Shira Anthony's Blog - Posts Tagged "standalone"

Encore is now available for pre-order on the Dreamspinner Press website! Even better? It's on sale through Sunday, October 20th, along with all my other titles. Dreamspinner is having a sale to celebrate Gay Romance Literature Retreat 2013 (GRL), and all attending authors' books are discounted, including upcoming releases.

I'm having a great time at GRL here in Atlanta. The weather is cool, but the evenings are hot with great events sponsored by publishers like Dreamspinner Press. Lots of amazing authors here, books, swag, and other cool stuff. Tonight is a masquerade ball, and this afternoon is the big book signing event with featured authors (including me!).

I've got a few special bits of swag for Blue Notes Series fans, so be sure to stop by my table this afternoon if you're attending GRL. Just mention this blog post and the special swag, and I'll set you up. I've also got a limited number of cool Stealing the Wind t-shirts I'll give away to readers who mention this post until they're gone. XD

Haven't pre-ordered Encore yet? Here's the link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4353&cPath=55_484

And here's the blurb: A Blue Notes Novel

Cool kid violinist Roger Nelson doesn’t give a damn about anything. Wannabe conductor John Fuchs is awkward, effeminate, and just figuring out he’s gay. Despite their differences, they become friends—then lovers—and after college, they try to make it work. But it’s the 1970s, and Roger can’t bring himself to admit he’s gay. Worse, after his brother is killed in Vietnam, Roger tries to live up to his memory and be the perfect son. Then after suffering one tragedy too many, he makes the biggest mistake of his life: Roger pushes John away.

Through the years, they dance around the truth and in and out of each other’s lives, never quite able to let go. Twenty years later, Roger still carries the pain of losing his dream of a brilliant career with him, while John is a superstar conductor with a wild reputation. John’s off-stage antics get him plenty of attention, good and bad, though deep down, he wants only Roger. Finally determined to hold on to what really matters, Roger asks John for another chance, and when John panics and runs, Roger has to convince him to listen to his heart.

Note: Blue Notes Series novels are standalone novels that can be read in any order, so pick the book that speaks to you and start there! You can read an excerpt from the book here.

Happy weekend everyone! -Shira

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