EXCITING NEWS!

If you were a fan of my vampire themed novella Pitch, you're in for a treat. But before we get to the EXCITING NEWS let's go back a little bit. Back to May 15th, 2012 to be precise. 

On May 15th, between publishing A Ravishing Redhead and After Ever (the only other young-adult novel I've ever written), I released Pitch. I don't remember where I got the idea for a story about a snarky sixteen-year-old battling vampires, but I do remember it remains one of the easiest and downright fun novellas I've ever written.

Lola, in all her pain-in-the-ass glory, was a blast to write. She was tough. She was feisty. She was flawed. She said and did things I would never have the balls to do myself, and even when I left Pitch behind and focused solely on historical romance, she never quite left the back of my mind. 

A few weeks ago I reread Pitch. And I realized there was so much more to the story than what I'd written. So I sat down and started from the beginning. For those of you who loved Pitch, don't worry: everything that was in the original novella remains, with a few tweaks here and there. But now the story has been fully flushed out, the way it should have been from the very beginning.

And even though it has a new title, a new cover, a new release date, and a new length, the heart of the story remains the same: a young girl fighting forces beyond her control, struggling to survive in a world that has descended into madness. 

What is the new title, you ask? 

A NIGHT WITHOUT STARS

Sixteen-year-old Lola is a daredevil. She likes playing hooky, making out with bad boy Everett James, and stealing cars. The reason behind all of her rebellious antics? Because she can. But what can one girl do against a horde of murderous vampires?

Aided by her sometimes sober father, her best friend Travis, and Maximus, the mysterious stranger who appeared out of no where to save her life, Lola must accomplish what the rest of the human race has failed to do in the aftermath of the world wide massacre: survive.

But how do you survive when everything you know has been destroyed... and the one person you thought you could trust ends up being the most dangerous person of all?

I've already posted one excerpt on my Facebook page. For those of you who missed it, click here. Every Sunday leading up to the release (scheduled for January 2014) I'll post another excerpt. If you like what you read and you haven't already, make sure to add A Night Without Stars to your TBR list on Goodreads and help spread the word! 

But Jillian, I hear you asking, WHAT ABOUT THE COVER?! 

Oh man. The cover. I am in love with the new cover. Head-over-heels in love. In fact, I think it's my favorite cover ever. It's dark and simple and haunting and -- well, I won't say anymore. The cover reveal will be Sunday, December 15th. 

If you have a blog and would like to participate in the cover reveal, send me an e-mail (jaeaton@mail.com) or PM me on Facebook. Every blogger who participates will receive one free ebook copy to either keep for themselves or giveaway. 

As always, thank-you for all your love and support! Without the great reviews and the steady stream of e-mails asking about Lola, I don't know if I ever would have seriously pursued turning what I thought would be a little throwaway novella into a full length novel. You guys are the best! 

SNEAK PEAK: Prologue to Black

It's here! The sneak peak to the prologue of Black, the second novella in the Death Day Series, due out in October. If you have already read Pitch then you most likely have already read this, but for those of you who haven't -- here you go! 

Black: A Death Day Novella

PROLOGUE

They do not come for us on the first day, or the second, or even the third. It is worse that way, I think. If I am going to die I would rather my throat be slit from ear to ear than have my stomach ripped open and my intestines flop out. A death as quick and efficient as the five items or less lane at the grocery store. That is the best we can hope for now.

Like a cat toying with a mouse they taunt us from the shadows, letting us know by the flickering of their demon eyes and the slithering of their demon tongues they have not forgotten. They know we are here, cowering in the old abandoned gas station on Interstate 78. They know how many of us there are. They know exactly how much food we have left. How much water. How much hope. How much sanity.

Target breaks on the morning of the fourth day. Her tiny body contracted with hunger and desperation, she bursts through the doors and goes begging for her life in the darkness. They send her back in pieces.

I am tempted to go next. What do I have to lose? We will not survive this. With one rash decision I have damned us all. I know it. My companions know it. The monsters waiting outside know it. If I was a nobler person I would sacrifice myself. I would throw myself down on the flames of my sins and hope my death would appease the devils hiding in the dark.

Unfortunately for everyone else, I am far from noble.

So we keep waiting. We wait all day and we wait all night. We wait through the rest of the food and the last bottle of water. We wait until we are too weak to stand. Too weak to fight, which is funny, because we never would have been able to fight them anyways.

Sometimes they let you, though. It is their entertainment; to watch our puny bodies flail around as we try to defend our throats. Stupid. We are so stupid. Even now, when our numbers have dwindled from billions to mere hundreds, we remain dumb as rocks.

They say the fittest survive, but that’s not true. The lucky survive. And the lucky die. There is no rhyme, no reason. Nothing you can do or say to prevent what will happen to you.      

On the sixth day I know what I have to do. I may not die noble, but I sure as hell am not going to die stupid.

“I am going out,” I announce to the group. They look up at me, their bodies trembling with thirst, the whites of their eyes bulging with terror.

“Out?” says Vivi, the youngest of us all. “Why?”

I shrug. Why do anything? Why cower inside a gas station that stinks of stale sweat and fear? Why go outside to be ripped apart and put on display, like poor, stupid Target?

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Newton said that. A smart guy, Newton. My piss poor idea was the action that brought me here. What better reaction could there be than to face the dark? Chances are they won’t kill me outright. For some strange, unfathomable reason they seem to like me. My strong survival instinct amuses them. Or so I assume.

“Wait ten minutes,” I tell Vivi and the rest. “Then go out the back door and run like hell. It’s your best shot.”

Vivi’s strange colored eyes, one blue and one green, narrow to slits, reminding me of a viper. And reminding me that despite her diminutive size and tender years, this little viper will rip you open head to toe as soon as look at you. “No,” she says stubbornly.

“Fine.” I shrug again. “Do what you want.” There will be no heralding speeches from me. I am not a go out and get ‘em kind of gal. I am not a leader. Not anymore. I lost that title when I brought us here to die.  

“Don’t scream,” Vivi whispers before she melts into the shadows and disappears behind an overturned display of potato chips.

Don’t scream. Maybe it is the one promise I will be able to keep.

I crack my knuckles. Roll my neck until I hear it pop. Pluck the dagger out of my belt and hold it lightly in my right hand. Without looking back, I step out to meet my fate. 

Happy Labor Day!

I have a present for all you Lola fans out there. The description for Black, the second novella in the Death Day trilogy, is now available! And make sure to stay tuned, because on Friday, September 7th I will be posting an exclusive sneak peek of the prologue. 

Lola is one of the last humans left. Hidden away by her father when the Drinkers first struck, she is now a Nomad, traveling from ravaged city to ravaged city. Forced to steal what she needs to live during the few precious hours of daylight that remain, Lola becomes more desperate and daring by the day. When a terrible decision puts her at the mercy of those that took everything away from her, she must rely on the one person she cannot trust to survive: Maximus, the Drinker responsible for her best friend’s death.

Black, available on Amazon this October! 

 

Haven't read PITCH, the first novella in the Death Day Trilogy? Pick it up today at Amazon - it's free until 12AM! Just click on the book cover. What would be easier? 

get pitch for free

Pitch will be available for FREE on Amazon this Monday only. So while you're sitting around the pool looking for something to do, download it to your kindle/ipad/laptop/etc!

Sixteen year old Lola is a daredevil. She likes playing hooky, making out with bad boy Everett James, and stealing cars. The reason behind all of her rebellious antics? Because she can. But what can one girl do against a horde of murderous vampires?

Aided by her sometimes sober father, her best friend Travis, and Maximus, the mysterious stranger who appeared out of no where to save her life, Lola must accomplish what the rest of the human race has failed to do in the aftermath of the world wide massacre: survive.

But how do you survive when everything you know has been destroyed... and the one person you thought you could trust ends up being the most dangerous person of all.


Click HERE to get it from Amazon! After Monday it will go back to the bank breaking price of $0.99 -- so get it while it's hot! 

happy release day pitch!

PITCH IS OUT TODAY!

Phew. That feels good. It's funny -- when I started Pitch it was never supposed to be anything. I was stuck in the middle of rewriting a pivotal scene for After Ever (full length paranormal YA about life after death, TBR in June) and an idea just popped in my head. That idea became the prologue for Pitch and the rest - as they say - is history. I never thought in a million years I would write anything with vampires in it. Don't get me wrong, I love reading about them, but writing about them has never been my cup of tea. I think it works with this story because the vampires are secondary. Pitch is, above all else, a tale of beating the odds and surviving the impossible. Or at least, trying to. 

So if you're in the mood for   for a quick, action packed read with a snarky heroine, crazy ass vampires, a rescue mission from hell, and a sexy/mysterious bad boy (there's always gotta be one...) check it out! And because I suck at making Youtube videos that would make you want to jump out of your seat and go get Pitch right now, here are a few quotes instead:

Travis looked at me like I was nuts. "Don't you know the first rule of not getting killed by a crazy axe murderer? You never split up."  

         -------------------------------------------------------- 

“Going back in time is impossible. Turning invisible is impossible. Balancing the national debt is impossible. Blood sucking creatures that have been documented since the beginning of time across the entire world? Not impossible.” 
“Next you’ll be telling me they sparkle in the daylight.” 
“No,” Maximus said, giving me his first real smile. “Never that.”  

      --------------------------------------------------------- 

My dad rubbed his face. “Someone will come. Someone has to come.”
“Dad,” I whispered. “There isn’t anyone left.” 

       ----------------------------------------------------------

The idea came to me suddenly, like all great (and ridiculously crazy) ideas do. If it did work it would give Maximus one open shot where I could only pray he wouldn’t hit me by mistake. If it did not work I would most likely end up with a broken neck. Not great odds, but what else was I going to do? Wait for Prince Charming to come rescue me? I just wasn’t that kind of girl. 

So yeah -- check it out! Pitch is available on Amazon RIGHT NOW for only $0.99 -- and remember, even if you don't have a kindle you can still download it right to your computer or ipad or blackberry. 

JUST CLICK HERE

pitch me a quote II

A second quote from my upcoming YA vampire thriller Pitch, to be released on May 5th. 

"No one knows where they came from. Not exactly. Our government blamed the terrorists. The terrorists blamed the government. The government blamed the Jesus freaks. The Jesus freaks blamed the sinners. The sinners blamed the hippies. The hippies blamed the owners of gas guzzling SUVs. The owners of gas guzzling SUVs didn’t blame anyone due to the fact that they were the first to die. Turns out gas guzzling SUVs can’t go very far before they run out of gas. Go figure."

Add it to your Goodreads TBR by clicking here.   J

pitch me a quote

Starting today and going every other day until the May 5th release date, I will be posting one quote from Pitch, my first YA novel(la). Today's quote is taken from a conversation between Maximus (who speaks first) and Lola, the MC.

“Going back in time is impossible. Turning invisible is impossible. Balancing the national debt is impossible. Blood sucking creatures that have been documented since the beginning of time across the entire world? Not impossible.” 

“Next you’ll be telling me they sparkle in the daylight.” 

“No,” he said, giving me his first real smile. “Never that.”

Add Pitch to your Goodreads TBR list by clicking right here. 

Come on, you know you want too. :)  

the best of intentions...

Sometimes you have the best of intentions. And sometimes those intentions go awry, like they did with me. For those of you who follow this blog, you know that my next planned release was After Ever, a full length YA novel that explores life after death. Not to worry, AE will still be released in May. I'm super nervous excited, actually. I can't wait to introduce Winnie and Sam, the dynamic death dealing duo. But before AE, there will be Pitch, a novella length story about a girl named Lola and murdering vampires and the end of the world. I debated on whether to wait and release Pitch after AE, but ultimately decided to release it before. Why? Well, because it's ready to go while After Ever is still going through one last round of editing... And since I have only published historical romance so far, I like the idea of putting a taste of YA out there for readers to nibble on before my first full length novel is published.

So there you have it. For more information about what Pitch is all about click right here. If it sounds like something you would like to read, make sure to add it to your Goodread's TBR list! Pitch will be available on Amazon May 5th (happy Kentucky Derby day!). Prior to the release date I will be giving away four ARC's. If you are a YA Book Reviewer and are interested in receiving an advanced copy, please contact me via e-mail at jaeaton@mail.com.