Welcome to the next stop on the review tour for The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard.

I’m happy to be hosting Jodi Daynard, author of The Midwife’s Revolt. As a history buff, I was thrilled to be able to review this outstanding book. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to enter the great giveaway contest.

“A charming, unexpected, and decidedly different view of the Revolutionary War.”
—Publishers Weekly

Book Description: The Midwife’s Revolt takes the reader on a journey to the founding days of America. It follows one woman’s path, Lizzie Boylston, from her grieving days of widowhood after Bunker Hill, to her deepening friendship with Abigail Adams and midwifery, and finally to her dangerous work as a spy for the Cause. A novel rich in historical detail, The Midwife’s Revolt opens a window onto the real lives of colonial women.

Jodi Daynard’s historical fiction The Midwife’s Revolt has eared a 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon and praise from libraries, historical associations and is even featured at The Museum of the American Revolution.

“This humorous, exciting and touching story retells the familiar saga of the Revolutionary War in a stunning new way that feels fresh and alive.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Amazon.com ~ Barnes and Noble ~ GoodReads

The Midwife’s Revolt: A Review

As a long-time American history buff and life-long admirer of Abigail Adams and the women of the American Revolution, I can’t resist books that are set in this time period – especially if they’re exceptionally well-written, as is  The Midwife’s Revolt.

I was hooked immediately as the author introduced the main character, Lizzie, as she is seen tending to a dying Abigail Adams in 1818.  In only a few pages we are pulled into Lizzie’s story including her long relationship with Adams that began more than a quarter-century earlier.

Without giving away too much of the story, the tale moves back to 1775 (the opening salvos of the Revolution) where it revolves around Lizzie, a Massachusetts midwife who tends to the young women giving birth as well as to the elderly who are passing into the hereafter.  The story takes us into the difficult days of the Revolution, the day-to-day hardships, the deprivation, fear, intrigue, and treachery. Families are torn between Patriots and Loyalists, as a new country is born and Lizzie is drawn into the conflict in a very personal way.

The details of this book are rich and powerful. As a history buff, I have immense admiration for the author and the depth of her research and her ability to pull real-life events and real people into a captivating story.

If I could give this book more than 5-stars, I would!

About the Author: Jodi Daynard is a writer of fiction, essays, and criticism. Her work has appeared in numerous periodicals, including The New York Times Book Review, The Village Voice, The Paris Review, Agni, New England Review and in several anthologies. She is the author of The Place Within: Portraits of the American Landscape by 20 Contemporary Writers (W. W. Norton). Ms. Daynard’s essays have been nominated for several prizes and mentioned in Best American Essays. She has taught writing at Harvard University, M.I.T., and in the MFA program at Emerson College, and served for seven years as Fiction Editor at Boston Review. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, The National Women’s Book Association, and the Author’s Guild. The Midwife’s Revolt is her first novel.

Prizes! And now for the best part, the prizes! Because who doesn’t love awesome book themed gifts? Jodi is offering A Kindle Fire to one reader as well as a Artemis Cameo Necklace, an American Flag Folk Art and a $25 Amazon Gift Card. All you have to do is leave a comment and enter the rafflecopter! Of course, there are plenty of other ways to enter to win just by helping spread the word about The Midwife’s Revolt.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Tour: Follow along and read more reviews of The Midwife’s Revolt. You can see the full list of participating reviews HERE.

I’m working on a time travel book that takes place (partially) in Custer’s circle of influence. These are some of my favorite books for research and for reading: (This may take a moment to load)

If you want to know what it’s like to be a writer on the verge of despair, pick up a copy of Craig Wallwork’s novel, The Sound of Loneliness.

The story takes place in the U.K., in Manchester, an industrial area well-known for its high levels of unemployment and factory shut-downs.  The main character, Daniel, is an emotional wreck of an aspiring writer. He is arrogant, often unlikable, but he really does have the inner light of a true artist. Sadly, his talents aren’t a match for his vision.

This bleak setting of Manchester (and Daniel’s room) deftly mirrors his own internal grubbiness, as he swings between delusions of writing grandeur and downright rude and hate-filled behavior (and thoughts).  At the same time that Daniel is on a constant quest for food to sustain his physicality, he just as ardently continues his emotional quest to fulfill his dreams of being a great writer.

For me, the author’s deftness in building a palpably real world out of  words is where the magic resides. I could actually smell the stink and the rot and the desperation surrounding our unlikely hero. The descriptions of his near-starvation and the effects of lack-of-food were among the most powerful:

My gums bled in the night. A black gunt of congealed blood coated my teeth most mornings. Some days it was so thick and sticky I would have to use a small drawing pin to scratch it off.

Kudos to Mr. Wallwork for creating a believable world, some of which I recognize, none of which I wish to inhabit!

Read more about The Sound of Loneliness here.

I had the opportunity to be a beta tester for the Better Book Description Tool, an online service that allows users to create beautiful Kindle book descriptions on Amazon without using Amazon’s own version of HTML coding. If you’ve ever wondered how authors could add bold headlines or color fonts to their book description, it’s because they use an unusual form of coding, such as “<h2&gt”.

With the Better Book Description Tool, authors can write their description using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor, then use the code this Tool generates to copy and paste  into their Kindle book description.  Add bolds, italics, big headlines, larger fonts with ease. And, as a bonus, the Tool also has a suggested format for creating a compelling book description. The tool is incredibly easy to use.

The Tool launch went live this morning and I purchased access for $19; the price will be going up shortly. I’m not an affiliate for this Tool – just a beta tester and purchaser who thinks this is one of the best buys for Kindle authors that I’ve seen in a long time.

On April 19, I’ll be hosting author Craig Wallwork’s Blog Tour.  Thank you for checking out his new book and don’t forget to enter the Rafflecopter contest – lots of great giveaways.

About the Book – About the Author – Prizes!!!

Welcome to Novel Publicity’s first ever publishing house blog tour. Join us as three new titles from Perfect Edge–we’re calling them the Perfect Edge Trifecta–tour the blogosphere in a way that just can’t be ignored. And, hey, we’ve got prizes!

About the book: Manchester in 1991 is a town suffering under the weight of high unemployment and massive government budgetary deficits that is plunging the UK into a recession.

To Daniel Crabtree, a struggling writer, it is the backcloth to his first novel, one that will see him become a famous published author. Living off mostly water and flour, Daniel has embraced penury into his life under the mistaken belief that many young artists have: one needs to suffer for success in art. But Daniel is a terrible writer. In the three years since signing on the dole, of every morning chastising his Irish singing neighbour for waking him from his sleep, and scrounging food from his close friend Henry Soperton, Daniel Crabtree has produced one short story. His heart is bereft of words as much as his pockets are of money.

The Sound of Loneliness is a story of love, and how a poor starving man chasing a dream came to the understanding that amidst the clamour of life, the sound of loneliness is the most deafening of all.

Pick up your copy of this Literary/ Urban Life/ Black Comedy through Amazon US, Amazon UK, or Barnes & Noble.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author: Craig Wallwork lives in West Yorkshire, England. He is an artist, filmmaker and writer. His short stories have appeared in many publications in the US and the UK. He is the author of the short story collection Quintessence of Dust, and the novels To Die Upon a Kiss and The Sound of Loneliness. Craig is also the fiction editor at Menacing Hedge Magazine. Connect with Craig on his website, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.

About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win either of two $25 Amazon gift cards, an autographed copy of The Sound of Loneliness, or an autographed copy of one of its tour mates, Stranger Will by Caleb J Ross or Angel Falls by Michael Paul Gonzalez. Here’s what you need to do…

1. Enter the Rafflecopter contest
2. Leave a comment on my blog.

That’s it! One random commenter during this tour will win a $25 gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win–the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other $25 gift card and the 3 autographed books will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form linked below or on the official Perfect Edge Trifecta tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!

Perfect Edge Books was founded in late 2011 to unite authors whose books weren’t “obviously” commercial. Our books tend to sit in various genres all at once: literary fiction, satire, neo-noir, sci-fi, experimental prose. We believe that literary doesn’t have to mean difficult, and that difficult doesn’t just mean pointless. We prefer to cultivate a word-of-mouth approach to marketing, and keep production as simple as we can. Learn more at www.PerfectEdgeBooks.com.

Learn more about The Sound of Loneliness‘s tour mates HERE.

This was the week for e-reader news . . . and (IMHO) good news  for self-publishers. NookPress debuts, Amazon picked up Goodreads and the cool Send to Kindle plugin is turning websites into Kindle “books”. But first, some of the best articles I’ve read this week about NookPress:

Nook Debuts Nook Press, A New Self-Publishing Platform To …

http://techcrunch.comTue, 09 Apr 2013 15:34:09 GMT

Barnes & Noble subsidiary Nook today announced the launch of Nook Press, a self-publishing platform to help the e-reader and e-book seller attract more se..

How To Self-Publish with Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Press: Video …

http://www.mediabistro.comTue, 09 Apr 2013 11:28:22 GMT

How To Self-Publish with Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Press: Video Tutorial.

Nook Press Won’t Let Users Edit Previously Published eBooks – The …

http://www.the-digital-reader.comWed, 10 Apr 2013 02:04:50 GMT

4085103377_38641cc64a[1] When B&N announced Nook Press earlier today I was thrilled to see that B&N was a step ahead of Amazon. The new online editing and creation tools offered hope that B&N might have the …

First impressions of Nook Press, the rebranded PubIt! TeleRead …

http://www.teleread.comWed, 10 Apr 2013 15:00:15 GMT

First impressions of Nook Press, the rebranded PubIt!

Sometimes, when  exploring new opportunities for marketing my books, I feel a little like the tiny guys at the bottom of this slot canyon: Experiencing an awesome opportunity but overwhelmed by the learning curve.  Fortunately, I’ve recently found two excellent resources for exploring a canyon-sized opportunity: Goodreads.

My Facebook friend Michelle Campbell-Scott sent me an advance review copy of Goodreads for Authors - a Kindle book that’s chock-full of tips that I can’t wait to try out.  Next, Michelle teamed up with another of my friends, Cathy Presland to create a Udemy course that covers the ins and outs of Goodreads for authors.  Although I have Michelle’s book I signed up for the Udemy course as well because sometimes I do far better watching a video, and other times I want to read.

I agree with Michelle and Cathy – I think Goodreads is an under-utilized marketing tool for savvy writers – and I can’t wait to dig deep into what I can do there.

I had planned on working on my new #Kindle book this week but I’ve back-burnered it in favor or immersing myself in Goodreads. Will report in when I know more.

A big Valentine’s Day thanks to Brian Scott for this great infographic.  (Click image  to enlarge)

Like this infographic? Infographic courtesy Copyblogger.

Next up in our new series, How They Did It, is Marsha Cornelius, author of medical thrillers,  H10N1 and The Ups  and Downs of Being Dead. 

After working for fifteen years as a cafeteria manager in an elementary school, Marsha Cornelius turned in her non-skid shoes for a bathrobe and slippers. She now works at home, writing novels, acting out scenes with her cats, and occasionally running a Swiffer across dusty surfaces.

Like thousands of others, she thought she could write romance, but soon discovered she was a dismal failure. She did increase her repertoire of adjectives such as throbbing, pulsing, thrumming, vibrating, hammering, pumping . . .

She resides in the countryside north of Atlanta with her husband. Her two grown sons occasionally visit for clean laundry and a hot cooked meal.

Q:  As with all of our authors who participate in this series, we ask a single question:  The odds of completing a novel can be astronomical.  Marsha, how did you do it?

A: I’d like to say something inspirational here, like ‘every time I felt like quitting, my husband urged me on’, or ‘it was my grandmother’s dying wish . . .’, but basically I had no choice.

Once the book was started, I couldn’t NOT finish it. I guess I was just driven to complete, not just one book, but three. (My third novel will be out this spring.)

Now that’s not to say that the finished, published novel H10 N1 is anything like the first version I wrote. But the characters’ names remained the same, and I think on page 23, I still used the term ‘neanderthal’. Pretty much everything else in the book went through several changes. And every time I pick up a copy, I see something else I’d like to fix.

Maybe that’s the trick. Don’t keep anguishing over every little thing. Just get it done! Then you can go back and tinker around all you want.

And don’t think you’re too busy to write. When I started my first book, I was raising kids, working full time, and getting up at 5:30 on the weekends to get a couple hours of writing done before anyone else was awake. If you’re a night owl, turn off that TV, and Facebook, and get busy.

The old saying is true: If you want it bad enough, you’ll do it.

Connect with Marsha

Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Marsha’s Website
Marsha’s Author Page on Amazon

Buy Marsha’s Books

 H10N1

The Ups and Downs of Being Dead. 

I read an article yesterday in the Harvard Business Review titled How to Have a Year That Matters.  While the HBR seems  an unlikely place to find inspiration,  this piece hit home.

In it, the reader is encouraged to bypass the humdrum to explore meaningful questions like “what’s your true north?” – the belief system that points you towards your true values.  For example,  the author speculates that Lance Armstrong’s true north was winning trophies rather than championships.

Of all the questions, the one that stopped me cold was  ”What Breaks Your Heart?”  He writes  ”If you want to find your passion, surrender to your heartbreak. Your heartbreak points towards a truer north.”

I was stunned. While I write many books and articles on the craft of writing as well as topics ranging from computers to photography, nothing in those fields “breaks my heart”.   What does?

• disappearing nature
• conformity
• a rapidly diminishing connection to the past – both individually and collectively
• greed valued over humanity
• lack of critical thinking
• not comprehending that you stand on the shoulders of those who came before

What happens next? I’m  going to spend time over the next several days seeing where these heartbreaks lead – and if the course of my own work is in for a drastic departure from what is.

So, my writing friends . . . what breaks your heart?  Would love to read your comments.

Congratulations to Bill for the winning name in the “Name the Cat” contest. Bill based the name on Kim Novak’s cat in the old movie, Bell, Book and Candle.  I also discovered that Pyewacket was the name of a “witch’s familiar” as far back as the 1600s.

Stay tuned – more contests coming up soon.

Next up in our new series, How They Did It, is Kim Smith, author of A Mirror in Time, a young adult time travel novel. Kim lives in the Mid South region of the US with her husband of over 20 years and her little dog, Tinkerbell.

Q: The odds of completing a novel can be astronomical.  Kim, how did you do it?

A:  This is so true. There are a great number of things that can take an author out of their world creation, and off on a tangent completely unrelated. I have found that the best way to keep myself on track is to be diligent, keep a schedule, and don’t sit down to write unless I am sure there is time to do it. Unfortunately, as a mother and wife, full-time day-job worker, and part-time small business owner, there are not a lot of extra hours to devote to everything. So I have to say, “Ok. I am going to sit down and write for two hours today” and then make a point to do it. I make a reminder on my phone, I warn everyone that I am writing so they will leave me alone, and I go somewhere to have at it without interruptions.

I do not blog, play on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social site until I have my time in on the writing when working on a book. Going out to research is about the only time I veer from the path. I recommend unplugging from the Internet so that you are not tempted.

I write oftentimes while my hubby drives us to places. Vacations are great for getting a lot of word counts down. I am stuck in a car for a long time and nothing to keep me from turning on the laptop and having at it.

Music helps a lot too, and I have found if I make a playlist for whatever I am writing, I will keep on track with mood. Sometimes that works for everyone and sometimes not. An author has to do what works for THEM and their project. It varies from person to person, and that is okay. No right or wrong way to get the work done.

This process has helped me through the writing of five books and one novella and a bunch of short stories. If one wants to write a book from start to finish, it can be done.

Connect With Author Kim Smith

Blog: 

Facebook: 

Twitter: 

Purchase A Mirror in Time

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Thanks to everyone who submitted their ideas for the cat’s name.  I’m picking the name on Monday, February 4. Stay tuned to see who wins the Amazon gift card

A black  cat with green eyes  figures prominently in my novella, The Spanish Locket. Her guardian is a psychometry practitioner (that’s someone who gets psychic vibes from objects).  Best name for miss kitty will be used in the novella and the winner will get a $25 Amazon gift card.  Post your suggestions in the comment box – or if you’re feeling protective, email me nancy [at] nancyhendrickson [dot] com.  Thanks for your help

Yesterday I posted the cover to my new #Kindle book – Vanquish Writer’s Block!. Due out in about two weeks it contains the techniques I’ve used for years:  Images, Oracles and Brain-Hacks.

You already know what images are right – like the cool shot of the leaves above. Oracles you may be less familiar with; they’re tools used for divination, like Tarot or I-Ching – that kind of stuff.  And no, in my book, Oracles aren’t about reading the future. Instead, they’re tools to lead your story in new directions or provide a bland 2-D character with an unexpected personality trait.  Brain-hacks change a point-of-view or an attitude – simple suggestions to get us writers to see things from new perspectives.

When I started writing the book I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to write another book about time management. I wanted to write something that I felt could really push other writers past brain-freeze. I used the techniques that have inspired me past more than one rut – and hope that the book helps other writers who get too hung up in words that just aren’t working.

I’ll post a note when the book is live on Kindle – and look forward to your feedback.

Hey – just to give you a taste: If you were stuck and I told you that the Leaf picture was your key to moving forward, what would it say to you??

Thought I’d share the cover to my newest Kindle book – which should be available by mid-February.  What do you think?

Kicking off our new series: How They Did It, is Clarissa Cartharn, author of Dynasty O’Shea (The Throne of Gammalon).  

Clarissa has always had a deep love for language. Her pursuit of it has led her to attain a BA majoring in English Language and Literature, sought a career in English teaching for six years before finally becoming a lawyer.

But when she took up the pen, she realised what she was really desiring for was the cathartic release of her wild imaginations via writing.

Clarissa is interested in learning new languages and is currently on a quest on conquering Mandarin Chinese. Her quirky sense of humour and love for language, culture and people are fortunately shared by her husband, and two children.Dynasty O’Shea is her first novel.

Q:  Clarissa, the odds of completing a novel can be  astronomical. How did YOU do it?

A: I suppose it does sound astronomical. But I genuinely love to write so when I add words onto paper, I am not exactly counting. At the end of the day or even at the end of the book, I kind of surprise myself also when I look at it and think “Wow! Did I really write that much?”.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you really love doing something, it simply isn’t work. You do it because you love it. I don’t know a better way to explain it.

Please enjoy this guest post by Bella Andre, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the contemporary romance series, The Sullivans. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards!

Why I Love Family-Based Romance Series

I love reading romance (I read one book a day when I can!), and one of my favorite tropes is the family-based series. I absolutely love Julia Quinn’s historical romance Bridgerton series and have loved taking that idea of the big family into present day with my Sullivan contemporary romance series.

What I love when I read – and what I want my readers to get from The Sullivans – is to feel like they’re a part of the family, and to know each of the characters so well that they can begin to know anticipate what the will start saying and doing at family gatherings. I love it when I’m reading a big family scene and I know, “Oh, this character is going to react like this” or “This character will hate this!” I love it even more when the characters surprise me and I learn new things about them.

One of the advantages of writing a series about a large family is that even as the hero and heroine are having conflict with each other, we can see them being loving towards their families, so we know the depth of love they’re capable of.

There are plenty of big family scenes in my Sullivan books for you to get to know each character, what they’re like, and how they feel one another. Just like a real family, every Sullivan has a special relationship with each of the others. Smith and Sophie are extra close, as are Marcus and Lori. Ryan and Zach are so close in age that they spent a lot of time together as kids and have a special bond as adults.

The Sullivans are on tour with Novel Publicity. Follow along for your chance to win amazing prizes. We’ve got special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards. WOW!

You’ll also get introduced to this amazing contemporary romance series via excerpts as well as interviews with and guest posts from New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Bella Andre. You’ll definitely want to learn more about the family that has captured the world’s heart.

All the info you need to join the fun and enter to win amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase any of the Sullivan ebooks by Bella Andrefor just $4.99 (optional)
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity (go here)
3. Visit today’s featured social media event (that’s where the HUGE prizes are)

About The Sullivans: In this sexy, emotional and funny contemporary romance series, each member of the Sullivan family will eventually find true love…usually where he or she least expects it.

Get the eBooks via Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, the iBookStore, or the Kobo Store.

Audiobooks are also available for the first five in the series (with more coming soon). Plus, keep an eye out for paperback editions coming from Harlequin Romance starting Summer 2013.

About the Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre has always been a writer. Songs came first, and then non-fiction books, but as soon as she started writing her first romance novel, she knew she’d found her perfect career. Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly) about sizzling alpha heroes and the strong women they’ll love forever, nearly all of her novels have appeared on Top 10 lists at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Kobo.

Her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into nine languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post has called her “One of the top digital writers in America” and she has been featured by NPR, USA Today, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. She has given the keynote speech at Book Expo America on her self-publishing success and has sold more than one million books.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, swimming or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

• Sign up for Bella’s newsletter at www.eepurl.com/eXj22
• Visit Bella’s website at www.BellaAndre.com
• Follow Bella on twitter at www.twitter.com/bellaandre
• Join Bella on Faceboook at www.facebook.com/bellaandrefans

Please enjoy this interview with Bella Andre, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the contemporary romance series, The Sullivans. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards!

Interview with Bella Andre about her best-selling series, The Sullivans

1. You create characters beautifully and are an absolute master of plot twists. It seems like you could write in almost any genre and do a bang-up job of it. What made you decide to devote your efforts to the romance genre in particular?

Thank you so much for the compliments! I’ve always been a huge romance fan – I’ve been reading nearly a book a day since I was a teenager – so it was a natural fit for me when the characters starting appearing in my head one day.

2. How did the idea for this interconnected contemporary romance series first come to you? What was your inspiration?

I love the family series that have always been popular in historical romance – like Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series and Nora Roberts MacGregors – and I was also inspired by my husband’s large family. It seemed like a natural fit to combine the the funny and sweet family dynamics into an overarching series of sexy contemporary romances with the alpha heroes that I love so much.

3. Everyone seems to have a favorite Sullivan. Now I know this is like asking you to choose between your own children, but who is your favorite? And who’s most like you?

I’ll have to plead the fifth and pick Mary Sullivan – the family matriarch – as my favorite Sullivan. She’s the heart that keeps the family together and I get emotional whenever I write a scene with her. In fact, in COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER (Smith Sullivan’s story), the scene where he calls his mother to ask for love advice is one that so many readers have told me is their absolute favorite scene in any Sullivan book.

As for who is most like me – maybe Sophie Sullivan from I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU. She loves to read (and is a librarian) and when she wants something (in her case: bad boy Jake McCann), she goes for it! Of course, I’m also a lot like Lori Sullivan (aka “Naughty”) with her big mouth and constant laughter.

4. In your opinion, what ingredients are needed to make up a good love story? Is life the same as fiction in this respect? Why or why not?

I love to love my characters and when I write a story I need two heroic, nice, good people (and why not gorgeous, too?!) who deserve love and have a lot of love to offer in return, but who are flawed partially because they haven’t found that perfect someone who compliments them like no other. I like my fiction to be a little bigger than life – the Sullivans are extraordinarily hot, sensitive and attentive – but at their heart, they’re all very real.

5. How has your own love story with your husband informed the Sullivan series? Are there any scenes that are directly taken from your own life?

I have the best husband in the entire world. Sweet, loving, sensitive…and super hot! He’s always supported me in everything I’ve ever done and I think his strength and capability to love is at the core of every hero I write.

With that said, none of the scenes are ever taken directly from my own life. I have a very active imagination.

6. Let’s pretend for a second that you are a single woman living in the world of the Sullivans, which of the six brothers would you be most likely to fall in love with and why?

Ohhhh, now THAT is a fun fantasy! I would fall in love with each and every single one of them – and do, while I’m writing each of their stories! If I had to pick one, I might have my eye on Marcus (FROM THIS MOMENT ON) – because while all of my Sullivans are sweet, sexy and sensitive – Marcus is the only one with his own endless supply of wine from his winery. And there’s just something about the oldest brother…. Then again, Zach Sullivan is such a great combination of cocky and sweet. And Ryan Sullivan has all those muscles. And Gabe is such a hero as a firefighter (and I love his dirty talking between the sheets). And Chase is so sexy and protective. And then there’s Jake McCann (who falls in love with Sophie Sullivan) with his tattoo’s and big muscles. Not to mention Lori’s hero in the upcoming ALWAYS ON MY MIND which will be out this spring. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Lori’s hero just might be the hottest hero I’ve ever written.

See, what did I tell you earlier? I’m no good at picking just one. So let’s just say, yet again, ALL OF THEM!

7. The Sullivans and their beaux have some pretty interesting careers. From photographers and sculptors to professional actors, musicians and ball players all the way to firefighters, librarians and business owners, they lead very exciting lives! What type of research did you have to do to capture these jobs so well? Do you have any interesting research anecdotes to share?

I’ve written firefighters and athletes in previous series which helped with my firefighter, Gabe (CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE) and my baseball player, Ryan (LET ME BE THE ONE). I also live in Sonoma and have a lot of experience with wine and wineries which was ideal for winery owner Marcus (FROM THIS MOMENT ON) and as a writer I’ve been blessed to work with many librarians who served as information points for Sophie (I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU.)

For books where I need inspiration, the internet has been amazing and when needed, I also call on the help of professionals. Even though I’d written firefighters before, I still sent all my firefighting scenes to a professional and for Smith’s book (COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER) I sent all the acting-set sequences to a local film producer.

8. I was very touched by the inclusion of Yorkie puppy, Cuddles, and Great Dane rescue, Atlas, in book five, If You Were Mine. Are you a dog person yourself? If you have pets, I’d love to know more about them!

I *love* animals. I had the best time writing the two dogs in IF YOU WERE MINE. They had their own little love story in that book, which pleased me to no end. There’s a cat that plays a very important role in ALWAYS ON MY MIND (Lori Sullivan’s story, coming Spring 2013). My whole family loves animals, and we’ve recently adopted a beautiful cat. Or more accurately, the cat has adopted us, smart little minx.

9. The Sullivan series is currently seven volumes long. How many more books do you have planned, and which other family members will get the spotlight in their own books?

Lori’s book (ALWAYS ON MY MIND) is up next, and there are 5 Seattle Sullivans who are ready for love – I will start with Rafe Sullivan’s book this summer! Plus, I have something *very* special planned for Mary Sullivan, their mother, planned to release for the holidays in 2013.

10. And lastly (for a bit of random fun), what has been the most amazing/ touching/ validating interaction you’ve had with a fan of your books?

Everyone who has ever written to me on Facebook or Twitter or Goodreads or via email to tell me how much they love my books and that the Sullivans have moved them in some way has touched me. I love my fans, so, so much! I have the very best time in the world writing about my Sullivans… and knowing that I have so many absolutely wonderful people waiting to read them as soon as they’re released is a total thrill every single day.

The Sullivans are on tour with Novel Publicity. Follow along for your chance to win amazing prizes. We’ve got special romantic swag baskets for each book, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, and Kobo eReader, and Amazon and iTunes gift cards. WOW!

You’ll also get introduced to this amazing contemporary romance series via excerpts as well as interviews with and guest posts from New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Bella Andre. You’ll definitely want to learn more about the family that has captured the world’s heart.

All the info you need to join the fun and enter to win amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To Win the Prizes:

1. Purchase any of the Sullivan ebooks by Bella Andrefor just $4.99 (optional)
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity (go here)
3. Visit today’s featured social media event (that’s where the HUGE prizes are)

About The Sullivans: In this sexy, emotional and funny contemporary romance series, each member of the Sullivan family will eventually find true love…usually where he or she least expects it.

Get the eBooks via Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, the iBookStore, or the Kobo Store.

Audiobooks are also available for the first five in the series (with more coming soon). Plus, keep an eye out for paperback editions coming from Harlequin Romance starting Summer 2013.

About the Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Bella Andre has always been a writer. Songs came first, and then non-fiction books, but as soon as she started writing her first romance novel, she knew she’d found her perfect career. Known for “sensual, empowered stories enveloped in heady romance” (Publishers Weekly) about sizzling alpha heroes and the strong women they’ll love forever, nearly all of her novels have appeared on Top 10 lists at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Kobo.

Her books have been Cosmopolitan Magazine “Red Hot Reads” twice and have been translated into nine languages. Winner of the Award of Excellence, The Washington Post has called her “One of the top digital writers in America” and she has been featured by NPR, USA Today, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. She has given the keynote speech at Book Expo America on her self-publishing success and has sold more than one million books.

If not behind her computer, you can find her reading her favorite authors, hiking, swimming or laughing. Married with two children, Bella splits her time between the Northern California wine country and a 100 year old log cabin in the Adirondacks.

• Sign up for Bella’s newsletter at www.eepurl.com/eXj22
• Visit Bella’s website at www.BellaAndre.com
• Follow Bella on twitter at www.twitter.com/bellaandre
• Join Bella on Faceboook at www.facebook.com/bellaandrefans

I had the exceptional pleasure of “sitting down” with Tahir Shah, author of Timbuctoo, a true life tale from two centuries ago. The novel is about the first Christian to venture to Timbuctoo and back – a young illiterate American sailor whose story the author discovered twenty years ago while delving into “the bowels” of the London Library.

Q: It’s apparent in reading your work and watching your videos that you have a great admiration for explorers; not just the great explorers of the past, but those who delve into cultures around the world today. Are there a few people whose exploratory work you particularly admire? If so, who are they and what do you think they bring to the table in terms of expanding world view?

A: I have always been inspired by great people. Some of them are household names from a century ago, like the Arabist and scholar Sir Richard Burton, or the Victorian explorer Samuel White Baker. Others are well known people I have been lucky enough to know personally, like the explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger or the writer Doris Lessing. But many more have been amazing people — pioneers in their own right — that have never made headline news. Instead, they have worked away in the margins of society and culture, expanding the boundaries of knowledge, and drawing our attention to wonders. I met one such man on a rooftop in Delhi twnty-five years ago. He was a South African traveller and beatnik called Oscar, and through days and nights he trained me to see the world in ways I had never imagined possible.

For me, exploration doesn’t have to dwell the big milestones, so much as the details, details which I find equally enticing in their own right. And the explorers I value most highly are those who have taught me to search out the ordinary, rather than merely the extraordinary… or to look for the hidden underbelly of lands through which we pass.

Q: I find that most Americans are virtually ignorant about events around the world, particularly in the Middle East (unless it comes to conflict), the Far East and Africa. We are also ignorant of world geography. I’m willing to bet that 9 out of 10 Americans couldn’t tell you that Casablanca is located in Morocco. As a writer who spans cultures, do you feel a need to educate us here in the West about the rest of the world through your work?

A: I have been enormously fortunate to travel through and to live in different continents and countries, in cultures very different from those I readily know and understand. I am a great proponent of ‘knowing the world’ and, of course, the more one tries to know, the more one realizes how little one actually does. And what a marvel that is — the thought that there’s an entire iceberg out there to explore, when we hardly know the smallest fragment of the tip.

I love to rove through a world atlas and drool at lands I hardly know at all. The thought of so many thousands of miles of African scrub for example, or the great cities of Asia, or the landscapes of Australia — all of them awaiting me. That’s the thought which gets me out of bed in the morning, and fills my head with dreams at night.

Yes, I see it as a key thing to shake people and to wake them to the possibilities, the possibilities of adventure. But here’s the big point: you don’t have to be some fancy Indiana Jones to be an explorer. Quite the opposite: the more ordinary you are, the more grounded and ready you will be to observe. And it’s observation that I regard as the great skill. We have to learn to relax and to observe what we think we know with fresh eyes, to do so is to harness the greatest skill of man.

Q: In watching many of your videos it’s apparent to me that you have an insatiable curiosity, not just about cultural heritage but everything in your path, from fish sellers to witches, jungle secrets, and local markets. Your delight in discovery is infectious. For writers who don’t have the ways or means to travel to “exotic” locales, what do you suggest as a way for them to find as much delight in their community as you do in yours?

A while ago I was sitting at my desk trying to write a book about the jungle. I was struggling for various reasons, mostly because I didn’t know how to tell the story of the journey. So I called a great friend, the travel writer Robert Twigger. He said to me, ‘Take what you know, turn it into the light, and observe it in new ways, ways you thought impossible.’ I remember putting the phone down and picking up a coffee mug on my desk. Right there and then I turned it slowly on my hand, examining it from angles I’d not imagined before. It was like opening a magical box and seeing a new realm emerge. And the same goes for exploration and observation. I think there is amazement to be found in our own homes, let alone at the end of the street, or in our own neighborhoods. Yes, exotic travel to far-flung locales is appealing and fabulous, but I wish people would try to examine what they know first, before they head off unprepared to a distant land.

Q: What non-Western writers do you feel are particularly deserving of more attention here in the West?

A: I read widely, and find myself drawn to writers from so many cultures, living now and long since gone. Amin Maalouf is a genius, and a storyteller worthy of the Arabian Nights. His book The Crusades Through Arab Eyes is magnificent. The Moroccan author Mahi Binbin is writing important work today, especially his book Les Etoiles de Sidi Moumen. And, there are so many Indian authors who impress me, including Vikram Seth and Rohinton Mistry.

Please enjoy this interview with Melissa McPhail, author of the spellbinding epic fantasy, Cephrael’s Hand. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

1. Your debut novel, Cephrael’s Hand was the winner of The Written Arts Award for both the best fiction and the best Sci-Fi/Fantasy categories–congratulations! So tell us, what was the inspiration behind this story, and can you tell us a little bit about it?

I started the first version of Cephrael’s Hand when I was going through a difficult time in my life. I needed the cathartic joy that I’d always found in writing. I didn’t set out to write a novel—just to write. That first draft had no planning, no world-building, no design. It was pure creative inspiration. And it was awful!

But the characters… I had brought them into being, and they insisted that they had a story to tell. It took my growing as a writer—and over a million words tossed into the trash—to finally tell their story properly.

Cephrael’s Hand is the result of a philosopher’s approach to fantasy. It’s the story of one man’s steadfast determination to save the realm he swore to protect, and his willingness to do anything it takes to accomplish that end—even to betray those he loves. It’s the story of the unlikely pieces (men and women) who unknowingly fall beneath his shadow, and of the players who follow him. Ultimately, it’s a story of salvation.

I see fantasy as a metaphor for life in this world. We all face tests of our honor. We’re all working to accomplish our goals and flourish and prosper. Few of us set out to do evil. Yet evil is done. Goals are abandoned. Integrity is compromised. We totter precariously on thin wires as we move through the labyrinth of life. I strive with my series to illuminate those wire-thin paths, that we might find solid ground beneath them.

2. Without giving away too much, can you reveal what’s in store for the readers when they crack open Cephrael’s Hand?

If you listen to my critics—too many characters! But this is an epic fantasy dealing with a conflict that spans multiple kingdoms. It takes a team to save the world.

Hopefully you’ll meet interesting characters and a world you can easily find your own place within. You’ll discover pirates, princes, star-crossed lovers and philosopher-soldiers. You’ll see many characters who are not as they appear, and a few who are exactly as they seem. You’ll find adventure on a perilous road with prince Ean val Lorian, and farcical escapades with Trell of the Tides and the pirate Carian vran Lea.

You’ll often wonder who is good and who is evil—because most villains in real life are cloaked in shades of gray.

3. Can you tell us more about some of the key concepts that inspired the world of Cephrael’s Hand?

The story is crafted out of many of the philosophies I’ve studied. As I was planning Cephrael’s Hand, I had been reading about game philosophy. Game philosophy speaks on the importance of games in our lives and takes a look at their composition (barriers, purposes and freedoms) and their anatomy (pieces, players, maker of games). It’s a compelling concept with abundant applications, and I became immediately interested in exploring the ideas more via the story of Cephrael’s Hand.

Balance is another concept that threads throughout the story. Exploration of this idea comes out of my study and practice of yoga. If ever a concept permeates our lives, the pursuit of balance is one. Whether seeking to balance work and parenthood, our social commitments and our private lives, or even just the juggle of that list of a thousand things we’ll never get to, every one of us is seeking balance in some fashion. Placing this concept within the framework of a fantasy story embellishes it with a magical lure.

4. The Cephreal’s Hand constellation plays an important role in the book. Is there a real life constellation that plays a similarly important role in your life?

I can’t say that a particular constellation is important to me personally, though I’ve studied Astrology for many years. But I’m drawn to the idea, both scientifically and philosophically, that we are all connected somehow with each other and the broader universe. String Theory and General Relativity play to this idea from the perspective of science. Certainly, if we are connected to the stars in some esoteric way, then the actions of the stars can impact us. Astrology believes this, and the graphing of natal charts proves an underlying truth in this ancient, mystical and often misunderstood science. Philosophies far and wide declare that we’ve descended or separated from a universal oneness and teach karmic values with the intent of helping us return or re-ascend to that harmonious state.

The concept of Balance in Cephrael’s Hand stems from this idea of universal connectivity.

5. Ever since a linguist named Tolkien came along, language has been a very important aspect of the epic fantasy genre. What inspired the various languages in Cephrael’s Hand?

The desert languages are based on Farsi or Arabic, depending on the tribe. Farsi is one of the oldest languages still in use today, and its traditions lent themselves well to the Kandori culture, which is one of Alorin’s oldest races. Likewise Arabic, being originally a language of the nomadic tribes, seemed the correct base from which to draw the language of the Akkad.

Even older than both of these languages in my novel is Old Alaeic, which is the original language of theangiel, the Maker’s blessed children, and of the two original races: the zanthyrs and the drachwyr. Old Alaeic draws primarily from Gaelic root words. I chose Gaelic because the language maintains some of the earliest roots of our Indo-European linguistic heritage. Its spellings and pronunciations are almost universally reminiscent of mythological beings from ancient times and are often associated, especially in the fantasy genre, with elves, Druids or other mystical races.

6. Which other authors have served as influences and inspiration for your own work?

I love lyrical writing, so my bookshelves host an eclectic mix (albeit heavily weighted with fantasy and science fiction). Those who first come to mind from the fantasy genre are Anne Rice, Patrick Rothfuss and Jacqueline Carey, all of whom carry on a great and fabulous romance with the English language, much to the ecstasy of millions. Being able to string words like pearls into a story that reads at times like poetry in motion seems the greatest pinnacle of storytelling skill.

7. It’s been said that one of the most time-consuming processes of writing epic fantasy is world building. Without giving too much away, what are a few of your favorite world aspects and what inspired them?

As I wrote in a recent guest post, world-building and the magic system developed for the world are intimately connected. We can’t really describe a fantasy world without talking about the magic that rules it, because so much of what we understand about the world derives from our understanding of how the physical laws of the world work.

In creating my world of Alorin, I established five “strands” of the lifeforce known as elae. These strands are a way of describing and codifying the lifeforce which is the source of energy in the world, but they are only one way of describing it. While most of the viewpoints I am writing from agree with describing the lifeforce in terms of “strands,” there are other races in Alorin who have codified it differently, darkly, or with less purity for lack of philosophical simplicity.

I love exploring different viewpoints and imagining how each would describe a universal energy. I love examining the cultures that seek to describe this energy and how their ideals might alter their understanding of it. For example, the Adept race believes that Adepts are born with the ability to work one of the five strands, but only one. Yet some of the “Wildling” races are known to be able to innately work more than one strand.

The Fhorgs race works blood sacrifice to fuel their magic. Would their magic work without such sacrifice? The Adepts believe that it would. Yet within the Adept philosophy, a working of magic requires faith both in the existence of power and in one’s ability to manipulate it. If the Fhorgs don’t believe themselves able to wield the lifeforce without letting blood, it follows that magic would become unavailable to them simply because of their lack of belief. Moreover, because the Fhorgs don’t limit their ideas of their magical ability to a five strand approach, it’s possible they might achieve more through the wielding of it–or not. These are existential questions for these two races, questions which set them at odds with each other. Questions from which derive conflicts and persecutions, intrigues and betrayals.

Such explorations fuel both world-building and magic-system building, because their delineation establishes how the world works, how the people of the world interact with the energy that fuels it, how they interact with each other, and how they use the energy itself to work arcane acts.

8. You grew up in a house full of musicians, but your creativity emerged in the form of writing. Have you always felt called to write?

I always thought I would end up with a career in music like the rest of my family. I grew up harboring such an appreciation of these accomplished, classical musicians all around me, it seemed a natural course to follow in their footsteps.

Instead, I stumbled into writing the way one sometimes bumps into providence, colliding with it accidentally. I happened to take a creative writing class in high school. My creative writing instructor believed the best way to teach writing was to send her students out to actually write. So I did—hundreds of pages over the next few years. Writing became both an outlet for my creativity and the escape reading had always provided. I know I share that love affair with many authors.

9. At one time or another, most writers hit the wall and their work stalls because of the dreaded writer’s block. What do you do to get around or over this mental wall to resume writing?

Usually I turn to music—either composing it or listening to it. If I can find a great new song, sometimes that will help inspire me out of the hole. When a scene just isn’t working, I’ve learned to go back to where I was last doing well in the story and scrap everything that came after. It’s an agonizing process, but often necessary.

10. The Dagger of Adendigaeth, Book 2 in your series, has just been published. How has your vision expanded from book 1 to book 2, and what kind of creative growth have you experienced in your process this second time around?

We grow as writers with every novel—at least I believe that’s the goal. Many of the things I gained in writing The Dagger of Adendigaeth are intangible, ineffable understandings of myself and my creative process. I think of those times of being fabulously, fantastically stuck and the final moment of inspiration that launched me out of that depressing well. I think of the plot twists that came to me completely without warning, and the absolute magic that is the creative process.

The thing I loved most about writing this book was being able to explore so many viewpoints—especially the viewpoints of those characters who might be viewed as antagonists. But I don’t and never have seen them that way. It’s my greatest purpose in writing this series to be able to show the motivations and ideals that mold and shape each character. The more we can understand each other, the closer to a peaceful coexistence we will find, whether in the microcosm of our lives or the broader political and religious zones.

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Cephrael’s Hand eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.

The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Cephrael’s Hand for just 99 cents
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event

About Cephrael’s Hand: Two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a great battle, neither knowing the other is alive… A traitor works in exile while preparing for the disaster only he knows is coming… A race of beings from beyond the fringe of the universe begin unmaking the world from within… And all across the land, magic is dying.Cephrael’s Hand is the first novel in the award-winning series A Pattern of Shadow and Light.Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid Fantasy reader. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their twin daughters and two very large cats. Visit Melissa on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Please enjoy this excerpt from Cephrael’s Hand, a spellbinding epic fantasy by Melissa McPhail. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

Ean hugged the shadows as he tried to find his way back to le Comte’s estates. He feared they’d hurt his head worse than he thought, for the twisting alleys of the city disoriented him now. He was sure he’d passed the last street corner already once, and he had the uneasy feeling that he was walking in circles.

Trying to break the cycle, he turned into a long and shadowed alley, spotting a streetlamp at the other end. Abruptly a form reared out of the shadows. Ean reached for his sword—

“…Ean?”

The prince halted with his hand around the hilt. “Fynn?”

“Balls of Belloth!” Fynnlar crossed the distance in a rush and grabbed him by both shoulders, giving him a shake. “What are you doing out here, you wool-brained fool?”

“I might ask the same of you, cousin.” Pushing a hand to his throbbing head, Ean closed his eyes. He’d seen so much death since the last moon…so many lives lost, and for what? He couldn’t fathom the events that spun violently around him, only knowing they somehow had him caught in the whirlwind.

“Ean, are you unwell?”

“Hit my head pretty hard,” the prince murmured, lifting tired eyes to refocus on his cousin. “I’ll be all right.”

“Come on. We’d best keep moving.”

The prince shook off the numbness edging his thoughts and followed his cousin. Fog was rising from the river as they headed back toward le Comte’s villa, fat fingers sliding through the streets to leach the color from the night. They reached a corner, and Fynn paused and looked warily around.

“Fynn, what are we waiting fo—”

But the words stuck on Ean’s tongue, for he heard it then: a strange whispering, the whisk of silk across the rough edge of glass. The sound had prickly tentacles that pierced into the soft flesh of Ean’s inner ear and twisted there, making him cringe.

Something flew out of the shadows and Ean swung his head after it, straining to make out what he’d seen. “What in Tiern’aval was that?”

Grimly, Fynn held his sword before him. “A Wildling—a Whisper Lord.”

The whispering continued, tormenting, growing soundlessly louder until it shrieked inside Ean’s skull, shattering any hope of focus.

The Wildling shot out of the shadows again, and Ean forced his eyes to follow, to find him in the shadows where he hid.

There.

He saw him lurking against the wall, smiling around big white teeth. His leathery skin was pitch black , and his eyes were golden like the desert sands. The man locked gazes with him, and—

Suddenly they were nose to nose. Ean felt the heat of his breath in the same moment that the fiery sting of steel pierced his flesh.

Shade and darkness!

“Ean, he cut you!”

“I’m all right.” But Ean grimaced as he gingerly probed the wound. “Shadow take the abominable creature.” Fynn gave him a long look. “Be ready,” and he rushed to meet the Wildling.

The fight turned instantly vicious. Whisper Lord fought with long, stiletto daggers that speared like claws out of his gloves. His hands crisscrossed with amazing speed, never failing to find their mark on Fynn’s person, while his body twisted and spun. Fynn’s thrusts in turn only seemed to meet with the slashed silk of his garments. So fast did the Whisper Lord dart and cavort that Ean at first felt helpless to join in, for he could barely see the Wildling move until after it had happened, as if the sight had to bounce off the back of his eyes…as if he could only see the man’s reflection.

Then Ean found his focus and rushed to help Fynn.

The Whisper Lord marked him before he even got his blade around, a long swipe at the joining of neck and shoulder that burned bitterly. Ean realized that trying to use his sword alone would get him killed, so he pulled his dagger and dove in again. The Whisper Lord dodged like a jumping spider and managed in the same maneuver to slash a deep cut across Ean’s thigh, his daggers flashing first with the silver of steel and then dark with blood. Ean snarled a curse and staggered into the wall, teeth clenched against the pain, for the wound was angry and deep.

Abruptly Fynn threw himself backwards, himself narrowly avoiding a deadly thrust to his gut. Those spine-like blades sliced a chunk of flesh out of his side instead. The royal cousin clenched his teeth and held one hand to his midriff, using the other to pull himself out of reach.

Ean dove at the creature with renewed determination, his battered head forgotten in his haste to keep the man away from Fynn. He wore a malicious grin as they battled, and his golden gaze was flecked and sparkling against his face of leathery pitch. As Ean’s strength failed, the Wildling grinned even broader and began to chant in a voice like sand, “Tur or’de rorum d’rundalin dalal! Tur or’de rorum d’rundalin dalal!” Over and over while he pressed Ean on the retreat; gleefully, like a madman.

And then he made a sudden thrust, and Ean jumped to avoid the slashing daggers that barely missed his throat. He came down unevenly on his bad leg, and his knee buckled. Stumbling, he hissed a curse and the man bore down on him. A swipe of his hand, and three spiny daggers cut deeply across Ean’s back with their sharp fire. The Wildling’s other hand darted for his throat again, but the prince veered and twisted so the blades caught his chin and cheek instead. Ean rolled and thrust upward, but the Wildling merely laughed and arched out of his way; the weapon met only the whisper of silk.

Ean lay panting. His dagger seemed lost along with his will, and desperation could no longer drive him on.

The Whisper Lord advanced slowly wearing a grim smile. With the shrieking noise still accosting his skull and the loss of blood and nausea in his stomach, Ean felt only numb acceptance. Shaking, he lowered his head—

A tall form pushed past him, knocking Ean aside as it rushed to engage the Whisper Lord, driving the Wildling back and away, taking the battle out of Ean’s hands.

Ean fell onto his back, gasping as the last of his strength bled out of him, and lay watching his rescuer take offensive control.

The woman’s brown half-cloak floated behind her as she advanced with long, fast strides, forcing the Whisper Lord on the retreat beneath two short swords wielded in a flashing figure-eight.

The Wildling smiled no longer. Every thrust and swipe of his daggers was blocked by the woman’s whirling black blades. She matched him stride for stride, spinning when he spun, darting as he did, dodging as he lunged. They performed a ferocious, twisting dance of death where both knew the steps intimately and took them with ease.

As Ean watched, the Wildling slashed his daggered gloves in a motion that should’ve gutted the woman, but she flipped out of his reach, thrusting long as she landed. Her sword met with the flesh of his side, drawing a hiss as he jumped back. He glared malevolently at her and pressed one palm to his side.

“Merdanti,” he snarled, his golden eyes hot as they assessed her black blades.

Arching brows with a predatory smile, she twirled her blades and lunged for him again, and once more the dance began, the meeting of their deadly weapons a rhythmic beating that seemed in time with Ean’s still-racing heart.

And then—

Ean thought he must’ve dreamed it, his tortured mind inventing an impression for what clearly defied explanation. The woman and the Wildling seemed to shift and slow, their cloaks floating as if suspended on the wind. Then the woman launched out of her turn so quickly that Ean lost sight of her, only to spot her again as she stood squarely before her opponent, blades crossed. With naught but a grimace of effort, she chopped her short swords crosswise through the Wildling’s neck, removing his head completely. His body toppled to the stones at her feet, paying respects to her skill.

Silence hung in the street, a palpable blanket sewn of incredulity fringed with pain.

The woman lowered her dripping blades and leveled tawny eyes on the prince…

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Cephrael’s Hand eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.

The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Cephrael’s Hand for just 99 cents
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event

About Cephrael’s Hand: Two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a great battle, neither knowing the other is alive… A traitor works in exile while preparing for the disaster only he knows is coming… A race of beings from beyond the fringe of the universe begin unmaking the world from within… And all across the land, magic is dying.Cephrael’s Hand is the first novel in the award-winning series A Pattern of Shadow and Light.Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid Fantasy reader. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their twin daughters and two very large cats. Visit Melissa on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Please enjoy this guest post by Melissa McPhail, author of the spellbinding epic fantasy, Cephrael’s Hand. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

My Take on Magic Systems

A guest post by Melissa McPhail

One of the most enticing aspects of writing fantasy is developing a magic system. The author’s magic system is inextricably woven into their world and contributes greatly to the reader’s vision of the world overall. The way a system is created either makes the world seem real or unreal, depending on how well the author has grounded the system with laws and limitations.

For example, scientists in our own world have defined laws—inertia, gravity, the periodic table—that describe the physical limitations and properties of energy. We don’t expect a stone to rise upwards when we throw it, but we might believe it could float if it were somehow made of helium. Likewise in a fantasy world, it’s important to codify the system with laws and rules (and to stick to those rules once established), to set boundaries for what the magician can and cannot do with magic, and to establish consequences for and ramifications of magical misuse.

This all shows that magic systems require significant thought and research on the author’s part to develop realistically. Yet for all of this, the manner in which one might design and describe the magical process is potentially limitless—there are as many magical systems as there are fantasy novels, and equally as many readers eager to pontificate on their pros and cons and/or to organize the systems into categories and types.

The one thing most magic systems have in common, however, is that they all handle energy. Whether that energy is spiritual, omnipotent, corporeal, or derives from physical objects or living things, the working of arcane arts surrounds the manipulation of energy.

I designed the magic in Cephrael’s Hand based on scientists’ existing understanding of electrical fields. The process of thought has been scientifically proven to produce energy, and human bodies are known to generate electrical fields. For the magic in Alorin, I proposed that all living things produce a metaphysical energy which is formless but which flows across the world in natural currents. This energy is called elae. This is the energy a magician of Alorin uses to produce arcane workings. How he does this is the creative part.

In Cephrael’s Hand, all things are formed of patterns. A single leaf derives its pattern from the larger pattern of its motherly oak. The snowflake harbors the pattern of a storm. Rivers form patterns that mimic the pattern of the world, and a living man harbors within him the pattern of his immortality. These inherent patterns collect and compel energy (elae) toward a certain purpose—growth, action, states of change.

To compel energy, a magician of Alorin (called a wielder) must learn to first identify and then usurp control over the pattern of a thing in order to command it. This is a laborious process requiring a lifetime of study.

Unlike wielders, the Adepts in Cephrael’s Hand are born with the ability to manipulate certain patterns. Adept Healers can see creation patterns (life patterns) and mend them where they’ve become frayed. Truthreaders can hear certain thoughts and read minds to see what a man saw versus what he says he saw. Nodefinders have the ability to move long distances with a single step by traveling on the pattern of the world. And Wildlings tap into a variant aspect of the lifeforce called elae to shapeshift or even skip through time, among other intriguing talents. The last type of Adept can sense the patterns of nonliving things—stone, air, water, fire, etc.—and use those patterns to compel the elements themselves.

Adepts are limited by nature of their birth—they can only inherently work one category of patterns. They are limited by their training, their inherent intelligence, talent and ability. And of course, like us in real life, they are limited by their own vision of their capabilities.

Above all of these limitations, we find Adepts limited by “Balance.” The concept of Balance draws from my studies of Eastern philosophies. It is the high governing force, the yen and yang, karma, cause and effect, fate. It’s as esoteric and arcane as these concepts imply. How far can the Balance be pushed in one direction without lashing back at the wielder? Which actions stretch it and which ones defy it? Balance is a complex and complicated subject—as difficult to define as our own world’s myriad competing religions. The only real agreement on the subject of Balance is that all magical workings stretch the Balance to some degree. Understanding how far they can be stretched without snapping is central to survival in the arcane arts.

The concept of Balance provides, well, the “balancing” force to all magical workings in Cephrael’s Hand and is central to its plot. You see, the entire realm of Alorin is out of Balance and magic is dying—and the Adept race dies along with it.

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Cephrael’s Hand eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.

The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Cephrael’s Hand for just 99 cents
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event

About Cephrael’s Hand: Two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a great battle, neither knowing the other is alive… A traitor works in exile while preparing for the disaster only he knows is coming… A race of beings from beyond the fringe of the universe begin unmaking the world from within… And all across the land, magic is dying.Cephrael’s Hand is the first novel in the award-winning series A Pattern of Shadow and Light.Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid Fantasy reader. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their twin daughters and two very large cats. Visit Melissa on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Come back tomorrow to read the guest post by Melissa McPhail, author of Cephrael’s Hand.

As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Cephrael’s Hand eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes.

The prizes include a Kindle Fire, $450 in Amazon gift cards, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment–easy to enter; easy to win!

To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Cephrael’s Hand for just 99 cents
2. Enter the Rafflecopter contest on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event

About Cephrael’s Hand: Two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of a great battle, neither knowing the other is alive… A traitor works in exile while preparing for the disaster only he knows is coming… A race of beings from beyond the fringe of the universe begin unmaking the world from within… And all across the land, magic is dying.Cephrael’s Hand is the first novel in the award-winning series A Pattern of Shadow and Light.Get it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

About the author: Melissa McPhail is a classically trained pianist, violinist and composer, a Vinyasa yoga instructor, and an avid Fantasy reader. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their twin daughters and two very large cats. Visit Melissa on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.

Did you get a new eReader for Christmas, and are now looking for something awesome to read? Or, maybe you didn’t get anything good and want to spoil yourself a little with the chance to win that coveted eReader, some major gift cards, or other awesome prizes. Maybe you just need to relax after hurry-scurrying around all season. Well…

Wouldn’t it be nice to take a long hot bath or snuggle under your favorite blanket with a great read? Sounds like the perfect day, right? Hey, we can offer you something even better than that.

In fact, we can offer you something seven times better!

For starters, we can offer you up to seven review copies of Bella Andre’s New York Times and USA Today best-selling contemporary romance series The Sullivans.

We’ll introduce you to—not just one, but—each and every member of the Sullivan family on their quests to find happiness. Even though most of them aren’t even really looking for love, it has a way of finding them anyway. These sexy, emotional and funny novels will nurse all your literary and metaphorical desires. You’ll laugh and cry right along with the characters, and get hooked into these great stories right from the very first page. They even take place in lovely California, giving you the opportunity to travel by proxy and escape the windy winter doldrums.

What’s that you say? The books sound awesome, but you’re not sure why you have to join the tour to enjoy their awesomeness? There are so many reasons to sign-up. Since there are seven books (so far) in The Sullivans series and seven that will be taking part in this extraordinarily large tour, let’s stay right on theme and discuss seven reasons why you need to join the fun, pronto.

CLICK ME > What are you waiting for? Go sign-up now! <CLICK ME

THE PERKS

Not only will you get to read a great novel—or two, or three, or seven—but you’ll also get…

1. The opportunity to network with other bloggers and avid readers.

2. The option to host a guest post, excerpt or interview with best-selling author Bella Andre. This will bring new readers to your blog AND give you content for your blog—what’s better, a post you didn’t even have to write yourself. If your New Year looks as hectic as mine, having a guest post is almost as good as reading an awesome book… because it means I’ll have TIME to READ that great book.

3. The chance to interact directly with the author through a number of social media activities, discussions, and awesome giveaways .

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

4. Literally, there are more books. If you love The Sullivans, you can find half a dozen more books just waiting for your eager hands and mind. AND REVIEW COPIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ALL SEVEN! WOWZA!

5. Kick start your New Year’s resolution to read more! Plus you get hours of entertainment absolutely free—you may even win something (which makes the deal even sweeter).

6. The Sullivans will make you fall in love. You’ll love the writing, the humor, the characters, and the stories. You might even find hope for true love within these pages.

7. If you’ve ever wished for your own happy ending—heck, even if you’ve already found it—there’s something in each of these novels you’ll be able to identify with. We all know life isn’t perfect, and the Sullivans know that too. They’re so real, reading the book is almost like watching a movie or watching somebody’s real life unfold right in front of your eyes.

DID I FORGET TO MENTION THE PRIZES?

The prizes are ridonkulous. We’ve got romantic swag baskets, hundreds of dollars gift cards, an iPad Mini, Kindle Fire, Nook Color, AND a Sony eReader to name a few.

Well I guess there’s just one more reason to join us on the biggest tour Novel Publicity has ever put together. More books, more bloggers, more buzz and, of course, more prizes!

CLICK ME > What are you waiting for? Go sign-up now! <CLICK ME

OH, DID YOU WANT SPECIFIC DETAILS?

Learn what all the buzz is about when you receive review copies of the first 7 books in this on-going series. Read one, or read them all. Or, you could host an excerpt, interview, or guest post instead–and we’ll even put that together for you.

Tour Dates: January 7 to 20, 2013

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Page Count: approx 300 pages each

CAUTION: Explicit language, very steamy love scenes…and lots of emotion!

The Prizes:

* iPad Mini

* Kindle Fire

* Nook Color

* Kobo eReader

* $100 Amazon gift cards (7 prizes)

* $50 Amazon gift cards (2 prizes)

* $25 Amazon gift cards (8 prizes)

* $20 iTunes gift cards (10 prizes)

* Custom prize baskets for EACH of the 7 books–including items such as wine gift set, silver bracelets, romantic photo books and photo frames, eReader and smart phone skins, and MUCH, MUCH more!

…and we’ve got special prizes just for participating bloggers

Read summaries and excerpts on the sign-up page.

CLICK ME > What are you waiting for? Go sign-up now! <CLICK ME

Thank you to Jamie Marchant, author of The Goddess’s’ Choice, for sitting down with me today for this interview.

ABOUT JAMIE MARCHANT

Jamie lives in Auburn, Alabama, with her husband, son, and four cats, which (or so she’s been told) officially makes her a cat lady. Jamie teaches writing and literature at Auburn University.Her first novel The Goddess’s Choice was released in April 2012 from Reliquary Press.Jamie am hard at work on the sequel, tentatively titled The Soul Stone. Her short fiction has been published in Bards & Sages, The World of Myth, and Short-story.me.

INTERVIEW

Q:  I’d like to start with the question readers often want to know:  Where did you get the idea for The Goddess’s Choice?

 A:  The Goddess’s Choice  originates deep within my childhood. My sister Jalane–she is ten years older than me–told me stories, fairy tales mostly:  “Midas and His Golden Touch,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Hansel and Gretel.” But my favorite was always “The Princess and the Glass Hill” or “The Glass Mountain” as my sister titled it. I had her tell that story over and over again. I was captivated by the bold hero on his magical horses of bronze, silver, and gold.

When I had a child of my own, I wanted to pass that fairy tale on. My son, Jesse, loved it every bit as much as I had. One day after telling it to him, it came to me that the story could be so much more than five pages and sparse details. However, I didn’t want to write a children’s story but the type of epic fantasy I enjoy as an adult. I upped the dramatic tension, villainy, and sexuality of the piece to create something far different than the original fairy tale. The Goddess’s Choice is intended for an adult audience.

Q:  Were you always drawn to fantasy stories, fairy tales, old legends? 

 A:  Yes, as I said, my sister introduced me to fairy tales when I was very young. My tastes grew from fairy tales to fantasy literature of Piers Anthony, Stephen R. Donaldson, and Roger Zelazny. As a teenager, I devoured all the fantasy books my small hometown library had. As an adult, my tastes haven’t changed much. My current favorites are Mercedes Lackey and Jim Butcher.

 Q:  When did you know you wanted to become a writer?

A:  I never remember wanting to be anything else. When I was about six, I started writing stories about the Man from Mars for my older sister. I wrote my first fantasy  novel while in high school—not that it was publishable. Taking into consideration my love for literature and the challenges of supporting myself as a writer, I pursued a Ph.D. in American literature, which I received in 1998. I started teaching writing and literature at Auburn University. But in doing so, I put my true passion on the backburner and neglected my muse. Instead, for a few years, I wrote literary criticism. Then one day, in the midst of writing a critical piece, I realized I had no interest in doing so. What I wanted to do was write novels. My muse thus revived, I began the book that was to become The Goddess’s Choice.  I have an entire series planned.

Q:  How long did it take you to write your book?

 A:  Years, and years more to cut it to a publishable length. I originally wrote it as a 320,000 words tome. No agent or publisher would look at anything that long from a first-time author. I ended up cutting in nearly in half, to 178,000 words. Even at that length, it was too long for many.

Q:  Would you mind sharing your writing process?  Are you a plotter or do you just follow where the story leads? And do you have specified hours for working?

 A:  I’m a bit undisciplined when it comes to my writing process. I have no specified hours for working. I write as time allows and as my muse strikes me.

As far as plotting goes, although it is an adult epic fantasy novel, The Goddess’s Choice is loosely based on a fairy tale, so I had some structure imposed on it to begin with. But the fairy tale is only five pages, and the book is nearly four hundred, so I added a lot! For instance, the story of Samantha—the crown princess and heroine of my novel—is almost completely absent from the fairy tale.

Other than the imposed structure of the original tale, I’m a more fly-by-the-seat-my-pants kind of writer. I never made a written outline or plotted a story arc. I had a basic idea of where I wanted to end up, although I didn’t know exactly how The Goddess’s Choice was going to end until I was nearly there. A lot of where the story goes depends on the characters. They tend to take on a life of their own.

Q:  Do you work with a critique group? If so, how valuable do you think they are to writers?

 A:  Yes, I’ve been part of the Robrek Steele Conspiracy Writers’ Group for about ten years, and it has been invaluable to me. I think a good critique group can be the most valuable tool a writer can have. It is hard to look at your own work objectively, and a critique group can point out weaknesses in your work that you have a hard time seeing. Mine also stops me from getting lazy. I would recommend every writer have such a group.

Q:  What advice would you give a first-time novelist? What advice do you wish someone had given you?

A:  First, find a critique group. If there isn’t one in your local area, start one, or look for one online. I think those that meet in person are better, but a virtual group is better than trying to make it on your own. Second, revise, revise, revise. It is work to get a novel right.

The advice I wish I’d been given was be prepared to market your work yourself. You can’t depend on your publisher to do this. Your book means a lot more to you than it does to anyone else. I knew self-published novelists had to worry about marketing, but I thought my job was done when Reliquary Press accepted The Goddess’s Choice for publication. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I learned this when sales started slow and remained slow. I figured out that if I wanted sales to increase, I needed to do something about it myself.

Thank you Jamie!

Jamie’s Book is Available at Amazon

Guest Post by Author Anderson O’Donnell, author of Kingdom

I’m about to write something I never thought I’d think, let alone type: With regard to publishing, particularly in the

digital era, it’s not just about the numbers.

I realize that, for some, this realization might not be particularly earth shattering. But when I was researching whether to self-publish, statistics were everywhere: Downloads. Amazon ranking. Page views. Indie fairy tales with a six-figure ending. E-readers market share. Decline in print sales.

Every one, it seemed, was talking about devices and distribution, consumers and downloaders. But what about the readers? In the mad dash for visibility and platform creation, some writers seem to have forgotten that not only does our long-term success hinge on cultivating relationships with readers—as opposed to consumers—but the stories themselves depend on devoted readers.

Sexy Statistics

There are a number of indie publishing prophets tossing around a lot of sexy statistics. For example, did you hear about Amanda Hocking’s deal? I bet you did, and hey, it’s one hell of a deal—exactly the sort of fairy tale that can make toiling away in a dark, damp basement seem worthwhile.

In fact, I have a confession to make: When I first waded into the indie publishing waters, I thought that my number one priority should be getting as many copies of KINGDOM onto as many e-readers as possible. Free downloads—that was the ticket. And through Amazon KDP free days and the like, 15,000 or so people downloaded KINGDOM. But lately I’ve been wondering: how many actually read it? The most majority of downloaded copies are probably languishing alongside a hundred or so similar freebies. The sheer glut of content generated by these promotional giveaways is staggering; how many books are being snagged then forgotten?

While these numbers might yield some sort term gain, in the long run, our stories will suffer. After all, when a story gets published, its not actually done; it’s just moving to the next stage in an on-going creative process. By devouring their favorite stories, readers often reveal elements of the characters and story that surprise even the author. Literature needs to be discussed and dissected. It needs to be loved; it needs to be loathed—visceral is always better than lukewarm. If your story is sitting on an e-reader along with 100 other indie books, odds are this will never happen.

Find Your Readers

The fascination with numbers, rather than readers, is understandable; the numbers are seductive, and all writers dream of during their hobby into a profession. But it’s critical to not allow the numbers to get in the way of engaging readers.

So what’s the antidote to all this? Rather than focusing on numbers, let’s concentrate on finding as many ways to engage readers as possible. This month, for example, I’m participating in the Book Club Bash, where reading groups get together and dissect several new indie novels, including my baby, KINGDOM. I’m thrilled, because events like Book Club Bash are going to help authors distinguish themselves from the current glut of indie authors chasing the numbers. Indie publishing is about building relationships, reader by reader.

So the next time you come across those headline grabbing indie statistics, take a deep breath. There are quite a number of writers taking the self-publishing plunge at the moment, and the ones who survive the inevitable culling will be the authors who ignore the numbers and focus on what truly matters: the reader.

About the Author

Anderson O’Donnell lives in Connecticut with his wife and 2 sons. His debut novel, Kingdom, a dystopian, biopunk thriller, is now available in paperback and ebook format. Kingdom is the first part of the Tiber City Trilogy. Look for part two, Exile, in the summer of 2013. Visit his website for more information. http://www.tibercitynoir.com/

Kingdom

In a secret laboratory hidden under the desert, a covert bioengineering project–codename “Exodus”–has discovered the gene responsible for the human soul.

Somewhere in the neon sprawl outside the nation’s collapsing economic core, a group of renegade monks are on the verge of uncovering a secret that has eluded mankind for centuries.

In a glittering tower high above the urban decay, an ascendant U.S. Senator is found dead–an apparent, yet inexplicable, suicide.

And in the streets below, a young man races through an ultra modern metropolis on the verge of a violent revolution….closing in on the terrible truth behind Exodus–and one man’s dark vision for the future of mankind.

Welcome to Tiber City.

To Purchase KINGDOM

Kindle Edition:  

Paperback Edition:  

Tomorrow’s Guest Post will be by Anderson O’Donnell, author of Kingdom.

KINGDOM – A Synopsis:

In a secret laboratory hidden under the desert, a covert bioengineering project–codename “Exodus”–has discovered the gene responsible for the human soul.

Somewhere in the neon sprawl outside the nation’s collapsing economic core, a group of renegade monks are on the verge of uncovering a secret that has eluded mankind for centuries.

In a glittering tower high above the urban decay, an ascendant U.S. Senator is found dead–an apparent, yet inexplicable, suicide.

And in the streets below, a young man races through an ultra modern metropolis on the verge of a violent revolution….closing in on the terrible truth behind Exodus–and one man’s dark vision for the future of mankind.

Welcome to Tiber City.

 The Reviews are in!

Kingdom is a thrill-a-minute, bio-punk myth that manages to wrestle with the most pressing issues of the new millennium. O’Donnell has crafted a kickass novel of tomorrow night, when the big party gets raided by the monsters we’ve been building for the last half-century. ~ Jack O’Connell, author of Box Nine & The Resurrectionist

A taut, brilliantly conceived thriller with impeccable pacing bursting with ideas…For fans of noir-laden science fiction in the vein of Philip K. Dick that is in equal measures suspenseful, gripping, darkly funny and philosophically challenging. (starred review) ~ -Kirkus Reviews

Pick Up Your Copy of KINGDOM:

Kindle Edition:

Paperback Edition:

Historical fiction author Anna Patricio was kind enough to sit down with me from her home in Sydney, Australia. We discussed Asenath, Anna’s novel of ancient Egypt.

Two Destinies…One Journey of Love

In a humble fishing village on the shores of the Nile lives Asenath, a fisherman’s daughter who has everything she could want. Until her perfect world is shattered.

When a warring jungle tribe ransacks the village and kidnaps her, separating her from her parents, she is forced to live as a slave. And she begins a journey that will culminate in the meeting of a handsome and kind steward named Joseph.

Like her, Joseph was taken away from his home, and it is in him that Asenath comes to find solace…and love. But just as they are beginning to form a bond, Joseph is betrayed by his master’s wife and thrown into prison.

Is Asenath doomed to a lifetime of losing everything and everyone she loves?

Q: Asenath is the story of a young girl in ancient Egypt who is kidnapped and forced into slavery. What was your inspiration for the story?

 A: I have always loved stories of women overcoming adversity in their youth, such as ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ and ‘Jane Eyre.’ In other words, Cinderella-type of stories. The strength of these women, and the fulfillment they found in the end is inspiring to me. Because Joseph, Asenath’s famous husband, also went through a lot before finding great success in the end, I wondered if it was possible that Asenath might have had a Cinderella-like life herself. After all, not much is known about her, so I felt I could stretch my imagination to no bounds. In addition, I love the character of Joseph, and wanted to imagine how he might have been like as the “prince” to Asenath.

 Q: I read that you have always been interested in the ancient history of Egypt, Israel, Greece, and Rome. However, you didn’t start your journey as a history lover until you had a teacher whose stories transported you to distant times and lands. What about those stories inspired you to begin a career as an historical fiction novelist?

A: Actually, my interest in historical fiction was an off-shoot of my excellent teacher’s influence. Not long after I learned to appreciate history, I had an acquaintance who recommended me to my very first historical novel: ‘River God’ by Wilbur Smith. I was really fascinated by how Smith made the Ancient Egyptians like everyday people instead of the larger-than-life figures they are normally portrayed as. His characters were pretty relatable, yet at the same time he managed to take me to another time and place.

Later on, I began to play around with ideas for writing a novel about Joseph’s wife. I really love Joseph’s story, and grew curious about his wife. When I looked her up, I found hardly anything on her. I wrote a few (incomplete) drafts, but it was only after my graduation from university that I began truly working on the novel.

Q: Could you tell my readers a little about your second book, which is also set in ancient Egypt?

A:It is about the adoptive mother of Moses – the Egyptian princess. So, I’ll be writing about another obscure Ancient Egyptian woman. I really like highlighting on lesser known characters since, as I said, I am free to imagine about their lives as much as I please since hardly anything is known about them.

Q: The question many authors are discussing today is “are you a plotter or a panster?” – do you plan out your novel or fly by the seat of your pants? Which one are you?

A:I guess I’m the latter. I wrote ‘Asenath’ on a whim, and it looks like I’m doing the same thing with the current novel. I tried doing an outline but it didn’t seem to work for me. I just make it up as I go along, then I go back and revise.

Q: What’s your writing schedule? And do you set self-imposed deadlines?

A: I normally write later in the day. For some reason, my creative juices flow stronger at those times. Other than that, I am pretty spontaneous – I write the story as it comes. For some reason, the stories seem to find me, rather than the other way around.

Q: Do you keep Egyptian items around you as you write?

A: What an interesting idea! Never thought about that but perhaps I should try it sometime. The historical and Biblical novels I read though are a pretty stimulating influence. But I definitely ought to give your awesome suggestion a try.

Q: I’d love to know about your inner process of crafting the story from a raw idea – where do you go next with it?

A: Hmmm, it’s really difficult to describe because as I said, I don’t really plan ahead. Basically, the story idea comes to me. I then write it down, figuring how to flesh it out along the way. Then of course, I go back to revise and edit. As I said, it’s really, really spontaneous.

Thank you Anna, for taking the time to do this interview.

Pick up a copy of Asenath at Amazon in paperback or for the Kindle.

We love books! And finding other people who like to talk about them too is always a thrill. Be it online, in person or some other kind of book club, we think the chance to sit down and dig your teeth into a good book with a group of people is one of the best parts of reading.

From December 10th – 14th we are asking you to help spread the word about why Book Clubs are an important part of the reading experience.

I am hosting author Anderson O’Donnell on December 12 – be sure to come back and read Anderson’s guest post.

Do you belong to a book club? If you do, where are you located and what are the types of books your club reads?  Leave a comment – participate and inspire others to do the same.

I’ve been using WordPress on self-hosted sites for several years – and most recently helped my niece create a fashion blog. Thanks to her million questions, all of which began “how do I?” I started work on a Kindle book on WordPress. I really wanted it to be for people who have some knowledge of this blogging platform but needed help with things like

• coding images into a sidebar
• protecting the site from hackers
• choosing SEO-friendly categories

you know . . . stuff that we all need to know.

I released my WordPress book last week and it’s gotten great reviews. If you pick up a copy please let me know what you think about it – and if YOU have WP questions that I didn’t cover.

What project are you working on?

ENTER TODAY FOR GREAT PRIZES!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

C. Michael Miller faced a situation that no one ever expects or wants to face: Being told that you have a brain tumor. However, the author did face – and survive –  this diagnosis and has now written a book that chronicles his ordeal. Titled, Diagnosis: Brain Tumor, My Acoustic Neuroma Story, the book is now available on Amazon’s Kindle.

Michael was kind enough to sit down with me to discuss his book.

Q: I can’t imagine facing a diagnosis like yours. Did you try to take notes or journal as events unfolded or did you write the book based on recollections?

A: As you might imagine, most of the events are permanently etched in my memory- I’ll never forget seeing that MRI film on the light-board in my doctor’s office.  My wife did keep a journal through the surgery and most of my hospital stay.  Plus, I had her updates that were sent out via email and CaringBridge to draw from.  I also utilized receipts, emails, and insurance statements to confirm some of the details.

Q: What was your writing process? Every day, specific hours, on the fly? My readers always like knowing how another author succeeded in completing their book.

A: I find that I’m most effective if I have longer blocks of time to write.  While that isn’t possible every day, I am usually able to make blocks of time at least four days each week.  I don’t have a specific schedule for writing, though I’m lucky in that I have a lot of control and flexibility with my time.  I average around 2000 words per day and, as with most books, the editing and re-write process for this book took just as long as the initial writing.

Q: How do you feel your book can help others? Even those who don’t have the same diagnosis?

A: I don’t think the specific diagnosis is important when talking about adversity.  What’s most important is how we deal with it.  I think that my story offers an outline for dealing with adversity and, more importantly, moving forward.  Most difficult medical conditions or serious accidents are going to have long term side-effects, both physical and emotional.  I think my story offers hope and encouragement to take your New Normal and run with it.  The book also provides insight for family and friends of the patient, and suggests some ideas for how to deal with the changes and struggles that their loved one has experienced.

Q: What is your favorite genre as a reader? Favorite books?

A: Having recently published a non-fiction book, I’m sure this will sound silly- I’m a Science Fiction geek.  My favorite authors are SF icons like Frank Herbert, L. Ron Hubbard, and Isaac Asimov.  If I were stuck on a deserted island, I’d hope to have books like Dune, Battlefield Earth, Nightfall and Kevin J. Anderson’s Captain Nemo available to read over and over.

Q: As an author, are there books on craft that you recommend to new writers?

A: I think the best way to learn writing craft is by reading.  I’m that person that reads the back of the cereal box at the breakfast table.  But I’m always amazed at the generosity of successful writers and editors sharing their tips and suggestions.  I get a lot of great tidbits by perusing blogs, online articles, and interviews.  Two of the blogs that I read regularly are those written by Joe Konrath and Cate Russell-Cole.  Otherwise, I tend to do it my way.  The voice of the individual is what makes art wonderful.

Q: What do you do for fun when you’re not writing?

A: My wife and I are avid sailors, and love spending time sailing on the Chesapeake Bay.  I’m passionate about greyhound rescue.  We’ve been a foster home for our local rescue group for the last ten years and have loved every minute.  There’s also a strange side effect that seems to come from significant medical trauma: a desire to push the limits of endurance.  I spend a lot of time on my bicycle.  My current goal is a double century (200 miles in one day) that I’ll be making my second attempt at in 2013.

Q: How did it feel being so self-revealing? (Most of us like having our little secrets!)

A: I found inspiration in the idea that descriptions of me being ill on that poor nurse and some of the other more “graphic” things I describe would help other people find comfort and hope.  If putting my dignity aside for a bit will help someone, I’m happy to do it.  Also, looking back, I wasn’t at all prepared for the repercussions of having a 14 hour brain surgery.  Some of the physical and the mental strife I dealt with could have been mitigated if I had known they were coming.  I hope that my struggles will help others prepare for their specific situation.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview.

Tune in tomorrow for my Author Interview with C. Michael Miller, author of Diagnosis: Brain Tumor.

Today is a day of imagining, then writing.

• Where is that bicyclist going?
• Where did he come from?
• Has something horrible happened down that foggy road?
•  Is he fleeing his chasers, hiding in the dense fog?
• Simply going to work?

What do you think?

Image courtesy of the author, taken at Idyllwild, California

In working on my book, The Spanish Locket, I found a photograph of an antique Spanish locket that I would like to incorporate in the book’s cover and/or interior imagery. However, since I am not the copyright owner, I need to find an illustrator who can use the photo as a jumping off place for design. Do you know anyone?

Nancy

p.s. the photo above is NOT the one I want to use as a model – I just thought it was pretty cool.

Photo Credit: Kotomicreations via Compfight cc

Lots going on here over the next few weeks – including interviews with:

November 26: C. Michael Miller’s non-fiction real-life story: Diagnosis: Brain Tumor

December 10: Anna Patricio’s historical novel, Asenath

December 12: Anderson O’Donnell’s thriller, Kingdom

December 17: Jamie Marchant’s epic fantasy novel, The Goddess’s Choice

Stay up-to-date on new author interviews, guest posts and reviews by following me on Twitter or checking out our calendar (left column)

photo credit: opensourceway via photopin cc

Although I’m working on a novella, I keep getting mixed up with my main characters’ genealogy. I know, I know – - for a short novel, maybe it doesn’t matter that I’m hazy five generations back, but since the oldest generation is critical to the story, I needed to sort it out.

Creating a Family Genealogy

Being a life-long family tree climber, I powered up my genealogy software and created a whole new fictitious family – starting with Sylvia, who was born in 1990, going back to Antonio whose birth dates to 1877. Now that I have the family tree down in stone, I feel far more confident to tell the story that straddles generations. (And, the truth be known, the crux of the story actually dates to the 1670s in the Pecos Pueblo, northern New Mexico.)

I think as a long-time non-fiction writer I’m far more comfortable when I know all the facts. That’s probably why doing a family tree chart was so important to me. Plus, I have to admit, making up the genealogy of a whole new family gives me even more ideas for where the story can go.

I can’t tell you much about the novella, except that it’s the first in the Holly Ginger series and it’s titled The Spanish Locket. I’ll be updating this site as the novella progresses – and hopefully be asking for your thoughts on book covers I’m having designed.

What Do You Think?

As you write your novel, how important do you think it is to know a lot about your main characters’ ancestry?

(And, just in case you need to do a genealogy chart and don’t have software, you can get free forms here or free family tree software here.)

*Pecos Mission Vintage Postcard, pre-1915, courtesy National Park Service

Click to enlarge.
Reposted with permission from Jeff Goins

I just finished version 2 of my Kindle book on iPhone and iPad apps for great digital pictures. If you’re among the zillions who love shooting iPhone pix, I think you’ll really find a lot of WOW! in this book. With more than four dozen full-color photos the book does a good job (IMHO) of illustrating the features and results you can expect from those 35 apps – many of them free.

I first published my Kindle book for iPhone and iPad apps six months ago and I’m already writing the second edition. It has all new categories and 10 more apps. It’s amazing how fast new (and great) photo apps hit the store. If you happen to see my 25 iPad Apps book on Kindle, don’t buy it until the second edition is out. I’ll be posting here, on Pinterest, Twitter and FB – so check in.

***Second edition is now out – 35 awesome apps for creating great iPhone photos or iPad photos.

Pssst . . . you don’t have to be photo geek to grab this book – it’s loaded with apps for everyone – from the Instagram user to the guy with a DSLR.

I read a post by Matthew Wright about Otaki beach in New Zealand, and a writer’s inspiration . . . and that made me want to share a photo of a place that inspires me.

Like Matthew, it’s always given me pause when I visit places where great history took place. Sites where people of legend have walked – and places where decisions were made that altered the course of a nation. Think of Independence Hall, the Little Bighorn, Gettysburg, and Lincoln’s Summer Home.

One of those places of inspiration for me is Fort Robinson, Nebraska. This is the where Crazy Horse and his starving band surrendered on September 5, 1877. And, it’s where the great Lakota warrior was killed while struggling to escape the confines of the guardhouse. Today, a replica of that guardhouse sits across the old parade ground from the officer’s quarters.

I remember sitting on the grass across from the guardhouse, trying to imagine what it would have been like to see Crazy Horse and his followers as they made their way down from the pine bluffs and onto the parade ground. Did the soldiers realize they were witnessing the end of one of the last great warriors of the Northern Plains? I could almost hear the jangle of the horses’ trappings and see the fluttering of sacred feathers.

Fort Robinson is a place of ghosts – I have no doubt about it; every afternoon a strange wind comes up and you can just feel that something otherworldly is riding its currents.

This is one of my places of writing inspiration.  Do you have one of your own?

Poll is now closed.

I’ve been reading lots of posts this past week about gearing up for #nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). In case you’re never heard of it, #nanowrimo challenges writers to put their butt in a chair and write a 50,000 word novel over the course of 30 days. That’s about 1666 words a day, just in case you were wondering.

(A few of the articles:)

Nano Writing Tips
12 Thoughts about NaNoWriMo
Are You Ready for NaNoWriMo Madness?

The question I keep asking is: Do I really have time to do this? I’ve gone back and forth a dozen times and still haven’t made a commitment in my own head.

Right now I’m working on a Kindle book that I want to get off my desk in the next few weeks, and I’m doing close to 20 hours of consulting work for Client V. So, how do people who work a 9-5 job schedule this?

I’m trying to figure out if I can do #nanowrimo before I start my client work cause I know if I wait til nighttime I’ll be knackered. And, if I do it first thing, will I then be so into the novel that my client work goes to hell?

Ok you #nanowrimo peeps – leave a comment and let me know how you did it.

I started writing Kindle books back in 2008; since then my income has increased by close to 1500%. And, I’m on track to double my Kindle earnings since the beginning of 2012. It’s been a slow climb and I’ve made a ton of mistakes and learned even more. Some of my titles have belly-flopped and some consistently stay on page #1 of my category.

What I’d like to share with you isn’t some secret sauce to Kindle success, but rather a few of the ways I’ve managed to stand out from the crowd – particularly in one of my niches.

More Kindle Sales, With a Little Help From Your Friends

I’m going to assume that you don’t have a mailing list of 10,000 people, or even one of 1,000, or maybe you don’t have a mailing list at all. So how to get your book jump-started once you upload to Kindle?

• Join the KDP Select program
• Set up a free promotion (I’ve experimented with both 1 day free and 5 days in a row free – can’t see a huge difference in sales between the two. Still experimenting)
• Ask your friends and family and blog readers to grab a copy of your book while it’s free.
• Ask the people who got a free copy to a) tag the book (it’s down at the bottom of the book’s page on Amazon); b) do a Facebook LIKE (it’s at the top of the Amazon page); and (most importantly) c) write a review.
• Announce your free book on some of the free promo sites like PixelofInk.com, Snickslist.com, and Kindle Book Promos.  Search Google for “free Kindle promotion” to find even more sites.
• Search Facebook for Kindle promotion groups or groups that read in your genre. Get involved. I’m over at Pat Flynn’s Kindle Group page.
• Ask for reviews. As a reader we all know that we’re influenced by reviews. They make a huge difference so get as many as you can. *Don’t pay for reviews – that’s a good way for you to get tossed from the system.
• Ask your Twitter followers to RT your book tweet. If you DM me on Twitter I’ll RT your book.
• Get smart about choosing a smart niche. There is no point in publishing a book in a niche that has so few sales you’ll be lucky to make a few bucks a month.  I bought (and use) Steve Scott’s How to Discover Best Selling Amazon Kindle Non-Fiction Book Ideas. It’s a Kindle book that sells for $2.99 and it’s written from the viewpoint of a marketer who knows how to analyze niches.
• This is a little off-topic, but if you’re having trouble formatting your Kindle book, I recommend Kinstant Formatter. I use it myself and my books tend to have a lot of images – and this system has handled them very well.

As the Kindle Author Universe expands I’m sure even more marketing strategies will surface. But for now, these are the things I’m doing. Let me know if a few of these are of help to you.

Oh yes – one more thing.  I bought an iPhone app that I use on the iPad, called Commit. It does absolutely nothing but ask you every day if you did the thing/s you committed to do. The only thing I committed to was to do ONE thing every day to help market my books. As you can see, as of today I’m up to day #42 of consecutive “yes”.  Honestly, it helps me to have a gentle nudge to remind me that I’m not only a writer but also a marketer.  Let me know if you try it.

See on Scoop.it – Working Writer

Writing is easy: All you have to do is start writing, finish writing, and make sure it’s good. But here’s some vastly more useful wisdom and advice from people who seriously know what the h…

See on www.buzzfeed.com

See on Scoop.it – Working Writer

We all know that, traditionally, social channels are easier to engage and grow in the consumer market.

See on www.business2community.com

See on Scoop.it – Working Writer

From the special Big Idea Issue of Writer’s Digest, here are 3 tips to make the most of your writing ideas, stay inspired and be more creative than ever before.

See on www.writersdigest.com

Today was one of those crazy days in the life of a working writer (me!). First came a few hours of working on my Kindle projects and promotion, then 90 minutes of calls with Client V, then polishing the draft of a web article that’s due tomorrow, and now (finally) actually writing some of my own stuff.

With some client projects, it feels as if the project is a shotgun and my week is the target. There’s nothing that makes me feel so out-of-control as a week that’s being consumed a little of this and a little of that.

Know what? That’s been almost my entire professional life. I’ve worked in so many areas with so many clients in so many industries that my day is chunked from one end to the other. I cope by going out for a two hour lunch or some downtime in one of my favorite coffeehouses – getting away helps and keeps me grounded and kinda sane.  And this coming from a person who once taught time management (yep, that’s me!).

[Quick aside: I’ve tried David Allen’s famous GTD (Getting Things Done) system; honestly, too fiddly for me.  Coffeehouses seem to work better.  And, I have started using Google Calendar to set up tasks, conference calls, assignments due, emails that need to go from draft to send; I also have the iPad calendar synced up and it beeps me to remind me of all those work things. So that helps too.

If You’re a Working Writer . . .

I’m wondering what other freelancers do with their time? Do you have big free chunks to work on one project before moving to another, or is your day typically shotgunned like mine? Thanks for leaving your thoughts in the comment box – I’d really like to know how you handle this.

Whacky image courtesy deejayqueue

This is such a great idea – and well-worth the few minutes it takes to read the article over at MindfulBanter.

Songwriting teaches us how to tell a powerful story that connects with an audience using an economy of words and clever metaphors.

See on mindfulbanter.com

You may not know it but I curate The Digital Writer - a free (and I think fabulous) daily paper with articles for writers of all genres. Click the link and you’ll be whisked to whatever the current issue is, with back issues available by clicking the Archives button.

What Writers Can Expect

Each issue links to articles about writing technique, writing strategies (fiction and non-fiction) as well as marketing ideas and social media strategies.Click the Subscribe button and you’ll receive an email notification every day as soon as the paper is available. If you’re like me, you’ll take a skim through the front page, clicking on articles of interest. Then, use the Topic Pull down menu to select topics of interest or get a list of all articles in the issue.

I started curating The Digital Writer because I’m a non-fiction writer who’s working on moving into fiction (slow as a snail, though – that’s for sure!).  Since I know I’m not the only writer with a foot in two worlds, I wanted this daily paper to contain solid information on writing both fiction and non-fiction, as well as cover almost every genre.  Judge for yourself by clicking on the link and reading today’s issue.

This article on writing better copy to sell your non-fiction or fiction ebook is well-worth the read. It’s an interview with Ali Luke, who you might know from reading one of her books on blogging. I think the place many of us get stuck is on differentiating “features” and “benefits”. Ali does a great job of simplifying.  I highly recommend this read.

See on Scoop.it – Working Writer

“With both #fiction and non-fiction, include excerpts from reviews on your sales page or your website” http://t.co/1BHcpJhq #promotip…

See on laurahoward78.blogspot.fr

See on Scoop.it – Working Writer

10 Tips for Generating Killer Science Fiction Story Ideasio910 Tips for Generating Killer Science Fiction Story Ideas Science fiction is the literature of big ideas — so coming up with an amazing story idea often feels like the biggest stumbling…

See on io9.com

See on Scoop.it – Working Writer

Organization of all the to-do’s and their related timelines is a challenge for every freelance writer. The greater the variety in your project types, clients and project timelines, the greater the challenge.

See on living-listening-loving.blogspot.fr

My non-writing friends ask how I spend my days. In their minds, I think in their minds, my time is my own, and like some Hemingway-esque scribe, I hang out all day in coffehouses (or like Hemingway, in some seedy bar)!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but to make a living as a working writer, I’m required to work.

Today, for example, I have two conference calls with Client V, one at 7:30 am (ugh) and the other at noon. In between calls I’ll write up meeting notes from call #1, then turn my attention to my latest Kindle project. After the noon call and lunch, I’ll spend a few more hours on the Kindle project as well as tweaking copy on my website.

This evening? Catch up with friends, read my current Kindle find (Tales of Scottish Landmarks), then call it a day.

Tomorrow? Who knows what new projects will be waiting.

Hunkered down today for some serious #writing on a new Kindle book. Another non-fiction title that I think most writers and entrepreneurs will find useful. Since BEAR is all about going inside the cave, I felt he was a great model for me today – - although he probably goes in to sleep and I’m going in to write!

How’s your Monday going? Writing, sleeping, out with friends, enjoying the (Canadian) holiday?

Still going strong after all these years. (This is my third copy!)

• SEO 2012 and Beyond
• Stopping the World
• Masks of the Lost Kings
• The Story Template
• 500 Social Media Marketing Tips
• Dixie Divas
• Scrivener for Writers
• One Deadly Sister
• Quick-Fix Vegetarian
• The Time Heiress

As you can tell, my taste in books runs from purely business to purely escapism. I grabbed all of these over at Amazon’s Kindle store and am reading them on the iPad. What are you reading today?

Image is by Garry Knight (Creative Commons)

Meeting with Patti of Testerman Communications.
Place: Lestat’s on Park
Time: 8 am
Drink: Unsweetened blood orange iced team
Results: Decisions made, action items in place

As a working business writer there are many days when I’m required to take care of business and leave my fiction writing behind. Until the day – of course – that fiction writing actually pays the bills.

Today was one of those days.  Three conference calls . . . successful outcomes . . . everyone on track. That feels really good.  Honestly, when I’m knee-deep in writing or consulting for business clients, I don’t miss the time I spend thinking about and/or working on my mystery novel. That’s because I try to be where I am. And if where I am is on a business call, then I’m a business writer, 100%.

I used to think that the breed of non-fiction writers who also wrote fiction was a tiny slice of the write-o-phere, but the more I delve into fiction the more I come across other authors who do the same. I guess I’m not as unique as I thought!

So, what’s your day been like today? Conference calls, gruesome murders, inspiring romances, or thrillers?

Whether I’m working as an historical novelist or a non-fiction history article writer, I seem to write far better when my background is filled with period music.  For example, the album pictured above has tunes that were popular during the time of Lewis and Clark; I played it to death while I was writing an article for the 200th anniversary of the Expedition.

Or, when writing about the Frontier West, it helped to listen to Songs of the 7th Cavalry – especially tunes like The Dreary Black Hills and Soldier’s Joy (a ditty about using morphine). The Black Hills song in particular gave me some insight into the thoughts of the day:

Don’t Go Away, Stay At Home If You Can,
Stay Away From That City, They Call It Cheyenne,
For Old Sitting Bull Or Comanche Bill
They Will Take Off Your Scalp On the Dreary Black Hills.

There’s something magical about listening to the music your fictional characters would have known, or your real-life  people would have heard in their everyday life. Other than dressing up in period costume (which I think I’d like to do!) I don’t know any other way of getting into the period faster or more in depth. With the music, you can just feel it.

Other music choices for historical novelists:

• Songs of the 7th Cavalry
• Songs of the Santa Fe Trail
• Songs of Revolutionary America
• Songs of World War I and World War II
• Songs of Ireland

I nabbed most of the albums over at Amazon but I’m pretty sure you can now download individual tunes through either Amazon or iTunes.

So, historical novelist or history writer, what music do you listen to?

Am working on my mystery novel . . . and wanted to give you a chance to get in on the very beginning of the process. The cards above represent the first clue to solving the murder.  Any guesses?

As a time-travel writer, I do a lot of research to ensure historical accuracy. Part of that accuracy is choosing names that would have been appropriate to the time period of my novel.

Fortunately I have a long history as a family tree researcher so have tracked down a great source for the most popular names through the years. I’ve found, for example, that while “Emily” was a Top 10 female name during the Civil War, it wasn’t in the period 1801-1810.  How do I know? The U.S. Federal census.

The Federal census, taken every 10 years beginning in 1790, was set up to count Americans.  Initially a count by age brackets it came to include the names of everyone living in a household. You can find sample census pages around the Web, but if you want to keep it simple, here’s a link to a great site Popular Given Names, U.S. 1801-1999.  Up through 1920, popular names are compiled from the census; post-1920 they’re from Social Security.

The next time somebody knocks you for having a Silas, Ebenezer or Ezra in your 1800 novel, you can now assure them that the names are, indeed, accurate.

By nature, I’m a “hopper”.  I like jumping from one project to the other, one topic to the next.  In that way, I am consistent. However, in marketing I can adopt a very hit-or-miss attitude – - spending day-after-day marketing my work and then dropping the ball for weeks or even months. My astrology friends blame that behavior my Aries Moon while my numerology pals says it’s because I have a preponderance of the number #5 in my name. Whatever.

What I do know is that I need a simple way to keep my marketing on track and consistent. I like systems but I dislike those that are complex. That’s why I’m so enamored with Commit, a $2.99 iPhone app (which I use on the iPad). Commit does one thing very well:  Every single day it asks if I’ve done the one thing that I committed to do.  Right now, it’s asking me if I did something today to market my books. If I tap “YES” Commit tracks how many days in a row I’ve consistently followed through. If I didn’t do what I committed to, my counter resets to zero.

Doesn’t seem like that big a deal, does it? However, there’s something about building up a string of successful days  to keep you going. At least that’s how it works for me.

You can add more than one commitment, but for now I’m sticking with one and seeing how long I can keep it going. Something I’ve already found is that this little app reminds me that writing sells more to those who market their own work. That reminder helps me do the little things – from tweeting about a new book to looking for a place to guest post, or posting on Facebook. Doesn’t matter WHAT I do, but it matters that I did it.

As writers, we all have a commitment to writing . . . but sometimes need that something extra to get us as committed to marketing.  Commit did it for me.

Let me know if you download Commit and how it’s working for you.

A week or so ago I tweeted an article about the second known photo of Emily Dickinson being found.  Long a lover of Emily’s work, I found myself thinking about her this morning over coffee at Monica’s at the Park, a favorite San Diego coffeehouse.

Sitting out on the patio I was fascinated by the hundreds of bees darting in and out of the bottlebrush tree and wondered what Emily would write about their flight. Thus, this homage, with apologies to the master herself.

AN HOMAGE TO MS. DICKINSON

The bottlebrush is filled with bees
Emily would be so pleased.
Buzzing, darting stem to stern
Nectar sweeter with each turn.

And one of my favorites, written by Emily

PEDIGREE

The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, anytime to him
is aristocracy.

(This is bottlebrush, in case it doesn’t grow where you live)

Sometimes when I get stuck with a writing project I pull out the iPad and tap on one of my favorite apps – Sustainability. The app was created by Jim Wanless and is a digital version of his multi-card deck on how we can all green ourselves. But today, instead of needing greening I really wanted to get a kick in the pants in a new direction for my current project. The card was Surprise! Don’t assume you know a damn thing.  Be open, be curious.  My mind is now reeling with possibility. And freaking out a little at those eyes!

I read a blog post yesterday about what a writer does between books. A big part of that is to simply THINK. But lately I’ve had so little time between book projects that my THINK time is limited. Having just finished a Kindle book on iPad apps for Digital Photography and jumping into a new project, my mind is still into photography.  So, I think I’ll surprise myself and not jump to the new book until Monday.

What’s up for your weekend?

Ask any Internet marketing guru and they’ll tell you that “the gold is in the list”.  Ok, I can live with that. But, it’s not for me.  Call me crazy but I’d rather you pop over to my site, catch my latest dopey Instagram or Pinterest uploads, read about the struggles of a working writer and hopefully follow me on Twitter. Maybe I’ll even make your Favorite List?

Who knows, I may add a mailing list in the future but for now I want to concentrate on writing and getting to know other working writers far more than I want to push missives into your email box. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to connect – that’s why I’m on Twitter.  Just means I’d rather know you one-on-one.

Am I being totally dumb? Probably, but for now this writer just wants to write.

Working on my new Kindle book. Finally entering the editing phase. It’s been a long haul – but a project I’ve loved from day one. More as I move towards launch.

It is if you’re hot on the trail of a writing a new #Kindle book! Hope to finish by next weekend.

Pre-birthday lunch with Eva from Eva Luna Group. We discussed my author coaching plans and how so many people never accomplish their heart’s desire of writing a book.

BTW, lunch was at El Comal in San Diego’s North Park. Unusual menu items, never what we expect, but always tasty.

For months I’d pictured the setting of my mystery novel as a small town in Mississippi. Yesterday, I knew I needed to move my locale to the Southwest – - specificallyArizona.

Why the change?

I’ve never lived in Mississippi, rarely been there in fact. The ah-ha moment for me came when I realized that anything I would write about my little Mississippi town would be a caricature. Instead of creating a believable place, I’d be writing every cliche attached to a small town “down South”.

So, I pulled up my literary stakes and moved to Arizona. It’s a place I’ve visited for years and know well.  I love the old Spanish mission history, the crazy lightning storms in iron-rich Red Rock Country, the Anasazi heritage of the White Mountains, and the Kachina energy of San Francisco Peaks.

And guess what? By moving my story to a place I know well I gained a plot element that gives the book an added boost. More on that as the book develops.

I never considered how much changing locale could change plot. And now, I’m amazingly excited to jump into the novel.

How about you? What’s your experience with changing location mid-stream?

Photo credit MS: NatalieMaynor
Photo credit AZ: Al_HikesAZ
Photo credit PEN: Bright Meadow

Met with Patti Testerman this morning at Lestat’s. Patti is one of San Diego’s foremost copywriters – and it’s always good to brainstorm with her when tackling new business ideas. Happy to report that we left the meeting inspired, filled with ideas, and ready to move forward with new projects.

Drink: Passion Tea
Scone: Blueberry-Lemon
Attitudes: Inspired!

Had a great day rewriting-revising my Pinterest Kindle book. Pinterest has evolved so quickly I had to write the second edition mere months after the original was released. Great stuff (IMHO) – including

• integrating Pinterest and Instagram
• integrating Pinterest and FB, WP, LinkedIn, et al
• best times to pin
• holding a pinning contest

Sleeping crummy the last few nights, definitely need either a bucket of icy water thrown on my head or ??? Suggestions, please?

Finished outlining a new digital book for family tree peeps and want to write the intro and “how to use this book” chapters today.  Can do this on the computer, iPad or fountain pen and notebook. Probably the latter as I want to check out a new coffeehouse in the neighborhood and it’s more relaxing to slurp joe while writing by hand.

But no matter how many coffeehouses I try, my heart belongs to Lestat’s on Park – the tabletops are always an inspiration.

Love working at Lestats. Tabletops can be inspiring!

Still no relief from the unseasonable heat here in San Diego.

I’ve had a hazy plot for two different mystery novels for months . . . both of which have never moved past the “thinking” stage. When I went to bed last night I remember thinking that I really need to figure out which of these novels to move forward with and the direction I need to go.

I woke up this morning and realized both would be strengthened by doing a Mashup! Taking the best characters from one novel and the best plot from the other.  Once the Mashup hit my brain, the form and structure of the mystery fell into place.

Too bad I didn’t have that intention six months ago.

Do you dream solutions? or do they just appear with the morning coffee?

Photo Credit:h.koppdelaney

You know that old phrase about the dog days of summer? Well here in San Diego our dog days don’t typically come along  til October, so we’re all suffering in higher-than-normal heat AND humidity. (Not that we can complain compared to our Midwestern cousins).

But still, settling into work is a challenge when the weather is so beastly and most San Diego dwellings are without air conditioning.  So, of course, I turned to yet another oracle to give me the strength to crawl over to the keyboard and get some work done.

Today, the Wildwood cards served up the Great Bear.  Not only the protector, he’s also the face of renewal. And, a reminder that while change will always come, sometimes you have to hit the bottom of the tank before you’re ready to come back into the light.

I woke up this morning at 3:00 am, and instead of going back to sleep my brain buzzed about  all of the projects at hand and projects coming in.  Sleep escaped me. I wonder if the Great Bear advises a return to the cave for more sleep (!) or if he’s simply a sign of coming renewal.  I could go either way.

Today, I’m working on a non-fiction Kindle book for my genealogy readers, then later (weather willing) I’ll move back to research on my historical time-travel novel. I suffer from the same challenge most writers do – - spending too much time in research and not enough in writing. I’m trying to have some renewal about that too.

How’s your writing coming today?

My pal Jim Wanless is a creative genius. He’s authored several books and two oracle decks, the Voyager Tarot and  Sustain Yourself. Jim is totally into living a green life and encourages others to do the same – or at least find ways to “green” their daily lives.

I like pulling cards from his decks, not always as an oracle but rather as an inspiration for my writing.

Last night, as I sat working on my time-travel novel using Scrivener, I had such attacks of confidence (which my friend Jessica Macbeth would call the Soul Shrinker) that – even though I’m 10,000 words into the book – - I wondered if I should stick with non-fiction and forget the whole novel idea.

I pulled a card from Sustain Yourself (virtually, via the iPad app) and got the Redwood.  The thing about Redwoods (as I recall from a visit there when I was a kid) was how tall they were – and how they just seemed to reach into the sky.

The inspiration (okay, maybe it WAS a message) for me was to reach up. To grow. To challenge myself and reach outside of my comfort zone.  Which fiction definitely IS!

So, today I’ll crank out another scene in draft and try to put the Soul Shrinker aside, remembering that the Redwood defies normalcy.

BTW, I mention Scrivener – - I’ve just started using it and have to admit it’s a little overwhelming. But I think it’s going to help me with both my non-fiction and fiction books. Any tips you’d like to share???

I’m a long-time non-fiction author with 13 books to her credit . . . and an itch to write fiction.  I have two genres I love reading and hopefully will love writing:  time-travel historical and cozy mysteries.  (Did I mention that the thought of moving into fiction scares the beejezus out of me?)

I built this blog in the hopes that it will keep my boots on the ground long enough to get a draft of a novel written . . . and hopefully share some of the challenges along the way.  Just in case some other non-fiction author takes the leap too.

I recently completed a 10-week course at Gotham Writers’ Workshop, under instructor Carole Bugge.  Carol is the author of the novels The Star of India,  The Haunting of Torre Abbey and several “Who Killed” novels. I learned so much about character, plotting and setting that I feel far more confident about tackling a mystery novel than I did before. If you ever get a chance to take one of the Gotham courses I recommend them; I was in a class with incredibly talented writers so getting critiques from them really meant something.  I learned more about pacing and why it’s not always a good idea to kill someone off in the first line of the book.

Right now I’m working on a first draft of a cozy, hoping to have it done before fall and/or winter roll around.

There’s something daunting about tackling a novel for long-time non-fiction writers – at least it is for this writer. If you’ve always written non-fiction and are now starting a novel I’d love to connect and share notes. I’m going to post some work-in-progress notes on the site.  Feel free to comment.

20 Simple Ways to Boost Blog Subscribers  You can always count on HubSpot’s blog to give you ideas that are easy to implement and that work.

10 Real Ways to Beat the Beast that is Writer’s Block    I don’t allow writer’s block into my house – but if I did, this post has some great ideas on kicking it out the door!  (I use #7 all the time)

The Starving Writer’s Quick Guide to Finding Good-Paying Freelance Blogger Gigs   I like this post because it encourages writers to do some out-of-the-box thinking.  My advice on this one:  Recognize your abilities and work to your strengths.

5 Steps to Hosting Successful Twitter Chats: Your Ultimate Guide   This is something I’m thinking about doing. Social Media Examiner is a great site for ideas like this one.

How to Get a Boatload of People to Pin Your Products to Pinterest   Since I wrote a Kindle manual on using Pinterest, I was interested to see what suggestions were included in this post. Some good stuff here.

21 Systems to Boost Business Productivity   I don’t know about you but I’m always working on upping my productivity. I already write fast, so that’s not an issue. But staying focused can be. I really liked idea #6 – using Evernote for each of my clients. Now that’s a great idea.

The Best and Worst Times to Share on Facebook, Twitter  As long as you’re going to spend time on a social media site, it may as well count for reaching the largest number of potential readers.

How to Get Started with Viddy   Are you using video yet?  I haven’t made the leap but I feel like it’s in my very near future.

My brain is wired to be curious. I’m as likely to pick up a book on lunar astronomy as I am to read one on tarot, Twitter or George Washington. That’s why trying to force myself into being a niche writer has never worked.

You see, there’s this age-old debate over who has the greatest success as a freelance writer – the generalist or the niche-ologist.  Here’s my take on the issue from both sides of the coin.

The Niche Writer

The niche writer can build a website that is laser targeted to the audience. If you specialize in writing about i-technology you can have Google Alerts send you press releases, you can read sites like TechCrunch and PadGadget, you can do your SEO homework and use keywords in your site meta data as well as headlines, subheads and ALT tags.

[you may not have noticed, but that subhead up there was coded with H3 tags, letting Google know that these are important keywords for this page]

Your audience is finite, your demographic known. If an editor is out trolling the web for an i-technology writer, your site is going to organically make its way to the top of the heap.

But what if  your brain just isn’t wired to focus on one topic? Like mine.

The Generalist Writer

The generalist freelancer (like me)  can write about any topic of interest. I have delved into aerospace, collecting, affordable housing, higher ed, medicine, renewable energy . . . you name it.  Because I currently write so much about online genealogy (hunting down your ancestors) I’m considered an expert in this field (so there, I am a niche writer!).

The downside is building a website for all seasons. I can’t build a site with a specific demographic in mind (i.e. editors of renewable energy trade magazines), but I can make sure I use headlines with solid SEO keywords as well as landing pages about topics I like writing. This approach has garnered me interviews from the New York Times, Better Homes and Gardens and Kiplinger’s.  To them, I’m an expert in genealogy.

What else can a generalist do?

Be sure to use a physical location (your town) in your meta data. I make sure that San Diego is prominent on my site because I want to attract local clients. Writers who forget to add their location to their site are missing potential job opportunities. Google freelance writer san diego and I’ll be on page one.

Which is Best – Niche or Generalist?

In my book, the coin is equally divided between these two approaches to writing non-fiction.  Niche can more easily build an ultra-focused website; generalists can indulge their brain’s need to constantly learn new things.

Which are you? And how to you market yourself – - as a specialist in one area or someone who can write about anything?

Thanks for your comments.