Our next release, Keen: Banshee Song Series, Book One by Laura L. Zimmerman, had been long anticipated by our readers. We are thrilled to share further details with you.
First of all, here is more info about the lovely book itself:
You must walk the darkness to find the light.
Half-faerie Caoine has no control over the banshee lament she sings each night, predicting the death of others. A senior in a brand new high school, she expects the same response she’s received at every other school: judgment from fellow students over her unusual eyes and unnaturally white skin and hair. However, when Caoine arrives at West Lincoln High, for the first time in her life she finds friends. Real friends.
But being a teenager is never easy, especially when the star soccer player, Oliver, sets his sights on her. Allowing him to get close means revealing her curse to the human world.
She can’t let that happen.
Life spins further out of control when her lament comes out during the day, those whose death she predicts die right in front of her, and a dark faerie known only as the Unseelie prince blames Caoine by leaving her the creepiest notes ever.
Her curse is not supposed to work like that.
In a race against time, Caoine must uncover the Unseelie prince’s identity and stop a spell before it unleashes hell on earth, all while trying to control her banshee song and finding a place among her peers.
Senior year just got real.
Seriously such a good book. Now just a few more details before we show you that gorgeous cover.
Keen releases on Tuesday, July 9, 2019.
Keen’s blog tour will be Monday, July 1st–Friday, July 12th.
The next book to be released from L2L2 Publishing is Keen, a stirring banshee story from Author Laura L. Zimmerman that has completely captivated us.
To help you get to know our newest author, our very own Jebraun Clifford, editorial assistant, recently interviewed Zimmerman.
We hope you will love getting to know her as much as we have.
Enjoy!
Jebraun Clifford: “Let’s start with a little bit of background. What sparked your interest in writing?”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “I’ve always enjoyed creating stories, even from a young age! (My dad is a natural storyteller, so he says I got my abilities from him. I shall allow him continue to believe that. *wink*) I never aspired to become a writer, but I did have grand ideas of being a visual artist, actress, and musician. Somehow, writing just remained a hobby for me. A story would hit me and I would squirrel away for days/weeks/months to get it out of my head. It wasn’t until 2013 that my husband planted the idea in my head that I should actually publish something that I wrote.”
Jebraun Clifford: “Have you kept any old drafts of stories?”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “I do have old drafts of some of my writing, and it’s hilarious to go back and re-read them! My earliest is from when I was seven years old. I wrote a story called “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” and used my Fashion Plates for the artwork. (Yes, I’m serious about this!) I also have vivid memories of trying to write the scariest stories possible and begging my sixth grade teacher to allow me to read them out loud, just so I could see the reaction of my classmates. (There was one where a hand came out of a toilet. Oh yes, there was.) I’ve got a few other partial manuscripts from middle and high school, but the majority of what I have is after I got married, when I actually took the time to complete my novels before moving on. (I guess I just didn’t have the patience when I was younger?)”
Jebraun Clifford: “Scary stories are great. I’d love to know where the idea for your banshee tale, Keen came from. Because banshees can be pretty terrifying!”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “Singing has always been a big part of my life. It was one reason I wanted to become a Broadway actress (*cough, cough* A girl can dream, right?) and eventually went on to major in music in college. About eighteen months ago, my teenager asked me to join her in watching the CW show Teen Wolf. I was immediately drawn to one character that was a banshee and got curious about banshee lore. From that mythology—and mixing that with my love of singing—a story spiraled inside my head. I never intended it to become what it did, but it just sort of flowed out. (Which I’m quite grateful for!)”
Jebraun Clifford: “I love the combining of different elements that launched this story. How did you end up being a part of the L2L2 family?”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “I attended my first Realm Makers Conference in 2017. I had a couple different manuscripts I wanted to pitch to publishers and was downright terrified at the prospect of doing so! A friend of mine knew Michele and you and told me I should definitely pitch to you because you were both so sweet. I met many different publishers at that conference, but I will say, my pitch to L2L2 was by far my favorite. My friend was right! You and Michele helped me to relax and made the whole experience wonderful. Although neither of those stories were right for L2L2, I came back to Realm Makers the next year with Keenin hand. Working with L2L2 was high on my “wish list” of publishers, so I was thrilled to get to submit my work to Michele again!”
Jebraun Clifford: “I really enjoyed hearing your pitches that year, and I’m so glad you’ve found a home with us. Tell us about your love affair with coffee. ;-)”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “Well, it began in a café in Paris twenty years ago… Just kidding! I wishit had. Wouldn’t that be the most romantic story? In truth, I hated coffee until college. (Yes, this is the proverbial “I needed coffee to survive exams in college” story.) One night, a friend dragged me to an Open Mic night at a local coffee shop. I asked her what coffee beverage I could order that would taste the leastlike coffee. (Because EW!) She hooked me up with an ah-ma-zing cappuccino, and I haven’t looked back since! I now actually enjoy drinking it black(scandalous!) and couldn’t help but to allow my obsession spillover into my blog, Caffeinated Fiction. (See what I did there?) The perfect Christmas or birthday present for me will always be anything coffee related, even if it’s something as simple as chocolate-covered coffee beans. (Yum!)”
Jebraun Clifford: “Chocolate-covered coffee beans are amazing. I imagine they help fuel your writing?”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “If I’m super focused, I usually skip any eating or drinking while writing. But if I think about it before I sit down, I do prefer to have a coffee (safely off to the side, so it won’t spill on my laptop!) and maybe a light snack. (Cashews and cheese are my go-to yumminess for brain power!) But I have been known to skip major meals if I’m in the writing mood. Not recommended, but when inspiration hits, you’ve gotta grab it, right?”
Jebraun Clifford: “Absolutely! Since you’re a busy woman, you’re married and have a family, what’s your strategy when it’s time to write? Do you have a particular routine to help you get in the groove or a favorite place to retreat?”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “I like to look at my writing as a seasonal affair. My writing life has looked many different ways throughout the years and the one thing I’ve learned is to allow it to change with whatever season of life I happen to be in. (Otherwise, I just get sad.)
“There have been times when I woke at the crack of dawn and got a full two hours of writing in before my kids woke. This is notthat season, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Right now I homeschool my three daughters, with one in high school, one in middle, and one in elementary. That takes up a good portion of my day. However, we’ve struck a balance where they understand that I need to spend one to two hours per day locked in my room without interruption. I can usually find one of them to tag along to a coffee shop with me, too, which I try to do at least once a week. (The smell of coffee helps me to focus!) And my teens are happy to help me with some of my writerly things, like taking #bookstagram pictures or giving me ideas for flash fiction stories for my blog. It’s nice to involve them in what I do.”
Jebraun Clifford: “This is great! A family collaboration of sorts. Now for something completely serious: If you could be any magical creature, what would it be?”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “As much as I would love to say faerie—since my main character in Keen is half-fae—I must stay true to my heart and say mermaid! I’ve been a little obsessed with them since tenth grade, when I first saw Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Of course I loved the singing, so I hadto memorize every song and “be” Ariel, right? My love for mermaids carried me right through high school and college. And yes, I’ve even written a series of books about mermaids. (Of course!) I love any and all mermaid mythology and made sure my youngest daughters got proper mermaid tails to wear in the bathtub. (How much fun is that?) I would love to go swimming with “mermaids” someday, at a vacation spot that offers that, and maybe try on a tail myself? #bucketlist”
Jebraun Clifford: “Mermaids would be an awesome fantasy creature to turn into. What about your preference for a magical creature as a pet?”
Laura L. Zimmerman: “As for a pet, I’ve gotta say dragon! (A sweet, adorable one, like Toothless!) I mean, how amazing would it be to have a pet that you could ride. In the air! And could breathe fire. Cause that’s just cool.”
Jebraun Clifford: “A dragon would be a handy pet, especially as a watch, erm, dog, or if you were having difficulty lighting your BBQ. Well, thanks so much for chatting, Laura! And we’re all very excited for your debut, Keen, later this year.”
And thank you, Jebraun, for interviewing our lovely new author!
We hope our readers will adore the latest book from L2L2 Publishing.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make Flare’s release a success!
First of all, to our readers:
Thank you for coming alongside our author, J.M. Hackman, and enjoying her wonderful Firebrand Chronicles. We have loved each review and every blog post or email telling us how much you like her books!
Second, to everyone who shared Flare’s or Spark’s lovely covers on your social media, blog, or website:
We love Sara Helwe Digital Art’s covers more than we can say, and it thrills each person on our team when we discover her gorgeous covers on yet another site. Thank you!
And to our blog tour team:
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for featuring J.M. Hackman on your blog or website! Each post was perfection, and it means the world to us that you would take time out of your busy schedules to chat with or feature our author.
Monday, Feb. 25th, “It’s Almost Here!” Review of Flare, Rachel R. Lopez, www.rachelrlopez.com
Tuesday, Feb. 26th, Release-Day Feature: “What’s the Story Behind Brenna’s ADHD?” J.M. Hackman, www.jmhackman.com
The months leading up to a new release are a crazy and busy time at L2L2 Publishing, but they are also our favorites.
After all, a new book is about to be born!
This month, we will be releasing Flare: The Firebrand Chronicles, Book Two by J.M. Hackman, the riveting sequel to Spark.
We cannot wait to share this new book with you.
From the back cover:
Brenna travels to Linneah via portal to visit her boyfriend Baldwin, only to find heartbreak. Betrayal. A serious case of never, ever wanting to see him again. Worst summer vacation ever.
So when her best friend Tiny invites her on a road trip to meet Tiny’s fiancé, Brenna jumps at the chance. Even if her mother disapproves. Even if it’s through a dangerous travel portal. Even if Tiny has never met this fiancé handpicked by her dad. Anything’s better than staying in Linneah.
But the trip disintegrates into disaster. The two friends are separated, Brenna is kidnapped, and not only are Brenna’s Firebrand skills tested to the limit, she must participate in the dangerous event, Starfall . . . or go home. Broke. Alone. With a shattered heart. Sonot fun.
And then as if that’s not bad enough? Brenna discovers a plot that could spell disaster for everyone she holds dear. And no one believes her.
Can she prevent a bloody government takeover? And what will become of Brenna’s broken heart?
(These links will be updated as the posts go live.)
We hope you will join Author J.M. Hackman as she tells you all about the world of Flare!
Facebook Release Party for Flare
And we cannot forget Flare’s online release party on Facebook! We hope you will join us.
As with our other release parties, we will have games, trivia, and tons of prizes. (Okay, mostly books or bookish prizes. That is, after all, what we love best! New books!)
We cannot wait to celebrate J.M. Hackman’s latest release with you.
Happy Reading!
~The L2L2 Publishing Team
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What readers said about the first book in the series, Spark:
“J.M. Hackman’s Spark is a fun ride for your imagination. She weaves a sweet tale of action, adventure, and romance, sprinkled with humor that any lover of fantasy should be excited to read. Hackman crafted such a beautifully creative world that by the end of the book, you’ll want to visit the kingdom of Linneah for yourself and share in Brenna’s adventures. Great start to a wonderful new series.”
—Julie Hall, award-winning author of the Life After series
“Finally—a well-written and impossible-to-put-down YA speculative that is safe to read and can be enjoyed by all ages! Spark is the kind of story teens crave: gripping, fast-paced adventure; unpredictable twists; a strong heroine; and a touch of romance. Parents, I believe, will appreciate this new voice in clean YA speculative fiction and the morals that are presented throughout. J.M. Hackman, a talented debut author, does an excellent job at weaving in inner challenges of self-discovery that teens in our modern world understand and will identify with. Teens, you’ve been warned: expect to lose sleep over Spark!”
—Tessa Emily Hall, YA author of Purple Moon(2014 Selah Award Finalist) and Unwritten Melody
“Spark is a trip into a creative and unique fantasy world with adventurous characters and lovable mythical creatures. It’s a story for young teens—and the young teens still living inside the rest of us.”
—Kat Heckenbach, author of Finding Angel
“As a bookseller who reads bunches of books, I have rarely been so captured by an alternative reality fantasy as I was from the very first page of this marvelous new book. I was smitten with Brenna, the snarky, confident, sixteen-year-old who exhibits wit and grace (and fire—you’ll see). You will love this fun story crafted by a great writer who chooses wonderful words and colorful phrases, sometimes with stunning results. As the drama unfolds, you will learn why Hackman started Spark with the fitting line from C.S. Lewis that there are no ordinary people. Wow.”
—Byron Borger, owner of Hearts & Minds Books
About the author:
J. M. Hackman loves thunderstorms, bookstores, and happy endings. She’s never met a reading nook she didn’t like and prefers soul talk to small talk. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her two munchkins and her handsome husband who supports her in this crazy profession. Her days are filled with writing stories, consuming massive quantities of dark chocolate, and looking for portals to other worlds. You can find her at www.jmhackman.com.
Flare: The Firebrand Chronicles, Book Two by J.M. Hackman has been long anticipated by many of our readers, and we cannot wait to share it with you.
Flare releases February 26, 2019, and news of the blog tour, online release party, physical release party, and book tour will be coming soon.
Are you ready to see that gorgeous cover yet?
First, here’s a little about the book itself:
Brenna travels to Linneah via portal to visit her boyfriend Baldwin, only to find heartbreak. Betrayal. A serious case of never, ever wanting to see him again.
Worst summer vacation ever.
So when her best friend Tiny invites her on a road trip to meet Tiny’s fiancé, Brenna jumps at the chance. Even if her mother disapproves. Even if it’s through a dangerous travel portal. Even if Tiny has never met this fiancé handpicked by her dad. Anything’s better than staying in Linneah.
But the trip disintegrates into disaster. The two friends are separated, Brenna is kidnapped, and not only are Brenna’s Firebrand skills tested to the limit, she must participate in the dangerous event, Starfall . . . or go home. Broke. Alone. With a shattered heart. So not fun.
And then as if that’s not bad enough? Brenna discovers a plot that could spell disaster for everyone she holds dear. And no one believes her.
Can she prevent a bloody government takeover? And what will become of Brenna’s broken heart?
And now for the lovely cover!
Isn’t that gorgeous? We are in love.
Thank you for joining us today, and we hope you love this long-anticipated book as much as we do.
Until next time, happy reading!
~The L2L2 Publishing Team
Next Time: Stay tuned for our 2019 production schedule, our extremely full list of events, and some exciting news we cannot wait to share with you.
We are thrilled to welcome Laura L. Zimmerman to the L2L2 Publishing family!
Zimmerman’s debut novel, Keen, follows the fantastical adventures of Caoine, a half-faerie high school student who happens to be a banshee. Our acquisitions editor knew this story was a perfect fit for us, and we can’t wait to get it into your hands.
Intrigued? We thought so. Here’s a little more about Keen:
You must walk through the dark to find the light.
Born a half-faerie, Caoine is forced to sing her banshee lament each night, predicting the death of others. A senior in a brand-new school, she faces the same response she’s received in every other school—judgment from fellow students over her unusual eyes and unnaturally white skin and hair. However, when Caoine arrives at West Lincoln High, she finds that for the first time in her life she has friends—real friends.
But being a teenager is never easy, especially when the star soccer player, Oliver, sets his sights on her. Allowing him to get close can only mean one thing—revealing her curse to the human world. Life spins further out of control when Oliver’s ex-girlfriend decides to use Caoine as a social punching bag and she receives mysterious notes from a dark faerie known only as the Unseelie Prince. People are dying, and she has until Halloween to figure out why.
In a race against time, Caoine must uncover the truth of the Unseelie Prince’s identity and stop a spell that can unleash hell on earth, all while trying to control her banshee song and find a place among her peers at school.
Senior year just got real.
We’re excited to keep you updated with more news about this amazing tale.
And what about the lovely author?
Laura L. Zimmerman lives in a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband, three daughters, and three furbaby felines. As a child, she became convinced she was a mermaid, which she still believes to this day. Being a mythological creature, she caught the traveling bug at an early age and spent two and a half years with a missionary organization roaming the world. During her travels she met her Mr. Darcy, and they married soon after. Recently, she and her family moved across the country twice in a ridiculously short amount of time, but she’s happy to report she plans to stay put for a good number of years, thank you very much.
Laura is currently a stay-at-home mom and home educator by day, drinker of coffee by night. Besides writing, she’s passionate about loving Jesus, watching anything Star Wars, and singing loudly. An avid reader, she often has overdue library fines and a TBR pile as tall as Trump Tower.
Her favorite form of writing is flash fiction, which is evident from the number of stories she’s produced on her blog as well as contests she’s entered and even judged! You can catch her in a bookstore, coffee shop, or shoveling popcorn in her mouth at the local movie theater.
Connect with Laura on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or her website, Caffeinated Fiction. She is represented by Cyle Young at Hartline Literary Agency.
We are thrilled to introduce you to our new author, and we cannot wait to share her book Keen with you!
Every time we release a new book at L2L2 Publishing, it takes a slew of people, both behind the scenes and shouting from the mountaintops, to make each release a success.
And that’s exactly what happened with Fairyeater.
First of all, a huge thanks to everyone who shared the cover, posted about the book, or told their friends about this lovely story. We appreciate each one of you!
The biggest thank you ever to each person who reviewed this book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, your blog, or any other review site. You have no idea how much of a blessing this is to our author.
And a heartfelt thank you to our blog tour team, who have posted daily for the last two weeks, especially Laura A. Grace, who made sure each of our bloggers received their posts on time, created lovely visuals for the blog posts and the Facebook party, as well as co-hosted the release party itself.
If you missed a post on the blog tour or would like to learn a plethora of behind-the-scenes facts about this lovely story, here are the posts once more.
Thank you to everyone on our team, from marketing to publicity to editing and beyond, for all you do for our publishing house and for each of our authors and their novels.
And the biggest thank you of all to Author Pam Halter for writing this lovely tale in the first place.
And to each person who has yet to read this exciting story: We hope you love Fairyeater as much as we do!
Coming soon: Stay tuned for some exciting news from L2L2 Publishing.
Each of these blog posts on Pam Halter’s blog tour will take you deeper into Akeela’s world or help you get to know the author better. We hope you will join us!
We are so thrilled to tell you all about our next release!
Fairyeater by Pam Halter releases October 25, 2018, and to celebrate, we have a blog tour and online release party planned. We will have details soon about her book signings.
From the back cover:
All fifteen-year-old Akeela has ever wanted is an ordinary family who will love her. But the only mother she has ever known is the old hag, Krezma, who berates her night and day. Why did the old woman even take her in?
But Krezma knows her charge is no ordinary child. She can see the auras surrounding living things and can communicate with fairies. And the birthmark on her palm reveals a secret Krezma must hold close for the child’s safety.
A secret that the witch, Tzmet, hunts for night and day, drying and eating fairies for the power they contain. When Akeela discovers her fate lies in being the next Fairy Guardian, all hope for an ordinary life dissipates like the dreams they were. She must protect the fairies from the witch—and an even darker power that threatens them all.
Akeela is unwillingly thrust into an adventure that will not end until she decides to accept her fate and give up on her dream.
Maybe even her life.
Doesn’t that sound delicious? It truly is such a gripping tale.
Since it is online, anyone is welcome to attend and enter any of the giveaways. In fact, here are a few sneak peeks of the many prizes selected for this party!
We hope you love this new tale, and we hope to see you at the celebration for Fairyeater.
