HUGE #Giveaway Event and a NEW Jolene Perry Book!

Happy Monday, reader-friends!

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling spring on the way... #eeep!

I'll get to this HUGE GIVEAWAY in a second, but first...

You hear me talk a lot about my fab cover designer and amazing writer-friend Jolene Perry...

Well, Jolene is a "hybrid" author, meaning she has both self-published and traditionally published books.

And they're all amazing... go to her website (link) right now and pick one to read.

I'll wait.

...

Which one did you pick?

J/k... Jolene's newest book The Summer I Found You is published by Albert Whitman Teen, and it is as gorgeous as it is breathtaking...

Get me on Amazon!

AND!!! I'm so excited because we have Jolene herself here today to tell you about it!!!

Take it away, Jo~

All the Swoony Stuff 

by Jolene Perry

So. When I'm making the rounds and doing a million blog posts to spread over the internet, I get to be supah specific.

Today I'm going to share some of my favorite swoony moments from THE SUMMER I FOUND YOU but first, the blurb:  

All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.

Kate had the perfect boyfriend--until he dumped her. It couldn't have come at a worse time: ever since she found out she has diabetes, she's been trying to cope. She just wants to feel normal again.

Aidan planned on being a lifer in the Army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's the guy with one arm and nothing is the same as it was before. He wishes he could forget.

When Kate and Aidan meet, things couldn't be more awkward. Neither wants to get attached, and they both could use some fun. But what if they need each other more than they realize?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

First off from Kate...

Now that I’ve leaned over, the warmth of him hits me, and we’re close. Really close. Aidan’s breath hits my face, and I slide my arms over his toned stomach and down his muscular arm to get my arms around the baby. And for the first time, I’m touching a guy who I’d really, really like to see with his shirt off. Our eyes catch, and his breath blows across my face. 

Whoa. Butterflies are running circuits through my insides, over a guy who’s two years older, and only wants to hang with me so I can babysit with him.

What’s wrong with me? I’m like all hormonal or something. Even making out with Shelton didn’t make me all breathless like this. I scoop up the bundled baby, and lay him down in his bed, relieved I didn’t break him or wake him or something.

I back away from the crib and run into the stomach and chest I was just thinking about...

And then from Aidan...

I open my mouth to argue, but I suddenly feel pretty dumb for not thinking about it earlier. And I’m completely distracted by how her hand feels on my chest. As her hand slides down, her eyes follow, and I want for her to have wanted to touch me way more than I should.

All I hear is my breathing and I’m still staring at her hand, which is now nearly to the top of my jeans.

She drops her arm, and steps around me leaving me feeling very on edge, and maybe a bit like I want her to touch me that way again. I go around the front of the car and climb into the driver’s seat—still feeling the heat from her touch. I have no idea if I’m thrilled or terrified that I said yes to going with her tonight. Kate isn’t like Georgia, my Air Force girl. It wouldn’t be a hook-up once in a while kind of thing. Nerves start to press in.

I settle into the seat, and the car takes over my thoughts. I love this car. I run my hand over the top of the steering wheel a few times.

“When you’re done fondling your vehicle, I need you to show me how to shift.”

I chuckle, and turn as sideways as I can, pushing the clutch in with my left foot.

“Put your hand on the shift.”

She does. Her hair falls over her face a bit as she looks down, but I can still make out her dark eyes staring in concentration.

“Now you just follow the map on the top, you’ll feel a bump and then you’re in neutral, pull it back farther and you’ll be in second.”

She pulls down and the shifter goes slack in neutral. “Now what?” Her eyes are still focused on her hand. 

“Pull back more and you’ll slide into second.” 

She concentrates for a few moments, and jerks, but nothing happens. I scoot even farther sideways to put my left hand over hers. Our eyes catch. Okay. Breathe. This is just a girl. No big deal. 

“Okay, first.” I move our hands into first. “Second.” I move our hands again. We go through all the gears a few times. My hand on hers. Me trying to keep my heart beating normal, trying to force my chest to relax. This is crazy. I’m just touching her hand.

And finally this from Aidan :-D

I don’t even have to look to know her cheeks are turning red,and that she probably just said something she didn’t mean to. This is when her bursts of honesty are really going to help. She leans forward until the top of her head is pressed into my chest, hiding. Her arms wrap around my sides, keeping us together.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” I kiss her softly on the temple, and run my hand slowly up and down her arm.

“Me either.”

I touch her chin until she lifts her head from my chest and looks back up at me. It’s stupid, but I want her to kiss me first this time. Like I want to make sure she really does want this as much as I do.

But now I wonder—what will she actually think about me only having one arm? What will happen when she accidentally runs her hand over where my arm should be? Will it matter? Will she care?

I’m actually relieved that my shoulder stump is against the seat. Out of reach.

She leans forward and our lips come together in a small soft kiss before pulling away. I kiss her back, but this time our kiss is deep enough that the electricity flies through my body sending tingles to my toes, fingertips, every piece, every part. All of it. And I should probably be thinking more, but it feels so good to not think, to just feel. I slide my arm around her waist, frustrated I don’t have more power to keep her close, and kiss her again.

~ ~ ~

So. Care to share any swoon-worthy books you've read lately? Because I'm always looking for a great love story...  

~Jolene

* * *

Yay! Thanks, Jolene!!! Doesn't The Summer I Found You sound uh-mazing??? Run get it:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

* * *

Now for the HUGE GIVEAWAY!

FIFTY of your favorite YA and NA authors will celebrate being Irish for a day and play on Pinterest. There will be more than 45 e-book giveaways! 

Join the Facebook party HERE! and don't miss a thing!!!

Participating Authors:

Lila Felix   A. W. Exley  Melissa Pearl   

Jessica Gibson  Cindy M. Hogan  Sarah Ashley Jones  

Marie Landry  Rachel Morgan  Jennifer Snyder 

Stacey Marie Brown  Jessica Therrien  D.L. Raver 

Stacey Wallace Benefiel  Marilyn Almodóvar  Angee Taylor 

A.O. Peart  Devyn Dawson  Rick Chiantaretto 

Raine Thomas  L.P. Dover  Tamara Hart Heiner  

Leigh T Moore  Meradeth Houston  Amber Argyle 

Tawdra Kandle  Carlyle Labuschagne  Lisa Collicutt

Christy Dorrity  Stephanie Fowers  Kristina Renee

Faith McKay  Charlotte Abel  Jamie Ayres

A.M. Hargrove  Charli Webb  Amy Harmon  

Alyssa Rose Ivy  Kristie Cook  Lani Woodland

T.M. Franklin  Laura Howard  Sharron Riddle

Eliza Tilton  S. M. Boyce  Bethany Lopez 

Dawn Leigh  L.A. Casey  Emma Adams  

Amber Garr  Liz Long

a Rafflecopter giveaway


That's it for me, reader-friends! Have a SUPER week~

So You Want the Truth? Can You Handle It?

Streamline...
Write more...
Get more out there...
Market more... 
Market smarter...
Indie's saturated, go back to traditional...
No, join an author group...
Author groups don't market enough...
Author groups shouldn't market...
What should author groups do?

...Hang on... where is everybody???

It's a new year, reader-friends! 

I bet all you guys are making plans, setting reading goals, maybe exercising more, possibly making resolutions...

Behind this little indie-writer's scenes, a lot of talk is going on about how publishing is changing (again!), author support groups, what we should be doing heading into the new year.

Personally, I've also been looking at what's coming next, what's working and what isn't. Many of you have asked about Mosaic, and Yes! That is up next on the agenda!

Once we get un-snowed-in and the little ladies back in school. Snow Day #2 starts tomorrow~

In other news, would you LOOK at this blog? What a mess. *smh*

That's another thing everybody's talking about--Author Websites and Branding. (They've actually been talking about that one a while... I'm still talking.)

When I started this blog in Feb. 2010, it looked almost exactly how it looks now. Okay, my photos have changed.

I started out looking like this:

2009-2011

Then I looked like this:

LTM avatar

Now you see me as I am up there. (I actually look like all of these pictures... Just depends on if my hair's straight.)

I was also very much a traditionalist. I was querying agents, working, and waiting... waiting... waiting... write while you wait... quietly go insane...

Until I started this blog.

And lo and behold, this amazing tribe of writer-friends formed!

We would send each other little "awards"--which were actually networking-style greeting cards. You'd get one and then you'd pass it along and tag each other and tag the person who sent it to you... and the tribe grew.

It was how we met new friends before Facebook took over.

All those little awards still line this blog as you can see... (that's what you did when you got one--put them in the sidebar.)

Then some of us started getting deals. I can't remember who hit it big first. Maybe it was Sarah Fine, maybe it was Elana Johnson, maybe it was Lydia Kang...

Somebody can remind me.

The awards started moving to separate pages under tabs on the different blogs. The different blogs started looking more professional. The ones who'd gotten those big deals started getting too busy to blog... They had to write, y'all!

Totally understandable.

Then the revolution started. Jolene went indie... Susan went indie... Elle went indie... RaShelle blew up the indie scene with Blood & Snow...

I started editing for hire and when I did, I really saw how many of our friends had left the traditional game--AND how successful they were on their own.

Some days I still feel like a Major Dummy for waiting so long to join them, but I'm catching up. The only thing I haven't done is changed this blog.

It's hard because when I come here, I'm reminded of all those days we bonded over how hard this business is. How much those rejection letters hurt. How close we were to giving up. How we didn't think we could keep going any more. How we weren't even sure if we even had what it took to be a published author any more. How we wondered why we even started doing this to begin with...

This page has so much history.

I have an "official" web page that's pretty professional-looking---leightmoore.com.

Go there if you want to see me all spit and polished and looking like a Real Author.

But if you want the True Story, if you want to see behind the curtain, the journey, well, you've come to the right place.

Maybe one day I'll sit down and clean this blog up a bit. Make it look like a True Author Website...

*shrugs* I don't know.

Maybe instead, I'll pull down one of those awards and try circulating it again. See if anybody's still out there. If anybody else misses those old days.

Have a great week, reader-friends! Stay warm! I'll be heading back into the cave soon~ 

Rouge #WINNER and Keeping Up

We have a Winner, reader-friends!!!

I went to the ole Random Number Generator, and it pulled.... #2!!!

Chris Fries--you Won the Rouge Audiobook (link)! 

Please email me at leightmoore(at)gmail.com so I can give you the claim number.

**woo hoo!!!** **throws confetti**

(Honestly, I would give all of you who entered a free copy, but unlike my ebooks, I don't have access to it that way. They only gave me like five codes.)

If you're interested in Rouge, the book, here's the link. I call it my "secret book" because so few people know about it... (LOL!) But it's a good one--just different from my other stuff.

Anywho! I'm in the reading cave doing beta reads for some fabulous author-friends.

Add Me!

Today, I'm working on a new book (Unexpectedly You) by my lovely cover-designer Jolene Perry (link) and supersweet friend Cassie Mae (link).

They're writing together as Mia Josephs & Riley Janes. (I know! Wha-what???)

But it has something to do with their traditionally pubbed books... it's OK, though--I can tell you this so you know to go buy this FAB book by these amazing writer-friends when it releases later THIS MONTH...

After that, I get to read a superfun, supersexay new serial by my author-friend Magan Vernon (link).

Then I'll be heading into the next installment of  A Shot in the Light by one of my first bloggy buddies, the fantastic leader of the Naked World Domination campaign, Hart Johnson (link).

Seriously, if you love conspiracy theory stories, you will LOVE her Shot in the Light series. It's fast-paced, fun, and chilling AND it's only 99 cents on Amazon (link).

So lest you think I'm just hanging out, eating bonbons and not writing... LOL!

Have a super week, reader-friends! Back soon~ 

Cover Reveal for the Queen of Covers!

Happy Monday, reader-friends!

What a FUN weekend we had with the Lucky 13 Sale and Giveaway! THANK YOU to everyone who participated and made it a huge success.

The Giveaway is going on for a few more days, 13 people will win! Go here to enter (link)!

Now for the Cover Reveal.

You all know how much I love my cover-designer, writer-friend extraordinaire Jolene Perry.

She's the genius who made the covers for The Truth About Faking, Rouge, and the Dragonfly series. Just last week, she helped me update the ebook covers for Dragonfly & Undertow to this:

Jolene made us because she's brilliant.

Are those gorgeous or what?

She's the mastermind who created the Watercolor cover, which is absolutely perfect for Anna & Julian's love story...

Well, she's got her first HARDCOVER book coming out from Albert Whitman Teen, and I am so so proud and excited for her!!!

The thing about traditional publishing is they don't let you do your own covers. And for someone as brilliant as Jolene, I imagine that can be pretty scary. I'm happy to say they did a FAB job.

Here it is, and below, I'll tell you how to preorder your copy!

On Goodreads

Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.

Aidan planned on being a "lifer" in the army and went to Iraq straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life.

When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

OMG, I am so in love with this book and cover. Order your copy today!

And have a super week, reader-friends~

Let's Get Lucky! A huge #SALE and 13 Ways to #WIN!

Happy Friday 13th, reader-friends!

Fall swooshed in overnight bringing cooler temps. I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for some scary Halloween movies!

But before we get to all that, I've teamed up with 12 amazing writer-friends to bring  you a HUGE "Get Lucky" Sale and Giveaway for this weekend!

Check it out:

ALL only 99 cents this weekend!

All of the books on that graphic are only 99 cents this weekend!

Books by Jolene Perry, Bethany Lopez, L.M. Augustine, Cassie Mae/Becca Ann, Laura Howard, Allie Brennan, Ashley Wilcox, Quinn Loftis, Trisha Wolfe, Nazarea Andrews, Julia Crane, Lizzy Ford... Me!

That's right, Undertow is only 99 cents this weekend! Can you believe this haul?

Part of the deal is we each have to respond to: The First Time I Got Lucky. 

The first time I got lucky in writing was when I started this blog and met my very first writer-friend Hart Johnson. From there, I met Susan Quinn then Matt MacNish, Jessica Bell, eventually Jolene Perry...

All have turned out to be such incredible, supportive friends.

This blog has been a huge part of my writing success, and I've been blessed and lucky to meet so many amazing reader-friends through it. Including YOU! Thank you!!!

And now for the MEGA Giveaway! Check this out...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So have FUN! Take a chance, and GET LUCKY! See you Monday~

Undertow Weekend Picture-Teaser

Happy Friday, reader-friends!

We're counting down the days over here until Undertow goes LIVE!

Today I finished formatting the paperback copies, and I have to say, they are GORGEOUS. Thanks again to the lovely Jolene Perry (link) for her beautiful cover.

She also gave me this glowing endorsement for Undertow:

"An incredibly powerful sequel to Dragonfly. I found myself riveted to the last page by the dept of feeling, loss, tragedy, and love in this gorgeously woven story. This is a definite must-read." --Jolene Perry, author of Out of Play

Me = *sniff*

Now, what you've been waiting for, the next picture-teaser for your viewing pleasure...

(My only issue with this one is the girl's hair is too blonde, but that's Anna. I'm making a new one for next week, but the excerpt here is awesome.)

See what you think~

On Goodreads

Undertow
by Leigh Talbert Moore

Falling in love will pull you under...

-Bill Kyser has a plan to take the sandy farms of his hometown and turn them into a world-class tourist destination--and become a billionaire in the process. 
-Alexandra "Lexy" LaSalle has a plan to change her life by becoming a world-famous artist. 
-Meg Weaver has a plan to hold onto Bill no matter what she has to do.

Three friends, three dreams.
One fatal decision will change all their lives forever.

In Dragonfly, Bill Kyser gave Anna the three journals that held the story behind the powerful developer's seclusion and the damaged lives of his family members.

Anna hopes to find a way for Julian to know the truth, but as she digs deeper into the tragic events of the past, she realizes silence could be the only option.

Now she's in an alliance with the man she formerly feared. And if Julian finds out what she knows, she could lose for good the boy she's starting to love.

Add it today on GoodReads! 

Have a super weekend, reader-friends! More soon~

Awesome Surprise, Gorgeous Cover

Before we get to the Awesome Surprise, a quick update:

The Truth About Letting Go is on sale! whoop whoop!!!

For a limited time, get it for only $1.99. Reminder, this is not a sequel to The Truth About Faking. The books are companions, so you can read them out of order.

Grab your copy today!

Amazon * Barnes & Noble *iTunes * Kobo 

And now for the Awesome Surprise!

Remember last fall when I wouldn't stop gushing about the book My Heart for Yours by my great writer-friends Jolene Perry & Steph Campbell?

I love that story so much, and I thought that was it. A stand alone novel.

Well, I was WRONG! whee~

They're writing three more books in that series, and I have the cover for the next one, the prequel to My Heart For Yours, out July 15!

Here it is...

On Goodreads

A secret love.

A life lost too soon.

A destiny reversed.

You’ve met Tobin & Delia.

This is Eamon’s story…

The prequel to My Heart for Yours.

MY FATE FOR YOURS

Expected release: July 15, 2013

I can NOT wait for it!

Have a super rest of the week, reader-friends~

Updates and a Break... #NoFooling

Happy April 1!

I always want to do funny April Fool's jokes, but *blerg*... My jokes are either way obvious, or I start laughing and give the whole thing away.

Have any of you guys fallen for funny April Fool's jokes? Played any?

Well, no fooling, last week was intense...

First, I traveled 850 miles south to my old hometown for spring break. While I was there visiting family and friends, I met with librarians in Daphne and Fairhope, AND I discovered a new writer-friend living in the area!

Many of you are fans of NYT bestselling author Abbi Glines. I discovered she lives in Fairhope, and after a few email chats, we decided to do a book signing together. It was loads of fun.

On Amazon

Author Steph Campbell joined us--you might remember how much I loved her book My Heart For Yours (link), which she co-wrote with my close friend, cover designer, and author Jolene Perry. (I raved over it in this post, link. It's a must read.)

Last week, I started the process of making an audiobook for The Truth About Faking. I'll keep you posted on that new project. Very exciting.

But most importantly, my sweet hubs JRM was hit by a car while jogging. Yes. Majorly scared us all.

His right tibia was broken, which is painful and means he'll be on crutches for three months, but we are so thankful he wasn't hurt worse.

That break news brings me to MY break news--it's time for my annual April blogging break. I have a few promotional posts for friends going up, but otherwise, I'll be offline.

I'm so excited, though... I've decided to revise my very first book Dragonfly and its sequel for late-May/early-June release. It's a contemporary romance that I think you'll really like. I'll have to postpone Rouge #2 and 21 Days until later in the year, but my hope is you'll be happy with the result...

I will be keeping up on Facebook, and I'll def. post some teaser-excerpts as possible while I'm in the cave, although taking care of my sweet, invalid husband is going to make my schedule interesting.

It's A-Z month! Many of you are participating, so have fun with it! I'll be around, I'll be thinking of you guys, and I plan to be back with something great.

Have a super month, reader- and writer-friends~ <3

Start of Something New

So I was thinking about when I first started blogging. I used to write these reaally looong posts, and besides JRM (my husband) and a few close friends, there were only like five of us suffering through them. (LOL!)

You're on the sides;
I'm in the middle holding on. :o)

Hart appeared first, then Rayna/Natasha (b/c we all have the same birthday), then Carolyn, then Matt--b/c I asked him to comment on my boy books post (link)--then Vickie and Anne, Stina and Katie, Jessica, DL, you...

Some have stopped blogging; some are doing other things. I've cut back to once a week...

But this is how we found each other and started supporting each other and critiquing one another's work. Blogging became this amazing writers' circle that I love and miss so much when I'm swamped.

Back then I was so focused on finding an agent, and now... well, just LOOK at how much has changed!

Feb. 2010 Leigh would never have dreamed I'd be where I am today, doing what I'm doing. But one thing I would have predicted is how important you guys would remain to me.

SO I've decided to start something new!

The first Monday of every month, I'm going to spotlight a writer-friend! I don't have a model for how, but my goal is to make it funny and different--little-known facts revealed in an entertaining way--to catch up and see what everybody's doing now.

(I need a name. Ideas? You say I don't need a name?)

Kicking us off is my prolific writer-friend and amazing cover designer Jolene Perry (Because I sorta stole this idea from her "Friend Friday"s)! Let's see what Jo's been doing...

Jolene
(Her name is often sung
to her... don't.)

LTM: Shortly after we met, I learned you live in Wasilla (AK), which to me says your life is a mixture of "Northern Exposure," "The Proposal," and "Insomnia." How much of each? And are you raising Ryan Reynolds' secret family?

JBP: YES! My life is exactly like those, which is crazy since NONE of them were actually filmed here... My life is much more "Northern Exposure" than anything else, but Wasilla IS a little bigger than Sicily, Alaska - we have a Target ;-) And Ryan Reynolds. He's hot, but a little needy... I know, you wouldn't think that. But it's true. He's always asking me to pet his abs, and the first few times it was pretty hot, but it's getting old...

(LTM Note: JBP's a bit braggy about her secret husband. Sorry.)

LTM: Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house, so of course, you can, too. When you go ice fishing, do you spy on them? What are they doing in Russia? Which one of your books is most popular in the former Soviet Union?

JBP: Night Sky (link) is the most popular in Russia because the ebook cover is sparkly... :-/ Fishing with Sarah - you know, you'd think she couldn't be more annoying when she's not on TV, but I'm here to tell you that ain't true...

(LTM Note: JBP did not deny being a spy.)

I've read it; get it!

LTM: You've co-authored several books with writers like Steph Campbell (My Heart for Yours), Nyrae Dawn (Dizzy), and Janna Watts (10 Weeks). All but one of those is a pen name... Which of these authors is a fake person?

JBP: HA!! I'm going to throw you here, because they're ALL real people. One of them just happens to be a recluse. Her true identity will remain faithfully hidden...

LTM: (follow up ignoring previous answer) Since one of these authors is really your split personality, what makes her easy and hard to work with?

JBP: I'm assuming you're referring to my reclusive friend, and I will say that if she and I were smooshed together, we'd almost make a fully functioning person ;-) Honestly, she's not online much, but she's like a sister and made of awesome.

(LTM Note: Smooshed is not a real word.)

LTM: It has become evident you have a shoe full of book babies. Tell us about your newest baby! And why you love her more.

JBP: Last night I pulled up four manuscripts that I've started and have half mapped out but haven't had time to write. One of my girls was running through this hilarious monologue as the teacher at her private Christian school prayed to baby Jesus and I laughed so hard I woke up my husband.

Haven't read yet; get it!

And after reading through what I had of those four, and telling myself - WORK ON ONE OF THESE NEXT - I fell asleep thinking about a different book... Yeah.

BUT the elusive Janna Watts and I are working on a book that we've both (separately) wanted to do for a while, so when she mentioned her idea, and I was like - OH! I've totally had that same idea! We started to throw it together - 3 SIDES TO A CIRCLE - is the working title of our college-age romance, and maybe I'll slap it up on GR, just for fun :-)  Man. Ask me about my babies, and you're gonna get an earfull... Right now I'm so thrilled that people are loving Dizzy. I adore Dylan and Ziah - and we all know that Nyrae Dawn writes a great boy. They play off each other so well, and the only other book I've written that's made me laugh this hard is Misplaced, which Nyrae and I wrote together, and will come out with Entangled Teen in Fall 2013.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME LEIGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, my friend~

(LTM Note: Jo's books are seriously amazing. Every one I've read, I've LOVED.

Get FALLING: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Get DIZZY: Amazon * Barnes & Noble)

Up next month is the prolific, sci-fi indie superstar Susan Kaye Quinn! Mark it, Jan. 6. A Do Not Miss!

* * *

Finally, this week's my blog tour for ROUGE, which is 99 cents TODAY ONLY (link)! Here's where all I'll be (link). Wish me luck!

Click here for the schedule!

And have a great week, reader- and writer-friends~ <3