Lara Schiffbauer's Blog, page 29

The Forgotten Ones Cover Reveal Blitz

As promised, I am delighted to share in Laura Howard's cover reveal for her debut novel, The Forgotten Ones!

Laura is another fabulous writer I met through Robert Lee Brewer's My Name is Not Bob April Platform Challenge. Her blog, Finding Bliss, is one of the best resources I know of for information related to writing and self-publishing. She's also one of the most supportive people I know on the internet, so I am so happy to return the favor of her kindness.

Be sure to scroll to the end of the post, because Laura is giving away a $50.00 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. To be eligible for the drawing, you need to sign up on the rafflecopter below and then share this post (or another participating in the cover blitz) on twitter or facebook. 

Title: The Forgotten Ones

Author: Laura Howard

Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Expected release date: May 15, 2013

Age Group: New Adult

Cover Designer: Stephanie Mooney 



Book Description:

Allison O'Malley just graduated from college. Her life's plan is to get a job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She doesn't have room for friends or even Ethan, who clearly wants more.

When Allison's long-lost father shows up, he claims he can bring her mother back from the dark place her mind has sent her. He reveals legends of a race of people long forgotten, the Tuatha de Danaan, along with the truth about why he abandoned her mother.


Laura Howard | Facebook | Twitter



Share on Facebook and/or Twitter and you could win a $50 Amazon (or B&N) Gift card!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Funny Photo Friday

Happy Weekend! This week went by way too fast for me. I didn't accomplish much, although I tried really hard. We'll see how the weekend goes.
Next Tuesday, I am so excited to share Laura Howard's cover reveal for her soon-to-be published novel, The Forgotten Ones. The next week I have Rick Wilcox, the gentleman cowboy, guest posting. I also have guest posts of my own on some different blogs lined up this month and next, so I'll let you know about them as they come around.
Let's jump into the pictures! Last week's winner was:

And here's the new ones!

The Aflac goose turns sinister.


I've been waiting for a good caption for this photo. 





Until tonight, I never knew WHY they had to kill Old Yeller. I wish I didn't know now.


My hair before I straighten it!






I always thought the joke with every phaser launch on Star Trek: TNG.

And this is just a Cute to bring you into the weekend. 


You just said an "awww" in your head, didn't you!My favorite this week is Old Yeller. I love how the dogs face and the face of the guy next to him are the same. 

Which is your favorite? Did you get done what you wanted this week?

My Blog is Sunshine-y!

A year ago in April I participated in the My Name is Not Bob Platform Building Challenge led by the fabulous Robert Lee Brewer. The camaraderie was amazing, and at the end of the Challenge the Wordsmith Studio group was born. One of those fine ladies, Melanie Marttila of Writerly Goodness, passed the Sunshine Award to me last week!

Here it is!



What excited me most about this award is that I try to keep the blog positive and fun, and so to get an award called the Sunshine Award... Well, it made me happy. 

Here are rules. 
Link back to the person who nominated you.Post the award image to your page.Tell seven facts about yourself.Nominate 10 other blogs.Let them know they are nominated. My Seven Facts
I've got four dogs, and they're all named Quechuan words because my husband and I loved our time in Peru so much. (Raymi, Killa, Inca and Tumpa)
I have been known to dye my hair wild colors, but lately I'm sticking with auburn to cover my increasing grays.
My great-grandparents immigrated from Italy.
I'm an old/new Dr. Who fan. I loved the 70's version, but became reacquainted with the good Doctor when I was home sick in November. Matt Smith rocks!
Okay, I give up. I can't think of anything else that I haven't already said on other blog award posts. I'm actually quite boring.
My Nominees
My nominees are in my sidebar. I truly enjoy every single blog that I listed over there. Those blogs are some of the most awesome, inspirational blogs on the internet, and they are written by some of the nicest and most supportive people on the internet. I love you all!
A huge thank you, Melanie Marttila, for the lovely award!

Funny Friday Photos

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a lovely New Years. My entire past two weeks has been a lot of social media creation, editing, and family time. I have a lot of family memories, a new website, Goodreads Author page, and a brand-spankin' new Facebook Fan Page now. If you'd like to see my Facebook page, just click the link! 
We won't discuss the editing, although I've gotten a lot done on it. I just have so much more to do. Thank God for wonderful critiquers who catch all my errors!
Another huge thanks to the many fabulous friends who visited and/or liked any and all social media pages. I have a history of having parties no one comes to, and so I made all these social media sites with much fear and trepidation. It means more to me than anyone can know that people are willing to click that little button and be a part of my writing community.
I neglected to pick a winner for Briane Pagle's book, Up So Down and plan to fix that right now! Diane Carlisle is our winner. Yay! I'll be getting in contact with you this weekend about claiming your prize. On to the photos!
Last week's winner is - Dog Threat!


Here's the new ones!

Our cocker spaniel used to look like that in winter.


There is something ominous about deer. Bambi they are not.


Arrrgh.


That's small compared to the spiders I saw in Costa Rica. The Amazon grows things BIG!

Not quite as cute as John Cusak. Oh, okay. Cuter. :)

This is practically blasphemous, but it really cracked me up!
I think my favorite this week is the snowball dog. Which is yours? What's up for you this weekend?

New Year's Wishes

Happy New Year to one and all! 
I wanted to say a huge "thank you" to all of you who have hung around throughout 2012, being good Facebook friends, Twitter-peeps and blog-buddies. You make this crazy writing ride (try saying that out loud) a little less lonely and a lot more fun.

It's been a while since I've anticipated a new year's arrival, but something about 2013 has me excited. Let's hope it's a good sign the year is going to be filled with happiness and success for every last one of us!

Funny Photo Friday

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. Ours was snow and sugar filled. We didn't even do a decent dinner because we were all so full from candy and cookies. I suppose I shouldn't admit to that. You'll all think I'm a terrible mother. We did have carrots with dinner. And a banana. They're healthy. Right?

I spent the day after Christmas setting up my website, which you can find at www.laraschiffbauer.com or you can click on the Website Home link in the Menu on the sidebar. I also added Finding Meara to Goodreads and became a Goodreads Author. If you want to view my author profile it is the same link that is in the Social Media links in the sidebar. Right now I'm concentrating on Goodreads as a reader, so if you want to share books with me, please friend me over there!

Last week's winner for funniest photo is:



Now let's see what we can find for this week!

They look so harmless. I wonder when skunks can spray. Are they born with the ability or is it something they grow into?





I could not resist the Star Wars reference.

Good enough reason to stay on the nice list.





And Dog learns you don't ever cross Liam Neeson.And that's the best I could find. It took a while to find them, too. Apparently all the clever people took time off at Christmas from writing nifty captions for funny pictures.


My favorite is Santa's Psychodog helper. Which is yours?

Funny Photo Friday

And another week is done. What a crazy week it's been, too. I'm looking forward to the start of a two week vacation. I try not to brag about that Christmas Break thing, but man, I really need it this year.
Also, if you're reading this, it's most likely the world didn't end on the twenty-first. My best clue the Apocalypse wasn't going to happen? An article on Accuweather which pointed out that the Mayans didn't have leap years. Their calendar expired looong before our December 21st.
Are you ready to enjoy some funny photos? To laugh is one of my favorite activities, after all.
Last weeks winner is...

On to this week's photos!











And, since Christmas is right around the corner!

I will not be posting on Tuesday (imagine that!) I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Please enjoy your families and friends, as well as the goodness and beauty that surrounds us all. See you back here on Friday for more humor and laughs!
Did any picture make you laugh harder than the others?Which is your favorite?

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

I'd seen the Next Big Thing Blog Hop going round this summer and thought it would be a fun one to get tagged in. My dreams have finally come true, thanks to Marcia Richards and Cindy Keen Reynders.
I'm supposed to answer the following questions and then tag five of my soon-to-be-famous writer friends. I obviously answered the questions, but most of the people I know who like to be tagged have, well, already been tagged. Therefore, I encourage anyone who wants to be a part of the blog hop to feel free and cite me as their tagging resource. If you let me know when you are running the post, I'll be happy to link your post on my blog!
I contemplated answering the questions for Finding Meara, which is due to be released in February. I've already talked a lot about that story, though, and will be talking more about it in a couple of months. I decided to discuss the next book in the Adven Realm Adventures series instead. It's still in the early stages, so things could change, but I think the basic structure is ready to be shared.
What is the working title of your book?Finding Meara Number 2 - I can't figure out a title.

Where did the idea come from for the book?I needed to plot for another book, watched Harry Potter and thought it would be funny to have a Pixie infestation as a part of the plot.

What genre does your book fall under?I'm going with Contemporary Fantasy. I can't feel comfortable calling it Urban Fantasy.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?Hazel - I have no idea. Because it's written from first-person point-of-view I never see her face. Weird, huh.Arden - He's kind of like a Legolas (Orlando Bloom)/Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) cross.Benolt (Arden's Brother) - Viggo Mortensen as he looks in the Lord of the Rings
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?To obtain the antidote to the Pixie bites which bring her son and younger sister to the edge of death, Hazel is forced to choose between the lives of her family and the lives of innocents.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?I'll self-publish.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?I haven't even broken 10,000 words yet. I'm trying to get Finding Meara ready to publish in February, so I'm just working on #2 as I have time.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?I honestly know no other books like mine. I write weird conglomerations. I did have someone compare Finding Meara to Charles de Lint, but as I've never read any of his books, I can't say for sure.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?The 2012 Presidential campaign. It's hard to explain.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?If you like contemporary fantasy, action, forbidden love, and some humor sprinkled in, my book is for you. I believe my ideal reader is aged-out Twilight fans (twenty-somethings and up).
What are you working on right now?

Christmas, Blog-O-Thon of Doom and My Book Cover

Is that not the most eclectic title ever? 

First, if you are curious as to what exactly a Blog-O-Thon of Doom is, read this post for a definition. 

As part of the Blog-O-Thon, I must write a short post with a Christmas theme. Last time I recounted some of my favorite holiday memories. This time I'm going to share with you some thoughts I have about giving at Christmastime.

I used to, misguidedly, feel superior over people who pay special attention to giving at Christmas. Who were these selfish people who only think of others one time of the year. How much better the world would be if everyone would share the wealth year-round. Yep, I was pretty judgmental. It's a character trait I try to beat into submission every day.

Now, my perceptions have changed. I still think the world would be amazing if everyone would be as thoughtful year round, but I also have come to appreciate the kindness the holiday season brings out in people.

You see, November and December are two of the more emotionally trying months at my job as a school social worker. Bad things happen to families, caused sometimes (often?) by their own bad choices, and the children are left to suffer through the aftermath of Dad ending up in jail, increased domestic violence because of the stress of the season, Mom gone to rehab, and kids not getting presents because they just don't have the money.

There is nothing in the world sadder than a sad, hurting child.

That's why I've come to really appreciate the giving of the season. People's hearts open and so do their pocketbooks. I am able to help make children's lives a little happier, and ease the worry of the parents who couldn't "do Christmas." I can give new coats to children and watch their faces light up with joy that such a beautiful, seventeen dollar coat is theirs, and it even has a matching hat and gloves.

My faith in humanity, which takes a beating the other ten months of the year, is renewed. I believe again that people do care about more than the bottom line and that there's hope for all of us. So thanks to all of you who give and care, whether it be just at Christmas or year round. Either way, your kindness is a little ray of hope in a sometimes struggling, dark world.

Now - lets stop being all depressed. 

Briane Pagel kindly allowed me to give away his book, Up So Down, to a random commenter, so I could participate in the Blog-O-Thon. 

Last month Kimberely Gabriel won a copy, and now you can be the next lucky winner! Just leave a comment to enter and I will announce the winner on Friday.


I don't have my own book to give away yet (which is why Briane let me give away one of his) but I do have my book cover now! Here it is!


Now I just need to get the inside finished and I'm ready to roll! I'm in the middle of final edits (a huge thank you to my feedback friends) and am still aiming for a release in February. Stay tuned for further information!

How are your writing projects going?Are you ready for Christmas?

Funny Photo Friday

Between sick kids and lagging motivation, this week has not been terribly productive. Yes, it's true. I've been a writing slug. Come to think of it, I've kind of just been a slug, period. Nothing to do now except to get back to business, I suppose!
I didn't get a chance to try out the one-hour plot method, but as soon as I do I'll share how I thought it worked.
With three posts, next week is going to be a busy blogging week. Tuesday I will be posting for Briane Pagel's Blog-O-Thon of Doom and plan to share the cover for Finding Meara, too. I've been tagged twice for The Next Big Thing (by former Life List Club founder Marcia Richards and writing friend Cindy Keen Reynders) and will run that Wednesday. Finally, Friday will be funny photo day!
The winner of last week's photos was:



And now on to the new ones!

This goat reminds me of some actor, I just can't think of who. Anyone have any ideas?


And the moment you get close to the fence he goes all Cujo on you!


I didn't notice it's tongue is sticking out!
That makes it much more funny!


Do you think they know how to "smize", too?


I guess we know who is the better driver!

And finally, player dog tries again. 



The dog in the car won for me, hands down. I haven't laughed that hard at a photo in a while!  I hope you all have a fun, relaxing weekend!
Any photo make you laugh more than the others? Do you have any exciting weekend plans?