Christine Rains's Blog, page 98

Two days until The Dragonslayer blog tour

It's almost time for the big Dragonslayer blog tour. I'm excited to have several wonderful people host me on their blogs this coming week.
Feb. 13th - Kyra Lennon, Nicole Singer, and Damyanti
 Feb. 14th - Cherie Reich, Nick Wilford, Chris Andrews, and Lynda R. Young
 Feb. 15th - Mary Pax, Clare Dugmore, Anna Abner, and Gwen Gardner
 Feb. 16th - Medeia Sharif and TF Walsh
 Feb. 17th - Aubrie Dionne and M. Pepper Langlinais    
I'll be having a giveaway on Aubrie's blog the final day where you could win digital copies of all the published books in the series so far and an ARC of the fourth book, 1304 - The Harbinger. Be prepared for the cover reveal of that book on the 18th.
The Dragonslayer is already available on all the sites. Grab yourself a copy and enjoy!
Amazon
Smashwords
B&N
Kobo

Friday Five for Feburary 8, 2013

1. What a week! I learned how to format ebooks. It was intimidating at first, but it's really not that horrible. Tedious, yes, but just like uploading your book to purchase sites, once you get a hang of it, it feels a lot easier. Thank you so much for your help, Cherie! (She's brilliant, you know!)
2. I loaded my newly formatted files of The Dragonslayer to the purchase sites. Everything looked beautiful. What a relief! Smashwords and Amazon already have theirs up. It feels good to have those done. I also have everything ready for the big blog tour next week from the 13th - 17th. Lots of fun posts and a big giveaway! Then The Harbinger cover reveal on the 18th.
3. I'm 25% done with the next book in the 13th Floor series. It's very different than the other books. The action is more verbal than physical. I hope to be halfway done by the end of the weekend and then finish the rest next week. Yes, I'm a fast writer, and I'm aiming for 20,000 words, give or take a few thousand.
4. My little guy is sick this week. Poor fellow. He made it through school yesterday, and when I arrived to pick him up, he threw up. Well, at least the teacher didn't have to deal with the ickiness. I'd feel bad if she did.
5. Don't forget the next W4WS event is on the 18th. We'll be featuring Melissa Bradley and Gwen Gardner this month. Sign up on the linky list and help out your fellow writers. It's fast and simple. A tweet, a RT, or share a link on Facebook.
Have a great weekend!

The Second Sign launch info

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THE SECOND SIGN
Dark YA Paranormal Romance
Sapphire Star Publishing


Bred to believe in the war between angels and demons, Gabby has come to the conclusion that love is responsible for war, jealousy, and all the other deadly sins she can think of. So when she’s exiled to the middle of nowhere for getting kicked out of her fifth school for fighting, she doesn’t expect to meet Jake. Much less fall in love. But Jake is quickly drawn to the eerie beauty of her violet eyes while Gabby is unsettled by their undeniable connection.

When a demon guardian comes to collect her soul, she refuses to give it up. She’s not a demon. She can’t be. Her father and twin brother are angels. The demon gives Gabby twenty-four hours to decide her allegiance, and then starts killing her short list of friends, leaving a message behind: She is the Second Sign.
As Gabby and Jake begin to unravel the mystery behind the Second Sign, she learns Jake may be the key to saving her soul. But it means a sacrifice has to be made that will change their lives forever.

Buy The Second Sign at Amazon and B&N.



About the Author

Elizabeth has worked in the community for the bulk of her professional career. She enjoys quiet moments, action flicks, and dancing with her four-year-old.  THE SECOND SIGN is her debut novel. You can find more information about Elizabeth at:

Website: http://www.elizabetharroyo.com.
Blog: http://chandarawrites.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elizabetharroyo.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EArroyo5

Watch trailer at http://youtu.be/omcmt6q8PIw

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Insecure Writer's Support Group - February 2013

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've read a lot of magnificent stories about adversity and perseverance this week. It was what I had planned on writing about this month, but I'm going to go for something a little different. We have those big victories and those are great moments. Yet there are those little warm and fuzzy moments that help us too.

I'm going to share some of my warm and fuzzy writer moments with you:

A silly comment by one of your critique partners that makes you laugh out loud.

A good review from a reader who randomly came across your book.

Finishing the final draft of revisions and eating those M&Ms you've been saving for that moment.

A stranger tweets how much they're in love with your book covers.

Your beta reader says you've surprised them yet again.

An encouraging comment from a blog follower who says just the right thing at just the right time.

What are some of your warm and fuzzy writer moments?

Teaser Tuesday with Halfway to the Grave

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!This is the first book of Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, and it's been on my TBR list a long time. Why oh why haven't I read this before? What a delectable paranormal romance. The protagonist is named Cat and she's typical of heroines in this genres. Her lover Bones, on the other hand, is one of the hottest vampires I've come across. I might have a new favorite hero.
Here's your teaser:
"No," I answered, and shoved the stake into Sergio's heart. My hand went into his chest with the momentum and I jerked back, shaking his thick dark blood off in disgust. "I'm done talking to him." (page 85)

The Overcoming Adversity Bloghop

The wonderful Nick Wilford is hosting this fantastic bloghop. Nick's stepson Andrew has cerebral palsy and is coming to the end of his time at his current school. Unfortunately post-18, things don't look quite so good in Scotland. Andrew was basically told he would be attending Motherwell College (no element of choice), where he would be doing the "Access-8" course which more or less amounts to daycare (fingerpainting and the like), nothing that was going to push him to develop, or end up with a career. Nick's family would like to send Andrew to Beaumont College in Lancaster. Andrew has visited the school and it offers amazing facilities like Eye Gaze technology which would enable Andrew to use his eyes to select from different phrases and communicate much more effectively. He is interested in following a film editing course. The main issue is fundraising, and for that, Nick has created The "Overcoming Adversity" bloghop. With flash pieces and poetry written by the participants, Nick will create an anthology to put up for sale on Amazon. The sales will go to Andrew's college fund.

The rules are simple:
1) Sign up on the linky list.
2) Please write about overcoming adversity and keep your entry to 500 words.
3) Please post on February 4th or 5th. 
4) Keep it family-friendly.

Here's my contribution:

NEVER TOO OLD
By Christine Rains

I was expecting it when they called my name, but my hands still shook with hearing it. The crowd broke out into applause as I stood. Perhaps I should've felt big amongst the hundreds of people, but I still felt small. Not like a grain of sand on a beach, but more like a shell gleaming with a rainbow of colors.
Glancing at my walker, I didn't want to use it as I walked to the stage. I wanted to make it on my own two feet. Yet the first step reminded me this old body didn't have the strength.
My grandson hopped up and came to loop my arm through his. He winked and grinned. Not his usual mischievous one, but one of pride. It was worth everything for that alone. I squeezed his forearm, and we walked to the stage together.
The presenter was a young woman. No more than thirty. She was a best-selling author with several books under her belt. I had one.
We shook hands as she said her congratulations and passed on the award. I put the bulky trophy on the podium. A speech was expected. I'd gone over the words a thousand times in my head. None seemed right. I was a mother of five and a grandmother of eleven. I never worked and I never went to school. I feared my few words of wisdom would be lost on this crowd.
“Thank you.” I cleared my throat and spoke louder into the microphone. “Thank you, everyone. It's an honor to be here today and receive this wonderful award.”
Everyone was silent. I wet my lips. “I'll keep this short and sweet. I'm a bit flushed, but goodness knows I could use another glass of wine right now.” There were a few chuckles, but they helped relax me. “Five years ago, the only stories I knew were ones other people read to me. And while I did appreciate them taking time to read to an old woman, they couldn't read fast enough for my liking. So I thought, why wait for them? I need to do something about it myself.
“Two years later, I could finally read stories to my grandkids. A joy I cannot begin to describe. And then I thought, why stop there? You've got bunches of stories in your head. Share them with your grandkids, with all the kids.” I swallowed, still feeling that desire.
“I heard a lot of laughter. Not at what I wrote, but at me. People told me I was too old. Their protests were fueled when they discovered I just learned to read and write. They claimed I couldn't possibly write anything worthy to be published.” I patted the trophy. “Well, maybe this old woman didn't hear them right. I went on and did it anyway.”
The crowd stood as they applauded with a near deafening roar. My heart fluttered as I smiled. Maybe they could appreciate an old woman's story of perseverance.

"Red" now up on 365 Tomorrows

My science-fiction flash piece, "Red" is now up on 365 Tomorrows.
I now have 20 short stories published. Wow. I can still remember trying to get one published somewhere. I would've been happy if someone accepted it anywhere! My first accepted and paid submission was a silly sci-fi drabble (a piece of exactly 100 words). I still have that dollar sitting in a frame beside my desk.
I tried getting published in my late teens, but the first rejection destroyed me. I didn't try again for about 15 years. Maybe age toughened me up, but I kept pushing on past the rejections. I kept submitting. Now I have 20 short stories published.
I still get rejected. Some hurt more than others, but I keep pushing forward. Perseverance does pay off.
Never give up on your dreams!

Arrows, Shadows, and Sales

Pop over to Arrows of Anteros and check out my flash piece, "Not Every Story Has A Happy Ending." This is how having a child has affected my writing. I have my little moments!

Today is Groundhog Day! Did the groundhog see its shadow where you live? All this day means to me is the opportunity to watch "Groundhog Day" again and again on television. A Bill Murray classic.

I haven't done a sales update lately. It's out of my curiosity how sales go for other authors that I share mine with you.

1302 - The Alpha
Amazon: 82
B&N: 24
Smashwords: 3
Kobo: 5
Total: 114

1301 - The Marquis
Amazon: 36
B&N: 6
Smashwords: 2
Kobo: 1
Total: 45

L'il Gal Al and the Zombies of Amarillo
Amazon: 1
B&N: 7
Smashwords: 111 (free)
Kobo (no stats as they don't count free downloads)
Total: 119

Fearless
Amazon: 5919
B&N: 3
Smashwords: 1123
Kobo: (I have no idea!)
Total: 7045

Fearless continues to do very well. It was in Amazon's top 100 for fantasy paranormal for most of January. It's free and a great way to hook readers to buy my other books.

Most of my sales for The Marquis came after the release of The Alpha. I'm hoping that with the great interest in The Dragonslayer, readers will buy it and the other book in the series.

Imaginary Friend Bloghop

Annalisa Crawford is celebrating her one year anniversary of Cat and The Dreamer with the Imaginary Friend Bloghop. Acting as her co-host is Kyra Lennon. Such a clever and fun bloghop! If you've read Cat and The Dreamer you'll know that Julia, the main character, has a big imagination, and she has an imaginary enemy.
Annalisa and Kyra want to know about your imaginary friend. What were they called? How old were you? Were they naughty or nice? If you didn't have one, were there ever times when you could really have used one? Did you ever set fire to your mum's favourite rug and have to take the blame yourself? Annalisa is generously offering a £10/$10 Amazon gift voucher for my favourite post, and Kyra is offering a three chapter critique for hers. Awesome!

Unfortunately, I never had an imaginary friend growing up. I really wanted one. I still would like one! Have you ever seen the movie Drop Dead Fred? I loved that movie. Not that I wanted an imaginary friend to do bad stuff and get me in trouble, but to have someone to have adventures with and do silly things together. Someone to comfort me in the bad times, tell my secrets to, and help me not feel so lonely. Even though I had a brother and there were lots of children in the neighborhood I played with, I still felt lonely as a child. I was just too logical even as a kid. I could pretend to have an invisible friend, but I never really believed I did.

I do wonder if my son will have an imaginary friend. He's an only child and there are no children for him to play with in the neighborhood. We can't afford to get a dog right now, but I'd like to get him a pet some day. He loves school and playing with other kids, and sometimes I wonder if he's lonely. If he does have an imaginary friend, I wish them a lot of fun and adventures, but my darling boy, don't think I'll believe you when you say it was your imaginary friend that threw the ball through the window or made mud pies in the living room!

Arrows of Anteros and First Acceptance of 2013

If you're looking for a great place to submit your flash fiction, M Pepper Langlinais has started a new site called Arrows of Anteros. She's an award winning screenwriter, a produced playwright, and a bestselling author. She has a bunch of excellent little pieces of fiction already up on the site, and she's searching for more. Instructions on how to submit something to M are at the bottom of her page. She wants flash fiction with a word count no greater than 3,000. She's fine with horror and romance, but she won't portray anything graphic on the site.

I'll be submitting something to M later this week. I managed to squeeze in time to submit three stories last week to a few other sites. I received my first rejection of the year from Tor earlier this month and my first acceptance this week from 365 Tomorrows. I'm not sure when it will be published, but I'll let you know when my story is up and available to the public.