Sher A Hart: My Best Part

Here's a tag, there's a tag. Everywhere's a Campaign Tag.

2012-02-25T23:41:00.000-06:00

I got tagged twice in Rachael Harrie's Platform Building Campaign, so I was going to combine lists. Then I got into answering the questions and decided to do them all. I may be shy in person but I'm never short of words in writing. Besides, tag is fun. Remember the real game?

Here's Kate's list. You can find her at The Scribbling Sea Serpent.

1. How old were you when you started writing?
Almost half a century. Late bloomer for writing, but not reading.

2. What's your favourite movie/book?
Lord of the Rings hooked me on reading at age 9. The movies were Won-derful Things to Bind Us All.

3. If you were the main character of a book, what genre would it be?
SF. I wanted to be an astronaut. Slots opened to women a couple years after I got out of the AF.

4. What genre do you write in?

SF and fantasy for teens, mixed with poetry and puns. Weird mix, huh? You can read about my first middle grade fantasy, Earth Won, through the tab at the top of my blog. You can also read the prolog in my last post which I wrote for the first campaign challenge.

5. If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?

Splitting myself in two so one of me could write full-time.

6. What do you like to read?

Same as I write, SF and fantasy, especially humorous. Think Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's series, and Piers Anthony's early Xanth books. I also enjoyed most of the indie author books I reviewed last year. Some even had romance, which bores me unless it's mixed with SF or fantasy with a good dose of adventure, mystery, etc.

7. What is something unusual that you've done?

Climbed the highest pyramid in Mexico after I found out I had 80-year-old bones when I was only 35.

8. How do you get names for your characters?
Baby name lists (via the name meanings)

9. List the top three websites you use.
1.Google & variants like gmail

2. twitter: It's a real stretch for a shy person but I love its search and cross-promo capabilities.
3. Rhymezone.com It also has synonymns, antonymns, about every word finding tool you could want.

10. Besides reading and writing, name two other hobbies you have.

Singing. I'm an alto who loves harmony, not a soloist. I'm choir director at church but would rather just sing.
Gardening is my lost love. If my back hadn't gotten too bad, I would never have started writing.

11. Where in the world would you like to go?
I'd love to go to England and Scotland, where most of my ancestors came from.

Now for Siv Maria's list. You can find her at Been There, Done That.

1. Do you use Word Verification and why? (Better check first)

I had to check first. It turned out Word Verification means those captchas I hate so much I got rid of them long ago. I've never had a spam post get through Blogger. Even if the email notice comes through, the post is gone before I see it. It takes me two or three times to get a captcha right if I'm on the computer. If I'm using a phone, forget it. Please, get rid of your captchas!

2. When visiting a Blog what bothers you most about the format?

tiny font. Old eyes need help, even with reading glasses. Yet I still forget to make my font bigger when I post.

3. Do you have your email address listed on your profile, if not, why?

Yes!

4. How often do you post?

About twice a week. No real schedule though.

5. Are you on Facebook or Google plus?

Yes, both widgets are on my sidebar.

6. How often do you check your stats?

Once a week? I don't keep stats on how often I check my stats, LOL.

7. What influences what you right about?

My core beliefs. I think Earth is one tiny world among many of God's creations. I have "The Faith of a Scientist", to quote a book title, and I think we should follow Christ's example in our writing as well as our lives.

8. What is the most important thing that happened to you last year?

Having a 7th grade class critique my middle grade book.

9.If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

Heaven, but not yet.

10. If you could talk to a dead person about writing, who would that be?

Mormon. I'd like to know which stories he didn't include from among all the ancient American scrolls and plates he abridged into The Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ. If you're curious, you can get one free, here.

11. What one thing in the grocery store do you always want to buy?

Chocolate, dark, with nuts and/or fruit. That's why I have a monthly books and chocolate contest. Go ahead, enter. The form is in my last post with my challenge poem.

That's all! Taggees may mix and match to answer 11 total questions or more, if you desire. Now for the tagging. There should be more, but too many campaigners have already been tagged and I want to leave some for the next group. You're it!

Cynthia, at Read is the New Black

Danika at The Accidental Novelist

Dawn at Here's the Story

Tizzy at Creative Therapy

Rekha at A Chronicle of Dreams

I'd love it if you take the time to read my campaign challenge entry in my last post. I made a prolog to my middle grade book and I'm dying to find out if it makes you want to read Earth Won. Thanks!

Campaign Challenge: It's War!

2012-02-22T19:03:00.000-06:00

It's time for Rachael Harrie's First Campaigner Challenge! So here it is, direct from Rachael's blog:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:
end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)
include the word "orange" in the story
write in the same genre you normally write
make your story 200 words exactly!

Feel free to use the picture to inspire you, or else see how whacky, creative, and original you can get :)

My genre, hmm? Well, my first book is an upper middle grade fantasy set on the first earth, a sentient planet. Earth One has a crystal-matrix mind and speaks in metered rhyme, the lowest speech form its inhabitants can understand, at least those with the talent for poetry. Admit it, poetry is easier than math, science, or music, right? So I wrote a prolog in metered rhyme.

Given that very few people understood the amount of time and effort it took to write my other rhyming campaign challenges, I don't expect to win any prizes. Just give me an E for effort. Excluding the title, my poem is exactly 200 words. I broke the meter intentionally at the end.

The Broken Heartland

Shadows crept across the wall,

emboldened by the night’s fast fall.

Orange glowed in purple skies;

clouds of sorrow heaved with sighs.

Awful was the scene that night

when evil hordes swarmed in to fight.

Power mad and jealous folk

attacked in veils of fire and smoke.

In defense the Earth Scouts rose

to strengthen crystal power flows.

Panicked by the foe’s advances,

cowards ran and took their chances.

Weapons fired and cannons boomed;

crystals cracked, the city was doomed.

All night long shots buzzed like flies

‘til few could hear the warning cries.

Top to tip, the Heartland tore,

a canyon-deep and bloody sore.

No Scout healed the ragged rift;

those still alive had not the gift,

When the final trembling came,

none had strength to shoulder the blame.

Earth One slept for many years,

awakening at last, in fears,

Power waning, death was sure,

yet one hope remained of a cure,

If the ancient blood ran true

in younger sibling’s world of blue.

Might a crystal message find

the crucial bond in human’s mind?

Landing on a hill, it flashed;

a Boy Scout saw, and up he dashed.

Played the scene so long awaited,

Awesome toy! Everything faded.

If you liked my poem here, please give it a "like" vote here, under my entry, # 148, in the list.

Whether or not you "liked" my poem, you deserve a chance at some chocolate and books for reading it, so I'm temporarily moving my monthly chocolate and books contest here. You can come back next month and enter again through the tab at the top of my blog. I even made a blog button you can stick on your own blog to remind you. Don't let the +14 entries scare you. This contest has only two requirements, following my blog and leaving a comment, but you can share it however many times you want to enter more times and increase your chances. The next drawing is March 11th. Yes, you get to choose any paperbacks from my huge stock, and your choice of chocolate to go with the books. Yum!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now it's time to join this week's book giveaway blog hop presented by Kathy of Iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com. If you're a campaigner who hasn't entered any of these book contests before, I can tell you it's fun to find out you won.

And for the linky list. Ready? Start hopping!

Griffin Rising Book Review

2012-02-18T22:35:00.000-06:00

Griffin Rising by Darby Karchut

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I expected to like this book from the description and I did in spite of a rocky start due to some poor editing. I'm glad I kept going because I felt sorry for the abused angel apprentice, Griffin. His story pulled me in within a few pages and the editing did get better.

The last time I read a story that had angels in it, the author was trying to deny the existence of God. This book had no such major logic flaws. It held to its own mythology, a well presented and intriguing idea that a lower class of angels had been created to guard mankind.

The plot was interesting, taking the abused apprentice from his original trainer to a new one who helped transform the boy into a capable guardian. There were bumps along the way, a friendship developing into a romance with a human girl, and other incidents that kept me reading. The progression felt natural almost until the end.

What I liked best was the author's use of journals to provide a look into the minds of more than one character without using heavy handed universal point of view. The characters were well developed, and for those who were meant to be likable, those entries made me like them more.
What I didn't like was that a group supposedly higher than mankind could have worse government.It strained my belief. The details are a spoiler so stop reading here if you don't want to know. No monitoring of a mentor's treatment of a new apprentice for the first three years? Come on. Then to have a mistreatment complaint ignored and later have that same abusive mentor allowed to administer a test involving trial by combat to the trainee he abused, well that entirely busted my bubble. Worse, there were no witnesses. What test situation involving combat shouldn't have at least one neutral witness? Now if the abuser had bribed the witness or done something the witness couldn't see, I could have believed it. As it was, the end of the book felt so wrong, I wanted to scream.

I understood full well that the author took her character down so he could rise again, but it was the way she mishandled the angels' government that upset me. Ineptitude just doesn't fit angels, even the lowest, so I hope the next book gives them better judgment than what I'd expect from human social services. It's fine for these lower angels to be very good or very devious and evil (because they have free will), just not naive (if they're adults) or stupid at any age.

Three out of five stars means there was a whole lot of good through most of the book to make up for the bad government and bad premise for the ending. The ending wasn't a total downer; Griffin had good emotional support from his mentor and girlfriend and started to recover. Recover from what, I'm not going to say. I do want to read the next book because it was a pretty good showing for a debut author. I have faith she'll correct the deficiencies in the angelic government as the series progresses. Heads might not roll, but maybe some wings will be plucked, metaphorically speaking.

View all my reviews

Should book reviews warn of LGBT content?

2012-02-15T22:49:00.000-06:00

I thought I should post something comment worthy during Rachael Harrie's Platform Building Campaign. I saw a tweet the other day asking, as near as I can remember, "Why do book reviewers feel they have to warn of LGBT content? Seriously." So I'm giving my serious answer and then leaving it open for polite debate. Be warned, I will remove any disrespectful or hateful comments, so don't lose your head.

First, that tweet ignores the purpose of a book review. Last I heard, reviews are supposed to inform others about a book's content, at least in general terms (not spoilers) so people can decide what books they want to read. Unlike in real life, readers get to choose their company. Some people want to know more than the blurb reveals before making a decision, especially if they are going to encounter something presented as positive that conflicts with their core beliefs. Note that I did not say religious beliefs, although that might be the biggest factor for some people.

Those who hold that alternate sexual preferences are entirely genetic, with little free will involved, ought to consider that aversion to alternate sexual preferences could also be genetic, built into the human species to ensure its survival. Those who think alternate sexual preference may be or is genetically influenced but still a matter of choice ought to give heterosexual people the same freedom of choice in recreational pursuits, including reading.

I personally question any negative use of the word "warn" as if informing that danger of any undesirable outcome, real or perceived, is a bad thing. Statistically speaking, the large majority of the population is heterosexual. Is it that surprising if the majority wants to spend recreational time with other like-minded people, even if those people are pretend, characters in a book?

And then there's the question of age appropriate content. All parents have the right to make an informed decision regarding what level of sexual content their children read, just as they do for other potentially objectionable material.

Note that I did not "warn" of LGBT content in a recent book review because of multiple factors. One, the author made no attempt to promote or glorify the lifestyle; her main character simply met some gay men. Two,the gay relationship was a minor part of the plot. Three, the two partners were part of a long established crime-fighting team the main character had to work with, presenting an exercise in judgement appropriate to the age group for whom the book was written (college students). Three, there were no sex scenes of any nature.

In your comments, I don't need to see links to scientific evidence or scriptures. I'm a Clinical Laboratory Scientist by training and read most of the scientific studies and the scriptures too. The question is whether a book review should inform of LGBT content. Please remember I'm talking about recreational reading. And please, don't make me regret this post by ranting, pro or con. Keep it civil because we all share two things in common, our planet and race (the human race).

Whether or not this is all too serious for you, please go to my last post and tell me how you like the short new intro to my middle-grade fantasy book Earth Won and/or enter my books and chocolate contest through the tab at the top of my blog. My chocolate preference may be genetic but it's my choice to indulge it. Rafflecopter chooses a winner on the 11th of every month via Random.org, and there's a Book Depository option for international winners like the last one. I hope you enjoy your visit.

Monstrous Earth Won Intro & 2 Giveaways

2012-02-09T23:36:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my world! I'd like to give you a little taste of the book I wrote for teens, currently in rewrite as I convert to first person point of view. I believe it lets me into my main character's head a lot better than third person, but a sad development later in the book kept me from trying this option until now. Before you fill out the Rafflecopter form I'd like you to tell me what you think of the following three introductory paragraphs. I'm going to ask your opinion as my first entry requirement.

I never expected to become a monster. I bet not even Frankenstein's monster expected that. When I was little, I learned I was different the first time some kid made fun of my pointy ears, inherited from my mom. She also gave me a name some people claim is a girl’s—Morgan. As I grew, the ears made me a bully-magnet more than the name did, but I never guessed another gift I got from Mom—my brains—would mark me for death at such a young age. I'm only 14.

I feel more like 44 now, too old, after all that's happened. At first, becoming a hero and all that sounded cool. Now I wish I'd never traveled to another world, an ancient Earth where Utah's salt flats had been turned to sugar flats growing much of the Heartland’s food supply. Maybe you think desert territory becoming dessert territory sounds like kid stuff, like that candy game—but still sweet, right? Except something poisoned those sweets over time. On our Earth, few people ever die from eating dessert, do they? For sure, they don’t die from dessert eating them.

I do have some hope that becoming a monster will help me survive in the dessert territory. But you’ll have to understand if somebody else finishes this story. At least then, you’ll know I died in a good cause—trying to purify the poisoned Heartland—on another Earth.

I'd like to thank Kathy of Iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com for hosting this giveaway hop and Rachel Renee Anderson for co-hosting.

Now it's time to make your comment below this blog post. No need for your name or email address. Those go in the Rafflecopter form. Instead, please give an honest answer to two questions about my book introduction. Rafflecopter picks the winner and I promise not to take you out of the running if I don't like your answer. I just want to know if enough people like this intro before I edit the rest of the book. Okay, now for the questions about the intro:

1. Did it make you want to read the book or give it to a teen who you think would like it?
a. me b. teen c. neither because I didn't like it.

2. Did the introduction give too much, too little, or the wrong info to make you want to read on?
    a. It gave to little info or didn't explain it well enough. (I'd love it if you explain what.)
    b. It gave just enough info to hook me.
    c. It gave some info that should have been saved for later. (I'd love it if you say which info.)
    d. None of it appealed to me. (Again, I'd love to hear why. I'm a big girl. I can take it.)

That's it, although I'd love for you to comment with any other thoughts about my book, Earth Won. Once you're done, please fill out the Rafflecopter form in my previous post. The only difference is that you won't have to make a comment under that post because you did it here. The linky list is also under my previous post, so you can go hopping from there too. Thanks!

Semester Aboard Book Review & 2 Giveaways

2012-02-06T00:33:00.000-06:00

I'm in love with fantasy and SF books. I read them and I write them. One day I might actually get published. In the meantime I'm doing my best to attract and keep followers who might like to read my books. That's you, dear readers. I hope you will want to read my first book, Earth Won, when it becomes available. I plan to finish revisions within the next few months and submit it for traditional publishing because most middle-grade readers depend on their parents to buy. So far, no other publisher has the same reach into schools as Scholastic, my dream publisher.

Wish me luck. Better yet, spread the word. But until my own book is ready, I'll continue to feed your appetite for reading with other books. I truly believe I'm not in competition with other writers. I think there are enough readers to go around. It's video games I worry about cutting into reading time. All I can do is make reading material easier to obtain. A book costs far less than most video games, and right now I'm giving them away to show my appreciation and love to my followers.

I'd like to thank Kathy of Iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com for hosting this giveaway hop and Rachel Renee Anderson for co-hosting. Now for my book review of:

Semester Aboard by Elizabeth Kirke

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
*I read the first version. This rating may change to 4 stars if the new version I just learned about passes my editing recheck.

See that moon? I wasn't over it, but I did moon over the main character's good fortune to take a whole semester of classes on a cruise ship.

I enjoyed this book for its atmosphere, maybe because I've been on enough cruises to recognize the touches that made it feel authentic. I had mixed emotions about its leisurely pace at the start, though the normalcy and routine of taking college classes, not that different aboard than on land, was part of what made it feel real. Another plus was how the author put this leisure time to good use in building characters and relationships of the college students.

Once Jen sees something she shouldn't, things get a little tense and creepy. A group of students begins watching and tailing her. When she demands answers, the students arrange a meeting with their leader. By now Jen has seen many things she shouldn't have, and one thing in particular forces the group to accept her. From then on she's marked in a good way. It won't spoil anyone's enjoyment to say there's magic involved, or that Jen ends up on the good guys' side.

Of course there are bad guys. Once they board ship, things take a nasty turn. And of course the good guys aren't trained or equipped to handle them. Neither is Jen. She's very new to all this magic stuff and becomes a target for reasons I won't say here. That's when things get scary exciting and it's hard to put the book down. Mysterious illnesses lead to fighting and life-threatening injuries. It doesn't help that Jen becomes attached to a *******.

This all happens between cruise stops, more than once. Ships do stop at ports and people go on day trips, but I found it odd that each tour was strictly sightseeing, entertaining but no real trouble. Back aboard, the trouble resumed. I would have thought the bad guys would track Jen on land when she was separated from all but one of two of the good guys.

This would be a good book to read on a cruise. In some places it was easier to put down than in others. Later on there were some real hair-raising scenes I stayed up late to finish. I most enjoyed the way one character saved the day by outsmarting the worst bad guy. The author did a very good job making her characters relate-able so I cared whether they lived or died.

What she didn't do well was edit.*(See note at top. The author just notified me of a new, thoroughly edited version.) Without so many errors, I would have rated Semester Aboard 4 stars. (If the book now meets professional standards, I will change my rating to 4 stars.) Besides punctuation errors, there were a lot of missing words. Each one took me out of the story, but I still look forward to the next book. If you're like most people, your brain will supply the missing words anyway. Mine did. So what are you waiting for? (I hope the new version won't have missing words. If you have a good eye for detail, please let me know as soon as you finish reading.)

If you can't wait to buy Elizabeth's book at Amazon, click here.

Then go ahead and fill out the Rafflecopter form below. I'm posting early because I've got a lot of editing to do this week. You can also scroll to my last post or click here to enter Rafflecopter's giveaway of an ipad 2 and kindle fire which runs through Feb. 9th, and my 500 follower giveaway of a whole box of books and chocolate that will run approximately through the 11th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also enter another books and chocolate contest through the tab at the top of this blog with a drawing on the 11th of every month. For that contest, I have a blog button on my sidebar you can place on your own blog to earn extra entries and remind you to enter each month. In either contest, you could win enough books and chocolate to last a month or more. Yumm!

View all my reviews

I love my followers! Please remember that as you go blog hopping. Come back often!

Fantastic Music for my Fabulous Followers

2012-02-02T00:03:00.000-06:00

I started out blogging about music to write by, which in normal circumstances would be fine. Nice soothing background music stimulates the creative centers of the brain used in writing just as learning music increases math and logic skills. I read the scientific studies long ago and assume that's how I made it through algebra in high school and calculus in college. Now I do very little math but a lot of writing. Get stuck figuring out how to move a plot forward? Try some Beethoven or Bach.

There's a line between music to write by and music that requires your full attention, however. I've been listening to the latter kind of music for three hours. I kept a You-Tube tab open as I read emails first and then as I started writing my blog post. I could manage the reading part of my emails, but not without going back to You-Tube to see the awesome videos that go with this music. It's very hard trying to finish this blog without constantly clicking that tab. Oh no, I hear Cello Wars, a funny video with awesome music. I might as well give up writing now and embed the code for The Piano Guys:

Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel - Steven Sharp Nelson

If for some reason you can't play the video, click here. As of this writing, The Piano Guys have 31 songs posted with amazing locations filmed for many. Some also have vocalists.

I love this music. There's not a single song I didn't like, so I ended up ordering their first CD. Maybe if I play the music from CD, knowing there's no video to watch at the same time, I'll have a slight chance of getting some writing done. Not likely, but oh well. If the music takes all my attention, at least I know hearing it will make me smarter, not to mention happy.

I ask you, how could I not share such awesomeness with my followers as part of my 500 follower giveaway? You can subscribe to the Piano Guys channel and score some great music every time you get on the computer even if you don't win the box of books and chocolate shown here, here, and here. You can scroll down through my January and late December posts and see the same pictures. Note that a few of the books pictured were taken by my 400 follower winner. But I went back for more chocolate so that's all still available.

Now for the Rafflecopter form. I love Rafflecopter, so I'm also including their own giveaway in this post. Theirs has way better prizes but not such great odds. Still, you could win an ipad2 or kindle fire!*edit Sorry. but that contest is over. So you might as well enter my monthly books and chocolate contest through the tab at the top of this blog. That one has great odds and a daily tweet option that can really stack your chances, with a drawing on the 11th of each month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now it's time to link to Kathy of Iamareadernotawriter. We all love her book giveaway blog hops.

Did you open a tab to The Piano Guys? If so, you've got great entertainment while you go blog hopping! Have fun!

Noah Zarc Review and Three Giveaways

2012-01-27T00:05:00.000-06:00

That's right, three giveaways, including a chance at an Amazon $50 gift card for commenting about this post!

Starting with:

Book Review and Giveaway of

Noah Zarc - Mammoth Trouble

Noah Zarc attracted me because of its fun pun name, and its environmental theme appealed to me. Reading it reminded me why I fell in love with SF in 6th grade. If I had read this book at age 10, I think it would have made me love SF just as much as reading Asimov did. If you like the non-stop action and humor of Rick Riordan’s Olympians books, I think you’ll also like Noah Zarc.

This book is a blast, figuratively and literally, from the beginning when 12-year-old Noah Zarc blasts off to the future to escape a blast from the past. Since he can’t walk, he flies from one misadventure to the next, all to try and help his family repopulate Earth with animals from its past. In Noah’s future, all humans live on Mars or Venus while Earth recuperates from the cataclysm that made it uninhabitable.

D. Robert Pease has a great ability to make me believe in and root for his characters, showing a real knack for the interactions of Noah and his siblings, a brother and sister, and parents. They all have talents suited for their jobs in operating the cool technology that makes the Arc possible, including time travel. Noah’s mom and dad lead the project but leave the teens on the ship while they gather animals.

The Zarc project has enemies and the family does too, yet the Zarc siblings rise to the challenge when both project and family are threatened. They make a trip to the distant past in a rescue attempt, only partly successful, but I won’t say why. I will say Noah’s best talent is his piloting skill, and one source of trouble is his new friend, a girl who’s a lot less like a cave girl than he expects, plus a big challenge to the paradox of time travel—past affecting future.

Without giving too many spoilers, let’s just say very little goes as planned. I expected a few things to happen, like an adolescent crush (and another event that's a spoiler), but most of the fast paced plot left me anxious to find out what would happen next. A certain movie came to mind, but I won't say which, only that terrible secrets are revealed and lives are threatened.

Noah reacts like a 12-year-old, unpredictably. He doesn’t let his handicap stop him from attempting anything, although I wondered how a medical cure such as neurological regeneration (vs. a technological cure) hasn’t been found so far in the future that humans live much longer. Then again, this is only book one of a series.

I can’t reveal the ending any more than I can reveal the many twists and turns along the way, except to say you’ll be surprised by much of it and mostly satisfied with the ending. Even though it leaves more unanswered questions than I like, it’s not enough to take it down to 4 stars because I think the author left things unsettled on purpose, partly to make me anxious to read the next book.

I couldn't help but picture the author with a longer beard, a little more hair on top, and a flowing robe, herding animals onto the original Ark. Think how hard it would be lead a pair like this up a ramp and onto a ship.

Noah's family had even more difficult pairs to get on the spaceship than ever boarded the first Ark. How do you suppose they got the whales into the spaceship and then from the docking bay into the tank? How did they get all that water on board and how much did it weigh?

Okay, I'll stop asking questions and present you with a game. Yes, I said game. When was the last time you tried loading an Ark? Would you recognize a male and female pair if they walked up and bit you? Don't worry, these don't bite, and the game takes under 2 minutes. I tried it twice just so I could convince you to stop and enjoy something most of you haven't done for ages if you're like me. Busy, busy, always working. Just tell yourself this is brain exercise, because it is. Ready? Go!

Cheetah Online Games - Free new online games AV Arcade

Cheetah Online Games - Free new online games AV Arcade

There now. Isn't brain exercise fun? And there's more fun to come in the form of multiple giveaways, mine and Robert's, with separate prizes. One of Robert's contests has a $50 Amazon gift card prize for a comment about this post, and I could win $50 too if my blog collects the most comments of all the book tour blogs. But don't stop there. Enter his Goodreads contest to win the book and my YA contest to win 2 books. My giveaway is sponsored by Kathy of I Am a Reader, Not a Writer, and Amber of Down the Rabbit Hole. To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below. The winner gets my gently used copy of Noah Zarc - Mammoth Trouble, and another YA of his or her own choice from my collection. That's three separate contests with three separate prizes, but I combined one of my entry options with Robert's so you get more chances without doing more work. Way to dovetail!

I don't know why males seem to be contest-phobic. If not, prove me wrong, guys. I dare you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To enter Robert's contests you need to read the blog tour notes. Win books on Goodreads and a $50 Amazon gift card for a comment about this post. Catch it while you can!

Blog Tour Notes

OVERVIEW

Noah lives for piloting spaceships through time, dodging killer robots and saving Earth's animals from extinction.

Life couldn't be better.

But the twelve-year-old time traveler learns it could be a whole lot worse. His mom is kidnapped and taken to Mars; his dad is stranded in the Ice Age; and Noah is attacked at every turn by a foe bent on destroying Earth... for the second time.

Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com (available in paperback or as an eBook) or the online retailer of your choice (more links below).

CASH PRIZES

Guess what? You could win a $50 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $50 too by having the most comments. So tell your friends to stop by and comment on this post too!

GIVEAWAY

Win 1 of 5 copies of the paperback version of Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble by entering the giveaway on GoodReads.

THE AUTHOR

D. Robert Pease has been interested in creating worlds since childhood. From building in the sandbox behind his house, to drawing fantastical worlds with paper and pencil, there has hardly been a time he hasn't been off on some adventure in his mind, to the dismay of parents and teachers alike. Also, since the moment he could read, books have consumed vast swaths of his life. From The Mouse and the Motorcycle, to The Lord of the Rings, worlds just beyond reality have called to him like Homer's Sirens. It's not surprising then he chose to write stories of his own. Each filled with worlds just beyond reach, but close enough we can all catch a glimpse of ourselves in the characters.

Discover ways to connect with the author by visiting his site at www.drobertpease.com

BOOK TRAILER

THANK YOU! for visiting. And don't forget to comment below for that chance to win the $50 Amazon gift card. And of course head on over to your favorite online book store and buy a copy of Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble, for you or for the kids in your life. My previous post has my 500 follower giveaway for a whole box of books and chocolate, so please enter that one too.

Amazon Paperback | Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble Nook | Apple iBookstore | Smashwords | Diesel eBook Store | CreateSpace Paperback | Amazon UK | Amazon France | Amazon Germany

My Body of--Body Parts!

2012-01-25T13:26:00.000-06:00

Body: Sometimes I have to start typing before I know what I want to say. My fingers seem to be quicker than my brain at making decisions. So are my feet, which often take me somewhere my brain doesn't seem to know about. When I get there they just stand around, so I have no clue why I'm there. I prefer my fingers as decision makers. At least they leave a trail of words that say, hey, this is what's on your mind. If that makes me strange, and I'm sure it does, I hear most writers are strange. So Brain, now it's time for you to get in gear and add something to the conversation.

Brain: Why do I always have to be the brains in this family? You should know I've been wanting to post more about writing skills, although I've done a lot more reading than writing in the last couple months, no thanks to Heart. Remember, it was me who decided to give away most of my book collection so hubby will stop claiming I'm a hoarder, but I keep finding books I want to read before I send them to someone else. All those interesting plots, just waiting to be explored! And what inspiration for my writing. Maybe I shouldn't give the books away after all.

Body: What's a poor body to do?

Heart: Listen to your heart. I should be the boss of this body, and I can hardly bear parting with some of my old favorite books, and I wouldn't, except Brain got so bossy about making space. I don't want to be a hoarder either, but how can anyone resist the lure of, hmm, what was it I just finished reading?

Brain: It's a good thing one of us has a mind. It was the The Amulet of Samarkand. It's so thick it cost a week of writing time. And before that, I caved to let you read Fablehaven 2, Rise of the Evening Star, before mailing it to our 400 follower giveaway winner. When do I get time to write again? You keep setting us back with all your reading business, including editing other people's books. We have to give away our library of books; otherwise, when will it end?

Stomach: Right now. Let's eat! I want some chocolate.

Brain: Who asked you, glutton? You're making me fat.

Heart: No wonder you've been acting like such a fathead, brain. You know it was me that got us our beta-readers for Erth Won by offering to find the mistakes in other authors' books we read. You thought it would take too much time, but I knew you have to give first if you want to get. Soon, those other authors will tell us what works and what doesn't in Erth Won. Then we'll edit for the umpteenth time and end up with a better book as a result. Then you'll have to stop claiming we're not ready to query.

Brain: Okay, you're right. But time's a wasting. No offense, stomach, but it's also going to waist.

Stomach: Don't blame me. I just get hungry; you're the one controlling Mouth.

Mouth: Wait a sec. I may be brain's slave, but I can shut you out any time. I can't stomach your whining, ha!

Body: Have you all forgotten we need to cooperate to take a two-mile reading walk every day to keep me healthy and our bones strong? Walking is too boring without a book to read, so we shouldn't stop either activity.

Brain: We could just as well plan our next chapter as read someone else's book while we walk. Reading around the block gives me writer's block!

Heart: Take heart! Take me! I'm giving my all to this cause.

Brain: Uh, which cause? You have a new one every week.

Heart: The cause of becoming a published author, of course. All the other causes are related.

Brain: Like those book reviews you posted on Goodreads? How are they related to anything besides your reading addition, pray tell?

Mouth: Ooh, ooh, I know. If you review other authors' books, they'll review yours too.

Heart: Well, we hope so, Mouth, but they're not all indie author books. We're non-discriminatory readers in that regard. And Brain, you should know that even a review is good writing practice.

Brain: Then maybe we should post them here. People should see we've been doing something related to writing besides editing other people's books.

Heart: For someone so brainy, you sure are forgetful. We have a book reviews tab at the top of our blog that goes right to our Goodreads review page.

Brain: Mind-blogging, or boggling.

Body: Is there a unifying theme? Because we sure could use one to pull us all together.

Brain: Of all the nerve, as if my neurons aren't directing your every move!

Heart: You're right. But body meant a unifying reading theme. We do have one. All the book reviews are fantasy or SF books we read in the last year or so. Not even half of them are posted yet, but it's a start.

Mouth: Can I read one? I have the best voice to sing a book's praises.

Brain: You have the only voice, and it's just alto, so don't get too high and mighty or you'll go flat.

Mouth: I'm not going to sing. I just want to say the words with expression.

Brain: I'll back you up if you get stuck.

Heart: Go ahead. I'll help you put some heart into it.

Mouth: Cough, cough. Urk, I'm choking. It's that cold we got for Christmas. My throat is too sore.

Brain: This is humiliating. You're making me look stupid.

Heart: I say better a sore throat than a sorehead, Brain. People can still check The Amulet of Samarkand and other reviews on Goodreads before we give away the books.

Mouth: Maybe I'll be in better voice by Friday when we talk about Noah Zarc for his blog tour. We're giving away a copy of his book too!

Brain: That's this Friday, as in two days from now? Oh no, I'm not ready. Brain-freeze!

Heart: Poor Brain. You're going to have to buckle-down and do the work. Don't worry though. You always do better under pressure.

Brain: I hope I don't turn to mush. I hate messy blogs.

Heart: Keep it real. Nobody believes your brains will leak into cyberspace.

Brain: Says you. Noah sure came close to getting his brains splattered all over outer space!

Body: Well, his body can't run as fast as ours. In fact, it can't run at all, and you should remember why. That's another reason it's important we agree to work together, keep walking, reading, and writing, right? Not everyone is so fortunate.

Brain: Go take a hike!

Heart: Not before we invite our fabulous followers to fill out the Rafflecopter form below. I love sending boxes of books and chocolate to the winners!

Brain: Okay, okay. For that matter, we should remind them to enter this month's books and chocolate contest through the corresponding tab above. It's got better odds because few people see it, and tweeting daily can really increase someone's chances.

Body: I like those odds. Can I enter too?

Brain: You already have my books and you've been letting mouth eat way too much chocolate.

Mouth: Well, I never!

Brain: Yes, you do. Often! Look at all this chocolate the winner can choose from--if you don't eat it all first.

Heart: Here we go again. Can't you cooperate long enough to put in the Rafflecopter form, please?

Brain: Body, you've got the fingers. Just do it.

Body: I know, I know. Do it right, and do it right now.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Brain: Oops, I forgot about Rafflecopter's own contest. It's still open so please post it too.

Body: For a chance at an ipad? Sure thing. We could win one too if people say they heard about it from us.

Heart: Finally, something we all agree on! Readers, please tell Rafflecopter we sent you. Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Body: Wow, that was a long walk, and now it's time to link to Kathy of Iamareadernotawriter. We all love her book giveaway blog hops.

Brain: They're great exercise for the mind, so put on your thinking cap and start hopping--right after you take a look at some of the books available in previous January posts!

Another Korean War Veteran dies.

2012-01-22T23:42:00.001-06:00

If you're looking for my book giveaway, please scroll down to my last post.

I didn't dream when I wrote lyrics and melody for a hymn about sacrifice on Wednesday that on Thursday my father-in-law would die. We knew it was coming but didn't expect it so soon. Not living nearby, we hadn't witnessed the last two months of his deterioration. I remember him best like he looked when I first met him. He wasn't a sheriff then, but he sure seemed formidable. I was 16 and dating his oldest son, Jim Jr.

Jim Senior's first wife died many years ago, and he later remarried. Two springs ago, he and his second wife of 18 years flew down to visit us for his induction into the Gourd Society, or the Kiowa Black Legging Warrior Society, a Native American organization for war veterans. If I were home, I could post a picture, but I don't have that one here. Last spring he and his wife visited again, and Jim was more more frail but cognizant. His wife said he was having a lot of trouble with war flashbacks, however, and he was under treatment at the VA.

His health further failed over the summer until his wife worried she couldn't take care of him. He would often wander outside, but he was inside when he finally fell and broke his hip. It couldn't be repaired surgically due to the condition of his heart. He'd had a quadruple bypass many years ago and multiple heart attacks since. My hubby went up to Indiana to help settle his dad into a nursing home.

Following another heart attack, my father-in-law was finally diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Apparently trauma accelerates the progress of the disease. It may have been the reason for the sudden onset of his Korean War flashbacks.

He was only a teenager when he first joined the Air Force to go fight to protect his country.

All these years later, the doctor said he wouldn't come home from the nursing home again. My husband and his brothers and sister received calls to divide their father's belongings. I went on the next trip and helped by sorting through all the technology stuff, copying picture files, etc. My mother-in-law had all she could do to maintain their home, pets, and spend enough time with her husband while he still knew her. We had some nice visits with him in the nursing home, but they were short. His mind wandered a lot, and he asked me questions that told me he knew me, but he got some things confused with someone else's past.

Alzheimer's didn't take my father-in-law. We got a phone call Wednesday afternoon that he was in a coma, and hours later another call that he'd died. The doctor said it was most likely a blood clot from all the time he spent in bed. I can't help but wonder if the time he spent in the trenches, in poor conditions and fighting for his life along with those of his countrymen and the South Koreans, accelerated his aging and decreased his body's ability to recuperate. I can't say.

I can say he made great sacrifices in the name of freedom. That kind of sacrifice wasn't the kind I was thinking about when I wrote the lyrics to this hymn. Maybe it was, in part, because my father-in-law certainly sacrificed a lot to live his religion, one he first heard about Christmas Eve in the Korean trenches from a buddy. This isn't that buddy, but I don't have a picture of Dale Springer.

Years later, Jim joined the church his buddy taught him about, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. None of us would be free to worship as we please if not for him and other patriots who fight to keep our country free.

It seems fitting that I dedicate this hymn to my father-in-law, James Earl Hartwell. After his son and I got engaged to be married, this man gave me my first idea of the extent of love in his heart. Knowing my own dad had been killed when when I was six, he offered to become my father. I never really took him up on the offer, but maybe this hymn will make him smile.

Lord, Accept my Sacrifice.

Lord, accept my sacrifice, though small compared to thine.

Please accept my offerings to build thy church divine.

In thy sight, the widow's might and rich man's tenth are one.

Both obey by sacrifice. In faith, thy will be done.

Some give much in sacrifice: wealth, family, and friends,

Yet gain all the Father hath, and blessings he now sends.

Lord, I give by how I live; my tithe is one small part.

With my humble sacrifice, accept my broken heart.

Thinking of thy sacrifice, the life thou gave for mine,

Turns my heart in love to thee and thence to all mankind.

May I see my neighbor's need and do as thou hast shown.

As I live unselfishly, Lord, claim me as thine own.

I should mention that although I direct the choir for our congregation, I'm far from qualified. Since I only play piano with a couple of fingers at once, I appealed for help writing the accompaniment. I did write a melody but I'm not fond of it. If any of you readers are accomplished musicians or know one, I would love you to contact me with your ideas. Even if you don't sing a lick of music, I'd love to hear what you think, and I'd love to send your condolences to the rest of the family.

For the SF geek, more of what you seek.

2012-01-18T23:40:00.000-06:00

Today I wrote the words for a hymn,

Also the notes, and my brain grew dim.

Now it seems the rhyme won't stop

I could write ad-verse 'til I drop!

Kathy, (see the button) has a weekly blog hop,

But at 500 followers, this giveaway will stop

Books I collected through the years

have overflowed, coming out my ears!

Whenever I write a free book rhyme,

You know it must be clean out time.

Previous posts showed names A-E.

Today I'm glad to show through G.

Don't get "Feist"y if you win a box of books,

Or eat enough chocolate to change your looks,

Although there's plenty of both in store.

Meghan Page won last, but I have lots more.

Alan Dean Foster is a Sci-fi whiz,

His Pip and Flix team are best in the biz.

The Spellsinger books that Foster wrote

Make musical magic, note by note!

Yes, reunions are in store;
plus, I have a few more.

I'm not quite done with every F name,

so here are six more, if you're still game.

Finally, that bring us up to G.

Imagine, all these Gardners for free!

Don't get too catty
if you meet the Ghatti.

Each Stone of Tears is a heavy read,

Thick as thieves: the Good-kind indeed.

And now it's time for the final two,

which I'd like to read, so wait 'til I'm through.

This poem must end, like every book,

but come back later for another look!

And now it's Rafflecopter time;

do each entry and your chances will climb!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One final thing before you go,
I have another contest, you know.
The books and chocolate tab up top
Could keep you supplied until you pop!

Pick a little, Blog a little. Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!

2012-01-14T13:25:00.000-06:00

I know I said I would post another MFA in writing rule I hate, but I'll save that for next time. When the muse strikes, I go with it. I'd bet most of my readers won't recognize that mangled snippet of a song in my post title, Pick a Little, Talk a Little, from the musical Music Man.

{Refrain}

Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
{Three times}
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep

 And what was the song about? A lover of "ill-reputed" books, in other words, classics.

Take a look at a portion of the lyrics, some spoken, some sung, by a crowd of gossips:

Professor, her kind of woman doesn't belong on any committee.  
Of course, I shouldn't tell you this but she advocates dirty books.

Dirty books! Chaucer! Rabelais! Balzac!

And the worst thing, Of course, I shouldn't tell you this but-I'll tell.
The man lived on my street, let me tell. Stop! I'll tell.  
She made brazen overtures to a man who never had a friend
In this town till she came here.

Oh, yes, that woman made brazen overtures with a gilt-edged guarantee.
She had a golden glint in her eye and a silver voice with a counterfeit ring.
Just melt her down and you'll reveal a lump of lead as cold as steel,
Here, where a woman's heart should be!

He left River City the library building, but he left all the books to her
Chaucer! Rabelais! Balzac!

It's really more fun if you watch the original movie scene, but embedding is prohibited so you have to follow the link.

Here's a more recent version (skip the first 1 minute, 30 seconds to get to the song):

If you'd rather just read, here's where The Buffalo Bills come in to sing the part in italics:

 {Refrain}
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
   Goodnight ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
   Goodnight ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
   Goodnight ladies
Cheep cheep cheep, talk a lot, pick a little more
Pick a little, talk a little, pick a little, talk a little
   We're going to leave you now
Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep

Why in the world am I posting this? Because it's my dream to have my books generate a lot of talk, not as gossip fodder, but as the kind of books that will become classics to another generation. Science fiction and fantasy started out as genres where authors used pen names to protect their reputations. If I recall, Isaac Asimov was a university professor when he wrote the Lucky Starr adventures as Paul French. The time came when he could claim his books without endangering his tenure. Time changes a lot a things, but I thought I'd never see the day when fantasies became mainstream. Thank you, J. K. Rowling.

I still have a lot of SF and fantasy books I liked, some I loved, plus a bunch of others written for adults that I'll never read since I'm so busy reading middle grade and YA, the genres I write. This is where cheap, cheap, cheap comes in. These books are so cheap they're free to my contest winners. My chocolate and books contest monthly winners have the option of choosing only books, up to 8 trade size paperbacks. I just shipped 8 to Amy Stogner. You can enter that contest through the "Win chocolate and books" tab at the top of my blog.

Whichever other blog hop I'm participating in can choose at least one hardback or the same weight in paperbacks, usually 2-4, depending on thickness. My Faeries and Fantasy winner Nikkie Marie chose The Chronicles of Narnia, all 7 books in one oversize paperback.

For milestone follower contests like this one and the last, the winner gets a medium priority box filled with books, and if he/she wishes, chocolate too, with a book depository option for international winners. I'm still working with Meghan Page to fill a box with books she won in my 400 follower contest. I've decided it's not too early to start my 500 follower contest. You could be next!

Today I'm posting pictures of more of my stock, last names C through E. Be aware that a few of these books will be gone by the time I post my next winner.

Yes, this batch has a couple of B-names I missed when I posted authors A-B, in this post.These two are hardbacks.Yes, another A author Imissed posting before. For the life of me, I can't make them even. Well, cats are always uppity creatures.

And here are some paperbacks by Orson Scott Card, another favorite author:

Now for two of Jack Chalker's series I never read because I didn't collect them all, I'll post another after I read it, however long it takes for me to squeeze it in between writing and reading books for teens:

Next come the D last names:

More D names with a hardback included in the top set. The bottom is oversize paperbacks:

Now we're at E, miscellaneous David Eddings. I really liked the Elenium, but lost the other two or sold them. The rest I never read because I didn't collect them all. Yes, some bug got in the box and really liked Eddings' books too, but there's no damage on the inside. I saved the Belgariad series to post after I read it on the advice of two blog commenters who said that series was "life changing."

That's it for today, enough books for you, not the bugs, to chew on. Don't let it bug you that I'm not posting more right now. All these photos take a lot of time. Just remember I'm not even halfway through the alphabet yet, so come back and check often.

Now for the form. Yea for Rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The last thing you should do before leaving is check out Rafflecopter's own Launch Party Giveaway, open through Feb. 9th, with an awesome ipad 2 and a kindle fire both up for grabs. Please tell them I sent you because I could win one for your kind referral! Click here!

This blog hop is hosted by Kathy at I am a reader, not a writer. Bless her for hosting all these hops: Now have fun hopping to all the other book giveaways:

MFA rules: Monkey Follow Advice?

2012-01-10T12:30:00.000-06:00

With "only" two days left for the Young Adult Faeries and Fantasy Hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and co-hosted by Velvet from VB32reads, I have a question for my "lovely" readers. I'd "really" like to hear your opinions, so before you skip down to the Rafflecopter form, please take a minute to read through and state your choice in a comment. I'd "really" appreciate it. Anyway, aren't you curious to know the reason I've put quotes around my "ly" adverbs? Please take a minute to read on. Thanks!

Last night I had so many great ideas for blog posts with catchy titles, I could "hardly" contain them. But I didn't write any down. Now all I remember is this one. It stemmed from hubby wanting me to sit beside him in bed while he watched a movie on TV. I wrote on my laptop, trimming down the first part of my book for a contest, after which I asked him to take a look.

When he handed the laptop back, "suddenly" there was a big fat "ly" adverb staring me in the face. He didn't see a thing wrong with it, and "frankly", neither did I, except I knew that some well-meaning writing "expert" promoted the idea that adverbs are bad, as if there were enough strong verbs in the English language. There aren't, or people wouldn't have invented adverbs. Think on that.

My hubby "frequently" writes reports for his government job. He knows all the professional writing rules. But he doesn't know those weird rules I learned at writers' conferences, the ones made up by some MFA in writing and copied by every other MFA. I've decided to call these so-called Masters in Fine Arts programs "Monkey Follow Advice" because that's what many of them seem to promote: monkey see, monkey do. It's also the least insulting acronym I could think of.

If you have an MFA, please do not take this as a personal insult to your education. I'm all for education, just not allowing ideas and opinions to become rules that must be followed or else the rule breaker can't be a good writer. I "recently" read about one agent who says too many submissions now look like cookie-cutouts. I am not saying every MFA rule is bad, but some are, in my opinion. I'll give you two prime examples, but "only" one in this post. I hope you'll come back to read and weigh in on the other example in a few days, when I announce winners for all three current giveaways.

For the "adverb" rule, how is "without warning" any better description than "suddenly"? Two words for one. Used "correctly", adverbs save on word-count. But "He anxiously waited for the news" could be better described by "He paced, waiting for the news." That one replaces a vague feeling with a precise visual description. Here's another example. "She spoke so 'softly', he 'barely' heard the words," vs. "She murmured so he almost couldn't hear the words." A strong verb worked for the first half, but what about the second? I might have used, "so he just heard the words", but writers are also supposed to avoid "just". "Seriously" now, does either second half express the idea any better than the adverb does? I say adverb usage should be chosen according to circumstance and need to create a picture, not dictated by some MFA rule. Writing is an art, after all.

Speaking of writing as an art, I "finally" made a blog button and a poster to show this idea. The button is on my sidebar where you can grab it, and here's the poster. Both feature the broken Heartland of Erth One, the world in my middle grade book. If you look close enough, you'll see I created it by modifying the North American continent. Credit for the color version goes to Tirzah of A Clever Whatever. You may see a familiar cover or two on her site, and an interesting description of how small changes in a cover make a big effect on its mood and the impression it makes on a potential reader. Art is "definitely" Tirzah's art, while my art is writing.

There. I've had my "writerly"say, but I want yours, as a reader. Do writers who use lots of adverbs seem less competent to you? Does their writing interest you any less? Not if J. K. Rowling's early Harry Potter books are any indicator. What advice would you give, "especially" to an unpublished writer like me. Believe me, I'm trying to be the poster child for toeing the MFA line with my first book, at least for "ly" adverbs, but I'd rather be the poster child for creative writing. So if you were me, would you try to slip in an "ly" adverb here and there?

One more thing before you go. Jan 11 is my next drawing for the "win books and chocolate" contest tab above, so there's still time to enter. If you're late, your entry will be saved for next month's drawing. I have more book pictures to post within the next week or so. All those photos take time.

Okay, now on to the last post containing the Rafflecopter entry form. If you don't see it below, click here. Thanks for reading! Double thanks if you comment!

Share my Fantasy: Books for Free

2012-01-05T22:59:00.000-06:00

Wouldn't it be great if we could all get as many fantasy books as we could read, for free? Maybe it's impossible to get enough fantasy. I've sure never found my limit. I started with Tolkien, Piers Anthony's Xanth, Terry Brooks' Shannara, Andre Norton's Witchworld, and many others before I ever heard of the young adult genre. If you're starting to think I'm older than you, you're probably right.

One day, when my youngest son was in middle school, I decided I should start writing. Better late than never, right? Write. So I write fantasy for teens, middle grade and YA. As practice for my novels, I also write short stories. The first story I wrote that won 1st place in a contest was about the Easter bunny. I'll share that with you a little before Easter this year.

I had a comment under my last post that said I won a short story contest in which I killed Santa Clause. I actually took 3rd place, with a nice leather writing journal as prize. If you're young enough to believe in Santa, please accept my apologies. If you're not so young, please don't tell on me! I would never kill the real Santa, but for a chance at winning a contest--well, I confess.

If you'd like to read the story, click here. It's only 499 words, very short. I figure I owe the fantasy faeries some recompense, so here it is, in the form of a poem.

It's January, cold and dark,

And I killed Santa on a lark.

Maybe it was a story, pretend,

Still, I'd better make amend.

By giving away a book or two,

Faerie fantasies for you!

Gently used or terribly worn,

Too much love has left some torn.

These are books you'll love to read,

to find out where the fun will lead

When you're done, come back for more;

I guarantee, I've plenty in store!

This Young Adult Faeries and Fantasy Hop is hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer, and co-hosted by Velvet from VB32reads. If you've already read the books pictured, please enter anyway, I have tons of YA fantasy books from which you can choose. The ones above just came to mind because they feature faeries. The hop winner gets to choose 2 of my used fantasy paperbacks or one of my hardbacks, if US, or $10 Book Depository book if International.

I still have the Breaking Dawn and Inkspell hardbacks, along with this oversize and very thick complete Chronicles of Narnia paperback. It has all 7 Narnia books included in one volume, so it counts as a hardback.

So here you go, the Rafflecopter entry form with 1 mandatory entry and 2 optional entries, for a total of 3. Fill it out according to the instructions, and you're entered, simple as 1,2, 3!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Before you go, you may want to enter my 400 follower giveaway, the same Rafflecopter form used for the New Year's Hop, which never triggered the big prize, a medium priority box of books and chocolate. The entry form is in my last post, with just over 10 followers left to go at the time of this writing. There's only 1 mandatory entry which you already completed if you're a follower. You might as well try for chocolate to go with your books.

May your darkest chocolate fantasy come true! If you don't see the post below, click here. When you're done, of course, take your pick of all the links below and go hopping. I said it once before and I'll say it again: Hoppy New Year!

Hoppy New Year! 400 Follower Giveaway

2012-01-05T00:48:00.001-06:00

There's nothing like a giveaway to distract me from my real work, writing, and suck me into a flurry of buying chocolate prizes and photographing books I need to pass on. Rafflecopter picked Denise Zaky as my My New Year's Giveaway hardback book winner, but I didn't reach 400 followers yet to trigger the big book prize. I had to edit the Rafflecopter form to get it to re-open, so you won't see Denise's single hardback prize listed now. You will see the 400 follower prize of a medium priority box of books and chocolate for a US winner, or a $20 prize for an international entry, wherever Book Depository ships. I'm linking up with I am a Reader, Not a Writer's Weekly Got Great Giveaways.

Here's the chocolate from which the winner can choose up to $10 worth, about 4-6 items:

The books, at least authors A-B, are in this post. I'll add more pictures here in the next few days.

I also had to edit my Rafflecopter entry requirements. Since not a single person so far attempted a real life friend invitation to follow my blog, I decided to make that entry a social media invitation. Anyone who already entered the contest during the New Year's Hop is still entered, and now you can post a link for a social media invitation to earn that last point. I will close this giveaway once I see 400 followers for GFC and Networked Blogs combined. If you see I've gone over 400 followers, please let me know it's time to close the contest. You can reach me at sherahart at gmail dot com.

And now, on to the contest entry form. Thanks, Rafflecopter, for making it so easy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I Killed Santa Clause!

2011-12-30T23:09:00.001-06:00

It's a sad thing, but I did kill Santa for a short story contest. I can't say I'm sorry either. I really wanted to try my hand at a horror story in Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas style, except mine is more the nightmare after Christmas. Now before you get too upset, remember it's the spirit of Christmas that matters. Anyway, Christmas is past. Out with the old, and in with the new, right?

Since I had no plans on publishing another post during the New Year's Eve Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by I am a Reader, not a Writer, and co-hosted by Bab's Book Bistro, I'll have to direct you to my previous post for the Rafflecopter entry form. However, I'd love it if you read my contest story first, and then you'll see the chocolate treats my 400 follower winner can choose from at the end, plus a few of the paperbacks the New Year's Giveaway winner can choose in lieu of a hardback if he or she wishes. I can ship 2-3 paperbacks for the same postage as one hardback, so it's entirely the winner's choice.

The story contest is hosted by Heather Arundel, at her blog, and since I only found it earlier today, I didn't have much time to make it pretty. The rules limit the story to 500 words, so here goes, at 499.

Christmas Passed

Christmas was over, past and passed. Center stage in an overstuffed chair, Santa slumped unmoving, cookie in hand. No one believed in something for nothing anymore, choking the life from the Spirit of Giving. And with the Christmas Spirit dead—Christmas belonged to the dead.

None of the present company held Santa’s lack of presence against him—they were ghosts too. Spirits packed the meeting hall to the rafters. Some hung from the rafters, cause of death evident in their dispirited forms.

New arrivals mistook the gathering for a wake, celebrating in gory detail—until the party fell apart. Realizing their error, members pulled themselves together, piece by piece.

Onstage, Santa appeared a ghost of his former self, permanently past tense. A bevy of elves hung nearby, yet their gaseous forms hardly lent an uplifting air—or smell—to the funereal atmosphere.

Raising both hands, one turned towards Santa and cried out, “Hel—.” Though transparent himself, his meaning lacked clarity.

More experienced spirits had learned to manipulate the air, hissing their speech. “What’ss he trying to ssay?” asked a headless horseman, astride his spectral mount.

“Raisse hell?” a long-haired, tattooed man suggested hopefully.

“No, raisse Chrisstmass, Deadhead,” a pale teenage girl in Goth-black pointed out, or tried to. Her hand, slit through the wrist, fell off.

“No need for name calling,” a dropped-dead gorgeous model protested, striking a haughty pose.

The horseman’s jaw dropped—along with his head, eyes rolling in protest. “Grateful Dead. A band, Mss. Airhead.” His body climbed down and groped the ground—and the ethereal poser.

She dissipated, proving all beauty is ephemeral.

Clinging to Santa, the elf cried again, “Wa-a-a-a—.”

“Bad trip, crybaby? Got any more of that ssh—?” Deadhead asked.

“He ssaid way, not waah, moron,” Goth girl interrupted, reattaching her wrist.

The horseman stood, head in hand. “Ssanta sshould have weighed himsself before. Too late to die-ett now.” Laughing insanely, he screwed on his head.

The girl sighed with transparent disappointment. “Not that weigh either.”

The elf tried to shake Santa, sank through and wailed, “Wa-a-a-a—.”

“Waa-ke! He’ss trying to wake Ssanta up!” Pointing with more spirit this time, the girl succeeded—as a whole. At least her hand didn’t fall off.

The horseman hissed, “We’re here to wake Ssanta, not for hiss wake!” Not thinking forward, he headed for the stage stairs—backwards. Like Frankenstein’s monster, his head wasn’t screwed on straight.

“Let me,” said Deadhead, tripping up the steps. His head wasn’t on much straighter.

“Can’t you ssee? There’ss only one way,” Goth-girl said. Drifting up to Santa, she whispered, “I believe.”

Santa’s eyes fluttered open. “Give me a hand, please,” he said.

Spirits clapped as the girl handed him her hand—detached from her arm.

Shocked but pleased, Santa’s spirit revived. “Ho-ho-ho! A gift of self! With your handy severance gift, you gave me the best Christmas presence of my afterlife!”

A spirited cheer arose. “May the Spirit of Christmas live forever!”

And he did.

That's it. I hope you don't hate me for killing Santa. Remember, the spirit of Christmas will live forever. And here are the chocolate treats I promised, from which my 400 follower winner can choose $10 worth. It should work out to be 4-5 items. At the end of the New Year's Giveaway Blog Hop, I will hold one drawing for a hardback, and a second drawing whenever I reach 400 followers, with books and chocolate going to the follower who brings me the most new followers.

Thanks for visiting and reading my story. I'd really like to hear what you think about it, whether or not you're a horror fan. I'm sure not, and this will likely be my last foray into the genre--unless another contest tempts me. Now I direct you to my last post for the Rafflecopter giveaway form. You should see it right below. If not, click here.

Out with the Old! Books for the Bold.

2011-12-29T23:42:00.000-06:00

As promised in my post 2 days ago,
here's that treat I've wanted to show.

I am a reader not a writer is host,
co-hosted by Bab's Book Bistro, let's toast!

The old year wanes into the new,
and I've got a deal on books for you.

They're taking too much storage space
until I find them another place.

All these books are here for you,
and should you win, you'll get to choose,

A hardback will go to winner one,
before another drawing is done

Four-hundred followers is the key
to win both books and chocolate for free!

These are a bit of my stock, you see,
only the authors named A through B!

Here's the form, just fill it in.
Maximum 5 points to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Since 400 followers brings the biggest prize,
invite a friend to win words for the wise!

But if you want to be a smarty pants,
click the chocolate & books tab for another chance!

Now you're entered, you're all done.
Go blog hopping and have more fun!

Wordplay of the Season, Fun is the Reason

2011-12-28T13:19:00.000-06:00

All I have to say is WOW! Yeah, right. Like I could ever say just one word about anything. I love words too much, and I love playing with them too. Before I play any more, let me tell you the score.

I hoped and planned to hit 300 followers during the Midwinter's Eve Giveaway hosted by I am a Reader, not a Writer, but I didn't really expect it. Congratulations to Karen Maldonado for winning her choice of my hardbacks or paperbacks and Latoya, aka Cricket, who won the 300 follower prize of a medium priority box of books and chocolate!

I love having my expectations exceeded. Did I just say that mouthful? I couldn't say it twice. But I'm already planning to have it happen twice. Whether it happens is up to you, dear followers. Not deer followers. I wouldn't want to herd anyone anywhere. I like to think my followers like fun, but not just any kind of fun. If you know anyone who enjoys wordplay, please invite them to join my blog.

There will be a Rafflecopter random drawing posted on 30 Dec-3 Jan, with a book prize for one follower on 4 Jan, plus another triggered when my blog reaches 400 followers. This prize will be a medium priority box of books and chocolate for the follower who brings the most new followers, no random about it. If two tie for referrals, they'll each get a book by media mail and a separate small priority box of chocolate! Take a look at some of the chocolate I bought!

This is what Latoya gets to choose $10 worth of chocolate from, as long as it fits in the medium priority box with her books. Since I got it half price, $10 will go pretty far. Under the dark or mixed Godiva truffles, there's a Mrs. Fields assorted tin. The blue bag on far left is dark with whole and chopped hazelnuts, and a box of Russell Stover Pecan Delights. The turtles in the center are cashew, and the front package is caramels in milk chocolate, with Hershey's white chocolate cookies and cream bars outside. Here are some bags I can split up to fill in small spaces.

There's more where this came from, so please don't make me eat it myself. I really don't want to turn into a blimp for the new year! Please bring your friends fast while the chocolate is fresh.

If your mouth isn't watering for chocolate, I hope you enjoy the word fun to come. You know it takes a certain amount of mental acuity to understand and appreciate wordplay. I guess I never grew up when it comes to playing with words, whether puns for their double meaning, my favorite, or tongue twisters like similar similes and horrendous homonyms. Ooh, the former was a simile! And the latter took 3 tries to spell right even though I knew the spelling. My laggard brain links in later than my fingers trip up typing typos. How's that for a tongue twister? It doesn't help when I catch the neighbor's cunning cat climbing across the keyboard. Cat-sitting includes more chasing than sitting.

Back to the similes, in case you've forgotten the definition, it's when you compare two things, or nouns (person, place or thing) using "like" or "as", unlike a metaphor which compares without either. If you ask me, similes are even more fun in poetry.

Here's a simile poem written by Natasha Niem and used with permission of My Word Wizard:

Birds

Chirping non-stop, like a machine in the trees,
Building their nest like little worker bees.
They sing their songs, like chatter-boxes.
As regular as alarm clocks,
Waking people up each day.
They are silent at night,
Like snakes advancing on prey.

My Word Wizard is a good reference for poetry by subject. Funny Poems for Free also has simile poetry which you can print for personal use in many different occasions. Enjoy!

Before you go, make note to bring a friend between 30 Dec to 3 Jan, because an optional Rafflecopter entry will ask for the name of the follower who you referred or who referred you. Here are two more hardbacks you can choose. Did you ever notice how Rowling's spells sound similar to real words or their Latin roots? Their actions match too. Ridiculous, you say? Well, Riddikulus made a scary thing look ridiculous.

Oops, checked my email and Order of the Phoenix just went to Karen! Which means Breaking Dawn and Inspell are still available, should you win. Other books available, but not all, are shown in November's Gratitude Giveaway posts. If you're new to my blog, I have about 8 boxes of books, minus Guardians of Ga'Hoole, The Wheel of Time, and the Xanth series which other winners chose.

If you can't wait, enter the chocolate and books contest through the tab at the top of my blog. It doesn't have a friend referral option, but it has lots of options to increase your chances of winning. Only 3 are required and the next books and chocolate drawing will happen on 11 Jan.

Still craving to enter a contest right now? Try this one: Bookish: BOX of BOOKS - Huge INTERNATIONAL Giveaway! Evie is moving and can't take them all with her, so the whole box goes to one winner. The contest is open through March 1st, and it's open internationally!

Thanks! I hope to see you during the old and new years!

Midwinter's Eve Blog Hop Giveaway!

2011-12-21T00:31:00.001-06:00

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas giveaways! And here's a chilly blog hop with lots of cool prizes, all for a few minutes of your time touring a winter wonder-blog-land. So bundle up, pour some hot chocolate, and start hopping or sliding along. You'll be done before your nose goes numb!

This blog hop, hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, says no more than 4 entries allowed per person. I'm so happy Rafflecopter opened to the public, I could fly!

What am I offering besides a look at the Earth in twilight? How about Breaking Dawn in hardback? Unbelievable to devoted Bella and Edward fans, but true, my last two giveaway winners chose sets of my paperbacks, and not a vampire among them. So the used hardbacks are all still available, whether Breaking Dawn, Inkspell, or perhaps a Harry Potter, that's up to the winner, available for US only. A Book Depository option is available for international followers, up to $10 US.

If my blog happens to go over 300 followers during the giveaway, there will be another drawing for a medium priority box filled with the winner's choice of books and chocolate. This winner gets 2nd choice of hardback and first on paperbacks unless the first winner chooses only paperbacks. You get the idea, right? Two people can't choose the same prize. But the second winner gets to choose $10 worth of chocolate to go with their books (plural because a medium priority box will hold more than one book even with chocolate added in). Again, US only, with a $20 Book Depository option for international followers. You see it's to your advantage to make the 2nd drawing happen, right?

In case I don't go over 300 followers and you'd really like to win chocolate with your books, you can enter my books and chocolate contest through the tab at the top of my blog. The next drawing is on Jan 11th. Don't let the possible number of entries scare you. Only 3 are required besides a comment, and you can come back to re-enter every month until you win. Now that's what I call a win-win giveaway, and it also has a $10 Book Depository option for international followers.

A US winner of any of my contests can choose paperbacks if he or she wishes. I have about 8 boxes and shelves full. If I see a comment wishing for a particular older book or series, I keep an eye out for it when I go out garage "sailing" or thrift store shopping. Recent winners chose Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, Piers Anthony's Xanth series, and Kathryn Lasky's Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. You can see some of the pictures not chosen in November's Gratitude Giveaways posts, and a couple of the boxes on my chocolate and books contest page.

These four possible entries, only one of which is required, will take no more than a few minutes:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

That's it. As you noticed, comments are not required but welcome.One thing I'm wondering is what children's, MG or YA fantasy or SF book to read and review before offering for my next giveaway. What's on your "must read" list and why? If it's not SF or fantasy, you'll have to work hard to convince me. Once you're done, check out all the other giveaways you could ever hope to hop to. I also hope that phrase was as fun to read as it was to write. Happy hoping and hopping!

From my Heart to Yours at Christmas

2011-12-18T00:26:00.000-06:00

Wow. It's almost Christmas and I had so many scheduled posts during November, I never posted this piece about my family's service to country with some reminiscences thrown in. Though I'm late for Thanksgiving, I'm early for the new year with "Auld Lang Syne", which means "times gone by", right? Now, while others are decorating their homes for Christmas, I'm decorating my blog with old family photos and memories.

It's never too late to give thanks. To start with, I’m grateful I was born healthy, and that I was born intoa beautiful world in a free country at a time when life is much easier than inthe past. I am grateful that many of my ancestors served in the military protecting their families' and country's freedom. I don’t have their pictures, but I do have oneof my father-in-law serving in Korea. He's the one on the left.

He and his buddy talked about religion most of the night they expected to die when the North Koreans overran their position. Hearing his buddy talk about Christ's visit to His other sheep in the Americas was important to a man of Native American Heritage. I don't know the whole story, but I do know my dad-in-law converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) years later when a pair of missionaries knocked on his door. It wasn't this door. I'll let you wonder about the bullet hole awhile.

For now, I'll just say my dad-in-law moved his wife and children to Utah, where I met his oldest son. I was 15 at the time that son told his mom he was going to marry me. We hadn't even gone on a date yet. But he was right. He stuck to me like glue until I realized we were going to be together forever.

As newlyweds, we went in the Air Force together. Few people know about the “JoinSpouse” program, similar to one where buddies getstationed at the same base. Our firstduty station was Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. That’s where we took our firstcollege classes. I picked up an accent, y’all. Then we went to Hill AFB,Utah, where we continued college, and I lost the accent. I served in the Air Force almost 6 years. I had difficulty getting pregnant, but eventually had the first of my 4sons right before I got out.

With all the job transfers to different states with conflicting general education requirements and mismatched degree programs, I ended up taking 13 years to finish my BS degree, sons in tow. Boy, was that fun. Uh, no. I got pneumonia after my first son's birth, but once I could stand up without passing out, I hauled him to classes to finish my Associate degree. I'm glad my professors put up with us when he disturbed class. I lost so much weight, I got a "survival" award at the graduation banquet, all in fun.

Going to school with my second son was wild. At two, he could climb up to unchain the door, escape our house, strip, streak, and take a leak in the neighbor's yard in the time any other two-year-old could fail to open the door. Lucky for me, the college had a preschool. My son climbed the walls, and so did his teachers, but we both lived until we both graduated.

Hubby finished college much sooner. Even before I got my 2-year degree, he got his 4-year degree, plus a commission asan Air Force Officer. We suffered a lot of financial and emotional effects from frequent moving, but got used to it. The time went fast. Hubby retired only to start working for the Air Force as a civilian, still working in our country’s defense. Though it was difficult, all 4 of our boys became Eagle Scouts. The picture below was taken at my youngest son's Eagle Court of Honor this spring.

My oldest, dressed as Akela, served 5 years in the Air Force while takingcollege classes. After graduating as an electrical engineer, he got a civilian job with the Air Force. He's currently on leave to work on his Master's degree and won't be home for Christmas. My second son, in the suit, went on a mission to Korea but didn't like college. He's a sushi chef. He lives and works near enough that he'll stop by--for a while. He keeps his clothes on now but still doesn't stay in one place for long.

My third, the tallest, went on a mission to Honduras and came back to start college, but moved to Utah this summer to establish residency there to qualify for in-state tuition. He just got a job and can't get time off to come home for Christmas. My youngest is still home, but this year will be his last here because he plans to go into the Air Force soon. Full circle. Two served God directly and two indirectly because in serving their country they help maintain its religious freedom.

As spread out as my sons are in age, I never thought I'd make it to the empty nest years. I'm not sad like a lot of moms might be--yet. I just find it difficult to get motivated to decorate, make cookies, etc. I want grandchildren like my sister has, but my sons aren't even married yet. Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful to have them. I count my blessings every night when I go to bed and realize anew how very blessed I am.

Freedom of religion is one of my most cherished blessings. It’s the reason most of my ancestors fled their homelands to find a better life. I'm grateful to have inherited their histories a few years ago, giving me a new appreciation for their sacrifices that allow me to live such a privileged life. One of them kept a bullet that killed a religious leader of my faith right here in the USA, proof that our precious freedoms can be endangered by those who ignore the law or twist it to serve their own ends. I don't know if the hole in the door above was made by that same bullet, but it might be.

In the forefront of this picture is the man killed by the bullet that my ancestor kept, known to us as the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Prophet's brother Hyrum is behind him, and you might guess we're the short ones. I've never had trouble getting my second son to stay in one place long enough for a picture, even if he won't always say "cheese." I'd like to think he stood still because he felt the importance of the events that led to this picture. Joseph Smith would have died to defend any man's freedom of religion as much as his own.

He believed that Christ came to the Americas to visit His other sheep after His death in the old land, and that Christ's church existed here as well. You can find out more at LDS.org or Mormon.org. If you're one of the people who tries to tell us we're not Christians, please check for yourself how many times the Book of Mormon refers to Christ as the Savior of mankind.

I'm not asking you to join us, although I'd love it if you did. What I am asking for is tolerance, and for those of you who think our religion is a cult to redefine the word. We don't worship our prophet; we worship Christ. We serve our country as any patriotic American would, and we celebrate Christmas as Christians. But has America's heart grown large enough to give us such a Christmas gift as acknowledgement that Mormons are true Christians? It's up to you.

There, I've done it again. Without any warning, my writing took me where I had no plans to go. I told myself when I started this blog that I wouldn't talk about religion, yet on rare occasions it comes out. I could blame this post on Christmas, because when it comes to writing, I go wherever the inspiration leads me. This time it led me to ask of you to consider the next Mormon you meet as one of the least of these, Christ's brethren, and treat us as you would Him. You've probably already met a Mormon who gave you some Christlike service. If you don't remember, it's likely because they did it without your knowing who they were or what they did in the interest of following the Savior's footsteps and maintaining peace on Earth.

Merry Christmas!

The Man in the Cinder Clouds Review (Santa Clause!)

2011-12-14T11:49:00.000-06:00

Who could resist a book written by an elf about the origins of Santa Clause? I couldn't, and I'm a little past (okay, way past) the target audience's age. The book was a little like the Princess Bride, a story inside a story. In this case, I'd say nested Christmas presents, and altogether a very nice package with plenty of excitement in the unwrapping.

Here's the description: A young boy and his scientist father make an incredible discovery at the North Pole—an ancient book embedded deep within an ice core. Even more incredible is the story the book tells: the long-lost history of Santa Claus you never knew…and will never forget. This origins-of-Santa story is a great holiday read for the whole family. Its mix of action, humor, and Christmas spirit keeps younger readers turning the pages, but The Man in the Cinder Clouds is not just a kids’ Christmas book. This story-within-a-story reveals the origins of our most familiar Christmas traditions: from Christmas trees, stockings, and lumps of coal to jingle bells, the North Pole, and flying reindeer. Highly original and thoroughly entertaining, The Man in the Cinder Clouds will show you how Kris Kringle came to be known as Santa Claus. It wasn’t easy.

Icy cool concept. Too bad I had to fly back home before I finished reading to my sister's grandchildren. We went through 8 chapters while driving around seeing Christmas displays. Every time we got back in the car, they wanted more. I was sad they never got to enjoy some very funny stuff about the animals pulling the sleigh, not the ones you think. Rick's dialogue was often funny, an important skill to keep kids and teens entertained. Adults too.

There were also some tense moments for Kris Kringle along the way to proving to the Elfs that there was some goodness in mankind. Explaining how two children's lives were in danger would spoil the story, so just make sure not to leave off at those places right before bedtime if reading to very young children. Yes, you should read it to very young children. I read Tolkien to my kindergarten age son when he balked at learning to read, and he became a voracious reader. Try this book on your young ones if you don't believe me.

If you're still not convinced, but have ever seen your children act selfish or mean, you won't find a better way to convince them to mend their ways without them knowing they're being taught. They'll also gain a new appreciation for the necessities of life like a warm home, food, clothing, and health. You'll also find out how Santa's hair turned white, how he fits all those toys into one bag, and a sleighful of other neat surprises. Overall, it was a very inventive story.

I was surprised to find how well written the book was until I remembered Rick's writing background. And then Susan Quinn, author of the awesome YA Open Minds, told me Rick is in her Indelibles group, which may partly explain the very clean copy. The book isn't perfect. As a writer I would have given it 4.5 stars, but for kids and teens it's a definite 5 star. Your children will want to read it every year, eventually to their own kids. Go buy it now.

The Man in the Cinder Clouds is available at:

Amazon.com (print and Kindle)
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Cinder-Clouds-Rick-Daley/dp/1461091683

BarnesandNobel.com (print and Nook)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-the-cinder-clouds-rick-daley/1104308458?ean=2940013648524&itm=1&usri=the%2bman%2bin%2bthe%2bcinder%2bclouds

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-the-cinder-clouds-rick-daley/1032034659?ean=9781461091684&itm=1&usri=the%252bman%252bin%252bthe%252bcinder%252bclouds

Here's Rick's picture. If you'd like to read the interview I did with Rick last month, click here.

Rick Daley has been writing professionally for over 15 years. His experience includes marketing copy for print and web, press releases, business proposals, training and technical manuals, and whitepapers. His essays, ranging from family life during the holidays to his first skydiving experience, have been featured in The Columbus Dispatch.

An experienced public speaker with a background in music and theater, Rick has also authored and delivered numerous training seminars and workshops.

Rick lives in Lewis Center, Ohio with his wife and two sons (and a neurotic schnauzer).

Website: www.cinderclouds.com
Blog: http://mydaleyrant.blogspot.com
Twitter: rjdaley101071
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cinder-Clouds/247006975311225

If you ask him nicely, Rick can arrange to autograph your book, even the kindle version!

One final note: I got Rafflecopter! At last, the cool contest management tool opened to the public, so I invite you to click the Chocolate and Books tab at the top of my blog and enter the contest for the Jan 11th drawing, whether or not you're already a follower.

Charlotte Abel, author of Enchanted (you can see it in my previous post) won my last drawing, and I just mailed her my 13 books in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. I offered her my whole collection if she skipped the chocolate so I could mail the books media rate, and she made the supreme sacrifice for her grandson. I'm not that selfless.

You could win next! May your darkest chocolate fantasy come true!

Kindle your Fire with a Kindle Fire or $200!

2011-12-12T13:25:00.003-06:00

Ooh, I love giveaways. My entire remaining Robert Jordan Wheel of Time novels, including 5 paperbacks and two brand new hardbacks, is going to my 200 follower contest winner Denise Zaky.

That's not all the good news by far. Charlotte Abel, author of the bewitching YA fantasy romance Enchantment,(check her great new cover below) won my latest Chocolate and Books Contest, which you can also enter through the tab at the top of my blog. I draw names the 11th of each month.

Charlotte was smart to keep her name in the pot for 2 months by completing multiple entries, and she left a wonderful poem as her comment on my book website. Poems are not necessary to enter the contest, but hers was sure fun to read, so I'm sharing it with you here:

I followed and tweeted and linked to your blog.
I did all the math but I'm a chocolate hog--
So my tally is suspect; unworthy of trust.
(Morality flees before chocolate lust.)

Charlotte didn't win last month, but her extra work paid off this month in books and chocolate, her choice on both. I have a large collection of books to choose from, but I buy the chocolate fresh according to the winner's tastes. Yes, I plan on filling the world with chocolate and books.

I love entering giveaways even more than giving them, so I want to share two related contests that I found today. Both feature a Kindle Fire or $200 Amazon Gift card prize! In honor of Charlotte's catchy poetry and the poem that originally won me a copy Enchantment from Goodreads, I offer both contests in rhyme. These are separate contests, so you can and should enter both for the best chances.

Entering the 12 Days of Christmas Blowout, great eBooks for 99 cents I did scout,

Noah Zark I had signed to review, knowing Blog Tour de Troops sent Excelsior too!

Exiled and Seven Point Eight caught my eye; seeing these covers, do you wonder why?

Doodling and Timepiece I too must try. Lost in space or time, it's do well or die.

Fezariu's Epiphany you'll discover; Pandora's Succession goes undercover.

Find powerful women in Jezebel's Ladder and Allie in Rook; they couldn't be badder.

If a wrong death date in Death Notice comes true, then Brilliant Prey's killer might come get you!

Amador Lockdown is haunting, I found, while Sundered is zombie romance bound.

There's Pibbin, the Small, treefrog in a bog, and Marvellous Harry is not a dog.

And this is only a very small sample. Go see for yourself, great book buys are ample!

The Blowout newsletter could win you a Kindle--or $200 Gift Card--no joke or swindle!

Besides the contest on the Blowout site, here's another contest 12 authors did right,

I did some things for an extra entry so Christmas won't find my stocking empty.

You really should enter both contests too, but don't wait until all 12 days are through!

Author Inteview Veronica Blade

2011-12-09T23:30:00.000-06:00

There's nothing like traveling to make me forget my writing schedule. I forget to pack my brains when I pack my bags. A typical trip includes a broken or delayed plane, sometimes a hubby going somewhere else for work while I go for family visits, and worries that my son, house and pets will be okay while I'm gone. Now that my youngest is 19 and old enough to stay home alone, I worry that he'll remember to take care of all the above plus his own responsibilities with no one there to remind him. Instead, I forget my blog, if that can be called a responsibility. I suppose it's more an expectation of my readers. And fun for me.

Well, I'm baa-ack. Fifteen minutes after rolling my suitcases inside, and I'm petting the affection starved cat while I type. I have an interview with Veronica Blade, author of Something Witchy This Way Comes, just waiting to for this opportunity. She's been waiting long enough.

Take a peek at the stellar 5 star Amazon reviews for her book. Here's the description, in case you didn't read that far:

Brainiac Tessa McClean’s newly discovered magical powers give her an escape from her self-absorbed parents. But the thrill of being a witch fades when she learns of a rival coven and begins to suspect her own coven’s motives. Evidence tells Tessa to trust one side, but instinct drives her toward the other.

When the school’s scrumptious delinquent, Hayden Anders, offers Tessa self-defense lessons in exchange for tutoring, his timing couldn’t be better. Although hanging out with him is a necessary evil in Tessa’s fight to stay alive, resisting a bad-boy she secretly yearns for might be more than she can manage.

Together, Tessa and Hayden work to unravel the mysteries behind the two covens to discover why they’ll stop at nothing to lure Tessa to their side. She must form an alliance with one of the covens before it’s too late. But the wrong decision could cost Tessa the lives of all who she holds dear — including Hayden.

Ooh, tempting, right? But there's more.

A modern-day fairy tale of a girl learning to control her wolf form while juggling school and getting ready for the royal ball. Her childhood friend longs to find the girl who captured his heart years ago, but he’s not looking for the foot that fits into a glass slipper — he’s looking for the teeth that fit the bite marks on his shoulder.

And more!

Only a few werewolves have fought against their killing instincts and the mores of their social order. They learned to live with their fate or they fled and became the hunted.

Desertion is considered the ultimate crime. No one stays hidden for long, because the king’s scouts never fail.

But I can’t do what they’ve commanded.

And when darkness falls, they’ll notice I’m gone.

Then I will become one of the hunted.

With such prolific artistry in mind, let's find out more about the artist. My questions are in black or white, which changes according to my blog background. Veronica's answers are in living color.

Why did you start writing?

When I was in elementary school, we were required to read a book, then write a book report. But they didn't assign any particular book, which gave me freedom to pick any one I liked. Instead of taking the time to read, I used to make up stories. I almost always got an A. Back then, making up a story and writing was a "necessity" in order to avoid reading an entire book, but I got good at creating stories and grew to love the process.

What motivates you to keep writing when life gets tough and in this tough market?

The praise I get for my work - the enthusiastic 4 and 5 star reviews. Sure, I want to make money, so that I can justify all the time I spend writing. But it's really about the story and watching the readers' reactions. It makes my day when I get a FaceBook message late at night because the reader loved the book so much that they couldn't wait until morning to tell me. I just can't think of many things better than that. I couldn't stop, even if I never made a dime.

What most influenced you to write in this genre (one particular author or many)?

When I began writing, it was all about vampire stuff for grownups, because that's what I loved. Then I read Twilight. Before that, I'd never read YA. I didn't even know it existed - and I went NUTS for it! What I love about YA is that the characters aren't usually dealing with raising children, mortgages, job pressures, and extra baggage from divorce, etc. Instead, teenagers are on the edge of the adult world about to jump in, with so many new experiences ahead of them. It's exciting!!

Please tell about your WIPs, at least genre and age group, even if the rest is hush-hush.

I recently finished up a novella, A Bite's Tale: A Furry Fable, which is a Cinderella spin with werewolves and vampires. YA of course. It will be released at the end of November 2011. In December 2011, the prequel to my shape shifter series releases. Again, YA. These two novellas are a little cleaner than Something Witchy This Way Comes. In fact, probably everything I do from here on out will probably be cleaner. I was in quite the mood when I wrote Something Witchy :-)

Are you an outliner or a pantser and why?

Both, depending on my mood. I do need some sort of direction when I begin a book, so I know where I'm going to take it. But if I plan too much, the writing becomes boring for me, because I already know what's going to happen. For me, the fun is in the surprise, when even I don't know what's going to happen. I especially love it when the characters take over and hijack me and write their own story. Ah, that's when the ride gets good!

How do you edit, a local critique group, online partners, beta readers, pro, etc.?

My first readers are my sister-in-law and my ex-employee. They catch the worst of the story holes before I send it to my harsher beta readers. Once they've ripped it up, I put it back together and I move on to critique partners who (now that they're not being weighed down by story line issues), make sure the vital story elements are present and that the characters are properly fleshed out. For Something Witchy, I also hired an editor as the last stop.

What are the top three reasons you decided to publish as an indie?

I went with an indie press. For one, it was easier to get my work in front of them without an agent. I also knew that I'd see the fruits of my labor sooner than the 1.5 to 2 years that it normally takes a book to reach the bookshelves. And I figured I'd have more input on book covers and book titles. At some point, I may go with a bigger publishing house. But it'll be because I got a big enough advance to ease my pain over any title changes or bad covers :-)

Is there a message in this book for your readers or is it just meant to entertain?

I think many artists aspire to change the world with their art. Would I like to do that? Of course! But I'm careful not to come across as though I'm preaching, because I think young adults can sniff that kind of thing out pretty quick. I'm pretty subtle with my messages... My characters royally screw up, then conduct themselves with honor and integrity as they do the right thing and fix the situation. Sometimes it's not a matter of messing up, but being faced with important choices - ones that will leave the character with his soul intact or another path which may offer immediate gratification, but might risk one's long-term happiness. My characters may not always do everything right, but by the end of the book, they've grown as a person. I think leading by example is a little more effective.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers/authors?

Be patient! Pay attention and listen to the feedback you get. A lot of advice may be garbage, so you'll have to weed through it. I found contests to be incredibly helpful. Judges feedback can vary widely (and some are downright spiteful), but when your manuscript is ready, you'll know because it will start placing.

Last but not least, here are Veronica's links:

www.VeronicaBlade.com (Clean Teen) & www.DelilahSloan.com (Adult & Edgier YA)

Set Up For Love anthology available NOW

Something Witchy This Way Comes available NOW

What are you waiting for? Go read some samples and buy the books!

Do the Cancer Can-Can for a Write Fine Prize

2011-12-06T13:18:00.001-06:00

Cancer is never good news. I hate hearing about the dread disease striking loved ones, whether friends or family or the friends and family of my friends. I got an email this morning from Anna Banks, whose YA fantasy romance Of Poseidon was snapped up by Fiewel and Friends for release in spring of 2012. Let me tell you, Anna was in her element when she wrote her awesome book. I know because I had a chance to read and critique the early chapters soon after Anna joined Emerald Coast Writers.

Check this awesome cover.

But this post isn't about Anna's book, it's about cancer. Anna's mother died of cancer with very little warning on October 27th this year. Here's Anna's short post before she went on hiatus. Not much later, Anna got word that her niece has an aggressive form of breast cancer, and she wondered about having a fund raiser. This morning I got news of that fundraiser, as follows:

"Hi all,
"Just wanted to let everyone know that this Saturday, December 10th, my family is hosting a benefit fish fry for my niece, Nikki, who lives right here in Fort Walton. It will be at Turkey Creek in Niceville at 11 am, and will last as long as we have fish. She has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer which is spreading (she is 28 years old). She will be undergoing chemo and radiation in the next weeks, and will not be able to work (or do much of anything). We are trying to raise money to help her pay household bills and medical expenses during these coming difficult weeks. If you don’t like fish, we’ll be grilling hot dogs too, and there will be a bake sale and raffle as well.

"It would mean a lot to me if you could spread the word, even if you're not able to attend. My mom passed away in October of cancer, so we are still in "fight" mode.

"Thanks so much!"

I'm not at home to attend. But I can sure do as Anna asked and spread the word. I've heard a lot about attitude and optimism making a big difference in the body's response to invasion from any disease, not just cancer. But I'm also under no illusion that attitude alone can cure the problem. So I propose a cancer Can-can to bring some cheer to the fundraising.

My Cancer Can-can isn't the original cancan dance, although it would be great if every contributor would precede their donation with some fancy dancing and a high-kick or two accompanied by a squeal, shout or roar, whatever it takes to scare the cancer away. Of course, the most important part of the dance is an arm-swing to drop money into the Cancer Can-can. "Yes, you can fight cancer with the help of those who care." That's the message I want to send Anna's niece. "Can" you please help?

To help encourage giving, I'm offering either a beta-read of up to 100000 words or a 10000 word full critique, about 4 chapters of any genre except erotica, to the person who gives the most generous donation before January 1st. If this person doesn't need a beta-read or critique, I can always give a 30 tweet prize, once a day for a month, or something else like a large box of books from my huge collection. Do the Cancer Can-can for the right reason and I'll take care of a write fine prize.

The donations won't go through me. Here is the information provided by Anna:

"I have posted a Paypal donation button on the top of my blog. If someone wishes to mail a check instead, they can make the check payable to Harriett Moellenbrink (Nicole "Nikki" is her middle name, but the benefit account at Compass Bank had to be set up in her legal name, Harriett). Checks should be mailed to:

314 Washington Ave

Valparaiso, FL 32580

You can also contact Anna through her profile, here. I'll ask her to contact me on January 1st with the name of the most generous donor. Thanks!

Book Winners from the Heartland to Chilly Chile

2011-12-02T13:20:00.000-06:00

Okay, I'm late posting, but I prefer to notify my contest winners ahead of time. Here we go. The winners of my Counting Book Blessings contest, with an extra prize added because my blog went over 200 followers during I am a Reader, Not a Writer's Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop. Michele Luker won 1st place, a box of books from my stock, my entire remaining collection of Xanth books by Piers Anthony, already mailed.

Weird, how she picked the very series that inspired my Erth One series, the first of which is finished and in the query stage, titled Erth Won. Piers Anthony was very supportive when I asked his permission to write a pun series for teens similar to his Xanth novels, his only caution being not to call it Xanth. I went to the extent of removing most of Xanth territory from Erth One's geography. My book covers a whole world, Erth One, but the home of the planet's intellect is within the Heartland.

To make the original Heartland map, I drew a heart over the US with its upper lobes extending into Canada. As you can see, I sank most of Flowreeda into the Gulp of Messygo. Callitformer and other outlands aren't as green as the choice Heartland. Maine is a minor part of Canutta's Winterlands. I owe the latest version to Tirzah, who I met during Rachael Harrie's Platform Building Campaign. Her blog is A Clever Whatever, and if you need a book cover, you should check out her work at Tirzahsbookscovers.

She turned my map from boring black and white to living color. Living color is literal because Erth One is a conscious planet with a conscience. As my first book opens, it's on the brink of death from a broken Heartland, an old war wound never healed.

But wait. You can read about the book later. Right now I need to finish announcing book winners. Denise Zaky won 2nd place, an envelope mailer of books from my stock, not yet sent because I didn't get word back before I left home for my quarterly family visit to Seattle. Denise is good with my delay, a good thing for both of us.

Angela Dawn won the 3rd place prize, her choice of a featured author book, and she chose The Man in the Cinder Clouds by Rick Daley. It's not too late for those who didn't win this book to purchase a copy for Christmas. What better time to find evidence of the origins of Santa Clause? Who could doubt the diary of a Elf found in an ice core sample taken from the North Pole?

Maria won A Reel Cool Summer by Martha Rodriquez. Buy this book for Christmas or any other time of year and you'll help support literacy because Martha donates part of every sale to Literacy Volunteers of Leon County.

Oriana, an international follower from Chile, won Semester Aboard by Elizabeth Kirke. Again, it's not too late to purchase this YA fantasy for Christmas. Click on the picture.

That's it for the winners, 5 in all, for my Counting Book Blessings Contest and 200 follower giveaway. Thank you all so much for following my blog and entering the contest.

Since I'm busy with family for the next week, I may or may not post a prewritten blog about family I saved for such an instance. But my next chocolate and books contest drawing is coming up on the 11th, right after I return home. If you think it's fun to win books, think about getting a large mailer envelope with your choice of chocolate and books. It could be your darkest chocolate fantasy come true, all for a few minutes spent tweeting or posting on FB or Google+, one entry per post. Just click the contest tab at the top of my blog and you'll on your way the most delicious book contest you ever entered--and won. Bon Appetit.

Contest entrants, please match your comment to picture and country!

2011-11-28T10:17:00.001-06:00

This morning I'm finding problem after problem verifying followers and matching names to countries for separate US and international drawings for my Counting Book Blessings Contest, part of the Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop just ended.

If you're a follower who entered my contest, please check to make sure the name that comes up when you hover a mouse under your picture matches the name on your comment. I already found one follower whose comment name doesn't match her picture, so I had to email her and wait for a response to figure out that she was indeed a follower.

A lot of followers' pictures show up on my sidebar but my blog doesn't show up in your follower list, 3 out of the first 10 comments I've checked so far. So everyone please check the list of followed blogs under your profile and also check your reading pane to see if my blog shows in both places. If it doesn't, try unfollowing and refollowing. If that doesn't fix the problem, please report the problem to Blogger or let me know.

While you're here, check to make sure you told me your country. If not, please comment here or email sherahart at gmail dot com, so I know which pot to put your name in. I intended to have all names put in the right pot by this afternoon. I will wait until 9pm central US standard time before putting all unlabeled entries in the international pot, meaning not eligible for the box or large envelope of books. I have a trip coming up, so I need time to coordinate choosing book prizes for both those winners before I leave. I also need time to get and send out winners addresses for the featured author books to be mailed and/or emailed.

While I'm at it, here's a series that would fit in the medium priority box, but not with a hardback added. *edit* The Xanth series is gone, chosen by first place winner Michele Luker. Congrats, Michele!

And here's one series of guy books I have. I'll add others later. I need to get this posted now.

Okay, ading more more guy book pictures, for the young and old. Not that a female wouldn't enjoy these, just that they're male POV. Both ends of the top picture are graphic novels (comic book style).

I read both hardbacks pictured above. The others I can't vouch for, but Florida Heat Wave is Crime Fiction, a short story collection. I didn't read the series below either. I stopped reading books for adults when I started writing for teens. I just can't find enough time to read for both age groups.

I loaned out the first 4 of the Wheel of Time series and they never came back. But the winner could take both hardbacks (brand new) and all the remaining paperbacks with room for one more paperback in the medium priority box. These books are thick.

To finish, here's a YA series from a female point of view. I hesitated reading because I don't like dark fantasies that champion black magic. This one didn't and kept me entertained for miles. I'd win if there were such as thing as a marathon for book walkers. Maybe not. I get shin splints.

I have tons of books, so once again, if you win and you're looking for a particular book or many in the fantasy/SF genre, middle grade through adult, please ask. Once I know your tastes, I'm sure I can find something that will make you happy.

I forgot to note that anyone who didn't win this contest can enter my books and chocolate contest through the tab at the top of my blog. If you're already a follower, all it takes is one tweet or other social media share to enter this month's contest with a drawing on Dec. 11. You're only competing against those who entered since the last drawing, and you can enter again next month if you don't win this time. Very few people take the time to enter, so odds are great. One tweet, FB or Google+ a month. Take a shot. You're bound to win sometime!

That's all for now. I am very grateful for all my followers, old and new. Thank you all for sharing my heart, Sher A Hart.

Free E-Books Galore for 200 Follower Gratitude Giveaway

2011-11-26T12:12:00.001-06:00

I'm thankful for my followers, so today I'd like to provide links to some free E-books to celebrate my blog going over 200 followers. That's right, free! These are in addition to the whole box of books you can win in my Counting Books Blessings Contest, part of the Gratitude Giveaways Blop Hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer. Besides the 1st prize box, I'm adding a 2nd prize winner for my 200 follower celebration, a padded mailer of 3-4 books for US shipping or a $10 book depository selection for international entries.

Yes, I'm late posting. It's not Friday anymore and Saturday's half over. I've been Christmas shopping. That's my excuse. So before I show you some of the books I'm adding to those you can choose from among if you win my box of books, I'll try to save you a little time shopping by providing some stocking stuffer E-books. Or should I say they're Kindle or Nook stuffers? However I say it, the keyword is free. At least for this weekend, all you have to do is follow the links and download.

Take note that not all are suitable for children, but many are meant for the young or young at heart. I don't know how long these books will remain free. Some might be free only over the Black Friday weekend in hopes of garnering more reviews to help holiday sales, so if you like a book, please return the kindness of the author and post reviews on Smashwords, Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes & Noble. I've set the free E-books on Smashwords link so it opens in a new browser window. You can click it now, but wait until you enter to win my box of books, including my hardback copy of Stephanie Meyer's Breaking Dawn, Inkspell by Cornelia Funke, and many others.

Author David M. Brown, an indie author married to Donna Brown of Adopt an Indie fame, is also offering his E-books free for Black Friday weekend with a coupon code. Other forms of the books aren't free, so follow the correct links in the post and enter the applicable codes. Make sure you do it soon because his offer won't last long. The links all work the same way. To open the new window, click here, but don't leave until you enter my contest. Here's a picture of one of his free E-books. Again, please return his kindness by leaving a review on the sites listed above.

For a chance to win the growing list of books and E-books in my Counting Books Blessings Contest, you should complete the easy instructions farther down. Again, you can win a whole box of books, your choice of 1 hardback and as many of my paperbacks as it takes to fill a medium priority box. Check the last few posts for the hardback pictures.

I haven't forgotten that I promised to add at least 2 books to my pot in each post. I have tons of older series, not all complete, but some are. Most are well used and some are very old, but all are readable even if the cover is loose or torn. Here's is one of the complete paperback series you can pick to fill up your box if you're a US entrant.

I'm reposting a couple pictures of my many boxes and drawers of books from which you can choose, minus a few that went to my last Chocolate and Books Contest winner, Kayla. You can enter that contest through the tab at the top of this blog.There's a Book Depository option for International followers and another drawing every month. This contest closes at midnight of the 10th and reopens on the 11th, while my Gratitude Giveaway ends Nov 27th.

The books shown here are far from the only choices for either contest, so please ask if you want a particular older SF or fantasy book. I have tons of those and some newer books as well. Here's a picture of a complete series from another box that would fit in your medium flat rate prize box along with your chosen hardback.

There's only 1 more post before the Gratitude Giveaways blog hop ends. Don't miss tomorrow's post when I'm adding books male teens and older guys might like, not all in the SF/fantasy genre.

The contest entry requirements are easy, one entry per person. Do whichever applies:

1. If you're not a follower, follow this blog through Google Friend Connect and leave a comment saying whether you're US or International along with your email address so I can contact you if you win any of the prizes.

2. If your face is already among the followers on my sidebar, you may do one of the following: either like my Facebook page (there's a link on my sidebar) or post this giveaway on any social media such as FB or twitter (links are at the bottom of this post). You also need to leave a comment stating whether US or International along with your email address saying which thing you did.

Don't forget to comment below for this contest and a chance to win one of multiple drawings. The US winner's 1st prize is a medium box including a hardback plus enough of my used paperbacks to fill the box. 2nd prize if US is a 3-4 book padded mailer, and a $10 Book Depository option for International entries.

There will be other drawings to match each featured author book posted during the contest with either US or international winners, according to the author's shipping requirements. You can see these books in every post since Nov 17, easy to spot because of the Gratitude Giveaways picture.

After you comment, you can collect your free E-books mentioned above and then find the entire linky list of 300+ easy contests in this post. Enjoy!

Win Evidence of Santa Clause. No Snow Job!

2011-11-23T00:50:00.001-06:00

Those who know me know I like to play with words, but I won't pull the wool over your eyes. Maybe over your ears, because the arctic is cold. But you'll need your eyes wide open to appreciate what I'm about to tell you. I'll say it fast, before you get frost bite. I know someone who claims he has hard evidence of Santa Claus. Hard evidence as in frozen.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. What a pile of snow. Well, snow this. I already checked out this guy named Rick Daley, and he's a real person. Who's to say he isn't telling the truth? In fact, he's offering one lucky winner a copy of his evidence--contained in a book. You can win his book in my Counting Book Blessings Contest, part of the larger Gratitude Giveaways Blop Hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer. Most important, you can have it before Christmas.

Still trying to wrap your mittens around the size of this discovery? Santa Claus is no small matter, no matter how you wrap him. So I'm going to let Rick convince you.

Okay, Rick, you're on.

Discover the story of Santa Claus you never knew…And will never forget.

The Man in the Cinder Clouds

by Rick Daley

The freezing temperature is the only thing cool about Jason’s trip to the North Pole, but things heat up when his father discovers a book buried deep in the ice. This is no ordinary book, mind you. For starters, it was written by an Elf. And if that’s not enough, the book proves the existence of Kris Kringle—you know, Santa Claus.

Born human but abandoned as a baby, Kris is rescued by Elfs and grows up among them…but he doesn’t really fit in. Kris embarks on a quest to find his true family among the humans by delivering presents on Christmas day. But there’s a catch: the High Council of Elfs is convinced humans are wicked at heart, and Kris can’t return to his Elfin home unless he can prove otherwise.

His journey takes him all the way to the legendary Great Northern Glen, and from there to the town of Oldenton, where he finds two orphans who are about to lose everything they have to a greedy uncle. With only days before Christmas, Kris must try to help the kids, deliver his presents, find his family, and prove that human virtue does exist…even in the most unexpected of human hearts.

Available at:

Amazon.com (print and Kindle)
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Cinder-Clouds-Rick-Daley/dp/1461091683

BarnesandNobel.com (print and Nook)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-the-cinder-clouds-rick-daley/1104308458?ean=2940013648524&itm=1&usri=the%2bman%2bin%2bthe%2bcinder%2bclouds

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-man-in-the-cinder-clouds-rick-daley/1032034659?ean=9781461091684&itm=1&usri=the%252bman%252bin%252bthe%252bcinder%252bclouds

Wow, Rick, not only did you provide evidence of Santa Clause, but it's in a book written by an elf. A real one, not one named Ferrell. Awesome! Now I want to ask you some questions. I'm going to put my questions in blue and your answers in snow white, for obvious reasons.

Why did you start writing?

My love for writing started with a love for reading. Tall Tales were the hook in 3rd grade, then Judy Blume rocked my world in 4th grade. By 7th grade I was writing short stories frequently (short zombie-themed stories to gross out my friends).

Later in life, I used my writing to feed my family. Business writing was a good training ground—press releases, sales proposals, seminars, marketing copy for print and web, technical and training manuals, etc.—but that type of writing is very different from fiction. Except some of the marketing stuff, there the lines get blurry…

One weekend, while I was walking through the woods with my wife, I told her I was thinking about writing a novel. I was half-expecting her to laugh and tell me not to quit my day job, but I told her the idea for the story and she really liked it and encouraged me to try it. I’m glad she did!

Please tell about your WIPs, at least genre and age group, even if the rest is hush-hush.

I have three works-in-progress:

Rudy Toot-Toot: This 17,000-word chapter book will be released in spring 2012. It’s a great book for young readers, ages 7-10. Rudy has a special power, almost like a superhero: He can fart. It comes natural when you’re born on a bean farm. But Rudy struggles to find the right place and right time to use his talent, and after one monstrous emission scares all the customers away from the family bean market, it’s up to Rudy to find a way to use his power to bring the customers back before the bank takes away their home. Rudy Toot-Toot is first in a three-book series, I have rough outlines for the next two books.

The Man in the Cinder Clouds 2: That’s not even a working title, but I’m in outlining stage and haven’t even considered any titles for the upcoming sequel to my origins-of-Santa story, The Man in the Cinder Clouds. I need to stay spoiler-free here, but I will drop a hint that reindeer will play a prominent role, especially one particularly famous fellow who wasn’t born yet on Santa’s first Christmas…

Earth’s End: This end-of-the-world satire is most definitely not a kids’ book, but I’m having a blast writing it. My goal is to have Earth’s End in print by December 21, 2012…just in case the Mayans were right!

Are you an outliner or a pantser and why?

I’m an outliner by nature. Rudy Toot-Toot is the only book I’ve written as a pantser, and that came about working with an agent (and former Big 6 editor) who liked the characters when it was just a 500-word picture book and kept encouraging me to add more.

For my other books, they all started with a basic premise, and then I create a protagonist and write a 2-3 page synopsis of the main story arc.

The next step in outlining is to break the book out into scenes. I write a numerical outline, and jot down 5-10 words to describe the major plot / character points for each scene, expanding on the original synopsis. I think this makes my writing easier because I know what I am writing toward…it keeps me from getting stuck.

I also think this type of outlining is a good way to look at the book as a whole in terms of pacing and character development.

One thing I do not do with an outline is set things in stone. There are still many times where the real magic comes in the actual writing, and I will add / move / delete outlined items as I go.

What is your editing system, a local critique group, online partners, beta readers, pro, etc.?

I have a diverse group of critique partners I met online. Some critters write literary novels, some write MG, some YA…a good mix of perspectives, and they all tend to focus on different aspects of word choice, characterization, and plot…but when they all agree on a problem, I know they hit something critical.

I also use friends, family, and I’ve been building a great relationship with teachers at my kids’ elementary school so I have access to an audience of kids to give my novels a real road test before I publish.

What are the top three reasons you decided to publish as an indie?

1. The time is right. I think indie publishing is on the verge of a breakout fueled by the rise of the eBook and social media, both of which empower the indie author-publisher to market and distribute books in ways that simply didn’t exist a few years ago.

2. Speed to market. The Man in the Cinder Clouds is a Christmas book (an origins-of-Santa story), and had I gone the traditional route it is likely this book would not be published before Christmas 2013. It’s silly to wait that long!

3. The challenge. I have an entrepreneurial business background, and the idea of starting my own publishing venture is appealing. I’m looking at this as a start-up company, and while it’s certainly hard work, I think it’s fun and it feels right.

Is there a message in this book for your readers or is it just meant to entertain?

The Man in the Cinder Clouds is definitely entertaining, with a good mix of humor, action, and Christmas spirit. My first goal as a writer is to entertain, but the story does have a strong theme about virtue and doing the right thing, and that theme is critical to the plot so kids won’t feel like they’re being lectured. I would like to get into more detail, but it would be difficult without being very spoiler-heavy!

Rudy Toot-Toot also has a strong theme: There is a right time and a right place for everything. Rudy must learn self-control, and the humor of his “ability” is well balanced with the consequences of his actions.

That's all for Rick's interview but read on for his Bio and links:

Rick Daley has been writing professionally for over 15 years. His experience includes marketing copy for print and web, press releases, business proposals, training and technical manuals, and whitepapers. His essays, ranging from family life during the holidays to his first skydiving experience, have been featured in The Columbus Dispatch.

An experienced public speaker with a background in music and theater, Rick has also authored and delivered numerous training seminars and workshops.

Rick lives in Lewis Center, Ohio with his wife and two sons (and a neurotic schnauzer).

Website: www.cinderclouds.com
Blog: http://mydaleyrant.blogspot.com
Twitter: rjdaley101071
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cinder-Clouds/247006975311225

I hope all of you are as excited as I am to read Rick's book. I also hope you'll buy it now rather than waiting to see if you won it, then if you do win you'll have an extra gift copy. My Counting Book Blessings Contest ends at midnight Nov. 27th when the Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop ends.

Rick will ship an autographed copy of The Man in the Cinder Clouds direct to one lucky winner. And he'll deliver worldwide, just like Santa does. How cool is that? Icy cool with Frosty on top, that's how cool!

I haven't forgotten that I promised to add at least 2 books to my pot in each post. I had another book lined up, but since I found out the second of my two favorite vanguard female SF authors died, the first being Andre Norton, I decided to offer Anne McCaffrey's Lyon's Pride. It's not in as good condition as the other 3 hardbacks up for grabs (see my last blog post). It has a 3 inch tear at the top of the back dustjacket. But it's my last hardback of hers, and I can't think of any better way to honor her than to share her book. I'll put up a picture later.

The contest entry requirements are easy, one entry per person. Do whichever applies:

That's it unless you want to win both books and chocolate. You can do that through the contest tab at the top of my blog. There's a Book Depository option for International followers and another drawing every month. I'm so happy that my blog went over 200 followers yesterday, I may choose 2 winners.

Don't forget to comment below for this contest and a chance to win one of multiple drawings. My prize is a medium size priority box of books (US shipping only), including one of the hardbacks offered, plus enough of my used paperbacks to fill the box. International entries can win one of the featured author books posted during the contest. After you comment, you can find the entire linky list of 300+ easy contests in this post. Enjoy!

A Reel Cool Summer in a Fall Gratitude Giveaway

2011-11-20T12:12:00.001-06:00

It's time for another RABMAD post. Say what? Read a Book, Make a Difference, that's what. You can make a difference for charity if you buy today's featured author's book, because she gives a portion of book profits to charity. You can find Martha Rodriguez among other authors who give back on www. RABMAD.com, a site created by author RS Guthrie to showcase authors who give back. Since I can't join RABMAD until I publish my own book, I give back by featuring other charitable authors.

You can also win today's featured book by Martha Rodriquez, A Reel Cool Summer, as one of many in my Counting Book Blessings Contest for the larger Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer.

More on the other giveaways in a bit. First let's find out more about Martha, her book, and her chosen charity. with full credit for all the information found on the RABMAD website.

Martha Rodriguez is the author of the children’s picture book A Reel Cool Summer which was published on June 21, 2011. She is also the owner of Read To Me Publishing, LLC.

She was born in Havana, Cuba and came to the United States with her family at the age of three. She is a wife and the mother to three awesome kids. Like most moms, she has had many years of experience answering the question, “We’re bored, what can we do?” One answer to that question brought about the story behind A Reel Cool Summer. With encouragement from family and friends she decided to write and self-publish the book. Her oldest son, Joey, illustrated the book, making it a fun family project. She is currently working on a second book featuring the three wacky siblings from A Reel Cool Summer.

Martha has been active in her church as well as her children’s schools; volunteering wherever her talents were in demand. She is a supporter of literacy initiatives and has been a volunteer Adult Literacy Tutor with Literacy Volunteers of Leon County (LVLC). She served on the Board of Directors of LVLC from 2008-2011 as a member, the Vice President and as Fundraising Committee Chair.

Martha and her family live in Tallahassee, Florida.

A Reel Cool Summer
It’s the hottest, most boring day of summer vacation! It’s so hot and boring, it feels like you’re in a mall that’s made of really, really hot lava!

Confused?

That’s okay. It will all make sense once you meet Joey, Danny and Jacqui. Will the three siblings find a way to cool down? Can they turn this boring day around? Will aliens take over the world?

Wait… what?

A Reel Cool Summer has all the ingredients for a great movie adventure: a pirate, a princess, a prize and a pig (well, two pigs… well, actually, two guinea pigs)!

Martha’s Cause:
The non-profit I will be supporting through the sale of my book ($1 per book purchased from my website) is Literacy Volunteers of Leon County in Tallahassee, FL, my home town. As you see in my bio, I have been an adult literacy volunteer tutor there as well as a member of the Board of Directors in various capacities. Literacy is an important component in the quality of life of individuals and the community as a whole. Literacy Volunteers of Leon County (LVLC) trains volunteers to tutor adults in basic literacy skills, provides one-to-one and group classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and provides after school homework help, tutoring and summer programs for kids… all free of charge. Their website is: http://www.literacyvolunteersleon.org.

Author Links:
Author Website: http://www.readtomepublishingllc.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/areelcoolsummer
Author Blog: http://areelcoolsummer.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ReadToMePublishingLLC
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Reel-Cool-Summer-Martha-Rodriguez/dp/0615490980/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316555207&sr=8-1

I already read Martha's book and I think it looks like a great way to spur the imagination of bored children. Boredom is bound to happen about 10 minutes after they open their Christmas presents if yours are anything like mine were, that is unless they find a supply of good books under the tree. I'm guessing ages 3 up through 2nd or 3rd graders will admit to enjoying the 32 page picture book, and older siblings will secretly enjoy reading it to the young ones. One bonus is a message that you don't have to win first place to find the fun in life.

Martha will ship A Reel Cool Summer to one lucky winner of my Counting Book Blessings contest as part of the larger Gratitude Giveaway. It should arrive in plenty of time to prevent boredom during the Christmas holidays. I hope those of you with children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews and friends with children (did I miss anyone?) will buy this book if you don't win it. Why not support literacy when you buy Christmas gifts this year?

Now I promised I would add at least 2 books to my Counting Book Blessings pot during each post through Nov. 27. Martha's book A Reel Cool Summer is one and here's the second.

Kiln People by David Brin is a SF thriller that should have been titled Kill'n People. I must warn of some adult language and situations but it was still one of the few books I couldn't put down once started. These were the avatars before Avatar. How many copies of yourself would you throw into dangerous situations if you could live, only to die another day? This plot had more unexpected twists and turns than a rabbit's warren and as many offspring. It was a great read for an extended adrenaline rush.

And here are the pictures of my two previously listed gently used hardbacks you can choose from:

1. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke, sequel to Inkheart

2. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer.

If you're new to my Counting Book Blessings giveaway, I'm here to tell you I'm drawing one name (for US shipping only) for the winner's choice of one hardback and enough of my used paperbacks to fill a medium size priority box. I'm also drawing enough names for someone to win a book from each author featured on my blog during the contest period, with the E-books also eligible for international entries.

The first E-book is Elizabeth Kirke's Semester Aboard and you can read more about the book in her interview post kicking off the contest.

I neglected to mention that I need to know whether your entry is US or international in order to separate the drawings, so I've added that to the contest entry requirements.The entry requirements are easy, one entry allowed per person. Do whichever applies to you:

2. If your face is already among the followers on my sidebar, you may do one of the following: either like my Facebook page (there's a link on my sidebar) or post this giveaway on any social media such as FB or twitter (links are at the bottom of this post). You also need to leave a comment stating US or International along with your email address, saying which thing you did.

Counting Blessings and Elizabeth Kirke Interview

2011-11-16T23:14:00.001-06:00

I count my blessings every night when I say my prayers. Because I live in a free country with my hubby working to put food on our table, I don’t have to do backbreaking labor all day. I have time to read and write. I've collected a lot of books over the years, and I read them to my sons until they could read on their own. Now my boys are grown into men. I need to get rid of a mountain of books.

I have a plan. It’s called “Counting Book Blessings” to go with the Gratitude Giveaways Blog Hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer. I’m starting with two hardback books you can choose from if you’re a winner in my giveaway. I will add at least two more books in every post from now until the end of the giveaway, midnight on 27 November. Some will be E-books to be shipped by the authors, some will come from my mountain of used books. At the end of the period, there will be drawings of as many names as there are featured author’s books and E-books available plus one for the books in my collection. The physical books are for US shipping only. If you win my books, I will ship you your choices of one hardback and as many paperbacks as fit in the medium flat-rate priority mail box. I'm guessing at least 6 paperbacks besides the hardback.

The entry requirements are easy, one entry allowed per person. Do whichever applies to you:

1. If you're not a follower, follow this blog through Google Friend Connect and leave a comment with your email address so I can contact you if you win any of the prizes.

*edit* I neglected to mention you need to state whether you're US or international in your comment so I can separate the drawings. Thanks.

I took pictures of today's books but I'm away from home and can't access them. So I'm just telling you the first two used hardback titles you can choose from if you win.

1. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke, the sequel to Inkheart.

2. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer, one of her vampire series.

Elizabeth Kirke, whose book I introduced recently, is adding her YA E-book, Semester Aboard, as one of the Gratitude Giveaways prizes.

Here's the short description: Jen is looking forward to spending an entire summer studying abroad on a cruise ship and she knows the experience will change her life. Then she sees something she wasn't supposed to see, something she can't explain. Jen finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed and her life will change more than she imagined. That is, if she can survive the dangers lurking on the ship. If you guessed there's something magical about this book, you guessed right.

The following is my author interview with Elizabeth Kirke, who I adopted as an indie through Donna Brown's Adopt an Indie Month. My questions are in black and Elizabeth's answers in blue. That color combo does not mean I beat her up to get these answers. She played right along, thank you very much.

Why did you start writing?
I've always wanted to be an author. I really couldn't say why I started, I've just been writing for as long as I can remember. I guess I've always had stories tumbling around in my brain and I want
to share them. I've always been an avid reader too. Writing is also a great way to get away from it all. I often take my laptop along on vacations so that I can write. I also always have a notepad, just in case I need to jot down new ideas.

What most influenced you to write in this genre (one particular author or many)?

I've always been a big fantasy/science fiction nut. I grew up on The Lord of the Rings, Dune, Mercedes Lackey, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and, of course, Harry Potter. I think it was only a matter of time before my writing was influenced by them. I do have a couple of things I've written that are set in a purely non-magical world, but they never hold my interest long enough to finish!

Please tell about your WIPs, at least genre and age group, even if the rest is hush-hush.
Well, I've got 2 fairly long WIP's that pre-date Semester Aboard. One is a sci-fi that takes place in outer space and the other is about elves. I think the sci-fi may be shelved for a long time, but I've been tinkering with the elf one recently. That may see the light of day soon. I'm also working on a sequel for Semester Aboard.

Are you an outliner or a pantser and why?
Gonna be honest, I've never heard the term pantser before! I'm going to assume it's something along the lines of flying by on the seat of my pants. My writing style doesn't really fall in either side. On one hand, I plan everything. I'm never satisfied unless I have detailed background story for my characters. I have timelines with notes on what each character was doing in every year of their lives. I have tons of notes on magic, and vampires, and how things came to be. I also have very detailed biographies on every character.

However, when I start writing I know where it's going, but not how to get there. The characters - and I find other authors often know what I mean by that - take it in their own direction. I just sort of guide it.

What is your editing system, a local critique group, online partners, beta readers, pro, etc.?
I have a few people I send each chapter to as I finish and I edit each chapter until I'm satisfied, then I move on to the next one. When I'm done I go back over the entire book and look for remaining errors. I'm always amazed by the amount of small errors I run across after being sure that I had found them all. Even after publishing I spot a few double-periods and typos. I go through and fix them every time. A lot of people shy away from indie authors because of errors, and I agree with that. My book wasn't perfect when I published it, and I bet it still isn't 100% perfect (even traditionally published books have mistakes that sneak through the cracks). That said, we indie authors are in the unique position that we can find edits and fix them with a few simple clicks. I don't think there is any excuse to have a typo-riddled book that you never fix. You also shouldn't publish until you're sure there's nothing left but a missed comma here and there. And even then, if you know about the errors: fix them!

What are the top three reasons you decided to publish as an indie?

Aside from the aforementioned fixing? One reason was the control. Not just over my book itself, but over how it's distributed. I can even see the number of pageviews I get! I can track how many samples are downloaded and I'm updated instantly when I sell a copy. It really helps me figure out what advertising is working and what isn't. With Smashwords, where I initially published, I can even create coupons and give away copies. I feel like being traditionally published would take a lot of that control out of my hands. I could decide right this moment to go offer free copies on Facebook or something, and then just do it. I really like the freedom to market and control my book my way.

Second, I wasn't sure if a traditional publisher would accept me. A lot of places had word limits for first-time authors. Most were around 80-100k and mine clocked in quite above that at 142k. As I wrote I kept seeing publishing houses with open submissions closing them before I was ready to submit. As for the agent...I just wasn't sure if getting an agent was what I really wanted. Going back to my first point: I wanted to stay in more control.

And last, e-books are getting big. Not a day goes by when I don't see a new article about the boom of e-books and e-readers. It seemed like e-publishing was the logical step. Being able to do it all myself was very appealing.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers/authors?
Write! Write more! Even if you aren't always writing your novel, try to write something. Don't force your novel either. If it isn't speaking to you, don't sit and stare at a blank page for hours, take a
break and write something else! Write about a character in it or some back-story. It will keep you writing, you'll feel like you got something done, and it might even help you out in the future!

I want to thank Elizabeth for taking the time to satisfy my curiosity. I hope she satisfied yours too. If not for the cultural fair my hubby roped me into this weekend, I'd be reading Semester Aboard by now. Instead I'm playing Cowboys and Indians with my hubby at a huge cultural fair in Mobile, Alabama. But you don't have to wait, you can get your copy from Smashwords right now.

On my Sunday Service blog, a surprise author is giving out a younger children's book, so be sure to check back every few days as I post more books you can choose if you win.

That's it for today unless you want to get in on this month's books and chocolate follower contest. It's under the contest tab at the top of this blog and is always open to anyone who didn't yet win, with a drawing on the 11th of each month. It has a Book Depository option for international followers.

Now you can enjoy hopping to your heart's content between Gratitude Giveaways. Enjoy!

Help! I've been mindjacked!

2011-11-15T21:00:00.001-06:00

Wait, what's a mindjack, you ask? It's a hijack of a very different sort, a mental takeover. It's what I often wish I could do to get my hubby to get with my plan, but I'm a true zero, and that's not mesh. Sorry if that sounds like Greek; I said I was mindjacked, and that includes a knowledge of future slang. Interpreted, "that's not mesh" means it's not cool, and "I'm a true zero" means I can't read a single mind, not even my own. But how did I get mindjacked?

Open Minds did it. A book, nothing more than a bunch of thin paper bound in thicker paper, mindjacked me. But what a book.

I say that because if Open Minds mindjacked me for two days, it can mindjack you too. After my first two book-reading walks, and those were long ones over 2 days, I couldn't put the book down again. Round and round the block I went like a puppet on a string. I finally collapsed on my couch and became a couch potato until hubby complained about me staying up late. Then I read in bed until I finished, bleary-eyed, in the wee hours.

Open Minds had all the tension of The Hunger Games, but with less gore and more mental horror. Sure, Katniss played mind games, but Kira took them to a whole new level.

Here's the Goodreads description: "Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her." Any more would spoil the plot.

Here's where I confess to a total inability to turn off my editor's eye. This book is the best edited I've read in many years, and I read a lot. Don't read Open Minds for its form though, read it for its function--a fantastic thriller that will make you cry, and cry for more.

Dr. Susan Kaye Quinn, the author, must be pretty good at mind-reading to come up with such a good plan to take over the minds of anyone who comes within range of her book. I won a t-shirt for tweeting about her book launch, but I thought the book sounded even better. I begged for a switch, and Susan graciously agreed. I felt like a kid in a candy shop when it arrived. I stared at it while I finished chores, waiting for my chance. You know the rest. I suspect Susan is going to mindjack the entire YA market.

I hope you see why I wanted to get inside her mind, so welcome to my first author interview. I was almost finished posting it last night when the internet went out. Now I'm in a rush because I'm worse than time challenged, I'm calendar challenged. So for this week my posts are today, and uh, today, because I forgot about a trip that will hinder my usual posting schedule. You'll have to pretend my very late Wednesday (and very special giveaway post) is a Thursday post in lieu of Friday's.

Now back to the subject of my interview, the awesome author of Open Minds, Dr. Susan Kaye Quinn. And since it was reading her first book of the Mindjack Trilogy that made me want to start interviewing authors in the first place, it's appropriate that I interview her first.

Are you ready? Here are my questions in black and Susan's answers, in blue:

What motivates you to keep writing when life gets tough and in this tough market?
I am well and truly addicted to writing. I’m not even joking about that. I get this uneasy feeling inside if I go too long without writing. Beyond the tragic addiction, when life is tough, writing helps to center me. As for the tough market … well, I believe in carving your own path through the weeds. As long as there are readers, there will be a need for writers. Story is a very powerful thing, even more so in our society today.

Please tell about your WIPs, at least genre and age group, even if the rest is hush-hush.

I’m writing the sequel to Open Minds (Closed Hearts) right now (paranormal/SF YA), as well as working on a hush-hush middle grade project that I can’t talk about too much, but it has some epic science fiction gadgets in it, so I hope it will find a home. I have a middle grade fantasy (The Faery Swap) that’s only got one draft done, but I love it. I’d be working on that right now, except there’s only so many hours in the day.

Are you an outliner or a pantser and why?
I’m a reformed pantser turned hyper-plotter. Open Minds is a great example of a novel that I pantsed … I literally had just one paragraph and an idea when I sat down to NaNo my way through the first 50k words of that story! So, yeah, it took me two years to revise that into something publishable. Now, for Closed Hearts, I’ve hyper-plotted every chapter before sitting down to start drafting two weeks ago (yikes! I’m halfway through NaNo! I better get some words written today …). Even with all that plotting, over the weekend I was struggling with a plot point and doing some pantsing to figure it out. That means I’m fleshing out the worldbuilding, writing the scene from the viewpoint of a secondary character, delving deeper into the emotions driving the scene … these are the parts that I pants my way through now. In the end, I expect Closed Hearts will get written a lot faster. That’s what plotting means to me now – a way to get the story written faster.

What are the top three reasons you decided to publish as an indie (if you are one)?
When I announced I was self-publishing, I knew my writer-friends would want to know why, so I wrote a lengthy post about it. In short, 1) publisher interest in paranormal was waning, even though it was burning up the charts, 2) price control, and 3) writing investment diversification. I knew that if I self-published, I could get the story out while readers were still interested in the genre, and I could deliver it for a better price than my small publisher (that I previously published with). I think price sensitivity is important now, especially with the economy still dragging its heels. I know I’m more willing to take a chance on a new author at a lower price point than I’m willing to pay for established writers that I already love. And I have to admit to a certain attraction to the shiny new gadget that is self-publishing.

Is there a message in this book for your readers or is it just meant to entertain?
My books are always driven by themes, because that’s just who I am as a writer. But they are most definitely meant for entertainment. The two are connected – I believe we learn, or absorb a message, best when it’s delivered in a way that engages our minds, and entertainment certainly grabs you by the senses and gets your attention! In Open Minds, the driving theme is about intolerance – the effect it has on Kira, the girl who can’t read minds in a telepathic world, is most obvious. But there are subtle effects that intolerance has throughout a society, not just on those that feel it most keenly. I believe the way we treat people is a reflection of our most profound beliefs, both as individuals and as a society. I’m still exploring that theme, in even greater depth, in Closed Hearts.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers/authors?
Write like crazy. Write every day. Put everything you have, emotionally, into it – don’t hold back. And then make sure to connect with other writers and share your journey (and your work!). I’ve worked as an engineer, a PTA mom, a scientist, and a politician. But I’ve never met a more supportive, helpful and fascinating group of people as writers.

Okay, that's it. I want to thank Susan for answering my questions and hope you all appreciate the amount of planning and doing that went into Open Minds to make it such a great book. I sure do.

I'm not giving away my copy so you'll have to get your own. Go through Susan's website to buy an autographed copy. If money's tight, go for the kindlegraphed E-book. Kira, of course, wouldn't make you do anything unless it was the only way to save your life. But her friend Simon would. Do you feel him in your mind? He says go buy the book. Now.

Wait. (It's me talking.) If you haven't yet won my chocolate follower contest, it's a new month and any follower, previous or new, can enter through the contest tab at the top of my blog to win your choice of my large supply of fantasy/sf and your choice of chocolate to go with it. There's a Book Depository option for international entries. The whole process takes under 5 minutes for 5 points, and 5 points or more will keep you in the contest for 2 months. Kayla won my last drawing on Nov 11th, and the next will be on Dec. 11th. Go for it. Indulge your darkest chocolate fantasy.

Please stop by very late tonight/Thursday for the Gratitude Giveaway running from Nov 17-27. Over 300 blogs will offer prizes with no more than 1 requirement to enter. I'll be adding a new book (some are E-books) to my "Count your book blessing" pot every few days until the drawing on 28 November.

Thank you for reading! Now it's your turn. Please tell me what you think of Open Minds.

Campaigner Challenges Book for Cancer Research

2011-11-13T22:30:00.001-06:00

My regularly scheduled RABMAD (Read a Book, Make a Difference) post is delayed a week due to fantastic news. A different charity book is available in which three of my own very short stories are included. Now I'm glad I forgot to pick a RABMAD author ahead and notify him or her before I saw this news.

Rachael Harrie's Platform Building Campaign is over, but the stories are here to stay. When German author and campaigner Katharina Gerlach volunteered to compile Campaign entries into a book for charity, 81 of us jumped at the chance for our writing to do some real good and sent her 176 of our entries. I, for one, am very grateful to Cat (her nickname) for taking time out of her paying job, writing SF/fantasy and historical novels, to herd us volunteers into one corral and tame our words into published form, an ebook now available Smashwords and Amazon.

Though all 81 participants in this anthology were given the same rules (length between 200 to 300 words), themes, and even specific words to include, we all posted very different entries. Some were humorous, some romantic, others mysterious or scary. I don't remember a single one that wasn't entertaining. You won't get bored even if you don't like them all.

All proceeds go to Harry Moseley's charity "Help Harry Help Others". Harry single handedly raised over 85,000GBP (roughly 137,000USD) for cancer Research before he died of his brain tumor on October 8th at age 11. Although Harry is gone, Help Harry Help Others still supports Cancer Research UK so that others may live.

If you can look at Harry's face without crying for his loss, you're doing better than I did. $2.99 isn't much out of anyone's pocket even in these hard times. I hope you'll consider skipping one fast food burger, coffee, or another indulgence to make room in your budget to help find a cure for cancer. You'll be glad you did.

Time for Author Interviews: Open Invitation

2011-11-11T12:31:00.001-06:00

I found out yesterday that November is Adopt an Indie Month, dreamed up by Donna Brown of bookbagsandcatnaps.com. I already know author cross-promotion is a win-win, and I love the idea of saving time while also creating worthwhile content for my followers, mostly other writers. I've adopted one author already, Elizabeth Kirk, and her book, More than Magic: Semester Aboard. I'll be posting more information about Elizabeth later. For now, I'd just like to show you her book as shown on Smashwords. Look between the railing. Is that somebody in the water?

Here's the short description: Jen is looking forward to spending an entire summer studying abroad on a cruise ship and she knows the experience will change her life. Then she sees something she wasn't supposed to see, something she can't explain. Jen finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed and her life will change more than she imagined. That is, if she can survive the dangers lurking on the ship.

Click on the picture and it will take you right to the Smashwords page where you can read the long description. Once you read that, I hope you're excited to read as I am. I already downloaded but Elizabeth has to wait until I finish books by two other indie authors.

I intend to review those books once I've finished reading. I'll reveal one next week as a surprise to the author who sent me an autographed copy with no strings attached because I won a t-shirt in her launch contest. The t-shirt was awesome, but not as much as the book I begged her to send instead. I'm reading it my usual way, on my reading walks, which are great exercise.

The other author made his book available for free download and I took immediate advantage even though I don't have an e-reader yet except for my small android phone. Even though I need reading glasses, phone reading means I can walk later in the evening when it's too dark outside to read a real book without a flashlight. Don't worry, I don't trip.

While I'm reading these books, I'm offering an open interview invitation to authors who write fiction for children and/or fantasy and SF for children through adults, indie or not. Your book does not have to be published yet but it should be launched within a few months of the interview. I believe if you make time for an interview to build your platform, more readers will make time to read your book. It can even be an older title for which you'd like to find a wider audience or have plans to re-release.

The books below represent a range of what I've read over the years, old and new. Tolkien started my habit, and I crushed on Asimov's R Daneel Olivaw. I Robot is dogeared because a dog named Crunch crunched it. Others sat hours in the bathroom with my youngest son. These books are not even the tip of the iceberg of what I've read. Besides the iceberg, there's an avalanche available in my chocolate and books contest with new drawings every month.

The interview deal does not require you to provide me a free copy of your book to review, but if you do provide it, expect an honest review. You can check my previous reviews on the Book Review tab at the top of this blog. I didn't start reviewing until September but you can still get an idea of the review quality. I'll warn you ahead of time I have a low tolerance for poor editing, so make sure it's thoroughly proofed and correctly formatted before you send a review copy unless you're asking for a beta read or full critique. I do those on an exchange basis.

Whether or not you choose a book review, I will schedule an interview. I even have pre-written questions meant to grab the attention of readers with similar interests. You may choose from among the 10 below, but please answer at least 5.

1. Why did you start writing?

2. What motivates you to keep writing when life gets tough and in this tough market?

3. What most influenced you to write in this genre (one particular author or many)?

4. Please tell about your WIPs, at least genre and age group, even if the rest is hush-hush.

5. Are you an outliner or a pantser and why?

6. What is your editing system, a local critique group, online partners, beta readers, pro, etc.?

7. What are the top three reasons you decided to publish as an indie (if you are one)?

8. Is there a message in this book for your readers or is it just meant to entertain?

9. Do you have an author theme, a message for your readers, in all your books?

10. What advice do you have for aspiring writers/authors?

11. Yes, I said 10 questions, but if you have a question or your own you're burning to answer, go ahead and substitute one of yours for one of mine.

Whether you write for teens or adults, I do have a few conditions.

1. Your book must be a clean read because my audience is children through YA and I hope those age groups will eventually read this blog. Besides, I don't like reading intimate sex scenes because I feel like a voyeur. If that makes me a prude, so be it.

2. Your book must not attempt to convince those who believe in God that we're mistaken or that we're on the wrong side either by overt means or subtle, such as evil winning over good (by the end of your book).

3. You must follow this blog, follow @sherahart on twitter, add me to your writer's circle on Google+ and like my facebook author page. You can do these things through my sidebar or chocolate contest if you prefer to be entered in the monthly drawing for books and chocolate, your choice on both. You do not have to be a new follower to enter but you do have to comment on what things you did and leave your email address. Today is the first day of a new contest month so you're not competing against any previous entry with less than 5 points. You can either click the picture below or go through the win books and chocolate tab at the top of this blog. In addition you agree to share the interview on at least 3 other social media sites with a mention of my name or twitter handle as applicable.

As for the winner of the previous drawing, I will edit this post later to add the name. Today has been too hectic to compile the points, throw them in the chocolate pot, and draw a winner.

If you have suggestions or other ideas for my interview plan, please let me know. It's my blog but I want your interview to be your show for the day. I also volunteered to help with WoMen's Literary Cafe book launches starting in December so get in line before it gets too long.

One last note, please let me know if you want to offer your book in a contest. I'll be participating in this giveaway next with exposure to over 300 other blog giveaways. After this contest ends I'll choose another hosted by or featured on the same book reviewer website, I am a Reader, Not a Writer. Giving away your book is NOT a requirement for your interview, but would provide extra exposure for the length of the giveaway.

Thanks!

An Agent who wants longer queries? Yes! Plus great book giveaways.

2011-11-09T11:57:00.000-06:00

I received two rejections in one day yesterday, one from a query sent way back in July and one from a recent query critique contest. What a vast difference between the older established agent and the young one still building her list. The older agent to whom I sent my longer query gave me nothing to go on. But I almost rejoiced, if such a thing is possible, at the rejection from the young one, to whom I sent my short query. I would thank her, but she tweeted contestants not to because she's so busy.

I'm not going to reveal the older agent's name or house. That wouldn't be nice. But I am going to tell you Suzie Townsend is the young one who I've admired since meeting her at Emerald Coast Writers' Conference a couple years ago when she was just starting out. I had an idea she wouldn't like my book, even after I made extensive revisions following her suggestions, for a reason I reveal below. But she was gracious enough to critique my new query for the contest to celebrate her move to Nancy Coffee Literary and Media Representation.

I could hardly believe Suzie wanted MORE information on my book. She knew I left a lot out from her previous read of my first three chapters. So after I spent weeks getting query critiques to trim my two paragraph book description down to one fitting Nathan Bransford's 4 sentence limit, which I never reached by the way, now I can put some back. To be more specific, Suzie wanted more information about my plot in the first paragraph, and then for me to divide it into two, showing what it is about my characters or the plot to really stand out in an overcrowded genre.

Hallelujah!

Never mind that I understood boy books to be in short supply, fantasy books aren't. So I whipped out my laptop and got to work, trying to make my query stand out. The funny thing is I ended up with a very similar query to my long version sent to the big 6 back in July. Well, almost 6. I got one rejection just from asking a question about AAR membership. That agency looked at my website and made a decision from that. If you guessed I did a lot of website work right after, you would be right.

I won't send the new query to this young agent because she also said my sense of humor isn't for her. If you haven't read my short stories or visited my book website, you may not know I use a lot of wordplay and puns. Read the names on this map of the Heartland, traced over North America. Don't judge, it's not finished yet. The point is not everyone laughs at puns like I do.

You can bet your booties that I've now heard enough agents say that two paragraphs describing a book are not too long for me to decide I'm sending all the rest that way. Some just say keep your query to one page, however many paragraphs it takes. The trick is to get the right words in those paragraphs. I hope I'm getting closer.

How about you? I'd love to know what helpful rejections you received, especially if they helped you create a successful query. If you ask me, any query that received a request for a partial was successful, whether or not it sold your book.

Oops, I forgot to mention that tomorrow's the last day to enter this month's chocolate and book contest for followers. See that tab, second from the left, at the top of my blog? Click it to enter. Don't be shy about asking for books not pictured. I have boxes and boxes not shown. Comments after the 10th will be entered in next month's contest. Then come back here and blog hop to your heart's content to this week's book giveaways, almost 50 at the time of this writing.

Please Read for Charity! Autism via Scott Bury

2011-11-06T23:05:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. Not fall. Not Thanksgiving either, although I'm thankful for writers like Scott Bury who donate a part of their book profits to charity. Did you guess it's RABMAD time? I love that acronym, so dangerous sounding. Yet it's really as far from dangerous as you can get unless you're a reading addict who would never sleep and might even starve to death if someone else didn't snatch the book from your hands long enough for you to eat and sleep. Yes, Read a Book, Make a Difference, or RABMAD, authors are that good. I'm probably going to mention that R.S. Guthrie's Black Beast has a bunch of 5 star reviews in every Sunday service post because he came up with the idea for the RABMAD site that showcases authors who donate a portion of book profits to charity. Go ahead, click the link to see all the awesome writers and their causes. But come right back to read about today's featured author.

This author gives 100% of his book profits to Children at Risk, an autism charity.

Meet Scott Bury. And here's his bio from www.rabmad.com:

Scott Bury is a journalist, editor and writer living in Ottawa. His work has been published in the Ottawa Citizen, Applied Arts magazine, Marketing, The Financial Post, Business 2.0, Macworld, MacAddict, Canadian Printer, Studio and several other magazines.

He has two almost-grown children, an orange cat and a loving wife who puts up with a lot.

I did my best to make that bio strawberry red, for good reason. Scott's children's story is titled:

Sam, the Strawb Part

Amazon Product Description:

What happens when a thin boy dresses as a pirate, attaches a jolly roger to his bicycle and starts to hijack strawberries?

When the pirate starts handing his booty over to poor children, the people take his side. But the evil fruit monopoly doesn't take kindly to pirates. They hire the notorious pirate-killer, Commodore Tiberius J. Swinkill, to hunt Sam down.

Thus begins the epic chase across Canada. It's broken bicycle against a sailboat on wheels in a chase for the hearts and strawberries of the nation!
This swashbuckling tale of fury and fruit is for children, parents and everyone who loves strawberries, children or pirates.

Author Scott Bury will donate all proceeds from the sales of this story to Children at Risk, a registered Canadian charity that supports families and children with autism spectrum disorders.

Now go on over to Amazon and check out the great reviews for Sam, the Strawb Part. How could you not buy this book when the entire 1.99 goes to Children at Risk?

You can also follow Scott's blog at http://scottswrittenwords.blogspot.com/
He's looking for reviews of a novel opening and has a guest post by Becky Illson Skinner about increasing sales of the written word. You do want to increase your sales right?

On Twitter, you can follow Scott as @ScottTheWriter.

Speaking of following, my current Chocolate Follower and Book Contest ends at midnight CST on Nov. 10. The winner gets both chocolate and books, his or her choice on chocolate from the commissary and books (plural because you get as many as I can fit in the priority mail envelope) from what I have available. Not even a quarter of my books are in the photographs, so don't be shy about asking if I have a book you want. If I don't have your first choices we'll settle on older titles I do have, and those are many. Click the chocolate contest tab, 2nd from left, at the top of this blog, or click here. Odds are great with only 4 entrants since the last drawing on October 11th.

What's a Writer's Platform? How not to fall off!

2011-11-04T16:22:00.000-05:00

I heard the word "platform" a couple of years ago at a writers' conference but never really understood what it meant. Sure, I got a vague notion it was about marketing, but I felt shaky about how to do so. Nobody ever defined "platform" in any subsequent workshop or conference, yet I did my best to build mine as I completed my manuscript. I made myself a website and later, this blog.

When I sent my first 6 queries, I had 6 followers. The queries came back "NO" so fast I decided I'd better build a sturdier platform. So I joined author Rachael Harrie's third Platform Building Campaign. After I stuck the badge on my blog, I visited other writer websites and joined the challenges with no real idea of my goals other than submitting a query that would cause an agent to laugh for the right reasons rather than seeing my measly following. I did reach my goal of 100 blog followers, got great query critiques on my blog, and still I procrastinated querying.

I couldn't put my finger on why. Then I volunteered to teach a social media class for Emerald Coast Writers. I might have been like the blind leading the blind, except I knew I had enough time to research expert advice before the presentation. The night before, with everything else in place for my class, I realized I was still shaky in my understanding of platform. Even though mine was bigger than before, I was in imminent danger of falling off. Time for more research. Yea for the internet! Except I couldn't find a definition of a writer's platform that made me happy.

I don't hold with the idea that you are your platform, or that it's merely you and your body of work, past and present, although that's a start. The most fitting definition on Dictionary.com says a platform is "a raised floor or stage used by public speakers or performers so that they can be seen by their audience." That was better. But when I thought of the proverbial soapbox, I decided my definition of platform would have to include more content.

Merriam-Webster uses the synonyms plan and design, then goes on to this definition: "a declaration of the principles on which a group of persons stands; especially : a declaration of principles and policies adopted by a political party or a candidate."

That's even better. Now we have content. Shouldn't a writer's principles influence his or her platform's design? Shouldn't we all plan our policies to better market to our target audience? We should if we're serious about attracting readers and selling our work.

That was enough to create a mnemonic to teach what a writer's PLATFORM should include:

P = Place Don't race. The internet has plenty of room for us all. Besides, the best place for me to reach my audience may not be yours. Blogger, Wordpress, Google+, Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Amazon, Smashwords, Twitter, the list goes on. You can even make a website. Weebly is free, with lots of templates, easy drag and drop text and picture boxes and every widget you could want, plus purchase tools and SEO (search engine optimization). Even their paid version is a bargain.

L = Language This is pure content, a writer's best tool. With the right language, we can hook our audience and reel them in with our tempting prose. Catch and release, please. We want our readers to live and come back for more. Whatever you do, don't think of them as small fish. In fact, don't think of them as fish at all or you may find yourself in deep waters in the middle of a feeding frenzy. Get the picture?

A = Audience If you don't know your audience, they'll never want to know you. One editor told me to hang out at the mall and listen to teens talk. Go where your readers go and read what they read. Visit blogs of readers in your genre or their mom's blogs, if your readers are too young to blog. A mommy blog review can make or break the sales of a children's book.

T = Targeting If you're not reaching your target audience, adjust your aim. Tastes and trends change over time. Targeting requires knowing your audience plus narrowing the focus. Young teens at the mall are usually with parents and not acting like they would amongst peers. I get better target practice by watching and listening to teens at school and around my neighborhood.

F = Friendly I debated using fun because readers want to have fun reading, even if their definition of fun is being frightened. But friendly won out because this principle is key to winning the friendship of other writers who cross-promote and of winning devoted fans to help spread the word. I've heard more than one agent mention that having a negative blog is worse than none at all. Be polite and friendly in posting and responding. Note that John Locke didn't stop blogging until he passed the million sales mark. But he still responds to his readers' questions.

O = Outreach Forget trying to fit a square platform in a round hole, stretch out those arms to include more people. Who doesn't want to reach a wider audience? This goes hand in hand with friendly. Seek new followers. All your communications should be geared to increase your circle of influence, being careful not to spend so much time outreaching that there's none left to write. Twitter will hog all your time if you let it.

R = Research Educate yourself about your subject and your genre.This is more important for non-fiction than fiction, but even fantasy has to stick to a set of rules which vary depending on the age group. Joining SCBWI has netted me valuable knowledge about word count limits and voice as well as agents and editors. Each genre has organizations geared to give us all the information we need to succeed. Use them or your whole platform will fall apart, one reader at a time.

M = Marketing That doesn't sound quite as greedy as money, LOL. But if you want to sell your work, you've got to include a big chunk of marketing in your platform. Even with traditional publishing, first time authors rarely earn out their advances. These days many get little publicity from their publishers. Cross promotion is your best chance of building a network that will make your book release a success. And if you're an indie, you would do well to follow John Locke's pricing policy.

So there you have it. My definition of platform includes place, language, audience targeting, friendly outreach, research and marketing. Build yours with all the attention to detail you would in constructing your dream house, if you ever want to live in one. In the meantime, you'll become such an expert builder that your platform will grow in size and sturdiness to where you can't ever fall off. You don't want to be in the position of the woman at the left. I can guarantee there's an author behind her, ready to push her off.

Repeat if you want, but give me credit and link back to this post. You may want my cross promotion someday. I've seen some weird codes on twitter. I just use #xpromo. KISS and hugs.

Oops, forgot to mention the links for my class are under the social media marketing tab, top right of my blog. It was a talking paper so what I said about the links isn't there. Even so, you can read the great info I found about how to get started and which social media tools work to sell books for most platforms. If you don't have time to check them all, the two most valuable to help you make your decisions are by authors Anne R Allen and Karen Baney. Happy social media touring!