Jessica Bayliss Writes BLOG

Giveaways galore!

10/29/2018

Ahh! The last few months have been a whirlwind. I know they say that book launch time is like that, but I totally underestimated how it would impact my day-to-day. I've had so much fun at signings and panels (and there are a couple more to come). I've connected with people online across social media who have read TEN AFTER CLOSING, and it's been so exciting.

But, amid all this, I've been very derelict in keeping my subscribers up-to-date on giveaways. So, I will rectify that right now.

And have I got giveaways for you! That's right. Giveaways. Plural.

If you've been following along, you know that I've been participating in the #TrillsAndChills giveaway series with a bunch of other YA authors, and October is my month. I'm giving away the lovely book box you see below. I'm calling it the FEARLESS book box.

How do you enter for these lovely goodies? You can do so by following THIS LINK RIGHT HERE. There are many ways to enter, and you can enter daily. And since I was so bad about getting this post up, I am extending the giveaway for one week, so you have plenty of time.

One winner will win EVERYTHING seen above:
- Finished copies of:
TEN AFTER CLOSING
THE ACCIDENTAL BAD GIRL
SEE ALL THE STARS
BROKEN CHORDS
- ARCs of
DARE YOU TO LIE
DIVESMACK
- A custom Cafe Flores mug
- A custom TEN AFTER CLOSING key chain
- A spectacular 8GB high speed thumb drive
- The FEARLESS catchall
- and a slew of bookmarks & stickers and stuff

For the memory drives, I partnered with a company called USB Memory Direct who supplied these awesome TAC themed ones just for me. I used one to back up all my books, and I couldn't believe how fast it ran. The folks at USB Memory Direct have another giveaway going on right now. You can enter that RIGHT HERE to win a box of Halloween Themed Goodies in honor of the #31DaysofHorror.

Good luck!!!!!

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TEN AFTER CLOSING pre-order giveaway

6/25/2018

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Welcome back! Today, the official pre-order campaign for my debut YA thriller, TEN AFTER CLOSING, begins! I'm so grateful that you want to read my book. It comes out on September 4th.

Until then, you can pre-order TEN AFTER and everyone who does will be entered into my giveaway.

To enter, please fill out this FORM or email your name, mailing address, and proof of purchase to jessicabaylisswrites@gmail.com.

Here's how it works ...

ORDER FROM YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Apple Store /
Walmart / Target / Indiebound / Book Depository / Books-A-Million / Booktopia

Everyone who enters will win ...

- A signed bookmark
- Special, supplemental chapters that show what the secondary characters were doing in the hours leading up to the hold up in Cafe Flores (I will send this out AFTER the book is released. No spoilers now!)

AND will be in the running for one of the other fun prizes I've created to go perfectly with the theme of a cafe, like Cafe Flores in my book.

- A Cafe Flores mug
- A TEN AFTER CLOSING key chain with the Cafe Flores mug charm, a clock charm, and other colorful beaded charms
- A signed copy of TEN AFTER CLOSING

and the GRAND PRIZE is ...

All the prizes above AND something to go in your mug (coffee or tea--winner's choice)

- - Enter the giveaway now. - -

TEN AFTER CLOSING will be available on September 4th, so the last day to pre-order is September 3rd, 2018. The prize winners will be chosen on the 27th, and I'll get them all in the mail promptly. Giveaway is US only.

And, last but not least, THANK YOU again for your support!

If you have questions, just let me know: jessicabaylisswrites@gmail.com.

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BREATHLESS is back (or, how I survived self-publishing)

5/15/2017

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Wow. It's been a heck of a year. I can't believe I've made it to the day when my romantic ghost story, BREATHLESS, hits the shelves again. This has been an immensely LONG process that started months ago.

As you may know, I'm pursuing a traditional author career where my books are published by established presses (like my debut, TEN PAST CLOSING, which is tentatively scheduled for release by Sky Pony Press in the spring of 2018), but when the small press that originally put out BREATHLESS closed, I knew there was no way for it to ever be out in the world again if I didn't self-pub it. So, challenge accepted.

For people out there who think self-publishing is easy, let me tell you: it's not. Authors don't just write something then slap it up there on Amazon. There is a lot that goes into making, not only an incredible story, but a book that done well and done right.

Read a sneak peek of BREATHLESS below.

How did I do it? Juliana Haygert. I asked her EVERY QUESTION YOU COULD IMAGINE about what to do at each step. Twice. And she was immensely patient with this newbie. Seriously, people, I love her. (And if you haven't done so yet, you should read her books because they're super sexy and totally fun.)

So, here we are, re-release day for this little story that I love. I'm so grateful that there's a way for me to bring it back to readers.

Buy your copy of (the NEW & IMPROVED) BREATHLESS right here:

Amazon (Kindle) / B&N (Nook) / iBooks (Apple) / Kobo

Read a sneak peek of BREATHLESS.

I exhale and watch bubbles float off into the churning blue above me. I draw another breath, except this time, there is no air. My lungs, in all their twenty-seven years of finding no resistance to their whims, of drawing in sweet gulps, huffs, and puffs, meet a wall of stainless steel. With the next try, that wall slams into my diaphragm.
My left hand grasps the air pressure gauge as it bobs and snakes down by my hip. The dial’s needle hovers at a thick black line highlighted in red. Zero pounds per square inch.
I’m seventy feet below the Caribbean Sea, and I’m out of air.
Heavy nausea grabs hold of my gut and throat. I almost spit out the regulator mouthpiece, but reason kicks in. I stop myself just in time.
Don’t panic. Stay calm.
But it’s so hard to follow my own instructions. The warm water cradling my body has no mercy for this tiny, helpless human, and it turns to ice around me, needling my skin with cold until I’m numb. I hold my final breath. Everything in me screams out the wrongness of this. The world on the other side of my mask fuzzes out. My mind will soon follow if I don’t do something. Now.
Remember the training. Just find another diver.
Thank God, one of the instructors is less than ten yards away. My finned feet power me to Dale’s side with five hard kicks. He’s tucking something into a waist bag, and when I thrust my air pressure gauge into his face, at first he jerks away from it. Then his eyes widen as realization hits.
I expect him to immediately reach for his spare regulator, the savior of rubber and metal, my sole hope if I want any fate other than drowning. Instead, he brings his large, strong hands to my face. The honey-gold flecks within his irises glint and flash in what filmy light breaches the yards of water between the surface and my airless lungs. There’s no warmth down here, and I’m out of time.
Dale is my only hope.
I let him capture my face between his palms and hold me with his anchor eyes. My heart beats a fluttery, jerky rhythm, and I count--One. Two-three. Four. Five-six-seven--and wait as though I’m not moments from my death.
As though I have all the time in the world.
But whatever he’s doing, it’s working. I’m calmer. For the first time since I found nothing behind my inhale, my heart beats steady and true. He gives me a firm nod, and I return the gesture.
It’s then, only then, that he unhooks the spare regulator from his dive vest. His other hand comes to the mouthpiece I still clench in my teeth. He brushes his fingers against my lips as he pulls the device free, and I give it up reluctantly even though it’s totally useless. A small, salty flow of water hits my tongue, and I swallow it down—the first of what could turn out to be a whole ocean’s worth if we mess up this maneuver.

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Cover Love: BREATHLESS gets a new look!

4/17/2017

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"...a great story, exploring the human soul's emotional needs with insight and an exciting touch
of mystery and the paranormal." -- Hilary Hawks for Readers' Favorite

People who are following my author journey will remember my romantic ghost short, BREATHLESS, which was released originally by Three Worlds Press in May of 2015. TWP closed it's doors in February, 2016, and ever since, this story has been on my mind. I was so sad it was gone from the world, so I decided to undertake the (even-more-challenging-than-I thought) task of self-publishing BREATHLESS.

Thank you SO much to my dear friend and wonderful author, Juliana Haygert, for all your help. I seriously couldn't have done it without you.

In honor of my cover reveal, I'm giving away (3) Amazon Gift cards. You can enter by clicking on the link to the left.

Add BREATHLESS to your Goodreads Shelf

Look for BREATHLESS on May 15th, 2017

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Cover Love: BROKEN CHORDS by me!

4/10/2017

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Ah! I'm so excited to share this cover for my YA horror novella with Leap Book's SHINE in their Bloody Good Reads series. The book comes out October 2nd, just in time for the Halloween season. I'm always craving spooky, specter-filled books and movies at that time (Can you crave books? Well, I do .) and this one is exactly that. In the words of my Leap editor, Judith Graves, this book is CREEPTASTIC.

They rip, they tear, they FEED, and you never come back again.

Here’s how last year’s Gypsy Cob Music Festival should have gone. Lenora “Lenny” Ragno was supposed to rock her duet with her long-time crush, Jeb, during the open-mic competition. Then, swept up in the glow of success, he’d finally kiss her. Instead, Lenny choked on stage and spent the whole year dodging him online. And avoiding playing her fiddle in public. She thought her worst nightmare was behind her, but she was way wrong.

Now, she’s back at Gypsy Cob where avoiding a public performance is about as impossible as hiding from Jeb. She thinks facing him will be the scariest part of the festival, but when one of their friends talks everyone into trying astral projection, Lenny catches the eye of a demonic entity that marks her as its own.

Whenever it wants, the demon can pluck Lenny from her reality and transport her to a hellish between-world, haunted by its countless, gruesome victims. If she doesn’t want to become one of them, she must discover the nature of the demon’s hold on her and remove it. But how can she defeat a literal demon when she can’t even get over her personal ones?

Add BROKEN CHORDS to your Goodreads Shelf

Add BROKEN CHORDS to your shelf on Goodreads

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13 Days of Fright: Day 13

12/4/2015

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I can't believe it's Fright Day number 13! I hope you've enjoyed all the teasers and had a chance to get a few entries (or a whole slew of them) for my giveaway. The contest will stay open for a few more days, so if you want to get a few more entries, post away! Thank you to all the authors, to Leap Books, and to all of you who've dropped in to support this book and these great authors.

And, now on to today's author and story teaser!

Ty Drago is the author of several published novels, including the critically acclaimed YA series, THE UNDERTAKERS, which has been adapted for a feature film. His short fiction and articles have appeared in numerous magazines, e-zines, and anthologies, including WRITERS DIGEST. He and his wife Helene live in New Jersey.

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13 Days of Fright: Day 12

12/3/2015

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It's the most wonderful time of year...or is it? Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows and they're not the least bit jolly or merry. Let's just say some presents are better left unopened. ‘Tis the season to be screaming along with our thirteen tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more!
This Christmas, be careful what you wish for...

Medeia Sharif was born in New York City and now lives in Miami. She received her master’s degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University. Published through various presses, she writes middle grade and young adult short stories and novels. In addition to being a writer, she’s a public school teacher.

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13 Days of Fright: Day 11

12/2/2015

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It's the most wonderful time of year...or is it? Christmas Eve is a night of mystery and magic, but not always in ways we expect. Things lurk in the shadows and they're not the least bit jolly or merry. Let's just say some presents are better left unopened.
‘Tis the season to be screaming along with our thirteen tales of holiday horrors. Ghosts. Monsters. Demons. And more!
This Christmas, be careful what you wish for...

Dax Varley writes the kinds of stories and books she wishes were around when she was a kid. She’s the author of Sleepy Hollow, Return to Sleepy Hollow, Bleed, and Nightmare House. Dax enjoys reading and writing horror and loves all the eerie bumps in the night.

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13 Days of Fright: Day 10

12/1/2015

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A freelance writer from upstate New York, Andrea Stanet has been published online and in print since the late 90s. While she typically writes contemporary and urban fantasy, her reading interests span all genres. Other published middle grade work includes “Nelita and the Shadow” in the anthology Wild Cards.

3 Comments

13 Days of Fright: Day 9

11/30/2015

4 Comments

Judith Graves loves tragic romance, werewolves, vampires, magic and all things a bit creepy. A firm believer that teen fiction can be action-packed, snarky and yet hit all the right emotional notes, Judith writes stories with attitude. She lives in northern Alberta and when she’s not writing, she works in a school library.

4 Comments

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Giveaways galore!

TEN AFTER CLOSING pre-order giveaway

ORDER FROM YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER:

Everyone who enters will win ...

AND will be in the running for one of the other fun prizes I've created to go perfectly with the theme of a cafe, like Cafe Flores in my book.

and the GRAND PRIZE is ...

- - Enter the giveaway now. - -

BREATHLESS is back (or, how I survived self-publishing)

Buy your copy of (the NEW & IMPROVED) BREATHLESS right here:

Read a sneak peek of BREATHLESS.

Cover Love: BREATHLESS gets a new look!

Look for BREATHLESS on May 15th, 2017

Cover Love: BROKEN CHORDS by me!

13 Days of Fright: Day 13

13 Days of Fright: Day 12

13 Days of Fright: Day 11

13 Days of Fright: Day 10

13 Days of Fright: Day 9

Categories

Archives

​ORDER FROM YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER:

Everyone who enters will win ...

AND will be in the running for one of the other fun prizes I've created to go perfectly with the theme of a cafe, like Cafe Flores in my book.

and the GRAND PRIZE is ...

- - Enter the giveaway now. - -

Buy your copy of (the NEW & IMPROVED) BREATHLESS right here:

Read a sneak peek of BREATHLESS.

Look for BREATHLESS on May 15th, 2017

Categories

Archives

ORDER FROM YOUR FAVORITE RETAILER: