Highland Legends News ~ Save the Dates!

Hello, my friends!

It is an exciting week at the Kat Bastion Writing Desk…

Highland Legends Series News

I finished the first edits of the draft for Bound by Wish and Mistletoe, the Highland Legends holiday novella. The story came together very nicely at 40,000 words. A few weeks of thought percolating and polishing magic, and it’s off to my fabulous beta readers.

Also, I’ve received news from my editor that I’ll be receiving the edits on Forged in Dreams and Magick this week. She messaged saying she thinks I’ll be very pleased with the edits. Just… {vibrates}

Did I mention that we have the book covers finalized for both books? They’re gorgeous. {vibrates sommore}

Right. So, I’m vibrating in excitement…and you’re probably wondering when I’m going to share some things with you.

Well…

Save the Dates

Charity Event

June 1 through June 15th – Toss the Bouquet Charity Event & Giveaway

Forged in Dreams and Magick (FIDAM) Dates:

June 24th - FIDAM Book Description Reveal on Bookish Temptations
July 9th - FIDAM Cover Reveal (AToMR Tours*)
July 22nd – FIDAM Teaser on Bookish Temptations
Sept 23rd – Forged in Dreams and Magick Release Date
Sept 23-28th – Forged in Dreams and Magick ARC Tour (AToMR Tours**)

  * Sign-ups for the FIDAM Cover Reveal will be mid-Junish
** Sign-ups for the FIDAM ARC Tour will be mid-Julyish

More dates and events, including for Bound by Wish and Mistletoe, will be announced as they materialize in ink.

Be sure to also follow/like/friend me on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads so you don’t miss a thing!

Until next time…

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

ARC Tour: Forged in Dreams and Magick

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend, everyone!

I’m thrilled to share some news: I’m working with AToMR Tours for the ARC Tour of Forged in Dreams and Magick, the first novel in the Highland Legends series.

The tour is scheduled for release week, September 23-28th, 2013.  Tour sign-ups will be in July, and I’ll keep you posted and share links for the sign-up once available.

Are you excited?  I am!  {vibrates}

{whispers} Get ready for the Highlanders… {disappears into the mist}

Your humble but clearly jazzed shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

Highland Legends Series: Book Titles Reveal

If you prefer a bit of historical in your romance, love to fall in love with medieval Highlanders, or wonder about those enigmatic Highland Picts, then you will find everything you’re looking for and more with my Highland Legends series.

My debut novel, and the first book in the series, is set to release this fall with the holiday novella releasing just before Thanksgiving.

Without further ado, below is the unveiling of all four titles in the series:

Highland Legends Series

Forged in Dreams and Magick
Bound by Wish and Mistletoe ~ a holiday novella
Born of Mist and Legend
Found in Flame and Moonlight

Be sure to follow me and friend me in all my usual hangouts for updates as the weeks progress!

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Official Website

Meanwhile, I shall be working with an editor and cover designer…writing and tour planning! 

Lots of surprises are being planned for the next six months, including an excerpt, outtakes, and some very special interviews you won’t want to miss!

Until then…

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

Highland Legends Series ~ Upcoming Book Titles Reveal

One week, my friends…

The Highland Legends series is coming…

On Monday, April 1st, 2013, all four titles of the Highland Legends series will be revealed.

I’m thrilled to have some of my favorite bloggers help participate in the reveal next week.  A big thank you in advance to all of them:

Bookish Temptations
Under The Covers Book Blog
That’s What I’m Talking About
Scandalicious Book Reviews
Literati Literature Lovers
The Book Queen’s Book Palace

Do you follow their blogs?  You should.  Fabulous book reviews, author interviews and chats, giveaways and much more await you from romance readers just like you and me.

Until the release of the foursome {smirks} a week from today…

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

Series Name and Upcoming Title Reveal

Hello, my friends.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be ripped from your modern-day world and thrown into the past without warning or permission?

I have.

I’m lost in a world where… 

The heroes are Highlanders… great alpha males to the core.
The heroines are feisty, refusing to bow down to circumstance.

{smiles}  Won’t you join me?

The name of the series encompassing the four stories…

     Highland Legends

Stay tuned for the reveal of the titles for all four books in the series…

For further updates:  follow me on Twitter, “like” me on Facebook; and “friend” me on Goodreads.

Until the title reveals…
{disappears into the Highland mist, notepad and pen at the ready}

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

On the Road to Published…

Hello, everyone!

In recent weeks I’ve been posting weather reports on Twitter from the Highlands.  Every morning before dawn, I race into the woods after my favorite alpha male characters and their feisty heroines, inking their adventures into stories to share with all of you.

If you hadn’t already noticed on either my website or my spirited Twitter posts, I write time-travel paranormal romances set mostly in the medieval Highlands of Scotland.

This fall, I’ll be bringing you the first story in the series.
{vibrates excitedly}

The 2013 Calendar

First Manuscript

The first award-winning manuscript in the series is nearly ready to publish.  Starting next week, I’ll be glued to my keyboard as I incorporate the insightful suggestions made by my beta readers.

In mid-April, the manuscript is going to a wonderful freelance editor.
{cringes, imagining a chainsaw ripping into my work of art} 

A creative summer will be filled with final edits, final proofing, cover art, and arranging a promotional tour.  

The first book is tentatively set for a September 2013 release date.

Holiday Novella

My early morning Twitter weather reports from Inverness, Scotland?

They’ve prepared me for the daily plunge into the snowy forests of the Highlands in a holiday novella I’m also penning for the series. 

Incorporating characters from all three of the longer novels, the novella will release in November of 2013.

Second Manuscript

Furious drafting of the second manuscript has begun.  While chasing after my characters to document their wild adventures, I’ve been typing two to three thousand words a day.

I anticipate an early 2014 release for the second book.

About the Stories

I’ve had such a blast combining my favorite genres–paranormal, romance, and the medieval Highlands–into my writing.  All the stories feature strong characters who go on a journey of self-discovery, finding unexpected love amid their turbulent adventures.

Many themes center on the difficulties in overcoming issues of trust and the rewards of learning acceptance.  Redemption will play a large role in the second and third novels of the series. 

Some of the stories will also highlight the great tragedy of human trafficking set within the timeframe of the stories.  The characters struggle with the grave injustice brought into their lives and learn to survive and thrive in spite of the darkness of their world.

The completed series will tell the stories of three siblings whose lives and clan are affected by a very unique kind of magick.
{refuses to give away spoilers} ;)

ARC Reviews and Blog Tours

Are you a book reviewer? 
Do you love paranormal romance, time-travel, or Highlander romances?

I’ve begun a list for ARC copies.  If you’re a book reviewer interested in reviewing the book for its release, and we’ve not yet spoken, please contact me via Twitter or by email.  I’d love to add you to the list.

If you participate on a blog or with a magazine and wish to be a part of any of the promotional tours, please email me your information and ideas.  I’d love to start building that list and calendar as well.

As I mentioned, I’m anticipating a release of the first book sometime in September 2013 and the novella sometime in November 2013, but will know firmer dates as the months progress.

Donations to Charities

In recent months, traveling along my own road of self-discovery, I’ve become a more selfless creature and strive to continue toward that end every day.

Both World Vision and Covenant House support efforts to fight human trafficking.  In November of 2012, the romantic poetry collection of Utterly Loved, with inspiring foreword by the incredible author and humanitarian Sylvain Reynard, was published to support those worthy charities.

With every other book I publish, a portion of the proceeds will go to an ever-growing list of charities in the hopes of raising awareness and increasing support for those that are lost in this world and in need of our love.

Final Thoughts

Now that I’m chronicling a rowdy clan of Highlanders, my weekly blog posts will transform into spontaneous musings.  I’ll occasionally wander out of the forest for a signal on my electronic devices.

My goals for the year are to get that first book into your hands by early fall and release that novella by the holidays.

Meanwhile, be sure to follow me on Twitter, where I try to say hello at least once or twice daily; “like” me on Facebook; and “friend” me on Goodreads.

Thank you for every bit of enthusiasm and support that you’ve given for my writing and for the charities I support.

Until the next blog post…
{disappears into the Highland mist, notepad and pen at the ready}

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

© 2013 by Kat Bastion

12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway

Hello, everyone.

Thank you for helping make the Release Week of Utterly Loved with Foreword by Sylvain Reynard a success.  Due to your purchases for yourself and gifts for others, Utterly Loved remained a #1 Amazon Best Seller in New Releases Love Poems almost the entire week.

We have only just begun, my friends.

The mission of Utterly Loved is…

To share love with those who read it…
To inspire those to feel it…
To help those who desperately need it.

Join me in igniting a wildfire of purchases for Utterly Loved and donations for the charities Utterly Loved supports, World Vision and Covenant House.

The 12 Days of Utterly Loved in Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway

The 12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Delivery Event & Giveaway begins at 12:01am EST Saturday, December 8th and runs for 12 consecutive days.  Each day, a winner will be selected from the eligible entries by Random.org.

The Prizes…

Each day one lucky winner will receive two items:
~ A signed copy of Utterly Loved for which Sylvain Reynard has also offered to send signed bookplates.
~ A $25 Amazon Gift Card, large enough to buy copies of both Gabriel’s Inferno & Gabriel’s Rapture, for instance. ;)

Grand Prize Drawing (one winner from the 12 winners):
One very lucky winner will receive the Grand Prize ~ A Kindle Fire

11 Daily Ways To Enter, Rules & Requirements…

Each day is a separate contest and there are several ways to enter:
~ Buying a copy of Utterly Loved that day earns an entry
~ Donating to World Vision or Covenant House that day earns an entry (Donate to both that day? You get two entries.)
~ Tweet that day asking followers to buy Utterly Loved earns an entry (Tweet again every four hours for separate entries-6 total)
~ Facebook post asking friends to buy Utterly Loved earns an entry
~ Blog post asking others to purchase Utterly Loved earns an entry

11 possible entries each day. Please purchase and donate responsibly:  Give only what you can and share news of Utterly Loved to inspire others to do the same.  Together we will help those in need.

Help me count your entry. @ me on Twitter or comment below with:
~ A photo of that day’s purchase receipt of Utterly Loved
~ A photo of that day’s donation receipt to either charity
~ Tweet your promotion to buy Utterly Loved with my @ AND Amazon’s Utterly Loved Page
~ If your FB posts go to your Twitter timeline, @ me so I can see it.  If not, get creative…like screen shot and send me the pic… ;)
~ If you blog about Utterly Loved,  link this page and comment below so I know about it.

The requirements:
~ You must provide evidence of purchase, donation, Tweeting or FB posting to be eligible for that entry (see above.)
~ When you Tweet, FB or blog post, you must ask others to buy Utterly Loved and provide a link to the Amazon Purchase Page of Utterly Loved << (like this one)

Disclaimers:  Each daily giveaway runs for 24 hours beginning at 12:01am EST until midnight EST that day. The first day of the giveaway is Saturday, December 8, 2012 and the last day is December 19th, 2012.  Giveaway is international where allowed.  Winners of the 12 daily giveaways and the Grand Prize drawing will be chosen by Random.org. (All giveaway prizes, for this giveaway, and all the Release Week giveaways, are being donated by myself and Mr. Bastion.)

The bottom line? 

You help with every purchase.  You help by spreading the news of Utterly Loved so others purchase.   You help by donating to World Vision and Covenant House.  Your small acts of kindness make a world of difference.  Thank you for being a part of the difference.

Thank you for helping make the lost in this world feel… Utterly Loved.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat

Buy Utterly Loved on Amazon

© 2012 by Kat Bastion

Review: Kat Bastion's Utterly Loved

Reblogged from Home:

Click to visit the original post

Title: Utterly Loved
Author: Kat Bastion
Genre: Poetry
Grade/Rating: 5 out of 5

In an exclusive interview, Kat Bastion revealed to us what inspired her to write poetry. New York Times Bestselling author Sylvain Reynard wrote a guest post for us, here on the Literati Literatures Lovers blog, titled: The Art and Poetry of Desire and it was that entry that inspired Bastion to write.

Read more… 491 more words

What an amazing review. I'm thrilled my emotions in writing the poetry flow into the hearts of those reading Utterly Loved. Thank you so much, LLL, I am deeply humbled. ~ Kat

Elena and Tamie review: Utterly Loved by Kat Bastion

Reblogged from Bookish Temptations:

Click to visit the original post

Foreword by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard. In Utterly Loved, award-winning paranormal romance writer Kat Bastion shares her poetry with the world for charity. Heartfelt poems, rich in passion and rooted in nature, transport us to misty forests and sandy beaches. What began as a private collection of poetic love letters to her husband for their twentieth anniversary, evolved into a book of poems and quotes they decided to share.

Read more… 628 more words

Wow. Please read a beautiful review of Utterly Loved that brought tears to my eyes. I'm humbly thrilled the poetry evokes as much feeling in others as it did for me. Thank you, Tamie and Elena. ~ Kat

Utterly Loved Release Week Giveaways & Schedule

Hello, my friends.

On the heels of an unexpected early release for Utterly Loved with Foreword by Sylvain Reynard, and the book still rocketing to #1 on Amazon New Releases Best Sellers Love Poems, #1 on Amazon Best Sellers Love Poems, and #4 on Amazon Best New Releases Poetry, a very exciting Release Week is lined up with Utterly Loved signed copy giveaways.  A schedule of upcoming events that will be updated with links as they post, links to blogs who have already posted stories about Utterly Loved, and links to purchase Utterly Loved all appear below.

Utterly Loved Release Week Schedule with a signed copy giveaway of Utterly Loved on each blog:

12/01/12 ~ Destiny or Free Will on That’s What I’m Talking About
12/01/12 ~ Undone a poem from Utterly Loved on THESUBCLUBbooks
12/03/12 ~ Twelve Reasons to Buy Utterly Loved on Talk To The Shoe
12/04/12 ~ Utterly Loved 5 Star Review on Bookish Temptations
12/05/12 ~ Utterly Loved Feature on Girl Who Reads
12/05/12 ~ Utterly Loved Feature on Fiction Vixen
12/06/12 ~ Utterly Loved 5 Star Review on Literati Literature Lovers
12/07/12 ~ Everyone Deserves Happily Ever After on Kindles & Wine

12/08/12 ~ 12 Days of Utterly Loved In Time For Christmas Event
Signed copies, Amazon gift cards, and a grand giveaway Kindle Fire? Oh. My.

Please read the wonderful posts already shared about Utterly Loved:

11/20/12 ~ The Story of Utterly Loved on Under The Covers Book Blog
11/21/12 ~ Interview on Literati Literature Lovers
11/28/12 ~ Foreword Author Reveal on Bookish Temptations ~
  The story behind Sylvain Reynard and Utterly Loved.

For more information on Utterly Loved and the charities it benefits, visit the Utterly Loved ~ Foreword by Sylvain Reynard page.

Please buy your copy of Utterly Loved today.  Buy twenty.  They make great holiday gifts and stocking stuffers.

Standing together around the world, we each can do a small part to have a big impact.  United, we can help those who desperately need it to feel… Utterly Loved.

Thank you for all your support of Utterly Loved and wanting to help change our world.

Your humble shoe,

~ Kat Bastion

Buy Utterly Loved at Amazon
Internationally buy Utterly Loved at CreateSpace

© 2012 by Kat Bastion