Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 308

NEW #Romance Release: CALIFORNIA GIRL by Sandra Edwards

Book blurb:

After divorcing her cheating rock-star ex-husband Ray Hudson, Veronica
Stanford flees to Europe to let the dust settle after she makes sure the
divorce leaves Ray in financial dire straits.



In St. Tropez,
after a night of serious partying, she finds herself married again--this
time to a very sexy Greek named Niko Leandros.



Immediately she
begins to suspect that Niko is actually an actor who's been hired by her
ex to discredit her. The problem is, Veronica is so consumed with her
smoldering attraction to Niko that she fears, through him, Ray just
might get his revenge.



**PLEASE NOTE: California Girl is a short novella of approximately 11,000 words (about 55 pages).



Link:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007TKNCSG



A SPECIAL BONUS:

This book is an "eligible read" for SANDY's monthly "$100 Gift Card Giveaway" Just leave a review when you're done reading. You can find all of the details here:  http://sandywritesromance.wordpress.com/2012/03/28/100-gift-certificate-giveaway/



Author bio:


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Sandra is an award-winning author of romance. She has eclectic tastes,
penning tales in a variety of genres such as paranormal (mostly time
travel and reincarnation), contemporary and suspense. She lives in the
U.S. (west coast) with her husband, two kids, four dogs and one very
temperamental feline. Sandra's books often push the envelope and step
outside the boundaries of conventional romance. For more info on
Sandra's books, visit her website at www.sandrawrites.com
















    
    

Interview with Tessa Stokes

Can you give us a
brief overview of your latest book?

Well I published two books almost at the same time.

Devon Ruthin and a
Vampire in Love: Volume one in The Ruthin Trilogy and The Task: Book five of The Seven Spell Saga.






For Devon Ruthin and a
Vampire in Love

Bliss is lonely and taking chances when she goes off on
holiday and meets the man of her dreams, Devon Ruthin. She is trying to
replicate the life of a character in a book she has read recently, and without
realizing it, she enters a twilight world. A world filled with strange people,
beautiful powerful beings who seem to be the saviors of the man she falls in
love with.




This is a darker tale than first meets the eye, and as the
story unfolds, it becomes obvious that the beautiful people, who are seemingly
so wonderful, have secrets of their own. On her journey, Bliss encounters the
pale and attractive Drew. It seems fate has a trick up its sleeve when we
discover that he has met the mysterious people before. The chance meeting with
Bliss sets off a series of actions by Drew that uncovers a hidden past
belonging to Devon. This is a love story, a story of revenge, hope, violence,
immortality, and fate.






The Task book five of
The Seven Spell Saga

The three friends and lovers unite at the request of
Aristide the old wizard to whom they owe a favor. Chloe, Oliver and Tristan
have not seen each other for nearly three months and now they have gathered to
hear the nature of the favor. It soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary
favor and the three fall into the habit of calling this favor the task as they
talk and prepare for it.




Still in love, Oliver and Chloe take up where they left off
and the romantic moments are back immediately. Chloe still loves Tristan and
the old dilemma of being in love with both the beautiful, immortal knight and
the equally gorgeous modern guy Oliver dominates Chloe's thoughts through some
bizarre incidents. Chloe faces danger from a surprising source. Time travel
takes the reader to a rock concert and to the twelfth century.




There are so many romantic moments between the characters
that you just know something is waiting to go wrong. This book is about love
and fate. In book five The Task is
not just about the favor owed to Aristide it is about Chloe deciding to choose
between Oliver and Tristan.




Did you try the
traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

I did briefly try the traditional route. I sent off to three
agents and two publishers who had open submissions at the time and I heard
nothing from the publishers and two of the agents but one sent back a pro forma
email which basically said no thank you. I knew about indie publishing and had
read lots of indie books and so I decided to go down that route just to get my
work out there instead of it languishing on my computer. So I bought a batch of
ISBN's and went from there.




Do you belong to a
critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?

No I do not belong to one although I have looked and lurked on
a couple of online groups.




What factors
influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?

It was very easy to do. I formatted using the Mobi pocket
software or the Caliber software and found I could use that easily. I had
control over putting my book cover in the file and could check what my book
looked like. I find the ease of use and the ability to reach readers is the
deciding factor for me to publish on Amazon. I would love to have a few more
categories for my books to be listed under as they are cross and genre blend
and so choosing the category is difficult.




Did you hire an
editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I did with my first manuscript hire a creative editor and
then a copy editor. With the last manuscript I only got it copy edited.




What have you learned
during your self-publishing journey?

To be tougher and not let things hurt so much. To contact
and communicate with other authors so that I get a more global view of
everything indie.




Besides Amazon, are
there any other sites where your books are for sale?

Most of my books are for sale on Smashwords, Barnes and
Noble, KOBO, iBooks, Sony, Diesel. I did have books on Lulu and Xin Xii but
recently took them down as they simply did not sell one copy. Since Amazon KDP
select has come into being I had unpublished two books from all the sites they
were for sale on but put one in KDP select just to test the water. I am
considering re-publishing the other book on other sites again.




What kinds of
marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting
your book(s)?

I advertised on Google Adwords and used advertising on major
sites such as Kindleboards and Kindle nation daily. I have thought of doing
fliers or contacting journals and newspapers with press releases but so far
have relied on blogs, Facebook and twitter. I know about marketing but it's
difficult to spread yourself thin enough to reach where readers of particular
genres are. I have posted chapters on places like Wattpad and Worthy of
Publishing in the hope that readers will be reached that way. I have gone down
the offering a book free route to boost my presence; it's hard to know what
works.




Do you find it
difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing
your next book?

Yes definitely, as since I generally have more than one book
I am writing at a time it gets frantic. Marketing is, in fact, a full time
specialist job and I think writers never have enough time to do it properly.




What advice would you
give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

Join forums where many answers to questions you don't even
know you have can be found. Expect things to go slowly. Believe in yourself and
realize there are lots of malicious people around and as an author you need to
in the words of a favorite author of mine be 'sensitive and vulnerable, but
tough and brave'. Write your heart out and know that if even just one reader
has enjoyment from your book then that's cool because they have seen inside
your heart and you have touched theirs.




What's next for you?

I am just re-reading my second book in The Ruthin Trilogy
and doing my edits before it goes off for checking.




I am also writing another novel (about two thirds of the way
through that) and have notes for the sixth book in The Seven Spell Saga after
writing the first two chapters and then having to stop because the other two
books were calling me. 

2 Days Left to Win $25.00 Gift Card

There's only 2 days left for a chance to win a $25 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble. 6 lucky other winners will have a choice of my books as prizes as well. It's easy to enter, no purchase is necessary.

















Be sure to click "Read More" to load the Rafflecopter giveaway form.

Here's the link to enter:

http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/2012/04/100000-pageviews-celebration-25-gift.html

Interview with Angela Muse

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book?  

The Nut Family: An Acorny Adventure features Chess Nutt and his sister Praline who are
always pretending to have crazy adventures.  What happens when these two acorn siblings have an
unexpected real life adventure of their own?  Things get a little bit nutty of course




Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e.
querying agents/publishers?

No, I wanted to stay
independent.




What are some of your favorite children's books?

Two of my favorites are Where the Wild Things Are and The Giving Tree.  They are both beautifully told and I
never tire of reading them to my own children.




What factors influenced your decision to self-publish
to Amazon? 

I wanted to have as much
control over my writing and the illustrations as possible.  I needed to have that creative freedom
to create the work the way I envisioned it.




Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript
before publishing?

I have some professional
educators who review my writing and tell me when I'm using incorrect grammar,
punctuation, etc.  They give me
plenty of guidance.




What have you learned during your self-publishing
journey? 

I've learned that getting
the book created is only half the battle. 
After the book is finished you have to get plenty of exposure and
promotion for your book or no one will know it is out there in Amazon's sea of
books.  You have to not only wear a
writer hat, but also a marketing hat. 
You also have to be ready to face some rejection.




Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your
books are for sale? 

Yes, you can buy them
through links at my own website www.4eyesbooks.com.




What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog,
forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)? 

Besides my website, I am
active on Goodreads, Facebook, the kindleboards as well as some other indie
author groups on Facebook.




Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between
marketing your current book and writing your next book? 

A little bit.  I had four children's book already
written so I am putting each one in the illustration phase one at a time.  I am just supervising the illustration
work and promoting now, but once all of them are finished then I will work on
writing my next book. 




What advice would you give a new author just entering
into the self-publishing arena? 

Get as much feedback from
other indie authors as you can. 
Don't be afraid to ask questions and make friends with some bloggers who
can review or feature your work. 
You'll be amazed at the results you can achieve with a few well chosen
blogs.




What's next for you? 

I'll be attending my first
local author expo in Marietta, GA on March 3rd so that is
exciting.  My next book underway is
titled The Pig Princess.  This
story is about a pig princess who is distraught about which dress to wear to
the ball.  We are in the beginning
stages of bringing this story to life so stay tuned.

Spotlight: REPLENISH by Philip Bulman

Book Blurb:In February of the year 303, the Roman emperor Diocletian issued the first in a series of edicts designed to destroy Christianity. Striking at the heart of the church, the measure banned Christian worship and ordered the Roman legions to destroy churches and scriptures. This novel opens on the day the first edict was issued. It follows Linus and Priscilla, two members of a small Christian community, through what church historians would later come to call the Great Persecution. Replenish The Earth is a thriller that takes you into the heart of a Christian community and its heroic resistance to persecution. Buy links:Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0056KOKA0/ref=twoen-20Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Replenish-The-Earth-ebook/dp/B0056KOKA0

Reviewer's Comments:"In this simply told and competently written novel of the emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians in third century Rome, the author captures both the essence of the faith and the most extreme challenges of living it." BlueInk Review



Author bio: Philip Michael Bulman was born and raised in Philadelphia. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University, and is the author of two books and many articles. Bulman currently lives in Maryland, U.S.A.

Review: Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott

3 of 5 stars




I don't usually read young adult books, but decided to take a chance when offered the book by the publisher. Ship of Souls is a short book, only 120 pages in print. The author starts with a good premise. We are introduced to D, aka Dmitri, an 11 year-old boy who has recently lost his mother to cancer, been placed in foster care and starts a new school. D is a good kid, polite to his elders and a math whiz. When he is asked to tutor the school's top basketball player, he meets Keem and then Nyla, a tough young girl with loads of self-confidence. The three of them quickly form a friendship.  That friendship is tested when D is chosen as a host for a strange bird with an agenda.



While I did enjoy reading how the author wove the history of the African Burial Ground into this paranormal story, I didn't believe some of the reactions from the kids. It seems like they take all the strange events of glowing/talking birds, a rock monster and being pulled into an underground realm of supernatural, with ease/acceptance instead of being terrified. There was a lot of buildup to the finale which was over much too quickly. Ms. Elliott has a good imagination, but this story left me flat and wondering, "Is that all?"

100,000 PageViews Celebration $25 Gift Card Giveaway!

Two End of the Pen has recently passed the 100,000 page view mark.











 To help celebrate this milestone, I'm running a contest. There will be a grand prize of a $25.00 gift certificate to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice), 3 winners will get to choose one of my fantasy titles (Amazon or Nook) and 3 winners will be able to choose 2 of my romance novellas (Amazon only).



It's easy to enter. Just "like" and "follow" me, no purchase necessary. If you've read any of either my fantasy titles or romance titles, just tell me where you've posted the review and you receive an extra 5 entries for each review you tell me about. It helps the book immensely if the review is also posted on Amazon.



The contest is open from Friday, April 6 through Friday, April 13, 2012. So what are you waiting for? Get those entries in!






CLICK the Read More link to load the rafflecopter entry form!





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#Romance LOVE BY CHANCE is #FREE today!

Book Blurb:
When Alysa Stevens receives an invitation to attend the social event of the season, a Masquerade Ball, she thinks it's the perfect time to finally kick back and enjoy herself. After all, no one knows who she really is. The invitation came to her business persona, Mr. Al Stevens, but is that ploy about to backfire?

At the ball, she's immediately swept off her feet by a sexy stranger dressed as the Musketeer d'Artagnan. He sets her heart on fire, but he leaves abruptly without ever revealing his name. Will Alysa be able to track down the most handsome man she's ever met without a single clue to his identity?

Love by Chance is a short novella ~10,000 words.

Reviewer's Comments:
"This was such a fun story. A delightful tale for a quick, afternoon read. I highly recommend it to all the romantics out there!" WestCoastBookLover

Buy links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Chance-Contemporary-Romance-ebook/product-reviews/B007PFY69E/ref=twoen-20

Interview with Danielle Kazemi

Can
you give us a brief overview of your latest book?



I currently have two series running right
now. The first series is a superhero action one which takes place at the end of
WWII (Literally. I have the first day of my book start on the day the war ended
in Europe.) with super soldiers created to be weapons of war. They were created
by this man, Gerald Hackney who calls himself the Commander, as advanced
weapons to help any country take over the world basically. Most of their training
is in the form of mercenaries missions they went on. They gain superpowers
later and understand it is up to them to help save the world against this man
and his other batches of engineered soldiers. Currently there are two books
(Betrayals and Project Winter) available on the Soldiers of Legend series. The
third one Collision is due out in spring with two more to follow.




I also have a YA urban fantasy/mythological
series running as well. Each of them is about 20k words – about the size of a
Babysitter's Club book. Dragons exist in the world right now just they are
hidden among us. They fight dark creatures known as the Unseen who feed off of
the energy humans have. The caveat is the humans can't see the creatures so a
group of knights come after the dragons to kill them. It is a lighter version
of most paranormal YA fiction out there.




Did
you try the traditional route to publishing i.e. querying agents/publishers?

I did not. I did not send my book to anyone
else. I thought about it for sure. The problem was I had no idea who I should
be sending it out to and who would be the best person. It kinda overwhelmed me.




Do
you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?

When I was younger, I belonged to a group.
Things did not go too good. I tend to be the person who would derail the
conversation from the serious topics. As far as helping to improve my writing,
I have a few friends still who help. They know I can take them giving me a hard
time on my writing without throwing a diva tantrum. It made me realize everyone
does have a unique style when it comes to writing. Once you find your own
voice, go with it. You don't need to write like King to be the next
best-selling author.




What
factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon?

The money. Plain and simple. Amazon is one
of the largest book sellers in the world. Through them, I am able to get my
book into the hands of people from all over who otherwise would never have the
chance.




Did
you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I hired someone for my first book and it
ended up horrible. A very bad way to learn. I edited my next few books by
myself and they came out much better. That is only copy-editing though. For
content, I once again trust on my beta readers and friends. They can tell me if
a part is too long, doesn't make sense, I forgot about a dangling plot, etc.






What
have you learned during your self-publishing journey?

The indie author, blogger, publishing, etc
community is extremely positive to one another. I actually heard horror stories
about how people would cut others down, try to steal their work, commit just
about every literary sin in the book. That has never been the case for me. When
you're down, they pick you up. If you are doing great, everyone cheers you on.




As for publishing itself, it is a lot
harder than just putting a book out. You need to market for your audience,
promote whenever you can, and try to get reviews. I never knew how important
reviews were before I started getting some for my books. Negative reviews are
not the death of a book either. Most of the time they can actually help to sell
more books. The market is also constantly changing. What worked yesterday,
doesn't work today. You need to stay on top of everything.




Besides
Amazon, are there any other sites where your book are for sale?

Right now, the Soldiers of Legend series is
only available on Amazon through Select. After April, they will once again be
available everywhere. The entire Dragon's Fire series can be found on
Smashwords and all of its affiliates.




What
kinds of marketing (twitter, facebook, blog, forums) are you involved with for
promoting your book(s)?

Not much. I do tweet (@DaniKazemi) and I
have a Facebook author page (http://www.facebook.com/DaniWrites).
I have a blog (http://daniellekazemi.mywapblog.com)
for people to visit but the topics range from almost everything. I also visit
Kindleboards but mainly for talking to other authors. I think I created a topic
for my books but I haven't been promoting them there.




Do
you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book
and writing your next book?

Extremely. I hate marketing to start with.
I always feel guilty – like I am forcing people into doing something they might
not ordinarily do. This is also why I was never a good salesperson. I prefer to
write. I will let something go free to do marketing for myself.




What
advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing
arena?

Make a playlist of really positive songs
you can turn to when the first bad review comes in or when your sales stall.
Both will happen but both will pass. Don't be afraid to ask others for help. We
all started somewhere. There are no stupid questions. Absolutely none. Covers,
titles, and blurbs are all very important.




What's
next for you?

I am just coming off of a break I took from
writing to goof off, connect with people, and catch up on everything I missed
last year. I have the final three novellas in the Dragon's Fire Season 1 (Yes,
Season. There will be a start-up of Season 2 in the fall due to popularity).
The third book in the Soldiers of Legend series Collision is coming out around
spring (most likely April). The fourth book in the series is coming out in the
fall. I tend to place six months between each release.




In 2012 in general, I have a contemporary
fantasy/soft scifi coming out about aliens on Earth. Another contemporary
fantasy/mythology book called The Phoenix Token which is a novel about a game
held every twenty five years in which the male main character is actually a
Phoenix who plays in the game. This summer comes a new book from what might be
a new series (I want to test and see if people like it or not) called The
Minotaur Chase. It's a group who saves paranormal creatures who are being
targetted by humans either for sport or just personal enjoyment.




It sounds like a lot but I really love
doing it. Hopefully at some point I would like to try writing a screenplay but
that might not come out until next year. 

Review: THE LAST ROMANOV by Dora Levy Mossanen

4 or 5 stars




The story follows Darya Borodino, a young woman of noble
birth, born with an opal eye. Some say she is gifted, others say she's a witch.
It is Darya's unique gift for healing and the happenstance visit by the Empress
Alexandra Romanov that will change Darya's life forever. Through a tragic
accident, Darya finds herself an orphan and is soon taken in the royal family.
When Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich is born, Darya is assigned as his caregiver.
It is because of her love for this sickly child that she finds herself on a
dangerous path brought about by the Bolshevik revolution.




I found the beginning of the story a little slow and hard to
get into, but once the old and frail Darya begins to recount her life's story,
the text flowed better. There were some descriptions that were too elaborate,
but I understand how the author would want to convey every detail of beauty and
opulence of the period to the reader. Ms. Mossanen does an amazing job of
weaving fact and fiction, telling the story of the Romanov's elaborate
lifestyle to their execution in 1918. Darya plays an intricate part in the
royal family's lives to the point of giving up her own chance of happiness to
stay with them and care for the ailing Alexei.




Although the tragic circumstances surrounding the Romanov's
deaths in 1918 are a foregone conclusion, it is Darya's story that keeps you
turning the pages. Did she ever find that which she sought? What became of her
lover? You'll have to read the story to find out—no spoilers in this review. If
you are a fan of historical fiction, THE LAST ROMANOV should certainly be at
the top of your reading list. Recommended.