Kim Iverson Headlee's Blog: Book Musings from the Maze of Twisty Passages, page 16

Experience the pain of Hometown Heartache by @mjschiller for #EggcerptExchange

For today's Eggcerpt Exchange offering, I present yet another new-to-The-Maze author, MJ Schiller,
and her Real Romance Collection novel
Hometown Heartache ! 

Synopsis

Nash is trying to make a name for himself in the art world…

But when he meets a realtor to buy a gallery, he is stunned to find Chloe sitting at the table with the man. He has never stopped thinking about her since she disappeared from his life without a trace. Is it too late to win back her love?

Chloe has finally found a way to leave her past behind her…

But her heart leaps out of her chest when she sees Nash. How can he be here? Now…after all this time? On the surface, she pulls herself back together. But underneath she feels she is about to shatter. After remaking herself, how can she deal with being faced with Nash and the life she knew before?

If this chance meeting doesn’t rip Chloe and Nash apart, he will.
Little do they know, someone has been lurking in the shadows, manipulating them all along. If he has his way, the two will never be reunited. Even if he has to take one of them out to ensure it.


Excerpt

I came to New York City, like so many others, to find fame and fortune. Or at least fame. But, like so many others, instead of taking a bite out of the Big Apple, it took a bite out of me. I showed my portfolio at any number of studios, and while they all seemed impressed, no one was willing to give me a chance. “It’s the damned economy,” they’d tell me. “We’re not taking any chances on newcomers. Sorry.”

So, on to Plan B.

Plan B included spending much too much of my inheritance on a small studio of my own, in Upper Manhattan, until I could build my reputation enough for others to become interested in me. But even Plan B had its drawbacks. While the poor economy should have made buying into the real estate market a piece of cake, we were still talking NYC, where property was always at a premium. But, determined to see this thing out until it came to its natural death, I continued to look for the perfect place to hang up my canvases and get down to the work of making a name for myself in the art community, if only as an unrelenting nuisance.

Uncomfortable as I was with big city realtors, I put away my apprehension and pushed my way through the revolving doors of a swank hotel, making my way to the five-star restaurant inside. As I walked toward the table the maitre de indicated, I began to have a surreal feeling, like time was coming to a jarring stop. Ahead of me, a woman, dressed in business attire, sat way too close to a man whose voice I recognized from my phone calls, Jack Duran, major New York realtor. Though the woman was turned away from me, seeming to be rapturously absorbed by whatever Jack was saying to her, an oddly-placed sense of familiarity came over me.

Jack glanced up as I neared the table. “Hello, Jack.” I reached out to shake his hand. The woman turned slowly to look up at me, a smile still on her face, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Nash!” She literally jumped in her seat as if I had struck her.

“You two know each other?” Jack asked, displaying an innate grasp of the obvious.

Chloe peered at me for a second, then she flashed her gaze back to Jack, seeming at a loss for words. She looked wonderful—her full lips dressed in a rich scarlet, her hair, unmanageable at times when we were growing up, had, through some mysterious adult female trick, become luxuriously full and soft-looking. She was as stunning as she was the first day I met her, when her hair was done up in braids and she was boasting an Annie Oakley cowgirl outfit, complete with tasseled, white boots and a white felt hat, set askew by uneven pigtails. But somehow it always came down to those fantastic eyes of hers, which seemed to reach in and grab hold of your heart, as if she’d lassoed them with the rope forever slung at her hip back in those cowgirl days.

“It’s good to see you, Chloe,” I said roughly, my voice catching a little on her name. I held out my hand.

About Nash Nabry
Favorite place to visit – Ahh, this is an easy one! Our treehouse. The one Chloe and I…claimed. Even though we’re not kids anymore, it still is a place that makes me feel warm, nostalgic, and…peaceful.

Significant other – Oh, hadn’t I mentioned? Miss Chloe Carmichael. My friend first, and always so much more.

Most important goal – To make Chloe understand how much she means to me.

Favorite food – pizza, of course!

Wealthy, poor, or somewhere in between? Well, I guess I’d choose wealthy. But then I wouldn’t choose to live any differently than I do, because I have everything that I want. But with the extra money I could help a whole lot of people.

Get your copy of Hometown Heartache on Amazon today!
Author Bio
MJ is a lunch lady in the heart of Central Illinois. My gosh! Can you get more folksy than that? She met her husband at the University of Missouri-Columbia and now she has a nineteen-year-old (how did that happen?) and seventeen year old triplets! She loves to read, karaoke (where she can pretend she is a rock star) and spends WAY too much time on Facebook. She grew up in St. Louis and still has family there.


Follow MJ via:
Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Amazon |

Thank you, Kim, for having me on The Maze today!
***
All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. 

Please enter often, and good luck!

Accolon thinks he won't be tempted in Ch 11/Sc 1a of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #DaylightSavingTime

Graphic overlay c2016 by Kim Headlee. I'm not ready for Daylight Saving Time to go into effect yet. Are you? 

Used to be, when I was a kid half a million years ago, I always knew when to "fall back" and "spring forward" because the time changes fell on the weekends closest to my birthday and half birthday, respectively. Now it's all over the freaking map, and this year the change is the earliest I can ever remember!

Why? God knows. Certainly nobody else does. This is sheer madness and it HAS TO STOP!!!!!

There. I feel better now. Thanks for letting me vent. :)

Accolon, in today's excerpt of Raging Sea , also is confronted with a situation that's sheer madness, though it has nothing whatsoever to do with altering his sundial.


Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in Raging Sea: Reckonings  Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Raging Sea Chapter 11, Scene 1a©2016 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
ACCOLON approached Morghe’s workroom, fighting to bury his resentment. His being the chieftain’s advisor did not give the chieftain’s wife the right to put Accolon at her beck and call, especially when that meant having to expose his bad shoulder—the one that had been wounded last year while conducting a covert mission for Urien—to the infernally damp and cold morning mist.

He shook his head to clear it, rubbing the shoulder under his cloak, and quickened his pace past the great hall. Of course she had every right to order him around now; his best friend had ceded that right to her. And, Accolon had to admit, she was proving herself to be as apt a ruler as she had promised Urien she would be. Her soaring popularity with the people as she dispensed wisdom and justice in settling their petty disputes, freeing her husband to concentrate upon the clan’s weightier matters, was but one example.

Her workroom was another.

Accolon reached the door and pushed it open; she had insisted from the first day to everyone, noble and commoner alike, that knocking was not required here.

Unlike Urien, who had established his workroom near his—and Morghe’s, Accolon reminded himself—sleeping chambers at the heart of Dunadd, she had commandeered a storage building near the kitchens. Now fitted with a hearth and chimney, and rare glazed windows thanks to some of the Clan Cwrnwyll wealth she had brought to her marriage, the building still housed the herbs, cooking oil, lard, salt, and other goods for which it had been built, but in a far more organized fashion.

The liberated space she had filled with tables for grinding herbs, mixing salves, and rolling bandages, and she had added several plain but sturdy chairs for visitors as well as a tall-backed, cushioned seat for herself. Dunadd already possessed a physician and infirmary, of course, but no one gainsaid the establishment of a second facility so close to the kitchens, where many of the daily mishaps occurred.

One of the visitors’ chairs was occupied as Accolon stepped into the chamber. Morghe was bending over the trembling hand of a kitchen maid, first slathering a cut fingertip with salve and then binding it.

She glanced up at Accolon, nodded a welcome, and returned her attention to the lass.

“You are excused from your duties until tomorrow,” she told her. “See me first to have your wound checked and redressed. It should be fine in another day or two, but stay away from the knives for at least a week.”

The lass rose and dipped a curtsey. “Aye, my lady. Thank’ee, my lady!” She turned and all but bumped into Accolon. “Oh! So sorry, my lord!”

Accolon stepped aside with a smile and a sweep of his arm. “The fault was mine, good woman, for being so near. Heal yourself, and enjoy the rest of your day.”

That seemed to fluster her more than a reprimand would have; she bobbed another curtsey, stammered out more thanks, and fled the workroom. The door banged shut behind her.

“Practicing your diplomacy, I see.”

Accolon turned. Morghe was wiping her hands on a cloth and grinning. She dropped the cloth onto the table and stepped around it to within arm’s length of him. Dressed in the plain-spun garb she favored while working inside this chamber, she looked more like a nun than the chieftainess of the most powerful clan of Brydein—and yet that only heightened her allure.

To rein in his emotions, he tried to picture her in the former environment, on her knees with hands folded and head bowed. It didn’t help much.

***
All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. 

Please enter often, and good luck!

Aimee meets her money pit in FORTUNA by @ElaineCantrell for #EggcerptExchange

Today I'm delighted to present another new-to-The-Maze and fellow Triberr tribemate-author for the Eggcerpt Exchange, Elaine Cantrell, and her romantic comdey Fortuna , "a merry tale of life, love, and confusion in a small town."


Synopsis
Aimee Sherwood never dreamed that following her fiancé into the witness protection program would land her in a haunted house in a town that’s downright creepy. She’d have laughed if she had been told the guy who lives down the road might be her soul mate, not the man whose ring she’s wearing. Life in West Virginia is nothing like life in Los Angeles, but between bean ball battles with Marilyn Monroe, remodeling a crumbling farmhouse, and starting a new business, Aimee’s life is anything but dull.

Excerpt:
Aimee sees Fortuna, the house her fiancé bought for them, for the first time. June is the realtor who sold the house to Rocky. Cade is Aimee and Rocky’s friend.

“Let me show you the house, hon. It’s just incredible. I can’t believe how lucky I was to find it.” He beamed at June. “Thanks to you I didn’t buy that tacky McMansion for sale on the other side of town.”

Aimee’s teeth ground together.

With Cade and June following, Rocky indicated the room to the right of the fallen door. “This is the living room.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “See that pretty molding up near the ceiling?”

Aimee shook her head. “No, but I do see some crumbling plaster. Is that what you’re talking about?”

Rocky closed his eyes as if her assessment of the molding pained him. “Hon, this house was built in 1750. Of course it needs a little work.”

“With historical properties one focuses on the potential, not the current condition,” June inserted.

Aimee’s lips tightened when June’s snarky tone registered.

They left the living room and went straight into the room on the left of the fallen door. “This is the dining room,” Rocky said. “Don’t go into the far corner. We have a hole in the floor.”

Aimee bounced on the supposedly safe part of the wooden floor. “I’m not sure we should be in here at all. It feels spongy to me.”

Cade stepped into the hall.

From the hallway, Rocky led them to the back part of the house. “Here’s the kitchen, hon.”

“Much nicer,” Aimee approved as her eyes swept the room. “The kitchen must have been redone in 1920. Is that a woodstove over there?”

June scowled and Cade laughed.

“Hon,” Rocky reproved.

The bedrooms were no better, but the bathroom . . . “There are no words,” Aimee whispered. She kicked the claw-foot tub and dislodged a rain of rust particles. They made a pretty pattern where they drifted across the dirty floor. What did the floor look like? Was it black and white? No, maybe gray and white, or maybe brown? “Rocky . . .”

“Don’t worry, hon.” He patted her shoulder. “We have outside facilities. I told the contractor he’d need to work on the bathrooms first thing.”

“No, he’ll need to shore up the entire thing first, or it’s going to fall down and kill us.”

Cade’s eyes were full of laughter. “Hey, Rocky, where are the outside facilities?”

“Look out the window.”

Aimee rushed to the window and looked out. She saw an outdoor shower with absolutely no way to conceal oneself. Not far away she saw a small, crooked hut. No! It couldn’t be. Her grandmother had told her of such things, but . . . “Is that hut an outhouse?”

Rocky nodded. “Uh-huh. It has two holes and some catalogues from 1955. You won’t even have to take a book with you.” He pursed his lips. “I don’t really know why they needed two holes. Maybe people in the country make communal bathroom visits.”

Buy Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords |

Learn more about the heroine of Fortuna, Aimee Sherwood:

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of Centerville Today. My name is Charlotte Mason, and my fist guest is Aimee Sherwood. Aimee, welcome to the show.

Aimee: Thank you, Charlotte. I’m glad to be here.

CM: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Aimee.

Aimee: I was born in Baltimore, but I spent the last few years in LA where I worked for LAWA wrestler Rocky Stone.

CM: Why did you move to Centerville?

Aimee: Oh, it was that witness protection thing. I’m sure you read about it in the papers.

CM: Everyone did. It sounded hair raising.

Aimee: (shivers) It was.

CM: Well, enough of that. Tell us about your new business.

Aimee: Since everyone in Centerville loves history, I’ve started a costume business. All of my work is historically accurate.

CM: Was it always your goal to have a business for yourself?

Aimee: No, not at all. I only started the business because I didn’t have a job. In fact, I didn’t think I’d like it so much.

CM: What’s your greatest fear, Aimee?

Aimee: My life is so wonderful since my marriage that I don’t really have any fears. I’m too happy to be fearful.

CM: Speaking of marriage, how did you meet your husband?

Aimee: He was a LAWA wrestler. I met him when I lived in LA.

CM: Does your husband have any nicknames for you, Aimee?

Aimee: (blushing) He calls me Sunshine.

CM: With your blonde hair that fits. Thanks for coming today, Aimee. We wish you good luck with your new business.

Aimee: Thank you. I’ve enjoyed being on the show.

Learn more about the author:
Elaine Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina. She holds a master’s degree in personnel services from Clemson University. She is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary society for women educators and is also a member of Romance Writers of America. Her first novel, A New Leaf, was the 2003 winner of the Timeless Love Contest. When she isn’t writing or teaching, she enjoys reading, traveling, and collecting vintage Christmas ornaments.

Follow Elaine via:
Web site | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon author page |

***
All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. 

Please enter often, and good luck!

Spotlight on Shadows of the Past by Carmen Stefanescu @Carmen_Books for #EggcerptExchange

Today on The Maze begins a new style of presenting book spotlights, featuring Amazon's preview-pane embed code. It's a great way of giving readers more information about a book without having to load a large cover graphic, or being stuck with an author-provided graphic that's so small that the low resolution doesn't show the cover to its best advantage.

I have tinkered with Amazon's HTML to create code that allows the flow of text to the right or left of images without the text appearing too crowded. I have also developed the smaller versions of the preview panes shown in the sidebar; scroll down a little to see those examples.

I'll be blogging about this topic in a Business of Writing post soon, but if you need the code fragments in a hurry, please leave a comment (along with a way to reach you) and I'll be happy to share!

In this post I feature returning Maze contributor Carmen Stefanescu and her novel Shadows of the Past —a touching, compelling story of tragedy, loss, and the power of endless love and good magic—for the 2016 Eggcerpt Exchange. 


Synopsis
Anne's relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.

The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world--one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil's vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve's soul from its torment.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest?


The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

Buy linksWild Child Publishing | Amazon | All Romance | Barnes & Noble |
Eggcerpt
"Anne, Anne, wake up. Wake up, please," the insistent voice whispered next to her ear.  The touch of a hand, on her shoulder, startled Anne.

She opened her eyes, still half between sleep and reality. Her gaze stopped on a stranger, a woman, by her side.

The moon's pale face, the only light, filtered through a small gap in the tent's entrance; yet the stranger's whole body emanated a kind of soft ray, a yellowish halo making her figure and face easy to discern.

A long, dark robe, similar to those worn by nuns in monasteries centuries ago, covered her body. No traditional headdress covered the woman's red hair, which fell loosely over her shoulders in long, heavy tendrils and continued down her chest and back.

Anne stood up and studied the intruder with open curiosity. The stranger’s wax pale face looked corpse like. Anne opened her mouth to ask her who she was. She looked Anne straight in the eyes, placed her forefinger on her lips and whispered, "Hush, come. Follow me."

Anne's eyes widened.

The woman, moving away from the sleeping bag, appeared to glide above the ground. Her bare feet didn't make a sound.

As if hypnotized, Anne followed the illuminated silhouette heading into the forest, without questioning her own actions.

An onrush of sensations unfamiliar to her followed. Dizziness and a malevolent feeling of unreality suffocated her. The presence of evil, creeping up and enveloping her, became almost palpable. Her throat turned dry, and she gasped for air.

Book trailer:



Character interview of Genevieve:

Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable, Miss...
G: "Genevieve. My name is Genevieve, but Sister Clementa, the Abbess,  and some of her followers call me the witch."

Tell me, Genevieve, where are you living?
G: ( a small sigh escapes her lips. Then she shrugs.) "Well, for the moment I reside at St. Mary’s Abbey. On top of a mountain in Britain, in the...cursed forest."

Do you have any schooling?
G: (nods and pats an invisible crease of her dress) "Kind Old Bertha, who took care of me after my family perished, taught me to read and write. Not only English but also Latin. And, most important, she taught me how to prepare healing potions from plants and herbs. Perhaps that’s why the Abbess hates me so much. A peasant girl of the 13th century is dangerous if she knows more than her superiors, I think."

What is your worst nightmare?
G: (throws a shy look around her. She shivers and her voice is small) "I fear the cursed forest. This forest is responsible for what happened to my family. My father’s odd behavior, the death of my siblings. All the evil that lurks in it.
My nightmare - the Abbess, sister Clementa, who threatens me all the time with sending me to the stake. I can’t understand why she wants me out of the way."

Is there anything that you secretly desire?
G: (blushes and wrings her hands. Then she looks me directly in the eyes. Her voice is strong now. ) "To become Andrew’s wife and grow a family. If his family agrees....If the Abbess lets me go... If God  forgives me for giving up being a nun.....If I escape alive from the forest.... If....”

Author bio:
Carmen Stefanescu resides in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.

Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books.

She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989, and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.

Shadows of the Past , paranormal/light romance/light mystery/light horror was released at the end of 2012 by Wild Child publishing, USA.

Carmen Stefanescu's Links:Blog | Twitter | Pinterest | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon author page |
***
All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. 

Please enter often, and good luck!

The Business of Writing: 99c is the new Free at BookBub and other paid promo sites

The Giant Dipper ride, 6/23/2015,
Belmont Park, San Diego, CA (c)2015 by neilld,
Bigstock ID 96268628, editorial license only. There are very few pleasures I enjoy in life more than roller coasters: the excruciating wait of the queue; the niggling anxiety of climbing into the car; the mounting anticipation as the train grinds up that first and steepest incline; the moment of, "Oh, crap, what have I gotten myself into?!?" at the pinnacle; the jaw-dropping, gut-wrenching burst of speed; the sheer joy of feeling the wind through my hair and fingers as I let go of the rail and squeal my vocal cords raw! 

Even the final coast back into the station brings a blessed sense of relief... coupled with the intense urge to race back into the queue to do it all over again.

Although a near-fatal car wreck in 2003 has left me with permanent pins in my neck and has put the brakes on my amusement-park adventures, I just got off the ride of my life: a BookBub feature promotion of my novel Dawnflight !



The Queue

Of all the paid promotional sites that I've tried for all my books in the past year, (sizes of mailing lists aside) BookBub is unique for its rule that a book not be offered at the "deal" price for more than 14 days out of the past 90. They have some way of checking that too, as I discovered last year when I tried submitting another book. It was rejected almost immediately on the grounds that I had violated the 14-day pricing rule; last year I was offering all my titles at 99 cents or free for months at a stretch.

So, since I wasn't sure which book I would be able to place with BookBub first, I gritted my teeth and raised prices on all my full-length novels. This meant suffering next to nothing in sales during that excruciating period, but—as with the roller coaster queue—the torture eased once BookBub informed me of Dawnflight's selection.

The end of the queue had lurched into sight at last!



Climbing into the Car

Sometimes with coasters you have a choice of cars to ride in, and sometimes you don't. Give me a choice, and I will sit in the front seat of the first car every time!

Although you can specify a preferred promotional period, every article I've read about landing a BookBub promotion advises that your chances of being selected improve markedly if you tell them your dates are flexible. So that's what I did.

BookBub assigned Thursday, March 3 as my book's feature date. I chose to follow Amazon's Kindle Select model and have my 99-cent deal run 5 days, through midnight PT on Monday 3/7/16, though for BookBub I specified that the deal would end midnight PT on Sunday 3/6/16.

BookBub gives dire warnings about ending your deal preamaturely, and I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get banned from the ride forever on my very first trip down the rails.

Now here's where the roller-coaster analogy doesn't quite match a BookBub promo, for the stage of grinding up the first and steepest incline is switched with:


"Oh, crap, what have I gotten myself into?!?"

I paid $380.00 for a US-only feature in the Fantasy category, for which BookBub reports a subscriber list of more than 1,400,000.

If a year ago you had told me that I would have been =excited= to shell out that much money for one email promotional advertisement for one 99-cent e-book, I would have recommended that you find yourself a room with lots of padding and no windows.

But in that intervening year, I did a lot of investigating into what other people have written about their BookBub promotions, in addition to studying BookBub's own statistics and recommendations.


My conclusion:
99 cents is the new Free.

Yes, it costs significantly more to advertise a 99-cent book than a free book, and, yes, you will see far fewer downloads. However, you stand a much better chance of recouping your advertising costs by promoting a 99-cent book than by offering it free and then praying to All That Is Holy that people will also choose to buy your sequels and other books.

The advice I read from other authors suggested combining a BookBub feature with advertising on other sites, which I decided to follow.

The promos I chose to run in conjunction with BookBub's, set for a day or more later (3/4/16-3/7/16) to gauge the first day of the BookBub promo by itself:
3/4/16: BookSends (http://booksends.com/advertise.php). $25, Fantasy (cost varies by genre and deal price). 3/4/16: Books Butterfly (http://www.booksbutterfly.com/order/paidbookslots/). $30 for "Titanium 30" level of 15 "guaranteed" downloads. Number of "guaranteed" downloads varies by how much you're willing to shell out. They do not accept individual books priced at more than $1. They do provide a link, however, for tracking featured book's Amazon rank, which is cool.
Dawnflight's campaign link is: http://trackmyrank.com/B00BLNN6XS/3/7/16: eBookSoda (http://www.ebooksoda.com/authors/). Flat fee $15.3/4/16: Genre Pulse (http://www.genrepulse.com/how-it-works/). Another site that accepts only free or 99c books. Full promo is a flat fee $40. They now offer genre-specific pricing too, and they give discount coupons for repeat advertisers (this promo cost me $32 with the coupon). They provide a link to clickthrough stats; the campaign link for Dawnflight is https://bitly.com/1TYKAZ4+.3/4/16: ~20 other sites via the browser plugin app KDROI.
One-time fee ($39) to submit Kindle free, 99-cent (as of 10/26/15), and permafree (as of 11/1/15) book deals to various sites in perpetuity.
http://www.5minutepublishing.com/members/kdroi/Total cost: $482.00 (not counting the KDROI one-time fee, which I paid months ago and have used for several promos already).

Would I have snagged more downloads had I offered Dawnflight free? You betcha. Hundreds if not thousands more. However, would I have recouped the promo cost via the sales of other books in the series?

I'm not altogether certain I would have. Why? Because most people downloading a free book will add it to the hundreds of other free books on their e-readers, and heaven only knows when they will get around to reading yours or mine.

People who have bought a book, even at only 99 cents, will be more likely to read it sooner rather than later.

Important: make sure your best work is what you're discounting -- whether it's for 99 cents or free. Author DP Denman in his guest post for BTSeMag offers excellent wisdom regarding why:

The point behind freebies [or 99-cent discount deals ~kih] isn’t to hand out a sample of something you pulled from the trash. Imagine what would happen if a cookie company did that. One taste of the burnt treats full of dirt or bug parts and customers would never buy anything from that company again.

Don't give away or discount your burnt-cookie-and-bug books! You have nothing to gain by that practice, and everything to lose.

You certainly will never land a BookBub promo that way; their jurying process is thorough and rigorous. The current edition of Dawnflight is a rerelease (as an official second edition because of my substantial revisions and content additions) of a 1999 Simon & Schuster award-winning mass-market title. I have my fingers crossed that they will accept other of my full-length titles.

Offer your audience a taste of your very best full-length work—at 99 cents, so you can still profit from the promo—and the rest will attend to itself.

Since this post is already much longer than I'd planned, I'm going to leave you teetering at the top of the incline until next week. Yep, I'm that mean!

Hey, it's better than being stuck at the bottom with everyone else waiting in the queue. The view is breathtaking up here. :D

***Follow me on BookBub so you don't miss my next great deal!

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow
... and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. Please enter often, and good luck!

Matchmaker meets Matchbreaker in LILIANA'S LETTER by @AlinaKField for #EggcerptExchange

In today's Eggcerpt Exchange on The Maze, Regency author Alina K. Field introduces us to…
Liliana’s Letter
The Matchmaker
Lord Grigsby wants nothing more than to retreat to his study, but a promise to his long-dead sister has forced him back into society to broker the marriage of his nephew to the heiress whose money can save the young man’s estate. If only the young lady’s starchy hired companion would move out of the way. 

The Matchbreaker
Hired to launch an heiress’s society debut, seemingly straitlaced spinster Liliana Ashford’s future as a professional chaperone depends on the girl’s successful marriage. But Liliana had her own close encounter with a scoundrel years ago, and she won’t let her charge be forced into marriage to the same kind of rogue, no matter how hard the man’s widowed uncle tries to woo Liliana around to the match.

Secrets and a Scandalous Murder
A shadow from Liliana’s past appears bearing an unfortunate letter she wrote long ago, and then the earl is murdered, evoking the scandal of the season. While she scrambles to make a respectable match for her charge before her own past can be exposed, Grigsby sets about finding his nephew’s killer—and Liliana’s secrets.

EXCERPT
"You clearly don't approve of the match. Do you intend to openly oppose it?"

Her head whipped around, and she glared. "It's not for me to approve or disapprove. Katie—Miss Mercer—will decide."

Passion flashed in her eyes, sending an answering spark through him. She was magnificent, though so very mistaken. "Really? Then her father is more liberal than I expected."

She looked him over more closely. "What do you know of this matter?"

I might ask you the same question. Her tone had been stiff, like the crystallized dome covering bubbling lava. He fixed her with his sternest glare, not entirely surprised at her cheek.

His glower didn't impress her. She lifted her shoulders higher. Stood a little taller, proud, lovely, and filled with indignation.

Quite righteous indignation. He gave into an unmanly sigh, truly weary of his responsibility for Thomas. "I know a good deal, Miss Ashford. I have been negotiating for these nuptials. The arrangement is my doing as much as Mr. Mercer's. Much more than it is my nephew's. He is probably the least culpable, except for his abominable behavior."

She clenched her hands tightly. "I see."

"Thomas's mother was my older sister. I made a promise to her that I would look after him." Her gaze softened, and she bit her lip in a way that made him want to taste the part that she was nipping.

And where had that thought come from?

"And your nephew needs money and an heir."

He nodded. As a woman of the ton, of course she would understand how marriage worked. Marriage wasn’t about love, or the bride’s approval, or a plump lower lip that begged to be kissed.

"He needs money most of all. He has a younger brother in the army who would make a far more dutiful earl."

He covered his mouth with his hand. The words had rolled out, shocking him. He rarely spoke this frankly with any woman.

Very well, he never spoke this frankly with any woman.

She released a soft breath. "And there is the matter of the ore."

His mouth gaped and he quickly closed it. Mr. Mercer had shared that information? Well. "That part of the county is rich with newly discovered veins of iron."

That information brought her up straighter. She looked away, gazing intently at a thick, dark spot of foliage, making him want to pry into that sharp mind.

"I see,” she said. “I believe we should go back in now."

Not yet. He tucked her hand over his arm but did not move. 

Buy Links Amazon | Kobo | iBooks | Nook |
Learn a bit more about Liliana Ashford, heroine of Liliana’s Letter:
Favorite type of pet
My father kept hounds until he had to sell them, but they were never my pets. I do believe that if ever I have the opportunity, I should like to keep a little dog.
[The Maze (TM): We have a pair of Great Pyrenees who guard our goat herd. They're not pets either, but they are big lovey puppies at heart!]

Favorite place to visit
I dearly love the British Museum and would like to spend more time there.
[TM: Me too! I once spent hours in their Roman collection, sketching and taking notes. Absolutely invaluable for my book research.]

Favorite food
 I love a freshly made scone with good Devon cream, don’t you?
[TM: I have some blueberry scones I plan to bake for breakfast tomorrow, though our fresh cream comes from Jersey cows living just a bit closer to us than Devon, England. Or Jersey, for that matter. :D]

Worst fear or nightmare
For the longest time, my worst fear has been to live as a genteel pauper with no family or friends.
[TM: That's one fear I simply cannot imagine. Fewer and fewer people are truly alone anymore in my world.]

Secret desire or fantasy
I should love to see the pyramids and ride on a camel.
[TM: Been there, done that! Very exciting; you will love it. The Sphinx is not to be missed either, though he's been rather mum with asking his riddles lately.]

What would you do if you won the lottery?
Yes, we do have lotteries, but ladies do not generally participate. Still, if I could dream and find myself with a pot of money, I would establish a charity to help the young girls from the London rookeries into a better life.
[TM: I like to remind everyone—gentlemen and ladies alike—that the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math. :D Thanks for stopping by today!]


Alina K. Field Bio and links
Award winning author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but she found her true passion in reading and writing romance. Though her roots are in the Midwest, after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She shares a midcentury home with her husband and a blue-eyed cat who conned his way in for dinner one day and decided the food was too good to leave.

Her debut novella Rosalyn’s Ring was the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner in the novella category.

Visit Alina at:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

*** LAST DAY to enter this Amazon giveaway for a print copy of The Color of Vengeance !

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow
... and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. Please enter often, and good luck!

Meet a tormented soul in Shadows of the Past by Carmen Stefanescu @Carmen_Books for #EggcerptExchange

Welcome back to another Eggcerpt-Exchange Monday on The Maze!
Today I am pleased to feature returning Maze contributor Carmen Stefanescu and her novel Shadows of the Past .
Synopsis
Anne's relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.

The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world--one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil's vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve's soul from its torment.

Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest?

Shadows of the Past is a touching, compelling story of tragedy, loss, and the power of endless love and good magic.

The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

Buy linksWild Child Publishing | Amazon | All Romance | Barnes & Noble |
Eggcerpt
"Anne, Anne, wake up. Wake up, please," the insistent voice whispered next to her ear.  The touch of a hand, on her shoulder, startled Anne.

She opened her eyes, still half between sleep and reality. Her gaze stopped on a stranger, a woman, by her side.

The moon's pale face, the only light, filtered through a small gap in the tent's entrance; yet the stranger's whole body emanated a kind of soft ray, a yellowish halo making her figure and face easy to discern.

A long, dark robe, similar to those worn by nuns in monasteries centuries ago, covered her body. No traditional headdress covered the woman's red hair, which fell loosely over her shoulders in long, heavy tendrils and continued down her chest and back.

Anne stood up and studied the intruder with open curiosity. The stranger’s wax pale face looked corpse like. Anne opened her mouth to ask her who she was. She looked Anne straight in the eyes, placed her forefinger on her lips and whispered, "Hush, come. Follow me."

Anne's eyes widened.

The woman, moving away from the sleeping bag, appeared to glide above the ground. Her bare feet didn't make a sound.

As if hypnotized, Anne followed the illuminated silhouette heading into the forest, without questioning her own actions.

An onrush of sensations unfamiliar to her followed. Dizziness and a malevolent feeling of unreality suffocated her. The presence of evil, creeping up and enveloping her, became almost palpable. Her throat turned dry, and she gasped for air.

Book trailer:



Character interview of Genevieve:

Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable, Miss...
G: "Genevieve. My name is Genevieve, but Sister Clementa, the Abbess,  and some of her followers call me the witch."

Tell me, Genevieve, where are you living?
G: ( a small sigh escapes her lips. Then she shrugs.) "Well, for the moment I reside at St. Mary’s Abbey. On top of a mountain in Britain, in the...cursed forest."

Do you have any schooling?
G: (nods and pats an invisible crease of her dress) "Kind Old Bertha, who took care of me after my family perished, taught me to read and write. Not only English but also Latin. And, most important, she taught me how to prepare healing potions from plants and herbs. Perhaps that’s why the Abbess hates me so much. A peasant girl of the 13th century is dangerous if she knows more than her superiors, I think."

What is your worst nightmare?
G: (throws a shy look around her. She shivers and her voice is small) "I fear the cursed forest. This forest is responsible for what happened to my family. My father’s odd behavior, the death of my siblings. All the evil that lurks in it.
My nightmare - the Abbess, sister Clementa, who threatens me all the time with sending me to the stake. I can’t understand why she wants me out of the way."

Is there anything that you secretly desire?
G: (blushes and wrings her hands. Then she looks me directly in the eyes. Her voice is strong now. ) "To become Andrew’s wife and grow a family. If his family agrees....If the Abbess lets me go... If God  forgives me for giving up being a nun.....If I escape alive from the forest.... If....”

Author bio:
Carmen Stefanescu resides in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.

Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books.

She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989, and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.

Shadows of the Past , paranormal/light romance/light mystery/light horror was released at the end of 2012 by Wild Child publishing, USA.

Carmen Stefanescu's Links:Blog | Twitter | Pinterest | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon author page |
*** Enter this Amazon giveaway for a print copy of The Color of Vengeance !
All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow
... and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. Please enter often, and good luck!

Angusel begins to feel forgiven in Ch10/Sc3c of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay (c)2016 by Kim Headlee. Extending forgiveness to others can be a daunting task, especially if the person's actions result in the loss of a loved one. 

Far more daunting, however, is the task of forgiving oneself.

The legendary friendship shared by Lancelot and Gawain receives its start in today's excerpt from Raging Sea. Both young men have suffered extreme consequences from their actions, though Gawain, being a bit older and wiser, is the first to recognize this fact.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in Raging Sea: Reckonings  Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Raging Sea Chapter 10, Scene 3c©2016 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
“As you will, my lady.” He pointed a look at his new subordinate that he hoped was stern enough to keep him quiet. “Soldier Gawain, come with me.”

The silence lasted for exactly as long as it took for them to salute the Comitissa Britanniam, depart her workroom, and leave the praetorium. On its black-veined marble steps, prancing up and down and around Angusel like some moon-mad maiden, Gawain started in with:

“What is your will, sir? Repair your armor? Mend your tunic? Shine your shield? Muck your horse?” He looked at Angusel’s scuffed footgear. When his gaze rebounded, his lips had curved into a wicked grin. “Lick your boots?”

“Just shut your gob,” Angusel muttered. “That’s an order.”

“Shutting up, sir!” Gawain gave an exaggerated salute, biting his lips to stunt another grin.

“And stop being an ass.” As if there was much hope of that happening any time soon, Angusel thought as he careened down the rest of the steps and into the main thoroughfare.

“Right, sir. Because that’s the one thing that you most certainly do not need an assistant for.”

Angusel gazed at the darkening twilight sky, clenching his fists, thankful that none of the fort’s other residents were abroad at this hour. Her summons, which he’d mentioned beforehand to Centurion Cato, would prevent him and Gawain from getting the lash for reporting late to barracks, but Angusel had no desire to test the limits of that reprieve. He veered onto the first cross street of the barracks complex and kept walking.

When he could muster a mote of civility, he asked, “What in the name of all the gods is that supposed to mean?”

“What does ‘Ainchis Sàl a Dubh Loch’ mean?”

“It’s my name.” First Ala’s barracks was not far, and neither was the end of his patience.

Gawain quickened his pace to move into step beside him. “Stupid self-indulgence is what it is. Angusel. Sir.”

Growling, he hustled Gawain into the nearest alley, which separated the kitchens and mess hall, and shoved him up against the wall. “She took kin, clan, country, privilege, purpose—everything from me! I am nobody now. I—” He sucked in a ragged breath, released the neckline of Gawain’s tunic, and turned to brace his back on the rough, cold stone, eyes closed. “I do not deserve my name anymore,” he whispered with a sigh. “And I especially do not deserve to hear it from any member of the family that I failed in the very worst way imaginable.” Pursing his lips, he shut his eyes even tighter to trap the welling moisture.

When Gawain didn’t answer, Angusel opened his eyes and blinked, expecting to be alone. What surprised him even more than the fact that he wasn’t alone was that Gawain was regarding him with compassion.

“If you had said that to me a fortnight ago, I would have agreed with you.” Gawain extended his sword hand, but Angusel made no move to take it. “Aunt Gyan was right to pair us. My name has become like a stench to people; perhaps I could do with a new one too.” He gave his hand a slight shake, extending it further, and smiled. “Have you any suggestions, sir?”

“Amadan.” Cracking a lopsided grin, Angusel clasped Gawain’s forearm.

“And that’s Caledonian for—?”

“Ass. The animal, not the anatomy.” Angusel let go and chafed his arms, glancing down and away, the grin flattening as the guilt resurfaced. “I meant no offense by it.”

“None taken. Angusel.”

He nodded at Gawain and pushed away from the wall. “Summons or no summons, Centurion Cato is going to spit our heads on pikes if we don’t hurry.” He broke into a jog, and Gawain kept pace. “And it’s Optio Ainchis Sàl when we’re in public,” he said between breaths. “That is an order, Soldier Gawain.”

“Until the duty roster changes, sir.”

They charged toward the door opening into the room block Angusel shared with the centurion, where they would have to make room for the new century member. This would also give Angusel the opportunity to petition Centurion Cato to promote Drustanus into the ala, since his martial skills were improving and the harsh winter had opened more spots on the roster.

Gawain reached the door first and yanked it open for his superior, executing a salute that held no trace of mockery.

As Angusel returned the salute, he welcomed the return of his most non-legion grin.

***Enter this Amazon giveaway for 
a print copy of The Color of Vengeance !

Dawnflight is featured on BookBub now.Follow me on BookBub so you don't miss this and other great deals!

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow
... and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. Please enter often, and good luck!

Meet the Healer in A War Within by @NathanDMaki for #EggcerptExchange

Today on The Maze for the Eggcerpt Exchange, I introduce fellow novelist of Ancient Rome,
Nathan Maki, and his epic novel
A War Within: The Healer.
Synopsis

How far would you go to free your mother from slavery?

Suzanna ben Ya’ir is a slave to the king of Hatra, the indomitable fortress city. She dreams of escaping the harem and finding her way back to Rome to find her son, but she is held prisoner by the king’s soldiers, towering walls, and untold miles of murderous desert. To escape she must earn coins as a healer among the common folk of the city and join forces with a Hatran guard who secretly loves her. But when the Roman legions arrive to besiege the city her hope of escape seems more unattainable than ever.

Theudas ben Ya’ir is a fierce warrior and a member of the Roman Emperor’s guard, but he also harbors a deadly secret – he is a Christian. Theudas longs to find his mother and rescue her from slavery, but the Emperor, his legions, and Plautianus – the ruthless leader of the Praetorians – are besieging the city where she is held captive. Now Theudas must break the Roman siege and infiltrate the hostile city, find his mother and help her escape. But doing so will mean committing treason against the Emperor. Will his quest cost Theudas his new-found faith and the life of the woman he loves?

With Suzanna’s life hanging in the balance, can she and Theudas defy the odds and reunite? And if so, can they hope to survive?

Excerpt
Suzanna wept with shame. She wept for the hope of escape that she knew to be false even as she clung to it. The paltry few coins she managed to save would never be enough to convince a merchant to risk the wrath of the king by smuggling her out of this city and across the wasteland surrounding it. The course of her life stretched out before her, as clear and brutal as the sandy, sun-baked road that led west toward the life she would never see again. She would go from the harem to the scullery as her beauty continued to fade, and finally, long after all color had been bleached from her life, to the grave.

She tried to reach for her faith, fumbled for it with groping fingers. She could brush it, could feel the residual warmth of the fire that once burned in her, but she couldn’t grasp it, couldn’t stir it to life again. Jehovah had forsaken her and so she knelt in a pile of rotting garbage against a filthy stone wall and wept.

Her pain seemed inexhaustible but her tears were not and finally her shuddering shoulders slowed and her sobs subsided. She was leaning against the wall now, her cheek against cold stone. In that moment, Suzanna felt a strange sense of clarity. She had two choices. She could lay here and die, or get up and go on. It was the hardest decision she had ever faced.

In the end, a dying man made the decision for her.

Tonight is the night Binyamin will pass from this world and I must be there to ease that passing. I must be there. I must get up. I must make at least this one last effort.

The heat of the day was fully gone now and she was stiff with cold. She struggled to her feet and stared up at the crooked slice of starry sky above. What time was it? Time had had no meaning while she wept. It could have been minutes or hours. But it was still darkest night. She still had time. She brushed at her the skirt of her tunic in a futile effort to wipe away the muck, then swept a sleeve across her eyes and beneath her nose. Stepping free of the alley she looked around, took her bearings, and started off at a pained shuffle.

Movement worked the cold stiffness from her limbs and she began walking faster as if trying to shake off and leave behind the depression and hopelessness that had threatened to crush her. She had a purpose this night, reason enough to live.

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. The proverb came, unbidden, to her mind. And along with it came a thought, a feeling, a whisper on the wind. Theudas yet lives. She couldn’t tell where the assurance came from, had no way to prove it as true, and yet she suddenly knew it. Knew it like her own name. She quickened her steps still more.

Where there is life, there is hope.


Purchase A War Within: The Healer via Amazon

Learn more about Suzanna ben Ya’ir:

Birthdate and Birthplace
Suzanna was born a slave in Rome in AD 161. She was descended from Jewish slaves captured in the Judeo-Roman war a hundred years before.

Level of schooling
As a child, she learned healing from her master, a Greek physician, and after being sold upon his death she further developed her natural talent through hands-on experience, nursing her master’s wife and other slaves in the household.

Significant other
She married a fellow Jewish slave, Luke, and they had a son, Theudas. After Theudas fought their master’s son and Luke defended him, both father and son were sold to be gladiators.

Currently residing in...
Luke died in the Coliseum, and Suzanna was transported to Parthia and sold into the harem of the king of Hatra, the Parthian desert fortress.

Job and most important goal
There, with the help of a sympathetic guard, she slips away at night to nurse the poor, hording the few coins she receives in payment in hopes of one day buying passage back to Rome with a caravan.

Secret desire or fantasy, and worst fear or nightmare
Her secret dream is to be reunited with her son, while her greatest fear is that she will die alone and forgotten.

Author Bio
As a kid, Nathan D. Maki delighted in leaping through the door of historical fiction and into the adventure of the ancient world. In his teens, his love for reading birthed a desire to write and bring history alive for others. Nathan has always been fascinated with the monumental power and enduring achievements of the Roman Empire and its asymmetrical clash with Early Christianity. As a Christian, he is inspired by stories of triumphant faith in the face of persecution, and he hopes these stories will inspire others as well.

Follow Nathan via:  Website | Twitter |
***
Enter this Amazon giveaway for 
a print copy of The Color of Vengeance !

Dawnflight is featured on BookBub now.
Follow me on BookBub so you don't miss this and other great deals!


All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow
... and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. Please enter often, and good luck!

The Business of Writing: An Author's Corporate Taxes with @circlelegal

Venice, Italy-February 26th, 2011.
Person wearing Venetian Carnival mask,
c2011 by razvanphoto.
Depositphotos ID 9047805, Editorial license. Psst! 

Pssssst! I'm talking to you from behind this mask.  Today I need to speak to you about… the dreaded t-word: 

Taxes.

If you have established a corporation for your writing business, and you haven't already filed your annual corporate tax return, now is the time! They are due March 15th.

Yeah, I know; we're in the same boat. I have get cracking on mine soon too. :D

If you haven't incorporated, you will need to report your writing-related income (all those bazillion 1099-MISCs generated by KDP and other book e-tailers) and expenses on your individual IRS form 1040 by April 15. But first ask yourself: do you have a hobby or a business?

There's no room for fudging the answer, and an incorrect (or "wishful thinking") assessment can be shockingly expensive.

Kelly Keller, president of Circle Legal law firm, offers some excellent advice in this article published on the She Owns It blog. I encourage you to read the entire article, but if you're in a hurry, the biggest takeaway is the application of the "3 of 5 Rule"—to whit, you'll be far less likely to raise flags at the IRS if you have earned income from your writing activity in 3 out of 5 years.

I checked out the Circle Legal web site, and their home page gets my immediate thumbs-up for starting out with, "We've heard the jokes. How many attorneys does it take to screw in a light bulb… We get it." They advertise a presence in all 50 states as well as worldwide, so if you have any specific questions about tax preparation for authors or other legal issues, please open a dialogue with Ms. Keller.

If you live in Virginia and would like to consult with my corporate attorney instead, leave a comment below, along with a way you may be reached, and I'll be happy to get you in touch.

So, to be clear, I am not an attorney of any stripe, a CPA, or a tax specialist, but I do have more than 20 years' experience owning and operating my S-corporation, including handling the ledgers and taxes.

Although I established System Support Services, Inc. in 1995 for the purpose of invoicing my computer-consulting clients (my first was a multimillion-dollar client who insisted upon being invoiced by a corporation rather than an individual; go figure :D), I found that shunting my publishing income and expenses through my S-corporation was the single easiest way to convince the IRS that I am serious about making a profit.

And although that gives me twice as many reasons to dread "tax season" each year, I have never looked back.

Should you, as an author, incorporate your business? This post of mine may give you some additional insight. But ultimately, only you and your attorney can answer that question.

Meantime, good luck with your foray into TurboTax Land, or whatever your tax preparation software, company, or individual of choice!

***

Look for Dawnflight to be featured on BookBub soon.
Follow me on BookBub so you don't miss this and other great deals!


All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow
... and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books. Please enter often, and good luck!