LJ Smith

My long awaited urban fantasy novel, The Blood She Betrayed, the first in the Heart Hunters series, will be released on the Clan Destine Press website as part of tonight’s FaceBook eLaunch party from 7pm until 10pm (AEST). My friend Min has been getting regular reminders on her iPhone (left)!

If you love Young Adult, New Adult, spec fic or romance (or a Hollywood film rolled into a book), come along to the public online party by CLICKING HERE. The Blood She Betrayed has been publicly endorsed by The Vampire Diaries’ New York Times Bestselling author LJ Smith, who described my novel as unique, with one of the most strong and engaging female role models she’d seen in a long time. “The plot is full of ingenious twists, turns and surprises, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series,” Smith, one of my personal mentors and writing heroes, said.

So what happens at an eBook launch party on FaceBook? You’re served cyber food and cyber drinks. Tonight’s cyber waiters will serve our signature drink, The Shahkara cocktail (or mocktail if you’re under the legal drinking age).

There will be lots of giveaways from free books to some lovely jewellery pieces and the one-off The Blood She Betrayed pendant, handcrafted by Chris at Ekko Glass Design at Moore Park.

The Facebook party enables you to celebrate The Blood She Betrayed launch with me, ask me interesting questions about my book, characters and the writing process and generally see in the night in a very reader-like fashion 🙂

If you’re a bookworm or spec fic lover, pop into the party, even for a short time. Be a part of history as we launch The Blood She Betrayed!

The Blood She Betrayed eBook will be available from the Clan Destine Press website from tonight, followed by Amazon, iTunes and Kobo. The paperback will launch in Australia next month. To pre-order the paperback, CLICK HERE, or to buy the eBook, CLICK HERE.

Blurb to The Blood She Betrayed:

Thrust into the technology-driven Earthlands, Shahkara must find the ancient Elnara death lantern – the only thing that can save her homeworld from the heart-devouring Taloners. She enlists the help of geeky billionaire Max McCalden, but soon finds that, as a half-Taloner herself, her blood demands what she knows she can’t have – a human heart.

Shahkara longs for love, but as deadly enemies attack at every turn, will her lust for Max destroy them both? Or will she find the strength to free both worlds from a threat more horrific than the demons that share her blood?

While you’re on Facebook, don’t forget to LIKE my Cheryse Durrant Author Facebook page. 🙂

Tomorrow, my urban fantasy debut novel, The Blood She Betrayed, goes live on Clan Destine Press and, not long after that, you’ll also be able to download it from Amazon, iTunes and Kobo.

I’m also delighted to reveal its updated cover, with these beautiful words from The Vampire Diaries author LJ Smith, resting above my pen-name: ‘Shahkara is engaging and strong… this girl can handle herself!’ Squee! My novel is going to be sitting on shelves in bookstores with Lisa’s name just above mine. Can my fangirl moments get any better?

I’ve been quiet on the home front this year and most of you know that’s been a combination of broken kneecap, personal concerns and preparing  The Blood She Betrayed for its official release.

The past fortnight has been a rollercoaster ride as my Publisher makes  last-minute changes to my novel and we prepare for a worldwide release, to be followed by the paperback launch in Bundaberg next month.

The Blood She Betrayed was originally scheduled to launch yesterday, September 4 but it was only on Sunday that I received the call (the unexpected call) to say they’d been delayed and the book wouldn’t go live until Friday.

But very soon, this dream will be a reality and I feel thrilled and humbled to share my first Young Adult-cusping-New Adult, Heart Hunters story with you.

I love magic and would love to believe in destiny, I do think it’s more important to focus on and work hard at your goals than to think a chewing gum wrapper will unlock the secrets of your life (to misquote the original Superman film), but I couldn’t help but grin this morning when I read my Astrological projections (star signs) for the day: ‘Today’s Virgo New Moon reveals you starting a new chapter in your work life.’ How about that? Eight per cent of the world might not be starting new careers tomorrow but I am! (Well, officially. Unofficially, I’ve been doing this for years…)

The journey of a writer is not always easy but, for most of us, writing takes up a huge chunk of our personal life and, quite simply, nourishes our souls.

Just as some are passionate about ballet or basketball, I talk to characters in my head and think up nasty, tormented plot-lines. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about my feisty characters and twisted storyline as much as I enjoyed writing it.