One of my readers named Sarah recently started a twitition on Twitter for The Howling Heart. She loved the story and feels it should be published. She’s promoted my novel in the past on deviantART and she told me she tweeted about it too. She sent one tweet to Alex Pettyfer Source and they RTed it to their almost 4,000 followers! That was very unexpected. I wrote this post so Sarah knows how much I appreciate her support and enthusiasm.

I have to give a huge THANK YOU to Signe again for all the promoting she’s done for my novel The Howling Heart. She shares my dream to have it published. I hope it happens one day because I really owe her a free signed copy. Even if it’s just an e-book. I will print it out, sign it, and mail it to her all the way to Denmark. She recently recommended it to best-selling author Rachel Caine by way of Twitter. Rachel read some of my story, and Signe told me she had this to say:

I read a quick sample of the book you recommended and I very much like the style and craft of the writer but Authorhouse is NOT good. It is a pay-to-play publisher, highly disreputable in publishing. Seek traditional publisher or go Kindle. I say this in CONFIDENCE because Authorhouse sues critics to protect their business model, which makes $$ from authors, not book sales.

I can’t believe she liked it. I’m never self-publishing again, so Author House was never a consideration for my second novel. I used them to publish my first novel A Rose to the Fallen. I do think it’s too bad the 60+ agents and traditional publishers I queried didn’t agree with Rachel or the many readers who have told me how much they enjoyed my novel. Anyway, thanks again, Signe! ♥

I have to give a big shout out and THANK YOU to a young woman I met on deviantART named Signe. She read The Howling Heart and gave it an awesome review. It’s her new favorite book. I’ve said before that’s one of the ultimate compliments I can get from a reader. I appreciate her spreading the word about my book. I also saw that she posted about The Howling Heart on a Facebook fanpage for Alex Pettyfer. I told her if my second novel ever gets published in print, I will mail her a free signed copy. I don’t care that she lives in Denmark. The postage would be worth it. Thanks again, Signe!

I’m always flattered when my work inspires others. My first novel A Rose to the Fallen inspired the novel Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, and now I’ve learned my second novel The Howling Heart inspired an original role-playing game on Tumblr called “Wild Hearts”. First, I read a post on Tumblr where someone mentioned she wanted to create a RPG inspired by my novel. Then I browsed through her blog and discovered she actually decided to do it. The creator said she loved my novel and thought it would be a very cool idea for a RPG. She designed an entire Tumblr page for the game, including a list of characters and bios, graphics, and photos. She has Alex Pettyfer’s character listed as a wolf, and I’m curious if he’s a white one like Riley. Alex inspired The Howling Heart so it’s only fitting he’s included in the RPG. The characters and plot aren’t related to my story, but the origin and some of the characteristics of her shape-shifters, known as ‘The Graced’, are similar to my Varulv. I think what she’s done is amazing, and I just had to give her a shout-out and say THANK YOU!

I think it’s about time for another reader shout-out. This one goes out to Sarah, a very nice young woman I met on deviantART. She recently read some of my stories, the latest one being The Howling Heart. She gave it an amazing review! She loved the whole story and said it’s tied for the best novel ever! When someone says my work is the “best novel”, it’s the ultimate compliment. It’s right up there with “favorite book”. I already thanked her on dA, but I feel she deserves another one. Her review really made my day.

Yes, it’s true…although my critics probably don’t believe it. Years ago, when I was on LiveJournal, I met author Jamie McGuire. She read my novel A Rose to the Fallen and it inspired her to write her own bad boy/good girl love story. In an interview with The Busy Bibliophile, Jamie mentions my book as the inspiration for her novel Beautiful Disaster.

Where did you come up with the idea for Beautiful Disaster? What about Providence?

I was reading “A Rose to the Fallen” by April Bostic and the bad boy/good girl storyline seemed fun. I sat down to write, and “C’mon, C’mon” by the Von Bondies came over my laptop speakers, and the first scene was born.

If Jamie ever reads this post, I want to tell her I’m glad I was able to inspire you. Your book is doing a hell of a lot better than mine, but I’m happy for you. Keep writing, girl!

I haven’t done one of these in a long time. I recently read a post on Tumblr from a reader named Hanie. She says A Rose to the Fallen is her favorite novel and she loves Tristan. He’s her ideal man and she wants to meet her own Tristan. If she reads this… Hanie, I’m glad you enjoyed my book so much that it’s your favorite. It’s makes me feel good to know my book is someone’s favorite because there’s A LOT of books out there. And I’m happy my character has made an impact on you. I hope you meet your own Tristan one day. Thanks again!

I just read a blog entry on Tumblr from a reader in Canada who goes by “A Written Tragedy”. She spoke about her experience trying to get my book A Rose to the Fallen. I guess it’s hard to find in Canada, but one of her friends from the US surprised her on her birthday with the book. She was very excited to receive it, “bouncing around my kitchen like a kid… and completely freaking out,” she said. I wanted to give her a shout-out because she said getting A Rose to the Fallen was one of the best birthday gifts ever, she enjoyed the story, and it’s her favorite book. Plus, her reaction to finally getting the book made me laugh. A Written Tragedy, if you read this… thank you for your support by spreading the word about my book and I’m so happy you had a chance to read it. It’s the ultimate compliment whenever anyone says my book is their favorite because there’s a lot of books out there and some stiff competition. I feel honored knowing A Rose to the Fallen made it to the top of someone’s list.