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The Modern Mystic Shop is live and you can save 10% with WELCOME10!

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When I’m not writing fiction, I’m often slinging cards as a tarot reader. It probably surprises no one here that I am allllllllll about the #girlboss life! I will never giving up that dream of one day leaving my day job to write and read for you all full time instead! So, to my can’t-stop-won’t-stop mentality, the next logical step was to push my tarot reading up to the next level, giving me that extra income that will (maybe) allow me to spend more time writing and less time answering phones in the near future!

This month, I officially launched my own Etsy shop, loving called The Modern Mystic after my quirky brand of personal spirituality. A wide variety of customized tarot readings are available (with more being added all the time), as well as my most exciting new pet project: a monthly tarot subscription box!

ModernMysticTarotBox

Ain’t she pretty?!

To celebrate this much anticipated launch, and to thank each and every one of you beautiful souls for your continued support of my wacky little Warding world, I invite you to stop on by and take a look at the other passion in my life. From now until October 14th, you can use the code WELCOME10 to receive 10% off ANYTHING in the shop… including the multi-month tarot box subscriptions and a one of a kind custom tarot reading!

I think its pretty cool and hope you will to. Head on over and take a look. Tell your friends. Keep being awesome.

And have no fear; I haven’t forgotten Caitlin. She and I spent far too much of this year not seeing eye to eye, but I’m feeling myself again and am finally back to steady work on The Last Dance. The next installment of The Warding will be out in early 2018. Later than I wanted, but not by too terribly much. Promise.

 

Faster: The Warding Book II Cover Reveal!

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Fiona Jayde continues to amaze me with her top-notch artwork on this next installment in The Warding series. No one else can bring Cat to life like she does–and I hope you all are in love with this next cover as much as I am!

FasterFinal-FJM_High_Res_1800x2700

“Caitlin Moore thought finding the Secret Keeper would make all her problems go away.

Not so much.

She can no longer deny the fae blood running through her veins but coming to grips with her new life as a Warder who is immune to the Gifts of other fae is the least of her worries. Kaine and Co. are still stuck in Riverview and she’d love nothing more than to get him out of her life once and for all.

The plan should be easy: find the key, use it to break the banishment spell, and send them on their way across the Veil to stop the mad High King. Only things are never so simple when the fae are involved. To key they need is an ancient sword long thought to be a myth. Even worse? They will need to use it to summon the Morrigan, a powerful goddess, and beg her to break the spell.

Caitlin and Gannon, her teacher and fellow hunter, race to find the sword but she finds herself confronted by new dangers at every turn. She must make the impossible choice between righting the wrongs of her past or fulfilling her promise to see Kaine home—no matter the cost.”

Faster: The Warding Book II will be released on October 25th 2016 on Amazon (Kindle and paperback), Barnes n’ Noble Nook, and iTunes.

Pre-release information will be coming mid-September and will be shared here, on my Facebook page, and on Twitter.

First Hunt is live. Get your copy for FREE!

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First HuntFinal-FJM_Kindle_1800x2700

First Hunt: A Warding Short Story is live and available for purchase on Kindle, or to read through Kindle Unlimited!

Even better: for the first few days, this short story is available for free. Its the least I can do, to thank all of you who have taken a chance on me and supported Iron. I hope this little snippet of Caitlin’s life helps hold you over until Faster comes out in the fall. (And if you enjoy short stories like these, set in The Warding world, please let me know! I have other side stories floating around in my head that I’d like to put to paper if you’re all interested in seeing more of them.)

Once the free introductory period ends, the price will go up to $0.99. Still a bargain, I’d say!

Now, I had originally intended to release First Hunt tomorrow on the 26th (and believe I mentioned that in my last post) but, well, sometimes KDP and I have a difference of opinion. For some reason it refused to let me set that particular date. No complaints, really, as I would much rather it go up sooner rather than later. It also happens to be a rather special day for me, as this is also my six year wedding anniversary, and my loving husband has by far been my biggest supporter along every step of the publishing journey. (Awwwww!) We’ll just chalk this publication date snafu it up to serendipity.

I’ve babbled enough. Hop on over to Amazon and check out First Hunt. Grab this fun little story while its free (from today April 25th, through Friday April 29th, and be sure to let me know what you thought of it!

First Hunt: A Warding Short Story Cover Reveal!

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First HuntFinal-FJM_High_Res_1800x2700

“Caitlin Moore isn’t sure how she wound up possessing the rare fae Gift of the Warding, but her life hasn’t been the same since the night it emerged. Embroiled deep in a desperate quest to return four fae strangers home to dethrone their mad High King and prevent the monsters from harming humans has taken over her life.

She never thought she’d be trading her high heels in for combat boots, but in exchange for letting her new friends use her Gift, she’s leveled a price of her own: learning how to kill the bestial creatures who are feeding on hapless humans and threatening those she loves. Taking to fighting with a zeal that frightens even her trainer, she is finally ready to face the evil that lurks in the shadows of her beloved city.

She is ready for her first hunt.”

First Hunt: A Warding Short Story comes out on April 26th 2016, exclusively on Amazon Kindle!

The wonderful and amazing Fiona Jayde has once again knocked it out of the park with this cover! She continues to capture perfectly the images I have in my head, turning them–and Caitlin–into some kick-ass art. I hope you all love it just as much as I do, and are excited to finally learn what, exactly, happened on that night when Gannon first took Cat hunting…

Updates coming soon, promise!

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Oh yeah; I had a blog once, didn’t I?

Sorry for the inexcusable length of silence over here. I really have had the best intentions of dusting this ol’ blog off and starting to update it weekly again. I even wrote out a long list of something like 100 topics I could easily babble about. (I love lists.)

However, every spare minute I’ve had has been poured into writing Faster, the sequel to Iron, and an upcoming short story, called First Hunt. Faster is on track for its fall release (whew!), but hopefully First Hunt will help tide you over until then. Right now, that particular story will likely be released as a Kindle exclusive eBook in late April. So stay tuned for details on that!

But; yeah–blogging. I do intend to come back and reboot this blog next month as well. Promise! Many of my posts will have to do with The Warding, writing in general, and the self publishing industry, but there will be a good smattering of randomness about me, my life, my likes, etc. Probably a good deal of geeky stuff, as I am, well, a geeky fan-girl at heart. And, if there is anything you’d like for me to write about, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Talk to y’all soon!

Spring is here and so is another Goodreads Giveaway!

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I am thrilled that spring is finally starting to show its face here in New Jersey. Though we had a mild winter compared to the last few, I’m still not a fan of the cold, and I loathe snow with a special passion. It was in the 70’s here yesterday and promises to do so again today, which has me in an excellent mood. And when I’m in an excellent mood, the Muse is in an excellent mood, and we are more productive together, which means Faster gets written faster (tee-hee) and everybody wins.

In honor of Mother Nature thawing out, I thought I’d do a springtime giveaway over on Goodreads. Follow the link below for your chance to win a FREE signed paperback copy of Iron, open to participants in the US and Canada. The giveaway begins today and ends in eleven days–so get on it if you’d like a chance at winning!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Iron by Robin L. Cole

Iron

by Robin L. Cole

Giveaway ends March 20, 2016.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/177566

You guys rock.

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Iron has been out for two weeks today and… Wow. Just wow.

I had very modest hopes, going into this indie publishing thang. I’m just a nearly broke girl from Jersey with a story in her head and the determination to see it into print, come hell or high water. I didn’t (and, well, still don’t) have a lot to spend on marketing. So, I went with a soft launch (giggity) and figured I’d see what happened while I continued to work on book two, Faster. With only a single title to sell, whose sequel is roughly a year away from publication, I wasn’t expecting much. I just hoped one or two people out there would take a chance on it and pick up copies–and, even better, that at least one of those two would like it!

So far, I’ve sold copies every single day. Some days more than others, but all of them are more than I had ever hoped. Some have even been sold internationally, which just boggles my mind (and makes me jump up and down with excitement). When I wrote myself up a “three year plan” and tried to figure out my dream job goals for the years to come, I had only hoped to “break even” in Iron‘s first year. (Again, a modest goal as I had kept my production costs low as a newbie author with no fan base.)

Well, two weeks in I’m just about a third of the way to that goal. And that freaking astounds me. (In the best possible where-are-the-tissues way, of course!) I know there will come a day when I won’t always be riding this high. Sales may dip, or I’ll get some bad reviews and spend a few hours hiding under my exploding TARDIS blanket with a box of tissues for a whole ‘nother reason… But that is not this day. Right now, I’m feeling a bit like a rockstar and I have all of you to thank for it.

Thank you for reading Cat’s story. Thank you for not minding her potty mouth and penchant for bemoaning her luck. Thank you for giving me such wonderful reviews. Thank you for spreading the word and sharing the existence of this wacky little urban fantasy with others.

But, most of all, thank you for giving Iron a chance.

 

Sugarpill Cosmetics Sparkle Baby Palette Review

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Sugarpill Sparkle Baby Palette

“Let your inner princess shine! A high-glitz eyeshadow collection for living dolls. Ultra girly, shimmery shades to satisfy your sweet tooth!”

Man, oh man–I feel like we were waiting for this palette! It was months ago when I first saw swatches of the single shadows from this collection up on a few blogs and from that moment on, I was stalking the Sugarpill Cosmetics website, waiting to pounce the moment this baby became available.

I adore Sugarpill shadows. They have some of the boldest, craziest colors I have ever seen and their quality is stellar. Every single shadow I have tried from them has been buttery smooth, super pigmented, and downright phenomenal when it comes to lasting power.

Sadly, I don’t find myself reaching for the Sugarpill shadows I have (i.e. the Burning Heart and Heart Breaker palette shades).The problem? I just don’t have much call for bright blues, reds, and oranges in my day-to-day makeup life. I wish that were different, of course, but as it stands I find myself sticking more to the neutrals of my Urban Decay Naked 1 or 3 most days instead.

So, when I saw they’d be exploring their “softer” side with the ultra girlie, mostly pastel shades in this, the Sparkle Baby Palette, I was over the moon. The day it went up for sale, I made sure it would be mine!

Continue reading “Sugarpill Cosmetics Sparkle Baby Palette Review” →

Benefit Dandelion Blush Review

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Benefit Cosmetics Dandelion Box Blush“Fake awake in just one stroke with Dandelion—Benefit’s long-lasting, pressed highlighting powder in ballerina-pink. Its shimmery, satiny, and radiant formula leaves an immediate perk-me-up finish that brightens up your face—even at eight in the morning.”

I’ve only recently started getting in to blushes. For years, I didn’t wear any. My rosacea flush was terrible, and I had such a fear of being too red/pink that I just never even bothered to try applying any.

As the years went on and I learned to keep my rosacea in check, I found myself sometimes having the opposite problem: without blush, my naturally pale complexion kind of looked… Well, sickly. I was pale and washed out. I needed a touch of color on those days, so I slowly began dipping my toe into the world of blush and found one or two that I loved–usually peachy or coral-toned blushes that didn’t call too much attention to my pink undertones. I just knew, in my heart of hearts, that pinks would look terrible on me–so I never bothered to try them

Then, the Tarte Rainforest After Dark Eye and Cheek Palette came into my life. The blush included in it–described as a “nude rose”–was a pink shade. I tried it on with trepidation… And fell head over heels in love. I found myself wearing it every day, even when I wasn’t using the eyeshadows in the palette. Me, loving a pink blush!

I felt like Ariel, singing about the whole new world of makeup that had just been opened up to me!

Around the same time, I went on a bit of a Benefit Cosmetics kick. I had already fallen in love with their ‘Hello Flawless!’ Oxygen Wow Liquid Foundation and, again, a floodgate was opened. It was a brand I had always heard such wonderful things about, but had–for some unknown reason–had never bothered to try for myself. That had to change. I had to try more and more of their products. Their Dandelion Blush was one of the first things I had to get my hands on.

Continue reading “Benefit Dandelion Blush Review” →

OCC Unknown Pleasures Lip Tar Review ~ Pagan and Vain

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OCC Unknown Pleasures Lip Tars Pagan and Vain

I was going to behave.

Really, I was.

When Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) announced their Fall 2014 collection–called “Unknown Pleasures”–I was going to resist.

The were gorgeous of course, as all Lip Tars are, but I really didn’t need any more Lip Tars at that time. Especially not crazy colors like dark purple, navy blue, metallic purple, bright red/orange with gold shimmer… I wanted them; make no mistake about it but–no. I’ve been trying to scale back my rampant shopping (which I too often excuse for “reviewing purposes). I told myself that I didn’t need such colors in my collection. I’m a bridal makeup artist and a receptionist, after all. Metallic purple lips are just not something people in my life often request, nor something I could pull out and wear to the office on any given day. (Although, I think my boss would just look at my funny and walk on by if I did…)

I was good. For a long while, I was good. I looked, but I didn’t touch.

Then, one day, it occurred to me that New York Comic Con was right around the bend. Friends, the husband, and I will be attending again this year and are super stoked about our geek Mecca being so close. That got me thinking. I mean, really, where else would I ever get the chance to rock deep blue lips without anyone batting an eyelash if not at Comic Con… right?

Continue reading “OCC Unknown Pleasures Lip Tar Review ~ Pagan and Vain” →