Sugar Coated countdown blog #2

We're getting SO close to the release of "Sugar Coated"! Are you guys excited yet? Because I definitely am!

So this Saturday the 24th the official Sugar Coated blog tour starts! It'll be going from August 24th through September 1st! We're having a massive e-book giveaway, not to mention all of the fun blogs I'll be stopping by! Be sure to drop in each day to enter the giveaways and meet all of these fun authors and book bloggers! Here's the schedule:

 

Also, feel free to post the banner on your own blog to direct your friends to the awesome giveaway!

 

And last but not least, here are the Ah-mazing e-books up for grabs during the blog tour!

 

A big, HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful authors who donated their e-books to the giveaway! You guys rock!

Now, for the countdown blog today, I thought I'd give you guys some fun, behind the scenes info on the book cover photo shoot!

 You already know from last week's blog post that Andrea, the girl on the cover, was 7 months pregnant during the photo shoot (holy cow!), but here's another fun detail. Trenton Davis (the photographer) and Brittni Willie (his fellow photographer) weren't sure that plain white sugar would show up well on film when they put it on Andrea's lips, so they had to experiment a bit with regular sugar, and later a powdered sugar mixture.

 The end result of using the powdered sugar was actually perfect! They're pretty much geniuses for figuring this out!

 

Didn't that turn out gorgeous?

ALSO, the blindfold over Andrea's eyes is actually a lacy T-shirt that Trent and Brittni cut up :) I'm telling you, clever kids!

 

Pretty awesome huh?

Don't forget to stop by the blog tour! And come back for the next countdown blog post where I'll give you an excerpt from the book!

Until next time,

Shannen

Blog tour stops:

August 24th: Elizabeth Anne Lance

August 25th: Kayla’s Reads and Reviews

August 26th: Young Adult and Teen Readers

August 27th: Cindy Bennett 

August 28th: I Read Indie

August 29th: YA Book Addict

August 30th: Kathryn Cooper                   

August 31st: Jolene Perry

September 1st: AmBear Shellea

 

 

 

"Sugar Coated" countdown blog #1

Hey friends!

So it's less than four weeks to the release of "Sugar Coated" on September 6th and I decided I'd do a blog post every week with a special little tidbit for you!

Which reminds me! On September 6th I'll be doing a launch party for "Sugar Coated" over at Facebook! So not only can you enjoy the launch party from the comfort of your own home, but you can win TONS of prizes! We've got e-books, posters, bookmarks, candles, some yummy sugar lip gloss, and lots more :) So drop by and participate in some of our games so you can win prizes! Here's the event!

Now on to some fun facts about "Sugar Coated" that you might not have known!

-- The entire plot for all three books was thought up on a three hour car trip from Idaho after the Superbowl two years ago :) I bounced ideas off of The Husband and wrote down the story arc for the trilogy on the margins of a phone book! Not exactly professional, but it worked.

-- I also have an unhealthy addiction to sugar so I wear sugar scented perfume just like my main character Brynn.

-- Originally the title of this book was "Deep Water" but I changed it soon after I began to write it. Once I named the first book "Sugar Coated", it wasn't difficult to name the other two books "Rose Tinted" and "Silver Lined" :)

-- I like writing characters who are slightly mentally unbalanced :) It makes them more unpredictable. So I figured the easiest way to do that was to give Brynn nightmares. I know better than anyone that lack of sleep can make you a little crazy.

-- In the first draft of this book I made SO many references to the earth (which I can't do since they aren't on earth). You have no idea how hard it is to not say "What on earth?"

-- Brynn's default outfit is one I own :)

-- Amber and Bennett (Brynn's friends), are based on my RL friends Amber and Whitney Bennett.

-- My niece's name is Brynn and her mother's name is Rachel... you won't know why that's significant until later :) But that isn't a spoiler. Don't worry.

-- And last but not least, Andrea Sue Fullmer, the girl who posed for the cover of the book, was actually 7 months pregnant when we shot the photos! Although you can't tell since she's so gorgeous! Here's a behind the scenes picture to prove it:

Fun-tastic amazing news!

Yes I said fun-tastic. Because that's a word. As of now.

Anyway, guess what!?!?! My latest book baby "Under Zenith" has just been signed by my amazing publisher CHBB Publishing!

First off, I love this publisher SO much. They've been nothing but wonderful to me and every single author I've met who's signed with them is incredibly nice. They're this amazing close knit family who helps each other out and I can't imagine having a better lit family!

And now, on top of signing the Sugar Coated Trilogy, they've signed my latest New Adult Speculative novel "Under Zenith".

I know I say this about every book, but I'm so excited for you guys to read this one! This book baby was maybe the most fun I've ever had writing a book because the characters are both such stubborn brats :)

Isla, my main girl character (whose name is pronounced Eye-la, and she WILL correct people who say it wrong), is this sassy Southern girl who isn't afraid to stand up for herself. She's super stubborn, kind of set in her ways, and even though she's sweet, she's a little firecracker!

Clare Bowen is my Isla :)

Hayden, my main boy character, is this terribly rude British guy who is dry, sarcastic, and really isn't a fan of Isla's. He basically wants to find any way to get away from her but due to some odd circumstances, they're stuck together.

Colin O'Donoghue HAS to be Hayden

Trust me, they were very fun to write together. It was like a social experiment on how two hard headed people with short tempers deal with each other.

Anyway, I seriously can't wait to share this book with you! I love it so SO much! The only sad thing about this book being published is that I'll never be able to write these characters again :( I'll just have to write my own fan fiction from time to time :)

Below I'll post a little book blurb to get you excited!

It was the most important day of her life, and for 21-year-old Isla Edison, graduating from college with a useless degree in vocal performance was all part of her master plan. Dying in a car accident only hours later wasn't part of that plan. Yet there she was, standing over her own lifeless body and panicking about ruining the truck her parents had bought as a graduation present. Talk about a bad way to repay them.

If coming to terms with the hereafter wasn’t enough to deal with, Isla suddenly finds herself stuck with Hayden, a gorgeous Brit with a bad attitude and a penchant for throwing her off cliffs to keep her in line. Worst of all, Hayden is her Guide, and until she completes six impossible and totally random tasks to reach her mysterious Destination, she's stuck with him. Isla's major problem, though, is that she doesn't know what reaching her Destination actually entails, and soon the mystery surrounding her new afterlife seems more ominous than any purgatory she could possibly imagine. Now Isla must decide if she'll trust her dark and brooding Guide despite his "bad boy" act, or if she'll risk failing her tasks and facing the unknown alone.

Hope you guys are as excited as I am!

Until next time,

Shannen