an Amy Jones Young Adult Fantasy Fiction follower (+1)
2 - be my friend on Goodreads (+1).
3 - mark my book Soul Quest as to read, currently reading or read on Goodreads (+1).
4 - "Like" and/or add my Soul Quest Face Book pagee to their favorites (+1).

Obviously, the more points you have the greater your chance is at winning.

To enter to win Passion by Lauren Kate post your entry here. The release date for this book is June 14, 2011 so I've decided to to extend the giveaway and announce the winner on the very same day. The winner will be able to choose what format they would like (hard back or ebook). Please let me know how many points you have (and what they are for) when you post. Please submit your email address or if you prefer you may email your entry to me instead of posting it here. My email address is amj@columbus.k12.nc.us

This giveaway ends in 6 days so enter now!

Summer Reading Library!

So what does everyone plan to read this summer?

This is my current reading list (in order)which I am sure I will add to:
1. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan (reading now... it is awesome!)
2. Fateful by Cheri Schmidt
3. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
4. Virtue by Amanda Hocking
5. Violet Midnight by Allie Burke
6. Daimon; A Prequel to Halfblood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
7. Raven by Suzy Turner
8. Branded by Keary Taylor
9. Shimmerspell by Kimberly Spencer
10. Airborne by Constance Sharper

What is on your reading list? I love it when my followers post their responses, especially on book ideas. I have found some really amazing books this way. I love indie books so please make sure to leave me the name of your book and where I can find it when you post your list if you are an indie author.

Wink!

Official Trailer Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Movie at MTV Movie Awards (...

OK folks, this is the moment many of us have been waiting for! Have you seen the Breaking Dawn Part One Movie Trailer yet? Let me just say, WOW! I can't wait to see this movie. My favorite part of the trailer is when you find Edward hovering over Bella with his hands gripped to the head board. You know the head board is going to be demolished and shortly after that the pillow feathers will take flight. I REALLY hope the director stays as true to the book as possible with this installment. This is my absolute favorite book in The Twilight Saga.

... I want one of those wedding invitations, don't you? I should be on the guest list... :)

Well, if you haven't seen it yet please do not wait any longer. Enjoy!



Fun links for Twilight fans:
Breaking Dawn the Movie
The Twilight Movie

A little Twilight love,

YA Blogger Show and Tell (meme #9)

Brag about an indie author today!
Do you know an indie author who you feel deserves a little more recognition for their work? Well, let's give them a little boost this week with the YA Blogger Show and Tell (meme #9). Post about your chosen indie author on your blog and then insert your linky here.

This week I am going to brag about indie author Jessica Sorensen. Jessica is the author of The Fallen Star. Jessica is currently working on the second book in this series which she is calling The Underworld. Learn more about Jessica and her book on her blog. Make sure you show your blog love by following her and posting a sweet message!





get the InLinkz code

Let the blog hopping begin! Have a great weekend!

XO

Scholastic's This Is Teen event recap and GIVEAWAY of signed Abandon, Beauty Queens, and Forever!

Head on over to First Novels Club and check out Scholastic's This is Teen event recap and giveaway! Enter to win some cool books!

XO

Follow Friday (Meme #7)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee. It's purpose is to promote support and friendship among bloggers.

This week's Follow Friday Feature is by Amy @ Backseat Reader.

Q: What are you doing to prepare for an upcoming zombie apocalypse and/or the return of Mel Gibson to the silver screen? (Both of which could be terrifying.)

Wow, what a question! Well, I don't know about Mel Gibson, perhaps someone more qualified than myself could devise some sort of plan involving a tazer gun, duck tape and an air tight enclosure of sorts... Nah, I'm just kidding! Mel is a super crazy fellow though, right?

As for the zombies... Hmmm, I may be OK. I can always fall back on my super Ninja powers and if that doesn't work I could teleport myself to another safer realm (with unicorns and lots of chocolate!). Then there is always the tazer gun, duck tape and air tight enclosure... or we could just run like hell!!! LOL!

Thanks Amy @ Backseat Reader. This was a really fun question? I can't wait to read other people's responses. Post your link here so I can compare our plans!

Help!

Hello everyone! It would appear as though Blogger has resuscitated itself. My comments are working and my followers are once again smiling at me, yay! So, now I have another favor...

I am searching for the following:

1 - Reviewers for Soul Quest. I would provide a free electronic copy of Soul Quest to any interested/potential reviewer and of course I would expect nothing less than an entirely honest review. No pressure...

2 - I am looking for a Blog Tour to participate in to promote Soul Quest and my upcoming novel The Guardians of Souls which I anticipate releasing in August.

3 - Advice about Twitter. I tried to sign up for Twitter, but to be honest I don't really understand how it works. I understand that it is a great promo tool so if anyone might feel so inclined, please dumb down the concept for me and then explain how it is a way to promote books.

4 - I would love to do a Giveaway of Soul Quest on another blog (ecopies of Soul Quest provided by yours truly). I wouldn't mind doing this on multiple blogs.

Those who have read Soul Quest have conveyed positive feedback but I feel like it is still rather unknown. I'm looking to boost sales and I believe the key is to heighten awareness about it. I would welcome any support, advice and commentary on promoting Soul Quest.

XO