H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS Audiobook is Here!

Photo by Adam Whitlock via Unsplash

The H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS audiobook is finally available!! Woot, woot!

H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS by Natalie Wright

Wow, this one took a while, but I hope you all are pleased with the great narration by the fabulous Dylan White. His performance is stellar (I particularly love the chapters with the alien U’Vol).

Without further ado, here are the links:

Click this link to purchase the book on Audible. 

Click this link to purchase the book on Amazon.

Click this link to purchase on iTunes.

Thank you to all of you who have been asking about the audiobook version, and I apologize that it took a while. I hope you enjoy the exciting conclusion to the H.A.L.F. series! 

Happy Birthday H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS!

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS by Natalie Wright

Woo-hoo!! It’a H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS birthday! Woot, woot!

To celebrate, I’m kicking off a month of gift giving because every birthday party needs presents.  

And cake, of course. *licks cake frosting from lips*

I’ll announce other opportunities to get in on free stuff, but I’m not saving best for last. I’m starting with the ORIGINS Mega Giveaway. This one is super simple. Rafflecopter will do most of the work for both of us. All you have to do is enter below.

I’m super excited for you all to read ORIGINS. Not only is it my best book yet, but I’m dying to have people to talk to about the book! The twists, turns and “didn’t see that coming” ending.

See. I can hardly keep my mouth shut.

If you haven’t viewed the book’s webpage, you can do that here. On that page you can read the description, check out the trailer, and hear what book critics have to say. The page also contains all purchase links currently available.

Now what are you waiting for, enter the Mega Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Of Love Quadrangles and Paris

I can't believe it has already been a week since my new book, H.A.L.F.: The Makers launched! It has been one heck of a ride. The Makers had an awesome debut and the first book in the series, H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath, continues to climb up the charts on Amazon. *Happy Dance!*

I did the launch a bit differently this time than I have for past books and I promise to share what I've learned in future posts. Right now I'm busy getting ready to travel to Europe on vacation. I'm so excited!! This will be my first time to Paris and Germany. I'm looking forward to time alone with my guy and some relaxation.

Before I go, here's a little post about writing the relationships in The Makers. And, an excerpt!!

Enjoy :-)

Natalie

When I began planning the H.A.L.F. (Human Alien Life Form) series back in 2010, I created a female protagonist, Erika Holt, and two guys (H.A.L.F. 9, aka “Tex” and Jack Wilson). During the process of writing The Deep Beneath (H.A.L.F. #1), I assumed that I’d have a love triangle going throughout the three-book series.

But oh, how characters can foil plans! I had no idea that The Deep Beneath would end the way that it did. It’s pretty hard to write a triangle when one of the people in the triad flies away in an alien space ship!

Reboot. Book 2, The Makers.

How I see Jack Wilson

As I planned The Makers, a new character developed. Her name is Anna Sturgis, and she’s the niece of Commander Lillian Sturgis, the antagonist in book 1. In The Makers, Jack gets thrust into a situation where he has to be with Anna 24/7.

Given that Anna is the niece of his enemy, Jack wants to hate her. But it’s hard to hate someone when you’re falling in love with them.

Anna Sophia Robb as Anna Sturgis

A challenge for me with this situation is that there are fans of the first book who are rooting for Erika and Jack to end up together. I didn’t want to piss off The “Team Jerika” folks and have people hate Jack for moving on quickly to another relationship. At the same time, I had to stay true to where the story was taking me. 

It turned out that the unexpected relationship between Jack and Anna was my favorite part of The Makers to write. Their relationship builds slowly through time and circumstances. Their flirtations are awkward as flirtations often are. And I think readers will sense Jack’s sincere emotional turmoil as he is torn between his love for a woman he will likely never see again versus his natural attraction to a beautiful and kind woman he spends all day with.

At the end of The Makers, readers will be left wondering what will happen to this quadrangle. Will Jack and Anna end up together despite the odds against them? Will Erika ever come back to Earth? And if she does, will she still love Jack or will she fall or the human-alien hybrid, H.A.L.F. 9?

Excerpt from H.A.L.F.: The Makers (H.A.L.F. #2):

When he woke, the sun was just north of the horizon. The sky was deep coral and lavender with bursts of gold spinning away from a few low, wispy clouds.

He felt bad for snapping at Anna. It wasn’t her fault that his girlfriend had flown away from him in a spaceship or that he couldn’t go home if he wanted to stay out of jail and off Sewell’s shit list.

“Look, I’m sorry I snapped at you. I’m having a bad day, okay?”

Anna nodded and walked toward the restaurant. Her long hair bounced about her shoulders and her hips swayed gently as she walked. The setting sun shone on her hair and made it look like it was somehow lit from within. Jack wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through it.

The parking lot was long and wide, and Anna had parked near the back. There was a huge neon cowboy hovering over the restaurant by a sign that said ‘The Big Texan.’ Another sign announced it was home to the ‘72-Ounce Steak’. Of all the unlikely things Jack had done with Anna Sturgis so far, this was by far the most surreal. It seemed like the last place Miss Spinach Salad would choose to eat. Jack looked toward the horizon in every direction as he walked and realized she likely didn’t have much choice. There was nothing but open range in every direction.

They checked in at the hostess stand set below walls filled from eye level to ceiling with stuffed heads of dead animals. Erika wouldn’t have set another foot further in the place no matter how hungry she was. The thought of her made Jack’s hurt redouble.

The huge menu nearly covered Anna completely as she read it. Jack thought for sure she’d order water with lemon and a salad. But she surprised him and ordered a Shock Top and beef filet.

“I’ll have the same,” Jack said.

The waiter carded him and grudgingly accepted the fact that ‘Steve Harper’ was indeed twenty-two years old that day and of legal age to drink the beer he’d just ordered.

Anna maintained her aloof mask. Jack wished he could reel his angry outburst back in. He hated conflict.

When the beers came, Anna began to take a sip but stopped. She held her glass up. “A toast,” she said.

Jack halted himself from taking the sip he was ready to take. He raised his glass as well.

“To you, Jack Wilson. Happy birthday.”

They clinked their glasses and each took a long draw of the bubbly liquid. It went down smooth and warmed Jack’s insides.

After they sucked down half their beer and made the bread into a pile of crumbs, the mood had lightened considerably. They made small talk about inconsequential things and got into a raging debate about which franchise was better: Star Trek or Star Wars. Jack argued on behalf of Star Wars while Anna made a passionate argument for Star Trek. The truth was, Jack didn’t care. He was just happy to learn that his driving companion liked either. Most girls he’d met wouldn’t have known the difference between the two. Heck, even Erika rolled her eyes if he mentioned Star Wars.

They stuffed themselves with French fries and steak cooked rare. The waiter cleared the dishes, and Jack was getting ready to hit the head when a horde of servers came toward them, singing happy birthday and carrying a piece of chocolate cake with a lit sparkler coming out of the top. Jack had thus far lived his life without having to succumb to the embarrassment of a whole restaurant staring at him while having people sing happy birthday to him off key. The two beers he’d downed made him chill with it.

The sparkler reflected in Anna’s twinkling eyes as she sang along with them. She smiled, and the fire cast a soft glow on her pink skin. Maybe it was the beers talking, but Jack had the urge to kiss her. It was like for a brief moment, he was living someone else’s life. If someone was looking at them, they might think the two were boyfriend and girlfriend out for a special meal to celebrate his day. Kissing her would look natural. Be natural.

If she was his girlfriend. If his girlfriend wasn’t a billion miles away.

Jack forced the thoughts of Erika down and put a smile on. The sparkler died down and the magic of its fire was gone. Anna was a business companion forced on him by the situation, and he was no more than that to her. She was making the best of it. He should too.

He dug into the gooey cake and shoved the plate toward Anna so she could eat some as well. She ate a bite. A smile crept across her face as the sugar dissolved in her mouth.

“If we keep this up, I’m going to be as big as a house by the time this is over.” She took another huge bite.

Jack answered by digging his fork into the chocolate fluff icing. It wasn’t the eighteenth birthday he’d imagined or how he’d hoped to usher in adulthood. But he figured he’d always remember it, drinking beer and eating cake with one of the wealthiest and most beautiful women in the world.

They got into the car and Anna undid the top button on her jeans. Jack laughed and did the same.

They found a cash-only hotel. Jack was both relieved and disappointed when Anna requested a room with two beds. They wormed their way into sleeping bags so they didn’t have to take their chances with getting bedbugs. As Jack drifted off to sleep that night of his eighteenth birthday, he decided that life was better when he kept himself in the here and now without thoughts about his past or his future. Without thoughts about Erika and what might have been.

In the here and now, he had spent a very pleasant evening with a woman that, as it turned out, was an amiable companion. He was now Steve Harper. Jack Wilson’s past was full of might-have-beens. His future held the prospect of going up against Croft’s men to liberate Alecto, who was just as likely to kill him as help him. With his belly full of good food and drink, and Anna lightly snoring next to him, Steve Harper contentedly slept away the last few hours of Jack Wilson’s eighteenth birthday.

H.A.L.F. is FREE on Amazon for a Limited Time Only!

BREAKING NEWS - FREE BOOK!!

H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath
by Natalie Wright

For the first time ever, and only for 5 days, my award-winning book H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath (H.A.L.F. #1), is FREE on Amazon!

If you haven't yet picked up a copy of H.A.L.F. (#1) but you've wanted to try it out, Now's the time!

H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath is free from 5/6-5/10/16, only on Amazon. Here are the links:

Amazon
Amazon U.K
Amazon CA

And if you want to pre-order H.A.L.F. #2 - The Makers - you can do that here.

And to learn more about the special pre-order offer that I've got going on (including an exclusive full-color book that you can't buy in stores), click here.

As seen in SyFy Magazine

Paranormal October: Dissolve into the Paranormal with Andrea Heltsley

Paranormal October continues and today I welcome back to the blog author Andrea Heltsley. Andrea has a new release in the adult paranormal genre and it's part of the Dissolve series. She has given us two nice excerpts to whet our appetite so check them out. And make sure to enter the Giveaway at the end of the post ;-)

Cora is thrilled to leave high school behind and kick start her summer with her boyfriend and best friend, Nessa. In an unexpected turn of events, tragedy strikes and Cora turns to Nessa for help.

Cora and Nessa discover they are not alone and become entangled in things much bigger than they expect. As the two of them meet new allies, it’s obvious that clearing Cora’s name and going home seem like the least of their worries. The further they travel; the more complicated their lives become. Someone is after them and they are just getting started.

Book One in the Dissolve Trilogy

Add to Goodreads

Buy on Amazon 

Excerpt:

Through all the mess, I managed to have a peaceful dream. I dreamed I was an incandescent purple butterfly floating 

lightly through the summer air. I reveled in 

the warm night and the soft breeze that 

encompassed me. Looking up, I took in the 

sight of a gibbon’s moon waning in the inky 

night amongst twinkling stars.

Gentle as the breeze itself, I landed on a 

blade of grass. I was surrounded by an 

entire field of swaying grass, and I sank 

down to the soft earth. Time seemed to stand 

still as I took in the warm peaceful night.

That was when I woke up, and I mean I 

really woke up. I was lying in a meadow, the 

cool earth beneath me. My blue eyes snapped 

open in panic. I soon realized that the moon, 

the breeze, and the grass were no figment of 

my imagination.

Naked and panicked, my mind raced as 

all the thoughts course through it at once. 

Where was I? How was I going to get back to 

the motel? Exposed, I tried to steady my 

breathing for fear of a panic attack. I stood 

up, looking around under the cover of 

darkness. My heart raced and then skipped a 

beat as I saw the motel just off to the left 

of my field of vision.  

1.     Codes and Keys- Death Cab for Cutie

2.     Dark Blue- Jack’s Mannequin

3.     The Creationist- Kerli

4.     Secrets- One Republic

5.     Just Tonight- The Pretty Wreckless

6.     Drown- Carolina Liar

7.     AM/FM Sound- Matt & Kim

8.     Fixed at Zero- Versa Emerge

9.     This is For Real- Motion City Soundtrack

10.   Done- Charlotte Sometimes

11.  What You Want- Evanescence

12.   Saying Sorry- Hawthorne Heights

13.   Northern Downpour- Panic! At The Disco

14.   Firefight- Jimmy Eat World

15.    Make a Run for It- Hit the Lights

16.  This is War- Thirty Seconds to Mars

Cora and her friends encounter one problem after another on their search for the truth. Questions about their genetically altered states and the mass bombings that plague the country, lead them to the place they least expect, and a threat they didn’t anticipate.

As the search for answers grow more complicated, they must learn to trust new allies as well as each other. If only Cora could just dissolve away from this mess, but she’s determined not to leave anyone behind.

With shocking twists, steamy romances, and heart-pounding action, find out what happens when danger is just a step ahead and their fate waits in the shadows. 

Book Two in the Dissolve Trilogy

November 15, 2015

Excerpt:

True panic didn’t set in until I heard screams and gunshots. The loud pops shattered my hold on reality. The only thing I could feel was my need to get away from the awful scene. My body was going to unravel, right here, right now, in front of the agents. This had disaster written all over it, but I couldn’t stop it. It was like a safety mechanism built inside me—run, escape, hide, get away, or flee. I was consumed by these thoughts as they ran on repeat in my fragile mind.

It started at my feet, one foot, and then the other. The shoes I had on, emptied, the transition moving up my legs in a slow tingling feeling. My eyes had involuntarily closed, waiting for the peace of freedom dissolving would bring. This transition was slower than most. I couldn’t concentrate with my mind so busy.

 

Add to Goodreads

Pre-Order Detour on Amazon

1. Somethin’ Bad - Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood

2. Begin Again - Taylor Swift

3. Carry the Fire – Automatic Loveletter

4. Cruel World – Lana Del Rey

5. Hysteria – Motion City Soundtrack

6. My Racing Thoughts – Jack’s Mannequin

7. Never Gonna Let You Down – Colbie Caillat

8. Pumpin’ Blood - NoNoNo

9. Shatter Me – Lindsey Stirling and Lizzy Hale

10. Waiting for a Friend – The Pretty Reckless

11. Warpath – Ingrid Michaelson

12. Whitecoats – Foxes

13. Give Me Back My Hometown – Eric Church

14. Loved – Lucy Hale and Joe Nichols

15. Immortals – Fall Out Boy

16. This Nothin’ Town – Jason Aldean

17. Mission Bells – Matt Nathanson

18. Hold My Hand – The Fray

19. Hope – Natasha Bedingfield

20. Line of Fire – The Veronicas

 

About the Author:

Andrea Heltsley is a new adult and young adult author. She started writing in 2012 and hasn’t stopped since. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two Italian Greyhounds. Ice cream, coffee and candy are a few of her serious addictions. 

When writing, Andrea loves to listen to all kinds of music and always has a candle burning. Her dogs curl up in a nearby chair and burrow in a blanket most of the day. She has more book ideas than time to write them. Andrea is fascinated by the paranormal, supernatural, shifters, love triangles and romance. Her books reflect that. 

When she’s not writing, you can find her nose in a book. 

Her ideal forms of entertainment are: 

She reads mostly Indie authors including: Alyssa Rose Ivy, Ednah Walters, Molly McAdams, Rachel Van Dyken, Shelly Crane, Addison Moore, J.L. Weil, Stephanie Hudson, Amy Bartol, Amelia Hutchins and Chelsea Cameron are just a few.

A few NYT authors she reads: Rachel Vincent, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Chloe Neill, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine, Kim Harrison, Sophie Kinsella, Kelley Armstrong, Kiera Cass, L.J. Smith and Alyson Noel.

She loves listening to Shakira, Taylor Swift, Andrew McMahon, Death Cab for Cutie, Kerli, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Lana Del Rey, Marina and the Diamonds and The Pretty Reckless.

TV shows she loves are The Vampire Diaries, The Walking Dead, Bitten, The 100, iZombie, Under the Dome, Graceland, The Originals and Orphan Black.

Movies that are her must watches: P.S. I Love You, Elektra, The Host, Veronica Mars, The Underworld Movies, The Terminator Movies, The Resident Evil Movies, Coyote Ugly, Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton's), Nicholas Sparks movies, Sweet Home Alabama and Salt.

 

Follow her blog at Andrea Heltsley Books
Follow Andrea on Twitter
Like Andrea on Facebook
Follow Andrea on Pintrest
Andrea's Goodreads Author Page
Andrea's Amazon Author Page

a Rafflecopter giveaway

H.A.L.F. Is HERE! New Sci Fi Book by Natalie Wright

H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath
by Natalie Wright

What does it take to write a novel?

For my most recent novel, the stats are something like this:

Four years, three complete rewrites, four Moleskine notebooks, hundreds of cups of coffee, three content editors, six beta readers, several bottles of wine, two different covers, a gazillion Reese's cups, a trip to the Roswell museum of UFOs in New Mexico, and hundreds of hours with my butt glued to a chair, fingers virtually numb from typing.

There may be a few exaggerations in there, but it's mostly true. ;-)

But all the hours lead to this moment of Yay! Hooray! Booyah!

H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath e-book is available for pre-order on Amazon. *raises a glass and drinks* If you'd like to order your Kindle copy, click the Amazon link, hit pre-order and boosh! It'll be delivered to your account on 1/29 when it releases.

And, for those of you that enjoy the feel of paper in your paws, the paperback is available now on CreateSpace and Amazon. I've even got a spiffy coupon code for CreateSpace. Just enter this coupon code for 25% Off. You're welcome ;-)

And what's this? A hardcover is coming you say?

Yep. Hardcover baby. The firm feel and weight of a hardcover will roll your way in early March.

It's time to party. To raise the roof. To bask in the glow of pulling that manuscript kicking and screaming into the world!

I really did have a blast writing H.A.L.F. It's the most fun book I've written so far and I hope that readers have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

I'd love to hear what you think. Reviews on Amazon are a plus. Dropping me a line or comments for bonus points.

Now time to get back to work. I have four more books to write in the H.A.L.F. series. :0

From the Back Cover:

H.A.L.F. 9 has taken his first breath of desert air and his first steps in the human world. Created to be a weapon, he proved too powerful for his makers, hidden from humans and sedated. But H.A.L.F. 9 has escaped the underground lab he called home, and the sedation has worn off. He has never been more alive. More powerful. Or more deadly.

Erika Holt longs to ride her motorcycle east until pavement gives way to shore. She bides her time until graduation when she’ll escape the trailer she shares with her alcoholic mother and memories of her dead father. But a typical night in the desert with friends thrusts Erika into a situation more dangerous than she ever imagined.

Circumstances push the two together, and each must make a fateful choice. Will Erika help H.A.L.F. 9 despite her “don’t get involved” rule? And will H.A.L.F. 9 let Erika live even though he was trained to kill?

The two may need to forget their rules and training if either is to survive the dangers of the deep beneath them.