BIG changes to the Denicalis Dragon Chronicles

Greetings Denicalis fans! The end of summer 2010 is almost upon us and my, my, MY what a flash before my eyes it has been! I hope you all had some time off whatever it is you do the most - be it school, work, writing, etc! My vacation is coming up soon - I'll be taking some time off to be a part of the Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts! The Big E will be open for 17 days straight, from September 17th thru October 3rd. If you happen to be there during that time, make sure you stop by the Connecticut building on the Avenue of the States and look for the CAPA bookstore! I may not be there but be sure to check out the dozens of books on the bookshelves - ALL written by our talented Connecticut authors!

Now, I'd like to apologize for not updating this here blog more often. I'm incredibly busy doing LOTS of things! The most important of these is I've FINALLY finished book 4 in the Denicalis Dragon Chronicles! Dragon's Breath went live on June 20th and I'm seeing some wonderful feedback already! It's by far the most important book in the series - I've killed off a few characters ("Oh, no!") and introduced some others. It's double the size of The Prisoner, and weighs in at a meaty 540 pages! What a relief to finally have it done! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), it is NOT the final book in the series. I'm about to start working on book 5 (as yet unnamed) and hope to have it out Fall 2011.

Other news!

I've created a few more websites, although some of them don't have a whole lot of info on them. I've got big plans and desires for them though - now if I could just find the time to organize what I want! Someday...

Check them out if you have a minute or five:

www.grizlegirlproductions.com - this site has "All things MJ Allaire" - books, ebooks (coming soon!), dragon towels and trinket cases, Denicals Dragon Chronicles t-shirts and more!
www.getkidstoread.org - I want this to be a site for both authors and teachers - where they come together and arrange school visits, etc to keep kids READING!
www.booksbyteenauthors.com - this site will feature books and short stories written by teen authors. Hopefully we can give a boost to those young authors who are out there!
www.bookateerpublishing.com - this site is MY new company site - and it's the site that will host my lastest publications...

Drum roll please??.....

Coming in September (but of course available for pre-sale NOW) - the first three books in my fantasy series - Dragon's Blood, The Prisoner and Dragon's Tear - are being printed NOW and will be republished under my own name, Bookateer Publishing! I'm hoping in the very near future to be able to offer publishing services to the many, many authors out there who are finding out just how hard it is to get published traditionally. We will offer cover design, galley design and editing. This should be up and running by the end of 2010! If you know someone who says "I've always wanted to write a book but don't know how to get published," please send them my way! Make sure they tell me they heard about Bookateer Publishing from THIS blog and I'll give them 20% off the publishing services (NOT to include book purchases)!!

If you'd like to see pictures of the new covers, go to my facebook page and check out my photo albums. 2010 has been a great year for me but I really can't wait to see what 2011 brings!

Enjoy the rest of your summer and make sure you keep reading!

Summerly hugs, MJ

Support CT Authors at the Big E!!!

Hi everyone!

I've been incredibly busy the past few months and decided now was the time to update you on a few things happening in my life...

First of all, if you are anywhere near the BIG E in New England make sure you stop by the CT Building and check out the CAPA (Connecticut Authors and Publishers) Bookstore! This year there are over 100 titles in the bookstore from various genres, written exclusively by Connecticut authors! For more information about CAPA, visit http://www.aboutcapa.com/. The Big E runs for 17 days and this year the dates are Sept 12th - Sept 28th, so the clock's-a-tickin'!! If you'd like more information, check out their website at http://www.thebige.com/fair/index.html.

If you love to read or know someone who does, an autographed book signed by the author makes a GREAT gift! You can't tell me that a book lover wouldn't just be thrilled to get a book signed by the author! In some cases, someone who DOESN'T like to read becomes a reader because they were given an autographed copy!

I will be one of the featured authors this coming weekend with all three of my books, so please, if you're anywhere in the area, come out and support not just myself but the many wonderful and talented Connecticut authors!

Here's my schedule for this weekend:

Friday 9/19 - 10am-9pm
Saturday 9/20 - 10am-9pm
Sunday 9/21 - 10am-6pm

You can't miss the booth - as you go into the CT building from the front, it's on the right hand side!

In other news, I'm not working on book 4 yet (*cringe* .. I know .. I'm hearing complaints all the time coming from the various peanut galleries in my life lol), but I will start to work on it soon, I promise. Over the past few months, my oldest son joined the Navy last year so he's out of the nest, but my two younger children who still live with me went to Italy this summer to visit their father (this was a major event for me as they've never flown anywhere without me, not to mention INTERNATIONALLY!!). I've recently changed jobs and went from working Mon-Fri from 8a-4p to working Sun-Thurs from 12p-9p, so I'm adjusting to a new job AND a new shift.

As a side note, I must say that I really like working swing shift because I am NOT a morning person .. I love sleeping in late and getting home at night when the world is much quieter, the house is much quieter (it won't be long before I start writing during those quiet hours).

Another development over the summer (just a few weeks ago, as a matter of fact) is that my good friend Angelina, whom I've known for almost 20 years, got married! This was a milestone for her and I couldn't be happier for her, her three girls, and her new husband Chris. She asked me to be her Matron of Honor, which I was (visit www.myspace.com/mjallaire, go to pics, then view the album "Close to My Heart"), and for that honor, Angie, I will be forever grateful!!

As an author, one constant in my life among all these events is I'm constantly trying to find ways to market my books. As a result, I've been doing book signings at various Borders stores as well as participating in different events around the state (Fish Tales, Tugs & Sails; I Am Festival; Celts & Currachs to name a few). My life is very full and I feel like I'm always on the go, but I wouldn't change a thing ... well, maybe I would take more vacations where I would guiltlessly enjoy some much-needed down time, but I'm a working single mother and my kids are healthy... we have a roof over our heads and food in the house, so I won't push it...

When I start writing book four I'll update you again on how things are going... I'm sure I will start working on it in the next few months. I'm getting that writing itch!!

Household chores await me, so I'm gonna get moving. If you're anywhere near the Big E this weekend, please stop by the CAPA Bookstore and say hi! Hope to see you all there and as always,

HAPPY READING!!!

Hugs, MJ

Discounted Price on YA Fantasy Books!

I'm a YA fantasy author and am currently in the middle of writing a series of books for young adults. My target audience is 8-15 year olds, but I've also had adults (anyone with an imagination, really) read and enjoy the books as well. If you'd like to see more info about me or my books, google MJ Allaire or visit the following websites, http://www.mjallaire.com/ or www.myspace.com/mjallaire.

Do you have any teen readers in your household? Do they devour books almost as fast as you can buy them? Well, even though it's the middle of July, it won't be long before the holidays are here, and this year more than ever, the economy will force many of us to count pennies more than we ever have before. Doesn't it make sense to start thinking about that holiday shopping for those young readers as early as you can? Maybe by starting earlier, it won't be quite so painful when those pennies are stretched!

As a single mother of three, I'm already thinking about my holiday shopping. Because of this, and because I'm striving to make a difference to the young readers in the world, I've decided to offer my books at a discounted rate for a limited time!!

In celebration of the recent release of my latest book, "Dragon's Tear: Denicalis Dragon Chronicles - Book Three", I'm now offering all three books at a price that is SLASHED from retail price! The books currently retail as follows:

Dragon's Blood: Denicalis Dragon Chronicles - Book One ... $15.99
The Prisoner: Denicalis Dragon Chronicles - Book Two ......... $16.59
Dragon's Tear: Denicalis Dragon Chronicles - Book Three .... $16.99

That's a total of $49.57, not including shipping!

For the rest of July, you can get your very own set of the first three books in my YA fantasy series for the low, affordable price of $35.00 (plus shipping)!!

That's NEARLY $15 OFF the retail price!! That's almost like buying two books at retail price and getting the third one free!

Shipping will be an additional $5.00, media mail. I will accept paypal (my paypal id is grizlegirl@sbcglobal.net) or a check, but your check must clear before I'll ship the books. I'll be happy to sign the books for you if you let me know who to sign them for.

If you'd like to see some of the comments left by readers, visit the books on Amazon and read for yourself! The Denicalis Dragon Chronicles will take you into an adventure filled with magic, dragons, and a quest to save an unfamiliar world from an evil sorcerer!

If you'd like to take advantage of this special offer, please contact me at grizlegirl@sbcglobal.net! This special is only good for the month of July, so don't hesitate to contact me!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy reading and happy summer!

MJ Allaire

First Sale of Dragon's Tear!!!

Hi all,

Well, 4 days after "Dragon's Tear: Denicalis Dragon Chronicles - Book Three" went live on amazon, I had my first sale!

http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Tear-Denicalis-Dragon-Chronicles/dp/1434364313/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209427922&sr=8-4

I'm so thrilled it was purchased so fast .. I really think this book is going to be a great seller!!!
Woooooooooohoooooooooooo!!!!! Two copies of "Dragon's Blood: Denicalis Dragon Chronicles - Book One" also sold over the weekend on Amazon, but it just wasn't as exciting as THE FIRST SALE of a newly released book!!

I'll keep you posted on things, just wanted to share!!

Hugs and happy reading!!!
MJ Allaire, YA Fantasy Author