C.R. Hiatt's Blog, page 8
July 26, 2012
July 23, 2012
Reads4Free
Boy, are we lucky!
What an incredible opportunity!
A few weeks ago, I was approached by Derek Blass, author of the International Bestsellers, Enemy in Blue and Allegiance, about doing a promo with him and a several other incredible authors, who also happen to be bestselling authors.
I was humbled by the opportunity to join such an amazing group, mainly because I’m still new to this journey, having only recently published the first book in my YA Action-Mystery series, Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00, in April of this year. But more importantly, because of the incredible accomplishments of the authors I was asked to join.
Somebody pinch me.
How lucky am I?
But enough about me…
On June 24 and 25, those incredible authors, (Derek Blass, Alan McDermott, Shannon Mayer, Elise Stokes, Zach Fortier, Carmen DeSousa, Patricia Paris, and I, as well) are offering some amazing books to you, our readers, for FREE.
Yes, that’s right, FREE!
Here’s the link to the site READS4FREE where you can see all 9 books together on the same page. (***Bloggers, if you have nothing else to post on the next two days, feel free to copy and paste this one and share).
Okay, so I couldn’t help myself, here’s a little more about me:
As part of the READS4FREE promo on July 24 and 25, I am offering my YA action-mystery, Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00, FREE. It’s been described as “An action-packed thrill ride in the vein of Veronica Mars meets Alex Rider”. You’ll want to read this one, because the sequel, Fireworks on the 4th, (“Veronica Mars meets 21 Jump Street”) will be available within the next couple of weeks.
Happy Reading!
CR HIATT
July 11, 2012
Host a Book Push and win Amazon Gift Cards
Calling all bloggers and writers who like to blog…
I, and seven other authors, are putting on a promo on July 26th, and we are hoping that some of you fantastic bloggers might be able to help out. We are doing a One Day Book Push. Best part of it for our bloggers? There will be randomly drawn prizes for bloggers who help us out. How about some Amazon Gift Cards!!!
If you are interested, or know of any other bloggers who might be, please contact onedaybookpush@yahoo.ca for the details.
Thanks so much and we look forward to working with you.
CR HIATT
June 26, 2012
McSwain & Beck interview the star of Lightmasters: Number 13, JESSICA T. WYRD
Hang on to your hats folks, because this blog post is sure to be one roller coaster ride full of fun! You see, McSwain & Beck of the YA action-mystery, Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00, have decided to take a few moments away from their busy days of detecting, sleuthing, spying, or just plain being nosey, to have a chat with 13-year-old, Jessica T. Wyrd, the action, fantasy hero of the YA novel LIGHTMASTERS: Number 13, created by author M.G. Wells.
Without further ado…
Sydney Marie McSwain (18-years-old)
McSwain: Hey Jessica, thanks for stopping by and giving Cody and I a crack at interviewing you first, before the paparazzi get wind of your notoriety regarding your exploits in Lightmasters: Number 13. It’s great to meet you.
Jessica: Thanks for having me. It’s cool to meet you, too!
McSwain: I was drawn to your story because like me, you’re also living without parents. For those of you who don’t know, Jessica lost hers when she was twelve.
Jessica: That’s right. They were killed by a drunk driver. That’s when I was sent to live with my grandparents.
McSwain: Even though you were angry about losing your parents, and forced to move to a new location—which meant a new school and the struggle to make new friends—how did you keep from wallowing in self-pity?
Jessica: I don’t have time for self-pity. Well, maybe a little. I was more angry and sad though about having to move away from Georgia to New York. It was lonely living with my grandparents, and I felt nervous about my new school. I am kind of a loner, so it’s hard for me to find friends who get me. Also, most of the kids at school don’t like that I’m smart. They also tease me about my last name. This really bugs me.
McSwain: Before we get into any topics of the book, how have you been coping with the loss of your parents? It’s hard for me at 18, I can only imagine what it’s like for you.
Jessica: Truth is, I miss my father most. He was always so kind and gentle. My mother was cold and distant. I wish I had known her better. She wasn’t around very much. She spent most of her time teaching at the university.
Cody Beck (18-years-old)
Sydney: Sorry, Jessica, but my goofball friend, I mean partner at McSwain & Beck, wants to ask you a few questions. But be careful, he can be a wisenheimer.
Jessica: LOL
Beck: Hey Jessica, so tell me… what’s it REALLY like living with your gassy Grandparents, as you describe them?
Jessica: At first, it was a freaking nightmare. The burping and farting was gross. My Grandmother’s cooking is so disgusting, and she can be too bossy sometimes. My Grandfather has a great sense of humor and reminds me of my father. After I got to know them better, I love and respect them for their humor and wisdom.
Beck: On your thirteenth birthday, a magnificent spiral light lit up outside your bedroom window.
What went through your mind when you left your room and followed the light into the forest? What did you think it was? Were you scared?
Jessica: A little. I was more intrigued and had to find out more about it.
Cody: You dealt with the mighty Torc, slithery serpents and numerous challenges on your way to Kiron in the fantastical Otherworld. Did they represent bullies to you, in real life?
Jessica: Yes, they did. Before he died, my father warned me about bullies and the need to stand up for myself. Even though Torc was scary, Dragateen and Bo were much kinder. Torc is a warrior dedicated to his role as a Lightmaster. Once I got to know what he was about, I admired his boldness and courage. In the Otherworld I was just winging it. Each bizarre challenge forced me to protect myself at any cost. I especially enjoyed meeting, Gwendolyn, Lady of the Emerald Pond.
McSwain nudged Beck in the ribs to let him know she had a question.
McSwain: Feeling like an outcast, did it empower you to deal with them in such a bold way?
Jessica: Sure did. I also have a fiery temper when provoked. I do my best to avoid bullies since I know deep down they’re hurting inside. Sometimes, you just have to face them head on.
McSwain: You run into many unusual, and interesting characters on your way to becoming a Lightmaster. Without giving the plot away, what was the most exciting part of your magical adventure?
Jessica: Shape-shifting into a mermaid was very weird.
Also when my Grandparents and I entered an altered dream state together. Here, I discovered my Granmother was a Blue Dragon,
I a Firebird,
And my Granfather a Blue Whale…
The lessons I learned from Lightmasters Dragateen and Oja were incredible. They taught me to believe in the power of my thoughts and how magical they can be when properly used. Oja taught me how to become invisible using my thoughts, and this was the most awesome experience.
Beck: That’s friggin’ awesome!!!
McSwain: Now, let’s get down to the part of the interview that Cody has been excited to know. As a wannabe filmmaker, Cody views stories as they would appear on the big screen. He lives for movies. Lightmasters: Number 13 has very vivid and colorful descriptions. If you could have anyone you wanted to turn your story into a feature film, what director(s) immediately come to mind from movies you’ve seen on the big screen?
Jessica: Hey Cody. Some directors I like are Peter Jackson, James Cameron, James Darabont, Alfonso Cuarón, Ron Howard, Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg, in no particular order.
McSwain: Harry Potter was such a success on the big screen since the actors selected to portray the characters were appropriately cast. If you had your choice of actresses to audition for the role of Jessica T. Wyrd, who would you select to play yourself, your grandparents and the infamous, Dragateen?
Jessica: Oh, wow that’s a cool question. I admire the talented, Irish actress Saoirse Ronan and believe she’d be great playing me.
I’d love to see Anthony Hopkins play my Grandfather
and Miriam Margolyes play my Grandmother.
Also, for the Kind, Mystical Dragateen, Keanu Reeves woudl be GREAT!
Of course, I’m open to suggestions. There’s so much talent out there, it’s mind-blowing to pick just one.
Sydney: Well, those are some excellent suggestions. Okay, Jessica, here comes the million-dollar question. There’s a rumor going around that there may be a sequel to Lightmasters: Number 13. Is that true? If so, do you have any cool information about the new adventure you can share with us? Or is it top secret information only Lightmasters are privy to?
Jessica: Yes, M.G. has been working on Lightmasters: The Gate. I can’t give away all the juicy details. I will be traveling to Egypt with my friend, Cleopatra Quinn, and her family this summer.
I’m so excited about going there. It’s always been a dream of mine. That’s all I can share for now. It was fun getting to know you, Sydney McSwain and Cody Beck. Maybe we can hook up some time and share some of our wild experiences!
McSwain & Beck: We would love that!
Here are the links to all thinks Lightmasters: Number 13. Stop by and introduce yourself to the creator, M.G. Wells. Just make to tell her McSwain & Beck sent you.
Before you go, the author of Lightmasters: Number 13, has decided to have a Giveaway, and is offering (one autographed copy of the paperback version of the book). How cool is that?!
To enter, you MUST leave a comment, (1 point); LIKE the blog post (2 points); and send out a Tweet on Twitter with a link to the blog post addressed to my Twitter sign: @McSwainandBeck (3 points). Of course, you can comment and tweet as often as you like to get more points. The Giveaway will run from today, June 26 to July 10 at midnight. Whoever has the most points at the end of the giveaway will be the lucky winner.
The chances of winning are in your hands!
June 25, 2012
Adrenaline Rush
Most of you know by now I’m an action junkie. In fact, a good majority of my reading and viewing material is centered around action. That’s not to say I don’t have some comedy, chick lit, drama and romance scattered in between. It’s just that I LOVE action. So, after getting in a little writing, and then catching up on my social media fun on Saturday evening, a few of my friends decided we should get out the popcorn and watch a good movie. Safehouse was the chosen flick for the night. Like the tagline on the front of the DVD says: “An Adrenaline Rush From Start To Finish”.
You really can’t go wrong, with Denzel Washington, portrayed as a rogue agent. I admit, he is one of my favorite actors. I can’t think of one movie I’ve seen with him in the starring role, where I didn’t enjoy the film. He puts everything into the character he is portraying. His performance in Training Day absolutely blew me away.
And to team him up with the incredible Ryan Reynolds, the young and naive CIA guy, hoping to land the position in Paris and finally get out of babysitting the Safehouse in question. Ryan really brought his A-game to this one, and the ending left a clear indication there might be a sequel. I’m on board with that, what about you?
C’mon, you know you want another chance to check out those abs.
Well, I for one, highly recommend the movie. It’s fast-paced with non-stop action, and yes, there’s chase scenes, bullets flying and of course, lots of blood. So you might want to add the DVD to your collection. Here’s the link to Amazon if you want to check it out.
CR HIATT
June 24, 2012
READER APPRECIATION DAY
Reader Pic
When I signed onto my @McSwainandBeck Twitter account Saturday morning, this photograph, depicting the paperback version of my YA action-mystery, Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00, was waiting in my status updates. One of my awesome followers ordered the book, had just received it in the mail, and was gracious enough to let me know it arrived in the mail. How cool is that?!
Now, before you get all cynical (like we’ve all been known to do) and think I just snapped a photograph of myself holding a copy of the book, and uploaded it to Twitter. Let me assure you, those are not my finger nails. And, I can say this with 100% certainty, because those nails are perfectly groomed. With all the writing, editing, twittering, status updates on Facebook, and let’s not forget eating and the exercise we writers need to do in order to stay on top of the game, keeping my nails manicured and painted, well, let’s just say I have been neglectful:
See, there’s my lovely nail – chipped and definitely in need of a redo. Hopefully, I’ll find the time before the end of summer.
Anyhoo, I wanted to take a moment to extend a huge, THANK YOU to the readers who have downloaded the Kindle, and or purchased a copy of the paperback version of Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00. I hope you come to enjoy the characters, as well as the crazy adventures they find themselves in.
You have my gratitude.
CR HIATT
June 19, 2012
Congrats to winners of the Giveaway
First, I would like to give a shout out and heartfelt thanks to Cami at Reading Addiction Blog Tours https://sites.google.com/a/myaddictionisreading.com/reading-addiction-blog-tours/home. When it was suggested to me by a fellow author that I consider doing a few tours, my first thought was: what? I have to do that, too?! As an indie author there is so much we are responsible for: writing, working with a cover artist, going back and forth with various editors, preparing a website, blog site, Twitter page, Facebook pages, and then working those pages, every day. I am dizzy just thinking about all we do. And, I’ve only named some. Pinterest, Triberr, Klout, and a whole host of new (at least to me) marketing tools keep sprouting up.
Needless to say, you can imagine how ecstatic I was to learn that a blog tour promoter could put together the tour for me, while I was busy handling my other daily routines. What a Godsend. Cami did all the legwork, contacting bloggers and setting up dates, etc. She kept me up to date with emails, and even answered my newbie questions. My requirement was to forward the cover, excerpts, interview questions and I think there were a few short guest posts required. But, hey that was easy. They were all about me.
I can’t thank her, enough.
I also want to thank the bloggers. I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. I am humbled by bloggers who take time out of their day to not only be a host for an author they don’t know, but to also read the book and post their thoughts. My thanks go out to them, as well. They all have my gratitude.
Knowing that I survived the first round, was fortunate enough to meet some new friends and had some fun along the way, I am so looking forward to the next rounds. On those tours, there will be some interesting posts for sure: How I came up with the fictional locations for the series, the villains and their hideouts, the characters and more….
Now, to what a lot of you have been waiting for. The names of the winners of the Giveaway are slowly trickling in. So far I’ve sent Kindle books to: Dranea, Stella Chen, Tracy Bermeo, Christine, Diane Bojda and Heather Murphy. Congrats to all of them.
There is still a giveaway that hasn’t concluded, and a couple lucky readers left to win, so if you want a free copy of the book, hop on over and enter here: http://sweepingtheusa.org/2012/06/gone-zero-hundred-book-reviewgiveaway/
And finally, thank you to my fellow Twitter and Facebook followers who continuously support me with #RTs, #SOs and #mentions. If I haven’t already, you can bet I will reciprocate in kind.
CR HIATT
@McSwainandBeck
June 14, 2012
Fifth day of heroic sleuth and spy duos...
Reblogged from McSwain & Beck:
Okay, so you’ve been patiently waiting for the fifth installment of the ‘heroic sleuth and spy duo’, (or maybe not if you’re a new follower, and this is the first time you’re reading about it ).
For those of you that are just tuning in, you can catch the original blog post that started all this fun here: http://mcswainandbeck.com/2012/04/26/heroic-sleuth-and-spy-duos/
Anyway…
June 3, 2012
Blog tour continues tomorrow, June 4…
The following is a finalized list for the first-round of the blog tour that continues on June 4, 2012 for my YA action-thriller, Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00, featuring McSwain & Beck.
June 1 - Reviews by Molly - REVIEW/Giveaway
June 4 - FireStarBooks - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt
June 5 - Taking it One Page at a Time - REVIEW/Guest Post/Giveaway
June 6 - A Date with a Book - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway
June 7 - Waiting on Sunday to Drown - REVIEW/Guest Post/Giveaway
June 8 - The Story of a Girl… - REVIEW/Giveaway/Excerpt
June 11 - How I See It - REVIEW/Guest Post
June 12 - What’s Hot - REVIEW/Interview/Giveaway
June 13 - Into the Morning - REVIEW/Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt
June 13 - Words I Write Crazy - REVIEW/Excerpt
June 14 - Sweeping the USA - REVIEW/Giveaway
June 15 - Seeking with All Your Heart - REVIEW/Excerpt
Here’s what readers are saying about the book:
“McSwain & Beck kick ass!” – FyrInstructor
“An action-packed thrill ride” - Author MG Wells
“ The characters of Syd and Cody were a perfect pair…funny, smart, snarky…they totally need their own TV series” – Kaylee S
Other readers have described the book as a James Patterson-style thriller for young adults.
Stop in each day to get multiple reviewers’ takes on the book, check out the interviews, guest posts and enter the giveaway for chances to win copies of the book. The contest is open to all countries!
“The odds of winning are in your hands…”
CR HIATT
June 2, 2012
BLOG TOUR KICKS OFF WITH 5-STAR REVIEW
I am excited to announce that the first blog tour for Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 has officially started, and it started off with a bang — 5 big ones! You can read the review here: http://reviewsbymolly.com/reading-addiction-book-tour-review-gone-at-zero-hundred-0000-by-cr-hiatt-giveaway/#more-4217
Not a bad start, right?
Now I know that’s only one review, and I shouldn’t get all cocky and think I’m all that – no worries there. There are still dozens of other visits on the tour, with other reviewers to go through, but hey, I was still jazzed for the first review. It was an awesome feeling when someone – who is an avid reader and reviewer – and doesn’t know me from a hole in the wall, gave me high marks for keeping them entertained, and allowing them to escape the real world, if only for a short time.
After all, isn’t that why most of us read? To escape?
And most of us write? To entertain?
I am truly humbled by the nice things readers have said so far. Even those that read my book, but it wasn’t their normal genre, had nice things to say. For that, I am grateful.
I am also grateful to the bloggers. I am overwhelmed by the fact that they agreed to take the time to read and post reviews on my behalf. Whether they like my book, or not, I commend them for taking time out of their own life in an effort to help me promote my work. They have my sincere gratitude.
But, back to the first review
I would be honored if you headed on over, and if the review peaks your interest in the book, enter the Giveaway and leave a comment. http://reviewsbymolly.com/reading-addiction-book-tour-review-gone-at-zero-hundred-0000-by-cr-hiatt-giveaway/#more-4217
Or, if you don’t want to wait around for the giveaway to end, feel free to buy the book at Amazon.com.
You can order the Kindle version for less than the same price of 2 donuts a small-plain coffee at Dunkin Donuts, minus the calories.
The print version is also available at all Amazon outlets.
Thank you for following me on my tour, hope to see you on the 4th for the second tour spot http://firestarbooks.blogspot.ca/
Again, don’t forget to enter the Giveway and leave a comment. The odds of winning are in your hands…
CR HIATT
