K. Reed's Blog, page 3

Win a basket!

A post-apocalyptic survival basket that is! Comment on any of my blog tour stops and enter for a chance to win one of the baskets I’m giving away.

Yesterday’s stop included a lovely review for Dark Inheritance: Fallen Empire.

Escape Rating A-: This is an a darkly fascinating alternate history. The reader does not know how the plague came about, because the characters don’t know. The world has gone mad. How do the strong survive? Who do you trust? Life still goes on, but what changes?

Review: Hatfields and McCoys

Watched part 1 of 3 last night. I’m not a Kevin Costner fan. I may have liked him in The Postman (because of the post-apocalyptical aspect) and Dances with Wolves. Robin Hood was okay because of the storyline, not his stellar English accent or acting abilites.

I also don’t really like Bill Paxton (he was okay as the little brother in Kurt Russell’s Tombstone) but until I looked at the list on IMDB I’d forgotten I’d seen several other movies with him. Forgetability-my memory or his acting, you decide.

All of which matters not a bit when I say I was glued to the screen for the 2 hours Hatfields & McCoys was on. Course Tom Beringer was in it, so unrecognizable I had to look up who he played; Powers Booth was excellent as the Hatfield judge.

In the beginning I was confused as to who was who; a family tree of the surnames belonging to which side of this little fued would have been helpful. Cousins on both sides were lost to me and I was left with only a vague feeling of which family the allegiances belonged to.

Also a map. Until it was on the screen before me I’d never heard of Tug Creek; I thought the fued was in Kentucy not West Virginia (it’s a cross-state/cross-river fued); and with the distance necessary to travel, the sense of time seemed more than a little off.

Over all, I give this installment a solid B rating for interest, drama, minimual names I’m forced to remember (I know the live ones, the dead on either side are ancillary thus far), and the fact I have every interest of watching episode 2 tonight.

In the News

This week’s blog stops:

May 28: Novel Reflections

May 29: Reading Reality

May 30: A Case of Reading Insomnia

May 31: Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews

June 1: The Life (and lies) of an inanimate flying object

I love the title of June 1′s stop! Very cool.

 

Today is the United State’s Memorial Day. Never forget those who have fought and died for us.

Friday 5: Libraries

Today’s (first) Friday 5 is why you should support your local library. While I feel these reasons should be obvious, not everyone is an avid library user such as I. Therefore, I feel the need to tell you libraries are so much more than musty research books and stuck-up librarians with hair pins, glasses, and that annoying shushing sound.

Libraries are infinite. How? Why? What? Yes. They answer those questions and more. They have computers, free wifi, homework help, tutoring (ESL, computers, literacy), and yes. Free books, CDs, DVDs, audiobooks, and even ebooks.

So here are my 5 reasons why you should support your local library, not just by joining and checking items out, but vocally–on Facebook, Twitter, your local newspaper, city council meetings, and even on the ballot.

While writing this post I found this site where they explain it much better than I could.

They Spur Economic Development

A University of Pennsylvania study found that the Philadelphia library created more than $30 million worth of economic value for the city in fiscal year 2010. A key stat among the findings — nearly 9,000 businesses wouldn’t have been started or nurtured without resources respondents first acquired at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

They Help People Find Jobs

Public libraries offer a suite of free resources to help unemployed or under-employed citizens find gainful employment. Free classes boost education or even teach people how to craft a resume or prepare for an interview. Free Internet access and computer usage allows people to hunt for jobs, interact with potential employers, and prepare applications.

They Help Working Women

Women are far more likely than men (72% versus 58%) to have visited a library in the last year, according to the ALA. Working women, working mothers, and women aged 18 to 54 are the most likely to fall in that group. Those same demographics are also likely to have a library card.

They Open Doors to Education and Entertainment

Public libraries host free book clubs and movie nights, and even have passes for local museums so that card holders can avoid entrance fees. They offer free or inexpensive computer courses, language courses, writing courses, and even after-school learning programs for children.

And for my 5th reason:

They have all the Cool Books

And if they don’t, they usually order them for you. I say that because, while I have NO desire to read it, they bought 6 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey (and 2 copies each of books 2 and 3).

This week blog stops

Week 2 of my virtual blog tour for Dark Inheritance will be at these places. Stop by, leave a comment, and enter to win an awesome survival basket!

May 21: Queen of all She Reads

May 22: Immortality and Beyond

May 23: Writers and Authors

May 24: Books Are Magic

May 25: Megan Johns Invites

Rounding out the week

Last stop for this week is over at Ramblings from This Chick.

What’s that? You missed a stop this week? No worries, I have the list right here:

May 14: Christine Young

May 15: Live To Read ~ Krystal

May 16: Books Reviewed by Bunny

May 17: Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

May 18: Ramblings From This Chick

Today’s stop is…

Ramblings of a coffee addicted writer! Stop by, read a bit on why the romance of the Regency hasn’t died, and leave a comment to enter into the post-apocalyptic basket giveaway.

My first review!

I hope that whether the review is good or bad, (or mediorcre) I’ll still enjoy reading what other people think of my stories.But the first review is special. Or it is to me! Not necessarily a justification of my work, but lovely to read nonetheless. Especially when the review is 5 stars!

Bunnys Review had this to say about Dark Inheritance: Fallen Empire

The first thing to say about this book is WOW!  The author  has portrayed a plague that ravished England in the 1800′s.  This is during the Regency period.  Of course this is one of the few time periods that I love to read romance books from.  So I just had to read this to see how the author accomplished this plague.

 As stated above WOW! I truly loved this book.  it was simply amazing.

I love the wow. In fact, that might be the best part of the 5 carrot review! Thank you, to all the bunnies for making my day.

Now available at all e-book stores including:

All Romance

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Print

Tuesday Share

Firstly, today’s blog stop is at Live to Read. I hope you’ll stop by!

Today’s share is a healthy mini molton chocolate cakes with mocha sauce. Not vegan (I find they have an odd aftertaste) but supposedly healthier than say, my grandmother’s (utterly scrumptious but alas). I found this on Delish.com

4 ounce(s) dark or bittersweet chocolate (60-75% cacao), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon(s) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon(s) light cream
2 teaspoon(s) instant espresso powder, or granules dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water, divided
1 tablespoon(s) light corn syrup
1 large egg
2 tablespoon(s) canola oil
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon(s) salt
5 tablespoon(s) confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon(s) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 teaspoon(s) very hot water

Directions

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Generously coat the mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
Place chocolate and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. (Alternatively, see “No microwave?” below.) Microwave on High for 1 minute. Stir well, then continue microwaving on Medium, stirring every 20 seconds, until the remaining chocolate melts completely.
To prepare filling: Stir together granulated sugar, cream, and half the espresso mixture in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on High just to steaming, 20 to 40 seconds. (Alternatively, combine in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until just steaming.) Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add corn syrup and half the melted chocolate (reserve the other half for the batter); stir until completely smooth. Cover and transfer to the freezer until cold and firm, about 30 minutes.
To prepare batter: When the filling has been chilling for 20 minutes, whisk egg, oil, vanilla, salt, and the remaining espresso mixture in a medium bowl until very smooth. Return the remaining chocolate mixture to the microwave. Microwave on Medium, stirring every 20 seconds, until just warm again (do not overheat). In two batches, whisk the egg mixture into the warm chocolate until well blended. Sift confectioners’ sugar, flour, and cocoa over the batter and whisk in just until smoothly incorporated.
To assemble cakes: Remove the filling from the freezer. Spoon half the batter into the mini muffin cups, about 1 rounded teaspoon per cup. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon filling onto the center of each (reserve the rest for the sauce). Divide the remaining batter evenly among the muffin cups, about 1 rounded teaspoon per cake. Smooth out the batter to cover the filling.
Bake the cakes on the middle rack until the edges look dry and puffed but the centers still look very underdone and puddinglike, 6 to 9 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack until firm, about 2 minutes. Place a cutting board on top of the pan and invert the mini cakes out onto it. If the cakes are stuck to the pan, run a knife around and under them to loosen.
To prepare sauce and serve: Thoroughly stir very hot water into the reserved filling, 1 teaspoon at a time, until very smooth and slightly fluid. Serve the warm cakes drizzled with the sauce.

Tips & Techniques

No microwave? Melt chocolate in a double boiler instead: Place chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water. Gently stir until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove from the heat and stir until it melts completely.

In the news

Firstly, my virtual blog tour starts today! I’m starting the 4 week tour at Christine Young’s blog. Yes there will be prizes, very cool gift baskets with an assortment of items for all your post-apocalyptic needs.

Second, and this probably isn’t new to some, but I wanted to share it nonetheless. It’s about the ongoing DOJ vs Big Print Publishers lawsuit. You can read all about it all over, but I also want to share a post from J.A. Konrath mostly because I find Joe’s take on things to be hysterically sarcastic and completely dead on.

Quite possibly my favorite passage from the (very long) post is this:

Simon says:

Absent demonstrable consumer harm, there is no competitive reason for the United States to punish the alleged collusion in the manner suggested by the settlement; rather, the terms mandated by the settlement should have focused on the collusion itself, not the damages from it, since there are none.

Joe sez: I agree. No damages, except for those readers forced to pay more for ebooks, and your clients, who got paid less. Other than that, a victimless crime.

Which brings me to my next bit of publishing news, also from J.A. Konrath’s blog–an even more interesting post by a former Harlequin writer on why she can’t afford to write for Harlequin any longer and has gone the self-publishing route.

I think the most depressing passage in this post is about royalties. I give Ann Voss Peterson tons of credit for not only going public with this but doing so with her name, books, and actual monetary amount.

Let me share with you the numbers of a book I wrote that was first published in January, 2002, still one of my favorites. My life-to-date statement says this book has sold 179,057 copies so far, and it has earned $20,375.22. (bold text by Joe) That means the average I’ve earned is a whopping 11 cents per copy. If you use the cover price to calculate (the number used in the contract), which was $4.50 at the time of release, I’ve earned an AVERAGE of 2.4 % per copy.

If you’re as depressed and disgusted as I, good. If not, I have nothing more to say.