Briana Vedsted's Blog, page 20
June 26, 2013
Cover reveal for A Whisper of Hope
Poster made by Syler media group
Title: A Whisper of Hope
Series: Book One in the Kingston Hearts Series
Author: Amanda Keeney
Cover Designer: Tiffany Kae Wilson from
Photographer: CC’s Photography
Expected Release Date: October 1, 2013
Full Wrap Cover
Book Synopsis
Sage Collins is finally about to become an adult after spending most of her life in the foster care system. Graduation means a chance at a new life for Sage, who has spent many days and nights living in fear that the man from her past would make good on his promise to find her and make his claim on her.
After she receives a terrifying email, she takes a chance with local authorities. Detective brothers Ryan Randall and Jeremy Alton surprise her with their eagerness to help and she starts to feel like she might finally be safe. Detective Randall pursues her case with a dogged determination of a man seeking redemption, and his brother Jeremy because he believes Sage is the other half of the soul he has been missing.
The two begin to grow closer as the investigation moves forward. Sage’s first instinct is to run away, but when tragedy strikes, she finds herself running straight into his arms. He vows to protect her at all costs, but when Sage makes a mistake which lead to her sudden disappearance, he and his brother realize that if they want to save her, they will have to operate outside of the law they hold so dear. Jeremy and Ryan only have a limited amount of time to find Sage before she disappears for good.
Me
Amanda Keeney is a mother first and foremost but has the passion for writing. She is a full time college student attending Columbia College Online. With one year remaining in school she hopes to make writing books her future before graduation.
For years she has tried to write a finished novel, and never completed one until she entered the Camp NaNoWriMo challenge in April 2013 where she successfully completed the first draft to her debut Novel, A Whisper of Hope which is the first in The Kingston Hearts Series. This is the first, but far from the last novel she intends to write.
She lives with her soon to be husband, Thomas and daughter, Cycila in Missouri where she has lived her whole life. Her days now consist of a lot of coffee and little sleep while she works to finish her current project.
Ebook Cover
I want to put a shout out to Tiffany Kae Wilson from http://www.kaeskreations.com/ for doing such an amazing job on this cover and I cannot wait to work with her on my next covers. If you want a great design that won’t break your budget go to Kae’skreations
I also have an instrumental that was composed specifically for my book trailer that will be released in Septemer 2013. James L Revels is an awesome composer. Here is the link to the song. Hope you enjoy, I know I loved it.
http://jamesrevelsiii.bandcamp.com/track/a-whisper-of-hope
Other songs on the album/ plus my artwork
http://jamesrevelsiii.bandcamp.com/album/what-angels-dance-to
Find me
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/authorkeeney
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ramanda429
Goodreads( just as a reader for now, befriend me if you wish): http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19640122-amanda-richardson
WordPress: http://ramanda429.wordpress.com
Fun layered drinks for summer!
Warmer weather, longer days, music festivals and fireworks. What am I talking about? Well, I'm talking about summer, of course! And what better way to quench your thirst and showcase your festive side than with a Fourth of July layered drink? They're really simple to make so they're also perfect for your next family barbecue!
You will need:
Cranberry juice (red beverage)
A fun party drink with no alcohol!!!
New subtitle
Okay, so I think I’ve finally found a subtitle that fits my story and hasn’t been used too many times before. What do you think? “A Girl Named Cord: A western woman’s life story”
Under the Influence – Part 2
Yes, it is that time again. I’m back to talk about why drinking is bad for you. If you don’t believe me, Google “Why is drinking alcohol bad for your health” and open the first webpage that comes up. If I’m right, there is going to be a pretty good sized list why not to drink. My last post, I talked about how alcohol trashes your body. (No pun intended there.)
This week, I’m going to talk about how drinking can hurt your family.
If you drink more than one* alcoholic beverage a day, have you ever stopped to think about your family? Be it your wife, your kids, your husband, your parents, etc. So maybe you’re single and live by yourself, no friends, no job, basically no real life. But, for argument’s sake, you’re married with two kids, okay?
Here goes.
You come home from one heck of a day at the office and have a beer to start things off. Apparently you think this ‘shot of courage’ is going to ease some stress. During dinner, you partake in a couple glasses of wine, because come on, you’re having pasta for dinner, and all real Italians drink wine by the bottle, right? Well, by the time your favorite TV show comes on, you’re feeling invincible. But what kind of drunk are you? Loud and obnoxiously talkative? Angry and abusive? Stupid, yet you think you’re having a ball and are the life of the party? Feeling like you need to pick a fight, not caring with whom or what the consequences might be?
You’re family may not say anything to you like, “You’re drunk, you moron.” “Go sleep it off; you’re being a bad influence to our son.” “I’m not talking to you anymore.” or “I hate you when you drink.” But have you ever considered what they might be thinking on the inside? Behind their masks of normality? Can you feel their pain and sorrow? Don’t you see that when you drink, you are not you anymore? And your loved ones have to live with a person who looks like you but is a completely different, and probably worse, shadow of your true self. When you drink, that is all you are. A shadow. A reflection. A mindless being, aimlessly controlled by hard liquor.
Perhaps you and your spouse both drink. Put yourself in your kid’s shoes; “Why is Mommy and Daddy talking like that? Why are they so loud? What is wrong with them? They’re scaring me!” Is that any kind of life for a child to have to live? A better question to ask is: do I want my child to drink? Am I okay that she/he takes to drinking alcohol? Do you want your sixteen year old daughter to assume it is alright to go out parting with her friends and come home completely drunk? No, that’s wrong, isn’t it. You may argue, a sixteen year old is too young to drink! Okay, here’s another example: your twenty-one year old son goes out to a bar with one of his buddies and gets plastered. He then gets behind the wheel to come home. I’ll let you finish the story. Maybe he makes it home safe, no problems. Or maybe he gets pulled over and his license is revoked. Or he could get in an accident and someone loses with life. Whatever the case, you are to blame. When a child grows up in a house where alcohol is drunk as freely as water or soda pop, what kind of message is he/she getting?
Come on guys. Choose. Your loving spouse and adorable toddlers, or that shot of whiskey. Which one can make you happy for longer than the next twenty minutes? What are you really getting out of that little shooter? Yes, maybe your ‘happy place’ was when you were twenty-five, hanging out by a bonfire, music blaring in the background, with your friends passing around the bottle, but think of now. Do you think that trying to recreate those days here with your family is wise? No. it is not. You’re driving a wedge between yourself and those people who should mean the world to you. Think about it. Maybe you should just have a nice glass of lemonade from your kiddo’s lemonade stand, or a cup of imaginary tea with your little princess.
* “One drink” breakdown as follows:
12 oz of beer (one can or bottle)
10 oz wine cooler (one bottle)
¼ oz of hard liquor (rum, whiskey, vodka, etc.)
4.5 oz wine (small glass)
June 24, 2013
Merlin
Reblogged from helenvalentina:
From what depths did you see
Honor and pageantry
Timeless mythology
First there was one, then three
Three into two won’t go
Kingdoms to overthrow
Merlin what do you know
What is the truth you’d show?
Lancelot, Arthur here
Circle round Guinevere
Betrayal’s a flaming spear
Passion that draws death near
Lost in your own refrain
Merlin, can you regain…
A King Authur poem from one of my most favorite poets!
Last week!
Hi everyone! This is the last week of June, and I have yet to reach my 100 eBook sales. So for those of you who have not purchased my book, I wanted to let you know that I’m holding a contest! 100 eBook sales = 3 awesome prizes!
Pre-release PDF copy of Me and Billy the Kid
Amazon e-gift card
Kindle e-gift card
Hurry! The contest ends July 1st!
Subtitle?
I’m trying to decide on a subtitle for my book, “A Girl Named Cord”. I’m thinking of something along the lines: Can a woman make it in the west?
What do you think?
Blogger Spotlight
Blogger spotlight of the week: Charles E. Yallowitz over at http://legendsofwindemere.com/ He’s a self-published author who has tackled every challenge there is to self-publishing your book and trying to make it in the world of writers. The best part is, he’s posted about all the pros and cons and tricks of self-publishing, so if you follow his advice, you’re more than halfway done! Swing by his site to see more of his progress.
Some useful posts for the self-published author or author-to-be:
http://legendsofwindemere.com/2013/06/12/success-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/
http://legendsofwindemere.com/2013/04/23/faith-in-the-99-cent-ebook/
http://legendsofwindemere.com/links/book-advertising-sites/
June 23, 2013
Caring for Your Writer - 10 Easy Steps for Friends & Family
Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a writer! Your writer will perform amazing tricks for you, such as spending hours and hours by themselves working on something that they may never finish. Or, accumulating a small collection of editors who thank them for their work but it’s just not right for this publication.
You may be wondering how to feed and care for this moody and reclusive creature, who is…
This is too cute! Wish my mom would read it! LOL
Rome wasn’t built in a day!
I just joined the Rome Construction Crew!
My goals are to:
1. Lose twenty pounds
2. Start riding horses again.
3. Continue writing and ultimate goal is to become a world-renowned, full-time writer.
(Not necessarily in that order)
Thank you to Bradley, and everyone else at RRC for welcoming me into their midst. And for anyone else who is interested in joining a community of great people set on encouraging one another, visit http://romeconstructioncrew.com/ to learn more.
