Monday, June 2, 2014

Guest Post: Piper Vaughn, author of Moonlight Becomes You




I had read the original versions of the Lucky Moon series and loved the characters. When Moonlight Becomes You was re-released earlier this year I was so excited that I contacted Piper and asked her to stop by!

Piper Vaughn Guest Post
Hi, all! Thanks to Carly for having me today! She asked if I would discuss what prompted me and M.J. O’Shea to release second editions of the Lucky Moon books, so I’m going to talk about that a little bit. At the end of the post there’s a Rafflecopter giveaway to celebrate the second edition of Moonlight Becomes You, so be sure to check that out. Since the series focuses on musicians, I’m offering up a $10 iTunes gift card to one lucky winner. :)

Moonlight Becomes You was first published by Loose Id in August 2011. The original was about 44K words long. Prior to the release, M.J. and I released a collection of vignettes featuring some of the characters when they were teenagers. We did so again between Moonlight Becomes You and the second book in the Lucky Moon series, The Luckiest. Once our two-year contract with Loose Id had expired, we were offered the chance to renew, but that would have meant leaving the book as it was, and by that point we’d decided that the overall story would be improved if we made some revisions. So we took our rights back and made some changes to the story, including working in some of the vignettes we’d written instead of keeping them separate. Then, being that both of us were already on Dreamspinner’s roster, we asked if they wanted to see the books and consider the series for re-release. They did and they offered us contracts for the second editions of all three books. 

The second edition of Moonlight Becomes You is around 60K words. Partly, that’s from the vignettes, but it also includes several new scenes. While at its heart, Moonlight Becomes You is the same story as the original, M.J. and I both think this new version is stronger. Feedback from fans of the series who've read both editions and reached out to us to let us know what they thought indicates that readers agree, so we’re definitely happy we decided to pull the book from sale to revise and improve it, and we’re thrilled that these new editions will also be released as paperbacks for the readers who've been wanting those. Being that Moonlight Becomes You was the first book M.J. and I ever wrote together, it felt awesome to have that paperback in my hands when I got my copies. And the gorgeous new cover by L.C. Chase sure didn’t hurt. ;)

Currently, Moonlight Becomes You is available for sale at Dreamspinner Press and other book e-tailers. For those curious, the second edition of The Luckiest is in edits, and readers can look forward to the release of that book sometime in September. 

Check out the blurb for Moonlight Becomes You below, and if you’re a fan of angst, love, sexy rock stars, and second chances, be sure to pick up a copy and get lucky with us. 


Moonlight Becomes You (Lucky Moon, Book 1) 
Synopsis
Eleven years ago, Shane Ventura made the biggest mistake of his life when he caved in to pressure from his record label to kick his best friend, Jesse Seider, out of their band, Luck. To this day, Shane has never wanted anyone more, and all the sex and alcohol in the world can’t fill the void Jesse left behind. Not even the prospect of teaming up with Britain’s hottest band, Moonlight, for a massive world tour can get him out of his funk. Then he meets lead singer Kayden Berlin and falls into instant lust.

Kayden may act like he’s not interested, but Shane knows he feels the spark between them. Yet the harder Shane pushes, the more Kayden pulls away, until one explosive night leaves Shane with a broken heart. That seems to be his lot—lucky at everything but love. Shane still has one lesson left to learn, though: when it comes to love, you can’t always leave things to chance.
Shane has spent the last decade regretting the decision that destroyed his relationship with his best friend, Jesse. He realizes that the things that once filled the void..... No, that muted the pain, just aren't working any longer. He's tired of living the life of a rock-star, has become jaded to it's excesses, and is floating through life with no real purpose.

Kaden is talented, focused, and driven. To everyone else he is warm, flirtatious and welcoming but when it comes to Shane; Kaden is nothing but ice. Shane doesn't understand why Kaden ignites a spark that he hasn't felt in years, but for the first time since losing his best friend, Shane realizes that he might be ready to invest a part of himself into a relationship that last longer than one night. That is, if he can get Kaden to give him a chance.

The sexual tension that is building between them slowly draws Shane and Kaden closer; but both men have good reason to be distrustful, and opening themselves up to the idea of more than sexual attraction may destroy what little common ground they have.

As a long time fan of the Lucky Moon series I was excited to read the second edition of Moonlight Becomes You. It met my expectations and then some! I was blown away by the way authors Vaughn and O'Shea enhanced this story with original material, added sections from their previously released novellas,and smoothly transitioned from one source to another. While I recognized their previous works within the story, I was completely unprepared for this second edition to feel like an entirely unique reading experience!

Well written and edited, the second edition of Moonlight Becomes You is a must-read for fans of the series, as well as those readers who are new to the Lucky Moon stories. The "sex, drugs and rock-and-roll" lifestyle, music, romance, drama, and fresh storyline development bring familiar characters back to life in a whole new way. I can't wait to see what they do with the rest of this series!

Author Profile

Piper Vaughn wrote her first love story at eleven and never looked back. Since then, she’s known that writing in some form was exactly what she wanted to do. A reader at the core, Piper loves nothing more than getting lost in a great book—fantasy, young adult, romance, she loves them all (and has a two thousand book library to prove it!). She grew up in Chicago, in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and loves to put faces and characters of every ethnicity in her stories, so her fictional worlds are as colorful as the real one. Above all, she believes that everyone needs a little true love in their life…even if it’s only in a book.

Learn more at Piper's Website or follow her social media links!



Author Profile

M.J. O'Shea has been writing romance since algebra class in sixth grade (when most of her stories starred her and Leonardo DiCaprio). When she's not writing, she loves listening to nearly all types of music, painting, reading great authors, and on those elusive sunny days in the Pacific Northwest, she loves driving on the freeway with her windows rolled down and her stereo on high.


Learn more at M.J.'s Website or follow her social media links!

5 comments:

  1. I have not, but upon reading about this book and Carly's review I am very interested!
    I love Trey Anastasio from Phish! I have seen around 50+ shows of them from 1996-2003 I think. They are a great live band and Trey just jams!!

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  2. I have read a couple of Piper's book. would love to read the updated version of this book.
    I love Robbie Williams. I love his songs and the way he performs. He is an entertainer. My favourite song is Candy, its so catchy.

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  3. yes, i have read invicta and eight second cowboy! loved them both!

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  4. I did not have the opportunity to read the first printing of the series, but it sounds amazing. Congrats on being able to rewrite and reprint!

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  5. I have read & love reading the One Thing series and a couple of free reads. It is to difficult to name a favourite song or musician as they both depend on my mood of the moment or what is happening in my life. One moment I can love Ella Fitzgerald, the next Christina Perri Jar of Hearts and then Happy the cover version sung by Walk of the Earth/Parachute. I also love soundtrack music and how they introduce me to new singers/groups, especially Shane Mack who sung some of the key songs in the film Shelter.

    Finally I am happy the Lucky Moon series has been republished as I missed it the first time around.

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