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I think I’m done

I feel shattered and broken. I found a site that has posted Waiting for Mercy without my permission. There are over 900 downloads since August 2012. And Mercy died a sudden and painful death in my heart.

I can’t stop this train. ePiracy is going to happen. So what to do? New Years Resolution, not sure.

I appreciate all the support and those who have like, loved and even hated Mercy. It’s been an interesting ride. A journey I needed to take. And although there is much left unsaid, I’m not sure I can continue to take time to write. Especially, if someone is going to give it away without my permission. I need to earn a living like everyone else. That doesn’t seem to matter to some.

So I need to think this through…..

Maybe time will heal my wounds. Maybe not.

Signing off for now.

44 Comments

Posted by shannondermott on October 23, 2012 in Blog

Publication Day for Midnight Surrender

11 Oct

Just a reminder that Mercy and the boys will appear in a short short story in this Anthology, Midnight Surrender. Get your fix, quick and fast, lol. This is a prequel to Beg for Mercy with no spoilers, so be forewarned.

This book is slated to be free. So my understanding is that it has been downloaded to Smashwords for that purpose. Thus check out the following link.

smashwords: http://bit.ly/MidnightSurrenderFree

At some point Amazon will follow with it being available for free.

amazon: http://bit.ly/MidnightSurrender

I assume Barnes and Noble, iTunes and others will come soon after.

12 Comments

Posted by shannondermott on October 11, 2012 in Blog

The Next Big Thing

04 Oct

There’s this blog hop post thingy going around lately called WIP: The Next Big Thing. One of the best authors and someone I’m glad to call friend, Nancy Straight tagged me in this post. Thank you so much for tagging me.

Alright, let me explain how this ‘blog hop’ works: once you’re tagged in this blog hopping post, you need to do a few things. One of them is to thank the person who tagged you…THANK YOU NANCY!

The next thing is for me to answer the questions that go along with the post about my works in progress.

Lastly I’ll be choosing 5 other authors to tag in this post.

Here it goes!

What’s the working title of your WIP?

So, I have three works in progress. The first is a standalone novel titled, Through the Lens. The second is the first in a trilogy titled, Remember. The third is book three, funny enough, in my Cambion series, Angel of Mercy.

Where did your idea come from for your book?

For Through the Lens, I’ve wanted to write that book for a while now and couldn’t get it out of my head until I did. Remember, I originally wrote a couple of years back and I’ve been tinkering with it for a while. I wanted to write about something not done before so I put Remember on the “shelf” it in favor of Beg for Mercy.

What genre does your book fall under?

Through the Lens is a young adult contemporary romance novel. Remember and Angel of Mercy are young adult paranormal romance novels.

Which actors would you pick to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I wasn’t thinking of anyone in particular while writing. And the guy I made up in my head probably doesn’t exist. But if I had to choose, I’ll pick for Through the Lens.

For Jessa, I would choose Gabriella Wilde.

For my Josh, a young Josh Hartnett wouldn’t be a bad choice.

What is a one sentence synopsis of your book?

Through the Lens ~

A girl trying to make her mark in her senior year of high school may end up dying for love.

Remember ~

A girl fighting to get past tragedy to reclaim all that she’d lost only to find herself a target for death.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

For Remember, it only took a couple of months for the first draft. But years of tinkering will hopefully pay off. For Through the Lens, it took several months to write.

What other books would you compare this story within your genre?

Wow, that’s a hard question. Through the Lens can very loosely be compared with Before I Fall and If I Stay. But honestly it’s very different. The similarities are possibly tragedy and a high school setting, but that is where the similarities end.

Remember, I can’t even compare. And the Cambion series to me is one of a kind.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Inspiration comes from everywhere. It’s hard to pinpoint. I get an idea and if it keeps niggling at me, I have to write it down.

What else about your book might pique the readers interest?

I love romance, angst, and drama. Most every book I write will have at least a dash of each. I will say that Through the Lens doesn’t really have a love triangle. And Remember doesn’t have a love pentagon, lol.

I now tag these awesome authors:

David Estes
H.D. Gordon
Amos Cassidy
Phillip Simpson
Rachel Wade

1 Comment

Posted by shannondermott on October 4, 2012 in Blog

Through the Lens

29 Sep

2012 has been a very busy year for me writing wise and otherwise. Some times have been wonderful and others trying. But I’m hoping to end the year with a bang.

Before I get to that news, it appears that WFM has 46 likes on its Amazon book page. Only 4 more needed for another POV, YAY!

I know a lot of you are waiting on Mercy, pun not intended, and I am going to get back to that. Meanwhile, I’ve been busy writing a lot (Mercy included). Some of my writing is new, other has been editing things I’ve already written. There is a saying that the heart wants what the heart wants. It’s also true with writing. Some times there are words that want to be written that aren’t the ones deadlines dictate. But I promise to give Mercy my full attention very soon.

Today, I’m announcing a story that I’ve wanted to write ever since I finished Beg for Mercy. And finally I have. This is a stand alone young adult contemporary romance novel titled Through the Lens. No paranormal creatures running around in this book, lol. 😉

If you are a member of Goodreads, Through the Lens has been posted in the place of Seeing. Seeing is the first in a young adult paranormal romance trilogy that was planned for a 2012 release. However, with Remember coming out and my need to focus on Mercy again, that book release has been pushed back to later in 2013. The cover has been revamped, so it’s been pulled from GR library for now. Look for information on that series to come after the new year.

So here is the cover reveal for Through the Lens.

The blurb for this book is

Being a twin isn’t all that bad, nor is it all that good. Being the fat twin makes things a little worse. Seventeen year old, Jessa Shelby has been all but ignored. Trimmed down, but not skinny like her sister, she has decided to make her mark in her final year in high school.

Things begin anew the summer before her senior year when she makes friends with Ethan Hart, a boy with a twisted past, and Allie, his near celebrity status girlfriend, while taking pictures with her new prized possession. Hanging out with them opened her eyes to a lot of new possibilities including Josh Macon, whom she’s secretly crushed on all through high school. No longer the ‘fat girl’, Josh now seems interested in her too.

Long before the day comes to graduate, Jessa finds herself gasping for air. With her vision clouded from tears born of pain as the straps from her precious camera tighten around her throat, clarity sets in. They say that just before you die your life flashes before your eyes. And on the threshold of death claiming her, she finds that partially true. Her flash begins as if to explain just how she ended up on Death’s door. With mere moments left, she has to wonder if trust had come at a very high price.

Tentative Release Dates for 2012

10/11/12 – Midnight Surrender Anthology (Prelude to Mercy – short story)

TBA – Through the Lens

TBA – Remember

~~12/31/12 – Angel of Mercy~~

11 Comments

Posted by shannondermott on September 29, 2012 in Blog

Midnight Surrender

25 Sep

Many good things are happening for the rest of the year. And one of them is this.

Inside from me you will find a short story that will include Mercy, Flynn, Luke and Paul. Expected publication date is 10/11/12. <— Gotta love that 10 – 11 – 12, lol.

Anyway, this book will be free at some point, so more good news! YAY! I will share more soon.

Great authors are contributing exclusive stories from some of their best series. I’m looking forward to reading it. I hope you are too! 😀

7 Comments

Posted by shannondermott on September 25, 2012 in Blog

AOM Promised Teaser #1

08 Sep

Happy Friday!

When writing Beg for Mercy, I didn’t have anyone pictured in my head when I developed the character. About halfway through, I decided to have a look around for visuals for fun. And I found Alex Pettyfer. I knew he was Luke for me. So when Sonya posted a picture of who she thought of for Luke when she was reading, I was like, yeah, great minds think alike. 🙂

Borrowing a picture from the movie Beastly, I thought it was a good enough visual to sort of go with this teaser. Enjoy.

AOM Promised Teaser #1 (Angel of Mercy excerpt by Shannon Dermott copyright 2012) Please note that I’ve modified this teaser slightly to not give spoilers away. When it is published in the book, it will differ slightly.

There was darkness and there was absolute darkness. The latter, I remembered all too well. Confined in it, I looked around to see the nothingness except the burning orange of the souls trapped there.

Suffocating, I didn’t need a reminder of the utter desolation.

“Mercy,” a voice cried out. Turning back to face in the direction my body was, I came face to face with the man responsible for half my DNA.

“Father,” I heard myself say. Why had I called him that? He wasn’t anything to me but pure evil.

“The time has come, Mercy. Your mother may have delayed destiny but now is the time for you to fulfill the bargain struck.”

“Bargain,” I hedged.

A wicked smile crossed his handsome features. He was so striking. I couldn’t blame my mother for falling for him and he for her. They were two beautiful creatures to behold. “We all make bargains and mine was paid with your betrothal.” My heart stopped when the name of my “betrothed” crossed his lips.

Sitting up, slicked with sweat, my breath came ragged and hard. Pushing back my hair that was damp and pressed to my forehead, I looked over at Luke who was now alert and fully awake. He was searching the room for possible threats based on the way his head moved to survey the room. Pushing himself up, he drew me close and gently kissed my forehead while pushing more hair from my face. “It was just a dream.”

I wondered how this boy could look at me which such love after I damned him. Not to mention, I could feel my hair matted to my head from sweat. I had to look like a total mess. I drew away from him, swinging my feet over the side of the bed not sure where I was going. Swiftly, he matched my movements and put an arm around my waist drawing me close. I was shaking. The dream felt so real. It felt like I had been there somehow. I thought about my damp skin and the heat that had surrounded me. Trembling, I tried to shake it off. My dream was fast becoming a waking nightmare.

“It was my father,” I choked out, before he could question me. Then I proceeded to tell him all about it.

His previous golden tan was already dim from the damnation I’d cursed him with. Yet, somehow he managed to pale to an almost gray color in that moment. There was something like fear in his eyes. “Mercy,” he said, a bit unsteadily. “It was just a dream,” he reiterated. “Even if it was true, this isn’t the middle ages. Your father,” he began, looking off to the side. Then he seemed to adjust his thoughts, shaking his head a bit. “Your dead father can’t marry you off.” My gut clenched with worry. I could see the crinkle of frown lines on his brow. He had come to the same conclusions I had.

“I know,” I said. My father, tucked away in hell, couldn’t force me to marry anyone. That wasn’t the problem. “But it all seems to make sense. If it is true, it may explain some of what you found in your father’s library.”

~ I will post promised teaser #2 before the weekend is over ~

11 Comments

Posted by shannondermott on September 8, 2012 in Blog, Teasers

Cover Reveal and Tuesday Teaser

29 Aug

Here it is, the title and cover of the third book in the Cambion series.

Many thanks to Amber McNemar at eThink Graphics for the cover.

Teaser about the book blurb….

Loss cuts deep, deeper when you’ve only had what seems like a short time with that person. Your feelings were already confused and now there was no more time. Mercy’s perilous adventures ran light speed ahead when newcomers come to town. Lycanthropes, demon hunters, and someone else who will come between her heart and her head will play a part in determining her fate and the fate for if not all, most of her friends.

Teaser

“…It’s been me. Always me. And in the end, I may be the only one left standing between you and certain death.”

He was oh so close, close enough that his scent surrounded me like a blanket. There was little doubt that I would always be safe with him.

“And what about…” I tried to say while looking into those blue eyes.

His finger put gentle pressure on my lips. “No one matters but you and me. When will you realize that?”

30 Comments

Posted by shannondermott on August 29, 2012 in Blog, Polls, Teasers

Why Pirate, I’m a generous soul

25 Aug

ePiracy and what it means to me.

As an author, I honestly don’t make much money at all. On average, most authors don’t. Writing sometime feels more like a hobby than a paying job.

As such, for someone to post my work without my permission does more than just take the few dollars out of my pocket, it also doesn’t give me credit for the sales. Sales translate to opportunity in the publishing world. The more sales you have, the more opportunities that are presented. While I’m flatter in some ways that readers like my book enough to share, if I don’t get the “sales numbers” I may not be able to continue my craft, my series or have the opportunities to write more books.

I had an eye opening experience with my debut novel. It was posted on several e-sites for free. One of which said it had been downloaded over 150 times before it was finally removed. That’s 150 downloads, that might have pushed my ranking higher on Amazon and/ or Barnes and Nobel, giving me more exposure to potential readers. I’ll never get that missed opportunity back.

I do understand that many of my readers don’t have the ability to buy my book because maybe a parent holds the purse strings. Contact me through my website. I’ve been known to be generous and give my books out to those who ask.

Lastly, if you do read a pirated copy of my book, I can make no guarantee about the quality you get. So if you’ve landed a pirated beta copy or an unedited copy, please don’t write a review citing poor editing. I can’t control what’s posted on the web.

Again, it’s illegal to post an author’s work without their permission despite some readers’ views on sharing. So please be considerate. It’s almost as bad as if someone took your diary and posted on Facebook without your permission. You wrote it, yet someone took that control out of your hands to allow others to read without your knowledge. Again, I say almost. For me, I felt robbed.

But being the generous soul that I am, I’m going to post another POV before the weekend is over. So check back.

To kill or not to kill…..

14 Aug

As a regular reader of all the reviews I get, I’m grateful for all I receive. Thanks to all of you who have posted reviews just because or to get another POV chapter from one of Mercy’s guys. No, the goal hasn’t been met yet, but I’m feeling generous.

The past few days, I’ve read some really awesome reviews. One in particular today caught my attention because of a question she raised. Now, there are other questions and comments I’ve read that I desperately want to answer, but I curb my enthusiasm because answering would only spoil the fun for the next book, lol.

However, this one question, I couldn’t ignore. To kill or not to kill, at least that was the gist of the question/comment. Would I kill one of Mercy’s boys to satisfy the question of the love triangle, no quadrangle, okay, maybe hexagon? 😉

That question/answer makes me think of a really popular series that concluded recently. One where the guy everyone really liked was killed off in favor of another guy for no other reason then to eliminate the love triangle. At least that is what it felt like to a lot of readers.

My answer to that question is no. As an author, I’m committed to all Mercy’s guys, Flynn, my bad boy, Luke, my good guy, Sebastian, my demon and Paul, my human. Nothing that will happen to any of them, I’ve taken lightly. The series is written, at least in my head. The final chapter and what happens with Mercy and all or any of her guys is predetermined. None will be killed off just to deal with the love hexagon. However, I can’t guarantee any of their safety or survival. But know if I do kill someone off, there is a really good reason behind it. And I’ve given it a great deal of consideration. Again, each book is already written in my head, published or not. Thus, I have to stay true to the story.

With that said, as thanks to all the reviewers’ reviews/ratings and in part to that reviewer. As such, I was inspired to give you all a little Flynn. One because I know you guys love him and it certainly helped that the reviewer with the question roots for him according to her review.

Without further ado

A Flynn POV chapter from Waiting for Mercy (copyrighted 2012 by Shannon Dermott)

Click link below to read.

http://figment.com/books/456319-Bonus-POV-WFM-Trapped

WANT MORE….from this chapter or something else, keeping writing reviews and giving ratings. These are important to all authors just not me.

Want to know what happened to get Flynn to Paimon, what he did while he was there….. (See Ask and you Shall recieve for how)

26 Comments

Posted by shannondermott on August 14, 2012 in Blog, Change of POV

Thursday’s Teasers

03 Aug

Random Thursday Teasers and thoughts.

Teaser from the next Mercy book.

My half smile and a quick shake of my head said it all. I went to grab the door handle to get out. Stopping me, Maggie said, “This is all messed up, Eme. But it will work out… Somehow.” Her voice trailed off.

Feeling like the biggest jerk, I turned and took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Maggs. I should be there for you. I guess I just haven’t been sleeping well.”

Previously posted teaser on Facebook and Twitter

I stared down at the question I’d hesitated on. A synonym for licentious. I called him that. A tightness in my chest broke with the thought of him. Pushing back grief, I just had to get through this. Then the tears could fall.

RANDOM

I ran accross this picture on the web. Who does this guy remind you of?

credits: Photography:Troy Phillips & Akimitsu Sadoi

Don’t forget to post reviews or like the individual Cambion series Amazon.com pages. Reward – POVs from one of the boys during either Beg for Mercy or Waiting for Mercy. See the Ask and you shall receive post for details.

Shannon Dermott