My friends are awesome and talented ... and AWESOME!

So I had these TOMS that I totally ruined. At least I thought I did. They had a big, ugly, splotchy stain on them, because I'm a klutz and I drop stuff all over the place. Tried to bleach them. Several times. Didn't do much.

So my friend Tara called wanting to do something for my birthday. So she came over, and we hung out, and we ate WAY more candy than what people should. (I'm still a bit fidgety from the sugar high while typing this much.) We also picked up some Sharpies! Sharpies are awesome! YAY!

I will be the first to admit that my drawing ability is pretty much ... no. But hers ... Hers is WAY more amazing! And she FIXED my ugly, splotchy, stained TOMS! Why show you this? Because she is awesome and deserves the credit for designing the BEST PAIR OF TOMS IN EXISTENCE!

Thundering Luv by LM Preston

So it's the time of year when I love to read stories from warmer places. If I can't go on vacation, then I love to read about places I'd LOVE to go on vacation if I could. This book definitely had that. This was a great read. It was also relatively short, so it would be PERFECT for the inevitable wait times that real life loves to bring.

Thundering Luv follows Jewel, for the most part. Jewel has a ton of emotional baggage from a less than ideal family life. She is that girl in high school that all the boys love because she is everything they can't have. In fact, we find that several of the jocks turn her into a bit of a conquest, which inevitably caused more emotional baggage that she's not always sure how to handle.

For the most part, this story takes place during Jewel's beach vacation with her friends. I definitely enjoy the interaction between her and her friends. Her relationships with her friends definitely remind me of my relationships with my friends from high school. It definitely took me back to a simpler time.

Through a bit of an unfortunate attempt at opening a door to flirtation gone wrong, Jewel meets Colin, who is on vacation with his friend, Jake. Colin has a bit of emotional baggage too, so it was interesting to see how they'd react to each other.

Colin walked into the story with a less than ideal opinion of Jewel, because one of her previous relationships had been with his cousin. Throughout the story, Colin has to sort out what she actually is versus what everyone thinks she is.

Although they both tried extremely hard to deny it, they were immediately attracted to each other. One of the things that made me happy was that with all the emotional baggage, the story did progress as it otherwise should. However, it didn't progress too quickly. I liked that there was some restraint. With that much going on emotionally, I wouldn't have believed it without at least a small amount of restraint.

Though this book took place over a vacation, I was surprised to see how much both Jewel and Colin grew emotionally in that short amount of time. I'm a firm believer in the idea that just because a story is short, that doesn't mean that there's no time for character growth. I was extremely happy to see that this author agrees with me.

Another thing I loved about this story was that although this story was short, it certainly wasn't lacking. It didn't cut off too soon, and I was completely satisfied with where it ended. I didn't feel cheated out of a good story. But it was the perfect length for someone like me that doesn't always have infinite amounts of time to read.

If you would like to read this book, the links are below!

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! YAY!

So, I know that on your birthday, you're supposed to GET a lot of presents, but this birthday, I'm going to GIVE them. If you've been wanting to read The Rapture of Avery Maye, but for whatever reason, you don't have it yet, it is FREE on Smashwords for TODAY ONLY! Check the image below with my lovely cover model, Chii! LOL!

If you're seriously determined to get me something, read it and let me know what you think by either leaving a review or sending me an email at emavolfauthor@gmail.com. :-)

Also, the versions on Smashwords and Amazon have been given a fresh edit with a bit of bonus content in the back! Hopefully I'll have the new cover to show you all soon, too. I just don't have that yet.

So here's the link one more time: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/229217

I hope you download it, read it, and enjoy it! And don't forget to keep an eye out for Blood of Eirny, which will hopefully be out by end of Summer!

So what am I working on?

It's been a while since I've updated. I've had some health issues and some life changes to pay attention to. But as far as writing goes, surely I have some news, right?

Of course I do!

Since I've spoken with you all last, I've started TWO new books!

One of them is not Eirny-related. It's not even paranormal. It's actually done, but I'm still contemplating whether it will be released. Why is it important, then? Well it MIGHT be news to you all later. It also means that this girly has been practicing. And it was a challenge for me to do, since it is an adult book. So, yeah. Nothing like Chronicles of Eirny, at all. Not even kinda.

The other is in the same world as Eirny, but it will not actually be a part of the series. Much like Undertaken. While I'm at it, I'll go ahead and tell you a bit more about Undertaken.

Undertaken takes place on pre-End War Earth. It explains why Eirny even happened. It explains why the End War started. I have gotten SO many questions about it, so I thought I'd tell you the whole story. It follows characters that are a part of the Chronicles, but they won't actually show up in the Chronicles until the 3rd book.

The newest one that I've been working on is called Of Land and Sea. It also takes place on pre-End War Earth and follows the parents of the mermaid rulers, who appear in Blood of Eirny, which will hopefully be out by the end of summer. I'm working so hard to get this one out to you guys, I swear.

So book descriptions out of the way, let's get on to other news.

Keep your eyes peeled on May 22nd! I have a surprise for all of you!

Also, June 28th through June 30th, I will be in Nashville for the UtopYA conference! I will be spending TONS of quality time with my temporary roomies, Ruthi and MaryAnn from R&M Fab Book Reviews, and all the authors, bloggers, and readers of all things Young Adult who will be there! I don't have a booth or anything, but I will be wandering and scoping out what's there! I hope to take lots of pictures! Also, if you see me there, make sure to say hi! If you have a print copy of The Rapture of Avery Maye, I will be more than happy to sign it for you there!

Seriously, I don't bite. Come see me.

And if I do bite, I've had my shots. Just saying.