WHEN I LIED IS LIVE EVERYWHERE!!!!!

TODAY'S THE DAY!

IT'S LIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kate & Oliver get to tell their story to the world!

And here are all the links you'll need to get your copy!

http://www.amazon.com/When-Lied-Michelle-Kemper-Brownlow-ebook/dp/B01E056B1M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461064436&sr=1-1

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-whenilied-2023815-149.html

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/when-i-lied/id1102590334?mt=11

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-i-lied-michelle-kemper-brownlow/1123656911?ean=2940152966985

https://www.createspace.com/6202427

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/when-i-lied

FYI - it takes a day or two for the print book to hook up with the ebook on Amazon, and a week or so for it to meet up with the ebook on B&N, Apple and Kobo.

AND, AS ALWAYS, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR REVIEWS AND TAG ME IN THEM! <3 span="">

MKB is goin' INDIE! 4 DAYS!

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ON SOLID GROUND - TWO WEEKS EARLY!

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SURPRISE RELEASE!

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OMG! ON SOLID GROUND was released TWO WEEKS EARLY!

So, I'm running THE BEST CONTEST EVER - for just 24 hours!

 

BREAKING NEWS: On Solid Ground

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NEW CHAPTERS...ON SOLID GROUND

I am so excited!

IN TOO DEEP went over HUGE in the NA world. It's a tough book to read but one you can't put down...or so I've heard. When I say tough I'm refering to the rollercoaster of emotions you experience while reading. Just check out some of the reviews. And btw, there are more than 2,000 of you who have it on their to-read list...you may wanna move it to your read list.
In Too Deep

ON SOLID GROUND is the sequel and where it is similar in intensity to IN TOO DEEP, the intensity is NOT revolved around Gracie's broken heart...there are a couple new twists to the story my readers may NOT be expecting. But, based on the 5 STAR reviews it has gotten from bloggers who've received the pre-ARC, it's worth the stress.
On Solid Ground

The best part is, after a long discussion with my amazing editor, I have decided to add TWO more chapters to the end of the story to wrap up some loose ends with one of the characters.

SQUEEAAAALLLL!
I am so excited to get this book out to you! December can't come quick enough!! :)

Peace.

 

IN TOO DEEP is ALMOST HERE!!

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**amazing collage courtesy of Jenee's Book Blog**

 

About a month ago my computer was freaking out and it wouldn't let me post here. Something was wonky, I don't know what. So, needless to say, as the countdown to IN TOO DEEP's release moved faster and faster, I was busy on Twitter, Goodreads and Facebook making connections, accepting friend requests and welcoming followers. I have also been fully eveloped in writing the "Part 2" of IN TOO DEEP. My blog has suffered a bit coming in at last place on my priorities list...which is silly b/c this is where you get to know the REAL me, my freak personality, my goofball humor and I've been neglecting you.

 

For that, I apologize!

 

 

Today I decided to give it another try and see if my laptop would do what I needed it to to post for you today and VOILA, it's working! While I was setting it up, I peeked at my stats page and there were almost 6800+ page views last month....WHAT THE HECK? That's up from just a little over 100 visitors a month. Even though I wasn't posting I had readers visiting in droves! Well, that just thrills me to no end!

 

 

Friday of last week I was surprised at my door by a smirking UPS man. My UPS man is awesome, my kids call him my 'boyfriend' which makes me giggle. He IS quite handsome and he DID go to Penn State, but I've got all I can handle with my HOT husband so...a boyfriend, no. I can write scandalous things but that's because I have no interest in living that way! LOL! So, anyway, Phil the UPS man is standing at my door and it dawns on my that he may have my books....books I hand't laid eyes on, books I hadn't touched with my own hands. Sure enough, that's what he was delivering - 9 boxes of IN TOO DEEP for my book signing this weekend! Poor Phil saw a side of me he didn't know what to do with. I was jumping and clapping and crying and thanking him like he personally printed each one!

 

Now, before I show you the picture (which has been all over the internet by now, between Twitter and Facebook) let me forewarn you, it is not pretty. Our A/C was broken, it was 90+ degrees, I had been writing all day so I had not showered, dressed or put  make up on...not the way you want to memorialize your very first novel in your hands...but, hey, you hang around with me long enough and you know I'm the "you get what you get" kind of person...I don't DO fake. So, I wasn't faking anything in this less-than-attractive pose but here you go...this is what Phil did to me on Friday...

 

 

When collage's like the one at the top of this post and this one...

**gorgeous collage courtesy of Brittany & Bianca Blab Books**

 



...started coming my way from bloggers who had already read IN  TOO DEEP, I knew no one had to pinch me anymore...THIS SHIZNIT WAS REAL! I was getting FAN mail and virtual FAN art! This is the validation every author needs to remind them...someone (Sapphire Star Publishing, in my case) didn't just give you a shot...they believed in you because what you do is WORTHY of being in print. They knew that your characters would grab ahold of readers' hearts and give it a good shake before letting it go. Someone knew the market well enough to let your words make a statement for the world to read!

I am in awe of the response IN TOO DEEP has received!

Just going over the reviews on Goodreads gives me chills...and yes, I will admit, I read those couple reviews every day! EVERY day because it is an amazing feeling to have people you have never met connect with people you have created in a way that leaves them teary-eyed and speechless. There is no feeling like this!

So, with ONE DAY left to go...

I have to say, I am honored to bring you the life of Gracie Jordan. I am anticipating your reactions to Noah Foster. And I am squealing with excited to introduce the amazing Jake Rockwell to all the BOOK BOYFRIEND FREAKS out there... and I say FREAKS with respect, because I am one of you!

Now here are all the deets you need to take this awesome IN TOO DEEP trip right along with me:

OFFICIAL RELEASE DAY June 6th! TOMORROW!

Available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle and also available on BarnesandNoble.com in paperback and Nook.

Tomorrow I hope you will join me at my VIRTUAL RELEASE PARTY on Facebook from 9am-12pm! Come with virtual food and drink. Ask me questions, tell me what you think of the book so far, NO SPOILERS PLEASE. And I can't promise anything but there's a slight chance Gracie, Noah and Jake may show up for a short time.

Saturday I will be doing a book signing at AROMA'S COFFEE and BAGELS in Elverson, PA from 9am - 12pm. I will have those NINE boxes of books on hand for you to grab or bring one you've already received! Hope I will see you there!

The week of June 13-17 is my VIRTUAL BOOK/BLOG TOUR thanks to Xpresso Book Tours. I will be bouncing around to FORTY-NINE different blogs that week. Crazy!

I am also looking forward to a couple college visits next school year. I have been invited by two universities to come speak to their SIGMA KAPPA Chapters (my sorority) and do a program on emotional abuse and its red flags! I will also be selling books and signing them at these events as well!

I am living a dream!
OK I lied....you're still going to have to pinch me...I don't think I will ever get used to this.

But I do have to say, Gracie (who is real in my heart) DOES deserve all this hooplah for all she has survived! Thank you for giving her props!

Peace out, Romance Peeps!
(And for the 1,000,000th time - thank you to my favorite band, Pearl Jam for inspiring this book!)
You can read more about that HERE!

The paragraph that started it all...

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The strong force of the wave pulled me under.  I gasped for air just before my facedisappeared below the surface. My body rolled over and over, my arms flailed, and my head pounded into the sea bed which felt like a concrete floor. The salty water stung my eyes. I forced myself to keep them open, fearing I would slip into unconsciousness from the blow I took to the head. I knew I had to hold it together long enough for the swell to pull me back up when the wave rolled. But something was pulling me deeper. I fought with all my might, kicking against the thick water swallowing me whole. I used my arms like underwater oars and sliced through the depths trying to reach what I needed most, but I was in too deep.

**

In a little over two weeks my world will change and it all started with the paragraph above. On June 6th my debut romance novel, IN TOO DEEP will be available both in ebook formats as well as paperback. In essence, the quiet ramblings of my heart and soul will be flashed across Kindles and Nooks and iPhones of people I will never know. It's not like I didn't know this was part of the gig...it's just completely surreal!

The italicized paragraph above came to me, pardon the pun, like a flood. Truly!

On a particularly difficult day, when something triggered memories and the residual pain of an abusive relationship I had in college, I climbed onto my bed shaking and drenched with tears. Of course, I self-medicated but not how you might think...music. Music is my cure all and the louder the better. I blasted my favorite album and trusted stand by for the last 20 years - Pearl Jam Ten.

I was particularly entranced with the song DEEP that day and I heard it in a way I hadn't before. I couldn't count the number of times I'd listened to Pearl Jam sing about some people being "in too deep" but until that moment, I'd only sung the words at face value. This time my soul sang with my heart and it was at that moment I realized I was IN TOO DEEP. So, going on sheer inspiration from the chorus...."in too deep, can't touch the bottom," A description began to form in my mind of what it would be like to drown. It was not an intentional thing... it literally just flooded my brain. I ran to the closest piece of paper and started writing.

And the first paragraph of IN TOO DEEP was born. I continued writing it but at the time had no intention of sharing the fictional characters with anyone else.

In 17 days Gracie, Noah and Jake will come to life.

THAT, is completely surreal!

In Too Deep VERY FIRST review

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Something I will never EVER forget!

Shh Mom's Reading was the first to leave a GOODREADS review of IN TOO DEEP. My stomach is still entertaining a swarm of butterflies!



Go check out the VERY FIRST REVIEW OF IN TOO DEEP then add it to your "to read" shelf! Can't wait to hear what you think!

:) Peace.

Sneak Peek of IN TOO DEEP!!

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I have been head first in my content edits for IN TOO DEEP and barely come up to breathe during the day. Seriously, the last of my kids get on the bus at 8:30 and that's typically when I've been plopping down in front of my lap top. The other day I got up two times to pee and that was it until 4:00.

 

 

I have to say, this is an awesome experience! Even better than I imagined over the last seven years of trying to break into this business. I am really hoping the gals at Sapphire Star Publishing will keep me around because I am in Heaven!

 

 

So, my belly is full of breakfast, I have showered (which usually takes a back seat to Gracie and Noah) and I have been listening to music since before I left my bed this morning. So, it's time to get to work. I love my commute. :) But since it has been more than a couple days since I last posted, I thought I would give you a SNEAK PEEK to hold you over while I am busy today fishing more of this story from my brain.

 

 

~*~

Pulled from the middle of...IN TOO DEEP

The water lapped up further onto my legs and the strong undertow pulled me toward the waves. I knew if I gave up now I would be swallowed by a wave that would roll me more violently than the first. I couldn’t let the ocean take me. I dug my fingers into the sand and pulled against the current. I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to make it but I wasn’t going to die without trying my hardest to pull myself away from the depths that had a hold on me before. I reached out for the one thing I knew could save me at that moment…

            “Gracie. Are you okay?  Please, say something!” Jake’s voice was sleepy and panicked. I knew he would see my number on his phone just in case I couldn’t speak. My mouth was trying to hold in the sobs while my brain formed the words.

            “I…I…” I couldn’t. I didn’t even know where to start. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to admit to being so stupid and thinking that ringing in this special birthday with Noah would be anything but painful.

            “You’re scaring me. Please just say something. Tell me what’s wrong.”

            I spent the next hour vomiting all of the night’s hell to Jake. Most of the time he was the quiet listener, but I could hear the vile anger in his voice when he did speak. Jake’s anger didn’t scare me like Noah’s did. I wasn’t afraid of losing Jake, I knew I couldn’t. There was nothing I could do that would cause him to walk away. Having someone like that in my life was the only thing holding me together.

            “I am so sorry, baby girl. I wish I was there to hold you so you could get some sleep.”

            “Me, too.” That’s when I realized this was what he meant when he said he would take me however he could have me. He told me he was in love with me, and now I was once again detailing the further breaking of my heart by his former roommate. He was putting his own heart second because I was sure it was killing him to hear all the details of my night if he truly did love me. He was putting me first. He would be my friend first, even if I couldn’t love him back. I had no words for the kind of selflessness I didn’t know existed before Jake.

            When I realized how my pain over Noah must be hurting him, I decided to stop. I needed to turn it off and make sure he was okay before we hung up. I shouldn’t have called him. Now my heart was breaking for the two most important guys in my life. One because he hurt me and one because I may be hurting him. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Sleep. I just needed to sleep.

            “Are you sure you’re okay? I can stay on the phone with you as long as you need me to.”

            “No, Jake. You’ve already done so much. I can’t thank you enough for what you do for my heart.”

            “I love you. You’re my best friend. I am always here for you. You know that.”

            “I know. Thank you.”

            “No thanks necessary. That’s what friends do.” He was assuring me that his ‘I love you’ was intended to be friendly and not guilt inducing. How could I tell him how much I loved him without having to qualify it as ‘just as friends?’

            “I love our friendship, Jake, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

            “Well, the feeling is mutual.”

            I wasn’t sure how I landed such a beautiful friend. But his unconditional friendship was stunning. I wasn’t sure if I could ever reciprocate what he gave me but I would die trying if he ever needed me the way I needed him. But he’d never be as stupid as I had been.

            “Go to sleep, sweet girl. You need to get some rest.”

            “Goodnight, Jake.”

            “Goodnight.”

~*~

SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!! I can't wait for you to know what comes before AND after this scene!

 

IN TOO DEEP cover reveal...in TWO DAYS!

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I CAN'T BELIEVE WE ARE DOWN TO ONLY 2 DAYS!

I was trying to think of something exciting I could do with a list of two things... but who wants a list of TWO things? That seems pretty lame, right?

Well, how about TWO thoughts straight from Gracie's heart ...one about Noah and one about Jake.
Good? Yeah, I thought you might like that!

"Our relationship defined me. He had opened up to me and showed me a side of him no one else knew. No one. It was like our own little miracle. Our oasis. He truly loved me. We were bound by the one-time gift I had given him four months into our relationship. My soul was married to his."

 

"He stared at me with those eyes. His words were harsh, his voice stern, but his eyes held my pain like he was trying to take it from me."


Yeah... you're DYING, right?

Well, stay tuned because you won't want to miss tomorrow's "1 MORE DAY" post!


 

IN TOO DEEP...cover COMING SOON!

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In preparation for the COVER REVEAL of IN TOO DEEP in a week, I thought I would post a short synopsis of the book to get you in the mood for some soul-breaking, heart-filling romance. This is a story very close to my heart because even though it is fictional, it is based on an emotionally abusive relationship I had in college. Gracie's story is one you won't forget.

Gracie Jordan’s innocence has bad boy Noah Foster intrigued. Without hesitation, she follows Noah’s charming lead into a relationship she’s nowhere near ready for. Noah’s love turns dark but Gracie holds on waiting for the Noah she fell in love with to return. Her heartbreak threatens to pull her under but her best friend and Noah’s former roommate, Jake, refuses to be a bystander. Jake throws Gracie a life raft and prays it’s not too late.

Emotionally this book was so hard to write. Dredging up all of the emotions proved to be one of the hardest things I have ever done. But, my very own "Jake" talked me through it and helped me realize this story could save someone from such pain. Of all the young women who dive into Gracie and Jake's reality, I hoping at least ONE sees the red flags in her own relationship in time for her to get out before she is IN TOO DEEP!

I'm so excited for the REVEAL on February 22nd. But even MORE excited for the book's RELEASE on June 6, 2013!

Gracie's best friend...Jake

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Yes, Jake is Gracie's best friend. Not just best "guy" friend...best FRIEND...on the planet. He is just that guy that every girl should have to help her navigate her relationships. He's honest but gentle with his words, he's a great boyfriend. For years, Gracie has watched the way he is with his girlfriend, Jessica. He really is the most genuine person she has ever met and she counts herself lucky to have snagged him as her BFF! ...oh yeah, and he's HOT!

The best way to introduce you to Jake is to let you peek inside a conversation they had in Gracie's apartment. Jake was the one she could count on to say the things no one else would... the things she didn't want to believe.

...enter, Jake...

          “Gracie, you are an amazing girl. You are beautiful and kind and you have the biggest heart of anyone I know.” He pulled back and looked me straight in the eyes. “But, you have to see that Noah doesn’t respect you.”

            “Jake!”

            “Listen, if no one is going to be brutally honest with you, I will, because I can’t stand watching you break.”

            “Stop.” I shook my head and put my face in my hands.

            “Gracie, listen to me. This is like a train wreck, everyone is watching and everyone is seeing the same thing. But for some reason you aren’t seeing the damage he is causing. This is eating you alive. He is stealing away the Gracie we all love and leaving and empty shell. It hurts me to watch. Honey, he doesn’t love you!”

            His voice was getting louder and his grip on my arms was a little tighter as he spoke.

            “Honey, he doesn’t love you!”

            I wiggled free and ran into the other room, “STOP IT, Jake!”

            “How does he show it? If he loves you, tell me what he does to prove it to you.”

            “He…well…”

            “See, you should be able to come up with something immediately. You can’t.”

            “How can you…”
            “He treats you like shit,” he started to tear up, “I see you crumble more each time we talk about what he’s done to you. He has changed back into the old Noah and he doesn’t deserve you. You are way too good for him. When are you going to see that?”

            “Jake, you are my best friend! My very, very best friend! How can you say these things to me? How can you purposely hurt me like this?” The last question came out as a whisper.

            He walked over to me and wiped my tears. He took my face in his hands and said, “Because sometimes being the best friend means telling the truth even when it hurts.”

            I crumbled in his arms and he helped me to the couch. I don’t know how long we sat there but I eventually cried myself to sleep. When I woke up I was covered up with a blanket and there was a note jotted on the receipt from our last take out order,

“Remember to not settle. You are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for.

Love you to pieces, Jake”

You like him, don't you? Yeah, he's hard not to like!

Meet Gracie Jordan and her playlist...

.
It's nice to meet you.
So, you think Noah's no good for me, too. That's why you're here, isn't it?

Well, he loves me. He pursued me, not the other way around. He fell for me first. Sure, I broke up with my boyfriend for him but only after he begged. He wanted me like I'd never felt wanted before and he could have anyone he wanted. He was beautiful and he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. And that should have been my first clue...

Noah's sun-tinted blond hair and big brown eyes weren't all that caught my attention. He was completely opposite that I was. In high school I was the girl who didn't get the text about the weekend party if there would be alcohol there. It wasn't that the kids at school thought I was a nerd...I had tons of friends. I was popular but I was also known as the "good girl." I didn't drink, swear, do drugs, sneak out or have sex...nothing most of my friends were doing. I graduated a virgin and was very proud to tell anyone I was saving myself for my future husband.

Noah, on the other hand, was the antithesis of "good," he was Hell on wheels. He drank, smoked weed, was crude and sometimes had a downright repulsive vocabulary. He slept with tons of girls and on the weekends he usually earned himself a hearty slug to the jaw for something he said or did at a party. But, you see, this is what people told me. With the exception of the first day we met, I never saw that Noah. I saw the Noah that fell so hard for me he would give that lifestyle up to keep me. So, he got me.

I love him. If I think of my life without him I panic. But things have changed.  I believe his lies and when I see right through them I talk myself out of the notion that what I suspect is truth. He is powerful and I am under his spell. But my self-esteem is so far gone one day I just couldn't find it anymore and that's when I knew... I am not worth anything more .I let him treat me the way he does because one day he will go back to being the Noah I fell in love with.

My best friend, Jake, who is actually Noah's former roommate, will tell you he's scared for me, for my sanity. He wants to badly to save me but I'm in too deep.

God, I'm in too deep. I'm not sure how much more of my story I can tell you. I usually start trembling when I talk about it. He doesn't hit me but my heart and my emotional state of mind sometimes take a beating. If I could just be the girlfriend he needs...I try so hard, so so hard, but I always seem to come up short. Just not enough.

Please don't feel sorry for me, this is just who we are. Lots of couples have tumultuous relationships, right? I really don't see why Jake insists Noah doesn't respect me. And why does everyone keep bringing up the word "abuse?" That's ridiculous...

Well, you came for my own personal playlist...these are the songs that speak volumes to me. Music is my therapy when I don't have the answers to what cuts me so deeply.

Gracie's Mix:

Oceans by Pearl Jam
Better Together by Jack Johnson
Add It Up by Violent Femmes
Better Man by Pearl Jam
Don't Change by INXS
Inside Out by Eve6
Shook Me by AC/DC
Black by Pearl Jam
The Middle by Johnny Eat World
Oceansize by Jane's Addiction