Thank you to all who participated in the New Year giveaway bash! There were over 400 entries and 16 different winners drawn via Rafflecopter. Winners will be notified via e-mail, so be sure to check your spam folder just in case. You have 3 days to respond and claim your prize or another winner will be drawn.

Happy New Year and happy reading in 2012. Thanks again to all of the participants!

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m happy to announce the release date for Preservation, my upcoming contemporary romance/realistic fiction novel.

Coming May 25, 2012

Release Date: May 25, 2012

Readers: You can find both the e-book and print format at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Goodreads on May 25, and a pre-order option will be available soon.

Book Bloggers and Reviewers: ARCs will be distributed in early spring. If you’d like to receive an ARC copy, please e-mail AuthorRachaelWade@Gmail.com to add your name to the list.***Please note that review copies are given at author’s discretion.*** Don’t forget to include the following in your e-mail:

• A link to your blog
• The title of the book you are requesting for review
• An estimated timeframe of when you plan on publishing your review

Here is a short teaser introducing you to Ryan and Kate as they start to get to know one another, and Kate’s official song. The full playlist will be up shortly, so check back soon to listen.

Preservation Sneak Peek

    That night, I made sure to arrive at the pool at my usual time. I didn’t want to stay a minute longer than normal, knowing Ryan would be showing up soon. The last thing I wanted was to get all flustered around him again like a total fool and feed his ego.
    I did one final lap and ducked down to let the water rush over my head, slowly coming up for one more relaxing breath of air.
   And there he was. Sitting on the ledge, looking over at me.
   “Kate. Will you let me apologize for earlier today?”
   “Ryan. You’re early.” I rolled my eyes and pulled myself up and out of the pool. As I stood to my feet, he slipped in.
   “I didn’t mean to bite your head off like that. I’m sorry, really. I want to know what you came to talk to me about after class.”
   I towel-dried my hair and began collecting my things, stuffing everything in my bag. Why not? Might as well tell him.
   “I just thought I’d tell you that I’m going to be published.” I wrapped the towel around my torso, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “Not the piece you read, but something else. That’s it.”
   “That’s it?” He flew out of the pool and lunged forward to hug me. “Congratulations! That’s really…well I’m not surprised. Your work is brilliant. It inspires me, actually.”
    I jutted my head back, did a double take. “What? Inspires you?”
    He put his hands on his hips and stared at me with bright, flickering eyes. They were on fire. “Yes, me.” He tapped my shoulder. “Just because I’m a professor doesn’t mean my students’ work can’t inspire me.”
    I narrowed my eyes then glanced around, trying to understand his instant mood shift. His smile was blinding, wide and enthusiastic—unlike anything I’d ever seen.
    “You look thoroughly disturbed.” He chuckled and crossed his arms. Wet. Dripping wet.
    “You’re moody. I can’t figure you out, that’s all.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “One minute you’re really easygoing and nice to talk to, and the next…”
    “I’m a total ass. Yes, it’s a part of my charm. You’ll have to forgive me.” He glanced down at his bare feet, sexy grin still intact. I refused to let my eyes wander to his tattoos. “I’m stubborn, get pissed if I can’t have my way, and I’m always guaranteed to make someone feel like shit at least once a day.” He shrugged. “But I admire and value good writing when I see it, and I don’t mean to treat my students that way. Especially you.” He held out his hand, waiting for me to shake. “Truce?” His hand hung in midair, the other perched on his hip.
    Reluctantly, I slipped my palm into his and gently shook, noticing his gaze drift from my eyes to my lips. I stepped back. “You’re forgiven. And just for the record…you inspire me, too. That’s what I wanted to tell you this morning. You get this spark when you talk about my writing…well, writing in general. Your passion is inspiring. And sincere.” I nodded, tucking my hair behind my ear. “But if you’re an ass to me again, three strikes you’re out.” A small grin seized my lips.
    He stood there, eyes soft, body wet, black ink calling my name. “Deal, Ms. Parker. So when and where is your work going to be published?”
    “As far as I know, the spring issue of The Morning Theatric. It’s a drama-focused literary magazine.” The weight of my bag began cutting into my shoulder, and the temptation to lust after his body art was becoming unbearable. “But I better go; I’ll send you a copy when it’s published, okay?”
    “All right,” he leisurely turned and slipped back into the pool. “I look forward to it.”
    “See you around.”
    “Hey, Kate!”
    I stopped and turned to him.
    “Come see me after class again next week. I have something you might be interested in. You won’t be able to resist.” He smirked and deadpanned me, biting his lip.
    Holy hell.
    “Oh? Okay, well we’ll see about that.” My eyebrows twitched in amusement but I worked to repress my own smirk, turning on my heel for the door. My instinct told me not to venture into his playful territory, but cue the Hallelujah chorus was all I could think.

Only a few more days until 2012, can you believe it? I hope Santa was good to you all and that you’re ready to start off the New Year with a bang. I know I am. Bring it.

The Gates, book 2 of The Resistance Trilogy will be ready for publication very soon, so I figured I’d post the table of contents. Most of the chapter titles are pretty cryptic, so don’t expect to find any spoilers.

Also, beginning the first week of January, I get to share all kinds of fun stuff. From January to March I’ll be posting teasers, excerpts, and more as the release craziness commences, and other extras from my other 2012 release, Preservation.

I wish you all  happiness and peace on the New Year and into 2012. Be safe!

xo

Rachael

 Prologue

1. Gone with the Wind
2. Midnight in Montmartre
3. Down the Rabbit Hole
4. Invincible
5. Russian Roulette
6. Scarlet Fever
7. The Beginning of Things to Come
8. Distractions
9. Secrets
10. Carpe Diem
11. Blood Pressure
12. Gesture
13. Turning Tables
14. Overflow
15. Lacrimosa
16. Fire
17. Priorities
18. Words of Wisdom

             Epilogue

I’m going to attempt to explain how thankful I am for anyone who has left a review for my work over the past few months. Consider yourself warned: This is practically a novella. But I don’t know how else to express what you mean to me, personally. So here goes.

Readers that have taken the time to leave a review: You rock.

Seriously, even when you leave one sentence on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble–wherever–you make my day. Please accept my resounding thank you. Times infinity. Writing is fulfilling as it is, but when I have the chance to hear readers’ interpretations of my work, it makes it a billion times more satisfying. My favorite thing about art is that it’s relative. So to hear what my work said to you and how it differs from what someone else heard when they read it? It’s a high like nothing else. That is the blinding beauty of literature.

Your reviews are proof that poopy diapers, dolphin guts, and bar gigs illuminated my path.

(Yes, you read that right. Read on.)

Your reviews confirm my purpose, passion, and joy in life. And that is storytelling. I stumbled around for the past few years pursuing my passions

Need a babysitter? Who ya gonna call? Someone else.

to put them to good use. I’ve sung in bars, recorded and written music, worked with killer whales, cut whales open for scientific necropsies (and have a scalpel scar to remind me until I die), worked for an insurance agency, worked with preschoolers, worked as a public speaker for SeaWorld, and the list goes on and on. For the life of me, I couldn’t find a job that suited me, even though some of those things were very real passions of mine. (Minus the working with preschoolers thing. I love kids, but taking care of them for someone else was SO not my happy place. That will forever fall into my “what the hell was I thinking” category.)

Um, yeah. I'm gonna need you to come in on Saturday...

When it came to storytelling, though, it was this subconscious passion that just nagged at me. I knew it was always there but I didn’t know it could be a “real” job. Even after English teachers and professors encouraged me to pursue it as a career. Even though I was naturally drawn to theater, films, bookstores, and theatrics in general, for as long as I can remember–it just never hit me to actually pursue it. Until I left my SeaWorld “era” during that period I stumbled around from job to job.

When one door closes…

I was so devastated when I found that my career working with animals didn’t turn out to be what I thought it would at all, even after investing so much time volunteering, interning, and working at my dream marine park. Not to mention, that killer whale trainer that died back in 2010? Yeah. She was one of my internship supervisors at Shamu Stadium. Incredible woman. I looked up to her even though she never knew my name. I was just a lowly research intern. I would zip up her wetsuit, watch her train the whales, and watch her perform, simply in awe at her abilities, enthusiasm, and unconditional love for those animals. For some reason, after she passed, nothing was the same and I knew it never would be if I returned to work there.

On my last night working, I distinctly remember saying goodbye to the dolphins and stingrays as I walked to my car, and for the first time, I was truly lost. I had absolutely no idea what to do with my life. I was all “woe is me at 24 years old.” Looking back, it’s hilarious. Not every 24 year old knows exactly what they want to do, and I’d already done so much and had experienced so many amazing things at such a young age. But I still knew I was lost. Thankfully, I also knew it was the very best time to be lost. It was a season rich with opportunity.

I realized I had to do all of those things, pursue those other passions, only to find other avenues to utilize them and to find the main path I was meant to be on. It’s not that my interests were wrong, but the paths in which I was pursuing them were. I found that I’m an animal conservation advocate at heart and that I actually hate seeing these majestic creatures all pent up, regardless of how well they are taken care of. I found that I love to sing live, but pursuing it as a career was an entirely different ballgame. Now I sing and write music for fun, and who knows what I’ll do with it down the road. I found out that without a shadow of a doubt, I loathe changing diapers. And that preschool is way, way too chipper and bubbly of an environment for me. Like woah. Exhausting. Sarcasm has no place there, and that’s a real problem for this girl.

I do have a point, I promise.

I’m going to borrow a line from the movie Remember Me to wrap up this ramblefest.

“Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.”

Well, all of those jobs and experiences were fingerprints touching my life and they’ll never fade. They forever changed me and showed me where I belong. I started writing the Resistance Trilogy because I missed writing so much, had gotten so sidetracked searching for that “thing” I was supposed to be doing. It turned out that it made me happier than I’ve ever been. I felt I could breathe again, like I’d come home. During that time, I started submitting my poetry to literary magazines, and when I started receiving acceptance letters, I finally took the plunge and decided to “be” a writer, to pay attention to what made my blood sing the most.

And to never. Ever. Look back.

And that’s what your reviews mean to me. They are a confirmation that the crazy, beautiful, bumpy path I stumbled on was what led me here, to write, and that it was what I was meant to do all along. The right path was patiently waiting, and when I arrived, it simply said, “What the hell took you so long?”

It feels good to be home. To know your purpose in this life. And I have that wild path and your thoughts and comments to thank for that. Again, a resounding thank you to all who have read and commented or showed any amount of interest or enthusiasm about my work. I am truly, truly honored to share my passion with you and humbled that I have the opportunity to do so on a daily basis.

Much love,

Rachael

xo