Pembroke Sinclair's Blog, page 9

Exclusively for the Holidays

If you’re looking for a unique item for a person on your list, consider buying them a signed book from an indie author. It also encourages reading and the exploration of new worlds. It’s something you won’t be able to find anywhere else (unless you talk to another indie author, but then the books will be different).

I have a few paperbacks floating around the house that I am willing to part with. I’ve included pictures and pricing below (shipping only available in the U.S.). If you are interested in any of my other books that you want signed, you’ll have to let me know by December 5th so I can get them ordered and shipped in time for Christmas.

The order form is at the bottom of this post. Eegads! It’s hard to believe Christmas is almost here!

Undead Obsessed , nonfiction - $8
Humanity's Hope , young adult zombies - $8
Life After the Undead series , young adult zombies Life After the Undead (book 1)  - $8Death to the Undead (book 2)  - $8Both books - $15
Road to Salvation series , young adult demonsThe Appeal of Evil (book 1) - $7Dealing with Devils (book 2) - $7Good Intentions (book 3) - $7All books - $18
The Ifs series , middle grade fantasyThe Ifs (book 1) - $6The Ifs Return (book 2) - $6Undead Ifs (book 3) - $6All books - $12

Life Lessons from Slasher Films , nonfiction, academicThis book is usually very expensive, but I will be offering it to interested individuals for $35.

Funny…and a Little Disturbing

Last week, there was a post on IFL Science about an AI site that creates and shares inspirational posters. The sayings aren’t exactly uplifting, but the results can be incredibly amusing.
I decided to see what type of inspirational posters would be created for me, and I was both amused and a slightly disturbed. Here’s what I got.





Personally, I like the shark one the best.  The picture is creepy, but the quote isn’t too off the wall. It’s almost encouraging!

I had to stop myself after awhile because it was like a train wreck. I felt like I could sit there for the vast majority of the day being amused and repulsed by the posters that the AI came up with. If you want to check it our for yourself, you can find it here .

If you get something really amazing or really disturbing, let me know!

I had to generate one more after adding the link to this post. Here’s what I got. Hahahahahahahaha!

Let's Take a Poll!

The Holidays Are Coming to Get You

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s November. For my American friends, that means that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. After that (for those who celebrate) comes Christmas and then New Year’s. These last few months often fly by incredibly quickly—and they can be stressful.

Don’t forget to take some time to relax and unwind in the next few months. With the weather getting colder and days getting shorter, it’s the perfect excuse to curl up with a good book and snuggle under a blanket. Take the time to slow down and take some deep breaths.

I’m going to find lots of time to take advantage of reading over the next couple of months. I’m also going to do my best to get some writing done. It’s been occurring in fits and starts, so I assume it will continue that way. Eventually, I’ll get this book finished. Eventually.

With the holidays upon us, I have a ton of paperbacks floating around that I will be putting on sale. I’ll also be doing some giveaways for audiobook codes. If any of that sounds intriguing, stay tuned. More info will be forthcoming.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, friends! I hope you have a night full of fun and frights planned. I will be trick-or-treating with my boys.

Until then, shall we play a game? Leave your titles in the comments!

Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Giveaway

I’ve teamed up with 25+ fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of Young Adult Sci Fi & Fantasy novels to 2 lucky winners, PLUS a brand new eReaderto the Grand Prize winner!

Oh, and did I mention you'll receive a collection of FREE reads just for entering?

You can win my novel, The Appeal of Evil , plus books from authors like Brenda Hiatt , Matthew Mather , and Cidney Swanson .

Enter the giveaway by clicking here .

Good luck and enjoy!

Katie wants to invest her heart and soul in love, but she may lose both to Hell.

Katie, a senior in high school, is torn between loving the "good" guy, her childhood friend Wes who makes promises he doesn't keep and abandons her when she needs him the most, and the "bad" guy, the new kid at school Josh who is also a real demon from Hell. Katie wants someone who pays attention to her and puts her first, but what is she willing to give up to find him?


Find out in book one of this thrilling young adult paranormal romance by Pembroke Sinclair.

Some Days You Can’t GIVE Your Books Away

It’s no secret that the publishing world is challenging. It’s hard to find an agent. It’s tough to find a publisher. It’s difficult to sell your book. It’s exhausting looking for readers to leave reviews.

There are, of course, options in the publishing world to get your book into the hands of readers, and that includes self-publishing. However, that avenue doesn’t guarantee sales or reviews . And some days, you’ll find that you can’t even give your books away.

For some, this can be an incredibly disheartening prospect. After all, the whole reason you wrote the book was for others to read and enjoy it. You also deserve to be compensated for your time and effort.

There are so many books available on the market —millions to be exact—and being found can be incredibly difficult. It’s like trying to find a book in a stack of books. But don’t be discouraged. There is more than one way to find a book in a book stack.

Keep plugging along and asking readers to read/review your book. Keep writing and putting more books out there. Have giveaways. Have contests. Be active at your local library. Be on panels at conventions and conferences. Donate books to schools (if that’s appropriate). Put your books on sale every now and again.

Even though you won’t be able to give your books away some days, that doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel. Find new ways to get your information out to the world. Keep trying. Keep putting yourself out there. Eventually, your efforts will pay off. Here’s to that day!

Finding Time to Read

This week marks the celebration of Teen Read Week 2018 . The goal is to get teens and kids to read, and this year’s theme is “It’s Written in the Stars: READ.” As I’m sure you can imagine, the goal is for teens to find books written in the science fiction or fantasy genre, but they are also encouraged to find any story that is “out of this world.”

I think this is an amazing celebration, and I’m more than happy to encourage readers in any way possible. As an author with stories of her own, that encouragement will come in the form of free books. If you’d like a chance to win some free signed paperbacks (open to U.S. shipping only), then comment below and let me know which book of mine you’d like to read and why. Winners will be chosen on October 14, so leave a way for me to contact you.

The vast majority of my books are written in the young adult (YA) genre. I have a few middle grade and adult stories, but YA is really where my passion lies. I enjoy creating characters that are a little naïve and angsty. It gives them a chance to grow and make discoveries about the world they live in. They are allowed to have their flaws, and that really appeals to me.

It’s been a long time since I was a teen, but I remember it was tough to find time to read for enjoyment. Between school, homework, and sports, I didn’t have a lot of downtime to just lose myself in a book. If I wanted to read, I had to make time.

The books that appealed to me the most when I was growing up where those written by Christopher Pike. He was one of my all-time favorite authors, and his stories weren’t overly long. If I wanted to, I could read an entire book in one sitting. If I didn’t have that kind of time, I could fit it in to multiple sessions. But in the end, the books were quick, easy, entertaining, and fit into my schedule.

I’ve tried to incorporate the same elements into my own stories. I want them to be entertaining, quick, easy, and not burdensome. Don’t get me wrong: there’s nothing wrong with incredibly long books and series. They can be quite entertaining and keep a reader engrossed for long amounts of time. Personally, I prefer something different.

Reading is an important part of life. It teaches us so much and gives us a chance to unwind and relax. Everyone should make time to read, especially teens and kids. It will benefit them later in life —and it’s a lot of fun to do.

Because I Drive the Jurassic Park Jeep

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted a Wrangler. I have memories of my across-the-street neighbors having a red one for a short amount of time, and I loved riding in it and couldn’t wait until I was old enough to have my own. A Wrangler was the first vehicle I bought on my own, but it was only a two door, so I had to give it up when I found out I was having a kid.

I waited patiently until I could get another one, and that patience paid off. Unfortunately, life took a turn for the worse and I had to give up the Rubicon I had bought. Still, I knew that the Jeep drought wouldn’t last forever, and—again—my patience paid off.

For my birthday, my kids bought me decals so that I could make my newest Rubicon look like the Jurassic Park Jeep. I’m a huge fan of those movies , and this allows my vehicle to be personalized and all mine. I love how it looks, and I enjoy driving it around. It’s fun to watch people scrutinize the stickers and then see their faces light up when the realize what they say. 

Because I drive the Jurassic Park Jeep, when my spouse’s dealership had a Jeep show, I knew I had to do something fun. It wasn’t enough to have the Jeep parked on the lot with the stickers, so I created games (people had to shoot the blowup dinosaurs with a dart gun) and had a giveaway (people had the chance to register for a chance to win one of two plush dinosaurs). My boys even agreed to wear the blow up dinosaur costumes (not that it took a lot of convincing)—and they had a lot of fun. 


It’s a lot of fun driving the Jurassic Park Jeep, and I want others to see just how much I enjoy it.
There were a lot of other cool Jeeps at the show, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. 

When Publishing Goes Awry

For anyone who has taken the journey to become a published author, you know how tough the road can be. Rejection lurks around every corner. Doubt and lack of self-confidence slowly creeps in. You wonder if writing is really the profession for you.

Then, you get that wonderful, magical email that someone wants your book. They tell you how much they loved it and can’t wait to get it into the world for others to enjoy. You find yourself on cloud 9, loving life and reaffirmed that you really are a writer.

Finding a publisher is the best feeling in the world. It gives you validation that what you’ve created is liked by others. But finding a publisher isn’t the be all end all in the publishing game. Things can go wrong. The journey can once again get bumpy.

The relationship between author and publisher should be professional. There should be mutual respect on both sides—after all, neither one of us can exist without the other (unless, of course, you self publish, but that has pros and cons associated with it also). If one person isn’t holding up their end of the deal, the relationship will fail.

Even if an author does their research and due diligence to find the right publisher, things can still change. That publisher may change hands, editor turnover might be high, etc. However, through all of the tough times, the company should stay transparent and let the authors know exactly what is going on. If nothing else, they should stick to the contract and fulfill the duties outlined there.

The author is also expected to adhere to the contract and follow through with expectations. That’s why the contract is in place: to protect the author and the publisher. However, when one party doesn’t uphold their end, then something needs to happen.

I get it: you waited so long for a publisher to come along and say they want your book. You’re willing to put up with a little bit of nonsense here and there because the publisher wanted your book! It’s fine that the deadline was missed for it to be available to the reading public. It’s still coming out—eventually. It’s fine that royalty reports haven’t been sent in 6 months. The publisher is just busy and will get to them eventually.

While it’s totally up to the author how much they are willing to put up with when it comes to publisher shenanigans, keep in mind that you don’t deserve to be treated like crap. The contract you signed with the publisher is always your reference for the way you and they are supposed to behave. If they’ve breached it in any form, you have the opportunity to get out and find someone new.

Again, I totally understand that the prospect of looking for another publisher seems awful—and maybe a bit like you’ve failed somewhere along the way. Plus, who’s going to take a book that’s already been published (if it actually has) because then they don’t get first publishing rights? And I like the cover. And the publisher is just a little behind, but once they get caught up, everything is going to be amazing.

As I said, it’s up to the author to decide how much they are willing to put up with from a publisher, and I understand the fear and loathing that comes with re-querying to find a new home for a book. But look at it from a business perspective : if you were selling toys or clothes or whatever and the distributor was jerking you around, would you put up with it? Would you say that it was okay because they’d eventually get their poop in a group? Probably not. You’d probably say forget you and find someone who was actually willing to work with you and sell your goods.

Yeah, you say, but there are way more toy and clothing distributors than publishers. That may be, but that doesn’t mean the publishers can treat you poorly. Again, it has to be a business decision on their end too . They picked your book because they thought it would bring them revenue, but that only happens if they publish it. They can’t sell something they haven’t published. If they aren’t willing to do that, how are they going to make money? They won’t be in business for long—that’s for sure.

At the end of the day, the relationship between an author and a publisher has to be professional and it has to be based on business decisions. It may be tough to walk away from the one person/company who said they wanted to publish your book, but if they aren’t actually publishing it or if you have no idea how many copies have sold, how can you stay in business? You have to know what’s going on to know that your efforts are worth it.

Walking away from a publisher doesn’t make you a terrible person. It means that you are looking out for your business interest and doing what you have to do to be successful. Is it easy? No. Will there be issues down the road? Maybe. But, again, refer to the contract to find out what is expected of you and of them and fix any issues that arise—even if that means walking away.

When all else fails and you’re not sure what to do, talk to a lawyer or other professional , show them the contract. They can help you decide what’s best for the business.