Val Tobin's Blog, page 20
February 28, 2017
It’s COVER REVEAL Time!
IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING …
~
The Cover Reveal for Book 3 in The Chronicles of Xannia series
February 14, 2017
Book review: Gillian’s Island by Val Tobin
Thank you for the lovely review, KJ Simmill.
Darrienia: The Forgotten Legacies Series
Gillian loved her island resort, it was all she had dreamt of and more. It was all she 
wanted. The same, however, could not be said for her husband, Josh. He was content at first, ever the social butterfly, but soon this humble life and tomboy wife, was not enough. He started an affair with a younger woman, Candi, and finally decided she was what he wanted, her and his share of the resort. As part of the divorce proceedings he forced Gillian to sell, as if the heartbreak of his betrayal hadn’t been enough. Worse still the buyer was a millionaire playboy with a reputation for tearing things down and building anew. The time had come to show the new owner Daylin, the ropes, but would he be the image of how the media portrayed him, or was there perhaps more to him? It seems Gillian isn’t the only…
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January 30, 2017
Roxanne Tellier – Where is Mary Tyler Moore When We Need Her?
Excellent analysis by Roxanne Tellier.
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say
In 1970, Mary Richards and The Mary Tyler Moore Show debuted to a changing world. Women like my mum, who had left school in grade 9 during the Great Depression, were watching the rise of feminism, and wondering how the heck they were supposed to react and behave.
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January 26, 2017
Injury Available on B & N and SW for Free
[image error]Readers looking for an emotionally charged romantic suspense should check out Injury, available for free on Smashwords and Nook at Barnes & Noble.
What if the traumatic event that shaped your entire life was based on a lie?
Actress Daniella Grayson puts herself in the spotlight, hoping to attract the attention of the father she believes abandoned her when she was five. Dani’s world falls apart when her father’s remains are discovered, and her mother is arrested for the murder.
In a moment of vulnerability, she turns to the handsome and caring Robert “Cope” Copeland, her limo driver, for comfort and support.
Can the budding relationship survive betrayal, Dani’s shameful past, and her obsessive ex-boyfriend?
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January 18, 2017
DBW ’17: Why are print sales up? Data Guy gives his reason—and it isn’t adult coloring books
Perhaps the reason print book sales are on the rise has nothing to do with coloring books, digital fatigue, the “ebook fad” or book store appeal. Data Guy has offered a different reason based on the data he has scraped for Author Earnings.
To start, independent book store sales are up 5 percent from 2015, but the rest of the brick and mortar stores are down 5 percent, on average. However, the industry is up 15 percent as a whole with the difference coming from Amazon.
Data Guy states that the real reason print sales are up is because a change in how Amazon priced its titles. In 2015, discounts on ebooks for large traditional publishers was eliminated. In turn, Amazon discounted the prices of print books in mid-2015 – and that’s 
where we see the change in print sales.
To break down the data even further, when Amazon discounted sales…
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January 16, 2017
Writer Beware: Is Someone Using Your Name Without Your Knowledge?
Everyone, not just writers, should regularly search on their names to see what’s out there.
I recently decided to enter a writing competition. The name of the individual listed as the judge was one I’d not previously come across. So I Googled him, as you do. As usually happens, the first result was from Wikipedia. This gave me an outline of his career, his books, awards for which he had been nominated, and a list of the publications to which he has contributed. At the bottom, among the sources cited, I found a link to a website.
Following the link I found what I at first took to be the writer’s own website. But something didn’t seem right. The biographical details tallied but the language was not what you would expect from a professional writer. It seemed more like the work of someone for whom English was a second language. Exploring further, clicking on ‘recent posts’, I found articles in which this, to say the…
January 14, 2017
#SciFan™ Magazine Now Under Scrutiny by #Amazon
Scifan Magazine has been yanked from Amazon under the claim that the publication had illegitimate borrows on KU. While I understand that Amazon must investigate suspicious activity to weed out those who are trying to game the system, they should investigate first and ensure innocent authors aren’t collateral damage and the real criminals are punished.
It displeases me to announce that SciFan™ Magazine has run into a major roadblock. As of January 12th 2017, the Warlords of Amazon have chosen to remove the magazine and all future pre-order issues from their website – solely based upon a claim that they suspect “illegitimate borrowing” from some of our Kindle Unlimited fans. We are actively appealing their ridiculous claim. Please be assured that SciFan™ Magazine will rise from the ashes and return with a vengeance on alternative publishing platforms! Stay tuned, and we will post new links shortly.
THIS MEANS…
January 9, 2017
There but for the grace of God
Up to 100 vehicles were involved in a crash on highway 401 in Ontario on Saturday, January 7, 2017, and if it wasn’t for my husband’s suggestion we stop for lunch, we might have been in the thick of it.
We were heading to Belleville from Newmarket, and typically, our route would take us onto the 404 and then the 401. Instead, my husband suggested we go through Port Perry and stop for lunch at The Jester’s Court, one of our favourite stops when we go to the cottage and the inspiration for the fictitious King’s Castle in my novel, A Ring of Truth.
Even though I would have preferred going straight to Belleville, every time the suggestion tried to pop out of my mouth, I had an uneasy feeling and remained silent. My primary method of gaining intuitive knowledge is claircognizance, so when the thought “Don’t change the plan” repeatedly popped into my head, I left things alone.
The trip through Port Perry and beyond was enjoyable.
The sun was out, the roads clear. We had a lovely lunch and continued on until we reached the on-ramp to the 401 in Bowmanville.
It was closed, and cars from both the eastbound and westbound lanes were leaving the highway.
We had no choice but to head to highway 2 and try to find an open entry to the 401. By this time, the clouds above were an evil grey, and snow was falling and blowing. Traffic on highway 2 crawled along in both directions.
I had no idea how bad the accident was until we found the next on-ramp closed. And the next.
We were finally able to get onto the 401 in the town of Welcome, and the eastbound traffic was scarce. The westbound lanes were jammed, and we saw three more accidents as we headed to Belleville.
I was grateful we’d missed getting entangled in the mess behind us.
The journey, which should have taken two hours, took four-and-a-half hours, but it was a small price to pay. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries in the accident, which looks horrific when you view the footage.
Just shows you how one decision can impact your day.
January 5, 2017
Psychology of the Hater—Using our Naysayers to Fuel Greatness
Excellent reading for anyone, not just writers. Favourite quote: “Instead of spending precious time and energy worrying about someone else? What can we do to focus on US? Why am I feeling insecure? What is bothering me? How can I address that? How can I overcome that and use my jealousy to make me better?”
All right, I spent last post addressing HuffPo’s latest snooty rant regarding self-publishing and that’s cool. I don’t like giving attention to haters and click-bait. But, I also know there are a lot of emerging writers who follow this blog, who are finding their way in this crazy world of publishing. I’m here to keep you ON FIRE and to tell you not to let ANYONE steal your sparkle.
So today I want to milk a bit more out of this horrible post, because I think we can all learn something that is going to make us all better. And baby we need to be better. This is a tough world and we gotta STICK AND MOVE! No time to stand still!
Love Your Haters
If everybody loves us we are doing something wrong. We are blasé. We are the mediocre middle and nobody cares or even notices the mediocre…
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December 22, 2016
So that $50 NOOK has malware….
If you had wondered if that NOOK $50 tablet was too good to be true, turns out you were right. Remember last month’s story on that ADUPS malware that was infecting the Blu R1 HD phones and sending data back to China? Yeah, that one. Well, as it turns out, the same malware is affecting the NOOK BNTV450. And, unlike the BLU scenario where an update was issued, 9 to 5 Google is reporting that there seems to be no way to disable the ADUPS on the NOOK device.
If you want the technical info on the malware, there’s a lot more information on the issue in the Linux Journal article that apparently broke the story. The article notes that Google has blacklisted the ADUPS agent and that a user can expect “zero privacy” from a device with this agent installed. Barnes and Noble has yet to comment on…
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