Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Final Day of the 13th Floor Collection blog tour

Happy Halloween!

And happy last day of the tour!
What a month it's been. I'm so thankful for all the support and encouragement from everyone. You guys rock!
A special thank you to all my tour hosts. You've made this the best tour ever.

We're ending big today.
I'm at the awesome Clare Dugmore's blog.
One more giveaway and the 13 biggest moments in the 13th Floor series. Come on over and tell us if you agree!

Don't forget Realms Faire 2013 next month.
It starts on the 11th, and I'll be participating in the Joust. I would love for you all to come cheer me on. How do you do that, you ask? It's easy. Head on over to the Joust on M. Pax's blog, and cheer for my knight, Sir Xanthus Ehrensvard. You must use the "key" words provided to cheer for my champion. I get a point for every time someone uses one of the words. You can cheer up to 3 times a day. Not only can you win prizes, but I can win a prize if Xan is the victor! Huzzah!


Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The 13th Floor collection blog tour is on fire!

Today I've distracted my dragonslayer with a mission out of state. I don't want him to know where I'm going. Not all dragons are evil, but I can't convince him of that!

I'm excited to be heading over to the great cave of Father Dragon. I'll be talking about the doubts I had while writing the 13th Floor series and how I managed to motivate myself to get past them.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection blog tour is nearly at an end!

I can't believe we've only a few days left of the tour! What a month it's been. I hope you've had a chance to enter at least one giveaway to win a copy of the collection. If not, there's still a couple more days!

Today I'm talking about something important to every writer: reviews. Why are reviews so important? And how do you write one?
Head on over to the wonderful Lynda R. Young's blog to find out.

In the back of the Collection, I ask readers to leave a review. I'm curious as to how many other authors do the same thing. Please let me know your feelings about this.

Monday, October 28, 2013

13th Floor collection tour continues with two more stops

I'm excited to have two wonderful hosts lined up for your today. We're getting into the Halloween spirit.

First I'll be over at Julie Flanders' blog with a list of my top ten ghost films. Come on over and tell us your favorite!

Then head on over to C. Lee McKenzie's blog to go trick-or-treating on the 13th floor. Oh yes. Don't miss out on this rare opportunity! You could win a digital copy of the collection.

My Goodreads giveaway is still going on until the 31st!


Goodreads Book Giveaway

The 13th Floor Complete Collection by Christine Rains

The 13th Floor Complete Collection

by Christine Rains

Giveaway ends October 31, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Sunday, October 27, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection blog tour continues with style!

Over the years as writers, we learn and grow. Finding our niche is good, but we must always work on improving ourselves.
Today I'm over at the lovely Carolyn Brown's talking about how my writing style has evolved over the years.

In other news: The 13th Floor Complete Collection won't be in my local library. They only take indie authors that have received excellent reviews from the big reviewers like The New York Times. They directed me to The Midwest Book Review, but you have to pay a $50 reader's fee. Drat. I'm a little sad about this. I'm curious as to what experiences other indie authors have had with libraries. Please share if you've had a similar experience or if you've been luckier than me. I wonder if it's common for most libraries not to take indie published books.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection blog tour continues with villains & NaNoWriMo 2013

The bad guys in the 13th Floor series are quite the diverse group. Nick Wilford has been so kind to host me during all my tours this year, and I've talked about each villain in turn. Today he hosts me one more time, and I'm talking about the sympathetic villain.

Yes, I'm going to be participating again this year. I have a busy November outside my writing world, but I just can't miss NaNoWriMo. I love it too much, even if I don't finish a novel. I think it's great to motivate me to push myself when I start feeling sluggish because it's the end of the year.
I'll be doing a NA urban fantasy this year. Its working title is THE UNDERDOGS. And yes, it's about geeks. Geeks who are real life wizards, druids, and adventurers. (It will be more of a buddy story than a romance.) I have a loose idea of a modern day Dungeons & Dragons type of story with a Lovecraftian feel. Small town, creepy folks, ancient monster.

I finished off my superhero romance (my NaNo novel from last year), made notes for more revisions, and sent a few of my faithful readers. After November, I'll be working on revisions for a paranormal romance (my NaNo novel from 2011). I hope to query one or both of these novels in the new year.
NaNoWriMo has helped me write some amazing stories. If you're going to participate this year, good luck! I'll be cheering you along the way and writing like a madwoman whenever I get a free minute.

Friday, October 25, 2013

The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues with two great hosts & Creepy Freebies

Today I'm excited to have two great hosts welcoming me on their blogs along with two unique posts.
Check out Aubrie Dionne's blog for a guest post from Elli. Who's Elli? She's Harriet's cat in THE ORACLE & THE VAMPIRE.
I have some helpful tips for writing urban fantasy on Nutschell Windsor's blog. It's not like traditional fantasy writing at all.
 It's the final Creepy Freebies of the month.
Don't miss out on this awesome scary giveaway.
Head on over to Milo James Fowler's blog for some treats from these fantastic authors:
Aaron Polson

And the winners of this week giveaway are:
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners!
Emails have been sent. 

Thursday, October 24, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection's author gets interviewed & The Tears of Isis review

I'm happy to get a chance to sit down and chat with one of my oldest blog friends, Colette Chmiel at A Buckeye Girl Reads.
She writes excellent reviews and hosts several authors on her site. Today she's interviewing me. Come find out what my favorite comfort read is.

Have you entered this week's giveaway yet?

Night Owl Reviews gave the Collection 4.5 stars!
Check out the fantastic review.

And here is a read for you just in time for Halloween.

Blurb:
What do Medusa and the goddess Isis have in common? Are both creatresses through destruction? And why was Isis oftentimes depicted as weeping? Herewith are some answers as parts of a journey through art and creation, of sculpture and blood-drinking, crafting musical instruments from bone, revisiting legends of Cinderella and the Golden Fleece, of Sleeping Beauty and Dragons and Snow White-some of these, of course, well disguised. For is not art both the recasting of what is, as well as the invention of what is not? The Elizabethan poet Sir Philip Sidney spoke of art as "making things either better than nature bringeth forth, or, quite anew, forms such as never were in nature," so here there be vampires, and ghouls, and insects perhaps from outer space as well as from this Earth, and visions of Saturn and life in the sea, and other wonders "such as never were in nature," but, above all, Isis. The Weeping Isis. Isis with vulture wings, breasts bare and smeared with blood as in the earliest forms of her myth. And of course, as well, Medusa.

My review:
A well written collection of short stories to chill you to your core. Ghouls, insects, vampires, and gods. Tantalizing bits taken from Egyptian mythology and woven into highly original tales.

These stories aren't for the fainthearted. James Dorr knows how to spin a tale of horror. It's not just in the gore or the odd characters, but the way he can twist the plot and shock you with the frightening truth. Dorr has a quirky style that makes this collection unlike any other.

The stories that stood out for me were "Waxworms" and "Moons of Saturn." Two not so earthly tales. "The Bala Worm" was a wonderful modern fantasy piece about dragons with an amusing twist. And the title story, "The Tears of Isis" created dark images in my mind of a disturbed artist whose unconscious is revealed in her work.

This book is for lovers of truly dark fiction.

You can buy THE TEARS OF ISIS on Amazon and Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing.


Author Bio: James Dorr combines the charm of a gentleman born in the US South with the wiles of a near-New York City upbringing, the canniness of a one-time New England resident, and the guile of an outwardly stolid Midwesterner, or so he says. It is known that he was born in Florida, grew up in New Jersey, went to college in Massachusetts, and currently lives in Indiana where he also harbors a cat named Wednesday. He is a short story writer and poet working mainly in dark fantasy and horror with forays into science fiction and mystery, and has previously worked as a technical writer for an academic computing center, associate editor on a city magazine, a nonfiction freelance writer, and a semi-professional Renaissance musician.

You can find James on his blog.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The 13th Floor collection tour continues with romance and Marionette cover reveal

Love is in the air.
And it can be deadly.

Join me at the amazing Kyra Lennon's blog for a guest post about the romance in my short story, "The Shadow."

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of the collection.

The Goodreads giveaway is still going on too!
Lots of chances for you to win.

Now onto the wonderful T.B. Markinson's cover reveal!

 Title: Marionette
Author: T. B. Markinson
Cover Designer: Derek Murphy
Publication Date: December 2013

Synopsis:
Paige Alexander is seventeen and has her whole life in front of her. One day her girlfriend comes home to discover that Paige has slit her wrists. Paige isn’t insane, but she acts like she is. Why?

After the incident, Paige agrees to go to therapy to appease her girlfriend, Jess. However, Paige doesn’t believe that therapy will help her. She believes she’s beyond help. Paige doesn’t want to find herself and she doesn’t want to relive her painful past in order to come to terms with it. What Paige wants is control over her life, which she hasn’t had since her birth.

During her childhood, Paige is blamed for a family tragedy, when in fact, her twin sister, Abbie was responsible. Abbie doesn’t come forward and Paige becomes the pariah of the family.

To add to Paige’s woes while attending a college in a small town in Colorado, the residents are in the midst of debating whether or not gays and lesbians should have equal rights. Tension is high and there’s a threat of violence. She isn’t out of the closet and pretends to be straight at school since she fears what will happen if her parents find out she’s a lesbian. Will she end up dead like her best friend, Alex?


About the Author:
T. B. Markinson is a 39-year old American writer, living in England, who pledged she would publish before she was 35. Better late than never. When she isn’t writing, she’s traveling around the world, watching sports on the telly, visiting pubs in England, or taking the dog for a walk. Not necessarily in that order. Marionette is her second novel. A Woman Lost was her debut novel.

Sign up to TB’s New Release Mailing List here. Your email will never be shared and you will only be contacted when a new book is out.


Twitter * Facebook * Blog * Goodreads

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection tour & Magna's Plea by Cherie Reich

Today has a theme with my tour post and the guest post I'm hosting.
I'll be talking why you should write short stories on the wonderful Summer Ross' blog.

And on my blog, I'm so excited to have the talented YA fantasy author Cherie Reich with a flash piece. It's a prequel to her short story, "Magna's Plea."

A princess will rise and challenge Fate.

While her father, brothers, and people fight against the Kingdom of Apentha, tenacious eighteen-year-old Princess Magna can only watch the destruction of Amora, her besieged city and kingdom. Her mother, Queen Vyvian, has refused to allow her heir to join the fray.

But Magna won't take no for an answer. She seeks out an end of the war from Prince Cyrun of Apentha, their prisoner. If she can't persuade him toward peace, then Amora may fall.

This short story prequel includes a sneak peek of Reborn, Book One of The Fate Challenges, forthcoming May 2014.

YA Epic Fantasy
The Fate Challenges #0.5
A 5500-word Short Story

Best of all, you can download this short story for FREE at Amazon / Nook / iTunes / Kobo / Smashwords / Goodreads and read online at Wattpad.

Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer living in Virginia. For more information about her work, please visit her blog and website.

MORAN’S VICTORY

They couldn’t let the Apenthans win.

Hazy twilight hid the Place of Lordéhi from Moran’s view. His sandaled feet sloshed through the reeds along the river’s bank. He plucked a reed and twirled it through his fingers. Guards carrying torches trailed his family and him. No one would attack them here. The sun had dipped into Hupogaia’s realm. War had gone to bed.

Beside him, his brother Thoran emitted a soft grunt in pain. An Apenthan soldier had slashed Thoran’s arm during today’s battle.

“Is the pain real bad?” Moran worried about the wound. Thoran was his best friend, despite a four-year age difference. They’d play-fought against numerous villains throughout the years.

“No, I’m fine.” Thoran gritted his teeth and clutched his injured shoulder. “I’ll be ready to fight again in no time.”

Father patted Moran on the head and ruffled his hair. “Apenth’s healers will heal Thoran.”

Why did he insist on treating Moran like he was ten? Father hadn’t allowed him out of the war tent. Moran wanted to face the same danger his brother and Father did. “I would’ve taken care of those Apenthans, if I’d been out there.”

He swished the reed in front of him as if it was a sword.

Thoran chuckled, despite his face growing whiter. “They have real weapons.”

“Pfft, I can still fight.” He tossed the reed into the water. Ripples spread out from it, but what was that? The waves skirted a slender piece. As his father and brother walked on, Moran got on his hands and knees and leaned toward it.

“Come along. We’ll visit the healer and then return to the palace.” Father called over his shoulder.

“I see something.” His fingers brushed against the object, and he tugged on it.

Something held it in place.

Moran reached out farther and yanked. The force nearly sent him onto his behind. He studied the thing in his hands. It appeared almost like a branch, but it was smooth. He brought it up to his eye and could see all the way through the hole.

“What do you have there?” Father stomped over.

“I don’t know.” He held it out to his father, but before Father could take it, bubbles erupted from the water.

Father jerked Moran from the river’s edge and unsheathed his blade.

The guards around them did the same.

A head popped up from the water and the rest of his body followed. The man—not much older than Thoran—gasped for air.

“An Apenthan!” Moran recognized the red battle clothes the Apenthans wore.

“Seize him.” Father shielded Moran and Thoran as the guards entered the water.

The boy and the guards fought before they overtook him and dragged him to the embankment.

“Let’s take him to the palace. Mother will decide what we should do with him.” Thoran straightened, as if his wound no longer bothered him.

“This can’t wait, but you’re still seeing a healer later, Thoran.” Father instructed a few guards to search the river for more Apenthans, even though we didn’t see any more. Then, he placed a heavy hand on Moran’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You stopped this Apenthan from breaching our walls.”

Moran’s heart swelled with pride. He alone could’ve saved their kingdom. They’d have to think he was old enough to battle now, right? With a grin and a light step, he walked with the others from the river’s bank to the palace. He couldn’t wait for Mother and his sister Magna to see what he’d done.

He picked up another reed before he left and pretended it was a sword. Apentha could never beat Amora as long as he was around.

Monday, October 21, 2013

The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues and W4WS event for October 2013

Have you ever wondered what the 13th floor looks like?
Today you can take a tour. No one's home. It's safe to poke around. Go on to the lovely Trisha's blog and check it out.
Be one of the first to enter this week's giveaway!


Welcome to the October 2013 W4WS event! I'm honored to co-host this event with three talented writers, Mary Pax, C.M. Brown, and Stephen Tremp.  The mission of this group is simple: we have a spotlighted author(s) that we strive to help bring awareness of their book(s) to tens of thousands of new people, increase the sales of their book(s), drive new traffic to their blogs and increase followers, and create verbal and viral buzz.

 
We've made this simple and fast. It's as easy as a tweet or a RT, and sharing a status on Facebook. Go to the writer's blog and copy a tweet or RT from the posts with the tag #W4WS. The W4WS Facebook page will have all the updates and links for you.

 
To join the W4WS event, click here for the linky list. It will only take a minute of your time, and you'll have talented writers take a step closer to their dreams. 

Alex J. Cavanaugh. Ninja Captain. Science-fiction writer extraordinaire. You can find him at his blog and Twitter.

Isis Rushdan is the talented author of KINDRED OF THE FALLEN. You can find her at her site, blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Review for The Marquis & Goodreads Giveaway reminder

Please check it out.

If you haven't won any of the giveaways yet, don't fret. There will be another one tomorrow as the tour continues with a walk through the 13th floor, and there's the Goodreads giveaway.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The 13th Floor Complete Collection by Christine Rains

The 13th Floor Complete Collection

by Christine Rains

Giveaway ends October 31, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Saturday, October 19, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection blog tour scary interview!

I'm giving you a dose of Halloween cuteness before I send you to today's interview.

 That's my boy! Isn't he adorable?

Okay. You're fortified with cute armor.
Click on over to the talented Yolanda Renee's blog for a frightening Halloween interview with me.

Here's one more level of darling to help you!
My little guy wants to be a rocket ship this year.

Friday, October 18, 2013

The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues, Creepy Freebies, & Giveaway Winners

It's another fabulous Friday on the tour, and we've got a fun stop today. The geeky lone wolf named James from THE ALPHA has written a guest post you don't want to miss. Check it out on the wonderful Cecilia Robert's blog.

 There's a chill in the air, or is it something else?
It's Creepy Freebies time again.
Check out the treats from these talented authors on Milo James Fowler's blog:
Anthony Rapino
Lyndon Perry 

Now on to the giveaway winners! I had two giveaways happening this week.

The winner of the Creepy Freebies giveaway is:
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now for the winners of my blog tour (week 3) giveaway
  
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners!
Emails have been sent.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Another grand stop on The 13th Floor Collection blog tour

One of the 13th Floor series' biggest fans is the amazing Heather M. Gardner. Her enthusiasm has been phenomenal! I'm so very honored and thankful to have a fan like her.
I've given her one of the first looks at the new short story in the collection, "The Shadow."
Hop on over to her blog and read her review of it.

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway and possibly win a signed copy of the collection.

On a non-13th Floor related note,
I have a new cover for FEARLESS!

 I love it! I love it! I love it!

One of the complaints I got about FEARLESS was that the cover with Tawa the stuffed hippo made it look like it was for younger readers. It also did not get across it was paranormal romance. This one does a much better job.

Tawa isn't so pleased she was taken off the cover, but if the new cover attracts more readers to her story, I mean, Abby's story, then she can live with it.

FEARLESS is free to download!
Amazon Kindle
Smashwords
Kobo

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection blog tour carries on!

Have you ever imagined different endings for your stories?
I've thought about so many ways my tales could end, but they always lead me to where they want to go.

Visit M. Pepper Langlinais' blog to read the alternate endings to the 13th Floor novellas. Could the series have ended with a tragedy? Maybe there would have been different couples?
Click and find out!

Enter this week's giveaway for a chance to win a copy of the collection!

A reminder that the Realms Faire 2013 is less than a month away!
I'll be competing in the Joust this year, or rather, my champion will be. Please come support him in his quest to unseat last year's winner.
Mary has done such a fantastic job with the badges.

My knight:

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues & Dragon's Game cover reveal

Do you have your copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection yet?

Today I'm happy to be visiting with the lovely Anna Abner. She'll be asking me some questions about the series. Find out if I believe in luck or not.

Don't forget to enter this week's giveaway for your chance to win a signed copy of the Collection.

Now onto the awesome EJ Wesley's reveal of his fantastic new cover!


Available Monday, October 22nd!

Jenny Moonsong recently inherited the title of "monster hunter" and an ancient tribal journal/how-to manual passed down by her Apache ancestors. She has already faced a werewolf, witches, and a troll. But nothing could prepare her for her latest confrontation...


Dragon's Game, Moonsongs Book 4, finds Jenny out of her rural West Texas element, searching for an evil witch in an urban Houston nightclub. After attempting to help a handsome and mysterious stranger out of a jam, she finds herself on the run from a ruthless gang who are even more dangerous than they initially appear.

Forced into a twisted game of life and death, Jenny must navigate the complexity of a budding relationship, and somehow survive a night filled with unexpected horror and paranormal mystery.

Dragon's Game is approximately 14,000 words or 45 pages, and is the fourth volume of the Moonsongs Books, an ongoing series of New Adult, speculative / urban fantasy novelettes by author E.J. Wesley.

(These stories contain language and content better suited for readers 17+)

~Moonsongs Series List~

Blood Fugue, Moonsongs Book 1
Witch's Nocturne, Moonsongs Book 2
Dark Prelude, Moonsongs Book 3
Dragon's Game, Moonsongs Book 4

Moonsongs, Anthology 1 (Collecting books 1, 2, & 3)

***
Add Dragon's Game to your Goodreads shelf!

And for a limited time, you can catch up on the entire Moonsongs series for just .99 cents (regularly $2.99) - Moonsongs Anthology 1 (books 1, 2, & 3) is on sale October 15th - 20th at Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

Connect with E.J. for all the latest on the Moonsongs books!

BLOG – TWITTER – FACEBOOK – GOOGLE+ - 
 LINKEDIN - GOODREADS

Monday, October 14, 2013

The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues with the Ninja Captain


Oh what a week this will be on the tour!
Yesterday Zeus made an appearance, and today I'm over at the awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog. I'll be talking about the 13th floor and other sentient places as characters in books.

Today is also the start of another giveaway!
If you haven't won a copy of the collection yet, enter for a chance to win one signed by me. I promise to think of something clever to write. Or, at the very least, something I think is clever!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, October 13, 2013

The 13th Floor Collection blog tour on the 13th!

It's the 13th! Woo-hoo!
While I love the wonderful formatting for the ebook, the print book looks gorgeous. I can't stop caressing the pages.
Surely all authors do this with their books. It's not creepy... right?

Today I'm celebrating with an appointment with the Thunder God. Zeus has so kindly squeezed us into his schedule.
You'll find him on Heather Holden's blog. He agreed to her as a host because she loves Greek mythology so much. In fact, her web comic - Echo Effect - is based on a famous Greek myth. It's absolutely fabulous. Check it out!

Don't forget about my Friday Creepy Freebie giveaway hosted by Milo James Fowler.

Oh! And the Goodreads giveaway is still going on until the end of the month. So many chances for you to win a copy of my book!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The 13th Floor Complete Collection by Christine Rains

The 13th Floor Complete Collection

by Christine Rains

Giveaway ends October 31, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Only a month until Realms Faire 2013

RealmsFaire2013

Facebook

Twitter Hashtag - #grogz

Jousting Tournament

Knights Wanted! Can anyone beat the 2012 champion, Ghost Knight? Angela Brown turned out to be a formidable opponent.


This year, the joust is all about YOU, the knights.


Each knight will be featured during the joust, the tournament held to help promote your book or site. Plus, you'll be publicized in the sidebar on my site until the 2014 champion is declared.


Prizes will be awarded to each day's commenters as well as to the winning knight at the end of the joust. Points are scored by commenters using particular words assigned to the knight. Such as, Zounds! Ghost Knight! Lance that lout! The winning words are zounds, Ghost Knight, and lance. That'd be 3 points for Ghost Knight.


Knights can provide either a story about their feats or an excerpt from any of their books. Stories/excerpts are limited to 200 words or less. However the tournament goes, you can't lose. I'll be posting everyday the week of November 11th, cheering on knights and promoting their wares.


Knights can also provide prizes.


The Joust is limited to 10 participants. Only 2 slots remaining!


Sign up!

 

 This year I'll be participating in the joust. Or rather, I'll have my champion ride for me. I'll be calling on your support to help defeat the Ghost Knight.

 

My Knight, Sir Xanthus Ehrensvard will wield an ancient lance that has been handed down from father to son for countless generations. He will also be shirtless.


Oh yes.

Check out the other events in the Realms Faire. I'll be hosting a fantastic event called Drench-a-Wench / Soak-a-Bloke. You could win a copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection. There are several prizes for all the events. Mark it on your calendars. Don't miss out on all the fun next month.

Friday, October 11, 2013

The 13th Floor collection blog tour continues, Creepy Freebies, and this week's giveaway winners

Yay for Friday!
Do you have any plans for the weekend?
Make sure to stop by this Sunday. It's the 13th, and I have a special guest that's writing a post for me.
Today I'm so excited to be interviewed by the lovely Heather Musk. She's been sharing her thoughts on the 13th Floor novellas for six weeks prior to October. Now she's picking my brain.
 This is another reason why I'm celebrating Friday.
Milo James Fowler is sharing free ebooks and raffles every Friday this month. Click on over and get yourself a treat.
Today I'm happy to be one of the authors who're participating. You can enter for a chance to win an ecopy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection. Yes! Another giveaway!
I'm honored to be amongst the great authors helping with Creepy Freebies. Today three more magnificent writers are sharing treats:
Roland Yeomans
Cate Gardner

Now for this week's giveaway winners!
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congratulations to the winners!
I've already sent emails your way.  

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The 13th Floor collection tour continues

Have you been having fun on the tour?
Ten days in and I've got so much more to come!
 
Today I'm over at the wonderful Gwen Gardner's blog where I answer the big question:
Will I write more books in the 13th Floor series?
 
Don't forget this week's giveaway on Cherie's blog!
You can still enter to win a signed copy of the collection.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Indie Life - swapping posts with M. Pax

The Indelibles host a monthly feature called INDIE LIFE. Modeled after Alex Cavanaugh's awesome Insecure Writer's Group, this will be a chance for indie authors to post about indie life, find each other, offer support, encouragement, news, helpful hints, and anything else that makes life as an indie author a little easier.

What is Indie Life?
How: Sign up on the Linky list HERE.
When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month.
What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie.
Grab: The banner above to include in your posts!

Usually I have my Wicked Wednesday posts on Wednesdays, but I share a lot of my life as an indie author. I'm happy to be joining in this month talking about the weird way sales have went with The 13th Floor series, and I'm even more excited to be swapping posts with a fantastic speculative fiction author, Mary Pax.


The Business Plan, an Essential for Every Author

Swapping blogs with the awesome Christine Rains today. We’re exchanging Indie Life posts. Fantastic view over here! I need to get some shirtless guys on my covers.

Recently I heard a new term for Indie, Author-Publisher. And that’s what we are. We’re authors and publishers. We’re the talent, and we’re the business.

Business. Yes, we become one the moment we publish. Everyone knows about marketing plans and platform, but do you have a business plan? I do. Like my outlines, it’s not very detailed or refined, but it’s there.

Step One: For me, it was opening a separate checking account for my writing with its very own debit card. All expenses get paid from this account – editing, cover art, stock art, ink cartridges, copyright fees, yearly webhost subscription, yearly writer group fees, software, services. All income goes into that account – Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, paperback [in person and through Amazon], ACX.

For tax purposes, it’s very handy to have a separate account dedicated to your writing income and expenses. It’s also easy to see how you’re doing.

Step Two: You need to set a budget and decide what you want to accomplish with those startup funds. Are your expectations realistic? I started with $1K, very little. I wanted to publish two novelettes/novellas and a novel off of that. To minimize costs, I did only ebooks, made my own covers, and did my own formatting.

Starting is not easy. You shouldn’t expect to make any money on your first publications.

Step Three: How and when to add to your funds from other sources. I added at least another 1500 to my account from other sources. When I have enough to publish four books and have hired an accountant to start managing my taxes, I will begin returning the seed money to where I ‘borrowed’ it from.

Step Four: At what points will you expand and how? I lucked out with my Backworlds series selling steady. I know I can rely on X sales from each book each month on Amazon. When I reached that point, I expanded my team by hiring a cover artist. My team currently consists of: me, my editor, my cover artist, and author colleagues/friends who lend support when I’m pulling my hair out.

With a graphic artist on my team, I expanded into paperback. A friend told me about ACX, and I expanded into audio close to the same time. The only expense for both were the covers.

My plan now is to sock away money until I have enough to publish 2-3 books. Then I will look into expanding what editing services I contract and possibly paying someone to format for me at some point. I’d also like to attend more conventions where I sell in person.

Step Five: When I start earning enough to have to pay estimated taxes, I’ll add an accountant to my team.

What’s after that? I don’t know yet. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. But I will continue to have business goals and incorporate them into my plans.

What’s your plan?



M. Pax-- Inspiring the words she writes, she spends her summers as a star guide at Pine Mountain Observatory in stunning Central Oregon where she lives with the Husband Unit and two demanding cats. She writes science fiction and fantasy mostly. You can find out more by visiting her at:
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Some truths are better left unfound.

For two years Craze’s dear friend, Lepsi, has been missing. The murmurings of a haunted spaceship might be a message and may mean his old pal isn’t dead. The possibility spurs Craze and Captain Talos to travel to uncharted worlds, searching. Out there, in an unfamiliar region of the galaxy beyond the Backworlds, they stumble upon a terrible truth.

Meanwhile, Rainly remains on Pardeep Station as acting planetlord, dealing with the discovery of her lover’s dark and brutal past. Alone and questioning her judgment, her introspection unlocks more than heartache. Latent protocols in her cybernetics activate, forcing her to face a sinister secret of her own.

In the far future, humanity settles the stars, bioengineering its descendents to survive in a harsh universe. This is the fourth book in the science fiction series, The Backworlds. A space opera adventure.


Now available on these sites:

Amazon / AmazonUK / Nook / Smashwords / Kobo / Other Outlets