In my quest to expand my audience, I’m giving Facebook ads a try. So far, I spent lots of time tinkering with the promo, but I haven’t seen any staggering result, yet. I’m clearly doing it wrong, but the ad looks nice. I think.
PS
Above, the ad targeting the United Kingdom—the one for the USA looks the same, just different Amazon link. If Raphael shows up in your Facebook newsfeed, please let me know. Thanks!
Raphael, the first book in The Immortal Youth series—a YA spin-off from The Immortals—is finally out. The first reviews from my ARC’s readers are so far positive, and I’m glad that people seem to connect with Raphael: a young werewolf deeply damaged in the soul and yet inherently good. Writing a story that treated a topic like abuse both physical and psychological wasn’t easy. In fact, it took me sixty days longer than I had planned, but I’m happy with how the book turned out.
Raphael
Raphael has nowhere to go, nobody who loves him, and his past has scarred him deeply. A young werewolf on the run, living rough in the catacombs beneath Rome and with nothing else to call his own but his freedom, he desperately tries to elude the Controller whose goal is to send him back to Renegade Youth Shelter and a life of torments.
As he lives day by day with the constant threat of being captured, his future looks dark and lonely.
That is until a chance meeting with Luisa; a werewolf like him whose scent marks her as his one true soul-mate. Much to his despair, their encounter is cut short as he flees from the enforcer chasing after him.
His heart broken and his wolf bereft, Raphael will sacrifice everything to be reunited with Luisa. Even his freedom when he discovers she’s been abducted by a street gang. But, will it be enough?
Some of you know of my love for animals in general and dogs in particular. Some of you also know of my Immortals series and the shifters who populate my stories. Put the two things together and it was only natural that I would participate in the beast-themed anthology, Badass and the Beast: 10 “Tails” about Kickass Heroines and the Beasts Who Love Them. Plus, I know and highly respect a few of the fellow anthologists who donated their novelettes to this charity project. The ones I hadn’t met before, they’ve become favorites of mine after reading their stories.
And if you need another reason to buy the anthology, know that all the proceeds from the sales will go to Animal Welfare Institute, a A+ organization rated by Charity Watch.
My contribution, Shifting Loyalties, is from The Immortal Youth world, a YA spinoff from the adult Immortals series. Laura, a runaway were-panther, lives a lonely life, stealing food when she isn’t scavenging dumpsters to survive. Constantly on the run, terrified that not only humans and paranormals predators, but also the Controller will catch up with her some day. Then she meets a huge Newfoundland dog and everything changes for Laura.
I have read all the stories in the anthology and as I mentioned earlier they are all exceptional. Fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, some old good paranormal, a tad of horror, and some underworld action, every genre is represented to please anyone’s taste. If you want to know more about the talented authors who’ve contributed to the project, follow the links below. Before me, the lovely Kathrine Pendleton posted on her blog. Next in the blog tour will be Mikel Andrews on May, 11th.
And finally, for a chance to win signed books, assorted swag, and a $50 Amazon gift card enter the rafflecopter!
Raphael is in capable hands and I’m working on its blurb and promo material. What do you think?
Coming from a past of abuse, as a young werewolf on the run, Raphael has nowhere to go and no one who loves him. He lives by, sleeping in the catacombs under Rome, and hiding from the Controller who wants to take him back to Renegade Youth Shelter.
Raphael’s days are filled with the constant threat of being discovered, and his future looks dark and lonely.
Then one night, he steals a vial of vampire blood by mistake. While escaping from an enforcer bent on catching him, Raphael meets Luisa, a werewolf like him. His wolf howls at the girl’s scent, branding her as Raphael’s true soul mate, but their first encounter is cut short by the enforcer.
Separated from Luisa by adults who want to exploit them, Raphael will sacrifice everything to be reunited with her. But will it be enough?
I’ve been working on Raphael’s edits like there’s no tomorrow and promptly forgotten all about Friday Snippets and other promises I made. But, here I am, the next day, with a brand new snippet, and the simplified version of the cover I posted last week.
From Raphael:
Slowly getting up, Raphael stretched his arms and looked around, only to spot the colossal frame of the Controller. “Great Wolf—”
The demon had his back to him, talking on a cell phone. Of all the places the man could be stalking in Rome, he had to be walking around Quartiere Coppedè.
“Happy sweet sixteen to me.” Raphael was sure there was a cosmic joke somewhere to be found, but was too hard-pressed to appreciate the humor in his current predicament.
Forcing himself to slow his pace, he stepped away from the fountain and reached the side of the Fairy House, now in the shadow. His heart throbbed in his throat as he cleared the corner and kept walking toward the bridged archway delimiting the neighborhood. A red bus slowed down and stopped at the curb on Tagliamento Street. With a leisure jog, he passed the arch and reached the bus stop, then hopped on the running board as soon as the bus exit doors opened.
Passengers stepping out complained, but Raphael pushed through the crowd until he was safely ensconced in the middle of the cabin, sandwiched between the afternoon commuters. He dared one peep out of the large window and saw the Controller staring at him. The man shook his head with a pronounced grimace on his face. As the bus lurched forward, Raphael waved at the demon. “See ya.”
Then a sweet scent he had never forgotten hit his nostrils and he turned, his heart beating as fast as his wolf’ as he faced a familiar pair of green eyes. A feeling of belonging descended upon him like a warm blanket.
“Hi,” the girl of his dreams said.
Two years had passed since the night of the botched robbery, but he thought of her every day. “You’re my mate and I’m in love with you,” he hurried to say, in case she would disappear again. It had been love at first scent for him, and he had known the truth since then that he would never love anyone else in his life. His wolf pranced around to be acknowledged.
Her eyebrows shot up and her lips curved in an amused smile revealing dimples on her cheeks. “It’s nice to see you.”
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. His wolf demanded he nuzzled her throat, and Raphael’s breath hitched at the image.
At the same time, the girl’s eyes lit and widened, casting a spell on Raphael who couldn’t see anything else but her.
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Monica La Porta 