Now, I’m as big of a Twilight fan as the next girl.  But I’ll be honest here – Bella Swan drove me absolutely nuts, and frankly, so did Edward Cullen.  I managed to fall in love with these characters despite my better judgment, because let’s face it, it was an engaging story (and I was extremely gratified to see Bella’s transformation by the end, thank you Stephenie Meyer!).  But there was always that nagging voice in the back of my mind whispering, “How can you ever wholehea

Two author interviews for you today! The time travel/wormhole aspect of Stitch was fascinating.  How much research did you have to do for Stitch? The thing that’s most amazing about that stuff is that it’s actually true – or at least, those are the most accepted current scientific theories.  I actually didn’t have to do a ton of additional research, because I find that stuff fascinating too, so I’ve done a good amount of Stephen Hawking reading and that sort of stuff in the p

First, a quick reminder – the big swag-pack giveaway from the “Get Stitched for Valentine’s Day” tour is ending in just a few days!  But that’s still plenty of time to rack up some final entries – swing by any of the stops on the tour to enter.  :-) Also, here’s a link to a great interview and a new Stitch e-book giveaway at Here’s the Story.  It was a really fun interview – here’s a preview: I know personally that sometimes the writing process can be tedious (like when you’r

You see, the thing I’ve decided I love about writing a sequel is that so MUCH of the work is done already – now I just get to play.  In Book 1, the world was built – so now I just have to fill in all the fun little details that make it real.  The characters came to life in the previous book – so now I just have to let them lead the story.  And after reading the last one, the reader already *knows* all the background – that means I can jump right into the action!  (And the rom

Over the past week, the Shudder-o-Meter climbed to 40% completion!  (Look – you can finally see a sliver of the blue in the tear!! Okay, it’s a tiny bit – but still, we’re getting there!) The beta readers had lots to say again: “I can’t believe this is happening to Alessa…”“Is the girl in the jail who I *think* she is?”  (Other reader: “No way, she’s got to be the other one!”)“I’m guessing this has something to do with the stitching, right??”“Yay, so nice to get to know Nikhi

The Aussie Zombie – here’s a preview: Ever since the first Resident Evil came out in 1996 when I was the tender age of 11, my family has been sitting down together to thrash zombies and all the other nightmarish Bio Organic Weapons dreamed up by the geniuses at Capcom in an effort to rid the world of the ravages of the horrific T-/G-/t-Veronica-/X-/etc.-viruses. Initially, this wholesome ritual began as a fun way to pass the time while my older cousin babysat me and my younge

First, head over to Colorimetry today for a new author interview as part of the YA Paranormal Hop! Next up, an awesome 5-star review at Teri Polen’s Books & Such – here’s a sneak peak: One of the things I liked the most was the surprise of it all.  Beginning with what I thought was a YA paranormal ghost story, it evolved into what I’d classify as New Adult dystopian.  I’m a huge fan of both paranormal and dystopian/sci-fi, so I was one happy girl.  I’ve read my share of dysto

Two great new Stitch reviews up today at Here’s the Story and Words of the Worlds!  Here’s a preview: From Here’s the Story –  Wowzers. I think I screamed a few times while reading. If you’re looking for a book chock full of action, suspense, mystery, and intrigue, snag a copy. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat. From Words of the Worlds –  The author has crafted an intriguing Dystopian world with good characters, many twists, and talented writing. From the end o

Note: This guest post was originally posted on 11/19/12 at another blog, but that blog has since closed down.  I decided to move the text here since I thought this might be valuable as a resource to other writers. As you may have guessed from the book’s synopsis, Stitch isn’t your everyday paranormal romance story.  Though it starts out with an infatuation between a college girl, Alessa, and the handsome ghost that frequents her sorority house, the plot actually goes much dee

Today is the final day on the fabulous “Get Stitched for Valentine’s Day” tour!  We’ve got a whole slew of amazing blogs hosting today, many of which are featuring great new reviews! HOWEVER, even though it’s the last day of new stops, the big tour giveaway is open until March 1st!  That means you still have plenty of time to enter for more chances to win and take advantage of the multi-day entry options to earn more entries! Here’s the full list of today’s stops (the whole t

“What’s the Swag Pack Giveaway?” you ask?  Check out yesterday’s kick-off post for a full list of prizes in the TWO awesome Stitch swag packs we’re giving away to two lucky followers on the tour.  :-) Here’s a list of today’s stops (you can enter the giveaway at any or all of them!):Day Two – February 15, 201311.Sincerely, Stephh – Promo12.I Talk Books! – Review13.Babbling of a Bookaholic – Review14.Immerse in a World of Fiction – Review15.Charlie, Coffee and a Good Book – Re

Super excited to kick off Day 1 of the Get Stitched for Valentine’s Day Blog Tour! Not ONLY are there 10 awesome stops on the tour today, BUT we also have an AMAZING tour-wide giveaway going on!  Here’s what you can win!! The deets: Prize 1 (US only) – Stitch Swag Pack, including: Signed print copy of Stitch Stitch long-sleeve t-shirt One-of-a-kind signed Stitch bookmark $5 Amazon gift card Prize 2 (Int’l) – E-Swag Pack, including: Ebook copy of Stitch Authorgraph digital sig

Got another update on the Shudder-o-Meter!  Over this past weekend, it climbed to 32% complete (that’s just about 1/3 done!): Woo!  We’re getting there!  I think by next week you’ll actually be able to see some real color on this thing… :-D In the meantime, here’s what the beta readers thought of the newest chapters: “It’s REALLY good.  I thought Stitch was awesome, but somehow you’re actually getting better…”“Bah this is getting so interesting that I just want to wait until

Hi guys!  Sorry for the no-show the past few days – I’ve been migrating this website to a new server, and I was afraid to post anything new for fear I’d lose it in the transition! Now that we’re back online, I’d like to make a couple announcements: First, starting on Thursday of this week (February 14th), Stitch is going on tour!  I’m super excited for the “Get Stitched for Valentine’s Day” blog tour hosted by CBL Book Tours!!! Look at the tour banner – isn’t it pretty? We’ve

Another update on the Shudder-o-Meter!!  We’re at 25%! I did another 5 chapters this weekend and the beta readers were VERY enthusiastic about them: “How do you come up with such things?  What those beasts are I cannot imagine…”“Hurry up and write more please!”“Oh man, Nikhil comeback out of nowhere!”“I absolutely love it.” “I read all 5 chapters in one sitting again!  I can’t put this book down!!!” More coming soon!  (As long as the power doesn’t go out here this weekend… ar

Stitch is the debut novel of Samantha Durante, but you wouldn’t know that by reading it.  She writes like she’s been doing it for years – it’s that good.  … if you enjoy well-written fiction with surprise twists and well-developed characters, with an author wielding a thorough imagination that will leave you clamoring for the next installment, then you must read Stitch.  Favorite book I’ve read this year so far! Wow, thank you so much to Wendy for the glowing the review!  So

Note: I stole this image from a different Travelling Book group, but pretty awesome packaging, no? I’m SUPER excited about this great new program that Stitch is participating in – it’s called the Adventures of the Travelling Book, and it basically means that a print copy of Stitch is getting shipped around to a whole bunch of readers all over the world who will write their notes and reactions right in the book and then finally ship it back to me so I can see what everyone had

This content was originally posted on www.theaussiezombie.blogspot.com as part of the Stitch Blog Tour in 2013. Thanks so much to Kat for hosting me today! I’m not sure how many of you out there had the same experience, but over this past holiday season, the television in my family’s home certainly became what can only be described as a “conflict box.” (And yes, I stole that phrase from the DirecTV ads.) You see, my family likes to spend time together when we’re all in the sa

Did you ever wonder why there aren’t more books in a college setting?  I did, and when I went looking for answers, I found a bunch of garbage that infuriated me and spawned this guest post “The Case for College: a Rant” which you can find today over at New Adult Addiction.  Here’s a sneak preview: “College students are too busy to read for pleasure and teenagers are too absorbed in their own lives to want to read about college.”a. First off, since *when* are college students

This content was originally posted on www.alwaysyaatheart.com as part of the Stitch Blog Tour in 2012. I recently came across the following meme on Facebook: Now, I’m as big of a Twilight fan as the next girl. But I’ll be honest here – Bella Swan drove me absolutely nuts, and frankly, so did Edward Cullen. I managed to fall in love with these characters despite my better judgment, because let’s face it, it was an engaging story (and I was extremely gratified to see Bella’s tr