Friday, November 29, 2013

More Goodreads Giveaways!

Happy Holidays! Here's a few gifts from me to you. Hope you enjoy :)




Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Twelfth Keeper by Belle Malory

The Twelfth Keeper

by Belle Malory

Giveaway ends January 29, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Center of the Universe by Belle Malory

Center of the Universe

by Belle Malory

Giveaway ends January 29, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Thursday, August 8, 2013

The # 1 Question I've been asked (recently)

"Is there going to be a third book in the Twelfth Keeper series?" 

Of course, you guys! I wouldn't leave you hanging with an ending like that. That would just be mean. As soon as I get closer to finishing, I'll announce a release date. I'm shooting for the end of this year, but we'll see how it goes.

So for the record, I PROMISE that Kennedy and Phoenix will get a third book. Definitely. For sure. Absolutely.

But...

It may or may not take place on Earth ;)

 xoxo 

 Belle

Thursday, July 25, 2013

New Giveaway!


Goodreads Book Giveaway

Center of the Universe by Belle Malory

Center of the Universe

by Belle Malory

Giveaway ends August 25, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Center of the Universe now available on Amazon and B&N!

YEP! I couldn't wait any longer. I released Center of the Universe a few days early. You guys are the best readers in the entire world so I wanted you to have it as soon as possible :) I hope you enjoy the continuation of Kennedy and Phoenix's story as much as I loved telling it.







                                                    



Friday, June 21, 2013

Hey Friends!

I promised you a giveaway once we reached 50 "to reads" on Goodreads. Guess what? That goal was met!









Thank you guys for being such amazing readers. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to share my stories with all of you :)

As promised, I've created a giveaway. This one is for an ARC of COTU. You will receive it at least one day before it's on sale. You can enter here up to 5 times:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


More Good News!

If COTU reaches 150 "to reads", I will giveaway 2 hard copies through Goodreads. 

Even Better News!

It looks like I'll be able to release COTU a few days early. Watch out for the release on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

xoxo,
Belle

Quote of the Day:
"When you learn, teach. When you get, give." -Maya Angelou


Thursday, June 6, 2013

Giveaway

Hey friends!

Because I'm super excited about releasing the next book in the Twelfth Keeper series, I've decided to hold a giveaway. I couldn't decide how many copies I should give out though so I decided to have some fun with it :) I'll give away more copies based on the number of "to-reads" COTU generates. Sooooo....

  • If 50 people mark it as "to-read" I'll give out one copy.  
  • If 150 people mark it as "to-read" I'll give out two copies.
  • If 300 people mark it as "to-read" I'll give out three copies. 
 Easy, right?

I could go on and on with this because your excitement equals my excitement :) I may do more of this kind of stuff in the future.

Add Center of the Universe from the link below:

 
Center of the Universe (Twelfth Keeper #2)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Cover Reveal for Center of the Universe!



End of the world?
Possibly.
Taking a vacation wasn’t what Kennedy Mitchell had in mind after aliens threatened to attack Earth. Although she’s happy spending time with her family, she begins to question DOE’s motives for sending her home when she should be training. Something’s up and she knows it.
Searching for answers, she turns to Phoenix, the one person she can trust…or so she thought. It seems even he has secrets, and the more she discovers, the more she wonders if anything they had together was real.
The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. One keeper goes missing. Another is determined to destroy her. As if that isn't enough to deal with, everyday humans get closer to annihilation. This time Kennedy has no one to rely on but herself.
Hey, no one said keeping the world safe was easy.

Coming June 29


Cover by Regina Wamba of www.maeidesign.com


Center of the Universe (Twelfth Keeper #2)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Center of the Universe Teaser #2


Hey friends! This will be the last excerpt I upload before the release. Sorry for any errors. This hasn't seen an editor yet. Hope you enjoy :)

Center of the Universe
Book two in The Twelfth Keeper Series 

“Are you still up for fighting?”
That got her attention right away. Once her surprise wore off, she said, “I’ve changed my mind about that.”
“Come on,” he cajoled her. “I can play by the rules.”
Fighting was interacting. He should have seen that yesterday, but he’d been too worried about hurting her. Today his head was clear. He decided he would let her beat the shit out him if it made her feel better.
Well, she could try anyway.
A frown puckered her lips as she debated. “No, you’ll just let me win.”
Not an acceptable answer. One way or another, he had to convince her to fight. “I promise you won’t even come close.”
“You sound mighty confident,” she said, narrowing her eyes on him. “How do I know you’ll put up a fair fight?”
“Guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
She glanced towards the sparring floor, then back at him, traces of doubt shadowing her eyes.
“How can you refuse the chance to knock me down? Unless you don’t think you can…”
He was laying the cockiness on pretty thick, but it did exactly what he intended it to do. Her eyes flashed, letting him know he finally goaded her into it. “Fine, but this better not be some game you’re playing.”
He held his hands up. “No games. I’m only giving you a chance to do me some serious damage. I doubt you can, but we’ll see.”
“Let’s make this interesting,” Phoenix said, getting into position. “For every time you manage to hit me, I’ll give you a hundred globals. If you knock me down, I’ll give you two hundred.”
“Seriously?” She arched a brow. “You’re on, buddy.”
The buzzer went off and she dove for him. Phoenix not only blocked her attempt, but also got hold of her arms, swung her around, and stopped her from moving by securing an arm around her ribcage.
That was almost too easy.
He leaned across her shoulder to say, “Told you I wouldn’t let you win.”
The top of his arm brushed the underside of her breasts. Kennedy’s breath hitched and he felt her body stiffen at the touch.
This kind of contact normally went unnoticed. The twelve of them trained so much on this floor, it wasn’t uncommon for one of them to end up accidentally groping body parts while trying to keep their opponent at bay. Most people’s only concern was trying to keep from getting knocked down.
The fact that such a small touch was bothering her thrilled Phoenix. He decided to have some fun with it.
He gave her an out by moving his feet back. Oblivious to what he was doing, she used that opportunity to kick him in the shin. He faked the need to recoil, allowing her the ability escape his hold. To his surprise, she was back in position quickly, ready to attack.
He tilted his head to the side, impressed. “You’re getting better.”
When she moved toward him, he ducked the other way. She swung her leg around to kick him, but he saw it coming and grabbed her by the ankle. She landed on the mat on her butt, groaning.
When she tried to get up, Phoenix pushed her down by straddling her with own body and pinning her arms to the floor behind her head. “What an interesting position,” he said, grinning down at her. 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

writing-in-third-person blues


To preface, I just wanna say I love reading both 1st and 3rd point of views equally, if it's done well. As I reader, I don't discriminate. This post, however, is dedicated to all my fellow authors/ writers/ storytellers who may have had trouble writing in 3rd person.

Showing more than one POV was extremely important to me when I decided to write my Keeper series—and I don't regret it one bit. It wouldn't be the same if it were written solely within Kennedy's head, at least I think so ;) The problem is that writing in 3rd is extremely unnatural for me, sometimes leading to screaming, raging temper tantrums where I feel like pulling my hair out!!!




Venting officially over.

Let's get to what this is really about: Methods that HELP 

I've discovered a few tricks that work for me, and I'd like to talk about them because a.) I love to list things and b.) These few simple tricks have helped shape my stories, making me a better writer because of it. Now what works for one won't for everyone, but my hope is that by sharing my experience, other aspiring writers won't have to go through the same frustrating challenges I faced (because I'm awesome that way). 




1.  Envision The Emotions Attached to Your Scene. 
  • Before you ever write a single word, decide whose head you're in. Make it fun, like you're holding a contest and you're characters are the contestants. Choose your winner based on who gives off the loudest, rawest emotions. Their prize: They control the scene. 

2. Choose Your Words Carefully. 
  • Even within the inner monologue, people don't sound alike. Sentences, dialogue and phrases should all be structured differently based on the character. Keep a journal or side document of the styles you use for each character. 
3. Write Your Scene
  • And then write it again. Unless you feel like you nailed it with little angel wings all aflutter inside your heart, write it again. This time, from someone else’s perspective. Then compare the two POVs. Which one shows the information you want to show? Which character do you relate to better?—>This is a big one. Readers will lose interest if they can’t relate in some way. One way I know a scene was done well is if I find myself holding my breath. If you’re feeling the emotions right along with the character, chances are, you’re readers will too.

*Mini-tip*

Sometimes writing in first person 
and then rewriting in third helps 
with getting inside your character's head.


For those of you that write, I hope this helps! 




Quote of the day: “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.”–Vince Lombardi







Thursday, March 21, 2013

Teaser for TK2


Hi Friends! 

I decided to surprise you all with a teaser for TK2. Horrible abbreviation--I know. But if you've read my blog in the past, you know how I am with titles. (I'm currently debating between two different ones I like and as usual I'm being extremely indecisive.) 

I don't have a release date yet to give you guys yet. I'm still in the process of finishing it. But I'm hoping to release the final version sometime in May. Please excuse any errors. This excerpt hasn't seen an editor yet. Hope you enjoy :)


Kennedy's body froze in its crouched position, unable to move a muscle. Seriously, what kind of keeper was she, if she couldn’t manage a simple eavesdropping without getting busted?
To add to her mortification, Phoenix opened the door, looked around, and then down. His wide-eyed gaze roamed over her, and not in the well lookie what we have here sort of way. It was more of the No way am I seeing this sort of way.
Kennedy squeezed her eyes shut, praying that this wasn’t happening, that she’d never been caught and Phoenix wasn’t standing there staring at her in shock.
For a second it was so quiet, she thought maybe it was all her imagination, and maybe she wasn’t a complete idiot. They never caught her because she never spied on them in the first place. No one could be so stupid. Or so lame.
She opened her eyes. Dammit if he wasn’t still there, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded loosely over his chest. He stared at her curiously, probably making a mental list of about a million different ways he could incinerate her. Knowing him, there was a handy lighter in his pocket, too, just itching to make an appearance.
Never mind. She was a complete idiot.
Before he had the chance to figure out whether or not to burn her to death, she casually stood up and brushed herself off. Keeping her head held high was difficult when all she wanted to do was look at the floor in shame. Meeting Phoenix’s gaze was out of the question. She could only imagine him piercing her with those pitch black eyes, and it would undoubtedly be her breaking point.
Walking straight into the office might have avoided more embarrassment, but he blocked her entrance. He wasn’t letting her get away so easily.
 “I think the professor wants to see me.” She forced each word out, and still it sounded no higher than a squeaky whisper.
He leaned towards her, pausing by her ear. “I should be angry with you.” Scents of warm things, like burning cedar and sunshine, took over her senses. His hushed voice sent tingles soaring across her neck. It was insane that even now she could be so attracted to him when that was probably the last thing on his mind. “You knew this meeting was private.”
He had mentioned that. Which was so stupid of him, really, because it only made her want know why it was private.
His words, however, implied he wasn’t angry, and they gave her the courage to finally look him in the eye. “You’re not mad?”
“No.”
“Why not?” She couldn’t have stuck her foot farther in her mouth. Why, oh why, couldn’t she have dropped it at no?
Oh yeah. Because she was a complete idiot.
“I’m leaving in the morning, and I don’t have time to be angry with you, not when all I want to do is spend the rest of today kissing every curve of this incredible mouth.” He held a finger to her lips, and her heart leaped against her chest.
Hmm. She was sorta happy she hadn’t dropped it now.
And then his words rammed into her like a bowling ball to the chest. “Wait, you're leaving tomorrow?”
He looked up at the ceiling and then back at her, and she could see that he didn’t want to tell her this.