news

Archived News

December 2012 -- Hey everyone, I hope you’re all having a fantastic holiday season. Changeling Press is celebrating the holidays with their annual contest. For more information on how to enter: click here. Also, check out my Books page to see the new books I’ve had released recently. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

June 2012 -- While the website has pretty silent the past few months, I’ve been hard at work on new stories! Blacklist Rogue is now available from Changeling Press! I’m very happy with how it has turned out, even if I struggled more than a little with it during the writing process. ;-) This month, I have several blog tour spots, some of which have contests, so follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook or check my blog for more information.

I’m currently deep in the Amazon Rainforest again with the third book in the Amazon Chronicles, Jungle Blaze! I hope you all have a fantastic summer.

February 2012 -- Captive Moonlight, my western paranormal romance from the Wolves of the Wild West multi-author series, is now available! I'm so excited about that story! I really enjoyed writing it. It's my first (published) werewolf story, and I adore werewolves! It was also the first time I'd written something historical, which I've wanted to do for a long time. I hope you all enjoy the story. I’d love to hear what you think. Go to the Contact page and get in touch with me. :-) I’ll be having a couple contests (and other cool events) this month, so there are chances for you to get your hands on Captive Moonlight. Make sure to follow me on Twitter to get the latest news on those.

As for what I’m doing now, I’m working on the third book in the Hacked Investigations series called Blacklist Rogue. Ian and Hannah are returning! I’ll share more about this book when I can.

December 2011 -- I hope everyone in the US had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I used November to work on a project for NaNoWriMo. Now I’ve shifted gears to my next novella for Changeling Press! Speaking of which, my publisher is celebrating the upcoming holidays with their A Very Changeling 8th Annual Christmas Contest. For more information on prizes and how to enter: click here. I’ll be at the New Year’s Eve party on December 31st at the Reader’s loop.

This month’s new release is the first novella called Stolen from my Super Powered series. It’s a Superhero/Sci-Fi Romance. For more information, check out the Books page. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone!

October 2011 -- Wow, October already! To celebrate this month, Changeling Press is having an Octoberfest contest where throughout the month of October, if you use the discount code Octoberfest, you'll save 5% on your order and on October 31st, you have the chance to be one of the 31 winners of 31 free books! 

Also I have a new release out, which is the second book in my Amazon Chronicles series called Jungle Fire. It follows the secondary characters Rubia and Kyle from the first book, Jungle Heat, which is now available at All Romance eBooks. This sequel was so much fun to write. My free read is also now available. It’s called Internet Dating for Gnomes from my Hacked Investigations series. The main character in that one is Bernard, Ian’s gnome sidekick. For a chance to win your choice of book from my backlist, visit my guest blog at Night Owl Romance between now and October 14 to find out how to enter.

September 2011 -- Hooray, Savage Bytes is now available! Also, I’m thrilled that Techno Crazed is a bestseller at All Romance eBooks! I have a few events coming up, so make sure to check them out here. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter for first look excerpts and information!

August 2011 -- Techno Crazed is now available for purchase on All Romance eBooks! Check out the Books page to find out more information.

July 2011 -- Jungle Heat is available as of July 22! Want to learn more? Head on over to the Books page where you’ll find information on the upcoming books in my two series. Also, Techno Crazed has been listed as part of Goodreads Best Book Covers 2011. I’d love if you could show your support!

June 2011 -- Techno Crazed is finally here! Yay! For information on how to get your hands on it, stop by the Books page. Also, if you’re interested in the chance to win a copy, sign up for my newsletter. I’ll announce a winner in it on June 24.

May 2011 -- I have awesome news to share! I tied for first place in Changeling Press's Shamrock Challenge contest, and I received contracts for two stories. One for Techno Crazed, the winner, a cyberpunk romance, and the other for Jungle Heat, a paranormal romance. Hooray! If you'd like to read more about about the win, the official announcement is here and here (it's under Extras). Techno Crazed will be released June 2011. For more information on my novellas, stop by the Books page to read the blurbs. Also, check out the events I'll be doing to celebrate my new release at Goodreads!

January 29, 2010 -- It's been a while since I've updated my website. Yikes. I don't have much news yet in terms of new contracts, but I hope that those will come soon! Also, my novel Melody of Love became No Longer Available after Firedrakes Weyr went out of business toward the end of last year. It received some great reviews, but I'm looking to push more into the paranormal romance and urban fantasy market. So I probably won't be resubmitting it. It was a great experience to be working with the publisher. In addition to that, I completed a new novel on December 31st after starting it for National Novel Writing Month.

January 16, 2009 -- My website and blog have gone through a major overhaul.  I’m so tickled that my wonderful new webmistress, Rae Monet, has done such an amazing job making my dreams of having a fantastic website come true!  On the writing front, I’ve begun submitting my paranormal romance novella and my urban fantasy novel.  I even had a request for a full on the novella!  Hooray!  More news about that when I hear it.  Also, I’m changing my newsletter from being monthly to quarterly.  The first issue of the New Year will be out by the end of the month. *smiles*

November 20, 2008 -- I've been doing a few small things here and there, like updating the links page. Also, I'm in the process of participating in National Novel Writing Month, so make sure to check out The Deadly Vixens blog to follow my journey through that. Starting soon, I'm going to work on redesigning my website. Hooray! Make sure to keep checking back.

September 24, 2008 -- Recently, I've finished writing another book, which is why it seems like I've been hiding under a rock. Rest assured, I'm still here! =) I've added an MP3 of me reading the blurb for Melody of Love up in the My Books section, so make sure to check it out. I've also gotten started with the Cata Network Banner Exchange. Something else I’ve added is an article I wrote back in April. It’s been posted to the For Writers page. I hope you enjoy all of the new things. Hopefully, I’ll have more soon.

June 4, 2008 -- Small site updates. Links have been set up under My Books section for reviews of Melody of Love. So, what are you waiting for? Go check it out.

APRIL

April 3, 2008 -- Thanks to everyone who commented yesterday at Simply Romance Reviews, and those who attended the Romance at Heart chat last night. I had a lot of fun. Visit me at The Deadly Vixens for my blog entry today. I am discussing my favorite kind of paranormal creature.

Tomorrow I will be guest blogging at Romance Reader at Heart and chatting at Love Romances Cafe alongside other authors and readers. I will be giving away prizes at both events, so make sure to attend! Also, tomorrow Gracen Miller will be guest blogging with us, so make sure to check the blog and leave her a comment!

April 1, 2008 -- Melody of Love now available, and to kick off my debut novel, I will be chatting at my publisher's website. Firedrakes Weyr Publishing I hope to see you all there to celebrate with me this very special occasion!

Also! Starting today I have a sign up form on my blog for my mailing list. Everyone who signs up will automatically be entered for my contest drawings each month as well as be given access to exclusive excerpts and up-to-date information on where I'll be chatting/blogging/etc. =)

April's winners will be announced on April 30th. =)

MARCH

March 29, 2008 -- I'm so excited to announce that I was interviewed by Night Owl Romance. Check it out at their site.

March 25, 2008 -- My first book is going to come out on April 1st. More information about that on My Books section of the website, including a trailer.

March 15, 2008 -- Today I'll be participating in Bonnie Rose Leigh's Multi-Author chat Blowout. It will be an all-day event at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bonnieroseleigh with prizes given away every hour from 9 am-7pm EST, and then there will be a four hour live chat on her website at: http://go.yaplet.com/?url=http://mybonnierose.net from 7pm until 11pm EST where you can talk with participating authors.

March 11, 2008 -- Today is the Romance at Heart chat at 8 p.m. EST, so don't forget about that, and I received my book cover today! Go check the My Books page and check it out. =)

March 7, 2008 -- I participated in the Dragon's Den internet radio program again on the 4th of March. You can listen to it at http://internetvoicesradio.com/Arch-DragonsDen.htm. We discussed reviews, writing tips, and my upcoming release.

On March 11th at 8 p.m. EST, I will be participating a chat at Romance at Heart with other Firedrakes Weyr Authors. Make sure to come by and get to know us. =) http://chat.romanceatheart.com/

JANUARY

January 27, 2008 -- I participated in the Dragon's Den radio show earlier today. You can listen to it at the Dragon's Den. Click play on the radio stream called "January 27, 2008 Introduction to EBook Publishing Company."

January 5, 2008 -- We have updated the webpage's style, and have rearranged a few of the links.


2007


DECEMBER

December 23, 2007 -- I've added a new button underneath the Contact link to Dreamstime. I have started photography and am a contributor now on that site. Check it out! =) Once again have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

December 22, 2007 -- Webpage style changed. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

OCTOBER

October 19, 2007 -- The Writer's Resources page has been fixed. We also updated the Bio page and added a new picture of the kitties as well as some pictures in how my summer went. The guestbook got axed, and the old news was put into the archived news page.

SEPTEMBER

September 24, 2007 -- Bio page "refitted". Also, in Bio page is a link to what happened during my summer. Check it out, it has been updated. Pictures will be added later today.

JULY

July 22, 2007 -- Guestbook and Contact pages security has been increased due to spam.

JUNE

June 29, 2007 -- Guestbook has been changed to work on our own page. Drop us a message.

June 28, 2007 -- Some minor changes on Contact page. Now you can type in your name, email address, and a message to send me a message.

June 27, 2007 -- The website got the few more small updates to the bio page, projects page, the writer's resources page, and added back the archived news page here (plus added the March '07 news to the archived news.) Not too much else to add.

June 26, 2007 -- The website got it's monthly update, today! There were quite a few changes to the layout. We made it have more of a feel like that of my blog. I'm really enjoying this change. It's more savvy and professional looking. Within the next few days there will probably be a few more small changes occurring. Edits to the bio page, projects page, etc. Regarding writerly news, I now have a critique partner. Hooray! Plus if you've been following along with my blog any, you'll know that I'm in editing mode on my novel. If you haven't stopped by the blog, make sure to do so. It's been a lot of fun to work on. That's about it for now. Keep checking back.

MAY

May 28, 2007 -- New webpage http://sarahmakela.com.

April 24, 2007 -- Small changes made on Bio. Also, blog has been going well. Check it out.

April 21, 2007 -- I have added a few neat things to my blog, like Books I've Read Recently and my word count progress for Damiana's story. Make sure to check them out!

April 20, 2007 -- Contact page has been added to the website. Finally. Also a few small changes on Bio.

April 19, 2007 -- My blog is now back into action! Hooray! To visit it go to: http://blog.sarahmakela.com/.

APRIL

April 18, 2007 -- The Writing Help page and the Links page have now merged under the name of Writer Resources. Hopefully we will able to use the wonderful www.sarahmakela.com domain name as soon as we get better hosting provider, which might be next month! Also we haven't forgotten about this website and I hope to have some great things happening with it soon.

MARCH

March 15, 2007 -- I have entered my first RWA contest, which is the first contest I've entered in a while. I am very excited about it and it's made me even more thrilled to be writing. There have been some more minor adjustments to the website's look. Stay tuned for more news coming soon.

March 13, 2007 -- Mailing list has been added. Please, everyone, sign on to it.

March 10, 2007 -- It's been a long time since I've focused on websites, but I am very much into writing again, and I shall be published in novel format! There have been a few updates to the website, as well as my new name. There will be more updates coming soon.


2006


JANUARY

January 20, 2006 -- I got back word from Brutarian and Short Love Romance Stories. All three submissions were a no, but they replied very pleasantly and nicely. It was good even though they didn't say yes. Now I guess I need to find more places to send to.

January 17, 2006 -- Well, it's been too long since I have updated my website. It's mostly been due to Bravehost and their yuckiness of having to verify everytime I try to log on to update my site. Needless to say it drove me away from my website for a while. Now I figure that I should get back to it. I think that instead of giving up on my website, that if I get anymore troubles I'll just try a different hosting service. I'm going to go ahead and take a thorough look through the website and add all of the stuff that has been going on that I didn't add. Though, I had been keeping updated on my new Blogspot, www.sarahMäkelä.blogspot.com. Check that out when you have the chance. As a side note, I updated my Achievements and Bio.


2005


OCTOBER

October 9, 2005 --The Graveyard Wedding is now available at Runes Online Magazine! Check that out in this month's issue. The poem is also in the process to be made ready for publication. It is now fully accepted, so I shall try for further publications now as soon as I find a time to take a few breaths with all of the things that has been going on recently! It has been very busy around my home. I also signed up for National Novel Writing Month, which goes on in the month of November. I'm excited about it, but scared as well! I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but I'm going to really try! I've started planning and outlining already, so hopefully my imagination won't trash those plans and outlines when I start writing on the 1st!

SEPTEMBER

September 26, 2005 -- I did find out about the contest and I didn't place, but that's okay. I also heard about the poem! It was accepted! Hooray! I had a great weekend as well though. I got to spend some time with my best friend and go to a Scottish Festival. Absolutely awesome.

September 15, 2005 -- I might have to wait until the 22nd to hear about the contest, but I just heard about my submission to Runes Magazine!My storyhas been accepted! Yay! *does a dance* There is more news though. I'm sorry to say that I shall not have any more issues of The Bitten (at least for the time being. I shall post last month's issue under writing help though for anyone who wants to read it.) It is on a hiatus. I don't think I can handle it right now. Sorry everyone. I am happy to announce that Authors by Design is one of the most awesome writer's resources you'll find and I'm happy to be a forum moderator for it. I strongly recommend joining it! I also have the possibility of yet another poem being accepted to the publication that loved it, yet it was going to close. It now is no longer going to close, so it is reviewing the poem again. That is all of my terrific news for now! I'll add the news to the achievements page, so check that out!

September 11, 2005 -- Not a lot has been going on. University has been forcing its share of time away from me, so I haven't written or done too much in the way of writing. I did submit something last night and it came back this morning with a form rejection letter. I didn't really think the publication would be that great anyways, so I don't feel too down about it. I know that my work deserves to be displayed in the best place possible. I am waiting anxiously for the 15th to come around. Not only shall it bring another edition of The Bitten, but that's the day that the contest winners will be announced on the contest I entered on last month.

Actually I do take that back. I have been working a little bit on Night of the Tiger with the critiques that I've been getting from my marvelous critique partners! They're awesome. I've also worked on The Underground and the sequel to that, which, for now, is untitled. Can't think of too much more. I think I need a nap before I tackle the huge pile of homework I have to do.

AUGUST

August 28, 2005 -- Oh man. I might have another story accepted! A story that I have submitted twice now. One for a magazine and then after it was rejected to an anthology to have it rejected again. Now I have submitted it (with changes) back to the magazine and they think it's great, which just gives me a high. I've done correspondence with the publisher today and she gave me enthusiastic comments, so now I am anxiously awaiting response back from her. Oh yeah! It would be my third work that's been accepted. I'm definitely hoping for the best! In other news, I'm going to edit the contest entry a third time then I'm going to send it in for the contest. I am so excited about that as well. I'm VERY proud of my entry. I think it'll do well. Well... that's about all for now. If you're interested please join The Bitten! We already have around 12 subscribers!

August 25, 2005 -- Wow, August is almost coming to a close. I've been working quite a bit on a short story recently and plus just submitting things. I heard back on a poem a week or so back, which I corrected and sent back off, so maybe I'll be accepted. The editor is currently reviewing it. I finished the short story last night though and I am so excited about it. It's going to be entered into a contest with cash prizes. It was very fun to write and I'm so proud of my writing on it. Not many changes on the website either except that I've added some new things to my bio page, so check that out. Also if you haven't already, please join The Bitten. Thanks a bunch! Sign the guestbook, too! =)

August 9, 2005 -- Not too much has been going on. I've started working a bit more on my characters these past few days. I think that some of my problem has been not having as strong of characters as I would like, so I'm going to try to fix that! Also, I started up my own e-zine, The Bitten, so make sure and sign up for that. The place to do it is below the news section. We will start putting out issues on the 15th, so make sure and subscribe before then! This time it'll be a situation of just getting it off the ground, but next month Ishall have a call for submissions! So keep in touch on that subject. I hope for it to become decently popular, so if you sign up and enjoy it, make sure to tell your friends! It'll be for writers and readers alike.

Also, since I've been doing quite a bit of news this month, I've decided to go ahead and move the oldest news to the archive, so if you haven't seen it all make sure and check it out. I've also added more to my Bio page, so go and check that out! I added a very cute picture of my kitties.

August 6, 2005 -- I got word back today. They didn't accept it, but said to submit a more suitable piece since this one wasn't quite as surreal as they wanted. I'll try to beef my entry up more and send it back. I'm happy that they were positive about my piece though. It made things better psychologically. =P

Another note, congrats to Dave Mirra, Jamie Bestwick, Jeremy Stenberg, and Travis Pastrana for the awesome, awesome jobs they are doing in the X-Games! I'm proud to be fans of theirs. ^_____^ Woot!

August 5, 2005 --Okay, I submitted a flash fiction to an Australian anthology today. I know I'm not Austrialian, but it goes to a good cause! I really hope that I get in. The only other updates on myself that I have is that I worked almost all day yesterday on a sheet that I have for possible places to submit. Now I'm going to look that over and see about finding some more of my babies a home. I really need to work on my novel-length stories though because after finding quite a few publishers (e-publishers and traditional), I remembered that I do definitely want to have a book published even though I know it will take patience and hard work! =)

August 3, 2005 -- I added a link to one of my personal friends and fellow author, Diane Taylor. Go to the links page and find out more about her and her very awesomenovels, which have received 5 star ratings! And if you're too lazy to go to the links page then here's a link right here, too. Diane Taylor Now, go! Go check her out! =)

August 2, 2005 -- It's a new month and I feel pretty ready to go. I think something that has been helping is that I'm getting back into a regular schedule and of course I have my precious pets! I'm still coming down off of the high that I got from having the poem published in SoC, but now I'm getting prepped to continue on with other projects like my Vampire Hunter short story then I'm going to go back to my Amazon Rain Forest novel and start working on that one again. I'll try to work on both of those today and do a bit of writing in this other novel that I'm working on. I've also updated my projects page, so check that out and don't forget to sign the guestbook.

JULY

July 27, 2005 -- I've had more news on submissions. I found out that a short story I wrote was rejected, but that was only because the story didn't fit in with the others in the collection. I was happy that the editor said it was well-written though! Now I've got it submitted to the critique group I'm in.After I have them edit it, I'll put it back out there! Not too much else has really been happening I guess. I'm working on editing my story NIGHT OF THE TIGER. I'm trying to get the first chapter edited so that it will be second draft worthy then I'll send it back in to my crit group for more work, then I'll be able to send in chapter two and get a little closer to my dream of becoming published! It's going to be a somewhat slow ride, I think, but ah well!

July 16, 2005 -- Woohoo! I just found out today that the first poem I ever wrote was accepted to Sage of Consciousness Online Magazine! It's great because even though I receivedthose rejections and suggestions before it still shows that I am putting my time to good use. It's so great. The issue that my poem is in will be released around the first of August, as noted by the magazine. It's great! My second published work. I love writing, but when things like this happen, it makes you feel like your work really does count for something. Still have yet to email the one magazine mentioned in the previous news, but I'll try to do that sometime soon.

JUNE

June 30, 2005 -- Okay. Just a little bummed about a few rejections that I received yesterday. I know it's just the way of the business, but when you see it. It kinda stings. One of them was just a hey, here's a few suggestions on making your poem better, but it's not really suited to our anthology and the other one was more unclear. I mean it didn't really say that it wasn't accepted, but it said that the point of the story wasn't obvious. Of course I read back over the story and sort of saw what the editormeant. I kind of feel silly, but hey. I guess I should have looked back over it. Maybe they want me to send the story back in edited, which is why they didn't really "Accept or Reject" it. If so, then that would be pretty good since it would give me a little bit of time to do so since the deadline is a clip away. Another thing is that I'm going to be going out of town for the next month, so there might not be any website movement, but hopefully there will be when/if I get a chance to hook up to a computer. I know there won't be much until the middle of the month at least. Well... I feel like I'm definitely ranting, but hey... I get a good whine never hurt anybody did it?

By the way, this past month'snews went into archieved news located right below this text, so click on there to catch up to "old news."

June 27, 2005 -- Just noticed that the Summer '05 Issue of Runes Online Magazine is now out. Look for The False Friend in it. That's my contribution to it. ^_____^ I placed this new accomplishment into the Achievements section, so you can go check that out. Here's the link to check out Runes Online Magazine! Yay! http://www.runesmag.com

June 22, 2005 -- Not too much has been happening with the website. I know I want to get it spruced up a bit more, but I'm still trying to plan out how. In other news though, hopefully soon I'll be able to have another Achievement since I've been working on a short story recently to send off to an anthology. I hope everything goes well and it makes it in the anthology. That would be fantastic, but if not then I can always send it to other magazines. Well, that's all for now! Remember tosign the guestbook! =)

June 7, 2005 -- I added a misc. link, a writer's resource link, and two new fanlistings to the Links page.

June 5, 2005 -- There haven't been any updates recently, but please remember to sign my guestbook. That would be great. Hopefully there will be more things coming soon.

June 1, 2005 -- It's now the start of a new month! I added a few new links into the links page and rearranged those so that the Author Sites are on top, the Writer Resource Sites in the middle, and Misc. links are on the bottom. If you would like your link added to my website just let me know by emailing me and I'll make sure to do that. I also added the archieved news since I think each month the news of last month can go in there, so that space won't be wasted. Thanks for visiting!I also added a few fanlistings that I found interesting to the Links page.

MAY

May 29, 2005 -- I added the new banner up top, but haven't gotten the chance to put it on all of the pages yet. I also have a new interview that has been added to the writing help area. There are also a few new links.

May 27, 2005 -- Alrighty! I've done it. This site is now complete, for the most part. All of the links to all of the areas should be working (if you find something that's not working please contact me). I added the projects, the writing help (and all that encompass that), and the links pages all up! Enjoy! Hopefully I can make this site prettier as we go.

May 25, 2005 -- I've gotten a bit more clarity on what I want, so hopefully things shall be going a bit more smoothly. Things have been busy around my house recently, but I'm going to set my sights high with this neat website. =) I managed to get the bio, achievements,and guestbook up, so check those out! The rest to come soon.

May 19, 2005 -- Welcome tomy new website! I figure that every writer needs a place in the web to call their own, so this shall be mine. The links to the right, except for the contact one, aren't currently set up, but I hope to have it all up and running within no time. Thanks for visiting!