Friday, December 27, 2013

Fantasy casting for AFC.

I've been meaning to do this for a while but it's been hard as hell finding "Jesse," for a variety of reasons.

 
Jesse Chance (funny cause the actor played a Jesse on TVD) is our star here. He's a twenty-two-year-old former underground fighter with a lot of daddy baggage. Really caught between his old life and his new one. Really struggling with who he thought he had to be and who he wants to be. Sweet guy, flawed (you know I like them annoyingly flawed lol), maybe a little too into sacrificing himself for other people.

 
Drew Hallisay is probably my all time favorite female I've written. I really enjoyed writing Lana but I like Drew a lot. She's very take charge, intuitive, smart, a firecracker, (well, Jesse calls her spark plug....or spark for short sometimes), passionate, but her one weakness might be a certain young former underground fighter. Yes, her feelings get her all kinds of messed up. Her and Jesse's approach to things are very different, which is why they're so much fun to write. And they have history...like history history.


 
Miguel is Drew's good friend, and he helps Jesse get back on the fighting circuit. I love Miguel because he's pretty loyal as a friend, and I love the relationship he has with both of them. He might be my favorite character overall. 

 
Sandrine Estrada who lives a very dangerous life by choice. She's a disillusioned, former do-gooder who helps Drew and Jesse out in a big way as Jesse goes on his quest. Fun female character to write as well. She's a good friend of Miguel's.

Rámon Vega. A charismatic bad guy. Because they're the best (Also, the actor Freddy Rodriguez's dimples...yum).

Thursday, December 19, 2013

AFC's Fantasy Soundtrack

Thank you guys for the huge response to the AFC e-ARCs signup. I'm not just saying this, but I'm still really freakin' surprise that you guys are reading anything I write. It's mind-boggling, frankly. But thank you for being awesome and supportive!

I've already contacted everyone who'll get one in a few weeks but thank you to everyone who signed up!!

So, I wanted to share with you my dream soundtrack for AFC, and these are the songs that would be on it if it existed. For now--sigh--just a playlist! My reasons for choosing these songs are so spoilery, so I left those off, but these lyrics all speak to the story so much. I'll share the significance of each one, post-publication. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them now and we'll see if they make sense once you get AFC in your hands.

Wildest Moments - Jessie Ware

Favorite Lyrics: Baby in our wildest moments/We could be the greatest, we could be the greatest/Baby in our wildest moments/We could be the worst of all.

Favorite Lyrics:  From the outside, from the outside/Everyone must be wondering why we try,
Why do we try.


Favorite Lyrics: You and I, blurred lines/We come together every time/Two wrongs, no rights/We lose ourselves at night.


The Devil Within - Digital Daggers -

Favorite Lyrics: I will keep quiet/You won’t even know I’m here/You won’t suspect a thing/You won’t see me in the mirror/But I crept into your heart/You can’t make me disappear/Til I make you.

 Favorite lyrics: You’ll never know what hit you/Won’t see me closing in/I’m gonna make you suffer/This hell you put me in/I’m underneath your skin/The devil within/You’ll never know what hit you.

Bones - MS MR -   Favorite lyrics: Boy with a broken soul/Heart with a gaping hole/Dark twisted fantasy turned to reality/Kissing death and losing my breath/Midnight hours cobble street passages/ Forgotten savages, forgotten savages.

Mad World -Gary Jules -  Favorite lyrics: No one knew me, no one knew me/ Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson/ Look right through me, look right through me.

XO -Beyoncé - Favorite lyrics: In the darkest night I’ll/ I’ll search through the crowd/ Your face is all that I see/ I’ll give you everything/ Baby love me lights out.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Stuffedy Stuff Stuff -- e-ARCs everywhere!

1. Calling all bloggers! AFC's February tour sign-up just went live at AToMR! Spots are going fast!* All items must go! I would love it if Jesse got a "Chance" to make the rounds.** Thank you! http://atomrbookblogtours.com/2013/12/17/tour-a-fighting-chance-by-a-j-sand/

*This is me making up shit.
**This is me being cheesy.

2. Calling all not bloggers! Remember you can still sign up for a chance to get an e-ARC of AFC. I'm giving out a few copies. You can sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zgrOt7fPRWTQx1nMpZ4XrCdOaB2M3nGvW97FQCCEFw8/viewform through this Thursday, and I'm contacting folks who'll get them next month, on Friday.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

AFC e-ARC signup --- one more week!!




One more week to sign up for a chance to get your hands on AFC before everyone else! I'll notify the people who are getting the ARCs next Friday. And I'll probably email them out around January 5 or 6th the middle of January.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zgrOt7fPRWTQx1nMpZ4XrCdOaB2M3nGvW97FQCCEFw8/viewform

Friday, December 6, 2013

AFC'S COVER REVEAL (FINALLY).

I didn't want to undermine all the blogs who were so kind enough to participate in AFC's cover reveal today, so I waited a bit to share it with you myself!  Please make sure to visit Arijana and Cover It! Designs on Facebook and let her know you love it! It was ALL her. 



Thursday, December 5, 2013

A Fighting Chance cover reveal tomorrow...Here's where it'll be!

Another gigantic thanks to the amazing Arijana at Cover It! Designs for creating such an amazing cover! Thanks everyone who signed up and thanks AToMR for arranging the reveal!!!



Blog Name Blog URL
2 Girls Book: An Asian & White Chick Walk into a Book Blog http://asainandwhitegirlbookblog.wordpress.com/
All About Books allaboutromancebooks.wordpress.com
Anny Books  http://httpswwwfacebookcomsexylmreftntnmn.weebly.com
Badass Book Babe www.badassbookbabe.blogspot.com
Bookaholics Anonymous 101 bookaholics-anonymous101.blogspot.co.uk/
Books With Bite http://raftul-cartilor-vampiresti.blogspot.ro/
Brianna Lee Book Reviews http://www.briannaleereviews.blogspot.com
Broadway Girl Book Reviews http://broadwaygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com
Dirty Girl Romance http://dirtygirlromance.blogspot.com/
Fabulously Girly Book Blog www.fabulouslygirly.com
Good Books & Good Coffee www.goodbooksandgoodcoffee.wordpress.com
I Heart YA Books http://iheartyabooks.blogspot.com/
In Between The Pages pagesbetween.blogspot.com
Jodie's W.I.N.E. List http://jodieswinelist.blogspot.com
Judging Books By Their Covers http://www.judgingbooksbytheircovers.com
Life Becomes Me lifebecomesme.wordpress.com/
Made For You Book Reviews, Blogger, Facebook, Twitter http://www.madeforyoubookreviews.com
mustreadbooksordie http://mustreadbooksordie.blogspot.com/
Mythical Books http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/
Pete de violet http://nervidetoamna.blogspot.ro/
RoloPoloBookBlog http://rolopolobookblog.com/
Rumpled Sheets Blog http://rumpledsheetsblog.wordpress.com/
Sammie's Book Club, for book lovers https://www.facebook.com/SammiesBookClub
Sam's Book Basket http://samsbookbasket.blogspot.com/
SBookLover Reviews http://sbooklover.wordpress.com/
Scandalous Book Blog http://scandalousbookblog.blogspot.co.uk/
She Reads New Adult http://www.shereadsnewadult.com
Sistascrazybookobsession  Sistascrazybookobsession.com
The Babbling Reader http://thebabblingreader.blogspot.ca/
The Book Addict http://jbthebookadict.blogspot.in/
Three Chicks and Their Books www.threechicksandtheirbooks.com
A Tale of Many Book Reviews http://ataleofmanybookreviews.com

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

A Fighting Chance e-ARC sign-up

I hope you guys had an awesome Thanksgiving. I'm paying for mine twice a day at the gym currently. I love working out but I love eating a lot more, so it makes for good and bad times around the holidays LOL.

So, I'm giving out e-ARCs for A Fighting Chance (AFC), and I wasn't going to post another teaser for AFC until after Christmas but I want to entice you to sign up to review it!

“Will you pray too while I'm killing you?” he shouts back with a cruel laugh.
I’m seething, my heart on the verge of punching right through my chest, but I force myself to stay calm. I whittle my thoughts until this octagon, this fight, and Carlos are the only things in the world that exists. “Come on, crocodile,” I say with a cold smile, gesturing at him with just one hand. A glint of determination shines in his eyes as he wipes his lips on his glove. He reveals his sharp-toothed smile, his teeth red with blood.
Then he crosses the cage. 
(unedited and subject to change prior to release).

Likes this teaser?

Like reading?

Want to read A Fighting Chance before it's published?

Like writing reviews?

If you've answered yes to all of these, you should probably sign up to get an e-ARC because I'm giving a few out, if you wouldn't mind writing a review! If you're a blogger and want to do the tour instead, you're welcome to sign up for an e-ARC, but AFC will be touring in February and you might want to wait to sign up then.

Here's my quick reminder synopsis: Jesse used to fight in underground circles. He doesn't anymore. Something happens that pulls him back into the ring. Then shit gets real.

It is a standalone and there is no cliffhanger.

I should warn you: AFC is NOT  really contemporary romance. It's probably more along the lines of romantic suspense. It's about underground fighting, so there's some violence. It's New Adult, I suppose. I hate genres and age group classifications because it's never that cut and dry, but there you go.

Other stuff:


1. e-ARCs will be emailed 2-3 weeks before release (scheduled for Feb 4, 2014) in either epub or mobi format.

2. I'm giving out a set number of copies, so there's no guarantee everyone who signs up will get one.

3. Please be willing to post the review during release week.

4. Please be willing post an honest, thoughtful review. I don't expect 3 stars and above as a part of this. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I get it. If you raged a little while reading, rage in your review. I get it. I'm really not writing to make everyone comfortable because that's silly.

5. Please don't post or share anywhere. I'm not going to go into the details of why this isn't okay, both legally and morally, and by accepting the e-ARC you're saying you understand and agree to abide by copyright laws.

Anyway, this post is long as hell, but I wouldn't be me if it weren't LOL. Here's the link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zgrOt7fPRWTQx1nMpZ4XrCdOaB2M3nGvW97FQCCEFw8/viewform

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Updated Sched

I updated my (tentative) 2014 schedule, finally!!  

A Fighting Chance in February. You already know the premise so I'm not going to give you the rundown again. 

Fuel in May. Female POV. Drug trafficking. Brazil. A love interest who might be a cold-blooded killer. Fun times.

Breathlessly in December. This is Abel's book. And probably my last foray into contemporary romance for a very long time.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

A Fighting Chance --- "But" -Tuesday teaser


 A Fighting Chance won't be out until next year (Feb), and this will probably be the last teaser until after Christmas, but I'll post some fun stuff about Jesse and Drew: dream cast, inspiration, why I love underground fighting, my take on fictional violence ('cause it's here aplenty lol), etc. Anyway, here's the (unedited) teaser:
The two of us are still carrying on the same silence from before. There's no radio playing and barely an audible exhale. But it’s hardly cold and empty silence. The Mexican heat is permeating the car and kindling a strange energy between us. The air in here is churning with something.

Something flammable, something volatile.

I can feel it beneath my skin. In my lungs. In my blood. 
“You’ll be happy in Glory,” I say finally. “You will make a great life there for yourself with Buck, even without your parents’ help. You’ll probably end up with that job you want. You will put this behind you and never have to think about it again. And that’s why letting you go is the best idea…” I swerve into a U-turn, angering every driver in the vicinity, as I pull off to the side of the road. I get out of the car, run around to the other side and open her door. But...  
What comes after the "but"??????? We all know it's the most important part of the sentence!! LOL Of course I would leave you hanging in the middle of dialogue! You'll just have to wait and see. ;)

Sunday, November 17, 2013

A Fighting Chance -- "Scare"


“Sometimes, I think...we’re only for each other…”
“Shit...” she whispers.
“What?”
“Doesn’t that scare you?”
“Yeah, it does…”
“Good. Because I swear to God, Jess, I’m either going to love you until I die or loving you is actually going to kill me. And both of those options scare the shit out of me.”

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A Fighting Chance teaser (unedited)

“Will you say yes now?”
Her lips hum across my cheek and stop at the corner of my mouth. “I’m saying it” 
So I kiss her, and we surrender to desire we both know is reckless and forbidden. But it’s also hungry and unstoppable. Between ragged breaths, my tongue strokes hers, and her fingers dig into my back as mine sink into her hair. I feel her touch everywhere, inside and out, and I’m shaking when my teeth graze her neck. My lips trace the slant of her jaw, and the sound of her moans only stokes the desperate fever in my bones.
Drew, breathless, pulls back, her fingers still clawing me. “What else are you asking, Jess?”
“What else do you want, Drew?” I whisper, but her lips just fall on mine again. We collapse against each other, and the friction of our bodies is overwhelming. I drown in the heightened pleasure of her touch as her needy fingers curl into my neck and her breasts mash against my chest. We kiss with even more abandon than before, sinking into every ounce of raw, naked lust we’ve both been suppressing. The rough way our lips move makes mine feel bruised, and I don’t care because the taste of her mouth is intoxicating.
The thing about lines? They stop being dangerous the moment you cross them; they stop mattering then, too. And instead of admitting that, you just set another limit, raise the stakes, draw another boundary for your sins, and find a way to justify your actions. Like how I tell myself Drew and I are just kissing. It’s the mix of alcohol and old feelings in a hot nightclub. Nothing a little morning sunlight won’t fix. I tell myself at least we’re not sleeping together. But the truth is, I would have. Right here if she let me.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

"A Fighting Chance" cover reveal.

The super talented Arijana K of Cover It Designs created a hot cover for "A Fighting Chance." I seriously cannot tell you enough how fantastic she is. It's dark, it's sexy, and it's just awesome! Can't wait for you to see it! If you're a blogger and want to be a part of the cover reveal on Dec 6th, make sure you keep an eye out for the sign-up at http://atomrbookblogtours.com/ over the next few weeks.

Saturday, November 2, 2013

A Fighting Chance teaser

"“I saw you fight in Guadalajara. You were trying to be noble.” Sandrine sticks another cigarette between her lips and exhales smoke through her nose. “There is no honor in this, Jesse, and don’t bring it into those places with you. These guys will kill you if you let them. Without hesitation or remorse or any regard for who’ll miss you. Never forget that.”"  --A Fighting Chance, 2014. [teaser from unedited version].

Thursday, October 24, 2013

A Fighting Chance teaser



The blurb of AFC is below this post, but if you're too lazy, here's the three sentence synopsis: Jesse Chance is a former underground fighter who moved on from the life when his mom died. He's been at college far from his home in Glory, Texas, but his dad shows up, begging for his help. And what he ends up having to do forces him back into the ring.
 And this is the unedited teaser:
I’m standing in front of Murphy’s Bar, unable to decide if the unbearable heat or the heavy ball of emotion in my stomach is worse. I take in the evening scenery, and it’s like I’ve unearthed Glory from a time capsule, because not a single store, house or car has changed in four years.
“Well, well…the bastard son returns,” Jeremy Huck says. He’s still fucking leaning on the wall outside of Murphy’s like he’s holding it up. “Heard you went off to some Yankee college. What? They put you out?”
“Is my dad in there?” He’s not answering my calls, and this is the best place to find him after dark.
“You have one of those?” I don’t even bother giving him the finger or a response, and I edge past him and step inside. It’s full of the usual crowd, another thing that hasn’t changed, and the jukebox still plays too low to hear it. “Henry left about ten minutes ago,” he continues, trailing me. “His barstool’s still warm, though. Go sit. He left his drink, too. You can have it. Like father, like son of a whore.” My elbow connects with his face right in the middle of his laughter. There's a cracking sound—some might call the noise sickening, I call it earned—and he drops to his knees. Blood is already gushing from his nostrils, seeping through the spaces between his fingers, by the time I turn around, and he’s howling in pain. Dammit, I was hoping for teeth.
“Motherfucker, you’re still a piece of shit! You’re trash! You came into the world a piece of shit, and no fancy car or fancy college is going to change that, Chance.” His twin brother, Isaac, runs toward me but has a change of heart and tends to Jeremy instead.
            Everyone in the bar is watching us. Some of them crane their necks to get a better look and I see the recognition in their eyes, followed by agreement with the Hucks. I tsk. These are the people who marched into Sacred Hearts Baptist to pray for the soul of my mother the sinner on Sundays, and angrily urged me to slam another boy’s bloody face into stretched canvas on Thursdays.
Home sweet home. I walk outside, keeping my back to Murphy’s to let the Hucks know neither actually poses any threat to me, but I’m ready to go back to my hotel, a tiny inn a few towns over. I want to go back to Hamilton, actually. I want to hide. The old feelings come rushing in, and for a moment I hear a never quite forgotten voice in my head reminding me, too, of what I am here. Worthless. Unloved.  I haven’t heard that voice in a while, even though it belongs to me.
It’s only after I release a breath that I realize I’m clenching everything from jaw to fists. Shaking, too. I wish I could say Jeremy's words don’t matter anymore, but they do. They fester; the psyche collects them like a bag that never fills. It just expands and reshapes itself, finding new ways to pack all the hurt, humiliation and pain into its spaces, and then makes room for more. What’s interesting is that if you internalize enough negativity, other people’s insults just end up complementing the damage you do on your own. Glory carved quite a wound in me. And some wounds just don’t heal. But I spent a lot of time re-cutting it myself.

Monday, September 16, 2013

New things up next!! -- A Fighting Chance book blurb!

I'm moving on from Kai and co. for now, but I'm excited to be starting something new! I've always wanted to dabble in Suspense/Romantic Suspense because I feel like it would give me even more license to write cursing and sex and violence than, say, Contemp Rom; I can push the limits a bit. Anyway, here's what's up next:

A Fighting Chance

NOT THE COVER! COVER COMING SOON!!!
Jesse Chance is a bastard.
And that’s all he heard his entire life growing up once news got out that he was the illegitimate child of womanizing ex-con, Henry Chance.
Stuck in Glory, Texas, a town too small to escape the sins of his parents, Jesse turned into exactly what everyone expected him to be: a lover of liquor and women, and so good with his fists, he became a teenage champion of the secret underground fighting rings that float around The South, while doubting the only people who ever believed he could be more, his ailing mother, and his girlfriend, Drew Hallisay.
Determined to make his mother’s dying wish come true, he enrolled in a college on the East Coast, and far away from his past. Jesse Chance is reborn into a new life, and set on keeping Glory, Texas--and Henry Chance--in his rear view.
Until a visit from his father in the middle of the night changes everything.
Forced to return to Glory to prevent a tragedy, Jesse is soon back on the fighting circuit with Drew's help and facing the history he was so desperate to escape, the part of him he would prefer to hide.
As he slips back into his old ways--Henry Chance's ways--he finds himself torn between the guy he was and the one he’s been struggling to become. And in a world dead set on betting against you, can you ever really overcome your past… or your destiny?

Romantic Suspense. 17+ due to adult language, sexual content and violence 

I swear one of these days, I'll attempt to write something where everyone's happy and everything's okay...LOL...JUST KIDDING. Should have an excerpt up soon.

I think it's time we talk about Lana...[SPOILER-Y]

This is one of those wordy A.J. posts... you know how I am. ;)

So I have to confess I was having serious anxiety about Recklessly. It was the story I wanted to write obvi, but I was panicking because it wasn't traditional in the boy meets girl way. But I was also freaking out about Lana because I knew she would be a hard character to digest, as she was supposed to be. My CEO of "AJ, you need to calm the eff down," Shelley, said Lana made her "uncomfortable" LOL. HAHAHA. Seriously, it's a perfect description. Lana Langston is my favorite (self-made) character ever (short of Jesse Chance, who I love more than Wes).

I'm obsessed with flawed female characters because I think they get way too bad of a rap in fiction. I've been called defiant by just about everyone who knows me personally, so guess why I love writing flawed female characters? Because they get a bad rap. It's my way of pushing back I suppose. I've made it a point to write about women who maybe get under your skin at times. It's purposeful (and yes, it freaks me out that I do this sometimes because as much as I will always do what I want to do, no matter how terrible the light cast on human nature, I still of course hope you like it lol).

Why?

Because human beings aren't simple at all...and I envision my characters as people struggling in the world and making mistakes and fucking things up just like actual, real people.

And this is why I loved creating Lana so much.

Imagine all the times you weren't your best self. When fear or anger or cray cray got in the way of that. All the times you hurt the people you cared about....AND maybe in some cases it presented a situation where they should've washed their hands of you. Maybe they did for a while. Or forever. Maybe you walked away to figure out your crap, so you could be better. Lana was written for THAT woman. For the woman who screwed up something amazing she had for whatever reason. Not to justify her or make her someone you understand necessarily but really to acknowledge her existence. She's the personification of "that time I fucked up really badly, guys..."

That's a real thing. Impossible to go an entire lifetime without hurting the people we care about.And I swore on my MacBook Air keyboard I would never, ever shy away from showing things like that.

And at the end of the day, I think more than anything, if I have a message, that's it. My characters are really just about saying, "Hey, this person exists in the world and they should exist in fiction, too."