Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 334

New release: BROKEN by David H. Burton

Book blurb:

Three days before her twenty-fourth birthday, Katherine Gregory receives a

letter from her deceased mother. It details a faery curse in which the

eldest child in each generation will die in their twenty-fifth year. 



Three days before her twenty-fourth birthday, a new love interest comes

knocking, and her first love has returned - neither men are what they seem,

and Katherine may have to choose between them.



Three days before her twenty-fourth birthday, Katherine must decide if this

is all real, or if the strange visions she's been having are just a figment

of her imagination.



The race to unravel the mystery begins, and Katherine must solve it - for

any day after her birthday could be her last.





Buy links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon DE

B&N

Smashwords





   

How To Get .prc and .epub Files Into Your Kindle or Nook

Fellow author, LK Rigel, has graciously agreed to share her post about getting your book files from your computer to your Kindle or Nook.  Thanks LK!





How to transfer .prc files to your Kindle or .epub files to your NookHave you hesitated to take advantage of all the freebies and deals you can get through Smashwords coupons because the process seems daunting? It's true that it will always be easier to buy direct for our Kindles and Nooks, but sometimes it's worth a few extra steps to get a book.The link to a book at Smashwords takes you to that book's page.You can practice with a free copy of Space Junque at this linkOn the book's page, scroll down until you see this menu (click on image to enlarge it): KINDLE:1. Save the .mobi (same thing as .prc) file to your computer. Right click and choose "save as" – it's probably easiest to save it to your desk top.2. Attach the usb cable to your laptop, then wait for the directory window to come up. The page on your Kindle will change, but you don't have to pay attention to that.3. Open the "open folder to view files" folder, then open the documents folder.4. Copy and paste the .mobi (or .prc) file from your computer into the Kindle's directory. Then you can close all the folders and detach your Kindle from the computer. On the Kindle, the regular menu will reappear.Voilà! the file will be in your Kindle's menu.For Nook:1. Choose the .epub file to download by right clicking on it and choose "save as" then save it somewhere easy to find again – either the desktop or create a folder for your downloaded books.2. Plug the USB cable from your Nook into your computer. It will appear as an additional drive on your computer. Open the directory to that drive.3. Find the book file on your desktop or in its folder and simply drag it (or copy and paste) to the open directory.Voilà! the file will be in your Nook's menu, and you can close the directory and unplug the Nook from your computer.One nice thing about a Smashwords coupon – you will always be able to go back and re-download your book in all the formats offered, so if you get a different kind of ereader, you don't have to buy the book again.





   

And the winner is...

The winner of the hard copy of WITCHES OF EAST END by Melissa de la Cruz is:



IVY



Congratulations Ivy!  I will be in touch with you about getting the book to you.

Review of WITCHES OF EAST END by Melissa de la Cruz

 4 of 5 starsARC provided by Goldberg McDuffie Communications.

I have 1 hard copy of the book to giveaway. For a chance to win leave your contact info in the comments sections. I will be in touch with the winner about getting the book to you.



The Witches of East End is the first novel that I've read by author Melissa de la Cruz. The book is about the Beauchamp family of witches, Joanna and her two daughters, Ingrid and Freya who live in the small town of North Hampton on the tip of Long Island.  Unfortunately, the three women have been banned by the White Council from ever using their powers again and must learn to live as humans--as drab and unassuming as possible. Ms. de la Cruz does a spectacular job of doling out tantalizing tidbits in small doses like a fine appetizer making you crave more and more.  The frequent references to Norse mythology added another enjoyable element to the story.

The story opens with the engagement party of youngest daughter Freya.  Everything is perfect until she meets her fiancé's attractive brother, Killian.  From there it is one shocking twist and turn after another including a vicious attack on a couple walking along the beach, a murder of a young woman, a slew of dead birds and a silver mass bubbling up from the ocean.  All of these things are unthinkable and have never happened in North Hampton before.

Freya is the first one to break the White Council's ruling of no magic, but soon Ingrid and Joanna follow suit.  None of them could ever foresee what was about to happen.  It doesn't take long for the people of the town to connect the recent evil invading the their quaint community to the Beauchamp witches and their magic.  Scenes of déjà vu and the horror of the Salem Witch trials could happen once again if the Beauchamp witches don't get to the bottom of the mystery and figure out exactly what or who is behind the evil. With zombies and vampires rounding out the cast of witches, the story is full of fun and interesting characters.

I thought the author could have been a little more inventive with Joanna's character.  Relegating such a powerful witch to a ho-hum little housekeeper who constantly re-paints rooms and gardens seems like a major disservice to this character. In much the same way that Freya is over the top in her sensuality, Joanna is very lackluster, but perhaps the author was trying to balance them out. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it when the women all started to use them magic once again even if some of the consequences were a bit far-fetched. 

The story concludes with one last shocking twist—one that is perfect for setting up the sequel.  This book is well suited for an adult audience although I hope Ms. de la Cruz will include more scenes of the women using their powers to the fullest. Now that they have been outed as witches, I am looking forward to seeing what befalls the Beauchamp women in the next book.  Recommended.

Twitter - A quick tutorial for getting followers!

Every author knows that to get the word out about their books, they need to be involved with social media, Facebook, twitter, blogging.  When you're first starting out, finding followers seems daunting, but like anything else, if you spend the time nurturing it, you will eventually gain followers.  Let's talk about twitter:





1.  The the important thing is to prominently display a way for others to follow you. Having cute icon buttons like this on your blog makes it easy for people to follow you.  One click and you've gained a follower.



2.  Another important, but sometimes overlooked item, is to make sure your twitter bio gives a potential follower a sense of who you are, whether it is merely informative or fun and quirky.  My bio is the informative kind:



Science fiction/fantasy writer. I write with co-author David W Small. Blog at Two Ends of the Pen about writing, publishing, author interviews & book reviews.http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com

First, it lets people know that I'm an author and then it informs people that I also have a blog.  This bio works for me and I've been lucky enough to gain over 700 followers.

3.  Once you establish a twitter account, you're all set to enter the twitter universe.  Where to start?  I started by searching and finding some fellow authors and following them.  Then I looked at their followers and started following some of those folks too.  Now you a stream of tweets to look at.

4.  It's exciting to send out your first tweet to the world.  How about sending out a nice friendly hello and then follow it up with some basic info about your yourself or "What's up for today?" kind of tweet.  People lot to interact and have conversations with others. Only being able to type 140 characters or less keeps your tweets from rambling.  

One thing you don't want to be is a spammer. What I mean is that not every tweet should be "buy my book!"  These kind of tweets are largely ignored.  Think about it. Would you be inclined to buy a book from an annoying  twitterer who did nothing but bombard you with the same message?  Probably not, but if you spend some time nurturing some relationships with fellow tweeps, you'll meet some really interesting people.  I've had a good time meeting so many new people.  By the time  you do send out a message about your book, they may be more inclined to buy it or if you're really lucky many will RT (re-tweet) your message to their followers.  And the snowball effect begins.  

That's about it.  Go out there and have fun, meet new people and hopefully, sell some books!  I'm meeting new people everyday and loving it and I'll bet you will too!

And, of course, don't forget to follow me!  My twitter button is in the sidebar of the blog, just scroll down, you'll find my little bird or just click here: http://twitter.com/#!/dlmartin6

Review of STEAM QUEEN by Jack Hessey

2 of 5 stars



STEAM QUEEN is a steam punk novel about a group of mercenaries aboard a steam engine who are tricked into serving in a war with a maniacal general. The war is between the traditional Steamers and the up and coming Dieslers and the fate of Europe is dependent on the outcome of the war. Both leaders have no compunction about using weapons of mass destruction in order to win. It's an intriguing premise and I was excited to read this book.

The main character, Erica, is forced to serve as a mercenary aboard the STEAM QUEEN because of the trouble she has caused in her hometown. Her father, for whom she has a deep love, is the only one she will listen to about curtailing her antics, but even he's at the end of his rope with her. It's either get out of town or go to jail.  Unfortunately, I found Erica unlikeable, a sociopath, with no redeeming qualities. Granted she had some horrendous experiences as a child with bullies, but I would have expected to see some shift in her personality as the book went on.  Instead she ramped up her "punishments" as the story unfolded and her acts of aggression become more and more gruesome. As a reader, I found I didn't care what happened to her as the book went on. The plot is intriguing, but once again there is no resolution to the problems presented. There is no back story for any of the other characters in the book nor was there any world building to speak of beyond a sentence or two.  

While this book has an original plot, it was rife with typos and wrong word selections to the point that I was continually jarred out of the story.  I found myself focusing more on the typos than on the story. This book could definitely use the eyes of an editor and more world building to really draw the reader into the story.

And the WINNERS are:

Thanks to everyone who entered the fabulous ebook giveaway EXTRAVAGANZA.  Now to the most important news.



Congratulations to the following people who have won these books:



Sean Sweeney: Model Agent - lilchiken



JM Pierce: Failing Test, A Shadow's Light, Duality - Sara



JC Phelps: Color of Grey, Shades of Grey, Reflections of Grey - Melissa



Sandra Edwards: Staked - Elle Scott



Matthew Verish: The Forging, The Hawk's Shadow - Rebecca



JL Bryan: Jenny Pox - Symese123



The winner's will be hearing directly from the authors about getting the books to you.  Congratulations again!



I would love it if you click "follow" this blog and tell you friends so you'll be sure to get the announcements of future book giveaways.  HAPPY READING!

Kitty Funnies: Oh No, It Comes!

I bring you another day in the life of Isabelle - aka Baby Monster. As you will soon see from reading below, it really is best to pay attention to her WHEN she wants it.



So here I am working away. Yes, I know, doesn't look like I'm working that hard, but I have a back injury so I get a little slack here. Next to me is the sweetest cat ever, Crystal.  Happy scene right?





Then we both heard it - THUMP THUMP THUMP, THUD!!! Yep, you guessed it. My non-Norwegian-speaking Norwegian Forest Cat has decided she is going to come and see what is going on.





Hi Momma, look at me! I'm so cute.
Well, I was right in the middle of editing a scene so I didn't immediately stop what I was doing and pet and scratch my little darling. So, she got a little closer.





Meow, Meow! I want head scratches NOW!
Being the silly human that I am, I didn't pay attention to my Baby Monster when she got up from my right side and walked up my left side.  Before I could say, Nooooooooooooo....





What's this? Let me pull this to me and chump on it!
She had bitten through the wire of the Belkin cooling pad! First, I was like "ISABELLE" in that stern voice and then I just laughed because she went down to the bottom of the bed and got down to kitty business like nothing had happened.





Ow, I got an itch!




Time for a little clean-up!




Oh man, I'm exhausted! Need to catch some zzzzz.....


And there you have it - another kitty adventure in the life of Isabelle and Crystal (by default). I have learned to pay attention the first time Isabelle comes up on the bed especially if I'm working on my computer.  Either that or I'm going to be buying an awful lot of cooling pads!  If you have cats, you'll totally understand the comic relief in all this.  And if you don't have kitties, you just don't know what you're missing!

Stay tuned - I'm sure it won't be long before there will be another adventure from the Baby Monster!  Feel free to share your kitty stories in the comments and give us all more laughs.

Review: UNLOCKED by Courtney Milan

5 of 5 stars

I purchased this book when I started to see a lot of buzz about it on the romance blog sites.  Everyone was singing it's praises and it made me curious to see what the hoopla was all about.  Could a novella pack such an emotional punch?  Well, the answer is a resounding YES!  

Lady Elaine Warren entered society full of anticipation and excitement in the hopes of finding a husband - same as every other young woman in her shoes.  She is a young woman who enjoys life and her hearty laugh announces it to everyone.  Enter the young and immature Earl of Westfield, Evan Carlton.  Evan is drawn to Elaine and her zest for life, but of course, being a brash young man, he chooses to start poking fun at her instead.  He doesn't want anyone to know that he's falling in love with her. Because he's popular with a wide circle of friends, he inadvertently starts an endless stream of taunts and insults by them all aimed at Elaine.  It doesn't take long for Elaine to go from a vibrant young woman to a timid wallflower doing everything in her power to avoid Evan and his friends.  Her first season into society is ruined and every season thereafter. 

Ms. Milan is masterful at portraying Elaine's emotions as she endures the insults in public to the exquisite pain she feels in private. I found myself drawn into this story, especially Elaine's pain and humiliation, wishing against all hope that this vibrant young woman would somehow be redeemed in the eyes of society.  This story is ageless - a harmless prank snowballs out of control and a young woman becomes the victim of bullying by her popular peers.  

Evan soon realizes what he has done, tries half-heartedly to get his friends to stop their taunts, but in the end, takes the coward's way out and leaves to go abroad for 10 years. He is horrified when he finally returns to find that nothing has changed and Elaine is still the victim of bullying.  How can you undo your stupid immature mistake?  That is what Evan's goal is when he returns.  He still loves Elaine and he must now somehow win back her trust, but first he must change the minds of his peers who still use her as their virtual punching bag.  The author does not fall into the trap of letting Elaine forgive him just because he apologizes for his youthful indiscretion.  This novella is exquisite, thought-provoking, emotional and one of the best romance stories I've ever read.  Highly Recommended.  

   

Interview with Jayne Fordham

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? A Season Of Transformation is a young adult fantasy romance novel set in contemporary Australia. Makenna Matthews is just your average teenager until one day at school she feels drawn to four other teenagers and together they discover their ancestors are trying to communicate with them. They have abilities bestowed upon them so they can complete their mission, to defeat Maxvale the town villain. They need to overcome their differences in order to unite and save their town from destruction.

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers? Yes, I queried a literary agent in Sydney and unfortunately my novel was not accepted. I did do a lot of research into agents in Australia that took on fantasy novels but I did not find many. In mid 2010, my novel was accepted for publication with a new online book publishing company that was developing an ipad/ iphone app for eBooks. This was a very exciting time for me, the contract was signed and I was ready to go! However due to financial issues in setting up the platform, the company put their proposition on hold and released me from the contract. I was very disappointed but it was definitely a confidence booster and got me back on track to pursue publication. I probably could have sought out more agents or approached publishers directly but I know that this is a long process, I had already spent two years refining my manuscript and I decided that I wanted to publish it before I chickened out. Hence, the self-publishing route!

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing? No I don't belong to a critique group, but it does sound like a useful resource! I have sought assistance from a writing mentor who helped me to self-publish my novel. It can be a bit daunting at first because of all the options available nowadays.

What factors influenced your decision to self-publish to Amazon? Initially, I self-published to Lulu so that my book would be available as PDF and paperback. The next step for Amazon Kindle just seemed like an obvious choice- it's a highly popular site, accessible worldwide and relatively easy to self-publish. I wanted to make my novel available to a wider audience. Unfortunately, to publish a paperback with Amazon you need a U.S bank account- which I do not own.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing? My novel undertook many many rewrites following two manuscript assessments by a qualified writer/ editor. My mentor then provided a final proofread. This is my first novel and I really wanted to see how it would be received by readers.

What have you've learned during your self-publishing journey? It's a lot of work! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to spend much time writing since I self-published this work in March, 2011. Marketing and promoting a book is a lot of hard work! I connect with readers, writers and authors via my book review blog that has been a great starting point for me to promote my novel. I have also developed an author site along with social networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Shelfari etc and keeping all these up to date takes up a lot of time! To launch my book I organised my own book blog tour for June/ July 2011 to promote A Season Of Transformation with the aim of collecting reviews and a bit of hype.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale? Yes, it is available as paperback and PDF from Lulu as well as an ebook download at Goodreads. As an ebook it is priced at $2.99 and the printed version is $15.99.http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/a-season-of-transformation/15240155?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/1

What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)? Twitter: @AustBookshelfFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Season-Of-Transformation/160127360716037Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4810810.Jayne_FordhamAuthor blog: http://jaynefordham.comBook review blog: http://australianbookshelf.wordpress.comPlease feel free to follow me J

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book? Yes! As mentioned earlier, I have had to put my writing projects on hold. I work full-time as a psychologist, I do freelance writing jobs on the side as well as promoting A Season Of Transformation and so creative writing has been put by the wayside for a little while. I hope in the next few months I can get back on track with a writing schedule and publish another book.

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena? Be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort to network, connect with readers and self-promote your book. I recommend finding reviewers as your first step and joining the Goodreads community. I am continually learning from other writers and authors about how to best promote my book.

What's next for you? I have started writing a sequel for A Season Of Transformation as well as an adult fantasy/ SciFi novel which I hope to develop into a series. I am also working on a travel memoir.

Thank you for having me!