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Thanks for letting me come and play in your yard, Barbara! Today I’m going to share a little something about yard culture, which plays a part in my novel, The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands.

The yards were large, an acre or two, or more. Often times there was more than one home on the property housing extended family members: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. There might be kitchen garden or fruit trees on the property. For most there was no electricity and no running water. The homes were small and made of wood. By today’s standard they would be considered shacks.

Two typical wooden homes.

Overseeing the yard and the children was a matron, who would be the mother, aunt, or grandmother of one or more of the children. She kept an eye on the kids as they ran around and played in the yard. It was a kind of baby-sitting or after school day-care. A snack might even be provided, a johnny cake or a paté (a pastry fill with beef, salt fish, or pork, then deep fried) fruit, or a simple sandwich. It was also a place for kids to play if they lived in a home without a large yard. Everybody knew everybody and the kids knew which yard they “belonged” to. If they weren’t in school or at home they were expected to at a particular yard. It was difficult for children to get into trouble, but if they did, it was certain word of their misbehaviour would mysteriously reach their parents before they got home.

Book Blurb

Pirates. Explorers. And spooky ghost hunters.

It’s 1962. Sam and her best friend, Nick, have the whole island of St. John, in the U. S. Virgin Islands, as their playground. They’ve got 240 year-old sugar plantation ruins to explore, beaches to swim, and trails to hike.

But when a man disappears like a vapor right in front of them, they must confront a scary new reality. They’re being haunted. By whom? And why? He’s even creeping into Nick’s dreams.

They need help, but the one who might be able to give it is Trumps, a reclusive hunchback who doesn’t like people, especially kids. Are Sam and Nick brave enough to face him? And if they do, will he listen to them? 

As carefree summer games turn into eerie hauntings, Sam and Nick learn more about themselves and life than they could ever have imagined.

Available now at:

Amazon

Smashwords

About the Author

Bish Denham, whose mother’s side of the family has been in the Caribbeanfor over one hundred years, was raised in the U. S. Virgin Islands. She still has lots of family living there whom she visits regularly.

She says, “Growing up in the islands was like living inside a history book. Columbusnamed the islands, Sir Francis Drake sailed through the area, and Alexander Hamilton was raised on St. Croix. The ruins of hundreds of sugar plantations, built with the sweat and blood of slave labor, litter the islands. Then there were the pirates who plied the waters. It is within this atmosphere of wonder and mystery, that I grew up. Life for me was magical, and through my writing I hope to pass on some of that magic.”

The Bowl and the Stone: A Haunting Tale from the Virgin Islands, is her third book and second novel. You can find Anansi and Company: Retold Jamaican Tales and A Lizard’s Tail, at Amazon.com.

To learn more about Bish, 
you can visit her blog, at Random Thoughts

She can also be found on Facebook
on Twitter @BishDenham 

and Goodreads

To be in with a chance of winning an autographed copy of the bowl and the stone (ship within U.S.A only) click here, and don’t forget you still have time to enter my moment in time giveaway here.

Writing has been an essential part of my life for as long as I’ve been an adult. I’ve written for newspapers, magazines, and courts of law. Who knew that now—as both a grownup and a grandmother—writing about a kitten would let me channel my “inner child” with such total abandon?!

Back in “the real world,” there are any number of sobering subjects to ponder from the time I get out of bed. Bills, car maintenance, yard work. And let’s face it, on the job, the subject matter for a criminal prosecutor is rarely the stuff of laughter. 

But I find to my delight that as I drive around town (or—gasp--as I sit in court waiting for the next case to be called!), there’s a part of my brain that’s engaged with wondering what Finnigan and his friends are going to be doing next. Just how are they going to convince a pair of con men that a circus wagon is haunted? How exactly will Leroy, the larger of the two mice (and a gentle soul quite sensitive about his size,) impersonate a rat in the next book? Which of Aesop’s fables will I work into the conversation in the third book, and how will I stage a faceoff between a circus lion and one of the villainous neighborhood cats? 

I could go on and on…and in my head, I certainly do! But for me it’s not just academic. Because as I feel the “Finnigan Effect,” it’s always with the blissful memory of just how soft that real  kitten was, sleeping in my lap, when he was absolutely, totally brand new. 

Mary T. Wagner

Award-winning author of When the Shoe Fits(Essays of Love, Life and Second Chances), Heck on Heels, and more...

http://www.marytwagner.com/

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 Thank you so much Mary, Finnigan is a delight. 

Aunt Rose lived in a cottage in the Kent countryside. Just her house, the house next door, a farm down the lane, and then nothing till the village, a mile and a half away. She was a small, stoutish elderly lady and I used to stay with her for a holiday. it was a great place for a young boy. There were woods to play in where camps could be built. There were trees to climb and fields to run through. But there was one big disadvantage. Aunt Rose talked non-stop, mostly about things like knitting and jam making, things I wasn't the least bit interested in.

Aunt Rose could have talked for England. She was an Olympic winner in non-stop chat and everyone knew about her. The postman would draw up in his van. I could see him looking into Aunt Rose’s garden to see if she was about. Then when he thought she was nowhere around, he’d leave the safety of his van and scoot up the garden path. He’d push letters through the letter box and be half way to his van before she appeared. Then she’d call to him, ask him to do something for her, some little thing, anything, to keep him from getting back to his van.

So every morning when I woke, I opened my bedroom window, grabbed the pot and emptied its contents onto the flower bed beneath. I wasn't doing anything wrong, just following on from all those people in history who used to do the same thing. But they had emptied theirs out into the street and often over some unfortunate passer by. At least all I was doing was watering the flowers. “Strange,” Aunt Rose remarked one particularly dry summer, “Those delphiniums under your window are looking very healthy.” I'm sure she knew what I was doing, but for once she kept quiet!

Aunt Rose is an extract from Keeping Clear of Paradise Street; A Seaside Childhood in the 1950s by Brian Moses. Brian has published over 200 books for children and teachers and has been a professional children’s poet for 28 years.

He wrote this his childhood memoir in response to questions asked by the children during school visits.  He would tell them;

When I was a boy we only had black and white television, and that only had two channels: BBC and ITV. If we wanted to change channels we had to get up out of our seats as there were no remotes. We had no computers, no mobile phones, no Internet, no Playstations, No Xboxes, no X Factor, no DVDs, no iPods, no shopping malls, no pizzas, no MacDonalds... How did we survive?

If you would like to connect with Brian, please visit him at brianmoses.co.uk. If you are interested in purchasing any of his books you will find all the necessary information on the website.

Brian hopes Keeping Clear of Paradise Street will be a crossover book in that adults who had their childhoods in the 1950s and ‘60s will enjoy the memories and find something to spark their own memories.

It certainly sparked memories for me. I read the extract and responded to Brian as follows;

The cows in the garden had me spluttering into my morning cup of tea – I remember it so well!  Only with me, it was my mum, tea towel in hand shouting and hollering as the cows trampled her prize Dahlias. We lived right next to the Dutch barn and cow sheds, so she only had to run to the yard (assuming the men were not all away in the fields) but even so, those cows could cause some damage!

If you enjoyed this post and would like to leave a comment about your own childhood memories or anything else, please do.  Your comments are always welcome.  

I received no financial compensation for sharing the above post and have no material connection to the brands or products mentioned.  

If you enjoyed this post, please click the Twitter link to share, thank you!

Today I'm pleased to welcome author Sarah Hill as my guest contributor. Sarah is a children's author and a small animal Vet. She gained her Veterinary Medicine degree at Bristol University in 1999 and worked in practice for 10 years. At that point she had her second daughter and soon after, she decided to take a career break. She was writing her children's series, 'Whimsy Wood', at home in Wiltshire (with her husband, their baby son, two daughters, two dogs, two cats and "a partridge in a pear tree"!) for a good 2 years, before her work was taken on by Abela Publishing, based in Sandhurst, UK.

There are 35 books in the Whimsy Wood children's series for 5-8 yr olds. These are divided into 5 sets of 7 books. Each book is written specifically for a month in the calendar, so the flora and fauna within the wood, change as you read through the series. Finally, there is a proverb hidden within every story for the reader to find, giving it real meaning. Please note that 10% of book sales is donated to The Wildlife Trusts, UK.

Book 1, 'Posie Pixie And The Copper Kettle', was published in July 2013. Book 2, 'Posie Pixie And The Lost Matchbox', was published in November 2013. Book 3, 'Posie Pixie And The Torn Tunic', was published in February 2014. Book 4, 'Posie Pixie And The Fireworks Party', was published in May 2014. Book 5, 'Posie Pixie And The Christmas Tree', was published in October 2014. Book 6, 'Posie Pixie And The Snowstorm', was published in February 2015. Book 7, 'Posie Pixie And The Pancakes', was published in June 2015.

[See books by Sarah Hill at Amazon]

Why did you decide to write the Whimsy Wood Series?

Well in truth, I didn't! I went to Bristol University here in England to study Veterinary Medicine and I qualified as a Vet from there in 1999. I then worked in practice for 10 years and at that point our second daughter was born. My husband was travelling overseas quite a lot with work then and so I decided to take a career break to stay at home and raise our very young girls. Within 6 months of being at home, 'Posie Pixie', the main character in my first 7 'Whimsy Wood' books, appeared in my head and she wouldn't go away. She's terribly persistent! So I really had no other choice but to start writing about her adventures in 'Whimsy Wood'.

After 3 years of writing, editing, submitting to publishers, writing, re-editing and submitting some more, I finally received my author's contract with Abela Publishing in January 2013. 'Posie Pixie And The Copper Kettle', book 1 in my 'Whimsy Wood' series, was published in July 2013. Book 7, 'Posie Pixie And The Pancakes', was published in June 2015.

Do you consider your book character-driven or plot-driven?

I don't consider my books to be either, as each of my 'Whimsy Wood'  books is written for a specific month in the calendar, so the flora and fauna changes as you read through the series. If anything, they're driven by the time of year that I'm writing the book for.

Posie Pixie and the Copper Kettle. Image abela Publishing

What makes Whimsy Wood Series unique compared to other book series for kids?

My 'Whimsy Wood' books are unique because they bridge the literary gap between picture books and chapter books. They are read to and read by children of all ages and this is evident by the children's comments on the back of all the 'Whimsy Wood' books.

There is a proverb tucked away within every story for the reader to find and at the back of each book, is a 'Whimsy Wood' map for the child to complete using their imagination and what they've learnt from the story.

Do you plot ahead of time, or let the plot emerge as you write?

I tend to do a bit of both. I always use a mind map prior to writing the next book in my series. The title always goes in the middle - I may not have the actual title name until I've completed the book, but that's where it goes when I'm mind-mapping! I have the month that the book is written for coming off that central title. Then there's trees, plants, flowers, animals that would all be out and about during that month in a UK wood.

How did you develop the names for your characters?

l I like alliteration, so the 'Whimsy Wood' characters' names tend to reflect this. Eg Posie Pixie, Raspberry Rabbit, Wibble Woodlouse. 

Posie was always called this and I had no doubt over hers or Raspberry's names. Wibble I was initially unsure of so I asked my oldest daughter Olivia. I gave her a choice of 'Wibble' or 'Willow' 

for Posie's Woodlouse best friend and Olivia immediately decided on 'Wibble'. So that was that!

Mr Bilberry the blackbird, Whimsy Wood’s postman. Image Sarah Hill

How did you decide on the setting for your books?

Again, I didn't purposeful choose my books to be set in a woodland, or indeed 'Whimsy Wood'. My imagination had decided, right from the start, that this was going to be where 'Posie Pixie' (the main character for my 1st 7 books) would come to live. She didn't initially live here, as you will learn in book 1, 'Posie Pixie And The Copper Kettle'! I'm guessing though that my imagination and subconscious have been heavily influenced by my own childhood books. These being the 'Faraway Tree' books by Enid Blyton and 'Jill Barklem's 'Brambly Hedge' series. We are also keen dog-walkers as a family and are often outside, exploring woodlands and the beautiful Wiltshire countryside where we live. I'm sure these have all been factors in my imagination creating the enchanting 'Whimsy Wood'.

Do you have a writing mentor? If so, tell about them.

I have a writing coach called Suzanne Lieurance who sends me (and many other writers) positive, supportive and constructive daily emails called 'The Morning Nudge'. Writing can be quite a solitary existence, so I find these daily emails really helpful. I am also a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). This is a fabulous group of like-minded literary folk and their annual UK conference in Winchester is always brilliant.

Front cover Fearne Fairy and the Dandelion Clocks. Image Sarah Hill

What’s your writing schedule? Do you have a favorite place to write?

I have 3 young children aged 7 and a half, 6 and 2 and a half years old, so I tend to write when the girls are in school and Monty our son is in nursery (2 days a week currently). I also write when the children are all in bed asleep 3 nights of the week, as my husband is also out working during these evenings.

I have to be very strict with myself during the these times that I set aside to write. Like all creative activities, you can't force writing. Sometimes it flows and sometimes it just doesn't. On the days that it's not flowing, I'll still sit down and try to write something. It doesn't matter if initially it's not brilliant. At least I've got something down on paper and I can them go back over it, edit and rewrite it and the time that I've had to write hasn't been wasted.

As for a favourite place to write, well I seem to write best in our office above the garage at home. But I'll often get ideas and thoughts when I'm not sat down writing, so I always have a notepad with me to write these down in.

What’s next?

Book 8, 'Fearne Fairy And The Dandelion Clocks' is next and is due out this March! This book is the beginning of the second set of 7 books in my 'Whimsy Wood' series and sees the introduction of a new main character, 'Fearne Fairy'. Now she's not your typical pink and sparkly fairy. Goodness no! She has flaws just like the rest of us and as for what she's really like? Well, you'll just have to find out!

Whimsy Wood Books. Image abela publishing

Anything else you'd like to add?

My first 5 'Whimsy Wood' children's books have all been awarded the '5-Star Seal' from 'Readers' Favourite' over in America. 'Posie Pixie And The Snowstorm' and 'Posie Pixie And The Pancakes' (books 6 and 7 respectively) have both been awarded the 'Story Monster Approved Award' and were recently tied winners in 'The Royal Dragonfly Book Awards' again in America.

Thanks very much Sarah.

Connect with Sarah at Whimsy Wood or Twitter

Have you read any of the Whimsy Wood books or would you like to?

One of the most enduring clichés about us writers is that our two natural habitats are a cabin in the woods, where we work in silence, surrounded by thousands of books, and a local bar or coffee shop. Since the latter have become places where hipsters, nerds, and urbanites gather, there are very few places where real writers can go and feel that old-time spirit that was once felt in bars visited by some of the greatest authors of all time.

Why bars? Well, aside from providing the background for some of the most iconic anecdotes in literature, those establishments were places where writers, which were often tortured souls, gathered and socialized with each other, sought inspiration, or simply drank to ease their burden, thus revealing the less romanticized side of every writer’s life.

Luckily, some of those bars are still around today, and what better way for a writer to get inspired and moved than to visit them and experience the same atmosphere as their literary role models did? The following infographic from assignment writing service contains 7 famous literary bars that should be a pilgrimage for every writer.

White Horse Tavern (New York City, USA)
Established in 1880, New York City’s White Horse Tavern is located in Manhattan, at the corner of 11th and Hudson, with the first notable patron being an English character actor, director, and screenwriter Charles Laughton. Before it was known as a center where writers gathered, it was a bar visited mostly by longshoremen. It gained its present fame in the early fifties, not just because of the talented authors and artists, but also because of the heavy drinking.

One patron which is notable on both accounts is Dylan Thomas, who beat his own drinking record right there, and had his last drink. Notable patrons also include James Baldwin, Jack Kerouac (who was thrown out on more than one occasion), Bob Dylan, Normal Mailer, Hunter S. Thompson, Jim Morrison and Michael Harrington.

Cerveceria Alemana (Madrid, Spain)
This bar, located at Plaza de Santa Ana 6, opened its doors to writers and patrons in 1904, with the most famous one being Ernest Hemingway, who liked to visit the joint during the day. For those who wish to sit at the same table as he did, it can be found in the near right-hand corner. Hemingway spoke very highly of La Alemana, noting in his recognizable style that it was “a good place to drink beer and coffee”. Other patrons include Victor de la Serna, Ramon del Valle-Inclan, and Hollywood diva Ava Gardner, who frequented the bar between 1952 and 1967.

Old Town Bar & Restaurant (New York City, USA)
If a writer should ever find himself on 45 E 18th Street in New York, he should take the time and visit the Old Town Bar & Restaurant. This is one of those rare places where the interior has a character of its own, with its heavy marble and wood, dating back to 1892. It is the place where Frank McCourt famously quipped “Love! King of New York Bars! A place where you can still talk!”. Also visited by the likes of Nick Hornby, Seamus Heaney, and Billy Collins.

The Eagle and Child (Oxford, England)
This pub, located at 49 St. Giles Street, was founded in the 17th century, and was the birthplace of the Inklings, a literary group which gathered some of the greatest minds literature and the University of Oxford has ever seen, such J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Hugo Dyson, Norman Colin Dexter, and Charles Williams.

El Floridita (Havana, Cuba)
One can’t help but mention Ernest Hemingway in the same breath as Havana and El Floridita, which was one of his favorite bars, as is evident by numerous photographs of him hanging on the walls of the establishment. Stepping foot inside it is like going back in time to the 40s and 50s, with none of the spirit and atmosphere lost. Besides Hemingway, El Floridita patrons were Ezra Pound, and Graham Greene.

Les Deux Magots (Paris, France)
Most Parisians would say that the year 1812 is important for two things: Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, and Les Deux Magots, which was founded the same year. Back in the day, the café used to be a spot where the French intellectual and literary crème de la crème socialized, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, as well as James Joyce, Bertolt Brecht, and, of course, Ernest Hemingway.

Literary Café (Saint Petersburg, Russia)
Literary Café, founded in 1816, has more than earned the right to its name, with the likes of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Nikolay Chernyshevsky, and of course, Alexander Pushkin, spending their days, and night, within the confines of its walls. It was also the last café Pushkin visited before his tragic death.

Walking in the footsteps of famous authors and sitting at the same table as they did when they were at their creative peaks can be life-altering experience for every writer, and a chance to meet other like-minded writers, and perhaps run into an author they look up to. It’s an opportunity not to be missed.

Linda is a professional editor, blogger and freelance writer. She is interested in techniques, which improve overall productivity and writing hacks. Follow Linda on Twitter to get inspired!

Almost 1500 years have passed since the beginning of the Legend of King Arthur. Ancient history you say—well, actually, medieval history, and one that should matter little to young readers accustomed to instant communication and worldwide access in seconds. However, kids today—and a significant number of adults—continue to embrace the medieval world, specifically Arthurian Legend.

When I introduced my 9th grade students to T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, I realized I’d opened a treasure cave. My kids—even ones who hadn’t read a thing I assigned—scrambled to participate in discussions, projects, and outside reading!

After retiring from teaching, I taught Medieval Writing Workshops for elementary-age children. I found kids as young as 6 and 7 just as excited as the 8-12 year-olds. When I worked with the Colorado Girl Scouts on writing, I had girls (ages 9-12) showing up in princess and dame costumes!

At a Medieval Writing Workshop, these Brownies and Junior Girl Scouts donned their best in princess wear

So, how do you as a writer for children incorporate the popular Arthurian Legend/Medieval Time period in your stories? Here are some suggestions.

1. Setting: Choose a setting in the future, on another world, or in another time dimension. The actual Medieval time period as we know it doesn’t have to be used. The successful Stargate SG-1 television series (1997-2007) frequently took events and settings from history and catapulted them to another planet, even Arthurian Legend.

2. Characters: Arthurian Legend and Medieval times are packed with tales of knights fighting knights, evil kings/queens/magicians, dragons and other mythical characters. Dress characters up like some of these and even make up new creatures. Tolkien’s orcs now find new homes in many Medieval games. And don’t forget the heroes. These can be the true knight who rescues ladies in distress, comes to the aid of their king, or champions the weak and the poor. They can also be the boy or girl next door who realizes that horrible abuse is happening to the kid next door and vows to help and inform the authorities.

Even these 5 & 6 year-olds were into the Legend of King Arthur

3. Magic and Mystery: Kids and adults are fascinated by magic and the powers associated with magic. The fact that Merlin can see into the future makes the tales of Arthur even more intriguing. Think what an evil sorcerer could do with that knowledge! One look at Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings shows how popular this subject is today. Everyone loves a story with a wizard, whether good or bad.

4. Strong Women: Medieval tales written today abound with women in more active roles. Girls can be knights themselves—known as dames—coming to the rescue and going on their own adventures to save the world. Think Katniss in The Hunger Games, which can be traced back to Arthurian Legend.

These Girls are Knights, also known as Dames

5. Right vs. Wrong: The definitive line between right and wrong present in the Arthurian tales fills kids’ need for boundaries and ideals to guide them in their growth. These ideals give kids different ways to look at themselves and their world. It’s not hard to put characters from any time period in a fight for right over wrong. And, sometimes, it can even be the wrong that wins, as it does often in the Star Wars saga. Add life-threatening battles and races against time to keep readers engaged and eager to turn the pages.

For astute readers and writers, the Legend of King Arthur can be found in blockbuster books/movies like Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games as mentioned, as well as a host of others. And, while our audience knows that living in the Medieval times was difficult, dangerous, and not a lot of fun, they choose to view it as a time of grand adventure filled with dangerous situations that can be conquered with skill and a little magic!

From the author: For someone who supposedly isn’t real, King Arthur has been an enormous inspiration in my writing. And, while I’ve ventured into the Ancient World with my latest stories, the Legend continues to fuel my writing for young readers, especially those reluctant readers I hope to reach. Look for the second book in my Guinevere trilogy in 2016: Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend—Cedwyn’s Story.

I am a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those Young-at-Heart to read more through my Quest Books set in these worlds.
You can find me on Carpinello’s Writing Pages, where I interview other children/MG/Tween/YA authors. My home is at Beyond Today Educator. At The Quest Books, I’ve teamed up with Fiona Ingram from South Africa and Wendy Leighton-Porter of England/France/Abu Dhabi to enable readers to find all of our Ancient and Medieval quest books in one place.

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Please give a warm welcome to Susanna Carr!  She’s here to discuss a forbidden romance – the stepbrother hero! 

When my readers hear that the hero in Illicit Night with the Greek is the heroine’s stepbrother, the response is mixed. Some adore the story set-up while others avoiding books featuring the stepbrother hero.

Although I have read the occasional stepbrother hero over the years, it’s not a romance story I actively seek out. However, I’ve read more than a few in the past year just by chance because the stepbrother hero is becoming more popular these days in romance fiction. Some think it’s because the stepbrother is one of the last taboos. I’m not so sure. I think many writers prefer telling a story about a couple who already have an established relationship. Why not write about a hero who is part of the family? The conflict, risk factor and emotional angst are already built in!

It’s not unlike the brother’s best friend, another type of hero that has enjoyed a surge of popularity in romances for the past few years. The hero and heroine know each other for years. The brother’s best friend may have stood in as a big brother or saw the heroine as a little sister. And suddenly the relationship changes.

But there is one big difference between the two types of heroes. There’s no “like family” in this equation. They are family. The stepbrother is familiar and yet forbidden. This relationship changes everything and can rock the foundation of the family structure. There is also a risk of censure. It doesn’t matter if the couple is comprised of consenting adults and not related by blood—society still expects that their relationship remains platonic.

What do you think about the stepbrother hero? Do you seek out the stories or do you avoid them?

Publisher: Harlequin Presents
Publication Date: February 1
Romance sub-genre: contemporary romance
Book length: 192 pages
Goodreads link:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25897411-illicit-night-with-the-greek

Order links:
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Illicit-Night-Greek-One-Consequences-ebook/dp/B0111OWG5U/
Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/illicit-night-with-the-greek-susanna-carr/1122252493?ean=9781488000621
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Susanna_Carr_Illicit_Night_with_the_Greek?id=YNkaCgAAQBAJ
iBooks:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/illicit-night-with-the-greek/id1016372376?mt=11
Kobo:
https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/illicit-night-with-the-greek
Author links
Website: http://www.susannacarr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author.SusannaCarr
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SusannaCarr
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22371

Bio:

Readers throughout the world find Susanna Carr’s award-winning contemporary romances a delightful escape that has often helped them through difficult times. Reviewers describe her award-winning stories as “fun”, “sexy” and “a must read”. When she isn’t writing or spending time with her family in the Pacific Northwest, Susanna enjoys reading romance and connecting with readers online.

New Year always brings an opportunity to reflect on the year just passed and looks to the future; it is a chance to set new goals and to change the way we see ourselves. Part of this process of self improvement can be helped by reading the right books; here are the top ten must read books for the coming year:

 
1. The Four Agreements; A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
This book highlights the wisdom of the Toltecs; the work of a group of scientists and artist which has existed for decades and explored the wisdom of the ancients. All things are possible through four, key agreements: Don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions, always do your best and be impeccable with your words.


 
2. The 4-hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
This author has written several books on how to be successful by just working four hours a week. Each book focuses on a particular career choice, except for this one. The 4-hour Work Week focuses on the principles you need to adopt to make the four hour work week a possibility.

 
 
3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been successful for many years because it is written in simple, understandable terms. Put simply, adopt the following habits and you will become more effective and successful;

• Begin with the end in mind
• Be proactive
• Understand others first
• then be understood
• Cooperate whenever possible
• Renew your skills and energy regularly
• Think winner!

 
 
4. A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles” by Marianne Williamson
The book emphasizes the importance of allowing faith and love to be an integral part of your daily life. It can help overcome all sorts of trauma and pain as well as creating a magical effect in your life and the life of your children.


 
5. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink
Daniel Pink has nearly forty years of research into human motivation and this book seeks to examine the truth of what motivates someone. It examines the three main concepts; autonomy, mastery and purpose and offers tips and insights as to how to make them a part of your life and improve your life accordingly.


 
6. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckart Tolle
This book delves into spirituality and its effects on daily life; it reflects on how an increased awareness of spirituality can improve your life. The Power of Now introduces a practical way to bring spirituality into your life and how, living in the moment, can bring about huge rewards.


 
7. The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Sir Ken Robinson
This inspiring book is a must read for anyone looking to defy the odds and make an impact in the society and world around you. It focuses on finding your ‘element’ and then using this to improve your own life and that of those around you.


 
8. Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?: And Other Provocations by Seth Godin
This book takes a look at the areas in everyone’s lives which should and, in fact, must be improved. It is brutally honest and, at the same time, genuinely inspiring. The book will become your best friend and your guru.

 

 
9. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Power is not something that everyone should desire and this book does not seek to assist you in your quest for power. Instead it discusses the principles of power and effects of it. Reading The 48 Laws of Power will help you understand what you need to do if you want power and how others will use their power to manipulate you; if you let them.


 
10. Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy
Everyone knows what it is like to have good intentions but to be distracted by other ‘more important’ things. This is procrastinating. To beat this and get things done it is essential to set your priorities, break jobs up into small challenges and even now which job to tackle first. This is an incredibly motivating book!
 
 

By Paul Trevino and LoveReading.co.uk!
Paul is a regular contributor at many sites and mainly focuses on business and books related topics.

In a discussion I had with one of the longtime subscribers to my SharingwithWriters newsletter, Wanda Luthmam, author of The Lilac Princess, she said, “Of course the thing that is different for children’s authors is that the product is for children yet the purchaser is an adult.”

Because Wanda is absolutely right, one of the best kinds of promotion is one where children’s authors cross promote. That means partnering with other others, sharing lists. Forming groups where you cross-tweet one another’s tweets that point out benefits of each children’s book to the parents cause kids won’t be on Twitter, not yet at least.

One of my favorite promotions—the one that lasted longer and was more “keepable” than any other I’ve done—utilized cross promotion. Here is a case study of that promotion straight from my multi award-winning The Frugal Book Promoter. I have adapted it slightly to be more meaningful for children’s authors.

The anatomy of a free e-book might be just what you need to make one work for you. The free e-book I published as a cross promotion with other authors was one of best, most long-lasting promotions I’ve done. Let’s call it the new math for free publicity. It is: E-book + E-gift = Promotion. Oops. Error. Make the answer FREE promotion. However, it would be better if we slotted in another element: + Cross Promotion.

I met Kathleen Walls in an online group. She asked more than two dozen authors from several countries to contribute to an e-book that would be given away. Her idea, Cooking by the Book could be used as a gift of appreciation to the support teams it takes to edit and market a book and to the legions of readers who cook but had never read any of our other books. Children’s authors could use exactly the same idea (or adapt the basic steps to another theme). Here’s why.

Authors who had at least one kitchen scene in their books (children’s authors might have a household cooking scene or just something foody going on in the plot like lollipops, ice cream cones—even apple trees!) were invited to contribute to Cooking. Each author’s segment begins with an excerpt from that scene. The recipe comes next, and then a short blurb about the author with links so the reader can learn more about the authors and their books. When children’s authors adapt the them, they might adapt the recipe segment to something else that would appeal to parents like the psychological benefit their child will get from reading the book.

This e-tool was a cross-pollinator. Contributing authors publicized it any way they chose as long as they gave it away. Here are some of the ways we used to distribute Cooking by the Book:

• Some offered a free e-book as part of a promotion and let people e-mail them for a copy. This is the least techy approach and it allows personal contact with readers. It also allowed us to collect and categorize our readers’ e-mails to use in later promotions.
• Some set up an autoresponder that sent our e-book directly to our readers’ e-mail boxes when they sent requests to an address we provided. This automated approach requires little but promotion from you after you’ve once set up the responder. I sent the first chapter of my novel using SendFree.com, but it could as easily been a full e-book.
• Some contributors sent readers to their Web sites where they found a link to download a .pdf file of our free e-book. E-books distributed like this are more effective if they include an offer or call-to-action—perhaps a discount on a series of your books—within its pages. If I did a promotion like this again, I’d include a contributor page in the backmatter that listed each contributor, her book’s title, and a direct link to an Amazon Kindle edition. The side-benefit for this is that traffic to your site soars and that helps your search engine optimization (SEO).
• Some contributors let others distribute our e-book as a gift to their clients, subscribers, or Web site visitors—either with a purchase or as an outright gift. When you use this method, you get to set the guidelines for its distribution because you provide the free e-book.
• If we were doing this promotion today, we could offer our free e-book through Smashwords.com. To make free e-book editions work for you, your book must include ads, links in the text, or both to entice readers to your Web site or to buy your other books.
• You may find other ways to distribute your e-book or alter these processes to meet your needs. You could even give out business cards or bookmarks at children’s bookfairs that give the links to the free e-book you are offering.

Contributors to our Cooking by the Book benefited from their efforts and from contacts with other authors. It turned out that we had some superior promoters among us:

• Most of us set up a promotional page for the cookbook on our Web sites.
• One promoted it in her newsletter.
• Mary Emma Allen writes novels, but she also featured the cookbook in the columns she writes for New Hampshire dailies The Citizen and The Union Leader.
• David Leonhardt incorporated the cookbook into a Happiness Game Show speech he delivered over a dozen times.
• We all gave away coupons offering this gift at book signings. Because e-books cost nothing to produce, they can be given to everyone, not just those who purchase a book. Some made bookmarks featuring this offer.
• I put an “e-gift” offer for Cookbook on the back of my business cards.
• If we were doing this promotion today, we’d all blog about it and use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social networks.
• We treated the promotional book like a real book. We got blurbs and reviews. Reviewer JayCe Crawford said, “For a foodie-cum-fiction-freak like me, this cookbook is a dream come true.” That review popped up in places we didn’t know existed.
• We used them as e-gifts to thank editors, producers, or others online.

Our most startling successes came from sources we had no connection to at all. The idea for using a promotional e-book like this was featured in Joan Stewart’s The Publicity Hound, in Writer’s Weekly, in the iUniverse newsletter and more. They probably found it especially newsworthy because it worked so well for writers of fiction. Your book themed for the parents of children might appeal to popular psychology Web sites or others—depending on the theme.

When I queried radio stations for interviews with angles related to this cookbook, I had the highest rate of response I’d ever had, and that was in competition with a pitch for my novel This Is the Place just before the Salt Lake City 2002 games and an intolerance angle on the same novel right after 9/11.

Each year Mother’s Day beckons us to repeat our publicity blitzes, because, if you haven’t noticed, mothers tend to do lots of cooking. Almost any e-book that appeals to mothers of young children could also benefit from Mother’s Day promotions.

Hint: I love services like Createspace.com and Bookbaby.com for publishing both e-books and paperbacks, whether or not they are to be used as promotions. You can probably do everything yourself and absolutely free except for the copies you buy and the extra services, if you prefer to have that help. I also like that you can put your own publishing company’s name on the book—in other words, develop your own imprint. There are even templates for covers there. If this feels kind of publishing feels scary at first, I can coach you through the first one and you’ll be set forever more. Contact me through the contact page on my Web site.

Special E-Book Offer: I offer a free e-book for subscribing to my Sharing with Writers newsletter. Find the offer on most pages of my HowToDoItFrugally Web site, upper right corner. Everyone is your cross-promotion pool could do the same thing.

Here’s another idea from Wanda. She says “At my events, I invite children to my table to make a free craft that is book-theme related. While they are working, I talk to the parent about the benefits of the book and reading.”

Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. All her books for writers are multi award winners including both the first and second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and her multi award-winning The Frugal Editor won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts.

The author loves to travel. She has visited eighty-nine countries and has studied writing at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University, Prague. She admits to carrying a pen and journal wherever she goes. Her Web site is www.howtodoitfrugally.com

Hey, Everyone! It’s Samantha Chase and I am super excited to be here today with all of you at the Manga Maniac Café and talking about the newest book in the Montgomery Brothers series, “I’ll Be There”. This is book six in the series and we are looking at the crankiest member of the family – Zach Montgomery. He has a good reason to be that way, but he’s making life crazy for everyone around him. You see…well, I’ll let him tell you about it.

Hey, ladies! Zach Montgomery here. I don’t know about you, but I am a total adrenaline junkie. Or…at least I used to be. I’m not jumping out of planes any time in the near future but man oh man did I have some great trips doing that sort of thing and more! I have some amazing memories from each and every one of my trips but I’ll give you some highlights – you know, just in case you’re looking for your own adrenaline rush!

1. Great Barrier Reef dive – I’m normally more of a land – or sky – adventurer, but when I’m in Australia, the water calls! There is so much to see beside the reef itself – scorpion fish, parrot fish, fusiliers, sea snakes, crabs, shrimp, starfish and octopus…just amazing!

2. Whitewater Rafting in Zambia – No two white water rafting trips are the same and I’ll try it wherever I travel to. A great day excursion while visiting Victoria Falls is an amazing way to view the scenery and also have a thrilling adventure.

3. CN Tower EdgeWalk – I have to admit, I wasn’t so sure about this one but I’m glad I did it. The world’s highest full-circle, hands-free walk lets you stroll the top edge of the Lookout Level pod, more than 1,150 feet above the streets, held by nothing but a safety harness. Just don’t look down!

4. Bungee Jump Stockhorn: Bernese Oberland Mountains Plunge – There is never too many bungee jumping options! And bungee jumping in the Alps is an incredible experience. Dive more than 400 feet from a gondola in the Swiss Alps on one of the world’s most amazing bungee jumps. Plummet towards a lake during the free fall with the Bernese Oberland Mountains as your backdrop before you’re lowered into a waiting boat.

5. Zapcat powerboating – When I heard inflatable, I didn’t think they’d be exciting. Boy was I wrong! These inflatable catamaran hulls decked out with powerful racing engines are built purely for speed, and therefore thrills. The Gs can be brutal, and the jumps will make you wonder whether you’re sailing or flying, but there are few things on water that beat these bad boys for bragging rights!

Book #6 in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Samantha Chase’s popular Montgomery series

This Montgomery Has a Head for Business
Working for Zach Montgomery is challenging on many levels-coming from a wealthy and powerful family, he lives by his own rules and doesn’t answer to anyone. But Gabriella Martine has no intention of backing down. She’s used to handling stubborn men, and it doesn’t hurt that Zach is smart, charismatic…and gorgeous.
And a Heart for Adventure
Zach’s perfect world is turned upside down when a climbing accident leaves him broken, angry, and maddeningly dependent. In his slow quest for recovery, Gabriella is always there to help…but as Zach comes to see his beautiful assistant in a new light, he is forced to re-evaluate what it really means to be a man worthy of Gabriella’s love.

Montgomery Brothers Series:
Wait for Me (Book 1)
Trust in Me (Book 2)
Stay with Me (Book 3)
Return to You (Book 4)
Meant for You (Book 5)
I’ll Be There (Book 6)

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Guest Post: 5 Things a Lady Trickster Never Leaves Home Without by Alissa Johnson

I’m delighted to introduce A Talent for Trickery, the first book in my new Victorian-set “Thief-takers” series. Our hero, Private Investigator Owen Renderwell, is on the hunt for a thief and murderer. And he knows just how to catch his man. All he needs is a little help from our heroine, Miss Charlotte Walker-Bales. The daughter of an infamous confidence man, Lottie is in a unique position to offer insight into the mind and motives of a hardened criminal. There’s just one flaw in Owen’s otherwise excellent plan. Lottie hasn’t spoken to him in eight years. She has no interest in working alongside a man of the law, and certainly not the one who betrayed her trust, endangered her family, and broke her heart.

To celebrate Lottie’s unusual background, I’ve compiled a list of five things Lottie would never leave home without.

1. Lock Picks. Two of the earliest lessons Lottie learned from her father were how to open a locked door, and how to free herself from a set of manacles. Good lock picks are an essential tool in every thief’s bag of tricks. Hair pins, however, will do in a pinch.

2. Hidden pockets. These days, Lottie is focused more on keeping her family safe than she is on fleecing an unsuspecting population, but there was a time when she would have had hidden pockets sewn into all her gowns. Those filched goodies had to go somewhere.

3. If going a long distance – A carriage. There are a lot of things Lottie does well, but riding a horse is not one of them. If she has reason to go further than her legs can take her, she goes by horse-drawn carriage or railway.

4. Her accomplice. Lottie never worked alone.

5. A cover story. Few people know that Lottie, Esther and Peter Bales are, in reality, the Walker family—children of the late, but still reviled confidence man, William Walker. They have an entirely fabricated family history, and Lottie needs to remember every detail of it. All the time. One slip-up, and the entire house of cards she built to protect her siblings could come crashing down.

Book Information

Title: A Talent For Trickery

Author: Alissa Johnson

Release Date: November 3, 2015

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Genre: Historical Romance

Series: The Thief-takers, Book 1

Summary

The Lady is a Thief

Years ago, Owen Renderwell earned acclaim-and a title-for the dashing rescue of a kidnapped duchess. But only a select few knew that Scotland Yard’s most famous detective was working alongside London’s most infamous thief…and his criminally brilliant daughter, Charlotte Walker.

Lottie was like no other woman in Victorian England. She challenged him. She dazzled him. She questioned everything he believed and everything he was, and he has never wanted anyone more. And then he lost her.

Now a private detective on the trail of a murderer, Owen has stormed back into Lottie’s life. She knows that no matter what they may pretend, he will always be a man of the law and she a criminal. Yet whenever he’s near, Owen has a way of making things complicated…and long for a future that can never be theirs.

Buy Links

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AmazonTalentTrickery

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/BNTalentTrickery

Sourcebooks: http://www.sourcebooks.com/store/talent-for-trickery.html

Author Biography

Alissa Johnson is a RITA-nominated author of historical romance. She grew up on Air Force bases and attended St. Olaf College in Minnesota. She currently resides in the Arkansan Ozarks where she spends her free time keeping her Aussie dog busy, visiting with family, and dabbling in archery.

Social Networking Links

Website: http://www.alissajohnson.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alissa.johnson.313

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alissajohnson2

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1983627.Alissa_Johnson

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Lynnette Austin dropped by the virtual offices this morning to celebrate the release of The Best Laid Wedding Plans.  Please give her a warm welcome!

Top 5 Things You Will Never Find in Jenni Beth’s Purse

The Best Laid Wedding Plans is the first in my new series, Magnolia Brides! I’m so excited to be here with you today talking about it and Jenni Beth Beaumont. Her story is about a person finding her way through difficulties and coming out stronger for them. She’s been working as an event planner at Chateau Rouge in Savannah, but things at home in Misty Bottoms are going from bad to worse.

Her parents are struggling with the loss of their son, Magnolia House, her family’s antebellum home, is crumbling, and Misty Bottoms, Georgia, like so many small Southern towns, is dying. She decides to turn her family home into a wedding destination, hoping to help her parents, save Magnolia House, and bring new jobs to the area in one fell swoop.

Jenni Beth and Cole Bryson have a history—and it’s not pretty! Right now, their future isn’t looking very promising, either. She wants to restore Magnolia House while he, an architectural salvager, wants to deconstruct it and sell it off in pieces. A storm is brewing!

Jenni Beth is very dedicated and assumes responsibility for both her family and the entire town of Misty Bottoms. But she loves to have fun, too. She doesn’t love lightly and is very loyal to her friends.

What a woman carries in her purse says a lot about her. But what about what she doesn’t carry in her Gucci bag? I think that speaks volumes, too! So what wouldn’t Jenni Beth ever have in her purse? Hmmm…

1. An expired driver’s license. Jenni Beth is a rule follower. Period.

2. A notebook without a huge list of to-dos. This woman is seriously busy and seriously organized. She’s a little like Santa. She makes a list and checks it twice! So you can be sure that notebook in her purse contains list after list.

3. Nail polish. Between scraping peeling paint from the house and fixing up the rose garden, her nails would just end up chipped. She has too much to do to waste her time with polish—until she has an appointment with clients! At that point, she’ll probably run into town for a quick fix at Frenchie’s Salon.

4. A bunch of crumpled old receipts. I’ll admit you’ll find exactly that in my purse. I am totally disorganized when it comes to things like this. But Jenni Beth? No way. Those receipts will remain uncrumpled as they’re carried home where they will be filed for future reference. Oh, there are days I wish I was more like Jenni Beth!

5. Loose change. Any change she has goes immediately into her bank when she gets home. With the renovation of Magnolia House, every little bit counts. One year for Christmas, her grandmother gave her the bank and a roll of pennies, along with the advice, “If you watch the pennies, the dollars take care of themselves.” She’s always carried those words with her. Now, more than ever, she needs to be frugal.

I’ve enjoyed every minute I’ve spent with Jenni Beth and Cole and their friends. We’d love to have you come visit us in Misty Bottoms, Georgia. We’re a small town, but we have a lot of heart!

See you there!

Lynnette

The Best Laid Wedding Plans by Lynnette Austin

First in the new Magnolia Brides series

ISBN: 9781492617976

Release Date: November 3, 2015

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Summary

SOME DREAMS ARE WORTH WHATEVER IT TAKES

Jenni Beth Beaumont left her broken heart behind when she took her dream job in Savannah. But after her brother’s death, Jenni Beth returns home to help mend her parents’ hearts as well as restore their beautiful but crumbling antebellum mansion. New dreams take shape as Jenni Beth sets to work replacing floors and fixing pipes to convert the family homestead into the perfect wedding destination. However, some folks in their small Southern town are determined to see her fail.

Cole Bryson was once the love of Jenni Beth’s life, but the charming architectural salvager has plans of his own for the Beaumont family home. As the two butt heads, old turmoil is brought to the surface and Cole and Jenni Beth will have to work through some painful memories and tough realities before they can set their pasts aside and have a second chance at their own happily ever after.

Buy Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LB67Qs

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1OQ4ram

Apple: http://apple.co/1KmbH7G

Books a Million: http://bit.ly/1MRhhRn

Indie Bound: http://bit.ly/1KmbMbg

Author Bio

The luxury of staying home when the weather turns nasty, of working in PJs and bare feet, and the fact that daydreaming is not only permissible but encouraged, are a few of the reasons middle school teacher Lynnette Austin gave up the classroom to write full-time. Lynnette grew up in Pennsylvania’s Alleghany Mountains, moved to Upstate New York, then to the Rockies in Wyoming. Presently she and her husband divide their time between Southwest Florida’s beaches and Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. A finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart Contest, PASIC’s Book of Your Heart Contest, and Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie Contest, she’s published five books as Lynnette Hallberg. She’s currently writing as Lynnette Austin. Having grown up in a small town, that’s where her heart takes her—to those quirky small towns where everybody knows everybody…and all their business, for better or worse.

Social Networking Links

Website: http://www.authorlynnetteaustin.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lynnette-Austin-253370174807116/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LynnettAustin

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/romwriter/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6456915.Lynnette_Austin

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You’ve put in the long hours writing your new book and now it’s time for the launch party. Parties are typically something to be excited about but with so much riding on this one, you may start making plans with some trepidation. There are common reservations authors have about hosting a launch party. How can people have fun while keeping the event somewhat professional? How do you guarantee a good turnout? That seems to be a classic premise for sitcoms or movies about nerds. Someone throws a party and no one shows up. How will you keep people impressed and entertained on tight budget? The bottom line is that this party must be a success because word of mouth advertising is the best form of promotion for a new author with limited funds.

1. Socialize: The first and foremost tactic you will need is the ability to rub elbows. Even if you are the type of person that goes to a party and hangs with your group for the whole night, you will need to overcome your shyness for your book launch party. You will need to be like the restaurant Maître D and always be moving around the room engaging in friendly banter with strangers. Make yourself approachable and always available for questions. This may not seem worth mentioning to you extroverts but many writers are introverts so the tendency to sit at the corner table all night can be a difficult habit for some people to break.

2. The Buddy System: One tip to help with shyness is to bring a wingman. This will be a friend that is at least slightly less introverted. This person will introduce you when you give your speech, hopefully including a bit of humor to lighten the mood. Your buddy will also go around the room introducing you to the cliques and breaking the ice. Seriously, get together before hand and strategize this. As the man or woman of the hour, people will undoubtedly be coming up to you all night.

3. Time: Throw the party on the weekend. This one is self-explanatory.

4. Food: Another extremely important tip would be to not skimp on the food. Your guests are giving up their precious Saturday to come to your book launch. Show them they are appreciated by feeding them. Free food puts people in a good mood. It is better to have too much than not enough. Make sure there will be plenty of food for all guests to get full should they so desire. With some creativity cheap foods can be transformed into an appetizing meal. If you can’t afford catering then you and a helper will probably have to spend the better part of a day preparing the food. Do whatever it takes to make sure your guests are well fed.

5. Advertise: Promote your party plenty of time in advance. Hopefully the venue will allow posting a flyer by the entrance. Hang flyers elsewhere around town where your target market is likely to frequent. If your party will be at a bookstore or some other retail establishment you may be able to convince them to put postcard invites in the bags of every customer. This is more of a longshot than the flyer but it never hurts to ask. Of course, don’t forget social media. Setup a Facebook event.

6. Advertise More: Send out a press release. The major papers and news stations will probably ignore you but the smaller publications such as those free papers you see in the lobby of grocery stores, may just run a small article and could even send someone to the party. If you have a little extra to spend then toss an ad in one of those papers.

7. Document the Occasion: Utilize this opportunity to show yourself and your book as popular. Even if the turnout may not have been what you were hoping for you can still employ the services of a videographer and/or photographer to document the occasion in a favorable light. You can post this footage to your site and social media for a recognition boost.

8. Get Leads: With so many potential fans on hand it would be a shame not to collect some contact information. Ask guests to sign a form on their way in simply asking for a name and email. This is a great way to gain leads. Let it be clearly known that sign-up is not mandatory however.

9. Freebies: Give away some books throughout the night either with a raffle or a fun contest. So all guest will feel appreciated it may be a good idea to have cheap gifts that everyone gets just for walking in the door. Some unique bookmarks or pens would be fine. For the remaining books that you sell, you may want to round the price to a solid dollar amount as it is unlikely you will be accepting credit cards at the event, although the technology does exist to make this relatively easy. Either way your goal is to not be making change all night.

10. Time Management: Sign your books in advance so you will be free to socialize throughout the night. Get someone else to man the book table for the same reason. The same principle applies here as with food; better too much than not enough.

11. Theme: You could make the party a themed event through decoration and activities. Say your book takes place during the Victorian era, so you could follow that theme at the party with the décor for example. This is by no means a requirement for a great party as guests won’t expect it and it can add great expense but it is still worth mentioning. Avoid costume parties. They hinder turnout.

12. Venue: You don’t have to throw your party at a major bookstore. There are plenty of other options such as a mom and pop bookstore, community center, library, restaurant, bar or even outdoors if you can be assured of good weather. Don’t think about what would be most suitable for a book launch party; think about where your guests would have the most fun.

The main takeaway from this article should be “leave nothing to chance”. Parties are supposed to be fun and that is fine but you need to think of your book launch party as sort of like an Avon party; a party with a purpose. Plan and promote plenty of time in advance. Just like with travelling, a little planning goes a long way to ensure you have a good time and save money. Fond memories and kind words originate from pleasant experiences so remember that this event is not mainly about you or your book; it’s about the fans.

James A. Rose is a writer for InstantPublisher.com, a self-publishing company that has been helping authors bring their visions to life for the past 15 years. James has worked in the publishing industry since 2010 and during that time he has seen pretty much every problem that authors encounter during the self-publishing process. It is James’ goal to utilize his experience at Instant Publisher to help budding authors avoid common mistakes and self-publish the best book possible.

Fun Facts About THE WRONG BRIDE

By Gayle Callen

Hi! I’ve begun a new trilogy, “Highland Weddings,” set in Scotland. The first book is THE WRONG BRIDE, a story about an arranged marriage meant to bring peace to two warring clans. Here are a few Fun Facts to put you in the mood for my Scottish romance:

1) Scotland is a new country for me! I’ve never set a book there, and I didn’t know what I was missing. Technically, in the early eighteenth century, Scotland and England were united as Great Britain, but the Highlanders believed they’d been robbed of their rightful king. That gave me lots of conflict for my heroine, raised in England, and my hero, a Scottish clan chief.

2) I also tried a brand new century. My medievals were set in the fifteenth century, my Elizabethans in the sixteenth, my Victorians in the nineteenth century. My new Scottish trilogy is set in the Georgian era, the eighteenth century. Everything was different: the clothes, the transportation, the political problems. Lots of research—but I love research!

3) I’ve set the book at Larig Castle, a craggy fortress high in the mountains overlooking a beautiful loch (lake). This part was fun for me, because the first 6 books I wrote were medieval, and it was like I was returning home to an old friend.

4) My heroine Riona is the Cinderella of her family—a cousin not much considered by the earl. She’s not the one betrothed to Hugh McCallum. But when the earl is regretting sending his precious daughter to the wilds of the Highlands, and tries to get out of it, Hugh won’t have it. Since Hugh has never met his betrothed, the earl substitutes Riona for his daughter, and Hugh ends up kidnapping Riona and stealing her away to Scotland.

5) Hugh McCallum is the chief of his clan, but he wasn’t raised among his people. He was taken away to protect him, and now he has to return to win the respect of his clan. He thinks bringing home the promised bride, the path to peace, will win him acclaim. Whoops, he won’t be happy when he discovers he’s got the wrong bride!

So please check out THE WRONG BRIDE and find out why I now love Scotland!

From Gayle: A first kiss is always such a fun scene to write. They’re usually filled with conflict and chemistry and confusion—the three Cs!

Riona shivered, but it wasn’t from the bathwater’s chill. It was from the frightening realization that there was something powerful between them, something that called to her, that made the risks Hugh had taken to have her for himself seem arousing, not just self-serving. There was a place inside her she’d never sensed before, surely a recklessness, a weakness.

“Ye’re strangely quiet, lass,” he murmured.

His gaze lazily moved over her face, dipping to her breasts, where the upper curves were displayed above the soapy water. Her skin felt … prickly, sensitive, even inflamed.

“I’m not done fighting you,” she said at last, almost wincing at how breathless she sounded.

A slow grin curved his mouth, even as he reached his hand to cup her face and tilt it toward him. The shock of his warm palm settling so gently on her skin made her tense, but she didn’t pull away, as if that would show that she’d given up, that she was afraid of what he could do to her … what he could make her feel.

He leaned over the tub and kissed her, his palm guiding her head. She wanted to show him he didn’t move her, that this display meant nothing to her. But his lips were warm, and glided over hers with purpose, parted gently as if he wanted to taste her. She’d never been kissed … She felt her head swim at the sensation that seemed to travel down her body, to her breasts, to the pit of her stomach and between her thighs as if he’d touched her in her most secretive places.

When his tongue traced her lower lip, she jerked back in surprise. He didn’t laugh, just studied her with those gray eyes that were considerably warmer. He kept his hand on her face, and his thumb caressed her cheek over and over.

“Our first kiss bodes well for the future,” he said.

He glanced down to her breasts again, and she stiffened. With a faint smile, he let her go and stood up.

“Dry off,” he said, back to ordering her around. “We have things we need to discuss.”

Not the topics she wanted to discuss, apparently, but she didn’t argue. He turned his back and went to the window, while she hastily dried herself and pulled on a dressing gown Mrs. Wallace had laid out for her, trying to forget the feel of his mouth on hers, and how instead of being afraid or disgusted, she’d felt … aroused. Her cousin Cat had told her one could feel overwhelmed when in intimate situations with a man, and Riona hadn’t been able to understand what she meant. She did now, and felt a new kind of fear—fear of her own reaction and response to this compelling persuasion of his.

This October the second in Gwyn Cready’s Sirens of the Scottish series, First Time with a Highlander, comes out! To celebrate, Gwyn’s here to tell us a little bit more about the inspiration behind her time-travel romances AND play a quick game of “Would You Rather.”

“People often ask me why I like to write time travel romance, and it’s a two-part answer, because there are really two questions in there—why do I like to write romance, and why do I like to write time travel.

I began to write with the intention of getting published in June, 1997 to honor my younger sister, who was a poet and photographer and who had died suddenly the month before. The sort of book I wanted to write was a book like the one a friend had given me a few months earlier—Outlander. At that time, I’d never read a romance before, and I COULDN’T PUT IT DOWN. Jamie is the best sort of hero—devoted, funny, brave, smart, and supportive of the heroine. I was so hopped up on the first three Outlander novels, it was pretty much all I could talk about in the spring of 1997—and it was one of the things I talked to my sister about since her college boyfriend had been named Jamie and like the heroine in Outlander, my sister’s name was Claire. It was the last conversations I ever had with her.

So there I am, in 1997, wanting to honor my sister with a book, and certain the book I want to write is a romance like Outlander. Time travel fit in nicely for me. Outlander is a time travel novel, of course, but I’d been a time travel fan before that. The Back to the Future movies are my holy grail of time travel. I loved Somewhere in Time, of course, as well as the Terminator movies, Time After Time, and Groundhog Day. Time travel lets you quickly throw your character into adversity and see if he/she sinks or swims. The question you want readers asking in romance novels is “How, with all these challenges, will the hero and heroine still end up together?” Time travel adds another layer to that tension, specifically, “How will they end up together when each is destined to be in his/her own time?” In my mind, one of the most heroic things a character can do is give up his own time in order to be with the person he/she loves, and that’s always a tender and gripping moment to write in my books.

Which brings us to First Time with a Highlander. Serafina and Gerard were such fun characters to chase through a novel. As with Just in Time for a Highlander, the first book in the Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands series, I wanted to shake things up a bit by having the hero be the person who travels to the past. Gerard is an ad man—and since I spent twenty years working in brand management at a big pharma company, I know what ad men are like. The women in this series hold positions of unusual power for women in the eighteenth century, and Serafina is no exception. She inherited a shipping concern from her father, but her blackguard of an ex-fiancé has run the business into the ground. He’s ruined her socially and financially, but Serafina is not one to take things lying down. She uses herbs she’s, ahem, “borrowed” from a famed spell-caster to summon a man to help her claim the cargo from the ship’s final voyage before her fiancé can get his hands on it. She only needs a man for one night and…well, you can imagine what that leads to in the hands of an inexperienced spell user. But Serafina is willing to pay the price—in fact, she’s quite willing once the smart, dashing Gerard appears.

Would You Rather Question: Would you rather be able to shape-shift or time travel?

I’ve always wanted to be a hawk. They’re so beautiful and hang on the breeze with barely a movement. The downside, of course, is eating mice—gah! Time travel, of course, would be great, too. And there’s always the chance to find Jamie Fraser before Claire does. I’m pretty divided on this one. I think life should be measured by the experiences we gather, and either of these scenarios would have to top.

Title: First Time with a Highlander

Author: Gwyn Cready

Series: Sirens of the Scottish, #2

Pubdate: October 6^th, 2015

ISBN: 9781492601968

From the “master of time travel romance”, award-winning author Gwyn Cready continues her steamy Sirens of the Scottish Borderlands series.

She needs a man—but only for a night

What do you get when you imbibe centuries-old whiskey—besides a hangover the size of the Highlands? If you’re twenty-first century ad exec Gerard Innes, you get swept back to 18th-century Edinburgh and into the bed of a gorgeous, fiery redhead. Gerard has only a foggy idea what he and the lady have been up to…but what he does remember draws him into the most dangerous and exhilarating campaign of his life.

Be careful what you wish for…

Serafina Seonag Fallon’s scoundrel of a fiancé has left her with nothing, and she’s determined to turn the tables. If she can come up with a ringer, she can claim the cargo he stole from her. But the dashing man she summons from the future demands more than a night, and Serafina finds it easier to command the seas under her feet than the crashing waves he unleashes in her heart.

Gwyn Cready is a writer of contemporary, Scottish, and time travel romance. She’s been called “the master of time travel romance” and is the winner of the RITA Award, the most prestigious award given in romance writing. She has been profiled in Real Simple and USA Today, among others. Before becoming a novelist, she spent 25 years in brand management. She has two grown children and lives with her husband on a hill overlooking the magical kingdom of Pittsburgh.

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Please give a warm welcome to Dixie Lee Brown!

Top Five Reasons Why Military Heroes are Hot by Dixie Lee Brown

I’m excited to be here at the Manga Maniac Café today to talk about my top five reasons military heroes are HOT! However you prefer your heroes, maybe you’ll identify with some of these.

5) What makes military men hot? The uniform, of course! A man all cleaned, pressed, and buttoned up automatically lets our heroine know that, if nothing else, he should be able to pick up his dirty clothes and throw them in the hamper. Right? But it goes far beyond that. Even a man in fatigues seems to do it for our heroine. It tells her he’s disciplined, he pays attention to detail, he’s protective, and fresh from the fight.

Remember these great lyrics from this song, Holding Out For a Hero, sung by Bonnie Tyler in the movie, Footloose?

I need a hero

I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night.

He’s gotta be strong

And he’s gotta be fast

And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight.

A hero fresh from the fight is hot! Of course, it doesn’t hurt if the uniform he’s wearing showcases broad shoulders, thighs of steel, and a chest that screams lean-on-me.

4) The military hero is in top physical condition due to the nature of his job. Garrett, the hero in my new release, is an Army Ranger. Ranger school is grueling by itself, but that’s not the end of a Ranger’s training. When they’re not deployed on a mission or on leave, they’re learning new techniques or improving old ones. These heroes have strong muscles and mad skills! Who wouldn’t go for a hero like that?

3) Military men learn to operate as a unit. The team is crucial. They come to rely on the man next to them and would do anything to protect that man. To the heroine, the no man left behind adage is very sexy! It shows the ability to commit.

2) Our hero exudes integrity and courage. He commands respect with action, words, and bearing. The idea that he will stand firm in the middle of a crisis, and that our heroine can count on him for safety and security makes him a true hero in her sight. Nothing is hotter than knowing your man has your back when it counts.

1) The top reason military men are hot becomes evident when the uniform comes off. No, I’m not talking about those rock-hard abs…or those amazing buns. (Although that sounds pretty good too!) I’m referring to the sensitive man who appears when he removes his armor. The man who can love his woman unselfishly and with abandon, but who might need a little help to realize he’s a hero to her. If you love strong and sensitive heroes, you’ll love my new book.

Woot! That was fun. Thanks for stopping by and please leave me a comment and tell me about your favorite hero.

Protecting those in trouble is what Army Ranger Garrett Harding does best. But after helping a feisty redhead toss a couple of losers from her Idaho bar, the woman is anything but grateful for his assistance—in fact, she seems to know him. Worse, she almost certainly hates him.

The only thing Rachel Maguire wants is to send this smart-mouthed, muscled military man packing. She knows Garrett has his own reasons for staying, so when he offers Rachel a deal—two days to prove his worth or he leaves—she reluctantly agrees. Despite wanting to loathe him, Rachel finds herself drawn to his quiet confidence…and the way he fills out a t-shirt.

But when Rachel receives a phone call from the past, everything changes. The stalker who destroyed her life ten years ago is closing in once more. Refusing to put anyone else in harm’s way, Rachel hits the road hoping to lure danger away from those she loves. But Garrett won’t leave this sexy spitfire to face her stalker alone. He’ll do anything to protect her. Even if it means risking his life—and his heart.

Excerpt:

She stood with elbows braced against the far side of the bar, drawing down on the kid with the rifle she gripped like a modern-day Annie Oakley, and Garrett didn’t doubt her threat for a minute. Clearly, however, the dimwitted kid didn’t have the sense to take her seriously. Shit. It chapped his ass to have to take this worthless scum’s side. “Uh . . . Rachel is it? Maybe we should let the police handle this.”

A disbelieving laugh burst from her. “The police are worse than Riley here.”

With her attention solely on the young Riley, Garrett sidled up to the bar, shoved the barrel of the rifle up, and pulled it from her hands. “Trust me. He’s right about this. You don’t want to do that.”

Riley picked that moment to laugh.

“Damn it. Shut up, kid, if you know what’s good for you.” Garrett’s patience was at its breaking point.

Rachel inhaled sharply, and Garrett’s attention jerked back to her. She stared at the door.

“Drop the rifle, Mister.” The new voice was deep and raspy, and it was followed by the sound of footsteps moving closer.

Garrett slowly turned to see the two men from the old Ford pickup standing one on each side of the swinging panels. Both carried sawed-off shotguns. They reminded him of Darryl and Darryl, two no-doubt inbred brothers from an old sitcom he’d watched once. These two weren’t quite as funny, though.

Riley hooted, strode toward Garrett, and confiscated the Winchester. “What the hell are you boys doin’ back here? I told you to go pick up the supplies.”

“We saw this yahoo park and go inside. Thought there could be some trouble.” Darryl #1 smirked as though that’s what he’d been hoping for.

Riley gave him a playful shove. “Oh, and you didn’t think I could handle it by myself?”

“Naw, Riley. Just didn’t want you havin’ all the fun.”

Darryl #2 chewed on a toothpick as he studied Rachel, then swept his gaze to Garrett. “Thought we was just supposed to git the girl. What we gonna do with him now?” The older of the two jabbed his shotgun toward Garrett.

“What d’ya think?” Riley smirked.

What the hell was going on here? This wasn’t some awkward kid trying to coerce a kiss out of a reluctant girlfriend. Not even close. Both parties seemed willing to kill over whatever the stakes were in this little game, and Garrett was sadly out of the loop. He met Rachel’s gaze and cocked an eyebrow in question.

“I’d say I told you so, but the satisfaction would be short-lived. Bet you wished you’d stayed on the interstate now.” She lowered her eyelids, and it appeared she was studying something below the level of the bar, then she slowly opened them again until she was looking into his once more. There was a message in her green depths—if he could only figure out what it was.

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DIXIE LEE BROWN lives and writes in Central Oregon, inspired by what she believes is the most gorgeous scenery anywhere. She resides with two dogs and a cat, who make sure she never takes herself too seriously. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, movies, and trips to the beach.

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