Date for the Diary...

So Prime Deception has a release date! Yay! It will be available from Friday 28th March. I'm really excited to get the book out in to the big wide world and see what people think of it.

Hopefully I'll be appearing on some blogs closer to the release date so keep an eye on my Twitter and Facebook for updates.

As excited as I am for Prime Deception to be released it is daunting too as there is always a small part of me that fears that people will hate it. Writing is so personal, and when you publish you put a little bit of yourself out in the ether for people to scrutinize...being judged is scary!!

But I'm crossing my fingers that everyone will love reading the story as much as I loved writing it. It's all about love and just how far we are willing to go for those that we care most about.

Besides my book release I am moving house in less than two weeks! Eeek! Worryingly I've not started packing yet which is unlike me as I'm usually militant with any sort of organisation. I think I just don't like the idea of sitting around surrounded by boxes...

Still, March is set to be a crazy, eventful month and I can't wait to enjoy it all!

xoxo

Not All Stars Sparkle Set to Shine Again

2014 has got off to quite a hectic start. I've been busy preparing my CarinaUK debut, Prime Deception, which is set to be released next month. I'm excited to share the publication date and cover with you closer to the time!

Carina have also requested to re-publish my debut novel, Not All Stars Sparkle, along with it's sequel, Cradle to Grave.

It is all really exciting but it means I've spent a lot of time locked away working on revisions and also planning out my big YA trilogy which I should be able to talk about more in the not too distant future.

I love writing and I'm so pleased to be able to share more of my work with people. It's just that everything seems to come at once as I'm also moving house next month so in the process of packing away pretty much everything! Anyone who knows me is aware that I find change and upheaval a right royal pain so I'll be much happier once I'm settled in my new home!

I've also lost a fair amount of my life to Being Human which I started watching the other week on a whim and am now absolutely hooked!

I'll hopefully have some release dates to update everyone with soon so until then it's back to boxing up my life in anticipation of the big move!

Until next time,

xoxo

Reflections on 2013

Reflections on 2013

As the year draws to a close I think that like most people, I become a bit reflective and look back upon what has happened during the last twelve months as we bid farewell to yet another year…

2013 saw two family weddings, one selling of a house and a long awaited second Anchorman film!

A couple of things I learnt this year;

• ·         All of my coat pockets are full of dog poop bags, unused of course. Guess it’s one of the side effects of being a besotted dog owner!!

• ·         Yellow never was and never will be my colour, it makes me even paler if that’s even possible!

• ·         Blondes seem to have more fun, so far anyway…

• ·         You can never have too many shoes. I have pairs I’ve never even worn but continue to hold on to, waiting for that fabled event that they will just be perfect for.

• ·         Despite growing another year older, I feel I’ve regressed further in to childlike ways. My Disney DVD collection grew, my adult sensibilities did not. Peter Pan had the right idea; I’d love to never grow up!

• ·         Forging your own path can be tough. 2013 was the year I decided to dedicate my life to my writing and it can lonely, frustrating, stressful and manic but ultimately, I’ve never been happier.

On the topic of my writing, I’ve managed to accomplish a lot this year but know that 2014 is going to be an even bigger year for me! This year I;

• ·         Wrote six novels in my capacity as a freelance ghost writer

• ·         Wrote two novels of my own, one a sequel to my very first novel, the second a historical romance novel

• ·         My second book, Sunkissed, was published in August

• ·         I’ve signed with a large publishing company and will be releasing two more books next year

And upon looking ahead to 2014, as mentioned, I will be releasing numerous novels including politic thriller Prime Deception as well as looking to write and complete sequels to Sunkissed and another YA novel I’ve written, along with starting a new YA series all together.

So it looks set to be a very busy year! Outside of my writing I will be moving house and going to see Maroon 5, Backstreet Boys (with Kevin!!) and Justin Timberlake in concert throughout the year!

There is so much to look forward to! So with December, and of course both Christmas and my birthday, I can begin to wind down and enjoy all the trimmings of the season!

To all my friends and readers, I wish you all a truly fabulous Christmas and New Year! I hope you get everything you wished for and find that someone special beneath the mistletoe…xoxo

P.S if Santa was wondering what to bring me this year, my wish list never changes, all I want for Christmas is one Leonardo DiCaprio! ; P 

YA Bloggers are the Best!

Since Sunkissed's release I've been busy trying to drum up interest and generate as many reviews as possible and am so grateful to the numerous YA Book Bloggers who have been kind enough to take a chance on an unknown author and read and review the story.

It is incredibly tense waiting for reviews to come in but when someone loves your story and gets what you are trying to say it is an amazing moment. It justifies all the blood, sweat and tears which go in to writing a novel. All the moments of self doubt when you're sat alone at your laptop wondering if anyone will ever want to read the novel you are pouring yourself in to.

So thank you, to the bloggers who have been wonderful enough to share their reviews of Sunkissed. Below are some of my favorite comments;

'It was a truly magnificent read that deserves all the recognition it gets.' - @Little Memoirs

'If Snow White was a vampire she would be Dawn!' - www.kookiekrysp.com

'An exciting adventure that you won't be able to put down!' - www.curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.co.uk

I particularly love reading people's reactions to different characters, Thomas seems to have people divided! Anyone, massive thanks, keep reading and keep blogging! And thanks to those reviewers for the inspiration, my aim for 2014 is to complete Sunkissed's sequel, Sunburn!

Sunkissed in Paperback!

So excitingly, today my publisher informed me that Sunkissed is now available in paperback! As much as I love ebooks, I have to admit that there is something nice about being able to physically own a book.

There is an ongoing debate among readers as to whether ebooks or physical copies of books offer the best reading experience. I am hoping to join the digital revolution at the end of the year when Santa hopefully gets me a Kindle for Christmas. The benefits will be being able to own numerous books without having to physically store them somewhere.

But then, when I really adore a book I want to own it, want to be able to hold it in my hands and pass it on to friends to read and enjoy.

I don't think owning a Kindle will drastically change my reading habits I will hopefully just be able to read more books and then only buy paperback copies of the ones I truly love.

First Reviews...

The first reviews for Sunkissed have started to come in. It has been a tense time waiting to hear what people think of the story. Some YA book bloggers were kind enough to read Sunkissed and promote and review it through their blogs.

With reviews, you anticipate that there are going to be people who don't like it. Its such a subjective area and you can't please everyone, but for me, knowing that someone has read and enjoyed my book is a massive deal as ultimately that's why I write - so that others can lose themselves within the stories I create.

So when I read one of my first reviews, courtesy of Katie at Curse of the Bibliophile I was thrilled that she enjoyed the book and gave it 5 stars!

http://curseofthebibliophile.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/sunkissed-by-carys-jones.html

I know that not everyone will feel the same way, but its nice to know that someone out there loved reading the story as much as I loved writing it!

I look forward to getting more reviews and feedback from people. I've also commenced work on the Sunkissed sequel which is currently untitled.

Thank you to everyone who has agreed to read and review the story, I admire the time and dedication bloggers put in to their sites! And a massive thank you to Katie. It might be a typical rainy day here in England, but I'm smiling! : )

Waiting and Pacing...

Sunkissed is out which can mean only one thing...the inevitable pain of waiting on reviews! A couple of YA book blogs have been kind enough to agree to read and review the story and I just hope that they enjoy it! It is such a scary process to put your work out there and find out what people think of it. People might love it, then again, they might hate it. People's tastes are so subjective you can never tell what will happen.

With Sunkissed I just hope that people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Will all my books I just want to create stories that the reader can escape in to.

So I'm waiting on those first reviews to come in, once they do I can relax a little and stop pacing so much!!