Lizzy Ford's Blog, page 62

"Damian's Assassin" – re-released, available on Amazon, BN, Smashie

Quick notes: The revised Damian's Assassin is up and running on Amazon, Smashwords and BN!

Will send out a note to the mailing list later today with the Smashwords codes and links!

I'll also post the winners to the drawings for Heather Marie Adkins and RG Porter's books a little later today!

Book feature and DOUBLE Giveaway: Darkness Unleashed (Bks 1&2) by R. G. Porter

It's a double book feature and double giveaway!  Woohoo!   Our first here in Lizzyland!  R.G. Porter released her second book in the Darkness Unleashed series this week and has offered up a copy of Shadow of the Wolf (book 1) and Kiss of the Wolf (book 2) to one lucky winner.

Shadow of the Wolf is available at Amazon US or Amazon UK and Barnes and Noble.

Kiss of the Wolf is available at Amazon US or Amazon UK and Barnes and Noble.

To enter the giveaway: comment on this post; OR share this post with your networks via the social media buttons at the bottom; OR retweet my tweet; OR share, like, or comment on the FB post; OR share, 1+, or comment on the G+ post!

Kiss of the Wolf (Darkness Unleashed, Book 2)

A promise made is more than he'd bargained for…

Fiery and strong, Kara has always walked alone. Though she retains the same gifts as her sister, she is sent on a journey of her own. One that takes her out across the Baylo Sea and into a dark world of demons.Had she

known the danger that followed her, or the man who'd save her life, she might have reconsidered.

Sent to find Saleene's sister, Zachius is plagued with the vision of the woman who haunts his dreams. Though he swore an oath to his friend to save Kara, he never imagines the woman he would find would be the same as from his dreams. Torn between his duty to protect Kara and keep her safe, he finds that there is more at stake than just their lives.

Can he save her from the evil before it's too late….

or will he be the one needing to be rescued.

Shadow of the Wolf (Darkness Unleashed, Book 1)

A quest to save the future from the darkness is more than it seems…

Saleene is a healer of her people. Sent out to find the root of the darkness, she finds more than she bargained for. Demons and ghouls at every turn, Saleene soon finds she has more than just an unknown evil to battle. Drawn to an abandoned cabin for shelter, she's met by the stare of

a man who is more than he appears, and may be her only hope.

Dartian is a warrior sent out to find the cause of the death that continues to spread. With his friends lending assistance, they find that the evil is deeper than first thought. Ending up at an abandoned shack he finds more than just a place to rest. Inside its four walls is a woman that calls to every part of his being.

Fate has drawn them together— to battle the darkness that has been

released…

But first they must learn to trust their own bond…. And start to reform

the circle once more.

About R.G. Porter: Robyn wrote her first novel, Shadow of the Wolf, back in 2005, as a way to escape from a chaotic world. Though she never expected her writing to go

anywhere, her first novel debuted through Wild Rose Press in 2007. Since then she has continued to write what she is drawn to. Whether it is a world where magic and shape-shifters exist or a place where vampires are ready overthrow the world of humans, her imagination weaves those places into stories. Currently she finds herself writing as much as she can. With her first book to be re-released Oct 1st, she plans to have many more

novels out in the coming months. From her Darkness Unleashed series to her Guardian's of Nature series, she will continue to bring forth new tales of mystery, magic and mayhem.

You're welcome to connect with Robyn via her blog, website, Twitter, or Facebook!

Google Alerts for Authors

One of the things I struggle with in writing these articles is whether or not to talk about subjects that most of our readers already understand. I usually try to stick to topics that I think most people haven't thought about or where I can share best practices that I don't think are common knowledge. In this post I'm going to talk about Google Alerts, which I'm sure most of our readers are already using. I'm going to talk about it anyway because it's so easy and so important that even if only 10% of our readers haven't set it up, it's worth it for them.

Google Alerts is a free service provided by Google that can send you an email whenever it finds new content on the internet including a phrase that you've entered an alert for. I have an alert setup for "Lizzy Ford", "Guerrilla Wordfare" and every one of Lizzy's book titles. Every day I get one email from Google for each alert where it discovered new content on the internet. Sometimes the alerts are from articles we've written on our site, sometimes they're from sites that link to our site a lot like curiosityquills and sometimes they're from sites I had no idea had linked to us until I saw the alert. The last situation is the reason why you set Google Alerts up. If someone mentions you, your books or your site in a blog post etc., you should check it out.

We've discovered blogs which wrote beautiful reviews about Lizzy's books. Those bloggers should be thanked. Some people advocate offering free copies of other books etc., but that's a personal decision. If nothing else, a simple 'thank you' works wonders!  We've met some great people writing about Lizzy and her books via the Google Alerts.  I wouldn't have known many of these reviews existed if I didn't have a Google Alert set up for Lizzy's name and book titles.

Setting up a Google Alerts account at http://www.google.com/alerts is quick, easy, free and worth your time if you haven't already done it. The first thing you have to decide is what text you want the alert to hit on. As I stated earlier, I have "Lizzy Ford", "Damian's Oracle" etc. The other significant options are where you want the alert emailed too and how often you want them emailed (I picked daily). Enter the info, click save and move on to the next Alert. The process will probably only take you a few minutes, and you'll never have to think about it again, unless you want to add new alerts.

Book feature and guest post: Latchkey Kid by Heather Marie Adkins

Welcome back, Heather!  Today, we're featuring Heather's book, Abigail, and her personal essay on growing up as a Latchkey Kid.  I loved Heather's essay. She demonstrates a very compelling lesson that I often try to convey within my books.  No one is so lost that they can't find themselves, if they give themselves the chance.

Abigail is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords.

To enter the giveaway for Abigail: comment on this post OR use one of the social media buttons following this post to share with your networks OR like, comment, share the post on FB OR like, comment, share the post on G+ OR RT my tweet!

When Abigail's supposedly immortal faery mother is found murdered, her human father sells her in to slavery. Bought by a young and wealthy landowner named William, she is whisked away to a Grecian island to play caretaker for his baby sister.

However, the island has a deadly secret connected to Abigail's past. Her budding romance with William is shattered by Abigail's intimate, unwanted connection with the island's faery prince.  Meanwhile the faery king plans revenge upon the family. Abigail must join forces with the very race she's sought to deny, to save the humans she has learned to love.

 

Latchkey Kid by Heather Marie Adkins

It isn't easy being the daughter of a police officer, but it's even more difficult to be the daughter of a female police officer. I would come to understand this early, and often, in my life.

My mom's career has always been the whirling force of my existence.

She was sworn into the Louisville Police Department on September 10, 1990. I was five years old. For the majority of my developmental years, I bounced through a succession of caretakers—my grandmother, my father and stepmother, and a kind woman I called 'Mama Lo'—while my mom was forging her way through her early years as a rookie officer.

I remember late nights—my mom in her uniform, her gun belt digging into my side as she bundled me into a blanket to carry me to the car. I remember mornings getting on the

school bus, knowing Mom would be coming home from work just in time for me to

leave. But when I remember these things, they are snippets: Only bits and pieces of the woman who is my mother. Her job was demanding and sometimes, you just have to sacrifice to make your dreams come true.

When I was ten, Mom aced the Detective test and was granted her first promotion. Suddenly, we were buying a new house in a nice neighborhood. I was in middle school, which was awkward enough, and Mom began working 4 pm to midnight.

Thus began my time as a Latchkey Kid.

I rode the bus home from school and let myself into the house around 4:30 every afternoon. Under Mom's strict instructions, I would check to make sure all three doors of the house were locked and then I would set the alarm.

Until bedtime, I was on lockdown. No going outside—not even to the backyard. No answering the door, no looking out the windows. Just me and the dog: A tiny Shih-Tzu named Cinnamon.

I was kind of an odd child. I didn't care much for television, though I did love to play

Nintendo. I could rock on some Mario Bros. I also absolutely loved to read, particularly R.L. Stine's Goosebumps and Ann M. Martin's The Babysitter's Club.

There is really only so much video gaming and reading a girl can do before she wishes she had another hobby. At least, that's how it was for me. I was lonely. Monday through

Friday, every evening alone…it sucked.

It was around this time that my daddy shared with me a novel he was writing. Daddy is a

computer guru who does freelance work, but he writes for fun on the side. "Demigod" was one of the most amazing things I had ever read. Not only was I astounded that my dad had such talent, but for the first time I realized there were people behind the books I liked to read.

Armed with nothing more than spiral-bound notebooks and pencils, I began writing.

Between 10 and 16, I wrote seven full-length novels. Today, I suppose they would be considered Young Adult. Some of them were murder mysteries with strong heroines. Many of them had elements of what today is considered Paranormal Romance. Most of my

early influences were from authors I enjoyed: Stine, as well as Richie Tankersley Cusick and Christopher Pike. Somewhere in the midst of all this, my mom bought me a laptop and I transferred everything to digital.

I continued to write during high school, though significantly less once I got my driver's

license. I focused mainly on short stories and built up a vast collection that I ended up losing to the nightmare of an erased floppy disk. I majored in English in high school. Earned a couple college credits. And was told multiple times by various English teachers that I had talent.

After graduation, I went away to college at Western Kentucky University.  My mother had married a great man who was also a police officer. Between the two of them, I was able to go away to school and thus started several years of BAD DECISIONS. I kicked it off right, as most first-time college teens do. I drank too much and partied too hard, not making it to class, much less spending my time writing. Two years later, I came home to Louisville with my tail between my legs, no smarter than I was before.

Back at my mother and stepfather's home, I found the situation to be stifling for the girl who had done what she wanted, when she wanted for so long. I was already rebelling—not phoning, disappearing all night—when a chance encounter on the banks of the Ohio River brought a man into my life who was not right for me in more ways than one.

Jason was an ex-con and felon. I was the daughter of two police officers. Cue ominous music.

Let's skip the dirty parts and go to the section where I pack my things and flee into the

night like a bat out of Hades. My parents change the locks, I cut off all contact, and hole up in a hovel on 3rd  Street with my friend, Brent. Oh, and in the meantime, my convict boyfriend ends up back in the Slammer.

I bounced around for some time. To an apartment with my cousin, Ryan. Then to a big, fancy house outside of Nashville, Tennessee with Jason's family. After severing ties with them, I rented a tiny studio apartment downtown. I moved a couple more times, losing money (and myself) in the process.

Not once in the years I spent chasing something, anything inTennessee did I sit down to write.

In January 2008, I was in debt and barely hanging on to the apartment I was renting. My

good-for-nothing, pot-smoking boyfriend-of-the-moment wasn't helping with the bills because he couldn't hold a job. My car was on the verge of repossession. I was going nowhere; the only positive thing I did have was that I was talking with my parents again.

Then the life-shattering, earth-moving event. In North  Carolina, January 31st, my cousin Cory—a Marine, a firefighter, one of my best friends—was killed in a car accident. He was 25 years old.

My mom drove from Louisville to Nashville the minute she heard. She told me it was because she didn't want me to be alone, nor did she want to tell me something so sensitive over the phone. That's just how she is; no matter how terrible a daughter I could be, she always put me first.

Later that same night after she left, I was alone. My deadhead boyfriend wasn't home, neither was our equally stoned roommate. I was sitting on our single mattress on the

floor, looking around our bare room with its one dresser and a floor strewn with clothes. It hit me.

What are you doing? Really?

Was I just trying to prove I could do it on my own? Because I couldn't. Obviously.

In a flash of grief and pain, I realized my life had spiraled out of control simply because I

was too stubborn to admit my parents were right.

I packed my things. My dog and I climbed in the old Jeep. And we came home to Louisville.

During the upheaval of moving back, I also found something I hadn't yet realized I had

lost—my writing. Whether it was my grief over Cory or simply returning home, I

don't know—but I started writing again.

Even better…I finished the novels I had started years before and I have started (and

finished) even more in the time since. I've been through a lot in my life. Maybe it wasn't as bad as some, maybe it wasn't as rough…but it shows that a girl can make bad decisions, life-changing mistakes, and still bounce back.

My mom is a Major with the Louisville Metro Police force—the third highest ranking female on the department. She just celebrated her 21st anniversary this month. I am in a

stable, committed relationship with a man who will one day be my husband. We live in a small but nice home—I'm a police dispatcher. He's a police officer. I was a latchkey

kid and because of it, I am now a writer. I am the daughter of a female police officer, and because of that, I'm a stronger, better woman.

Winner of Alan Nayes "Smilodon"

The winner of Monday's ebook giveaway, Smilodon by Alan Nayes: Julie Burns, who 'liked' the post via FB!  Congrats!

How to Make a Custom QR Code

Custom QR Code for Guerrilla Wordfare

Seeing Custom QR Codes has become extremely common recently, but not many people know their name. I think I've heard them called "3D bar-code thingy" as much as anything. Regardless of what you call them, you see them on most advertisements nowadays and for a very good reason. A survey taken in May of this year showed that 35% of American adults have a smartphone.  Those numbers are sure to increase, and custom QR codes will become more common.

The QR codes allow for someone with a smartphone to take a picture or "scan" the code. The most common use of the codes: to take the user to a specific webpage.  I've become totally addicted to scanning bar-codes since Amazon instituted the scan search feature into their iPhone app earlier this year. Thursday night I was at a Barnes and Nobel looking at a book on electronics. In addition to flipping through the book to get a feel for it, I scanned the bar-code into the Amazon app on my iPhone which instantly pulled up the Amazon reviews on that book. I've also scanned items at Best Buy to compare prices with Amazon. The toughest part then is figuring out if you can wait a few days for the item to be shipped to you or if you need it now. If you're doing ANY type of print advertisement then you really want to make sure you have a custom QR code somewhere in your ad.

I'll show a short YouTube video showing how to make your own custom QR code and then talk more about uses for the QR codes.

As we talked about in the movie, there are now a ton of uses for a custom QR code. Some of the options at the site shown in the video: Make Your Own Custom QR Code

Custom QR Code Uses

You can browse to a website.

You can bookmark a website.

You can make a phone call.

You can send a short message.

You can send an e-mail.

You can create a vCard (v2.1 or v3.0) with coordinates to add a contact to your device.

You can create a meCard to add a contact to your device.

You can create a vCalendar event to add to your calendar.

You can create Google Maps URLs.

You can create Bing Maps URLs.

You can create iTunes app and review URLs for iOS devices.

You can create special youtube:// URLs for YouTube app on iOS.

You can fetch and encode the latest tweet of a Twitter user.

You can overlay a Twitter profile image over the code.

You can create a mobile URL to tweet on Twitter.

You can initiate a chat to a particular Blackberry PIN on Blackberry Messenger.

That's a lot of uses! I've used several other sites to make a custom QR code in the past, but I love this site's options for destination as well as color customization. If there is a demand, I may do a future video on making a more advanced custom QR code. This site and video should be plenty to get you started. If you have any creative ways you use these codes, I'd love to hear them!  Feel free to post them here.

Book feature and giveaway: "Smilodon" by Alan Nayes

Today's book was written by another of my Indie Eclective friends!  Welcome, Alan, to Lizzyland.  Alan's book, "Smilodon," is about a prehistoric cat that ends up in the modern day US.  Yikes!  Alan also has the distinction of being the only guy I know who writes trashy romance novels, so you know he's cool!

Smilodon is available at Amazon and BN.

As always, to enter the drawing for the ebook giveaway: comment on this post OR share with your social networks using the buttons at the end of this post OR retweet my tweet OR like, share, or comment on the post on FB OR +1, share, or comment on G+!  I'll start posting the winners here on the blog a day after the contest.  I've been posting on FB, but I want to make sure everyone sees it!

Seven years after a near-fatal mauling by a grizzly bear, in which his only son was killed, Jason Bristol, a one time prize-fighter and expert animal tracker, is back in the woods tracking again–when he's not nursing the nearest fifth of whiskey.

Then Jason's best friend and mentor is discovered half-buried beneath a mat of pine needles.  The prospector's mangled corpse has been mauled virtually beyond recognition.  A rancher loses a prize thoroughbred and suddenly the nightmare responsible for Jason's downward spiral is rekindled as Jason is thrust back into the wilderness on the trail of a predator that defies belief.

The time clock has begun for Norah Phelps, too, daughter of multimillionaire real estate developer Richard Phelps whose recent purchase of the 95,000 acre former Clarksdale Animal Preserve has pitted environmentalist and wildlife biologist daughter against capitalist father.  Norah, responsible for relocating the local wolf population, remains unconvinced a pack of marauding wolves are accountable for the attacks and enlists Jason's help in her quest for the real killer before the spate of killings can jeopardize not only her future but also the future of her father's prize development project.

Against the majestic pristine backdrop of Idaho's Bitterroot Wilderness Area, the story unfolds.  Jason, with Norah's assistance, soon discovers the ghosts of his past are nothing compared to the battle he's undertaken.

Smilodon.  A saber-toothed cat.  He's angry, he's frightened, he's hungry, and he's 12,000 years from home!

About Alan: I live in Southern California but still consider myself part Texan by birthright. I was born in Houston and grew up in Dallas. I've resided in California since the mid 1980's but get back to Texas as much as possible. My first two published novels—GARGOYLES and THE UNNATURAL are biomedical thrillers. Actually THE UNNATURAL could also fall into the horror genre as it is a pretty bizarre tale. BARBARY POINT is a love story about a successful young woman who falls in love with a fishing guide. It was written on a suggestion from a former agent.

I have several other projects in the works. HEMLOCK POND is a horror story about a young woman and her son who move into a farmhouse with a haunted pond. I'm also planning a sequel to GARGOYLES.

My favorite football team is the Superbowl champs GREEN BAY PACKERS. Sorry Cowboys. But when GB is not on the gridiron—Go Dallas! Great Cheerleaders, too!

I enjoy the outdoors and as a side note I'm one of only a few individuals to ever swim across Wisconsin's chilly Lake Winnebago. Does this make me a better writer—probably not.

When I'm not working on my next project, I enjoy relaxing and fishing at our family vacation home in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Where to find Alan

Blog

Website

Facebook

Twitter

 

Interview with Teresa Edgerton, author of "Goblin Moon"

I featured Teresa's book, "Goblin Moon," on Friday and am happy to post her interview today.  In addition to re-publishing her backlist and writing new books, Teresa is also branching out into freelance developmental editing.  I think this is awesome; she obviously knows how to write a darn good book, and now, she'll help other writers perfect their craft as well!  Brava, Teresa!  Way to live the guerrilla wordfare spirit!

 

Lizzy:  What do you wish you'd known starting out as an author that you know now?

Teresa: Actually, there is one big thing I am so glad I didn't know, which was how long and

how hard it would be to write my first novel.  If I had known, I doubt I would have even begun.   I was very naïve about so many things, but on the whole that worked to my advantage.   I had some talent, and people were always telling me I ought to be a writer, but though I was always starting stories, I never made any serious effort to finish them. I thought that when I did, I would just sit down and write the story.  It would be as easy as

that.  And for a long time, at the end of each draft I'd look at all I had learned, and feel absolutely certain that the next draft would be the last one.  That's what kept me going.

I wish I had known how passionate I would be about my writing.  That would have been

an encouraging thing to know.   I wish I had known enough to be a better writer — but I always wish that.   I want to go on improving forever.

Lizzy: What's the most inspiring piece of feedback you've received from a reviewer/reader?

Teresa: Letters from teenage readers who identify with the characters, who feel they've gotten more out of my books than just a good story.

Lizzy:  You've written a million books whose rights have now reverted back to you.  Do you have any idea when you're backlist will be up and available for readers.

Teresa: As of now, I have the rights to eight of my books, but I should have no trouble getting back the rights to the ninth.   Most of my books were written before ebooks were invented.  That's one reason why I am reprinting Goblin Moon now.  I'm eager to introduce a  new generation of readers to this book, and I think it's the right time to do it.  Readers are turning away from epic fantasy and are more adventurous than they were just a few years ago. But the books I wrote under the pseudonym Madeline Howard are technically still in print because they do exist as ebooks, and getting those rights back may be a challenge.  At this point I don't  really care.  The books are available, and that's enough for now.  There are so many other books I want to publish first.

My hope is that I can reissue a book every 6-9 months. I am resolved to see Hobgoblin Night published no later than this coming summer. I could release my books faster, but I have new books to write and publish, and I want to devote several months a year just to working on those. I am a perfectionist .  Or, less charitably, you might say that I am obsessive about getting everything exactly the way I want it.  

And I'm also doing freelance developmental editing, helping new writers to improve their books by working with them on the basics of plot, characterization, style, etc.  Even so, between new books and old books, I might be able to publish two novels a year. 

Lizzy: Do you have any plans for new books in the future?

Teresa: Absolutely.  I am entirely committed to finishing the last book in the Rune of Unmaking series. I hope to publish that one within the next twelve months  — maybe less. After that, I intend to write a sequel to The Queen's Necklace.  I made a detailed outline for that one a long time ago, and now that the choice of what I will write and what I will see published is up to me, that's what I want to write.  The Queen's Necklace will be the third book of my backlist to be published, so that should work out just right for the sequel.

And I think there will be short fiction, too, some of it about familiar characters from the books.  Actually, I've been writing a lot of very short fiction, 75 words and 300 words long, for competitions on a website I help moderate.  I think some of those stories are worth

expanding, so maybe I will someday soon and collect them all in one volume.

Where to find Teresa:

Website

Facebook

Amazon Author profile

Book feature and giveaway: "The Gift" by Beverly Cialone

Remember how I mentioned there's a new breed of indie: Traditionally pubbed with a backlist?  Welcome Beverly Cialone, author of today's giveaway, The Gift. She told me I could feature any book in her backlist, and as soon as I read the description for The Gift, I knew that was the one!  Christmas and your own personal genie that you fall in love with?  SIGN ME UP!

Find The Gift on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes!

As always, to enter the giveaway: leave a comment here OR use one of the social media buttons following the article to share with your networks; OR retweet my tweet; OR comment, share, or like the post I put on FB; OR comment, share or 1+ the post I put on Google+!

Distraught over her parents' death, Summer is depressed over having to spend Christmas alone. After receiving a strange package with the instructions

"DO NOT OPEN 'TIL CHRISTMAS EVE", her spirits lift somewhat. When she opens the package, she is surprised to discover that she has inherited a genie

named Adrian. What Adrian tells her, and what Adrian is capable of doing, is astounding, to say the least. In order for them to stay together, Summer must first declare her love for Adrian. Then, and only then, will he be able to reveal the secret that will enable them to truly be together forever. 

 

About Beverly: Beverly Cialone has been writing since junior high school. Her writing can be romantic and filled with fantasy or replete with the realism of gut-wrenching emotion. The author of several successful romance and erotica titles, she remains ever true to her passion of writing from the soul. Beverly lives in South Carolina with her fiance and enjoys spending time with her two sons and two adorable granddaughters.

 

 

Book feature and giveaway: "Goblin Moon" by Teresa Edgerton

Today, I'm happy to introduce Teresa Edgerton, a new breed of indie author.  She's a prolific author whose backlist of nine books were traditionally published in the 90s and early 2000s, and she's just now starting the process to indie publish her backlist.  She also writes and publishes under the name Madeline Howard.  Her first indie published book, Goblin Moon, is featured today, and she's working diligently to release the rest of her backlist, so stay tuned for more from this author!

Goblin Moon is available from Amazon!

As usual, for the giveaway portion: comment on this post; OR use one of the social mediat buttons at the bottom of this post to share with your networks; OR retweet the tweet I send out; OR comment, share or like the post I put on FB; OR 1+, share, or comment the post I share on Google+!

When the Goblin Moon rises, strange things happen …

Coffins float down the river, hobgoblins emerge from their dens, alchemists pore over ancient texts in search of the secret of creating life — and one man fights a secret battle against cruelty and injustice, with wit, ingenuity, and a lethal lack of compunction.
GUNPOWDER AND ALCHEMY supersedes Sword amd Scorcery in this swashbuckling tale of witchcraft, mesmerism, animal magnetism, schemes, subterfuges, disguises, revenges, secret societies, and secret identities.

About Teresa: Teresa was born in Van Nuys, California, 1949. Her family moved to northern California when she was a teenager, then back to southern California (briefly),

and finally to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she has lived ever since.

She met her husband, John Edgerton, in 1971, at the local Renaissance Faire, where she was working as a Tarot reader and he was part of a Society for Creative Anachronism troupe putting on demonstrations of medieval tourney combat. They became better acquainted through their involvement in the SCA, and other historical recreations, and were married, in her parent's back yard in an early Tudor-style ceremony, a mere

eight months later.

In 1973 they started their family, welcoming daughter Gwyneth Alianora, who missed being born on Halloween by less than two hours. Twenty months later, a second child, Daisy Elizabeth, was born. Often mistaken for twins, Gwyneth and Daisy spent much of their time growing up posing in a variety of Medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian costumes.

Meanwhile, Teresa, determined to remain a stay-at-home mother, spent the next

several years attempting to add to the family income by working as a professional psychic and by making puppets. She, John, and the girls (now joined by Megan Angharad) barely scraped by. At the age of twenty-nine, Teresa decided that it was time to get serious about her life-long ambition to become a writer.

She spent the next several years writing the steadily expanding epic that would eventually become The Green Lion Trilogy. The family was also expanding, with the birth of a fourth child, John-Miles (more of a surprise than an accident).

Child of Saturn was published in 1989. Two sequels soon followed.  After that, Teresa's writing production slowed down somewhat, as the demands of motherhood, baseball (both Megan and Miles spent a number of years in Little League), and volunteer work at the local elementary school took up much of her time. There were also severe health problems, which slowed down the writing process even more, and led to a period of virtual seclusion.

Now, with her health restored, and having reached the venerable age of fifty, Teresa finds herself the grandmother of twins and the author of eleven books and six short stories—nine of those books published under her own name, and two under her pseudonym, Madeline Howard.