NEW RELEASE and Giveaway Galore!

RISE has risen! For all those who've wondered what exactly is the deal with that Timothy character in RENEGADE, here's your answer.  RISE is the creepy and thrilling new novella in the Elysium Chronicles. It's a first-hand account of the events that lead up to the opening of RENEGADE from Timothy's perspective.

Timothy has lived his entire life in darkness, under the oppressive rule of Mother in the underwater city of Elysium. As part of the Underground, a rebel group opposing Mother’s dictatorship, he has one role: get close to the Daughter of the People, Miss Evelyn, in order to obtain enough information to take her and Mother down.

He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with Evie.

He wasn’t supposed to care.

And now he has a choice: risk everything – his life, his mission, his people – to protect her…or sacrifice her for the justice of all.

RISE is a chilling prequel to RENEGADE, an Elysium Chronicles short story.

I'm so excited for everyone to read this one. Timothy was originally a character that was meant to catapult the story forward, but to my surprise there was a lot of people who wanted to know more about him. And once I got writing his story, I found out there was actually more to his story than even I know. It was an extremely emotional story for me, knowing what I know about him. I spent many hours writing and editing his story through blurry vision from tears, so I really hope that everyone likes this one.

In celebration of this story, I'm hosting a Facebook virtual launch party here from 7:30pm EST (4:30pm Pacific). I'll be giving away books, gift cards, fun Halloween things, and whatever else I feel like giving away, so I hope you'll join me there tonight! 

Ginormous Book Signing!!

A few months ago, I mentioned on Facebook that my local Books-a-million wanted to do a giant book signing with a bunch of authors. I'm happy to say that this event is in the final planning stages and more information will be sent out shortly. However, I need to judge the amount of interest of readers in attending the event.

 The event will be held December 6th in Orlando, Florida. So, yay, warm weather! And awesome authors--I can't confirm at this minute who exactly is coming, but let me assure you, you're NOT going to want to miss them. And most importantly BOOKS!!!

 There will be a hotel block reserved for those that need it and transportation provided to and from the hotel for those that are coming from far away. To judge initial interest for both Books-a-Million and for me to make sure I have a the right size venue for the signing, please fill out the form below. There is absolutely NO OBLIGATION to go if you fill out the form, it is solely to judge the possible interest, so if you even remotely think this might be interesting to you, please fill out the form below. And feel free to tell anyone and everyone you can about it, the more people we have coming, the more authors we can convince to join us. :P

Skip a Starbucks Day Adoption Fundraiser + Giveaways Galore!

As you've probably guessed by now, I'm a huge advocate of helping out wherever I can.  And I'm honored to say that I'm able to do just that by supporting my good writing friend, C.J. Redwine, and her awesome decision to adopt another beautiful baby girl named Isabella Grace (there are no words for how much I adore this name.) by helping with her fundraiser/giveaway to raise the funds necessary to bring Isabella home from China.
Here's a brief snippet of their story:

In November of 2010, my husband Clint and I were in China finalizing the adoption of our first daughter and preparing to bring her home. During the two and a half weeks that we were in China, we both came to the realization that we had to go back. We knew there was one more little girl waiting somewhere in China who belonged in our family. We also knew that this time around, we wanted to adopt a child with some medical needs.

We turned in our dossier to China in the beginning of February 2014, and we figured, based on the average wait time for special needs families, that we had about an 8 month wait to get our referral. (A child’s picture and file matched to a family.) But there are two ways to be matched to a child through the special needs program. One is to wait for China to get to your file, translate it, and then search for a child who matches your medical checklist (the list of things we’ve said we’d accept). The other is to be matched to one of the Special Focus kids whose files are sent to our agency each month. Special Focus children are those who are considered hard to place with a family. They have multiple medical conditions, and many families sign on for only one need.

Clint and I early on felt that we needed to be open to multiple needs. I kept seeing us with a girl who had a cleft palate and a heart murmur. Clint kept seeing us with a girl who had minor hearing loss and a missing or extra limb.

Two weeks after our dossier arrived in China, our agency called us with a Special Focus child to consider. Her file arrived to us on her second birthday. She had cleft palate, congenital heart disease, minor hearing issues, and an extra thumb.

In other words, she is everything Clint and I kept seeing for our daughter. *cue the moment we started weeping*

To read the rest of the story and see how adorable Isabella is check out C.J.'s post.
Needless to say she's needs our help to bring Isabella home and that's where SKIP A STARBUCKS DAY comes in. An awesome group of C.J.'s friends have banded together to ask our readers to skip whatever daily (or weekly) luxuries we enjoy (like my beloved KitKats) and donate the money you would have spent and instead help C.J. bring her newest little girl home.

In return, you'll be entered into contests to win many fabulous donated prizes!

C.J. is hosting a HUGE giveaway, so pop on over to her blog to read all about it (and of course the rest of their amazing story). It starts today and continues through the weekend until Monday morning at 9am CST.

To sweeten the pot, I'm also adding my own personal giveaway of the following items:

1. Starbucks giftcard, so you can have your cake (coffee) and eat (drink) it too. ;) (to five generous people) Open Internationally.
2. A signed set of the first 2 installments of The Elysium Chronicles (RENEGADE; REVELATIONS) + the novella A DARK GRAVE (to three wonderful people) US/Canada only-unless you're okay with e-copies.
3. A Bath and Body Works gift set (to one fab. person) US only.

And here's how to enter:

Visit C.J.'s blog and donate money to help bring Isabella home.
For every $5 you donate, you are eligible for 1 entry in my contest.***
You can also earn 1 additional entry by promoting the Skip A Starbucks Day fundraiser. (Only 1 extra entry total though. NOT 1 per time you promote.)
 Come back here and tell me how many entries you qualify for. (Example: If you donate $10 to the cause and then promote the fundraiser you get 3 entries.)
You can either leave your entry number in the comments here on this blog, or you can EMAIL your number of entries to me at: j.souders AT jasouders DOT com.
Please title your email: Skip a Starbuck's Day

***Entries will be verified with C.J. Redwine's donation receipts, so please be honest!

Valentine's Day Spreading the love charity giveaway!

Happy Valentine's Day!!! I hope everyone gets to spend some awesome quality time with your loved ones today.

I don't normally celebrate V-day myself, because of all the materialistic attitudes about the day, however, I do usually find a way to celebrate it in my own way. This year, I've adopted a new tradition. One that I hope you'll help me with.

I've scoured the Internet looking and finally finding a charity that I really believe in and I'm donating the money I would have spent on materialistic things, to them.

It's the Ian Somerhalder Foundation or ISF. More info. can be found out about them at here.

In honor of spreading the love, I'm also asking for your help (with incentive, of course. ;P). If you make a donation, ANY amount, please email me ( j.souders (at) jasouders (dot) com ) the address on my website and let me know.

At the end of the month, I'll take the list of names and enter them into a contest to win a box full of books (including signed copies of my own and my favorite authors), a query and 50-page critique (if you're a writer), and a gift card for even more books. (Depending on how popular this is, I'll add in more prizes and possibly do a Grand prize, 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place award.)

Every single person that makes a donation (and lets me know) will also have special mention in my next e-short in the Elysium Chronicles and exclusive SWAG sent to them as a special thank you from me for helping me support my favorite charity.

REVELATIONS pre-order/release contest!

Wow guys, can you believe that it's that time again?! I just can't believe my 2nd book is entering the wild tomorrow!!! My how time flies, right? LOL.

I've been promising this contest for awhile so I'm just going to post it without to much hub bub, but here's the deets. I'm giving away a NOOK ereader and B&N giftcard to go along with it.  What do you have to do to get it? Easy-peasy. Just pre-order or buy your copy of REVELATIONS (clicke here for a list of available places and info about REVELATIONS) by the end of November. Then email me at j.souders (at) jasouders (dot) com with a copy of the receipt.  If you want bonus entries all you have to do is spread the word about REVELATIONS, this contest, and/or take a pic of your copy of REVELATIONS in the wild and email them to me. I'm actually really stoked about this one. I'll post the pics (with your permission) as they come in, so get creative. See Santa at the mall? Ask him to take a pic with REVELATIONS (my BFF/CP did this last year). See an awesome statue? Snap a pic of it with REVELATIONS. At the aquarium? See if you can get a pic with the book and a sea creature. :)  I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. (P.S. ebook copies count! Just send a pic of your e-reader with the cover showing instead of the book copy.)


Happy November! Also, if you're in Florida, check out my facebook page for links to the information for my Orlando and Tampa launches.

(P.S. Everyone who enters gets awesome super secret SWAG! :) )

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

HOUSTON BOOKRAVE: After Party and Online Book Sale

Hey guys, I know I've been doing a lot of marketing for my books and it's probably getting annoying without some silly stuff in between, but I promise in a few weeks, I'll have some fun posts up so I'm not always talking about my books. :)  Below is some information on the Houston Bookrave. I'm very excited about this event and wanted to help get the word out, so here's the post. :)  But keep reading, because below the post about HBR, I have some information of my own about a REVELATIONS contest and the paperback copies of RENEGADE.

HBR is one of the biggest book signing events happening in Houston,
Texas.

We have 62 authors attending! 

This
event will be held Saturday, November 2, 2013 and will offer a unique
experience where readers from everywhere can meet with their favorite authors
in person. At this exciting event there will also be entertainment, exclusive
giveaways, exclusive early book releases and delicious food that everyone can
enjoy.

Visit HOUSTON BOOKRAVE website for all the details. 
***********************************

 

 TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE HBR AFTER PARTY!

Please visit HBR AFTER PARTY page to get yours while they last.

***********************************

There are only a few days left to order signed books if you can't make the event.

Go to HBR ONLINE BOOK SALE to get all the signed books you want from our featured authors.

Just a quick note that the paperback copy of RENEGADE release October 8th. If you're local to the Orlando area, I'm trying to set up a small signing at my local indie to sign them. I'll list that on my events page and announce it here when I do. Also, in the beginning of October, I'll be holding a contest for everyone who pre-orders copies of REVELATIONS and one of the prizes will be a Nook, so make sure to keep those receipts! Anyway, more soon, so keep your eye on my blogs and social media accounts. :)

Fan Art Contest

Because I absolutely adore fan art and I want to see what my awesome fans see when they think of Elysium and Evie and Gavin, not to mention the Enforcers and Mother, I’m putting out a call for fan art!  I want it all: hand drawn (on anything from napkins to canvas), computer/digital manipulation, paint, sketches, modern, comic book styling. It doesn't just have to be "art" either. I'd love to see fan trailers, jewelry, songs, etc. Wherever your imagination takes you, do it (then send it to me.)!  (Don’t go crazy insane though people. Make sure they’re work place and teen safe.  PG-13. If you’re not sure, feel free to send them to me and I’ll let you know.)

I’ll post them on the “fan art” page on my website (with credit to you, of course.) And I’ll feature some of my favorites on my blog in their own post. (P.S. If you'd rather not have it posted because you're shy, let me know, and I won't post it.)

To sweeten the pot, I’m giving away a sweet prize to the top three winners.  The grand prize winner will win an ARC of REVELATIONS (when available), the 2^nd  and 3^rd place winners will win a gift card to Amazon/Barnes & Noble.

This contest is open internationally. Contest ends April 5^th.

 To enter, email me with your entry (please make sure to send your fan art (or a picture of it) whatever it is with the email or it doesn't count to:  j.souders(at) jasouders (dot) com

And, as an FYI, if you’ve read and reviewed RENEGADE get those links ready. I’ll be hosting a reviewer appreciation giveaway soon. There is a lovely prize associated with it that I’ve had commissioned just for this occasion and I can’t wait for you guys to see it. I just want to get it in my hands before I announce what it is.

Sunshine Tour Stops, Freebies, and Signed books. Oh my!

Hi wonderful people! I hope everyone has had a chance to see the lovely new cover for REVELATIONS!  If you haven't, make sure to check out this post. There's a list of blogs on that page that hosted my cover reveal and all of them have the rafflecopter widget to enter to win a bunch of signed books INCLUDING the ARC to REVELATIONS when it comes out.

I'm superexcited to announce that the Sunshine Tour is coming to Orlando and Tampa/Clearwater.  But WAIT! if you aren't in Florida or near these areas, keep reading, I promise it'll be worth it.

Anyway, the Orlando stop is going to March 2nd at the Winter Garden Barnes and Noble.  We'll each be doing a short talk (panel form) and then signing our books. See flyer below for more information.

The Tampa/Clearwater stop is going to be at the Clearwater Barnes and Noble (Flyer to come shortly). Again a short talk and then signing of our books.

To tempt you all to come on out on what promises to be a really pretty weekend, I'm offering a bunch of goodies that you can only get at the signings.  Among some special SWAG, I'll be giving away signed posters of the new REVELATIONS' cover and RENEGADE's cover and free e-copies of A DARK GRAVE (that will work on all e-readers).  Also, possibly a sneak peak at the next Elysium Chronicles short story.

And if you can't come, there's still an option to get signed copies of all the books from the authors on the tour.  All you have to do is go here and fill out the form. More details at that link.
I'm so excited to be on this tour and I can't wait to see you at the stops!

Revelations' Cover Reveal!

I can't believe that today's the day! It's so so surreal that I'm not focusing on RENEGADE any more.  This time last year, I was worrying over how Renegade would do. Now it's REVELATIONS' turn.

Wow. Just wow.

Anyway, you want to see the cover not hear me complain about how fast time goes by. LOL.
I've been lucky enough to have a TON of extremely awesome bloggers help me with this cover reveal. And I owe them a HUGE debt of gratitude, especially Jaime Arnold from Two Chicks on Books. Thank you, Jaime! <3 nbsp="" p="">
 Also, there's a contest to win some awesome hardcovers, so click the links to find out more info! It's pretty easy. :)

Blogs revealing REVELATIONS' cover:

Two Chicks on Books

Bumbles and Fairytales
Fiktshun's Ramblings
Liz Czukas
Haunted Orchid
Books As You Know It
Magical Urban Fantasy Reads
The Book Life
Books Mystify
Burning Impossibly Bright
Tez Says
Akossiwa Ketoglo
The Daily Bookmark
My Library in the Making
A Dream From My Heart
Dear Restless Reader
YAtopia
Goldilox and the Three Weres
MTG Reviews

Oasis for YA

Ecstatic for Books

The Book Goddess

Finding Bliss in Books

Reading Under the Stars

The Daily Harrel

Book Haven

In Libris Veritas

Curling Up With a Good Book

Shadow Libros

Escaping...One Book at a Time

Uniquely Moi Books

Citrus Reads
Writing My Own Fairytale
My Bookish Fairytale
Larissa's World
Bookcase to Heaven
Stuck in YA
Writer's Ally
Howling Turtle

Elysium Chronicle's Valentine's Short Story and A DARK GRAVE FREE today.

As surprise number 2 for Valentine's Day, I've written a quick short about the first time Evelyn met Timothy.  I wanted to give fans a special treat that wasn't spoilerific and I love Timothy, so I wanted people to see a bit more of him. If you've read RENEGADE, then you know why I say that... Anyway, I wanted to write something that doesn't spoil RENEGADE for those that didn't read it. This scene is EXTREMELY rough, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same.  HAPPY Valentine's day!

 My Maid laces the ties in the back of my pink dress. I don’t really like the color pink, but Mother insists to wear it today. It’s Valentine’s Day and purple just won’t do.  She’s wearing red for the occasion, but she can. She’s Coupled.

I glance over to her. She’s standing next to my bed, flipping through the papers in her hand and mumbling. And even though she’s obviously upset by whatever she’s reading, she’s beautiful as always.  Her blond hair is down and brushes her shoulders in soft waves. Her eyes are especially blue today and her skin has the perfect dewy look to it that I envy.  The lights outside my window cause the water to lay a wavy shadow over her face.

I gasp when the Maid pulls the ties too tight, then hiss out a breath when Mother glances my way over the top of her papers.  She purses her lips. “Now, now, Evelyn. Stop squirming. You’re not a child any longer.”

I straighten my back and try not to let it bother me that I can’t really breathe. “Yes, Mother.”

She watches me carefully, her eyes narrowed before she turns to the Maid pulling little pots and brushes from a case. “Darken her eyes and lips.  She’s of age now. She needs a more mature look.”

“Yes, Mother,” the Maid says and starts working on my face.

A few minutes later, Mother’s lady’s Maid pokes her head. “The guests have arrived, Ma’am.”

Mother smiles and waves the woman away and turns to me. “Meet me in the ballroom when you’re finished. I have a gift for you.”

My stomach churns in anticipation, but I only smile my acknowledgement.

Ten minutes later, my hair in an intricate up-do that has my curls in a riot over the top of my head. The symbol of my rank sits on top of them like a tiara.  My rose necklace rests in the hollow of my throat and I run my fingers over it nervously.

I stand outside the ballroom, my heart in my throat. This is my first event after coming of age. I’ll be expected to entertain the Suitors Mother invited. I’ve practiced and practiced what I’m to say and when and to whom, but I’m terrified my condition will act up and they’ll realize how strange I am.

The room is decorated in pink and red hearts and the cupids that are so synonymous with the holiday.  Pink and red streamers crisscross the ballroom and the chandeliers sparkle like diamonds. The roses from my garden are on each of the tables lining the wall and their smell drifts to my nose calming me.

I step through the doors and the Guards nod at me as I pass through. My plan is to go straight to the hors d’oeuvre table. The petit fours are so cute with their pink and red frosting and shaped into tiny hearts. But Mother sees me instantly and waves me over. She’s standing next to a fairly tall couple. They’re both taller than Mother, which definitely makes them taller than me.

They both smile when I step up to them. I return it with one of my own.
Mother introduces them as Scientists from Sector Three. I curtsy. “It’s wonderful to meet you. I’ve always had a fascination with Sector Three,” I say as I was trained. It’s true. I’ve always been fascinated by the new things that the Scientists come up with. So it comes out with an excited appearance that I don’t have to fake.

The woman starts talking, but I stop paying attention. Coming up behind them, his hands carrying two plates of hors d’oeuvres, is a young man my age. At least I think he is.  He’s just as tall as the man in front of me, and despite the fact that almost everyone in Elysium looks the same, he looks remarkably like the couple.  His eyes are the same light blue and, when he stops behind the woman, he holds himself just like the man.  His dark blond hair—the same color as the woman’s-- is slightly longer than usual and has dripped into his eyes. I know it’s wrong, but I have the sudden urge to brush it away. And I can’t stop myself from staring.

“Evelyn?”

I start and blink quickly, trying to pull my attention from the boy to Mother. From the slightly frustration in her tone, it sounds like this wasn’t the first time she’d said my name.

“Yes, Mother?”

She purses her lips, but only says, “I was introducing you to Timothy.” She flutters her hand toward the young man. “He’s the Whitworth’s son. He’s just passed Suitor exam.”

The young man bows. “It’ll be a pleasure to be one of your Suitor’s, Miss Evelyn.”

Our eyes lock together and my belly flops around as I stare at him. He’s my Suitor? I’d be lying if I didn’t say the thought pleases me.  He’s perfect, I think, giving him the once over. Tall. Gorgeous. Perfect. I repeat in my head.

His lips--perfectly symmetrical lips, I notice--lift in the corners to smile at me. It’s not hard to see he’s amused at me. I bite my bottom lip, and turn, my face burning in embarrassment at being caught staring.

“Evelyn!” Mother hisses.

With an inward wince, I force myself into another curtsey. “My pleasure, Sir,” I say.

Mother narrows her eyes at me, her reprimand clear. “Why don’t you too, get to know each other, while I talk business with the Whitworths’.”

The band switches to a waltz and he offers his arm. “Would you care for a dance?”

Instead of answering, I take his elbow with my gloved hand, allowing him to lead me to the dance floor.  Even though we’re careful not to touch skin-to skin--Un-Coupled peoples aren’t allowed to touch skin-to-skin--we lean close to each other so we can hear each other as we talk.
He smells like a mix of oil from Sector Three and soap. It’s an interesting and nerve wracking mix. I never would have thought I’d enjoy the smell of oil and soap on someone so much. We spend the entire night talking and even when another Suitor cuts in, it isn’t long before I find myself dancing with Timothy again. Each time we join each other in another dance, he holds me in a slightly tighter embrace. Never too much. Never enough for the Enforcers to notice, but some part of me—the part that’s obviously lost her mind—wants him to take me in his arms and hold me close. Place his lips against mine in a kiss. But he never does, which is just as well. It’d be suicide if he did.

But each time one of those other Suitors comes, Timothy looks like he’s going to argue. And as foolish as I know it is, I can’t help but feel excited about the prospect that he doesn’t want to share me.

Finally at the end of the night, exhausted with my legs and head aching, I smile as he says goodnight, bowing, then watch as he leaves a mixture of emotions flowing through my blood.

Mother joins me almost the instant he’s out of sight. “What do you think, Evelyn?”

I smile, thinking of how perfect his hands felt in my gloved ones. “I think I would be honored to have him for a Suitor.”

Mother smiles at me, running her hands over the curls on my head and staring in the direction Timothy left in. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Evelyn.”

In case you didn't know, surprise number 1 is that A DARK GRAVE (Gavin's short story) is free today and tomorrow. If you want to give me a Valentine's gift in return, I'd love to get it under 100 on the free kindle store, so please feel free to share the link with everyone.  :)

A DARK GRAVE

BTW, for those that have been asking, A DARK GRAVE is not on anything other than Kindle right now. I do apologize for the inconvenience of that, but stay tuned because that may change.

I do have a few more surprises planned for today, so stay tuned, 'K?