C.D. Hersh's Blog, page 76
October 26, 2020
Tell Again Tuesday Jump Start Sales
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
Promo Stacking
By Rebecca Heflin
n March of 2019 I struck gold, securing one of those rare BookBub Featured Deal spots and was astounded to see the impact on sales and rankings. I wrote about it in a blog post. They truly are the gold standard when it comes to free and bargain book newsletters. Problem is, they are hard to come by, especially if the book you want to submit isn’t sold wide, and they are pricey. Very pricey.
But do not despair, there are lots of free and bargain book newsletters out there with spots that are far easier to snag (and far cheaper). And while they don’t have the same impact on sales as a coveted BookBub Featured Deal, their impact is not insignificant. The key is promo-stacking.
When I decide to run a 99¢ promo, it’s . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
October 22, 2020
Friday Feature NO TRICK HERE
Guest talks about
Her Halloween books
by
Tina Ruiz
This is definitely a treat for your favorite ghosts and ghouls. Two Halloween books from children’s author Tina Ruiz. The amazing illustrations are done by Ishika Sharma. This creative duo knows how to put life and fun into children’s books to encourage young people to read. As with all of Tina’s children’s stories, there’s a moral at the end.
The story is about Peppa Roni and her twin brother, Reece A. Roni, who are having their 9th birthday party in the neighborhood restaurant. What makes this story different from any other children’s book, are the names which the author has given to her characters. Example: Tess Ding, Chris P. Bacon, Mr. Noah Lott, Harry Pitts, Miss Turi, Walter Melon, Judge Mental and his wife, Judy, etc…
The storyline is quite charming, and because you will try to figure out the double meaning of the fun names while you read, this is bound to become your child’s favorite book.
AMAZON BUY LINK
The pictures are bright and the story is fun. It was written not only to entertain kids, but also to challenge their minds.
Every character has a name with a double meaning. Such as: Mr. Noah Lott, Mrs. Faye Ding, Mrs. Frieda Livery, Upton O’Goode, Adam Zapel, and Ella Vader, to name but a few.
Here’s a hint to help you solve the puzzle, Ed Zortails is his name really heads or is it tails? You’ll have to buy the book to find out.
Solving the double meaning of the words will be delightful for children and adults alike. On the off chance someone can’t unravel a name, Tina supplied a cheat sheet at the back of the book.
As with all of her children’s stories, there’s a moral at the end.
AMAZON BUY LINK
Tina Ruiz was born in Germany, but her family moved to Canada when she was in grammar school. She began writing children’s stories when her own were little. Through the years Ruiz has now written wrote thirty books. Most of those stories went into readers for the Canada Board of Education. Two did not. Mayor Shadoe Markley is a story about a ten-year-old girl who becomes Mayor for a Day through a contest at school.
Little did Ruiz know that story would “change the world.” The book came out at early January 1988. By the end of that same month, everyone was calling the mayor’s office at City Hall, trying to get the forms to fill out so their children could participate in the contest. Thirty years later that same contest is still runs at full speed. And not only in Calgary, but all across Canada. The Mayor’s Youth Council is now in charge of the celebrated contest and invites Ruiz to attend and meet the lucky winner. It’s usually followed by a hand-written thank you card from the mayor himself. Recently Ruiz was invited to be part of the Grand Opening of Calgary’s New Library where the mayor shook her hand and introduced her to the attendees.
Tina has worked in television and radio as well as being a professional clown at the Children’s Hospital. She lives in Calgary with her husband who encourages her to write her passion be it high-quality children’s books or intriguing romance.
Stay connected with Tina Ruiz on her Facebook group Tina Speaks Out.
October 20, 2020
Wednesday Special Spotlight Kale and Butternut Squash Minestrone #Soup by @ChrisPavesic
Shines On
Our special guest Chris Pavesic who brings us a recipe and a good book to love.
This recipe is hearty, delicious, and healthy. Hard to beat a trio like that. Add a crusty roll, salad, and your favorite beverage to create a superb lunch or dinner.
Kale and Butternut Squash Minestrone
1 tbsp. olive oil
¾ cup diced onion
½ cup thinly sliced celery
2 cups butternut squash, peeled (reserve rest of squash for another time) and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
3 cups water
¾ tsp. dried rosemary
¼ tsp. salt or to taste
⅛ tsp. black pepper or to taste
2 cups coarsely chopped kale leaves (lightly packed) stems removed
4 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oil in soup pot/Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook and stir 5 minutes or until onion is softened.
Stir in butternut squash, beans, tomatoes, water, rosemary, salt, and pepper in Dutch oven. Cover and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
Add kale. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until tender.
Ladle soup into bowls and then sprinkle with cheese.
Why not read a good book while you enjoy your soup? May I suggest one of the books from my LitRPG series The Revelation Chronicles? ?
In Starter Zone Cami kept herself and her younger sister Alby alive in a post-apocalyptic world, facing starvation, violence, and death on a daily basis. Caught by the military and forcefully inscribed, Cami manages to scam the system and they enter the Realms, a Virtual Reality world, as privileged Players rather than slaves. They experience a world of safety, plenty, and magical adventure.
In the Traveler’s Zone magic, combat, gear scores, quests, and dungeons are all puzzles to be solved as Cami continues her epic quest to navigate the Realms and build a better life for her family. But an intrusion from her old life threatens everything she has gained and imperils the entire virtual world.
Time to play the game.
Above the tree line floats an airship close to three hundred feet long with a slightly rounded wooden hull. Ropes attach the lower portion of the ship to an inflated balloon-like aspect, bright white in color with an identification symbol, a red bird with white-tipped feathers extended in flight, inside a round yellow circle in the center of the canvas. The deck is manned with archers and swordsmen. There are two sets of fore and aft catapults.
What I don’t see are cannons or any other type of a gun large enough to account for the sound of the explosion.
The ship pivots in the air, coming around to point directly at what looks like an oncoming flock of five large birds. Or creatures. They are too big and too strange looking to be birds. They drift closer, flapping their wings.
A moment passes before I realize that they are not creatures either. They are some sort of gliders. A person hangs below each set of the feathered wings, which flap and move with mechanical precision in a sky washed out by the morning sun.
The archers nock their arrows and aim at the flock.
The gliders draw in their wings and dive toward the deck, covering the distance in a few heartbeats. Most of the arrows fly uselessly past the attack force and fall like black rain from the sky. The archers aimed and released the volley too late.
The forward catapult releases a torrent of small rocks at the lead glider. It is a scatter-shot approach that proves effective. There are so many missiles that it is impossible to dodge them all.
But at the moment the stones strike, the other four let loose with fireballs. Spheres of crackling flame spring from their hands, glowing faintly at first and then with increasing brightness. The balls of fire shoot from their hands like bullets from a gun and fly toward the ship, exploding. Pieces bounce off the hull and fall to the ground, throwing hissing, burning globs of magic-fueled fire in all directions, setting everything they touch aflame.
AMAZON BUY LINK
SMASHWORDS BUY LINK
Want to learn more about The Revelation Chronicles? Click HERE for updates on this and the other series by Chris. Watch the video on YouTube.
Chris Pavesic is a fantasy author who lives in the Midwestern United States and loves Kona coffee, steampunk, fairy tales, and all types of speculative fiction. Between writing projects, Chris can most often be found reading, gaming, gardening, working on an endless list of DIY household projects, or hanging out with friends.
Learn more about Chris on her website and blog.
Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and her Amazon Author Page.
October 19, 2020
Tell Again Tuesday Cowboys not of Texas
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
The Code of the West Hawaiian Style
By Gwen Overland
I never thought I would admit this, nor did I think I would parade it on the World Wide Web for all to see, but I’ve decided to write a cowboy romance series. I don’t know that much about cowboys except from watching television and reading other cowboy romance novels, yet I have had a few profound experiences observing the paniolos or cowboys of Hawaii. . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
October 15, 2020
Friday Feature #recipe for dinner ready in minutes by @SloaneTaylor2
Guest shares
A fast dinner
by
Sloane Taylor
Every cook in this busy world needs a fast yet tasty dinner ready in minutes, not hours. Here is just the recipe you are looking for. You may want to increase the proportions for this mouthwatering dish since it freezes well.
Photo by Vitchakorn Koonyosying on Unsplash
Easy Baked Chicken Breasts
Non-stick cooking spray
3 boneless chicken breasts
½ cup mayonnaise
5 tsp. Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Preheat the oven to 425° F.
Spray a light coating of cooking spray into an ovenproof dish that will hold the chicken comfortably.
Rinse chicken and pat dry. Set on a plate.
Mix mayo and bread crumbs together in a small bowl. Spread onto both sides of chicken.
Lay chicken in prepared dish. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top of coated chicken.
Bake 20 minutes or until the juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a sharp knife.
Easy Baked Chicken Breasts, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Steamed Asparagus are just three of the easy and delicious recipes you will enjoy from my fun cookbook. Here’s a little more info for you.
Ready to ignite that old flame? Or perhaps spark a new one? Take your partner by the hand and turn on your stove. A true romantic, award-winning author Sloane Taylor brings her creativity to the kitchen with easy-to-make meals sure to spark the intimacy and quality time you want with your special someone. Cooking together is only the start of the fun!
Create 45 complete dinners for two and flavor your evenings with a new dish. These 80 recipes use everyday foods already on most kitchen shelves. The recipes are easily increased for those fun times friends or family join your table.
Date Night Dinners, Meals to Make Together for a Romantic Evening, is an ideal gift for engagements, bridal showers, anniversaries, or for anyone who wants to spice things up.
What People are Saying About Date Night Dinners
Bring your date nights back home! Sloane Taylor’s delicious meals are the perfect prelude to romance.
Helen Hardt,#1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
These recipes are sure to please the palate and make your romantic night a perfect memory. Enjoy!
Jan Springer, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Romance Author
With Date Night Dinners Sloane Taylor reminds us that our relationships should be savored like a fine meal.
Chris Pavesic, Award-Winning Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author
Any recipe is a perfect date night dinner because it can quietly simmer away while the diners are doing umm…other things.
Vonnie Hughes, Romantic Suspense Author
BUY LINKS
AMAZON KINDLE – AMAZON PAPERBACK – SMASHWORDS – KOBO
May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!
Sloane
Sloane Taylor is an Award-Winning romance author with a passion that consumes her day and night. She is an avid cook and posts new recipes on her blog every Wednesday. The recipes are user friendly, meaning easy.
Learn more about Taylor’s cookbooks, Date Night Dinners and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire on Amazon.
Excerpts from her romance books and free reads can be found on her website, blog, and her Amazon Author Page. Connect with Taylor on Facebook and Twitter.
October 13, 2020
Wednesday Special Spotlight a Mushroom and Wild Rice Blend #recipe
Shines On
A new recipe from Chris Pavesic who also brings us a look into her LitRPG series The Revelation Chronicles. Take it away Chris!
I love to write fantasies, the stranger the better. Bring on the elves and never before seen or heard of creatures and I’m in fiction heaven. But my secret passion in life is cooking. Creating a new recipe invigorates me. And when my family asks for seconds I can’t stop smiling. This is one of the recipes I use as a side dish or fast lunch. I think you and yours will like it, too.
Mushroom and Wild Rice Blend
1 can (3½ oz.) mushrooms, stems and pieces
1 can (10 oz.) beef broth
Water
1 onion, chopped
½ cup wild rice, rinsed
1 cup long grain rice
2 tbsp. butter
Drain mushrooms, retaining liquid, then set mushrooms aside.
Mix broth, water, and reserved mushroom liquid to make 2 cups.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, pour in broth mixture then add onions and bring to a boil. Add wild rice, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add long grain rice. Boil again, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add mushrooms and butter. Serve.
Why not read a good book while the mushrooms and rice simmer? May I suggest one of the books from my LitRPG series The Revelation Chronicles? ?
In Starter Zone Cami kept herself and her younger sister Alby alive in a post-apocalyptic world, facing starvation, violence, and death on a daily basis. Caught by the military and forcefully inscribed, Cami manages to scam the system and they enter the Realms, a Virtual Reality world, as privileged Players rather than slaves. They experience a world of safety, plenty, and magical adventure.
In the Traveler’s Zone magic, combat, gear scores, quests, and dungeons are all puzzles to be solved as Cami continues her epic quest to navigate the Realms and build a better life for her family. But an intrusion from her old life threatens everything she has gained and imperils the entire virtual world.
Time to play the game.
Above the tree line floats an airship close to three hundred feet long with a slightly rounded wooden hull. Ropes attach the lower portion of the ship to an inflated balloon-like aspect, bright white in color with an identification symbol, a red bird with white-tipped feathers extended in flight, inside a round yellow circle in the center of the canvas. The deck is manned with archers and swordsmen. There are two sets of fore and aft catapults.
What I don’t see are cannons or any other type of a gun large enough to account for the sound of the explosion.
The ship pivots in the air, coming around to point directly at what looks like an oncoming flock of five large birds. Or creatures. They are too big and too strange looking to be birds. They drift closer, flapping their wings.
A moment passes before I realize that they are not creatures either. They are some sort of gliders. A person hangs below each set of the feathered wings, which flap and move with mechanical precision in a sky washed out by the morning sun.
The archers nock their arrows and aim at the flock.
The gliders draw in their wings and dive toward the deck, covering the distance in a few heartbeats. Most of the arrows fly uselessly past the attack force and fall like black rain from the sky. The archers aimed and released the volley too late.
The forward catapult releases a torrent of small rocks at the lead glider. It is a scatter-shot approach that proves effective. There are so many missiles that it is impossible to dodge them all.
But at the moment the stones strike, the other four let loose with fireballs. Spheres of crackling flame spring from their hands, glowing faintly at first and then with increasing brightness. The balls of fire shoot from their hands like bullets from a gun and fly toward the ship, exploding. Pieces bounce off the hull and fall to the ground, throwing hissing, burning globs of magic-fueled fire in all directions, setting everything they touch aflame.
AMAZON BUY LINK
SMASHWORDS BUY LINK
Want to learn more about The Revelation Chronicles? Click HERE for updates on this and the other series by Chris. Watch the video on YouTube.
Chris Pavesic is a fantasy author who lives in the Midwestern United States and loves Kona coffee, steampunk, fairy tales, and all types of speculative fiction. Between writing projects, Chris can most often be found reading, gaming, gardening, working on an endless list of DIY household projects, or hanging out with friends.
Learn more about Chris on her website and blog.
Stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, and her Amazon Author Page.
October 12, 2020
Tell Again Tuesday Commas, Infinitives, Phrases
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
Grammar Habits
By KD DuBois
Always one to enhance my knowledge, I signed up for a grammar course. I also took it as the initial requisite to complete an editing certificate. With some spare time on my hands, I thought I could fill the gaps in my days with some freelance editing work. I have a few degrees. I’ve authored many papers. I write novels. Grammar is second nature—grammar is easy.
I can’t remember the last time I’ve studied so hard.
As I struggle through the homework, I discover . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
October 8, 2020
Friday Feature is the umpire always correct?
Guest talks about
Sports casting and word meanings.
by
Anne Montgomery
In a perfect world, sportscasters would get long leisurely looks at the highlights they use in their live broadcasts. They’d get to rehearse a few times, using their own verbiage to describe a sweet double play or a long touchdown run.
But in the real world, there are times when sportscasters don’t get to view the video prior to a broadcast. Imagine trying to look pleasant, sound authoritative and knowledgeable, and having to describe a previously-unseen set of highlights, while someone is yelling in your ear. Now, try to do it when the highlights are poorly written.
At ESPN, there was a group of workers called PAs: production assistants who spent almost all their time observing games and picking plays for SportsCenter broadcasts. I’m sure to rabid sports fans the gig sounds like having one foot in heaven. A PA would be assigned a game, they’d sit back, watch, and pick three or four highlights. All they had to do was get the plays edited and write a script explaining what was happening in the shots they chose. A final score would then be added. That was it.
Generally, the PAs would appear at the anchor’s newsroom desk before the show and hand over their version of the script. I would always go view the video, make my own additions to the copy, and thank the PA. Beautiful.
However, sometimes there were late games that were still in progress during the SportsCenter broadcast. It was one of these contests and a subsequent set of highlights I received that got me into a bit of a pickle.
One evening, a sheet of game highlights was slipped onto my desk just as the crimson camera light blinked on. I smiled and read the intro. Then, as the video rolled, I eyed the script with my left eye and focused on my desk monitor with my right. (Not really, but it sort of feels that way.) And there it was, a screaming line drive hit into the first row seats, beaning a spectator squarely on the noggin. I read the script and immediately knew there’d been a mistake. The copy read that the fan had been hit by a foul tip. I knew this was impossible, but the next play quickly appeared and I had no time to right the wrong.
It wouldn’t be until the postmortem – the meeting that followed each show, a time during which errors were discussed by everyone involved in the broadcast – that I would get the chance to point out the obvious problem.
“Rich,” I said to the PA, who like all of his ilk was just out of college, sans any previous TV experience, and while they were sometimes treated like slave labor, were willing to do almost anything to get into the business. “Here,” I said, pushing the highlight sheet across the conference table. “Look at the first play.”
“The one where the guy gets hit with the foul tip?” He asked without looking at the page.
“That’s the one.” I smiled. “You don’t want to do that again.”
“Do what?” Rich squinted.
PAs lived in fear of making a mistake, knowing there was a long list of kids who’d do anything to get into ESPN. They worked without contracts for so little pay three or four of them often rented tiny apartments together, and they could be terminated without cause. Still, they lined up in droves to work at the network.
“It wasn’t a foul tip that hit the guy, Rich. It was a foul ball.”
“What’s the difference? The producer asked, palms up.
I looked around the table, finding it odd that no one else seemed to understand. “A foul ball is one that goes out of the playing area in foul territory. It’s a dead ball. Nothing can happen on the field. A foul tip, however, is a ball that generally goes directly from the bat to the catcher’s glove and is legally caught. A foul tip is always a strike and, unlike a foul ball, can result in strike three.”
“So?” Rich said defensively.
“A foul tip is a live ball.” I paused, waiting to see the light bulbs go off in the brains of my SportsCenter peers, but they just stared at me. “If there are runners on base, they can steal at their own risk,” I went on. “That makes it impossible for a fan to be hit with a foul tip. It was a foul ball.”
“It’s the same thing,” Rich insisted.
“No, it’s not.”
“Why do you care?” The PA said, sounding petulant now. “No one else does.”
I looked around the room. None of the other members of the crew had chimed in. Generally, in these meetings, everyone had an opinion and no one was timid about sharing.
“I care, Rich. I’m an umpire. And there are people out there who know that. It embarrasses me to make that kind of mistake.”
Rich’s face turned bright red. “You’re just being a picky bitch!” Then he got up and left the room.
The next day, I was called into my boss’s office. He had been apprised of my comments and insisted that I apologize to Rich.
“But he was wrong,” I said. “I never raised my voice or got defensive. I simply explained that he’d made a mistake.”
My boss was unswayed. That the young PA called me a bitch did not seem to matter. I was forced to apologize.
And all these years later, it still rankles.
Here’s a little from my latest women’s fiction book. I hope you enjoy it.
A woman flees an abusive husband and finds hope in the wilds of the Arizona desert.
Rebecca Quinn escapes her controlling husband and, with nowhere else to go, hops the red-eye to Arizona. There, Gaby Strand – her aunt’s college roommate – gives her shelter at the Salt River Inn, a 1930’s guesthouse located in the wildly beautiful Tonto National Forest.
Becca struggles with post-traumatic stress, but is enthralled by the splendor and fragility of the Sonoran Desert. The once aspiring artist meets Noah Tanner, a cattle rancher and beekeeper, Oscar Billingsley, a retired psychiatrist and avid birder, and a blacksmith named Walt. Thanks to her new friends and a small band of wild horses, Becca adjusts to life in the desert and rekindles her love of art.
Then, Becca’s husband tracks her down, forcing her to summon all her strength. But can she finally stop running away?
Amazon Buy Links
E-Book – Paperback
Anne Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, amateur baseball umpire, and high school football referee. She worked at WRBL‐TV in Columbus, Georgia, WROC‐TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP‐TV in Phoenix, Arizona, ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award‐winning SportsCenter, and ASPN-TV as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery has been a freelance and staff writer for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces.
When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.
Learn more about Anne Montgomery on her website and Wikipedia. Stay connected on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
October 6, 2020
Wednesday Special Spotlight Southern Gothic tale and #recipe
Shines On
Leigh Goff who brings us her latest captivating novel paired with a southern recipe. Here’s Leigh!
My latest novel, Koush Hollow, is a Southern Gothic tale that deserves to be paired with Southern cuisine. This is one of those comfort dishes I seek out when I head farther south. It makes for a mouth-watering breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This recipe comes from the late chef Bill Neal who has influenced cooking across the South. This particular recipe was borrowed from Cook’s Corner on My Recipes.
Photo by Iain BagwellGoodreads.
October 5, 2020
Tell Again Tuesday Writing characters to help your story
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
Novel Crafting – 12 Character Archetypes
By Lorraine Ambers
Hello my fellow creators, and welcome to this weeks post. Have you ever wondered what archetype your character falls under? Or perhaps you’re outlining a new project and brainstorming who to include in your story. Hopefully, you’re wondering what character archetype would most benefit your story. Well, I’m here to help with a fun Inforgraph outlining the main 12 Character Archetypes. So lets delve a little deeper . . .
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