Rosalind Hartmann's Blog: Rosalind Hartmann: author and brown girl, page 12
April 14, 2013
Male vs Female – who’s your hero?
I am very much a woman, if the picture on my website doesn’t give it away. And the boobs. But I digress…. I am a woman but I write majority male characters. I have 3 main female characters, but at least a dozen other male povs can come into play. I had someone comment once that they had to double check what gender I was when reading Blood Memory: Book 1, which I thought was very flattering, because I have zero experience as a male. This isn’t really my main point, though.
When I choose a book to read, I try
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The Duban Chronicles is Live! Celticwolfwalker.deviantart.com - Graphic Novel review by ROz January 30th - Blood Memory available everywhere! Free on Amazon till 11/9 I'm being featured on Heather Long's Blog - Thursday Jan 24, 2013!!Copyright © Rosalind Hartmann [Male vs Female - who's your hero?], All Right Reserved. 2013.
April 13, 2013
Coolest short story I have ever read – by Oliver Emberton
Oliver on twitter
Hypothetical Questions: What would a modern-day evil genius have to do in order to take over the world?
Bond villains are such uninspiring, stupid creatures. We can do better.
Our villain is a prodigal business and scientific genius, with the kind of brash charisma and titanium self-belief that dares to take on the world. Imagine a real-life Tony Stark:
Like all good villains, our Tony begins with nothing but
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April 11, 2013
Download ‘Blood Memory: Book 1′ for FREE
Preview the first 5 chapters, ‘LIKE’ the page, and download for free in either .epub or .pdf!! Find me on Twitter and Facebook!
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Request an authorgraph from me! Book 1 - Blood Memory Meet Kyle Evans (Book 2) Kat Snell (Graphics, Website, Ebook designer) - DesignKitty.me Another hungry reader!Copyright © Rosalind Hartmann [Download 'Blood Memory: Book 1' for FREE], All Right Reserved. 2013.April 10, 2013
How to write a novel synposis – Chuck Sambuchino
I’ve never met a single person who liked writing a synopsis. Seriously — not one. But still, synopses are a necessary part of the submission process (until some brave publishing pro outlaws them), so I wanted to share 5 basic tips today regarding how to compose one in case you’re query agents or getting ready to pitch at a writers’ conference.
A synopsis is a summary of your book. Literary agents and editors may ask to see one if you’re writing an adult novel, a memoir, or a kids novel (young adult, middle grade).
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April 8, 2013
Key Death (A Nicholas Holt Thriller) by Jude Hardin – Review by ROz
Jude Hardin – twitter
It starts off with Zombies. How could this book go wrong?
Nicholas Holt is…was a private detective and a once legendary guitar rock star. He is neither now, thanks to heroin. Happily married with a beautiful adopted college aged daughter, Nicholas hangs around his house, watches TV as he eats pork rinds. I’m not a huge fan of pork rinds, myself, but I’m sure it’s a living.
While trying to meet the also legendary John Foggerty, Nicholas is sidetracked by his old buddie’s girlfriend’s request: find my biological father before I die.
Sounds easy, so he does. Her father is dead. With a capital D. Murdered execution style in his condo. His buddie’s girlfriend has another request: find my father’s killer.
Oh, well then. So Nicholas kisses his beautiful wife goodbye and heads out to Key West, currently dubbed ‘Key Death’ because of ‘The Zombie’ serial killer who kills his victims by asphyxiation, cuts their skull open, and scoops out their brains. There have been 9 murders, and wouldn’t you know it, Nicholas gets caught up in the most recent.
With 10k in the bank from his dying client, Nicholas gets into a lot of shit over the next 7 days. Discovering the missing, but murdered father, the landlord of said crime scene, a boyfriend, an ex-boyfriend, an ex-wife (not his), porn, drugs, really bad musicians, and some seriously bad luck kept me fairly interested. It starts off a little slow, but the surprising turn of events and bad situations Nicholas finds himself in makes me question whether he’s really getting paid enough to find a killer that the police can’t find. Not only is the bio-dad’s murder unsolved, but apparently it has something to do with The Zombie.
You get treated to excerpts of a movie Nicholas saw as a 12 year old at the beginning of pivotal chapters. He has an intense fear of zombies or Kinemortophobia – you’d think it would be more of a fetish, but he really does have nightmares about zombies. It has a bit of a twist ending that isn’t really surprising at all, but all in all it was written very well – I enjoyed, if not severely questioned, Nicholas’ point-of-view and dedication to his job. The job he’s suspended from, by the way, and being there acting like a detective can literally get him thrown into jail. Still, if you overlook those questions, Jude Hardin writes a trippy mystery. It’s engaging enough to make me sit and read through the afternoon until I finished it, but then it’s not really a long book.
I rated ‘Key Death’ 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads, only because again – the ending wasn’t that big of a twist surprise. I still enjoyed it and might seek out the other books in the series if I can get them cheap.
Rosalind Hartmann – Twitter and Facebook
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Virtual Book Tour, yo!! 81 likes on facebook - I needz morez! Devil's Plaything by Matt Richtel - Book review by ROz Merry Christmas, ya'll!! Blood Memory - Coming October 31stCopyright © Rosalind Hartmann [Key Death (A Nicholas Holt Thriller) by Jude Hardin - Review by ROz], All Right Reserved. 2013.April 6, 2013
Meet Kyle Evans (Book 2)
Kyle would not be anywhere near large crowds potentially filled with werewolves, vampires, or women showing this much leg if he could help it. It had been a long recovery, almost three months, since discovering his emaciated self in that seedy hotel room. Discarding a candy bar wrapper in a trash can worth more than his entire outfit; Kyle wiped his hands clean as he looked straight ahead toward the elevator bays in the mirrored lobby of the Piazza.
He had managed to gain 30 pounds back, a little fat – yes, but he wasn’t as gaunt as his barely 140 pound self. At six foot one, the 170 pounds still looked extremely thin on him. He had to force himself to eat, setting a timer to do so every four hours. The extreme weight loss was the 100% appetite suppression from the combination of drugs he was taking to alleviate his Eternity addiction. It was the only reason why he would risk coming out into the open. The Illicit drug Eternity, made from the blood of vampires – a literal fountain of youth, as well as euphoria causing drug, came with extremely violent and debilitating side effects.
Eternity caused the user to experience in physical form what a cocaine user feels in that instantaneous high: heightened alertness, energy, and vampire strength, in addition to the mood enhancer and delusions of grandeur. But with all high rides comes the fall. By the third high, the user is subjected to excruciating withdrawal and physically the drug begins to feed on the host. Red blood cells are destroyed and used to sustain the drug’s effects on the body – essentially feeding on the user from the inside out. Ultimately it makes the victim susceptible to illness, delirium, as well as complete submission physically and mentally to supernatural influences, before paralysis and an untimely death.
To counteract the effects, and to be a functioning member of society, Kyle Evans took Lithirium. An experimental drug not readily available to the small percentage of the public that can afford Eternity, procuring it was even harder. He was only able to attain it because of his protected status through Clan Tacharan, owners of Duibne Industries, where both drugs were manufactured. Once upon a time Kyle Evans did Simon Huntington a favor, one that he continued paying for in unfavorable ways, but it made getting Lithirium as easy as walking in the front doors of Duibne Industries. Now with his self-imposed retreat into the shadows, hiding from literally himself, Kyle had to think of more creative ways to get Lithirium. If that meant walking into a New Year’s Eve event with hundreds of supernatural creatures trying to locate him for reasons unknown to him, then he’d do it.
If he was going to die, he’d do it on his own terms, thank you.
Kyle still had a few contacts in the city that wouldn’t immediately turn him over to the highest bidder, not without a little heavy handed monetary encouragement, but he knew this particular avenue was being blocked off to him. He needed to find an unlimited supply to the both drugs, granted was like asking for a 1000 clingy virgins and the key to the pearly gates back door. Most pick-ups were in public areas with a dozen escape routes, and the largest, grandest hotel in the city did boast privacy as well as much needed anonymity, though the occupants of the one of the largest events of the year did make him nervous enough to want to puke in every expensive marbled trash can he passed. They were to meet at the top floor ballroom, just before midnight.
Gosh, that wasn’t clichéd at all.
His contact was a female within Duibne’s North Medical tower where all the fun stuff happened. Kyle’s alcohol addled brain had met her before he was persona non grata, but he managed to maintain his connection with her for reasons unknown to him. She was using him, sadly not sexually, but that wasn’t something he was interested in, in any case. He tried to stay away from women as much as possible.
I don’t know why, Kyle.
Halting as he reached out to touch the elevator call button, his mirrored image crossed his arms and looked at him admonishingly. Kyle ignored the delusion.
We both like women. They’re soft, supple…pliable in all the right places.
Closing his eyes, Kyle waited for the elevator doors to open. Concentrating, he scratched at his throat, trying to ignore the voice in his head. A loud thump made him jump, his eyes flying open.
Where ya been, Kyle? I’ve missed you.
His mirrored image was leaning against the invisible barrier of the glass. His Doppelganger pressed his face close so he could see the lobby.
This is the Piazza. Why are we here?
The sound of party horns and laughing filtered into the hallway near the elevator bay and behind him a group of party-goers almost fell out of the car, nudging Kyle closer to the mirrored glass.
Ahhh, New Year’s already? It has been a while, hasn’t it, Kyle?
Kyle refused to answer the voice in his head. If he didn’t answer, then it wasn’t real. That’s what he kept telling himself. Taking a step back, he turned and entered the emptied elevator car, ignoring his reflection that was now surrounding him. Reaching out, he hit the call button for the top floor and then shut his eyes tightly.
You’re looking healthier. Props to you, man. You’re going to need your strength.
The voice echoed in his head, sounding annoyingly ominous. Foreshadowing – he was never a big fan. Kyle let the feel of the silent elevator car ascend to the penthouse ballroom. He ignored the LCD panels, sleek design, and undoubtedly premier artificial intelligence of the system. All he cared about getting away from all the shiny surfaces reflecting his image and causing his hysteria to rocket to the moon.
Cracking his neck without opening his eyes, Kyle felt the elevator slow its climb and settle to a stop. The doors opened and sound poured in; the tinkling of fine crystal, laughter, and soft band music playing. Stepping out, he did not open his eyes until he had cleared the doors completely. Slipping his hands into the trousers of his classic one-button tuxedo, he walked toward the stairs that spiraled up into the ballroom double doors. Couples lingered, talking in the area before ascending the steps, invitations in hand. Kyle watched, his eyes flickering left to right, moving from person to person until he saw a handsome couple exit one of the elevator bays. Moving quickly, Kyle tracked his path and met the couple, but not before he tripped on his own feet and fell against the man, almost knocking him to the ground.
“Oh sh-, oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” Kyle steadied the gray-haired man and ignored his date’s glare. “My fault, my fault. I’m so sorry.” The couple huffed and gawked at Kyle as he walked toward the staircase.
Smoothing out his jacket, Kyle nonchalantly made it up the steps and stepped up toward the two white gloved employees guarding the door. He knew how this went – either you acted like you belonged or the dogs get a whiff of your fear and chase you out. Without even acknowledging the two men, Kyle pulled out the invitation he had stolen from the gray-haired gentleman at the bottom of the stairs still fussing with his date, and didn’t even bother to look at it. Kyle rolled his shoulders and continued walking to the doors.
“Sir?”
Kyle stopped, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. Turning stiffly, he looked at the hotel employee.
“May I?” The man walked passed Kyle and opened the door for him.
Clearing his throat, Kyle raised his eyebrow at the man, fairly certain that it was the proper response, before disappearing into the crowd of party-goers.
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RosalindHartmann.com Chapter 1 redone - Charlie I'm being featured on Heather Long's Blog - Thursday Jan 24, 2013!! Free on Amazon till 11/9 Book 2 - tentative release date!!!!Copyright © Rosalind Hartmann [Meet Kyle Evans (Book 2)], All Right Reserved. 2013.April 5, 2013
designkitty.me – feature blog
Email – webdesignkitty @ gmail. com (no spaces)
Not only have I known Kat Snell since 2001 in the gaming world, but she has handled all my websites (and there are a lot) in the past 12 years. She handles not only this blog – www.rosalindhartmann.com, but created www.rozbeans.com, www.theangrycrayon.com, and www.sanguineaffliction.com – the latter writing custom code to suit our needs. She has also designed and formatted my ebook Blood Memory: Book 1, giving it an incredibly professional cover and style. I would be lost without her talents.
I highly recommend her for her ebook and custom content website design! She is professional, prompt, efficient, and forward thinking in her designs and work ethic. Currently designing/maintaining large database websites, she is incredibly trustworthy and meticulous. Contact her via her ‘free quote form‘.
Designkitty.me – twitter and facebook
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Announcing the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award How to write a book and plan a series - Frances Brody What is Sanguine Affliction? Thanks for the feature, Jasmine! More story artCopyright © Rosalind Hartmann [designkitty.me - feature blog], All Right Reserved. 2013.My blog needs a name…LHEP!
So during my attempts to bring more traffic to my blog – the book reviews, features, witty opinions to articles written by more popular writers – I was asked the name of my blog.
…
Oh yeah. I don’t think I have one. There’s a little ditty that’s pops up in the top menu bar, “Vampires, werewolves, and Reporters…oh my!” but I don’t think that’s quite right. I’ll be redirecting www.rozbeans.com to the blog, which means you can reach it with either www.rosalindhartmann.com or rozbeans.com – but is that a good name?
Name of blog: Rozbeans
Eh. Any ideas? I’m empty. =/
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Viv and Brig - Just this once. New web design! Thank you, Kat! 8 wake up calls - guest post from MarcandAngel HackLife.com 10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author That I Learned the Hard Way - Deborah Plummer Author guest blogging over @Lissamatthews blog today!Copyright © Rosalind Hartmann [], All Right Reserved. 2013.April 4, 2013
Roger Ebert – RIP
10 things to remember about Roger Ebert
Admittedly I did not know most of what was on that list. Well, I knew he long sought after The New Yorker’s weekly caption comic. When I was in high school, I became variously addicted to reading the comments in the TV guide sent in by readers. I wanted to get my comment published. Badly. However, after vehemently commenting against the change they made on the wording in the introduction to the, at the time, brand new spin-off ‘Star Trek – the Next Generation’ from ‘where no man‘, to ‘where no one‘ – I did get a postcard thanking me for my comment. They didn’t use it, but that was validation enough at the time.
I have since rescinded my stance on the change.
I remember Siskel and Ebert. I was always on Siskel’s side because I thought Ebert was pudgy and mean. I didn’t know half the movies they reviewed (I had to have been maybe 10?) but movies still fascinated me, and so did their opinions. I loved their ‘thumbs up/thumbs down’ votes and recap at the end. Broke my heart when Siskel died suddenly and finally I felt for Ebert. What would he do now? They eventually replaced Siskel, but it was never the same.
I had no idea Mr. Ebert was a screenwriter, much less a rice-cooker master. Didn’t know he had cancer and lost part of his jaw to the disease until after he survived it. I’m a little curious as to the date he had with Oprah Winfrey, but that had to have been before Steadman. I did read the excerpt of his book about not fearing death. It takes a strong man, not just with faith or convictions, to accept the end before even getting there. Would a movie critic sit down and be prepared for an ending, whatever ending, watching it with blind faith? Probably watching, but not accepting. What would be the point of being a critic then?
Mr. Ebert died today, April 4th, 2013. It was worth writing my thoughts about it instead of just retweeting an article about him. A Pulitzer Prize winner for movie criticism – that man had moxy, damn it. Rest in peace, Mr. Ebert.
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Claws of the Cat by Susan Spann - book review by ROz Vignettes 8 wake up calls - guest post from MarcandAngel HackLife.com Alesha and mah book + a feature! Today's Author Feature/Giveaway - Heather Long!Copyright © Rosalind Hartmann [Roger Ebert - RIP], All Right Reserved. 2013.April 3, 2013
Book promotion strategies that work – Galleycat.com
Book promotion strategies that work by Jason Boog
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian took to Reddit to seek promotion advice for his new book, Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed.
He asked the network of loyal readers: “What are some of the smartest things you’ve seen people do to promote a book? … I’d like to make the most out of all this time I have to do some awesome stuff for the fine folks who’d pre-order/buy a copy.”
Book Promotion Strategies That Actually Worked
1. oguerrieri wrote: “Definitely offer free e-book with purchase of hard copy! Something I wish every book did.”
2. JoanofLorraine wrote: “My favorite example is the writer who opened a storefront in Brooklyn that sold only copies of his own book.”
3. josephflaherty wrote: “The little things Field Notes does, like putting in a themed patch or button goes a long way to making their books feel more like cultural artifacts than indie Moleskines.”
4. HAGOODMANAUTHOR wrote: “Advertising on Reddit has increased my Kindle sales exponentially”
5. josephflaherty added: “Put it in a crazy package: Seth Godin put copies of his books in Milk/Cereal boxes which made them really stand out and feel more like limited edition products than books.”
6. Davytron wrote: “when i worked at a book store, these ladies gave every employee a copy of their cook book. A bunch of us used the recipes and ended up telling customers and family about them. It was very nice but also a clever way to get us to promote their book.”
7. Thestom wrote: “Free book of equal or lesser value with the purchase of the author’s book.”
8. josephflaherty also added: “I’m sure you’ve got the book tour part dialed in, but treating them more like concerts would be fascinating … Would be fun for a tour to host a few local entrepreneurs who have succeeded without permission.”
9. Ms Adler wrote: “doing a discount on ebooks will often get you more readers that may not otherwise purchase a hard copy, and signed first editions are prized by collectors.”
10. Ginroth concluded: “Writing a good book.”
#1 is a good idea – free copy of the ebook with each hardcopy sale. Granted Blood Memory in print is by-order, but it’s a nice gimmick I’ll try when I put out book2. And #10 is just cold!
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94k words and counting... Giggles and Barks - local Colorado Springs online doggy lovin biz! Prologue Viv and Brig - Just this once. 7 things I've learned so far by Douglas Brunt...ie cute guyCopyright © Rosalind Hartmann [Book promotion strategies that work - Galleycat.com], All Right Reserved. 2013.Rosalind Hartmann: author and brown girl
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