Epic Black Friday Sale on Christian Indie Books + Audiobook Giveaway!

 

Happy Black Friday, friends!

I'm thrilled to be participating in an exciting sale lasting today (November 27th) through November 30th with a bunch of other Christian indie authors! (You can check out the site with all the deals HERE.) We're offering everything from package deals on paperbacks, free shipping on paperbacks, $.99 ebook deals, and FREE ebooks. Pretty sweet, right?? 

You'll find my books on the eBooks Only page. My two historical novels are on sale for $.99, and my shorter stories (historical short stories and contemporary novellas) are FREE. So...you could get all my ebooks for less than $2! Would love for you to be able to pick up any you're missing - or to give the free ebooks a try if you haven't read any of mine yet. :)

And of course, I hope you'll browse all the other fab deals on the site! 

If you can't decide where to start your browsing, check out this fun tool:

Book Finder

(Which Indie Christian Books Should You Read?)

It's so awesome to see deals from friends like...

• Jaye L. Knight (Ilyon Chronicles - fantasy series)
• Emily Ann Putzke (Historical novellas)
• Shantelle Mary Hannu (Cinderella story)
• Faith Blum (Hymns of the West - Western series)

And there are many other books in various genres to check out!

To recap, here's the official word on the deal from our wonderful event organizer Leah E. Good:

In honor of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, a group of independent Christian authors banded together to offer over seventy discounted books on Nov 27-30. There's literally something for everyone. Every single book listed on Indie Christian Books is on sale in one or more ways. Find discounted paperbacks, dozens of books offered with free shipping, $0.99 ebooks, package deals and more. Even if you have a budget of $0, new reading material awaits you. Don't know what to pick? The fearless Indie Christian Books team created a quiz that will generate a book list perfect for you! Check it out! 

One last thing: I'm also giving away 5 promo codes for the How a Star Falls audiobook! This is a one-day only giveaway that's open to everyone and anyone with access to Audible.com. The audiobook is narrated by Patrick Wilson Mahaney (@patrick_mahaney) - and I think Patrick did a fantastic job of capturing Derrick's voice. :)

Want to learn more about the audiobook/story and listen to a sample? Click HERE. And enter to win a FREE copy through the form below...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A note on the Ebooks Only page: All books are listed as "Sold Out." This only refers to paperback copies of these titles. Please click through to the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good for her fabulous work organizing this sale! Gloria Repp for completing the time-consuming job of uploading book info to the sale website, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.

For the Love of Pinterest (A Storyboard Party)

When I heard that author friend Elisabeth Grace Foley was planning a Pinterest Storyboard Party, I was all on board that train - no looking back!

You see, Pinterest has played such a large role in my story brainstorming process. At first, it was more of a way to try to convey visually what I had already created, but now the process has evolved to the point where I'm pinning visual inspiration before and during the writing process. It's a combination research and motivation tool, from pinning helpful articles and reference pictures to beautiful quotes and character look-alikes.

Today's event is sort of a "show-and-tell," as Elisabeth put it. :) Below you'll find glimpses of my projects that are already out there and ones that are to come. (Be sure to click the top/title of the widgets to see all the pins.) I'd absolutely love to hear if a certain board or pin intrigues you!

And if you're a writer with a storyboard(s) of your own, I hope you'll link to it/them in the comments section, so we can hop over to Pinterest and take a peek!

* * *

Amber's Storyboards (in Alphabetical Order)

Bellflower | Short Story

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast in an 1880 mining town

Highlights: Really love these actor picks for Annabelle and Jacob (Robin Wright and Randall Batinkoff). Also, some of the Beauty and the Beast images are so fitting!

Follow Amber Stokes's board Bellflower | Short Story on Pinterest.
Bleeding Heart | Novel

An inspirational Western romance about five bleeding hearts on a profound journey

Highlights: Lots of personal photos mixed into this board for my debut novel. And there are some absolutely perfect (and poignant) quotes that fit the theme of the story. (Bonus: You'll find a personality quiz tucked in there, too!)

Follow Amber Stokes's board Bleeding Heart | Novel on Pinterest.
Fairy Slippers | Short Story

A retelling of Cinderella in an 1888 redwood lumber town

Highlights: Lovely fairy-tale-esque pictures and some cool pins of the fairy slipper orchid.

Follow Amber Stokes's board Fairy Slippers | Short Story on Pinterest.
Forget Me Not | Novel

An inspirational Western romance about remembering the good amid heartbreak

Highlights: Gorgeous scenery shots - and a pic of a young John Cusack as Harry in The Journey of Natty Gann (that's definitely a highlight!).

Follow Amber Stokes's board Forget Me Not | Novel on Pinterest.
How a Star Falls | Novella

A new adult contemporary romance about a girl who claims to be a star (not the Hollywood kind!)

Highlights: Beach, stars, and romance - need I say more? I think the mood of this board really worked its way into the story.

Follow Amber Stokes's board How a Star Falls | Novella on Pinterest.
Morning Glory | WIP

An inspirational Western romance set in Oregon and featuring Myghal from previous books in the series

Highlights: This board feels like a reflection of different points in the brainstorming/writing process. It's a little all-over-the-place, showing the spurts of direction and the aimless wandering through inspiration. Hopefully this will all come together at some point!

Follow Amber Stokes's board Morning Glory | WIP on Pinterest.
When Frozen Days Melt | WIP

A young adult contemporary romance featuring younger sister Chloe (from How a Star Falls)

Highlights: The overall tone of the board - it's just so happy, dontcha think? I like the fashion pics, the yummy ice cream images, and the glimpses of home.

Follow Amber Stokes's board When Frozen Days Melt | WIP on Pinterest.
Where Trains Collide | WIP

A new adult contemporary romance featuring middle sister Trisha (from How a Star Falls)

Highlights: Autumn and trains - two of my favorite things! I want to hug this board. ;) Also, the scene from The Office (for some reason, it makes me happy every time I glance through the board) and the cool GIF pin at the bottom.

Follow Amber Stokes's board Where Trains Collide | WIP on Pinterest.
While You're Awake | Novelette

A contemporary re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty with a barista and a freelance editor

Highlights: Cute German shepherd pics and interesting facts about honey bees.

Follow Amber Stokes's board While You're Awake | Novelette on Pinterest.

Bonus!

I'm deeply inspired by music. To discover some of the musical inspiration behind these stories, check out the "soundtrack" boards:

• Bleeding Heart
• Forget Me Not
• How a Star Falls
• Morning Glory
• Where Trains Collide
• While You're Awake

(Note: The other stories have some music pins mixed in with the other pins on the main boards.)

A St. Patrick's Day Surprise! (Fairy Slippers)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I don't have any four-leaf clovers for you...but I do have some fairy slippers, which are also a rare and lovely find. :) (Well, at least the flower is - hoping you'll find the story to be sweet, too!)

Yes, Fairy Slippers - the short-story sequel to Bleeding Heart featuring Zachary Taylor the cook - is now available! Instead of publishing it as a separate ebook, which was my plan earlier this year, I was inspired by my cover designer's latest project, Take a Picture. The way she so sweetly combined her two short stories made me want to do the same for "The Heart's Spring" short stories, especially since both stories are such quick reads (about 6K words for Bellflower and 5K for Fairy Slippers).

So the cover for Bellflower got a makeover - with a brighter background and a note at the bottom about the extra short story being included. And now the combo ebook is available for $.99 at the following sites!

Amazon (Kindle) | Barnes & Noble (Nook) | Smashwords

Here's some more information about the ebook...

"The Heart's Spring" Short-Story Combo eBook 

BELLFLOWER: Short Story Prequel to Forget Me Not 

Spring 1880 

Annabelle knows only one way of life. Jacob knows only one way to feel secure. When their paths cross in a Western mining town, can they find a way for love to bloom? Discover the story behind two hurting hearts in this short but sweet retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

FAIRY SLIPPERS: Bonus Short Story Companion to Bleeding Heart 

Spring 1888 

Margaret is fragile. Zachary is tough. Both are lonely. Will a dance in a redwood lumber town bring them together—or drive them apart forever? Discover the continuing story of the cook from Bleeding Heart in this short but sweet retelling of Cinderella. 

• Visit the page for both short stories on The Heart's Spring blog.
• Add the book on Goodreads. (I ended up combining Bellflower & Fairy Slippers there to reflect the new ebook format - I apologize to those of you who had only marked Fairy Slippers as "to-read"!)
• View character/setting images and more on the Fairy Slippers Pinterest board. (There's also one for Bellflower.)

If you've already read Bellflower because you subscribe to my newsletter or you got it for free on Smashwords, I hope you'll still find Fairy Slippers to be an encouraging little afternoon diversion for a buck. :)

***

To celebrate the official ebook release day, I've got a couple of special offers for you!

Forget Me Not is Free for Kindle!

Today (March 17th) through Friday (March 21st), Forget Me Not is FREE in Kindle format! Click HERE to pick up your copy. Bellflower is the prequel to Forget Me Not, so this is the perfect chance to read both together for only $.99! You can actually read the whole series (minus Book 3 - Morning Glory - which should hopefully be released this summer) for less than $4!! The paperback versions of Forget Me Not and Bleeding Heart are also both available now for only $8.99 each.

All that to say... If you've been waiting to pick up your copies of these books and dive into "The Heart's Spring" series, now is the time! ;)

A Cinderella Giveaway!

I've been holding onto this horse & carriage beaded bookmark from Belle on a Budget for a few months now, waiting to use it for a Fairy Slippers giveaway - isn't it just darling? Even though there are no horses or carriages mentioned in Fairy Slippers, I think it's perfect to celebrate a Cinderella-themed story. I hope you agree! This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only, and you can enter via the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 ***

St. Patrick's Day Spotlight Participants

Check out these super sweet bloggers who are helping me spread the word about all this bookish news today!

• A BookLover's Heart
• Bluerose's Heart
• Christian Bookshelf Reviews
• Christian Novels
• Fictionally
• Inspiring Daring
• Labor Not in Vain
• Literary and Lace
• My Favorite Pastime
• The Curried Nut
• The Wonderings of One Person
• To Be A Person

One last note: If you're interested in learning more about fairy slippers (the flower) or the setting for Fairy Slippers (the story), be sure to visit The Heart's Spring series blog today! I'm sharing a little bit of the story behind the story in honor of release day, and I've got some neat YouTube videos for you to check out. :)

What do you think of the updated combo cover? Do you enjoy getting to learn about secondary characters in a series through short stories?