Free ebooks today (9 May 2013) thru Monday (13 May 2013)

Offer:  2 FREE eBooks

Where: Amazon

When: 9 May - 13 May 2013

 

For anyone that loves Romantic Suspense and thrillers:

 

The Award-Winning

Pic Jump

Pictarine Nebbie Jump's happily-ever-after begins with a coma.

 

While in that coma, she must thwart the plot of terrorists, save a little girl, and somehow, find her way out of her coma and back to her husband, Mason.

 

She has one question: 

How can she do all of this when all she can do while in her coma is jump from one set of eyes to another?

For those who love to escape into another world:

 

The Award-Winning Epic Fantasy

Chest of Souls Book One

Talon and Brenna have been hunted their entire lives by the very evil they must destroy.

No one will tell them that when they finally meet the evil, they  may not win.

Brenna doesn't know that her mother is Hi-Sha of Eyes, or that her father was an assassin and he's supposed to be dead.  Brenna is safe because she's oblivious to all but Talon.

 

Talon Felt safe until he met Brenna.

Once he is ordered to protect her, he's had to fight monsters he never knew existed, run away from an assassin, and escape a forest full of carnivores.  His father burned down their cottage and left him with people he just met and he isn't sure who to trust. 

In the meantime, the Chest of Souls waits to be powered and neither child can guess the price.

Fans - Kindred Spirits

Fans can be found in the most extraordinary places.  I was in touch with someone that saw my genealogy blog and our conversations were usually limited to family history.  She is a bus driver in Wyoming (ironically, Wyoming is the setting for one of my books - Pic Jump)

To my everlasting delight, she purchased two of my books - Chest of Souls (Book One) and Klaus.  When I found out she finished COS Book One, I wrote her back and asked what she thought.

This is her answer:

"Although it isn't the type of story I usually enjoy, I found myself stealing time to read it.  When I got done driving school bus, I would park in front of Albertson's on the way home from work and read until dark.  The stories in the  book captivated me that much.  The magical and mystical elements added an interesting twist.  I loved to like the good characters, and loved to despise the bad guys."  

Is that awesome or what? 

I have the best fans ever!

Loose Ends

When you have loose ends, you need a twist tie. 

One of those twist-ties has been the confusion that occasionally erupts when I tell people about writing 12 in 12.   Some people assumed I meant that I started every one of the books from scratch during the year I released a book a month.  This did not happen. 

I want to burst into hysterical laughter at the thought.  Perhaps there are authors out there that sit down at their computer without a firm idea percolating in their head and produce a book a month for a year. 

I am not that author.

For instance, Pic Jump, my 12th book, had three lines for an outline/plot and Pic sprang out of leftover ideas I had for 5 Blanks, my post-apocalyptic thriller.  Klaus was written because I love Christmas.  Honestly, it isn't hard to write about characters who only need to be tracked through one book. 

Chest of Souls, my Epic Fantasy, was originally an idea when my oldest daughter was in grade school (she is now in her 30's).  Because I was telling the story especially for her entertainment, the concept revolved around a girl her age, a cat my daughter wanted for a pet, an elevator, a skeleton (the better to scare her with), a necklace with unidentified power, and, for my daughter who was struggling with self-esteem, the feeling of not belonging.  The idea, which never took root, was to take it to the next level and introduce a time-travel scenario.  It never happened.

That's when Chest of Souls started.  It became a NINE book series - the bulk of what formed my 12.  It became a literary hydra.  Whenever I thought I had a plot covered, two sub-plots presented themselves.   

It took a miracle to finish the books in the time I had allowed myself.

BUT  I consider the true miracles the things that have happened since November of 2012.  After returning from another state where I spent most of last year, I had new goals. 

Chest of Souls Book One was given a new cover, re-formatted to html, and re-released.  We had the promotion mentioned in this blog last November - along with a peek at the new book.  The artist is currently at work on another cover.  Hopefully, we will receive it soon and give the stories a much-needed push.

Ummm....except, well, now there will be a four-book prequel and a possibly six book sequel.  I did not plan to do this, but the juiciness of the plots and the tantalizing glimpses of the distant past and fatal future of the characters you met in the first nine books were too much.  When I get that kind of call, I have to answer it and so, the first of the prequels should be released as soon as the cover is ready.  I'll keep you posted.







  

Write up in the paper about Pic Jump

First Book Signing

Dreams come true.

Here is one of mine:  I'm in 8th grade and in the basement of my mother's house, busily pounding the keys of my beautiful brand new (manual) red typewriter, spinning story after story as my mind takes me places that I want to explore.  In the deepest recesses of my soul I want, desperately, to be an author.  A REAL author - in my mind I've already published books, seen my name in print, become sucessful.  For years, I faithfully pound away at the keys, buying typewriter ribbon and paper, never dreaming that personal computers are the future and the day will come when I will laugh at the memory.  All I know, when I'm 12 going on 13 is that if I can't be an author, I don't want to be anything else.

Finally, after 40 some-odd years, that dream is coming true.  I have 12 books out and I must take a moment and say I didn't do it alone.  Yes, I'm an Indie, but the books would never have become reality without the support of heaven, family, and friends.

As an independent author, I am everything - writer, editor, cover designer, in charge of either doing or delegating every aspect of the business.  Make no mistake, if you are an Indie it IS a business.

<------The artists that drew/colored the book trailer presentation you see on screen.  The media people at the college were able to make the presentation loop so we didn't have to push 'play' every four minutes.

The book trailers are on You Tube: 
http://www.youtube.com/user/ChannelingMee

We brought the extra decor with us - the garland, the large baskets of flowers, the big bow with bells.

There were posters to be made, along with business cards, making arrangements with the store, treats (note:  use chocolate).  It was a lot of work, but fun. 

One of my fans who has read all of the books (and previously asked me how I sleep at night) brought his wife with him and bought Pic Jump, the first book we sold that day.  He'd already read it, now he owns it.  I like satisfied customers!  He can't seem to get enough of the COS series and was happy to find there is a prequel and a follow up in the works.

The campus director for special collections at the library bought four books and wants to buy the rest.  Apparently, they have a collection of books written by local authors.  Who knew?

The last books that were bought:  a librarian bought two sets of the 3 award winners that will be going to two local libraries north of our little burg and wants the rest of the books in the New Year!

And the winners of the Book drawing are:

Patricia German from South Dakota



Stephanie Bondlow from Louisiana

Rebecca Stephen from Indiana 

Congratulations 

I will be mailing your chosen books to you this coming week! 

Interview coming up

Tomorrow, Saturday October 22nd, my interview with romantic suspense author Ronda Hinrichsen will be posted on http://thewriteblocks.blogspot.com/  It was fun and thought provoking.

More than once I've been asked what my favorite thing has been that has happened since finishing and releasing 12 books in 12 months.

The answer is the response of fans.

For instance, I received word yesterday one of my fans went online to  http://www.iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/  where the current giveaway the 3 of my award-winning books is being held and she left a comment there.  She wasn't trying to enter to win the books (she'd already bought all of them) she just wanted everyone to know that she loved them all.  Wow. It renewed my hope and made me want to plow ahead with more books.

Just this morning I received an email that told me one of my fans had a dream about a particularly potent scene in Walking in Lightning.  Another Wow.   

To me, the fact the fan had a dream about the characters in the book is affirmation that my writing has touched something deeper than a persons's eyes.  It sank into their subconcious which then spun the scene out for them in a dream.  The fan said it was like being in a movie it was so real.

Some of my fans have made drawings of my COS characters on deviantart.
http://chest-of-souls.deviantart.com/   You'll even see some of my tracings there.

For me, the fans reactions have been Powerful heady stuff and the best kind of reward because when I write, I do so from the heart.  I want the books to be talked about, laughed about, and discussed with pros and cons for the characters.  It's been one of my dreams for a long time.

I write because I must, but fans are why I continue to do so with a smile.