Bitten Shame by Olivia Hardin - Review

Title: Bitten Shame

Author: Olivia Hardin

Synopsis: Jill Prescott returned from self-imposed seclusion to help save her best friend Devan’s life. Throwing herself into Devan’s problems and bringing an evil organization to its knees might just be the distraction she needs to keep living without the only man she’s ever loved. Her life changed forever when she was hired to spend a week with Doc Massey. On the day she became a vampire her youthful innocence ended, but Doc’s love rescued her from being consumed by the darkness. The shadow of that former life continues to loom over her, keeping her from realizing her own self-worth. Running from her past only brings her closer to a destiny that is inextricably connected to what she is trying to escape… Every gift has both a reward and a price, because All of it fits…

My Thoughts: I had a lot of fun reading Bitten Shame. It grabbed my attention quickly and pulled me in to the story. I enjoyed seeing Jill's past and present as the story went on. It definitely gave the reader a lot of insight into who Jill was. Jill always seemed to be doubting herself through out the book. Even in her past, before becoming a vampire, she doubted her intelligence. I found her to a very intelligent character though.

I loved the Faery world! The descriptions of how the geography is, was very interesting. I also loved Roon. He's so playful and fun. I hope there will be much more of him in the next book. Devon's continued story is nice to see. I will be looking forward to what happens with her next, especially after all she learns in this book.

I think that Olivia Hardin did a great job with this book. I am looking forward to the next book. She is expanding the world of the Bend-Bite-Shift Trilogy. I am a little sad that there will only be the three books. I feel like she could really flesh out the stories and create so much. Regardless, I look forward to what she comes up with next!

Rating:

Kindle / Paperback

About the Author - Olivia Hardin realized early on how strange she was to have complete movie-like character dreams as a child. Eventually she began putting those vivid dreams to paper and was rarely without her spiral notebooks full of those mental ramblings. Her forgotten vision of becoming an author was realized when she connected with a group of amazingly talented and fabulous writers who gave her lots of direction and encouragement. With a little extra push from family and friends, she hunkered down to get lost in the words. She's also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and is sometimes accused of being artistic, though she's generally too much of a perfectionist to appreciate her own work. A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband and their puppy Bonnie. Connect with her Online - Blog * Goodreads * Twitter* Facebook



Follow the Tour Enter to Win - $100 Amazon GC & Signed books & 2 Necklace and earring sets and signed books. (Open US for Books & Jewelry Open Int for GC & digital books) a Rafflecopter giveaway Brought to you by Promotional Book Tours 

I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Free e-books on Amazon (6/27)

I have been so into the books I am reading today that I am just now pulling myself away to look for freebies.




Well there you go! I found a lot of books I am really interested in reading, and some series that I am going to have to get the rest of the books I think. I hope you see a book or two that you are interested in!

Generating eBook Sales - Guest Post by William D. Hicks

Welcome to Reading It All's stop on the William D. Hicks tour presented by Sizzling PR! I would like to welcome William D. Hicks with his guest post Generating ebook Sales.



Generating eBook Sales
By William D. Hicks


williamdhicks@gmail.com


The only way to get noticed as a writer is to get read. But how? With a couple eBooks out I decided to start promoting myself. I hired a PR company who booked a publicity blog tour. It’s the electronic equivalent of a multi-city book signing.


While reviews and interviews and blog posts would likely get me noticed I wanted to generate sales. In my mind more sales = more readers.


I had recently noticed that my eBook sales to libraries were slow but steady. I wondered if I could ramp them up and asked my publisher how. He gave me several suggestions which I followed. I also figured out some short cuts along the way. And it worked.


Over a three day period I got commitments from 5 libraries to buy 2 books each. While it’s not much money, I’m hopeful my eBook sales will spike from these efforts. Because it’s not really about the money; it’s about getting my stories read.


As a disclaimer, before doing all this work be sure your publisher is authorized to sell eBooks to libraries. This usually means they sell through Overdrive. If not, you probably should wait until they do before you put out the all this effort.


Write a “form” letter to the library. Use below as a template:


Dear (Sir/Madam/Librarian/Name of Person—especially if it’s the director or the email is directed at specific person),


Note something interesting about yourself, plus a request for the library to purchase your eBook.(Mention the state you’re from to libraries in your state, mention the state the book is set in to all the libraries with that connection, mention you’re an alumni to the college you attended, you get the idea. If there is no connection you might avoid specific state references.)


eBook Title
Genre, a little about the book
ISBN or other Identifying Number (e.g. ASIN-Amazon Standard Identification Number)
What Language the eBook is written in
Publication Date
Price (especially if you know the price the library will pay, this isn’t necessary but it’ a nice to have)


Mention that your publisher is authorized to sell your books to libraries and they sell on “Overdrive” and any other e-tailers of note (e.g. Amazon).


Publisher Name
Publisher Address
Publisher Phone
Publisher Email


Ask the librarian to contact you with a decision and thank them for reading your email (politeness goes a long way).


Yours (some ending),
Your Name


Figure out which libraries you want to target.


It’s often worthwhile to submit queries of this kind to all the libraries in your state, but first target those nearby as they will more likely pick up your eBook. When I suggested my suburban library should purchase my eBook and told them I was a resident they instantly purchased a copy.


Check out the library’s URL


Before sending the email letter above, check out the library’s site. Some will have a “Purchase Suggestion” option, while others might have an “Ask a Librarian” link and others still might have a “Contact Us” section or “Email” address. You can use one of these more generic options or you can do some further digging and find information on the Library Director/CEO. If the email is directed to a specific person (e.g. the director) always personalize the salutation. Be aware that often the Director’s email address is not easily found and it’s best not to spend a lot of time searching for it.


Send the email and wait for a response


Not all libraries will buy your book. Sometimes you hear back from them weeks later; sometimes not at all. When a library buys an eBook, celebrate your win.





I want to thank William D. Hicks for guest posting here today! Be sure to check out his two short stories.



Title: Twist
Author: William D. Hicks
Publisher: Spectres
Publish Date: August 19, 2011


Synopsis: As a boy growing up in 1953, Kevin Hull enjoyed playing games with his group of boyhood friends, like the game of "ledge." After one such game with his friend Billy Hawkins, the two find themselves involved in a terrible accident that will forever change their lives.


A work of short psychological horror from our Spectres line.

Title: Killer Flies
Author: William D. Hicks
Publisher: Spectres
Publish Date: January 11, 2012


Synopsis: The Army plans to use a new breed of flies to protect combat soldiers. But Dr. John Pankow, their creator, is worried that his killer flies are uncontrollable. Will Mother Nature's most genetically-altered weapon be the ultimate armor, or the potential ravager of the entire world?

A work of short horror from our Spectres line.

Bitten Shame - Tour Schedule and Giveaway

Bitten Shame (Book 2 of the Bend-Bite-Shift Trilogy)

Jill Prescott returned from self-imposed seclusion to help save her best friend Devan’s life. Throwing herself into Devan’s problems and bringing an evil organization to its knees might just be the distraction she needs to keep living without the only man she’s ever loved. Her life changed forever when she was hired to spend a week with Doc Massey. On the day she became a vampire her youthful innocence ended, but Doc’s love rescued her from being consumed by the darkness. The shadow of that former life continues to loom over her, keeping her from realizing her own self-worth. Running from her past only brings her closer to a destiny that is inextricably connected to what she is trying to escape… Every gift has both a reward and a price, because All of it fits…

Kindle / Paperback

About the Author - Olivia Hardin realized early on how strange she was to have complete movie-like character dreams as a child. Eventually she began putting those vivid dreams to paper and was rarely without her spiral notebooks full of those mental ramblings. Her forgotten vision of becoming an author was realized when she connected with a group of amazingly talented and fabulous writers who gave her lots of direction and encouragement. With a little extra push from family and friends, she hunkered down to get lost in the words. She's also an insatiable crafter who only completes about 1 out of 5 projects, a jogger who hates to run, and is sometimes accused of being artistic, though she's generally too much of a perfectionist to appreciate her own work. A native Texas girl, Olivia lives in the beautiful Lone Star state with her husband and their puppy Bonnie. Connect with her Online - Blog * Goodreads * Twitter* Facebook
Follow the Tour Enter to Win - $100 Amazon GC & Signed books & 2 Necklace and earring sets and signed books. (Open US for Books & Jewelry Open Int for GC & digital books) a Rafflecopter giveaway Brought to you by Promotional Book Tours

Katrina, The Beginning by Elizabeth Loraine - Promo

Welcome to Reading It All's stop on the Katrina The Beginning tour presented by Bewitching Book Tours!





Title: Katrina, The Beginning
Author: Elizabeth Loraine
Publisher: Arraiis, inc.
Publish Date: May 10, 2012


Synopsis: As a Vampire being hunted was nothing new. Finding out that I had to save those that were hunting us was!


Katrina, a young royal blooded vampire, chronicles her life from the age of seventeen beginning in the 1800's forward in the series Royal Blood Chronicles
.
Katrina is thrust into something she never could have imagined growing up in the aristocracy of Europe. Once the fashion of the day, and girlish gossip filled Katrina and her new friends days, but their lives changed the instant their race was threatened and they were chosen as the Five, and the protectors of not only the vampire race, but all the peaceful races of the world!


If you are looking for a new, exciting vampire series, with strong female characters you've found it in Royal Blood Chronicles. It starts here with Katrina, The Beginning!

About the Author:

I grew up in a small northern Minnesotan town married my high school sweetheart, had two beautiful children and as soon as we could we moved to a warmer climate. I have worked with my husband building and decorating custom homes for years. After
loving every kind of vampire book, movie and series I decided that I wanted to know more. I can write a book I thought, how hard can that be? Well.... But I stuck to it and finished my first book Royal Blood Chronicles Book One in August 2009. I now have six books in the series and am about to release book two of my new series Phantom Lives. My parents always told me that I could do anything that I wanted, work hard, study and do it right. I believe that and live that way every day. I started writing this new vampire series for teens and their moms because I myself wanted something different to read. I was tired of all the modern versions of vampire books, there had to be more to these long lived beings. Where had they been what had they seen? I wanted, no I NEEDED to know more so Royal Blood Chronicles was born! As in Royal Blood Chronicles, Phantom Lives features strong female characters and action and adventure mixed with romance, friendship and a historical backdrop.



Purchase:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Connect:

www.royalbloodchronicles.com

www.elizabethloraine.com/

Facebook

Twitter

Royal Blood Chronicles Facebook

Free e-books on Amazon (6/20)

Well since I am up at 4am with kids who won't sleep I might as well get some freebies.



I am sleepy, folks, so I didn't come up with tons today. Hopefully one of these is something you're interested in. I'll post more next Wednesday!