Werewolf hotness for just $0.99

Elizabeth asked a Christmassy question for me to answer on the blog today, but I'm going to save that for next week. Instead I'm going to do a bit of plugging today, because Releasing The Wolf had been reduced to just $0.99 until further notice :D

If you haven't read it yet, this is book one of a series (six books predicted) and it is not your normal werewolf romance. It's more of an urban fantasy actually - a dark one that's highly erotic. The focus of the series is the theme of man vs. beast and higher consciousness vs. baser needs. I'm not saying that love doesn't come into it, but it comes into it within the above context.

The first book is a gentle (so ... my interpretation of gentle may be different to yours) introduction to the series, with book two really taking off with the plot, and I'm just finishing book three now, which is out at the end of December if all goes to plan.

Anyway, Releasing The Wolf is sitting pretty at just $0.99 (or 77p) so give it a try! You might like it :)

Also, as a side note - because it matters to me and I'm super excited about it (such a nerd, am I...) - the paperbacks of this series are all matte cover now, and they look sooooo pretty with a yummy, satiny, touch-me feel to them. I bought myself a couple to see what they were like with the plan to sell them on, signed, but I really don't want to sell them anymore - sorry :/

BUY LINKS:
Amazon US - http://www.amazon.com/Releasing-The-Wolf-Storm-ebook/dp/B00AEXUFJ4
Amazon UK - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Releasing-The-Wolf-Storm-ebook/dp/B00AEXUFJ4
Kobo - http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/releasing-the-wolf
Smashwords -https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/259714

A little bit about Releasing The Wolf (and an excerpt)

I didn't post last week, and to be honest, it's been a hell of a week! Apologies for that.

So I'm keeping this post fairly short and I'm going to talk up my upcoming novella, Releasing The Wolf (Eye Of The Storm #1).

It will hopefully be published on 18th December in eBook format.

Now, if you're expecting your soulmate-type, true love kind of werewolf story, forget it. Yes, there are elements of that in this new series of mine, but that's not the focus of the series and it's not completely where I'm going with my werewolves.

The Eye Of The Storm series has a strong romantic undertone, but it's not about romance. It's about a werewolf mythology, friendships, humanity, biology and the struggle between the heart and body. And yes, there's a lot of growling in it, and a lot of sex in it... we're talking werewolves here ;)

Also, this is the first book (novella length at just over 30,000 words) of a series, so obviously all questions are not going to be answered. This first book will set the scene for all to come. As per my writing style, this is a fast-paced book.

Here's a little taster (probably the last one I'll post before publication) to whet your appetites - enjoy :)


Excerpt, copyright Dianna Hardy, 2012, all rights reserved. This excerpt may be subject to editing or deletion before publication.

Bad things always happen when you let your guard down – she’d learnt that early on in life. It was very rare for her to let her guard slip, but tonight – as she began to enjoy the hustle and bustle of her job – she had.

So the scent completely took her by surprise.

She stiffened, pen in hand, mid-order, as that smell raced through her mind as well as her body, awaking some primal desire. That smell of ‘green’.

Taylor.

She turned towards it, eyes scanning for him, but it wasn't Taylor they landed on.

All at once she could tell that his smell was a little different, although no less intoxicating. The man that sat where Taylor should be was tall, well-built – even through his jacket she could see that – with flaxen blond hair that fell to his shoulders and the palest blue eyes she’d ever seen.

And he was staring at her, his expression nothing short of icy.

Her legs sort of trembled. No, her entire body trembled, and she just about managed to ignore the nonsensical urge she had to drop to her knees. But she couldn't ignore the heat that rose up from within her. It seemed to centre on her neck, and she suddenly felt like she was being strangled by her own hot flush. Without thinking, she undid the top button of her blouse and tilted her head up to expose her neck to the cooling air, and she did it all without dropping her gaze from his.

His eyebrows rose a fraction, and his eyes softened for a millisecond before resuming their iciness. That millisecond was enough – she’d done something right. She didn't know what it was, but for the first time in a long time, she had done something right.

Add the book to your shelf on Goodreads!

The Demon Bride: my own personal Hell.

Paperback edition,
released 31st Oct, 2012

I am potentially about 15,000 words away from finishing The Demon Bride. OR... I'm 25,000 words away, because it could be stretched into an 80,000 word novel. We'll see... but it's all taking off and I'm scared as hell. Can it live up to the first two books? It's darker, it's deeper, it's ... so much more complicated, and definitely more abstract. And although the romance aspect of the trilogy (boy meets girl and overcomes obstacles to be together) ends with this book, not everything will be wrapped up in a nice little bow, because we will be entering the sexy world of urban fantasy in the spin-off novel The Last Angel, and this novel will continue to take these characters forward... the ones left standing, anyway...

So I'm left with having to wrap up enough, to keep readers who don't want to continue to The Last Angel happy, but to keep those that do, on the edge of their seats.

I am mad. I must be. This book is driving me into certified lunacy.

It's gotten to the stage where I'm promoting The Demon Bride and the Omnibus Edition (well, I have to start now to get people interested), and I'm quaking in my boots, terrified that I can't do the series justice.

Anyway... deep breaths... why don't you come join me? There's enough room in Hell for everyone...

Sporting the eBook cover, released 31st August, 2012

My new series, Project Veil

This is a bit of a lazy post, but I just realised that I've mentioned nothing on this blog at all about my shenanigans last week with my cover reveal for my new, upcoming series for next year. It's very exciting! I'm 25% of the way through writing it, although it's taken a back seat while I get The Demon Bride finished.

Anyway... here's the blurb, and cover for book one, plus a mini (very mini) excerpt - enjoy :)

~*~

The following excerpt is © copyright to Dianna Hardy, 2012. All rights reserved.

The angel leaned in closer, never breaking her gaze. “And what of your future?” he whispered, softly. “Who do you love completely in your future?”

The question startled her, despite the fact that she didn’t fully understand his reasoning behind it.

“They're my family,” she continued, irritated that she felt she had to justify her actions to this man. “They're my blood.”

His head bowed down towards hers. She was almost flush against his chest, his neck just centimetres away from her cheek. His scent took her by surprise. It was an intoxicating blend of coconuts and palm trees on a hot summer's day, with a hint of sand and sea. In fact, if she closed her eyes, she was sure she could hear the sea.

When he spoke, it was directly into her ear. “There are far greater things in your future than those that come bound by blood. Remember that.”

~*~

Published by Satin Smoke Press
eBook released 28th June, 2013
Paperback released 30th September, 2013

Jennifer Darwin has lost everything: her husband, her daughter, her entire life. A victim of the secret and illegal medical experiment, Project Veil, she has awoken from a coma, five hundred years into an unprecedented future.

Vampires and angels fight for dominion over the Earth, and over the humans that used to rule it. Mankind are fighting to survive.

Jenny just wants to go home, but finds herself caught up in a prophecy that leads her to the beautiful and dangerous Singeon, who harbours a world of dark secrets, and the stoic, otherworldly Arden who is seemlessly able to instil strength, peace and comfort into her grieving heart.

Torn with guilt over her burgeoning feelings for the two men who now eclipse her life, she struggles to maintain both her freedom and independence in the face of a fate she has no control over. But in this new world, trust is scarce, light does not always mean love, and the dark can hold the secrets of salvation.

To make matters worse, the effects of Project Veil still linger in Jenny's bloodstream. She's transforming into something ... non-human. And it seems as if her past is not as dead as she thought.


You can keep up to date with this project, either on my own website, or over at the series blog site, ProjectVeil.co.uk

Overthinking things...

Thank you, Elizabeth, for the funny post on Monday. I need to think of more funny posts - mine just tend to me a little serious and boring at the moment, perhaps because, despite my New Year's resolution not to overthink things, I am overthinking things :[

So today's blog post is about two things, both brief:

1. I shall be expanding my genres (and I'm growing to hate the word genre) to include urban fantasy, as well as paranormal romance. I've always called myself a multi-genre author because I never wanted to be sort of stereotyped into writing one kind of thing, or one style of fiction, but at the same time, it's drummed into you that you have to have a "brand" when you start to market yourself, so I "branded" myself as writing romance (mainly because I like writing sex in my books - I can't help it - my characters have high sex drives). Well, my brand doesn't want to be small, and I don't always want to be hampered by a happy ending, or only focusing on two couples, and so on, so I shall be branching out so to speak. Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy ... and Gothic Poetry ... and possibly some YA fiction in 2014 ... ah, you see my problem? No, damn it, this hole is for pigeons, not me :-p  This leads to the overthinking, but really, what is there to think about? Many adult paranormal romance authors also write urban fantasy, and also write young adult paranormal fiction. I'm sure I'm making mountains out of molehills...

2. This was kinda fun: in 2013, I shall be releasing two novels, both urban fantasies with lots of action and (er-hem) HEAT in them, and I actually started writing one of them about a year and a half ago - before I even started to write The Witching Pen. I haven't touched it since then, and went back to look at it last night (I think I'm about 18,000 words in) and BOY has my writing style changed! It actually seemed like it was written by a different person, so it needs a huge overhaul, and I'm looking forward to doing that. It's fascinating how you develop as a writer, but also a little scary, because it's entirely possible that my writing is complete and utter shit right now, and I won't know about it for another two years(!). Hahaha! I'll have a think about that as I poor myself another vodka on the rocks :s

There you have it - this has been my overthinking for the week. I'm looking forward to the week ahead being more based on action, and less based on thought. So, Elizabeth, when I'm going mad and tearing my hair out, because I have delusions of grandeur that I'm sitting on a mountain as opposed to a slope, I shall remember your funny post, and use it to shut my brain up :) Thanks. x