Sunday, March 4, 2012

Rise of the Novelette

Rachel Morgan is taking over my blog today. I'm a big fan of Rachel because she's brunette and so is her protagonist. I'm a little sick of all the eyes in blues, greens, ambers, and even blacks. I'll forgive Rachel for using purple instead of brown since it's my favorite color. Gorgeous cover (below), right?

Before self publishing took off, there was really no place for the novelette--too small for publishers to publish as a stand alone novel; too long to be included in an anthology. But now authors and some indie publishers are making their novelettes available. I'll let Rachel tell you about hers:


Today the Creepy Hollow series kicks off with the release of the first story, GUARDIAN!!

GUARDIAN introduces readers to the magical world of Creepy Hollow, a realm where fae creatures both safe and definitely-not-so-safe dwell. Things are cool as long the fae stick to their own realm. It's when they find their way into the human world that things start going wrong...




1. Receive assignment.



2. Save a life.


3. Sleep.


4. Repeat.






Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until one of her assignments—a human boy who shouldn’t even be able to see her—follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.


The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? But Nate and Vi are about to land themselves in even bigger trouble—and it’ll take all Vi’s training to get them out alive.






Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FRJGXI

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FRJGXI

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/137697



The Creepy Hollow Series



Author Info




To find out more about the series, the author, and the characters, check out the blog tour that’s happening over the next two weeks.





106 comments:

  1. I never really have a problem getting enough words to make it a novel instead of a novelette.

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  2. Grumpy Bulldog, at least there are more publishing options for you than ever before. I've noticed Wido Publishing has published a couple of shorter novels/novelettes.

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  3. I love the premise of the book. Best wishes to Rachel.

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  4. Congratulations, Rachel! The story sounds awesome. :)

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  5. Sounds like a terrific story! Congrats.

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  6. What an intriguing concept! I'm okay with purple eyes, too. :) How fun!

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    1. Meredith, imagine having purple eyes? It would be cool.

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  7. Congratulations to Rachel! It sounds like a great story.

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  8. It sounds like an interesting story! I wish I could write stories with supernatural elements to them, but I already have my hands full writing about "regular" people. But I like the idea of a novelette; I think it requires a certain level of discipline to be able to use fewer words to tell a big story.

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    1. Neurotic Workaholic, it's funny because I'm practical in real life but nearly always write with a paranormal twist. I like your description of the novelette.

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  9. I adore this cover as purple is my favourite colour too. I'm looking forward to reading this.

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  10. I can't agree more! Brunettes ROCK! lolol

    Although I can't help my black eyes, about a billion of us have them...lol

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  11. Hi lovely Theresa, hello lovely Rachel! Love the trailer to your story! My hair is black so the darker the better! LOL! Aww - all hair is lovely truly!

    Oh Vi! Led astray by Nate! Hope they both get out alive!! Take care
    x

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    1. Old Kitty, I like all hues of hair too. But I've noticed in YA that there are many blonde, blue eyed women. Nice to see a brunette!

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  12. Been hearing great things about this. Good luck Rachel.

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  13. Natalie, I read the first few pages of the sample download from Amazon. I was impressed.

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  14. It's always fascinating to see how literary forms develop and rise or fall in popularity, so I'll be eager to watch and see what happens with the novelette.

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    1. Sam, I'm curious too. With some books being monstrous in size, reading something shorter would be a nice change.

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  15. I like the premise as well. Already we can tell that stuff is going to happen. Good luck to Rachel!

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    1. LG Smith, agreed! I think it will have some good twists and turns.

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  16. The novelette sounds great and the cover is gorgeous!!

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  17. "I'm a big fan of Rachel because she's brunette and so is her protagonist." <--- Lol! That's as good a reason as any to be a fan of someone!

    LOVED reading all these comments. THANK YOU SO MUCH everyone for commenting on this post, and Theresa, for getting an interesting discussion going regarding hair color, eye color and literary forms :-)

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    1. Rachel, ha! I can't tell you how many books I've read with eyes blue as the ocean and green eyes like a field. Makes a brown-eyed girl like me soooo sad. And I've noticed that even science fiction/dystopian, where we're way in the future on small ships and brown is a dominant trait in real life, doesn't stop the redheads, blondes, and light-hued eyes from being everywhere! I've even read brunette protagonists, but didn't know at first because the publisher placed a blonde woman on the cover.

      And just for the record, I was a big fan of you BEFORE your cover!

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  18. Great cover, very striking with those violet eyes. :) And the premise sounds really intriguing too! Promises to be an exciting read. Fun music on the trailer, nice and appropriate for fae--sounds a bit like Harry Potter, or even Danny Elfman (as in Tim Burton films). Keven MacLeod (composer) has a nice variety of free music. :)

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    1. As soon as I heard that music I thought it was perfect!

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  19. Carol, you may have given Rachel a logline to sell it: for fans of Harry Potter and Tim Burton films.

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  20. Rachel's book is awesome! I can't wait for the rest in the series. Plus, I'm a fan of purple eyes and some purple hair. Then again, purple is my favorite color too.

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    1. Cherie, I haven't read it yet, but I'm buying it soon.

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  21. Yay! I got my copy. It sounds like a fantastic book. I can't wait to read it. All the best to Rachel~ <3

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  22. Congratulations to Rachel! Her Guardian series sound awesome!

    Thanks Theresa!

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    1. Romance Book Haven, I think so too. Can't wait to read the first book.

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  23. Rachael is saturating the blogosphere. I've run into this book probably ten times already in one day.

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    1. Michael, I saw Rachel a few times too. It was like Alex last week, right?

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  24. Replies
    1. Missed Periods, I read the beginning, and was impressed.

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    2. Glad you were impressed by it :-)
      *happy*

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  25. Congrats to Rachel!
    I'm all for brunettes in fiction, mind you, probably all the really famous ones were too, Cathy in Wuthering Heights jumps to mind:) When I'm famous, I'm going to treat myself to purple eyes!!

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  26. Brigid, I've seen quite a few authors put pink or purple streaks in their hair when they get published, but never purple eyes.

    YaY for brunettes!

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  27. I really enjoyed reading this--can't wait for part two!!!!!!!

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    1. Lbdiamond, I still have to read part I. Good to know you enjoyed it.

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  28. I love the purple!

    I am so happy for short story and novella writers. It is good to see a market open up to make it easier for them to reach readers. I think too, they are perfect in a way--bite sized for the busy people out there. :)

    Congrats to Rachel!

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    1. Angela, if there's a market for it, I'm glad there's a medium to get those novelettes out there.

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  29. Rachel is awesome - I'm looking forward to her book! :)

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  30. That cover is gorgeous! Purple is my favorite color, too.

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    1. Miranda, lots of purple lovers out there. Rachel knows her audience!

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    2. I didn't realize there were so many purple-lovers out there... Good to know!

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  31. Wishing you much success with Creepy Hollow. Oddly enough I was just looking at the latest A to Z Video Contest submission and there listed on the side was a video you did last year for the Challenge of 2011. How cool! You should have entered this year.


    Lee
    An A to Z Co-Host
    Tossing It Out
    Twitter: @AprilA2Z
    #atozchallenge

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    1. Arlee, Rachel did a good job with this video. Maybe she's been preoccupied with the book release.

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    2. Thanks, Arlee! I think I actually did two or three videos for the A to Z Challenge last year (one of them was me playing my flute! Kinda embarrassing!) Anyway, I've just checked out the A to Z site and see I still have time to get a video entry in... I should totally do that!

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  32. Always nice to meet a fellow teacher, Theresa. Glad I popped in on the Creepy Hollow post. What fun. I found you from Lee McKenzie's blog tag. I double tagged you on my blog. I'll be joining you on the A to Z Challenge. My head is already spinning.

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    1. Leslie Rose, how nice for you to fine me. I'll have to visit your blog! I'm trying to write all my posts in advance, but I'm only up to I. Good luck!

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  33. sounds like an awesome series! been reading about it all over! and i like a brunette mc too!

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  34. Tara, instead of calling the post "Rise of the Novelette", I should've named it "Rise of the Brunette".

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  35. Good luck to Rachel! I see her all over Blogdom this week and wish her much success.

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  36. I already have Guardian on my Kindle. I can't wait to read it!

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  37. I love the sound of Guardian - it's on my TBR list and my finger is itching towards Amazon Whispernet as I write!

    I have no problems with novelettes and I think they, and short stories work particularly well in ebook format.

    Congratulations Rachel!

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  38. Margo, my finger finally itched to the purchase button!

    I can see why publishers would shy away--all that cost to make the book and then have people think a small book isn't worth the $. That's a good thing about ebooks.

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  39. Wow, that cover is striking! Thanks for the intro to Rachel. :)

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  40. Creepy Hollow sounds like such fun! And I agree that the cover is brilliant. Thanks for the intro to Rachel. Good luck, Rachel!

    Ebooks are giving rise to so many opportunities that authors didn't have before. Being able to publish works of in-between lengths is one of those advantages. Gotta love it!

    Jai

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    1. Jai, while I worry about where ebooks will take us in the future, flexibility is certainly a plus.

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  41. That cover alone makes me want to read the book. Beautiful! Best wishes with your book, Rachele!

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    1. Sharon, the cover certainly entices me to read the book.

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  42. I've been seeing announcements about novelettes a lot, lately. The novelette seems to be making a comeback with the flourishing of e-publishing. This one looks good!

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  43. The book sounds so intriguing and I love the cover...:)

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  44. I love novelettes. For busy students and moms these are great. Your book sounds intriguing, and the cover is eye-catching.

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  45. Congrads to Rachel! What a beautiful cover!!!! The book sounds fascinating. Good luck wishes to you, Rachel.

    *waving* Hey Theresa! Big hugs! :-)

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    1. Robyn, (waving back) I think it looks like a hair dye box, only cooler. (Big hugs back!)

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  46. I agree about the cover and the choice of eye color . . . for a change. I guess every YA has to have a beautiful girl on the front, right?

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    1. Cleemckenzie, I know what you mean! Sometimes a little mystery is nice. Then we can identify more. Or at least, I can.

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  47. This post is so great, Theresa! I am definitely going to buy Rachel's book. But because of Write On, I am now on a reading hiatus :-)

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    1. Susan, I've been reading much less this year. I can't write, do school work, and everything else, and still read as much as I had been. Something had to give!

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  48. I just this minute came from another blog where Rachel was the star. She really gets around. These novelettes sound exciting :)

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    1. Carol, she is everywhere! Rachel this week, Alex last week.

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  49. Congrats on the publication of your novelette, Rachel. Sounds great.

    Thanks for hosting Rachel, Theresa! And thanks for linking to my blog post with the parenting story you shared. I did get lots of traffic! Woo hoo, Theresa!

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  50. LynNerdKelley, I would've sent more your way, but I had the general instead of the specific link for a couple of days, so once you had a newer post, readers thought it wasn't up yet!

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  51. Congrats on the novelette publication! Sounds like an exciting story!

    You crack me up with your eye preferences. A lot of my characters tend to have black eyes, but mostly because so many people in my family do. I guess it comes second nature and that's how I see it in my head. The other half of my family has blue eyes...

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  52. Carolina, both my children have blue eyes, so I really shouldn't get so offended. My dad's side is Irish and my husband's side has blue too. The blue recessive trait came out from two blue-eyed parents.

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  53. wow! Absolutely LOVE that cover! This sounds great!

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  54. It's awesome to see Rachel all over the blogosphere! :)

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    1. The Golden Eagle, I agree. Rachel has done an excellent job marketing.

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  55. I love that novelettes are taking off! Congrats to Rachel.

    And my main character of my mg has brown hair and brown eyes. :)

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  56. Sounds great! And big congrats to Rachel!!

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  57. It sounds awesome. I added it to my wish list. Congrats, Rachel.

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    1. Medeia, I plan to read it soon. Hope to see it up on one of your reviews sometime!

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