What Are You Reading Wednesday

What are you reading Wednesday is something new I'm trying out for the blog. It's basically exactly what it sounds like. I share a little bit about whatever book I happen to be reading at the time, and if you like, you can share about whatever you're reading.

So, without further ado...

After finishing Wicked Cravings, the second book in Suzanne Wright's Phoenix Pack Series, I immediately went to Amazon and bought the first book in the series, Feral Sins. I usually try to read series books in order, but accidentally picked up the second book first. Needless to say, both books have been amazing and I highly recommend them. I am already eagerly awaiting the next book in the series (no release date that I can find).

Feral Sins blurb:

When female wolf shifter Taryn Warner first encounters Trey Coleman, an alpha male wolf shifter with a dangerous reputation, she’s determined to resist his charms. After all, Trey—who was only fourteen when he defeated his own father in a duel, winning the right to be alpha of his pack—can’t have anything to offer the talented healer besides trouble, or so she thinks. Taryn finds herself drawn in by Trey’s forceful demeanor and arctic-blue eyes, and she eventually agrees to enter an uneasy alliance with him. If the two succeed in convincing their respective packs that they’ve chosen each other as mates, Trey will win valuable political allies, while Taryn will escape an odious arranged mating.

But there are a lot of potential pitfalls to this plan—including the very real possibility that the wolf shifters, overwhelmed by their growing attraction to each other, will be unable to maintain the clear heads needed to pull off the deception.

So, what are you reading this Wednesday?

New Website and a Contest

I'm so excited to announce that my new website is live!!!

It's been months in the making, but the guys over at Create A Vision did a really phenomenal job. 


To celebrate, I'm holding a contest with a PDF of any of my books (winners choice) to a random commenter. To enter, reply here, send me a tweet, comment on my facebook page, or just send me a note through the Contact page of the website and let me know what you think of the new design. Goodreads messages work, too. Even haters can win, so be honest!

Contest ends on May 17th. 

Please spread the word! If I get a big response I'll pick multiple winners.

www.sondraebennett.com

Release Day!

It's here! The official release day for Kalindra! To celebrate, I'm over at Jennifer Lowery's blog with a Meet the Characters interview. Stop on by and "meet" our two leads, Kalindra and Cameron. Don't forget to comment for a chance to win an ecopy!

http://jenniferloweryauthor.com/2013/05/06/meet-the-characters-with-sondrae-bennett/

Kalindra is now available at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iBooks, and digital bookstores everywhere!

What happens when a warrior woman meets her match?
Harpy Kalindra stumbles upon three human corpses who’ve mysteriously crossed from Earth into Outremer through the portal she guards. A human prisoner with two traveling vampires seems her only clue. She captures the man, and brings him back to her lair to discover the truth–not only why he came to Outremer, but how he got past the defenses of the gate. She expects answers. What she doesn’t expect is the intense attraction she feels for him…attraction he seems to share.

Cameron has a secret. For years, he’s used a shard of the gateway to cross worlds without detection–for his own gain. When the gatekeeper saves him from the clutches of vampires who want the shard, he learns she’s not just another monster from Outremer. He can’t resist his attraction to her human form, and before long he’s feeling more than simple lust for her.

Kalindra’s gateway comes under constant attack from creatures who want what Cameron has. The assaults are his fault, but he can’t hand over the shard, which is a family legacy. He must convince Kalindra he can help defend the gate…but how?

Snippet Sunday 5.5.13

Since Kalindra was just released this week (squeeee!), I decided it was the perfect book to share a snippet of.  

Her nipple hardened under his touch. Now wasn't that interesting? He slid his thumb over the peak, and felt her breath catch before she shoved away from him. 

"Damn it. I could've killed you. You have to pay attention!" But the tension of her posture felt more sexual than angry.

"Oh, I'm paying attention." 

Kalindra is available now from Amazon. For More information about me or my books, check out my website at www.sondraebennett.com.

I Can't Believe I Forgot...

...to mention my website project in my update post! I have been working with a company, Create A Vision, on a complete new website design. The new website is going to be sleek, professional, and, having seen the finalized design, really freaking awesome! The old website is currently still in place, but the new website should be live sometime this weekend! I'll let you all know when it launches so you can check out the new site!

Early Release and a Pile of Nerves

Today, I noticed that Amazon released my latest book, Kalindra (Gatekeepers), a couple of days early! At first, excitement filled me!

Then the nerves hit. See, the release day nerves never really go away. At least, not in the past six books. And I doubt they ever will. No matter how many books I publish. Because there will always be those questions in the back of my mind. What if readers don't like this one? What if I let my readers down? What if no one even buys this one?

These questions are only amplified with the release of my latest book, Kalindra. Why is this release particularly nervewracking? One, because this is my first release outside of the Alpine Woods Shifters series. I can't help but fear readers won't make the jump with me to a different world, with all new characters, creatures, and plots. I hope they will. I truly feel that those readers who love my Alpine Woods Shifters will fall just as deeply in love with Kalindra and Cameron. They are really fun characters with a great sense of humor and a real connection between them.

So am I excited about the release of Kalindra? Hell yes! But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit scared as well. For now, all I can do is wait and see (and wish and hope).

Life Updates

So, I realize I haven't posted in what feels like forever. Truthfully, I've debated more than once with myself in the past few months about whether or not to delete this blog altogether. But I always talked myself out of it, for two main reasons. One, when I was blogging and visiting blogs consistently, I really loved it. And two, I like the idea of having a place I can potentially connect with readers (you know if I get on top of posting regularly). So in the end, I decided to keep the blog, but I thought it would be nice for me to explain, at least a little bit, what has kept me away the past few months.

1. Get Healthy - This has been a big one for me. I have been exercising more, and have put a huge effort into losing weight and getting healthy. I am currently working with a nutritionist and on a diet. So far I've lost 12 lbs (and counting) and feeling better than I have in a long time. It's amazing, but I feel more awake than I have in years. As if part of me has been in hibernation and is suddenly not only awake, but rearin' to go. And a few weeks ago I completed (walking) my very first 5k! Not only that, but I loved it! I'm already looking for more that I can do in the upcoming months.

2. New Job - A few months ago, I changed jobs. Still within the same company, but a job opened up in a whole new department, moving from full time to part time, and I knew I had to go for it to give myself more time to write. Theoretically, this would mean I'd have more time to write and blog and social network, right? Well, yes, except learning a new job is tough. I am just starting to feel like I know what's going on, and finally feel like I'm getting a handle of things. In addition, I have been pulling a lot of extra hours, both in my new job and my old one to get everything running smoothly and straightened out.

3. And of course...  Writing and Editing. You knew this one was going to be in there, right? I jumped straight from Kalindra edits into my next, and current, project, Bring Me to Life. Now, I know a lot of you are waiting on Laurie's story from the Alpine Woods Shifters, and I will post an update on that soon, but right now I'm working on another story that is really something special. Great, because it's going to be an amazing story, but not so great in that it's taking some time to get there. But don't worry, Laurie's story will have my full focus once I get Bring Me To Life written.

There have been other things occupying my time, of course, but these are the three big ones that have been the most draining/exciting/time consuming.

Thank you all for bearing with me as I get caught up!