The Great Glitterbeard Challenge

In 2011, I was feeling in a rut. I had a book to write, and the idea was solid in my head, but for whatever reason, my inspiration failed me. In order to remedy the situation, I called a good friend of mine and challenged her to a writing competition. The details of the challenge aren't necessarily important; what is important is the fact that simply being engaged in a challenge that I could actually lose spurred me onward. I put my head down and worked, and in forty-eight days later, I put the finishing touches on a little book called Silas.

So here we are, almost five years later, and I find myself in the same position. I've been putting off writing the third book in the Covenant series, and it's time for me to find a way to kick myself in the ass. That means I had to get back in contact with my old friend and together cobble together another challenge that will help put our production into overdrive.

So hey, Mercedes Yardley...I CHALLENGE YOU!

Yup, that's her. And okay, she was the one who actually put forth the challenge to me when I complained about not feeling motivated, but hey, let's not split hairs, okay?

So this is the way this challenge will work: Once the starting gun sounds tomorrow morning, the first writer to reach 90,000 words combined in their various projects wins. It's simple, right? That's the beauty of it. And you know what else is beautiful? The fact that winning pretty much means you're the awesomest awesomesause in awesomeland.

But for the loser...ah, the loser. Here's the catch. Public embarrassment is always a great motivator, right? Of course it is. Which is why Mercedes proposed that the loser has to dress themselves up in a glitter beard, take a picture, and use that as their public profile picture for a whole month. A WHOLE DAMN MONTH! And in case you don't know what such a thing as a glitter beard might look like, well...

Or something like that.

As you can plainly see, this is not a challenge either of is will be keen on losing. Oh the humanity! And to keep myself honest, I'll be sure to post regular word-count updates. When? Not entirely sure. It's a work in progress, I say with a shrug.

So there you have it. Once again, the gauntlet has been thrown, Mrs. Yardley.

Let the best alien being win!

(And I'll likely be greeting everyone glittered up in a few months. Dammit.)

Check out Mercedes' blog, A Broken Laptop, or visit her Amazon Author Page. Trust me, it's worth it.

Spring Sale & Pre-Order News

Taking a break from writing today to tell everyone that until Sunday, April 12th, the first Covenant book, The Mirror of Souls, is on sale across all venues. Mostly it's listed at 99¢, though there might be a slightly higher price on Google Play. Below is the list of venues. Just click on the name to obtain your copy:

Amazon
Amazon UK
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Google Play

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the 2nd book in the series, The Chalice of Sorrows, is currently available for pre-order on Amazon, with a firm release date of June 20th. Here's the cover:

For those who're curious...yes, that's Jordan!

Unfortunately, gaining readership for this series has proven a bit difficult. With this in mind, I'm offering up this second book for the same 99¢ that the first book is on sale for. The only difference being, this book will be 99¢ UNTIL THE DATE OF PUBLICATION!  After that, however, it will be raised to the standard price of $3.99.

In other words, for the next six days, you can get both these books for less than two bucks. And for the next two-plus months, you can pre-order the second book for less than a dollar. It's a win-win all around, people!

Here's the link to the pre-order: THE CHALICE OF SORROWS

And the blurb:

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, the other secrets regarding Jacqueline Talbot’s past—and future—begin to come clear. It’s a lot for a sixteen-year-old girl to deal with, especially when she’s told that the fate of the world rests on her shoulders. 

Jacqueline now must prepare herself to take on the rest of the Trials; the only problem is, no one’s really sure what they are. Not even her aunt, who seems to know a little too much about everything. 

At least she has her support system to help her through it all. But that system is as fragile as everything else in Jacqueline’s troubled life. Just one small misstep and it could all be over…for everyone.

So peace, everyone, and happy reading!

RJD

Goodreads Giveaway

I'll be handing out four copies, so get on this now!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Mirror of Souls

by R.J. Duperre

Giveaway ends February 05, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

RELEASE DAY! The Mirror of Souls

Guess what day it is? That's right, it's Thursday!

Er, wait a sec...

Oh, that's right. It's actually the day "The Mirror of Souls", the first book in the new Covenant series, is released! To say I'm a little excited about this series is an understatement. I've been thinking about this plot, and these characters, for so long that it's a little surreal that there's finally words on a printed page for everyone to read. It's been a labor of love and pain, but well worth it. Jacqueline Talbot's live, people!

The book can be purchased in e-book form at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks. Google Play is in the process of uploading, and let's just call ITunes a work-in-progress. For the time being, the paperback is only available at Amazon (all countries).

So please, read and enjoy, and make sure you write a review! As always, I can be contacted via email at rjduperreauthor@gmail.com.

LONG LIVE BOOKS!

THE MIRROR OF SOULS (COVENANT BOOK 1)

Fifteen-year-old Jacqueline Talbot's boyfriend Mal lives in the mirror of her makeup case. But then there's never been anything normal about Jacqueline, nor it seems her new hometown of Mercy Hills.

With rumors of actual monsters in the woods, the popular kids taking an unhealthy interest in her, and the revealing of her own dark past, all Jacqueline wants to do is run away forever with Mal. Too bad he's trapped in the mirror.

But when she learns the ancient forces of the town want to destroy everything she loves, the race is on to free the boy in the mirror, because he just might be the only one who knows how to stop them.

Request for reviews: ARCs now available

As I wrote in my previous blog post, The Mirror of Souls will be live in a scant 21 days. With that in mind, and having received a good number of betas back from my proofreaders, it's about time for me to start sending the call out for reviews.

If you would like an Advance Review Copy of The Mirror of Souls, please email me at rjduperreauthor@gmail.com and write "ARC Request" in the title. In the body of the email, tell me whether you require a .mobi (Kindle), .epub (Nook), or simply a PDF of the book, and I will send it on its way.

All I ask in return for these giveaways is a fair and honest review on Amazon (or whatever platform you use, aka Barnes & Noble or Kobo) when you are finished. Even though the release date for the Kindle isn't until January 22nd, it will be available at most other outlets ten days before that date, and the paperback will be live as well. Any words there, even if it's just a couple, would be greatly appreciated. This I beg of you.

Thank you in advance, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Rob D