Blogmania Twitter Blog Blast Party

Blogmania bloggers are all about building relationships - between our blogs, our cherished readers, the online community and business owners. We value each other's opinion as we all are endeavoring to make the best choices for our home life. So it seemed natural to partner up with The Lane Real Estate Team and Breebee's blog to bring you our first ever twitter and blog blast party.

The Lane Real Estate Team is all about building relationships through communities - specializing in Kennewick Homes for Sale. And Bree is a blogger - and a mom - trying to think outside of the box and help build community ties in NW Columbus OH via her Kid event website! Our other twitter party sponsors also offer items to help strengthen and maintain relationships - from stationary to hand stamped sentiments.

Our Party Theme: "Building toward Blogmania with The Lane Real Estate Team" [http://www.joelane.com/]

Info on the Blog Blast:

If you post on your blog(s) our announcement between now and the twitter party you will be entered to win $100 cash. If we reach 500 blogs there will be two additional $50 drawings, totaling 3 winners! You can email me, breejanderson@gmail.com or blogmaniapr@gmail.com for the HTML code for blog(s) links and some posting specific OR ask the post owner for info and that blog owner will provide you an HTML code.

Please return with your specific blog post links on Bree's Blog, under her Twitter Party PAGE tab.

Info on the Twitter Party:

9:30-10:30pm, Sunday, EST we will party!

There is a custom tweet grid and a linky for early RSVP. RSVP'ing early also enters you into special drawings. You do not have to RSVP to tweet and win but the 'extra' will not be available.

You can win both the blog blast and at the twitter party!

RSVP at BreeBee's:

Headliner

I was pleasantly surprised to find my new novel, The Gospel of Matthias Kent, appearing on the home page of The Mechanicsburg Mystery Book Shop as "This Month's Special" almost a full month before the official launch date. It's arrival there announces a special arrangement between Draumr Publishing and Mechanicsburg Mystery where we will be selling advance copies during a "Meet the Authors" event at the New Cumberland Public Library in New Cumberland, PA, on Thursday, July 29th, at 7:00 PM. Fellow Susquehanna Writer Don Helin (author of Thy Kingdom Come) and I will be on hand to discuss the publishing world and test the audience with a game of Author Jeopardy. Best of all, a portion of each book sold goes to support the library!

Creative Detours

Three days into our beach vacation, I was beginning to stress out over the lack of time I'd spent writing. The week leading up to the trip had been busy, and my husband consistently reassured me that I'd have "plenty of time to write" at the beach.

I didn't doubt the sincerity of his words - just the feasibility and logistics of making them a reality. Vacation offers too many other temptations - opportunities that not only vanish once the trip is over, but cause the discipline of writing to be about as tempting as day old crab cakes left out in the sun. How could sitting down and working possibly compete?

Nearly a week in, I'm finding that it can't - at least not in the butt-in-chair-git-'er-done style necessary to move forward on a novel-in-progress, final revisions or a book proposal. What did happen, however, was that the less disciplined aspects of writing - the creative part - struck gold.

I discovered that two hours on the beach or five minutes work on a jigsaw puzzle can unfreeze the brain, help make a transition from one scene into another...or just provide a brain break. The combination of relaxation, a change of pace and a change of scenery kept my pen flying over the page, my fingers clicking on the keyboard as I made observations, wrote blogs and concocted the "what ifs" that form the foundation of future projects.

As writers seeking publication, we are often so driven that we run over our creativity in our haste to make good time down the road of success. And while roadkill may make for an interesting diversion or plot twist, particularly in genre fiction, it can't sustain an entire project.

Sometimes, we need to get off the beaten path and just enjoy the scenery, trusting that our subconscious writers' minds will continue to churn without us...

...which is why it's important to always have a notebook in the glove compartment.

Aaron's Books

This awesome indie bookstore hosted me for a book signing last Friday, which was also their Five-Year anniversary (they had cake!). It was a great experience. The store is situated on the main drag of Lititz, PA. A lot of people came through the store while I was there. We even sold enough copies to make Shadow's Son their No. 1 bestseller last week -- yes, I am a bestselling author somewhere.

The owners (Todd, Sam, and young Sir Aaron) and bookseller (a fellow Pennwriter!) Vicky Burkholder are about the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. If you live in Lititz, you probably already know that. If not, stop in and say hello. They have a great selection of new and used books, and a playroom in the back for the kids while you browse.

If you happen to pick up a copy of my book while you're there, I wouldn't mind.

The Gospel of Matthias Kent

Since I fancy myself a student and fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, I wanted to write a few words about Mike Silvestri’s soon-to-be-released (September 1, 2010) novel, The Gospel of Matthias Kent.

I’ve had the privilege of obtaining an advance copy from Mike after having reviewed snippets of his manuscript in our monthly critique group meetings. Those compelling sneak peaks always left me hungry to read more, so it was with eager anticipation that I dove into the book.

GMK is a futuristic tale of a dystopian America where the gap between the rich and poor is stark to the extreme. The rich enjoy wealth and power on the backs of the poor who struggle daily to survive starvation and a pestilence known as the Rot which consumes not only flesh, but also wood and paper. This extinction of paper is a blessing to the governing body, the Synod, who uses the tragedy to control the masses. As writers, we are all familiar with the phrase, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Take away the pen (and paper) and you are left with only the sword which the Synod ruthlessly wields to promote their self-serving agenda.

Matthias Kent, an opportunistic advertising executive employed by the First Bank of Job, climbs the corporate ladder to land a prestigious position providing him with a lifetime of security except for one catch: to maintain his status, Matthias must always and forever submit to the will of the Synod. A childhood trauma motivates Matthias to pursue a vengeful scheme that puts him at odds with the ruling elite. He gambles not only with his new found position but with his life and the lives of others.

Mike does a masterful job presenting the reader with a cold, gray America mostly devoid of human civility and the title character’s inner struggle against his true calling. Novelists are taught the key to successful fiction is to put your protagonist in an impossibly bad situation and then make it even worse. There is where Mike’s literary talent really shines. In the opening chapter Matthias gains the reader’s sympathy by performing an act of kindness. At heart, he is a good man who ends up making some bad decisions and falls victim to a cruel enemy. Mike’s skillful writing left me suffering along with Matthias during his loss, a turn so devastating and complete that it even surpassed that of Biblical Job. At least that man didn’t lose his faith.

Not wanting to reveal any more of the plot, I’ll just say that elements of GMK reminded me of other tales, most notably Fahrenheit 451, The film The Book of Eli, and even Saul on the road to Damascus. Like those stories, GMK also includes redemption and a satisfying conclusion. The Gospel of Matthias Kent has found a permanent home in my bookcase and will be a book I’m sure I’ll revisit.

Way to go, Mike. You make all of us Susquehanna Writers proud!

Writing Groups; Just an Expense or Helpful

It's nearly the time of year when I have to write the check for my membership in RWA. For those of you who are members, you know it's a hefty fee. For the past three years I've  held a debate with myself on whether to renew or not. I haven't written romance for a long time though some of my romance books are still on the market. All my recent novels have been in the genre I love most, fantasy. Should I rejoin RWA? The only reason I've retained my membership for this long is because I must if I want to continue with my local chapter, CPRW.
Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers is a wonderful bunch of committed authors. Many are published, many are on the verge and all are super supportive of each other. I know I would never have been published without the guidance and knowledge they've shared with me over the years. So each year I cough up the dough for the national organization so I can remain part of the local group. It's a difficult decision this year especially in the current economic environment. Two kids in college further tightens the home budget.

The other writing group I belong to is Pennwriters, a state wide writers organization.  Members represent every branch and niche of the profession. Each year they host a weekend-long writing conference with excellent guests including agents and editors of major houses. It's a terrific conference. They also put out a newsletter to bookstores promoting the work of their published authors. Thanks to that effort, I was contacted by the Borders Store at the Lycoming Mall in Williamsport, PA to do a booksigning for The Keepers of Sulbreth this Saturday, July 10th from 1-3 p.m.  This is a great service provided to me as a member of the group. And the cost of belonging to Pennwriters is less than half of what it costs to belong to RWA.
So I have about sixty days to decide if I'm going to put the money out there for a large national group who really doesn't do much to help me. I would miss seeing my friends at our local meetings but a few of them also belong to Pennwriters and a few others I keep in touch with on FB and through blogging.  Pennwriters also have a few local groups I might start taking part in this month. It's a difficult decision but I must weigh the cost versus benefit before renewing membership. What about you? Do you put out a lot of money to membership in professional organizations? What kind of benefits do they provide beyond moral support?
And don't forget to drop in at the Borders on Saturday for my booksiging at the Lycoming Mall in Williamsport.

Fun story for July Summer Reading Trail

I stumbled upon The Summer Reading Trail and thought it was a great idea. I love for readers to discover my work!

I missed the July registration (where did June go?!) so I'm giving you the exclusive chance to check out my July read. If I could have registered, it would have gone under the general Fiction category, but it's anything but generalized fiction. You'll have to read it to understand.

So I give you Survivor Barbie! I'd love your comments if you read it.

Happy summer reading!

Gearing up for Blogmania!

The Susquehanna Writers will be part of Blogmania this September! Mark your calendars! Shown below are the current offerings, to which we'll be adding more goodies from the Sweetest Place on Earth: Hershey, Pennsylvania. Click on the photo for a larger view.



How will you be able to win this wonderful giveaway? Simple. On September 15, visit this blog, leave a comment and become a blog follower. One follower (current or new) will be selected the following day.

Check back for further updates!

Harrisburg Book Festival

Here are a few pics from the first annual Harrisburg Book Festival, hosted by the Midtown Scholar Bookstore. Below shows the view from the Gallery, where visitors can sit in comfy chairs to read. Click on any photo to enlarge it.



Don Helin introduces visitors to his thriller, Thy Kingdom Come.



Mike Silvestri and signing tablemate Terry Welsh. We're very excited about Mike's upcoming release, The Gospel of Matthias Kent! Stay tuned for more details.



Sharing another signing table were Susan Gourley and Cate Masters, here staffed by her daughter.



A few of the Susquehanna Writers gathered together - Laurie Edwards, Don Helin, Cate Masters, Susan Gourley and Mike Silvestri.

The blog tour continues

Today the amazing Kiki Howell interviewed me at her gorgeous blog (I have blog envy!) :) Pop over and join the discussion. Is genre important to you? Or simply a good story?

And there's still time to leave a comment at Ramsey's Reviews for a chance to win a print copy of Fever Dreams! Hurry - visit today! :)