For Ever is free on Amazon!

Get it here!

Happy Dance!

Ever goes live tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 20th!

For Ever is free on iBooks!

Get it here!

For Ever is free on Barnes & Noble!

Get it here!

For Ever is free on Smashwords!

You can download it here!

I can't stop watching this trailer!

I think it's the music. It just feels so epically romantic!

That is all.

I love Wattpad!

There's so much great stuff to check out. So far I've found two book series. The Ghost Files by Apryl Baker and The Medium (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium trilogy) by C. J. Archer. They were very different stories, but both paranormal in nature. I'm a sucker for that, obviously, judging by The Ever Series.

Each of the first books in those two series are available for free on Wattpad, and I immediately went out and bought the rest of the books in both series on Amazon. I got obsessed and finished both series within a couple of days, and I don't think I would have found them if it weren't for Wattpad!

Speaking of which, For Ever is still up for free on Wattpad, but it's apparently really (I mean REALLY) hard to find unless you search cjvalles. If you search For Ever, literally everything but For Ever comes up!

Ever is currently on pre-sale on Amazon, due to come out Dec. 20!!! I am so excited for that. And I've been working on another project. The characters are older (college), and I'm having fun with it, so we'll see what happens.

Has anyone else fallen in love with anything they found on Wattpad?

Read the first two chapters of Ever!!!

Click the pic of the cover (left column of the blog) to preview the first two chapters of Ever NOW!

For Ever is now available on Wattpad!

I just made For Ever, Book 1 of The Ever Series, available on Wattpad.com. Check it out here!

To purchase Never, Book 2 in The Ever Series, on Amazon, click here.

To purchase Sever, Book 3 in The Ever Series, on Amazon, click here.

To pre-order Ever, the alternate point-of-view companion to For Ever, on Amazon, click here.

Stay tuned for teasers!

Ever is available for pre-sale on Amazon!

Woo hoo! I am so, so, so excited!

Ever Casey was definitely an enigma in For Ever ... and very soon you'll get to read his every thought!

Pre-order Ever now on Amazon!

Ever should be up for pre-sale by this week!

I'll post when I know more, so keep an eye out for the link and teasers!

A little taste of Ever

With any luck, Ever will be going up for pre-sale on Amazon very soon. I'm also in the middle of a number of other projects. In the meantime, here's another little teaser.
More updates soon!

My editor is done with edits -- and I got the cover!!!

My editor finished edits on Ever over the weekend and said it's pretty clean overall. AND my designer sent over the final files for Ever's cover.

Right now, I'm working on a super-secret project that's probably going to end up under a pen name, but I promise I'm going to get to Ever's edits as soon as possible. As far as a release date for the book,  I'm thinking late December since there seem to be two main book-buying seasons -- summertime and right after the holidays. But we'll see. I may be putting it up for pre-sale before then, so keep an eye out!

And now ...

Ever

Good news ... I think

I might be getting a draft of Ever's cover tonight -- finally! Cross your fingers with me (but don't hold your breath). Apparently my designer has been having Internet connectivity issues. I can relate! So excited to share a first look at Ever. Oh, and I've just finished my review of the book, so it goes to my editor next.

Right now I'm working on another super-secret project. We'll see. I might have another story to share soon.

Stay tuned for cover updates!

Done!

Just finished my first draft of Ever! Now for the review. No cover yet. :-(

Stay tuned for more updates!

Less than two chapters left!

Just got back from Oregon's coast, and I am now continuing my love affair with Ever Casey. And with any luck, I should have a draft of his cover this weekend. Cross your fingers with me, please!

I've been thinking of doing a For Ever photo tour of Oregon for the longest time, and maybe now that I'm finishing up Ever's version of For Ever, I'll finally get around to it. In the meantime, if you ever get around to visiting Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock (featured in Chapter 13: My Friends of For Ever), I just had the most insanely incredible malted chocolate shake. Soooooo tasty -- that was my lunch!

Yummy! 

Keep an eye out for Ever-related updates, including the cover, and have a lovely weekend!

CJ

Ever is coming ...

And -- oh my god is he HOT. You read For Ever from Wren's perspective, but nothing can prepare you for seeing the story through Ever Casey's scorching green eyes ...

Teaser after the jump. Read at your own risk.

Wren's playlist of utter randomness

For those of you who have read For Ever (or all three books!), you'll know that Wren's a little off-center. Well, her playlist is equally random. She listens to stuff for the sound and feel of it. She doesn't really keep track of what's in at the moment; she's just as likely to listen to a song she heard her parents playing when she was eight.

Promise, Ben Howard*

Doll Parts, Hole

Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division

Smile Like You Mean It, The Killers

Décollage, Les Balayeurs Du Désert

Midnight City, M83

Fade Into You, Mazzy Star

Blue Monday, New Order

I've Got Dreams to Remember, Otis Redding

Young Folks, Peter Bjorn and John

Love My Way, The Psychedelic Furs

All I Need, Radiohead

Spaceboy, Smashing Pumpkins

The Diamond Sea, Sonic Youth

To Lose My Life, White Lies

Rhinocerous, Smashing Pumpkins

Elegia, New Order

* This is the song I imagined toward the end of Sever.

Who are you?

I just read a blog post on "being authentically yourself." Now, you might be saying to yourself, "What else can I be?" I've actually found it's very easy to be someone other than myself, at least part of the time. Think about what we're asked to be and do, whether it's in school or when looking for a job.

• Be an energetic go-getter who loves collaborating with people!
• Must be good at math and science!
• Must love working in groups!
• Study hard for the stuff that you're not interested in! Don't pay attention to the stuff you're interested in!
• Get your head out of that book and get an internship with a Fortune 500 company!
• Must love multitasking rather than sitting alone all day reading a book or doodling!

For years and years, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do, and I literally couldn't sit down to write for more than five minutes without feeling like a fraud. After a long time of being told what I should be doing, someone close to me told me to focus on what I enjoyed doing. The problem was: I didn't enjoy writing anymore. I was afraid of it, because I kept thinking I had to be someone I wasn't.

I am not an extrovert. I can read or write all day and feel completely fine in that very internal world.

I am not and never have been a math and science person. I'm fascinated by certain scientific facts, but my brain does not work well with equations. Likewise, I enjoy stories, not formulas.

I hate group work. Hate it.

I never liked studying. Reading a good book is always better.

In my world, multitasking is over-rated. Spending an entire day reading (or writing) a book is perfectly acceptable.

The world, in a lot of ways, is built for multitasking extroverts who excel at math and science and love group work. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. We need people who love math and science and group work and multitasking. I'm just saying it's okay to be the other way, too. I think that's a lot of what got channeled into Wren in For Ever. I think she feels a little out of place in the world, and I think for a long time I did, too.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that some of the people who connected with The Ever Series are introverts who love reading and hate group work. There are maybe even some people who love math and science and group work in there, too. :-)

Right now, I'm in Ever's world. What a ride. I can't wait to share his side of For Ever.

To those of you who have followed along on Wren's journey from the beginning, thank you.

CJ

Sever just got the sweetest review

It just made my day! Thank you to Ever's No. 1 fan.

XX

Buy Sever now on Amazon!

When Sever ends, will it be For Ever? 

I close my eyes, remembering his last words.

Wren Sullivan, I shall never forget you.

Alex saved me and cursed me. And now, even a year later, he haunts me. Maybe for the rest of my life. Feelings I’ve kept buried for the past year suddenly overwhelm me. Guilt … confusion … and the fear that I will never have control of anything—including myself—again in this lifetime.

***

When Wren Sullivan’s enemy sacrificed himself to save her, it should have been happily ever after with her true love, Ever Casey. The problem is: she can’t forget Alex Rousseau. Now, as a new enemy presents himself—and Wren begins to discover long-held secrets from a world across the dimensional divide—she must make choice after impossible choice as her mortal world is torn apart by a battle between immortal beings who have existed eons longer than she has been alive.

On top of that, her eighteenth birthday is coming up. And prom. And graduation. The question is: will she make it that far?

Buy now on Amazon.com!

Buy now on Amazon.co.uk!

So close!

So, here it is: if I can stop freaking out by tomorrow and work up the nerve to press "Publish," then Sever will most likely be available (fingers crossed) sometime on Monday (4 August)!

Right now, it's well past midnight here in Portland, Ore., and I need to remind myself to breathe deeply.

Can't wait for you guys to read Sever!

CJ

My editor just finished Sever ...

And he said:

"Very impressive. This is the best so far."

He also said the ending was a complete surprise.

I will be working on the edits this week, so ... get ready!

Additionally, I am almost exactly 50 percent of the way through Ever, so get ready for his version of For Ever.

Good news!

My editor is halfway through Sever ... and he says he has no idea how it's going to end! I see this as a great sign -- because typically he has an uncanny ability to guess the end of a book or movie before the halfway point. Seriously, it's creepy. So, with any luck, he will be finished by the end of this week. Then it's just up to me to get the finishing touches done.

Now, more good news: I may be releasing another book (or two!) shortly after Sever. Ever's version of For Ever is one of them, and the other is sort of a top-secret project I finished on a long time ago that I only recently decided to revisit. I'm still not absolutely sure I want to publish it (sort of a private favorite of mine), so I guess only time will tell.

In any case, I'll be back soon with more updates ... and teasers!

;-)
CJ

Ever!

So ... I am almost a third of the way done with my first draft of Ever! And wow. Let me just say, it's been awesome spending some time in his head. His point of view and voice are so different from Wren's! Seeing things through his eyes has added another layer to the story of For Ever that I'm really enjoying.

Now, I'm going to let you guys in on a piece the latest chapter I've been working on. Remember, this is a very rough draft, and the book as a whole is a companion to For Ever. If you haven't read the first book, it's not going to make a lot of sense -- or it may spoil things!

As for Sever, my editor promises that it will be a top priority. If he slacks off, I told him I would post his e-mail address. ;-)

And now ... a little taste of the world through Ever's eyes. Enjoy! (By the way, the Tarabocchia boy is Josh!)

A bit of humor (yes, another teaser)

In Sever, Wren gets a job ... and a co-worker Ever isn't fond of. (Read spoilers at your own risk.)

A nail-biting Sever teaser

A little of Alex now ... Plus, I may have some big announcements coming up. Stay tuned!

What I was listening to while writing the end of Sever

On repeat. The number of plays is absolutely ridiculous. I guess the sound of it just fit my mood.

And since I have no patience ... A teaser from Sever

Here you go! Read teasers at your own risk! I am not responsible for fainting, swooning, or Ever-worshipping. ;-)

This is why I had to take a break from Sever ...

While writing the end of the book, I literally couldn't stop crying big ugly tears.

And moments ago, I wrote the last line of Sever! Teasers to come soon. Keep a sharp eye ...

To all of you who have waited patiently, thank you!

PS -- I haven't been checking e-mail or Facebook frequently, but I'll have a bit more time on my hands now that Sever will be going through the editing process!

CJ

Update coming soon!

I know! I'm long overdue for a post about Sever! I promise it's coming -- the post ... and the book. Sever, I must admit, has been a long, complicated journey for me, but the good news is that I may have something to tide you over in the meantime. (No promises yet.)

Right now, cross your fingers for Ever or Alex (or whomever you're voting for) -- because Wren's on a wild ride in the third book.

CJ

Getting closer to the end

Yes, Sever is getting close to the end. I can always tell when the story is getting close to the finish line -- because I end up crying all the time! And music! You know how a song can be completely normal, and then you listen to it while you're doing something really emotional -- and then you totally lose it?

Yep. That's what I've been doing. The song that's guilty of causing my little meltdown today as I was writing one of the sadder scenes in The Ever Series? Promise by Ben Howard. It's definitely outside my usual musical tastes, but it just seemed to fit what I was writing at that very moment.

I found the song like I do every other song -- from TV or a movie. On that note, I've been addicted to Reign on The CW, and I can't help feeling a little Francis-Ever/Bash-Alex connection going on in my head. Maybe it's just me. ;-)

I need your help!!!

Okay … so Sever is chugging along, and things are getting really interesting now! ***Fanning face.*** That said, I have a long-winded question for anyone out there waiting for the third book. …

First, a little background: Up until now, I've kept The Ever Series at around a PG-13 rating. Well, Sever is quickly veering into a make-your-blood-boil R rating. (And, apologies to Ever fans out there, but Alex is still winning, by the way.) As a result, I'm contemplating two "editions" for the third book, one being a more mild edition (for a broader audience), as well as an "unabridged" edition for anyone interested in what happens after things fade to black, if you get my meaning. If I only publish one edition, it will be the PG-13 version -- and I'll keep the unabridged edition under lock and key.

My question: Is anyone interested in seeing Sever in its unabridged form?

If you are, let me know so that I can plan to publish two versions. Pretty much the only difference will be certain scenes getting (way) toned down in the PG-13 edition.

You can vote to the left! And please feel free to e-mail me at cj.valles.4ever (at) gmail (dot) com or author (at) cjvalles (dot) com. Or post a comment!

Thank you!