And...it's here!

Finally! Book 2 of the Draca Wards Saga is available exclusively on Kindle. If you are an Amazon Prime member you can read it for free. Click here to go to the Amazon page.

The race is on to bond with the young wards, and some of the evil Draca are in prime position to make their move. One dragon controls the Academy where most of the wards are training. Another is blindly revered by the powerful Druids. Yet another wreaks havoc with her disregard for rules and order among her kind. But the wards are unaware of the danger. As they begin to come to terms with the powers they possess, they must accept who they are, their pasts and their futures, and figure out who is a friend…and who is not.  

This is an exclusive pre-release. The print edition will be released in February. And don't forget, Familiar Origins is still 99 cents on Kindle! Happy reading!

B.

Planet Earth's Northern Hemisphere

I love writing about fictional worlds. However, this is the world that inspires me. All my ideas are based on this beautiful planet.

My dragon is not happy with me

As I rummage through a box of knick-knacks from my old office at work, I pull out the beautiful blue dragon that Hubby got for me in Brazil. I smile as I hold it up to the light, and immediately realize I am in trouble.

The ice dragon is not used to tumbling about in a dark box with junk. She is accustomed to being admired, perched high on a file cabinet where co-workers would drop by and compliment her. Now a bit of polish is scraped off the tip of one of her horns. Blood-red eyes glower through angry slits at me.

“I am sorry,” I say to her.

No reaction from the dragon. But I get her message loud and clear.

You call yourself a dragon lover. You are unworthy of a Beanie Dragon!

I carry her downstairs to my new work area. “Look, I have no office anymore. There is no place to put you that is out of reach of the kids.”

The dragon just stares.

“Fine, how can I redeem myself?”

I want you to show me off again.

I think about it for a moment. “How about I post a picture of you on my blog?”

Pssshhht! Nobody reads your blog! Don’t do me any favors.

“Well it’s all I have, so take it or leave it!”

Sometimes you have to be firm with dragons. She’s a little less peeved now. Here she is:

And headshot:

B.

Familiar Origins for 99 cents!

The sequel to Familiar Origins is almost here. And the Kindle version of Familiar Origins is now 99 cents for a limited time on Amazon!


Click here to buy it on Kindle!

So if you have a Kindle, and you haven’t read the first book, or if you are looking for a holiday gift for an avid reader, now is the time to get it.

The book is about a group of children who are being sought after by dragons. The prologue tells of two dragons confronting each other over a newborn baby. You can read the prologue and the first three chapters here:

Familiar Origins- Goodreads excerpt

You can also visit the Draca Wards website to learn more about this fantasy saga:

www.dracawards.com

Familiar Origins has won two first place 2012 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards. It’s also received great reviews. So If you have not read it yet, give it a shot. And if you know anyone who is looking for a good YA fantasy book to read, please spread the word.

Thanks!



B.

Nothing lasts forever...

One of the hubs I like to visit to find and browse through various blogs is the group “Today I Blogged about…” on Writers Digest Community. Unfortunately, Writer’s Digest is shuttering its social media site, which means I will likely lose touch with this group of fellow writers.

What I liked about this group so much was the relatively small size and diversity of the members. The group members covered a range of topics aside from writing, but the one thing everyone here had in common was that everyone blogged. I never contributed much. My blog has always been a low priority for me (I am ashamed to say that here, but it is embarrassingly obvious). But I did visit other blogs. I would drop a comment here and there. I followed some blogs. I witnessed some bloggers develop friendships while I lurked shyly, peeking through the interwebs. And I always took for granted that this small group of writers would always be just a few clicks away. Now it will be gone.

I have not logged in here often these past few weeks, so I don’t know if a group will pop up in the forum or if many of the bloggers will just move on to other networks. But this was a really neat group, so I would like to say to you all that it was a pleasure being a fellow member with all you bloggers. I wish you all the best of luck with your endeavors. I hope you will want to keep connected (follow my blog and I will reciprocate).  And no matter what life throws your way, please keep on writing.

Happy blogging,
B.

Sorry I'm late. More winners!

I apologize for being so late with this announcement. Things just seem to pop up whenever I finally have free time. Like work. And author events. And laundry. And broken things that need to be fixed. Not to mention kids who refuse to fall asleep.

In any case, congratulations to @luciais, navajospirit, and loisita! You can e-mail your contact information to me at: bpine(at)dracawards(dot)com. Or you can DM me at @B_Pine

Thank you to everyone. You guys are wonderful!

B.

P. S. - Take a look at the bookmarks for Plights. They look and feel so good!

Book 2 bookmark-front image. The actual bookmarks have rounded corners

Back side of my new bookmarks. Designed by Eimi.

And the first two winners are...

I wish I could send a copy to everyone who entered, but the giveaway isn’t over yet.  Congratulations to Gayle C. Krause (blog winner) and @grigorylukin (Twitter winner)! I have contacted you both so you can know where to send your address so I can send the books.

A little bonus. The books will also be signed by the illustrator. And I’ll add a bookmark as well. Isn’t that cool?

Next time I will pick three winners. And the giveaway is not only for new followers. Anyone can ask to enter.

Good luck to everyone!
B.

I'm giving away five books! Want one?

I am still a bit stunned. I have not had too much time to dwell on it, but now that some time has passed, it is quite real to me now. My book has won two awards. Not one, but two first place awards.




I would like to celebrate by giving away five print books, signed, with two original award seals. I will ship the books anywhere the USPS will deliver. There are two ways you can enter:
1. Subscribe to my blog and post a comment. If you can’t think of a comment, you can post, “Please enter me in your giveaway. I would love to read Familiar Origins.”
2. Follow me on Twitter (@B_Pine) and tweet: I want to win a copy of #FamiliarOrigins by @B_Pine

You may enter both ways. I will pick one winner from my blog entries and one winner from my Twitter entries on April 15. I will do the same on April 29, and I will also pick the fifth winner from among both the blog and Twitter entries.

And no, this is not an April Fool’s joke.  Good luck!

B.

And...here it is!

We are one step closer to getting the second book of the Draca Wards Saga ready for release. Behold, the cover and title of Book Two:

To celebrate finalizing the cover art, and my Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, I plan to give away five books. Stay tuned for more details soon!

B.

Fulfilling a 2012 resolution - Romance Scene WIP

My dedication (obsession) to two novels I am working on have kept me away from posting, and many other things I should be doing. So I resolved to post at least three times this year. And Oasis for YA has given me a perfect opportunity to get started. So here goes. Happy Valentine's day, everyone!



Tosh looked at Gavin, her distressing conversation with Malcolm forgotten. Gavin hopped over to sit beside her, setting his Coke down behind the bench.

“Tosh, he’s wrong.” Gavin took her hand. It was the second time he had ever touched her. It made her heart sing. It changed everything.

“I know he is.” She looked up into his eyes as he leaned close. Tingling heat and fluttery butterflies burst from her middle, all the way to her fingers and toes. “But I’m confused. I’ve been horrible to you, but you came anyway. What do you want?”

“I want…” he paused as his arms slid around her. “I want to feel you. All these months we have spent together, and I have never even hugged you. I want to touch you and hold you close. I want to hear your voice as I stare at your lovely face.”

His weight pushed her off the stone bench and onto the ground. His hand cradled the back of her head to keep it from banging against the rocky floor. She felt the tickle of her hem slipping up her thighs as his body pressed against hers. His moist lips, slightly sweet from the Coke, teased her tongue as she melted into the rapture of her very first kiss.

“Nothing will make me forget you,” he whispered as he kissed her again and again. “Think of that song you love so much. However far away, I will always love you.”

“And I will always love you,” Tosh sighed.

End