Three years ago, Tori beat the wrong man. Her MMA training partner, nursing a bruised ego, snapped—shattering her trust and confidence.
 
Now, she's putting herself through college, avoiding all things fight related, and keeping her fists to herself. That is, until her uncle's failing health draws her back to his gym and her old pounding grounds. With her demons still haunting the cage, she's determined to keep the wall she's so carefully constructed between the past and present.  
 
Until pro-fighter Max Estrada saunters into her life.
 
The temptation to go glove-to-glove with the sexy Columbian is too much, drawing her back into the world of MMA—a world where her ex-partner reigns as current Middleweight Champion. The secret they share is a liability to his career, and he'll do anything to keep her quiet. If she wants her old life back, and a future with the fighter she's fallen for, she'll have to do more than just survive. With her life on the ropes, she'll have to face her past and fight like she's never fought before.

 Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

FIERCE will be re-released April 3rd, 2018. If anyone wants to participate in the Release Blitz, you can sign up here.
I'll be honest and say while the bones of the story are the same, and the heart of it is the same, it's practically a new book. If you haven't already read it, please consider giving it a try if it may be your thing. And if you read the last version, please still consider giving this new version a read. 
To go with the new edition (that's stating it lightly, tbh), we have a new cover as well. Forward Authority designed it and I am IN LOVE. I mean, look at it. 

See. Gorgeous. 
There will be excerpts shared during the blitz on the 3rd,and I'll probably share some teasers before then. 

Just a note, but if you already have the ebook of FIERCE, the new edition should update. In theory. If it doesn't, please let me know so I can make sure that issue gets fixed.

Oh, and here's the blurb:

Three years ago, Tori beat the wrong man. Her MMA training partner, nursing a bruised ego, snapped—shattering her trust and confidence.

Now, she's putting herself through college, avoiding all things fight related, and keeping her fists to herself. That is, until her uncle's failing health draws her back to his gym and her old pounding grounds. With her demons still haunting the cage, she's determined to keep the wall she's so carefully constructed between the past and present.  

Until pro-fighter Max Estrada saunters into her life.

The temptation to go glove-to-glove with the sexy Columbian is too much, drawing her back into the world of MMA—a world where her ex-partner reigns as current Middleweight Champion. The secret they share is a liability to his career, and he'll do anything to keep her quiet. If she wants her old life back, and a future with the fighter she's fallen for, she'll have to do more than just survive. With her life on the ropes, she'll have to face her past and fight like she's never fought before.


​-L 

HELLO THERE!

Just wanted to stop by and let y'all know that FIERCE is going be temporarily unavailable.  It's going to be re-released (I'm super excited about this and the book FIERCE has become--I talked a bit about it here--) and will have more info on the dates soon. I'll post more about all of this after I've made a few decisions (which I can discuss more at that time as well). 

In the mean time please keep an eye on this blog for more info, or my twitter (@lgkelso). 

For those of you who have already read Fierce, thank you. I hope you'll consider reading it again once it's re-released as I think this is really what the book is meant to be. (I'll post how you can get the most updated copy at a future date). If you haven't read it but were thinking about it, please consider checking it out once it is re-released. :)
​

Stay fierce lovelies,
-L 

It's been forever. 
There's been a lot going on the past two years, and my blogging (and writing) took a hit. But, I'm getting back on track with things, so I thought I would write a quick post about book things.

FIERCE is going to be re-released. I don't know the date yet. But what I do know is at it's core, it is the same book. It's a book about a female in a male-dominated sport. It's a book about a female athlete and what that means in the fighting world and her "non-fighting" world. It's a friendship book. It's a romance book. But, mostly, it's a book about a girl having to work through her issues and taking responsibility for that process (with the support of friends and love of course, but she's at the helm of it). There's still butt-kicking. There's still librarian/pro-fighter Max. There's still Will. And of course Leah and Shane. 

There will be a few differences--a few changes in pacing, a few events are different, and there's possibly more on-screen romance. Possibly. ;)

So why am I doing this?
Lots of reasons. I've grown as a writer and as a person, and want that be reflected in Fierce. I want to go with it to places that for personal reasons I was afraid to go before. Places I felt like I couldn't go then. Barriers that are now gates and not stone walls. I want to do right by it, and in order for me to feel like I have, I had to make some changes. 

I hope those of you who have read it will take a look at the new version when it's out.

AND.

Shane's book is in progress. I'm really quite excited about this book. It's pretty different than FIERCE, but I think/hope that you'll like it if you liked FIERCE. Shane's story in some ways feels like writing a fairy-tale, it's incredibly personal, and while FIERCE is an anthem of love and support and the struggles of girls in male-dominated fields, Shane's book is an ode to my heart, and what it means to love yourself and someone else (and fighting, of course).  And if we go off what's done of it so far, it's definitely got a hell of a lot more kissing (sorry, not sorry). 

Anyway, I'll post more once I have better idea of timelines, but there's an update for now. 

​_L

Hello!

So, it's been awhile since I've posted anything (let's be real, aside from my friend's cover release, it's been practically forever since I posted anything).  Over this past week, I've gotten a few emails from readers asking if Shane is going to get his own book. 

Yes.

I very much so want Shane to have his own book. However,I do not yet have a time frame yet of when it will be available.

I know Shane's story and it is in-progress. I had to set it aside for a bit, though, due to some other things going on this year that took priority. I'm hoping to get both Shane's story and the other companion novel I have planned on the schedule soon. 

Shane's story, so far, continues to be focused on the new adult age group and the self-discovery that comes with that time in our lives. As of now, there are two narrators. It will have the same focus on sports as FIERCE did, and Shane and his counterpart have stories that are dependent on them individually (much like Tori in FIERCE). That being said, the romance plays a bigger role than it did it Fierce, and there may be more kissing and the like than FIERCE had. 

Okay, there is definitely more kissing than FIERCE had. 

I'll update the website and post more about it once I know more about when to expect it. 

THANK YOU readers for your patience, and thank you for giving FIERCE a chance :)

-L

Title: As We Know It
Author: Carrie Butler
Category: Adult
Genres: Action / Adventure (Disaster) & Romantic Suspense
Release: December 2016
About the Book: Deep beneath the ocean, stretching hundreds of miles alongside the Pacific Northwest coastline, lies the Cascadia subduction zone—a fault on the verge of unleashing a catastrophic earthquake, thirty times more powerful than the San Andreas. Unfortunately, like most tourists, Elena Cordova is oblivious.
She’s got her own pent-up stress to deal with, a humiliating breakup that’s driven her to end her tenure as a human doormat once and for all. So, when a pickpocket makes off with the last remnant of her relationship, she takes action—only to get trapped with him when disaster strikes.
Now, if either one hopes to survive, they’ll have to get past their initial impressions and work together . . . because in fifteen minutes, half the town will be underwater.
About the Author: 
Carrie Butler is an award-winning author and the owner of Forward Authority full-service studio—not to mention an inbound-certified marketer with a penchant for superhero socks and Firefly. Time away from her desk is spent playing with her rescue pup, yelling at the TV during hockey season, and indulging in target-based recreation. Otherwise, you’re likely to find her glued to her chair, discovering new ways to share her daydreams...


Connect:
Carrie’s Favorite Virtual Haunts: Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Pinterest  |  Goodreads  |  Google+  |  Amazon
Carrie’s  Websites:  CarrieAButler.com  |  ForwardAuthority.com
Other Social Media:  LinkedIn  |  BookBub  |  Instagram  |   YouTube  |  WattPad  |  Wiselike
Book Trailer (Link): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz08rDiH4t4
Geeky Science Resources: http://www.carrieabutler.com/cascadia.html
​

I hope everyone has a great year! I'm going to be quiet over here for a while longer--I'm working on some things that are quite time demanding, but I'm still here. 

​Hope everyone had a fantastic end of 2015 and a great start to 2016!

I've been quiet over here and on Twitter (kind of quiet, anyway) and facebook for a while so I thought I would pop in on my blog to say hello. The past few weeks have been busy with writing-related things, dog issues, and I hurt my back...which has significantly decreased my computer time.  Sitting at the computer seemed to worsen the injury for the first few weeks after it happened, and so I've been doing a lot of writing by pen and paper. 

I'm working on a project I planned to use for an upcoming residency, but, in all honestly, am finding it challenging.  I'm not sure if it's because the project is so new (every aspect of it is new) and so hasn't had much "simmering time" in my head, and I feel as if it's a little forced right now. So, I'll be working on that to see if it starts to feel more natural/comes more naturally, or may instead focus on a project that has been simmering longer. 

Anyway, I am here, lurking... ;) 
Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

It's the first Friday of August (insert my usual how-did-we-already-get-to-x-date freakout), meaning it's a First Friday blog post. First Friday is a thing my friend Bailey and I do. The idea is to keep us blogging and having fun with it. Today, we decided to leave the subject a little broader: What are 7 favorites of ours (warning, it's late, and some of my favorites are pretty random)?

Without further ado, here we go:
Disclaimer: I'm skipping the expected Favorite Book question because, honestly, I have a couple favorite different books. So, I figured I would mention why some of those books are my favorites in the answers below. 


Favorite Character Arc: I have more than one, but the one I'll mention here is Elisa from the Fire & Thorns series by Rae Carson. I reread the series recently when a friend was blogging about how much she loves it, and it reminded me how much I love it, too. Elisa's character arc is fresh and unique, and I love seeing the way she grows. I don't want to spoil the series, so I'll leave it at that :) (and you should go read it)


Favorite Secondary Character In A Series: So....I realize that this is not the answer, but I love love love one of my secondary characters in my current project. Anyway, I think I'll have to say...Karla from BJT by Anne Bishop (I have so many more, that's just one of the first to pop in my mind)


Favorite Fantasy Worlds In Books (Maybe this should be favorite world-building since I would not want to live in these worlds?): Alexandra Duncon's Salvage, Anne Bishop's BJT, Rae Carson's Fire & Thorn series. 


Favorite Blog By An Author: Nova Ren Suma's blog (she is also one of my favorite authors).


Favorite Would-Be-Besties: Ronan Lynch from The Raven Cycle. 


Favorite Symbol: The Claddagh.


Favorite Drink (aka, I need to go to bed and can no longer give more than a one-word answer): Water. 


What are some of your favorites for what I mentioned above?

WRITE Wednesday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Poppy Simeri and Vera James. Check out their blogs to get more info about WW or to join the blog hop.

WHAT AM I

• WRITING: Revising the end of a project.
• READING: Been going between Vicious by V.E. Schwab and still also finishing Flirting with Fire by Kate Meader.
• INSPIRATION: I'm going to go with this song. There's just something about it that gets me pumped up (video below)
• THINKING AHEAD:  Next week, I plan to start a project that I'm hoping to use for a residency program. I'm also hoping to give Shane's book some attention.
• ENCOURAGEMENT: Plotting chats with the critique partner! Making changes based on feedback and then finding out those changes were successful in achieving what you hoped to! The fact that my siblings always amaze me! The fact that my donkey has gone like three days without pissing in his food trough-progress! (See, lots of forms of encouragement this week).

Hope everyone has a nice week!