Monday, October 27, 2014

Give until it hurts?

Life is chaos - if you try to control it, you'll just get frustrated.
The more life I experience, the more I realize this. So, I've been trying to go with the flow, do my best, get as much done as my frail, aging, human body allows. I want to make the most of my time here.

Unfortunately, I feel blogging is falling by the wayside... And I don't feel I'm alone in this. Many are still hard at it, but others are blogging less. I'm struggling to blog once a week! But that is my goal - and visiting as much as I can - because if I don't visit, I won't be visited. That's how life works. We give, we receive. And I thank you all for giving me your time and attention!

Happily, I have finally reached one of my goals for this year - I put out a Newsletter! It is in blog format and it's still a work in progress. The purpose of my quarterly newsletter is to let anyone who's interested know where I'm at - in person, in progress, in life... I'll be exploring Mailchimp to get the word out soon. I'm also glad I have Crystal's post to refer to for advice!

Also, this past week I had a wonderful time talking at a local Book Club - and enjoyed participating in the madness that was EPICON - geeks galore!

And now, I'm excited to give you my witty, creative, inspiring friend and her latest release!


MAGE REVEALED
Book Two of The Magic Withheld series
by CD Coffelt

Struck with enough malevolent Spirit to turn him into a raving beast of a man, Bert Reese fights to remain human. Alone, he walks a slender path between sanity and madness. Then, an unlikely source enters his life to help—one of the now-hated mages.
But Ashleigh is different and calms his butchered senses. Her fierce nature is the only rock that stands between him and the crevasse that is beast. In all ways, she walks beside him toward a new beginning. But at the end of their journey lies the one who used Spirit against him. Questions arise; did Tiarra, head of the Imperium, lose her magic, die, or simply give way to the new order? Or, like a spider, does she wait for a mage to blunder into her web?

Forced on him without a care for his humanity, Bert is the mage who should not exist, born with a different kind of magic.

And the gates of Hell are no match for the magic he wields.

Author C.D. Coffelt’s world of magic started in Wilder Mage with the words “The earthquake wasn’t his fault. Not this time.” It continues in Mage Revealed, the second book of the three-part series. Watch the book trailer on YouTube.

C.D. Coffelt lives outside Skidmore, Missouri with a bemused husband and way too many cats. She is a member of the Missouri Writers Guild. But despite that bit of conventionality, she adores all things fantasy with a special love for urban and epic. With a passion for good writing and Doritos as companions, locating Middle-Earth on a dusty road in rural Missouri wasn’t difficult. All it took was a little Magic, hours of reading, and an overactive imagination.

She blogs as Huntress on www.spiritcalled.blogspot.com, Facebook, Twitter, and her writer’s critique site, www.unicornbell.blogspot.com.

Find her books at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Prioritizing, Maximizing, Economizing

Are you too busy? Do things keep interrupting your schedule? (like stink bugs! lost keys! computer viruses! argh!) Well, that's life, ain't it. I had a packed week, but I wouldn't have it any other way. And the only way I can stay sane is to organize. Here's how I roll...
  • prioritize what I need to get done and put the most necessary "have-to" things at the top of the list, then when I finish I can work on the "want-to" things!
  • I also maximize my time by doing everything I can in one area before moving on to the next.
  • My lists help me economize my time and energy - if I don't write things down, I'll forget something, never fails!
So here's what I was up to... (besides work, chores, and running kids around, that is!)

  • My little guy turned ELEVEN on Thursday. I was happy that he let me sit with him and his friends for lunch - he's the best!
  • The party was Friday - indoor go karting then Dairy Queen with five crazy boys - the SUV was hopping all over town! But mom only let one of them spend the night.
  • Then, as fate/facebook would have it, I found a fundraising VENDOR SHOW (for a very good cause!) at my local community center that needed more sellers. Of course I offered to buy a table (the price & location were perfect!) So Saturday I threw together a raffle basket, set up my table, and sold a few books! alongside jewelry, bag, makeup, and food purveyors. It was awesome! And I even won one of the raffles! Woot! Here's my basket...
  • But that's not all! I also went out for the evening with my husband and some friends to another fundraiser party - the high school's Baseball Bash.
  • And during the spare moments, I'm avidly working on the rough draft of CRADLE ROCK (sequel to Broken Branch Falls) - Don't tell anyone, but I might get to finish it and keep track of my own little NANO! Shh! I don't want to jinx it!
And saving the best for last is what I do - check out Cathrina's hot new cover!!

Title: Wickedly They Dream
Release Date: November 5, 2014
Genre: Paranormal Thriller/Fantasy

Here is the Blurb:
After Seeley is possessed by an evil wraith, Jordan must dig deeper into the Satanic realm. Against Markus’s direct orders, she offers herself, body and soul in a blood covenant to rescue Seeley from the clutches of hell. Jordan assumes her guardian angel will not leave her to fight alone. But there’s trouble in paradise, and Markus has been reassigned. Can Jordan defeat both her internal and external demons to win him back? Or is he gone for good this time?

Find Cathrina here:

Facebook  --  Web  --  Blog  --  Twitter 

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Let me take a Shelfie! Winners!

Halloween is coming! Meet my monster tree!

Now for the winners...
The Shelfie Selfie Blogfest is over and it was a scandalous success!

First, a thank you to our fabulous contestants:

Ellie Garratt
L. Diane Wolfe
Gina Stoneheart
Stephen Tremp
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Tyrean Martinson
Tami Aschenbrenner
Elizabeth Arroyo
Chrys Fey
Eric Juneau
Loni Townsend
Rebecca Bradley
Nicki Elson
Susanne Drazic
Carrie Anne Brownian
Michelle Wallace
Sarah Foster
Trisha F

AND HERE ARE THE WINNERS!

The winner of the 13th Floor Collection by Christine Rains is 
Ellie Garratt

The winners of Wilder Mage and Mage Revealed by C.D. Coffelt are 
Eric Juneau and Tyrean Martinson

The winner of an ebook by Elizabeth Seckman is
Alex J. Cavanaugh
(Alex also receives honorable mention for appearing in the most shelfies!)

The two winners of ebooks by Tara Tyler are 
Chrys Fey and Sarah Foster

The winner of Effigy by M.J. Fifield is
Michelle Wallace

And the winner of an interview by Stormy the Weather Gnome at Heather Gardner's blog is 
Carrie Anne Brownian

And the Grand Prize Winner of $40 is Rebecca Bradley!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks again everyone for playing and commenting! It was a lot of fun!
Special thanks to my wonderful co-hostesses:

Monday, October 6, 2014

Win Stuff! Enter Your Shelfie!

Happy Monday!
It was an extreme weekend in my neck of the Midwest. First, two relatives had unexpected surgeries - but are both doing very well now, thank goodness. Then, my middle son was honored as a "Freshman Football Player of the Week!" He got to dress and hang out with the varsity team for their game Friday night. And lastly, I am happy to report I submitted SIMULATION to my publisher. It's the next book in the Cooper Chronicles techno-thriller detective series after POP TRAVEL. It's all been very nerve-wracking and exciting!

In other news...

Today (10/6) is the LAST DAY to enter the SHELFIE SELFIE BLOGFEST!
We will post winners this week!




Here are our fabulous contestants:

Ellie Garratt

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Making a difference

I am happy to say I have been a part of the Insecure Writer Support Group from its inception (love that movie!). Big THANK YOU to ALEX J. CAVANAUGH for starting it! I can't believe it's been three years. But I can easily believe how huge it's become. It's a wonderful mechanism for writers to boost each other! And today is the website’s one year anniversary. In honor of all the celebrating, we are posting entries for the IWSG anthology.

The purpose of the book is to assist other writers on the journey, so we are looking for tips and instructions in the areas of writing, publishing, and marketing. It can be inspirational in nature as long as you provide a solid benefit.

I'm going to post about putting yourself out there once you're published. The dreaded marketing that writers never signed up for.

I have tried many things, but getting noticed is a very slow process. Every new person who finds out about your book(s) will hopefully pass it along. You just have to get out there! So far, I've done book events in Georgia, Michigan, West Virginia, and Ohio. I also did some unconventional marketing while on vacation, leaving fun swag items here and there. So here are some tips for marketing!
  • Go out and spread your good news! The more you tell, the more fans you'll find. Try book conferences, book stores, local fairs, etc - anywhere you can afford to set up a table! I am doing my first sci fi "CON" this month - am really looking forward to branching out and meeting more people!
  • Have swag to give away - good stuff people will remember you by. Food is great, but gone quick and forgotten. The best items are useful things that might actually stick around, like:
    • post it notes, notepads
    • pens
    • jewelry
    • bookmarks
    • bags
    • cups
  • My unconventional swag are frisbees, flying monster/beast toys, slide whistles, and footballs - all with my book title on them - try to have swag that goes with the book
  • Actively seek reviewers - ask around! the worst they can say is no
  • Put your book on a reader's list like: Ereader News Daily, Bookbub, or the Fussy Librarian
  • Be creative and inventive. One of my editors is into video experimentation and is always trying  new ways to promote his book on youtube. I am thinking of getting a karaoke machine to strum up business at my next con... we'll see if I actually do it!
  • There are so many ways to market! I can't list them all, but here's one more subtle way I'm trying to get noticed as a writer. I've made some writer buttons. You can be your own personal advertisement without saying a word! Check them out!
face painting by my inside the book artist at release party!
Keep plugging! There's an audience waiting to read your books!

I also wanted to thank Maggie for having me over for a lovely interview on Monday! Here's the link if you're interested =)


Lastly, there's only one week left for the SHELFIE SELFIE BLOGFEST still going on - post yours by October 6th to win! Here are the awesome entries:

Ellie Garrett

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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