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What a rush!

Yesterday was so much fun! Things “sell” really fast when they’re free—including For Ever—and I had a great time watching the numbers go up. Around three hundred people total (across the United States, UK, Germany, France, and Spain!) downloaded the book, and I hope a lot of you enjoy it.  For Ever got another “Like,” too, so thank you to that person!

The sequel, Never, took a really dark turn yesterday, and I guess I needed some cheering up.

Now I have to go back and make some money at my real job. … Sigh. Such is life.

A question for anyone who’s out there

When you download something for free on Amazon, do you read it right away—or does it become part of a huge collection of free stuff that you’re saving for later?

For Ever hits the top 20 Children's Love & Romance Literature FREE category

Keep it going! For Ever is up to #19 in Amazon's Children's Love & Romance Literature FREE category. (That's a lot of free downloads since 10 o'clock last night!) And it's still up for free for about another nine hours or so.

I hope that everyone who has enjoyed For Ever so far tells their friends! I've got another job -- in addition to writing the sequel to For Ever -- so the more books I sell for $0.99, the more time I can devote to the sequel. ... Speaking of which, if you've finished reading For Ever, drop in and say hi in the comments, and I'll know there are some people out there ready for a taste of Never, coming Valentine's Day 2013 -- or sooner, depending on how many books I sell between now and then!

And for those of you who have posted those incredibly kind five-star comments on Amazon, you guys are the best! It's great to get some positive feedback.

Big-time indie authors and lil ol' me

By now, almost everyone has heard of Amanda Hocking and Darcie Chan, right? They are two of the most notable indie author phenoms (or she-noms?) to come out of online publishing. When I started my first writing project after a long dry spell, I had never even heard of either one -- probably because it was March of 2006.


Since that time, I have started and/or finished at least six books, only two of which I tried to send via the traditional publishing route. Meaning I looked for an agent -- twice -- and then decided I wanted to get For Ever out there. My first book -- also YA paranormal fiction, which I so loved writing for many reasons -- will probably never see the light of day. But writers like Hocking and Chan have become my heroines and gurus, and I hope The Ever Series gains its own die-hard fans in the future.

Coming soon ... I have a little teaser from the sequel to For Ever. Stay tuned.

Springtime = Chaos

When I first moved to Portland, Ore., which was during the summer several years ago, I was so relieved to find out that—NO—it does not rain all the time. Summer is perfect and pretty. Less than a year later, I found out about springtime in Portland. For me, it is the longest season of the year and also the most unpredictable. It’s sunny—but still cold—one day. Snowing—literally—the next. Portland weather in spring gives me whiplash. Honestly, I’d almost rather it just stay gray up until a blazing hot summer, which we’ve missed out on the last few years. Thank you, La-freaking-Niña.

My best writing time used to be summer. Then I started writing For Ever in the dead of winter. I guess Portland gray suits me now, but the sunny-cold-windy-cloudy-snowy-rainy of spring still makes me crazy.

What’s your best time of the year?

The end of For Ever

I'm not one of those people who starts writing something knowing exactly where it's going. When I first started For Ever, I had a basic idea of where I thought the story would end, but wow, I was so wrong. I was about three-fifths of the way done (or at least I thought I was) when the ending came to me. It was sudden, and it was unexpected, even for me. But it just fit so much of what had been going on in my head.

It was a cliffhanger, even for me, because I wasn't even sure if the story had ended ... or if it was just beginning. Then, right after I pressed "Publish" on Amazon, the first part of the sequel struck me like lightning. ...

*** Spoiler warning ***

TPR coming to Portland -- and maybe a town near you!

The Plastic Revolution, the resident band on my Web site, is coming to Portland, Oregon—soon! (theplasticrevolution.com/) Tour dates are as follows:

May 26th, 2012 - Hog Wallow Pub (Cottonwood Heights, UT)

May 25th, 2012 - Dog Pound (Salt Lake City, UT)

May 19th, 2012 - Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, TX)

May 18th, 2012 - Burt's Tiki Lounge (Albuquerque, NM)

May 16th, 2012 - Hotel Monte Vista (Flagstaff, AZ)

April 28th, 2012 - Brewhouse (Eastlake, CA)

April 21st, 2012 - UC Davis Picnic Day (Davis, CA)

April 20th, 2012 - Tiger Bar (Portland, OR)

April 18th, 2012 - High Dive (Seattle, WA)

April 16th, 2012 - Studio on 4th (Reno, NV)

April 13th, 2012 - The Stork (Oakland, CA)

April 12th, 2012 - The Doll Hut (Anaheim, CA)

Thank you, Marta N.!

I promised myself I wouldn’t read any reviews, but my husband said I should read the one from Marta N. on Amazon.


Thank you for taking the time to say something nice! It was very thoughtful, and it made my day.

Never is coming!

For Ever has been up on Amazon for nearly two months, and I am just now getting around to setting up a Blogger account (to replace the blog on my Web site www.cjvalles.com). In the meantime, I have been feverishly working on the sequel ... Never. Or trying to at least. I got about a third of the way through before major writer's block hit me. This is the way it goes for me. I hit a vein of gold and follow it as far as I can. Then life gets in the way. Sigh.

For those lovely individuals who have already read and enjoyed For Ever, I'm aiming to release Never on Valentine's Day, 2013. And if I can ever figure out how to build a decent spoiler warning, I'll tell you a little secret that shouldn't be too hard to guess. ...

Welcome to For Ever

For Ever

Some people might like being able to pick up on others’ thoughts with eye contact. Not sixteen-year-old Wren Sullivan. Wren is sick of finding out what people are really thinking about her—because it mostly sucks. Kind of like life after her parents get divorced. So, when she and her mom move a thousand miles north to Portland, Oregon, she’s hoping for a fresh start. Instead, her life really starts to get weird—fast. It starts with her ending up in the hospital for a total freak out. Then, in an eerie coincidence, a classmate she’s never even met disappears the very same day before reappearing weeks later like nothing happened. That’s when she finds out that everyone’s been right about this guy. Ever Casey is perfect—on the outside. But when Wren digs a little deeper, she finds his mind is also perfect … perfectly empty. Or is there something he doesn’t want her to see there—something evil?

Available for $0.99 on Amazon now!