{COVER REVEAL}: Eternal Choice: The Cursed Series, Book 2

 Who's ready to see the cover and blurb for book 2??? Eeks. I'm so excited....

Cover art courtesy of 
Laura Heritage of P.S. Cover Design & Author Services

Forced to move to California with her father, the same man who abandoned her ten years ago, Chloe is once again starting over. Only this time, she has a perky new stepmom and an annoying baby brother. To make matters worse, the sea of snobby rich kids at her new prep school pretend she's invisible. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, she has this gnawing sensation that she’s forgetting something important.

And then Trent Halstead crashes back into her life, bringing with him everything she's forgotten and the devastating news that there’s a coven of witches after her, and no one knows why—until Chloe discovers the answer in a box of old family photos. Now, she's keeping a secret that could save Trent's life. There’s just one problem: his salvation will come at a cost. Her destruction. And that’s a price she’s not sure she’s willing to pay.

Eternal Choice will be released on October 20, 2020.

It's the second book in a six-book series. 

Want a sneak peek at Chapter One?? 

You can read it HERE! 

Don't forget to add Eternal Choice to your Goodreads shelf.

To get exclusive sneak peeks, giveaways, and the most up-to-date information, sign up for Kara's Newsletter!

{TEASER TUESDAY}: Eternal Curse -- 6 weeks until release!

Only 6 weeks to go before ETERNAL CURSE is out in the world! Know what that means? 

It's time for another #TeaserTuesday! 

Today, I'm going to share some of the music that inspired not just Eternal Curse, but the entire series. 

I usually don't make playlists for books I'm writing as I tend to prefer quiet, but I've found with this series, I have a hard time writing without music. It's much easier to turn on my playlist, put in earbuds and ignore the world around me, especially lately with the quarantine and everyone being home all the time. 

Originally, this playlist was exactly one hour long, which made it great for a single writing session, but as the series progressed, I added more songs to it, and now it's 1 hour and 45 minutes long. You can listen to the entire playlist HERE!

For those that don't want to listen, here's a complete list of songs and artists:

• Ask Me How I Know by Garth Brooks
• Craving You by Thomas Rhett, featuring Maren Morris
• Truce by Twenty One Pilots
• Believer by Imagine Dragons
• Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
• Screen by Twenty One Pilots
• When They Call My Name by Black Veil Brides
• In The End by Black Veil Brides
• Wake Up by Black Veil Brides
• Vultures by Asking Alexandria
• Faithless by Black Veil Brides
• We Don't Have to Dance by Andy Black
• Paint It Black by Andy Black
• Ribcage by Andy Black
• Stay Alive by Andy Black featuring Matt Skiba
• Love Was Made to Break by Andy Black
• Girl Like You by Jason Aldean
• Lose My Mind by Brett Eldredge 
• Seein' Red by Dustin Lynch
• Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield
• Level of Concern by Twenty One Pilots
• Don't Let Me Go by Raign
• My Blood by Twenty One Pilots
• Natural by Imagine Dragons
• When It's All Over by Raign
• I Hope by Gabby Barrett
• The Other Side by Ruelle
• Monsters by Ruelle
• Fire Breather by Laurel
• Style by Taylor Swift

As you can see, I have a lot of Twenty One Pilots and Black Veil Brides on here, but overall, it's a tad eclectic. This playlist sets the tone for the series, but there's one song in particular that has a lot of meaning in Eternal Curse.

Craving You by Thomas Rhett, featuring Maren Morris

This song essentially sums up Trent's feelings toward Chloe, and it fits so well with something he says to her...

“What about your heightened senses? Does that ever make it hard to… kiss me?” My face flushed, and I kept my head even with his chest, refusing to look at him.

“Hard? Yes, but not in the way you think.” He put his finger under my chin and tilted my head, his gaze piercing. “Every time I touch you or kiss you, it’s like every nerve in my body is electrified, every feeling magnified. It’s like my very skin is alive with energy.” He smiled faintly. “I crave you, Chloe, and that’s the best feeling in the world.”

You can now Pre-Order ETERNAL CURSE!

Don't forget to add it to Goodreads, too! 

{TEASER TUESDAY}: Eternal Curse--8 weeks until release!

Only 8 weeks to go before ETERNAL CURSE is out in the world! Know what that means? 

It's time for another #TeaserTuesday! 

Today, I'm going to introduce you to the heroine, Chloe Madison...

Five Fun Facts About Chloe:

1. When Chloe is sad or overwhelmed, she'll hold her mother's urn and talk to her.
2. Chloe's favorite food is pizza with lots of cheese. Every Wednesday, she and her mom would eat pizza and watch scary movies.
3. Chloe and her mom would go to the beach and just lay in the sand, staring up at the clouds. It helps Chloe clear her mind and think. 
4. Chloe used to be on the swim team.
5. She loves animals, but she's never owned one. She and her mom would volunteer one day a week at the local animal shelter. 

You can now Pre-Order ETERNAL CURSE!

Don't forget to add it to Goodreads, too! 

 

{TEASER TUESDAY}: Eternal Curse--9 weeks until release day!

That's right! ETERNAL CURSE releases in 9 weeks, and I am so excited  😊

To celebrate, every Tuesday from now until release day, I'll be sharing a "Teaser Tuesday" from the book--it could be anything from an excerpt to a fun fact to the music that inspired all six books. 

Today, I'm giving you a peek at the interior formatting for the paperback because I think it's just so gorgeous! Major shout-out to Laura Heritage of P.S. Cover Design and Author Services for all of her work on this book. She's brought my vision to life better than I ever imagined. 

Okay, ready....

Notice the subheading on chapter one? March 2017? Here's a fun fact:

I originally started writing this book back in 2014. It started out as a "me" project, something fun that I could write when I was blocked on other things or when I needed a fun escape. Then, as it does, life got in the way, and I was focusing on other writing projects, so this book got shelved for a few years. Finally, in 2017, I dug this book out of my files and dove back into it. 

As the series progresses, there are a lot of important dates and events, and when I'd worked all those out, it was back in 2017. Even though it's now 2020, I'd already had all my dates figured out, and I wasn't willing to rework them (because, well, math is hard, and it took me way longer than it probably should have to get everything lined up). So, the book is set in 2017 and moves forward from there. 

Don't forget to sign up for the book blitz, hosted by the lovely people over at Xpresso Book Tours: http://xpressobooktours.com/2020/07/07/blitz-sign-up-eternal-curse-by-kara-leigh-miller/ 

Add Eternal Curse to your Goodreads Shelf

Looking back on 2017...

It's been a real "Hold my beer and watch this" kind of year, hasn't it? Between politics and publishing, I'm exhausted! And quite honestly, I'm glad to see 2017 go. But, before it does, it's once again time to look back on the year and see what I accomplished, what I didn't, and what big changes I faced in 2017.

via GIPHY

My 2017 Goals Included:

1. Propose and potentially write a fourth book for a contracted series. 

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I wrote a proposal, and it was rejected. My editor felt it was too dark in comparison to the rest of the series. In hindsight, she's right. (She always seems to be right. LOL.) Also, for various reasons, the third book will not be published, so it seems silly to write a spin-off. 

2. Finish Savage Passion (Midnight Rebels, Book 1) and allow my agent to start sending it out on submission. Also, outline the entire Midnight Rebels Series--which, right now, is looking like it could be 7 or 8 books total.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: Because I am no longer writing adult secular romance, and because I've parted with my agent, this project has been officially shelved. Maybe I'll revisit it in the future. 

3. Complete the R&R for The Georgia Corbins.

Status: GOAL NOT MET

My Thoughts: I had very good intentions with this one. I love this story so much, and I want it back out in the world. And I am not giving up on this series. But, for the time being, it's not at the top of my priority list, mostly because I don't know what to do with it. Rewrite and resubmit? Self-publish? Query it again? I'm not sure yet. 

4. Finish Hallowed Ground (Graves Barren, Book 1), my YA Gothic romance, and send to agents.

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I have been working on this book a lot lately. It has undergone a title and genre change. It's now called Eternally Cursed (working title) and it's a YA paranormal romance. I'm 15k away from it being finished and ready for beta readers. I am so in love with this book and these characters! 

5. Blog

Status: GOAL KINDA MET

My Thoughts: I've been doing more blogging over on the Anaiah Press Blog, but this blog has been all but ignored. 

6. Read more books for pleasure.

Status: GOAL MET!

My Thoughts: While I didn't read as much as I wanted to, I read a lot more books this year than I did the past couple of years. Here's what I read:

Under Rose Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
Running Home by Katie O'Connor
Engaged in Death by Stephanie Blackmore
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer 
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Fire in You by J. Lynn
Fall With Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Forever With You by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Frigid by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Scorched by Jennifer L. Armentrout
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
We Can Be Mended by Veronica Roth
The Vampire Diaries (The Awakening) by LJ Smith
The Vampire Diaries (The Struggle) by LJ Smith
The Vampire Diaries (The Fury) by LJ Smith
The Vampire Diaries (Dark Reunion) by LJ Smith


Out of 6 goals, I fully achieved one and kinda achieved two. Those aren't very good numbers, huh? So, at this point, you're probably wondering: What the heck did you do all year, Kara? I'm glad you asked. I did a LOT! Honestly! Take a look...

Professionally:

• I've written a total of 313,522 words on various personal projects this past year. 
• I edited 2 fantastic manuscript for freelance clients; one of whom went on to sign with her dream agent.
• I've edited a total of 7 manuscripts for Anaiah Press, and acquired a whole heck of a lot more.
• My alter-ego edited, released, and promoted two books. 
• I GOT MY FIRST FAN MAIL LETTER!!!!
• I co-wrote and queried a contemporary YA that deals with mental health and suicide.
• I started a new Christian romantic suspense series. The first book is titled Deception, and it deals with a cult. 
• I participated in a couple Twitter pitch events for some co-authored YA books, and even got a few requests!
• I learned how to use Canva to make book teasers.
• I made some big decisions about my writing career. 
• I learned a lot about myself as a writer and editor--what I can and want to do, what my limits are, and most importantly, that the world isn't going to stop spinning if I don't do all the things all the time. 

Personally: 

• I went to NY to visit my parents and my daughter.
• I went to Moline, IL to see Twenty One Pilots in concert for my daughter's 13th birthday. It was her first concert and was such a wonderful experience!
• My eldest daughter moved back in with me after having lived with her father for the past few years.
• My eldest daughter graduated from high school!
• My son graduated from 8th grade and started high school. 
• My daughter skipped 7th grade and went into 8th--She's doing wonderful, too! 
• I saw a live Burlesque show!
• I have finally learned the importance of self-care. 

Even though I didn't meet many of my original goals, I still accomplished a lot. I'll consider it a mildly good year, all things considered.

What did you get done this past year? 

Share your success in the comments!