Chosen Release Day! Oh and Happy Halloween too!

I need to take a moment.

.........

Okay.

I just had to sit and realize that holy shit.

CHOSEN is FINALLY here. Like....what?! I'm half excited, half freaking out, and smiling so big my face hurts. Which is awesome. I'm smiling because right now, I don't really have the words to properly profess how ready I am for you to read Kaddy's story.

I have poured so much blood, sweat, and tears into the novel and it took me so freaking long to write. But every step I made, every word I wrote was totally and completely worth it. I'm so excited, and so are Kaddy and Cole, that you are reading their story and setting off on epic adventures with them.

In honor of this badass occasion of epic proportions I am having a GIVEAWAY! I am giving away the following:

- 2 SIGNED paperback copies
-3 e-book copies

I would have added some author swag in there but it hasn't arrived yet. Let me tell you, there will be a giveaway when that gets to my doorstep too. It's super awesome stuff. Take my word for it.

Now on to the giveaway!! Click the link to enter and maybe you'll win! Winners will be announced next week!

Click here ---> CHOSEN GIVEAWAY <---Click here!!

Awesome. All that needs with my snazzy arrows is some flashing lights.

Now that you've entered the giveaway, best of luck! For those who haven't, go enter or snag your copy of Chosen on Amazon! It should be up on Barnes and Noble soon. They take a little longer sometimes.

AND not to mention that at the end of Chosen, there is a sneak peak of Hollie Westring's novel, Whispers and Wishes that is coming out on November 7th! You get an exclusive sneak peek into chapter one and let me tell you, her book does not disappoint at all. So mark that on your TBR people! It's an awesome paranormal new adult book!! I'm qualified to say that because I've been lucky enough to read it. Next week you could grab your copy!!

Well I don't got much else to say at the moment except happy Chosen release day and Happy Halloween!!

Now go read some books! :-)

Chosen Playlist

As most of you know, Chosen has a big music influential in the book because, well, if you didn't know, Kaddy is in a rock band. Click on over to the Fighting Fate tab and read all about that summary.

Anyway, as I was saying...Kaddy is in a rock band which also badass. A badass rock band. Which you will get to read all about and meet all the other members in less than 24 hours!! AHHHHHHH!!!! <insert extra squeals of excitement here> SO CLOSE!!!

It is also a well known fact that I cannot write without music playing somewhere in my house because songs help the mood stay intact for certain scenes or they simply may inspire a new scene! Music is amazing and I'm so glad that Kaddy's story is so deeply entrenched in it.

So without further chatter, here are the songs I listened to while writing Chosen! (p.s. These are in no particular order)

1. No Light, No Light - Florence + the Machine
2. Renegade - Paramore
3. Erase This - Evanescence
4. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
5. You'll Never Know - VersaEmerge
6. Hurricane - MS. MR.
7. Have Faith in Me - A Day to Remember
8. Life of My Own - 3 Doors Down
9. Angel in the Swamp - Story of the Year
10. Just a Girl - No Doubt
11. Weight of the World - Evanescence
12. Sink Into Me - Taking Back Sunday
13. Wonderwall - Oasis
14. Underneath It All - No Doubt
15. Collect Call - Metric
16. Last Hope - Paramore
17. Fire Away - The Swellers
18. If It Means a Lot to You - A Day To Remember
19. No One Does It Better - You Me At Six
20. Pressure - Paramore

There it is!! Or a much condensed version. I had close to 70 songs but these were the ones repeated most often as I wrote. Recognize some? Or have you discovered some new artists? Nevertheless, enjoy!

LESS THAN 24 HOURS.

Teaser Tuesday: Chosen Excerpt #4!!!!

It is that time. The time for the last Chosen excerpt before it's release in...

wait for it...

2 FREAKING DAYS.

Holy chips and guacamole (As Gracie from the Flightless Bird series would say) I can't believe the time is finally here!! It seems like I've been waiting forever for this book to come out. Not to mention you all too. It's bound to be relieving that you will all soon be able to join in on Kaddy and Cole's adventures! Because they are epic. :-)

What else is epic? The Chosen Playlist which will be released tomorrow!! That way you can jam out to all the cool songs I listened to that helped me write Chosen. So much epicness is happening this week!

Without anymore chatter, here is the final excerpt from Chosen!

And don't forget Chosen will be out in 2 days. :D


“What are you trying to say?” The tension between us was like a live wire with a strong current running through him and me, electrifying the air.
          “Isn’t that what keeping secrets is all about? You never know what someone is capable of until one day you do.” Cole’s matter-of-fact philosophy was not sitting well with me. He made it sound like he knew me, knew me in a way I didn’t. I narrowed my eyes at him in response.
            “Yeah, okay.” I shrugged into my jacket and started zipping it up until it got snagged. Tugging on the zipper, I tried to fix it until Cole’s fingers replaced mine and he gently unhinged the fabric. He zipped my jacket until it was halfway up my chest, just how I always wore it. My heart skipped a beat as my pulse raced in my body. My hands wanted to twine themselves with his. Snap out of it, my brain commanded, but I couldn’t listen to it. It was like I forgot how to move, his gravity held me there.

Short and sweet. Can't wait for Halloween!

Teaser Tuesday: Chosen Excerpt #3!!!

WHHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe there are only 9 DAYS LEFT UNTIL CHOSEN.

Excuse me while I have a mini freak out session of excitement. You are welcome to join in my squealing sentiments if you wish.

*eeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!*

Ahem. All right. Now that I have that out of my system for the next five minutes we can get back to chatting about how today is Teaser Tuesday! Again!

If you haven't caught up to the awesome that is Tuesdays on this blog then come join the fun. This is the 3rd excerpt from CHOSEN which, if you didn't already know, will be out in 9 days. On Halloween. In 9 days. Just saying.

Also, my house smells like banana bread because sometimes I like to make banana bread at very odd times of the day. After this post I am going to have myself a fresh slice!

Anyway...let's get back to the gist of this post. The most exciting part!! I am sooooooo excited times a gabillionjillion infinity for this book so I am happy to share with you excerpt #3!!! Here it is!

“You look well this evening,” Cole pointed out and shifted those damn sky-colored eyes to me, a smirk spreading across his features. For a moment my stomach had a burst of butterflies.
            “You look good too.” My tone was clipped as I tried to deflect his stares and tried to rid myself of the pesky nerves in my stomach. Then I realized what I had said. “I meant that you look well too, not good.” Cole looked really well, actually. His hair cascaded gently over one side of his forehead and as I peeked at him, my eyes traced down his neck and across his broad shoulders. His cotton shirt fitted him nicely, but once I caught sight of his strong arms, I swallowed down the metaphorical magnet that was drawing me to him. I knew it was my anxiety coming through, but I didn’t know him very well and just last week those arms had held me…they hadn’t hurt me.
            “Are you saying I don’t look good?” He chuckled and wandered over to a stack of CDs.
            “No, I was saying that you do, but I didn’t mean,” I stopped myself, feeling flustered. “Okay, anyway, Mr. Muller said he wanted to move the decade music against the left wall?” I put my head down to hide my pink cheeks and started lifting a huge box of nineties music. “Josh, can you grab the seventies?” I nodded at the box. Without asking, Cole grabbed the sixties and we rearranged the whole wall, right down to the last box that held the forties. Cole was reorganizing the CDs by alphabetical order when I noticed he still had the gash on the back of his hand that had been there when I saw him last.
            “What happened to your hand?” I finished the section of “H” artists. Josh was already scooting a table against the far wall.
             Cole paused. “Oh, I, um, a rock fell on it.”
             “Seriously? A rock?” I gave him a skeptical look.
             “I was out hiking and I was walking up a steep path when a rock slipped out of place and fell onto my hand, cutting it.” He didn’t look at me as he kept organizing.

BUH-BAM!!! Folks! Check it out!! What is happening? What is going on? What is the mystery?! Many, many questions I'm sure have risen but fear not. You'll have them all answered in 9 days.

Did I mention it was 9 days?

Okay I am going to stop and go eat my banana bread.

Teaser Tuesday: Chosen Excerpt #2!!

HAPPY FREAKING TUESDAY.

You see what I did with the title? Because it's the second excerpt, I put two exclamation points. Badass.

I am seriously SO FREAKING FLIPPING EFFING EXCITED that Chosen will be out in 16 days.

16. Days.

16 days.

OMG.

Meanwhile, I'm busy over here trying to contain my excitement but as you can see it oozes out all over today's blog post.

Today is awesome for a number of reasons and I have listed them for you:

1. It is not Monday anymore.
2. It is one day closer to Friday.
3. It is one day closer to Chosen AND Halloween (which is basically one of the best holidays ever).
4. My cat got special kitty snacks today and when he's happy, I'm happy.
5. And because I'm releasing the second teaser today.

Now moving on! Please enjoy this excerpt of Chosen. It is quite the teaser today.


I narrowed my eyes. “What does that mean?”
            He chuckled, the only one finding this humorous. “If I really focus my hearing, I can hear your heartbeat.” Cole shut his book and set it on the desk, breaking eye contact with me and arranging everything into an organize stack.
            I wasn’t sure what to say but my heart skipped a beat, making me clear my throat as if I could hide it. “Yeah, well, I can hear yours too.” Casually, I leaned back in the chair, trying to downplay the lie I had just spilled.
            He stopped his organizing. “Oh, really?” His smirk grew as he turned his attention to me, standing from his chair.
            “Yep.” I challenged, trying to focus my hearing on him, seeing if I could really detect it. Cole drew nearer, both his hands coming down on either arm on the chair, trapping me in as he leaned towards me. Never once did I steal my eyes away from his. Despite my focus, I couldn’t hear his heart. The nearer he got, the more I lost my concentration and the butterflies flew in my stomach.
            “I presume you are here to have the rest of your questions answered?” He stopped, just inches away with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Or should we think of something else to do?”


Getting excited yet? 16 DAYS CHOSEN WILL BE HERE. :D

p.s. How many of you are sporting them fabulous ugly sweaters? It's that season to wear them proud!

Teaser Tuesday: Chosen Excerpt #1!

Guess what day it is! (As if the title hadn't already given it away).

It's TEASER TUESDAY!! Woohoo! Yay! Insert other celebratory remarks here!

I was slacking last Tuesday but every Tuesday up until the release of Chosen I will be releasing teasers from the book! Some smaller than others, depending on what I want to share. I am sooo excited for this to release. I don't even know how to begin to express my excitement. Eeeeeeekkkkk!! I'm sure its best to describe them in squeals.

Okay, blah, blah, blah you want me to stop my chatter. I know. Let's get to the good stuff.

Without further chatter, please enjoy this excerpt from CHOSEN (which is coming out on October 31st in case you forgot).

“Kaddy, wait.” I heard Mike trailing me as I turned out of the Wheel Barrel.
            I pressed a hand to my temple and sighed. “Yeah?”
            “You okay? I know you didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.” Mike scratched the back of his head and looked down at me, worried. “Maybe some lunch will help.”
            “What I need is sleep, and what needs to happen is for me to stop having these stupid night terrors.” I leaned back against the hot brick building for a moment.
            “You can’t help it. It’s not your fault.” Mike leaned on his shoulder next to me, his hands deep in his apron pockets.
            “I know, but I hate it. Why can’t they stop?” I smacked my hand to my forehead and sighed. Against my palm, my skin felt too warm. Was I getting sick? Great. It was the last thing I needed. “Do I feel warm to you?” I dropped my hand and looked over at Mike, giving him permission to touch me with a simple confirmation from my eyes.
            Slowly raising his arm, the back of his hand pressed against my cheek. “Damn, Kaddy. You’re burning up! Do you feel all right?”
            I shrugged. I did feel all right, just a little warm. “I feel fine. I need some sleep. Promise to plan on going to bed early tonight?” I doubted he would keep this promise. He and I always stayed up late writing music.
            Mike got a playful glint in his eye. “You know I’m a night owl. No promises there.”
            I sighed and rolled my eyes. “We both are.”
            Mike still had his hand pressed against my cheek until it shifted up to tug his gray beanie down on my forehead. “Maybe it’s just my awesome hat that’s making you overheat. Who wears a beanie in August?” he joked and I playfully scowled at him as I readjusted the knitted beanie.
            “Oh, I’m sure that’s it,” I laughed and gave him a gentle punch on the arm.
            “Whoa.” He took a step back. “You been working out or something? That hurt.” Mike held his upper arm like I had socked it with everything I had. I stood there waiting with my “really?” look and raised my eyebrows in anticipation for his mischievous face to appear. If Mike was anything, he was a jokester. Just like I expected, a few seconds later, he cracked a smile on his lips and started laughing.
            “You always think your little jokes are hilarious!” Even when I rolled my eyes, I couldn’t stop his infectious laughter from causing me to laugh.
            “Kadster, we know I tell the best jokes. I eat sarcasm for breakfast every day.” He winked and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I didn’t shy from his touch.
            “So do I, but no one but you find anything I say funny.” I looked up at him as he walked me to the corner of the block, the direction of home. Only Mike called me the Kadster. Actually, he had a lot of nicknames for me and I didn’t mind it. He was one of the few I would let getaway with calling me things other than my name.
            “It’s because everyone is just jealous of the awesome friendship we’ve had since we were eight. Haters gonna hate.” He shrugged and his other hand pretended to dust off his shoulder. Mike was the only friend I counted on for anything. Long ago, we made a pact, and so far, he’s kept every word he promised to keep.

 

And there was your excerpt! A little introduction to characters and the mystery. Ooohhh! Insert 'ohhh's and ahhhh's' here.

 

Happy freaking Tuesday!

 

23 Days.

Whispers & Wishes Cover Reveal!!

IT IS FINALLY HERE.

Hollie's cover for Whispers & Wishes that is. I am soo excited to be revealing this today! It's just a beautiful cover and pertains so much to the story and Eliza's adventure. Trust me, you'll want this one on your TBR. I had the wonderful opportunity to beta read it and it's fabulous!!

Now! Onward to the awesome. Whispers & Wishes will be out November 7th!

 

 

Synopsis:

Eliza Monroe has been traveling the United States for three years, immersing herself in the towns she visits as she searches for the mother she’s never known. She hopes returning to her grandmother’s inn in Sage Springs, Mo., will provide the break she needs to evaluate her lonely life.

 What Eliza isn’t expecting is to have two men enter the picture, not making her decision to stay or leave any easier. One has been her foundation, while the other is as comfortable as she is hopping from city to city. Throw in a kooky grandmother, a cheerful best friend, a sarcastic guest, a town where residents and spirits interact like neighbors, and Eliza has little time to contemplate her future.

Friendships grow, webs are spun and lies are revealed before Eliza comes to terms with what she wants in life and learns what's really important.

 

Psst! Look! It's my beautiful writing sister!

About the Author

Hollie Westring hails from Kansas City, Mo. She used to be a journalist, which probably explains her extreme dislike of the serial comma and her preference for AP style. 



 After realizing the hours of journalists were not productive to any type of social or family life, she settled into a job at a publishing syndicate. She worked with comics, astrology columns, word puzzles and feature columns for six years. Although she enjoyed her time there, Hollie decided to leave the nine-to-five world and join the twenty-four/seven world of motherhood. Now she edits from home.

 When not writing, editing or reading, Hollie can be found baking cookies or watching more than her fair share of crime TV. She’s a loyal Royals and Chiefs fan.

Want to know more about Hollie because she is awesome? Here are some great links to find her!

Connect with Hollie

 Twitter: @holliewestring

 Website: www.holliewestring.com

 Facebook: facebook.com/authorholliewestring

Have a GREAT Friday folks! Read on!