Writers' Wednesday: Remembering Sept. 11th & a Safari Heat Blog Hop

Welcome, everyone! I know some of you are probably here for the Safari Heat Sultry Summer Reads Blog Hop, and thanks for dropping by :) Before the details, though, I'm taking a moment to remember and honor all those who lost lives and loved ones on September 11, 2001. May we never forget and always honor the privilege of living in a country that banded together and rose above the sorrow of that day...

Now, as many of you know, the Safari Heat Blog Hop contest begins this week!

The Hop's Grand Prize is a Kindle Fire HD 7” with Second Prize a 100.00 Gift Card to Amazon or B&N! Plus books to go on the winner’s new Kindle! (Note: due to shipping costs, winners must reside in the U.S. or Canada).

Even better, there are four ways readers can get extra entries into the grand prize giveaway.  You will get an entry for completing each of these: leaving a comment, following my blog, following me on Facebook, or following me on Twitter.

All the rules and a description of how the hop will work are listed on the Safari Heat site. Click the banner above or follow the link below.

http://safariheatbooktoursandauthorservices.blogspot.com

Today's prizes:

Signed Swag Pack: Dianne Duvall

Signed Book: Crush by Alan Jacobson

Signed Book: The Look of Love By Bella Andre

Signed Book: Coming Clean by Sue Margolis

Signed Book: Murder Most Foul by JoAnne Myer

Pre-Made Book Cover: Carey Abbott

Signed Book: Release Me by J. Kenner

In addition to these great prizes, I'm also running a giveaway this week and next. What can you win? I'll be giving away 2 audio book copies of The Promise of Paradise AND one signed book from my backlist (you can view it here). All you have to do is enter via Rafflecopter.

Without further adieu, here's today's Sultry Summer read, from (of course!) my contemporary romance novel Summer's Song. Enjoy!

"Yes," Damian said, his breath warm on her cheek. "Sometimes I write my own songs."

He repositioned the instrument, curved his fingers into place and began to play. The melody was simple, a sweet tune that rose and fell without lyrics. It reminded Summer of a butterfly in the morning or dawn above the ocean. The notes dropped honey-like into an endless pool of longing. In the middle, it changed, became low and sensual with guttural chords that hovered and hung in the air. Damian’s shoulders hunched, and his arms tightened with intensity as he played on. A pause, and then the first melody returned, sweeter than the start, if that was possible. The sun coming out after a brilliant summer storm. A baby waking with a smile to a brand new day. It faded, grew, then faded again to nothing. With the final chord, the notes vanished into the night.

"God, that was…" Summer couldn’t find the words. "…beautiful," she finished, but it wasn’t enough to describe the passion or the complexity of the song.

He smiled. "Thanks."

"Does it have a title?"

He looked toward her and paused, opened his mouth and closed it again. "Summer’s Song."

Damian set down the guitar and moved toward her, and this time Summer saw the kiss coming. She felt it, knew it and wanted it with every part of her. He brushed his lips against hers, reached up with one hand to cup her cheek, and the step fell away beneath her. Sweet lightness flooded her stomach, her chest, her mouth. He pulled away, whispered her name, pressed his cheek to her temple and let her feel the pulse that raced there.

"Summer." The name sighed out of him, and he kissed her again.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday's Mentionables: It's Contest Time!

OK everyone, are you ready? I'm part of 2 different contests this week and next, and in addition to the prizes you can win on those sites, I'm giving away some of my own right here. It's getting cooler, school is back in session, and so what better time to win books and other great swag, right? Here are all the details you need for the contest that begins this week:

The Safari Heat Sultry Summer Reads Blog Hop will take place from September 11 - 16. What do you have to do? Simply visit the participating blogs, enjoy reading some sultry, steamy posts, then leave a comment for a chance to win. Yes, I'll be participating too, so every day you'll get to see a new and different excerpt from my books! Several prizes will be given away every single day!

The Hop's Grand Prize is a Kindle Fire HD 7” with Second Prize a 100.00 Gift Card to Amazon or B&N! Plus books to go on the winner’s new Kindle! (Note: due to shipping costs, winners must reside in the U.S. or Canada).

Even better, there are four ways readers can get extra entries into the grand prize giveaway.  You will get an entry for completing each of these: leaving a comment, following my blog, following me on Facebook, or following me on Twitter. Easy, right? Don't worry, I'll post those links every day.

All the rules and a description of how the hop will work are listed on the Safari Heat site. Click the banner above or follow the link below.

http://safariheatbooktoursandauthorservices.blogspot.com

Now...I'm also running a separate giveaway this week and next. What can you win? I'll be giving away 2 audio book copies of The Promise of Paradise AND one signed book from my backlist (you can view it here). All you have to do is enter via Rafflecopter.

Looking forward to seeing you back here later this week. Any questions about what's going on with all the giveaways, leave me a comment or send me an email at allieb@allieboniface.com. And Happy Monday!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday Fun Facts: Good News! Good News!!

Just 2 quick shares today:

First, I blogged yesterday over at The Romance Studio about 5 great things that audio books can offer. Also, heads-up that next week, I'll be running a contest on my blog (in addition to participating with the Safari Heat Summer Blog Hop!), and 2 of the prizes are a free copy of the audio book of The Promise of Paradise.

Second, I shared this news on my Facebook Fan Page, but in case you missed it, I found out this week that I was accepted to a Master Class for YA writers this-coming November in upstate New York. Sponsored by the Eastern NY SCBWI, this conference offers me and 30 other writers a chance to work in small groups under the guidance of editors from publishing houses like Kathy Dawson Books (Penguin), Delacorte/Random House, and Scholastic. Very excited!

OK folks, I'm off to tackle the day. Have a great one!

Writers' Wednesday: So How About Those Box Sets?

Here's a question for you: how likely are you to purchase a box set of books? Of course "box set" is kind of a funny term in the age of e-books, because you won't get a nifty actual box that holds 4 or 5 or 8 books on your shelf. But the concept is the same: you'll receive a group of books, usually in the same genre or sub-genre, to download and work your way through. Often there's a common theme. Sometimes these sets are all by the same author, and sometimes they're a collection by different authors.

I did a quick search on Amazon for popular selling box sets right now, and here are a few I found:

Sugar and Sin - 6 romance novels by 6 different authors for $5.99 (my friend Liz Matis is one of the authors - check it out!)

Historical Romance Boxed Set - 2 historical romance novels by author Brenda Novak for $5.99

J.K. Drew Boxed Set - 6 Young Adult mystery novels by author J.K. Drew for $3.99

Wounded Heroes Boxed Set - 5 historical romance novels by 5 different authors for $0.99

As you can see, the variety in what you can get, and for what price, varies widely. I was approached over the weekend about collaborating with some other authors in a box set of contemporary romance novels. After some thought, I decided to decline. Here's the thing: for readers, box sets are a sweet deal. For writers, they're a mixed bag. First and most important for me, you're splitting your royalty profits among all the participating authors. Of course, you're also benefiting from the name recognition of the other authors, so your have to decide which one outweighs the other. If you want to gain visibility and readers you may not have reached before, then go for it. But if you don't want to see your book sold for much less than it will sell as a stand-alone title, then a box set with other authors might not be for you.

Of course, if you're boxing your own titles, then you're reaping all the royalties, of course. But when it comes to profit sharing, especially since I don't have a title to contribute that is a first book in a series, that will lead purchasers of the box set to want to read my other titles, I've decided to wait.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I'm interested to see whether it will become a popular marketing and selling technique for indie authors. Which brings me back to my original question: how likely are you to buy a box set of books? And if you're an author, how likely are you to contribute a title to one?

Monday Mentionables: What We Can Learn By Observing Labor Day (Every Day)

To all those who reside in the United States, Happy Labor Day! Here's an official definition of what today is meant to observe:

In the United States, Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.

So no, it isn't a day for sales in the stores (though undoubtedly people will rush to those), and it isn't a resting day off for those who labor - although that's a nice way to think about it, isn't it?  In fact, it's a tribute to the hard work that people do every day, often without thanks, sometimes without wages that really equal the job done.

Here's to all of you today who work hard and contribute to our country's well-being. And here's to remembering that in a sense, every day should be Labor Day. Every day we should take pride in the work we do, strive to do our best, and ask ourselves whether we are contributing to the growth and well-being of our country (and I think we do that in a myriad small ways, by reaching out to the people around us, by sharing ourselves and our skills).

I'll be spending today grading papers, writing a little, and yes, relaxing, all of which I hope will make me a better worker and member of our country's labor pool. Happy Labor Day, everyone!

Friday Fun Facts: September's Coming!

I know, I know...summer's winding to a close. Leaves are starting to change (around me, anyway, and when the heck did THAT happen?) Schools are gearing up to welcome kids back, and the lazy hazy days of sitting by the pool are, sadly, going to be in the rearview mirror for most of us.

BUT!

Lots of good stuff is also coming up in September! First off, I'll be part of 2 week-long blog hops/contests:

Sept. 11-16: The Safari Heat Sultry Summer Reads Blog Hop - visit the blog sites of a variety of authors, all of whom will be sharing excerpts to make readers sweat AND giving away all kinds of swag! Grand prize? A Kindle Fire loaded with free ebooks!

Sept. 15-21: The Romance Studio's 10th Anniversary Bash - where you can win tons of goodies from participating authors as well as read all kinds of excerpts from new and recently-released books.

Right here on my blog during those events, I'll also be giving away 2 copies of the audio book of The Promise of Paradise AND signed copies of some of my print titles :) So stay tuned and please join me for September fun!

Enjoy your weekend, by the way. If you live in the U.S, it's a long one thanks to Labor Day on Monday. And then it's back to school for most of the kiddos and teachers after that. Speaking of which, did anyone see the video of the mom dancing as she sends her son back to school? Too funny:

Writers' Wednesday: Look At All These Prizes!

Happy Hump Day, gang! Today, a slew of blogs for you to visit - read, be entertained, and best of all, enter to win a variety of prizes! First off is The Long and the Short Of It's 6th Anniversary Bash. All week long, I and other authors are answering random questions and providing wacky, little-known facts about ourselves. This morning's question is "What do you think you're bad at?" and the answers range from "being patient" to "downhill skiing" to "picking a restaurant for dinner." The answers are fun to read (and there are 4 questions posted every day, throughout the day!) - but even better are all the prizes you can win:

$100 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC
also...

$10 GC to Torquere Press

$20 GC to Dreamspinner Press

$6 GC to Total-E-Bound Publishing

$5 GC to Prizm Books

$10 GC to Choc Lit

2 Winner's Choice of eBook from Tirgearr Publishing

Bundle of six print paranormal romance books (US only)

Bundle of six print sexy and/or erotic romance books (US only)

Bundle of six print contemporary romance books (US only)

Bundle of six print romantic suspense books (US only)

Bundle of five print historical romance books (US only)

5 Cool author swag pack (bookmarks, pens, more! - US only)

******

Also in your trek around the Web today, check out these blog posts/contests, all by fellow indie authors who would love your support!

Get The Chocolate Affair for free with a coupon code at this blog interview!

Read about Marie Higgins' newest time travel romance and what she loves to read in her spare time.

Read an excerpt from Cynthia Woolf's new release Fiery Bride and enter to win a B&N gift certificate too!

Monday Mentionables: It's Time for a Bash!

Happy Monday, everyone! Big news this week: The Long and the Short of It is hosting its 6th anniversary bash, and you can win TONS of prizes all week long!

Click on the graphic below to be redirected to the main website, where you'll find all the important info starting this morning:

There will be eight blogs posted daily. Four will be erotic, four non-erotic/other genre and all eight will have that day’s Rafflecopter giveaway.  What can you win? How about one of four $100 Amazon Gift Cards  – along with publisher GCs, books, ebooks, and author swag?!  The Long and the Short of It promises dozens of winners all week long...plus you'll get to find out wacky facts about your favorite authors, including Yours Truly. So hop on over...and have fun all week long!

Friday Fun Facts: Ah, the Beach!!

One more day on vacation in the Outer Banks (NC) and we've been blessed with beautiful weather all week long. Good for relaxing and tanning...not so good for writing. I mean, who wants to be on her laptop when the rays are calling? That's OK...plenty of time for writing in the future, right? By the way, the beach is as beautiful in the morning:

as it is at night:

Oh! And the audio book version of The Promise of Paradise received its first review the other day: 4 stars :) Always a bit of a relief to know someone liked it!

TGIF!

Writers' Wednesday: "So, Are Those Real? And Other Bad Pick-Up Lines"

Happy hump day!

Still on vacation, but I brought my laptop and am trying to get a little writing in between the beach and shopping and, well, this:

But yes! I am writing when I'm not in the pool, and right now I'm working on revising an earlier work. The plan is novella length (about 1/3 the length of my regular novels), and just in case you wonder where writers get their ideas, this was what started me thinking about this story, a couple years back:

"Dating Site Gives 30,000 'Ogres' The Boot"

So I'm throwing my heroine into a speed dating activity in the opening chapter , and I'm trying to think of terrible pick-up lines she'll have to face. I posted this question on my Facebook page as well, but I'll ask you too:

What awkward or offensive pick-up lines should she hear while on speed dating?

Monday Mentionables: It's Vacation Time!

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm not going to promise serious, insightful, or otherwise thought-provoking posts this week (sorry...). We're on vacation in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, so while I'm definitely hoping for some writing inspiration, I'm also going to spend a fair amount of time by the pool or on the beach :) I hope, anyway. Storms are heading this way...but so far, sunshine!

This is the view from our room:

And this was a view of the full moon last night:

Meanwhile, I'm be doing some brainstorming about some novella ideas. What do you think about prequels to my One Night books? Would you like to know what came before Boston, Memphis, and Napa? If you need a refresher about these books, some of my earliest, you can check them out here.

Have a great week! Fingers crossed for sunshine here... :)

Friday Fun Facts: Sometimes It's Better to Take a Day Off

TGIF! If you're interested in knowing a little "behind the scenes" action of the cover design for The Promise of Paradise, designer Amy Gamet is featuring me on her blog today. Stop by and visit :)

Also, I'm super-happy to announce that I've hired both an editor and a cover designer for Inferno of Love, so (fingers crossed) you will be able to read that book by the end of this year!! I'm aiming for a holiday 2013 release, AND I'm going to release it in print and e-book, simultaneously, so if you still prefer the feel of the pages in your hand, never fear! You'll have this one just the way you like it.

And if you didn't see it on my Facebook page yesterday, this is what I spent the day doing, instead of writing - hubby and I hiked all around this gorgeous state park, which is just 1/2 hour from our backyard. Sometimes it's better to get away from the keyboard, away from the stories and the characters running around inside my head, and just relax and enjoy Mother Nature. A perfect day!

Writers' Wednesday: Free Samples of The Promise of Paradise

Happy Hump Day!

Just a quick note today, as I'm busy writing and planning and doing lots of fun creative stuff while I still have the time (you know, before school starts up again):

The Promise of Paradise is now available at Smashwords! What does this mean? Good news for everyone who doesn't have a Kindle. Smashwords releases e-books in a variety of formats, so you can find something that's compatible with just about every e-reader out there.

Even better, you can read a sample of the book before you buy! Click on the cover below to see the main page and do just that:

Remember, this book is also newly available in audio book too! If you have a long trip planned and need something to listen to, why not give it a try? You know you'll get a happy ending. And please share with others you know who are avid listeners as well! Click on this link to hear a sample - I love this narrator!!

Monday Mentionables: Audio Books and Sneak Peek Releases!

Happy Monday, everyone! Exciting news to mention this morning is that The Promise of Paradise is now available in audio book! If you're going on vacation and are looking for some escape listening, this is your perfect chance :) Or if you know friends who enjoy audio books, please share the news with them. It's discounted, too - OR you can get it free with Audible's 30-day trial. (Plus I have to add that my narrator is awesome. Click on the sample to hear her voice!)

Now for my question of the day. I am exploring the possibility of indie publishing the follow-up novel to Beacon of Love, called Inferno of Love. While I was offered a traditional contract, accepting it means you, lovely readers, won't see it in ebook for at least another year, and in print, probably 1.5 years+. I would love to release it earlier, and since I've gone through the indie publishing experience with The Promise of Paradise, I feel confident that I can do it again.

Here's my question: if Inferno of Love was available in print and you could pre-order it, would you do so? Would you pay extra to have a signed copy that was released early, and only to a select number of readers? Or are you happy with ebook releases? I'm playing around with a marketing plan that will allow readers to help me shape the story (to a certain extent) and then be rewarded with having early sneak peeks to the novel, including a chance to read it before the regular buying public.

I'd love to know what you think!

Friday Fun Facts: Exciting Release News!!

TGIF, everyone! I have exciting news for a (rainy) Friday: The Promise of Paradise will be available from a variety of distributors as early as next week! Look for it on Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, and AllRomanceEbooks - I'll share all the links as soon as they're up!

Also, the follow-up story to Beacon of Love, Inferno of Love, will be coming soon :) No definite release date yet, either late 2013 or early 2014, but because I'm releasing it independently, same as The Promise of Paradise, you know if you're a regular follower that you'll get awesome sale prices on this story! Inferno of Love follows Finn the bartender and his bumpy road to love. Can't wait? Neither can I! I promise to do a cover reveal of the new title and share with you all the exciting upcoming release dates and giveaways as the months unfold...

Have a great weekend!

Writers' Wednesday: What's In A Cover?

Hi, gang! Today I'm over at The Romance Studio, blogging about book covers (and some of the background behind all of mine). Hop on over and let me know what you think!

Monday Mentionables: Make Sure You're Keeping Up With Me!

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm busy writing, so just a couple of things to mention today:

If you haven't "liked" my Facebook page, please do so! Lately I've been posting snippets from my latest WIP, my Young Adult, so you can have a sneak peek at that over there.

If you haven't signed up for my newsletter, now's the time to do that too! I'll be running some contests and fun giveaways later in the year, but you can only find out about them if you get my newsletter! (Don't worry, it only comes out maybe 4-5 times a year, so I promise not to overfill your email inbox).

See you back here for Writers' Wednesday :)

Friday Fun Facts: The Two Books I'm Reading Right Now

TGIF! Hope you're heading into a nice weekend :) We have a wedding to attend later today for good friends - should be a great way to spend the evening!

So...what am I reading right now? Two terrific books that are about as different as they come:

First, I'm about 1100 pages into the 1300+ of Stephen King's Under the Dome. Yes, the hit summer TV show is based on this book, but very loosely. (The book is better - aren't books always better?) I've always been a King fan, even when some of his horror was a little much for me to stomach. But take heart: Under the Dome isn't horror so much as a fast-paced psychological study of human nature, of what happens to a small town in Maine when an invisible and impenetrable dome falls over it and isolates it from the rest of the world. There is a ridiculously long list of characters, but King does his usual masterful job at developing every one of them. This is always what I've loved about his writing: he makes you care about his characters, because they're real and flawed, and he plants conflict on EVERY SINGLE PAGE so that you have to keep turning. For me as a writer, it's been a great reminder that conflict is so important to push plot forward. For me as a reader, it's been a total joy to get lost in. Don't let the length scare you - the pages fly by. I don't want it to be over!

Second, upon the recommendation of a very well-known, New York Times best-selling author, I downloaded The Naked Truth About Self Publishing, put together by 10 other very well-known New York Times best-selling authors. Very interesting. More and more, "indie publishing" as it's also known, is becoming popular not just for unpublished authors who want to see their work in the marketplace, but for already-published authors who either want more control, more $$, or are disenchanted with their sales/publishing house/release schedule/the list goes on. This book is a great resource for laying out the benefits and the challenges of doing it yourself. I'll tell you: since releasing The Promise of Paradise on my own back in February, I can see the draw. That book sold more copies in its first month on Amazon than in 4+ years with its original small press, and more than Beacon of Love did in its first 3 months with a small press. I also hold all the rights, which meant I could publish it in print and audio when I wanted to. Will I indie publish again? Almost certainly. I have a pretty clear idea of what's needed to put a book together, from editing to cover design to formatting (I hire people to do most of this), to marketing (which I do on my own). For anyone who's thinking about publishing their own work, this book is definitely worth the $4.99 download price.

OK, I'm off. Happy reading, writing, and weekend to all!

Monday Mentionables: Oh, Those Kraft Zesty Ads!

First he was featured in a magazine layout:

Now Kraft is running TV ads with Mr. Sexy, and they're "zesty" to say the least. Some groups, like the Christian advocacy group One Million Moms, are complaining that the ads go too far. I think they're terrifically entertaining (and great eye candy).  What do you think??

Friday Fun Facts: Can You Tweet Your Book?

Well, we all know social media is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest way to reach an audience, communicate with others, sell a product...you name it, Blogger/ Facebook/ Twitter/ Pinterest/ Instagram/ Google Plus can do it. One of the latest uses of these tools is the pitch - that is, pitching your book to an agent or editor online, instead of the old-fashioned way, in person.

I've attended a few pitch events that are blog-based. You pitch a sentence or two (sometimes the first couple hundred words) as a blog comment, and then the pitch-holder reads and makes his/her choice. This has extended to pitching via Twitter - which, if you Tweet, you know can get a little tricky, since a Tweet can only be 140 characters.

How am I supposed to pitch  MY ENTIRE BOOK in 140 characters, you might ask?? Well, here's a blog post that shares some of the successful (i.e., requested) Twitter pitches from a recent event. Also, there's another Twitter pitch event for all you YA authors coming up on the 31st - details here.

All this made me think: could I pitch my books in 140 characters? Hmm. I don't know. Here are a couple of my attempts:

Woman changes her name when she moves to a small town, only to meet a man who sweeps her off her feet. Can love trump lies in Paradise? (The Promise of Paradise)

Haunted lighthouse+big-city reporter+hunky hometown handyman = steam and lots of small-town secrets revealed. Peyton Place on the beach! (Beacon of Love)

What do you think? Can an author convey enough interest in a book in just 140 characters? What about YOUR books? If you're a writer, I'd love to see you post your book in a Tweet in the comments section today :)

Happy Friday!

Writers' Wednesday: What's in a Name? Everything!

By now you've probably heard the news about J.K. Rowling writing a mystery novel under a different name: The Cuckoo's Calling. It was released back in the spring, got good reviews, but sold poorly. Then the news leaked that Rowling had in fact written it, and POW! People talked, sales rocketed, and now it sits at the top of best-seller lists.

Lesson: a great book with great reviews can still see lousy sales without a Name to back it up.

Stephanie Evanovich's debut novel, on the other hand (Big Girl Panties) got a review in the recent People magazine. This author is, of course, related to the uber-famous author Janet Evanovich. The review called the book "fun and fluffy, if somewhat predictable" that uses a "tried-and-true storyline" with a "plot that sometimes strains credulity." But it's written by the relative of a best-seller, it's featured in a major magazine, and according to Amazon lists, it's seeing the kind of sales and rankings that most debut authors never do.

Lesson: a debut novel that's not particularly outstanding or original can get notice and sales simply because of the Name attached to it.

I'm not writing this blog post today to sound bitter or resentful, but simply to point out one of the realities of the publishing world. Name and brand is everything. Authors have to find a way to establish themselves, to set themselves apart, so that their Name will instantly call up a certain image, a certain promise to be found in the pages, and readers will want to buy that book simply because of the Name on the cover.

So....if you're a writer, are you actively doing that? That is our challenge, each and every day. Good luck, and happy writing!

Monday Mentionables: Your Chance to Win a Copy of Beacon of Love!

Happy Monday, everyone! Yesterday I was the featured author over at Tracy's Place, and for the next 10 days, you'll have a chance to win a FREE e-copy of Beacon of Love! Here's the link to enter.

And if you're not sure whether it's your kind of book or not, here's a newly made trailer (not by me!) that might give you a better idea:

Friday Fun Facts: The Promise of Paradise is Available in Print!

TGIF!! And I'm super-happy to share today's news with you all: my contemporary romance novel The Promise of Paradise is now available in print! So for all you non-ebook readers, this is your chance to buy the book that I've been yakking about for the last 5 months :) It's only $7.99 from Amazon, a steal for a 200+ page book, and as always, if you'd like an autographed book plate for inside the front cover, just email me (allieb@allieboniface.com) with your snail mail address and I'll send you one!

 

 

 

"This book had secrets, romance, great characters with issues, steam, a kitten, and a slew of emotional scenes all wrapped up with a wonderfully fantastic ending." —Crazy Four Books

"I'm a sucker for opposites attract stories and this one is no disappointment." — 4 Winks from Flirting with Romance

"I highly recommend this book if you enjoy some delicious torture with the sexual tension, that is well worth the wait in the end!" —Romance Addict Book Blog

Writers' Wednesday: Do You Use GoodReads Giveaways? You Should

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Are you on GoodReads? Do you use it to post reviews, to see what others are reading, to follow your favorite authors, or to promote yourself? GoodReads is a great and growing resource that you SHOULD be using as an author (disclaimer: I don't use it nearly as often or as completely as I should. But I'm trying to remedy that...)

One of the best tools they have for writers is the chance to give away a copy of your book. Anyone can enter, and you choose the length of the giveaway & how many books you'll give away, and GoodReads does the rest for you! The best part about this is the exposure - and I've found that people will add your book to their "To Read" list just from seeing it on a giveaway. Others, I hear (tough to prove for certain) will purchase your book after they don't win it, just because they're tantalized enough to enter the giveaway and then bummed enough to want to get it for themselves anyway.

So what's the skinny on getting the highest number of entries and reaching the highest number of potential readers? Here's a great post I found a while back that gives some great, concrete advice. Good luck!

Monday Mentionables: Will I See You Next Weekend?

Happy Monday, everyone! First off, very important to mention: my upcoming appearance at the annual Holiday in Homer craft fair on Saturday, July 20, in wonderful, small town, Homer, New York. I'll be there all day long, with all my current print releases INCLUDING the brand new The Promise of Paradise, which is releasing in print this week! Details to follow on how/where you can order it :)

Hope to see you in Homer!

In other news, I blogged last week at The Romance Studio about digital books vs. print books, and I'd love your input! The link is right here.

Finally, if you read my blog last week, you'll know that I was visiting my sister in the great state of Idaho. Had a great time, and here's my favorite picture from the visit, in an over-sized chair on one of the main sidewalks in town (apparently things ARE bigger in the west, at least when it comes to furniture):

Friday Fun Facts: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Idaho

I know, I know, you're wondering: why on earth is she talking about Idaho today? Well, I happen to be here. Right now. Yes, I'm visiting my sister who lives in Sun Valley, a lovely, if remote, town in the southern part of the state. Maybe you've been here; maybe you haven't. It's beautiful in the summer and has amazing skiing in the winter, in case you're wondering. And here are 9 other things you might not have known about the great state of Idaho:

It's the 13th largest state in the Union.

It has 3100 miles of river, more than any other state.

Its state bird is the bluebird.

 

 

It's the largest producer of potatoes (okay, I'm pretty sure you might have guessed that one).

 

Ernest Hemingway is buried here.

 

Movie star Lana Turner was born here.

 

The state dance is the square dance (bet you could have guessed that one too).

 

Poet Ezra Pound was from Idaho.

 

And finally...

 

The amazing female force behind American explorers Lewis & Clark, Sacagawea, was also born in Idaho. Let's hear it for great women! And great states. Hey, visit Idaho if you ever have a chance.

And enjoy your weekend :)

 

 

 

Writers' Wednesday: Welcome Lynn Cahoon!

Hi, folks! Today I'm happy to welcome fellow Lyrical Press author Lynn Cahoon, who's celebrating her July release of Return of the Fae. Check out this beautiful cover!

A witch in training, a hunter on the prowl, and a world in jeopardy.

Learning the rules of being a witch takes years, but Parris McCall needs to master them in only weeks. Ty Wallace is going mad with his desire for Parris, but she’s a distraction in his quest to find Coven X before they take The Council and everyone he knows down.

The couple searches for Ty’s mentor, but he’s disappeared. Their only clue comes from a banished witch. When they return, not only are their own lives threatened, but a new life hangs in the balance...

This ebook is on sale RIGHT NOW for only $2.99 at Amazon.

Want to know more about the author?

Lynn Cahoon is a contemporary romance author with a love of hot, sexy men, real and imagined. Her alpha heroes range from rogue witch hunters, modern cowboys, or hot doctors, sexy in scrubs. And her heroines all have one thing in common, their strong need for independence. Or at least that’s what they think they want.  She blogs at her website www.lynncahoon.wordpress.com

Monday Mentionables: After the Fourth

Happy Monday, everyone! What's worth mentioning today? Let's see...

I finally finished the sequel to Beacon of Love, another contemporary romance set in the coastal town of Lindsey Point, Connecticut - called Inferno of Love. If you've read Beacon of Love, I can tell you that this book is Finn the bartender's story. Here's part of the blurb/query, to give you an idea:

Aubrey Anderson is a pediatric occupational therapist from Boston who’s spent the last twelve years rebuilding her life, after a horrific car accident near Lindsey Point killed her boyfriend and crushed her legs. A series of strokes on the way to the hospital left her with no memory of either the accident or the days leading up to it, so when she starts having nightmares she can’t explain, she decides to return to the scene of the accident to see if she can piece together her past.

Finn Cavallo is Lindsey Point’s resident playboy, owner of the popular bar the Great White, and hero of the Cove Fire twelve years earlier, when he pulled seven people from a burning building. But Finn’s laidback, flirtatious personality hides the heart of a man who lost his soul mate the night of the fire. When Aubrey walks into his bar with no memory of who he is or what they had, he’s stunned – and it takes everything he has not to tell her about the summer they spent falling in love.

 

As the days unfold, others in town start remembering Aubrey as well, including Finn’s brother-in-law, who has a connection to the Cove Fire that no one suspects. While Finn struggles with how much to tell Aubrey, and how soon, she finds herself inexplicably attracted to him, and it’s only a matter of time before bar conversation turns to passion on the beach and more. But when a series of events raises suspicion that Finn himself might have started the Cove Fire, Aubrey is forced to do whatever she can to discover the truth about both their pasts, including going back to the spot where it all began and confronting the one man who wants her out of the way for good...

I leave for vacation tomorrow BUT I will be blogging the rest of this week, so make sure to stop in for Writers' Wednesday and Friday Fun Facts! I'm also blogging on Thursday this week over at The Romance Studio, all about ebooks vs. print books - and I'd love your thoughts.

Have a great day!

Writers' Wednesday: All About Promotion

Hellloooo writers! Today's post is all about YOU. You know you have to promote yourself and your books, right? You know that even if you write the best story in the world, if people aren't reading and talking about it, then you won't sell more than a handful of copies, right? I'm sure you already do a lot of the typical: a Facebook and Twitter presence, blogging, maybe taking out ads on various sites. But check out these helpful links as well:

The Romance Studio is having a fantastic sale through July 7th: Buy 1, Get 9 Free. Yes, a total of 10 ads for the price of only 1! If you write in the romance genre, this is a great deal for you.

(I also want to mention that The Romance Studio is a great place for members to post news, because members' posts go straight onto the main page, which means as soon as you post, anyone clicking on TRS will see your news at once. That's great bang for your buck, esp. when membership costs only $15/year. Even if you only paid for that, and not a single other ad through them, you could still post announcements on their main page whenever you wanted to and hit a great target audience.)

Hercules Editing and Consulting will produce trailers for anything you want to sell, for only $35! That's a huge bargain - and you don't even have to do any of the work. They'll look over your product/book/blurb and reviews and then make the trailer for you. Any genre, any length - actually, any product at all. It doesn't even have to be a book you're selling! Check out their sample work right here.

Pay With a Tweet looks to be an interesting, non-traditional way of marketing your work. Using social media is a huge YES in today's world, and this website lets you "sell" your book to any consumer who tweets about it. Considering many people have Twitter followers numbering in the 1000s, news about your book could exponentially reach 10s of 1000s of people.

There are many other ways to promote yourself, but keep in mind to do what you're comfortable with and what you can afford. And always remember, above all, to keep writing! The best promotion of all is talking about your next book :)

Monday Mentionables: Celebrating Digital Books!

Happy Monday, and happy July 1st! Can't believe we're already well into summer (it doesn't seem like it with all that rain out there, at least in our neck of the woods!).

Had a lovely vacation in Bermuda last week with hubby. We had gorgeous weather and ate and drank like kings, so now it's back to the gym and the diet for me! We took a cruise ship out of Cape Liberty, NJ, which gave us a day and a half of sailing time on either side of visiting Bermuda...and I finally got a chance to catch up on my reading!

Even better, I loved seeing that so many other people were doing the same, and in a variety of genres (yes I peeked at book covers when I could - wouldn't you?) I saw everything from romance to biography to suspense to horror to young adult to military. And interestingly, readers were about evenly split between those who were reading actual paper books, and those who were reading on an eReader or tablet.

Which brings me to my big mention of the day: it's time to celebrate digital books! Yes, I know many of you still prefer to have a book in hand when you read. Many times, so do I (and so did I, on the ship!...because I forgot to charge my Nook before we left. But anyway...). But it's worth mentioning a couple of things today:

1. More books than ever are released in digital format first, before they go to print. Sometimes they're released in digital format only.

2. It's super convenient to load your digital reading device with 100s of books and carry around something that weighs, oh, less than a pound. Think about how much 100 books would weigh if you tried to bring them all to the beach!

3. Digital books almost always cost less to purchase than paper books (and many of them are also available for lending through your local library, if you're not a book buyer at all)/

4. Some presses contract that books will go to print depending on digital sales...which means if you really, really want to see your favorite authors' books on your shelves, go ahead and buy their digital book when it comes out first, to help boost sales and make it to print. (I say this in shameless self-promotion because Beacon of Love is contracted this way. I have a sales threshold to meet before it will be released in print. So can you help me out?)

5. July is officially being heralded as Digital First Read-a-Thon Month by The Book Binge and some of its fellow blogs. What does this mean? The folks over there are encouraging readers to try and read as many digital-first books (see #4, above) as they can during this month, to raise awareness about all those great books and authors who are digitally published but perhaps not yet print published. And what's even better? Every single day, you have multiple chances to win books and prizes!!! The link is right at the beginning here of #5, but I'll try to repost it on a regular basis so you can remember to stop by.

And...I'm the featured author TOMORROW at Tracy's Place, so please stop by, check out my excerpt, leave a comment, and generally support this great effort, would you?

Thanks and have a great Monday!

I'm On Vacation!!

Hi, everyone! I'm on vacation this week, so no blogging :)

See you next Monday!

Friday Fun Facts: Happy Summer Solstice!

Happy Friday, everyone! It's the official first day of summer - what a great day! Even better, it's my last day of teaching school for this year. Hubby and I will be going on vacation tomorrow to celebrate and start our vacation right :)

It's kind of neat to think about today as the longest day of the year and what the summer solstice has meant over the centuries to cultures who celebrate it. For example:

 The ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramids so that the sun, when viewed from the Sphinx, sets precisely between two of the pyramids on the summer solstice.

The Inca of South America celebrated the corresponding winter solstice with a ceremony called Inti Raymi, which included food offerings and sacrifices of animals, and maybe even people.

 Recently, archaeologists discovered the remains of an astronomical observatory in a long-buried Maya city in Guatemala in which the buildings were designed to align with the sun during the solstices. During such times, the city's populace gathered at the observatory to watch as their king appeared to command the heavens.

 And perhaps most famously, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has been associated with the winter and summer solstices for about 5,000 years.

So...what are YOU doing with the longest day of your year?

Writers' Wednesday: Libba Bray on Writing - No Holds Barred

Had to share this blog post with you all today. Writers especially will (should?) appreciate this, though it's worth reading no matter who you are, just to have a glimpse into a writer's world. Because it's, like, completely true. At least from my perspective. I told one of my writing friends the other day that I really needed to finish Inferno of Love because I was on the 5th draft and she said, "Oh, you have so much patience!" I don't know if it's patience or insanity, but I'll tell you what, author Libba Bray hits it squarely on the head here. Fair warning: it's long, so fill up your coffee and get comfortable!

Monday Mentionables: In Person Appearances!

Happy Monday, everyone! Just wanted to mention that I'll be at the Holiday in Homer (NY) Craft Fair on Saturday, July 20, all day, and would love to see you. I'll have copies of my re-release, The Promise of Paradise, as well as my older titles AND a few other goodies for you to choose from. So find my booth & stop by and say hi :)

I'll also be at the Indie Romance Convention in Lebanon, TN, October 4-5, chatting with other romance authors, selling and signing books, and generally trying to learn more about the ins, outs, pros, and cons of independent publishing through Amazon and other sites. Haven't decided yet whether I'll go that route again, but I figured it would be helpful to hear others' journeys.

So...if you live in or near either area, maybe we'll see each other in the next couple of months. Happy reading!

Friday Fun Facts: Random Comments, Random Videos, Random Thoughts...

TGIF! I know, I know - I missed my Wednesday blog. And I have no good excuse except that I'm fighting an end-of-year cold and am trying to pack up my entire classroom and 8 years of teaching since I'm moving to a brand new building next year and, well........Oh, and trying to finish up Inferno of Love as well. Want to see my favorite line from the section I'm working on right now?

In front of the window, in plain view of the cop standing outside, he grabbed her and kissed her. She winced at the contact, her bottom lip still swollen and sore, but the pain made it real, and she loved the sensation of touching him. Of tasting him. Long and hard he kissed her, hands in her hair and tongue inside her mouth, without words and without breath, desperation and passion mixing until she couldn't tell one from the other. I want this. I want you. I've waited for so long. She could hear the words as clearly as if he were speaking them aloud.

Last night I watched the "Master of My Domain" episode on Seinfeld. And still laughed. That is one of the best written episodes on one of the best-written shows. And one of my favorite scenes? This one:



Finally, I love the fact that Darius Rucker, who I loved when he was in Hootie and the Blowfish in the 90s, is now making a name for himself as a country star. I don't listen to a lot of country music, but I do tune in every now and then, and I love his sound (and his look, too...sexy!). An older song but one I love:




Enjoy your weekend!

Monday Mentionables: Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Happy Monday, everyone! I had a crazy busy weekend, which actually started last Thursday, as I went on a road trip and visited 3 good girlfriends from my past. They all live within 2 hours of each other, though they're all from different points in my past. I decided to take a few days and make a long overdue trip to see them all. Breakfast with one, lunch with another, dinner with a third. Whew!! I'm exhausted now...

I loved catching up with them all, talking about the good old days and also filling each other in on all the new developments in our lives, but I was also left with the striking thought that truth really is stranger than fiction. Each friend has her own path, her own life, all very different (one's a single mom of 2 who lives with her parents; one's a married mom of 3 who's lived in 5 different states over the last 10 years; and one's a never-married Shakespeare professor). And yet they all had these fantastic stories. You want to know why writers never have a lack of story ideas? Here, in no particular order, are real-life plots and characters taken from my girlfriends' lives...

~Next-door neighbor invites all the neighborhood kids (sans parents) on a limo ride which ends up including the  neighbor's impromptu wedding before the ride

~Husband and father of 7+ years turns out to be gay and having an affair

~Child returns from a visit to her father's house with an evil spirit attached, which prompts the need for an exorcism to get rid of said spirit

~Independently wealthy man moves in next door, turns out to have Aspergers Syndrome, but is also one of the city's most philanthropic men and thus has women wondering how manageable a marriage to him would be

~Local midwife is pregnant and prescribed a "potato-only" diet, which leads to her husband calling various people in the neighborhood whenever they run out of potatoes

~Former lover who now lives on the other side of the globe proposes an affair of convenience whenever the two of them are in the same country

And believe me, the list goes on. Great fodder for books, right? How nice when catching up with friends can also inspire my Muse LOL :)

Friday Fun Facts: Writing Spaces and Flashbacks to the Past...

Happy Friday, writers! I forgot to mention one of my fun blog stops earlier this week, over at Welcome to my World of Dreams. I'm talking about one of my favorite writing spaces in the house - picture included!

This weekend, I'm on a road trip, reuniting with 3 good friends from wayyyy in the past. One I haven't seen in 18 years, one in 12 years, and the other - well, the other is one of my best friends from high school, so I do see her just about every year, even though we live far apart. Can't wait to find out what they've been up to :)

I'll share reunion pictures next week!

Writers' Wednesday: Welcome Debut Author Marianne Sciucco!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm super-excited to welcome author and friend Marianne Sciucco to my blog today for Writers' Wednesday. She's talking all about her brand new 5-star Amazon rated women's fiction title, Blue Hydrangeas. Isn't the cover beautiful??

A nursing facility is everyone's solution for what to do about Sara, but her husband, Jack, can't bear to live without her. He is committed to saving his marriage, his wife, and their life together from the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease. He and Sara retired years ago to the house of their dreams, and operated it as a Cape Cod bed and breakfast named Blue Hydrangeas. Jack has made an impossible promise: He and Sara will stay together in their beautiful home no matter what the disease brings. However, after nine years of selfless caregiving, complicated by her progressing Alzheimer’s and his own failing heart, he finally admits he can no longer care for her at home. With reluctance, he arranges to admit her to an assisted living facility. But, on the day of admission, Sara is having one of her few good days, and he is unable to follow through. Instead, he takes them on an impulsive journey to confront their past and reclaim their future. In the end, he realizes that staying together at any cost is what truly matters.

And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite even more:

Sara, an amateur photographer, had chronicled her children’s lives with an old 35-mm camera she’d picked up at a flea market. In the photos, David and Lisa were young teenagers, gangly, smiling, and full of life. Sara sorted through pictures of them playing on the beach, building sandcastles, flying kites. She rummaged aimlessly through the stacks of photos, but one in particular captivated her and she studied it for some time.

Lisa sat on the beach, her long auburn hair floating in the breeze, her bright eyes and glowing skin forever sixteen. She wore a flowered bikini. Her lanky legs were lean and tanned. Sara rifled through the pile of pictures but kept returning to this one. She laid it down and picked it up again several times, struggling to find the right words to express her thoughts. Her facial expressions changed rapidly, showing a spark of recognition, replaced by bewilderment, and then the thread was lost. She held the picture up to the light and spoke with trepidation.

“Do I know this girl?”

“Of course you know her –” Jack started to explain, but stopped, tripping over his words. He took the picture from her and cradled it in his palm, gazing at the girl who was once his greatest joy. He glanced up at the mantel over the fireplace where pictures of Lisa blended in with the family photos. Choked with emotion, he turned away to catch his breath and pondered how to respond. Had Sara forgotten this girl was their daughter? Had her illness robbed her of even this most treasured memory? It was unthinkable, unbearable. He debated telling her the truth, but, uncertain of her reaction, simply said, “She’s a girl we used to know.”

“At Corn Hill?” Sara asked, still staring at the picture.

“At Corn Hill,” he replied. “We have lots of pictures of her, see?” He pointed to the photographs scattered across the table.

She gave no sign of recognition. A moment passed, and she yawned. “Put all this away.” She rose from the sofa and stretched her arms high over her head. “I want to go to bed.”

Jack left the photographs where they lay and escorted her upstairs to their bedroom. After tucking her in, he headed back down and gathered the pictures into neat piles, storing them in their boxes. His hands shook as the boxes filled.

He went to the mantel and removed the pictures of Lisa, hiding them away in a cabinet. Better to keep them out of sight in case Sara noticed them and started asking more questions, or, even worse, stumbled on the truth. A sudden revelation might be devastating, and he was determined to spare her any angst.

He turned out the light in the living room and made for the stairs, but overcome with emotion, he dropped into an armchair and let out a strangled sob. The clock struck midnight as he mourned their daughter in isolation, crying in the dark for Lisa, his wife, and himself. Gone was any possibility they might speak of her, recalling the good times and special memories, or comfort one another as they grieved. It was as if she had never existed.

Jack sat up deep into the night, and wondered how much time remained before Sara forgot him as well.

***********************

Marianne Sciucco is not a nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse, using her skills and experience to create stories that bear witness to the humanity in all of us.  A lover of words and books, she studied the craft of writing as an English major at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and worked for a time as a newspaper reporter in New England.  She later became a nurse.  In 2002, she put the two together and began writing about the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues.  When not writing she works as a school nurse at a community college in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband, Lou, and daughter, Allison. To follow her visit:

Marianne's Blog  

Marianne's TOS Life Blog 

You can also find her on Facebook or Twitter, or drop her a line at MarianneSciucco@gmail.com

***********************
And go buy a copy of Blue Hydrangeas!!

Monday Mentionables: Last Stops on the Blog Tours!

Hi folks - I'm a little late posting today, but better than not at all, right? Two last blog posts on my virtual tours for The Promise of Paradise and Beacon of Love - which means two more choices to win Amazon gift cards!

Long and Short Reviews is featuring what I've learned about publishing, my tips to you :) Stop by and visit!

And Read Your Writes is featuring a character interview with Sophie and Lucas, the heroine and hero from Beacon of Love. I love writing character interviews just because it's fun to let them take over :) Join me...and them!

Friday Fun Facts: Two Websites You Must See!

Happy Friday, everyone! Can you believe tomorrow is the first of June? Where did the spring go?? Here in the lower part of New York, it's been hot and steamy weather, with more promised today and over the weekend. I do love all the green leaves, but WOW! Have to get used to sleeping with the air conditioning on at night...

First website you must visit today: Brenda Novak's Online Auction for Diabetes Research. Today's the very last day that you can bid on items, so take some time and browse...there are a lot to choose from! And there aren't just items for writers or readers, but things like vacations and handmade jewelry and ties and even life coaching sessions. Check it out - all the proceeds go to an awesome cause!

Second website you must visit today: Teaching the Hudson Valley Blog. Featured right now is one of my students and the winning essay he wrote as part of a contest earlier this year. We worked through so many drafts of his work, and I was thrilled when he won. The writing isn't perfect, but the voice is great and really conveys the picture of his favorite spot and why it's "home" to him.

Read, enjoy, bid on auction items, and have a fantastic weekend. And stay cool!