Release updates from Linda Joyce & Brenda Pandos

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I love sharing my fellow Red Coat PR authors books. Here are two updates for you.

New Release by Linda Joyce and some re-branding news from Brenda Pandos






 Artist Amelia Britton battles her older brother for the right to remain on the family farm—their inheritance after their parents’ tragic deaths—she faces a looming mortgage, weather threatens to destroy her crops, and the man she secretly loves only sees her as Craig’s little sister.


After serving his country in Afghanistan, Lucas Dwyer expected to return home to his family’s farm, but the bank foreclosed. Undeterred, he begins combining-for-hire to support his younger sister in college. His best friend convinces him to discourage local guys from dating Amelia. Craig wants her back in the city, farming is too hard for a woman alone. Only one problem—Lucas has fallen in love with Amelia.



With family, the bank, and the weather conspiring against them, can Amelia and Lucas ever hope to grow the love blooming between them?



Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Mycrfi
iBooks: http://apple.co/1WuCTLg
B&N: http://bit.ly/1JjSLMV Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1H9T7Ou
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1JjSMjZ





“If I say, ‘I love your sister and want to marry her,’ he’ll laugh his ass off, or worse yet, when he finds out what just transpired, he’ll want a duel at dawn. How did a man born and raised in the country come to equate vast open spaces, glorious sunsets, and fresh everything with an inferior lifestyle?”

“Are you speaking to me, young man?” An older man approached on the sidewalk. His cane tapped against the pavement as he walked.

“No, sir. Talking to myself.”

“Crazy are you?” the man asked as he continued walking.

“Yep. Crazy about a woman.”

“Continue on, then,” the man said as he passed. “Try telling her about it rather than talking to strangers.”

Book Viral Book Review
http://bookviral.com/her-hearts-desire/4590159594

Our review......
A novel with authentic appeal and  genuine depth, Her Heart's Desire is the new release from Linda Joyce. Book 1 in her Sunflower Series, it certainly won’t disappoint her many fans, with a thoughtful and sophisticate narrative that has it all.  Love, pain, laughter and tears with a home country feeling that genuinely captures the authenticity of her rural setting, it begins at an almost  languid pace with an overt sense of ordinariness and yet there’s nothing simplified as it quickly gathers momentum. Just as in real life, complexities of the heart prevail and with an acerbic pen Joyce draws her readers into an unfolding drama that feels wholly believable. She knows what her readers want and delivers it without the emotional baggage, underpinning the characters of Lia and Lucas with back stories that play to the romantic tension developing between them. They’re both incredibly likeable and certainly strong enough to carry a new series, but they also remind us that even in the aftermath of loss, life does goes on; sometimes in new and exciting directions.

A genuinely guilty pleasure, Her Heart's Desire bodes well for the Sunflower Series and is recommended without reservation.


Linda Joyce is an award-winning contemporary romance author born on Christmas Eve. Her Louisiana family’s roots run deep, and they’re intertwined with her Japanese heritage. Her vagabond childhood afforded her a variety of travel opportunities. Now she lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and their three dogs: General Beauregard, Gentleman Jack, and Masterpiece Renoir.
Linda penned her first manuscript while living in Japan as a U.S. Air Force dependent. Her classmates lined up at recess to read her latest pages. During high school in Florida, a literary magazine published her poetry. In college, she worked on the school’s newspaper as a reporter and learned layout and design.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Linda holds a Bachelor of Science in Management. She worked in corporate America, earned the Senior Claims Law Associate professional designation, and completed Six Sigma Green Belt training.
Linda is a self-professed foodie and has the kitchen of her dreams. She enjoys painting when she can fit it in. She and her husband, Don, love college football. They frequently go RVing, and at last count, they’ve traveled to twenty-one states with “the boys.”






DOUBLE RELEASE DAY BLITZ

LOST IN TIME SERIES

YA/Teen Post Apocalyptic
Covers by: Okay Creations.


G L I T C H (Lost in Time #1)

FINALIST in the 2014 KINDLE BOOK AWARDS 
Welcome to Brighton, where there is no crime, everyone knows the date of their death, and the people live in fear of what's on the other side of the wall. 
Abigail has everything one could want--promise of a long life, potential for love, flawless genes and an amazing best friend. She's perfectly content until her dreams are crushed after seeing a glimpse into her future. One person warned her not to find out, the only person she's ever seen with blue-eyes: a handsome stranger who handed her an illegal slip of paper. Does she dare leave the wall and enter the zombie zone to find him and demand answers? 

With that knowledge though comes a decision: fight or run. That is if Brighton doesn't get a hold of her and her powers first. 


S W I T C H (Lost in Time #2)

Forty-five years ago, the government unleashed a deadly virus. Those who were wealthy and wanted were given a vaccine. The rest died. Everyone was told the virus created zombies. It was all a hoax.
Twenty-two years ago, a small group of blue-eyed people saw the government for what it was and escaped Brighton to save their lives.
Eighteen years ago, my future-self hid me at birth.
A month ago, my future-self had my future-husband kidnap me.
Two weeks ago, I time traveled for the first time.
A week ago, I accidentally brought back the zombie virus.
Yesterday, my future-husband was infected.
Today, if I don’t find the cure, I’ll lose him and all hope for humanity forever.





MEET THE AUTHOR,
Brenda Pandos


 Author Brenda Pandos lives in California with her husband, two energetic boys, eight chickens and a grumpy orange cat. She writes fast-paced stories about kissing, hot mermen, bad boy vampires, and occasionally zombies--not all in the same stories. When she's not writing, or wrangling her kids, she's failing at her latest Pinterest replication or delivering a really bad pun. More than anything she loves to hear from readers. Feel free to email brendapandos@gmail.com or write on her facebook wall.


Facebook | Website | Twitter
Goodreads | Pinterest






Be Inspired.

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....the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

I'm constantly in awe of our ability to create. Composers, writers, designers, artists, producers, actors, photographers. People who have a vision. People who have a dream. People who open our eyes to something unseen. That is amazing.

I'm inspired by these people. Daily.
By the story of love told with eyes, lips and hands through a photographer's lens.
By the haunting melody of a violin and the throbbing rhythm of a drum.
By words of hate, of love, of loss and of hope, all written as though they're blood pouring through a vein.. 

I'm inspired by life. Real, beautiful, horribly painful, never dull life.
My children's will to try again and again.
My husband's undying devotion.
My friends' passion for their craft.

I'm inspired by the life I've led. The life I live. And the life yet unseen.
My past. My present. My future.

I'm inspired by my demons, my fire within, my soul, my longing for more, my contentment with less.

What inspires you?
 

I'm working on an amazing and time-consuming project right now. I'm digging deeper than I ever have to make this, my #nola project, the most amazing story. It's my fire and my demons that fuel these characters and so I've found the perfect inspiration in these lyrics from one of the most beautiful songs I know. 
I hope these two lines tell you all you need to know about John, a man hell-bent on vengeance and me, a writer who's fueled by the flames within. I allow them to lick at my heels and show me the way, but I never let them run me. 

S-U-C-C-E-S-S tell me what it means to you

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How do you define success?

Thanks to social media I am updated on my friends successes on a daily basis. Weddings, babies, job promotions, a new house, a new car, making a bestsellers list, inking a movie deal, a publishing deal, reaching weight loss goals, maintaining perfect hair... all of these fabulous things people crave in their lives. It's amazing to watch and take note of all the things we share with excitement. Especially when it comes to our professional goals and success. 

When I started writing my goal was simple. Write a book and find a reader. CHECK.
It didn't take long for the goal list to change. It went something like this:
1) Sell x amount of books a month. (It was started as a small #)
2) Raise that first # and change the goal to sell X dollars a month.
3) If I could make a bestsellers list now. Or win an award for my books.
4) Now I want a publishing deal. Oh, and how about an agent?
5) A movie deal please...can I be John Greene?
6) How about a theme park based on my book series? I think I'll be happy with that.

Wow! What in the heck happened? I just wanted to write a book and sell one copy!

Life happened. The little green monster within reared its ugly head (it happens to us all, wether we want to admit it or not) and said, "why not me?" We are bombared every day by our friends, by celebrities, or by the media to want more, get more, be more. You can make yourself crazy comparing yourself to others. Don't do it!

I'll be honest, I've had to knock myself on the head a few times and remind myself what my TRUE goals were, and still are, when it comes to writing. My manifesto (thanks to a class I took with Janet Wallace over the winter) became this...

My passion is writing stories that will make your heart both break and soar. I choose to tackle tough topics such as depression, self-harm, natural disasters, grief, and guilt because those are things real people go through. My desire is for my stories to offer a small ray of hope to readers who may be struggling in their lives.
My dedication for ‘Into The Fire’ says it all: To the ones in pain. Hold On. Life is beautiful and worth it and you are loved dearly.

Using the above manifesto as my compass, how do I define my success? Easy... I look at what my readers say.

- A mother who'd just read From The Wreckage wrote to me about how her daughter and friends were going to a football game last fall when there was severe weather in the area. She thought of my story and warned the girls what to do in case of an emergency. 

- A friend wrote to me after reading Into The Fire thanking me because they have someone close to them who cuts and reading Dani's story helped them feel a little bit of understanding as to what their loved one is going through.

- A recent reviewer said, "this book has really helped me emotionally as I am going through a rough time myself"

I've had messages thanking me for opening people's eyes to the devastation survivors feel after a natural disaster. I've had messages thanking me for taking something so taboo - self-harm - and handling it with such care so they can understand it. 

I've found success. It doesn't always come with fame and fortune. Sure, I want a production deal for a book series, and yes I would love to walk into Barnes and Nobles and find my books for sale. It's a good thing to want more, to reach for those "imposiible" pie in the sky dreams. But when all is said and done, I've found happiness and success with my writing because I've touched people's hearts and given hope. I've transported readers to another Kingdom or back to their highschool years where they could remember first love again.

I can look at my friends grand annoucements on their accomplishments, the ones I'm still striving for, and I can be happy for them. Sure, my jealousy might flare up for a moment as I write my 'way to go' post in reply, but that's okay. That's how I know I still have a #firewithin.



And the winner is... time to VOTE!

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Book Awards. Many readers may not realize there is such a thing. Just as Hollywood likes to reign golden statues on their favorites, the book world takes pride in saluting authors, cover designers, and characters as well.
In the book world different conferences, trade publications, and associations offer awards. There are some you can enter, some you can nominate yourself for and other lists readers can enter you for.
There are two large conferences I go to each year where the awards are a fun and memorable event. One, UtopYA Con (now knows on Utopia Con), just happened last week. I was nominated there for three awards. THREE!

Best Contemporary book of the year - From The Wreckage
Best Contemp cover and Best editing - Into The Fire

I did not win, but what an honor. I was up against some amazing titles and people.

Just look at those nominees!

Just look at those nominees!

Now I set my eyes on Penned Con in St. Louis at the end of July. An event so fabulous I'm willing to drive myself 13 hours to be there. I'm SUPER excited to be helping with a TEEN Day at Penned on Thursday, July 23 for young aspiring writers. THIS fills my heart with so much joy. I'll be speaking on a panel designed just for teens and can't wait to chat a little about my background and writing.
I'll also be speaking on a panel on Friday (I think it's Friday!) about why I write and why I continue to write when things don't go as planned.
AND like at Utopia, I am up for an award. 

Young Adult Author of the Year

Shut up! I'm dreaming...

You can vote HERE (if you want)  I WILL still love you if you don't 

I'm also super excited to be meeting my agent, Italia Gandolfo, at Penned this year! She is wicked good at what she does and I can't wait to get her an outline on our "secret NOLA project" to pitch. Who would love to see a television series or movie with the words 'based on characters' or 'written by' Michele G Miller? That's a HUGE pie in the sky dream, but you know what...

So as Casey Kasem used to say (yep, I aged myself) Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars! I hope you're reaching for your dream, whatever they may be.

Thank you for supporting me and mine.

 

*NEW LOOK* The Prophecy of Tyalbrook

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Over the past few months I've been busy behind the scenes. I've taken my debut novel,  Never Let You Fall and book two in the series Never Let You Go and worked with my editor Samantha on cleaning them up. The story is the same, but better! 
I also worked with the fabulous Regina Wamba of Mae I Design to repackage them with gorgeous new covers. Check them out...

Never Let You Fall

Their journey began with a promise…

   "I won’t let you fall. You will not die for me. I can’t live with that, Xander, and I would rather let them take me before I let them kill you.” He opened his mouth to argue, but I held up my hand.        “Don’t argue it. There’s no point. I’ve made up my mind.”
He shook his head, but didn’t argue. Instead, he promised as he always did, “If anything happens to you… if we get separated, if you martyr yourself… anything, Skye. As long as I am breathing, I will always find you. Always.”
   Those were precisely the words I’d counted on him saying.

AN ORPHAN with no memory of her past and no hope for her future.
A GUARDIAN determined to keep her safe.
A DESTINY neither of them expected.

Never Let You Go

Two souls desperate to discover the truth about the past and determined to save their future…

SKYE
The usual warmth I felt deep in my soul when Xander was near me was beginning to dull. Yet I still remembered the warning: “Be careful, my Princess…you will lose all you love before you can win what you want.”

XANDER
I could feel it; she hadn’t been here. Two days of hell, riding as fast as we could and only taking small breaks, and yet she had outrun us. How?

A PRINCESS set on regaining her Kingdom and protecting those she loves…
A GUARDIAN who will stop at nothing to find the woman who stole his heart…
An EVIL FORCE who will destroy everything they know in order to have power over all…

The journey continues in Never Let You Go, book two in The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series.

I hope you love these as much as I do. I think they portray my characters perfectly while fitting in with today's fantasy covers you would see in the bookstores. 

I look forward to finishing off the series soon and revealing one last cover... until then KEEP READING!