Giveaway + Guest Blogger: Rachel Wells, author of Enchanted

Yay! We have another guest blogger on The Fairytale Nerd! For today, we have Rachel Wells, author of the book Enchanted, and she is going to discuss with us her experiences on writing, and the road to self-publishing.

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Hi everyone! I just published my first book, Enchanted. I am a new and unknown Indie author, but I am working hard to try to change that! My book is paranormal-you might even say it has supernatural tendencies-with a hint of innocent teen romance thrown in for good measure. Basically, without giving away too much, my main character, Mandy moves to a beachside town in Maine and discovers she’s not who she thought she was. She’s always been the quiet, blend into the wall kind of girl and suddenly she’s faced with a new school and a new way of life due to some old letters she finds in an antique trunk. She gradually accepts her new “calling” and just when she thinks she has a handle on things, some black magic threatens to turn her life upside down.

So who am I, you might ask…or why should I read your book when no one has ever heard of it or you?

Who am I? I am a stay at home mom to three girls who keep me running from 7 in the morning till 9 at night. I am a huge procrastinator in almost everything I do…I love baked goods, candy, and pineapple and onion calzones! I love anything creepy or paranormal-I’m pretty sure my house is haunted and I recently had a psychic tell me I was in tune to the “spirits”!

So why should you give my book a chance? I’ve always loved to write, and I always thought it would be awesome to walk into a book store one day and see my book sitting there with my name on the cover! And while it would still be so awesome to walk into a bookstore and see my book, reality hit me with a crash.

I started reading authors’ horror stories pertaining to rejection letters, agents, and publishers. I picked up a copy of Writer’s Market, Deluxe Edition, and noticed all the entries that said, “No unsolicited queries”.

Then last spring, my husband surprised me with a Nook. As I was browsing the “Steals and Deals” section, I discovered Indie authors. I started checking out some of the authors’ websites and blogs. I read about how they decided to self-publish and are successful.

Initially I was a bit torn as to whether pursue traditional publishing or the do-it-yourself route, but then I decided that skipping the rejection letters would be the happier of the two roads. So I uploaded my book to the Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

When I saw my first sale I was ecstatic! It meant someone else decided to spend their money that they earned to read something I wrote! It was amazing! It still is amazing to me! I am not expecting overnight success or fortune, and my book most definitely is not flying off the “shelves”…yet…But I do have hopes! One can dream and one should! And I am hoping you will give my book and other Indie authors a chance to make all of you dream as well.

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Thank you for your time Rachel! I can imagine the delight you felt on your first sale! And yes... I agree that indie authors should be given a chance. I have to admit that I have read indie books that are actually better than those traditionally published. I mean, in books, it's the content that counts, publication is just some sort of branding I guess. So people, support indie authors! You might actually be surprised!

If you want to stalk Rachel, you may do so here...

Enchanted Facebook Fan Page

Twitter

Now for the blurb on Enchanted...

Enchanted
by Rachel Wells

Mandy is a quiet teenager who just wants to blend in with the crowd rather than stand out as anything or anybody. Mandy's pretty successful at this until her parents decide it's time to move from Boston to the quiet seaside town of York Beach, Maine, to "be closer to Nana". Although Mandy has been vacationing in York every summer since she was a child, she has no desire to live there and is worried about fitting in and finding friends during her senior year of high school.

Nana owns a flower shop in town and while working alongside her, Mandy makes a few friends and observes the oddities of the little town and its inhabitants. When she finds some old and cryptic correspondance hidden inside an antique trunk handed down from her Nana, the "oddities" turn into full fledged mysteries. As she unravels the forgotten and hidden history of the town, she simultaneously unravels her own family's past and current secrets while writing her future. With bits of romance and paranormal along the way, she is able to figure out the puzzle of the correspondance, the magic she never realized was surrounding her, and visions of the past and future. Will she walk away from her personal history and her future or will she realize it's ok to be somebody, even if that somebody is nothing like everybody else?

And the good news is that we're having another giveaway. 

Rachel is giving away two eBooks of
ENCHANTED!
Just sign up HERE to win!

contest ended September 10, 2011

Giveaway Rules:

Open to persons 13 years old or older.

This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.

Contest ends on SEPTEMBER 10, 2011.

Leave your name and email address so we can send you your eBook if you win. 

For a more detailed information on the rules, please read the Contest Policy.