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"Dragonfly swept me off my feet! Once I started reading this book it kinda sucked me into the story and I had a hard time putting it down." --Stephanie, My Thoughts... reviews

Five Stars! "Angst, longing, jealousy, mystery, secrets, love triangles, sexy scenes! Could you even ask for more? Well you can because it is also very well-written and fast-paced. Great book to dive into poolside, but I will warn you may get so swept up in it you may end up with some sun burn. So I STRONGLY suggest you invest in some sunscreen as well as a copy of Dragonfly." --Nichole, Goodreads reviewer

"I truly enjoyed this one! I thought the characters were intriguing, the mystery and story were interesting and definitely have ME WANTING MORE!!!!!!!" --Mandy, The Romance Bookie

“Gossip Girl meets VC Andrews in this contemporary family saga. Love, lies, and betrayal become the new normal when Anna enters the world of Jack and Lucy Kyser.” –Magan Vernon, international bestselling author of The Only Exception

On Amazon

Dragonfly

by Leigh Talbert Moore

Three bad things I learned this year:
-People you trust lie, even parents.
-That hot guy, the one who’s totally into you, he might not be the one.
-Things are not always how they appear.

Three good things I learned this year:
-Best friends are always there for you, even when they’re far away.
-That other hot guy, the one who remembers your birthday, he just might be the one.
-Oh, and things are not always how they appear.

Anna Sanders expected an anonymous (and uneventful) senior year until she crossed paths with rich-and-sexy Jack Kyser and his twin sister Lucy.

Pulling Anna into their extravagant lifestyle on the Gulf Coast, Lucy pushed Anna outside her comfort zone, and Jack showed her feelings she’d never experienced... Until he mysteriously withdrew.

Anna turned to her internship at the city paper and to her old attraction for Julian, a handsome local artist and rising star, for distraction. But both led to her discovery of a decades-old secret closely guarded by the twins’ distant, single father.

A secret that could permanently change all their lives.

Be watching for Undertow, Book 2 in the Dragonfly series, coming July 18!

Falling in Love Changes Everything…

“C’mon,” Julian said, helping me stand. “Let’s blow off this party and catch a movie or go to Scoops. This isn’t our scene.”

I shook my head. “I just really want to go home.” The tears were trying to start again. “Can I just go home now?”

“Sure,” he said, holding my cheek. I took a limping step, and he stopped. “Does it hurt to walk?”

My leg was throbbing. I nodded, looking down, and before I realized what was happening, he was lifting me in his arms.

“Julian, wait,” I held his shoulders. “I’m too heavy!”

“It’s okay,” he said, walking on. I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. I didn’t feel like fighting. Gentle pressure against my temple, and he’d kissed me. “You’ll get over this,” I heard him say under his breath.

Get Dragonfly today:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes

____________________________

Leigh Talbert Moore is the author of the popular young adult romantic comedy The Truth About Faking, its companion The Truth About Letting Go, and the mature YA/new adult romantic suspense novel Rouge, a Quarter Finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

She is an award-winning journalist and editor, who has also worked in marketing and public relations for many years. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the southeast and Midwest U.S., and she runs the popular writing-craft blog That’s Write.

A southern ex-pat and beach bum, she currently lives with her husband, two young children, and one grumpy cat in the Midwest.

Connect online:

Facebook | Amazon Author page | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads

Read excerpts of her books on Wattpad and Figment!

* * *

Enter to #WIN a Kindle Touch loaded with all FOUR of Leigh's books AND an exclusive eARC of Undertow; A signed, print set of Dragonfly and Undertow, or ebook sets of both!

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Somebody give me a Xanax ...

Me and my crazy schedule:

• My novel BITTER LIKE ORANGE PEEL is being considered by an agent. So the impatient fretting must be factored in. You'd be surprised how much time I waste staring at the wall.

• I'm 2/3 of the way into another novel, called WHITE LADY. And loving it. Literary/Crime/Thriller? Really need to figure out its genre.

• I'm 1/3 into my second Writing in Nutshell Series craft book called, Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Transitions from Perfectly Atrocious Adverbs, and Dull as Dishwater Clichés, into Gourmet Descriptions. You can see the first in the series HERE.

• I'm well on track organizing an anthology called, Indiestructible: Inspiring Stories from the Publishing Jungle, in which many fantastic authors are contributing such as Susan Kaye Quinn, Anne R. Allen, Leigh T. Moore, and many others!

• Critting the wonderful Matthew MacNish's manuscript, Running From Ruby Ridge. Whisper: It's really fabulous.

• I have a few interviews to get done ... whoops, I totally just remembered now.

• Bits and bobs of organizational stuff for the Homeric Writers' Retreat & Workshop with literary agent Katharine Sands.

• Vine Leaves Literary Journal. Never ending. We just hired two more team members! Whoop! And have an awesome contest happening. 1,600 Euros worth in prizes! Bigger whoop!

With all that I have my other life. You know, the one that consists of a day job, that can sometimes be a bit stressful with its deadlines. Somewhere in this other life I also have my partner and dog to pay attention too. Most of the time I have no idea where they are. I should start looking in the cupboards. Or maybe it's me that's gone missing. :-P

What's on your plate at the moment?

Hope you all have a great weekend. See ya Monday!

The Truth About Letting Go, by Leigh T. Moore, Launches Today!

I'm super pleased to announce that a great friend of mine, Leigh T. Moore, has a new book out. I've read it! And it's super-duper-fragalistic-odabulous. Trust me. I wouldn't lie to you.

Here are all the deets:

A companion to The Truth About Faking (not a sequel; the books can be read out of order), The Truth About Letting Go (link) takes readers back to Shadow Falls, or more specifically Shadow Creek, with Ashley Lockett as she learns about real friendship, love, and letting go.

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The Truth About Letting Go (link) by Leigh Talbert Moore

Ashley wants to smash everything in her once-perfect life. Charlotte wants to walk in Ashley's seemingly charmed shoes.
Colt wants to turn Smalltown USA on its ear--with Ashley at his side.
Jordan wants to follow his heart... but Ashley is the one sacrifice he never expected to make.

Up until now, Ashley Lockett has always followed the rules. She's always done the right thing, played it safe, and then her ideal life is shattered when her dad dies suddenly.

Fueled by anger and grief, she vows to do everything opposite of how she lived before. She rejects safety, the rules, faith, and then she meets Jordan. Jordan has big dreams, he's had a crush on Ashley for years, he's a great kisser... but he's also safe.

Enter Colt. He is not safe, and he's more than willing to help Ashley fulfill her vow.

Get it today on:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

Add it on Goodreads!

Excerpt:

I feel Colt laugh, and he looks down into my face. That’s when he seems to realize what I’ve been acutely aware of for the last several minutes—our bodies are pressed together.

“It’s awesome, yeah?” he says. “Adrenaline rush.”

“Yeah,” I breathe. “I guess.”

I’m not sure if he’s going to kiss me until he does. His mouth covers mine, and energy mixes with the alcohol flooding my body. Our tongues slide together, and I grip his shirt so I don’t collapse.

Every single bit of this is wrong, and there’s no way I’m stopping it. It’s back, that good feeling. The sadness has been pushed out again, and in its place is this rush, this rush of adrenaline like Colt said.

He pulls back and smiles at me. “We’re going to start dating. Now. You’re my partner in crime.”

About the Author:

Moore

Leigh Talbert Moore is a wife and mom by day, a writer by day, a reader by day, a former journalist and editor, a chocoholic, a caffeine addict, a lover of YA and new adult romance (really any great love story), a beach bum, and occasionally she sleeps. 

-The Truth About Faking is her debut young adult romance (on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Kobo) -Rouge is her first New Adult romantic suspense novel (on Amazon).

Leigh loves hearing from readers; stop by and say hello!

Blog | Facebook | Amazon Author page | Goodreads | Twitter | Tumblr

Aussie Craziness and Self-Editing Tips

Today, Leigh T. Moore is interviewing me on her blog. But it isn't any ordinary interview. Trust me, her questions are more entertaining than my answers! I hope you drop by!

I'm also over at Laura Howard's blog today talking about A QUICK & EASY STEP TO MAKING YOUR MANUSCRIPT SHINE. Hope to see you there too!

Have a great week everyone!

OH, HOW I MISS YOU BLOGFEST, hosted by Andrew Leon, Matthew MacNish, and Alex J. Cavanaugh

First, a big hand to the hosts of today's blogfest: Andrew Leon, Matthew MacNish, and Alex J. Cavanaugh! You can drop by either of these blogs to locate the entire list of participants.

The Premise: Do you have a couple blogger buddies who aren’t posting as often? Those who’ve pulled back and seem absent from the blogging world? Do you have blogger buddies you are grateful they are still around and would miss if they vanished? Now is your chance to show your appreciation and spotlight them!

On November 16, list one to three bloggers you really miss and one to three bloggers you would miss if they stopped blogging. Then go leave a comment on those blogs.

Our blogger friends are special – time to let them know!

With no further ado, here are my choices ...

Bloggers I miss because they don't post as often (or have stopped commenting and I therefore lose track of):

Nicole Ducleroir:

I'm a short story author, aspiring novelist, and world traveler who has penned fiction from homes on three different continents. I currently live with my husband and two children in the Atlanta area. When I find myself less inspired by my Southern locale, I have only to rifle through memories of adventures abroad until colorful characters or thrilling plots come forth. And on the rare occasion that none arise...I've been known to finagle a flight out.

Michelle Davidson Argyle:

Michelle lives and writes in Utah, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. She loves the seasons, but late summer and early fall are her favorites. She adores chocolate, sushi, and lots of ethnic food, and loves to read and write books in whatever time she can grab between her sword-wielding husband and energetic daughter. She believes a simple life is the best life.

Hart Johnson:

I write books from my bathtub and blog in my basement. For a full bio on the 3 faces of me, check out the tab. As for the shenanigans around here... lots on writing, some life... mostly I just want to encourage you to play with me. Silliness abounds.

Bloggers I would miss if they no longer blogged (I'm sure we'd still keep in touch via email, but it's still nice to read their posts!):

Dawn Ius:

I started writing at age 8 upon discovering writing about monsters was less scary than looking for them under my bed. I'm still leery of things that go bump in the night, but hope my thriller writing skills have improved. I live in Canada will my husband, stepdaughter and three bullmastiff hounds. You know, just skulking around.

Leigh T. Moore:

*Writer, editor, wife, mom, friend. *My books THE TRUTH ABOUT FAKING (YA rom-com) and ROUGE (Mature YA romance) are now available on Amazon, B&N, Kobo, & Smashwords. *New posts on Mondays. Leave a comment, make a suggestion, stay a while~

Matthew MacNish:

I'm the father of two beautiful young ladies, three lazy cats and one adorable German Shepherd. Together we live in the mountains of north Georgia amidst my endless collection of vinyl records. I run this blog in an attempt to help other novice writers avoid the mistakes I made in the beginning of my road to publication. Believe me, I made many.

So there you have it! My top six favourite bloggers :-) PS: I'm also to blame for the "lack of commenting" situation. It just gets so hard to keep up once you garner a large following ...

______________________________

Reminders:

• My poetry book FABRIC is a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee. Please vote! You can read an excerpt at this link too.
• My latest release, Show & Tell in a Nutshell, is being featured today onWriter's Digest. For a chance to win a copy of the paperback, comment at this link within the next two weeks.

The Artist Unleashed: THE STORY THAT WAS, by Leigh T. Moore (We have 2 Wednesdays this week!)

First, Thanks so much, Jessica, for having me here today! I'm so excited to share my new book ROUGE with everybody.

Last time I talked about how as I wrote The Truth About Faking (link) the whole story changed ("The Story That Wasn't"). In the case of ROUGE, however, the story pretty much turned out exactly as I planned it.

I got the idea walking in my neighborhood one fall day. A melancholy little song came on my iPod ("Complainte de la Butte"), and I thought, "What if there was a girl who tried to help another, younger girl, and it all went terribly wrong?"

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I wanted the girls to be orphans. I wanted them to be street-smart and running cons to survive. I wanted it to be set in New Orleans, which was as close to France as I could get without research…

I imagined main character Hale saving Teeny from starving, only to discover her "salvation" brought her into a situation worse than hunger. I imagined a carnivalesque "family" Hale turns to for help…

 In the first chapter, readers learn the girls' theater-home is a front for prostitution, and Teeny's getting old enough to "earn her keep." Hale's desperate to keep that from happening, so the questions become what will Hale do to make it right? How far will she go to protect this little girl?

Then I started thinking about problems like time. I knew it would have to be set either in the future, post-apocalyptic-style, or in the past.

So I went with the past. Hale's doing her best to con a rich Parisian suitor into proposing to her and taking them both away. Then she meets Beau. Falling in love complicates everything.

Writing ROUGE was the first time I stuck with the plan (for the most part) in one of my books. It's full of theater and New Orleans and romance. It has sexy moments; it has dark moments. I hope you guys love it as much as I do!

Find it on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords

Thanks again, Jessica!

Leigh Talbert Moore is a wife and mom by day, a writer by day, a reader by day, a freelance editor when time permits, a caffeine addict, a chocoholic, a beach bum, a lover of YA and new adult romance (really any great love story), and occasionally she sleeps. -THE TRUTH ABOUT FAKING is her debut young adult romance. -ROUGE is the first book in her mature-YA/new adult romance series.

Leigh loves hearing from readers; stop by and say hello!

Blog * Facebook * Amazon * Goodreads

The Story That Wasn’t, by Leigh Talbert Moore

All of my stories come out with romance in them. That’s no surprise. In the case of The Truth About Faking, the comedy was the big surprise—to me at least. Originally, I had a completely different idea of how this story would go, and it started with the movie Signs by M. Night Shyamalan.

No, the book wasn’t going to be science fiction.

I saw Signs the first time in the theater with my husband and two friends about a week before my oldest daughter was born. At that viewing, the theater was packed, and the unknown girl sitting next to me kept screaming every time the aliens would appear. Naturally, I giggled every time she screamed, and basically I missed the subtext of the film.

Fast-forward seven years, and Signs comes on HBO one night. Hubs and I decide to watch it again, and upon second viewing, I was struck by the other story of the film: The minister who’s lost his faith, who no one will allow to stop being a minister, who tells his brother-in-law about the two kinds of people in the world—those who see miracles and are optimistic and those who believe we’re in this thing alone and are afraid. And the minister who says he’s never praying again.

I love that story! And I was determined to explore it in a book.

So the book that’s out now, which was originally titled Shadow Falls, was going to be more dramatic and serious, and I was going to explore these fascinating themes for myself.

The only problem was Harley. She kept coming out funny.

I’d write a scene where she’s leaving the gym, and wham-o! She’d get hit in the head with a basketball. I’d have her failing to make the cheerleading squad, and her best friend would get her on in spite of her one jump, “The Banana.”

When Jason appeared, things just got better. And it’s funny, because writing the book, I felt myself relating more to Jason than any other character. He loves Harley’s funny self and all her big ideas, which are really ridiculous. And he’s willing to wait for her (or help her) to get over herself and date him.

So for whatever reason, those two characters took over the story, and what was going to be very thoughtful and sad came out wrapped in pink tulle with a sparkly bow on the side.

I think that’s okay. It’s a matter of not forcing our characters to be what we want them to be when they’re really something else. And I think the end product, while it still deals with serious matters, leaves readers smiling.

That’s equally as good as frowning, contemplating heavy thoughts. All that frowning causes wrinkles anyway.

Thanks for having me, Jessica! I hope readers enjoy the story that is.

Book description:

Jason just wants a date with Harley.

Harley just wants a date with Trent.

Trent's still getting over Stephanie.

When Harley and Jason decide to fake date, they uncover a school of deceptions. Trent's got a secret, but so does Jason. And the more time Harley spends secretly kissing her fake boyfriend, the further she gets from her dreams with Trent.

Worst of all, Harley's mom is getting cozy with her hot massage therapy student, and even Harley's Reverend Dad can't fake not being bothered by it. But when the masks finally come off, can everyone handle the real truth?

Purchase Links:

Amazon 

Barnes & Noble 

Smashwords

Kobo

Author Links:

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