Michelle Garren Flye's Blog, page 78

Having Fun With Magic…Wanna Join Me? Contest!

Dedication page of Close Up Magic

As I mentioned earlier, for the next couple of months, I’ll be tweeting magic, blogging magic, posting on Facebook about magic and generally having lots of fun. And I want you to join in the fun.

I’ve decided to give away a Kindle Paperwhite on June 1 to celebrate the publication of Close Up Magic. To sweeten the deal, I’ll also gift you my books Weeds and Flowers and Ducks in a Row, both of which have very good reviews on Amazon. If you’d like to enter, here’s how to do it:

1. Leave me a comment here or on one of my other magic-related posts.

2. Like Close Up Magic on Facebook. (If you’ve already done this, you’re automatically entered.)

3. Tweet about Close Up Magic and tag me @michellegflye.

4. Join me on one of my guest posts between now and June 1 (I have four lined up and I’ll announce them later on).

5. Post on Facebook about Close Up Magic and tag me.

6. Mention Close Up Magic on your blog and email me a link at michellegflye at gmail dot com.

You can enter as many times as you like. The point is, I love talking to people, and this should be a great conversation starter!

I’ve already been hard at work promoting Close Up Magic, although my silence over here might seem to indicate otherwise. You see, while researching Close Up Magic, I accumulated a lot of unusable but fascinating data. And I’ve decided to put it to work. Everyday I post a little tidbit of the history of magic over on the Facebook fan page I made for Close Up Magic. For instance, just this morning, I posted about the first magician to perform the Sawing a Woman in Half illusion. Don’t know? Head on over and find out: Close Up Magic Fan Page. And tell your friends!

You see, writing Close Up Magic was so much fun, I figure promoting it should be too. It’s all bringing back to me that original childhood excitement I felt when I saw my first magician at the age of five and he made me fly on a magic carpet. I had a string of magic sets as a child. Each time I got one, I was certain I could become the most famous woman magician of all time (more about women’s place in magic on my Facebook page this week). Of course, that never materialized. I always turned to a book to read or a story to write, but, hey, it was fun while it lasted, right? And maybe this is my contribution to the world of magic.

Close Up Magic to be released June 1

I’m a little behind the eight ball in putting the cart before the horse here (ahem) because I couldn’t wait for my blog to catch up to my progress! I’m in the last stages of getting my new book, Close Up Magic, ready for readers, and I’m super excited about this one. It’s not that it’s deep or has anything to do with anything real in my life. In fact, it’s a pretty superficial, straightforward romance. And it’s set in Las Vegas, not North Carolina!

Every book I’ve published so far is a story that wanted to be written. I often feel like I have very little to do with them other than fixing a word or two here and there. I hear other writers talk about the “craft” of writing, and I try to relate it to the process I go through. I don’t create story arcs. I create the characters and they tell me their stories. I’ve found that the further I delve into what makes my characters tick, the easier their stories are to tell.

I may be digressing, but that’s what I went through for Close Up Magic, so I’m going to leave it. The moment I decided to write a romance with a magician hero, Andre Hawke began to form in my mind. Because of my lifelong crush on David Copperfield, he started out looking like a young David, but before I knew it, his eyes changed color, he gained weight, got brawnier…all good stuff, no insult intended to Mr. Copperfield, who remains the epitome of a magician in my mind. I gave Andre quite a colorful family background (and yes, he hails from North Carolina. I had to get that little tribute to my home state in!), and of course, nothing can bring on trouble and controversy quite like family!

Bring on brassy, sexy, hard-boiled reporter Stacey Matthewson. She’s the type of reporter I always wished I could be, but I was too timid and accommodating to do manage it. Stacey knows what it takes to get her story, and she’s willing to do it, even when it comes to exposing her own idol’s darkest secrets. Stacey hasn’t had much reason to believe in magic in her lifetime. She’s got family problems of her own, a career that may be going down the wrong path and one last chance to redeem herself. But then Andre Hawke, the only man who’s ever persuaded her to believe in magic, offers her a chance to go another way, and she finds she’d rather help him than get another story. And that’s just the beginning of their story.

For the next couple months, I’ll be writing and thinking and breathing magic around here, and I’ll probably be posting a couple of excerpts from Close Up Magic, too, but if you can’t wait, click on the cover picture and you’ll be magically transported to a preview, featuring the first half of the first chapter of Close Up Magic.

Writer Beware? My thoughts on Amazon’s return policy…and a review. :)

Authors are petitioning Amazon to change their return policy on ebooks, and an unfortunate line has been drawn between writers and readers.

I signed the petition, not because I have a huge problem with people returning my books, but because I see why it was started. Currently, Amazon allows the return of an ebook within seven days of purchase. Readers say it is a fair policy, even if they’ve read the book, if they find the book is sub-par for some reason. And most readers don’t abuse the policy, it’s true. But the fact remains that the loophole is there, and some people will abuse it. Many people won’t even think of it as cheating. Remember back when women used to buy a dress, tuck the tags out of sight, wear it and return it the next day? How many of those women would have been shocked if you’d called them a thief? Most, I’m betting.

Most stores have now put a stop to this sort of practice. My last purchase from Nordstrom’s came with a red tag attached in a conspicuous place which, after removal, rendered my dress non-returnable. Good for Nordstrom’s!

Maybe I feel the way I do about this petition because I do not a have a “borrower’s” frame of mind, which is weird since I have a master’s in library and information sciences, right? But I don’t go to the library on a regular basis now that I don’t work there, and I HATE library fines, so I frequent book stores (and Amazon) instead. I buy my kids books and exchange them at the secondhand bookstore after they’ve outgrown them. I buy myself NOOK and Kindle books. And yes, a few of those have been regrettable. I did not return those.

To the readers I may have offended by signing the petition, I ask that you look at my side of the fence. I am a reader and I am raising readers. I am a librarian, and I believe in libraries. I have no real problem with Amazon’s lending feature, either, although I don’t utilize it. But if you buy an ebook you need to understand something. Whether the author is J.K. Rowling or me, a lot of work went into that book, and if you buy it and return it after you’ve read it, you’re stealing.

Personally, I believe in giving readers lots of chances to read my stuff before they purchase one of my books. That’s why I post excerpts on my blog, have a Free Fiction Page, and have been known to give away books. I currently have four copies of Weeds and Flowers up for grabs on Goodreads, for instance, and I’ve given away four copies of Ducks in a Row over there recently. Over the course of the next couple months, I’m going to be promoting my new release Close Up Magic. I’ll be posting excerpts and quotes and (hopefully) a few advance reviews. I’m going to give you lots of chances to decide if you want to read the whole book before you hit that all important “Buy” button.

And I’m going to be hoping that those who do hit the “Buy” button will take into account that I gave up sleep to write this book. I cursed and sweated and bled on the pages. I endured a lot to bring those voices to life. Don’t cheat me out of the few dollars I earn off each copy I sell.

For an advance preview of Close Up Magic, click here.

In Other News

I was fortunate enough to obtain another review of Ducks in a Row the other day. Steph at Book-A-Holic Anon gave it 4.5 stars! Here’s a little taste of the review and a link, if you’re interested in checking it out:

“…a tragic story in some ways with a glimmer of hope that even at our bleakest moments real love can conquer all.”

–Book-A-Holic Anon

Steph is brutally honest in her review that Ducks may offend some readers. And it might. I knew it when I wrote it, but the story wanted to be told. This review might be one of the best I’ve ever read of one of my books, because it was honest, blunt and to the point. And beyond that, she really got what the book was about. The above quote sums the story up perfectly. I love it when a reviewer really understands where I was coming from because it means I did my job as a writer. Thank you, Steph, for giving me that moment.

Today is Gold Star Wives Day! Tell me your story.

Today is a day of remembrance and celebration for the Gold Star Wives of America. I’m inviting everyone to help me celebrate our men and women in the military on this special day set aside to remember those who gave up so much for our country. You can do this one of two ways.

First, I want to hear your story. I’m a storyteller at heart, but you can read my stories any time you want. Today I want to hear from those who have a loved one in the military. To encourage this, I’m offering up to twenty free ecopies of Where the Heart Lies to those who will leave me a comment and tell me their story about military heroes.

Second, if you don’t have a loved one in the military, you can purchase a copy of Where the Heart Lies and I’ll donate my royalties to the Gold Star Wives of America. Just send me a proof of purchase to michellegflye at gmail dot com.

God bless our military and families who let them serve our country.

For the Families of Our Military with Thanks

I’m saluting families of the military for the next week and it occurred to me I once wrote a story from their point of view. It’s just a little story written way back in 2004, but I still like it, and that’s saying something because I almost never like something I wrote that long ago. Nine years is a long time. A lot has changed in that time. I’ve become a full-time romance novelist, for instance. But a lot of stuff has stayed the same, too.

After you read this, consider helping me salute military families in one of two ways. You can either tell me about your military hero on my Facebook page or purchase a copy of Where the Heart lies and send me a proof of purchase to michellegflye at gmail dot com, and I’ll donate my royalties to the Gold Star Wives of America.

The Protector

By Michelle Garren Flye

 

The child wakes in the dark, still night. Once, he would have cried for his mother and wanted his father to come chase the demons away. Now his parents have other things to deal with. The child tries not to add to their worries.

 

It’s hard having a parent away fighting a war. At least, that’s what his grandmother says. She comes to take care of him in the afternoons now. To keep him from being too lonely, she says. The child knows she’s lonely and worried, too. He wonders if she ever wakes, cold and sweating, from a dream of guns and noise and sand.

 

He thinks the sand might be the worst part of his dreams. It’s so sharp and bright and invading. In his dreams, it’s everywhere – in his mouth and eyes, under his clothes, encasing him in a fine armor that makes it impossible to run from the violence surrounding him. He wonders if that’s what it’s like in the desert on the other side of the world.

 

The child sits still as a pool of silvery moonlight breaks through the clouds outside and spills across his bed. Mother could chase his fears away. Mother has always been his protector, his shield, the “safe” base in a game of tag gone mad. For a moment, he believes he can run to Mother, feel her sweep him up in her arms, kiss him, and tell him there’s nothing to fear. But then the moonlight is gone behind a cloud again and he is alone in the darkness.

 

The stillness overwhelms him and he slips from his bed and pads down the hall to the kitchen, hoping one of Grandma’s cookies will rid him of the fear. He stops, surprised to see a bright streak beneath the kitchen door. He considers going back to bed, but the dark hallway is too frightening and he shoves through the door.

Father sits at the table, his head in his hands. He looks up when the door opens, then holds out his hand to the child. The child runs to Father and is picked up and cuddled on his knee. “You’re thinking about your mother,” Father says and the child nods his head against Father’s chest. “You shouldn’t worry about her, you know,” Father says.

 

The child looks up at Father. “Why are you awake, Father?” he asks.

 

Father sighs and hugs his son closer. “Because it’s daylight there and I wonder what she’s doing,” he says with a little smile. “Because it’s hard letting her go thousands of miles away.”

To fight a war. The unspoken words hang deadly in the air between father and son. Neither looks at the dangerous sparkle of truth. Instead, they pretend for a moment that Mother is thousands of miles away doing something fun. That she is safe and happy.

 

They try not to remember because Mother cannot protect them this time.

 

Saluting the Gold Star Wives: Win a Free Ebook!

I got some great news in my email last week, and surprisingly, it was about politics. (Normally, politics is about as unromantic as you can get, right?) Simple resolution 67 designating April 5, 2013 as Gold Star Wives Day was passed in the Senate on Monday. The resolution was co-sponsored by Senator Richard Burr of my own state of North Carolina. While Mr. Burr and I disagree on many key points, I was thrilled that he was involved in this. So thrilled, in fact, I’ve decided to give away up to twenty ebooks.

In honor of our nation’s Gold Star Wives, I want your stories about your military hero. Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard…whatever. Tell me about him or her on my Facebook page. I plan to give out up to 20 free e-copies of Where the Heart Lies to those who comment. And if you’re not a military spouse, you can still help me salute those who are. Just send me a proof of purchase of Where the Heart Lies and I’ll donate my royalty to the Gold Star Wives of America. Send proof of purchase to michellegflye at gmail dot com.

Why Where the Heart Lies? Simple. Alicia, the heroine of Where the Heart Lies, is a Gold Star wife.

I tried to write Alicia to be a testament to the strength and courage of military spouses. The ones who carry on with the kids and school and paying bills and keeping life as normal as possible. I’ve often looked at friends who have spouses in Afghanistan and wondered, How do they do it?

The Gold Star Wives of America was started during World War II, when war widows were plentiful. It began in the kitchens of four young widows in New York City and grew from there when Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of the commander-in-chief, joined it. There are now chapters throughout the nation, eager to support the wives of the men who gave everything to the service of our nation.

On April 5 (and every day), let’s all take a breathing moment and remember the sacrifices this nation was built on…and support those who were left behind to carry on.

Where the Heart Lies on Amazon

Where the Heart Lies on Barnes & Noble

Where the Heart Lies on Carina Press

Good-bye Dixie

I had another post in mind for today, but my family had to say good-bye to a special friend and I felt she deserved a spot here. Dixie  was the first cat I could ever claim as my own, although I inherited and loved another one from my husband. She was eighteen years old this year. The reason I can remember so well is because my husband and I adopted her shortly after we returned from our honeymoon in June of 1995. I was very excited. We already had my husband’s cat, Woody, but Dixie was our first baby together.

As such, she needed an apt name. We had just been to Disney World for our honeymoon (another first for me), and I was still very much caught up in the magic of it. While there, we stayed at Dixie Landings, a Disney resort that has since been renamed. I loved that magical stay. I didn’t have to worry about anything. No car trouble, no work at a job I hated, no bills I couldn’t afford to pay or laundry I needed to do or noisy neighbors. Nothing but me and my husband. I loved every minute of it.

And so, when we got back and found the kitten I wanted to adopt, we named her Dixie.

Dixie was the cat of my dreams. Spunky and sweet from the very beginning, she even charmed Woody, who was a tiger in every other respect. But he and Dixie loved each other right up until he died six years ago. Since then, Dixie has shown her age a little. Don’t get me wrong. She was a queen right up until the end. Even today when I sat beside her expecting each breath to be her last, she was regal. Beautiful.

Good-bye, my tri-colored beauty, my muse, my confidante and companion. I’ll miss you.

What is at the heart of Where the Heart Lies

I’ve been concentrating so much on promoting Ducks in a Row recently, I’ve neglected my other book Where the Heart Lies, so I wanted to refresh your memory and mine about this book, which was, really, my first foray into the world of women’s fiction, even if it is classified as contemporary romance.

At its heart, Where the Heart Lies is a story about second chances. For military widow Alicia, for her husband Ty’s parents, for guilt-ridden and besotted Liam, for single mother Penny, for Penny’s fatherless daughter and for Alicia and Ty’s children. Even the bookstore Alicia takes over from her ailing father-in-law finds new life. I wrote this book because I believe in second chances for all of us. Remember the old adage about a window opening when a door closes? Sometimes we may feel like fate has screwed us over, but in the end, I hope we all find our way to the window that opened when the door slammed in our faces.

This is an excerpt from the beginning of Where the Heart Lies, available in ebook format from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Carina Press.

Ty lay his hand on her still flat belly. “It’s the perfect place to raise children. Boys and girls. There’s a pond for fishing and swimming. And the street is pretty quiet, so they can ride their bikes. The house is the perfect size—not too big. Just homey.”

Alicia laughed and rolled over, and his hand slid across her belly to her hip. “You might be a little prejudiced considering it’s your childhood home.”

He pulled her closer, kissing her, and her body responded to him as she always did. She loved his long, lean form and the way he touched her with such confidence. She drew away after a moment, unable to resist teasing him a little. “Are you sure it won’t be a little, um, inhibiting for you?”

“What do you mean?” He looked at her, uncomprehending, his hands caressing the backs of her thighs now, causing little rivers of pleasure to run through her veins.

She smiled wickedly at him, using all her self-control to keep from letting him know how pleasant his touch was. All part of the game. “Well, you know, being in the same bedroom your parents were in when they—oh, you know…”

He laughed and rolled over on top of her, pressing her down into the mattress and kissing her firmly and thoroughly. His lips left hers and trailed over her jaw and down her collarbone as he cupped her breasts. She gasped at his touch on her sensitive nipples and felt his mouth curve. His lips returned to her neck and he nibbled her earlobe. “Baby, as long as you’re there, I won’t have any trouble being inhibited,” he whispered.

Chapter One

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Alicia Galloway pulled her minivan into the driveway of her new home. The last time those words had popped into

her head had been the day Ty’s CO placed a neatly folded triangle of red, white and blue silk into her hands, and she knew the rest of her life wouldn’t be with her husband. She remembered staring at the flag, thinking about its thirteen symbolic folds.

Fold one is for life, fold two for eternal life. Fold three stands for our fallen veterans. Fold four is for the One who guides us in peace and war. Fold five is for our country and the sixth fold is for where our hearts lie…

She pulled away from the memory, her eyes tearing. Wiping the tears away, she looked around, trying not to be too cynical. “Hard to believe the rest of my

life begins here.”

Ducks in a Row reviewed: “Well-written and thought-provoking novel”

When I decided to self-publish Ducks in a Row, I had plenty of occasion for self-doubt. It’s not easy putting yourself out there, but it’s a lot easier if you’ve got a publisher behind you. A publisher is verification that there’s something in the words you wrote. Somebody else read your work and found it good. Self-published authors don’t have that.

But to sell books, you have to get them reviewed so people know about them, which means asking somebody for an honest opinion about your work. I’ve done that with several reviewers and I got my first real feedback today. Check it out:

Michelle Garren Flye does not hesitate to tackle some pretty uncomfortable subjects in Ducks in a Row. This well-written and thought-provoking novel provides a realistic look into how two people who love one another can find themselves on the verge of losing everything when they stop communicating and begin taking each other for granted.

Book Reviews and More by Kathy

Many thanks to Book Reviews and More by Kathy for the honest and insightful review. I learned a little about my book from your review, and that’s got to mean something. Plus, I finally feel that putting my story out there was the right thing.

The advent of Freddie Falcon Flye: My moment outside my comfort zone.

Yesterday I took a day off from my life as a fabulous writer of southern romance and women’s fiction, and the reason is pretty spectacular. Check him out:

Yes, that’s a cute little baby pup. He’s my birthday present. (My birthday, incidentally, is Friday.) I started out thinking I wanted a kitten for my birthday, because, honestly, I’m more of a cat person than a dog person. But then my path crossed this little pup’s, and it was love at first sight. Seriously, I fell in love with his picture. You see, he was an auction item at my kids’ school (hence the name, Freddie Falcon–named after the mascot), and I handled putting auction items on a Facebook page for the school. So I was ONE of the first to see Freddie’s baby picture. And I fell in love.

Here was the quandary. Freddie was not part of the silent auction. Silent auctions are easy. You pick a couple of things you’re interested in and write down your number and check back a couple of times to make sure you haven’t been outbid. Very simple for someone like me who doesn’t like to draw too much attention to herself and really isn’t comfortable at all in the limelight. I know what you’re saying. “Oh, come on. She writes romances. She takes stuff from her head, writes it down and publishes it for other people to read. And then she asks us to buy it. Now she wants us to believe she doesn’t really want us to pay attention to her?”

Yeah. But that’s different. It really is. Most of the time when I’m writing, it’s not like it’s coming from me at all. I mean, my heroines couldn’t be any different from me. I went from writing Alicia (Where the Heart Lies), who has to be my most courageous heroine to-date and way better of a person than me, to Cady (Ducks in a Row), a deeply flawed woman who is extremely selfish and someone I hope I’ll never be. Cady was fun to write, and I won’t deny I have some of her same foibles, but at times I really didn’t like her very much. And I wondered more than once if Alicia was a little too perfect. Her only real flaw was self-doubt.

So you can see that I don’t write my life story when I write. These characters are not me, and I always feel like they are the ones in the limelight. Live auctions require active participation and if you win a sought-after item, it’s you people are paying attention to. But I was in love with this little dog. What to do? I made a resolution to step outside my comfort zone. I try to do that every now and then anyway, so it’s nothing new, but this was really terrifying for me.

As luck would have it, I left the auction for a moment on an errand and came back after Freddie’s lot came up. I walked in, stood there frozen at the sight of the puppy picture I’d fallen so hard for on the screen. Moment of truth. Did I dare? My heart was pounding in my throat, I stood at the back of the auction, sick to my stomach, terrified, as the auctioneer called for bids. Then something in me snapped into place and my arm went up with my bid card. Oh my God, I did it!

But now I was in for it. The bids went on and the auctioneer called out again. I raised my hand, half afraid I was going to fall over in the too-high heels I’d worn. I longed for flipflops or even flats. I’m standing there in a cocktail dress in high heels participating in a live auction. Was this really me? I don’t wear cocktail dresses, and the only heels I wear are on my cowboy boots. My head whirled.

And then it came down to me and one other bidder. A couple of friends came to stand next to me for support. Maybe the other bidder loved that puppy, too. Probably she did. The parents of the kids who go to this school are wonderful people. No matter who bought him, he was going to be pampered and loved and played with. All these thoughts rushed through my pounding brain and I realized I’d lost track of the bidding. I whispered to my closest friend: Am I the high bidder? Not yet, she hissed back. My hand went up and Freddie was mine.

I am not joking when I tell you I still hadn’t recovered when they brought him to me and I held him for the first time, but the panic went away. I’d done it, and although it might seem like a small thing to anyone else, it felt like a huge triumph to me.

And that’s why I took yesterday off from almost everything. Everything except playing with my kids and my new dog, that is. We’ll call it a breathing moment.