Friday, February 5, 2010
Smart People Read Romance
Hi Everyone: Romance writer and fellow Medallion author, TJ Bennett, has chosen Valentine's week to begin a series on Why Smart Men and Women Read Romance. Starting on February 7th and running for a week, different authors will discuss why they like to read romance. Yours Truly will be on the Blog on Friday, February 12th. It's an interesting series. Stop by and check it out at www.tjbsopinion.blogspot.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
K.M. Daughters on Capturing Karma
The Susquehanna Writers are pleased to welcome K.M. Daughters! K.M. Daughters is the writing team of sisters, Pat Casiello and Kathie Clare. Their penname is dedicated to their parents: Kay and Mickey Lynch. Pat is married to Nick Casiello and has three children, Jen, Emilie and Brian. Kathie is married to Tom Clare and has two sons, Tom and Michael. She has one granddaughter, Natalie, and a new grandbaby is expected in April. Visit K. M. Daughters at www.kmdaughters.com Their latest release is Capturing Karma, available from The Wild Rose Press in paperback and ebook. Readers can also find Capturing Karma at Barnes and Noble and on Amazon.
KM Daughters will be giving away an autographed copy of Against Doctor's Orders, the first book in the award-winning Sullivan Boys Series to one randomly drawn commenter along their blog tour.
Here's the story blurb:Veterinarian Matty Connors’ visions lead her to homicide detective Brian Sullivan once again despite her resolve to remain anonymous the past four years. Her official work with the police in California resulted in the brutal murder of her fiancé, and since, a recurrent nightmare she barely survives. Brian, the reputed ladies man of the Sullivan family, has yet to give his heart to a woman until Matty lays claim to it. His black-and-white approach to solving crimes doesn’t jibe with Matty’s spooky pronouncements or her reputation for alleged infallibility. A wild goose chase searching for a murder weapon casts doubt on Matty’s “truths” and threatens their smoldering romance. Is Brian her nightmare slayer and ultimate truth? When the puzzle pieces fall in place for Brian, will it be too late to save Matty?
And here's an excerpt:
“Hi, Brian,” she responded, tamping down the temptation to hug him hello. “How’s the new baby doing?”
“Great, thanks. How’s that bump on your head?”
Matilda touched an edge of one of the butterfly strips over her eyebrow. “Turning every color of the rainbow, but it’s fine.”
He swiveled his head toward the throaty bark of the wolfhound in the corner of the room, then scanned the other occupants in the lounge: primate, feline, porcine, wolfish and human. “Steve told me you’re a great vet. Looks like you’re pretty swamped here.”
“Shamus and I split the patient load,” she said.
“And Shamus is?”
“My brother. He came for me at the hospital yesterday?”
Brian’s eyes bored into her, a sexy smile twitched the corner of his lips. “Good.”
“And ‘good’ means?”
“The big guy isn’t competition. That’s good.”
“Ah. So we’re clear. What competition would that be?”
The sexy smile twitched again. “For but a smile from sweet Matty,” he lilted in an Irish brogue.
Squelching an impulse to grin, she molded her face serious and parroted a brogue, “Ah but woe to the knave who plies smiles with an untrue heart.”
She grinned now. “What can I do for you, Brian? Did you get an estimate to repair your car?”
“It’s about that letter you brought me. It’s related to a case. We need your help.”
Of course. “I gave you the letter. You know as much as I do.” Her heart hammered, nothing to do with the pulse acceleration from earlier flirtation. I can’t go further with this case. No matter what, I have to stay anonymous.
Our First Reader
We anticipated the release of our first book in the summer of 2008. Imagine our excitement, joy, and yes, anxiety about the next step after publishing. Will we reach Readers? If they take a chance on unknown authors, will they enjoy our voice, be touched by our words and happily travel our story’s journey?
A few days after the magical release date, Pat’s husband, borrowed her car, license plate KM DAUTR, to drive to church services. After church a woman approached him and asked, “Are you K.M. Daughters?”
He explained that his wife and sister-in-law, Kathie, write under the penname. The lady further inquired how she might purchase our new book. Turns out, the lady, Rosemary Kaenel, is a fellow Wild Rose Press author (Last Rose of Summer, Rosette, “It’s Called Love”) and her interest struck us as heaven sent.
That book features Marian apparitions, and the rose is associated with visions of the mother of God, her favorite flower – a pivotal reason for our submission to The Wild ROSE Press after we completed the manuscript. A lady named “Rose” “Mary” wanted to buy this book? Pat couldn’t deliver it to her fast enough.
An instant connection occurred with Rosemary. She’s a lovely woman - interesting, interested, engaging, gracious and quietly, deeply religious. Pat produced the autographed book for her, our first sale, our first official Reader! When she had finished reading it she took the time to send an email to tell us stating that she loved the book, and why. Such a precious gift.
But, there’s more! A few months later, Pat received another email from Rosemary requesting Pat to call a local bookstore right away. Rosemary had just visited the store, and she influenced the owner to host a signing for K.M. Daughters! We made the arrangements and on a bitter cold January day (in Chicago environs, cold is bitter cold) we sold enough copies that the store invites us back with each new release!
Rosemary attended that first signing and gave us another gift: the chance to hug her for her lovely good deed. We found a Reader, or should we say, she found us - and we gained a dear friend.
Goddess Fish Promotions
Monday, February 1, 2010
Chapter1zone
Hi everyone: Just a short note to let you know that Thy Kingdom Come is featured on Vicki Hinzie's blog, www.chapter1zone.com. Vicki is a well know thriller writer and a fellow Medallion author. She has a large following so take a look and maybe give it a shot.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
My Way or the Highway?
This week was an amazing week. I got two positive nibbles from two different publishers on two different projects. Both asked for revisions, leaving me with a dilemma...
..."sell out" or stay stubborn?
As writers, we are wedded to many things. Some, like good grammar, spelling and punctuation and the integrity of our characters are worth staying stubborn for. Others, like format or market are less important.
Every writing endeavor and exercise can improve our skills and help us to grow as writers if we only approach it with the right frame of mind. If I cross my arms, knit my brow and shake my head, certain that my way is best, all I'm doing is depriving myself of the chance to grow as a writer. That's when I'm really selling out.
As you can probably tell, my dilemma lasted for only about thirty seconds, after which I settled on a third choice: evaluate. Can I do these things? Will they improve the quality of my work - and perhaps even my future work? In an age where publishers are closing their doors and form rejections outnumber nibbles (at least in my world), I chose to be grateful to the editors who saw a spark of promise in the work I submitted, and to feel blessed that they're willing to be patient as I continue to polish my work.
Time to do some revisions.
..."sell out" or stay stubborn?
As writers, we are wedded to many things. Some, like good grammar, spelling and punctuation and the integrity of our characters are worth staying stubborn for. Others, like format or market are less important.
Every writing endeavor and exercise can improve our skills and help us to grow as writers if we only approach it with the right frame of mind. If I cross my arms, knit my brow and shake my head, certain that my way is best, all I'm doing is depriving myself of the chance to grow as a writer. That's when I'm really selling out.
As you can probably tell, my dilemma lasted for only about thirty seconds, after which I settled on a third choice: evaluate. Can I do these things? Will they improve the quality of my work - and perhaps even my future work? In an age where publishers are closing their doors and form rejections outnumber nibbles (at least in my world), I chose to be grateful to the editors who saw a spark of promise in the work I submitted, and to feel blessed that they're willing to be patient as I continue to polish my work.
Time to do some revisions.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Harrisburg Book Festival
Many of us were disappointed when snow forced the cancellation of our authors day at the Midtown Scholar this past December. Catherine didn't want to cancel it and said she planned to postpone the event until spring.
Since Spring schedules fill quickly, I emailed her today to see if she had come up with a date.
Catherine is working with other merchants on planning what she calls the First Annual Harrisburg Book Festival for late Spring (May/June). She envisions it will be an outdoor city street festival.
It sounds like a lot of fun. Lets all encourage her.
Stay tuned.
Since Spring schedules fill quickly, I emailed her today to see if she had come up with a date.
Catherine is working with other merchants on planning what she calls the First Annual Harrisburg Book Festival for late Spring (May/June). She envisions it will be an outdoor city street festival.
It sounds like a lot of fun. Lets all encourage her.
Stay tuned.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Author, Google thyself
by Cate Masters
One of the easiest and quickest promo methods is the use of Google Profiles. It takes about two minutes to set up your author profile. Best of all, it’s absolutely free.
What does a Google Profile do?
For U.S. searches, this guarantees a listing on the bottom of the first page of every Google search for your name. This helps a lot if you have a common name. Even if you don't have a common name, it gives you an additional listing on that first page.
Next, set up a Google alert for your name to learn which sites your name appears. Be sure to put each phrase in quotes to reduce the number of “waste” returns that include one but not both of your search terms.
If you find that another person with the same name is an artist, say, you can also put - minus sign in front of the string of words, thus:
-artist
to remove the artist's hits.
Simply using my name usually picks up on reviews too, but you can add those to your alert as well. Again, be certain to enclose the title in quotes to eliminate irrelevant results. Google sometimes is late – sometimes months late – in alerting me to certain things, but those are usually unimportant. Sometimes results can be as boring as reminding me I commented on someone else’s blog, or as cool as the time I learned a reader in Finland loved my short Sixties-era romance, Seventh Heaven. Very cool. Sales of that story spiked after that, whether due to her review, it’s impossible to tell. In any case, it was amazing to find my story had traveled the world.
If you use Google’s Blogger, be aware of the importance of adding tags. Search engines pick up on tags, so be careful which key words you select. Someone who searches for one of your books will be directed to any blog post using the title in the tag field.
If anyone knows any other quick and easy promo tips, please share!
Cate Masters writes fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative fiction, described by reviewers as “so compelling, I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” Visit Cate online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
One of the easiest and quickest promo methods is the use of Google Profiles. It takes about two minutes to set up your author profile. Best of all, it’s absolutely free.
What does a Google Profile do?
For U.S. searches, this guarantees a listing on the bottom of the first page of every Google search for your name. This helps a lot if you have a common name. Even if you don't have a common name, it gives you an additional listing on that first page.
Next, set up a Google alert for your name to learn which sites your name appears. Be sure to put each phrase in quotes to reduce the number of “waste” returns that include one but not both of your search terms. If you find that another person with the same name is an artist, say, you can also put - minus sign in front of the string of words, thus:
-artist
to remove the artist's hits.
Simply using my name usually picks up on reviews too, but you can add those to your alert as well. Again, be certain to enclose the title in quotes to eliminate irrelevant results. Google sometimes is late – sometimes months late – in alerting me to certain things, but those are usually unimportant. Sometimes results can be as boring as reminding me I commented on someone else’s blog, or as cool as the time I learned a reader in Finland loved my short Sixties-era romance, Seventh Heaven. Very cool. Sales of that story spiked after that, whether due to her review, it’s impossible to tell. In any case, it was amazing to find my story had traveled the world.
If you use Google’s Blogger, be aware of the importance of adding tags. Search engines pick up on tags, so be careful which key words you select. Someone who searches for one of your books will be directed to any blog post using the title in the tag field.
If anyone knows any other quick and easy promo tips, please share!
Cate Masters writes fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative fiction, described by reviewers as “so compelling, I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” Visit Cate online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
Friday, January 15, 2010
"Fahrenheit 451"
As part of The Big Read, Jump Street and Debbie Beamer, owner of the Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop, have invited four members of the Susquehanna Writers to discuss" Fahrenheit 451" from an author's perspective. The writers are Tina Crone, Don Helin, Jon Sprunk, and Mike Silvestri. Ray Bradbury's book was published in 1953, and the film, written and directed by Franois Truffaut and starring Oskar Werner and Julie Christie, was released in 1966.
The film will be shown on Sunday, January 17th at 2 pm in the Carlisle Theater, 40 W. High Street in Carlisle. There is a $5 admission fee. The author's discussion and book signing will follow.
All are invited.
The film will be shown on Sunday, January 17th at 2 pm in the Carlisle Theater, 40 W. High Street in Carlisle. There is a $5 admission fee. The author's discussion and book signing will follow.
All are invited.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Once in a Blue Moon...
Once in blue moon, a publisher comes along who does things in an innovative way. Leap Books opened their doors on the night of the blue moon, expecting something magical to happen.
And it did...
We launched our authors in the direction of their dreams. Now we invite you to take a LEAP with us. You'll be glad you did.
Watch for some great new releases this month at Leap Books. And take advantage of the BLUE MOON special to get a 10% discount off any purchase.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The latest from Michigan's Word Banishment Committee
by Cate Masters
Each year, Michigan’s Lake Superior State University releases a list of words it categorizes for General Uselessness, Overuse or Mis-use. In this year’s annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English, The Word Banishment Committee narrowed down the thousands of nominated words and phrases to these: tweet, shovel-ready, transparent/transparency, czar, app, sexting, teachable moment, friend (as a verb), in these economic times, stimulus, toxic assets, chillaxin’, bromance, and any word combining the President’s last name, such as Obamanomics, Obamanation… you get the idea.
I’ve never been a fan of buzzwords, so have no problem with never hearing some of the above terms again. However, I’m against censorship in general, and as a writer, I hate to lose any words that might prove useful. It’s like taking tools away from a craftsperson, and words are critical tools for communication, the basis of human understanding.
Obviously, authors should weigh each word for its usefulness. Jargon with short shelf lives can quickly date a story - for good or bad, depending whether it’s intentional. If an author needs to immerse a reader in a specific time period, certain words can immediately conjure the era. Likewise, use of certain phrases can enhance a character by making that character’s speech identifiable to the reader without tags.
Dumbing down language has never made sense to me. We want to educate our youth – and our population in general. Why corrode their understanding by removing relevant words and phrases? An obscure word used in the right context is immediately understandable to the reader, and enhances vocabulary. Writers sometimes take flack for using “million dollar words” but I, for one, prefer meticulously crafted work. Prefer Michael Chabon to say, Elmore Leonard. Yes, Elmore writes a good story. But his writing is blah. It leaves me cold. Certain other authors whose novels have gone on to film write so poorly, I can’t get through the entire book. Yes, I’m picky, but I aspire to write as well as the authors I admire: Margaret Atwood. Charles D’Ambrosio (his writing is ambrosia to me!). Richard Russo. I could go on, but you get the idea.
As the AP explained, the list is by no means official, and the committee itself says it’s all in good fun. Many previously-banned words or phrases still appear in current conversations – also for good or bad, but it’s for the individual to decide. I’ve been known to repeat phrases such as it is what it is. 24/7, happy camper, LOL, and back in the day, not so much (though this phrase made the list last year). Curious about other words the committee has banned over the past 35 years? The complete list is here.
Cate Masters writes fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative fiction, described by reviewers as “so compelling I I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” Visit Cate online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
Each year, Michigan’s Lake Superior State University releases a list of words it categorizes for General Uselessness, Overuse or Mis-use. In this year’s annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English, The Word Banishment Committee narrowed down the thousands of nominated words and phrases to these: tweet, shovel-ready, transparent/transparency, czar, app, sexting, teachable moment, friend (as a verb), in these economic times, stimulus, toxic assets, chillaxin’, bromance, and any word combining the President’s last name, such as Obamanomics, Obamanation… you get the idea.
I’ve never been a fan of buzzwords, so have no problem with never hearing some of the above terms again. However, I’m against censorship in general, and as a writer, I hate to lose any words that might prove useful. It’s like taking tools away from a craftsperson, and words are critical tools for communication, the basis of human understanding. Obviously, authors should weigh each word for its usefulness. Jargon with short shelf lives can quickly date a story - for good or bad, depending whether it’s intentional. If an author needs to immerse a reader in a specific time period, certain words can immediately conjure the era. Likewise, use of certain phrases can enhance a character by making that character’s speech identifiable to the reader without tags.
Dumbing down language has never made sense to me. We want to educate our youth – and our population in general. Why corrode their understanding by removing relevant words and phrases? An obscure word used in the right context is immediately understandable to the reader, and enhances vocabulary. Writers sometimes take flack for using “million dollar words” but I, for one, prefer meticulously crafted work. Prefer Michael Chabon to say, Elmore Leonard. Yes, Elmore writes a good story. But his writing is blah. It leaves me cold. Certain other authors whose novels have gone on to film write so poorly, I can’t get through the entire book. Yes, I’m picky, but I aspire to write as well as the authors I admire: Margaret Atwood. Charles D’Ambrosio (his writing is ambrosia to me!). Richard Russo. I could go on, but you get the idea.
As the AP explained, the list is by no means official, and the committee itself says it’s all in good fun. Many previously-banned words or phrases still appear in current conversations – also for good or bad, but it’s for the individual to decide. I’ve been known to repeat phrases such as it is what it is. 24/7, happy camper, LOL, and back in the day, not so much (though this phrase made the list last year). Curious about other words the committee has banned over the past 35 years? The complete list is here.Cate Masters writes fantasy/dark fantasy, historical, contemporary and speculative fiction, described by reviewers as “so compelling I I did not want to put it down,” “such romantic tales that really touch your soul,” “filled with action scenes which made it a riveting story,” and “the author weaves a great tale with a creative way of using words that makes the story refreshing to read.” Visit Cate online at www.catemasters.com, www.catemasters.blogspot.com or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.
Friday, January 1, 2010
It's Here!
Happy New Year! I hope this year brings peace and prosperity to us all. I have a special reason to celebrate this year as today is the official release date of my first fantasy novel, The Keepers of Sulbreth, Book#1 of The Futhark Chronicles.
I've anticipated this day for so long I can't believe it finally arrived. I know many who ordered my book from an online store like Amazon have already received their copies. A few emailed me and one friend and two relatives called on the phone to express their delight in my book. Of course, they would so it's with quite some nervousness I wait to see how this novel actually sells.
I've been warned not to watch those numbers on Amazon but it's so tempting to do so. One I have to be thrilled about is for the second time, Amazon posted the little warning they only had a few left in stock and were ordering more. I hope it doesn't mean they only had five in stock to begin with! LOL
The excellent reviews thrilled me but I can't wait to hear from a reader other than friend or family. I've kept the ones I received from my romance novels in a special folder and hope I can add a few more.
So happy New Year and may we all enjoy moments of peace to read and keep our jobs so we have the money to purchase books, lots of books.
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