Storm Chase's Blog, page 89
October 21, 2013
Free For 24 Hours: Katz Tales The Early Years
Roll your mouse over me for my secret messageIt's Target's 5th Gotcha Day today. You can hear what he has to say by visiting his blog.We are celebrating today with tuna and chicken, and we're also giving away Katz Tales Au And Target The Early Years.
This is a collection of 15 tales that chronicle how Target the kitten becomes a junior companion to Au, a clever, inventive but sometimes grouchy senior cat. It includes the tale of how Target dislocated his paw and his subsequent journey back to health, and of how Au's fascination with water led to the humans of the family having sleepless nights.
To get this book, in ePub, Kindle and other formats, visit https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/179822 and enter coupon code JS83Y when checking out for 100% discount. Valid for 24 hours.
Meow from all of us at Katz Tales!
October 17, 2013
Tory Richards: Point of View (POV)
Today's guest blogger is Tory Richards, author of Bishop's Angel...
In the beginning of my writing career, I can't tell you how many times I received rejection letters that said, your POV issues keep this from being a manuscript we would be interested in, and until a publisher was kind enough to explain what POV was, I was clueless. I bought a POV book and studied it.
I wish a lot of indie authors would do the same thing. I've been reading a lot of indie books lately, really good ones. However, most of them all have one thing in common, POV issues. It's frustrating, and confusing, when you're reading a story where the author is jumping back and forth between the character's thoughts (POV) in the same paragraph, or scene. Below is an example of what I'm talking about.
Wrong way -
"Don't open the door, Dolly." Ron knew she would be in for a big shock if she did, and he wanted to prepare her first. He'd been unable to locate her mother, but he had found her twin sister, Anne. (his POV)
Dolly wondered what was behind the door that he didn't want her to see, was it her long lost mother? Has Ron finally found her? She felt excitement over the possibility, and a little nervousness. "Why, what will I find?" (switched to her POV)
Correct way -
"Don't open the door, Dolly." Ron knew she would be in for a big shock if she did, and he wanted to prepare her first. He'd been unable to locate her mother, but he had found her twin sister, Anne. (his POV)
"Why, what will I find?" He heard the excitement in her tone, saw a glimmer of it in her sparkling eyes. "Did you find my mother?" (his POV)
I hope this article helps all of you new authors out there. If you're passionate about writing, and putting the best product out there, which helps build your fan base I might add, then take this information to heart.
See more of Tory Richards at:
Website/Blog
Amazon author page
Smashwords
Facebook
Twitter
About Tory Richards' Bishop's Angel
After ten years of sacrificing everything for his country as a Navy SEAL, Bishop is looking for salvation, and something more permanent in his life. Angel, a pretty teacher, thinks she's just what he needs. Their chemistry is instant, and explosive, only Bishop has trouble letting go of his commitment to his country. It's up to Angel to prove there's room for her in his life.
In the beginning of my writing career, I can't tell you how many times I received rejection letters that said, your POV issues keep this from being a manuscript we would be interested in, and until a publisher was kind enough to explain what POV was, I was clueless. I bought a POV book and studied it.
I wish a lot of indie authors would do the same thing. I've been reading a lot of indie books lately, really good ones. However, most of them all have one thing in common, POV issues. It's frustrating, and confusing, when you're reading a story where the author is jumping back and forth between the character's thoughts (POV) in the same paragraph, or scene. Below is an example of what I'm talking about.
Wrong way -
"Don't open the door, Dolly." Ron knew she would be in for a big shock if she did, and he wanted to prepare her first. He'd been unable to locate her mother, but he had found her twin sister, Anne. (his POV)
Dolly wondered what was behind the door that he didn't want her to see, was it her long lost mother? Has Ron finally found her? She felt excitement over the possibility, and a little nervousness. "Why, what will I find?" (switched to her POV)
Correct way -
"Don't open the door, Dolly." Ron knew she would be in for a big shock if she did, and he wanted to prepare her first. He'd been unable to locate her mother, but he had found her twin sister, Anne. (his POV)
"Why, what will I find?" He heard the excitement in her tone, saw a glimmer of it in her sparkling eyes. "Did you find my mother?" (his POV)
I hope this article helps all of you new authors out there. If you're passionate about writing, and putting the best product out there, which helps build your fan base I might add, then take this information to heart.See more of Tory Richards at:
Website/Blog
Amazon author page
Smashwords
About Tory Richards' Bishop's Angel
After ten years of sacrificing everything for his country as a Navy SEAL, Bishop is looking for salvation, and something more permanent in his life. Angel, a pretty teacher, thinks she's just what he needs. Their chemistry is instant, and explosive, only Bishop has trouble letting go of his commitment to his country. It's up to Angel to prove there's room for her in his life.
October 15, 2013
Murder in Moscow is out! Get 25% off. Limited offer.
Burned out ex-undercover detective Cassidy Stone leaves London for a new life in Moscow, but her past continues to haunt her. Life begins to look up when a favour for the embassy leads her into a lethal ambush, and into the orbit of Dmitri Milyukov, a fun loving millionaire who shares her passion for extreme sports. Cassidy slowly learns to love again – until she stumbles on proof that Dmitri is at the center of a carefully plotted Red Mafia corporate espionage operation aimed at her employer. Worse, there is a gruesome murder in her office, and everyone is convinced Cassidy is the killer…Murder in Moscow: a thrilling tale of passion, romance, intrigue, betrayal and murder
Launch Discount 25% off Valid 24 hours only Murder in Moscow by Storm Chase
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/366644
Enter Coupon Code: YX67M for 25% off.
Expires: October 16, 2013
October 9, 2013
I Have A Publishing Partner!
I'm in Malaysia so I have terrible trouble with Amazon as we're not a Kindle country. I've posted about this before, and I took my books down in June. BUT!!! I now have a wonderful publishing partner! Melanie is putting up my books for me and dealing with the paperwork.
So I'm dancing.
We're editing everything so it's all nice and clean and sparkling on Kindle. This takes time so not all the books are up yet. Here's what we have so far:Wildcat in Moscow on Amazon Kindle
Chocolate: An Erotic Romance In Siberia on Amazon Kindle
The Gift: An Erotic Romance in Kiev on Amazon Kindle
Please keep tuned for further news...
October 2, 2013
Kiko Brad: Wildcat in Moscow - it's all about me!
Storm Chase has written a book, and Kiko Brad is convinced it's all about him! Because he has balls of steel... A hilarious drunken Russian monologue about Wildcat In Moscow, a contemporary romance by Storm Chase.
Wildcat In Moscow, a contemporary romance by Storm Chase. Available from
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Smashwords
Wildcat In Moscow, a contemporary romance by Storm Chase. Available from
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Smashwords
September 29, 2013
Coming Soon: Murder In Moscow
Murder in Moscow, the sequel to Wildcat in Moscow is back from the editor, so now I'm just checking through it one more time before I put it up. Sooooooooo excited!
September 19, 2013
Tom Conrad: That Russell Brand strategic marketing plan… or how NOT to market your ebook?
Today guest blogger Tom Conrad reveals his hilarious PR strategy that's built for an epic fail...
In an attempt to sell my latest novel on Amazon, I’ve adopted a new sales strategy. It’s twofold.
Onefold: Tweet Russell Brand.
Twofold: Tweet anyone who has a reputation as being a bit of a coxpert or altogether coxom.
You see, my new ebook: That Coxom & Blondage Affair is all about internet dating. It’s a little bit cheeky and a little bit wayward – much like English comedian Russell Brand: a silver-tongued cavalier/coxom chap if ever there was one. In fact, Russell is so cheeky and so coxom, this week saw me bombarding him with a barrage of hopefully amusing tweets (I sent 3, but for the purpose of this post allow me to descend into complete hyperbole). My plan was to forgo the strain of having to tackle my twofold option: sending 500 tweets to other random strangers; those who had a similar swashbuckling “coxpertise”.
And so I tweeted Russell.
TomConrad1980: @rustyrockets I’m not a charity; I’m not particularly worthy; I might not even be a good writer, but… US: http://amzn.to/18HFYvf #coxomAdmittedly, and even as I composed my first tweet, I knew this unruly approach wasn’t exactly a plan of Hannibal contrivance (A-team, not the military commander or man-eater), and yet I guess I momentarily thought Russell would read my self-deprecating, but ultimately intriguing tweet, further clicking the link as he began to rather like the overall sound of That Coxom & Blondage Affair:
Russel Brand checking his @connect page:
‘Cor blimey, this Tom Conrad fellow has something ‘ere?! And you know what I’ll do, because I’m basically a generous sort of guy; one who believes we’re all unified beings of light and consciousness… well, I’ll put a tweet out to my 7 million followers, one for them to check it out. If even one per cent clicks and buys That Coxom & Blondage Affair, this ‘ere guy Tom Conrad (also originally from the dirty grey streets of Essex) will pocket £70,000, that is assuming he’s making 70% royalty on his ebooks.’That’s kind of what I hoped Russell Brand might say and do.
Unfortunately… he didn’t. At least not yet. So far there’s been no RT success of viral proportions, and it very much seems – regretfully for me and my dreams of notoriety – the world and their tweeting blue bird have a similar strategy for celebrity endorsements: clogging up celebrities’ pages with similar pleas. Of course, I remain ever a naive optimist at heart and so I’ll stay naively optimistic, preparing to bombard other cheeky coxperts who might see the jolly humour in my book’s title.
Actually, perhaps I’ll see what Steve Coogan is up to?
You can buy That Coxom & Blondage Affair by Tom Conrad on Amazon USA and Amazon UK:Follow Tom Conrad on Twitter: @tomconrad1980Like Tom Conrad's page: https://www.facebook.com/tomconrad1980
September 15, 2013
Broken Heroines and Heroes: The Stuff Of Romance or Disaster?
I enjoyed writing all my stories but Chocolate: An Erotic Romance in Siberia was a real challenge because it's pretty much outside the scope of standard stories.
Most authors craft their books so that the reader can immerse herself into the tale. This means identifying with the heroine and falling in love with the hero. In Chocolate, that's probably a bit of a leap for most people.
Star, my heroine, is a victim of childhood abuse who has embraced a career as a call girl. Alexei, my hero, is totally switched off emotionally. He's not nasty; he's just not very human. The two are very unlikely to elicit immediate sympathy or inspire any sort of empathy - and that's what made it such fun to write.
What I love about Star is that despite everything,
she has maintained a sense of humour, as well as a capacity for love.
What I love about Alexei is that he is such a challenge. He rescues Star from a very nasty situation simply because he sees her as a project where he can fix her up, enjoy her professional services for a few months, and then move on. He's certainly not a nice guy; but that's what makes him interesting.
At the start of the story, both Star and Alexei see their relationship as one based on commerce. Of course, it doesn't work that way. Along the way, these two broken people heal each other, develop a strong mutual bond of trust, and finally fall in love. And that's romance, right?
PS To learn about Alexei's deep secret, and to find out why these two learn to trust each other, you'll have to read the story!
Most authors craft their books so that the reader can immerse herself into the tale. This means identifying with the heroine and falling in love with the hero. In Chocolate, that's probably a bit of a leap for most people.
Star, my heroine, is a victim of childhood abuse who has embraced a career as a call girl. Alexei, my hero, is totally switched off emotionally. He's not nasty; he's just not very human. The two are very unlikely to elicit immediate sympathy or inspire any sort of empathy - and that's what made it such fun to write.
What I love about Star is that despite everything,
she has maintained a sense of humour, as well as a capacity for love.
What I love about Alexei is that he is such a challenge. He rescues Star from a very nasty situation simply because he sees her as a project where he can fix her up, enjoy her professional services for a few months, and then move on. He's certainly not a nice guy; but that's what makes him interesting.
At the start of the story, both Star and Alexei see their relationship as one based on commerce. Of course, it doesn't work that way. Along the way, these two broken people heal each other, develop a strong mutual bond of trust, and finally fall in love. And that's romance, right?
PS To learn about Alexei's deep secret, and to find out why these two learn to trust each other, you'll have to read the story!
September 14, 2013
Debbie Manber Kupfer talks about NaNoWriMo
Ever since I was small I’ve always written. As a child I filled notebooks. At one time I had a whole series of school stories each in own exercise book. Somewhere in my basements these books still and along with these childhood “books” is my first attempt at a novel. It was a kid’s fantasy. I remember it had a rather cool ogre in it.
I wrote it in my twenties in exercise books. At the time I was living in Israel in a tiny one-room flat. I scribbled away in those notebooks, but somewhere along the way I got lost. Life took over and I stopped writing.
I moved to America, got married, had two children and finally found a career I love (I write puzzles for puzzle magazines). In the back my mind I knew I still wanted to write a novel, but thought I had plenty of time. When the kids are grown perhaps.
Then about two and half years ago I found a lump in my breast. Cancer. I was terrified. But it is amazing what you get used to. I went through chemo, surgery, and radiation and today I’m happy to report that I’m cancer free. But my cancer taught me something, if you truly want to do something you shouldn’t wait. You never know how long you have.
Last October the idea for “P.A.W.S.” came to me in a flash. I clearly saw a young girl being passed a silver cat amulet by her dying grandmother. I knew her story and that of her grandmother was important and something I had to tell. I told my daughter the story, who said “Mom, you have to write that.”
But how? For me the answer was NaNoWriMo where writers take on the challenge of writing 50,000 words of fiction in one month.
I set myself a daily target of 2000 words and just sat down and wrote. No editing, no distractions (I forced myself NOT to go on the internet each day until I was done with my daily words.)
You can do it too! November is coming. Join me!
Check out Debbie's blog and Amazon author page.
I wrote it in my twenties in exercise books. At the time I was living in Israel in a tiny one-room flat. I scribbled away in those notebooks, but somewhere along the way I got lost. Life took over and I stopped writing.
I moved to America, got married, had two children and finally found a career I love (I write puzzles for puzzle magazines). In the back my mind I knew I still wanted to write a novel, but thought I had plenty of time. When the kids are grown perhaps.
Then about two and half years ago I found a lump in my breast. Cancer. I was terrified. But it is amazing what you get used to. I went through chemo, surgery, and radiation and today I’m happy to report that I’m cancer free. But my cancer taught me something, if you truly want to do something you shouldn’t wait. You never know how long you have.Last October the idea for “P.A.W.S.” came to me in a flash. I clearly saw a young girl being passed a silver cat amulet by her dying grandmother. I knew her story and that of her grandmother was important and something I had to tell. I told my daughter the story, who said “Mom, you have to write that.”
But how? For me the answer was NaNoWriMo where writers take on the challenge of writing 50,000 words of fiction in one month.
I set myself a daily target of 2000 words and just sat down and wrote. No editing, no distractions (I forced myself NOT to go on the internet each day until I was done with my daily words.)
You can do it too! November is coming. Join me!
Check out Debbie's blog and Amazon author page.
September 9, 2013
Jenn Roseton: How To Make A Simple Ebook Cover in Picmonkey For Free
If you’re an indie writer, you might be wondering what to do about the cover for your book. Should you hire a cover designer (cost ranges from $40-400 or even higher), hire a provider on Elance.com or Fiverr.com (cost ranges from $5-40) or try to do it yourself?Whichever path you choose, you’re going to need an image for your cover. If you hire a professional cover designer, they may choose an image for you. But if you’d like to see what kind of images are available, here are some sites you can browse:
www.dreamstime.com
www.123rf.com
www.hotdamnstock.com
www.romancenovelcovers.com
www.shutterstock.com
www.fotolia.com
www.morguefile.com - free images
There are plenty more stock sites out there, but the above should get you started. If you purchase an image from a stock site, make sure you read the license carefully, so you know you can legally use it for your ebook cover.
I’ve made a couple of my book covers myself, and I’ve found the easiest tool to use is www.picmonkey.com. It’s a free online photo editor. To make your cover, just click Edit Photo and upload your image. You can choose from cropping, resizing, adjusting the colors, and even overlaying one image on top of the other. You can also add text, a frame or textures. While a lot of features on Picmonkey are free, some cost a fee such as themes and certain fonts. Once you’re happy with your cover, you can resize it to Amazon’s specifications and save it to your computer.
You can also create collages, memes or pins (for Pinterest). I’ve found Picmonkey a lot easier to use than Getpaint.net as it’s basically just point and click. If you’re not sure how to apply a certain feature to your image, just google what you want to do and you’re sure to find either a helpful Youtube video or written step by step instructions.
Jenn Roseton believes that romance and happy endings go together. When she's not writing sexy contemporary romance, she indulges in delicious gourmet chocolate. Her last book, Curves for the Sheriff, was a Top 10 Western Romance bestseller on Amazon. You can find out more about her books, including two free reads, at her website.
