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Out Now: Insurrection (Crystal 3)

Insurrection_Amazon etcHappy Saturday!

Insurrection (Crystal 3) is out now. I hope you’ll check it out. If you haven’t started Crystal’s series yet, book 1, Searchlight, is currently free at all online retailers.

You can view my Pinterest board for this series here. It’s ‘in progress’ so if you see any pictures that you think I should pin to the board let me know. I’m looking for a picture that would suit Luke’s character. He’s probably the hardest to ‘cast’.

As always, if you’re reading this series, get in touch to let me know what you think. I’d appreciate your feedback.

**Get your copy of Insurrection (Crystal 3) at Amazon UK, Amazon US, iTunes & Smashwords

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Pinterest – Check out the Crystal Series Cast

CrystalSocial Media really isn’t one of my strong points. I have Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts, but post only once in a blue moon. Ya’ll probably didn’t know I was on Pinterest, did you? I’m most active on Twitter, but I post book covers on Facebook, and I have started adding more pins on Pinterest. The picture on the right is the pin i chose for Crystal. I’m finding that I quite like Pinterest. The pictures of food…mmm. They make me salivate. It’s torture.

Anyway, I have 3 boards on Pinterest. Actually I have lots of boards, but only three of them are public. One of them is for my Crystal Series. It only has nine pins on it so far, but I’m going to try and add two pins a week. Let’s hope I do that, because I know I’m no good with social media. If you’ve already read Searchlight, feel free to check it out HERE. If you haven’t read the series, don’t look. Honestly, you need to form your own mental picture for each of the characters so please don’t look 🙂

***If anyone wants to add pins, let me know (dayo.benson@ymail.com) and I’ll give you access.***

I’m planning to do boards for all my other books too. The Beauty for Ashes Series will be hard as some people are in love with Jace Washington so I probably won’t be able to get someone that makes everyone happy, lol. Oh, and just to let you know, my boards are ‘safe.’ I cropped out washboard abs and the like. Faces only, ha ha.

Writing update

I finished writing Allies (Crystal 4) on Saturday morning. I was happy, but I didn’t get the rush I’ve gotten each time I’ve finished a book in the past. I was just like ‘next’ and created the file for the next book, which I started writing this morning. I want the rush back 🙁

Publishing update

I’m going to try and get Insurrection (Crystal 3) published sometime this week. Sorry for the delay.

Dayo xx

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Cover Reveal: Insurrection (Crystal 3)

InsurrectionOoh, I am loving this cover so much. I got it on Friday and I was so excited, but my weekend was really busy so I’ve only just managed to sit down to blog about it. It was my husband’s birthday yesterday so Saturday was spent getting his present (I need to stop leaving everything ’til the last minute), and I took him out yesterday. He says he enjoyed his day so I feel like I did a good job 🙂

Anyway, so back to Insurrection. It’s about Crystal and her team trying to bring down the SOT. If you’ve read Surrender (Crystal 2) you know who her team is.

I send my books out to a few people before I publish them, and they give me feedback, so I’ve been reviewing their notes on Insurrection. I’m shocked at how much my beta readers like Juda in book 3. Every one of them want Crystal and Juda to be together. I didn’t see that coming, since Juda is what he is and he does some pretty awful things in this book. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but I thought people really wouldn’t like him. Here’s the synopsis for Insurrection (Crystal 3):

Crystal has survived eighteen months of trauma at the hands of the SOT. She now has two options: she can either fade into obscurity, or fight. She chooses to fight—along with her team of unlikely alliances. But as their plans come together, doubts are never far away. Can she really trust her team, or will they give up at the first hurdle? And, are they on a suicide mission, or can they really bring down the SOT?

I’m hoping to get it out before the end of the month. If you haven’t subscribed to my new-release list yet, Click Here so that you’ll be notified the minute it’s out.

If you would like to be one of my beta readers and read my books before they come out, send me an email (dayo.benson@ymail.com). You need to be good at spotting plot holes and pointing out things that need to be improved.

Blessings xx

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Out Now: Surrender (Crystal 2)

Surrender (Crystal 2)Hi everyone,

Surrender (Crystal 2) is out now: Amazon UK, Amazon US, Smashwords (it’ll be everywhere else soon). I love how the final cover turned out.

I’m feeling pretty festive, so if you post a book review for Searchlight (Crystal 1) on any of the online bookstores or review sites (Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, etc.) I’ll send you a free PDF of Surrender. Just email me and let me know that you’ve posted a review. My email address is dayo.benson@ymail.com.

(By the way the first book, Searchlight, is free in some places, like Smashwords).

People (readers) tell me I’m no good at writing book descriptions so I hope you guys have noticed that I’ve actually put in more effort with the book descriptions for this series, ha ha. I’ve read that the description should sound like a movie trailer (huh?). To be honest, I find writing these little descriptions harder than writing the actual book 🙂

Here it is:

Everyone has a limit…
…and Crystal is steadily getting closer to hers. She thought she could escape the SOT, but now they have her and there seems to be no way out. Some people think she has everything, but she knows she has nothing. Is she ever going to break free? And is the mysterious Juda a friend or foe?

Everyone is scared of something…
…and fear is the worst enemy of all. Crystal wants to hold on, but her fears enable the SOT to drag her to darker depths than she ever thought possible; depths from which she must claw her way back if she is ever going to regain her freedom.

The pressure is on, and Crystal must either fight or be broken. It all comes down to one question: Who will she surrender to?

Get your copy at Amazon UK, Amazon US & Smashwords.

Blessings,

Dayo.

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Cover Reveal: Surrender (Crystal 2)

Surrender2bI’m so excited today because I just received an ‘in progress’ version of my next book cover. I think it’s fab. It’s not the final version, as the designer is still working on it, but the final version won’t be hugely different. I think the model’s face might just be shadowed more as I like to leave how my character looks to the reader’s imagination.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to message me about ‘Searchlight’, I really appreciate it because Crystal’s series is a new direction for me. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? It’s on Amazon UK, Amazon US and B&N (and lots of other places).

Surrender will be out once the designer finishes with the cover. Here’s the synopsis:

Everyone has a limit…

…and Crystal is steadily getting closer to hers. She thought she could escape the SOT, but now they have her and there seems to be no way out. Some people think she has everything, but she knows she has nothing. Is she ever going to break free? And is the mysterious Juda a friend or foe?

Everyone is scared of something…

…and fear is the worst enemy of all. Crystal wants to hold on, but her fears enable the SOT to drag her to darker depths than she ever thought possible; depths from which she must claw her way back if she is ever going to regain her freedom.

The pressure is on, and Crystal must either fight or be broken. It all comes down to one question: Who will she surrender to?

By the way it’s Christmas next week. Are you guys ready? I still have presents to buy; never organised, *sigh*.

Blessings.

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Cover Reveal: Searchlight (Crystal 1)

searchlightSo, I finally have cover for Searchlight (Crystal 1). I didn’t want a bright cover because that could cause people to think they’re getting a light ‘easy’ read when the book is actually pretty dark in places.

Searchlight should be out over the next few days. If you’re on my email list you’ll get an email alert. If you’re not on my email list Click Here and sign up so that you’ll get the alert.

I’m sending book 2 in the series to my editor tomorrow. I finished my own ‘self-edit’ of it yesterday and I asked myself: if someone else wrote this, what would my verdict be? And guess what, I really couldn’t answer. If I hadn’t written it, I would have been scared reading it because there are some intense scenes and I’m a bit of a wimp (seriously I can’t even watch anything above a 12a). So, I honestly don’t know how I can write dark stuff.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself talking about book 2 when I haven’t even published book 1 yet. Book 1 will be out this week.

What do you think of the cover?

Blessings xx

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Announcing…Searchlight

SearchlightGuys,

I’ll come to what the picture to the left represents in a minute. First a quick update: I haven’t been blogging much because I’ve been doing so much writing. I’ve noticed that when I’m writing a lot, I blog less. I guess the writing fulfills my need for creativity and I have nothing left to put into a blog. I’ve hit a few 10,000 word days over the past two and a half months. My record is 11,352 words in a day 🙂 I’m so loving it.

Anyway, I finished 4 books, and I started the fifth book, then stopped and thought, ‘I need to publish the first four’. My husband was like ‘yes, stop writing and start editing the books you’ve written and get them out there.’ So that’s what I’m doing.

I was editing Pressure (Book 4 of Pure Passion Series), but I’ve put it aside. Something is just not going well between me and that book. The last book I was like this with was Blurred Vision (Drew Ashley 2). I’m just not feeling Pressure. I think it’s a good book, and the message behind it is strong, and the character arc (the transformation the main character goes through) is heavy. And the male lead is lovely. But, I’ve set it aside for when I have the mental strength to face it.

So, I started editing ‘Searchlight’ which is book 1 of Crystal’s books. The image above is the image I think my husband is going to use for the books cover–I absolutely love it because it really represents the book. Remember Crystal? Lexi’s daughter? She was a child in the Beauty for Ashes series, but she’s grown up now. I have written the first three books of her series, and I’m 18,000 words into book 4. I’ve decided to stop and get books 1 to 3 out. I finished editing book 1 on Saturday and I’ve sent it to an editor, so it should be out in November.

Let me just warn you. Crystal’s series is dark. Searchlight (Book 1) is dark-ish. Surrender (Book 2) is extremely dark. I haven’t read Surrender yet, so I might change my opinion when I do that. But writing it was hard, and slightly painful. But I didn’t hold back because there are people out there who go through worse things that what Crystal went through. Don’t worry, it’s not domestic abuse like what Lexi went through. It’s SOT- related.

When I finished writing the Beauty for Ashes series, I got a number of emails from people wanting to know more about the SOT. Crystal’s series is all about the SOT. If you remember her as a toddler in Red Carpet and Refiner’s Fire, she liked to sing. Well, now she’s 18 and she’s in a band, and the SOT want her. Book one of the series is about the SOT forcing her to join them. Book two is about her trying to get out of the SOT. Books 3 – 7 are about her, and a bunch of ex-SOT members that leave with her, trying to bring down the SOT. The series is cross-genre: YA, NA, action/adventure, romance, suspense. It will be a gritty read.

If you’ve read Bondage (Pure Passion Series, Book 2), I kind of wrote that in preparation for writing this series. I wanted to see how people would respond to the cult and the dark themes. Crystal’s series is a bit similar to Bondage.

Anyway, I’ll stop going on about it. Here’s the synopsis for Searchlight (unedited):

A heart-rending tragedy. A passionate love. A firm resolution.

Ambition
For as long as Crystal remembers, she has wanted to be a singer.
For as long as she remembers, her parents have feared the SOT, a celebrity cult that will make you famous, but destroy you in the process.
When Luke, leader of the SOT, sets his sights on Crystal will Crystal have the courage to stand her ground, or will she give in?

Destruction
After the SOT deal a deadly blow, Crystal has no choice but to obey their orders to sign up for Searchlight. Searchlight is the biggest talent show on TV. With the SOT’s backing, Crystal could win, but is she willing to pay the price? When she unexpectedly finds love, she is afraid to pursue it for fear that darkly handsome Juda could become an SOT target, too.
At Searchlight, her dreams and nightmares collide. According to Juda, it’s the darkest places that need light the most, but the SOT is much darker than Crystal imagined.

Heartbreak
Not everything is what it seems to be, and not everyone is who they say they are. Crystal is tough, but she’s only human. There’s only so much heartache and betrayal one girl can take.
Then she is tested, and she is forced to make a choice.
It’s a choice between light and darkness.
Good and evil.
Faith and despair.
But choosing God, might mean choosing death.

The SOT is back, and this time they mean business! Lexi escaped. Will her daughter, Crystal?

***Fans of the popular Beauty for Ashes Series, by the same author, will love this new novel, which focuses on supermodel, Lexi Washington’s daughter.***

You will be shocked. You will be drawn in. You will be entertained. The only thing you won’t be is bored.

Let me know what you think guys. I get told that my book descriptions are boring, so we tried to switch things up a bit for this one. Tried to make it sound more like a movie trailer, lol. Does it work?

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New Book – Purity – Available Now

ImageWell, I was considering holding Purity book back until the next book in the Pure Passion Series is ready, so that I can publish them both at the same time. But Purity was just sitting there on my computer, ready, doing nothing, and I felt kinda sorry for it. So it’s out. Check it out on Amazon UK, Amazon US & Smashwords. It’ll be on Kobo soon. They take a bit longer to process things.

Anyway, guys I need a favour. I’m trying to get Lust to be free on Amazon. Which is impossible, unless it’s free elsewhere and then Amazon might decide to price match. So here’s where you come in. If you would kindly Click Here and go on the Amazon page for Lust, and click ‘Tell us about a lower price’ which is about halfway down the page. You want to select ‘website (online), paste the following url into the ‘url’ field:

http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/lust-pure-passion-series-a-christian-novel

And report the price as 0.00.

I would be very grateful if you could do that. In fact, email me or leave a comment below to let me know. As anyone who has followed my blog for a while knows, I’m pretty openhanded with my books so you can have a free book in return.

Blessings xx

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Author Spotlight: Denise Hunter

ImageThe best book I have read this year is Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter. I loved it. Not many people know just how much I like Denise Hunter. I think she’s amazing. I have read most of her books and love most of them to pieces. So when I contacted Denise about interviewing her, I didn’t really expect her to agree to it, or even to respond to be honest. But she did. So here’s the interview.

Me: Thank you so much, Denise, for agreeing to this interview. First of all I’d like to ask a personal question, what are your hobbies?

Denise: Reading, playing drums, and traveling

Me: As a writer I am interested in your writing process. All of it. Do you outline your book before writing it, or make it up as you go? What time of the day do you write? Where do you write? Do you write in order from chapter 1 to end or do you write whatever scenes you feel like? How do you deal with writers‚ block? How many rewrites do you go through before you get to the final draft? Is there anything you find particularly challenging about writing? 

Denise: Before I start a story, I have some idea of what it’s about and where it’s going, though it’s by no means a detailed synopsis. I write in the mornings during the first draft stage until I reach 6 quality pages, usually until noon or so. During the rewriting and editing stages I work a full day. I do write scenes in order–I don’t have the brain to write out of sequence! I don’t get writer’s block. The closest thing to it is not knowing what comes next in the story, and I often get stuck with that, but I work through it until I figure it out. That’s the most challenging thing about writing for me. I do 6 drafts of each novel.

Me: I loved the scene in Barefoot Summer where Beckett thought that Madison was being attacked. What part of Barefoot Summer was the most fun to write?

Denise: I love writing dialogue, and it comes easily to me, so any banter between characters is the most fun to write. With Barefoot Summer I enjoyed writing the banter between Madison and Cassidy and also, of course, between Madison and Beckett.

Me: If you were stuck in a dark cave with a character from your book (male or female) which would you want it to be?

Denise: Probably Beckett because he could figure out how to get us out of there!

Me: What can we expect from you in the future?

Denise: I’m currently working on the rest of the Chapel Springs novels.

Me: I would like to end with a few quick-fire questions:
Silver or gold?
Silver
Casual or formal? Casual
Summer or Winter? Summer
Chocolates or flowers? Depends if I’m on a diet. 🙂
Books or movies? Books!
Reading or writing? Oh, reading is more fun for sure. Writing is more rewarding. Plus it pays. 🙂
Pen or Pencil? Pen
Tea or Coffee? Tea
Early bird or Night Owl? Neither.
Ice-cream or yoghurt? Ice cream

ImageAbout Denise Hunter:

Denise Hunter is the best-selling author of many novels, including The Convenient Groom and Driftwood Lane. In 1996 Denise began her first book, a Christian romance novel, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she s been writing ever since. Her books contain a strong romantic element, and her husband Kevin says he provides all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too! She lives in Indiana with her husband Kevin and their three sons.

Check her out on Amazon!!

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Introducing Lexi Dixon

Raw Deal, book 1 of my beauty for ashes series, is finally available. Yay!!! The main character, Lexi Dixon, is an aspiring model. She is the kind of girl that you’d think ‘has it all’ but she is still searching for something…

Beauty for Ashes as a series deals with many themes: Life’s Purpose, God’s Sovereignty, Abortion, Marriage, Domestic Violence, Divorce, etc.  It took me 4 months to write, but went through 5 years of revision and redrafting. (Ok, I’m a perfectionist – I hold my hands up) Well, I am finally happy with the story line and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it; and hopefully you’ll ‘take something away’ after reading it too.

If you want to read Lexi’s story but don’t have a Kindle download the kindle app for free on your android phone, iphone, or other kind of smartphone. For the PC Kindle app click here. For the mac kindle app click here.

God Bless xx