Friday 21 December 2012

Guest blog post: Demise of the Vampire Queen by Jodie Pierce - interview and excerpt






Book Blurb


The Vampire Queen is once again ruling her subjects only this time it is a school for the ‘different’ children in Scotland. A school full of vampires, witches, warlocks, elves and fairies, one that is feared and hated by all who attend. A new group of witches and warlocks show up to her gates and cause all kinds of havoc within the school. Vampires and witches are at odds and only a few can see the survival of the school. An ancient lover and the Queen are reunited but at what costs? A new, as well as an old lover unite to attempt to take the Queen off her throne. Will it work? Will the Queen maintain her horrendous rule over the students? Can the spells woven work and change history?

Excerpt

The people of the land considered you condemned if you entered The Queen’s Land. Children who were different were sent here for an upbringing designed to nurture their abilities. The children it The Magikal Vampire Kingdom and were terrified of going there. They often hid their abilities as long as possible so as not to be disparaged in this place. Students came to her school for guidance and segregation from humans and their homes around the continent. Many traveled several days and nights to get there on horseback or by car for the more wealthy families, most without the love and support from their parents and family. They felt doomed and alone until they arrived and found others like themselves. They found a common bond that they otherwise would never have had.
The vampires stayed to themselves. The rest of the students were too scared to befriend them, so they had their own group…minus the fairies, who also kept to themselves. They were obsessed with flying and had no time for outsiders or distractions. So, finally, the witches, warlocks and elves teamed up for a volatile marriage. Nonetheless, they each learned from the others in many different ways and of course, academically. They knew the rumors of the place being hell for children. Once you entered, you rarely came out for one reason or another.
The Magikal Vampire Kingdom tried to mimic what they could of the human world, so as to be prepared should the humans finally accept them. The school could not have a ton of students, running around like crazy, acting inappropriately and ultimately scaring their new friends. Upon being taken into the Queen’s Land, each student would be marked with a bite mark tattoo on the inside of the right bicep. It was as if the Queen herself personally put her mark on every one of them. It was a mark that could never be removed or hidden from others. Even as an adult, the mark would still be present and label you as an outsider in any community you entered. It was a mark that told others you were special and to be avoided at all costs. Consequently, most students tended to stay at the school as long as possible, even as adults, and became advisors or teachers.
The Queen herself was an enigma. She’d harbored the ambition of ruling and purifying the vampire race since reawakening last century. She moved to world domination, accomplished with her new coven in Venice. Her success over her sister and the Japanese culture was overshadowed only by the death of the male love of her life. Killed in a fire during one of their tousles, she’d thrown Yutaka off her and he’d landed on the burning, white-hot cinder blocks in the fireplace. He’d changed to ashes before she’d had time to call anyone. She’d tried to put out the fire, but vampires burned for a long time. When her friends arrived, they’d attempted to clean up the ashes and put them in urn for the Queen to remember him for always.
The devastating loss of Kendra, her first lover this century, to the blinding love of another had changed her for forever.  Oh how she missed her! She’d never get her back nor could she forget her. Since she’d excelled at all her conquests, she now had to find something worthy to satisfy her. She had become cold and calculated due to her circumstances of the heart. All she had was herself. She could never get close to another since the loss of Kendra and Yutaka.

Interview

Tell us about your current release and who would be your favorite character?
My favorite character is the main character, The Vampire Queen. She is at first a scared young woman who has to relearn everything about herself that she once knew. After that, she becomes sassy, seductive, impulsive, sometimes arrogant, petulant yet ruthless and looking to resume her reign in the vampire race.

Are the names of the characters in your novels important?  How and why?
I pick all my names from a giant baby book I have or from online baby name sites. I usually think of a letter for the name and then search say all the ‘t’s and look for a name with a meaning of the main characteristic of that character. It makes it more fun for me and though no one knows my ‘evil name plot’ it amuses me.

Does travel play in the writing of your books? 
Well, not exactly travel in as far as my personal traveling to locations but I research all of my locations. I like to do research so I look up everything from places, food, clothes, etc. It helps me learn about new places and makes the reading more interesting in my opinion.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?
I like the creative outlet that it gives me. Much of my writing comes from dreams I have. I dream a concept and then have other dreams about various sequences within the book. I often wake up at 4am and have to write. I also lay in bed before falling asleep just dwelling on it and come up with some great ideas so I have a pen and paper next to the bed for that. Sometimes, hubby gives me a great concept for a story and then I just run away with it. That’s the case for the story I’m working on now. Sometimes I get stuck in the middle but then when the floodgates open, look out! LOL! 

What does your significant other and family think of your writing career?
Well, this is a tricky one without offending others but I have to be honest. My hubby is my biggest supporter. Like I said, he gives me ideas, reads my books, buys them (encourages me to buy others’ books I need to feed my starving readers brain), etc. He tells me all the time how proud of me he is and reminds me when I’m down how far I’ve come in reaching my goal to be a writer. On the flip side, my parents (which I’m very close to) don’t really seem to care. They have never read any of my stories (and they read a lot-sometimes 4 books a week). My mother claims it’s because they are about vampires and she’s not into that genre. My dad has said he’s proud of me but gives me crap about not making millions on them. It’s frustrating. I love them but they don’t support me, I feel so I’m at a loss with them and don’t bring it up much anymore.

Tell us about your favorite restaurant.
My hubby and I seem to be foodies. We watch all the cooking and food shows. We love to try new things, places, food, etc. On the cooking shows, they spoke about using bone marrow. I already have a hard time with eating food off a bone so it grossed me out. I said I’d ‘never’ eat it. Well, we went to a critically acclaimed chef’s restaurant, Lolita by Michael Simon and it was on the menu. He ordered it and I was still skeptical but he talked me into trying it. I have to say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought and it was actually pretty good. I wouldn’t eat it every day and it is an acquired taste but it was good.

Who is your favorite author?
My favorite author is also the woman who inspired me to write about vampires. I was writing romance, bored to death with it and uninspired. I have had a fascination with vampires since I was a child but it wasn’t until I read an Anne Rice book that I decided I should write about these vampires that I’d grown to love so much over the years. As far as my erotic books, Christine Feehan was my additional inspiration after reading Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series. Ms. Feehan’s books were amazing and took my imagination to places I had never thought I’d be able to put out on paper.

Do you have a favorite quote, quip, or saying? What is it?
“I often paint self-portraits for it is I that knows myself the best”-Freida Kahlo
It reminds me to look inward at myself as that’s where everything in my life comes from.

Author bio and contacts


Jodie Pierce is thirty-seven years old and lives with her hubby, John in Cleveland, Ohio along with four beautiful step-children. She has had a fascination with vampires since they were introduced to her as a child and has had a long history with them. It wasn't until she started reading the Anne Rice vampire books that she was truly inspired. She was an exchange student in Brasil in high school so you can find some of her experiences from there in her stories. Many of her stories have historical or researched facts as she also enjoys research and learning about new places. She has published five short novels(Eternal Press), a short story in "Midnight Thirst 2", an anthology(Melange Books), has two self-published books and has several short stories that she still works on. She's always busy with the next great vampire story as her mind is non-stop and even plagues her dreams.

Website:     thevampirequeen1@weebly.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce.14  and www.facebook.com/authors.authority which I co manage with my favorite author friend, Deborah Palumbo (check her out on my 2nd blog as the first interview).









Monday 17 December 2012

Unfree cover reveal!

The time has finally come! The cover for Unfree is ready! All thanks to the very talented Biliana Savova, who besides being an incredible artist, makes wonderful jewellery. Expect some amazing Unfree-themed, handmade, unique jewellery pieces as a giveaway in January!

So here it is:









Saturday 15 December 2012

Christmas stoking filler #2

Hi guys! Are you ready for Christmas? Presents bought and wrapped? Tree decorated? Lights up? Well, if that's the case, you deserve a cup of tea in front of the TV.

To celebrate my favourite time of the year, I have something special for you - a bag of pressies! 



Present #1 - this wonderful necklace. I saw this and immediately fell in love with the stack of books pendant. Every self-respected book worm should have one of those!



Present #2 - 3 signed bookmarks and 3 signed postcards.

Present #3 - 3 e-book copies of Humanless (mobi or epub).

All you have to do to enter my Christmas giveaway is:

  • Follow this blog and leave a comment under this post with the email you follow by.
  • Tweet about Humanless and tag me in the post @Teodora_Kostova
You can do one or all of those, as many times as you want. Every entry counts and gives you more chances to win. Winners will be selected at random on Christmas day - 25th Dec 2012.

Good luck and have a happy Christmas, everyone!






Thursday 6 December 2012

Christmas stoking filler #1

Happy December, everyone! Christmas is right around the corner and I have some stoking fillers prepared for you. I was thinking of doing a couple of giveaways - some free Humanless copies as well as some swag but more on that later. Today I have something special: Blake and Ava's first phone call from Blake's POV. Enjoy! 



Blake couldn’t remember when was the last time he’d got more than five hours sleep. Today could have been one of those lucky days if his phone hadn’t started ringing as if Buckingham Palace was on fire and he was the only fireman in London. Who the hell wanted to speak to him so badly? He didn’t have any friends and most people resolved to leaving a voicemail when he didn’t pick up. Ring, ring, ring...
       Fifth time in a row? Seriously? He managed to crawl from under the duvet and get his phone from the night stand. Unknown number. Just as his curiosity won the battle over his anger of being woken up, and his finger slid to the green button, the damn thing stopped ringing. The caller didn’t leave a voicemail and Blake could bet his right hand he was going to call again.Throwing it on the pillow next to him, he stretched his long arms over his head and raked them through his hair. It was 3.05 pm according to the phone. He hadn’t slept all night or rather, couldn’t.  His whole body had been buzzing and he couldn’t bear lying on the bed, waiting and hoping for sleep to come naturally.
        Something was up. He wasn’t sure exactly what because his mortal body didn’t offer much in terms of premonition or contact with the world he had left behind. But something was definitely brewing and he could feel it.To get rid of the energy that felt like an open electrical wire inside his every cell, he had gone to the gym and had ran himself into exhaustion. When his feet had refused to carry him any further, Blake had jumped off the treadmill and had started lifting weights. When his arms had felt as if they were going to fall off his shoulder sockets, he had started doing crunches. That had done it.Exhausted, he had dragged himself back to his flat, had taken a scorching hot shower and had collapsed in bed. It had been 10 am by that point.The weird thing was that Blake thought the grueling gym session would keep the buzz away for a while but now that he was fully awake, he could feel it coming back.
        The phone’s ring right next to his ear startled him out of his thoughts and cursing he picked up.

“Yeah?” He couldn’t hide his frustration with the caller and frankly didn’t want to.
“Hello, I’m looking for Blake Mars?” It was a woman. A lovely voice. Smooth and creamy like Haagen Dazs chocolate ice cream. His mouth literary watered and he desperately wished the voice would continue talking so that he could just listen and enjoy. Maybe imagine licking the lips that spoke...
“Speaking.” Maybe if he talked in single word sentences she’d speak more to compensate. Women tended to do that.
“A friend of mine gave me your number because I need some help with an essay in Greek mythology...” Great. A student. Needs help with an essay. Talk about destroying his fantasy.
“I don’t consult students for essays.” He didn’t care that he was rude and interrupted her. All he wanted was for the call to end because he’s body felt as if it was going to explode. What the hell was that buzzing??
“But you have! You have consulted my friend’s sister last year. We both go to the University of Greenwich...”
“Yeah, so?” He interrupted her again but he couldn’t listen to her anymore. That voice did things to him he didn’t want to feel right now. Or ever again.
“I’m just trying to prove that you do consult students.” Oh wow, she was getting pissed off. And that voice of hers got an even sexier edge to it. Blake had a sudden vision of chocolate melting on the edge of a sharp knife...He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts, but a new nagging notion took their place.
“What’s your name?” he asked, but already knew the answer.
“Ava. Ford.” Right. The buzzing calmed down because it had achieved its purpose. It was trying to warn him of Ava’s appearance in his life. Even though he never made any conscious effort to find her, Fate had done that for him. A lazy smile spread on his lips and he suddenly couldn’t wait to meet her in person.
“Meet me tomorrow. I’ll text you the address.”

Tuesday 13 November 2012

EXCLUSIVE! Unfree Chapter One!

I promised you a big teaser and here it is - the full first chapter of Unfree! It picks up right where Humanless left off. Enjoy!




            Ava felt as if the ground beneath her was pulsating with energy, and then suddenly it disappeared like a carpet pulled out from under her feet. She lost her balance and felt Blake’s strong arms catch her before she fell, scooping her up. Everything around her was vibrating and moving way too fast to notice actual shapes. The blur gave her a headache and she felt she might vomit at any second. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax in Blake’s arms and pull herself together. After all, she didn’t want throwing up to be the first thing she’d do in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Sensing the movement had stopped, Ava ventured opening her eyes. It couldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds, but in such a short amount of time, they had been transported to a completely different world. Blake set her feet on the ground but kept his arms around her. Looking around, Ava saw an enormous hall made entirely of sand-coloured stone with colossal pillars and huge arc-like windows with no glass in them. The air that came in was so fresh and energizing that Ava wondered if it was actually air or some other substance. But she could breathe normally, so it had to be the same consistence as Earth air. Her headache had disappeared the moment she inhaled her first breath and her whole body was tingling with energy.
There was nothing much in the hall in terms of furniture or decorations. It looks like… an entrance hall, Ava thought. But if the entrance hall is so big and majestic, what must the rest of it be like?
The doors in front of them flew open and a figure walked towards them. Ava couldn’t see who it was because it was dark outside, and only a few massive burning candles in the left corner prevented the total darkness. The guards moved away from the three of them, and Ava felt both Jason and Blake tense beside her. The figure came closer, and she saw an incredibly beautiful man, wearing only what seemed like silk pyjama bottoms. His chest was bare and she’d never seen anything more perfect. He was a Greek God statue in the flesh.
“Welcome,” he said, spreading his arms. The muscles on his chest contracted and his skin glowed in the candle light. His voice was deep and melodic; his blond hair shimmered with gold when it caught the light; his full lips parted in a genuine smile and his deep brown eyes were mesmerizing. Ava couldn’t tear her own eyes away from him, even when she felt Blake’s arms tighten around her. “Asclepius,” he continued, shaking Jason’s hand, “I was very surprised to learn that you are not dead. But given the circumstances, I’m glad.”
Jason relaxed, and nodded. “My king,” he said, and bowed his head, slightly.
“My son!” Zeus turned to Blake and gave him a fatherly hug. That seemed very odd since he didn’t look any older than twenty-five. “I’m sorry for everything that’s happened to you.”
Blake nodded as well but didn’t bow. He had moved his arms away from Ava to return his father’s hug and now that Zeus stood in front of her, she felt very vulnerable. She wanted to look away from his hypnotizing gaze but couldn’t.
“Ava, I presume,” he said. She nodded in a silent reply. “So you are the one causing all the trouble?” he asked with a charming smirk.
“No, sir,” she said. “I believe that’s your wife.”
Zeus laughed wholeheartedly at her remark and took her hand to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I believe you are right,” he said. “Please follow me.”
All of them, including the guards followed him through a maze of identical corridors to a room which resembled a dining-room with a big table in the middle and twelve high-back chairs around it. They were all made of black stone with tiny silver particles that sparkled when they caught the light from yet more massive candles in every corner of the room. It was much smaller than the previous hall and seemed more intimate, more like an actual room where people gathered to eat and talk. The windows still didn’t have any glass covering them but they were decorated with dark purple and gold embellished curtains that swayed just a little from the gentle breeze. The walls were covered in golden and silver symbols, shapes and drawings which caught the light and played with it. They certainly love glitter here, Ava thought as she sat on the chair one of the guards had pulled out for her. It was surprisingly comfortable even though it was entirely made of that weird black stone.
   Zeus waved his hand at the guards who turned around and closed the door behind them without uttering a word.
“This is my unofficial welcome to you,” Zeus began, relaxing in his chair. “Tomorrow there will be an official gathering in the Crown Room so that everyone can extend their welcome and best wishes.” He fell silent and waited, but nobody said anything. Blake was looking at Ava with obvious concern; Jason, his elbows on the table and his hands under his chin, was staring at Zeus with a blank expression on his face, Ava was looking down at the table top, gliding her hand on the smooth surface and frowning.
Sensing the uncomfortable silence, Zeus continued, softening his tone, “I want to apologize on behalf of my wife and everybody else who was involved in this… plan.” He spat the last word as if it were a bitter sip of wine. Ava doubted he’d ever drank anything even remotely resembling cheap wine. “I know how hard it must have been for you, Ava, to be thrown in the middle of this…”
“You don’t know anything,” said Ava, her fingers still making circles on the table top in front of her, her voice low and hard. “You have no idea how I feel. I have just buried my best friend because of your stupid games.” She took her eyes off the table and looked straight at Zeus who was watching her with knitted eyebrows. Blake stiffened beside her as if getting ready for a fight, and Jason leaned back in his chair, folding his arms in front of his chest. Ava knew she was out of line talking to the King of Gods that way, but she couldn’t help it. In a way, that was the person responsible for Posy’s death, for her being dragged away from her family and her life. She couldn’t care less how he was going to react, she’d been through hell already and there was nothing he could do to hurt her any more.
“You’re right,” he said after a long pause. All three of them looked at him in surprise because that was the last thing anyone expected. “I have no idea how you feel. All I know is that I didn’t know any of this and I had nothing to do with it. Those responsible are being punished.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. Someone else’s suffering doesn’t make mine any easier.”
“What do you want me to do, Ava?” Zeus asked, leaning forward and extending his bare arms on the table. His voice was so warm and gentle that Ava felt her resolve crumble. Maybe it really wasn’t his fault; after all, Hera did all this behind his back.
“I want to go home,” she said as her eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry but that’s the only thing I can’t do.”
“Why not?”
“Because your Fate is to live here in the Kingdom of Heaven. You’re destined for much greater things than a simple human life.”
“I’m not going to marry you,” Ava said, instinctively leaning back towards Blake’s arms.
Zeus eyed them with a frown. “I know that. But you love my son. Don’t you want to stay here with him?”
“He’s not immortal anymore. We want to spend our lives together on Earth as mortals.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not what you are destined for.”
“How do you know? How can you be sure what my Fate holds when you’ve been so wrong before?” Ava asked, blinking back tears.
“The Moirae are indebted to me, considering they helped my wife in her cunning plan. Instead of punishing them, I decided to let them redeem themselves. Now they are my strongest ally,” said Zeus, an arrogant smirk appearing on his lips. “They told me that you’re destined to be here, Ava. You are far more important than you think.”
Ava shook her head unable to believe that she, a simple human being, was so important that Zeus himself wanted to keep her prisoner in his Kingdom. A tear rolled down her cheek as she questioned: “What about my family? They’ll look for me.”
“I’ve taken care of that,” Zeus said with a dismissive gesture.
“How?” Ava asked, panic rising inside her.
“Their memories of you have been erased. Everybody who’s ever known you has been made to forget. All records of you ever existing have been destroyed.”
Ava felt her vision blur and her ears began to ring. Anger, mixed with desperation and grief while helplessness burned inside her, barely contained. Finally it had become too much for her. She’d been so strong the past few days, and dealt with so much without allowing herself to succumb to fear or grief. Ava realized none of it mattered anymore because all she’d ever done had been for nothing. Her whole life had been effectively deleted.
            “How dare you?” Ava asked, raising her voice and not bothering to hide the menace in it. “You have no right to drag me in your stupid, petty quarrels. It’s not my fault you’re married to a jealous, conniving bitch or that you can’t seem to keep it in your pants. That’s your life, your choices and I refuse to be a puppet in your games. I’m entitled to my free will, if nothing else, and you can’t erase that like you did with my whole earthly existence.” Ava stormed out of the room, tears streaming down her face, shaking with anger and frustration.

Jason had never seen Zeus look so stunned, so genuinely surprised and shocked before. He didn’t even move during Ava’s outburst, not even when she ran out and Blake followed her, none of them asking for permission to leave. It took him several minutes to compose himself after they had left and, Jason suspected, decide how to react. He could easily send the guards after them, but Jason doubted he would.
“That was interesting,” he finally said, a smile playing on his lips. “Is she always like this?”
“Pretty much,” said Jason, still unsure of what would happen next.
“Asclepius, I want you to know that you are safe here. You can stay as long as you want,” said Zeus and that was the last thing Jason expected to hear.
“Why?”
“Well, this is your home, isn’t it?” said Zeus, but when Jason didn’t seem convinced he continued: “I’m eternally grateful to you for saving Ava. It put me in a terrible position with Hades, as you can imagine, but I managed to handle him. If you hadn’t done that, I’d have never known about any of this, I’d never have been able to fulfill my Fate.”
“But can’t you see? Your Fate has changed. It’s not the same as it was centuries ago. Ava wasn’t meant for you. She loves your son.”
“Yes, she does,” said Zeus, his brown eyes catching the flame from the candles and trapping it there. “For now.”
Jason shook his head disapprovingly but didn’t say anything under his King’s scrutinizing gaze. “Oh, and by the way, to prevent any trouble in the future, can I have Athena’s kérma back? I don’t want to deal with my obnoxious brother again if you decide to be the hero of the day and bring any more souls back.” Zeus extended his hand waiting for Jason to place the priceless coin in it. The healer hesitated for two seconds too many.
“Asclepius, don’t test my patience. It’s wearing thin this evening already. Give it back now or I’ll tell Ava how you chose to send her beloved cousin and only true friend to the Underworld so that Ava can have the happily ever after she deserves.” Zeus never raised his voice but his eyes radiated so much menace that Jason remembered why he’s been the King of all Gods for so long without anybody challenging him and placed the kérma in his hand.
The inscription προφύλαξη ψυχή – “soul saver” – shone brightly in contact with Zeus’ palm, recognizing the King’s power and surrendering to it.
Jason was soul saver no more.

“Ava!” Blake shouted when he saw her collapsing on the floor. He sat next to her and enveloped her in his arms while she sobbed. Feeling her body shake made him so angry. She didn’t deserve any of this. Everything she said in there was right – she was an innocent human girl, caught in the cross-fire between self-obsessed, cruel, selfish gods. And now she was being held against her will in a foreign world, still just a piece in a puzzle.
Zeus didn’t have any intention of ever letting them go, at least not Ava. Blake had never seen him so careful with his words, so calculating, so indifferent to insult. There was a plan brewing somewhere, a very clever plan, and Zeus liked his plans to go without a glitch.
“The King has sent me to show you to your bedroom,” said a guard, appearing out of nowhere. “Please, follow me.” Without waiting for Blake’s answer, the guard turned on his heels and walked away from them. For a second, Blake thought of refusing the bedroom, of taking Ava away from the palace, but he knew it wouldn’t be so easy. Zeus wanted her here and he, a mere mortal, could do nothing about it. They both desperately needed some rest so he decided to playing along with Zeus’ plan while taking advantage of staying in the palace and keeping a close eye on his father. Keep your enemies close, right?
            What worried him most was that Zeus was probably using the same strategy. He was keeping them, or rather him, here to be under his control. He obviously knew about the choice he had made by saving only Ava, so why hadn’t he used that to break them up the moment they arrived? It was surely the easiest option. Blake hated being part of their games yet again so he made a mental note to confront his father and make him come clean.
            The guard was almost out of view. Blake turned his attention back to Ava and seeing that her sobs had subsided a little, he scooped her up in his arms and took her to their bedroom.

Saturday 3 November 2012

Growing pains and Book II names....

I'm so excited to be able to show you this photo at last!





Yep, this is the finished manuscript for Unfree - the sequel to Humanless. I'm shipping it off to the editors next week and hopefully it will be published on Amazon very soon!
Writing a sequel has been a completely different experience than writing the first book. With Humanless I was free to procrastinate as much as I wanted and didn't have any expectations to match. With Unfree I knew I had to write a better book and develop the story further on so many levels. I didn't have any readers when I published Humanless because it was my first full-length novel but now there are so many lovely people who liked it and who have been so incredible and supportive. I owe it to them to write a good book and continue the story. All that put pressure on me and I was putting off writing it, finding an excuse after excuse for the 'lack of time'. But then, just like in the movies, I woke up one lovely, sunny morning (which is a miracle on its own since I live in London) and thought: 'Enough is enough! I need to finish this book because otherwise my head is going to burst'. The story was there, I just needed to get a grip, sit on my butt and write it.
So I did. I wrote for hours on end each day, completely ignoring my family, my friends, TV, etc. I booked an editor and a cover artist so that I knew there was no way out of this - this book was getting written if it killed me. I even invented a reward system - if I wrote 5000 words today, I'd watch 2 'White Collar' episodes tonight. And it worked. The above photo is the proof.
Finishing Unfree felt so exhilarating! I'm walking around with a huge grin on my face and feel so good! It was hard starting over - going from a finished, edited and polished manuscript back to staring at the blank Word document. But I pulled through and overcame the 'second book blues'.
To everyone who emailed me or sent me a message via Twitter of Facebook, etc - THANK YOU! You gave me the push and support I needed and if it weren't for you (and Neal Caffrey) I wouldn't be holding a finished manuscript in my hands right now.
I can safely say that it would get easier from now on. I know I can't wait to sit down and write the final book and I also have 2 more ideas pending - one of which is for contemporary romance. I absolutely love writing, despite all hardships, and if I had any doubts that I'll be able to do this as a full time job for the rest of my life, I have none now.
Hopefully next week the cover will be ready because I know it's going to be great and I can't wait to show it to you!

Tuesday 30 October 2012

Book 2 teasers

I was hoping I would be able to reveal the cover and name for Book 2 in the Humanless series last week but my cover artist fell ill and couldn't finish the cover. Let's send her lots of positive thoughts and hope she'll feel better this week!
Until then, I've published 3 teasers on Humanless Facebook page and for those of you who haven't read them there, here they are:

Teaser #1

“Ava, I presume,” he said and Ava nodded. “So you are the one causing all the trouble?” he asked with a smirk.
“No, sir,” she said. “I believe that’s your wife.”
Zeus laughed wholeheartedly at her remark and bowed to kiss her hand.
“I believe you are right,” he said. “Please follow me.”


Teaser #2

“I can never love you or give the ‘happily ever after’ Fate you dream of.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re cruel, manipulating, controlling and deceitful I don’t think I can ever trust you enough.”


Teaser #3

“Ava!” Blake shouted when he saw her collapsing on the floor. He sat next to her and enveloped her in his arms while she sobbed. Feeling her body shake made him so angry. She didn't deserve any of this. All she said in there was right – she was an innocent human girl, caught in the cross-fire between self-obsessed, cruel, selfish gods. And now she was being held against her will in a foreign world, still just a piece in a puzzle.


Sunday 28 October 2012

Humanless - free today for the last time ever!

Hey guys!
Humanless is free today only (Sunday, 28 Oct) for the last time ever! If you still haven't downloaded your copy - now is your last chance to do it for free. And with book 2 out next month you won't have to wait that long for the sequel.
I have decided to publish both books for Nook, Kobo and iTunes as soon as my KDP deal expires so more people will have access to them. Unfortunately, that means no more free promos for Kindle... But don't worry, I have lots of .99 cents promotions scheduled, as well as some fab giveaways to celebrate the launch of book 2!
Anyway, here are all the links is you want to download Humanless for free today:


USA and worldwide
UK
Germany
Italy
Spain
France

Friday 5 October 2012

LAFS

I've been interacting with my readers a lot recently (thanks to everyone who got in touch, it means the world to me!) and a common topic we've been discussing is Love at First Sight. Or LAFS. It all originated from Blake and Ava's LAFS which many people think happens only in books/movies and although there's nothing wrong with that (they are book characters after all), people feel it's not very believable. I personally don't have a problem with believable, I always like to escape the real world when I read, but others do and it turned to a very girly discussion with lots of giggles (I can only imagine they were giggling because of the many LOLs). We discussed Attraction at First Sight or AAFS (not as catchy as LAFS I'm afraid), we shared many shirtless hot guys pics and drooled mused over both AAFS and LAFS.
In the end, I had to share my story. They say authors write what they know, and it's true one way or another. We put a piece of ourselves in every character whether we want it or not. Ava is privileged, annoying, rude, spoiled and grumpy which is miles away from my sunny self, but unwillingly I had to make her fall in love fast and hard. Just like I did.
I met my husband nine years ago at a party. It turned out our names were the exact male-female versions of each other (meant-to-be point one). We danced and made out all night and in the end all I knew about him was his name, age and phone number. I couldn't stop thinking about him and I felt it was different than other "party dates" I've had (meant-to-be point two). He texted the next day; I replied. We exchanged texts for a week before I saw him again. It felt... good. It felt as if I've known him forever (cheesy, I know, but it's true). I was relaxed in his company. I felt safe; home (meant-to-be point three).
We spend the weekend together and I didn't see him for three weeks after that. We texted and talked on the phone though. Then he invited me to spend my holiday with him in London. It was the best holiday ever! I met his friends; we went sightseeing, cooked and watched TV together. It felt so amazingly right.
When I left my heart broke. I couldn't stop crying for days. I never said anything to him, I didn't want him to think I was some lunatic throwing tantrums over somebody who I'd met three times in my life and knew for less than two months. But I knew he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
After two more (agonizing) weeks, he invited me to London for the weekend. And out of nowhere suggested I move in with him.
I agreed.
We've been together ever since.
I turned my back on everything I knew for him. I left my family, friends, job, everything. I felt it was the right thing to do with every fiber in my body and nobody could convince me otherwise.
Looking back, I realize I was young and stupid and maybe I shouldn't have trusted someone so quickly. He might have turned out to be a serial killer or worse. But I trusted my intuition completely and I'm so glad I did.
I do have a point with all this rom-com ramblings. LAFS doesn't exist only in movies and books. It does exist in real life. It's one of those phenomenons that no one knows why or how they happen or can find a cure. It's beautiful yet terrifying and it's very rare. It doesn't happen to a lot of people and sometimes even if it does they are too blind to see it. I feel so blessed and so lucky to have found my soul mate that way. And I'm going to continue writing about it until my fingers turn blue.
Because it's absolutely worth it.

Thursday 20 September 2012

"Life's a journey, not a destination..."

I believe everyone has a song that it's not only their favourite, but they wish they'd written it. No? Is it just me then?
Anyway, I heard this song a while ago (back in the '90s to be precise) and instantly fell in love with it. I can't say that it's my favourite song - I don't think I have a favourite song, too many to choose from - but it's definitely the one I wish I've written.
So here it is. Enjoy and sing it in the shower this weekend :))))

Amazing
Aerosmith


I kept the right ones out

And let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy
To see me through all my sin
There were times in my life
When I was goin insane
Tryin' to walk through the pain
When I lost my grip
And I hit the floor
I thought I could leave
But I couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired
Of livin' a lie
I was wishin' that I would die
Its amazing 
With the blink of an eye
I finally saw the light
Its amazing
That when the moment arrives
You know you'll be alright
Its amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer
For the desperate hearts tonight
That one last shots a permanent vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings
Lifes a journey not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings
You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen 
To all that rightous talk
I was out on the street
Tryin'a survive
Scratchen to stay alive
Its amazing 
With the blink of an eye
I finally saw the light
Its amazing
That when the moment arrives
You know you'll be alright
Its amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer
For the desperate hearts tonight





Thursday 6 September 2012

Interview & a chance to win a free copy of Humanless

Check out my interview with the lovely Laurie at Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews! Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Humanless.
That's how it goes...


Tell us about your current release.

It’s the first book of a new paranormal YA series called Humanless, aimed at older readers. It’s set in London, for the most part, and it’s inspired by Greek mythology. But it’s not your usual myths and tales. I’ve changed and mixed them up so much, you won’t even recognize them.

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story makes you feel. It doesn’t matter if it makes you laugh, cry or shout, or if you want to throw the book against the wall. If it extracts a strong reaction – it’s a good story.

What does your significant other and family think of your writing career? Do they read your stuff?

The only person that reads my stuff is my sister who’s constantly nagging me to sit down and write because I have a huge tendency to procrastinate. My husband has never read anything I’ve written for some inexplicable reason. I might have to actually tie him up to a chair and make him read the book and threaten him that it’s either that or the whole 5 seasons of The vampire diaries.

To read the full interview as well as an excerpt click here.

Sunday 2 September 2012

Blog hop with many prizes!

Another event I'm taking part in is a blog hop organized by Laurie's amazing blog Laurie's Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews and hosted by I am a reader, not a writer and Buried in books.



It runs between Sep 1 to Sept 7 and there are 8 giveaway lots with many fabulous books. All you have to do for your chance to win is fill a simple form on the blog.
Good luck everyone!

Saturday 25 August 2012

Scavenger hunt with Night Owl

I'm so glad to be a part of this year's huge Halloween scavenger hunt organized by Night Owl. There are so many prizes ranging from $15 Amazon gift cards (there are loads of them trust me) to a Kindle Fire. It's a great initiative connecting and benefiting readers and authors all over the world.
If you want to be a part of this and win a prize, just click here and fill as many blanks as you can - it maximizes your chance of winning!
Good luck to everyone and happy hunting!


Wednesday 22 August 2012

Free 2-day Promo!

Humanless will be free again today and tomorrow (22nd August and 23rd August) so don't miss your chance to download it! Please spread the word.
It's free on all Amazon sites, here are the links:

USA and worldwide
UK
Germany
Italy
Spain
France

Happy reading!

Friday 3 August 2012

Huge giveaway with many incredible prizes!

This weekend is the 3 month anniversary of Humanless' publication! I can't believe how time has flown. Three months ago, Humanless was a word file on my hard drive and 2 people in the whole wide world had read it. Today, it's a bestselling book, top 10 in its categories on several occasions in many countries including Germany, Italy and UK. I'm so grateful for every single person who's bought the book and gave some of their precious time to read it! A big, big thank you to everyone who contacted me via twitter, facebook, email or blog to say they enjoyed it - you are awesome guys!
To celebrate the 3 month anniversary I'm holding a huge giveaway with amazing prizes.


1. T-shirt
2. Baseball cap
3. 3 x magnet calendars
4. Keyring
5. Notebook
6. Pen
7. 5 x bookmarks
8. 5 x postcards
9. 5 x copies of Humanless

23 prizes in total! They all have the image of Humanless' cover printed on them and since it's one of a kind, hand-drawn picture by a very talented artist, it's a piece of art on its own. So, for your chance to win any of these prizes, you have to do one (or all) of the following:

1. Tweet about Humanless and tag me in the tweet ( @Teodora_Kostova ) so that I can see it.
2. Write a post about Humanless on Facebook or share one of mine with your friends. ( Humanless FB Page / Teodora Kostova FB page )
3. Post a review of Humanless on Amazon (all Amazon sites are fine), Goodreads, Shelfari or Authors.com.
4. Follow this blog and leave a comment under this post to let me know.

The contest is open NOW and will close on 19 August 2012. I'll draw the winners completely at random on 20 August and publish the results here announcing it on Twitter and Facebook.

UPDATE: Due to popular demand the contest is open for one more week until 26/08/2012!!!

Good luck to everyone and a big THANK YOU for your support, you've been truly phenomenal!



Tuesday 31 July 2012

Interview and guest blog post for Night Owl

I was invited to do a guest blog post for Night Owl as well as an author interview and become one of their feature authors. Here's a snip of my blog post:


The idea for Humanless came to me out of nowhere. I truly don’t remember how it happened; I just know that I had a scene stuck in my head and I couldn’t get rid of it. Little by little I started to get to know the two characters in my scene and I realized there was much more to them than just that particular episode. I’m also a huge Greek Mythology fan, and since the scene I had in mind had nothing to do with mythology or any other paranormal elements, I decided to sprinkle some magic over it. And voila, in a few months I had the first draft of Humanless, which by the way wasn’t called that at the time (the title was another light bulb moment but we’ll come back to that later). I used my own knowledge of the Greek gods and myths to complete the first draft. However, I’ve always wanted to write a book that smashed well-known tales to pieces and since mythology is just that – tales and myths, not scientific facts – I wanted to play with them a little bit and maybe put a seed of doubt in the readers’ mind. In order to break the rules, you have to know the rules very well. So, the reading began. I read every book about Greek mythology I could get my hands on; for months on end that was all could talk about. My friends stopped calling because they weren’t interested where the word “Echo” comes from or why spiders knitted webs. So many things in our day to day life can be explained with one (or three) Greek myths and when I saw an opportunity to do so, I couldn’t help myself. 

To read the full article, an excerpt from Humanless and for a chance to win a free copy, click here.

As for that interview... You can read the whole thing here.

Night Owl are also organizing a huge scavenger hunt starting 1st September. There are many prizes including books and amazon gift cards. I'll be posting the details by the end of August so watch this space.


Monday 23 July 2012

La Bella Italia part II


So I’m back in London and the weather here has been a shock to all my senses which had just adapted to the 98% humidity and extreme heat in Italy. Due to the non-stop rain, my lawn looks like a virgin forest and due to the same non-stop rain, I can’t mow it. But anyway, let me get back to Italy, at least in my mind…
The last few days of my holiday were amazing. For some reason it didn’t seem that hot anymore – I don’t know if I was used to it already or if the temperatures actually went down a bit. We went to Aqualandia – the biggest aqua park in Italy, which was a short 15 minute walk from our hotel. The park is gorgeous! It’s so well kept with enormous pools, man-made beaches, lawns and trees.




 There’s something for everyone – a huge shallow pool with easy slides for the children; 

more sophisticated slides for children and grown-ups alike, super extreme slides for adrenaline seekers 

and pools with bars at the sides for those who can’t be bothered to go on the slides. *ahem* 

A family can spend the whole day there and none of them would be bored. There’s the possibility that you’ll want to come back – if that’s your case (I know that was our case), they give you special bracelets when you go out and next time you come back wearing the bracelets you get a discount of the entry ticket! So we went back the next day, to my son’s ultimate delight, and it was just as much fun as it was the first time.
The thing with Italians is that they don’t like exact schedules and timetables. On Wednesday night we heard there would be an air show right above our hotel the next day and logically we wanted to know what time it would start. The receptionist said: “In the afternoon.” “OK,” I said, “but what time?” She looked at me as if I was crazy and said: “What do you mean what time? In the afternoon!” That’s enough of a guideline for them – some time in the afternoon. It doesn’t matter that it’s an air show and they have to clear the beach, book free air space and everything else they do for air shows.
So, in the afternoon, swimming leisurely in the pool, we heard the planes coming. So many different kinds of military planes, people carriers and helicopters. They started flying in elaborate figures right above our heads with smoke coming out their rear. The smoke quickly turned into shapes, which drew more than a few gasps and cheers from the people watching. For us it was an extra special occasion because it was our anniversary and we spend it watching an air show in the hotel pool. My husband even joked that he orchestrated the whole thing when two planes made a heart shape  and a third passed through it like an arrow. The best anniversary ever, if you ask me!


That evening we took a late stroll on the beach of Jesolo. It's so busy during the day, but during the night it's very peaceful and romantic. It's not scorching hot anymore and the gently breeze only adds to the pleasure of the walk.


Unfortunately, the next day we had to go back home. You know how travelling back home brings back the stress you worked so hard on banishing the last 2 weeks? Well, it wasn’t like that for us! We travelled with Thomson and I’m not getting paid to advertise them but we’re not going on holiday with anybody else ever again. It’s our second time with them and both times it’s been stress-free, convenient, on time and enjoyable.
The sun is out today in London which means only one thing – I’m off to mow the lawn.