Meet S.M. Boyce

Blurb: Ourea has always been a deadly place. The lichgates tying the hidden world to Earth keep its creatures at bay—for now.

Kara Magari ignited a war when she stumbled into Ourea and found the Grimoire: a powerful artifact filled with secrets. To protect the one person she has left, she strikes a deal that goes against everything she believes in. But things don’t go as planned.

Braeden Drakonin can no longer run from who—and what—he is. He has to face the facts. He’s a prince. He’s a murderer. He’s a wanted man. And after a betrayal that leaves him heartbroken, he’s out for blood.

To survive, both Kara and Braeden must become the evil each has grown to hate.


Meet S.M. Boyce: Boyce is a fantasy and paranormal fiction author who likes sarcasm and cookies. By all means check out her author page on Amazon, and on Barns and Noble.

In her own words...

Anything that’s worth doing is a little scary. It’s a little intimidating. It’s a challenge, but it’s worth it in the end for whatever reason.

That’s been my experience in the publishing world. For me, being a career author was my dream, and now I’m living it.

I never thought writing the book would be the easy part, yet here I am: two years of platform-building, six years of plot design and world building, and a host of blurred successes and mistakes later, I’m published. I’ve been a published author since October 15, 2011. And it’s awesome.

It’s no cakewalk, either. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, mishandled a few email correspondences, and lost followers. But I’ve also gained invaluable contacts in the publishing industry, sold novels to complete strangers, reached the Amazon Top 100, and even designed a blog exclusively for authors to discuss the technical aspects of our craft (Boyce’s Guide to Writing). I’ve inspired others, I’ve been inspired by others, and I’ve pushed through.

The tricky part when it comes to writing a book is that there’s no right way to do it. There’s no guaranteed way to market yourself and no right way to find followers. There’s plenty of wrong ways to do it, but there’s no set right way. If you want to take a look at my thought process, feel free to check out my writing and editing process and the timeline to publication. Hope those posts help, but we ultimately all do it a little differently. The trick is to find your way.

Bottom line, though, is that success as an author isn’t possible without the fantastic people who read my books. The authors, bloggers, and readers who have reached out to say hi make my day every time. So thank you for reading my books, for reaching out, and for being awesome.

A little hope for the road [by S.M. Boyce]

With the holidays fast approaching and the cold already here, I wanted to give you a little hope to help you through scraping the ice off your front windshield.

It's easy to lose hope, especially in the winter: it's dark most of the time and cold all day long. It's easy to forget how wonderful you are, or what you bring to the table. I think we all push ourselves too hard nowadays--we're striving to achieve, to be better, to succeed in something before we die. We sometimes lose track of the why. Why bother?

It's in those spiraling moments that we need a trampoline--something bouncy and a little soft. Sometimes, we're just not strong enough on our own to remember what makes life so beautiful, or precious, or funny as all hell. So we need some help.

The trampoline can be a person. It can be the teddy bear no one knows you still have. It can be a solo hike through a forest, or an hour spent looking at adorable pictures of cats. It can be an evening laughing over dinner with a good friend.

Trampolines--and the hope that comes with them--are everywhere.

I'm analytical. So when I'm low, I write a list. It's just for me. It's a list of everything I'm good at doing. Things I know I can do well. It ranges from the big to the small, and it's just for me. I'm not allowed to be modest when I write it, because that can turn into self-deprecation that makes me start to spiral again. But here's the truth: we're all amazing at something. A lot of us are amazing at several somethings, and it's easy to forget. It's easy to lose hope in ourselves and forget to love who and what we are. And if we can't love ourselves, we can't love anyone.

Treat yourself today, whether you're low or not. Write a list of everything you can do well, whether you have a sweet laugh or can pick up socks with your toes. You don't have to be the best in the world at it, but you're good. Works for me. Write it down.

There's always hope. Sometimes we just need help remembering where we left it. Hold on tight. You'll get through the low spots. And love yourself, damn it. You're awesome.