Forsaken is now available on Kindle!

The time has come! Forsaken: A Nightfire Novella is now available for purchase on Kindle! Click here to get it for yourself: http://www.amazon.com/Forsaken-Nightfire-Novella-The-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00IP212GG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393591143&sr=8-1&keywords=forsaken%3A+A+nightfire+novella

As promised, the novella will also be released in paperback - it's almost ready, and will be available very shortly! Stay tuned for updates!

Nightfire News: Forsaken

Good morning, All. Happy 2014!

2013 was a crazy, amazing, life-changing year for me. I published my first novel, for one, but even bigger than that...my husband and I welcomed our daughter into the world! These last 10 months or so have been an absolute whirlwind...but the best, most exciting whirlwind ever. Getting ready for and then actually becoming a mother (to the most beautiful little girl on the planet - not that I'm biased or anything) obviously took priority in my life during this time, but I want to take a moment to assure you, my readers, that I have no intention of abandoning or even grossly postponing progress on the Nightfire trilogy. I know that many of you are anxiously (yet very patiently) awaiting the next installment of the series, and I want you to know - so am I! I can't wait to share the rest of the Nightfire story with you.

I have an announcement for you AND a little treat to boot (surprise!). While I'm still working on the second novel in the trilogy, I will be releasing a companion novella next month! The novella, titled Forsaken, is written from Sam's point of view, and starts immediately after Nightfire left off.

Forsaken will be available on Kindle and paperback in a few short weeks. Keep your eyes peeled for the official announcement and publication date!

In the meantime, to thank you for your patience and give you a taste of what to expect in Sam's story, I'm including an excerpt of the novella below. Give it a read, and let me know what you think...and check back in on the blog next week for another surprise! And remember...if you haven't read Nightfire yet, go grab your copy now by clicking HERE. It's available on Kindle for just $2.99!

In the distance, the sun slides across the very tips of the city, the skyscrapers gleaming in the light of the day.  The warmth spreads, spilling over roads and trees, waking up the world and bringing it back to life.

 

The magic in my veins recedes, the curse that flows within me not so insistent now. The venom inside of me is always there, but during the day I almost feel like me again. I almost feel human.

Almost.

Each morning is a little harder than the last, but I am always glad to see the sun.

It’s been three months and six days – exactly 96 sunrises - since I walked out of the Nyiathan mansion and into this life. I wasn’t always this person. I was kind, caring…good. Those days are gone. And some way, somehow, I’m doing my best to piece together what’s left of myself and move on.  

For me, becoming Siek was heartbreaking at best. I lost someone I truly loved in the process, someone who had come to mean the world to me. And when I say lose, I don’t mean it in the way you might think – she didn’t die. In fact, I think it might be even worse than that. She lives, breathes, walks the same earth as I do. But I cannot have her, not now, not ever.

Sometimes it seems like just yesterday that I held her in my arms, measuring what I thought were her last breaths, speaking of feelings that were unthinkable, even then. The pain is that fresh, that encumbering. I don’t know how it hasn’t swallowed me whole.

There are other times when I feel like an eternity has passed. Even still, the pain doesn’t wane. It just sits in the back of my mind like a virus that relentlessly plagues me, killing me slowly.

I remember the first time I saw Kaida without her human mask, her true form fantastic and terrifying at the same time. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before in my life: a lithe, pixie-like creature with wings easily spanning thirty feet from tip to tip, glowing with fire. Her skin was like stone, unbelievably pale in color, and her eyes shimmered in the darkness. I knew I should have been frightened, but I was stunned by her. She was beautiful.

It was more than just her physical appearance, though; somehow, she turned off all of the negativity in my life, made it fade away as if it was never there in the first place. With her, I was my best.

I couldn’t help falling in love with her. I can’t help but love her still.

Even though I shouldn’t.

It takes all of my strength to keep myself away from my former life, to stay as far away as possible, to spare the people I love from the monster I’ve become.

The truth is, Siek blood always ran through me, even when I thought I was fully human. Even before I knew what a Siek was. It lived in hibernation, growing and strengthening with each moment, biding its time….until everything exploded.

I lived close to nineteen years of a life just like that of any other human being, with parents I thought were mine and friends and, hell, even a girl I thought I loved. Everything was simple, easy. The way it should have been.

And then it all changed, swept up as if in a tornado, swirling completely out of control. I felt like Dorothy, dropped right smack dab in the middle of Oz with no direction or idea of how to get home. Even in the land of color, all she wanted was to find her way back. I get it. Now, more than ever. There’s a part of me that wants nothing more but to go back to the black-and-white life that I once called my own. But where Dorothy had a yellow brick road and ruby red slippers to lead her home, I have nothing. My black-and-white life wasn’t real. Not one day of it. I was always meant to be Siek. And now, I am.

The magic is alive and well within me. I am filled with a power greater than I ever imagined, a darkness I’ll never be able to outrun. I know that it’s only a matter of time before it takes over completely, before the last shreds of my humanity are extinguished. I’m not sure how much time I have left, but I will fight against the darkness for as long as possible. I will hold on as tightly as I can.

Until the old Sam is lost for good.

Copyright © 2014 Laura E. Taylor

Happy Halloween! Here's a treat for you...and whoever else wants to share!

Exciting news!! For tomorrow (October 31st, one of my absolute favorite days of every year) and tomorrow ONLY, the Kindle version of Nightfire will be available for FREE on Amazon (click here to get your Kindle copy)! Want a paperback copy instead? Get 50% off with coupon code M5RS9HZK when you purchase from my CreateSpace eStore (click here to get your paperback copy)!

Happy Halloween!

Stay tuned for more news regarding the trilogy in the very near future...you won't want to miss it!

Spoiler Alert! Where will we go from here?

To those of you who haven't yet read Nightfire, be warned: this blog will contain spoilers, or at least hints of them. If you don't have your copy yet, what are you waiting for? :) Go get one (there's a handy-dandy link in the right column of the blog just waiting for you to click on it!).

If you've finished the first book in the trilogy...thanks for reading!! Are you chomping at the bit to see what happens next? It's a new experience for me, being on this side of the story - but I know exactly how you feel. In fact, I'm one of those readers who will (if I can) wait for an entire series to be published before I start reading, simply because I read SO fast and I don't want to have to wait too long in between books to find out what happens! If you're like me, I'll go ahead and say thank you for picking up Nightfire despite the fact that the second book isn't out yet - nor is it completely written - and for being patient with me while I work on doing just that. My goal is to ideally have the second book out in 8-10 months, but we'll see how quickly I can get those fingers typing! ;) I'm not going to say too much, because let's face it - I don't want to give away the plot just yet...but I'll give you some things to look forward to.

A lot happened in the first book. You met the core group of characters, perhaps even fell in love with one or more of them, watched them struggle and fight and change in ways that you may not have expected. You learned what it means to be Nyiathan, and a little about what it means to be Siek. You watched a forbidden relationship bloom, felt the sting of betrayal, saw futures change forever in an instant. So where do we go from here? Here's a short glimpse into what you can expect from a few of the main characters...but for those of you who might still be reading and haven't yet read the book...seriously! You'll want to read the book first!

Kaida. She has a lot of recovering to do, both physically and emotionally. She had a pretty rough go of it in Nightfire, but as you know by now - she's strong, and though she's found herself susceptible to some of the most powerful human emotions (love, for example), she'll end up even stronger as a result. Killing Ari changes her, frees her from the dark chains that were holding her down.You'll see her "mature" as the series progresses, moving on from a reckless, broken girl to the fierce, confident warrior that, deep down, she's always known she was capable of being.

Sam. I'll admit, without pause, that Sam is one of my absolute favorite characters. He's really been a favorite of mine since the conception of this idea, and I can't wait for you to see him grow and change and maybe even completely blow you away. It's ironic that Sam is now the "bad guy," because he's good, through and through. Becoming Siek will prove an immense challenge for him, an internal struggle that he will fight to overcome...though not without some stumbles along the way. In the end, he'll have to decide what side he's really on - and what he'll sacrifice to protect the people he loves most.

Nuriel. Almost losing Kaida to the Sieks was more traumatic to Nuriel than he wants to admit, and in her darkest hour, he begins to see her in an entirely new light. Once frustrated by her negligence and inability (or her simple lack of desire) to follow the rules, he'll find himself impressed by her strength and drive to overcome the battle that almost ended her life. We'll see a more vulnerable, "human"-like side of him than we've ever seen before, and his relationship with Kaida will evolve as a result. The Guard will face terrors worse than they've ever imagined, and Nuriel will lean on Kaida's new strength to help lead them.

That's all the insight I'm going to give you for today...but I hope you're excited about seeing what will happen next!

So now it's your turn...tell me, who are your favorite characters? What do you hope to see happen for them? Oh, and if you haven't already, please take a few minutes and write a review (an honest one) on Amazon. I'll love you forever :)

Until next time...

Cool Stuff Happening!

Check out the awesome contest we're running on the Facebook!! Click here to visit the page.

Give Me Your Best...And Your Worst!

Well, it's official - Nightfire has now been out for a week! It has been an exciting, emotional ride so far and I'm loving every minute of it! I'm exhausted of course, but hey...work hard, play hard, right?

I really appreciate the love and support for this story. I'm feeling it more and more with each passing day, and I really can't thank my readers enough for making this such an awesome experience. It's truly amazing.

Now, if I can just ask one more favor from you, I promise I'll get back to the keyboard and continue writing so you can see what happens to Kaida and Sam and all of your other favorite characters.

Remember a few posts ago when I told you that I wanted your feedback - your HONEST feedback? Well, I wasn't just saying that for my health. Now that the book is out, I'd like to ask and encourage each of you to please take a few minutes and type up a review on Amazon. I cannot stress enough that this feedback should be your honest opinion, because I can't reach my full potential unless you tell me how I can improve. If you love the book, tell me. If you think it needs work, I need to know that, too. Heck, if you hate it, that's okay - tell me (just try to be as nice as you can be about it....I mean, I do have feelings, after all)!

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing a self-published book with glowing reviews, only to pick it up and realize that it looks more like the author has published a rough draft rather than a strongly edited, best-it-can-be version of their story. Those reviews are doing the AUTHOR a disservice, not to mention those who choose to read the book based on the ratings. Self-published authors don't have the luxury of a professional editing team (among other things), so a lot of the feedback that we will get is that which our readers give us. As I've said before, it's SO important. If you want to share your opinion with me but don't feel comfortable posting it online for everyone to see, I still want to hear your voice - please e-mail me at lauraetaylorbooks@gmail.com.

So, give me all you've got. I'm ready for it, and I thank you in advance for allowing me to be the best writer author I can be!

If you haven't already purchased your copy of Nightfire, click on the link below to get one now! Available in Kindle and Paperback.

Until next time...

Nightfire: Paperback and Kindle Now Available!

EXCITING NEWS!!!

Nightfire is now available on both paperback (through Amazon or my eStore) and Kindle (Amazon)! If you'd like a paperback copy, I'm offering a 15% OFF discount today through May 2nd through my eStore (this does not apply to Amazon purchases) - use discount code JXEU6QNC at checkout!

Here are the links:

Amazon Paperback: www.amazon.com/Nightfire-Trilogy-Laura-E-Taylor/dp/1484129512/
Amazon Kindle: www.amazon.com/Nightfire-The-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00CIXUT12
eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4127215

The Decision to Self-Publish

This weekend, I'm up at the "farm" in Galax, Virginia, visiting with my family and working on setting up a Facebook fan page for Nightfire (as some of you have already seen), ordering the proof copy of the novel and contemplating the many other things that I still have to do before the book hits the shelves/Amazon.com. There are about a million...and one...things to remember, and all I have to say is that I sure am glad that I enjoy making lists so much. Otherwise, I would have a hard time keeping up with all of the pieces of the self-publishing puzzle.

Here's the thing, though: I love this. Writing a novel has always been a dream of mine, but I'm also intrigued by the ENTIRE process. Coming out of college, my dream was to move to New York and work for HarperCollins. Life has obviously led me down a different path, but hey...deciding to self-publish my novel has given me the opportunity to experience that side of the industry. Even though it's technically "work," it's fun. I enjoy it. I don't mind spending my weekends editing or formatting or re-writing; in fact, it's what I WANT to do.

Long story short, I'm doing this because I love it, and I decided to self-publish because I honestly want to CONTINUE to love it. I didn't send a copy of my manuscript off to a publisher or an agent. It's not that I don't want my book to succeed...because I do. It's just that I'm at a time in my life right now that I want to be the one in control of that success. I want to control the schedule. I work full-time at a job that I consider a career, I have a husband at home (along with two dogs who love attention), plus housework and errands and all of the other tasks in life that always keep us busy. So I weighed the pros and cons. And for now, self-publishing is the route I've chosen to take.

There are days when I think "Huh. Maybe I should have tried going the traditional route..." However, there's a very, very great possibility that if I tried to do it that way, my words would never make it to print. Not to say that the story isn't worth publication (I absolutely think it is, otherwise I wouldn't be working so hard for it), but it is without a doubt saying that the traditional road is paved with rejection. In the end, my reasons for doing it this way are a lot lighter on my schedule as well as my ego.

I hope you'll pick up a copy of Nightfire and try it. And if you do, I hope you'll give me your honest opinion. As an author, my writing can only improve if my readers tell me where I need the most work. Feedback is so important. I'm looking forward to continuing to grow as a writer, to creating characters that you can fall in love with and stories that you'll want to re-tell, over and over again...I need your help to do that.

Until next time...