Hailey Rose's Blog, page 9
March 29, 2017
Shadow of the Hersweald / / Blog Tour
Welcome to the launch of Shadows of the Hersweald, the third novella in the Legends of Light series! If you enjoy Christian fantasy and fairy tale retellings, you’ll want to check out this Hansel and Gretel novella.
They would have to come that afternoon. Haydn glared at the rutted road twisted away from the gate beneath him, slithering into the shadows of the Hersweald. And what was the flaming idea behind leaving him in charge? Tregaron in the hands of a criminal… that would put them all in the good graces of the province governor, no questions asked.
A battered soldier from a defeated army, Haydn knows there is only one end to the arrival of the Prince’s governor. Except he hasn’t counted on the Prince himself. Or the pardon which his recent foe has declared to acquit all those who fought against him.
A pardon Haydn detests.
A pardon that refuses to punish the rebels now threatening his own village. And his sister.
Guilt-ridden from his own actions during the war, Haydn knows there are others who have no conscience at all. Others who are using the freedom of the pardon to forward their own desperate schemes.
With enemies closing in on all sides, a pardon that refuses punishment, and nightmares of murder and fire haunting his every thought, will Haydn recognize the truth or will his fear condemn everything he loves to destruction?
Although the history of Aslaria and the conflict between the Prince and the rebel, Tauscher, flow chronologically through the series, each novella in the Legends of Light series is a stand-alone story. Each novella focuses on one of the nine aspects of the Fruit of the Spirit while twisting fairy tales in a clean, exciting, and inspiring manner.
Buy now on Kindle, iTunes, and Smashwords
Add on Goodreads
And now for some quotes from the book!!
About the Author
Hope Ann is a Christian authoress who lives on a small farm in northern Indiana. She was homeschooled and now helps teach several of her eight younger siblings.
She has been writing for over five years and has so many story ideas that she doubts she will ever stop. Her favorite genre to write is high fantasy with a touch of the allegorical. A close second is futuristic suspense. Her goal is to not only entertain with her stories but to provide inspirational fiction for young adults.
Predictably, she loves reading fantasy, fairy tales, mythology, and futuristic suspense. Her favorite authors include J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, Frank Peretti, Mark Twain, and Serena Chase.
Her hobbies include photography, movie making, knitting, tree climbing, writing e-mails to friends, listening to Celtic music, and collecting shiny trinkets for story inspiration.
You can visit Hope’s blog at authorhopeann.com, or follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or Twitter.
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March 23, 2017
Indie e-Con / / Instagram for Authors
(This post is written in correlation with the Indie e-Conference. Jump over to Kendra’s Blog for more awesome posts!)
With the numerous social media platforms out there, how on earth are we supposed to keep up with them all? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google +, (and I know there are more but those are the ones that come to mind) — how exactly are we supposed to come up with content for all of them on a regular basis?
For myself and many other authors with busy lives, it’s simply unattainable. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t keep up. Yet at the same time, I knew I needed to expand my platform to reach more readers. So where’s the happy medium?
At the council of a friend, I chose one media platform to start with. One that I thought I would enjoy. One that would just take a few moments to make posts on.
I picked INSTAGRAM.
Three reasons why Instagram is perfect for me:
I’m a visual person. I take a lot of pictures in a day. It wasn’t hard for me to me more intentional and post pictures of what I’m already doing.
It’s fast. Take a picture. Make a caption. Come up with a few hashtags (I keep hashtags to a minimum, but I know there is a lot more that can be done with them).
I enjoy it! Pictures are fun. I’m no photographer, and 99% of my Instagram pics are from my phone.
Personally, it’s not difficult to come up with content for Instagram. I try to do 4-ish posts a week. If it’s more than that, great! If it’s less…well, life happens. It’s not a big deal.
But what can writers post on Instagram?
Anything. At. All. Instagram is one of those things that can be personalized or professionalized. Some authors I’ve seen post more professional-type pictures, with the personal bit coming in only every now and again. Other’s I’ve seen are the opposite–mostly personal with professionalism visiting.
The personal route is what works best for me. I include pictures of things I do with my siblings, road trips, school stuff–generally random stuff. Then there are the bookish posts, where I post about what I’m reading, what releases I’m looking forward to, etc. And then, very occasionally, promotional posts for my own books. *cringe*
From a writer standpoint, there are so many options. If your idea tank runs dry, try some of these ideas:
Your favorite book
Your favorite cover
Your writing space
A coffee/tea mug you love
Your window view as you write
Your bookshelf
Your favorite writing resources
Selfies while writing/editing/plotting
Memes
Prompts
Your furry writing buddy (dogs, cats, hamsters, raccoons… ;-) )
Screenshots of your writing music playlist
Instagram is a versatile, fun, easy, and fast. It’s ideal for authors with little time who want to actively connect with followers. It’s perfect for scatterbrains (*points to self*) who more often than not sometimes forget what day it is and when they last posted anything on any social platform.
Most of all, Instagram is an awesome method for connecting with followers in a visual, picture oriented way.
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What is your favorite social media platform?
Have you tried Instagram?
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March 20, 2017
March 15, 2017
Book Sale / / Indie e-Con
March 13, 2017
VAVC #4 / / Feb-April
I’ll admit, I’m hesitant to post this very scatterbrained, rambly video. It’s LOOONNNNGGGGGG. I’m soooo sorry…. but I’m too lazy to redo it. So here you go, the raw and real Ivy, stumbling and blundering. -_-
VAVC #4 from Ivy Rose on Vimeo.
If you want to join in the NaNo Make-Up, click here to learn more!
And remember, there will be a drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card for those who participate in the vlog challenge.
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March 8, 2017
NaNo Make-Up #2
It’s time! Our first NaNo Make-Up went so well, we’re gearing up for another!
Because I’m such a pathetic human and cannot manage to do NaNo the months it is actually running, I have decided to come up with my own times to NaNo when it works for me. So, I’m hosting a Make-Up that will run from March 15th to April 15th. (Yes, I know it will overlap with the actual CampNaNo. Sorry.)
You can set your own word count, or set a project/outline/editing goal–whatever you want! If you are going to join, send me a message and I’ll add you to our group Google Hangout. Also, you can add your goal to the group Google Doc. Some of us will be using MyWriteClub for goal tracking. It’s not a requirement, but if you want to join that, feel free!!!
I hope you can join me! It will be fun!!!
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March 1, 2017
Top 3 Writing Blogs
Who doesn’t like learning about new writing resources? I know I do! But honestly, with all the fantastic writing blogs out there, it can be hard to narrow them down. These three, in no particular order, are the ones I spend most of my time on.
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Go Teen Writers is awesome because of the broad spectrum of topics they cover. I love all the articles about getting over writer’s block, what to do when characters are misbehaving, and how to work with a frustrating plotline. Also, GTW is all about getting beginning writers started, providing encouragement, and opening opportunities for young writers to get their work critiqued by experts.
I just recently discovered The Writer’s Alley, but what a treasure trove! This is a blog that is a wonderful mash-up of authors in all walks of life and all seasons of stories. There is something for EVERYONE on there! I haven’t had a ton of time to go digging through archives, but the few posts I’ve read about time management have been wonderful.
This is also a new find for me thanks to my critique partner Abi, and I love it! The posts are a little shorter and more to the point than the first two blogs, which I sincerely appreciate! Lots of good stuff on this blog.
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What’s your favorite writing blog?
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February 22, 2017
Life Sometimes
The past two weeks have been rather interesting. I hate using the excuse, “I’ve been busy” or “life is so crazy.” Because truly, my life is nothing compared to a lot of other people.
But it feels busy to me. It feels insane. It feels like I’m barely staying afloat half the time.
So what to do???
I don’t know. I have no idea. Wish I did.
But really, wouldn’t it be great to go back to being a kid just for one day? Think about it. No deadlines. No school. No laundry. No deadlines. No cleaning. No work. No deadlines. No jobs. No life-altering decisions. NOOOOO DEADLINESSSSSSS.
(I’m really hating deadlines right now.)
Some days I feel on top of the world. Other days, I eat an entire package of Oreos. By myself. *hides face*
Then there are the days when I play this song over and over and over and over again:
(Isn’t it relaxing? I loves this song so much.)
All that to say, I don’t have a decent blog post this week. (shocker, I know.) I wanted to, but that just didn’t happen. So instead, I delved into my Pinterest boards and found things that make me laugh.
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Soooo….how is your week going?? Any Oreo-induced stomachaches yet??? *points to self*
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February 16, 2017
The Very Awesome Vlog Challenge # 4 / / Feb-April
It’s time for a new batch of questions! (Wondering what the VAVC is? Check out this page and watch the vlog there to learn more!)
Questions for #4, Feb-April Challenge:
What is one of your favorite quotes?
What book on your shelf has the most amazing?
What is one book releasing in 2017 you are super excited about?
Also, I’m adding something to the challenge:
Whoever adds their vlog to the linker-upper on the VAVC page is automatically entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card! How cool is that?!? (I mean…Amazon. Books. Yumminess. :) )
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February 10, 2017
VAVC #3 / / Dec-Feb 2017
A day late a and a dollar short, but here is my vlog! (Okay, technically it’s not late, but that is fun to say so ha! )
VAVC #3 from Ivy Rose on Vimeo.
*Sigh*
Gotta love those thumbnail images vimeo picks. *rolls eyes*
Also, be sure to check out Victoria from Ruffles and Grace! She did a fantastic vlog that you should watch. :)
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