Tia Silverthorne Bach's Blog, page 49

Cover Reveals of Juliana Haygert's Soul Oath & Cup of Life

I'm so thrilled to share Juliana Haygert's gorgeous covers of Soul Oath and Cup of Life today. She's amazing and always willing to give back to the writing community. Please welcome my ROW80 buddy.


Soul Oath  (Everlast #2) by Juliana HaygertExpected pub date: Nov/25/2013Length: ~80,000 wordsCover: Okay Creations
Summary from Goodreads
 It’s been three months since Nadine last heard from Victor, Micah or Ceris, allowing her to concentrate on her own life. But until Victor and Micah find the scepters that will restore them as true gods, their human bodies will require her healing touch and it’s only a matter of time until they wreak havoc on her life again.As if to prove that, Victor shows up at the hospital dragging along with him a swarm of demons. Nadine is forced to flee to safety. Despite her attempts to keep her loved ones protected, the demons find her, and they bring her to Imha, the goddess of Chaos.
Now, confronted by her greatest fear, Nadine finds a new motivation. Vengeance. And when seeking revenge, no risk is too great, including her own life.
  **New Adult Fantasy Novel**

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Cup of Life (Everlast, #2.5)by Juliana HaygertExpected pub date: Nov/25/2013Length: ~15,000 wordsCover: Okay Creations
Summary from GoodreadsHis existence would mean nothing without her.
    Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Kobo | Apple | Createspace
About the Author

New Adult author and contributor at NA Alley blog.
While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.
Author Links        

Cover Reveal Organized by:

1000 Likes Giveaway

Back in March, I finally created an author Facebook page. Previously, I had a Depression Cookies page. To be honest, I wasn't sure I had another book in me.

Then an idea for a trilogy hit me. Book one, Chasing Memories, came out in June. Now, I'm working on books two and three. My goal is to have both out by the time I go to UTopYa next year in June. (Tickets for that event go on sale October 1, so check it out.)

Although I have played with a few other social media sites, I am most comfortable on Facebook and Twitter. My author page hovered around 300 for the longest time. Yesterday, it hit 1,000. *squeals*

To celebrate, I'm having a giveaway. Oh, and I'm using Rafflecopter for the first time. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Enter to WinA signed paperback copy of Chasing MemoriesAn Algiz necklace*Open to US/Canada residents
Contest ends at 5pm EST on Thursday, 10/3/13

 a Rafflecopter giveaway
Because I am in a learning mode, what items do you most like to see in giveaways from authors? Leaving an answer in the bottom earns you an entry. ;-)

Please share this giveaway. It will make a happy author even happier.

* like the one worn by Reagan in the book

National Punctuation Day -- Showing Respect

Normally I post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. But today is National Punctuation Day . As a writer and editor, I'm a fan of punctuation.

Let's take a moment to show some love to the marks honored on this fine day.

Source
. = Without it, we'd live a life of run-on sentences and no thought would ever end

, = Without it we'd never pause and we'd die from being incapable of taking a breath unless the period made it's way finally into a sentence.

; = Another air quality mark this one allows us a greater distinction than the comma (and no, its sole purpose is not to create winky faces).

: = Often underused today, it has many uses dialogue, question and answer, sentence separation, lists, and more.

. . . = From the Greek to leave out, the lovely ellipsis is often misused and misrepresented (especially with spacing). "Four score and seven years ago our fathers"

" " = Without it, we'd have no clue when the narrator or a character was speaking. And Four score and seven years ago from above would not be shown the proper respect.

? = What would our world be without questions

! = Strong emotions would be lost without it. "No," Dad screamed. It's just not the same. However, overusing ! only cheapens it.

Used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com.
Be kind to punctuation today. Show them some love!!! Oh wait, not that much love.

What punctuation mark do you find most overused?

For me, it's the comma. Some writers love them. I respect them, and try to use them properly. However, I don't love long, wordy sentences. Too many commas in one sentence equals too long a sentence, at least in my humble opinion.

Oh, and I got a little sneaky with my list of punctuation marks above. In each definition, I omitted the very punctuation mark I was defining. And, yes, I realize I'm a bit more giddy about this than some of you may be. *wink*

Banned Books Week

Earlier this month, I wrote a post about censorship: Banning is for Bullies . An excerpt:

I have read many of the above and most are considered classics. (Judy Blume may not be in the classics category for scholarly types, but she is for me!) Can you imagine life without these titles, and many more, just because some people found them offensive? Heck, I bet the vast majority of paranormal fiction would be eradicated for propagating evil.

At the end of the day, I think banning is for bullies. It's a way for people to try and force their opinion on others. And I don't like it.
 
If I had been more on top of my game, I would have known that Banned Books Week was just around the corner and saved the post for that. So please take a moment and pop over and read my thoughts.

For today, I am featuring a blog hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Book Hounds . From I Am A Reader's website:


Announcing the 3rd Annual Banned Books Week Giveaway HopHosted by BookHounds & I Am A Reader, Not A WriterSeptember 22nd to September 28thBanned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read.
Each blog on the hop is featuring a giveaway, so please check out the link here .

Also included on I Am A Reader's blog was a link to the top 10 challenged books for each year of the past decade: Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st Century . Some of them I found simply confounding. For example, in 2012, Captain Underpants was listed. Really!

Which book in the last two years did you find most surprising?

Hope everyone is having an amazing Monday!

Giveaways Galore: A One-Stop Shop

It's Friday, and what better way to celebrate than to share some great giveaways.

My Crazy Corner featured me on Wednesday as part of the 2013 YA Blogfest. My Post, Power to the Females , was all about strong female characters. An excerpt:

Lately, I see a generation of women who are only getting stronger and savvier. That's not to say they don't struggle with indecision and tough choices, but they seem to be tackling them with a stronger sense of self than even a generation ago. What I do not want is a book with a main female character who whines all the time, can't make her own decisions, and has no self-confidence.

Check out the article to read more. In addition, I offered a paperback copy of Chasing Memories as a giveaway. I've included the Rafflecopter here. Take a moment and enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Simply Sensational Book Fanatics is hosting a huge giveaway to celebrate 2 years in the blogging world. Win 85 eBooks and other swag. Click here to enter. Contest ends 9/30/13. And, yes, an eBook copy of Chasing Memories is part of the winnings.

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Indie Books Gone Wild is an amazing resource for indie writers, featuring many publishing services including formatting, proofreading, and editing. (Note: I am an editor for IBGW.)

Right now, you can enter to win a paperback of Sixty Days of Grace by Dorothy Ruppert. A snippet from the book's summary: In today's world, women desperately struggle to meet the unrealistic expectations of others and of themselves. Society tells women they can do it all, and yet they instinctively know they do not have the resources to accomplish all the demands placed upon them. Drawing on their own strength is not enough; in order to survive, women must draw on God.

Check out IBGW and enter to win here .

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And just in case you've missed it... September is Indie-Credible month. Until 9/30/13, you can enter to win an eReader of choice with the balance going on a gift card. Check out my interview at BookKraze . After enjoying that, you can watch an Indie video (you don't want to let my dancing debut go unnoticed) and enter the giveaway.

Oh, and you can still catch some amazing Indie features through the rest of the month. The schedule can also be found on the BookKraze post.

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Now that's how I like to end a week... giveaways galore. Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

Being Passed is Not Failure: ROW80

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Northern California. A perfect run day--nice breeze, about 70 degrees, sun shining. Exercise is a stress-reliever, and it frees my creative mind. So I set out for my five miles.

Three people passed me. It frustrated me, so I ran faster. Struggling to keep up, I never considered that I didn't have to go faster just because somebody else was. Had I counted the people I had passed? Did I look down to see how my pace stood up against my goal?

No.

I only noticed those that passed me. And I ran faster than I should have gone, and I ended up feeling defeated.

I didn't make note that I ran one mile much faster than I normally would. (Success)

I didn't notice the people I passed. (Success)

I didn't give myself credit for running five miles. (Success)

Instead, I came home feeling like a failure. As I was kicking myself, realization slowly dawned.

My success should be based on my goals and abilities, not others.

I feel the need to say that last sentence over and over again.

The same is true of my writing. I bemoaned my failures for most of Round 3.of A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) . Yet I had a successful blog tour with many wonderful reviews, sales for Chasing Memories have surpassed my first book in the same timeframe, I wrote about 15 guest post blogs this month, I increased my Facebook page likes from the 300 range to almost 900, I edited a wonderful book, and so on.

Confession: I had to sit here and really think about my successes for the round, but I could have rattled off what I didn't get done without hesitation.

There will always be someone who writes more books, sells more books, writes more words per day, runs faster, has kids who appear more well behaved, has the perfect husband (okay, that might be pushing it).

For Round 4, and beyond, I am going to set goals that will make me feel successful and stop comparing myself to everyone else. Because for all I know, the author who is sitting at number three on the New York Times bestsellers list is bemoaning the two people ahead of him/her.

How do you stay focused on your goals and achievements and stop comparing yourself to others?

Scattered: ROW80 Update

"It is a process of diverting one's scattered forces into one powerful channel." James Allen
Scattered is a state I often find myself in lately. Round 3 has been a cacophony of things to do sounding off in my head, rising to a piercing scream that renders me utterly useless.

Am I making any sense?

I barely make sense to myself these days.

Even if I can manage to set aside all the to-dos surrounding my personal life, I am overwhelmed with all the things I want to do for my author life.

A small list:
Research for Chasing Memories Book 2Writing Chasing Memories Book 2Depression Cookies to SmashwordsCreate a Website for Tia Bach, AuthorMarketing Materials for Chasing MemoriesFinish Depression Cookies Book 2 (already 40K in)Author Platform WorkSocial Media ObligationsI know I'm supposed to break it down into manageable parts and writing should come first. But I find the more scattered my brain is, the harder it is for me to focus my creative energies.

So, I tend to jump to the thing I can finish quickly... a blog post, an editing project. Anything that satisfies my intense need to accomplish something. Anything that fulfills the desire to mark a project done.

The best writing I've done in the last year was NaNo, because I felt focused. I was NOT going to lose a challenge.

Now, how do I motivate myself to accumulate words and squelch the scattered voices in my head?

Colder Than A Witch's Tit & Other Sayings

It's time for more word fun!

I love a good saying, one that you use all the time and really don't know why. Recently, I did a post on just those type of sayings: Bat Out of Hell and Other Phrases .

Then I saw the lovely Julie Glover's post this week on Summer Sayings , and I felt inspired to do round 2.

Mind Your Ps and Qs

I say this to my kids all the time, to suggest to them to follow the rules. Researching this was fun, because there were several theories on the origin of this saying.

As a mom, I was most drawn to the theory that it is simply referring to kids distinguishing between writing a p and a q (mirror images of each other, just like b and d). But the one I've heard most often is mind your pints and quarts--a reference to bartenders, supposedly in British pubs, watching how they fill the customers' drinks. ( source )

Public DomainColder Than A Witch's Tit/Teat

This saying as an expression of brutal cold has always given me pause. Why a witch? Then I found this intriguing explanation, so interesting that I didn't even want to summarize. From The Phrase Finder :

The simple explanation is that "colder than a witch's tit" is just a vivid metaphor, like "hotter than the hinges of hell." Since a witch is in league with Satan, presumably she has no maternal feelings. Thus the medium by which she would suckle a child is,
well, cold as a witch's tit.

But there's some history behind this wisecrack. A witch's tit (or witch's teat, to use the older spelling) supposedly left a marking that witch hunters and courts would look for on the body of an accused person. Supposedly, witches would suckle their familiars, and sometimes the Devil himself, from this "unholy" body part. To find these marks, as well as insensitive spots on the skin called devil's marks--caused by the Devil's claws or teeth--the suspects were stripped, shaven, then closely examined for any blemishes, moles, or even scars that could be labeled as diabolical. To find marks invisible to the eye, the examiner would poke the victim inch by inch with a blunt needle (called a bodkin) until they found a spot that didn't feel pain or bled. Discovery of these marks or spots--one supposes they would be considered cold since they were a sign of communion with the Devil--would be "proof" of the person's dealings with Scratch, so they would be shown in full court before the execution.
Am I the only one who wants to write a book titled Witch's Tit right now?

And I always like to end these posts with one of my dad's sayings since he is the reason I am so infatuated with the language (and he's full of them). Whenever Dad thought you'd stepped over the line from arguing to intruding, he'd say, "Now you've gone from preaching to meddlin'."

Different Standards Apply: Indie Life & ROW80

It's hump day, and my first time posting as part of Indie Life .

What is Indie Life?
How: Sign up on the Linky at the bottom of this page
When: Post on the second Wednesday of the month (starting 1/9/2013)
What: Write anything indie related: something that will inspire or help a fellow indie; something that celebrates a release or a milestone; something that talks about the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of Being Indie.
Grab: The banner to include in your posts!

First, I am so proud to be an indie author. There are so many advantages to independent publishing: control, speed, quality, and community to name just a few.

People's perceptions of indie publishing have greatly improved in the last few years, especially with some big indie names making it to the New York Times bestseller lists. 

Still, I find many readers hold indie books to a higher standard. For instance, if an indie book has a few grammatical or punctuation errors, reviewers will often take them to task for poor editing. But, I find a few mistakes in most traditionally published books and reviewers rarely make note of them.

Lesson: Have your book professionally edited. 

Indie book covers are expected to have a wow factor these days, and at the very least should look professional. Yet, I find more and more traditionally published books are low-key--think the Beautiful Creatures series, the Hunger Games series, and the Twilight series before those.

Lesson: Do some research on your genre and book covers and take the time to produce a quality, and eye-catching, cover.

These are just the first two examples that popped into my brain. As indies, we have to put out a high quality product o build reader confidence. Since we don't have a publishing house behind us, we need to be behind each other... constantly building readers' trust in the indie industry.

One of the best parts of being an indie is the amazing writing community out there. Build your network and support other indies. You should never feel alone. Again, the more we do to support each other, the more we build faith in indie authors and their products.

And if you need further proof that indies rock, please check out the Indie-Credible event going on all month long. Visit my post for dates and author visits. Oh, and to see indies actually rocking out, check out the Indie-Credible video  here .


Check out other Indie Life posts here .

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Wednesdays are also A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) check-in days.

My goal for the rest of the round is to stick to a writing first schedule. I hope to have this so firmly in place that I can set a daily word count goal for Round 4 which starts October 7. I'm also focusing on research. Finally caught up with my sponsor duties. Planning to visit and comment on at least 15 blogs before the next check-in and to visit twice that many Indie Life blogs from today.

Courting the Muse: ROW80

Last Wednesday, I wrote a post detailing my difficulties inspiring my muse on Book 2 of the Tala Prophecy trilogy: Fear of the Blank Page .

Fortunately, I have some amazing author and blogger friends who offered some amazing advice to kickstart my writing. Jo Michaels, my editor and all-around giving author, had a great post last week to help writers overcome the slow days:  Writing Prompts and Exercises . Sometimes, you have to step away from your book and just get the writing juices flowing. Creativity begets creativity.

In addition, Jo re-shared a post from earlier this year: When the Muse Steps Out of the Room . It contains simple, yet highly effective, tools to lure your muse back.

Thanks to all the advice and Jo's articles, my muse visited several times last week. Even more exciting, I stuck to a real writing schedule--my only goal right now for A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) . I'm a bit behind on sponsor posts, but I will make up for lost time tomorrow. But, only after I write.

Also, I've decided the best way for me to prep Book 2 is to re-read Chasing Memories and take detailed notes to 1) avoid any inconsistencies and 2) to get re-energized about the story.

Some news...

Today, I'm over at BookKraze visiting the lovely Coco White for the IndieCredible event. Stop by my post to find out what traits irritate me in female characters. And for fun, what traits most irritate you in a main female character (no matter what genre)?

While you are there, enter to win an eReader of choice (and remaining funds on a gift card). If you'd like to see a schedule of authors for the month-long Indie-Credible event, please visit my post here .

Oh, and for those of you who participate in the Insecure Writer's Support Group (#IWSG) or simply read my insecurities here, Alex J. Cavanaugh is launching (with some writer buddies) the Insecure Writer's Support Group website, hopefully in October. Find out more about it here .

Wow, it's hard to believe but Round 3 of #ROW80 ends in just a few weeks and Round 4 starts October 7. Hope everyone is rocking the end of the round.