Matchmaker! Matchmaker!

Hey, gang! Very excited to be taking part in my homie Crystal Collier's Moonless blogfest this week! As part of the fun, I get to pick who I'd want my parents to set me up with if arranged marriages were part of my culture. 

(Which means there'd be no chance of it happening, because my parents would undoubtedly set me up with the exact opposite to teach me some morbid lessen about true love... I digress. :)

All this matchmaking seems entirely appropriate, this being Valentine's week and all. And for some additional goodness, I'm over at Brinda Berry's blog as well this week to share in her "Month of Love". 

Basically, each day a bunch of us author types are sharing our thoughts on the best places for first dates, most romantic songs of all time, and more. So you can learn even more about me than you want to know. ;)

Loads of fun, and B is doing a big giveaway so be sure to check it out if you get the chance. (I believe my day will be on the 12th...) 

AND speaking of giveaways, be sure to enter the Rafflecopter for the Moonless release that follows the post.

In the English society of 1768 where women are bred to marry, unattractive Alexia, just sixteen, believes she will end up alone. But on the county doorstep of a neighbor’s estate, she meets a man straight out of her nightmares, one whose blue eyes threaten to consume her whole world—especially when she discovers him standing over her murdered host in the middle of the night.

Her nightmares become reality: a dead baron, red-eyed wraiths, and forbidden love with a man hunted by these creatures. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with her beloved and risk becoming one of the Soulless.

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And here's a special coupon code for $2 off via CreateSpace:

Book link: https://www.createspace.com/4550104

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So here's the question: If you lived in a society where arranged marriages were a la mode, whom would you beg your parents to set you up with? Why? (Literary characters and celebrities welcomed.) 

So who would ol' E.J. want shacked up with? SOOO many possibilities here. Kate Beckinsale, those eyes... Scarlett Johansson, those lips... Olivia Wilde, those--EVERYTHING!

And if I went fictional, it'd be hard to pass up Olivia Dunham from Fringe (so tough!), Jean Gray (so smart!) from the X Men, or Lara Croft/Tomb Raider (so adventurous!).

But the sappy truth is that I could never find a better mate than the one I actually have. She's got the smarts and determination of Hermione Granger, the natural beauty of one of the Granthom girls from Downton Abbey, and the genuine, unassuming goodheartedness of Jess from the TV series New Girl. 

So just give me another round of what I have, please! :)

My wife and her Grandpa Bob (he passed last month). Told you I married up! :)

What about you? If you could be fixed up with anyone, who would you choose?

~EJW~

Find the rest of the hop below!

And while you're at it, enter to win one of these great prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THANK YOU!!!! And news...

Hey, gang! I wanted to jump on here and thank all of you who pitched in for my W4WS efforts this week. It was an amazing few days of excitement, and was a good reminder for me that no matter what kind of ugliness the world demonstrates, the beauty of simple kindness always overshadows it.

It also once again left me wondering what I'd done to deserve the kind of support y'all continue to show me. You're fantastic, and if I had to do this writing 'thing' tomorrow without you or not at all, I think I'd choose 'not at all'. 

Enough of my sappiness--how about some news?

First, blogger-writer-publicspeaking wizard, L. Diane Wolf, gave me a shout out on her blog--for being helpful to others, no less. I was thrilled to be mentioned with some of MY sharing role rolemodels in this writing-blogging scene, but was mostly just like, "You think I'm a helpful guy? You should see my friends!" *see above sappiness* You can read it HERE. (And follow LD if you don't already--she rocks.)

Second, one of my personal author heroes, Brinda Berry, shared me on her blog, not once, but twice this week! I think Brinda is awesome, but a little crazy for talking about me on multiple days. (We're trying to INCREASE traffic by blogging, B, not frighten folks off with talk of crazy, bearded people :D) 

The first post mentioned my W4WS shenanigans. The second was for her A to Z 'N' day.

She chose 'New Adult Literature' (NA). As you all know, I'm fairly crazy about the subject, so I suppose it was fitting she threw my name/work out. But honestly, it mostly just surprised (and honored) the heck out of me. 

Apparently, Brinda read my little story, Blood Fugue, on a recent vacation (yes, we're ALL jealous of you now, B) and reviewed it on Goodreads. In short, she enjoyed it, and was pleased to find a New Adult story that wasn't Contemporary Romance. (Note: The Moonsongs books are definitely NOT Contemporary Romance.)

Anyway, it was fitting, because my first post as an official member of the NA Alley Blog was also this week, and I basically blogged about the EXACT same thing. 

NA is evolving into so much more than some kind of sexified, sub-genre of YA, and I hope I can reflect that a little with my writing and actions. 

You can read my inaugural NAAB post HERE. (And I'd love for y'all to follow me over there, too.)

FINALLY, and also on the NA front, if you're at all interested in checking out what all the fuss is about, or generally want to pick some brains about the category, tonight is the night for you!

The first ever 'NA Super-Chat' is going down, and it's a coordinated effort to bring three of the larger online NA communities together: The New Adult Authors G+ Community, The NA Lit Chat Twitter group (yes, I'm still doing that thing, too lol), and NA Alley. 

It'll involve a combination of a live G+ Hangout (with yours truly on air with others) AND the usual #NALitChat Twitter chat. If you take part and follow the Twitter discussion, you'll be able to ask questions and comment to the G+ panel in real time, and we'll be responding on air.

Cool, right? You'll find all the details HERE. But basically, just be free at 9 PM EST tonight, log onto Twitter and follow the #NALitChat convo, then hop over to the New Adult Authors G+ Community. (There'll be a link up there to watch/listen to the hangout.)

Would love to 'see' you all there if you have some free time. (Quit laughing... we all remember what free time was like. *scrunches brow pondering* It was fun... oh yes, we likes it, Precious.)

~EJW~