Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 273
June 19, 2013
#Review: WICKED WAGER by Anya Wylde


This is the second book I've read by Ms. Wylde and it was just as enjoyable as "Pennelope." THE WICKED WAGER centers around a young couple in love who want to marry as soon as possible, but Miss Emma Grey's uncle, the Duke of Arden, opposes the speedy marriage. He wants his niece to think about her choice of marrying Lord Richard Hamilton who has a reputation as a rake. Not to be thwarted by the Duke, Richard devises a plan to pose as the head gardener on the Duke's estate so he'll be able to see Emma every day. What happens next is one that neither Richard or Emma could imagine. Suddenly, a simple plan to deceive the Duke for a month turns into a hunt for a murderer and Richard is the likely suspect.
Ms. Wylde has an engaging writing style reeling the reader in for a delightful light-hearted and fun read. More than once, I was laughing as I read about Richard and Emma's mad-cap adventures. The characters came alive and I was totally invested in the story. Would Richard and Emma ever be allowed to marry? And who was the murderer? No spoilers here. If you're looking for an escape for a few hours, then THE WICKED WAGER will fit that bill nicely. Recommended.

Published on June 19, 2013 05:00
June 17, 2013
SYMBOLS ARE FOR BABIES by Michelle Snyder

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</style><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Our modern world is full of
symbols; they surround us every day. A compact form of communication, symbols
convey a lot of information with a few lines and shapes. One can understand
complicated written instructions more easily when accompanied by images.
Studies have demonstrated that <i>babies </i>recognize images and
symbols of people like “mommy” that are familiar and important to them. <i>The
Human Face</i>, a film by John Cleese, reveals the results of studies that
were done with sheep, and <u>images</u> of other sheep - some that
were part of, and some that were strangers to the flock – familiar sheep were
recognized by the test subject sheep, and strangers ignored. The brain is
configured to store and recall familiar images. This is necessary for survival.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Toddlers’ picture-books are the
foundation of reading comprehension. Children’s textbooks are filled with
colorful images to help them learn.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A good example is a small book,
published in German in 1906, and titled <i>Etwas von den Wurzelkindern </i>(<i>The
Root Children</i>). The colorful pictures in this little book teach the cycle
of plants as they bloom in spring and summer, then die off in autumn,
their seeds and roots hibernating underground during winter, until the
following spring. Mother Earth cares for the plants, symbolized using
cute small children. Their winter home, for they are seeds that sleep all
winter, is under the ground where they sit with candles, sleep, and wait for
spring. When it arrives the children troop to the surface in beautifully
colored dresses to play and grow in summer’s sun and warmth. When autumn
arrives they return to Mother Earth down into the soil, their winter home.
This sequence of pictures tells the story even if one cannot understand the few
German words accompanying each page.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Although people acknowledge
that contemporary symbolism conveys mathematics and science, a scholar of
symbolism, de Santillana, states that:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He (the modern reader) does not think of the possibility
that equally relevant knowledge might once have been expressed in everyday
language. He never suspects such a possibility, although the visible
accomplishments of ancient cultures - to mention only the pyramids, or
metallurgy - should be a cogent reason for concluding that serious and intelligent
men were at work behind the stage, men who were bound to have used a technical
terminology. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Some symbols are so commonplace
we have developed automatic associations to them, the brain learning in early
childhood to translate meaning. Images, therefore, take on a language all their
own. “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a very familiar expression, but
if we think about it - <i>which words</i>? How many words accurately
describe a dog? If two people read or hear the same description, do they
imagine the same thing? How often do we attend a movie after reading the book
on which it was based, and thought, “That’s not at all what I pictured!” </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Images depict for us visual
properties that cannot be accurately verbalized. Symbols depict complex
concepts that would take volumes of written language to explain. “A
picture is worth a thousand words” is a proverb reflecting the idea that
complex stories can be described with a single image, or that an image may be
more influential than a substantial amount of text. This also applies to the
process of visualization where large amounts of data must be absorbed quickly.
Fred R. Barnard, in the advertising trade journal <i>Printers'
Ink</i>, used this phrase to promote the use of images in advertisements that
appeared on the sides of streetcars. The December 8, 1921 issue carries an ad
entitled, <i>One Look Is Worth A Thousand Words.</i> Russian writer
Ivan Turgenev wrote (in <i>Fathers and Sons</i>, 1862), "A picture
shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound."
The quote is sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, who said: "<i>Un
bon croquis vaut mieux qu'un long discours</i>" (a good sketch is better
than a long speech).</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is not to say that images
negate the necessity of words; the combination of words and pictures is vital
in communication. An enormous amount of history was preserved and passed on
through thousands of years using visual symbols and oral tradition. From these
traditions many symbol systems have developed, some esoteric, some
exoteric in nature. Learning symbolism may start with babies, but it can
be a lifetime of adult academic study. It has been my passion for decades to
find the context for symbols, decode them, and to share that information with
my readers.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span>Michelle Snyder, M. Phil, Symbolist
</div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-umHN10aEOaY..." style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.whiteknightstudio.com/&quo...
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://whiteknightstudio.blogspot.com... style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">http://whiteknightstudio.blogspot.com... />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1"/>
Published on June 17, 2013 05:00
June 14, 2013
Book Tour Blast: WILTED WINGS by Shadow Stephens


Wilted Wings
Power, greed, and envy fill Damon and Ilisha’s world. Their hope of settling into a life of peace and family remains out of grasp. Damon is kidnapped and forced to stand trial for the death of his father while a breed of hybrids designed to destroy all angels is set loose. With no choice but to leave her earthly mother and baby behind, Ilisha struggles in a world of high politics and family feuds. She must become an ultimate warrior to save her husband and both the worlds she loves.
Purchase Wilted Wings now on Amazon.
About Shadow Stephens

Avid Cleveland Browns fan, animal lover, and paranormal addict are just a few ways to describe Shadow Stephens. Shadow grew up in Ohio and West Virginia, which gave her a fear of snakes and the ability to fix anything with duct tape. She has been writing since childhood, but wrote her first novel three years ago. She now resides in Utah with a veritable menagerie of pets and a million ideas in her head just waiting to be put on paper. When she isn't ghost hunting, Shadow can be found writing paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels. This will be her first published book, with many more to follow.
Follow Shadow Stephens:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Watch out Video chat with author Shadow Stephens July 17th at 7PM EST on Literary Addicts
Take part in our Book Tour event on Facebook July 16 - 18 All Day Long for Amazon Gift Cards and ebooks!
Follow the Tour
Shadow Stephens is giving away a $50 Amazon Giftcard, open Internationally. Fill out the form below to enter!
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Published on June 14, 2013 05:00
June 13, 2013
Book Tour Blast: THE GOLDEN APPLE OF DISCORD by Lauren Hodge


Taralie Severin and her three sisters are a powerful coven of modern-day witches who banish mythical creatures in between classes and shifts at the police station. But when Taralie is kidnapped by vampires and converted into the undead, her sisters are ordered to execute her for crimes against the Milunfran order. Refusing, the sisters become fugitives from both their kind and vampires alike. Ignorant and hunted, Taralie becomes entangled with unlikely allies, a band of vampires in hiding from the ruling vamperic government. With this new addition to their coven Taralie must balance duty with desire while learning not everything is as it seems, their enemies are worse than she knows, and she could be on the verge of ending a thousand-year-old civil war.
Purchase the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Lauren Hodge is the oldest of seven children and an identical twin. She has three children and lives in Richland, Washington. Not only does she dislike author biographies immensely, she plays piano decently, cello poorly, likes to cook fattening foods, and shoot anything if gun powder is involved. She has an associates degree in general science and works as a chemist/lab monkey in an environmental lab.
Follow Lauren Hodge:
Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Follow the Tour
Fill out the form below to enter. The author is giving away a Kindle ereader.
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Published on June 13, 2013 05:00
June 12, 2013
LISTEN UP! The Making of an Audio Book by Rebecca Forster

I have written over 25
novels. Each one starts with voices in my head. By the time a book is done, I
know every inflection, tonal change and speech pattern of every character. So,
when I had the opportunity to create the audio versions of Hostile Witness and
Silent Witness, I was excited. This, I thought, was going to be a breeze.
I thought that just
before I became terrified.

I was excited because
next to having your book made into a movie, audio is about as cool as you can
get. I was terrified because suddenly there were decisions to make that I had
never considered when writing these books. How had I really imagined my
characters' voices? Did I want an actor or an actress to read my books? How did
I produce and publish an audio product? Did I want separate voices for each
character or not? Did I want to read my books myself?
The only question I
could answer was the last one. No fiction author should ever read their work if
I am an example. My one attempt to do so left me ROFL. Thankfully, I was alone
in the house when I tried it. Some people are actors; I am not.
Once that decision was
made there were still others to tackle. This is my list of the five things I
did to bring my books from print to awesome audio.
1)
Listen to popular audio books in
your genre. I listened to both male and female thriller authors. I found it
disconcerting to hear a man read primary female parts but had no trouble
accepting a female reader tackling male characters. It is a personal decision
but I was lead by what seems to be accepted wisdom of the best selling authors
and that is use the voice of the predominant character. I chose Tara Platt, an
award winning voice over artist (www.taraplatt.com).
I also chose to have each character voice distinctive and that meant the
voiceover had to seamlessly move between character and gender, expository and
dialogue.
2)
Choose a neutral voice unless
your book has a cultural basis for a different choice. I listened to audio
versions of books written by English authors and read by English actors. As
much as I love an English accent, I realized choosing a voiceover with a
discernible accent was distracting for an American thriller.
3)
If possible, seek professional
assistance. I was lucky to know a producer who understood what goes into a
successful voiceover. He coached me in what I should be listening for when I
received my file for approval, not the least of which was breathing patterns.
Like a singer, a voiceover artist should be able to read seamlessly without
gasps or gaps in the production as well as communicate the appropriate cadence
and genre of your novel.
4)
Provide your talent a ‘cheat sheet’
that includes a short description of the plot, descriptions of all recurring
characters, unique setting points, and where the major plot points are. Also
provide the talent with a copy of the book.
5)
Speak up and ask questions. There is
someone to listen at established, professional sites. I worked with ACX for Audible.com, the most recognizable of all audio
sites. They were responsive to all my questions and offered production options
from talent buyout to royalty sharing and independent production.
It didn’t take me long
to realize that as much time goes into reading a book for audio distribution as
writing it for print or digital consumption. I also realized after I heard the
first few chapters of my book that I was as lost in listening to the story in
the same way I had been lost in writing it. I may have known the ending, but I
didn’t know the sound of it would leave me breathless when I heard it.
Listen to
Hostile Witness
Listen to Silent Witness

Published on June 12, 2013 05:00
June 11, 2013
Blog Tour: THE JANE AUSTEN COLLECTION
Jane Austen Collection
[image error]

Cover links to Amazon
Published by Doma Publishing
Follow @DomaPublishing
Doma House Publishing presents to you this version of The Complete Works of Jane Austen, which has been designed and formatted specifically for your Amazon Kindle. Unlike other e-book editions, the text and chapters are perfectly set up to match the layout and feel of a physical copy, rather then being haphazardly thrown together for a quick release.
This edition covers everything including her major works, minor works, unfinished works, and scraps. Also, you can easily navigate through chapters using the linked Table of Contents found at the start of this edition.
Purchase Jane Austen: The Complete Works and treat yourself to the following list of works by this classic British Author:
Major Works:
Sense and Sensibility (1811)
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Mansfield Park (1814)
Emma (1815)
Northanger Abbey (1817) Posthumous
Persuasion (1818) Posthumous
Minor Works:
The Watsons (1803, 1805)
Sanditon (1817)
Unfinished Works:
Lady Susan (1794, 1805)
Early Works:
Love and Friendship (1790)
Lesley Castle (~1792)
The History of England (1791)
Collection of Letters
Scraps:
The Female Philosopher
The First Act of a Comedy
A LETTER from a YOUNG LADY
A Tour Through Wales
- A Tale
Thank you for choosing Doma House Publishing. We look forward to creating many more affordable Kindle Classics for you to enjoy.
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Published on June 11, 2013 05:00
June 10, 2013
Interview with Joshua Silverman
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAGD03CUJg4..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAGD03CUJg4..." /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
have a favorite character?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh absolutely. When I started writing <i>The Emerald Tablet</i>, I
actually hated Dio. But then, as the book and her character developed, I began
to love her. Although she’s not the ‘main’ character in my view, she is
definitely a secret favorite of mine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Have you
ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the
direction of the novel at all? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Surprisingly, yes. Originally, Axios was set to be a minor
character without a plot changing role. But as I was beta testing the book, so
many people (girls) loved him (and I loved him too), that his influence has gradually
become more pronounced. By book three (which I’m writing right now), he has
just as many scenes as any other character.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you
used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the
creative process for your cover? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I did use the publisher’s designer. In The Emerald Tablet, I
was fairly involved. Because the symbol was on Leoros’ forearm, I knew what it
had to be. For the most part, my instructions to the designer were: ‘Create a
logo that is of a double headed dragon with each head facing the opposite
direction, but make it nice enough where it could be a tattoo.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I honestly don’t, though I do recommend everyone do it. That
is one of those things I would’ve done over if I had a second chance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What is
your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There’s a lot of debate on this one. I used to listen to
music when I write. Now I like silence. But, the more I’ve been travelling for
the book promotion, the less time I have to find that “perfect writing setting”.
I always remind myself that J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter in a
hotel room while she was travelling for book promotion. As a professional, I
think you have to learn how to write in a busy airport terminal, a café, a
hotel room, or in your quiet perfect cave at home. Otherwise, you’ll always
have an excuse why you never finished.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">With the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emerald
Tablet</i> I had a four paragraph outline of the story. With The Soul of the
World (book 2), I had a scene by scene outline. With The Island of Shadows
(book 3), I’ve been writing with no outline to see where the story takes me and
I’ll cut what is bad. So I’m trying a lot. I think a combination works best,
though. Have a beginning, have an end. But everything else in between should be
the muse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What kinds
of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for
promoting your book(s)? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I have my own blog, where I do book reviews, talk about
writing and the shows I go to, I also talk a lot about Egyptian gods and
goddesses and mythology/religion. I’m on Facebook all day, I’m on Twitter a lot
too but less than Facebook.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and
writing your next book? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Not particularly. Both of them take a lot of time, but I
just make a schedule. From 10a.m.-12, I schedule all my marketing posts and
respond to emails. From then on writing. Or whatever. Just set boundaries and
use Hootsuite or another scheduling service.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing
arena?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Take your time. There is no rush. The world doesn’t need
another bad self-published novel. Everyone’s looking for the next greatest
self-published novel. So breathe, relax, the world isn’t going to come to an
end if you don’t get your book out in 6 months. Learn your craft.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides
writing, do you have any other passions? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I secretly wanted to be a rock star. I play guitar,
clarinet, and saxophone and I write songs.</span></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1"/>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAGD03CUJg4..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAGD03CUJg4..." /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
have a favorite character?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh absolutely. When I started writing <i>The Emerald Tablet</i>, I
actually hated Dio. But then, as the book and her character developed, I began
to love her. Although she’s not the ‘main’ character in my view, she is
definitely a secret favorite of mine.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Have you
ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the
direction of the novel at all? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Surprisingly, yes. Originally, Axios was set to be a minor
character without a plot changing role. But as I was beta testing the book, so
many people (girls) loved him (and I loved him too), that his influence has gradually
become more pronounced. By book three (which I’m writing right now), he has
just as many scenes as any other character.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you
used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the
creative process for your cover? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I did use the publisher’s designer. In The Emerald Tablet, I
was fairly involved. Because the symbol was on Leoros’ forearm, I knew what it
had to be. For the most part, my instructions to the designer were: ‘Create a
logo that is of a double headed dragon with each head facing the opposite
direction, but make it nice enough where it could be a tattoo.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I honestly don’t, though I do recommend everyone do it. That
is one of those things I would’ve done over if I had a second chance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What is
your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There’s a lot of debate on this one. I used to listen to
music when I write. Now I like silence. But, the more I’ve been travelling for
the book promotion, the less time I have to find that “perfect writing setting”.
I always remind myself that J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter in a
hotel room while she was travelling for book promotion. As a professional, I
think you have to learn how to write in a busy airport terminal, a café, a
hotel room, or in your quiet perfect cave at home. Otherwise, you’ll always
have an excuse why you never finished.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">With the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Emerald
Tablet</i> I had a four paragraph outline of the story. With The Soul of the
World (book 2), I had a scene by scene outline. With The Island of Shadows
(book 3), I’ve been writing with no outline to see where the story takes me and
I’ll cut what is bad. So I’m trying a lot. I think a combination works best,
though. Have a beginning, have an end. But everything else in between should be
the muse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What kinds
of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for
promoting your book(s)? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I have my own blog, where I do book reviews, talk about
writing and the shows I go to, I also talk a lot about Egyptian gods and
goddesses and mythology/religion. I’m on Facebook all day, I’m on Twitter a lot
too but less than Facebook.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and
writing your next book? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Not particularly. Both of them take a lot of time, but I
just make a schedule. From 10a.m.-12, I schedule all my marketing posts and
respond to emails. From then on writing. Or whatever. Just set boundaries and
use Hootsuite or another scheduling service.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing
arena?</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Take your time. There is no rush. The world doesn’t need
another bad self-published novel. Everyone’s looking for the next greatest
self-published novel. So breathe, relax, the world isn’t going to come to an
end if you don’t get your book out in 6 months. Learn your craft.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides
writing, do you have any other passions? </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I secretly wanted to be a rock star. I play guitar,
clarinet, and saxophone and I write songs.</span></div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1"/>
Published on June 10, 2013 05:00
June 9, 2013
A Special Treat for Readers: FEARLESS by Tawdra Kandle

Tasmyn Vaughn didn't expect much when her dad's job moved them to a small town in Florida; it was just another new school. But there is more to King than meets the eye, and soon Tasmyn's ability to hear others' thoughts is the least of her worries. Entangled in a web of first love, quirky and secretive townsfolk, magic and blood rituals, she discovers the town's secrets aren't just bizarre, they're deadly.
FEARLESS Book One of The King Series is now permanently FREE on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble!
See why reviewers are saying:
"Utterly beautiful and bewitching story that I read in one sitting!"
"So much love for this book -- what a great surprise!"
". . .it is a delightful read!"
"Very exciting story and well written!"
"I am now convinced this is one of the best young adult paranormal series I have read to date."
Now you can read the first book in this series FREE on both Kindle and Nook. Share with your friends!
Stalk author Tawdra Kandle here. . .
AMAZON Goodreads Facebook Twitter Website Pinterest

Published on June 09, 2013 04:00
June 7, 2013
New #Fantasy Release: THE EMBLAZONED RED by Dawn McCullough White

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Book Blurb:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Once, in another world—a
dark world, the world of Faetta—there lived paladins and pirates, tyrants and
scallywags, vampires and the undead. In this world a revolution is brewing. The
royalty of Sieunes are in chains, and those priests and paladins who follow the
holy word of the gods are under attack. In the west, the kingdom of Kellerhald
receives the fleeing priests in their temples of the paladins of Silvius, god
of the Sky.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Here, a young woman
has just passed her tests to become a paladin. A pirate crew raids along the
Azez Sea. An undead creature, wielding great power, roams the graveyard of
Yetta. And a lost soul, crying out from beyond the veil, seeks out a pure
hearted warrior to hear its plea.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Amid
the turmoil of the revolution, Ilka’s mettle is tested. Rescued by pirates, she
ends up with an unlikely ally: the pirate captain himself. The newly trained
paladin finds herself collaborating with the undead, working with a vampire,
and worst of all, longing for revenge against the man who has ignited the
revolution in Sieunes: Francois Mond.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Buy Links:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D38X41I&q... />
<br />
Nook:<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-e... />
<br />
Kobo:<a href="http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Em...
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Excerpt:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"Beautiful
Rhiannon ..." he sighed, and sank his fangs into her neck, pressing her
body down onto the pile of dead flowers atop her son's grave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">He had
been following her around the streets of Lockenwood for a good month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had begun following the moment he
had caught sight of her lithe body and her bright red hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes he'd sit on top of a roof and
just watch as she shopped or left work at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he got more daring, he'd slip inside the tavern where she
worked, losing himself in the hot, dirty crowd within.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His cold, hard body was shoved along
through the crowd: peasants, villains, beggars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The poor and the evildoers all jam-packed within the
smoke-stained tavern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there
was Rhiannon, fetching swill for each of them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">All of his
efforts in the last month were now at their end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They reached the final climax with her death.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Augustine
released her limp form and laid her down to rest with her dead baby, and then
he sighed because it had come too soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had been longing to talk to her, that's where this generally
went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wanted to get to know her
a little before her inevitable death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wanted to know who she was, what she thought, and what she thought of
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps he could've eased her
sorrows for a time ... but then, of course, the lust for her blood would've
gotten the better of him, and he'd have had to kill her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But still, this was basically a wasted
month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Amazon buy links: </span></span></div>
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=twoen-20..." style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1"/>
Published on June 07, 2013 05:00
June 6, 2013
Book Tour Blast: CRUSHING by Elena Dillon


Crushing
As a pampered and adored daughter of a wealthy Southern family Rory's life was seemingly perfect until her troubled childhood crush moves back in across the street forcing her to choose between him and the life that has been chosen for her.
As if that isn't enough, her quiet island town has turned dangerous. A good friend has gone missing, lending truth to the rumors of a serial kidnapper. In her quest to help she becomes a target and will have to make choices about love, friendship and the inevitable sacrifice that they both require.
Elena Dillon’s blog /Twitter /Facebook /Google+ /Goodreads / Literary Addicts

A self proclaimed nerd, she has been writing since she was a child. She has only recently, however, come out of the closet about this to her family and friends. They now understand better, but not completely, why she talks about characters in stories as if they are real people.
Follow the Tour
Elena Dillon is giving away a beach basket and a $50 Amazon Gift card for her tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Published on June 06, 2013 05:00