SIERRA

If you love a little suspense, and a whole lot of ROMANCE,  then you will LOVE Sierra!

BTW, of all of my books, Sierra is my personal favorite!

Amazon      Smashwords

About:

Have you ever been lost in the woods?

Alyssa Fontaine’s life, loved ones—everything familiar and dear—are brutally taken from her.

Taken captive by two men, she endures a horrific nightmare. A new life is forced upon her and even a new name.

Just when it appears that no hope is in sight, she is saved by an unlikely twist of fate. Trapped in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains, life will open its arms to her again and she will embrace it. She will find love such as she never knew existed.  

Sierra is a heart-wrenching story of the power of the human spirit to survive amidst impossible circumstances and severe losses. It is a story of survival . . . and hope. 

Praise for Sierra:

Every now and then you come across a novel that profoundly takes your breath away, and Sierra is that novel.
-Kathleen of Jersey Girl Book Reviews

Riveting from beginning to end. Be prepared to read straight through.
-Sherry of Fundinmental Book Reviews

I thought I had read romances before, and books like "Jane Eyre" and "A Tale of Two Cities," I had always considered the peaks of romantic literature. Let me say this. This is the most romantic book I have ever read in my 38 years on this planet!
-Ruth of My Devotional Thoughts

What I like most about Sierra was how Taylor lulls you in the beginning, then she shreds the peaceful scene to pieces. It happens so fast you barely have time to comprehend what is going to happen. Just like in real life.
-Laura of FUONLYKNEW Book Reviews

SIERRA BOOK BLAST

Here is the amazing banner my daughter made for me for advertising SIERRA!

Anyone is welcome to post it on their blog or on Facebook or wherever you'd like, beginning on Nov. 2nd.

(contact me or comment below if you'd like me to send you the image)

OR

You can join my Book Blast: 
http://www.bookblasttours.com/2013/10/16/sierra-by-taylor-dean-50-book-blast-sign-ups/

Thank you so much for helping me get the word out!

SIERRA

My Romantic Suspense novel, SIERRA, is on sale today thru July 22 for .99 cents!!

Grab your copy and enjoy the ride! (It's an emotional one.)

It is available thru Amazon Kindle and Smashwords.

Most people who read it say, "I'm not sure how this is a Romance novel." But it is, I promise. Just wait for it.

I've said this before and I'll say it again, Sierra is my personal favorite of all of my novels. 

Enjoy!

Kindle Fire Giveaway

 

This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER SPONSORED GIVEAWAY!

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

  Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

  Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors

1. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
2. Feed Your Reader
3. Girls with Books
4. Just Bookin' Around
5. The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl
6. Books, Beauty and Bodacious Deals
7. Author Emma Michaels
8. Page Flipperz YA
9. Lori's Reading Corner
10. Oh, Chrys!
11. Author Josh Baker
12. Author Roxanne Crouse
13. Eve's Fan Garden
14. Author Elizabeth Isaacs
15. Chapter Break
16. Buku-Buku Didi
17. Molly & Mel's Obsessions Book Blog
18. Author Jennifer Laurens
19. Author MK McClintock
20. Bookhounds
21. Step Into Fiction
22. Author Lena Sledge
23. Author Taylor Dean
24. Leisure Reads
25. Libby's Library
26. A Bookish Escape
27. Ramblings of a Diva Book Nerd
28. Suspense Author Kim Cresswell
29. Suzy Turner, YA Author
30. Books Unhinged by StacyHgg
31. Author Lori Verni-Fogarsi
32. Fae Books
33. Word to Dreams
34. Kid Lit Frenzy
35. Author Tressa Messenger
36. Auggie Talk
37. Phantasmic Reads
38. Kerry Taylor
39. Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf
40. Marissa's Space

  Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). Ends 5/31/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.   a Rafflecopter giveaway

Orangeberry Big Bang Limerick Challenge

Orangeberry is a Book Tour company that is currently doing a book promotion called, "Orangeberry Big Bang." It is promotion of 32 wonderful books, to include my book, Sierra.

One of my fellow authors, Kimberly Dalferes, author of "I Was in Love With A Short Man Once," hosted a challenge. She asked all of the participating authors on the Orangeberry Big Bang to write a Limerick about their book. She posted the limericks on her blog. To read all of the limericks, go to her blog: Kim Dalferes Blog.

Thanks, Kim! What a fun idea!

So, what's a limerick? A limerick is a funny little poem containing five lines. The last words of the first, second, and fifth lines all rhyme with each other.

At first I was a little leery about writing a limerick about Sierra. Limericks are usually light and funny. Sierra deals with a serious subject. While it is a happily-ever-after romance, it's not a light and funny read. But then, I thought, what the heck? Why not participate? It's not a lighthearted limerick, but here it is:


Alyssa found herself feeling all was lost.

Stumbling through the Sierra's determined to survive at any cost.

A cabin she found,

A second chance at life came round.

Will her new love become star-crossed?

That's it. Not funny! But, it does depict the story pretty well.

My thoughts on Sierra: 

I've said this before and I'll say it again: Sierra is my personal favorite of my books. So far, I Have People has the highest ratings on Goodreads, which surprised me. I guess you never know which one of your books is going to be the most liked by readers! Of course, I LOVE all of my books. I wouldn't have written them if I didn't. But, Sierra was my first book--it was the first time I poured my heart and soul into a novel. I love the emotion, I love the angst. I love the message that you can find happiness after facing great tragedy in your life. I have found that readers either love or hate this book. They don't really hate the book, I think, perhaps, they just can't handle the subject matter, which is rather intense--and it's not an easy read in parts. (but I can't really speak for them!) There are those that felt I didn't spend enough time on Alyssa's loss. While writing it, I felt that I spent too much time on her loss and I didn't want to weary the reader. I felt it was necessary though. I didn't want to gloss over her loss either. Not an easy subject to address. Some readers can't get over the fact that she does move on. But that was the whole point of the book--the ability to move on and find love again. But, I do understand the concern. Definitely a delicate subject.

As for me, I love a book that brings out my emotions and makes me cry, that really makes me think about life and what's really important. My daughters and I will watch a touching movie and bawl like babies. When it's over we will declare what a good movie it was while the men in our lives roll their eyes and announce that they are now depressed!

Ah, the difference between men and women.

Do you have a favorite book that made you cry, but you LOVED it? Tell me about it!

BTW, to vote for Sierra on the Orangeberry Big Bang Goodreads Listopia vote, click here! Thanks!

Current Giveaways of SIERRA

I currently have two amazing giveaways going on at two amazing blogs! One is at Colorimetry and one is at My Devotional Thoughts. Both giveaways are for my romantic suspense novel, Sierra.

Ruth at My Devotional Thoughts says: I am so excited to be giving away my current favorite read. Love that! Sierra is her current favorite book! Wow!!

Laura at Colorimetry emailed me with a few of her favorite scenes! I LOVED hearing about her favorite scenes! Can I say WOW again! Wow! (Okay, that's enough!) Here's what she said:

I think my favorite scene, if you want to know... is when Alex is helping her in the bathtub and realizes how concerned he is for her safety, but how strongly he's attracted to her, too. There was so much tension and attraction and Alyssa was still clueless.

Or

The Memory Site when she said "goodbye". I needed that 'cause the first part was very traumatic for me. I was still in denial and horrified and I needed to say "goodbye" myself.

Lol. I get into my reading, I guess.

LOVE when a reader 'gets into' one of my books. There's no greater compliment!

Thank you so much to both Ruth and Laura!

MY SECRET GEM

I have a secret gem, and it is my newly published book, Sierra.

Why is it a secret gem?

Let me explain.

I have been advertising my book, Lancaster House, like crazy. I feel confident about Lancaster House. I know it's a good book, (in spite of one bad review, but we won't talk about that now). I had an agent who signed me as a client all because of Lancaster House. He sent it to several different publishing houses. Unfortunately, it didn't sell. But, it gave me confidence to know how much my agent loved it. The funny thing is, I never thought it was my best book. As a matter of fact, I sat on it for half a year before I even began to query agents about it. I even wrote another book and queried it first. Why? I'm not really sure. I think it was because of the paranormal craze. I figured I'd just be one among millions joining the bandwagon. In my mind, I wasn't really positive that it was all that good. When you become a writer, you become your own worst critic. And it can paralyze you if you let it. I was unsure, hesitant to make the jump. However, I was given validation through my agent.

I've never received that kind of validation with Sierra. It was the one book my agent and I never got around to reviewing. It's my personal favorite of my books. My sister, who HATES romance novels, says it is still the best book she's ever read, to this day. While I've received mixed reviews on some of my other books, every family member and friend who has read Sierra has loved it. I learned a long time ago that not every one is going to like every book. And that's okay. Not every review is going to be glowing. And that's okay too. (not really, but you know what I mean)

So, why haven't I tried to advertise Sierra the way I've advertised Lancaster House. I LOVE this book. It's my personal favorite. It's the first novel I ever wrote. It's been edited to within an inch of it's life.

It's ready to see the light of day.

The problem is that it's my baby. My first book. My first love. My secret gem.

What if people hate it? What if they laugh at it? Presenting a book to the public is much harder than I'd ever imagined. It feels as though you are letting people inside of your psyche, inside of your brain, inside of the very things that make you who you are. It's so personal.

But, it's time to let my baby go. It's time to see if anyone else will fall in love with Sierra. Whether it's loved or hated, accepted or mocked, it's time. Writing this book was an amazing experience. I learned so much. I love it. Maybe that's all that matters in the end.

But I want other people to love it too. So far, I have only one review of Sierra. I held my breath as I read it. Literally! It's from a Goodreads giveaway winner. Here's what she said about it:

This was a GOODREADS win, and I loved it, I just recieved the book and starting reading before I went to sleep. I didn't want to stop. Their was fear, sadness, my heart broke for Alyssa, it was horrible what happen to her, I loved Alex, doing whatever he could do to avoid the pain in his life. Great love story...Thank you Goodreads and thanks to the author...great story :)

Love that review. Time to quit being a wimp and advertise Sierra.

Take a chance.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Behind the story of SIERRA

I received my inspiration for Sierra from the true story of the abduction of Olympic medalist, Kari Swenson. As I watched the 1987 TV movie of her ordeal entitled, Abduction, it sparked a "what if" story in me. What if the kidnapping had been successful? What if she was taken deep into the woods? What if she was rescued there? What if she had to stay with her rescuer through the winter?

During one adventurous day I sat down to write my "what if" story, longhand mind you, long before I ever dreamed of actually becoming an author.

Thoughts on Sierra rumbled around in my imagination for the next sixteen years until I finally took the plunge and started to write the novel. Although it is written very differently than those pages hastily written so long ago (I still have them, and they're awful), it is the same story that exists today.

Upon starting to read Sierra, many have said to me, "I'm not quite sure how this is a romance." Although the beginning is rather nightmarish, the story is, in the end, a heartfelt romance.

Sierra is my first novel, and I was the most surprised of anyone when I actually let my friends and family members read it and they loved it, and couldn't put it down. I haven't stopped writing since. Although I love every single one of my novels, Sierra is my personal favorite. Even though I've been through it hundreds of times during the editing process, I never tire of the story--and I get lost in it every time.

SIERRA RELEASE

SIERRA is now officially published and available! This is still the early stages, therefore it is currently only available at my create space estore. It will be available on Amazon and as an ebook very, very soon.

To read the story behind the book click here.

Two books?

A few people have asked me why I am publishing two books to begin with. It's a good question with a good answer!

I write romance in all of the many sub-genres: paranormal, contemporary, and suspense, to name a few. Lancaster House is a paranormal romance. Paranormal is big right now and I didn't want to be labeled as a paranormal writer, (although I will probably write more paranormal in the future).

Hence, the decision to release two books at the beginning. Both books will give you an idea of what I write. Sierra is romantic suspense. If you enjoy romance, then you'll enjoy both novels. If you enjoy romance, but don't want to read any explicit details, then you will also enjoy my books.

In other words, regardless of the sub-genre, I write ROMANCE. But, I love to delve into all of the many different sub-genres. For example, the next two books I plan to write will be quite different from each other. One will be contemporary and the other, futuristic. (yes, futuristic. This novel has been in my head for so many years, I HAVE to write it.) I still haven't decided which one I'm going to write first.

So, to kick off my writing career, I will have two books available. Hopefully, I have a little something for everyone to enjoy!

What is your favorite genre?


Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net