Dani Collins's Blog, page 70

Welcome

New Look, Same Ol’ Me

Welcome to my new blog on my new website (migrated from Blogger to WordPress) for which I must give credit to the designers.

The Seed Studio is based in Nelson, a city renowned for its artists, musicians, coffee drinkers and pot-smoking hippies. I chose to work with a company that has never worked with a writer in hopes they would offer a fresh perspective on the average writer’s website.  (They did, in spades.)  The drawback was that we were both on a steep learning curve in terms of a writer’s specific needs. They rose to the challenge and I hope you’re as impressed as I am.

For those contemplating your own web presence, I’ll be blogging about my experience on The Writer’s Vineyard on Dec 12. I’ll talk about how I’ve integrated website/blog/social media and will drop a notice here when it’s up so you can chase it if you’re interested. Tip: my goal is to work smarter, not harder. I’m getting there. Slowly.

Note to unpublished friends: Although I had a website (sort of) before I sold, I was so busy after selling, I wish I’d done the work on developing my web presence long ago. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have anything to brag about right now, while I’m waiting for my book to release, so this works too ;o)

For those visiting for the first time, you’ll also see that I’ve Kindle-Pubbed my Golden Heart/American Title Finalist Hustled To The Altar. I didn’t make a big splash on my writing groups  when I put it out, mostly because I wanted to see what happens when you just slide it out there without much fanfare.

Um, nothing. Lol.

Not completely true. My sister sold a few copies for me and then I put it up for free and did my due diligence with regards to promoting the freebie and got 5k downloads, which seems respectable. It will be free again on November 26th & 27th 2012 if you have a Kindle or the Kindle app.

The proof for the printed copy is on its way to me so I’ll offer that soon, but OMG. Expensive! When publishers say that they can’t afford to price books lower, they’re not lying. I’ll apologize in advance for the price. I literally make about .34 on each. But I’ll send one to my parents and they’ll be happy to have my first ‘real’ book.

I have updates on my books with real publishers (as opposed to this poser publisher called Dani Collins) which I’ll post later in the week because, honestly, I’m in possession of a revision letter that needs to be executed sooner rather than later if I hope to pay for things like this fancy new website.

There are still a few tweaks to come here, one being the RSS button, but in the meanwhile, please use the form below to subscribe to my newsletter–also coming soon. (I should have titled this Dani’s Coming Attractions.)

Thanks for visiting.

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Technologically Challenged

I'm in the process of migrating my website from one server to another, have lost access to my writing world emails... This after I've spent the last two months integrating all my sites and profiles so I can leap from one small platform into a nice big pool.

You realize very quickly how much you depend on all these little tricks and web strands when that safety net disappears. *sigh*

However, I'm assured that things will be back to normal--better even!--very soon. I'm hanging in there.

In the meanwhile, if you're trying to find me, chase me down on Twitter or Facebook:

https://twitter.com/DaniCollinsBook
https://www.facebook.com/DaniCollinsA...

Just Learned Something

I don't know which rock I was living under. I mean, I do watch Big Bang Theory, so I was aware of role playing games, but I didn't know there were people doing it here. (And no, I didn't join the sexy one just to perve over their posts, although I'll admit I was curious.)

I had a quick glance over the various groups and it looks like a lot of people are having a ton of fun. I'm so used to being everyone in a story that I was fascinated by the collaborative process in rp, like a tennis match. Or kind of like watching Whose Line Is It Anyway improv. Don't paint your partner into a corner, right? The whole thing is really neat to read over after the fact. I'm guessing great fun to play.

I will be back.

Apologies

Not sure why my excerpt crushed into itself, but will work on that for next week.

Please click over to my blog if you want to read it in a more readable format :)

Feb 13, 2013

Dani will speak on her First Sale at a Valentine’s Brunch hosted by the Greater Vancouver Chapter of Romance Writers of America.

The post Feb 13, 2013 appeared first on Dani Collins.

Sample Sunday

Apparently it's as simple as posting an excerpt and tweeting the #samplesunday hashtag.  My regulars get a sneak peek of this Saturday night, but stay tuned everyone because I'm taking delivery of my new website this week so by next Sunday it'll be a whole new look.

In the meanwhile, check out this excerpt from Hustled To The Altar and come back often.  You may wind up reading the whole book online. ;o)


He loosened his hold on her as they passed through the door of the jewelry store.The décor was supposed to resemble the gold rush era, with uneven floor planks and a rusty scale dripping glitter. The image was spoiled by several security cameras and the smell of ammonia from the spray an employee was using to polish the display cases.Renny cooed over chunky stones in fussy settings but would have settled for a modest string of pearls. Con overrode her and pointed to several flashy pieces, ending up with a necklace, brooch, bracelet and ring that didn’t match and would have paid Gran back several times.Renny turned her back to the display case and gave Con a “What are you doing?” face.Con handed his platinum card to the clerk, enjoying both the flush he caused in Renny’s cheeks and the fluster he caused behind the counter as the employee handed the card to his boss before searching for boxes beneath the display case.“Is that enough sparklies?” Con goaded.“You’re a lunatic,” she said in an undertone. Her lips quivered, almost caught by laughter.He raised his brows, waiting for her to break.She showed him her cheek, clinging to the spoiled mistress role. Just.Well, shoot, he almost had her. He’d give her another nudge. Tipping her into his arms, he kissed her, half expecting a knee to the groin.What he got was a start of surprise and a soft shudder that melted her tension. Her hands slid up his chest and linked behind his neck as she curled into the embrace and pressed his head down, sealing their mouths.Deprived of her for months, he deepened the kiss, found her bottom lip and gently sucked. Her tongue touched his, causing a thump of sensation in his chest. Warmth pooled through his belly and into his groin while their mouths broke apart only to meet again with parted lips, like starvation victims slaking their hunger with bite after bite of sumptuous fare.He had kissed her on impulse, for their audience, to catch her off guard and see what would happen, to see if she could hold onto her role. He had kissed her for a hundred reasons, not expecting that his control would slip, his mind would fog and his thoughts would narrow to a single goal: hold onto her and never let her go.Before he lost it enough to make lewd use of the nearest flat surface, he pulled away, wondering only then if her response had been real or for show.Renny drew back. Her eyes fluttered open and her gaze fixed on her hands where they rested against his chest.Con touched his thumb to the corner of her mouth, erasing a smudge of coral pink. He allowed his fingertips to linger on her cheek, appreciating the softness of her skin, coaxing her to lift her chin and look at him.Slowly she backed away, but her gaze stayed on her left hand. On Jacob’s ring.He caught her wrist, gently worked the ring off and dropped it into his shirt pocket.She parted her lips to protest and he leaned forward to kiss her again, lightly, then touched her mouth with his fingertip, keeping her silent while he reached for the new ring on the counter.When he would have slipped it on to replace Jacob’s, she drew her left hand away and offered her right.If he wanted to make a serious effort to get her back, now was the moment to drop to his knee and do it properly. The ring was a staircase of emerald baguettes curved around a highly set opal. Not what anyone would regard as a typical engagement ring. Nevertheless, the symbolism would be there, if he placed it on her left hand now.Panic stung his veins.Purchasing this ridiculous pile of jewelry had been less about playing the rich man for Felix and more about making her laugh, but neither of them was laughing. His palms began to sweat and his chest felt constricted. He slid the ring down the third finger of her right hand.Her lips quivered and went flat. Disappointment? Maybe. A poorly played hand on his part? No question. But he had scored a point with that kiss.She reached for the necklace on the counter and it slithered through her fingers, taking the bracelet and brooch with it onto the floor.Sagging into a crouch, she reached for them.Con squatted in front of her, held out the brooch. It was a gold domino, the dots blue sapphires.“You should buy some decent shoes,” she said quietly.He had changed into clothing from the luggage in his trunk: a short-sleeved shirt, patterned like a blue and green checkerboard, and tailored dark green pants. He had shaved while he’d waited for Renny at Walmart, but hadn’t bothered replacing his disreputable sneakers.“I want you.” He was willing to make the admission because he was so close to getting her on his terms.“You had me. Now you don’t.”“I almost did, a minute ago.”She stayed crouched beside him, the necklace coiled in her lap while she fastened the bracelet. “We don’t have time for a post-mortem, Con. I’m going to find a phone and call Jacob. You should buy some shoes.”She was brushing aside their kiss, their history, the desire still between them. Everything. He used humor to deflect his hurt.“You’re sexy when you get bossy.”“Stop it.”“Now you’re just being a tease.”She opened her mouth but a bell pinged as someone entered the store, making them both turn their heads.Jacob walked in.

Free on Kindle

Just a quick post to say  Hustled To The Altar  is free on Kindle Friday Nov 9th.


Enjoy!  (And tell your friends)

OH YEAH THATS ME!

You can buy it here: HUSTLED TO THE ALTAR (Kindle Only). Only on Kindle for now.  Paper coming soon, then all the other devices next year.

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ONLY IN CANADA YOU SAY?

I’ll come out and admit that I’m a bad Canadian in one particular respect. I don’t care for Maple Syrup.

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Keeping a Promise

Or
I was going to do the work myself, but I have an opportunity to skate on someone else's back, so I will take it ;o)

A writer friend kindly sent me her personal list of sites that she sends Advance Reader Copies to for Review.  I promised to compile it with others and post it here.

I have since found this site:

http://junesfreebiesandreviews.blogspot.ca/p/indie-authors.html

Which is so much more comprehensive than I would ever get around to producing.

Thanks June!  And thanks Susan.  Hopefully you'll find something on June's list that adds to yours.

Now I'm going to TRY to schedule this for Tuesday and see what happens...