Shira Anthony's Blog - Posts Tagged "coming-of-age"

Just a few more days until the first of two new Blue Notes Series releases! Encore , the fifth Blue Notes novel, is chronologically the first. It begins in the 1970s, when Roger Nelson and John Fuchs meet in high school, and ends in the present day. The story of modern day star-crossed lovers, Encore is both a coming of age and, later, an adult romance.

 

I'll be touring the web to celebrate Encore and the Blue Notes holiday novella, Symphony in Blue. On New Year's Eve, December 31st, at midnight, I'll be drawing winners for some really wonderful prizes, so be sure to check back here on release day to find out how to enter to win one! You can enter more than once, and you can get more than one entry for tweeting and posting about the contest, too. Prizes include:


Grand Prize: A Kindle loaded with the first 4 Blue Notes Series books and some of my other back titles
1st Place: A sterling silver music themed necklace
2nd Place: Winner’s choice of one of my back titles in paperback (i.e., not including the 2 new releases)
3rd Place: Blue Notes t-shirt, cover of the winner’s choice


Note: Prizes are for U.S. winners, but I will provide alternate prizes to overseas winners!

Here's a list of the currently planned stops on the tour and the dates of each stop:

November 11th (release day – Encore): Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words (Melanie Marshall)

November 12th: Live Your Life, Buy the Book

November 14th: Michael Rupured’s Blog

November 15th: Joyfully Jay (Blue Notes Cover Art – Interviews with the Artists)

November 18th: Elin Gregory’s blog

November 22nd: Aisling Mancy’s blog

November 26th: Andrew Q. Gordon’s blog

December 6th: Oscar’s Bruised Petals (Sandra Gardia’s blog)

December 10th: Brilliant Disguise (Tali Spencer’s blog)

December 16th: Rebecca Cohen’s blog

December 20th: Purple Rose Teahouse (Charlie Cochet’s blog)

December 23rd: Mrs. Condits and Friends

December 27th: Helen Pattskyn’s blog

Want to read an excerpt from Encore? Click here. You can pre-order Encore at Dreamspinner Press by clicking here.

I love spring! The frogs have been chirping at night, we're sleeping with the windows open, and I'm waking to birds singing in the morning. It was 86 degrees here yesterday and bright sunshine. Daffodils are in full bloom, as are the ornamental trees and bushes (Bradford pears, plums, forsythia). Now that the time has shifted back, I've been running in the local state park in the evenings after leaving my RL job, trying to get into shape for my first 10K in May. I'm about to shift from winter clothes to spring/summer, and attempting my usual half-assed spring cleaning.

Dreamspinner Press is doing a bit of its own spring cleaning. First, they're featuring one of my backlist books for a song (pun intended). Encore is available for 35% off list price the entire month of April. I personally think it's one of my best books ever. It was a Prism Book Alliance Recommended Read, and a The Romance Reviews Top Pick. Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words wrote, "I can’t say it enough, Encore is such a remarkable story. It is definitely one of the best of 2013. It is a symphony of emotions, its instruments the men Shira Anthony has created along with their deep love for music and each other. Encore will have you calling for a repeat performance from this incredible author. Brava, brava!" Live Your Life Buy the Book said, "After reading this story, I was on my feet shouting “Bravo!” Encore is a stunning portrayal of the human condition." And The Romance Reviews (TRR) wrote, "Where are more than 5 stars when you need them? Former opera singer Shira Anthony has outdone herself in this fifth Blue Notes novel…."

Encore is a standalone love story in the Blue Notes Series that spans several decades, from when the two main characters meet in high school until that last note (happily ever after) is played years later. Best friends to lovers, with lots of bumps along the way. Roger is a rebel and a gifted violinist who can't accept that he's gay, John is an aspiring conductor who has never doubted his sexuality. Coming-of-age story, contemporary romance, and the first, chronologically, in the Blue Notes Series, Roger and John pave the way for some of the other characters in the Blue Notes novels.

Another great sale at Dreamspinner? In stock paperbacks are 50% off right now! That's a better discount than we authors get. Of my books, Aria, Blood and Rain, Blue Notes (2nd ed), Dissonance, and Lighting the Way Home are all 50% off. Fantasy and sci fi are 30% off, which leads me to the upcoming release of Blood and Ghosts (Blood #2) in two weeks! You can preorder the book for 30% off. Haven't read book #1, Blood and Rain , yet? That one's also 30% off! Of you can check out my mermen books ahead of the June release of the final book in the series, Running with the Wind. The first two books in the series are 30% off right now.

Interested in a giveaway? I'm running a fun one ahead of the Blood and Ghosts release. Since the book has a time travel element, I've got a cool Dr. Who "Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey" pendant. You can enter the giveaway here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
There are three books planned in the Blood Series. For those of you who might have been putting off reading book #1 because it has a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, the second book ends with a HFN. And of course, you'll find a HEA at the end of book #3. Three, HEAs, to be precise! The last book in the series, Blood and Eternity, will be released in early 2016.

I'll leave you all with the blurb for Blood and Ghosts. Don't forget to enter the giveaway. I do enough of these over the year that just about everyone will win something if they keep entering. You know the old adage, "You can't win if you don't enter!" Seriously.

Happy spring, happy Easter, happy Passover! -Shira

~*~

Blurb for Blood and Ghosts:

Sequel to Blood and Rain

With vampire Nicolas Lambert’s marriage to a rival clanswoman only weeks away, Adrien Gilbert struggles to come to terms with his defeat at the hands of Verel Pelletier, a vampire hunter and an immortal like himself. Adrien and his former teacher, Roland Günter, begin to explore his newly acquired abilities. But without his soul’s sword, Adrien flounders.

On Nicolas’s wedding day, a two-hundred-year old secret is revealed, sending the wedding party into a blazing battle between hunters and vampires. Once again Adrien finds himself facing Pelletier’s superior strength. Just as Adrien believes all hope of a future with Nicolas is lost, he finally learns his true gift—he can turn back time. But time travel comes with a high cost. To save Nicolas, Adrien must become strong enough to use his power without descending into madness.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner eBook and Paperback