The Blood She Betrayed

Imaginations soar as Facebook party rocks into the night

admin Authors, The Blood She Betrayed September 14, 2013September 15, 2013Book launch, The Blood She Betrayed 4 Comments

Sipping Shahkara cocktails at our glitzy reception venue. Roasting marshmallows on a dude’s talons at the beach. Glamming it up in glitzy ballgowns or dressing down in Cookie Monster pyjamas.

A Facebook party is only limited by the imaginations of your guests so it’s not surprising that last week’s The Blood She Betrayed launch party was an epic success (especially when it 130 vivid imaginations).

Writing and publishing this book (and previous manuscripts) has been a long journey for me. During that time, I’ve been lucky enough to make many friend, not just with emerging and published authors, but a heap of non-writers (including some non-readers) who accept that “the book stuff” is a big chunk of who I am, but still love me all the same.

Friday night was a chance to celebrate with all my friends – and what a night it was! Dean J Anderson (right, dressed as Don Johnson) and fellow Bundaberg Writers Club members were ringleaders in the party antics. There was arm wrestling with Shahkara, necking on the couch and loud music, as characters from various authors’ books come together to plot out mischief.

Highlights of the night included the serving of the Shahkara cocktail and five fab giveaways. For those who missed the event, here’s a list of the winners:

Winner #1: Rieckie Muchow (Ice Gorian necklace)

Winner #2: Jodie Williams (Clan Destine title of her choice)

Winner #3: Charlott Wood (The Blood She Betrayed T-shirt)

Winner #4: Laree Chapman (Shahkara web necklace)

Winner #5: Jacqui Read (Heart Hunters bracelet)

A big thanks to Miranda Shoe (that’s her at the top of the page, sipping a mango Shahkara) who managed the names for every draw. I couldn’t have kept track of all the entries without her. Thanks, Min! Check out Miranda’s new TumblR page HERE.

Since Clan Destine Press is yet to release the full eBook, I’ve saved two of the giveaways from the party so we can draw them once The Blood She Betrayed goes live. The first is a gorgeous Shahkara pendant, designed and handmade by local artist Chris from Ekko Glass Design at Moore Park. The pendant was designed in honour of The Blood She Betrayed‘s launch. The smaller prize is a bracelet from The Bling Thing, Hervey Bay, which also captures the vivid colours of my book’s cover.

I’ll let everyone know as soon as they can download the full eBook from Clan Destine Press and Amazon. In the meantime, make sure you download for free the first 12 chapters of The Blood She Betrayed from THIS SITE.

Thank you, everyone, for being part of my special night. It meant the world to me, multiple worlds, in fact, and the more I write of the Heart Hunter series, the more you’ll get to discover those worlds.

Facing up to The Blood She Betrayed radio interview

admin 4BU, Authors, Books, Radio, The Blood She Betrayed September 12, 2013September 13, 2013The Blood She Betrayed 5 Comments

My stomach tightened with nerves as I stepped into the Bundaberg Broadcasters building on Friday, ready for my first radio interview on my Hearts & Talons Tour.

This was no big deal, I tried to justify. I’d studied radio at university, though the mikes were a lot bigger then, almost the size of Cookie Monster’s hand (when filled with cookies). Besides, up until 10 years ago, I had been interviewed on 4ZR radio twice a week, telling Maranoa residents about the latest Western Star headlines.

But when I entered that radio studio on Friday, the nervous author inside me cringed and wished I could be anywhere else, maybe even trade places with my heroine Shahkara as she fought off a gathering of demons. After all, my half-Taloner character has long, sharp talons and, better still, doesn’t have to answer back when slashing an enemy’s throat.

Fortunately, I wasn’t facing Taloners, but being interviewed by 4BU’s Billy Healy on Wide Bay Today. This is Billy:

See? He doesn’t look scary at all. I’m a bit concerned he’s trying to imitate Superman’s flying skills without the cape. Maybe he should hire some power jets or at least chat to Iron Man. Come to think of it, Billy looks a bit like actor Kevin Spacey without the hair (if you don’t count Spacey’s devious role as Luthor in Superman Returns).

Seriously, Wide Bay Today presenter Billy Healy was a fun, fun guy and immediately put me at ease. He even asked questions that rekindled memories I’d long forgotten – stuff like electric typewriters, Tim Winton and the 1990 Writers Train and Yuleba State School. Oh, those were the days!

I walked out of the studio, thinking author radio interviews weren’t so bad, but grateful I could scamper back to my computer nook and squeeze some Heart Hunters plotline in before lunch-time.

Listen to the interview with Billy Healy on 4BU’s Wide Bay Today by clicking below

Click on the yellow: Cheryse Durrant 4BU Sept 2013

Time to party on FaceBook for eBook eLaunch!

admin Authors, Books, LJ Smith, The Blood She Betrayed, Urban Fantasy September 6, 2013May 9, 2015 0 Comment

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-or der 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. 🙂