HUGE SALE ON AMAZON! JANUARY 20,TH ALL DAY! 

Get all three books for under $3!

CLICK HERE

Beyond Eighteen...is OUT to the World!

Beyond Eighteen is out to the world! Amazon is up and people are clicking….Barnes and Nobel is taking a little longer…keep checking back with their site. Smashwords is up but am still waiting on the approval for distribution to iTunes/iBooks.

So here are the links…

Kindle at Amazon.com  

Paperback at Amazon.com here 

Paperback at Createspace.com here 

For all electronic platforms at Smashwords.com here 

Nook at Barnes and Nobel…still waiting for link…

This has been one amazing journey. From the first time I starting writing Wilson’s story to the moment I wrote the last word on the screen. I’ve cried, laughed, became frustrated, loved it, hated it, and basically felt the entire gamut of emotions with this series. It has been a ride I only dreamed of. Thank you for making it a reality! Truly, without you, this couldn’t have taken place. Thank you for supporting my passion, thank you for cheering me on when it became difficult, thank you for letting Wilson and Max into your heart and most of all….thank you for letting me take you away from the realities of life so you could have some time with the characters that flooded my mind.

I love you all and honor you as a fan of the series.

Beyond Eighteen Blurb and Cover Reveal...10 More Days!

Can you believe that in 10 days Beyond Eighteen will be out to the world? In 10 days…the series you fell in love with, will finish its run with its third and final book.

There’s this part of me that is breaking inside. I ache because I know there is a moment where I will sit at the computer and tap out lives that have nothing to do with Wilson and Max. And yet, there is this excitement that boils inside of me for the new characters that are dancing around my head. I can’t wait to introduce you to them, and their stories. My heart rate speeds up when I think that you are going to meet people who have nothing to do with the Wilson Mooney Series. It’s like the first day you bring home a friend or lover to meet your parents.

Today I am going to give you…my subscribers the first look at the blurb for book 3 and the new covers. Yeah, you read right…I reissued new covers for book 1 and 2.

Before you start screaming or emailing me…I want you to know…I loved the butterfly covers…but I needed the books to become something different when people saw the covers. I needed them to reflect what the story was about…and the butterflies just weren’t enough. At first the covers were my attempt to be different, but just as caterpillars morph into butterflies; my books needed to evolve into something that let people know it was a contemporary new adult romance.

Soooo…without further ado….here is the blurb for Beyond Eighteen and the three new book covers. 

Beyond Eighteen Blurb

Max Goldstein has been confronted by death, betrayal, and unwanted expectations. He must work to find the delicate balance of a love that has been tested and a family that has been broken. Returning to the warmth of Wilson’s arms, he finds the only place he can be truly healed. Unfortunately, teetering on the edge of losing everything he’s ever wanted, Max must make decisions that pull at his sense of responsibility and push at his desire to protect the life he’s found with Wilson.

When Wilson Mooney is thrust into adulthood, she never expects her childhood demons to come knocking. Struggling to balance the delicate nature of her relationship with Max and the burning sting of betrayal; Wilson realizes she must dig deep within her soul to find forgiveness. Will she allow circumstances out of her control to shape her future? Or will she find the strength and maturity to go beyond eighteen and have the life she desires with the man she loves?

Will Wilson and Max ever get to have their happily ever after?

Watch for Beyond Eighteen October 2nd, 2013. 

With Gratitude and Love,

Gretchen

OMG....WE HAVE A DATE!

I've had several people ask me...What’s going on with Beyond Eighteen (book 3 in the Wilson Mooney Series)?

First off, I know you feel like you’re floating in a blow-up raft in the middle of a shark infested body of water known as Wilson and Max. Bailing water from the sinking boat, and hoping that the little lifelines I seem to throw you will keep you from becoming shark bait. I get it. I truly understand the frustration, anticipation, and impatience y’all must be feeling, because I feel that way too! (thanks Shark Week)

With anything I feel impassioned about; I want to keep it safe. I want to make sure everything is in proper order before I let it go off on its journey. It’s so important to me that I give as much of myself that I can to the stories I write.

When the characters talk through me, or I feel that spark to write, it is as if everything else bows out. My family, friends, house, animals, events, everything becomes the background on which my writing is fueled. Life around me goes on going, while I disappear in the folds of my stories and the heartbeats of my characters.

The people, who know me and love me, try to understand. They continue to support me, but I can see and feel when they are reaching the saturation level of being ignored. Doors become heavier as they close with more force, calls and texts become a little longer, with words like, “I know you’re writing, but”, and my family gets tired of the excuse, let me just finish this chapter. As a matter of fact, I know my family and friends sometime feels my characters get more time with me then they do, and truthfully, sometimes they’re right.

Inspiration has a way of showing up at the most inopportune of times and so does its nemesis procrastination! There are days when I want to ignore the cat calls from the fictional characters in my head and the bellyaching from my boys in real life, and just take a day to myself. But, well, that just wouldn’t be fair to everyone.

So, here’s where I am with Beyond Eighteen...I hope it eases your mind. The first 3/4 of the book is written, and as of yesterday, is with my editor, Tiffany. I am at a pivotal point in the book and I feel like there is roughly another 3 or 4 chapters to go before Wilson and Max’s story will be done for this series. A couple of my beta-readers have been reading it all along, helping me catch inconsistencies. My graphic designer has finished the ebook cover and it is ready to go, the paperback is really close. I have been communicating with bloggers and other authors about promoting the series. And if all goes well, I will revise, re-read, and revise before back to editor and then off to the world. So the big question everyone is waiting for…When will book 3 be released?

DRUM ROLL PLEASE............

Beyond Eighteen will be released on a very special day…October 2nd, 2013, (Ed and my 19th wedding anniversary).

HEY! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

I'll be in Las Vegas on August, 17th at the Hard Rock Hotel from 2-6pm. 

and

On October 12th (10 days after book 3 is released), I’ll be at the Mark Spencer Hotel in Portland, Oregon from 12-4.

With Love and Gratitude,

Gretchen

Sneak Peek Scene from Beyond Eighteen WM#3 & News

Hey My Loves, 

Head on over to Up All Night Book Blog and check out the exclusive scene sneak peek between Wilson and Max... Click HERE to read it!

www.upallnightbookblog.com

Also, don't forget SFINE on June 15th, the San Francisco Signing~ the event is almost to capacity...so...if you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the middle of June, come on down to the Sheraton at Fisherman's Wharf and say hi! I'll even sign your book (or whatever you have to be signed!) 
 Click HERE for details and register soon! 



With all of that...If I get 1K (1,000) LIKES on the Wilson Mooney Fan Page I will reveal Beyond Eighteen's cover!  
I gotta tell you...is it a lot different than the other two books!  

Oh, yeah, and one more thing... You've heard it here first...I am re-issuing book 1 & 2 with totally new covers! More about that...later!  Shhhh......

Thank you for supporting me on this journey~ with the deepest gratitude and love,

Gretchen  

Win a Beta Reader Spot for Wilson Mooney #3 Beyond Eighteen!

Check this out! Want to win an opportunity to read Wilson Mooney Beyond Eighteen (book3) before the public?  I have 1 spot available in my beta reader team...are you up for it? Check out the auction link above the picture below! 

Hey my lovely readers, the money is going to  a worthy cause! It helps fund needed programs at my son's school! Bid high, bid often...and who knows, you just might be hanging out with me, talking about Wilson and Max's future!

CONGRATULATIONS TO....
Suzanne R. from
the San Francisco Bay Area!
Thanks for supporting PHE!





300 LIKES ON FACEBOOK!

300 LIKES ON FACEBOOK! 

YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS...

***WILSON MOONEY #3  SPOILER ALERT***

If you would rather stay in the dark, by all means shield your eyes, turn away and stay at the door, yet again. But if you just have to have some type of resolve, then click 

HERE 

Thanks to all who LIKED the Wilson Mooney Facebook Page. If you haven't...well, you might just be missing out!

 

 

Enter to Win Autographed Copies of book 1 & 2!

Enter to win an autographed copy of both Wilson Mooney Almost Eighteen & Eighteen at last. 
 Just fill out the form to the right, "Stay in the Loop" for the latest information about the release of Wilson Mooney Beyond Eighteen, merchandise, contests, sneak peeks and news! But hurry, the drawing ends 1/31/13. 

**If you've already filled this out. Email me at gretchen(at)gretchendelao(dot)com and tell me you want to enter the contest!**

300 LIKES ON FACEBOOK = SNEAK PEEK WM#3

Woo Hoo, Wilson Mooney's Facebook Page has reached 229 LIKES. When it reaches 300 LIKES, I will give you a sneak peek from the 3rd book, Wilson Mooney, Beyond Eighteen! If you don't have FB, find a friend that has it and make sure they LIKE the Wilson Mooney Series Facebook Page and when it reaches 300...you'll get a little something, something to help pass the time before the book is released. Check out the link below...

https://www.facebook.com/wilsonmooneytheseries

Thick Skin...Maybe Not.

Okay, so maybe my skin isn’t as thick as I thought it was…like most I can admire the genius behind the impossible flight of an awkwardly disproportionate bumble bee. It’s amazing to find out nature can defy physics and make the impossible…possible. But when the fear of being stung out-weighs the admiration of true nature, that’s when I tend to get nailed.

The bumble bee, whose wings appear to be too small to keep its massive body in the air and a body which lacks any defined attempt at aerodynamics, and yet, it hovers, flies, and lands on the most delicate of places. The bumble bee spends its day depositing and taking pollen to create the sweetest nectar. It lives its existence, doing what’s in its nature, simply because it is designed to do it. When it’s threatened or its queen is threatened it will protect her, often with the sacrifice of its life. It dies to do what’s in its indisputable nature.

Sometimes, I feel like a bumble bee…yeah, that’s right, a bumble bee.

I wanted to write, so I wrote like it was in my nature. No, I wasn’t born into a family of writers or ever dreamt of being a writer when I was younger. One day, I just had an urge, stronger than a desire, to write, so I wrote. Like the bumble bee, I never knew my wings were too small for my body. I wrote without knowing anything about what I was or wasn’t supposed to do or believe.

And just as nature supports the business of the bumble bee’s intentions, it has and continues to support me in my purpose. Yeah, I have days where I feel I have to justify and protect my writing. There are moments when I feel threatened, hurt, and misunderstood. When stranger’s words find ways to pierce deeper than any stinger could drive in my skin. Sometimes their words roll off my back and sometimes their words get stuck in the nectar I’ve decided to take back to my hive.

But I will say…there are more days I feel, supported, loved, happy, and completely appreciated. Days where the words that blanket my computer screen encourage me to keep going. Moments where tears cluster in my eyes because I’ve written a story that touches people’s lives deeper than I could have ever imagined.

Nothing is more powerful than the words we say, thoughts we think, and intentions we act upon. So when hours shuffle into days, I truly appreciate every moment my readers have taken to write me a note, an email, a review, or a comment. And just like the bumble bee, which doesn’t think of itself as anything more than a worker/producer, I keep my intention on writing the stories that crowd my head. When I need motivation to continue, I find it. When difficulties appear, I get out of the way of my insecurities and doubt. And I will never forget how conventional science points out every reason why a bumble bee shouldn’t be able to fly…and yet it keeps defying scientific reasoning.

Stretch your wings, try something you’ve put off too long. And remember just because it hasn’t been done before, doesn’t mean it can’t; it just means you haven’t discovered a way…yet.