Happy Memorial Weekend! As we celebrate the start of summer and pay tribute to the men and women who have served our country, we at Buzz Books and our sister site Book End Babes are pleased to sponsor a contest to promote tons of authors and great reads. One lucky winner gets prepped for big summer fun.
We’re celebrating the launch of our new beach read, The Last Resort, which is an ebook novella (a short novel), just $2.99. Readers who purchase the book will have a chance to win a humongous beach read-y package.
Summer, sisterhood and sacred answers in paradise.
Lott’s latest brings all of her main characters together at a mojo conference for women at a luxury resort in Maui. Mojo and fitness guru, Rachel Woods, takes the women through adventures on the magic island to discover their deepest desires and fears. Readers will catch up with Ramona (Dating da Vinci), Taylor (The Stork Reality), Macy (Fixer Upper), Georgia (Life’s a Beach) and get introduced to Kelly, who gets her own novel, Something New, in Fall 2012. (Which is why we’re so tickled we found the photo of the five hula dancers on the beach!)
You’re invited to find your mojo at The Last Resort.
Summer is better with beach reads! Last year’s Life’s a Beach contest was such a hit, we’re doing it again with The Last Resort. Click over to our contest page for information on the June contest and the chance to win a package valued at nearly $300.
For the details on the contest and how to get multiple entries, visit our Contests page.
Readers of THE LAST RESORT have a chance to win this package.
See our full list of Buzz Books over at our Books page and remember PROM DATES TO DIE FOR for the young adult readers in your life. The short stories are great for a quick get-away.
We’re thrilled to share this fun behind-the-scenes footage from our PROM DATES cover model shoot starring Morgan Gover.
May feels a bit like a swarm, doesn’t it? With graduations and award ceremonies and proms, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, it’s full of busy bees and making great memories. Buzz Books hopes you get a chance to slow down a bit this summer and … read!
Free Prom!
To celebrate the end of the school year, we’re gifting Prom Dates to Die For on Smashwords now through Memorial Weekend with this coupon code: CJ85E. Click here to go get your ebook edition in your favorite e-format. A fun young adult novel with bite-size paranormal stories perfect for your vacations or lazy summer afternoons! FREE! Here’s what Pages Unbound blog recently said about each of the five stories featured in Prom:
“Darkness Becomes Him” by Kelly Parra – “The concept was great … a lot of action!”
“The Bone Flower” by Heather Dearly – “This story was very nicely imagined … both beautiful and a little depressing.”
“Every Breath You Take” by Lena Brown – “the story is very well-developed and had a fascinating premise.”
“A Kiss at the Threshold” by Aaron Smith also presents a very interesting concept, and it has my favorite protagonist (also the only leading male!).” “Gripping.”
“Tonight, You’re Mine” by Jenny Peterson – “Also intriguing. It incorporates some surprises and a bit of humor, which makes it a refreshing contribution to an anthology about proms gone wrong!”
If you take advantage of our free offer, we hope you’ll let us know if you liked it with a review on Goodreads, Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Help us spread the buzz about Prom!
We’re looking for a romance story to fall in love with to launch our Honey romance line. Who will be our first Honeybee, our debut romance author? We’ll post the full details after Memorial Day on our Contest page, but the contest prize will include a 40% royalty, glossy bookmarks, a book trailer, being a guest on our Hive podcast, a Facebook and Goodreads ad campaign and Honey swag including a T-shirt and coffee mug. Send us some Honey by following our submission guidelines. Fun fact: According to National Geographic, “Worker honeybees are all females and are the only bees most people ever see. They forage for food and build and protect the hive, among many other societal functions.”
And our unofficial Honey song? Why, it’s the Voice’s cutie-patootie country crooner Blake Shelton’s song, Honeybee, of course!
Coming Soon! SWARM, Buzz’ Mystery/Thriller Line
The logo is in the works and so is our first contract. We’re THRILLED to “bee” adding a mystery/thriller line to the Hive. (Sorry, couldn’t help the pun.) If you know of a great mystery book shop and mystery/thriller book review sites, send us the info so we can add them to our distribution list. More soon!
#buzzchat, #littlebrand, Loyalty Club
As promised, we’ll be posting all the buzz from the week Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. using the hashtag #buzzchat on Twitter from our @buzzbooksusa account. Biggest movies, books, TV and story news plus the latest with Buzz and a nice giveaway to those who RT and participate in our chat. If you have a small biz or work in one, check out our #littlebrand feed with daily tips on branding. And last week, we mentioned a Buzz loyalty club. We’re hammering out the details to makes sure it’s extra awesome, but know that those who love to read and share the buzz will get some great opportunities for free reads and swag, so stay tuned.
Next week’s Hive report: Malena Lott’s follow up to LIFE’S A BEACH, THE LAST RESORT about six women seeking mojo in Maui, releases Memorial Weekend along with a huge “girlfriends” beach bag giveaway – a giveaway meant to be shared with your best girlfriends! So fun, we can’t wait to announce it!
Buzz Books is pleased to announce a new deal with Oklahoma interior designer Kellie Clements, who has gained national recognition for her stint on HGTV Design Star, where viewers got to see her natural charm, charisma and creativity. Kellie owns Modern Whimsy Interiors based in Edmond, OK. We’re thrilled Kellie will be writing a Little Brand interior design book to help those who wish to launch or grow their own interior design practice. The book’s advice will be doled in Kellie’s fresh, honest and humorous voice. Good luck to Kellie as she writes the book this summer! We’re hoping to release it as a “workbook” as well as an ebook. We’re so happy to have this stylish, smart mama in the Hive!
Free Stork for Mamas
In honor of Mother’s Day, Buzz is offering a coupon code for 100% off the ebook for Malena Lott’s humorous and heartfelt mom lit novel, The Stork Reality, at Smashwords. For those of you unfamiliar with Smashwords, it’s an ebook distributor that provides the ebook is every platform, so you can download whichever option works for you and your device – or even just reading on your computer. The latest praise for the book comes from Chick Lit Plus who wrote:
” I laughed, I cried … but mostly, I cheered for Taylor as she tackled her fears and fought for what she wanted. I found the descriptions of her pregnancy journey to be spot on and often times hilarious.
Malena Lott is a phenomenal writer and she really shines with this one! I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a witty page turner, pregnant or not. Overall, I give it 5/5 stars. Such a wonderful read. Finally a funny and heartfelt book about pregnancy!” – Sara, Chick Lit Plus
Click to purchase it and put in this coupon code: TF89D and it will change your amount due to $0.00. FREE!
The coupon code expires after Mother’s Day so please order and share the code now through the weekend.
You can also “gift” the book to loved ones. It’s available at Amazon for $2.99 through Mother’s Day. But, really, we just want you to read it and share the love! If you like the book, we encourage you to leave a review on Goodreads, Amazon or B&N.
Summer Lovin’
As the school days wane, why not get wistful about prom? Fays Books gives PROM DATES TO DIE FOR 4 stars and says: “These are five amazing stories by five equally amazing authors! You definitely don’t want to miss your chance to read ‘Prom Dates to Die For. It’s a great collection of paranormal prom stories that are literally to die for!” For retail links, go to our Prom page.
Who’s thinking “beach” already? Give your mind a fun escape to Mexico in the Buzz best-seller LIFE’S A BEACH, called a “perfect summer treat, with a twist” by readers. Another great gift idea for the moms in your life.
Getting Even More Social
Starting Sunday, May 20th, we’re starting a pop culture Twitter chat called #BuzzChat from 8-9 p.m. CST on Twitter. The site will be hosted by @buzzbooksusa and @bookendbabes. We’ll talk the biggest buzz in books, TV, film and stories. We’ll also share the latest happening in the Hive. Prizes each week. Tweet you later!
Stay tuned for next week’s Hive blog where we’ll be announcing our loyalty rewards club, Honeybees contest and our new mystery/thriller imprint.
In the days of ebooks and social media, “live” events may not be necessary, but at Buzz Books, we love to get together IRL (in real life) and we celebrated our new release, PROM DATES TO DIE FOR, with a fun day, beginning with our cover model Morgan Gover co-hosting ALL ABOUT YOU, a nightly talk show on KSBI in Oklahoma City, and Malena Lott was invited to talk about the cover model shoot process and the book itself. Here we are on the set, scythe in hand.
We hosted our launch party at Bodytrends BoutiQue to come full circle from where we first did our cover model open casting call and cover shoot. And what’s a party without a cover cupcake cake and bee cookies? And dark angel wings? Thanks to everyone who came out and for those of you buying the ebook. We hope you’ll leave a review on Goodreads, Amazon, nook or Smashwords. Remember our Twitter party is Sunday, May 6th at 8 p.m. CST at #promdates2d4 to participate and follow the feed. Prizes, too! @kparra @heatherdearly @marifarthing @danimichelle @lenabrownbooks @jenc_p will all be there, and we hope you will be, too. Hosted by @buzzbooksusa.
Malena Lott (aka Lena Brown), Morgan Gover, Heather Dearly, Mari Farthing
Fun with props.
Cover model Morgan with her sister Rachel. (Special thanks to their mom Cathy for all of her support. Moms rock.)
Today is the official launch day for Buzz Books’ first young adult book, a paranormal prom anthology PROM DATES TO DIE FOR. For full details on the book, check out our book page here.
Are you in the OKC metro area? Then you can pick up a copy in person *and* meet some of our prom squad!
Thursday, May 3rd from 6-8 p.m. at Bodytrends BoutiQue in Cassady Square. Full event invite here.
Book signing by local PROM authors Lena Brown and Heather Dearly, editor Mari Farthing, cover model Morgan Gover and meet our PROMotional sponsors.Door prizes, prom punch, cupcakes and cookies, music, party pics, shop the boutique and more. (The book is for ages 13+, come purchase a signed copy for the teens in your life! The book is $7.99 plus tax. Adults invited back to prom, too.)No taffeta or tux required. Come as you are.
Not in OKC or can’t make it to the party? It’s for sale at the following retailers:
On Twitter? Let’s party! This Sunday, May 6th from 8-9 p.m. CST using the hashtag #promdates2d4. We’ll have a prom playlist and authors Kelly Parra, Jenny Peterson, Lena Brown, Heather Dearly; editor Mari Farthing; publicist Cyndy Hoenig and manager Dani Stone will be ready to chat and talk prom and give away a few treats. For more on our authors, pop over to our author page.
Remember, if you’d like to support us but paranormal or young adult (teen) isn’t your thing, you can always gift the book to a teen in your life. Rock and read on.
What if you needed to go bra shopping in a dangerous, dystopian future? Would you risk life and limb to support your “girls”? You’ll find out in Peggy Chamber’s dystopian dark comedy series in our Buzz Books Stingers line. The first in the series is tentatively titled, “Bra Wars.” Stingers are 5-10,000 words - short on length, big on impact. I love the relationships between the characters and Peggy’s snappy dialogue and Mari (our senior editor) and I were foaming at the mouth to find out more. (Why foaming? Were we zombies? And are their any hotties left? Must. Know.) Keep your ears to the hive for more details. Congratulations on your contract, and welcome to the hive, Peggy! She hails from Enid, Oklahoma, where, we assure you, the wind really does come sweeping down the plains. Peggy will be at the OWFI conference May 4th, so give her a shout and an atta-babe.
I’ll admit I’m a little mad for mythology and I’m THRILLED that we found a writer who is taking our Mythology High young adult series by storm with three modern-day retellings of popular myths. Jammie Kern from Sand Springs, Oklahoma, will also be published in our Stingers imprint. Jammie (pronounced Jay-me) even has a writer Facebook page so pop on over and like her because I know you’re going to like her stories.
Mari will be taking pitches at OWFI next weekend so we hope you’ll look her up and consider sharing your story with her. For more on our submissions, including our new romance line, Honey, click over to submissions.
Next week is launch week for our young adult anthology Prom Dates to Die For. Our cover model Morgan Gover will be returning to the metro on the 3rd to co-host ALL ABOUT YOU on KSBI and other media appearances will be announced shortly. The book will be available at local indies Full Circle and Best of Books. We’re getting great feedback on the book so please help spread the buzz! What authors and early readers are saying:
Early praise for #PromDates2D4
“Prom Dates to Die For is like eating pistachios. One story isn’t enough.
Dark humor and compelling story lines make this a delicious read.”
~Jordan Dane – Award-winning, Critically Acclaimed Author of THE HUNTED YA
series with Harlequin Teen
“Prom Dates to Die For is a deliciously dark collection of prom-gone-wrong stories guaranteed to keep you curled up on the couch until you reach the end.”Amanda Ashby ~
author of Zombie Queen of Newbury High and Fairy Bad Day
“Prom as you’ve never imagined it, with five talented authors unleashing their paranormal best in this memorable, page-turning anthology. Appearances by a dark angel, a ghost, a soul stealer, a demon hunter and a time portal help make Prom Dates to Die For a guaranteed pleaser for young adults and adult readers alike!” ~ Tina Ferraro, author of Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress.
”Each story features a different kind of paranormal, but all the stories complement each other very well. I gave this book four stars!” – Sandra, Panda Reads
Friday the 13th is the perfect day to share over cover art! We’re thrilled to unveil our cover flat (which is the paperback cover) on PROM DATES TO DIE FOR, our paranormal prom anthology. After going through the dozens of amazing photos of our cover model Morgan, taken by Leigh Thompson, it was this striking pose that made the final selection. Yes, we had a fan blowing her tresses, which gives it the “windy night” look and she looks like she’s about to kick some major evil butt. We considered dozens of backgrounds, too, but ultimately felt this full moon gave it the dark and mysterious tone we were after without having to actually add a ghoul to the cover. Besides, we didn’t want to take away from that fab peacock dress – very animalistic and gorgeous.
The title font is called “luncheonette” but to me it plays dark very well. My 12 year old daughter said the font reminded her of fangs without having to literally find a fang font, which might’ve been over the top. (Not that I’m against over the top when it’s needed.)
The cover and back blurb was provided by author Tina Ferraro. We’re so thrilled she liked our stories! So, what can you do to get your hands on an early copy? Simply like our Facebook page and for an extra entry, tweet, “I can’t wait to read #PromDates2D4 on 5/1. #YALit @BuzzBooksUSA” (That’s so we can see your tweet and count it.)
And equally exciting news – we’re adding a new romance imprint and will start reviewing submissions, so romance writers, send us your best stuff! We’ll update the subs page next week, but we’re looking for everything from novellas to full length manuscripts (so 20K to about 80K) in all romance genres except erotica. Our imprint: Buzz Books Honey. LOVE! Thanks to our superb senior editor Mari Farthing for naming it. We’ll unveil the new logo next week as well as the logo for Buzz Books Stingers for shorter works. Contracts are being written on TWO different Stingers series so we can’t wait to share that with you soon.
Launched on Valentine's Day, 2011, Buzz Books USA is an indie multimedia service focused on celebrating stories. We'll be sharing stories via print, ebook and audiobook and in a weekly podcast, The Hive with Buzz Books, celebrating stories from books, TV, movies and the media in 2012. Buzz-worthy anthologies, novellas, novels and non-fiction will all have a home in our hive. Creators of the Good Reads/Good Deeds program. Readers and writers always welcome in our hive.
Summer, sisterhood and sacred answers in paradise. 
