S. Elle Cameron

All love is a tragedy...

Filtering by Tag: Young Adult

A Tragic Heart Cover Change

For a while now I've been contemplating if I should change the cover to my debut novel, A Tragic Heart. While I love the original cover, there has been speculation that it may not be reaching the target audience. I've been told (by agents and publishers) that it's a great book but it may be overlooked simply because of the cover. Although we all know the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover" sadly most of us do exactly that. The biggest misconception is that the book is a sci-fi novel instead of a Young Adult/Coming of Age/New Adult novel. The original cover is supposed to depict the emotional turmoil of the book and the human heart shattering like glass is supposed to depict how fragile the characters are. People love it once they understand the meaning behind the cover but the issue is most people won't read it to give it that chance.

I'm going for a more traditional book cover this time around that has a similar concept but is more appealing to the target audience. Maybe once the book is out there I'll change the cover back to its original form but for now it's time for a change. I'll post the new cover once it's changed so you all can let me know your opinions. In the meantime, take a look at the original cover below and tell me what you think.


Sneak Peek of RED!

Today I am feeling very generous so I'm going to give you all a sneak peek on my upcoming novel, RED. It's the intro along with the first few pages. It's unedited so some things may change but I think it's a nice introduction to the novel. For those of you who read A Tragic Heart, you'll completely understand where this is taking off from. The rest you still have time to catch up, but for now I hope you enjoy it. So, here it is:





Intro
Red hair. Green eyes. Perfect Smile. Curves in the right places. I’m a knockout, but not only in the physical department. I’m a knockout at home, in school…in every aspect of my life. Poor Mason. I don’t mean to be so cruel but he’s not my dad…and Adalyn, she’s not my mother…and they never will be. My parents left me before I could even figure out who they were to me. My dad didn’t have much of a choice but my mother…she chose…she had a choice and I think that’s what hurts the most. The selfish bitch didn’t even love me enough to stay…who does that?
            Mason’s struggling through it all even after all of these years. I guess some things just leave a mark that can never heal. I feel bad for him, I really do, but it’s not enough. Adalyn tries to pretend she doesn’t notice but she sees it…she sees it every day       
            They try so hard to include me in everything…to make me part of the “family.” Mason spends more time on me than he does on his own children. Maybe because I need the attention more than they do?
            Lila’s their oldest. She’s nine and an honor student. In other words, she’s perfect and beautiful. Her eyes are just like Mason’s…captivating and piercing green. Ryan and Nick are fraternal twins. They’re two years younger than Lila and I don’t know how Mason and Adalyn did it, but they’re just as perfect as Lila…in school at least. Maybe I would’ve been perfect too if my parents were still here…or at least if my mom tried. But how can I be perfect when my parents were who they were?
            I’m far from black and white and I’m never shaded gray. I’m never blue and I can never be a pure white…I’m all red…always red.







 Peyton: Darkness
I walk into a dark, quiet house and slowly close the door behind me. I hear Marcus’s car pull off and I almost made it in without anyone noticing; or so I thought. Mason must’ve been waiting up for me because as soon as I turned around he was standing at the bottom of the staircase. I jumped a little since I was expecting to get away with it, but it’s not like it was the first time.
            “Oh, it’s you, you scared the hell out of me,” I said unfazed by him standing in front of me clearly unhappy.
            “I should, but evidently not enough,” he stated in a dry tone. “So you’re just gonna walk right past me and act like this didn’t just happen?”
“We can do that. It’s better than having the ‘talk’,” I said walking up the stairs. I’m surprised he let me get that far. This is a new record.
He follows me up and by the time he gets to the top of the stairs he roughly grabs me by the arm, forcing me to face him and look him in the eyes.
“You’re hurting me!” I say with a slightly raised voice.
“What is wrong with you? Why can’t you just listen? Where did I go wrong with you?” Mason asked. It was question after question.
He shook me a little after every sentence. I felt scared on the inside but on the outside I was ice.
“Mason, you’re hurting me! Get off!” I yelled loudly enough to cause Adalyn to get out of bed.
“What’s going on? Mason what are you doing?” she asked slightly awake and panicked.
“He’s hurting me!” I shout as I struggle to get away from his grasp.
“Mason let go of her! Calm down!” Adalyn softly yelled.
I was able to see the frustration in his eyes. It hurt me a little but I can’t let him see it.
“I try with you! I TRIED SO HARD!” he shouted with fury.
“Mason…Mason, calm down. Let her go and calm down!” Adalyn practically begged.
After a few seconds he did as she said. I wanted to say something but I was at a loss for words. I’ve seen Mason angry a number of times but I never thought he could be that way towards me. We argue and it’s frequent but I’ve never seen him so…tired.
“It’s alright, you need rest,” Adalyn said to Mason as she rubbed his shoulder.
She loved him, more than anything. She loves him the way I hope to love someone someday…the way I want someone to love me.
            I looked to my right to see Lila rubbing her eyes and slowly walking towards us. The commotion must have woken her up out of her sleep.
“Hey, Lila, what’s wrong?” I asked softly.
“I heard yelling and I thought I was having a bad dream,” she said quietly.
“No, sweetie, your daddy and Peyton was just talking loud, that’s all. Go back to bed,” Adalyn intervened. She took Lila’s hand and led her down the hall. “Come on, let’s go back to bed.”
As Adalyn walked Lila back to her room, Mason and I stood in the hallway by the top of the staircase in silence for a few seconds.
“No more late nights. No more going out without permission. This has to stop Peyton,” he said in a low and calm voice.
“I’ll try,” I replied back coldly.
“No, don’t try, do it. Besides, you’re not setting a good example for your cousins,” he said more stern.
“They’re not my kids so what do you care…and I don’t need you to tell me what’s good and what’s not. I know right from wrong.”
I could tell it hurt him and I know he wants to give up on me…he might as well, everyone else has.  I honestly don’t understand why he tries so hard with me. I’m not that important. I feel like part of him believes that by saving me, he’s saving my mother and father. I wish he’d understand that they’re gone and can never come back. I’m not them and never will be.
            I walked to my room, it’s big and spacious, and…me. The walls are red and it’s always dark. There’s a guitar and keyboard in one corner and drums in the other. I even have my own bathroom, so I never have to wait for anyone else. Mason always made sure I had the best of everything and he always went above and beyond. There are times I believe he cares for me more than he cares for his own children. I think he forgets that I’m not his daughter but I always remember that he’s not my father.

            Mid thoughts I undress and walk to my bathroom turning on the shower water. I hated who I was but I don’t know how to be someone else. I hate to see myself in the mirror because I only see the face of a person I never met. I already have his name but God didn’t think that was enough. He decided to give me something extra, so he gave me his same eyes, hair, and facial features. I place my hands over my face trying to block out the thought. Daddy, how come you couldn’t stay long enough for me to at least touch you? Its torture to hear the stories about how great he was and how I’m so much like him and he never even got the chance to touch me. He never knew I existed…or was going to exist.

            A tear fell from my eye and I quickly wiped it away. I’m not a crier and I wasn’t going to become one now. No sense in crying over a man I never even met before.

            I kept my shower short and got ready for bed. I hated the feeling of wet hair against my skin but I was too tired to dry it tonight. I changed into a tank top and some shorts. As soon as I lied in the bed my phone began to vibrate. The name Marcus appeared across my screen and I rolled my eyes before answering it. What could he possibly want at 4:17 on a Saturday morning; besides I was just with him.

“Hello,” I answered sounding completely unenthused.

“I thought you’d be happier to hear from me considering our night,” he said sounding like a complete jerk.

Marcus is an attractive guy but he doesn’t really understand the concept of respect. He lacks everything that a girl really wants but he’s good enough for me at the moment. We’re not dating or in an exclusive relationship and I like it that way. He’s just one of a few. He’s not my first and he won’t be my last.

“Our night wasn’t that great,” I said dryly into the phone.

“That’s not what you were saying while you were--,” I cut him off before he could finish. I don’t know why I continue this with him.

“What do you want? Why did you call me?” I asked abruptly.

“I just wanted to hear your voice before going to bed.”

“Well, you heard it. Goodnight,” I said ready to hang up.

“Wait! So that’s it? This is what you do? You give a guy a great night and then walk away?”

Honestly, it was all that I was used to since I was fifteen. It’s only been a year but a lot can happen in a year.

“It’s not like you want anything more from me,” I said in a ‘matter of fact’ tone.

“How do you know that?”

“Because boys never want anything more.”

I think the worst part is that I believed this.

“Not all boys,” he informed me.

“Just all the ones that I’ve known…and you’re one of them.”

The line was silent for a few seconds. I wondered what he was thinking.

“Maybe I want more,” he said lowly.

I thought about it for a while and within a few seconds I saw how miserable I could be in a relationship with him. On the other hand, I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. It was too late…or maybe too early to think about such heavy concepts.

“I don’t know Marcus,” I said honestly.
As I turned over on my side, I winced when my arm touched the cold sheets. I sat up a bit and touched my arm. Mason must have bruised it when he grabbed me. My skin bruises easily and he held his grip for a long time. I can’t believe I made him that angry. He never touched me like that before. Mason always refused to lay a hand on me or even yell at me. He was more of a talker…at least when it came to me. He always acted as if I was this precious jewel that needs to be kept safe. When I was a kid he used to act as if I was a rare porcelain doll that may break into a million pieces if I fell or accidentally hurt myself. I smile at the thought of being young and carefree. Back then, Mason was the highlight of my day and mommy and daddy was happy in heaven. How was I more content with such a haunting thought when I was much younger? I thought the older we get the better we handle our problems.

It was too much to think about for now and I really just wanted to sleep. If my mind started to race, I would never be able to close my eyes.

$2.99 Is The Right Price!

Today is the day A Tragic Heart is on sale for only $2.99 on Kindle! You can pick up a copy of the book before the release of the second novel to the series, RED. You should hurry because the sale ends on September 28th at 12:00 am PST and will resume to its original price of $5.99.

Here's a quick synopsis of the novel and you can find the link to the novel below:

Sixteen year old high school student Taylor Caldwell has been through the wringer of life. The love triangles, heartbreak, and stress of being a teenager is all crashing down and it's slowly igniting a fire that's bound to destroy her. It would take a miracle for her parents to remember her existence and the same goes for the only guy she has eyes for. But sometimes miracles happen...just not in the form that we want them to. All she ever wanted was an option; a way out of her turmoil...a reason to fight. She never thought that life would give her two.
With more options and decisions to make than ever before, Taylor is left with her own conscience and personal journal entries to keep her on track. Her older brother, who is also her only friend, is busy touring with his band while Taylor is battling the confusing life of coming of age. She finds solace in her boyfriend's closest cousin, causing animosity to build a bridge between two boys who were once like brothers. As if her life couldn't get any more interesting, more chilling secrets and curve balls are thrown into the mix leaving Taylor to make the ultimate choice...a choice that almost every teenager has thought about at least once in their life.

If A Tragic Heart had to be described in one phrase it would be: growing up is hard to do. You remember what it was like juggling school, a significant other(s), and trying to find yourself before you turned eighteen, don't you? Readers' responses prove that A Tragic Heart is loved by many for different reasons. One of the several themes is bound to tug on your heart's strings and take you back to a time where things weren't so simple but realizing you made it through makes all of the difference. Many people are blind to the struggles of teenagers and those beginning early adulthood to the point that it is fatal. A Tragic Heart can and will bring awareness to certain issues and give us all a better understanding of why we should be grateful that we are still here.

Click here for A Tragic Heart

A Tragic Heart's First Anniversary! (Let's Celebrate!)

Wow! Time really flew by fast! On September 27th, my debut novel, A Tragic Heart will celebrate it's first birthday. I wanted to do something special for my baby's first year so I decided to discount the price of the novel for 48 hours. That's right! Starting September 26th at 12:00 am, A Tragic Heart will only be $2.99 on Kindle. The sale ends on September 28th at 12:00 am. It's a pre-birthday/birthday celebration!

The novel has seen a decent amount of success, moving over 400 units (not bad for an indie author of no primary status) since it's release almost a year ago. More importantly, the novel has been met with critical acclaim by both readers and book reviewers. In fact, I just found out that my novel has been illegally downloaded 815 times this week and it's only Tuesday! While that may not seem like something to be proud of, the fact that the average star rating is 9.4 out of 10 makes me proud. More than anything I'm happy that people actually enjoy something I created during one of the worst times of my life. At the end of the day, it's not all about sales, it's about knowing that I created something people thoroughly enjoy. So, thank you to anyone who bothered to read the novel whether it was illegally or not.

As a lot of you know already, A Tragic Heart is part of a 4 part series entitled RED Tragedies.Basically, there's a lot more to come and I hope you all follow me into the last book and beyond.

Welp! That's all for now. Remember on September 26th starting at 12:00 am, download your copy of A Tragic Heart for only $2.99 on Kindle! Here's the link: A Tragic Heart-Kindle Edition.

In the meantime, A Tragic Heart has also just been released on Kobo for only $4.99! Link here: A Tragic Heart-Kobo

Character Profile for RED: Adalyn Voyvodich

Can you believe it's a new month already?! It feels like I just created a character profile for Mason Taylor and here I am about to sort of introduce a new character. For those of you who read A Tragic Heart, the name Adalyn isn't so new to you. Although in A Tragic Heart Adalyn didn't have any dialogue which still makes her a new personality because she is one of the main characters in RED. In fact, RED couldn't exist without her. From now on, Adalyn is an extremely important character to the series I'm working on (I'm in the last stages of writing the final book). As some of you know Adalyn is/was the bass player in Peyton's (Mason's cousin/Peyton Hayley Giordano's father) band. They also have a history together that goes far back (I won't ruin anything else for those who haven't read it yet). So let's get to know Adalyn a little better...shall we?


Full Name: Adalyn Voyvodich-Taylor

Birth Date: November 23, 1992

Gender: Female

Age During RED: 34-36 years old 

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Blonde

Height: 5'7

Weight: 130 lbs

Relatives: Mason Taylor (Husband), Lynn Voyvodich (Mother), Michael Voyvodich Sr. (Father), Michael Voyvodich Jr. (Brother), Lila Taylor (Daughter), Ryan Taylor (Son), Nick Taylor (Son), Peyton Giordano (Adopted Daughter), Jean Taylor (Mother-in-law), Brian Taylor (Father-in-law)

Relationship Status: Married

Interests/Hobbies: Bass Guitar (Any guitar, really), Piano, Songwriting, Singing, Producing Music

Positive Character Traits: Adalyn is caring and helpful. She's the person who is by your side through whatever you go through. She's the exact opposite of judgmental and she's easy to talk to. Adalyn can also be outspoken when needed. She's the friend everyone wants.

Negative Character Traits: She can hold feelings/emotions inside for far too long causing her to react in questionable ways. 

Choice Quote from RED: "I guess that's the difference between men and women. No matter whether we're wrong or right, we're willing to fight for what we have."

Welp! That's it for now. I hope you all feel like you know Adalyn just a little better than before. I look forward to all of you getting to know her more when RED comes out this Winter. The editing process is going great and I can't wait to share it all with you guys! To learn more about Adalyn in the meantime you can pick up your copy of A Tragic Heart by clicking the link. You still have time to catch up before RED is released. 

By the way, if Adalyn was a song she would be "Break Free" by Ariana Grande.



Character Profile for RED: Peyton Giordano

Remember last week when I said I was going to write up a character profile for each character for RED, until the release? Well, here is the first one and it's for the main character, Peyton Giordano. I'll release a new character profile every month up until the release of the novel. That's enough time to catch up on the action that led to RED by picking up or downloading A Tragic Heart. Here we go:


Full Name: Peyton Hayley Giordano

Birth Date: April 4, 2010

Gender: Female

Age During RED: 16-18 years old

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Red

Height: 5'6

Weight: 130 lbs

Relatives: Taylor Caldwell (Mother-Deceased). Peyton Giordano (Father-Deceased), Mason Taylor (Cousin), Adalyn Voyvodich-Taylor (Cousin-in-law), Jackson Caldwell (Uncle), Nick Taylor (cousin), Ryan Taylor (cousin), Lila Taylor (cousin)

Relationship Status: It's complicated....don't ask! 

Interests/Hobbies: Singing, Guitar, Piano, Songwriting

Positive Character Traits: She's compassionate although she rarely shows it. She has a strong attitude and stands up for herself. Peyton tends to lead her own life without caring what others think. She's extremely talented and smart.

Negative Character Traits: She self-sabotages frequently, she can be quick to anger, and she's a bit of a martyr at times. She's also impulsive.

Choice Quote from RED: "When we want something bad enough we tend to only look at the positive side of things. We ignore the negative because we don't want to go there."

That's all for now! If you want to learn more about Peyton, you can pick up your copy of RED when it is released in the Winter of 2015. For now, you can learn about some of the other characters in RED by reading part one to the novel, A Tragic Heart.

By the way, if Peyton were a song she would be The (After) Life of The Party by Fall Out Boy.



 

RED Is Gearing Up!!!!!!!!


"Ego. Our ego is who we are. It’s the part of our functioning mind that is stuck between the id and the superego. My ego is who I am. It balances out my subconscious mind bringing me back to reality whenever I fall victim to my id or superego. My ego is nervous. Anxious. Guilty. My ego is red."-RED


 I'm happy to say that RED is going to go through the editing process starting July 1st! The novel is pretty long so it'll take a while to edit but I was told the latest I will have the manuscript back in my possession will be December 1st. This means that RED won't be able to come out in the Fall as I originally planned but it will be available by the Winter of 2015. 

As I mentioned before, the novel may not be as emotional as A Tragic Heart but it does have a lot of twists and turns. The plot is a little riskier and it continues to touch on major issues during teenage years.

SPOILERS! PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ A TRAGIC HEART! SKIP TO NEXT SECTION!

For those of you who read the first novel, A Tragic Heart, you all know that part of the ending resulted in Taylor having Peyton's baby long after he's gone. RED follows the life of Taylor's daughter who is named after her father. Peyton (the daughter) is all grown up (the novel starts when she's 16, just like her mom) and she's being raised by Mason and Adayln (you all should remember them). Peyton has a lot in common with both her mother and father and the novel follows her struggle to grow up without them in her life. She's carefree and loves to take risks but many of her choices can seem less than desirable to others. 

Spoilers Ended! 
 
A lot like A Tragic Heart, RED is told from multiple point of views which means that everyone has a story and everyone has their own drama going on. I believe that it can be hard to tell a complete story from one point of view because realistically there is always more than one side to a story. People constantly make the same mistakes and it usually takes us more than one time to learn from them. RED is all about making mistakes, learning from your past, and moving on with life the best way you could. Sometimes we're ashamed of who we used to be but the important thing is to remember that we are not those people. We are who we think we can be and that's a very important theme in RED.

I'll start revealing character names soon. Maybe a write up on each character until the release of the novel...that sounds tempting enough!

 -S. Elle Cameron

Take Advantage of the Next Two Days!

A Tragic Heart is still free for all Kindle users and owners of the Kindle app. I am pleased and grateful to say that the novel has been downloaded over 300 times in the past 3 days. Everyone has until Saturday, May 17th to take advantage of this limited offer. It is available to everyone WORLDWIDE!

I only ask anyone who reads A Tragic Heart to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. I hope you all take advantage and enjoy the novel. A Tragic Heart is part one to a three part book series. The next installment is entitled, RED.

The link is below to download your copy for free.

A Tragic Heart-Free Download

A Tragic Heart is FREE!

Today is the day that my first novel, A Tragic Heart is absolutely FREE for ALL Kindle users! If you don't have a Kindle, you can download the Kindle app for free on your tablet or smartphone. A Tragic Heart is the first part to my upcoming novel, RED, that will hopefully be release this Fall. Everyone should definitely take advantage of this opportunity. The novel is free from today (May 13th) until May 17th. After that it will resume to it's price of $5.99 for Kindle users.

Don't forget to leave a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads once you've read the novel. The link to A Tragic Heart is below. Enjoy!

A Tragic Heart

A Tragic Heart (Part I of RED)

RED (Sequel to A Tragic Heart) Is In the Works! COVER REVEALED!


 "We can't be judged. We can't be told we're not good enough because of our past. After all, we're all red on the inside."-RED (Part II of A Tragic Heart)


So, a few people have been asking me about my next novel and I am happy to say that it will be coming out soon (I am shooting for this Fall!). I may have found an editor for the novel and I recently designed the cover for it (it is subject to change but more than likely it won't). RED, is a continuation of A Tragic Heart, and for those of you who read the latter should already have an idea whose story it is (I don't want to spoil it for the rest of them). While A Tragic Heart was a bit more intense, RED still tackles major issues and deals with the feeling of being "unwanted" or a "mistake". Sometimes it's hard to define who we are when the world sees us as something else and that is what the main character in RED is dealing with. Just like A Tragic Heart, there are many themes to the novel and can be enjoyable for anyone, although it is also a Young Adult novel. RED is a bit more raw and wild than the previous novel, so you have been warned (it isn't too bad though...I think). Hey! We all gotta take chances sometime!

Here is the cover to RED:


To start from the beginning of the story read A Tragic Heart: https://www.amazon.com/author/sellecameron