Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Dede's Review Video of the World of Tiaera Coloring Book

I managed to rise before the sun was up in order to get to USTREAM and join Inkwell's live show! She did a phenomenal job reviewing my coloring book. I have to admit I was extremely nervous for only being half awake to begin with. Nonetheless I was determined to join in on the chatter to answer questions and socialize with her subscriber friends. Everyone in the chat room was very kind and flattering. Dede did a wonderful job on the page she chose which was Azuremist Manor. Below is  the YOUTUBE video of the show. Thank you all, especially you, Dede, for everything.




If you'd prefer to see the USTREAM video version, this link below:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/107844999


Happy New Year!

Dear friends and colleagues,
Sorry for not posting here in a long while. I have been battling a nasty cough and cold for over a week now. I am doing better and hope to get back on my usual blogging routine and blog story. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you a happy and prosperous new year. Are you ready to write new books and stories as we enter into 2014? I plan to get back into writing my third book plus return to drawing once my health improves. Sadly, this may still take a few more days of bed rest. But I can't wait! I'm ready to work on my next book.
This cold medication is making me woozy so before I drift off to la la land once again, I want to thank all my friends and readers who have been so supportive not just in 2013, but ever since I have started writing in earnest. I want you to know how much I appreciate your support and encouragement. I wouldn't have gotten these two books done without it. I am grateful to have such good friends and colleagues around both locally in Havasu and online. Thanks so much!
Happy New Year and keep on writing!

10 Tips for Holiday Book Events and Craft Fairs


The season has been good for me. I've been attending several events and have sold quite a few books thanks to the generous "snow birds" who are visiting our fair city. Travelers are great people to promote to. On those long quiet road trips, it's always nice to have either a good movie or a novel to pass the time. And many tourists have the means to attend the local social events that our city has during the holidays. We treasure their patronage and loyalty when they come to visit here for a few months. It's a great time to get out and meet people. Everyone is so nice and a future buyer may become a good friend because of this. With this in mind, I would like to share a few tips on how to do some selling for the winter holidays.

1. Remember to always carry at least a dozen postcards, book markers or brochures on you everywhere you go. You never know who you may meet someone at a restaurant or store that might be interested in your latest book. Get a feel for their interest and if it's not enthusiastic, let it go and smile anyway. Never pressure anyone.

2. Plan your book signings in good time and don't be shy about doing at least two such events if the store allows it. Talk with the Book Manager about it. I did one at Hastings Bookstore last month and I plan another book event before the "snow birds" head back home in the spring.

3. Carry at least two of each book in your car, if that's possible. I know some of you have a great number of books. I only have two so far. Keep them in a clean tote bag or carrying case. Make sure you have a pen in that bag also, so you can autograph the book if they want that. I've sold books at restaurants, stores, doctor waiting rooms and even my dentist office.

4. Promote your book events at the city's web calendars and contact the local Chamber of Commerce for any help on locating clubs and organizations you can contact for a book signing. Don't forget your social  networks like G+, Facebook and Twitter.

5. I mentioned craft fairs above and I have found out that lots of Christmas Craft Fairs welcome you if you are an indie author. Many let you keep all your earnings even if they require a payment for registering as a vendor to the event. Speak to some of the other vendors. They can tell you when the next event is going to take place so you can decide if you want to do that also.

6. Dress nice and smile a lot. Shake their hands and introduce yourself. It takes courage and it can be stressful, but if you don't try, people will walk right past you as if you were never there. If they answer "No thanks. I came for something else." Keep smiling and wish them a good day.

7. Take at least one bottle of water and bring a clear plastic candy jar loaded with wrapped mints and chocolate M&M's or mini size bars. Offer the sweets to any customer and their kids. They might take a look at your books and crafts long enough for you to do your pitch.

8. Never forget to thank every person who buys your book and make sure they know about your blog and where they can reach you if they have any questions. Have business cards ready for this. Have a notebook handy in your bag and ask for their emails so you can contact them about your next book.

9. Join the local Writer's Group in your city and network with them. It's a great way to make new friends and writers help each other with critiques and advice. Mine is exceptional and I still see them whenever I can.

10. Consider signing up for a credit card app/swiper for your smartphone/iphone/tablet. I haven't had much need for one yet, but some people prefer to buy with their credit cards and you might lose a sale because you can only accept cash or checks.

I hope these tips help you. There is so much more to learn so do your homework and study the latest marketing techniques from books and articles at the library or online. I have been doing this for a few years and they have worked for me. I am sure you might have some good tips of your own. Please leave a comment of what you do to sell your books that might help other writers. I welcome all ideas as we work to spread the word about our literary creations.

Merry Christmas!
EV Medina

My 2013/14 Winter Events

November is here and with it a good number of craft fairs and store events. People here are revving up for the holidays. Lake Havasu has the "snow birds" coming back for a break from the freezing temperatures up north. The weather is absolutely beautiful. I got my fire logs ready for the fireplace and have set up my home office where I can write by the firelight, so to speak. Now that I am done with the new and improved "The Priestess and the Ravenknight" I plan to craft some items, order more books to sell and attend these events.

Here is what I have scheduled so far:

The Book Exchange - Authors Meet & Greet on Saturday - Nov. 9th - 11 - 3:00

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WNEA Extravaganza on Saturday - Nov. 16th - 9-3:00 

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E.V. MEDINA BOOK SIGNING at Hastings Books, Videos and Music on Sunday - Nov. 17th - 12-3:00

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E.V. MEDINA BOOK SIGNING at Arizona Renaissance Festival on Sat. - Feb. 15th 12 - 4:00

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I also hope to take part in the Lake Havasu Winterfest in Feb. 
Will post those details as soon as I get them.
Venue: McCulloch Blvd (Main St) btwn Acoma & Smoketree
Contact Information: Jeni  Coke
Phone: 928-855-4115
Email: jenic@havasuchamber.com
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If you are anywhere in the area this month, do stop by and visit. I'm always happy to meet my readers and make new friends. All these events are FREE (except for the Ren. Festival) and contact information is posted above.






My NEW bookcover for P&R


When I first wrote The Priestess and the Ravenknight I only needed to create the front cover for the ebook. This is what I came up with. I decided to make a knight's shield, sort of with the title on the front. Since this shield was for a ravenknight and a dark elf, I decided it should have pointy edges. What I wasn't too crazy about was the way the gold didn't seem to pop from the shield. I tried different colors but this gold seemed to be the best choice.


Ebook Cover

Now that I am going to have this published as a tradebook, I tried once again to make the title pop better and add a little more contrast. I am happier with this new version. I chose a different font that I think is more appropriate for my story. Disregard the salmon pink edge around the graphic. That won't be there. I welcome any advice or thoughts on my new book cover. I know there are some designers out there and I welcome your input. Thanks!


You can click and preview this graphic to make it larger so you can also read the blurbs. I welcome any constructive criticism for blurbs, colors, design, anything. Thanks again! The proof copy is on it's way and so there is time for final changes before it goes on sale.




Dalyn and Lyrica

Back in April, I started working on a drawing that I'm going to use for inspiration for my third book about pirates and mermaids. It will feature Dalyn the pirate and Lyrica, a Swansong mermaid. I first started the drawing with a pencil sketch, then I inked it.


Once the basic drawing is done, I scan the image and pull it into Photoshop or another graphics program and begin digitally coloring it.



Last April, I showed what the image looked like and then just slapped a photo background to it so you could see what I had in mind. This drawing is not necessarily going to go into future book. I do these drawings to inspire me. I put them on my walls, in project notebooks and online so that I can look at them while I write about them. I have to admit, I am pretty lazy when it come to do backgrounds so I often cheat and either use photos, Internet and books.

Summer came and went and for me, it's really hard to get back to a project I put down and put away. I need to finish it even if it takes me long hours and several days to do it, or it doesn't get down. That's what happened to this graphic. Anyway, after months of setting this aside so I can concentrate on turning The Priestess and the Ravenknight into a trade book, I have finally pulled up this graphic and one afternoon (at the ranch! =P) and spent a several hours finishing it. FINALLY!

I printed it out and put it on the cover of my notebook. Now I need to get to this book next and I hope to resume writing that story very soon. The working title is The Sirens of Swansong for now. I am still doing research for it but I have started the first few chapters.


This time I did do the background, but I don't think it came out very good. Still, this will do unless I decide to sell this image somehow either by making cards or small posters. But for a notebook, this will do. Hope you like it. If you have suggestions or mermaid graphics you have done, I encourage you to share it with me.  Have a great day and keep on writing... or drawing... whatever you do!



Worldbuilding: Holidays for Fictional Worlds

It's October and it's time to break out the boxes of various holiday decorations and feverishly make new ones if I plan to participate in any of the several holiday craft fairs in my city. This thought brought me to wondering if I should create holidays for my fictional world. If you have read some of my previous posts, there is a festival of Wynterfest which is mainly celebrated up in the frozen country of Wynterlande.

The topic today is: Should a writer and world builder bother with creating holidays for their fictional world?

I did a little research this morning and the first place I went to was Middle Ages Holidays. Since Tiaera is basically a "parallel earth" with added magic and planetary differences, I tend to write about Earth's Middle Ages. Something one must consider is religion. Since Tiaera has no Christianity as a religion, I can't use any of the christian practices of the Middle Ages and as I see at that website, most of the holidays were church related. Tiaera is set in the Middle Ages, but it was created by a goddess I made up named Astria. Since she is not historical, I am free to make up any holidays and festivals as I see fit. Oh, this is going to be fun! LOL! But before I can begin this I need to get some ideas and figure out what to do.  A writer shouldn't create holidays just because they want to. Holidays should never interfere with your book or story.

If you are building a fictional world similar to earth, you need to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you going to keep writing about your fictional world long after the book you're writing is done? It so, then time will pass... months, years, etc... and holidays may work to set the scene of your next story on that world.

2. What period or era are you writing about? Historical? Futuristic? Modern age?

3. Does your world have seasons and is it worth noting this in your writing?

4. Does your world have gods? If it is parallel to earth, are there religions and gods like our own?

5. What kind of holidays should you create? Religious? Meaningful and significant? Seasonal?

6. How are your inhabitants going to recognize such holidays? Festivals? Traditions?

The more I think about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, the more I have to consider what I will want to use for future blog stories like my current one: Add a Spark for Valor.
As I (and sometimes Jack) continue with the chapters (posts) for this story, it will be fun to work on holidays as the background settings that can add to the plot much like we did in Realmwalkers.

I hope this post makes you think about your fictional world. Do some research and determine if your book or stories would benefit from such events. Soap Operas on TV used the holidays. Internet and video games use them. Books too. Let me know what you think about this. Are you going to add some holidays? If so, feel free to comment and tell me about them. I bet there are some great ideas out there!

Free Writing Meters

I'm heading out today for a four day trip to Stagecoach Trails Guest Ranch to do some writing, scrapping, drawing/painting, eating, resting, swimming and riding.  It's a lovely dude guest ranch and I can't wait. I'll be taking my laptop (no Internet tho) and art supplies and hope to enjoy this event along with twenty-two other ladies.

I know this has nothing to do with Tiaera so let's get down to why I am posting today!

I have found a neat website that offers not one, but 16+ FREE Writing Progress Tracking Meters and I wanted to share this find with you! I hope to pick one of these out for use here at my blog when I finally get back to working on my next story based on the world of Tiaera. It's still waiting for me to finish and I intend to use a meter to help remind me where I am at in getting it finished. It will also give you all an idea as to how close I am to completing it, in cause you are wondering.

Click here for Tia Ross' blog post about Free Writing Meters.

For you writers out there, I hope this info helps you find a good meter to help keep you motivated with your writing. It doesn't need to be used for a novel. You can also use a meter to help you keep track of how many words you have written this week or this month.  You can use a meter for projects, blogs, writing assignments, competitions and clubs. If you're a online content writer, novelist, blogger, short story writer, or journalist, a writing meter may be useful for you.

Check these out and see what you think. Send me comments here if you have have used one or are using one.

Well, it's time for me to mosey out and ride into the sunset. I hope to have the next post for "Add a Spark of Valor" ready for next week.

Yeehaaaa!! Happy writing/riding!

The Priestess and the Ravenknight - In Print!

It's almost autumn! Darkness falls earlier in the evening and the monsoon rains are here. Craft stores are pushing holiday items in preparation for everything from Halloween to Christmas. I love crafting almost as much as I enjoy writing and drawing.

But I won't be doing much crafting this year as I prefer to work on my ebook, The Priestess and the Ravenknight ( or P&R). After of two years of pushing Realmwalkers soft cover books at the various book events, I have decided it's time I turned P&R into a print version, and include some of my illustrations and a little more story.  Because of all the changes to this ebook, I will mark the printed version as a Second Edition. Once the book is sent for publication, I will update and re-submit the P&R ebook as a Second Edition to Amazon.com also.

And for those of you who already got my P&R ebook, I will be making the new updated ebook version FREE (for a limited time) to download once it's available at Amazon.com.  Stay tuned for future post announcements here!

I hope to have the P&R book finished, sent and published by the end of this month. My next book signing will be in early November, so I should have not one, but two books to sign. The cover will be the same, but the book is now approximately 110 pages, a big jump from the estimated 47 pages as an ebook.


Thanks to all of you who have supported me these past few years. I am grateful for all the help I get from local authors and friends alike. {{{BIG HUGS}}}
I have managed to earn enough to even purchase some professionally printed bookmarks and business cards for this winter season. It's a real thrill to hand out these shiney, slick bookmarks. I will have to get some made for P&R also. 
Have a great weekend!

Oh, one more thing. I am still working on my mermaid-pirate book. That will come out sometime next year.
 

World Building: The Country of Vawdrey

As I continue to write stories and posts about Tiaera, I find that world-creating is a fun pastime in itself. At first, it was tedious and boring. There we were, Jack and I, trying to get our Realmwalkers chapters done and all had to stop because we found out that it was potentially dangerous to use someone else's world to write about for commercial purposes as authors. It wasn't harmless fan fiction that was written purely for personal enjoyment. Jack and I meant business. We wanted to write a book together and offer it up to the world and earn something from it. Thank you to all who made that dream come true! We really appreciate your support and encouragement.

Anyway, I knew nothing about mapping or cartography and to this day I still don't know much, but I do know how to draw and so with Jack's help in figuring out aspects about earth's geology and atmosphere, he helped decide what Tiaera's size and countries should be. No, it's probably not accurate info. In fact, we decided Tiaera should be smaller than Earth. But that's fine! Tiaera is not Earth even if some of its inhabitants are human and live lives like those of Earth's medieval-renaissance periods. After all, this is a sci fi/fantasy story. The images had to be quick and simple so we could move on and get back to our story. Using MSPublisher, I managed to make several global and sectional maps.  Some fantasy world builders tend to use special programs like Autorealm, ProFantasy Software, and DnDjinni. I didn't want to use anything that was difficult or expensive, so I used what I have: MSPublisher and Photoshop. Realmwalkers contains some of those maps.


This image and info is next to the title page in Realmwalkers.

Here are a couple of graphics I made using these programs and a regular mouse to draw with. I hadn't gotten my wonderful Wacom table w/stylus when I did the artwork for Realmwalkers. I hope these drawings will inspire you if you are in the process of writing a book that might be enhanced with a map or two. Maps are very useful tools when you write a story that involves more than one city or town. Jack and I referred to these maps often while our characters traveled from country to country. I highly recommend creating or using maps to make your story more accurate and realistic. Maps help me keep from becoming confused as to what town is where and what race or races live there. Yes, if you can't draw or afford any of the programs currently available, you can make charts or lists to help out. I could have done that also, but since I can draw, I did what I enjoy.

Since I am currently writing a story about Audrey, I have decided to re-create and update the country of Vawdrey where this storyline takes place. Vawdrey is not a big country at approximately 687.5 miles from east to west.  We figured that Tiaera is about the size of Mars, not Earth.

This is the simple and quick drawing I used for the book. This graphic also shows the NW section of the country of Lythopia

And here is the newest and updated version of Vawdrey showing Chardonvale, and the druidic monastery and cloister where Carlyn and Audrey live and train.  All graphics are copyright protected.


Again, I hope these images will inspire you if you are writing a novel. You don't have to be an artist and you might discover, as I did, that world-creating can be fun!



Pinterest

I am now at Pinterest and uploading parts of my Tiaera blog there. I hope to gain more readers with my graphics and stories. Pinterest is a good place for sharing images much like Photobucket and Facebook. Here is the link to my profile there. Check it out!

EV Medina at Pinterest

The Summer Heat or Writer's Block?

It's July and the temperature here is going to 112 today.  I spoke with a good friend yesterday and she asked about my latest book "Sirens of Swansong." I frowned. I began to explain that in the midst of all my research and preparations, I find it hard to work on my third book. I explained that I still blog and I even plan to go back to doing Yahoo Content articles again, but work on the book remains further down on my list of priorities these days.  She was visibly disappointed and offered that with all the work I have done to promote Realmwalkers these past few years, the joy of writing has lessened since another book will mean a whole new campaign of marketing.

I have blamed it on the summer heat, saying to my husband that it's just too hot to write. We have plenty of air conditioning and we do get out to cool movie theaters, restaurants, and other locations. I am reminded that in the three years of working on Realmwalkers and The Priestess and the Ravenknight, that the summer heat was never a problem. But this year is different. This summer finds me doing little in the way of research about mermaids and the world of Tiaera so that I can continue with my third book.  I have about sixty pages started, the layout is done and I have a notebook filled with character sheets, historical data, story notes and inspiring graphics.

My Sirens Workbook

I have tried to keep motivated on my project by watching pirate and mermaid movies on TV or checking out mermaid/pirate books from the library. I am currently listening to an audio book about mermaids.

But I do not write.

Writer's Block?  Could this be?  Am I "burned-out" and need this time off?

My friend thinks it's possible. She suggests I take this time to do whatever little projects I can to keep me writing in some way or some form. Continue with my blogging, do some short articles, work on a journal and keep on doing whatever writing I can do until I am able to get back to my unfinished book.  Maybe the cooler temps in the autumn will get me back to work on my unfinished book.

Write! Write! Write!  I see that advice in every book about writing. I have started a story about Audrey, my little gnome. I can keep doing posts here about her also. In any case, I will deal with the temperatures here and keep cool, go swimming and write whenever I can. I will find some way to keep motivated, even if it's only to blog here with something I hope you will all find interesting.

If you have any advice or suggestions on how to keep motivated to write, I welcome your feedback. I know all writers go through this sooner or later. Whether it be burn-out, writer's block, or triple digit temperatures, I will finish my book somehow. I just wrote this down and so I can't take it back now.

I will finish my book, as soon as I am able to.

Writing and the Online Clock Timer

Since I became a full-time writer working at home, I have added some weight and now I have to watch my blood pressure. Like anything else, writing can be cruel when one does it for too long. We are often told by health experts to take hourly breaks away from the laptops or computers and now I am paying the price for not doing this.

When I worked with my collaborator, Jack Shepherd, on Realmwalkers, I spent hours without a break almost everyday. I did this also when I wrote The Priestess and the Ravenknight. I kept forgetting to get up and walk or do chores or whatever. It never even occurred to me to buy a kitchen timer of some sort to help me remember. Hours would fly by before I realized I hadn't taken a break.
Well, I think I have an answer to this problem and I wanted to share it with you. No, it's not a Tiaeran timer, but this may help keep you from gaining weight and getting sick. It's an online clock/time/music/video website: http://onlineclock.net/

It has an long list of different types of clocks and timers, in various colors and functions. It's also free and definitely worth a try. Now that I am in the middle of my next book, Sirens of Swansong, I am already using this clock timer for it and it works for me. This reminds me. I should go when this timer goes off and do some archery outside! No, wait, it's too hot now. Maybe later! But I can go do something else to stretch my legs and get some exercise. I know! Dance! Dance and do a load of laundry!

Till then, back to this post.

In the world of Tiaera, time is not as important as death makes time not so precious as in our real world. Thanks to Goddess Astria and the druids, Tiaerans don't have to worry about dying as we may. And despite all the hours spent in the libraries and great scholarly halls, reading and writing doesn't affect my fictional characters. Besides, their life is still mostly medieval and so there is a lot of physical work that needs to be done. This helps to keep the inhabitants of Tiaera healthier and stronger. I guess the closest thing they would have for timers would be hour glasses. Sun dials would only work outside and only when the weather allowed. I also hear that special candles could be used as timers. Marked in hour long sections, one would be able to measure time as the wax melted from notch to notch. For more information about candle clocks there is a wiki about them. CANDLE CLOCKS  No doubt, the tiaerans used these as they could afford them. I can imagine Audrey now, dipping candles at her convent.

Photo by www.myrandburg.co.za
I am sure there are other types of modern clocks and music players for those of us who work at our desks all day. If you know of any other site that offers a similar clock timers you would recommend, please leave a comment and share it with us.

Realmwalkers is on sale at Amazon.com!

I just found out that Realmwalkers has a special promo price now! Not sure how the folks at Amazon.com came to the new price, but it went from $18.95 to $17.06. That's almost two dollars off! If you have been waiting for the price on this novel to go down, now is the time to take advantage. 

Here are some of the testimonies I have been getting:

It's easy reading..meaning it's a fun story, interesting characters and it's not this deep reading that I have to keep reading each line over and over to understand. Some books are full of such verbose sentences/paragraphs that I get lost halfway through and have to start the sentence over again. The characters are familiar so I can picture them so easily, which is awesome! - Maryanne of Riverside CA
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Done with the book! Awesome! I liked it very much! Now you need to write a sequel with new adventures of Hilo, Felucia, Alain... need I go on??!! I want more!! Sequel! Sequel! Sequel!  - Amanda of Lake Havasu, AZ
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I've really enjoyed reading "Realmwalkers". I've read it more than once and continue to become imersed in the story and enthralled by it's cast of characters. It has a lot to enjoy: Heros and Villians from another planet, pirates, Elves and Gnomes, romance, battles on land and sea, a snowball fight and a beautiful Goddess.
The only problem I have with the book is that there is no sequel
Something for everyone to like. Give it a read. - Vince of Hamilton, OH
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The author has me drawn into the story and I feel as if I am actually there, living this saga. The drawings are magnificent! I anticipate every moment, and can't wait for the next chapter to unfold!!  - Pauline of Hawley, PA
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I really enjoyed this story. The characters were well developed and interesting. The settings were described in enough detail to give me a good visual image, but not overly described. The conflicts were believable and urgent enough to keep me engaged to the end. I definitely recommend this book.  - Layne of Lake Havasu, AZ
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What an exciting book with lots of great adventure and fun. Look out Harry Potter! This is the next up-and-coming new series. Would like to see it made into a movie. - Michele of Lake Havasu, AZ  

The Priestess and the Ravenknight updated

As some of you may know, I have updated The Priestess and the Ravenknight recently.  Those of you who have purchased this ebook, do not fret. I will be making this ebook available for FREE in the next week or two and I will post news about it's availability just as soon as I figure out how to do this at Amazon. It will only be free for a day or two so please keep checking back or email me at evmedina@dragonling.com.

The cover is the same and it's still going to be a Kindle version that you can buy at Amazon.com for only $2.99. If you don't own a Kindle ebook reader, don't forget that you can also get a free app that will enable you to read this free ebook on your PC, laptop, tablet, Android/iphone. One thing you will notice is that the novelette has grown from five chapters to seven. I also added one more graphic to the ebook.  If you own a Nook or some other reader that requires an EPUB file, I have it in that format. I am looking to see how I can send this file without going against my contract with Kindle. I can't see how Kindle would hold me to not selling the EPUB file if their app doesn't work on EPUB readers. Till I find out what to do about that, you can still get the ebook to read on your PC, laptop and smartphones.




Why did I re-do this ebook? Well, I did it mostly because something kept nagging me that it wasn't really finished. I asked some of my readers for feedback and most were happy with the way it ended, but once I changed the ending and added more text to the story they seemed happier with the changes. All I know is that I could not rest until I took the time to pull up the file and work on the story once again. I also decided to include two chapters of Realmwalkers for those who haven't bought the book yet. I saw this being done with some novels and thought this would be a good idea.

For those who wish to know, KABAM was not very active this year. Not many people attended and a few authors were missing. The weather was nice and I got a good table to set up my books. There was music, food, drinks and vendors at the park. I suspect the date might have had something to do with the event not being so crowded as in the past. I had a good time while I was there and gave out a lot of bookmarkers, answered questions and met some really nice people there. It also gave me a chance to promote The Priestess and the Ravenknight.

Now that the snowbirds are gone and the heat is here, I can now focus on writing my next novel and get ready for some swimming. SPLASH!

KABAM Book Festival

Now that we are in spring and the snow birds are leaving our fair city in droves, it is time for one more major book signing event in the city of Kingman (about an hour's drive from here).  Kelley and I (as well as other members of the LHCWG) are driving up there to attend the event again this year. There will be lots of authors to rub shoulders with, food, entertainment and one more chance to promote Realmwalkers before the heat turns my attention to swimming and writing indoors.

The festival lasts for days, but we will be up there next SaturdayApril 6th from 11AM - 4PM
Mark your calendars! If you are in the area, stop by!

315 West Beale Street
Kingman, AZ 86401
Community: Kingman
 

View Map | Get Directions

KABAM Book Festival Info and Event Schedule


Year End Book Event

Greetings and Merry Christmas to all my blog readers and friends! I hope you are all enjoying the holidays whichever way you celebrate this special time of year.  I have been decorating and shopping these past few weeks myself, but tomorrow I will be at The Book Exchange here in Lake Havasu City. They are holding another Author's Party and I was invited to participate.

The Book Exchange is located at 1761 Mcculloch Blvd N Ste B, Lake Havasu City. Members of the Lake Havasu City Writers Group will be there to promote and sign their latest books. There will goodies to sample and lots of great gift ideas.  If you are in the area, stop by and visit with us!


The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

The holiday season is upon us but as many of you know, our work still continues in our daily lives. And that includes us wordsmiths who eek out a living doing what we enjoy so much.  Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas shopping will have to defer for my need to work on my next big thing which my newest ebook that is currently going through the final stages of production. I am eager to get it ready as a Kindle and PDF file.

I hope you'll find this interesting and happy holidays to you all!

1. What is the working title of your book?
The Priestess and the Ravenknight

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
I wanted to write about two of the characters you meet in my last co-written novel "Realmwalkers."

3. What genre does your book fall under?
Medieval Fantasy Romance

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
That's hard to say. My guess would be Alex Pettyfer for Krymson and Amanda Seyfriend for Azurene. 

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Two dark elves make a bold attempt to defy an evil deity in order to save hundreds from death.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self published as an ebook only.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
A few weeks. It's not a novel but a novelette. I also did the artwork and formatted the pages myself.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Realmwalkers which is featured at this blog.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I like these two characters a lot and wanted to write their story.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I tend to add artwork to my stories that I hope my readers will enjoy and find interesting. Here below is the graphic I created for the cover of the ebook.

 
 
 
If you enjoyed this post you are invited to visit other writers who write similar works. Get to know them and leave comments for a chance to ask any questions you might have and perhaps win free copy of one of their books. 


kelleysrealm.blogspot.com

www.susanroebuck.com


heatherhambelcurley.wordpress.com

portaloflight.wordpress.com

www.sharonpoppen.com

 

The Book Exchange - Local Authors Party

Time is passing so fast. Here we are in the second week of November and Christmas decorations are appearing all over town.  I thought about that as I sat at my table with several books of Realmwalkers to sell. The Christmas music reminded me of how close we are getting to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now's the time to sell my books as the snowbirds who come to Lake Havasu shop and enjoy our warmer weather.

The bookstore was small, but it was filled with lots of wonderful books and gifts for book lovers. It was The Book Exchange here in Lake Havasu City and it held its first ever Local Authors Party.  Authors from all over this city were invited to bring their books to sign and sell.  They served refreshments and our club, The Lake Havasu City Writers Group, came to participate in the event.

The Book Exchange - 1761 Mcculloch Blvd N, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403 (520) 453-4043

People came and some bought our books so it was a good event. I met some new authors and hugged some of the returning writer friends I have come to know for years. Everyone was in good spirits and I managed to sell a few books.  I can't complain as I wasn't sure I would even sell one.

The staff was friendly and very motivated to do business with us local writers. There is talk about having this book event every month from now on. We'll see. I intent to come back next month for certain as it will take place just before Christmas. And copies of Realmwalkers will be available there as well at the Local Authors section of the store. So if you missed the event, my book will still be available for purchase!

Next Saturday, I also have a book signing event up at the Kingman City Hastings Books, Music & Video store,  Nov. 17th at 11 - 3

Busy... busy... busy!  Be safe out there when you're shopping or going to holiday events.  God bless you all. Take care and keep warm!