Chris Redding's Blog, page 7

Summer Sizzles

#AskELJames: PR nightmare or was it???

Let me preface with with two things:

One I am writing this with a stomach bug and a possible sinus infection with about 10K to write in the next 36 hours.

Two, I haven't read any of the Fifty Shades of Grey books. Nor have I seen the movie. I could barely get through the sneak peek on Amazon. For those non-romance writers, Romance 101, don't stand in front of a mirror and describe yourself. I'm sure someone has done it well. E.L. James did not.

That said. I did spend some time yesterday on Twitter at the #askeljames hashtag just to see what was going to happen. As expected the tweets trashing the books versus asking actual questions were about a thousand to one. I might be optimistic on that, but I'm a writer, not a statistician.

I'm not going to talk about anything else bad about the book. There are enough blog posts on that topic. Including this one.

There are also blog posts talking about the relationship between Ana and Christian being abusive. This one handles that better than I ever could. As does this one.

I'm not going to address those (shudder) who missed the abuse in the book.

I won't go into any specific tweets, but the hashtag garnered several articles about it, all of them pointing out that this was a PR nightmare.

Entertainment Weekly's headline suggested that the campaign didn't go as well as expected.

US Magazine said that the questions would have made Christian Grey cringe.

Global News played on the BDSM aspect of Fifty Shades and said that E.L. James took a lashing.

But was it really a PR nightmare? What did that hashtag get many people to do? Talk about the books. As someone who would love a few more zeroes to the left of the decimal point in my royalty statements, I'd love for that many people to be talking about my book. Of course, I'd prefer it to be because I'm that fantastic a writer, but if you don't have that talent then you take what you can get.

Was this the catastrophe that everyone is saying it was? Or was it a fiendish plot? Did we all get played? Did we all take time out of our day to watch another author getting bashed? I'd bet there were many readers who stumbled upon that hashtag who had never read the books and said, "They can't be that bad."

What did those people do next? They went and bought the book.

Voila! Someone just might be a PR genius.

Kristen Lamb says, "You Might Be a Writer."

A lot of “stuff” has been going on in my life lately. Hard stuff. Heavy stuff. The kind of stuff that just makes me want to write massacre scenes….except I am so brain dead I had to google how to spell “massacre.”

Masicker? Missucker?

WHAT AM I DOING???? *breaks down sobbing*

I am supposed to be an adult an expert okay, maybe functionally literate. Fine, I give up! I have nothing left to saaaaayyyyyy. I am all out of woooords *builds pillow fort*.

I figured it’s time for a bit of levity. Heck, I need a good laugh. How about you guys?

We writers are different *eye twitches* for sure, but the world would be SO boring without us. Am I the only person who watches Discovery ID and critiques the killers?

Read more.

A Dose of Danger by Kim McMahill

EXCERPT

“Until what?” Grace screamed into the receiver, which was now dead.

Blue bolted from his position curled up in front of the fire, teeth bared, hair standing on the back of his neck, a low growl resonating from deep in his chest. Aussie joined in, and the two dogs’ reactions sent terror through Grace’s mind.

Hanging up the phone, she raced to the window and froze at the sight of headlights approaching the house. She prayed it was Logan, but after Sheriff Harris’s call she knew it was only wishful thinking. Grace grabbed the shotgun, and pulling the curtain back just a fraction, she peeked outside and waited for what felt like an eternity.

With the headlights shining directly at the house, she couldn’t determine anything about the vehicle, its make, or the number and identity of its occupants.

Grace’s mind raced through the possibilities, trying to determine the smartest course of action. What could she do? No landline and no cell reception…she was on her own. She could try to text someone, but doubted she had the time or that her trembling fingers could navigate the tiny keyboard.

She had a double-barreled shotgun, but that gave her only two shots before she’d have to reload. Aussie and Blue were ready to battle, but they weren’t trained guard dogs, just loyal. She had no intention of putting them in danger. She tried to rationalize the situation and not overreact. The vehicle might belong to a neighbor, a scared and lost traveler, or as far as she could see from her location, Logan.

The engine was silenced, but the headlights remained on, shining in the window, nearly blinding her. Grace focused on the scene, and after several moments a person stumbled out of the vehicle, a parka’s hood covering all identifying features.

As the lone figure slowly approached, Grace decided the most prudent action would be to keep her visitor at a distance until she determined his or her intent. She ordered the dogs to stay, and cracked the door just enough to wedge half her body and the shotgun into view.

“Stop right there. Don’t take another step, or I’ll blow you back to where you came from!” She was surprised at how steady, strong, and convincing her voice sounded as her knees threatened to buckle.

BIO

Kim McMahill grew up in Wyoming, which is where she developed her sense of adventure and love of the outdoors. She started out writing non-fiction, but her passion for exotic world travel, outrageous adventures, stories of survival, and happily-ever-after endings soon drew her into a world of romantic suspense. Along with writing adventure novels Kim has also published over eighty travel and geographic articles, and contributed to a travel anthology and cookbook. When not writing, Kim enjoys gardening, travelling, and spending time with family.

BLURB

When researcher Grace Talbot and her team discover a possible solution for weight loss they become targets of a group dedicated to controlling the multi-billion dollar a year diet-product industry. Her unsanctioned testing methods bring tragedy to the family ranch, and the attention of the local sheriff’s deputy. With her colleagues either dead, missing, or on the run she soon realizes she must trust the deputy with her life, but can she trust him with her heart?

Links Amazon Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Dose-Danger-Kim...
Website: http://KimMcMahill.com
Blog: http://KimMcMahill.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimmcmahill (@kimmcmahill)

There Are Places I Remember …

Many writers, especially mystery writers, start their writing with a character or a plot: the protagonist that readers will come to love and the storyline that will keep them enthralled.

Not me. I’ve always started with a place.

There’s a lot of interesting thought about how we’re connected to the spaces we inhabit, those we choose and those that are chosen for us, those we love and those we can’t wait to see the last of. I think it’s fascinating to consider those ideas.

There are places I’ve lived, or stayed, or even just visited, that will always be with me; there was something interesting or different or even mysterious about it that kept them tucked away in my brain, that caused me to love them.

And then there’s the contextual issue. I’m sure you’ve had the experience of going somewhere—entering a house, crossing a bridge, walking down a street, climbing a hill—and being suddenly and inexplicably overcome with some sort of sensation that’s related to where you are. The locale is sending you signals, sometimes wonderful, sometimes frightening, always interesting.

And the truth is that the feeling is rarely wrong: if a place starts tugging at me, even if I don’t immediately feel any attraction to it, a little work will reveal the jewels that are just waiting for a creative spirit to come along.

I got that feeling the first time I visited Montréal—decades ago—and it continued to reverberate over the years that I kept going back, until it was clear to me that I needed to respond. And so I started not just enjoying in a tourist kind of way, but really getting to know the city, which for me always involves starting with its past. And the more I read about that past, the more mysteries unfolded, a flower slowly unfurling its petals. There were a lot of reasons to keep exploring, explorations that led me to the story of the Duplessis orphans, the CIA’s MK-Ultra program, and the forbidding mansion known as Ravenscrag.

It’s not just me, and it’s not just Montréal. The next time you travel, take a trip into history as well, and see what mysteries you might discover!

About Asylum:

Women are being murdered in Montréal’s summer tourist season, and everything points to random acts of a serial killer—but it’s publicity director Martine LeDuc who discovers that the deaths reflect a darker past that someone wants desperately to keep hidden.

About the author:

Jeannette de Beauvoir grew up in Angers, France, but now lives on Cape Cod—as well as spending as much time as she can traveling and listening to the stories told by other places. Read more about her at www.JeannetteAuthor.com.

Rock Star Round up

Been awhile since I've done on of these.

Never Complain, Never Explain—Craft Tuesday at Write on the River

Bob Mayer's blog Write on the River

I think Henry Ford uttered the famous line: Never complain, never explain. This applies in the writing world in several ways.

One thing I do when critiquing material is ask a lot of questions. I tell writers, ‘You don’t have to answer those questions to me’ (in fact I would prefer they don’t), but rather they are to get the writers to think. At my Write on the River workshop, it’s an exchange of ideas and a lot of questions; and a lot of contributing to answers from all participating.

Remember, you don’t get any opportunities to explain your book once it’s on the shelf in a store or downloaded. You also don’t get any opportunities to explain your submission when it’s sitting on an agent’s or editor’s desk. So if they don’t “get it” the first time around, they won’t get it. Get it? All your explanations and defenses mean nothing because you not only won’t get the chance to say them, you shouldn’t get the chance to say them.

Read more

Hugh Howey posted 2015 Author Earnings
http://www.hughhowey.com/

Spring into Love Cover Reveal

Spring Into Love: 11 Hot Contemporary Romances From SENSUAL to SPICY this boxed set of ELEVENcontemporary romances includes BESTSELLING and AWARD-WINNING and USA TODAY multi-published authors.
If you like variety in your books these ELEVEN authors provide your heart’s desire from SWEET and FUNNY to DEADLY and SEXY…
SPRING INTO LOVE will warm your heart and your bed. This is a limited time offer, so grab your set today! ONLY 99c!
~~Purchase Links~~Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VS2DBU0Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VS2DBU0iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/spring-into-love/id982357658?ls=1&mt=11KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/spring-into-loveBarnes & Noble: Coming Soon Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25253317-spring-into-love-boxed-set
~~Books Included~~Happy Endings - Chantel Rhondeauhttp://www.chantelrhondeau.com/Tasting Los Angeles- Kimmie Easleyhttp://www.kimmieeasley.com/
Taming Romeo - Rachelle Ayalahttp://rachelleayala.meConsolation Prize - Abbie St. Clairehttp://www.abbiestclaire.comSweet Ride! - Bonnie Edwardshttp://www.bonnieedwards.comLiveon ~ No Evil - Stacy Eatonhttp://www.stacyeaton.comEverybody's After Love - Lyssa Laynehttp://www.lyssalayne.wordpress.com/Betrayed - Jade Kerrionhttp://www.jadekerrion.comFinding Forever- Michele Shriverhttp://www.micheleshriver.comLove Unleashed - Marcia James  http://www.MarciaJames.netKiss Me, Dancer - Alicia & Roy Streethttp://aliciastreet-roystreet.com/


~~Purchase Links~~Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VS2DBU0Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VS2DBU0iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/spring-into-love/id982357658?ls=1&mt=11KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/spring-into-loveBarnes & Noble: Coming Soon 

Her Ladyship's Ring

Book 2 in the Oak Grove Mysteries
Author: P.J. MacLayne
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Cover Design by K.M. Guth
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Description

Harmony Duprie is back, and so is trouble in Oak Grove.

When a man is murdered in the back yard of the old Victorian house she is remodeling, Harmony is determined to help locate his next-of-kin so he can be put to rest properly. But with her ex-boyfriend Jake out of prison, back in town and one of the suspects in the murder, she takes on the challenge of solving the crime.

With Eli, her current love interest, in Florida and Jake close by, old emotions come back to haunt her. Can Harmony clear Jake's name and solve the mystery of her own heart?

Although each book in the series is a complete story (no cliffhanger endings) the books should be read in order.

The Marquesa's Necklace, the first book in the Oak Grove series, is available at major e-book retailers.

Excerpt

The first thing I noticed when walking into my apartment was the afghan I kept on the back of the recliner. It was on the floor and hadn't been like that when I left. “So who's been sitting in my chair?” I asked. “Eli?” I called hopefully to no response.

Then I noticed the dirty dishes in my kitchen sink. “So who's been eating my porridge?” I whispered to myself. Surely a thief wouldn't have stopped to make himself a sandwich.

I tip-toed down the hallway, holding my breath. The bathroom was empty, but my bedroom door was partially closed. I carefully pushed it open and peeked inside. A familiar head nestled on my pillow. “So that's who's been sleeping in my bed.”

Meet the Author

Born and raised among the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania, P.J. MacLayne still finds inspiration for her books in that landscapes. She is a computer geek by day and a writer by night who currently lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. When she's not in front of a computer screen, she might be found exploring the back roads of the nearby national forests and parks.

P.J. MacLayne can be reached on:
Facebook https://facebook.com/pjmaclayne
Twitter https://twitter.com/pjmaclayne
Google + https://plus.google.com/u/0/+PJMacLayne/posts
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/P.J.-MacLayne/e/B00HVE8WZI

Why I read and write romance novels

Unlike many romance readers, I didn’t discover the genre by finding one of my mom’s Danielle Steele or Nora Roberts novels while in junior high school. Honestly, my mom preferred horrors by Stephen King, which I was never able to get into. While I didn’t read the same novels as my mom, I was always an avid reader. Throughout much of high school I gravitated towards science fiction, fantasy and suspense novels. Then, one day I was looking at books in Walden’s Bookstore and found A Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey, a book that I have read more times than I can count. From then on, I was hooked.

Today, I believe that the romance genre as a whole is the best genre available, and I don’t say that just because I write contemporary romance. Rather, I feel this way because it is the most diverse genre out there. No matter what your tastes you can find a romance novel to fit the bill. Myself, I prefer contemporaries such as those written by Brenda Novak, romantic suspense like those released by Julie Ann Walker, historical by wonderful authors such as Julia Quinn and Hannah Howell, and paranormal/time travel by such authors as Jessica Andersen and Lynn Kurland.

While these are all my preferences, there are so many more subgenres to pick from that you could read a different type of romance each week of the year and still not exhaust your options. How many other genres can you say that about? None.

In addition to having favorite types of romance novels, I also have favorite types of heroes. Since my first series is titled The Sherbrookes of Newport and each title contains the word billionaire, you can probably guess I like novels with wealthy heroes. My second series revolves around a small town on the north shore of Massachusetts. Guess what? I like heroes that I could easily meet in town. Personally, I am not much of cowboy fan, but I do love my military heroes.

What about all of you? When did you fall in love with romance novels? What are favorite types?

Blurb and buy links

Hometown Love book two in the Love On The North Shore Series

Everyone in North Salem thinks they know Jessie Quinn. She is the town’s quintessential girl next door. The woman you can always turn to when you need a helping hand. Nobody knows that she’s spent years overcoming the emotional scars left by her last boyfriend.

As a single dad and task force officer with the FBI, Mack Ellsbury moves back to North Salem to be closer to his family, not to find love. Then Jessie Quinn returns to his life. Soon Mack no longer sees Jessie as the quiet girl he once tutored in high school but rather the woman he is falling in love with.

Mack’s love helps Jessie erase the scars she’s carried around for so long, but when his ex-wife decides she wants reconciliation, their relationship is put in jeopardy.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1zwK4Jt
iTunes: http://bit.ly/15zxywl
kobo http://bit.ly/1GBf9zE
BN http://bit.ly/1uM26X1
Author Bio

I started writing at the age of 10 on my grandmother's manual typewriter and never stopped. When I am not driving my 3 daughters (ages 7, 5, and 5) around to their various activities or chasing around our three dogs, I am working on a story or reading a romance novel. Currently, I have two series out, The Sherbrookes of Newport and Love on The North Shore. You can visit my website www.christinatetreault.com or follow me on Facebook to learn more about my characters and to track my progress on my current writing projects.

Author Links:

Website: www.christinatetreault.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinatet...
Twitter: @cgricci
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cgricci/

California Dreamin’

My love affair with California began at the tender age of fifteen and continues yet today. So it should come as no surprise that the book of my heart, which somehow turned into a trilogy, is set there. I could attribute that frisson to the thrill of a midwestern girl seeing the ocean for the first time. Or the unapologetically bronzed coeds with movie-star teeth driving convertibles and playing volleyball in the sand. Maybe the towering palm trees swaying against the impossibly blue sky. But it’s more seminal than that.

Like many writers, I was an avid reader from an early age. And as an only child, books were my default playmates. As a teenager, I found myself drawn to the revolving wire rack of musty-smelling, dog-eared paperbacks at the public library. Some days I would get off the city bus a few stops early and pick some up on the way home from school. The novels took me to places all over the world where effortlessly beautiful, wonderfully flawed heroines were swept off their feet by unapologetically successfully, wildly handsome heros to live happily ever after. And in the event I found the ending to be unfavorable, I would simply continue the story in my head to my liking. Characters, layered in observation and steeped in expectation were formed. The framework of a story was subtlety built as innocence became experience and naivety became discernment.

Writing such ideas down, however, took nearly thirty years.

In the interim, I met my own alpha hero. And he took me to San Francisco on our honeymoon. And, as cliché as it sounds, that’s where I left my heart. Part of it, anyway. For the last decade or so, Lake Tahoe has shared custody. I hope my Chances trilogy will take you there. And you’ll leave a little piece of yours behind too.

In Second Chance, star-crossed lovers Lindsay Foster and Brian Rembrandt get a second chance at love amid the brilliant blue waters of Lake Tahoe. In Chance Encounter, Delaney Richards and Mike Savoy’s quest for love takes them from Tahoe’s fawn-colored shores to the serpentine streets of San Francisco. And the heat in Last Chance comes not from the blazing summer sun and rugged, white-hot sand, but from the prurient fervor between friends-turned-lovers Moira Brody and Paul Webster.

Moira Brody knows Paul Webster better than he knows himself. But neither one of them know that he as in love with her as she is with him. These lifelong friends will have to look at each other with fresh eyes and brave hearts. Moira will take an epic leap of faith and Paul will take the ultimate risk--again. They'll come full-circle, but there will be plenty of collateral damage along the way. And even the single-digit temperatures and snowcapped peaks of the Lake Tahoe winter are no match for their long-bridled desire.

Martha O'Sullivan has loved reading romance novels for as long as she can remember. Writing her own novels is the realization of a lifelong dream for this stay-at-home mom. Martha writes spicy, contemporary romances with traditional couples and happy endings. She is the author of the Chances trilogy from Red Sage Publishing. Her current work-in-progress is steamy Christmas novel set in Florida. A native Chicagoan, she lives her own happy ending in Tampa with her husband and two daughters. Please visit http://www.marthaosullivan.com for reviews, excerpts and more.

Last Chance buy links:

http://www.marthaosullivan.com/
http://eRedSage.com/store/LastChance.html
http://www.amazon.com/Chance-Chances-Trilogy-Martha-OSullivan-ebook/dp/B00GD0JPF2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383319222&sr=8-1&keywords=last+chance+red+sage+publishing
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/last-chance-martha-o-x2019-sullivan/1117301476?ean=2940148897194
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-lastchance-1360023-237.html
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/last-chance-30
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18746342-last-chance