Christine Rains's Blog, page 109

Teaser Tuesday with Grave Memory

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!I've been waiting for this one ever since I read the first two books in the series. Grave Memory by Kalayna Price is a paranormal romance where the protagonist is on more than friendly terms with Death himself. And he's quite gorgeous!
Here's your teaser:
I no longer feared my magic had gone awry. Everything the shade said confirmed what the ghost told me in my office. (page 53)

SFWA approved markets

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) is one of the most well known and well respected of the world's writers organizations. This year, it has been one of my goals to get a story accepted by a SFWA approved venue. I haven't had any luck yet, but I'm going to keep trying. Once I have one story accepted, I qualify to be an Associate Member. Three sales grant you Active membership.

I currently have one short story with an approved venue and I'm waiting on the verdict. Plus, I've written my story for this month and I'll be sending it out to another one. I'll keep trying even if I don't make it this year. Even if I earn Active membership, I'll keep submitting!

Here are some SFWA approved short story markets in case you're looking to join the SFWA too. Good luck in all your writing endeavors!
AE (guidelines)  – NEWAnalog Science Fiction and Fact (guidelines)Apex (starting with June 2008 issue) (guidelines)Asimov’s Science Fiction (guidelines)Beneath Ceaseless Skies (guidelines)Brutarian (guidelines)Bull Spec (guidelines)Cemetery Dance (guidelines)Chizine (guidelines)Cicada (guidelines)Clarkesworld Magazine (guidelines)Cosmos (guidelines (PDF))Cricket (guidelines)Daily Science Fiction (guidelines)Dragon (guidelines)EscapePod (guidelines) — NEWFlash Fiction Online (guidelines)Grantville Gazette (starting with May 2007 issue) (guidelines)Highlights — (guidelines)Lightspeed Magazine — (guidelines)The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (guidelines)Nature (guidelines)Odyssey (guidelines)Orson Scott Card’s InterGalactic Medicine Show (guidelines)The Pedestal Magazine (guidelines)Redstone Science Fiction (guidelines)Strange Horizons (guidelines)Subterranean Magazine (no guidelines available; no unsolicited subs)Tor.com (guidelines)

One Lovely Blog Award

Thank you very much to the marvelous Clare Dugmorefor this award.
This one has been going around a lot lately. We all know the drill by now. Seven random facts.
1) I decorated for Halloween already. My son is uninterested in the decorations, but my husband keeps telling me there's too many!
2) I sometimes randomly start talking with a Canadian, British, or southern US accent. Most of those times, I don't notice unless someone points it out.
3) Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love seeing people in costumes!
4) I was a vegetarian for 15 years until I got pregnant. Now I crave meat a lot.
5) I shampooed my carpet and took great satisfaction in how it looked. Never in my life would I've thought I would ever think such a thing! I'm not the domestic type.
6) I hate wearing belts.
7) My husband refuses to speak in his Severus Snape voice while we're in bed together. That's no fun!
I pass on this award to all of you who have seven more random facts you'd like to share!

Winners of the Birthday Bash giveaway

Thank you so much to everyone for the birthday wishes. I love this community! You guys are awesome.
I also want to give a big thank you to Aubrie Dionne who gifted me with a blog tour for FEARLESS from Shades of Rose Marketing. It's set for the week of the 22nd. I have the banner with the link on my sidebar.
The winners of the Birthday Bash giveaway are:Summer Ross
and
Jeremy Bates

Congratulations!
I'll be in contact with you shortly.

Jeremy did ask if he won, the book be donated to charity or the library.
I'm going to the library today or tomorrow.
I've always wondered what you had to do to donate.

Birthday Bash and Fearless Giveaway

It's that time of year again.CAKE!
Please join me for a piece of cake and a drink.I'm excited and likely on a sugar high.
Today I'm giving away two signed copies of FEARLESS.
I'll send them anywhere in the world.All you have to do is commentand leave your email address.I'll choose the winners with Random.org.
You have 24 hours.I'll be posting the winners tomorrow.Good luck!

L'il Gal Al and the Zombies of Amarillo

Scrawny cowgirl vs. zombies
L'il Gal Al is a dime-store western with bite. A little cheesy and gory, and full of southern twang.

Blurb:
Alma Sweeney might be scrawny, but the last yahoo that called her "L'il Gal Al" got shot in the foot.

Using her frontier skills to protect travelers and businesses alike, Alma escorts a group of settlers into Amarillo, a town with too many yellow flowers, drunks, and zombies. Within minutes of her arrival, she finds herself doing the sheriff's job. He's a nice enough fellow, but a little green, and he has no clue how to stop the horror dragging itself into his town.

Lucky for the sheriff, he has Alma. Her first night in town yanks her into a foul mystery. Zombies walk the streets and people are driven from their homes and businesses. Alma thinks it easily solved, but in the desert, things aren't always as they seem. The clock is ticking and the zombies are swarming. Alma needs to know where to point her gun or else be torn into pieces.

Did I surprise you with a western horror? This is nothing like the paranormal romance I usually write. It's fun to write outside of your genre now and then, though. I also love old west stories with a twist. Maybe some steampunk, the supernatural, or an alien. Let your imagination take you to places beyond the dusty old saloon.
I hope to have this novelette out in a couple of weeks. I'll be offering it for free. A Halloween treat for you.
Don't forget to join me tomorrow for the big Birthday Bash and giveaway!

Insecure Writer's Support Group for October 2012

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.
I'm skipping my usual Wicked Wednesday post because I feel I've been lacking substance in them lately. Actually, I feel like I'm not doing enough blogging and networking. Yes, yes, look how many posts I've been putting up and I have a ton scheduled for this month, but I've cut back on my time spent online and I feel badly for it.
I need to write. I'm sure everyone understands that. I want to increase my productivity and for that, I need time away from the internet. While I'm forgiving of anyone else that says such a thing on their blog, I find it difficult to forgive myself. It's not unusual that I hold myself to different standards than other people. I know as a writer, the most important thing I need to do is write. I need to balance it with everything else in my life. Logic has no place amongst emotions, though.
Do you hold yourself to different standards than you do other people?

Teaser Tuesday with Break Out

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!Outer space and vampires. Need I say more than that? Break Out by Nina Croft is the first in the Blood Hunter novels.
Here's your teaser:
This was her first time on a pirate ship, and she was impressed despite herself. She'd been expecting something a little bit seedy. (page 23)

He Came For Mine now available

He Came For Mine Book Two in The Protector SeriesBy C.M. Brown
Available as and eBook at:
SmashwordsandAmazonPrice: $2.99
Add He Came For Mine to your TBR list on Goodreads
For the next two weeks Carolyn is holding a Rafflecopter Draw on her Blog, to celebrate the following three reasons:
The release of Book Two in the Protector Series2.   One full year of Blogging!

&

3.   Twelve months since the launch of Book One in The Protector Series!

Prizes will include:
One $20 AUD (Australian Dollars) Amazon Gift Card
One free eBook of Book Two in The Protector Series, He Came For Mine!
One free book cover illustration by Rebekah Romani
TO ENTER CLICK HERE!
Also, during the two week launch
Book One, in The Protector Series
He Came For Mewill be free as an eBook
to download
from
Smashwords

JUST USE THIS CODE: 
RF83E


Synopsis:
This book continues the story of Jazz and Sebastian's fated love affair.  Sebastian abandoned Jazz at the end of book one and returns to his home world of Aidensdein, which was burned to the ground when Jazz escaped from his nemesis Brennan.  He is kept busy rebuilding the city and restoring order to his people.
Unfortunately, Jazz is left alone to transform into a part-vampire and deliver their child on her own.  Seb, of course does not know that she is even pregnant when he leaves her.  As Jazz tries to survive the changes to her own body and raise a young vampire, she finds herself being drawn into a relationship with someone who looks very much like Seb.  Can she trust this stranger, or should she be wary?

You can connect with Carolyn
c.m.brown.books@gmail.com
http://cmbrown-books.blogspot.com.au/
Facebook
Twitter

Sunday Peek

Good morning! I haven't seen you in a while. It's been a long and busy week, but I had a lot of fun. My mom's gone back to Canada now, and I'm trying to get the household back in order. If I could sleep for a week, that would help a lot too.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by this past week even though I haven't had the time to return any comments. I hope to catch up on my blogs this coming week.

Lots of exciting things coming up! This Friday is my big Birthday Bash giveaway. You could win a signed print copy of FEARLESS. All you have to do is comment on the post on Friday. It'll only run 24 hours. Make sure you don't miss it. Tell your friends. Or maybe you don't want to tell your friends to increase your chances of winning!

I'll also be revealing the cover for a new novelette I'll be releasing this month on Thursday. It's a horror and just in time for Halloween.

Autumn is here. Yay! I have my new Acer Aspire One. Yay! For some reason, my laptop wants me to call him Jack. I don't know why, but I'm not about to argue. I usually don't name gadgets, but Jack has a lot of personality packed in his small body!

I finally saw The Avengers. Hulk stole the show! I've given up on the new NBC show, Revolution. I couldn't stand the young actors. I recorded Elementary, and I hope to get a chance to watch it soon. Last night was the fall finale of Doctor Who. No more Ponds! I'm pouting. I might not mourn Amy too much, but Rory. He grew on me.