Susan Buchanan's Blog, page 15

Lisette's Writer's Chateau featuring, well, ME!

Evening all
I should have posted this earlier, but was out clothes shopping with baby Antonia, trying to get some quality time with my girl, away from the laptop, after barely seeing her yesterday due to the launch.
I'm talking book endings, character names and surprises over at Lisette's Writer's Chateau!
http://bit.ly/IzILRb

The Christmas Spirit - Competition Nr 2

Thanks first of all everyone who bought The Christmas Spirit yesterday and who participated at my FB and Twitter events. I was overwhelmed by your support and really appreciated it.
Now to the second of my three competitions. I say competitions, but really it's your stories I want to hear and I will pick my favourite one each day to go into the Amazon voucher draw. Also, anyone commenting goes in the ebook draw.
You can invite six people to Christmas dinner - living or dead - they can't be family or friends (they'll be there, too - who would you invite?
Leave your name, country and email or twitter handle, so I can contact you.
And if you haven't picked up your copy yet of The Christmas Spirit, no time like the present. At only £1.53, or $2,99 it's less than the coffee you'll drink whilst reading it!



http://amzn.to/1ewbuRY - UK

http://amzn.to/1dFw0TJ -  US

Log in tomorrow for the third and final competition. I will choose the three winners to go into the Amazon draw on Wednesday morning, to allow people in various time zones to have a fair chance.
Good luck!

Interviewed by Danielle-Claude and a bit about The Christmas Spirit

Quite a few questions I hadn't been asked before, which was refreshing! have a goosey!
http://www.danielle-claude.blogspot.co.uk/?zx=20032f6caebf780f

LAUNCH DAY for The Christmas Spirit

Hurrah! It's finally here. Yep, The Christmas Spirit is stocked high on the virtual shelves and ready for you to just nip along, pick up a copy and delve in! I'm hoping you will make it your first seasonal read, and where better to start, as the story begins on Dec 1st, just like today!

And, I was illuminated by a friend yesterday who told me Hallmark released a film this weekend, also called The Christmas Spirit. Great minds, eh?



Right, without further ado, here's the scoop for today.


Facebook - www.facebook.com/susan.buchanan.author - party with me from 9am until 10pm GMT/until 5pm EST. There'll be Christmas tunes including requests made by fans and followers. I'm still accepting requests, so leave me a comment here or on FB or Twitter and I will try to include your song. Today we'll be talking about all things Christmas, so movies, food, childhood memories, what would make your Christmas, who you'd like to find under the tree, all of that. There will be themed topics throughout the day. Just pop in for a chat and to share. Anyone attending the FB party will be entered into the ebook draw.

Twitter - I'll be there in between my FB party during the day, but the only dedicated event is between 8-9pm. use hashtag #TCSlaunch to join in the fun. Or check my timeline at susan_buchanan. Anyone entering the Twitter party will be entered into the ebook draw.




So, what's happening? At both parties and here today on the blog, I'm giving away 5 e-copies, yes, that's 5 copies, really, of each of my first two novels, Sign of the Times and The Dating Game to 10 lucky readers. One lucky person will also win £10 or $15 of Amazon vouchers.
But you have to be in it to win it, right?

So, how do you enter? On the blog there will be competitions today through Tuesday. Each day I will pick a winner and they will be entered into the Amazon voucher draw. Anyone who comments on the blog will be in with a chance of winning the ebooks. Please leave the country you're from and your email address or Twitter name, so I can contact you.

If you buy a copy of The Christmas Spirit, just as I did last year with The Dating Game, if you email me your proof of purchase, minus any personal details, eg address, to soozbuch@gmail.com you will be entered into the Amazon voucher draw.

It will be similar over on FB and Twitter, so join in however you prefer.

    So here's today's COMPETITION  - share the best Christmas experience or location you can think of, whether home or away. A log cabin in Aspen, 25 at yours for Christmas Dinner and you're not cooking, or dinner out with a few close friends and no washing up.
No essays, but give us a little bit of description. For example, mine is probably going to be this Christmas. First Christmas for baby Antonia, who will be 9 months old by then and chewing on the wrapping paper. But I can't wait to see her wee face when she sees all those toys on Christmas morning. She won't understand it, but she will love them. And I'll distract her somehow from the rustle of the paper and the popping of bubble wrap, so that she does play with her toys at some point!

And, if you haven't picked up your copy of The Christmas Spirit yet, there's no time like the present. Geddit?! (hears groans at feeble joke).

http://amzn.to/1ewbuRY - Amazon UK

http://amzn.to/1dFw0TJ -  Amazon US


Right, I'm off. Got to get over to Facebook! Tune in tomorrow for another chance to win Amazon vouchers and books.

The Lay of the Land - The Christmas Spirit

Happy Friday! Only 2 more sleeps. I might have to have Saturday off to give me the stamina to get through The Christmas Spirit launch on Sunday!

Well, 'the lay of the land' is  bit of a double entendre. I wanted to show you a little of the landscape around where the novel is set and also give you a bit more info on what to expect on Sunday. I don't really expect you to wake up all sleepy on Sunday and take it all in!
So, here we go.



From 9am GMT/4am EST the Facebook party will be in action. www.facebook.com/susan.buchanan.author  - click 'Join' on The Christmas Spirit launch party to participate in all the fun.
I'll be taking music requests, playing Christmas songs and some songs related to the book's theme, as well as chatting about all things Christmas: books, movies, traditions, memories, food, drink etc. The party will be on all day and probably until around 10pm GMT/5pm EST. Depends how shattered I am by then!

There will be a short break in the FB action for a party over on Twitter @susan_buchanan between 8-9pm GMT (3-4pm EST)



On the blog on Sunday, you can expect competitions and prizes. There will be 3 days of competitions, with the winners being chosen on Wednesday morning.

You'll be directed to enter the competitions through FB, Twitter or the blog, whichever is easiest for you. Books and Amazon vouchers up for grabs!



So, this is it, the last post before THE BIG DAY.  The countdown continues. I doubt I will sleep much on Saturday night. Very exciting for me - book nr 3! Who knew!

Hope you've enjoyed the Loch Lomond landscapes and look forward to seeing you on Sunday, in whichever medium you choose to participate through!
have a great weekend
Sooz

An excerpt of Building Attraction by Monique McDonell

Well, the countdown continues. Only 3 more days until lift off, so I thought we'd move off the Christmas theme for just a second, since it's still technically November(!) and have a peek at an excerpt of Building Attraction, a novel by Australian author, Monique McDonell.

But first here's the blurb!


Hers has been a life of too many responsibilities and his has been a life of too few. Could the thing that initially repelled them from each other finally be the ultimate source of attraction?
Holly Adams has two jobs in the city, two petulant teenage sisters to support, a farm with a big mortgage and a terrible secret that propels her forward. Brad Winchester has a reputation for being a spoilt playboy who has abandoned his family business but he also has a secret that has finally brought him home. 
When they are forced to together at work (Holly works at the cut-throat PR Consultancy that handles his family’s account Winchester Homes – They don’t build homes, they build dreams”)  a series of misunderstandings has them at odds.
Still while working together they learn they have more in common than either might have imagined – common friends, family loyalty and dreams of something different. When life keeps pushing them in each other’s paths they must decide whether this is an attraction that might be worth building on after all.
 




Anyway, here's a taster of what you can expect!



Bradley WinchesteHe knew from the minute he walked into the EPR boardroom today that Holly Adams did not like him. He was an hour late, but that had been a genuine mix-up. His secretary had given him the wrong time. He was normally fastidious about punctuality. However, he knew it was more than that.
Holly Adams had him pegged as a guy punching above his weight, so to speak. She saw him as a guy who was handed a job on a silver platter that he wasn’t qualified for. She was right to an extent, but she didn’t know the full story and he couldn’t tell her, even if he wanted to. Not that it had been any of her goddamned business in the first place. He had tried to smooth things over with her at the time and she had been nothing but courteous but her distrust of him was obvious.
Holly did a left-hand turn into a driveway. It was the driveway of St Anne’s School for Day Students and Boarders. Why was Holly going into an exclusive girls’ school at seven at night? He turned into the driveway and shut his lights. She had gone right so he turned left and pulled his car into a park behind a bank of trees. He got out of the car and watched Holly. She parked. She went around to the passenger side and hauled out her briefcase. He watched her head towards a doorway and it swung open…light spilled through the doorway and an imperious woman filled its frame.
“Cutting it fine aren’t you Miss Adams?”
“Nothing to worry about Sister Evangeline, I’m here now.”
The door slammed and the yard was dark. Brad looked along the bank of buildings. Brad had dated a few St Anne’s girls back when he was in high school but he’d never been to the school before and never at night.
Upstairs he could see school girls talking on a veranda. He saw Holly approach. She was backlit and her golden hair looked like a halo.
“Holly! You’re here!” One girl trilled. “I have so much to tell you!”
“OK Maddy, you will have to wait and tell me after study hall. Come on girls everyone inside. You all know the drill.”
Holly Adams worked at the school. How fascinating, Brad thought. He had so many questions.
He saw the downstairs door open again and the large woman peer out.
“Who are you? We don’t need any Peeping Tom’s around here. You’ve got two minutes to skedaddle or I’m letting the dogs out.”
Oh heck, thought Brad, and he climbed in his car and burnt rubber getting the hell away from St Anne’s.


 Pick up your copy via Amazon (UK) - http://amzn.to/1iei0Cp or Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GD0B4UQ
 You can keep in touch with Monique below:-
Website: www.moniquemcdonell.com.auFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoniqueMcDonellAuthor Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoniqueMcDonell Tune in tomorrow for my final post about The Christmas Spirit before Sunday's launch and find out a bit more about the parties I'll be having for the launch.

Merry Chick Lit - short story collection for charity

Only five more days to go and I am getting twitchy, so since I can relax a little, as The Christmas Spirit is now with the formatter and I can do nothing to impact it, I've been relaxing with today's book. It's rather special, a great price, for an exceptionally worthy cause. I'm sure all of us have known a friend or relative affected by cancer. Here's an easy way to help.
 Merry Chick Lit: Celebrate the Season with Six Sassy Shorts
In the spirit of giving, six chick-lit authors "present" a charming collection of seasonal shorts sure to inspire holiday cheer-plus love and hope throughout the year, with all proceeds donated to Rocking the Road for a Cure! Featured authors & stories include:
Carolyn Ridder Aspenson
In "Santa's Gift," journalist Jessica thinks Santa's just a silly myth for children, so when he asks what she most wants for Christmas she tells him the one thing she knows he can't deliver--true love. Or can he...?
Sarah Hitchcock
In "The Christmas Lights," one competition pits two families against each other...who will win this war?
Francine LaSala
Pretty Izzy knows exactly what she wants for Christmas: hunky sales manager Jake Harrington wrapped up with a shiny silver bow--and nothing else. Except Santa may have other plans in "Carol of the Belles."
Nikki Mahood
In "Spinster Christmas," Cara's looking forward to spending Christmas alone until she learns her old--and she believes very gay--crush needs a place to stay. Though it soon becomes clear that while still hot, Ronan isn't gay after all...
Holly Martin
Ella's dreams of making a better life for her and her daughter seem further away than ever in "Iced Dreams." But as Christmas approaches, and she wishes for a fairy godmother to wave a magic wand to fix her life, things begin to change in ways she never imagined!
K.C. Wilder
In "The Mermaid," Allie's content to spend Christmas by herself at a vacant beach house to make good on a promise made to her true love lost, Jeff. Until Jeff's gorgeous college roommate Tim crashes in on her with his own promise to keep... Purchase on Amazon UK -  http://amzn.to/1i6Ejde

Purchase on Amazon.com : http://amzn.to/1i6EuoS
Purchase on bn.com: http://bit.ly/1iHXaZK   You can keep up-to-date with Merry Chicklit and its authors below:-Website: http://merrychicklit.blogspot.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/merrychicklitbook
hashtag: #MerryChicklit And now some more information on the charity: Rocking the Road for a Cure
Rocking The Road For A Cure is tickled PINK to be selected as the recipient of proceeds from your purchase of Merry Chick Lit.
We are a growing 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the New York City/Long Island area, dedicated to improving the quality of life of people undergoing the often energy-depleting and emotionally draining treatments for breast cancer.
Our name came from our founder and President, Dawn Frey, a musician, who learned through personal experience that “it takes a village” to get through the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, and not every individual has the support network they need. Rocking The Road For A Cure provides free, in-home housekeeping, health and wellness services to restore strength and confidence, and to rebuild spiritual, emotional and physical well-being.
So, when you settle back and relax to enjoy reading Merry Chick Lit, please know that you have helped us help a breast cancer patient to also settle back and relax…and heal.
Rocking The Road For A Cure http://www.rockingtheroadforacure.org
 Well, hope you decide to pick up a copy of this cracking collection. For now, I am off to read a bit more, but tune in on Thursday when we'll be having a peek at Australia's finest!
 
And don't forget to put December 1st in your calendar - party time!

Presenting - The Christmas Spirit blurb

Yep, Monday again and a very exciting week it's going to be for me, too. This is by far the most exhausting schedule I have ever put myself through, writing-wise. I received the proofread copy of The Christmas Spirit yesterday and it will be going off to the e-book formatter later today, to be turned around by the end of the week for the weekend launch - phew!!! Do I sound stressed?!?!?

Anyway, something which is ready now and which I would like to share with you is, the blurb! I love the word blurb - much more descriptive than book jacket cover! And much more appropriate in my case since with e-books there IS no back cover!

So, here it is. Hope you like the concept and that you will be beating a path to my virtual door on Sunday 1st to get one of the first copies - 'tis the season to be jolly and all that.


Christmas is coming, but not everyone is looking forward to it. Rebecca has just been dumped and the prospect of spending the holiday period with her parents is less than appealing.Eighty- two year old Stanley lost his beloved wife, Edie, to cancer. How will he cope with his first Christmas without her? Jacob’s university degree hasn’t helped him get a job, and it looks like he’ll still be signing on come New Year.Workaholic Meredith would rather spend December 25th at home alone with a ready meal and a DVD box set. Can anything make her embrace the spirit of the season?The enigmatic Natalie Hope takes over the reins at the Sugar and Spice bakery and café in an attempt to spread  some festive cheer and restore Christmas spirit, but will she succeed?    Well, that's all folks, as they say. Just a heads-up. I will be having a Facebook party on Sunday 1st from 9am, which will continue throughout the day www.facebook.com/susan.buchanan.author where I will be chatting with those who are awake about Christmas related stuff and books, plus gear up for lots of Christmas songs to kick-start December.There will also be a Twitter party between 8-9pm on Sunday 1st. Look for the hashtag #TCSlaunch or check my Timeline @susan_buchanan There will also be competitions on the blog and the chance to win vouchers and e-books from 1st-3rd Dec.Tune in tomorrow for a look at a special short story collection at a knockdown price, which has been written especially for a cancer charity. I've already downloaded my copy.
 

REVIEW AND FREE BOOK! Terry Tyler's newly launched NINE LIVES

Hurrah! It's Friday, although to be honest I work 7 days a week, so it makes little difference to me, although Antonia's daddy is off the weekends, so I get more time to write!

Anyway, before I even show you my review of Nine Lives, cool cover, by the way, did I say that it was FREE for another 4 days?! Amazon links at the bottom of the page.


  Here's the blurb!  NINE LIVES is a collection of nine short stories, all of which are contemporary drama in the vein of Terry Tyler’s well-loved novels. The first chapter of her latest one, What It Takes, is to be found at the end.

“I was pleased these were up to her usual standard of entertainment” “A great introduction to Terry’s writing” – A Woman’s Wisdom book blog.

The stories:

"Angel" ~ The perfect wife of the perfect husband is tempted by the fruit of another.
"Shut Up And Dance" ~ Paul says he will love Laura whatever size she is. But will he?
"Mia" ~ The threat of ‘the other woman’…
"Kiss Your Past Goodbye" ~ Zoe finds out what happened to her first love, who broke her heart.
"We All Fall Down" ~ Two old friends meet for a drink – just a swift one, of course!
"Bright Light Fright" ~ A tale of vengeance, a burglary, and a nasty shock.
"Mama Kin" ~ Emma and Melanie have very different approaches to childcare – oh dear!
"Don’t Get Mad – Get Even" ~ Kevin and Marcus have been best friends, yet rivals, since schooldays; who will come out on top?
"Happy Birthday" ~ A forty year old woman looks back over her life.




And here's my review!

A great mix of tales for both men and women

I'm not a short story fan, but I have read and enjoyed all of Terry Tyler's books, so figured Nine Lives would be worth downloading. I wasn't disappointed. Apart from one of the stories, all are modern day. Most people will be able to relate to many of the stories and I would imagine people's favourites will differ. As expected, the author's stories had a few twists. One story totally caught me unawares and I was very indignant and totally in agreement with the protagonist, until the very last line which revealed a huge twist. Maybe some would guess it, but I honestly had no idea. There were at least two of the other eight stories which had twists at the end and I truly didn't see them coming.
The momentum of the stories was good, just the right amount of build-up before the author whipped the carpet out from under us. The dialogue is believable, the prose tight and the nine tales are very different, so there's something there for everyone; yes, even the men - one set in a snooker club.
Of all of Terry Tyler's works I personally feel this is one which is almost equally appropriate for men and women, with problems both can relate to: heavy drinking, adultery, possessiveness, overbearing relatives, getting the wrong end of the stick, too much testosterone and more.
For someone who isn't a fan of short stories, Terry Tyler may just have changed my mind. A resounding 4.5 stars from me.

You can catch up with Terry on Twitter @terrytyler4
On her blog - http://terrytyler59.blogspot.co.uk/

You can buy the book on Amazon UK -  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nine-Lives-Terry-Tyler-ebook/dp/B00GQFDSI4/ref=la_B00693EGKM_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384880221&sr=1-7
and
http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Lives-Terry-Tyler-ebook/dp/B00GQFDSI4/ref=la_B00693EGKM_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384880238&sr=1-7


Tune in on Monday (yes, I'm having a rest this weekend - well, I'm not really, I'm going to be going over the proofreader's comments for The Christmas Spirit) when I will be sharing the blurb for The Christmas Spirit. Not long to go now to the launch!

Premiere! First ever book trailer on the blog!

Have I grabbed your attention enough? Good, right, anyway, today I'm lucky enough to have the book trailer for An Unlikely Goddess by Mohana Rajakumar, she of the Love Comes Later fame.



Hopefully I haven't screwed it up, so if you click the link, it should take you to the trailer. Baby brain has induced (pardon the pun!) technophobia in me!

An Unlikely Goddess Book Trailer



Here's the blurb:-
Sita is the firstborn, but since she is a female child, her birth makes life difficult for her mother who is expected to produce a son. From the start, Sita finds herself in a culture hostile to her, but her irrepressible personality won’t be subdued. Born in India, she immigrates as a toddler to the U.S. with her parents after the birth of her much anticipated younger brother.

Sita shifts between the vastly different worlds of her WASP dominated school and her father’s insular traditional home. Her journey takes us beneath tales of successful middle class Indians who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s.

The gap between positive stereotypes of South Asian immigrants and the reality of Sita's family, who are struggling to stay above the poverty line is a relatively new theme for Indian literature in English.

Sita's struggles to be American and yet herself, take us deeper into understanding the dilemmas of first generation children, and how religion and culture define women.
 You can catch up with Mohana on her website at www.mohanalakshmi.comand on Twitter @moha_doha
and you can buy the book via Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/17IVpUE
or Amazon UK - http://amzn.to/1b61Qaf

See you on Friday for my book review of Nine Lives, a collection, of, well, 9 short stories, by Terry Tyler. And, there's a bit of a surprise involved - seriously, you want to make sure you tune in on Friday!