The new direction for my blog. #gramber

In the past, my blog has been mostly about my writing and as a means to market myself and my works. I will still post about my books, but my main focus will be changing.

I've been thinking a lot about what kind of legacy I want to leave behind. What I would want my children and grandchildren and any adopted grandchildren (that's everyone else) to know about life. I don't imagine it will go any further than that. And I don't mind. I never wanted to be famous. Never wanted anyone to look at me as better than anyone else. Because I'm not. We all have the same worth, though perhaps we don't all give back to the world the same amount, whether because of circumstances or choices.

Regardless, I feel compelled to share what I've learned--perhaps because at heart I've always been a teacher. And if my words touch a single life, that will be enough. I'll be calling this series #Gramber. See what I did there? Combining Grama and Amber? *giggle snort*

#gramber

An update on our family's medical drama . . .

Lots of things going on. My cyst is gone, and so is the pain (yay!). I've discovered this medicine called Prelief, which has made my IC completely manageable. I can even eat chocolate and tomatoes again (I'll probably never be able to handle soda pop or lemonade (or coffee or alcohol, but I'm Mormon so no worries there)). It's also lessened the pain to the point where I don't hurt very often anymore. My ankle is still giving me a few problems--there's still a broken bone fragment floating around in there that gets pinched every once in awhile. But I really, really don't want another surgery.

I just had a major breakthrough with Winter's Heir. It will require deleting about 7K words and starting over, but this will make the book SO MUCH BETTER. So in the end, it's all good.

We've found a medication for my oldest son that has made his symptoms manageable--he can stay awake and he isn't collapsing anymore. The doctors think he has a sort of transient cataplexy, which he will eventually grow out of. Not a great thing to have, but better than the horrible things like tumors and seizures and narcolepsy that the doctors were talking about. There's still a chance he won't grow out of it, but I'm trying not to focus on that.

My second son has a great teacher this year (unlike the horrible bully he had last year). His femur (where his nonossifying fibroma was) looks great, other than one leg is slightly longer than the other and his knee sometimes bothers him. We can only hope it doesn't get worse.

But here's the other thing--all the trauma my family has gone through over the last 3 years has left me struggling with depression. I have been since about January when it was really, really scary. Like suicidal scary. It was bad again last week (for good reason, my son was having major medical issues and it triggered all the trauma that we went through with my other son). The medical bills are piling up and leaving us completely overwhelmed.

I haven't really told many people about it. Partly because it's so deeply personal. Partly because it's the kind of thing that makes your curl in on yourself. Partly because sometimes people are idiots and mean.

So why write about it at all? Honestly, I'm not even sure myself. I want people like me to know they're not alone. I don't want to be alone either. And that's just kind of who I am. I have this desire for people to know the real me, free of adornments or masks.

Another reason is because someday I want my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren to see this trail I've blazed before them. That it wasn't a legend or a pioneer. I was just a person, doing the best I can. And I want them to have my words.

Finally, I had an an aha moment yesterday. God doesn't "give us" our trials-they come as a natural result of living in the world we do--he's not handing out pain like poison from above. Part of the reason we're here is to learn of suffering. And God will help us through it if we let him. And in the end, all the suffering will be taken away and it will all be made right.

Realizing this has helped me let go of a lot of anger. My hope is that it will help you too.

On bras . . .

Three things:
1. Mom, do not read this post. You will be horrified and give me lectures on being lady-like, which haven't sunk in within the last 34 years so it's time to give it up as a lost cause. Let's just pretend this never happened.
2. I have no filter - well, actually, I do. But if it's funny, it gets through.
3. This post is FUNNY. It's not dirty. Make a dirty comment and I'll delete it.

Every bra has a purpose. Some are simply comfortable, some add bulk, some squish out some cleavage, and some simply try to reign things in. The best bras are the ones that can manage more than one of these feats.

But the particular bra I have in mind has only one purpose: to make your boobs disappear.

Related question, if matter can neither be created nor destroyed, where do my boobs go?

**I've had a couple people ask me what brand the bra is I love. It's a Natori. You need to be fitted for your size though if you've never done that before. They do it at Nordstrom. And honestly, people's bodies are so different you need to try them on to find one that fits you. If you already know your size and favorite style, you can order online. http://amzn.to/1iFU5gE

On Finding Joy

I specifically remember two years ago trying to finish up Witch Fall and feeling overwhelmed. There simply weren't enough hours in the day. I had a four-year old daughter still at home all day, as well as two other young children. My husband had a demanding job and was gone much of the time, leaving me to raise kids and write books mostly alone.

Life was hard, and it was about to get worse. My son started suffering some serious health problems. So I quit writing. A few months later, he was better(ish) and I was behind. Then he was worse than before for six months and I was even more behind. This went on for over two years.

During that time, we moved to another state, leaving my support system behind. I had no friends. I broke my ankle and had major surgery, with a difficult recovery and lots of complications. But I still had this dream - to be a successful author. So I did what I thought was necessary. I made sacrifices. I stayed up late. I stopped hanging out with my friends. I multitasked - every moment of my day was packed.  I stopped relaxing. I stopped exercising. I stopped enjoying the simple pleasures of life. All I did was work.

My career had finally started taking off. I was making good money and people were loving my books. But while it did bring me moments of happiness, it did not make me happy. I was miserable, and guilty for feeling miserable. My husband finally had a job he enjoyed. All my publishing goals were FINALLY getting crossed of the list. My kids were doing well. We'd finally managed to wrangle ourselves into the middle-class. My son was healed and finally, finally climbing out of the depression his broken body had left him.

But my life had become a drudgery, marching myself mercilessly from one task to the next. I got seriously depressed. Like, scary depressed. I felt like I couldn't relax, that I was simply waiting for the next crisis to hit. I shut down. Emotionally and physically, I was a mess. I knew my life was imbalanced, as I know how important a balanced life is. In my Fairy Queens Series, there's this belief in the Balance - that everything has its opposite. Light and dark. Love and hate. Winter and summer. If the balance is thrown off, chaos ensues.

So it is with our own lives. Work, relaxation, nourishing our spiritual side, and joy need to coexist. Achieving our dreams cannot come at the expense of our happiness.

I went to my doctor and got on some medication. And while the scary depression lifted, I still wasn't happy. It wasn't until I was riding horses at my dad's ranch that I finally felt joy again. And then I lost it. I wasn't sure why or how to get it back. I only knew it was gone. Then we had some friends visit us and we went hiking. I found that joy again. And then, after 13 years, I finally had all my kids in school and had a few hours to actually write.

It was then that I realized that while writing used to bring me that kind of joy, it doesn't anymore. I still love doing it, and I can't imagine a life where I don't write and publish books. But somewhere along the way it became my job instead of my release. I have to find other things to bring joy into my life. For me, that's nature. It's saying yes to experiences and no to cramming more work into my life (blog posts, scavenger hunts, box sets, marketing classes). It's saying, "I don't work in the summers. I play with my kids."
Find the things that bring you joy and protect them fiercely.
I'm not saying I have this thing called balance down yet - some lessons have to be learned and relearned throughout our lifetimes. But to those of you who are like me (overachievers), I want you to know that you should never give up the great things for the good things.  Stop trying so hard to be great. Stop pushing yourself to be perfect. Just be.

All my love,
Amber

{Release Day} Of Fire and Ash/Daring Hearts

Of Ice and Snow

Released exclusively in the Daring Hearts Box Set

Otec thought destiny forgot him…

The middle child of the clanchief, Otec is the overlooked son in an overflowing house. He dreams of escape and adventure, so when a mysterious stranger offers both, he doesn’t need persuading. But when his faraway village comes under attack, Otec will do anything to save the people he loves. Cut off from his nation, he must trust a foreign woman with a dubious past as they race to save his clan. But nothing is what it seems, and Otec may have to trust his enemy if he is to become the leader he was never meant to be.

Destiny is not always kind. 

For a limited time, 99 cents. After Aug. 24th, the price goes up. After August 30th, the Daring Hearts Box Set disappears forever.
Amazon-http://smarturl.it/Daringhearts
nook-http://smarturl.it/daringheartsBN
itunes-http://smarturl.it/daringheartsitunes

The authors are trying to hit the NYT Bestseller list with this box set, so please oh please share on social media!

Tweetables: 

#Release Day Of Fire & Ash by @amberargyle in the Daring Hearts Box Set-14 #books for #99cent http://amzn.to/1IYqA2P #Kindle #KindleBargain

Daring Hearts Box Set *9 New Novels + 5 Bonus Books .99 #Books #BookWorm #GreatReads #MustRead #WhatToRead #bookshelf http://amzn.to/1IYrlsu

Craving an eclectic mix of adventure and romance? Daring Hearts Box Set-14 #books for #99cent #nook #BarnesandNoble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daring-hearts-rashelle-workman/1122478882?ean=2940151930208

{Sneak Peek} Of Ice and Snow

Excerpt from Of Ice and Snow:

Otec pushed aside some brush and saw a figure bent over something. Even at fifteen strides away, he could see that the face was fine featured with deeply tanned skin, enormous brown eyes, and thick black hair.

He knew two things at once. First, this wasn’t a man as he’d first suspected—but a woman wearing men’s clothing and sporting hair so short it barely touched her ears. And second, she was a foreigner. What was a foreigner doing on the edge of the Shyle forest?

She was close to Otec’s own age of twenty, and she was almost pretty, in a boyish sort of way. But what intrigued him most was how engrossed she was in what she was doing, the tip of her pink tongue rubbing against her bottom lip, and her brows furrowed in concentration.

That concentration stirred something inside him, an uncanny sense of familiarity. Something about the forward bend of her head, the intensity of her gaze, sparked a deep recognition. He shouldn’t be watching her—should be moving the sick lamb to the village, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes away. Eager to see what she was doing, Otec moved as close as he dared, coming to the edge of the shadows and peering at her from behind a tree.

A sheet of vellum was tacked to a board on her lap. Her hands were delicate, beautiful even, as her fingers worked a bit of charcoal in what seemed a choreographed variation of long and short strokes. Bit by bit, the drawing began to take shape. It was of Otec’s village, which was spread out below them. Surrounded by the crimson and gold of autumn, Shyleholm was nestled deep in the high mountain valley. This foreign woman had somehow managed to capture the feel of the centuries-old stones, cut from the mountains by glaciers, rounded and polished for decades before they were pulled from the rivers by Otec’s ancestors.

She had depicted the neat, tidy fields of hay set up against the harsh winters, even managing to give a hint of the surrounding steep mountains and hills. But what she hadn’t captured was the chaos of wagons and tents set up on the far side of the village. They were a little late for the autumn clan feast, but Otec couldn’t imagine any other reason for them to be there.

After his five months of solitary life in the mountains, the mere thought of the mass of people set Otec’s teeth on edge. Already he could hear the incessant noise of the crowd, feel the eyes of hundreds of other clanmen who, when they found out he was the clan chief’s son, expected him to be the leader his oldest brother was. The warrior his second brother was. Or the trickster who was his third brother.

They learned soon enough not to expect anything at all. When Otec wasn’t in the mountains, he was carving useless trinkets or playing with the little children who didn’t know he was supposed to be more. To them, he was simply the man who brought them toys and tickled and chased them when no one was looking. And that was enough.

The woman’s darkened hands paused. She set aside her drawing and twisted the charcoal between her fingers. Wondering why she had stopped, Otec looked past her and saw another foreigner with the same strange clothes and dark features climbing the steep hill toward her.

Just as the man crossed under a lone tree, an owl stretched out its great white wings. It was easily as long as Otec’s arm. He’d never seen its like before, white with black striations. And stranger still, it seemed to be watching the girl.

Still in the shadows, the man spoke to the girl drenched in light. “Matka, what are you doing out here?” He had a strong accent, his words flat and blunt instead of the rolling cadence of native Clannish.

Matka didn’t look up at the man, but Otec noticed her shoulders suddenly go stiff. “I can’t—can’t be around them, Jore.” Her accent was milder.

Jore rubbed at his beard, which clung to his face like mold to bread. “You have to. For both our sakes.”

The charcoal shattered under Matka’s grip. She stared at the destruction, surprise plain on her face. “This is wrong, Jore. I can’t be a part of it.”

“It’s too late, and we both know it.” His voice had hardened—he sounded brittle, as if the merest provocation could break him.

She tossed the bits of charcoal and rose to her feet, her gaze defiant. “No. I won’t—”

Jore took a final step from the shadows, his hand flashing out to strike Matka’s cheek so fast Otec almost didn’t believe it had happened. But it had, because she held her hand to her face, glaring fiercely at Jore.

She opened her mouth to say something, but Jore took hold of her arm. “I’m your brother—I’m trying to protect you.”

All at once Otec’s sluggish anger came awake like a bear startled out of a too-long hibernation. He forgot he’d been eavesdropping. Forgot these were foreigners. Forgot everything except that this man had hit her—a woman, his sister.

Otec burst into the brightness. The man saw him first, his eyes widening. Matka was already turning, her hand going to something at her side.

A mere three strides away, Otec called, “How dare—” He came up short. Jore had drawn shining twin blades, and the ease with which he held them made it clear he knew how to use them. 

To purchase, go here:
Amazon US  |  Amazon UK  |  Amazon CA  |  Apple iBooks  |  Nook  |  Kobo

{Daring Hearts} 14 Books - 99 Cents

I dare you...

To 1-Click and Enjoy 14 Books. All For One Low Price! .99 Cents. 

We included so many books Amazon insisted on charging 1.99, but our awesome fans convinced them to price match, so snag the box set before they change their minds!

PreOrder NOW

One week from today, on Tuesday August 18th, Of Ice and Snow will be released in the Daring Hearts Boxed Set!

Nine **Clean and BRAND NEW** Novels + FIVE Bonus Books.

Did you notice?

We added Wendy Knight's brand new book, The Soul's Agent, along with FIVE bonus books from five BEST SELLING authors. 

Only .99!

Amazon

iBooks

Nook

****Join in the fun of the Launch Party on Facebook on release day (Aug. 18th) from 7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. eastern. Hosted by Colette YAreader. Join us by clicking HERE.****

Enter for a chance to win lots of prizes including a Paper White and Kindle Fire - See contest at the bottom of this post.

 More than 2000 adventurous and romantic pages

FOURTEEN Bestselling Authors
Nine never-before-released novels + five additional books totaling more than 2000 pages!
Over 98% off retail for the individual books sold separately (a thirty dollar savings!)
Only available until September (so get your copy today).

• THIS BOXED SET INCLUDES: 

REBECCA ETHINGTON ~ Monsters are real... Through Glass
RASHELLE WORKMAN ~ Alice is half demon and totally kick ass! Blood and Snow 10.1 ~ The Dark Moth Society
CINDY M. HOGAN ~ Some secrets are better left dead and buried. Kate Unmasked
ELLE STRAUSS ~ Time traveling is wonky enough... and this time it's worse than ever. Counter Clockwise
CHRISTINE KERSEY ~ College is murder... Witness
JULI ALEXANDER ~ Solving mysteries is in her blood, but it might just get her killed. Paxton Private Investigations
AMBER ARGYLE ~ A storm is raging and not everyone will survive. Of Ice And Snow
WENDY KNIGHT ~ Her army of lost souls stand between us. The Soul's Agent
LILA FELIX ~ Fasta is an artist, not by choice, but by force. Sketchy Love

• PLUS FIVE BONUS NOVELS...

C.L. STONE ~ Meet Kota, Victor, Silas, Nathan, Gabriel, Luke and North in a story about differences and loyalty, truth and mystery, friendships and heart-throbbing intimacy. The Academy, ever vigilant. Introductions

ELANA JOHNSON ~ If a picture is worth a thousand words then Olivia's captured Trevor's whole story. Something About Love

LEIGH TALBERT MOORE ~ She did not expect to be kidnapped walking to work. And she never expected to be a hero. Behind the Stars
RACHEL MORGAN ~ Stolen magical object? Check. Villainous faerie bad guys? Check. Complicated feelings for super hot, pain-in-the-ass assignment partner? Check. Not winding up dead? Working on that one. The Faerie Prince
KATRINA ABBOTT ~ Brooklyn's new celebutante boarding school is missing one thing: boys! Taking the Reins

a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 days until Of Ice and Snow's release

Of Ice and Snow comes out in 12 days! If you haven't preordered your copy yet, what are you waiting for?

Help spread your excitement on social media! You can snag the post below to make it easy. :)

Of Ice and Snow comes out in the Daring Hearts Box Set in 12 days! It's only #99cents! #bookworm #mustread #romance http://www.amazon.com/Daring-Hearts-Novels-Adventurous-Romantic-ebook/dp/B00XZDIPSI/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

{Daring Hearts} Blog Hop *TONS of Bookish Prizes*

Welcome to my stop on the Daring Hearts Blog Hop. I'm Amber Argyle, author of the Witch Song and Fairy Queen Series. In the box set, I'm including a prequel for my Fairy Queen Series, entitled Of Ice and Snow. In one line: Otec thought destiny forgot him. Now he wishes it had. 

After the box set releases, the price of my single book will jump up to 2.99, so why not snag 8 brand new books by 8 bestselling authors for 99C? 

Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble ~ iBooks ~ Smashwords ~ 

 If you'd like to try one of my ebooks for free, I'd love to send you one! Simply tell me where you'd like the email sent. 

Free Book Sign Up

Together with RaShelle Workman, Christine Kersey, Lila Felix, Elle Strauss, Cindy Hogan, Julie Alexander, and Rebecca Ethington, we are offering two grand prizes: a Kindle White and a Kindle Fire, plus 20 other great prizes. Simply fill out this rafflecopter giveaway. The more times you enter, the more chances you have to win. 

DARING HEARTS has a new cover!

We've added new entry options to the rafflecopter to help spread the news so you have more opportunities to win prizes, including the final grand prize of a Kindle Fire!

The KINDLE WHITE giveaway is happening now! Winner will be chosen July 18th - exactly one month before launch.  

The more you enter - the better your chances!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

Open internationally 

• If you win, you must claim your prize within 48 hours or the prize will be re-drawn

• You must be 16 years or older, or have the permission of a guardian to enter

• Only entries submitted through the rafllecopter will qualify as an entry.
• No purchase necessary. Bloggers, please feel free to copy and paste this post for your own blog! 

In addition to the great prizes above, each blog is offering an individual prize of your choice. You can have a character named after you (I'll 'fantasize' it to fit my High Fantasy genre), your full name in the acknowledgements of my book, a signed paperback of any of my books (US only), or a handwritten letter. You choose!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And don't forget to head to the next stop in the blog tour (with even more prizes!), Cindy Hogan.

Cover Reveal + Huge Contest

Cover Reveal and a Huge Contest 

I'm teaming up with bestselling authors Rashelle Workman, Cindy Hogan, Lee Strauss, Juli Alexander, Christine Kersey, Lila Felix, and Rebecca Ethington to put together a box set of 8 brand new books featuring never-before-released novels spanning 1600+ pages. This boxed set is called Daring Hearts. We've decided to make this an even better deal by selling this boxed set for only .99 cents--a savings of $30.00 over buying the books individually. Daring Hearts is available for preorder now, and will be released on August 18th. You can preorder Daring Hearts by clicking HERE.

I'm putting Of Ice and Snow into the mix. It's the prequel to Winter Queen (why do I write out of order???) and tells the story of Matka and Otec (Ilyenna's parents). We have lots and lots of prizes and exciting things going on. To keep abreast of everything, you can join our temporary FB group, Daring Hearts, here. 

In addition to the prizes offered on our FB group page, we've come up with an amazing Rafflecopter Giveaway with escalating prizes given out for every 500 preorders (the grand prize being a kindle fire!).To start entering the rafflecopter prizes, go here. But again, we're keeping track of everything on the FB group page, so make sure you join it.

If you'd like to put Daring Heart's cover banner on your FB page, here's a link to download it.

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords
Itunes

Tweetables:
8 #Bestselling #IndieAuthor releasing 8 #brandnewseries #books for #99cents #mustread #PREORDER http://amzn.to/1FC7IVr #Books #BookWorm

Daring Hearts Box Set: 8 #authors for #99cents http://amzn.to/1FC7IVr #kindledeal #kindlebooks #ebook #kindle #KindleBargain @amberargyle