Hello everyone! Thank you to RR@H for having me. Let me tell you a little about myself: I’m a country girl and I provide my husband with endless amusement with what I’ll call my “dialectal idiosyncrasies.” I’m an avid reader and an artist in addition to being an author, and I also enjoy dog sports such as agility and dock diving. My husband and I are also expecting our first child. I just released my debut paranormal romance, FIRE ON THE ISLAND earlier this month.
I finished FIRE ON THE ISLAND at the end of October (fitting, once you read the story), and shortly after began shopping my manuscript to all of the publishers I could find that would accept unsolicited work.
The results were mixed. Many rejections, as was to be expected. But I did have a few who got back to me and said they liked my story and my writing, but would want me to change this or that to be able to consider it. I decided I wanted to exhaust all other options before I made any significant changes to the story. At that point, I began querying literary agents, and did a lot of research on mastering the art of query letters and synopses—the notsofun parts of writing. Again, a mixed bag of reviews. Many rejections again, plus more positive feedback but still no takers. What I took from that? My story wasn’t a total bomb, but I needed to find someone to take a chance on me.
Through my twitter community, I became acquainted with Katie Henson Sapphire Star Publishing, and learned that they were having a romance writing contest. I emailed Katie to see if the entry could be a full length finished manuscript, and she wrote back personally to say of course! I sent in FIRE ON THE ISLAND, marked the end of the contest on my calendar, and went back to furiously querying.
I was between jobs at the time, and sleep has never come easy to me even when I was working all day. I was up late cruising twitter one night, at 3 am to be exact, when I received an email from Amy Lichtenhan, the co-owner of Sapphire Star Publishing. They loved my manuscript, and it had won the contest in which the prize was a publishing contract. What? So I ran into the bedroom and woke my poor husband up to tell him.
So now, my first book is being published! The sequel, BLOOD IN THE VALLEY with come out next spring, and I’m currently working on the third installment of the series. Everyone at Sapphire Star is so much fun and so supportive of each other, I can’t imagine it being anything other than a complete success. Funny thing is, I just turned thirty this year and I’m just now figuring out what I want to be when I grow up!
Fire on the Island Blurb:
Fire On The Island (Vigilati, Book 1) – August 2nd 2012
“She who wields the mark is the barrier between man and monster. She is the daughter of gods, the mother of man, protector of all. Vigilati Usque Ad Mortem”
All Isla Macallen wanted was a simple existence on her little Scottish island, free from her mother’s insanity and the prying eyes of neighbors. What she got was embroiled in a war for the souls of mankind. A war of good versus evil, of witches versus demons, and Isla learns that she alone can end it.
Dr. Jeremiah Rousseau was a self-proclaimed nomad, traveling the world researching paranormal phenomena. He doesn’t expect his research to lead him to Scotland, and to the woman who will turn his world upside down.
Together with a facetious shapeshifting animal spirit guide, Jeremiah and Isla discover that she is part of an ancient bloodline bred to protect the gateways between the human world and the spirit world, to keep evil demons from destroying them. They must find the key to defeating Alastore, the demon king, and closing the gate before Samhain, when the veil between the worlds is lifted. As the war for their souls wages around them, Isla and Jeremiah will risk it all for love—a love neither had ever thought possible.
I love talking to readers. You can find me here:
http://www.facebook.com/OfficialJKHogan
http://www.goodreads.com/jkhogan
http://www.amazon.com/author/jkhogan
And my book:
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Island-Vigilati-ebook/dp/B008RO8BZM/ref=la_B008UXO15E_1_1_title_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1345334929&sr=1-1
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fire-on-the-island-jk-hogan/1112102519
***
J.K. Hogan has been telling stories for as long as she can remember, beginning with writing cast lists and storylines for her toys growing up. When she finally decided to put pen to paper, magic happened. She is greatly inspired by all kinds of music and often creates a “soundtrack” for her stories as she writes them.
J.K. resides in North Carolina, where she was born and raised. A true southern girl at heart, she lives on a farm with her husband and their three horses, one miniature donkey, one cat, and two champion agility dogs.
In addition to writing, she enjoys training and competing in dog sports, spending time with her large southern family, camping, boating and, of course, reading! For more information, please visit http://www.jkhogan.com.
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~
For a chance to win a digital copy (kindle or nook format) of FIRE ON THE ISLAND, just leave a comment below. Good luck!
Honorary Mention of Book Sluts 'R' Us Blogger Awards by 
RR@H Novel Thoughts & Book Talk 