My Butterfly Moment and This Months Amazon Gift Card Winner!

Thank you to everyone who commented on this month's contest! It seems everyone has something to be grateful for!

My year has been an amazing one. I started 2012 by sending my book out to publishers and agents in the hope of having someone fall in love with the characters and story want to publish it. After months of trying, failing, crying, and almost giving up, my final dream came true.  My debut novel, A Heart Not Easily Broken, was published in September and  became an Amazon Bestseller within hours! Two dreams came true in one day! Thanks to everyone who has purchased, read, reviewed, talked about, and shared my  book with your family and friends, it has really meant a lot!

As of now, I am winding up my final read of the second book in the Butterfly Memoirs Series, Jaded. If you've read A Heart Not Easily Broken, you know that Ebony Campbell's best friend, Yasmine Phillips, was not left in a happy place.  She's been betrayed, heart broken, and left feeling very insecure. Jaded is her story.  I think readers will be surprised to learn about Yasmine's history. She came across as selfish and  a bit loose in the first book, but I think once you hear her story, you'll be pleasantly surprised. In fact, her actions at the end of AHNEB took a lot of readers by surprise!

Never judge a book by it's cover....

Speaking of which, I now have the cover, for Jaded (YAY!!!) and can not wait to share. But that will happen in a few more weeks, along with sneak peeks of the book. I'm am super excited and ready to share, so look out, they'll be coming your way soon!

And now the winner of the $10 Amazon Gift card is......

CARRIE!!!!! 

Congratulations! And yes, not to  many people can say their child was born on their wedding anniversary! Talk about timing! LOL! I'll be getting in touch with you soon. Keep an eye out for your email! 

MJ

The Goodreads Review that Made My Day!

A well-written and honest book review can be hard to come by. As an author, and a new one at that, it always makes my day to see what people who have purchased a copy of my book have to say. While every numerical ranking, (3, 4, 5, and even those dreaded 1 and 2 Star Reviews), is appreciated, it never takes the place of readers thoughts.

When I write, my goal is to pass a message of hope, love, and the ability to overcome and recover from life's trials, to my readers. Receiving a review showing my message was took to heart and the reader was affected by it makes the years invested into writing Ebony and Brian's story worth while!

With that said, I am sharing a portion of a review I received on Goodreads...(Follow the link at the end to read the rest!)

♡Meme♡'s review

Nov 19, 12

bookshelves: interracial-love, series-books, musician,worthy-male, worthy-female, racial-issues, friends-turn-2-lovers, rape

Read from November 18 to 19, 2012

Ok first off I have to say this... To all moms with girls please talk to your daughters about sexual abuse and about being safe and thinking with you head first instead of your heart. Not all guys are trustworthy always go with your gut filling and please please girls girls talk to your moms, don't hold anything back and never be afraid to tell on someone no mater what they hold over your heads, having heart ache and going through a trauma is not something to be held inside TELL TELL TELL someone!!!

Ok not that I got that out... this was a wonderful I/R story, a short read but good nonetheless... This story was about a woman with goals and an agenda set for her life. College, job then become wife and mother... It was also a story about a man with similar goals, he is a hard working man with two jobs one to pay the bills and one to lead the way to his dream job as an musician. As they both work toward those goals there worlds collide and wham!

They were and awesome couple to read about. There growth from friends to lovers was so endearing and wonderfully done they made me smile a lot. I loved Ebony she was confident and sexy and sweet and loving and a very easy going, a person I could see as a close friend. Brian was H.O.T. of course they always make you fall in love with the men, but really I loved them both equally they were a well matched couple. I loved that he was hard working and I loved how the author incorporated what they actually did for a living. It was so neat to actually read about a Man that did gardening for a living it totally gave me a different look on it. You don't think about the gardner going to house to house and the muscles that end up aching from the day of mowing lawns... Ebony sure enjoyed it after there second meeting and he showed up at her house to do the lawn the shirt off the sweat dripping down his body sure did change her tune about him..lol There relationship was so sweet and so believable the insecurities, the trust, the love making, it all just was wonderful to read. 

(Read the rest of this Goodreads Review)

The hidden gem to this that really made my day was the pictorial collage created to share what she felt the characters looked like! I love it, especially since Paul Walker was who I modeled Brian's physical description after!

Well here is my couple and theme song 'Don't Be Afraid' By Mya Happy Reading...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muLWTf...

To Meme, wherever you are....THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HEARTFELT REVIEW!!!

For more wonderful reviews, check out my KINDLE BOARDS page, read the sample, then BUY a copy from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, iTUNES, or Smashwords, then leave your own review!


MJ