Glad to join you

Hello, I'm Kathryn Yelinek. Don Helin was kind enough to introduce me. Thanks for that.

As Don said, I'm a librarian at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. In addition, I'm a member of Pennwriters, and the Area 2 Representative. That means I'm the representative to the board for all of the Pennwriters members in northeastern Pennsylvania. I hold at least one area workshop each year. This year, the workshop will be in September in Bloomsburg and will focus on revision. So, if you're a writer who lives north of the Selinsgrove area and east of about Lewisburg or Williamsport, I'd be happy to talk with you. (If you live elsewhere, I'd be happy to talk with you, too!)

Personally, I've been published in nonfiction and fantasy fiction. You can read more on my website.

7 Things I've Learned So Far

My guest column, "7 Things I've Learned So Far," is posted on Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents blog today. Stop by and check it out!

Shadow's Lure is Here

Looks like some stores are receiving copies of Shadow's Lure.

This is the sequel to Shadow's Son, continuing the story of Caim the Knife and his ethereal friend, Kit.

"Searching for the truth behind the murder and disappearance of his parents, Caim discovers a land in thrall to the Shadow. But there are some things a son of the Shadow cannot ignore, and some fights from which he can’t run. In this battle, all of Caim’s strength and skill won’t be enough. For none can resist the Shadow’s Lure."

Kathryn Yelinek

Hi Everyone:
At the recent Pennwriters conference I was fortunate to have breakfast with Kathryn (Katie) Yelinek. It turns out that Katie works at Bloomsburg University and is the coordinator for Pennwriters Area Two.
She coordinates events in her area and since Area Two is just north of us, I thought it would be fun to coordinate events. Some of Katie's folks may want to come to our events and some of us may enjoy participating in their activities.
So - Katie, welcome aboard. Tell us a little about yoursel, and I believe you have a website to post for our folks.

San Francisco Dreams now available!

My historical romance, San Francisco Dreams, is set during the turbulent 1906 earthquake, a fascinating time. It's available on Amazon and Smashwords for just $1.99. You can find more info, including the first chapter and “Casting Call” on my blog.



Here's an excerpt:
His smile faded when he glanced up to meet the stare of none other than Miss Norah Hawkins, standing in the archway like a she-witch spying her unsuspecting prey. Hell’s bells, she could wither a man. A lesser man than Mac at least. Her fiery eyes belied her cool attitude. He found himself wanting a good quenching drink after she burned him with her appraisal.
She sauntered up. “Good news, Mac?”
“The paper’s full of both good and bad. And you?” She must have good news if she’s taunting me.
Her grin smug, she dangled a key from her hand and perched on a chair opposite the sofa. “Never better. My dream’s come true.”
He gasped. “I’m flattered, Miss Hawkins, that you’d speak of me so highly.”
Her sweetness turned sour. “Not you. My gentleman’s club. Soon it will be the toast of San Francisco.”
Now that sounded promising indeed. “Customers will expect entertainment of some type. My offer’s still open. People love piano players.” And many had. Maybe even Norah would warm to him after hearing him tickle the ivories.
“I have more pressing needs at the moment.”
“Such as?” Maybe he could fulfill those other needs too.
Eyes glimmering, she stared at nothing, and spoke as if to herself. “There’s so much work to do. Fixing up the place, hiring employees…”
He could see the wheels turning in her head. “I’m happy to help. As I said, I’ve many talents.”
She roused to look at him. “I need trustworthy workers.”
All sincerity, he said, “You can trust me with your life.”
Pursing her lips, she rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know your name.”
True, by design he’d not given it. Time to rectify that. Bowing his head, he said, “Gerard MacKenzie, at your service.”
She studied him. “Mac suits you better.”
“Most people think so.”
Defeat weighed her voice. “I am desperate.”
Hope rose up. “I’m a hard worker, no matter the task. I’ll help you set up your new place, and I can bartend.”
To his surprise, she assessed him. “I’m warning you, I won’t tolerate nonsense of any kind.”
He pressed a hand to his chest. “You wound me.”
“Mac…” she warned.
“My barkeep skills are legendary.” His eyebrows waggled. “And so are my others skills.”

Thanks for reading!

The Magic of Lavender now available!

It's out now on Amazon and Smashwords - yay! I'm very excited about it. This is the first in The Goddess Connection series. Every woman should be treated like a goddess!

I have several more in mind to follow. In each, the heroine will be somehow connected to a goddess. Her lifelong quirks will become strengths once she finds her true place in the world, and accepts herself for who she really is.

In The Magic of Lavender, Joss is related to the goddess Iris. Conflicting tales exist about this goddess - she's either the Messenger of the Gods, or Goddess of the Rainbow. I used a little of both. :)

Here's the blurb:
Jocelyn Gibson forgot about the realm of magic. But it never forgot her. Gram always told her: don’t ignore your magical gifts, it will insult the family. But Joss didn’t realize her gifts included channeling the energy of powerful ley lines. Or that her family included a goddess. Family connections come in handy when the Lord of the Underworld kidnaps local vet Eric Hendricks. He’s an amazing lover, but Joss didn’t know she loved him until too late. With a little help from the Goddess Iris, Joss defends the new life she’s forged, and helps save the town of Boiling Springs from destruction. Once Eric escapes Hell, can she stop loving him to keep him safe?

I hope you'll check it out! Soon I will also make a print version available through CreateSpace (once I figure out how).

Rejection Letters Getting You Down?

If you're struggling to keep submitting after receiving a stack of rejection letters, maybe this story from More. com will help you get back on track. Kathryn Stockton persisted even after 60 rejection letters. And now she not only has a book, but a movie deal too.

And if you've recently received a rejection letter that you need help interpreting, here's a site that offers some spot-on translations. See Reading Between The Lines for clues to the editor-ese.

Win an ARC!

I have one advanced reading copy of my new book, Shadow's Lure, to give away. Unfortunately it won't be signed (because it's coming straight from the publisher), but them's the breaks.

Just email me at messages@jonsprunk.com before midnight on June 3rd to enter the giveaway contest. I will draw the winner on June 4th. Good luck.

"Finding Farber," a short story

In 2005, Steven Hawking, renowned theoretical physicist, proclaimed that black holes emit radiation, which he termed Hawking Radiation. These emitted particles are believed to represent energy/matter that has entered the black hole, been reduced to their elementary particles, and are now leaking back into space. Let's take this one step further. Assume an alien enters the black hole. Would it be possible to harvest the emitted particles and reconstruct the alien?

Sounds complicated, I know, but not so in my world. First you need to find the black hole. Then you need a very high-tech instrument capable of harvesting the particles the moment they leave the black hole (the real catch is not having your particle reaper sucked into the hole during the process). Then you would need to bring the harvested particles back to earth and reconstruct the alien, or if you were lucky the alien would have the know-how to reconstruct himself. And all this has to be done in your life time, otherwise you don't get the credit and never publish your results, which is career suicide for an renowned astrophysicist, or any scientist for that matter. Your colleagues would think you were just plain nuts.

The tricky part is reconstructing the entire alien. It takes talent. Sometimes the alien is not entirely whole. That's precisely what happened when Banger Dunn, astrophysicist extraordinaire, found Farber's particles leaking out of a black hole. Farber might have been in bad shape, but his message to Banger shattered Banger's world, and sent Banger on a path on which there was no turning back.

"Finding Farber" can be found in Escape Velocity: The Anthology at amazon.com in print and kindle formate. Published by Geoff Nelder and Robert Blevins of Seattle Books, Escape Velocity: The Anthology, is a collection of fantastic short stories from authors around the world.

Read "Finding Farber" today and let me know what you think!
http://tinacrone.blogspot.com

Social Marketing at Pennwriters

I attended the Pennwriters Conference this past weekend. Super conference. For me one of the best parts was Jonathan Maberry's pre-conference workshop on social marketing. As you all know he's a high-energy guy (writes ten hours a day - 50 minutes writing, 10 minutes social marketing each hour.) Whew. No wonder he's a New York Times Best selling author.
He believes you (the author) are the brand and not your book. Author needs it all. Facebook, twitter, Linked in, website, blog. He links his facebook, twitter, linked in.
Facebook: Use the event page for your book. For profile, need photo plus short bio plus Free lance Writer. Recommends picking the top 50 authors in your genre and friending them. Can review and comment on each others books. Once readers goes to their facebook page, they will see You!!!!
A blog is important. Nothing to say? Post an interesting link with a short comment. Also he has a number of questions he uses to interview other authors. Keeps him active on the scene without a super amount of work. Give out free stuff to readers of blog. Contests - maybe naming a character. He puts his blog into website. Links his blog to agents, reviewers and other authors.
He mentioned Backspace message board. Check it out.
Twitter: Be sure to friend libraries, bookseller, other bloggers.
Linked in. Organizations are critical. I'll talk more about it on my next post.
I'm sure I missed a bunch of stuff and hope others will add their thoughts.

Short fantasy re-release

My short fantasy, The Duende and the Muse, is now available on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords for just 99 cents! I am in love with this cover. :)

Formerly published with The Wild Rose Press, this story received 5 tombstones from Bitten by Books! Other reviews have described the story as: “awe-inspiring,” “a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read. It sparkles and fizzes with energy” and “well written and the story holds the attention from beginning to end.”

After receiving the rights back, I revised it yet again, and added a bit more about the elder muses, Calliope and Euterpe. It was fun to give these old muses a modern twist. :)

I hope you'll check it out!