Angela Kay Austin's Blog, page 5
January 29, 2020
The Importance of #Selfcare. #MentalHealthMatters #LiveFree
We’re all living busy lives. If we ever stopped to take a look at the calendar, we’d all probably wonder how we do it. I bet that if anyone asked, we all probably say similar things. “If I don’t do it, who will?” or “I have the time.” or “Why not?” or “I like staying busy.” Any of these sound familiar.
Recently, I met Pametria Dominise. A young entrepreneur on the rise. Not only is she an author, she’s an event coordinator. Her events #Selfcare #Sundays are events tailored to bring awareness to mental health matters. Panels filled with therapists enlighten participants about mental health concerns while vendors promote new natural healing products.
January 22, 2020
#LiveFree with Angela Griffin #ProjectHeaven #Perseverance
New Year, New You and all of that right. How many posts have I done like that. Too many. And how do you feel, if you have a list of twenty things and only accomplish one or two? I stopped making lists a long time ago, but the value of not giving up or the value of fighting for something you want isn’t lost on me.
Angela and I will discuss perseverance. I have written about seventeen books over the past eleven years. I write Women’s Fiction, but I do have a few Inspirational Fiction pieces. The definition for Inspirational Fiction varies. But a component is the ability of the characters to overcome adversity. Honestly, that sounds like every book I’ve written. But there’s also the factor of the “faith” element.
In those books, what is it that gives my characters the fortitude to not give up? What gives us the strength to not give up? Angela and will discuss this in my most recent podcast.
Click here to listen or visit your favorite podcast store.
January 15, 2020
#LiveFree with #AngelaKayAustin and #LauraTJohnson #DomesticViolence Survivor
Many of you know my friend Laura T. Johnson. She’s a survivor of domestic violence and author. In my opinion, her books capture the anguish of a woman who finds herself trapped in a relationship that although once as loving twisted into something different.
Her books make me cry, and they make me angry. I share this with Laura each time we meet because it’s hard to see women in such vulnerable positions. Once upon a time, I worked with survivors of rape and domestic violence and I remember their faces. The faces of their children.
Laura’s books make you champion for the women, hate the men and wish that people didn’t hurt each other.
January 8, 2020
#LiveFree with #AngelaKayAustin @ Black Author Christmas Expo 2019
TN Representative G.A. Hardaway and USA Today Bestselling Author Latrivia Welch held the first annual Black Author Christmas Expo. It was an great opportunity for local authors to gather and discuss their individual paths/reasons for publishing. We also talked about why we’re self-published vs traditional publishing houses.
Every author has their own story to tell, but if you speak to any of us, we’ll tell you it wasn’t exactly easy getting published. At some point in our careers, we had to decide what kind of author we wanted to be. Do we want to continue to submit to traditional houses and wait? Or, do we want to learn how to do it on our own and what does that mean?
January 6, 2020
#LiveFree with #AngelaKayAustin and #Kassanna discuss diversity in #writing
If you’ve been paying attention to anything in the world of writing or Romance, you’ve heard about the concerns around diversity in writing. Join me and my friend Kassanna as we discuss this and more.
To listen to this podcast and others, click here, or visit your favorite podcast store!
Don’t forget to follow Kassanna on FaceBook or check out her website to learn more about the Interracial Reader and Author Expo.
January 1, 2020
New Start for the #NewYear #Podcast and #Vlog
Like everyone else, with the start of a New Year, I take a look back at the old one. What did I accomplish? What didn’t I accomplish? I can’t necessarily say it’s always a good thing because some times, you don’t think you’ve accomplished anything. But…anyway, we still do it.
Last year, I became a USA Today Bestselling Author. I made a crap-ton new author friends as well as lost a few friends who I thought were tried and true. I’ve written a few new pieces that will come out over the next few months of the new year, as well as re-released a few old pieces. The journey of being a self-published author is crazy tricky and can be difficult. Doing it alone is no way to go. Which is why I’ve started something different for me. A podcast and vlog.
Live Free! is my addition to this world. The podcast and vlog will focus on books and travel. Is that a weird mix? Each week, we’ll discuss books, not always in a direct manner, the whole this book that is written by this author…blah blah. We will have author interviews, but I want to focus on the art of books and what it means. We’ll talk about writing, events,self-publishing , the writing muse, etc. Each week we’ll hopefully find a unique or interesting way to discuss books.
The vlog will be available on my YouTube Channel! The podcast will be available via your favorite podcast outlet, or you can check it out here?
May 5, 2019
#USATODAY Bestselling Author – Now What? #Crossroads #Anthology
So, uhh…yeah, that just happened! My friends and I hit the fricking #USA TODAY Bestseller’s List. What does that mean? Wow! It means that ten years of writing meant something. It means that ten years of Indie Publishing and small press publishing wasn’t wasted. Thank you to the amazing women (and men) whom I’ve met on my journey who challenged, trained and welcomed me into their writing world! Sometimes writing can be a solitary thing, but it doesn’t mean that as a writer I live a solitary life.
I am grateful to everyone who was a part of this journey.
Readers: Well, obvi! But I think it’s more than you purchase a book. It’s about the fact that you take a chance. It took many years before I read a book by someone who wasn’t someone I became familiar with while in college. And most of the authors I read looked like me. But then a funny thing happened along the way, I became braver and braver and read books by anyone who had an interesting story that I wanted to read.
Publishers: Thank you! In my time, I’ve had three publishers. Because of them , I learned the industry in an effort to understand how to assist in marketing my work. Overtime, my relationships with publishers morphed and changed. As a result, my need to understand marketing changed.
Writing Tribe: Okay. There have been many who have been a part of my tribe, but what’s been most important about each of them is that they were welcoming and shared. They taught me about formatting, editing, cover art, distribution, etc. Most importantly, they taught me not to give up!
Ten years is a long time. I am overwhelmed and grateful!
Now what? New York Times? Plays? Movies?
February 12, 2019
#Crossroads Valentine’s Day Blog Hop #Crossroads #Anthology
Broken Road: Absolution
To Be Forgiven, You Must Forgive Yourself.
Elizabeth Marie Mitchell was abandoned by her husband. A single mother with a teenage daughter, she had no choice but to survive. She had to survive for both herself and her daughter.
What happens when your daughter is harmed and it’s your fault?
Charles Mitchell ignored his heart and his responsibilities as a man, a father and a husband. Now, he has lost everything that matters. He wasn’t there when they needed him, but he’ll never fail them again.
What happens when you have the chance to be the man you were meant to be, the man you know you can be?
What will Elizabeth and Charles do for the love of their daughter Kelly Ann?
Broken Road will be a part of the #Crossroads #Anthology. I’ve joined with some of the coolest women in the world to be a part of something that we believe is important. We’ve joined together to show diversity in #Romance. If you believe it’s as important as we do, click on the heart below to support us!
Join 21 bestselling and award-winning authors as they bring you action, adventure and drama in these 20 #multigenre stories that will keep you entertained even after you finish the books. #Preorder #99cents
Before you go, be sure to to post below. I will give away a FREE copy of one of my books to the person who can post below and tell me the title of two books by two authors included in the anthology!
Contest rules: Must be able to accept prize through Amazon US, must post your answer by Midnight Central Time (U.S.A.) on February 15, 2019. Three prizes will be awarded. The prize cannot be Crossroads
The book provided will be in ebook format.
August 19, 2018
Check out something from #LeslieHachtel
Leslie Hachtel was born in Ohio, raised in New York and has been a gypsy most of her adult life. Her various jobs, including licensed veterinary technician, caterer, horseback riding instructor for the disabled and advertising media buyer have given her a wealth of experiences.
However, it has been writing that has consistently been her passion. She sold an episode of a TV show, had a screenplay optioned and has so far produced eleven novels, including eight historicals and three romantic suspense. Leslie lives in Cordova, Tennessee with a fabulously supportive engineer husband and her writing buddy, Jakita, a terrier.
Here’s the blurb for her latest work.
What if your family sold you to a Sultan’s Harem? Drugged and kidnapped, Shera finds herself on a ship to Morocco to serve the Sultan. Abandoned and alone, Shera must find a way to escape and confront the people who betrayed her. She gets help from an unlikely source: the man who kidnapped her. But, he has his own secrets. And, when their partnership turns to love, the two must face constant danger to endure. But will they ever be free?
If you want to join in on Leslie’s Rafflecopter giveaway, click on the link below.
August 20, 2017
Hey wait! Did I tell you about Hong Kong?
Did I tell you guys that I went to Hong Kong? If you follow me on FaceBook, then I know you already know, but for those of you who check in on me through my newsletter or through Twitter, you may not have heard as of yet, but I went to Hong Kong. Let me just say that my new favorite food is BBQ pork buns. You can take the girl out of the south, but apparently you can’t take the south out of the girl. You put tasty BBQ port inside of tasty sweet dough, and wham – one of the best things ever. Maybe my future husband is a Hong Konger, and his mother will make me a plate of tasty BBQ pork buns every day! I’m just saying.
Here’s a pic of me in Hong Kong. Be sure that you sign up for my newsletter to see more, also, if you like giveaways…you should really sign up. Why miss out on fantastic giveaways and pictures!
Thank you for stopping by to check out my blog!!!
