With a little over a month to go before the release of Never Been Ready, I think it’s time for a cover!!

So, without further ado….here is the gorgeous cover of Never Been Ready which releases Feb. 4th.

Designed by Okay Creations, with custom photography by K.Keeton Designs.

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Here is your second official teaser from Never Been Ready – releasing Feb. 4th!!  This was released on Christmas Day on my Facebook page.  I hope you enjoy it!

For more snippets and picture teasers, check out Never Been Ready under the Bookshelf tab!

(Adult Content Warning – For language)
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5,000 Facebook Likes.

Seriously, how did that happen?!

It’s really amazing and I can’t thank you all enough.  The least I can do is hold a fun little giveaway.  Well, it’s not all that little.  It’s quite large, thanks to some awesome donations from many amazing authors and bloggers!

So here are your prizes!!
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As I’m writing, I have a habit of getting very excited and sporadically posting mini-teasers on my Facebook page.  But I also have a habit of forgetting to post these teasers on my blog!

So, in an effort to keep everyone up to date and all of the teasers organized, here are the last THREE teasers I’ve posted on Facebook!  You can find the original “official” teaser posted under the “bookshelf” tab.
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A HUGE Thank You to everyone who entered!  We had over 14,000 entries!

An even bigger THANK YOU to all of the amazing authors who donated e-books, signed paperbacks and swag.  Their generosity is truly outstanding!

So, without further ado – here are the list of winners.  Winners of signed prizes have already been contacted requesting addresses – check your email.  Winners of e-books, you will receive your prize directly from the author giving it.  I am in the process of notifying all of the donors, so please be patients.  It may take a few days for you to receive your e-book delivery!

CONGRATS EVERYONE AND THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!!
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As many of you know, cancer is a main theme in my debut novel, When You’re Ready.  It’s a disease that has affected us all in one way or another.  We’ve all lost someone, known someone who has been diagnosed, or maybe you’ve fought the battle yourself.

In the last year, I’ve had my own cancer scare when my doctor found what they thought was a mass in my breast during a CT scan and last month, we lost my husband’s grandmother to liver cancer.

My emotional journey through my own cancer scare gave me the inspiration to write some amazing scenes in WYR, but I wanted to do more.  Writing about something isn’t enough, and after losing someone again to a disease that seems to have no cure, I decided I could do more than just type.

During the entire month of September, I will donate 20% of my net profits from the sales of When You’re Ready to The American Cancer Society.  

This is my way of putting my money where my mouth is.  It’s not enough to just write about it.  I want to show my support and help those who are just being diagnosed, those fighting their way through and the families who support them.

Please help me by sharing this post, telling your friends, family members and neighbors.  Let’s make a difference.

Yours,

JL

Yes, it’s true, signed paperbacks are finally available.  Let’s all take a moment and give my husband some virtual applause for setting up the fabulous ordering website, *thunderous applause* I truly am lucky I married such a smarty pants. 

There is a tab (look up) that you can click on and it will give you all of the info on purchasing a signed copy of WHEN YOU’RE READY.  Awesome, right?!  

Ok, next order of business.  NEVER BEEN READY has a release date!  I have set the publication date for February 1st, 2014.  Ok, stop crying and trying to throw things at me through the computer!  I know it’s a long ways away, and I know waiting sucks.  But there are good reasons for the delay.  The first being that I haven’t completed the manuscript!  That’s kind of a biggie.  The second is I’ve hired a KICK-ASS cover designer (anyone heard of Okay Creations?  Seriously, go look it up!) and I’ve also hired an amazing editor.  Both required a bit of a delay, but will be well worth it!  

Lastly, I’ve been busy scheduling appearance dates all over the place!  I’ve added an “appearance” tab on the website so please check it out to see if I will be anywhere near you in the next year.  I will hopefully be adding places and dates, so check back often!

That is all for now kiddos,

<3 JL

What an amazing week!!

WHEN YOU’RE READY has officially been out for one week and the response has been incredible!

As my husband and I sat in front of the computer last week patiently waiting for Amazon to publish my debut novel, he asked me if I had any goals in terms of sales.  I told him I honestly just hoped to sell one!

One week later, WHEN YOU’RE READY is in the top 100 list on Amazon for Contemporary Romance!  I keep checking Amazon just to make sure it’s not a mistake and they haven’t changed their mind!

So thank you.  Thank you to everyone who went out and purchased WHEN YOU’RE READY.  Thank you to the readers who stayed up late finishing it in one sitting.  Thank you to the many wonderful fans who sent me such heartfelt notes over the past few days.  A very special thanks to all of the bloggers who have helped me along the way, and who will be helping me in the next two weeks with my blog tour.  You guys totally rock and I really love all of you!

And lastly, a HUGE thank you to my husband…for believing in me.  You are my rock, and I can’t even begin to thank you for everything you do for me every day.

Okay, now that I’m near tears…here are a few updates!!

• PAPERBACKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!!!!  CreateSpace  and Amazon now has WYR Paperback available for purchase.  Get your copy today!
• SIGNED PAPERBACKS – We should have them available on the website for purchase soon!  So stay tuned!
• WHEN YOU’RE READY is now available on iTunes!  So Apple lovers, go forth and download!  You can also now download WYR from Kobo and Sony!
• RELEASE PARTY’S!!  I have two release parties scheduled.  One is virtual and one is not!  The virtual party is on Facebook and will be held tomorrow (August 1st) from 8PM – 10PM (EDT)  Lots of prizes will be given out!  The second release party is on August 17th at 8PM and will be held in my home town of Richmond, VA.  I am lucky enough to have a best friend who owns a bar, so we are holding it there.  Details on on my Facebook page!
• PINTEREST!  I have unveiled my super secret board on Pinterest that has tons of pins I collected when writing WYR.  Warning – do not browse unless you’ve read the book.  It might contain spoilers!

I think that’s it for now!  Again, thank you everyone for making my first release week a huge amazeballs successful one!  Love to each and everyone of you!

<3 JL

The secret is out!  WHEN YOU’RE READY is LIVE!!

Trying to be as proactive as possible, I published last night to make sure everything was set and in place for Thursday.  As a new author, I figured I could float under the radar for a day or two until I made the announcement on release day!

WRONG!  I woke up to amazing book sales!  You guys found me, and you totally rock!!

So, here are the links!  I’ll post more permanent ones soon, but these will get you started!!

XOXO to all of you!!

– JL

Amazon —> http://amzn.to/12LkgEK
Amazon UK —> http://amzn.to/134Detz
Barnes and Noble —> http://bit.ly/13DCXxu
Smashwords —> http://bit.ly/19hOdUd

iTunes Users – WYR is NOT ready on iTunes. If you happen to find a copy, please do not download it. Smashwords sent the ARC, rather than the final copy and if you buy my book, I want you to have the best version possible! I estimate it will be a week before it’s all sorted out. However, Smashwords does have the updated version and you can download a copy for your Apple device there. I’ve included the directions from Smashwords below:

How do I download books to my iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad?
Go to the Apple App store and download the free iBooks app. Once installed, use the Safari browser from your device to navigate to Smashwords.com where you’ll sign into your Smashwords account, then click Library. Next, click to the book you want to read, then scroll down the book’s book page to download your book as an .epub file. Your iOS (Apple) device will give you the option to open the book in the iBooks app. Voila!

Why yes!  I think I did! 🙂

If you missed my announcement on Facebook yesterday, I’m posting it again!

Are you ready???

Here’s the announcement you’ve all been waiting for!!I’m getting seriously impatient, and I REALLY want to upload this dam11 book to Amazon, like yesterday. So, here’s what we’re going to do! If we can get my Facebook page up to 1,500 LIKES, I will release WHEN YOU’RE READY on July 25th – that’s in TWO WEEKS people!

I’d do it earlier, but I need to allow Smashwords some delivery time to Barnes and Noble for all of your Nookers out there! I want it to be available for everyone and BN takes FOREVER!!

So does alleviate some stress out there? Two weeks is better than three, right?!If we get to 1,500 soon, I may be willing to hold a giveaway for some advanced copies!!

So, go share and spread the word! 

<3 JL