Surprise Teaser Trailer!

It's a beautiful Saturday morning. How about a surprise book trailer?

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Have you checked out my other book trailers yet? You might enjoy these too:

• A DARLING SECRET Action Trailer
• THE NIGHTMARE BIRDS Teaser Trailer
• STRANGE LUCK Teaser Trailer

10 DAYS until A DARLING SECRET launches!

10 days until A DARLING SECRET launches. I'm getting excited! :)

PRE-ORDER: http://amzn.to/2xG59CC

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Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter. You'll get an exclusive excerpt from the book just for signing up, plus first crack at giveaways and promotions.

"A Fantastic Ending to an Exciting and Thrilling Series" - Early Reviews of A DARLING SECRET

I'm positively delighted to share some awesome early reviews of A DARLING SECRET, which will release the first day of fall (September 22).

 

Here's what Tome Tender Book Review had to say:

“It is the journey of discovery throughout this series that will have readers hanging on to each page! Witness Daisy’s world implode, all she held as truth to be smoke and mirrors and the inner strength she must draw on to save those she loves, even as she learns, once you have grown and changed, you can never unlearn the lessons of life.”

Read the full review here.

Here's what Love Serially Book Blog had to say:

“This is a fantastic ending to an exciting and thrilling series. Amie Winters continues to offer up surprising twists in this last installment, along with a very sweet and satisfying ending…Thinking about this series in its entirety, I am awed at the imagination of Winters. Each book offers a different world to explore. It lives up to the fantasy genre and offers interesting twists on old classics like witches, evil, and the afterlife.”

Read the full review here. 

PRE-ORDER here. 

My face right now:

I'm delighted that you enjoyed my books. This makes my day :)

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Have a review you want to share with me? I'd love to hear from you.

A Darling Secret Official Release Date and Teaser Trailer!

Did you see??? A Darling Secret has an official release date!!!

The Nightmare Birds Is A Book of the Year Nominee!

The Nightmare Birds is a Fantasia Reviews Book of the Year contender!!!

I'm so incredibly honored that my book was nominated. It seriously means the world to me that people are enjoying my stories. For all of you who've supported me by reading my books, writing reviews, or even reading this blog post, a great big THANK YOU!!! Your support is greatly appreciated.

Until the winner is unveiled at the end of December (fingers crossed!), please take a look at some of the other books in contention for this prize.

Book Impressions - Fantasia Reviews Strange Luck

"A fantastic story. Miss Winters has woven a tale that will enthrall readers and leave them begging for more."

"She paints in broad strokes and fine details, giving us food for thought and imagery to fawn over – we loved it."

"Miss Winters possesses and abundance of talent and imagination that she has poured onto the pages of this book to deliver something that is not only delightful, but worth reading, and that is a rare talent indeed."

I'm absolutely ecstatic about this review!!! These kind words mean the world to me :)

Read what else Fantasia Reviews had to say about Strange Luck in their five-star review.

I Was An Aerial Acrobat...Well, Sort Of

As I mentioned in my secrets of Strange Luck post, I love learning secrets behind a book, like where an author got a particular idea or wrote their story. It really adds something to the whole experience. I thought long and hard about some interesting tidbits I could share about The Nightmare Birds and this is what I've come up with. I hope you enjoy them. :D

1.   I took the title ‘The Nightmare Birds’ from a poem I had written 10 years ago. It was about nightingales in my neighborhood that were chirping all night and driving me crazy. Here's a pic of my journal with the poem:

2.   While writing this book I took aerial acrobatic lessons to get a better sense of what it was like to be a circus/theater performer. It was a lot of fun, but I wasn't very good at it. Here's a goofy pic of me striking a pose:

3.   One of the working titles for this book was ‘An Evening at the Theater of Secrets.’ I didn’t want to lose that name completely, so I used it as the title of the mysterious book in the story.
 
4.   Christine is actually based on a German foreign exchange student who lived with me when I was in high school. Just like the character in the book, her real name was Christine and she was kinda odd. She would always suddenly leave the room while you were talking to her, and she was obsessed with anything orange.

5.   My real-life interest in existentialism trickled into the story, especially Daisy’s fascination with Simone de Beauvoir and Friedrich Nietzsche. They are some of my favorite philosophers.

6.   Originally the “nightmare bird” was a nightingale (like in my poem), but I've always liked owls more, so I changed it.

7.   I wrote The Nightmare Birds as a standalone title years ago and worked closely with an agent to develop it. Per the agent's guidance, the story ultimately went a direction I didn't like, so the relationship dissolved and I decided to go my own way. I wrote Strange Luck next, then decided to adapt The Nightmare Birds as the sequel.
 

8.   In the original story, the protagonist's name was 'Rune.'

9.   The reference about people who voluntarily lived in caves without light and lost all track of time is based on a real (and super scary) experiment. Look it up.

10. Arianrhod (Daisy's mom) is based on a Goddess from Welsh mythology. The Goddess shape-shifts into a wise owl which enables her to see into the dark depths of the human soul.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about The Nightmare Birds. Don't forget to check these out too:

• 10 Things You Didn't Know About Strange Luck
• Meet the Characters of The Nightmare Birds
• Visit the Real Theater of Secrets
• Read An Excerpt

The Nightmare Birds Book Giveaway!

I hope you've been enjoying all of the book goodies this week to celebrate the release of The Nightmare Birds. In case you missed it, you can meet the characters HERE and read the first chapter HERE.

I have lots more fun extras planned in the coming weeks, but first I'm going to be giving away some books. Woot!

Click HERE to enter my Amazon book giveaway!

I'll be giving away special signed copies and limited edition bookmarks of The Nightmare Birds soon, so keep checking back for details, or, you can sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know about my giveaways.

It's been a very exciting week and I greatly appreciate everyone's support. It seriously means the world to me :D Think I'll celebrate with some chocolate cake...

 

It's So Pretty - Book Giveaways and Other News

Yay!!!! It's finally here. :D

August 2 seemed like forever ago and now it's less than two weeks until my new book, The Nightmare Birds, will be released. I'm BEYOND ecstatic! My first response was to stare silently in shock and then squeal "It's soooooo pretty!" You can watch my excitement HERE.

 

Want to have first crack at extra content, behind-the-scenes glimpses, promotions, and giveaways? Sign up for my newsletter and you'll be the first to know.

Crazy Socks and Haunted Antiques - My Interview with J.D. Estrada

  
Did I write Strange Luck based on the advice of a fortune cookie?

Do I seriously only wear "crazy" socks?

Is a haunted shell the most expensive item in the antique shop?

Find out the answers to these questions (and others quirky ones) in my interview with the uber-talented J.D. Estrada. Enjoy!

The Cookie Made Me Do It

It was the hardest decision I ever made, and the easiest, and it was decided by a fortune cookie. It said, 'Trust Your Intuition.' My intuition to self-publish that is. It all started when I met a woman at the post office who self-published her novel and she couldn't say enough amazing things about the experience. She loved being in complete control of her vision and overseeing all aspects of her novel from start to finish. But how in the world would I, Amie Irene Winters, ever complete such an enormous undertaking while working full-time, being a devoted wife, maintaining a household, and having a life? It seemed impossible! As time went on, self-publishing made more and more sense, but I was still too afraid to do anything about it. For a year, I tried the traditional route of querying agents, but grew tired of waiting, and waiting, and more waiting.  My fate was eventually decided over Chinese food with a friend. I joked, "Let the fortune cookie decide what I should do," and as soon as I read 'Trust Your Intuition,' something clicked and I knew what I had to do. I got to work that night, remembering Crowley's inspirational quote: "If you believe passionately in your will to do something then power to achieve it will accrue to you." Somehow, all the pieces seemed to fall into place and I've never looked back. Here's how I did it: -Read, Re-Read, and Read Some More: I must've re-read my final manuscript at least a dozen times on my laptop and a dozen more printed out. Over the course of 1 1/2 years, I took lots of breaks from the book so that I'd always come back with a fresh eye and perspective. When I was happy with it, I worked with an awesome editor who helped me polish it to perfection.  -Research Your Platform: There are a lot of self-publishing companies out there so it's important to first understand what exactly you want to accomplish. I wanted control over everything and the option to hire someone if I wanted to. I didn't want to be forced to pay for services I could very well do. CreateSpace Independent Publishing was the perfect solution for me. They have tons of helpful resources, videos, community forums, etc. on how to do everything from formatting to making the perfect cover.  I decided to do all of the formatting myself and work with an independent graphic designer for the cover via 99Designs.  -See What It Looks Like: Over the course of 2 months, I ordered 3 different proofs before I submitted the final version of my book and design. I shared it with family and friends and made the necessary tweaks. I read and rigorously reviewed the entire proof each time to make sure everything was perfect.   -Utilize Resources: CreateSpace makes it super easy to set up your book for Amazon and extended distribution channels. They even offer PR tips for a successful book launch. And, the best part is that it's all free. There are a wide variety of ways to publish your book traditionally or through self-publishing. If you go the traditional literary agent route, I highly recommend you check out Predators & Editors. For me, it just made sense to self-publish and I feel like the whole experience has made me that much more connected to my story. Whatever you decide to do, know that it's truly an amazing feeling to be able to share your story with the world. My advice is to listen to the cookie - trust your intuition.  Thinking of Self-Publishing? Some Famous Authors Who Self-Published: -Sylvia Plath -Edgar Allen Poe -Mark Twain -Virginia Wolff -Beatrix Potter Some Famous Authors Who Were Rejected By Publishers: -Dr. Seuss -George Orwell -Herman Melville -John Grisham -Deepak Chopra