Allie Boniface's Blog, page 30
July 1, 2013
Monday Mentionables: Celebrating Digital Books!
Happy Monday, and happy July 1st! Can't believe we're already well into summer (it doesn't seem like it with all that rain out there, at least in our neck of the woods!).
Had a lovely vacation in Bermuda last week with hubby. We had gorgeous weather and ate and drank like kings, so now it's back to the gym and the diet for me! We took a cruise ship out of Cape Liberty, NJ, which gave us a day and a half of sailing time on either side of visiting Bermuda...and I finally got a chance to catch up on my reading!
Even better, I loved seeing that so many other people were doing the same, and in a variety of genres (yes I peeked at book covers when I could - wouldn't you?) I saw everything from romance to biography to suspense to horror to young adult to military. And interestingly, readers were about evenly split between those who were reading actual paper books, and those who were reading on an eReader or tablet.
Which brings me to my big mention of the day: it's time to celebrate digital books! Yes, I know many of you still prefer to have a book in hand when you read. Many times, so do I (and so did I, on the ship!...because I forgot to charge my Nook before we left. But anyway...). But it's worth mentioning a couple of things today:
1. More books than ever are released in digital format first, before they go to print. Sometimes they're released in digital format only.
2. It's super convenient to load your digital reading device with 100s of books and carry around something that weighs, oh, less than a pound. Think about how much 100 books would weigh if you tried to bring them all to the beach!
3. Digital books almost always cost less to purchase than paper books (and many of them are also available for lending through your local library, if you're not a book buyer at all)/
4. Some presses contract that books will go to print depending on digital sales...which means if you really, really want to see your favorite authors' books on your shelves, go ahead and buy their digital book when it comes out first, to help boost sales and make it to print. (I say this in shameless self-promotion because Beacon of Love is contracted this way. I have a sales threshold to meet before it will be released in print. So can you help me out?)
5. July is officially being heralded as Digital First Read-a-Thon Month by The Book Binge and some of its fellow blogs. What does this mean? The folks over there are encouraging readers to try and read as many digital-first books (see #4, above) as they can during this month, to raise awareness about all those great books and authors who are digitally published but perhaps not yet print published. And what's even better? Every single day, you have multiple chances to win books and prizes!!! The link is right at the beginning here of #5, but I'll try to repost it on a regular basis so you can remember to stop by.
And...I'm the featured author TOMORROW at Tracy's Place, so please stop by, check out my excerpt, leave a comment, and generally support this great effort, would you?
Thanks and have a great Monday!
Had a lovely vacation in Bermuda last week with hubby. We had gorgeous weather and ate and drank like kings, so now it's back to the gym and the diet for me! We took a cruise ship out of Cape Liberty, NJ, which gave us a day and a half of sailing time on either side of visiting Bermuda...and I finally got a chance to catch up on my reading!
Even better, I loved seeing that so many other people were doing the same, and in a variety of genres (yes I peeked at book covers when I could - wouldn't you?) I saw everything from romance to biography to suspense to horror to young adult to military. And interestingly, readers were about evenly split between those who were reading actual paper books, and those who were reading on an eReader or tablet.
Which brings me to my big mention of the day: it's time to celebrate digital books! Yes, I know many of you still prefer to have a book in hand when you read. Many times, so do I (and so did I, on the ship!...because I forgot to charge my Nook before we left. But anyway...). But it's worth mentioning a couple of things today:
1. More books than ever are released in digital format first, before they go to print. Sometimes they're released in digital format only.
2. It's super convenient to load your digital reading device with 100s of books and carry around something that weighs, oh, less than a pound. Think about how much 100 books would weigh if you tried to bring them all to the beach!
3. Digital books almost always cost less to purchase than paper books (and many of them are also available for lending through your local library, if you're not a book buyer at all)/
4. Some presses contract that books will go to print depending on digital sales...which means if you really, really want to see your favorite authors' books on your shelves, go ahead and buy their digital book when it comes out first, to help boost sales and make it to print. (I say this in shameless self-promotion because Beacon of Love is contracted this way. I have a sales threshold to meet before it will be released in print. So can you help me out?)
5. July is officially being heralded as Digital First Read-a-Thon Month by The Book Binge and some of its fellow blogs. What does this mean? The folks over there are encouraging readers to try and read as many digital-first books (see #4, above) as they can during this month, to raise awareness about all those great books and authors who are digitally published but perhaps not yet print published. And what's even better? Every single day, you have multiple chances to win books and prizes!!! The link is right at the beginning here of #5, but I'll try to repost it on a regular basis so you can remember to stop by.
And...I'm the featured author TOMORROW at Tracy's Place, so please stop by, check out my excerpt, leave a comment, and generally support this great effort, would you?
Thanks and have a great Monday!
June 24, 2013
I'm On Vacation!!
Hi, everyone! I'm on vacation this week, so no blogging :)
See you next Monday!
See you next Monday!
June 21, 2013
Friday Fun Facts: Happy Summer Solstice!
Happy Friday, everyone! It's the official first day of summer - what a great day! Even better, it's my last day of teaching school for this year. Hubby and I will be going on vacation tomorrow to celebrate and start our vacation right :)
It's kind of neat to think about today as the longest day of the year and what the summer solstice has meant over the centuries to cultures who celebrate it. For example:
The ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramids so that the sun, when viewed from the Sphinx, sets precisely between two of the pyramids on the summer solstice.
The Inca of South America celebrated the corresponding winter solstice with a ceremony called Inti Raymi, which included food offerings and sacrifices of animals, and maybe even people.
Recently, archaeologists discovered the remains of an astronomical observatory in a long-buried Maya city in Guatemala in which the buildings were designed to align with the sun during the solstices. During such times, the city's populace gathered at the observatory to watch as their king appeared to command the heavens.
And perhaps most famously, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has been associated with the winter and summer solstices for about 5,000 years.
So...what are YOU doing with the longest day of your year?
June 19, 2013
Writers' Wednesday: Libba Bray on Writing - No Holds Barred
Had to share this blog post with you all today. Writers especially will (should?) appreciate this, though it's worth reading no matter who you are, just to have a glimpse into a writer's world. Because it's, like, completely true. At least from my perspective. I told one of my writing friends the other day that I really needed to finish Inferno of Love because I was on the 5th draft and she said, "Oh, you have so much patience!" I don't know if it's patience or insanity, but I'll tell you what, author Libba Bray hits it squarely on the head here. Fair warning: it's long, so fill up your coffee and get comfortable!
June 17, 2013
Monday Mentionables: In Person Appearances!
Happy Monday, everyone! Just wanted to mention that I'll be at the Holiday in Homer (NY) Craft Fair on Saturday, July 20, all day, and would love to see you. I'll have copies of my re-release, The Promise of Paradise, as well as my older titles AND a few other goodies for you to choose from. So find my booth & stop by and say hi :)
I'll also be at the Indie Romance Convention in Lebanon, TN, October 4-5, chatting with other romance authors, selling and signing books, and generally trying to learn more about the ins, outs, pros, and cons of independent publishing through Amazon and other sites. Haven't decided yet whether I'll go that route again, but I figured it would be helpful to hear others' journeys.
So...if you live in or near either area, maybe we'll see each other in the next couple of months. Happy reading!
I'll also be at the Indie Romance Convention in Lebanon, TN, October 4-5, chatting with other romance authors, selling and signing books, and generally trying to learn more about the ins, outs, pros, and cons of independent publishing through Amazon and other sites. Haven't decided yet whether I'll go that route again, but I figured it would be helpful to hear others' journeys.
So...if you live in or near either area, maybe we'll see each other in the next couple of months. Happy reading!
June 14, 2013
Friday Fun Facts: Random Comments, Random Videos, Random Thoughts...
TGIF! I know, I know - I missed my Wednesday blog. And I have no good excuse except that I'm fighting an end-of-year cold and am trying to pack up my entire classroom and 8 years of teaching since I'm moving to a brand new building next year and, well........Oh, and trying to finish up Inferno of Love as well. Want to see my favorite line from the section I'm working on right now?
In front of the window, in plain view of the cop standing outside, he grabbed her and kissed her. She winced at the contact, her bottom lip still swollen and sore, but the pain made it real, and she loved the sensation of touching him. Of tasting him. Long and hard he kissed her, hands in her hair and tongue inside her mouth, without words and without breath, desperation and passion mixing until she couldn't tell one from the other. I want this. I want you. I've waited for so long. She could hear the words as clearly as if he were speaking them aloud.
Last night I watched the "Master of My Domain" episode on Seinfeld. And still laughed. That is one of the best written episodes on one of the best-written shows. And one of my favorite scenes? This one:
Finally, I love the fact that Darius Rucker, who I loved when he was in Hootie and the Blowfish in the 90s, is now making a name for himself as a country star. I don't listen to a lot of country music, but I do tune in every now and then, and I love his sound (and his look, too...sexy!). An older song but one I love:
Enjoy your weekend!
In front of the window, in plain view of the cop standing outside, he grabbed her and kissed her. She winced at the contact, her bottom lip still swollen and sore, but the pain made it real, and she loved the sensation of touching him. Of tasting him. Long and hard he kissed her, hands in her hair and tongue inside her mouth, without words and without breath, desperation and passion mixing until she couldn't tell one from the other. I want this. I want you. I've waited for so long. She could hear the words as clearly as if he were speaking them aloud.
Last night I watched the "Master of My Domain" episode on Seinfeld. And still laughed. That is one of the best written episodes on one of the best-written shows. And one of my favorite scenes? This one:
Finally, I love the fact that Darius Rucker, who I loved when he was in Hootie and the Blowfish in the 90s, is now making a name for himself as a country star. I don't listen to a lot of country music, but I do tune in every now and then, and I love his sound (and his look, too...sexy!). An older song but one I love:
Enjoy your weekend!
June 10, 2013
Monday Mentionables: Truth is Stranger than Fiction
Happy Monday, everyone! I had a crazy busy weekend, which actually started last Thursday, as I went on a road trip and visited 3 good girlfriends from my past. They all live within 2 hours of each other, though they're all from different points in my past. I decided to take a few days and make a long overdue trip to see them all. Breakfast with one, lunch with another, dinner with a third. Whew!! I'm exhausted now...
I loved catching up with them all, talking about the good old days and also filling each other in on all the new developments in our lives, but I was also left with the striking thought that truth really is stranger than fiction. Each friend has her own path, her own life, all very different (one's a single mom of 2 who lives with her parents; one's a married mom of 3 who's lived in 5 different states over the last 10 years; and one's a never-married Shakespeare professor). And yet they all had these fantastic stories. You want to know why writers never have a lack of story ideas? Here, in no particular order, are real-life plots and characters taken from my girlfriends' lives...
~Next-door neighbor invites all the neighborhood kids (sans parents) on a limo ride which ends up including the neighbor's impromptu wedding before the ride
~Husband and father of 7+ years turns out to be gay and having an affair
~Child returns from a visit to her father's house with an evil spirit attached, which prompts the need for an exorcism to get rid of said spirit
~Independently wealthy man moves in next door, turns out to have Aspergers Syndrome, but is also one of the city's most philanthropic men and thus has women wondering how manageable a marriage to him would be
~Local midwife is pregnant and prescribed a "potato-only" diet, which leads to her husband calling various people in the neighborhood whenever they run out of potatoes
~Former lover who now lives on the other side of the globe proposes an affair of convenience whenever the two of them are in the same country
And believe me, the list goes on. Great fodder for books, right? How nice when catching up with friends can also inspire my Muse LOL :)
I loved catching up with them all, talking about the good old days and also filling each other in on all the new developments in our lives, but I was also left with the striking thought that truth really is stranger than fiction. Each friend has her own path, her own life, all very different (one's a single mom of 2 who lives with her parents; one's a married mom of 3 who's lived in 5 different states over the last 10 years; and one's a never-married Shakespeare professor). And yet they all had these fantastic stories. You want to know why writers never have a lack of story ideas? Here, in no particular order, are real-life plots and characters taken from my girlfriends' lives...
~Next-door neighbor invites all the neighborhood kids (sans parents) on a limo ride which ends up including the neighbor's impromptu wedding before the ride
~Husband and father of 7+ years turns out to be gay and having an affair
~Child returns from a visit to her father's house with an evil spirit attached, which prompts the need for an exorcism to get rid of said spirit
~Independently wealthy man moves in next door, turns out to have Aspergers Syndrome, but is also one of the city's most philanthropic men and thus has women wondering how manageable a marriage to him would be
~Local midwife is pregnant and prescribed a "potato-only" diet, which leads to her husband calling various people in the neighborhood whenever they run out of potatoes
~Former lover who now lives on the other side of the globe proposes an affair of convenience whenever the two of them are in the same country
And believe me, the list goes on. Great fodder for books, right? How nice when catching up with friends can also inspire my Muse LOL :)
June 7, 2013
Friday Fun Facts: Writing Spaces and Flashbacks to the Past...
Happy Friday, writers! I forgot to mention one of my fun blog stops earlier this week, over at Welcome to my World of Dreams. I'm talking about one of my favorite writing spaces in the house - picture included!
This weekend, I'm on a road trip, reuniting with 3 good friends from wayyyy in the past. One I haven't seen in 18 years, one in 12 years, and the other - well, the other is one of my best friends from high school, so I do see her just about every year, even though we live far apart. Can't wait to find out what they've been up to :)
I'll share reunion pictures next week!
This weekend, I'm on a road trip, reuniting with 3 good friends from wayyyy in the past. One I haven't seen in 18 years, one in 12 years, and the other - well, the other is one of my best friends from high school, so I do see her just about every year, even though we live far apart. Can't wait to find out what they've been up to :)
I'll share reunion pictures next week!
June 5, 2013
Writers' Wednesday: Welcome Debut Author Marianne Sciucco!
Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm super-excited to welcome author and friend Marianne Sciucco to my blog today for Writers' Wednesday. She's talking all about her brand new 5-star Amazon rated women's fiction title, Blue Hydrangeas. Isn't the cover beautiful??
A nursing facility is everyone's solution for what to do about Sara, but her husband, Jack, can't bear to live without her. He is committed to saving his marriage, his wife, and their life together from the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease. He and Sara retired years ago to the house of their dreams, and operated it as a Cape Cod bed and breakfast named Blue Hydrangeas. Jack has made an impossible promise: He and Sara will stay together in their beautiful home no matter what the disease brings. However, after nine years of selfless caregiving, complicated by her progressing Alzheimer’s and his own failing heart, he finally admits he can no longer care for her at home. With reluctance, he arranges to admit her to an assisted living facility. But, on the day of admission, Sara is having one of her few good days, and he is unable to follow through. Instead, he takes them on an impulsive journey to confront their past and reclaim their future. In the end, he realizes that staying together at any cost is what truly matters.
And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite even more:
Sara, an amateur photographer, had chronicled her children’s lives with an old 35-mm camera she’d picked up at a flea market. In the photos, David and Lisa were young teenagers, gangly, smiling, and full of life. Sara sorted through pictures of them playing on the beach, building sandcastles, flying kites. She rummaged aimlessly through the stacks of photos, but one in particular captivated her and she studied it for some time.
Lisa sat on the beach, her long auburn hair floating in the breeze, her bright eyes and glowing skin forever sixteen. She wore a flowered bikini. Her lanky legs were lean and tanned. Sara rifled through the pile of pictures but kept returning to this one. She laid it down and picked it up again several times, struggling to find the right words to express her thoughts. Her facial expressions changed rapidly, showing a spark of recognition, replaced by bewilderment, and then the thread was lost. She held the picture up to the light and spoke with trepidation.
“Do I know this girl?”
“Of course you know her –” J“At Corn Hill?” Sara asked, still staring at the picture.
“At Corn Hill,” he replied. “We have lots of pictures of her, see?” He pointed to the photographs scattered across the table.
She gave no sign of recognition. A moment passed, and she yawned. “Put all this away.” She rose from the sofa and stretched her arms high over her head. “I want to go to bed.”
Jack left the photographs where they lay and escorted her upstairs to their bedroom. After tucking her in, he headed back down and gathered the pictures into neat piles, storing them in their boxes. His hands shook as the boxes filled.
He went to the mantel and removed the pictures of Lisa, hiding them away in a cabinet. Better to keep them out of sight in case Sara noticed them and started asking more questions, or, even worse, stumbled on the truth. A sudden revelation might be devastating, and he was determined to spare her any angst.
He turned out the light in the living room and made for the stairs, but overcome with emotion, he dropped into an armchair and let out a strangled sob. The clock struck midnight as he mourned their daughter in isolation, crying in the dark for Lisa, his wife, and himself. Gone was any possibility they might speak of her, recalling the good times and special memories, or comfort one another as they grieved. It was as if she had never existed.
Jack sat up deep into the night, and wondered how much time remained before Sara forgot him as well.
***********************
Marianne Sciucco is not a nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse, using her skills and experience to create stories that bear witness to the humanity in all of us. A lover of words and books, she studied the craft of writing as an English major at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and worked for a time as a newspaper reporter in New England. She later became a nurse. In 2002, she put the two together and began writing about the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues. When not writing she works as a school nurse at a community college in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband, Lou, and daughter, Allison. To follow her visit:
Marianne's Blog
Marianne's TOS Life Blog You can also find her on Facebook or Twitter, or drop her a line at MarianneSciucco@gmail.com
***********************
And go buy a copy of Blue Hydrangeas!!
A nursing facility is everyone's solution for what to do about Sara, but her husband, Jack, can't bear to live without her. He is committed to saving his marriage, his wife, and their life together from the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease. He and Sara retired years ago to the house of their dreams, and operated it as a Cape Cod bed and breakfast named Blue Hydrangeas. Jack has made an impossible promise: He and Sara will stay together in their beautiful home no matter what the disease brings. However, after nine years of selfless caregiving, complicated by her progressing Alzheimer’s and his own failing heart, he finally admits he can no longer care for her at home. With reluctance, he arranges to admit her to an assisted living facility. But, on the day of admission, Sara is having one of her few good days, and he is unable to follow through. Instead, he takes them on an impulsive journey to confront their past and reclaim their future. In the end, he realizes that staying together at any cost is what truly matters.
And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite even more:
Sara, an amateur photographer, had chronicled her children’s lives with an old 35-mm camera she’d picked up at a flea market. In the photos, David and Lisa were young teenagers, gangly, smiling, and full of life. Sara sorted through pictures of them playing on the beach, building sandcastles, flying kites. She rummaged aimlessly through the stacks of photos, but one in particular captivated her and she studied it for some time.
Lisa sat on the beach, her long auburn hair floating in the breeze, her bright eyes and glowing skin forever sixteen. She wore a flowered bikini. Her lanky legs were lean and tanned. Sara rifled through the pile of pictures but kept returning to this one. She laid it down and picked it up again several times, struggling to find the right words to express her thoughts. Her facial expressions changed rapidly, showing a spark of recognition, replaced by bewilderment, and then the thread was lost. She held the picture up to the light and spoke with trepidation.
“Do I know this girl?”
“Of course you know her –” J“At Corn Hill?” Sara asked, still staring at the picture.
“At Corn Hill,” he replied. “We have lots of pictures of her, see?” He pointed to the photographs scattered across the table.
She gave no sign of recognition. A moment passed, and she yawned. “Put all this away.” She rose from the sofa and stretched her arms high over her head. “I want to go to bed.”
Jack left the photographs where they lay and escorted her upstairs to their bedroom. After tucking her in, he headed back down and gathered the pictures into neat piles, storing them in their boxes. His hands shook as the boxes filled.
He went to the mantel and removed the pictures of Lisa, hiding them away in a cabinet. Better to keep them out of sight in case Sara noticed them and started asking more questions, or, even worse, stumbled on the truth. A sudden revelation might be devastating, and he was determined to spare her any angst.
He turned out the light in the living room and made for the stairs, but overcome with emotion, he dropped into an armchair and let out a strangled sob. The clock struck midnight as he mourned their daughter in isolation, crying in the dark for Lisa, his wife, and himself. Gone was any possibility they might speak of her, recalling the good times and special memories, or comfort one another as they grieved. It was as if she had never existed.
Jack sat up deep into the night, and wondered how much time remained before Sara forgot him as well.
***********************
Marianne Sciucco is not a nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse, using her skills and experience to create stories that bear witness to the humanity in all of us. A lover of words and books, she studied the craft of writing as an English major at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and worked for a time as a newspaper reporter in New England. She later became a nurse. In 2002, she put the two together and began writing about the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues. When not writing she works as a school nurse at a community college in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, where she lives with her husband, Lou, and daughter, Allison. To follow her visit:
Marianne's Blog
Marianne's TOS Life Blog You can also find her on Facebook or Twitter, or drop her a line at MarianneSciucco@gmail.com
***********************
And go buy a copy of Blue Hydrangeas!!
June 3, 2013
Monday Mentionables: Last Stops on the Blog Tours!
Hi folks - I'm a little late posting today, but better than not at all, right? Two last blog posts on my virtual tours for The Promise of Paradise and Beacon of Love - which means two more choices to win Amazon gift cards!
Long and Short Reviews is featuring what I've learned about publishing, my tips to you :) Stop by and visit!
And Read Your Writes is featuring a character interview with Sophie and Lucas, the heroine and hero from Beacon of Love. I love writing character interviews just because it's fun to let them take over :) Join me...and them!
Long and Short Reviews is featuring what I've learned about publishing, my tips to you :) Stop by and visit!
And Read Your Writes is featuring a character interview with Sophie and Lucas, the heroine and hero from Beacon of Love. I love writing character interviews just because it's fun to let them take over :) Join me...and them!
