Laurel Richards's Blog, page 11
May 7, 2016
Naughty and Nice Romance
Today (5/7/16), I'm guest blogging at Naughty and Nice Romance about my humorous romantic mystery, The Clam Festival Murders. Come check it out at https://naughtyandniceromance.com/201...
May 2, 2016
Out Now! The Clam Festival Murders
Looking for humor? Mystery? Romance? Try The Clam Festival Murders.Nothing ever happens in a small clamming town like Fatmire, FL. At least, that’s what Mitch Chase thinks until he teams up with eccentric mystery writer Cassie Wynn to solve a murder. Vicki Cash is found facedown in her seafood dinner after someone at the Clam Festival slipped her a deadly ingredient. Now Mitch and Cassie have to eliminate suspects, but that’s easier said than done. Vicki wasn’t exactly well liked. She took her ex-husband for everything he was worth, evicted the town’s most successful clam farmer, feuded with her sister, and bad-mouthed the mayor’s wife. As they investigate, Mitch discovers this small town isn’t what it seems, and he’s attracted to more than Cassie’s powers of observation. With his quirky and intriguing partner by his side, he’s sure to lose his heart while he catches a killer.
E-book:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Clam-Festival-M...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clam-Festival...
Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/Clam-Festival-Mu...
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/d/ebook/Cla...
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-c...
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebo...
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-...
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/311167445...
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id11...
Print:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Clam-Festival-M...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clam-Festiva...
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Clam-Festival-M...
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1530761557/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-c...
Books-A-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Clam-F...
April 23, 2016
Bringer of Chaos by Kayelle Allen
Today, author Kayelle Allen has come to visit with a post about her sci-fi book Bringer of Chaos. She's sharing how she got into science fiction, which is definitely one of my favorite genres. Welcome, Kayelle!
_
I've loved Science Fiction since I was a child. My parents always had scifi books sitting around, and they watched anything on TV that related to the genre. To me, scifi was a way of life. When I realized how much I enjoyed writing, it was natural to gravitate (no pun intended) to Science Fiction.
When I was eighteen, I finished a 400 page novel and put it in a box under the bed. It has never seen the light of day since, but parts of it are in almost every book I write. I had the heart of a scifi universe in that book. I spent several years thinking about writing, and a few more thinking about the universe I wanted to write about. It took me until I was fifty to get off my duff and get busy with my goal of being published.
The most important thing to me was that I didn't like the way scifi authors went about creating a world, writing a story for it, and then tossing the world aside and creating another world to take its place. My thought was, why not create a solid universe, write the basic "future history" for it, and then write every story within that set of worlds?
I discovered that publishing rights being what they are, you can end up being stuck in a contract that you can't get out of if you do that. It happened to me. Fortunately, I was able to regain my rights, and am now actively self-publishing my series. My latest book, Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas is set near the beginning of my series history. It's a prequel, but stands alone. It will be the first of a series set in that period.
My advice on writing a series? Number one: be sure what publishing rights you are signing away before you start. Number two: be true to your own vision. Number three: never give up.
Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas by Kayelle Allen
Two enemy warriors: one human, one immortal. Different in belief, alike in spirit, marooned together on an alien world.
Imprisoned and in isolation over a year without food or water, the immortal Pietas survives. Though broken in body, his intellect and will are intact, thanks to Six, the special ops warrior who captured him, but kept him sane. The warrior had no hand in his deprivation and, like Pietas, was betrayed by his own kind. When Pietas is abandoned on an alien world with nothing but his honor--and Six--he must find and rejoin other immortal exiles. After centuries of war, Pietas detests humans and kills them on sight, but he is too damaged to continue on his own. Though he despises needing help, he allows Six to nurture and restore him to full strength, and then accompany him. As they cross the planet together on foot, the immortal begins to wonder if he has found his first human friend, or if Six is loyal only because Pietas could keep the others from tearing him to shreds. This human will either be his closest living friend, or the one whose betrayal will trigger all-out vengeance by the most powerful immortal ever born.
Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
Read the first chapter https://kayelleallen.com/chaos-origin/
Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb
CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp
About the Author
Kayelle Allen is a best selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr.
Homeworld/Blog https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Pinterest https://pinterest.com/kayelleallen/
G+ https://plus.google.com/+KayelleAllen/
Amazon http://amazon.com/author/kayelleallen
Romance Lives Forever Reader Group https://kayelleallen.com/bro
Giveaway for everyone:
Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bo...
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bo...
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bo...
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It's fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas...
To read snippets from the Bringer of Chaos series, see this later post: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
_
I've loved Science Fiction since I was a child. My parents always had scifi books sitting around, and they watched anything on TV that related to the genre. To me, scifi was a way of life. When I realized how much I enjoyed writing, it was natural to gravitate (no pun intended) to Science Fiction.
When I was eighteen, I finished a 400 page novel and put it in a box under the bed. It has never seen the light of day since, but parts of it are in almost every book I write. I had the heart of a scifi universe in that book. I spent several years thinking about writing, and a few more thinking about the universe I wanted to write about. It took me until I was fifty to get off my duff and get busy with my goal of being published.
The most important thing to me was that I didn't like the way scifi authors went about creating a world, writing a story for it, and then tossing the world aside and creating another world to take its place. My thought was, why not create a solid universe, write the basic "future history" for it, and then write every story within that set of worlds?
I discovered that publishing rights being what they are, you can end up being stuck in a contract that you can't get out of if you do that. It happened to me. Fortunately, I was able to regain my rights, and am now actively self-publishing my series. My latest book, Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas is set near the beginning of my series history. It's a prequel, but stands alone. It will be the first of a series set in that period.
My advice on writing a series? Number one: be sure what publishing rights you are signing away before you start. Number two: be true to your own vision. Number three: never give up.
Bringer of Chaos: the Origin of Pietas by Kayelle Allen
Two enemy warriors: one human, one immortal. Different in belief, alike in spirit, marooned together on an alien world.
Imprisoned and in isolation over a year without food or water, the immortal Pietas survives. Though broken in body, his intellect and will are intact, thanks to Six, the special ops warrior who captured him, but kept him sane. The warrior had no hand in his deprivation and, like Pietas, was betrayed by his own kind. When Pietas is abandoned on an alien world with nothing but his honor--and Six--he must find and rejoin other immortal exiles. After centuries of war, Pietas detests humans and kills them on sight, but he is too damaged to continue on his own. Though he despises needing help, he allows Six to nurture and restore him to full strength, and then accompany him. As they cross the planet together on foot, the immortal begins to wonder if he has found his first human friend, or if Six is loyal only because Pietas could keep the others from tearing him to shreds. This human will either be his closest living friend, or the one whose betrayal will trigger all-out vengeance by the most powerful immortal ever born.
Immortal. Warrior. Outcasts. Traitors took everything. Except their honor.
Read the first chapter https://kayelleallen.com/chaos-origin/
Amazon http://amzn.to/1R8DAbb
CreateSpace http://bit.ly/boc-origin-csp
About the Author
Kayelle Allen is a best selling American author. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary every day folk, role-playing immortal gamers, futuristic covert agents, and warriors who purr.
Homeworld/Blog https://kayelleallen.com
Twitter https://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook https://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Pinterest https://pinterest.com/kayelleallen/
G+ https://plus.google.com/+KayelleAllen/
Amazon http://amazon.com/author/kayelleallen
Romance Lives Forever Reader Group https://kayelleallen.com/bro
Giveaway for everyone:
Download and print three PDF Bookmarks. The first features Six, the human warrior. The second is Pietas, the immortal warrior. The third is the two, back to back.
Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bo...
Pietas https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bo...
Pietas and Six https://kayelleallen.com/media/boc-bo...
Download a free adult coloring book you can print and share. Relax and color with friends. It's fun! https://kayelleallen.com/media/pietas...
To read snippets from the Bringer of Chaos series, see this later post: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
March 1, 2016
Out Now! Vanquished
My new fantasy novel, Vanquished, is available now!Three strangers brought together by war.
The Ulanesh—vicious soldiers from the underrealm—are invading the forest and destroying everything in their path. Standing against the enemy, Evrenor is a captain in the Quennin army and has been tasked by his king to find allies. He enlists the aid of the ancient sea sorceress Valkaria, whom he wakes from a curse that has entombed her at the bottom of a lake for a thousand years. She must regain her powers after a millennium of disuse or else watch everyone around her die.
Evrenor finds another ally in Damir, a woodsman whose people are so reclusive that outsiders consider them myths. The tree-talking woodsmen can blend perfectly with the forest, and they are deadly with their daggers. Damir is ready to take down the enemy, but he has to strike before the vision he’s had of his own death comes to pass.
An awakened sorceress, a mysterious woodsman, and a cunning army captain—will their combined forces be enough to vanquish the enemy?
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C32UEI0
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanquished-La...
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vanqu...
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebo...
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/300052958...
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id10...
September 29, 2015
Wild Side is a Top Pick
My werewolf romance, Wild Side, is a Night Owl Reviews Top Pick! https://www.nightowlreviews.com/v5/Re...
June 23, 2015
I Like My Colon (and Semicolon)
Why is certain punctuation no longer popular? When it comes to writing, everyone recognizes that there are trends. The language and description that went into a book in the 1800s is considered too much detail for today’s reading audience. This year one genre might hit it big, while another year some other type of novel will be popular. What I find interesting is that even punctuation goes in and out of style.
I happen to like the semicolon. It’s not only a legitimate mark of punctuation; it serves a useful purpose. Don’t believe me? See the previous sentence. Yet today, the semicolon and its cousin, the colon, are considered the black sheep of the grammar family. They’re not as flashy as the Em dash or as slick as the comma.
I have one theory on why the semicolon has lost favor: In today’s fast-paced society with all the texting and e-mailing, abbreviations and acronyms have taken over. Everyone wants to make things shorter and easier. The semicolon and colon are two-part marks. The semicolon is basically a comma with a period over it, and the colon requires a pair of dots. Maybe that’s just too much. People don’t want the clutter or the time-consumption of two marks in one.
Whatever has caused the decline of the semicolon, I’m sorry to see it go. I’m sure if I wait long enough, though, I might see it come back into fashion. What changes in writing craft have you noticed over the years?
I happen to like the semicolon. It’s not only a legitimate mark of punctuation; it serves a useful purpose. Don’t believe me? See the previous sentence. Yet today, the semicolon and its cousin, the colon, are considered the black sheep of the grammar family. They’re not as flashy as the Em dash or as slick as the comma.
I have one theory on why the semicolon has lost favor: In today’s fast-paced society with all the texting and e-mailing, abbreviations and acronyms have taken over. Everyone wants to make things shorter and easier. The semicolon and colon are two-part marks. The semicolon is basically a comma with a period over it, and the colon requires a pair of dots. Maybe that’s just too much. People don’t want the clutter or the time-consumption of two marks in one.
Whatever has caused the decline of the semicolon, I’m sorry to see it go. I’m sure if I wait long enough, though, I might see it come back into fashion. What changes in writing craft have you noticed over the years?
September 6, 2014
Guest Blogging at Allie Ritch's
I'm participating with a one-liner from my werewolf romance, Wild Side, in Allie Ritch's multi-author post at http://allieritch.wordpress.com/2014/...
