Shadow Hunter Blog Tour--CALLING ALL PNR BLOGGERS!

Hello everyone!

Thanks for your interest in my books!

SHADOW HUNTER is a prequel novella to my debut Execution Underground paranormal romance series. SHADOW HUNTER releases in trade paperback on June 25th in an anthology titled AFTER DARK alongside NYT and USA Today Bestseller Gena Showalter's Lord's of the Underworld novella, THE DARKEST ANGEL.

Below I've posted the information for the SHADOW HUNTER BLOG TOUR. If anyone is interested in participating in the tour, please contact me at kaiti(dot)ballenger(dot)author(at)gmail(dot)com

I'm interested mainly in reviews, but would be happy to schedule interviews, guest posts, character interviews, excerpts, giveaway, etc as well.

BOOK DETAILS

Title: SHADOW HUNTER (inside the AFTER DARK anthology)

Publisher: Harlequin HQN

Publication Date: June 25th, 2013

Formats available for review: (PDF File before release date and trade
paperback and/or PDF following release date)

Original Publication Format: Trade Paperback

Page Length: 205 pages (for SHADOW HUNTER as a stand alone)

Genre: Dark Paranormal Romance

Heat Level: Very Strong Adult Content

Back Cover Blurb for Shadow Hunter:  Vampire hunter Damon Brock's
first assignment with the Execution Underground is Rochester, New
York, a city crawling with the undead. But he isn't the only hunter in
town gunning for vamp blood. Tiffany Solow is fierce and ruthless when
it comes to slaying the monsters that destroyed her family-and she
works solo. But being alone is no longer so desirable when she meets
the mysterious hunter who wants more than just her turf. As they work
to massacre the local covens, the line between good and evil blurs
when they are forced to decide between their lifelong beliefs... and
their newfound hearts.

Series: Execution Underground #0.5

Links for Shadow Hunter:
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16180772-after-dark
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/After-Dark-Darkest-Angel%5CShadow-Hunter/dp/0373778252/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1356924795&sr=8-3&keywords=After+Dark+by+Gena+Showalter
Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-dark-gena-showalter/1113942026?ean=9780373778256

Author Twitter: @kait_ballenger

Author FB Page: Kait Ballenger - Author

Blog Tour Dates: May 25th thru July 19th

COVER REVEAL: After Dark ft. Shadow Hunter

After much anticipation to show you all this, I'm finally allowed to reveal MY VERY FIRST COVER!!!!!!!!!!!! AAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Can you tell I'm excited??? =D

This is the cover for AFTER DARK, a paranormal romance anthology featuring my short novel, SHADOW HUNTER, and a novella titled THE DARKEST ANGEL by NYT and USA Bestselling Author Gena Showalter! I'm ecstatic to be featured alongside an author as great as Gena and I can't wait to hear what all of you think of this anthology. AFTER DARK releases on June 25th in trade paperback everywhere that Harlequin HQN book are sold. My short featured novel, SHADOW HUNTER, is a prequel to my debut EXECUTION UNDERGROUND paranormal romance series. The first book in the series, TWILIGHT HUNTER, releases this coming September!

So what do you think? Isn't he something scrumptious? *mischievous grin*

I hope you all enjoy the cover as much as I do. Below, I've posted the back cover blurb and all sorts of different links where you can find the book. Enjoy your man-candy ;-)

A timeless seduction A unique temptation And a whole world of dark desires...

From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter

The Darkest Angel

Winged warrior Lysander has been alive for centuries, and yet he's never known desire-until he meets Bianka. Spawned from the bloodline of his enemy, the beautiful but deadly Harpy is determined to lead the untouched Lysander into temptation. He may try to evade her attempts, but even the most iron-willed demon assassin can resist for only so long....

And from debut author Kait Ballenger

Shadow Hunter

Vampire hunter Damon Brock's first assignment with the Execution Underground is Rochester, New York, a city crawling with the undead. But he isn't the only hunter in town gunning for vamp blood. Tiffany Solow is fierce and ruthless when it comes to slaying the monsters that destroyed her family-and she works solo. But being alone is no longer so desirable when she meets the mysterious hunter who wants more than just her turf. As they work to massacre the local covens, the line between good and evil blurs when they are forced to decide between their lifelong beliefs... and their newfound hearts

You can find AFTER DARK available for pre-order at both Amazon and BN:
AFTER DARK on Amazon

AFTER DARK at Barnes and Noble

Add AFTER DARK to your Goodreads shelf!
 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16180772-after-dark

Praise for AFTER DARK
  
 "One of the premier authors of paranormal romance."
--#1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole

"Gena Showalter knows how to keep readers glued to the pages and smiling the whole time."
--New York Times bestselling author Lara Adrian on The Darkest Surrender

"Showalter delivers yet again!"-RT BookReviews on Wicked Nights

"Non-stop action, pulse-pounding suspense, and red-hot romance ... Kait Ballenger's Execution Underground series delivers in spades!"--New York Times bestselling author Jaime Rush

"Taut with action, suspense, and romance that sizzles, Shadow Hunter is an evocative prelude to what's certain to be an exciting new series! Fans of J.R. Ward are going to love the sexy warriors of Kait Ballenger's Execution Underground." --Kate SeRine, author of Red and The Better to See You

 

 “Action and romance in one mesmerizing story. A phenomenal start to the EXECUTION UNDERGROUND Series. Shadow Hunter will leave you breathless and demanding more.” --Cecy Robson, author of Sealed with a Curse

"THE CALL" Blog Hop: Part 3

Happy Friday, everyone! Are you gearing up for the weekend?

Today is Part Three of the Seymour Agency "THE CALL" blog hop hosted by the Seymour Agency Promotions Manager, Tonya Kuper! Want to know what happened in the aftermath of "the call" from my wonderful agent Nicole Resciniti? Check out my answer to the questions below.

TONYA: After "the call." What happened after the day/night of the call? Did you have to give other agents a heads up? How long before you signed papers? How long have you had your current agent? Has your agent sold your work? If so, can you give any details (Title, genre, release date)? Do you have words for aspiring writers or readers of your category and genre?

KAIT: While on the phone with Nicole, I was so tempted to scream right then that I accepted her offer because of how excited I was (which probably would have been a relief to Nic so she didn't have to wait in suspense to find out my decision), but I knew from all the author advice and agent blogs I'd read that I should preview my options before I made a decision. It's important to find who is the best fit for you. I told Nic that several other agents had the full manuscript and that I would get back to her within the next few days once I'd heard from them. 

After that, my night was normal. I went to work (this is when I was still dancing professionally at an Arabic restaurant near Orlando FL) and the whole time all I could think about was the fact that I'd received an offer of representation. And only two weeks after I'd just got engaged! My life felt like pure bliss. When I got home late that night, I emailed the other agents.

As Nic told me in our initial call, once you get an offer from one agent, it's like dropping a bucket of blood into a pool of sharks--they swarm and suddenly everyone is looking for a bite. She was exactly right. After hearing back from the other agents, I couldn't help but feel that their excitement about my manuscript was forced--as if they wanted it only because someone else did. I won't name names, but I even had one agent get mad because I asked her for a response within the next week. She angrily told me that she couldn't fulfill that request and if I wanted to work with her I could be patient, and she should receive fair and ample time to review my novel just like the other agent had. She complained because she'd only had my manuscript for a week when I told her about the offer and she'd been 'so excited for the project'. I informed her "the offering agent" (I wasn't going to drop Nic's name) had only had the manuscript one day before she offered, (much less time than the angry agent had) so there was no "fair time" about it. Needless to say, I respectfully told her I wasn't interested in working with her lol.  The majority of the other agents were much more gracious.

But I digress... 

With Nicole, I knew she genuinely wanted to represent my material since she was the first to offer. Ultimately, (aside from the fact that she is an amazing person and fabulous businesswoman) being the first to offer along with her enthusiasm about my work is what made me choose her above the others. I'm so glad that I did! Though several of the other agents had been in the business longer than Nicole (Nic was still a 'newer' agent at that point), I didn't care. I knew in my heart that Nic would do right by me and that she would champion my work, and she's done exactly that. Now, she's a Publisher's Marketplace top-dealmaker agent! Needless to say, I made the right decision. ;-)

I accepted Nic's offer several days after her initial call and it was about two weeks after that when I signed the agency contract. Nic has been my agent for slightly over a year now, though it seems like I've known her for much longer. She's an amazing person, a great friend, and a wonderful agent to boot. My manuscript went on submission in November of 2011 after several rounds of edits and Harlequin purchased it in May 2012 (they were the fourth publisher to offer, but offered the best deal by far--a three book contract to be exact!). That paranormal romance manuscript Nic signed me for is now titled TWILIGHT HUNTER. It's the first in my Execution Underground paranormal romance series and it releases with Harlequin's single-title HQN line in September of this year (2013). I also have a prequel to the series which Nicole later sold on proposal releasing in July. The prequel is called SHADOW HUNTER and will appear in an anthology called AFTER DARK alongside NYT and USA bestselling paranormal romance author, Gena Showalter.

As cliched as it sounds, my advice to other writers going through the submission process is to never give up! Twilight Hunter was my third manuscript. Though it was picked up within a month or so of me querying it, I'd queried two other manuscripts throughout the course of 3 years before that. I received hundreds of rejections. But you can't let those deter you and you can't give up. Keep striving to improve and some day, you'll get there. Learn from your slip ups and your mistakes and push forward. The difference between writers who will never be published and multi-published bestselling authors is determination and sheer stubbornness (don't take one rejection as the final answer). And pay attention to those rejections also! Once you start getting personalized non-form rejections, (that say you're writing is fabulous, strong, great, whatever [insert personalized compliment], but it's just not what they're looking for) know that you're getting very close! All it takes is one yes for the whole world of publishing to open up to you.

I hope you've enjoyed my "call" story! And thank you to Tonya for hosting this lovely blog hop! Have a great weekend! 

AFTER DARK Available on Pre-order!!!

Hey, everyone!

So I found out mine and Gena Showalter's anthology, AFTER DARK, which features SHADOW HUNTER, the prequel to my Execution Underground paranormal romance series is now available for pre-order in trade paperback on Amazon and BN, and it's currently on sale right now! So cheaper price ;-)

Any likes for both the book and my author page on Amazon would be much appreciated! And if you haven't added it on your Goodreads "to read" list, I'd love if you did.

Amazon (Book): http://www.amazon.com/After-Dark-Darkest-Angel%5CShadow-Hunter/dp/0373778252/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1356636157&sr=8-7&keywords=after+dark+gena+showalter

Amazon (Author Page): http://www.amazon.com/Kait-Ballenger/e/B00ATR1USA

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-dark-gena-showalter/1113942026?ean=9780373778256

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16180772-after-dark

Any retweets and FB posts appreciated! Pre-written tweet below =D

@kait_ballenger and @genashowalter 's #paranormal #anthology #AfterDark is available for pre-order! Currently on sale! http://www.amazon.com/After-Dark-Darkest-Angel%5CShadow-Hunter/dp/0373778252/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1356636157&sr=8-7&keywords=after+dark+gena+showalter

Thanks a bunch for any and all support!