Happy Anniversary, Conquest!

Five years ago, on October 21, 2009, my birthday, my life changed in an amazing way. On that day, I became a published author. I'd had a few short stories out prior, but this was different, bigger, even more special. It was the release day of my very first novel, Conquest.

I had started writing Conquest a few years prior in 2005, but it took time to build courage and polish the story before I really felt confident presenting it to publishers. It's been a wild ride these past five years, many highs, a few lows, but through all this time, all the stories I've written since, Conquest continues to have a special place in my heart and I know it always will.

I've said before that I credit the main character of Conquest, Jesse Alexander, with making me the author I am, and I still do. When I had returned to college to finish my Bachelor's degree in English/Creative Writing, despite having taken some years off from school, I still didn't have a strong focus to become an author. I was dabbling in fantasy, thought that was the direction I was going in, then it all changed. Jesse came to me as a force stronger than anyone or anything I'd ever written about. And with him he brought Evan, Brandon, all those he knew and cared for. He also brought focus and direction, and as I worked on Conquest, I knew then where my heart was for storytelling.

From Conquest came the other books in the series. Then I began other works, the Instincts, the Terra series, some stand alone stories here and there. But it all began with Conquest and it's been the most amazing journey.

Along this journey, I've met some of the most incredible people. Authors and readers who inspire me, and whose kindness and support continue to touch my heart. I'm grateful to everyone who's joined me on this journey. Some of you have been with me since it began, some have joined recently. There really aren't adequate words to fully express how much it means to have you all be part of this journey with me. I'm so very thankful.

So here, on the five year anniversary of Conquest being published, I'm sending out love and gratitude to everyone who has let me share my stories with you. I'm giving my thanks to Jesse who began it all, and every character whose told me their story since. Here's to the journey continuing on.

Birthday and Conquest Anniversary Giveaway!

Hey, ladies and gents! I know right now a huge number of the M/M community is partying it up in Albuquerque for the GayRom Lit convention, and many giveaways are going on there and free books handed out, but I wanted to hold my own little giveaway for my birthday and the three year anniversary of my first novel, CONQUEST. I'm not at GRL this year. I decided to pass since I wanted spend my birthday with my little guy, and even had I gone, I would've left early to come home to be with him :-)

So for my little giveaway, I'm offering up a free book, winner's choice of title and format. I was originally just going to give away print format, but I thought that wouldn't be fair in case the winner would prefer ebook. If the winner does pick print, I'll sign the book, if you'd like. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post! Please include an email address where I'll be able to contact you. And if for any reason you have trouble leaving a comment, you can also message me your entry on Facebook, tell me on Twitter, or email me at s.j.frost3@gmail.com  I'll run the giveaway from October 19th through the 21st, and announce the winner on the 22nd.

And if you'd like to know my backlist and what books are available in what formats, here you go. I do have other stories besides these, but they're free reads or included in anthologies:

Conquest - available in print and all ebook formats.
No Fear - available in print and all ebook formats.
Keys to Love - available in print and all ebook formats.
Finding a Dream - available in ebook only.
Black Heart Down - available in print and all ebook formats.
Beautiful Harmony - available in ebook only.
Heartstrings - available in print and all ebook formats.
Natural Instincts - available in print and all ebook formats.
Enduring Instincts - available in print and all ebook formats.
Loving Instincts - available in print and all ebook formats.

It's hard to believe that three years ago in 2009, on my birthday, October 21st, CONQUEST went live and everyone was introduced to up and coming rock star, Jesse Alexander, famed singer, Evan Arden, and their love for each other. It was a long road to bring their story to that point. I had started writing CONQUEST back in 2005, during my last year in college at the University of Toledo. But saying I graduated in 2005 makes me sound younger than I am. I had actually taken a few years off to work, then went back to finish my Bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. It was during that last year in school when Jesse came to me.

In one of my last creative writing classes, the professor gave an assignment for a dialogue exercise, but we couldn't use characters or a story line we'd already used in class. After class let out, I was walking across campus, mentally complaining about the assignment because I didn't know what the hell I was going to write about. That's when he showed up.

Jesse burst to the front of my mind with so much force, I literally stopped walking. In my mind's eye, I could see him more clearly, more vividly, than any character I'd ever worked with. I asked what his name was, and the name Jesse floated back to me. He said he had something to say, and everything started unfolding.

For my assignment, I wrote what would eventually become part of CONQUEST's first chapter, where Jesse's brother, Brandon, takes Jesse to the diner, and they talk about life and music. The story, as many of you know, was far from over. Even after I turned the assignment in, I kept writing, and writing, and writing. I didn't know what would come of the story. All I knew was I was driven to write it. And through it all, Jesse and Evan stayed strong and clear in my mind. When I did get my assignment back, my professor looked at me and said, "This is your best work."

With Jesse feeling pretty proud of himself and my young writer confidence boosted, I kept working on CONQUEST, and when I finished, went directly into NO FEAR. It took a few years of courage building before I sought a publisher, but in early 2009 I was sent that coveted acceptance letter by MLR Press.

CONQUEST has come a long way in that time. It's been voted for in many reader favorite awards and polls, was a finalist in the Epic Ebook Awards, and has earned several wonderful reviews. From it came an entire series, which still blows my mind. Back in those days as a new author, my biggest hope was to see it and NO FEAR published. That was all. I never imagined that three years later, I would be getting the seventh book in the series ready to go live and I would have an entirely different series focused around vampires. There are times when it still feels dreamlike. But I can say without a doubt, every book I've written has been thanks to Jesse and Evan. They started it all and gave me the confidence to continue.

And to you, my dear readers, thank you so incredibly much for being a part of my journey over the past three years. I can't express my gratitude enough for the time you take to read my words and share in my characters lives. For what you give to me in doing that, I'll continue to the best of my ability to give you a good reading experience with every book I write.

Thanks to everyone who's stopped by! Good luck in the giveaway!

Happy Birthday, Jesse!

For those who visit this site regularly, you know Fridays are usually my Song of the Week day...um....when I actually get around to posting a Song of the Week, that is.  But we'll just bypass that I've been a bit remiss in that area lately.  Well, this week I'm posting a song, and for someone very special to me, Jesse Alexander.

If you've read the Conquest books, you know who Jesse is, the lead singer of the band Conquest and married to superstar singer, Evan Arden.  As stated in the stories, today, October 7th, is Jesse's birthday.  In my writing life thus far, I've worked with many guys, but Jesse is the most special to me.  He came to me stronger than anyone ever had and he stays close to me even now.  He drove me to become a  published author, and I continue to give him credit for it happening.  For that, I'll always be grateful to him.

So on his birthday, here is a song for him and Evan, Pachelbel's Canon in D, their song.  I'm sure Evan will be busting out his Stradivarius tonight for Jesse to play for him like he did that very first time :-)

Jesse, Evan, I know you guys have a special and fun day planned that will go on well into the night, but I just want to say to you, Jesse, happy birthday.  Thank you for all you've given me.



And of course, I claim no ownership rights to this song, the music, the image, video, or Pachelbel.  All belongs to the rightful copyright holders.  I do, however, claim ownership of Jesse and Evan :-)

Happy birthday, Jesse!

Today is October 7th, the birthday of Jesse Alexander, singer extraordinaire and main character in my novels, CONQUEST and NO FEAR.  It's mentioned in CONQUEST the 7th is his birthday, and since writing the story, whenever this day comes around, I always have to tell him happy birthday.  Is it a little kooky of me?  Maybe.  But I make no secret that Jesse is very special to me and I give him credit for making me a published author.

So, happy birthday, dear Jesse.   And don't worry, I'll leave singing the "Happy Birthday Song" to Evan.  I know you'll like that much better than my off key screeching ;-)