A Valentine's Day Love Letter from Emily White

A Love Letter from Emily White to her Readers:

It's a month for love and there's nothing I love more about the publishing life than meeting new readers. That's why, a few months ago, I made a pretty huge announcement. I doubt it had any far-reaching effects. And I seriously doubt many people even heard about it. But I want everyone to know:

After doing ALL the things and checking off ALL the lists, I never really felt like I'd accomplished anything in my career. I'd grown up dreaming about signing a contract with a publishing company, and I did that. But after that was done, I dreamt about the next contract, and having my books read around the world, and maybe hitting a bestseller list. And I did all that. But still not so much happiness. I had moments of happiness. Of absolute joy, even. And it hit me last November that those moments came when I was meeting new readers or getting emails from them. They came in certain minutes of the day when a reader tweeted me or sent me a private message on facebook. 

I realized that I just loved...you. Not hitting milestones. Just you. 

And I want more of you. More awesome moments on twitter or facebook! More readers who become friends! More! More! More!

And I also want to make you happy. Because you're awesome, and you deserve it.

So I made the announcement that my books would be free. All of them, for all time. Old ones and new.

I know a lot of people might think I'm crazy. A lot of people who think I should get paid for my hard work. But that's the thing. To ME, readers are the payment. Especially readers I get socialize with. 

Now, since November, a hard reality hit me. Amazon doesn't allow free so much anymore, and I am by no means skilled at the computer. And since my decision to give my work away for free doesn't necessarily mean I want to force an inferior product on you, I've had to hire an interior designer to do all the formatting and make everything pretty and easy to read. She's doing an AMAZING job on FAE right now, and as soon as she's done with it I'll be sending Elemental to her.

So with that in mind, I've had to get my thinking cap on, and here's what I've come up with:

My books will ALWAYS be free on wattpad and smash words, and you may find the links below. 

Unfortunately, the free version on smashwords will be formatted by me and contain some errors in that regard. I might get better at this over the years. I'm really hoping I do so that quality AND free can go hand-in-hand. I will also upload all my books on wattpad chapter by chapter, which doesn't have any formatting problems since it's a simple copy/paste.

Amazon and Kobo will have the beautifully formatted and designed interior version for $.99. There will also be a paperback version on amazon that will be the very lowest createspace will allow me to price it.

I hope all of you enjoy my books, and I hope you realize just how much I appreciate each and every one of you. Without you guys I'm just a crazy loon with voices in my head. :)

Author Bio:

Emily White is a nerd. 

She prefers her men fully clothed and donning bowties, her commas British, her books cheesy with big, overly-dramatic explosions, her characters awkward and endearingly real, and watching her movies in authentic turn-of-the-century theaters. When not exposing her nerdy self to the world, she's creating her own friends and putting them in horrible, yet sometimes humorous situations.

Reviews for Elemental:

"I'm calling it right now. Elemental is the beginning of the next big YA series. And here's why:

Does Elemental have a strong female voice that young women can admire?

Check.

Romance?

Check. 

Is it nauseating and cringe-worthy romance?

Heck no. I can safely say that I could give a copy of Elemental to my guy friends without fear of getting punched in the nose.

Thorough world-building?

Double Triple Quadruple Check.

A kick-ass plot?

Check POW!

Seriously, this book is great and you should most definitely CHECK it out." --Dan Cohen, author of Masters of the Veil

"Blending aspects of science fiction, fantasy, and romance, debut author Emily White’s Elemental is an incredibly intriguing...start to a series." --Foreword Reviews

"Here is another one of those stories that really had me from the first page. There was a constant unraveling of the story as the world became more and more magical and dangerous. The need to turn the pages to figure out how dangerous Ella really was. It all really builds in anticipation each chapter and even a bit of romance thrown in. I would recommend this first to science fiction lovers and secondly to fantasy readers... I didn't just like this story, I loved it." --Krista (CubicleBlindnessReviews), Goodreads

"The ending is amazing! Yes, a lot of questions do get answered, but we're left with a few and with a small cliffhanger too! Which is amazing and was so perfectly well written! I can honestly say that this is one of those rare books were you are satisfied just enough to be able to wait a bit for that next book to be released!" --The Bumble Girl {Margie}, Goodreads

"Let me tell you that I loved the worlds Emily created in this book... I felt like I was there--aboard ships, on other planets. This is one of those stories where the setting is a character in itself. It added to the conflict and hiked up the tension." --Kelly Hashway, Author of Touched by Death

"Elemental is a pounding, relentless story of a young girl facing trouble and terror from all sides. Sure, Ella has been imprisoned for most of her young life, and sure, she’s got people trying to actively kill her- and a god searching for her so he can destroy her- but she’s also fighting a power within herself that is even more frightening than anything her enemies can throw at her... The atmosphere is disturbing and the danger is ever present. Altogether, this is an exciting science fiction fairy tale for girls and boys alike, with touches of romance and lots and LOTS of action." --Kendra Saunders, author of Death and Mr. Right and Inanimate Objects.

"I mean, who thinks of combining dystopia with faeries? It’s ingenious! And the story line and writing just completed the whole thing, with great staging. All the events flowed together perfectly, leading up to an amazing climax. Perfect work, Emily White." --Emily @ Emily's Crammed Bookshelf, Goodreads review

Review for To Love or Die in a Steamy-Reamy World:

"To Love or Die in a Steamy-Reamy World is a delightful anthology of short stories that all take place in Steamville. This steampunk themed book is filled with colorful characters who find themselves in fairly normal situations, which makes their tales relatable as well as entertaining. I loved that author Emily White tied each of the individual stories together not just with the location, but through the everyday interactions that people have when living in a small town." --Compulsion Reads

Emily White on Goodreads 

Elemental on Goodreads 

Fae on Goodreads

To Love or Die in a Steamy-Reamy World on Goodreads

Almost Night on Goodreads 

Indiestructible on Goodreads 

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Smashwords

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Publisher: Firebird, February 8^th, 2011

Pages: 464

My rating: 5 stars

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells and corridors, but metal forests, dilapidated cities, and wilderness. It has been sealed for centuries, and only one man has ever escaped. Finn has always been a prisoner here. Although he has no memory of his childhood, he is sure he came from Outside. His link to the Outside, his chance to break free, is Claudia, the warden's daughter, herself determined to escape an arranged marriage. They are up against impossible odds, but one thing looms above all: Incarceron itself is alive… [book description from Amazon]

             First off, there are two things you must know about me:

1) I try not one to judge a book by its cover…it’s a tough thing to conquer, and one must have the utmost self-control when in places like Barnes and Nobles or the library. I’m a work in progress. J

2) I’m not one to start out a review talking about the cover of a book. But this review is going to be an exception to that rule.

I believe that the cover of Incarceron couldn’t be more perfect for the book. It depicts the key, which is the central symbol of the novel. The background, which is an assortment of clogs and other clock-y stuff as well as some dead leaves, represents the mechanical-ness of the Prison, and the dead leaves denote the hopelessness of escape and death that emanates with life in the Prison.  It’s not a pretty cover, but it’s a fascinating and thought-provoking one, and one of the best I’ve seen in a while.

Ok. Enough about the outside- now let’s delve into the inside (“delve” is my new favorite word, by the way, so beware- I might use it excessively in this review. Forgive me in advance).

Incarceron is a dark story, indeed. When I first started it, it seemed almost like a steam-punk novel. I didn’t think it quite was steam-punk, though. It had all the aspects of a steampunk aside from the use of steam. J A very essential aspect for a steampunk, indeed. But what it is is one of those books that sucks you in, and you can feel everything. I felt the heaviness, the taste of the metal in the air inside the Prison. I felt the red eyes watching me, all the time, everywhere. I could feel the darkness envelope me, literally and figuratively, as it did Finn. It’s one of the best written stories I’ve read in a long time. Ms. Fisher did a magnificent job weaving this intricate saga- that’s one of the ways that it’s mind-blowing. I can’t imagine ever dreaming up such a brilliant tale.

One thing I didn’t really like, though, was the switching back and forth from Finn’s account to Claudia’s account. I never like that kind of switching back and forth in books- it confuses me and it’s frustrating. But I understand that it was really the best way to write the book, since Claudia and Finn were in different worlds (I hope that’s not giving away anything- it’s kind of obvious from the beginning though…). Also, the book was kind of lengthy. 464 pages is a pretty long novel. It wasn’t that I got bored with it. It was just that…well, it seemed stretched out. It was beginning to get tiring. But it’s not reason enough to not read the book. I still have a high regard for Incarceron and its creator, the marvelous Catherine Fisher.  

In conclusion, Incarceron was a refresher. I haven’t read a fantasy that great in a long time (though I don’t read a whole lot of fantasy in the first place…but I digress. Again.) I hear that there’s a movie coming out in 2013, and to be honest I’m itching to see it! And me, being ignorant, didn’t know that the sequel to Incarceron, Sapphique, was already out. So now it’s on hold for me at the library, and I’m dying to find out what crazy, impossible, mind-blowing thing happens next for Finn and Claudia.

And I guess you’ll have to wait and read my next review to see if I like Sapphique. J

Quick Content Review:

Profanity: Minor- Mild (Four uses of the b-word)

Violence: Mild- Heavy (More on the mild side, but the heavy rating is just for the one scene with Jormanric (sp?) before Finn and his companions leave for their journey. It was a bit descriptive…and bit of a stomach churner. But aside from that, there were only a couple other very mild scenes…a death of a woman by falling down a ravine and someone else is stabbed. No description.)

Sexual: None- Minor (only a brief comment from Casper about him being ok with Claudia having lovers after their wedding, which is clearly something she wouldn’t do. Some people insinuate that Jared and Claudia have a sexual relationship, but that is entirely not true and the idea disgusts both of them.)