Category Archives: Announcements
COVER REVEAL! February or Forever
Ta-da! The cover fairies have been at it again! FEBRUARY OR FOREVER will be released on 1st Feb 2014. And you can add it to Goodreads HERE.
This is the second book in my new Tarrin’s Bay series, perfect for those who like romance and women’s fiction set in small towns, especially towns by the beach. February or Forever is one of my faves, and with this and all books in this series I guarantee you a beautiful setting, true to life characters facing compelling issues, gotta-be-together romance, family drama, and friendship. Overall; rich, heartwarming stories with a happy, uplifting ending.
FEBRUARY OR FOREVER
“In this heartwarming coastal romance, Escape bestselling author Juliet Madison asks, what if your favourite celebrity fell in love with you?”
Yoga teacher and single mother, Chrissie Burns has a plan: move into the rundown beach house left to her by her deceased aunt, renovate it, sell it, and move on. The scene of a terrible accident years ago, the house needs to get out of Chrissie’s hands as soon as possible.
But Tarrin’s Bay, where the house stands, has more to offer than bad memories. The town is lovely, the people friendly, and even Chrissie’s young son finds friends and begins coming out of his shell. Employed at Serendipity Retreat as a yoga instructor, Chrissie is shocked to be given the role of private teacher to Drew Williams, Australia’s top singer/songwriter for the month.
Relationships between instructors and clients are strictly forbidden, but Drew draws happiness out of Chrissie with his down-to-earth nature and sense of humour. Days of stretching and bending may bring Chrissie unexpected peace and strength, but she knows that this interlude must end, and there’s no pose or position to aid her when Drew walks away and leaves her broken-hearted.
I just love the colours in this cover, and the image is perfect for the story – you will see in the ending of the book why it is so right!
Add to Goodreads.
Preorder THE JANUARY WISH!
THE JANUARY WISH is now available for preorder for those that wish (hehe) to make sure their copy will arrive nice and early on release day, 1st Jan. Great timing for a New Year’s Day chill out and recovery session!
Perfect for fans of Sherryl Woods and Susan Wiggs, this book is the first in my new Tarrin’s Bay series, set in a small coastal town based on where I live on the NSW south coast, Australia.
It has lots of drama, a pinch of humour, family dynamics, secrets galore, a medical and natural health setting, and two sweet romances for the price of one. Yep, two! The story is told from three points of view: the hero, the heroine, and the heroine’s eighteen-year-old daughter. So in a way it’s an ‘Adult’ and ‘New Adult’ romance in one.
Here’s the blurb:
When Dr Sylvia Greene makes an impromptu wish at the Tarrin’s Bay Wishing Festival, it’s the most out of character action she can think of. Hers is not a life of wishes. Hers is a controlled life of order, plans and preparation…of science and research and diagnosis and treatment. But her past has been weighing on her mind, and decisions made long ago have far-reaching consequences.
A week later, the daughter she secretly gave up for adoption at sixteen arrives in Sylvia’s small coastal town with secrets that can’t be shared. Between feelings of guilt, gossip, and a growing attraction to an emotionally unavailable colleague, Sylvia’s well-ordered life is soon thrown into chaos. She is no longer alone, and for the first time she feels as if her world is open to possibilities.
They say be careful what you wish for, but, for Sylvia, the unexpected consequences may be just what the doctor ordered.
Preorder here:
- Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00GXUXOFE
- Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-January-Wish-Juliet-Madison-ebook/dp/B00GXUXOFE/
- Amazon AUS: http://www.amazon.com.au/The-January-Wish-Juliet-Madison-ebook/dp/B00GXUXOFE/
- Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-january-wish
- iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-january-wish/id767160149?mt=11
The second book in this series, FEBRUARY OR FOREVER, will release straight after, on 1st Feb, so stay tuned!
And have a look on the blog every Wednesday leading up to release as I’ll be sharing an excerpt from THE JANUARY WISH each week.
Freebies & Giveaways!
With November being Escape Publishing’s 1st birthday, there are lots of giveaways and freebies going around, so I thought I’d share some of them here so you can nab a bargain or a prize!
>>First, here are two ebooks that are FREE right now for a limited time:
1. WHITE CHRISTMAS by Ros Baxter (free for preorders)
2. THE SECRET DIARY OF LADY CATHERINE BEXLEY by Viveka Portman
>>And here are four giveaways to win books from Escape Publishing (including some by yours truly ;))
1. Win I DREAM OF JOHNNY at Novel Escapes (Hurry! Ends soon!)
2. Win a five-pack of ebooks, including FAST FORWARD, at Chick Lit Club.
3. Win one of nine ebook bundles in various genres at Delighted Reader.
4. Win a five-pack of contemporary romance ebooks at Into The Night Reviews.
So get in quick and stock your e-reader with some holiday reading!
And once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESCAPE PUBLISHING! 🙂
COVER REVEAL! The January Wish
Ta da! What do you think? It’s amazing to finally see this story come to life as it’s been a long road to publication for this one. I think the cover really suits the feeling and emotion of the story, and hints at the secrets hiding behind the characters and this small coastal town.
Thanks to the team at Harlequin Australia / Escape Publishing for another fab cover!
The January Wish will release on 1st January 2014 and kickstarts my Tarrin’s Bay Series, and the good news is you won’t have to wait long for the second installment – February or Forever releases a month later, on 1st February! Yep, I’ve been hard at work making sure I could have the second one ready for readers right away 😉
So what is The January Wish about? It’s a sweet, emotional romance about the pleasures of making a wish and seeing it come true. It’s a blend of contemporary romance and women’s fiction, perfect for fans of Susan Wiggs and Sherryl Woods. This story is unique in that it is told in three points of view, one of which belongs to an eighteen-year-old girl whose journey and romance of her own make this a New Adult (NA) and Adult story in one! It’s also a small town romance, a coastal romance, and a medical romance (just to cover all bases, you know?) 😉
When Dr Sylvia Greene makes an impromptu wish at the Tarrin’s Bay Wishing Festival, it’s the most out of character action she can think of. Hers is not a life of wishes. Hers is a controlled life of order, plans and preparation…of science and research and diagnosis and treatment. But her past has been weighing on her mind, and decisions made long ago have far-reaching consequences.
A week later, the daughter she secretly gave up for adoption at sixteen arrives in Sylvia’s small coastal town with secrets that can’t be shared. Between feelings of guilt, gossip, and a growing attraction to an emotionally unavailable colleague, Sylvia’s well-ordered life is soon thrown into chaos. She is no longer alone, and for the first time she feels as if her world is open to possibilities.
They say be careful what you wish for, but, for Sylvia, the unexpected consequences may be just what the doctor ordered.
This book was the second book I ever wrote, and went through lots of revisions to make it the best it could be, and I was thrilled when it was announced one of the six finalists in the Choc Lit Publishing Search for an Australian Star contest in 2012.
The setting of the story, Tarrin’s Bay, is based closely on the town I live in on the South Coast of NSW, Australia, so I hope I’ve captured the heart and soul of this special place on the page for reader’s to enjoy… Tarrin’s Bay is known as The Town of New Beginnings.
If you’d like to see some pictorial inspiration for The January Wish, you can visit my Pinterest board here. And add it to your Goodreads shelf here!
So until January 1st… I hope your wishes come true 🙂
~ Juliet xx
News! I’ve Signed With An Agent
Almost four years to the day when I started writing my first novel, I’ve signed with a literary agent!
The novel I submitted, THE LIFE MAKEOVER CLUB, came about during my own life makeover, and had many makeovers of its own (revisions, revisions, revisions) and I’m so glad it’s finally ready to be ‘out there’ and has caught the attention of Joelle Delbourgo from Joelle Delbourgo Associates, Inc in New Jersey, USA.
This milestone has made me realise how far I’ve come in the last four years. So often we keep thinking about the future, wanting to get somewhere, achieve new things, that we can forget what we have achieved already. When was the last time you took a step back and celebrated your progress in life?
Since I made the commitment to being a writer in October 2009, I’ve written five novels (3 with publishing contracts), two novellas (both published), several short stories, and a few partials (3 chapters and synopsis of a potential story), as well as MANY title and plot ideas! I have a title fetish. I collect them and think of new ones all the time, jotting them down on my title list. For me, a simple, catchy title can inspire a whole story idea.
When I came up with the title for The Life Makeover Club, I knew it was something I had to write. I’d been trying to think up an idea for my first story. All I knew was that I wanted to write a novel. I’d participated in a couple of self improvement and business coaching programs, and thought it would be fun to write about people who wanted to change their lives in some way, and who took major action to make their dreams a reality. And so this book was born.
After about seventy queries to agents over three months, I am now one step closer to my dream of having this book published. I had several requests for the full manuscript, a few for the partial, and two offers of representation. Of course, I could only accept one, and let me tell you – it was a very hard decision to make! Especially as during that week I was dealing with the sadness of our old home burning down in the Blue Mountains bushfires. My son grew up there, and the house was mostly designed by my mum, and so much work had been done on it. But it’s the memories we had there that made it so sad. It was heartbreaking to see it burning on the TV news, and then to see the mess of the rubble in photographs afterwards. They say big things often happen all at once, and over those few days they certainly did! Anyway, I was thrilled with both agent offers, and ultimately decided to put myself in the capable hands of Joelle.
Next step: make some improvements to the manuscript to prepare it for submission, then wait and hope a publisher (or two, or three…) wants it! 😉
I’m ready, I’m excited, and I hope to be sharing this story with you soon! 🙂
~ Juliet
FAST FORWARD is FREE for a Limited Time
Just a quick post to let you know that my romantic comedy novel FAST FORWARD is currently available for free on both Amazon and Amazon UK!
Grab it while you can, and if you’ve already got it, let your friends know they can pick up a free read for the weekend 🙂
Plus, the more downloads it gets, the higher up the Amazon rankings it goes, which means greater exposure and visibility for the book.
At the time of posting, Fast Forward is up to #64 in the Top 100 of Amazon’s ‘free list‘. Let’s see if it can go higher!
Here are the links to download a free copy from Amazon:
>>Free copy of FAST FORWARD AT Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fast-Forward-Juliet-Madison-ebook/dp/B00B7VP6BY/
>>Free copy of FAST FORWARD AT Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fast-Forward-Juliet-Madison-ebook/dp/B00B7VP6BY/
Thanks to those who have shared the links already, and I hope you enjoy the read! 🙂
~ Juliet xx
Book News: My 5th Book To Be Published!
I’m excited to announce that I’ve signed a contract for my novel FEBRUARY OR FOREVER, and it will be released by Escape Publishing on 1st February (how appropriate) in 2014!
You may know that I have another novel releasing on 1st January, called The January Wish, and February or Forever will follow on from that as part of a linked series of books set in the same small town of Tarrin’s Bay. Both are stand-alone stories, you can read them both in any order you choose (I wrote February or Forever without any spoilers for The January Wish), but some characters do reappear. I hope you will fall in love with the beautiful small Australian coastal town I’ve created that is based on the town I live in on the south coast of NSW, and of course, the characters!
I absolutely loved writing February or Forever, and it was the fastest book I’ve ever written (I’ll do another blog post at a later stage about how I wrote 84k in 27 days!). Hmm, it may even be my favourite. But that could have something to do with the awesome character of Drew Williams. 😉
February or Forever is a small town coastal romance with a women’s fiction bent. There are some rural elements also. Here’s the blurb:
What if your favourite celebrity fell in love with YOU?
Yoga teacher and single mother, Chrissie Burns has a plan: Move into the rundown beach house left to her by her deceased aunt, renovate it, sell it, and move on. As the scene of a terrible accident years ago, the sooner Chrissie can get rid of the house the better. But what she didn’t plan for during her time in Tarrin’s Bay was to be given the role of private yoga instructor to Drew Williams, Australia’s top singer/songwriter who is staying at the Serendipity Retreat during February for some R&R. Nor did she plan for her favourite celebrity crush to fall head over heels for her. As Chrissie deals with haunting memories, an intoxicating yet forbidden attraction to Drew, and the need to create a better life for her son, she’s put in the most challenging position she’s ever faced.
Did you get the pun in the last line? ‘position’ … ‘yoga’ … hehe. Puns play a bit of a role in the book too 😉
I can’t wait to hear what readers think of my Tarrin’s Bay series, and I’m so glad the first two books are releasing back-to-back at the start of 2014. So I better get a move on and write the ‘March’ book, eh?
Stay tuned for more details about the series (book cover for The January Wish should be ready by around mid-November), and subscribe to the blog if you don’t want to miss anything. For now, here’s a link to my Pinterest board with some pictorial inspiration for FEBRUARY OR FOREVER…
AND… stay tuned also for some more good news I’ll be announcing very soon!! 😉
Voting Now Open: Vote for Fast Forward in Book Junkies Choice Awards!
Just a quick post to let you know my debut novel, FAST FORWARD is a finalist in the Book Junkies Choice Awards in the Women’s Fiction category (yay! Thanks to those who nominated it)! I’m thrilled to be alongside some great authors!
But I need your votes….
If you would like to give my little book baby, my first published novel, a chance at getting some great recognition and exposure, all you have to do is vote via the quick and easy form on the site.
You only need to enter your email address, and then select Fast Forward from the list, and voila! Your vote will be cast. You will receive an email confirmation of your vote, and you can only vote once.
>>VOTE HERE.
Voting is open until the 25th October, so get those votes in now, and THANK YOU! 🙂
If you haven’t yet read Fast Forward, here is a link to the details of the book and where it can be purchased from.
It’s My Calliversary!
What’s a calliversary? Well, you may (or may not) have heard authors talk about getting The Call, as in an offer of publication from a publishing house (or from an agent who wants to offer representation or tell you of a publishing offer). On this day last year, 5th October, I got what’s referred to as The Call, even though it was an email (Emailiversary just doesn’t sound right though, so let’s stick with call) 😉
You can read about my Call in the blog post I wrote about it last year, here. But basically, this is what happened…
I went outside to have a bit of relaxation on the balcony, and just as I lay down on my deck chair, my email pinged (yes I was holding my phone, I’m surgically attached to it). Let’s just say my relaxation lasted all of five seconds. The email said:
Thank you for submitting Fast Forward. I am delighted to accept it for publication (and lots of other stuff, but that’s all I could read in that moment of excitement, relief, and general overwhelming emotion).
So here I am today, one year later, and that book has been published and available for over eight months now. Not only that, I signed three more contracts within this last year, all with Escape Publishing. Fast Forward, my debut novel, was published in February, I Dream of Johnny was published in September, Starstruck in Seattle was published in October (as in just recently), and The January Wish will be published in January 2014. So it’s quadruple the fun for me on this calliversary!
How time flies! It’s been one hell of a fun ride, and let me tell you, being published is only the beginning of this journey. It doesn’t end there. If anything, I have more goals, am more focused on my writing, and more committed to making a success of my writing career.
Now, back to Fast Forward and some milestones that have occurred over the past year…
Cover luurve:
I was over the moon when I got my first cover, it was like seeing my baby for the first time, and didn’t the designers do an awesome job?! I’m also grateful to everyone who’s left a review, and really pleased that the majority have been extremely positive. It’s such a great feeling to know that people have enjoyed my book.
Book club:
Earlier this year I got to participate in my first online book club, thanks to Harlequin Junkie who chose Fast Forward as their book club pick of the month. I had a ball chatting to readers and they asked me some great questions.
Publicity:
And just the other day I got a huge surprise when I was told Fast Forward was featured in the Big W catalogue that gets delivered to many houses around Australia! (For those not in Aus, Big W is a big (well, of course) discount department store, and a huge seller of books). My book was used to help promote their new ebook section. And they have it available for free for a limited time, so if you’re in Australia you can download it here. If not, you can buy it from all good ebook retailers, the links to which are here.
Awards:
If that’s not exciting enough, the book is a finalist in the Book Junkies Choice Awards in the women’s fiction category! Voting starts on the 14th October so keep an eye out and get voting! 😉
…I can’t believe a year has already gone by since I sat down to relax that day, not knowing an important email was about to hit my inbox. And I can’t wait to see how things are this time next year!
Thanks Escape Publishing for publishing my books, and thanks readers for buying and reading them. And now, I’m off to celebrate my Calliversary! J
RELEASE DAY! Starstruck in Seattle [plus bumper giveaway!]
Wow, what a month! Last month my novella I Dream of Johnny was released, and this month, today, sees the release of another novella, STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE!
I’m so excited for this one as it was written quite a while ago, and is my first story not set in Australia, so it’s good to see it finally out in the world. And if enough readers like it, I’ll write more in the series, each with a new stand-alone story set in different cities but linked by the reappearance of the quirky and loveable character of Lulu and her dog, Spark (see pic below). Lulu has a very important job in bringing soulmates together, so the story possibilities are endless.
Here’s the blurb:
Aspiring actress Anna Hilford might only have a small role in a leading television drama, but she longs to be dreamboat Karl Drake’s leading lady. Sick of being loveless and overlooked, Anna seeks the help of intuitive love coach, Lulu, from LuluTheLoveAngel.com to give her the courage and determination to follow her destiny. But fate has different ideas, Lulu has undisclosed power, and Anna is about to realise that life happens while you’re busy making plans…
I got the idea for this story when Sleepless in Seattle was on TV. I thought, instead of a call-in-radio show where people ask for advice, what if there was a website that specialised in helping people anonymously with their love dilemmas (and there might be, I just haven’t looked!). So I thought up the idea for a Love Coach, but as I like to do in many of my stories, I decided to give it a slight magical twist. That’s right, Lulu, known as Lulu the Love Angel, might just have more power than people know. 😉
This story is slightly different from my previous two books, in that it’s a bit more ‘romancey’ and not as much of a giggle-fest, though it does have some humorous moments.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading about Anna’s search for love and how, unknowingly, Lulu helps her along the way.
BUY NOW: >> STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE is available worldwide and you can buy it from all ebook retailers, including:
Amazon / Amazon UK / iTunes iBookstore / B&N Nook / Kobo / Booktopia / JB Hi-Fi / Google Play / ebooks.com / All Romance ebooks
GIVEAWAY: >> And now, I have a fantastic giveaway for you all! You could win four Escape Publishing ebook packs, using the rafflecopter links below and following the instructions. Competition closes midnight on 10th October and is open worldwide.
Here’s what you could win. Enter one or all of them!
#1 Fun, Fast, & Fabulous novella pack:
Christmas Wishes, New year’s Kisses, and Valentine’s Dates by Rhian Cahill; I Dream of Johnny by Juliet Madison; The Virginity Mission by Cate Ellink; and Bonjour Cherie by Robin Thomas.
Enter prize #1 here >> a Rafflecopter giveaway
#2 Escape from Reality pack:
Fast Forward by Juliet Madison; Red Moon by M.A. Grant; Fish Out of Water by Ros Baxter; King Hall by Scarlett Dawn.
Enter prize #2 here >> a Rafflecopter giveaway
#3 Out and About pack:
Matilda’s Freedom by Téa Cooper; Getting Wild by Sarah Barrie; Swift Runs The Heart by Mary Brock Jones; Riding on Air by Maggie Gilbert; Dark Oil by Nora James.
Enter prize #3 here >> a Rafflecopter giveaway
#4 Emotional Rollercoaster pack:
Forget Me Not by Nina Blake; Bound By Her Ring by Nicole Flockton; Her Man from Shilo by Robyn Richards; Finding Home by Lauren McKellar; Under The Hood by Juanita Kees.
Enter prize #4 here >> a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck, and happy reading! 🙂
Click here to visit the STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE page at Escape Publishing.
Click here to add STARSTRUCK IN SEATTLE to your Goodreads shelf.
JULIET MADISON 