Terra Harmony's Blog, page 7

Celebrate Community Blog Hop and…My Birthday!!!

This week, I am participating in the ‘Celebrate Community Blog Hop’ hosted by Pavarti at Fighting Monkey Press. The event commemorates the end of the month of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, and while many participating are not Muslims, to us the core of any religion is community.

Together, we’ll share photographs, music, recipes, and stories. Today we’ll share our favorite recipe.  To be honest, most recipes are my fav just as long as I don’t have to cook them! True story – the first night after our honeymoon I had to ask my husband how to cook canned corn (to be fair, there were no instructions on the can). The second night I set a frozen pizza on fire inside the oven because I left the cardboard underneath. He’s been cooking ever since!

Now, since today also happens to fall on….MY BIRTHDAY…I’ll have to share an ice cream birthday cake recipe with you. This was an experiment that turned out very well and fair warning; it is very, very simple. So go ahead and get started on your party drinks because ANYONE can make this, sober or not.

My recipe will not turn out as good as this looks.

Terra’s ‘Home-Made’ Ice Cream Cake

 

Ingredients:

- 2 boxes of store-bought cake mix (any kind)

- 1 gallon of store-bought ice cream (any kind)

- 2 units of store-bought frosting (any kind)

- Whatever else the store-bought cake mix directions say you need

 Health Information:

Who cares? You are eating freakin’ ice cream cake!

 

 

 

Directions:

Make the store-bought cake mix.  Make it in at least three separate containers (two if you feel like being creative later), preferably square or rectangle.  Cool the cakes in the freezer until they are pretty hard, maybe an hour or two, no need to cover them while they are in the freezer unless you are worried about the tator tots falling on the cake. Then take one of the cakes and place it on the plate/platter you intend to keep it on when it is finished.  Take the other cake and cut it into strips.  Place the strips on top of the full cake around the edges.  You are essentially making a bowl in which to place the ice cream.  Scoop ice cream into the center.  Don’t worry about it smoothing out; just put enough to reach the top of the strips, or just over the top.  Place the third cake over the strips and ice cream, covering everything up.  If you don’t have a third cake (either because you are lazy, don’t follow instructions, or wanted to be creative), you can leave the top open or fill in what you can with any remaining pieces of cake.  Put the whole thing back in the freezer for another hour or two.  You’ll see that the ice cream melted to fill in the hole perfectly, but not so much that it leaks through or down into the cake.  Amazing, huh?  Take the cake out to frost it with your store-bought frosting and enjoy!

Alternative options:

Frost in between the two/three layers of cake.
Mix the ice cream with cake bits and some frosting before placing it in the cake – it is totally yummy.
Just buy an ice-cream cake from the store (I prefer Cold Stone).

 

Since I’ve recently discovered I am lactose-intolerant, please make this cake and have a piece for me! I’ve already had my ‘cake’; an awesome wild blueberry pie. My presents weren’t so bad either – a wine cork board kit and unbreakable wine glasses. Husband knows me well!

 

Be sure to go to Fighting Monkey Press and check out the rest of the blog post recipes on Pinterest!

 

Orangeberry Favorites

This month I am participating in the Orangeberry Summer Splash Mini Book Tour Marathon; 100 authors, and 100 blogs. Featured genres include fantasy, science fiction, historical romance, romantic suspense, mystery, thrillers and more.

The event is expected to raise awareness about the growing Indie publishing movement and offers readers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how imaginary worlds and characters are created. The event includes interviews, book reviews, guest posts, a Kindle Fire giveaway and much more!

I finally got a chance to peruse the book tour myself and was excited over what I saw! Here are some of the highlights that stuck out for me:

Prettiest Participating Blog – Always a Book Lover

Once I clicked on Victoria’s book blogging website, I knew I had to include it on my favorites list.  Website design and the imagery bloggers put across their sites always amazes me, and  Victoria’s is straight out beautiful!

Favorite Participating Book – Two Moons of Sera by Pavarti Tyler

I had the chance to read this one a few months ago, and was instantly captivated by this world Pavarti created! I won’t rehash my review here, but check out the blurb:

In a world where water and earth teem with life, Serafay is an anomaly. The result of genetic experiments on her mother’s water-borne line Serafay will have to face the very people responsible to discover who she really is. But is she the only one?

Would Most Like to Read:

The book tour has a lot of interesting reads to offer; two in particular are at the top of the list for me:

Song of the Fairy Queen by Valerie Douglas and Bactine by Paul Krater

Best Author interview – Lisa Scott, author of 15 Shades of Pink

There are a lot of interviews to go around. Authors answered 20 questions or more from a list of hundreds, and there are also ‘twitterviews’ all throughout August. By far, I thought Lisa’s interview was the best – it had me laughing all the way through!

Best New Feature: Page 99 Test

Okay, not sure if this is exactly new to book tours, but I’d never heard of it before. The Page 99  Test is an excellent way for readers to judge the writing of a book before buying it. See page 99 for my book, ‘Water’, here.

Biggest Thanks

A huge thanks to Pandora Poikilos for organizing the Orangeberry Summer Splash, and for the twitter blasts and twitterviews (see them by following @PandoraPoikilos).

Pandora Poikilos is the international best-selling author of ‘Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out’, along with several other novels and short stories. She is also the founder of Orangeberry Book Tours, and a social media enthusiast (close to 150,000 twitter followers), who is passionate about blogging and finding her way around the virtual world.

Connect with Pandora via e-mail (pandorapoikilos@gmail.com), on Facebook or at Amazon.

 

It’s August!

Photograph by James Larkin

It’s August, my absolute favorite month! This year August means hot days, afternoon thunderstorms, and the Olympics. I woke up this morning, anxious to get started on another month of 50k words to finish out Earth, Book Four of the Akasha Series. Granted, I fell back asleep almost immediately, but I am not deterred. I am excited, because did you hear? It’s August!

Besides the fact that it is my birth month, it is also my first child’s birth month – so lots of birthday cake to go around. Plus, we have a fun month planned; a trip to the beach and the awesome Orangeberry Summer Splash Mini Book Tour Marathon. A feature of 100 authors and 500 blog stops. With interviews, guest posts, music playlists, giveaways, and much more – there is something for everyone. Please check it out!

‘Water, Book One of the Akasha Series‘ will be featured. Here is the schedule:

2nd August - Author Interview at Grady Hendrix’s blog

5th August – Twitter Blast with Pandora Poikilos

10th August - Guest Post & Book Feature at Krazy Book Lady

11th August – Twitter View with Pandora Poikilos: follow @harmonygirlit to see

12th August – Book Feature at Peace from Pieces

17th August – Guest Post & Book Review at Christopher Starr’s blog

18th August - Ford 99 at Mommy Adventures: read page 99 of ‘Water’

Can’t wait? Here is a teaser; part of my interview:

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

Slow down, already!

What is your guilty pleasure?

Vampires.

Favorite places to travel?

Anywhere without the kids…sorry guys, but sometimes mommy needs a break.

Of course, there will be reminders throughout August to check everything out, and I will be perusing to let you know my favorite blog stops. In the meantime – I want to know how you would answer the questions above! Leave a comment with your guilty pleasure and/or your favorite place to travel. Also, if someone wrote a book about your life, what would be the title?

One Year Later…

It’s nearing the end of July, with only one month left of summer. Almost a year ago today, I self-published my first short story, ‘Gleaming White, Book One of the Kindred Curse Anthology’. Since then, that short story has turned into five prequels that made up the entire anthology, and I’ve published the first two novels in my Akasha Series, with the third to release in October.

It’s been a whirlwind year, and although sales aren’t quite enough to quit my day job, they are picking up. I’ve learned so much from the community and most importantly, I’m having…FUN!

This summer, I’ve been busy working on the print versions of each book. The formatting is completely different from e-books, and in my opinion more difficult to do. But finally, they are available:

All are on Amazon.com (The Kindred Curse may not appear on their website for another two weeks). So if print is your thing, pass the word along! Don’t forget, ‘Water’ is still free as an e-book.

So, we’ve got one month left, what are you going to do with your remaining summer? For me, it will be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, The Orangeberry Summer Splash Tour, and a short trip to the beach!

7 Tips on Writing a Review

I wrote this post a while ago, but have procrastinated in posting it. Truth is – I looooove reviewers. All of them. Book bloggers, wannabe book bloggers, occasional readers…my mother-in-law.  As an Indie author, I am extremely grateful for any review posted of my work, good or bad. Both of which I’ve had my fair share of lately. The fact that someone took the time to read my book is incredible. When they go one step further and share their opinion of my writing with the rest of the world, I am ecstatic.

Just to be clear, a bad review really does sting deep down inside. But after the initial blow, I come to appreciate them. They can provide constructive feedback and they offer a certain authenticity to the book. Besides, any publicity is better than no publicity…right? In fact, reviews I’ve read of other books rant and rave about the decisions a character made. Often, this can mean the reader became emotionally involved, and that is a good thing.

But there are reviews, and then there are good reviews. In my perfect world, this is how reviews would be done:

Be honest, and write the review in your voice.
Don’t start with the books blurb.  On sites such as Goodreads or Amazon, chances are the reader just read the blurb – they don’t need it repeated.  I do see the value in book bloggers including the blurb first on their site, however the review on your site doesn’t need to be a straight cut and paste into Goodreads.
Start with the good.  Many of the reviews on my book start with the bad.  And don’t get me wrong – do include everything you want to say, just say something nice first.  On many sites, just the first few lines of the review is shown unless the reader clicks to expand.  That means when they are just skimming through all the reviews (which is very often what I do), only the first few lines have a chance to make an impression.
Do say something nice.  The book has a pretty cover, the main character’s name is awesome, the author has good use of punctuation.  Pick one.  There has to be something nice you can say – especially if you finished the entire book.  To be honest, a review filled with snide or snarky remarks and nothing at all good to say will often be dismissed by your audience.
Be a grown-up about it.  And this goes both ways – I’m looking at YOU, authors!  Chances are, at some point you are going to write a review that an author or someone else won’t appreciate.  If they choose to respond in a negative way, then they chose poorly.  Be the bigger person – don’t feed the fire.  Let it go; move on.  You have a lot of books on your TBR list anyway.  I have to mention a one-star review I received because of how much the reader hated my antagonist. I just wanted to respond – THAT’S THE POINT . Another reviewer gave me a low rating because the rape scene just wasn’t hard core enough. Wow, just wow, people. To each their own. It took a minute, but I didn’t respond. I moved on.
Give the reader of the review something on which to reference.  Is this book like any you’ve ever read?  Which one?  Does this character remind you of someone?  Who?  If you want the reader to really connect with your reviews, give them something to connect with.
If you are book blogger – get visual! Including the book cover goes without saying. But I love bloggers who take it one step further and include relevant pictures or even action emotions. Make the review fun! It should be as entertaining as the book was.

So there you have it. Bloggers, authors, and reviewers – what do you think? Have anything to add?

Indie-Pendence Week Blog Hop

 

I am getting this post up late due to my usual inability to plan, and a pesky derecho that wreaked havoc in the Mid-Atlantic.  I seriously didn’t even know what a derecho was up until now – sounds like a cowboy movie to me. Anyway, on to our July 4th celebration and the Indie-Pendence Week Blog Hop hosted by Grave Tells.  Thanks for stopping by!

Some of the best experiences I’ve had so far as an indie author is the support of the community, and other indie authors specifically. Thus far, they seem eager to share their experiences, their time, their statistics – anything I may have a question about to help boost my own sales.  Some of the great authors I have come across include:

Scott Marlow, author of The Five Elements

Pavarti Tyler, author of Shadow on the Wall

Ashley Barron, author of Ava, a Priya Novel

Follow the links above to check out their books, then enter the contest below. I am giving away one free book of the winner’s choice out of the three above mentioned novels, or one of my own. Please keep in mind ‘The Five Elements’ and ‘Shadow on the Wall’ are physical books that will be mailed to you, and ‘Ava’ is an e-book only.  Be sure to click on the Indie-Pendence banner above to follow the blog hop for more great prizes!

Happy 4th of July!!!

To enter the contest, complete the form below. For extra entries, please complete the following tasks;

1. For 3 extra entries, follow my blog by clicking on ‘Follow via e-mail’ in the right sidebar.

2. For 1 extra entry, ‘like’ me on Facebook.

3. For 1 extra entry, follow me via Twitter.

[contact-form]

Amazon – I love you, man. But you make no sense.

Thanks to everyone who helped price-match ‘Water’. My novel is now free to the masses! In other news, the print version will soon be available (it’s been a long learning process – print formatting is way more complex than e-book formatting).

I’m not exactly sure when the price-match occurred, but ‘Water’ already has over 1,000 downloads. And that is without a lick of advertising (until I hit ‘post’ on this article, that is).  I’ve even sold three copies of the next in the series, ‘Air’, today.  That is more than all of last month.

Anyway, ‘Water’ now ranks #2 under the ‘family saga’ bestsellers list. Not sure how it ended up there. I don’t really think it belongs there, and I’m not sure I can change it. I’m hoping it hits a few other bestseller lists. Speaking of, over 20 people have tagged ‘Water’ as young adult.

Not cool, Amazon. Not. Cool. Anyone reading the novel expecting young adult will be severely disappointed, possibly offended, and most likely ticked off. Ratings could very well suffer.

But we’ll see what happens. Let’s just hope this little experiment doesn’t run me out of the business. Until then – tell all your friends!

 

Being Mrs. Dracula

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! I recently submitted a short story to one of my Goodreads groups, Gotta Have Paranormal Romance with a Kick. The requirements were to write a short story about what it would be like to be Mrs. Dracula. No word count minimums/maximums. So I sat down, hammered something out, and won! Squee!  I got a $25 gift card to AllRomanceBooks.com, plus an e-copy of Being Mrs. Dracula by Faith Marlow.

Of course, my version of being Mrs. Dracula includes Wiccans, environmental issues, and an unexpected twist at the end. Interested? Read below and let me know what you think!

True Patriot

“Mrs. Hun, your rebuttal, if you please.”

Melinda nodded at the moderator, and turned to face the cameras. Lights bore down on her, and she hoped her makeup held up to the heat. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of her neck. She ignored it, trying to focus instead on the audience behind the media.

“Although my opponent’s environmental goal is admirable; it simply isn’t enough. As Ohio’s newest senator, and duly elected representative, I intend to support the push for nuclear energy.” Melinda waited for the uproar to die down. Her announcement wasn’t unexpected; in fact, anticipation of the announcement is what led to such a large turnout. She leaned closer into the microphone, speaking above the crowd, “Nuclear energy waste is miniscule to what we produce now. A coke can’s worth per person’s lifetime compared to 68 tons solid waste and 77 tons carbon dioxide.”

There were shouts from the audience, both for and against.

She continued, “A nuclear plant takes up less than a square mile to produce the same amount of energy a wind farm on 200 square miles produces.”

From behind the cameras, someone yelled about weapons of mass destruction. Melinda did something her campaign manager strictly prohibited. She responded to the criticism, “Nuclear war is an exaggerated fear, fed to you by Hollywood and the media.”

She looked over at her opponent, candidate Daniel Kelley, and swallowed hard. A small, knowing smile crept up on one side of his face.

As the debate ended with a clear winner, the two candidates shook hands in front of the camera. He leaned into her, “Good luck with the rest of your campaign, Mrs. Hun.”

She nodded, “And to you, Mr. Kelley.”

He glanced over at the empty seat in the front row, “I look forward to meeting your husband.”

Melinda looked down. Her husband had yet to appear at a public event by her side. “Mr. Hun is busy with work.”

Daniel narrowed his eyes, “Well, I hope he is around to at least take care of your injuries.”

Melinda gasped, touching her eye. The tips of her fingers came away tinged with beige cover-up. Her makeup was running. She immediately adjusted her hair over her neck, hoping no one had spotted the bruising there.

Daniel smiled, leaning in further, “Makeup, hair, and high turtlenecks can only cover so much.” He bent the rest of the way, kissing her on the cheek, then straightened and winked at her. Daniel Kelley disappeared into the maelstrom of media, prompting a new frenzy of flashing lights.

Melinda closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The campaign, relatively free of mud-slinging so far, was about to get ugly.

* * *

Melinda entered campaign headquarters with her manager and several aides, “How is my California colleague’s campaign going?”

The youngest aide, a recent college grad, answered, “He leads the polls.”

“And Louisiana?” she asked.

“The same,” the manager said. “Barring any unfortunate disclosures regarding religious affiliations, your fellow wiccans will be sitting at the capitol next year.”

Melinda nodded. Discussions on how to effectively change America’s environmental policies began within her small coven ten years ago. With a lot of hard work, and equal amounts of luck, they managed to ensconce a handful of loyal wiccans within the US political system. This was just the beginning. Between the congressional race and well-paid lobbyists, they were going to slowly oust the large corporation stronghold within US politics, and guide the country to vote on policies that were environmentally responsible. America would no longer be run by the highest bidder.

“Melinda,” her campaign manager stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Are you going to be okay?”

She furrowed her eyebrows at him.

“Your husband returns tonight?” He pressed. “This is a situation your opponent would love to exploit. We can’t afford that kind of press. We are behind enough in the polls as it is.”

Melinda fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, uncomfortable with this kind of attention. “What my husband and I do behind closed doors is no affair of yours.”

“Of course – yet it will soon become the affair of the entire nation, if you’re not careful.”

She cleared her throat, and met his eyes, “I will be in my private suite the remainder of the evening. Text if you need anything; otherwise I’ll see you before 9 for our flight tomorrow morning.”

He sighed, looking at her with sad eyes. The matter was not closed; next time he would approach it with more care.

* * *

Melinda took the elevator below ground to her private suite. There weren’t many buildings in Columbus that went this far underground, especially so close to the river. Melinda wasn’t keen on spending so much of their campaign money on a lease, but Mr. Hun was insistent. She crossed their spacious living room, removing her jacket and high heels along the way. She looked at her watch, he would be waking soon.

At the floor to ceiling bookshelf, Melinda pulled on the copy of Bram Stroker’s ‘Dracula’. One click, and a panel opened inward. Melinda squeezed through the small opening. Inside was a large pentagram. Lit candles placed at intervals around the circular room provided the only light. Several men and women in robes waited on their knees, obediently keeping their heads down.

Melinda cleared her throat. One rose, walked over to her, and handed her an iced cocktail. She sniffed it, raising her eyebrows at him.

“It is the usual infused herbs, mixed during an incantation, Melinda.”

“And the blood?” She asked, peering through the clear glass.

“One drop.”

She nodded, throwing her head back and finishing the cocktail in one swallow. She handed the empty glass to the robed man, along with her cell phone and campaign badges, “I am ready.”

He set her belongings down on a small table and pulled a lever just above it. The center of the pentagram opened, and a large bed rose into the room, gears underneath squeaking with the strain. Melinda held her breath, heart stopping for a moment as it always did upon his awakening.

The form on the bed stirred, pulling the chains that bound him tight. A slow smile crept onto Melinda’s face, “Settle down husband, you will fly tonight.”

He turned, gray eyes boring into her, “You have another name for me, witch?”

“Daniel Kelley.”

The vampire sat up in the bed, his bare chest heaving in anger, “One of these nights, I will break your curse. I’m too old; lived far too long to bend to the will of a human.”

Melinda stepped forward, removing her turtleneck and revealing her bruised throat. A small price to pay. The vampire did need to feed after all, “The day may come,” she said. “But it will require something strong enough to break the bond of marriage.” She wrapped her hand around one of the chains, pulling it tight. The vampire was yanked down again, flat on his back. “And something stronger still to break these bonds. Not to mention the curse.”

Melinda crawled onto the bed, straddling the vampire. She felt his whole body go tense. “We’ll be performing the Great Rite before I release you,” she nodded to the robed man and he took his place back in the circle. “We’ll need to make sure the curse holds while you fly free. I want my little bat to return home by dawn.”

She stroked the side of his face. He bared his fangs, but couldn’t bite into the healthy, throbbing pulse at her wrist. Not without her permission; one of many stipulations enforced through the curse.

Dracula closed his eyes, frowning. “I suppose this must be my penance.”

“Penance?” Melinda scooted down on the bed, making herself comfortable in between his legs. “It’s for the good of the country.” Her smile was all too malicious, “I’ll make a true patriot out of you yet.”

A Call for Help

I am celebrating!!! I just finished the last chapter to the third book in the Akasha Series, ‘Fire’. Of course, it still has a few months’ worth of editing, revising, and critiquing to go (worst part of the writing process, I swear), but this is the first milestone of novel ‘done-ness’.

By far the largest motivation factor to continuing with my series is the unexpected but awesome support I’ve found from readers. Never could I have imagined that complete strangers would be so enthusiastic about Kaitlyn and the goals of the Seven. Waking up to find posts on my facebook page about how much readers enjoyed my books makes all my late nights and early mornings worth it!

Over the next few months, I will be posting excerpts from all three of the books so far, I will do a cover reveal, and (hopefully) organize a massive blog tour for the release of ‘Fire’. To celebrate my readers, I will be offering ‘Water, Book One of the Akasha Series,’ for FREE for a limited time. You can download an e-copy in almost any version from Smashwords right now. But I need your help. When you have a moment, please go to ‘Water’s’ Amazon page and under ‘product details’ click on ‘tell us about a lower price’. Insert the URL to the Smashwords page: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92109.  I’m hoping within a week or so Amazon will price match, and ‘Water’ can be enjoyed for free by thousands of people!

So – a day of rest for me, then back to writing. I’m participating in Camp NaNoWriMo with the goal of writing 50,000 words by the end of June. I’m moving right on to the final book of the series, ‘Earth’. The genre of ‘Earth’ shifts into dystopian, so it will be quite an adventure to write!

In the meantime, have you added ‘Fire’ to your Goodreads TBR list, or seen my book trailer yet? Which reminds me, I’ll need to do one for ‘Air’ and ‘Fire’ next…

Picasso Sucks

“I would never buy his work, and you couldn’t pay me to hang it up on my wall.”

This is what my husband told me after I became seriously heartbroken after another two-star review for my eco-fantasy novel, Water. His point was, my book will not be for everyone, just as Picasso’s work isn’t for everyone. I understand that. Hell – I embrace some of the more critical reviews and have made my novel better because of them.

To give you some perspective, as of today on Goodreads ‘Water’ has an average 3.86 stars out of 77 ratings. Here is the breakdown:

 

Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely grateful to have 77 ratings at all. But why am I so obsessed with the fact that I have a below four star average?

Probably because I, myself, hesitate to read anything that has below a four star average.

Why do I spend countless hours gritting my teeth and analyzing the one and two stars and significantly less time celebrating the four and five stars?

Because I am human.

As authors, and especially as indie authors, we can say we have a thick skin all we want. But years and years of work go into one novel, and very often, we have given up so much to make it a reality. So when someone tears our baby apart, basically encouraging others not to give it a chance, it hurts.

But this is the reality of putting your creative work out there. Musicians, actors, and artists all go through the same thing. Under constant criticism, good and bad, how do we find the motivation to continue? Here is what I will try to keep in mind:

I can’t stop writing, any more than I could stop breathing. Even if the outlet of self-publishing wasn’t available to me, I would see my series through to the end – and then start on another series.
Despite his haters *glares at husband*, Picasso remains the top ranked artist (based on sales of his works at auctions as of 2004 according to the Art Market Trends report).
There are plenty of very popular and successful books with sub four star ratings on Goodreads to include Fifty Shades of Grey ,every single book in the Twilight Series, and plenty of Amanda Hocking’s books.

To be clear, I am not comparing my novels with these books – I aim to be better. I will also keep in mind that I don’t play it safe with my novels. I tackle tough issues; rape, violence, relationships that escalate too quickly, suicide, mental disorders, as well as gay characters. If that wasn’t enough, my third book of the series, Fire, which releases this October, opens with a birth scene. Squeamish? You won’t last the first chapter.

So I will take a deep breath, vow to stop starting my day by checking Goodreads, and….well…I will: