Top 10 ways to get on my keeper shelf

Last year I didn’t read half as much as I would have liked. This year I want to change that. I have a ton of books on my kindle I haven’t even opened yet and I’ve been sorting them into two categories — will DEFINITELY read, and… maybe later. Likely, I’ll never even attempt the maybe laters.

Based on the few books that I buy and devour because they hit all the right notes with me (normally I have the concentration of a gnat), I’d like to share the top 10 things which will indicate that I’ll (probably) enjoy a novel….

1. First person POV from heroine. I’ll read and enjoy third, but I prefer first.

2. A subtly evolving, but intense romantic subplot (with payoff). All this “lust at first sight” rarely works for me in a novel, but “awareness at first sight” is another thing all together. Slow, but steady wins the race. As far as “payoff,” well… I think you know what I mean. I’m very patient, but there better be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

3. An enigmatic, badass hero with secrets who could very easily be a bad guy, apart from his feelings about the heroine. Yes, please. The more screwed up the hero is, the more I like him. I don’t know what this says about me.

4. Pain. Sending a main character through intense pain — emotional and physical — really earns her/him my respect. Plus, it’s entertaining. I know, I’m a bit sadistic.

5. A love triangle. Love writing them, love reading them. Prefer 2 guys and a girl to the opposite. The heroine should always be the one to have this wonderful and horrible choice. I’ve rarely read the opposite.

6. A certain level of predictability. I like to be able to guess how a few things will turn out, especially with the romance. Don’t make me invest in a couple and then kill one off. I will not like you. Ever. Even if it’s done well.**

7. Twists and turns for everything else. Surprises that I can’t see coming — that still make sense in the context of the story — make me happy and turning pages.

8. Make me laugh. Even the darkest book needs to have some comic relief. Otherwise…how incredibly dreary. I’d rather watch the evening news for the same effect.

9. Make me cry. Grabbing me by the throat and making me feel the pain of the main characters is a guaranteed way to getting a spot on my keeper shelf.

10. Creative worldbuilding. I’ve read vampires, werewolves, and fairies many times before, but if I find a world clever and unique, I want to know more. More more more!!

**I should say, that they shouldn’t be killed off permanently. In a paranormal, there’s always the hope of resurrection. THIS IS OKAY.

Know any books that fit the bill? PLEASE recommend them to me to read in 2012! And please share what you look for in a book as well!

Demon Princess #3 is now available!!

I’m very happy to announce that REIGN FALL (Demon Princess #3) is now available! Getting this book out to readers has truly been a labor of love.

Love — because I love this story and these characters. Labor — because this is my first foray into self-publishing. I’m extremely happy with the results — I might do a blog post sometime soon on the interesting and detailed process of self-pubbing a novel.

I want to give HUGE thanks to my friends and colleagues who helped get it into shape through beta-reading, copyediting, proofreading, and formatting — they get a shout-out on the acknowledgments page. Also to the readers who remained optimistic that I would continue the series on my own. Some were a bit forceful with their opinion and their disappointment at the thought that I was going to end things with Nikki after the end of book 2 with so much unresolved… I totally understand. Nikki’s complete story HAD to be told, people! It HAD TO. And now it gets its chance.

REIGN FALL is my favorite book in the Demon Princess series and I had a blast writing it. Things are getting crazy for our little demon princess! What was hinted at at books one and two are really coming to a head. Romance, adventure, danger! This book definitely has it all. And I’ve certainly paid attention to what readers said about the first two. A character I wasn’t going to pay toooo much attention to is definitely moving more to the forefront to become a real contender for Nikki’s heart. I shall say no more.

And the story’s not over yet. There’s one more book to come, REIGN STORM, which I haven’t written yet, even though I know pretty much what’s going to happen. I will be working on that in my spare time and endeavor to make it available sooner than later.

I’ve received a couple lovely early reviews of REIGN FALL….

“This series is extremely fun, cute, exciting and enjoyable. If you have not picked up the first book yet you should definitely do that! Or you should just pick up all of Michelle Rowen’s books because her writing is like Pringles so once you start you can’t stop. I can never put the books down. I’m off to read it a third time.“ —Some Like It Paranormal (full review here)

“This has been a favourite YA series of mine since I read the first two books mid last year and I have to say I loved this as much as the others…A lot of secrets are revealed and those that were previously kept in the dark are now finding out the truth.” —Manda’s Movements (full review here)

Haven’t read books 1 and 2? I included a brief recap at the beginning of #3 in case you want to start here. I don’t think you’ll be too lost! However, both of the original books are still in print and available as ebooks.

So you might be asking yourself — where and how can I get my hands on REIGN FALL? I want to get reading!!

PRINT VERSION:

CreateSpace is producing the print versions — I picked a size that matches the original books so everything looks lovely and uniform on the shelf. I received a proof of this and was amazed at the quality! POD sure has come a long, long way in the last handful of years, so I’m very impressed and happy to make this format available to those who prefer a physical book to an ebook.

I’ve arranged for wider distribution on this than only Amazon, but it will take a little longer before the print version will be available through other venues (like B&N, Chapters, etc). For now, you can order it from CreateSpace and Amazon.com and it’s priced at $11.99 US.

EBOOK VERSION:

For the ebook version, wider distribution again will take a few weeks to process — I’ll add buy links to the Demon Princess book page when they become available (for Sony, Kobo, B&N, etc). At the moment, it’s available at Amazon Kindle and Smashwords for $3.99 US.

Check out my Demon Princess Facebook Page and/or my Michelle Rowen Facebook Page for information about the next book and talk about characters, sneak peeks, quotes, etc. Check out the Demon Princess FAQ. When I get some more copies of the print book I’ll be doing giveaways as well. Stay tuned!

This has been an incredible learning experience for me and I am happy to be able to provide Nikki’s continuing story for interested readers. I hope that you love the book!! Feel free to send me an email to let me know what you think of it!

Happy reading!

Michelle  xoxo

P.S. You can read the first three chapters here.

P.P.S. If you have a book review blog, please contact me if you’d like to review the ebook version of REIGN FALL!