#TeaserTuesday

Zack doesn't know whether his mum is going to make it...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

[ID: A turquoise background, with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and out now in ebook, paperback & audiobook just below the excerpt The except reads:

“Get better, Mum, we need you. I love you,” was all I said before hurrying out of the room. I didn’t say anything to anyone until we got home, and even then, it was only because I’d shifted back into my role as the caregiver when our parents were absent. I tried my hardest not to think about the fact that Mum was so ill and Dad was with her at the hospital, but needless to say, I totally forgot about my promise to meet Angelina online that evening. My mind was filled with other things, like wondering if I’d ever see my mum alive again.

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the bottom left corner is the Readers' Favorite review seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

#TeaserTuesday

Zack can understand why Angelina told the lies she did...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

[ID: A teal background with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and out now in ebook & paperback just below the excerpt The except reads:

Artist44: I can’t speak for the rest of the group because although they’re my friends, I don’t know them in real life so don’t know how they’d react to finding out you lied, but as for me? I don’t care.
AngelAnge: You don’t care?
Artist44: Nope, when I found that journal entry all I cared about was making sure you were okay and that was it. I figured that you had a reason for lying to us all and I wanted to know what it was so that I could help – in anyway I could – make your life better. If that just means giving you a place where you can come to talk to someone who *doesn’t* think you’re a loser, then so be it. I like you Ange, whether you’re the most popular girl in school or not. So yeah, we can still be friends, in fact I’d be pretty disappointed to come in here and not see your nick in the chat list. I enjoy talking with you, so as long as you’re able to still come in, then I don’t have a problem with it.

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the bottom right corner is the Readers' Favorite review seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

#TeaserTuesday

Zack can definitely understand why Angelina did what she did...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

[ID: A teal background with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and out now in ebook & paperback just below the excerpt. The except reads:

What teenager hasn’t wished something was different about their lives at some point? At any rate, I knew that she wasn’t going to blurt out the truth just because I asked her some probing questions. I had to gain her trust, and the only way I could do that was to convince her that I liked her for her, not because she’d told me she had some perfect life with a few hundred friends at school.

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the bottom left corner is the Readers' Favorite review seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

#TeaserTuesday

Angelina just wants to have a break...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

[ID: A light blue background with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and out now in ebook, paperback & audiobook just below the excerpt. The except reads:

I sighed and sat down at my usual desk, pulled out my work book and pencil case and started to work through the homework sheet. If Mr. Holt had his way, I’d be in detention from now until the end of term, if not longer. The worst part was I knew that I’d get into strife at home because I was going to be at school an extra hour. It would also make me even later for my date with Zack. Rosemary and Valerie would want something to eat, and demand that I do some kind of tidying up. Mum had probably only agreed to me staying late because she was too drunk to care. I know it seems that I whine a lot, but honestly, if you had my life, how would you feel?

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the bottom left corner is the Readers' Favorite Review Seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

#TeaserTuesday

Nobody is willing to stand up for Angelina...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

[ID: A light teal background with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and out now in ebook, paperback & audiobook just below the except. The except reads:

“Of course it isn’t, sir. I would never do that. She’s just lying because she didn’t do it and doesn’t want to get in trouble,” Claire lied. I had a mantra of ‘please believe me, please!’ going round in my head, but as I’d suspected, he didn’t. He gave me a detention on the spot and made me apologise to Claire for trying to get her in trouble. I tried to protest and tell him that all he had to do was look in the bin, but it fell on deaf ears. I was screwed.

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the bottom left corner is the Readers' Favorite review seal and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

#TeaserTuesday

Zack is pretty sure something major is going on with Angelina...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

[ID: A light blur/green background, with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and Out now in ebook and paperback just below the excerpt. The except reads:

Artist44: Then why did she clam up when I asked her who it was?
MidnightRose147: I have no idea. She’s not telling us something.
CCJM_Flower: Does that really matter? If she chooses not to tell us something, who are we to argue that she should?
Artist44: I’m just worried about her.
CCJM_Flower: Zack! Do you have a crush on her?!
Artist44: No! I’m just worried about her is all!

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the left bottom right corner is the Readers' Favorite review seal and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

#TeaserTuesday

Zack wants to help Angelina any way he can...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

 [ID: A light blue background with sunflowers laid out, at the top with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and Out now in ebook and paperback just below the excerpt. The except reads:

Artist44: Someone STOLE your homework? Why would anyone do that?
AngelAnge: You don’t know the kids at my school. People don’t like me because I’m popular and good at some subjects, and the teachers are always looking for ways to put me in detention >_<
Artist44: Wow, why would the teachers do that?
AngelAnge: They just don’t like me. I don’t know why.
Artist44: At least you have the weekend now to relax and forget about school.
AngelAnge: Yeah, just wish I didn’t have so many chores to do round the house because then I could spend it online talking to you! :-)

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the bottom left corner is the Readers' Favorite Review seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

#TeaserTuesday

 

Angelina just wants to escape from the life she's living...

BUY NOW: http://www.books2read.com/WOY

 [ID: A light blue background with the title WAITING ON YOU at the top and Out now in ebook and paperback just below the excerpt. The except reads:

I switched it on and started to play on the animation programme. I was pretty good at computer graphics and taking in what I’d learnt at school, and in the art lessons we had in the computer lab. I set about drawing my prince charming. He may only be a day dream, a figment of my imagination, but when you had my life, all you could do was dream.

At the bottom is Joey Paul and just below that the website www.joeypaulonline.com, in the bottom left corner is the Readers ' Favorite 5 Star Review seal, and in the bottom right corner is the logo for Bug Books. END ID]

 

Dealing With Self-Doubt [CC]

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END OF 2016 GIVEAWAY!!

To celebrate the end of 2016, I will be doing a giveaway on Rafflecopter: a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can win a signed copy of Waiting On You, The Friendship Triangle & Destination: Unknown as well as a set of signed SWAG and a £10 (or $10) Amazon gift card! Check out the link and be sure to enter. It's open from December 1st and closes December 30th at midnight GMT!  

So be sure to check it out!!

Inside The Author: Writing Waiting On You

WRITING WAITING ON YOU 

I started writing WAITING ON YOU in the spring of 2007, I had finished my last book and the idea for a new one was fresh in my mind. I was in a long distance relationship and with the success of the internet, it was becoming commonplace for people to meet online, date and even end up married. I wanted to write a book about two teenagers who came from different walks of life and met online. I wanted it to be my first foray into the world of romance fiction and although I had always stuck with crime plots, it was something I wanted to at least try.

Angelina lived in Keswick in Cumbria, her family were not as loving as they could have been, she had a difficult time with both her sisters and her mother. She also struggled with friends at school and they never had the money for her to do much of anything. She finds her solace and rescue in the form of a computer and internet connection from her Aunt who lives miles away. It's intended to just be a tool to help her with her school work, but it opens up a new world for her - a world of friends and the possibility of escaping her life.

In contrast, Zack is one of six children, living in London, with parents who are at work more than they're home. He has a mountain of responsibility on his shoulders, but has always been afforded the luxury of never worrying whether he will eat. He is surrounded by a loving family and has friends at school as well. He's sixteen, compared to Angelina's fourteen, and is well known in the chat room that they both use and ultimately end up meeting in. Zack takes a shine to Angelina, and eventually they get close and start to date. It's a whirlwind romance and all Zack wants to do is rescue Angelina from her horrific life. Only it's not as easy as it seems and despite his want and need to do the right thing, it doesn't all work out the way he planned.

It was while writing this book that I started to write a second book alongside, a practice I have since adopted as a way that works for me. I found that while I had a lot of ideas about how things could go with the book, getting them down on paper was harder than I had first realised. It did all come together (with a few breaks from writing here and there) and I finally finished the book in the Autumn of 2009. Looking back at the way my own long distance relationship worked out, I'm glad to say that although that relationship ended badly, the one between Angelina and Zack was not affected by that and has a somewhat happier ending... though maybe not the one they both hoped for.

Overall, I did enjoy getting to know both Angelina and Zack and seeing the world through their eyes. It was my first time writing from the point of view of a sixteen year old boy and while I may not have first-hand experience in that, I feel like I did a good job moulding Zack and giving him a voice. The same applies to Angelina. I may not have had the experience of a home life like hers, but I have been fourteen and feeling like the world is caving in around me and that no one would care if I wasn't there. I have also had the joy and relief that comes when you realise that someone does actually care and does want good things for you. For me, it was a friend, for Angelina is was Zack. I hope that in writing their story, I'm able to show that sometimes what you wish for can come true, but it doesn't always happen the way you thought it would. In other words, life gets better and it goes on getting better, you just have to hang on through the tough parts and hold on to people around you who care about you. There is always someone who cares, you may just not have met them yet.


Follow Joey here on her blog, on Facebook, or Tumblr to be sure to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

Random Booktube - The Story Behind #JoWriMoGo - April 2016

RANDOM BOOKTUBE

THE STORY BEHIND #JOWRIMOGO

APRIL 2016

Writing Characters - Angelina & Zack

 

Writing Angelina & Zack

It was 2007 when I first put pen to paper and wrote the opening sentences of WAITING ON YOU. I was in a long distance relationship that would ultimately end before I completed the book, but I was always clear about what I wanted the book to say, and whose story I wanted to tell. With the book already released in the summer, I figured now would be a good time to tell you what it was like to write the two main characters, Angelina and Zack.

ANGELINA

Angelina is a fourteen year old in a very difficult situation. She has no friends at school (through no fault of her own), and spends most of her time dreaming of the day that "Prince Charming" will fall head over heels in love with her and whisk her away from her dreadful life. Her mother is an alcoholic who doesn't seem to care whether her daughter's happy and her sisters both seem to live to make her as miserable as possible. They live in a council house, survive on whatever money her mum doesn't spend on alcohol and a lot of responsibility sits on Angelina's shoulders. Her sisters don't seem to want to contribute to buying her new clothes or making sure she eats, and they also lay a lot of pressure on her to look after them as well. She is a fourteen year old turning forty.

So, when she gets a chance to go online and make "real" friends she takes that chance and sees it as the start to a whole new life for her. In a way she's right, it is a new beginning, but no matter how much we may wish that the virtual world of the internet is real and safe, it's not and in reality, well, it sometimes sucks.

She wasn't a hard character to write. I imagined her as a thin, pale and sickly looking girl who may have come across as distant and aloof to her class mates, which is one reason why none of them have welcomed her with open arms. The issues Angelina face happen all around the world, her father has never been in her life and people seem to blame her for that. Whilst I am sure that a lot of what she thinks other people feel about her isn't true, sadly some of it is. She's a sad, scared little girl really, who just wants her mum to wake up and realise that she's drowning in the deep end with no one to rescue her.

Which brings us to Zack...

ZACK

Zack is sixteen and his life could not be more different to Angelina's. He lives with his parents and siblings in a nice house in London. His mum works, and his Dad is a respected surgeon. He's never known what it's like to go hungry, nor has he really experienced bullying. He's the second oldest child in his family and has a few good friends. However, that same level of responsibility is resting on his shoulders too. He makes sure that his four younger siblings get to and from school okay, cooks, cleans and makes sure everyone is fed, watered and in bed by the time his parents get home from work. He doesn't seem to mind it too much, but for me, it still feels like that there is more responsibility on him than there should be for a sixteen year old. However, Zack doesn't see anything wrong with it as his older brother had the same job when he was still at secondary school.

His family is loving, caring and always there for each other. Zack has his exams in the summer and knows that once he starts college, the responsibilities he carries will be handed to the next in line. He's already got a bunch of friends in the chat room where he meets Angelina and he's got a bit of a saviour complex. Always wanting to help, to make sure everyone is okay.

As a character, he was my first male main character and I was worried I would find it harder to write a teenage boy, but once I got into the swing of things, it all seemed to click into place and Zack grew as a character and a person before my very eyes. This book was my first attempt at a romance without any other crime or mystery sub-plots and I do think I managed to capture the story well.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. One thing I love about releasing one a year, and having so many already written is that I get to look back a few years later and rediscover my characters and their stories hidden in the pages. Please feel free to drop me a review once you've read the book!

Follow Joey on Facebook or her on her blog to be kept up to date with the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

WAITING ON YOU had been released :D

WAITING ON YOU has been released! You can find it here on the Amazon UK site, and here on the Amazon US site.

There have already been two reviews posted on Goodreads, which you can see here. Please do add it to your to-be-read pile and leave a review!

Waiting On You COVER REVEAL!

(Click to Enlarge)

WAITING ON YOU COVER REVEAL

As always, a few days behind, but I am pleased to share with you the cover art for my newest release - WAITING ON YOU - which will be due out in the summer! While I'm doing a catch up, here are some new reviews and interviews that might interest you as well.

Reviews of Dying Thoughts - Third Wish & Lynne & Hope

Joey guest blogs for Brenda Perlin and talks about what it's like writing the DYING THOUGHTS series. 

I also have an interview and some other guest blog posts coming up soon, so be sure to keep an eye out here, or on Facebook to catch them all!

Hitting 350 likes on Facebook!

 

We hit 350 Likes on Facebook (and standing about 466 right now!) so that means it was time to share the final excerpt from WAITING ON YOU as promised! Click the picture above to read when Angelina and Zack finally reveal their feelings for each other! WAITING ON YOU will be released in the summer of 2014 and is the tale of two teenagers who are from completely different walks of life. They meet online and find themselves falling in love.

Happy New 2014 everyone! I hope this year brings much happiness, joy and may all your dreams come true!

300 Likes on Facebook!

We have reached 300 likes on Facebook! That means that I have released the excerpt from WAITING ON YOU of Angelina and Zack's first meeting online! WAITING ON YOU is due out in the Summer of 2014 and is the story of two teenagers from completely different lives who meet online and romance blossoms!

Once we reach 350 likes on Facebook, I'll release another excerpt with slightly more information as well as the chat where they finally admit their feelings for each other. Keep an eye here on the blog or Facebook for more updates :D

Reviews, Guest Blogging & Other Updates

Since I have recently had a bunch of guest blogging posts, I thought I would do a post to let you all know what they're about and where to read them. I will also post some links to recent reviews that you may not have seen.

My first guest blog post was for Amber Skye Forbes and was entitled: My Writing Path. Amber is a new writer with her first book out now. 

I was also chosen for an Author Spotlight by J Bryden Lloyd who runs The Write Stuff group on Facebook. If anyone who is also an indie writer and wants to join, send me a PM on Facebook and I'll add you to the group.

I was asked for an interview from Carol Ann Kaufffman after she did a review of LYNNE & HOPE (Review can be found here).

There is also a new interview up on my Smashwords page, which you can read here.

And finally, I did a guest blog for Katanna: Fiction for the Masses entitled: Seven things that influence my writing.

As for new reviews, Nerd Girl on Facebook did a review of DYING THOUGHTS - FIRST TOUCH, DYING THOUGHTS - SECOND SIGHT and LYNNE & HOPE.

I am always looking for Guest Bloggers, so if you feel like you have something you'd like to write for this blog, feel free to contact me at bugbooks@virginmedia.com and we can go from there.

Hitting 275 likes on Facebook!

To celebrate reaching 275 likes on Facebook, here is the character profile for Zack from WAITING ON YOU. (Click to enlarge). Once we reach 300 likes - and we're getting closer every day - Joey will release an excerpt from her seventh book, WAITING ON YOU that shows the conversation Zack and Angelina have when they first meet. As a bonus, when we reach 350 likes, Joey will release the conversation they have when they realise they have feelings for each other!

Follow Joey on Facebook or here on her blog to be kept up to date with all the latest news regarding Joey and her books.

Catch-up Post

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates. I was in hospital for a couple of weeks and have only really just managed to get on top of all the work that I missed while incapacitated. I am also going on holiday tomorrow and so will be absent for a further five days, but normal service should resume when I return next Saturday.

Secondly, I just wanted to open up the floor for any more questions from readers that people would like to send in. I have a few more that I have yet to answer and would like to have a few more before I do a post. As usual, if you have a question for me, you can email me at bugbooks@virginmedia.com and I'll try to do a post with the answers when I return from my time away.

Just before I went into hospital, we managed to reach over 250 likes on Facebook and as promised I released the character profile for Angelina from WAITING ON YOU which is my seventh book and will hit the shelves in July 2014. I was too unwell to manage posting it here too, so am rectifying that mistake now. Below you'll find the graphic with the information about Angelina on it. (Click to enlarge)

The next goal to be reached in 275 likes on Facebook, at which point I will post the profile of Zack from WAITING ON YOU both here and on my Facebook page. I think we're at around 263, so hopefully when I return from holiday I'll be able to share that graphic with you all. Once we reach 300 likes, I will be releasing a snippet from the book. It is a part of the online conversation that Zack and Angelina have when they realise their feelings for each other.

I have a few guest blog posts coming up and will update links here, and post on Facebook when they are published. As always, anyone wishing to guest blog here, feel free to contact me on bugbooks@virginmedia.com with details of what you'd like to write about, as well as any links and such for promotion. 

Please do keep your eyes open for some flash give-aways both here and on Facebook as well as the usual information about release dates and other promotions.