Teaser Tuesday: Stouthearted!

I figured I'd share a teaser from Stouthearted since I'm finally making decent progress. And well, I finally feel as though I got the Prologue to where I need it to be. (Seriously, I think I've rewritten this Prologue a lot more than the prologue in Submerged!)

If you recall, both the Prologue and Epilogue in Submerged were told from Lex's POV. I decided to switch things up a bit and write these from Glate's POV in Stouthearted. There is a reason behind it, and you'll understand once Stouthearted is finally released!

This book is a hard one to write compared to my other projects. Not just because it has been some time since I've written Submerged - I am actually checking back to make sure my facts are straight, no worries. But it's also because it's an emotional book. It's a darker story at times, and even though I know what the ending is going to be, and I know there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, it's hard getting into that head-space to actually write what happens down because I don't want to face it just yet. Stouthearted is the end of Taylen's story, and it kind of turns everything on its head before things start to fall into place.

I am still considering writing a prequel novella to Submerged, one that would feature an entirely different cast of characters. It really all depends on whether or not I can schedule it in this year. I want to, I really do. I have the story planned out, and I have an excellent idea of the main character, but it all comes down to time. My full-time job eats up a ton of my writing time, but I'm going to try!

P.S. You can now purchase the COMPLETE Emile Reed series as one eBook for only $7.99! I know that seems expensive, but it is actually cheaper to buy the omnibus than it is to buy the eBooks separately; if you purchase the eBooks separately you'll end up spending around $11.(Note that the cover above is only temporary. Carrie Butler, who did the amazing covers for the first three installments, will be redoing the covers for the rest of the series over the summer!)

REBOOTED is Now Available!

It is a day late, mainly because I hadn't realized what day it was, but Rebooted is now live! On Smashwords, at least. It's currently publishing to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

Here's the Smashwords link:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/406713

This book was hard to write.
I knew what the ending of the series would be when I started drafting Deprogrammed. But it didn't make it any easier to write. This book is emotional, and there is a lot that happens, but I think the payoff is worth it. Even if it hurts. (No, I didn't pull an Allegiant, don't worry!)

I hope you guys enjoy Rebooted as much as I do.

The eBook will be available for an introductory price of $1.99 until March 1st, after that it'll rise to $3.99.

And Submerged fans, your turn is coming! You'll get the cover for Stouthearted next month, as well as the description. =)

<3 Nicole

Teaser Tuesday: Rebooted (The Emile Reed Chronicles, 3)!

Random teaser from Rebooted, the final book in the Emile Reed Chronicles:

“He died for you,” Tommy said, his voice holding no sort of sympathy what-so-ever. “He died so that McVeigh could bring you home. This is where you belong. You belong with us.”

I tried to drown out Tommy’s programmed speeches hoping it’d help to ease my pain, but it also forced me to remember the boy that he once used to be.

After I died, I’d tried to erase him from my memory, because I hadn’t wanted to accept the reality of knowing the future I’d mapped out with him would no longer exist. 

The way that I’d felt about him? It was something I’d never get to experience again. Those six months with him were some of the happiest memories of my life, and I didn’t want to tarnish them after I died. I wanted to hang onto what I once had; I was desperate to hold onto what little I’d had left of him.

I tried recalling those six months now, wanting to replace my pain with even the tiniest bit of happiness, but it was hard to recreate that feeling.

If there was one thing I had learned in my death, it was that trying to reclaim what once was just wasn’t possible. Moments were fleeting. They weren’t meant to be recreated, because they never quite held the same emotion as they did the first time around.

We weren’t supposed to have second chances after we died.

The hell that I was stuck in was more than proof enough of that.

“Do you miss him?” I could hear him moving closer, each of his steps heavy on the tile floor beneath him. “Is that why you seem sad?”

I wanted to scream at him.  Wasn’t it obvious? But I didn’t want to give McVeigh any sort of pleasure as a result of my misery. I wouldn’t do it.

“We’re not talking about this,” I answered. “So just stop. Now.”

“Hayden was a fantastic worker, it’s a shame that he went against the rules of Vesta Corp. He constructed most of my old programming.”

Just hearing his name was enough to destroy me.

Hayden had fought so hard for me.

He’d given up so much, and to think that he had lost his life because of me? It was the worst kind of feeling. Because after losing my parents? He was the last bit of family that I’d had left, and now he was gone. They all were.

Also, if you're a book blogger and you'd like to request an ARC, you should be able to do so beginning January 17th.

The plan is to release Rebooted later this month (same with New Beginnings). Rebooted will be available for pre-order through Smashwords a week or two before it's released. The paperback will be delayed. I want to have the series match, so both Deprogrammed and Rebooted will be getting new covers (this way they match Program 13). I'm also planning on commissioning a series cover so that, once New Beginnings and done and ready to go, I can release the entire series as one eBook.

Rebirth, which is McVeigh's novel, will not be included in this bundle when it is releases later this year, mainly because it is an entirely separate book. Rebirth is just a project I've wanted to work on for a few years now. A few readers have told me that they actually like McVeigh and that they are curious about him, so he's getting his own book.

And now I'm off to finish editing Rebooted!

P.S. You can add Rebooted to your TBR shelf on Goodreads by going here! It isn't all gloom, I promise. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. ;)

Lots of <3
Nicole

The post I've dreaded writing.

So, here's the deal, Rebooted isn't going to be ready for December 31st. And it is one-hundred percent my fault.

I've been burnt out lately, and well, I just haven't had the time to really do a thorough edit on the manuscript. The end of the year is the busiest part of the year at my job, which means I end up putting in a lot of hours, and by the time I finally get home it's 9PM, and well, I usually crash shortly after. Because of this, I still have a lot of editing to do on Rebooted.
It also hasn't helped that I've been burnt out on sci-fi as of late. I think that's mainly because, as soon as I finished edits on Deprogrammed and hit publish, I went straight into working on both Standby and Rebooted without any sort of break.
Thankfully though, after my little break, I feel like I'm ready to dive back into the final book in Emile's story. I'll probably take a week or two off after I finish working on Rebooted before I start writing New Beginnings, mainly because it's going to be longer than any of the other digital shorts. Instead of being a novelette, it'll be a novella, which means it'll be a minimum of 10k words. After all, New Beginnings is meant to serve as an epilogue to the series, and I want to make sure I'm in the right state of mind to write this short since it'll the end to the series. I want to make sure that, in the end, everything ties together perfectly.

Will Rebooted be out in January? Most likely, yes. I don't see why it wouldn't be.  I was at the halfway point of the manuscript before I stopped with my edits. So January should give me enough time to finish. I'll make sure to update my Facebook page, so make sure to check that regularly!

To make up for the delay, here are a few teasers from my other projects:

On a positive note: I've sent Capture to a few editors, but since I'm positive it'll be rejected (especially since I sent the wrong copy - yep, I'm an idiot, I know), I'm doing another read through to have it ready to go once I hear back from them. If I do self-publish the new edition of Capture, expect a new cover.

And for those wondering: Collide is in the querying stage. This is why I haven't self-published it. I'm hoping to find a proper home for it. I'll hopefully have some sort of news over the next couple of months.

Teaser Tuesday: STANDBY!

I still have yet to write the synopsis, but here is a sneak peek at STANDBY:

*Reminder: This digital short picks up where Deprogrammed leaves off. Don't read this if you're not caught up with the series. It won't make much sense otherwise!*

"Program 13" is FREE!

I'm aiming to have my review of The Almost Girl up later today, but I just wanted to post a quick update to let everyone know that Program 13, the first book in the Emile Reed Chronicles, is currently FREE on both Kindle & Nook!

If you have yet to meet Emile and Colton, now is a good time!

Rebooted, the final novel in this series, will release at the end of the month, so you won't have a long wait after you finish Deprogrammed. ;)

Just an FYI: This is a light YA sci-fi read without a romance plot. I know that may turn a lot of people away, but friendship and family do play a huge part in this series. The are a ton of dark moments, yes, but there are also plenty of humorous moments (courtesy of Colton).

Amazon -- Barnes & Noble -- Smashwords

NaNo Update: Day Thirteen!

As of two minutes ago, I have finally surpassed the 21,000 word mark on REBOOTED.

This is the final novel in the Emile Reed Chronicles. (Just a reminder: McVeigh's novel, scheduled for April 2014, is a companion novel! It does not feature Emile.)

I went in with an outline that I never actually ended up using. I think I ended up throwing it out two paragraphs into this draft. And yet, by some miracle, the book is actually working, haha.

There is a lot that goes down in this book, and I'm making it a point to see to it that every character's storyline gets resolved one way or another. Not everyone is going to survive, and there will be a lot of pain, but there will also be a lot of character growth. These characters have been through a lot since the beginning of this series, and throughout the series, I like to believe they've developed into stronger characters, each with something unique to offer.

I can't reveal too much from REBOOTED without spoiling the events that take place in DEPROGRAMMED. But I can an unedited [non-spoilerish] teaser!

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been sitting here in the midst of the rumble. It almost seemed as though time had stopped when the bullet left the gun. All it had taken was one action – one moment – to change everything.

He had accepted his ending, but that hadn’t stopped the aching in my chest.

I looked around at the destruction that surrounded me, at the blood stained tiles, and all I could see was his face. Rage rolled throughout my body, and my fingers instinctively reached for the letter inside of my pant pocket. I couldn’t help but to wonder if she knew yet. 

As soon as I finish this first draft, I'm going to complete edits on STANDBY and finish up THE UNTOLD STORIES. All three will be available in December, with NEW BEGINNINGS now following in January.

It is going to be hard to say goodbye to these characters, but I want to end the series now - when it feels right. I don't want to drag the story out any more than I need to. 

If you've read PROGRAM 12, PROGRAM 13, ALLEGIANCE, and DEPROGRAMMED and you'd like to help beta-read REBOOTED, shoot me an e-mail: NicoleWritesYA@gmail.com. You won't receive the entire MS in full as I'm still writing it, instead you'll receive chapters as I complete them.

<3
Nicole

Sign-Up for the "Deprogrammed" Blog Tour!

Deprogrammed is going on tour next month! If you've read Program 13 and Allegiance (and Program 12, since there are some characters from that short in Deprogrammed as well), then feel free to sign up by going here. There are still a few spots open. :)

Here is the current tour schedule:

November 18th -

Mythical Books *Interview
Dreamer *Review
[OPEN]

November 19th - 

Book Briefs *Review
The Book Town *Review
[OPEN]

November 20th -

The Dragon Pedestal - Brutal Honesty *Review
[OPEN]

November 21st -

Reading In Twilight *Interview
[OPEN]

November 22nd -

Dalene's Book Reviews *Review & Favorite Quotes
[OPEN]

If you have yet to start the Emile Reed Chronicles, you can download Program 12 through Smashwords. This short story will give you an idea of what to expect from later installments.

Here is a breakdown on The Emile Reed Chronicles:

Series Order:
Program 12: a Program 13 Short Story -- Free on Smashwords.com
Program 13 -- Available Now
Allegiance (Digital Short) -- Available Now
Deprogrammed -- Available Now
Standby (Digital Short) -- Coming Soon
Rebooted -- December 2013
New Beginnings (Digital Short) -- December 2013

Extras:
The Program Manual -- Release Date TBD
The Emile Reed Chronicles: The Untold Stories -- Release Date TBD
Untitled McVeigh Novel -- April 2014

<3
Nicole