I Was a Tween-Age Werewolf

When I was 9 and 10 years old I spent most of my time (when out of school) with my neighbor, Tracy.

She was awesome! She was the kind of girl that would lead you into woods and not think about the consequences of getting lost, or kidnapped, or maybe falling into the creek. 

We did crazy things together like try to catch cars while on roller skates, and try her dad's Red Man, and spit out her dad's Red Man, and we even had our own paranormal newspaper.

A paranormal newspaper?

YUP! 

Well, it was more like a little rag sheet where we made up things but it was really fun.... most of it we made up.... most of it.

Those were the carefree days of my youth where I didn't think anything would hurt me... until.... one day... Tracy told me I was bitten by a werewolf one night when I spending the night at her house.

She said it came through the window and she tried to fight him off but he bit me and soon.... I would be one too.

Folks... I was nine years old and I believed every word she told me!

I panicked! I didn't want to be a werewolf. It scared the living daylights out of me!

For the rest of the month she watched the moon with me and told me soon I would change. And again... I believed every word she told me.

On the night of the full moon I was at my house freaking out! I sat in my bedroom and waited. I hid under the covers, I tried to go to sleep, it wouldn't surprise me if I cried.

I went to my Mom and asked her if she believed in full moons and werewolves. I didn't have the heart that soon I would turn into one and eat her. She laughed at me and told me how sometimes the moon affected people at the hospital where she worked but she had never seen a werewolf.

I went back to bed and waited to change. I have no clue when I fell asleep but I know that I did. And when I woke up to my surprise everyone was still alive. I didn't change!

I went over to Tracy's house that afternoon to triumphantly tell her she had to have been mistaken. That I had NOT been bitten by a werewolf. But that's when she told me...

"Well duh! The clouds covered the moon last night! You'll change next month!"

And the madness started all over again ;)

So, I think that experience is what started my love with werewolves because you see.... I was a tween-age werewolf.... and at 33 year old I'm still just waiting for my full moon to come.

Hooray!

Hooray!

Just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who downloaded a copy of Ryder from Amazon over these past couple of days.

It was really fun watching the numbers go up and I hope to do it again real soon.

Did you miss out?

Still want to read Ryder for free?

If you have Amazon Prime then you are in luck!

All Amazon Prime members have the benefit of checking Ryder out of the Kindle Lending Library.

Super awesome! 

Happy Birthday Piper!

Happy Birthday Piper!

Today is your special day!

Hurry up and eat the cake before the moon comes out!

But wait!

What about our guests?

We can't leave them empty handed, now can we?

What can we give them on your special day?

Oh! I know!

How about a free copy of Ryder?!

That's right, folks!

Starting today until April 4th at 11:59 PST Ryder will be available for free download on Amazon.

Don't have a kindle but still want a copy of Ryder?

Well, then I can help you out.

Simply email me with the HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIPER as your header and I can send you a PDF file that should work on most e-readers.

gretamaloney@gmail.com

But remember.... 

even though you are getting a free gift there is still one thing 

we must never forget

Into a Different Kind of Spotlight

We all have inspirations when writing.

One of the biggest inspirations while I was writing Ryder was my neighbor, Fay.

She is the reason that Ryder's grandmother - Marti - even existed.

Fay was my neighbor for many years. A strong powerful woman full of love who quilted and took care of people. She was like a mother to me and my husband. She was a grandmother to my son.

Fay was one of the most inspirational women to have an impact on my life.

She comforted me when I was sad. She believed in me. She would wrap her arms around me when I was having a bad day, would listen to my gripe about work, and always had the right answers.

They don't really make women like Fay anymore.

After my husband graduated college he got a job in Birmingham and we had to move away from Fay. Of course we tried to keep in touch but life happens and sometimes you forget to write home.

A couple of months ago we got a phone call. Fay asked my husband to be her pallbearer. It wasn't the kind of call we were expecting.

We saw Fay back in January. It was one of the toughest days in my life. I had never said goodbye to someone like Fay. I had never said goodbye to anyone.

I wanted to tell Fay about Marti. I wanted her to know how much of an inspiration she was to me. And I did. And I cried. And Fay put her arms out and told me to 'Come Here'. She made me sit in her lap as she rocked my like a child. I felt like I was within the pages of Love You Forever.

I told Fay everything. And the most important thing I wanted her to know was how much I loved her. We don't say it enough in my family. Growing up I rarely heard it from my parents. That's just the way we are. We know it but we don't come out and say it. We're a rough kind of people. But while I was a neighbor to Fay she would always tell her sons "Love You" when they were leaving. This was foreign to me and one day I asked her why she did that. She told me that she wanted that to always be the last thing they heard from her just in case something happened.

And as we said our final goodbyes before we got into the car, Fay wrapped her arms around me as I cried into her neck and she said, "Remember, I love you."

And that's the last thing that Fay said to me.

We got the phone call on Tuesday that our Fay had passed away. And even though she's gone... I'll always remember that she loves me.

Love you Fay! Love you!

Amazon Prime

It's become apparent to me that Ryder is getting most of it's sales from Amazon.

Is this a problem?

Of course not!

But I think I can make it easier.

I came to the decision to stop selling Ryder from B&N and Smashwords and only offer it on Amazon.

The reason?

AMAZON PRIME BABY!

For Kindle Device Owners

Borrow this book for free on a Kindle device with Amazon Prime. Buy a Kindle today and start your Amazon Prime free trial to borrow this book at no cost.

With Prime, Kindle owners can choose from thousands of books to borrow for free – including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. Learn more about Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

That's right! I mean.... I only sold one copy on B&N (and I know who that person is) and no copies on Smash... so that means most people are getting their red hoodie on over at Amazon. So, what can I do to entice more people to read? Why, offer it for free to Prime Members, of course!

And that is what I did.

Of course there are other advantages to this which I will reveal at a later date. But for now if you have Prime you are a part of an exclusive club that can read Ryder for free.

Huzzah !!

Being Human

I am human just like everyone else. I make mistakes. I stumble. And sometimes I even forget to close the freezer door. It has been brought to my attention by a few of my dear friends that Ryder is not perfect.

There are many typos and a great deal of formatting errors.

I know! Yikes is Right!! But you know what?

My dear friend and author, Robert J. Duperre, is taking the time to point these out to me. All I can say is I am deeply grateful to all his efforts in making Ryder the best it can be.

Until then, I will have this matter taken care of in the near future. Ryder is a learning experience and I hope everyone can bare with me while I take the time to learn form my mistakes. While I should be anxious about these mistakes I must remember....

Everything will be ok as long as I am in the right frame of mind :)

I have lovely pills that help with this. Thanks Doc!

In Ryder News

!~!~!~!Wow!~!~!~!

What a busy week! I had no idea that self-publication was going to be so overwhelming, tiring, and wonderful all wrapped into one big wad of twisted kinky garden hose.

Along with plugging and participating in giveaways, I have also been getting the most awesome of pictures.

Check it out!

Ryder on Kindle!

Can you hear the squees?!!

Also, I have been given two of the bestest reviews EVER from I Read, I Write, I Review  and Can't Put it Down.

Both reviews made me squee with fuzzy kitten delight! Super sonic SQUEE DIDDLES!

I can't wait to find out what everyone thinks. But I must be patient. As a book blog reviewer I know that these things take time. Everyone's TBR Pile is always a mountain and right now I'm at the bottom of that stack. But I'm confident in time I'll make it to the top. Until then, I'll wait patiently :)

Have a great day, everyone!

Leap Into Indie Giveaway Hop

Today is quite a magical day.

For one: It only comes around every four years.

And two: It's my brother's half birthday.

But finally: It's Leap into INDIE!!

YES YES! 

Today is the day that Paranormal Wastelands and Can't Put It Down are honoring the hard work of the Indie Writer.

It's hard writing a book. I honestly thought it would be the easiest thing ever. That the words would just pour out of me. That the plot would be there right in front of my face. That it would all fall into place with such little work.

 What a load of garbage I was feeding myself! 

Let me explain what really happens.

You tend to forget words that you learned in second grade.

You get addicted to doing anything but writing. 

And you tend to self doubt yourself no matter what you come up with.

Ladies and Gentlemen, writing is HARD!

But when complete

after you have someone read it

you get a feeling that maybe the journey wasn't so bad.

And with that in mind I would like to give away a copy of the journey that I took.

In honor of Leap into Indie I am offering one digital copy of my novel, "Ryder" (a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood).

Just enter below! And remember to HOP!

*contest is open internationally

It's time for a Ryder-rific Giveaway

Its time!

It's time!

It's time!

"Ryder" has been on the shelves for nearly two weeks and it's time to get down to brass tacks and

SPREAD THE WORD!

I haven't done much PR. I've been waiting for everything to fall into place. I've been waiting for TODAY!

Because today is the day that I tell the world that RYDER is available to the masses!

Ladies, Gentleman, Werewolves of all shapes and sizes.... I wrote a book and I'm ready to squee about it.

I've hid it for so long. Keeping it mostly to myself and a few close friends, but now it's time to get out there and tell the world.

And what's the best way to spread the word? Why with a extra awesome giveaway, of course!!

My sister-site, Paranormal Wastelands, is lighting the Ryder firework display as we speak. Head on over there for a chance to win your own digital copy of Ryder. And please try not to get burned. Darkfallen can be a devil with the matches.

And remember... we can only have one winner. If Lady Luck isn't on your side then you can always purchase your own copy for the low price of 99 cents from these fine retailers.

Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords

Now let's get out there and get Ryder up on the charts! 

I did it all for the Nook(ie)

Exciting news!

I don't know when it happened by Ryder is now available on the Nook through Barnes and Noble.

I am contemplating putting Ryder on Kobo. Since it is already available on Smashwords, I wonder if this is necessary.

Why retell? Why not?

Everybody has a favorite movie, book, song.

Most have more than one.

But many have one that really sticks out.

I think it must be really great for a director to remake their favorite movie. For a singer to cover their favorite song.

But what about your favorite story?

What do writers do?

Why, they retell it of course!

I really love how many fairy-tales are are going under the knife and getting a modern face-lift. It makes me full of squees.

With "Ryder" I started out with just wanting to write a girl werewolf story. But once I figured out how to incorporate a Little Red Riding Hood vibe the story came to me more easily. And totally made me more excited. Now I had a chance to play with the Big Bad Wolf!

But would some say that is cheating? That this author can't come up with their own plot?

I disagree with those Negative Nancies.  Re-telling a beloved story is just plain awesome. It gives the author a chance to tell the story the way they wished it would have been told.

Do you have a favorite retelling? I'd love to hear what it is.

All my ducks in a row

Hi again!

It's been a full 3 days of trying to get "Ryder" out there.

So far I have achieved getting it up on Amazon and Smashwords.

I have submitted my novel to Barnes&Noble but these things take time.

Also, some very nice Goodreads librarians walked me through the steps of getting "Ryder" up on Goodreads.

Another thing is I now have an Goodread's author page!

This has definitely been a learning experience.

It blows my mind at how much time and effort this process takes.

I'm sure in the end it will be worth it!

The birth of Ryder

It's official! Ryder is finally up on Amazon :)

I have been working on Ryder since November 2010 and I'm ecstatic that I can now share it with the world.

For months I had wanted to tell the proper girl werewolf story. I have read several and most of them left me wanting more. Where was the action? The horror? The teeth, the eyes, the fur?

That's when it came to me. A journey that I didn't think I would ever embark on. I was going to attempt to write a girl werewolf story. But how to do it?

I had no clue.

I couldn't sleep that night. And then it came to me. Twist my favorite fairy-tale. Twist it like never before!!

And that is how Ryder was born.

Ryder is my version of a modern retelling of Red Riding Hood.

Everyone has a secret.
You're lying if you don't.
Fourteen year old Piper has tried to keep her secret hidden.
Everyone who finds out always winds up dead.
Only the man in the dark suit knows the truth.
A man she only met once.
The man who made her what she is today.
The man who bit her.
But that's all about to change.

Piper Glendale is on the run from the moon as her secret Sister Wolf wars with her. Fighting for control, Piper tries to keep her buried deep inside. But sometimes her sister breaks free.

Escaping from an institution, The Sister Wolf claws her way out. On the run her powerful body runs dry. The sun has finally risen. Piper has regained control.

Awaking in a cemetery, she prowls through the grave stones in search for food and shelter. Overlooking a hill, Piper sees a boy. A boy who is about to change her life. A boy in a faded red hood.

Based on the beloved children's classic Little Red Riding Hood, "Ryder" is a modern retelling with a twist.


Want to find out more? Go check it out on Amazon.com. For the Low low price of 99 cents you can take Piper and Ryder home on kindle.


Click here for Ryder.