Kim Iverson Headlee's Blog: Book Musings from the Maze of Twisty Passages, page 31

DAWNFLIGHT's 50th Amazon Review! #ASMSG #IARTG #MFRWOrg #BZBooks #BYNR

Okay, so 50 reviews on a single platform for one book might not seem like a big deal for anyone who has seen (or has been fortunate enough to write) books with reviews numbering in the thousands, but I am very proud of the fact that these are fifty honestly obtained reviews.

And by "honestly" I mean that no arms were twisted (at least, not too strenuously :D), no reviews were swapped, and no reviewers were paid any remuneration other than receiving a free copy of the e-book.

This could explain why it took nearly sixteen years—yes, years—to log 50 reviews for my award-winning debut novel, but such is life in the publishing biz!

Oh, and what does reviewer #50, Sara S., say about Dawnflight ?

5* Awesome Arthurian romance

Love this! Great characters. Very hard to put down. I want more.

Good news, Sara, there is more!

In The Dragon's Dove Chronicles, of which Dawnflight is the first installment, we have:
Morning's Journey (book 2) which picks up the morning after Dawnflight leaves off The Challenge , a stand-alone novella that takes place about ten years after Morning's JourneyAnd, if you would prefer to try before you buy (though at 99 cents, it's nigh impossible to go wrong on any of my titles :), there is my perma-free (in the US) stand-alone novella excerpted from Morning's Journey titled The Color of Vengeance .Book 3, Raging Sea, is still a work-in-progress, and its most recent excerpt may be read on this blog post. I hope to have it available for sale by the end of the year.Full-length books 4-8 also exist in various stages of completion, and I may elect to publish other novellas set in this world as well. Stay tuned!
Other novels in my corpus include:
Liberty , winner of the 2015 BooksGoSocial Best Book award, a historical romance featuring a female gladiator and her impossible love for the son of the Roman governor of Britain Snow in July , a paranormal romance set in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court by Mark Twain as channeled by Kim Iverson Headlee, my sequel to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, a science fiction/fantasy futuristic time-travel comedic political satire
Thank you for stopping by today, and I hope you've found something to pique your interest. Perhaps you can be my 50th reviewer for another of my titles! If you review books on your blog and you're interested in having a go at one or more of my books, the following review tours still have openings:
Liberty (Aug. 24 only), sign up by leaving a comment on this page. Yes, I understand this is late notice but I figure the mention couldn't hurt!Dawnflight (Sept. 14 for sure, possibly another spot Sept. 28), sign up page is this one.The Challenge 3-Day Release Blast (Sept. 16-18); sign-up sheet TBA. Morning's Journey (Oct. 12, Oct. 26), sign up by leaving a comment here.King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court (Nov. 16, Nov. 30), sign up on this page.***
All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Snow in July . Please enter often, and good luck!

Elian issues Angusel one last order in RAGING SEA Ch 6/Sc 2 #amwriting

Graphic overlay (c)2015 by Kim Headlee. In Dawnflight , Angusel pledged his life to the service of the most important woman in his life: his mentor and friend, Gyan. 

Stricken by grief because of a situation that Angusel couldn't prevent, she shattered that pledge in Morning's Journey , shattering Angusel's life in the process.

In today's excerpt, Centurion Elian helps Angusel realize that he has yet to face the most important issue for any warrior.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea  Chapter 1: Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 | Scene 5 |Chapter 2: Scene 1-A | Scene 1-B | Scene 2 |Chapter 3: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Scene 2 | Sc 3-A | Sc 3-B |
Chapter 4: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Sc 2-A | Sc 2-B | Sc 2-C |
Chapter 5: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Sc 1-C | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4-A | Sc 4-B |
Chapter 6: Sc 1 |
Raging Sea Chapter 6, Scene 2©2015 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
Lying prone on the floor, Angusel wriggled under his low cot, reaching for the undertunic that had been kicked there at some point during the past several months. Last year he could have done this task easily. Now, between the thicker armor and the muscles that armor protected, the damned thing lay just beyond his fingertips.

“You’re being an amadan,” said his father behind him.

“If that means ‘bloody fool,’ then I agree,” Elian said. Angusel heard the step-thump of the centurion’s tread as he moved closer. “Turning down such a prestigious posting is foolish enough, but you and she were inseparable.”

Angusel stretched again, almost hooking the fabric, but he couldn’t quite reach it. With a sigh, he scooted from beneath the cot, stood, and faced his mentors. “I don’t need her charity.”

Gull bellowed, “Charity!”

Elian said, “What you need is to avail yourself of this opportunity.” His eyes narrowed to stern slits. “Or are you still a puling boy, afraid to face the consequences of your actions?”

Angusel balled his sword hand and dug it into his thigh to keep from swinging at his soon-to-be-ex-commanding officer. “Centurion Elian, I have been facing those consequences ever since the day that whole sorry business happened. Failure, disgrace, humiliation, banishment, rejection . . . what more would you have me face, sir?”

“What every warrior must learn to face: fear.”

Angusel snorted.

Gull said, “Has it ne’er occurred to ye that she offered this posting because she has forgiven ye?”

Aye, though he couldn’t allow himself the luxury of indulging in that hope.

He dragged the cot away from the wall and retrieved the errant undertunic. It was filthy with cobwebs and stiff with dried sweat, and no time to wash it. After shaking it out as best he could, he stuffed it into the canvas sack that held all his worldly possessions he wasn’t already wearing, save one item. His fist closed around the gold lion brooch, another man’s payment for treason and the symbol of Angusel’s freedom from being the Pendragon’s hostage. He pressed the brooch into Gull’s palm. “You of all people should understand why I cannot do this, Father.”

“Nay, lad. I only understand why ye must.”

Angusel used the motion of tying shut his sack to mentally tie down the anger spiking within him. “Why? You didn’t.”

“And that be exactly why I know ye must accept the posting.”

Elian, who had been following the exchange with a furrow deepening upon his brow, said, “What in hell are you two talking about?” When neither Angusel nor his father offered an answer, he held up his hands as if in surrender. “Never mind. In any event, Gull is correct.” With the lowering of Elian’s hands came the lowering of his eyebrows. “Ainchis Sal a Dubh Loch, Third Turma, Manx Cohort, I order you to accept the invitation of the Comitissa Britanniam to join the new unit called the Comites Praetorii.”

“You can’t! It’s—” Angusel hated himself for how shrill he must sound. He cleared his throat. “Fleet Commander Bedwyr said it’s a volunteer posting, sir.”

“Yes. And I order you to volunteer.”

***
Note: Amadan is the Caledonaiche epithet meaning "foolish man," derived from Scottish Gaelic. A foolish woman is amaid.

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

Dog Days with The Dawnflier (August 2015) #MFRWOrg #ASMSG #IARTG

(c)2015 by Kim Headlee. I don't often remember to photograph my booth setup, but this time I wanted to make sure I did, since I was graciously given permission—and equipment—to display two of my antique quilts at the 2015 Patchwork Quilters Jamboree. 

The quilt on the left is a twin-size hexagonal pattern I plan to give to my daughter after she finishes college. Its colorful top was one of the last assembled by my husband's grandmother, who died in 1965, and I squared it off, added the backing, and quilted it with individual French knots made of multicolored yarn. On the right is a quilt top that's perhaps twenty years older, composed entirely of feed sack fabric, which I backed with solid cotton and turned into a patio curtain.

In spite of the presence of numerous industrial fans, as well as a smaller unit that the event organizers encouraged me to bring for my booth, I felt the Dog Days quite keenly that weekend!

With August comes the return to the classroom for my husband the high school math teacher, as well as our daughter. In fact we help her move back into her apartment in a couple of weeks. Once that emotional dust settles—and I get the house back to myself!—I look forward to returning to a much more productive writing schedule.

My next scheduled public appearance is Saturday, August 29 at Celebrate the Arts, Main Street, Tazewell, VA. In the meantime, I invite you to check out my latest release that's set in the realm of The Dragon's Dove Chronicles titled The Challenge . Also, the review tour for Liberty will be starting soon; stay tuned! And thank you very much if you are one of the bloggers who has agreed to host Liberty or any of my other books. :)

It's really too hot to write any more today, so keep cool and keep reading!

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

Cover reveal: Time to Love by Angela Ford @AngelaFord67 #timetravel romance

Maggie Collins devoted her time to become a Veterinarian. She’d only dated one guy in college—her best friend’s brother. She believed the magic of love to be a myth when he cheated on her and broke her heart. Her best friend Emma wants to take a trip to Bolivia before she gets married. Hesitant at first, the trip begins to give Maggie a different outlook on life.

Her excitement is short-lived when Emma goes missing. Maggie’s search for her friend only finds Amaru, a native who hands her a mirror. His words confuse her. The future is behind you and the past is ahead of you. The water below her begins to ripple. She wakes up in the home of Sir Heth Manning. He is the ultimate of tall, dark and handsome. Maggie can’t remember how she ended up in 1737. She wonders if it matters now that she is falling in love with an eighteenth century English man.

Will she return to the life she knew? Or will the past become her future?



Angela Ford originates from Nova Scotia…Canada’s Ocean Playground!  Her love of the ocean and sunsets are always in her heart and give her inspiration. Her love for words keeps her turning the page. She is never without a book, whether she’s reading or writing. Now residing in Ontario, Angela works in Finance – numbers by day – words by night. Her dedication to volunteer and involvement with cyber safety seminars gave her an Award of Distinction and sparked the idea for her first book Closure – suspense with a dash of romance that hit the best- selling Action/Adventure and Women’s Fiction. Angela continued this FBI suspense with Forbidden and will deliver the final of the series in 2015. She also writes contemporary romance, sometimes sweet…sometimes spicy and sometimes with a dash of suspense. Unforgettable Kiss delivers a spicy romance with a dash of suspense. Blind Tasting of The Love List series and The Christmas Wreath of the Forever Christmas series are sweet reads. 2015 kicked off with a new Romantic Suspense Surrender.

Between two jobs, being a mom with a home always filled with young adults and rather interesting stories; she is lucky to have one very patient and understanding man. But it is the furry family members who rule the house – a Puggle (Pug/Beagle), a new Chug puppy (Pug/Chihuahua) and two loveable cats. Every possible quiet moment she finds, she treasures and just writes about the moments to come. Angela is an avid reader of romance, a member of the RWA, KOD (Kiss of Death – Suspense Chapter) and Mississauga Writers Group. You can follow her at BTGN www.bookstogonow.com or visit her website/blog Romantic Escapes at http://www.angelafordauthor.com to connect with her on her social network sites. She loves to hear from her readers – they keep her smiling!




LinkedIn - Angela Ford ~ Books to Go Now

Book Trailers & Author Support - Check it out! Tanya Watt's Luv me a Book




COMING August 7, 2015




MoB Promos magicofbookspromo@gmail.com
***
All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Snow in July . Please enter often, and good luck!

The Business of Writing: Professional Editing #indiepublishing #ASMSG #IARTG

Madeline McDowell Breckinridge ca 1920,
US public domain via Wikimedia Commons. You can slap together a collection of words, dash off a DIY cover, upload it all to Amazon, and call yourself a writer. You might even make some money doing so, and good for you if that happens to be the case. 

Being a professional writer, however, entails ever so much more than the technical definition of earning money for one's efforts implies. 

One of the biggest complaints I hear—and see—with books written by independent authors is the sheer volume of grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. In fact I would go as far as to say that poor editing is a leading contributor toward the subpar reputation of indie books as a whole. 

Mistakes will catapult a reader out of a story faster than you can... think. And if you believe your readers won't notice or care about poor editing, then I respectfully suggest that you are underestimating—and alienating—a large sector of your audience.
 
That's not a risk that I'm willing to take with my own fiction, and I hope you agree.

To be fair, books churned out by the Big Six (or Five, or whatever the ever-collapsing count du jour) publishers often contain glaring errors too. The first edition of my novel Liberty , published by HQN Books in 2006, had sections of missing and repeated pages in three different combinations (!!), which proved to be a nightmare for me when trying assemble good copies for personal appearances. That wasn't an editing issue, of course, but it's a graphic illustration of my point that mistakes do happen at even the highest levels of the publishing business.

The bottom line is that authors who are contracted by large publishing houses already enjoy a level of respectability that's built in to the system. The rest of us must do our level best to achieve respectability on our own, and the first step toward that goal is to hire a good quality professional editor, and perhaps even two: one for content editing and one for copy editing.

My primary editor is Deb Taber, and I simply cannot say enough good things about her work. She is the consummate professional, she knows the English language inside and out (and, with regard to my projects, sideways :D), and she offers encouragement along with suggestions for improvement. I get nothing for mentioning her here other than the satisfaction of knowing that you will receive the highest quality feedback if you choose to hire her to edit your work.

Someone else whom I commend to your attention is Robin Allen of Griffin Editorial Services. I have known her for going on 15 years now, and all the copy editing work she has ever done for me has been absolutely top notch. Again, I get nothing for the mention other than knowing that you will be as delighted with her editing work as I have been.

You say you cannot afford to hire a good editor? I say you cannot afford NOT to.

Budget for it, or set up a crowdfunding campaign if you must, but please do not be tempted by those who claim that you can successfully edit your own work. The fact is that the human brain is wired to see what it expects to see, thereby making it impossible to remain objective where the editorial process is concerned. 

I implore you to help halt the downward spiral in perception of the quality of indie writers' works by hiring professional help to make your work be the absolute best product that it can be.


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

#RockinSummerRomance Spotlight on Lori's Redemption by Pamela Thibodeaux @psthib

Add more fire to your summer with this short-story spinoff of Tempered Fire by Pamela Thibodeaux, Lori's Redemption!

Synopsis:
Lori Strickland (introduced in Tempered Fire) has always been known as her father's "wild child" with no desire to change until she meets ex-bull-rider-turned-preacher Rafe Judson. Her attempts to change her wanton ways come to naught until she realizes redemption only comes with true repentance.

Excerpt:

Lori headed toward Recluse, Wyoming after another round of rodeos where the cash and prizes vaulted her to the next level of achievement. She hadn’t thought of Rafe in months. Hadn’t allowed herself to think of him, and wouldn’t indulge in useless fantasies now.

She’d made peace with the fact she was nothing more than a bad seed and there was no way around it. Oh she tried to be good. She stayed out of the bars for weeks on end, attended the prayer services before or after each rodeo when available, even visited with a group of supposedly devout believers who traveled a state-wide circuit within the national itinerary, but nothing seemed to help or make an impact on her life. Nor had she found the support she’d hoped, only judgment and criticism. Answers to her questions only incited debates until she was scorned for her doubt and unbelief or shunned completely. Maverick was right when he said there was no in between and since she couldn’t succeed at being good, Lori figured she’d be bad.    

Just as she had all of her life.

More than once she thought about calling Stanley or Amber or even Lexie for counsel, but was too ashamed to admit the total mess her life was in. She even considered quitting. Just give up and go home. But she was too close to making pro status, too close to the culmination of the dream that began in her heart nearly four years ago.   

A dream she once thought came as a directive from God.

Now, she knew better.

God didn’t give success to losers; the devil lured them into it then left them to their own devices no matter how hard they tried to be good. Besides, even at her best, there was no way she’d ever be good enough for a preacher.

Purchase links:
Kindle | Nook | Smashwords | Deeper Shopping |

About the Author:
Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.”

Find Pamela at:Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter @psthib

***To learn about Sir Robert Alain de Bellencombre, hero of Snow in July , and Kim's unique challenges in writing about him, please visit the RLF Blog. (And help her earn "Top Blogger" points there, thanks! :)
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All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Snow in July . Please enter often, and good luck!

Niniane bids Angusel farewell in RAGING SEA Ch6/Sc1 #amwriting #Arthurverse #ASMSG

Graphic overlay (c)2015 by Kim Headlee. In Arthurian Legend the Lady of the Lake is the person most often identified as having raised the young Lancelot, equipping him and sending him off to meet his destiny.

The following excerpt from the second to last stanza of the section titled "Lancelot and Elaine" in Idylls of the King by Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson has for decades shaped my view of the relationship of Lancelot to the Lady of the Lake:

Mine own name shames me, seeming a reproach,
Lancelot, whom the Lady of the Lake
Caught from his mother's arms—the wondrous one
Who passes through the vision of the night—
She chanted snatches of mysterious hymns
Heard on the winding waters, eve and morn
She kissed me saying, "Thou art fair, my child,
As a king's son," and often in her arms
She bare me, pacing on the dusky mere.

In Raging Sea, Angusel's name has become a reproach to him too, and the recovery of his identity forms a central theme in the book. A glimpse of that struggle is reflected in today's excerpt.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea  Chapter 1: Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 | Scene 5 |Chapter 2: Scene 1-A | Scene 1-B | Scene 2 |Chapter 3: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Scene 2 | Sc 3-A | Sc 3-B |
Chapter 4: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Sc 2-A | Sc 2-B | Sc 2-C |
Chapter 5: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Sc 1-C | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4-A | Sc 4-B |
Raging Sea Chapter 6, Scene 1©2015 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
THE messenger arrived at vespers on the calends of April.

Niniane was within a prayer of completing the worship service when she noticed him and his taller companion. Neither man carried weapons. They remained standing near the doors, well away from the sisters, heads bowed and hands clasped, though not in the manner of supplicants. The messenger was wearing a plain if well-made blue tunic and leather leggings, boots of the same hue, and a grass-green cloak crossed by gray and black. His blue-ringed silver dragon badge gave the only indication of his affiliation with Arthur’s forces. His companion stood dressed in a standard legion cavalry officer’s scale-armor tunic, undyed undertunic, and scarlet cloak—though the black boots weren’t the typical foot gear for a Brytoni soldier.

She wondered less about that oddity than about what message could be so important that Arthur had sent his fleet commander to deliver it.

For Bedwyr’s benefit she added: “Lord God, we humbly beseech Your divine mercy for all those whose work sends them onto the sea to guard us from raiders and invaders. Please grant these brave men shelter under Your mighty wings from storms and rocks and enemies and other perils. Keep them safe, we pray, so that they may return to their homes and loved ones when their work is done. Lord, in Your mercy . . .”

“Hear our prayer,” chanted the sisters. Bedwyr mouthed the response. Whether he uttered the words aloud, Niniane couldn’t tell.

She concluded worship with the benediction. As was customary, some sisters remained kneeling to continue private prayer and meditation while the rest rose to return to their duties, which at this time of day related to the preparation and serving of the evening meal.

Many of the sisters greeted Bedwyr with nods and smiles laced with recognition and gratitude. Niniane wasn’t surprised. In the past two years, the priory had seen enough terrors to last two lifetimes for every woman who lived here. Any man known to be a proven bulwark against the chaos—especially if he didn’t appear to be battling the chaos at the moment—was a welcome sight.

Bedwyr’s companion raised his head at Niniane’s approach. She stifled a gasp.

“Angusel?” He had arrived at the priory last year in a ruined ebony battle-tunic of the style favored by his people. His boots, it seemed, forged the final link to his past, and Niniane dared not broach that subject lest it reopen a wound that might never close. “Your new uniform becomes you,” she said. Working for the sisters and training with Elian and Gull all winter had caused him to fill it out well, though she kept that observation to herself.

“Thank you, Prioress.” It grieved her to see the gratitude in his golden-brown eyes eroded by the undertow of sadness. She wished she could do more for him but knew he would have to find a way to deal with the sorrow on his own terms. “For the healing and . . . for your faith in me.”

“Always, my son. Always. You return to your regular legion duties, then.” She glanced at Bedwyr as the three of them walked toward the chapel’s door. “At headquarters? Or some other posting?”

While Angusel held open the door, Bedwyr shook his head. “He stays to help defend Maun, along with the extra troops I’ve brought from their winter homes.”

Niniane held her reply until they had stepped outside, out of earshot of the praying sisters. She shut the door and leaned against it, whispering, “Arthur expects more trouble here?”

Bedwyr too kept his voice low. “Arthur is being cautious. We have confirmed that Cuchullain is rebuilding his fleet.” His gaze turned frank. “Where he will send it, and when, is anyone’s guess.”

Sighing, Niniane closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the chapel’s door. “Dear Lord, defend us . . .” She regarded her visitors with a brief smile. “And in Your mercy, defend those who defend us.”

Bedwyr returned her smile, but Angusel did not. The young man laid his right fist over his heart and bowed his head for a long moment. As he raised his head and lowered his hand, his eyes glittered with renewed purpose. “Prioress, I will return as often as I can to continue helping you and the sisters.”

“I appreciate that, Angusel. We all do.”

“Ainchis Sal, my lady. Optio Ainchis Sal a Dubh Loch, Third Turma, Manx Cohort. That is how the duty roster reads.”

Niniane nodded, wishing that the path to healing didn’t have to switch back upon itself, yet knowing that wish’s futility. The deeper the pain, the more convoluted the journey.

“If you don’t collect the rest of your gear and leave soon, lad, you’re going to get the lash for being late.” Bedwyr’s tone was not unkind. “Report to my ship at dawn if you change your mind.”

Angusel gave him a sharp legion salute. “Aye, Fleet Commander.”

“Go with God, Angusel—Ainchis Sal, my son,” Niniane said. “And with my blessing.”

He nodded, turned with a swirl of his cloak, descended the steps, and was gone.

Niniane regarded Bedwyr. “Change his mind about what?”

***To learn about Sir Robert Alain de Bellencombre, hero of Snow in July , and my unique challenges in writing about him, please visit the RLF Blog. (And help me earn "Top Blogger" points there, thanks! :)
***Enter this great Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 gift card!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Snow in July . Please enter often, and good luck!

Spotlight on More than Ready by @AnitaPhilmar cowboy #RockingSummerRomance

Add sizzle to your summer with More than Ready , an installment in the Naked Bluff series by Anita Philmar!

Synopsis:
After losing his brother, Kirk Pepperman planned a future with Richard’s wife, Sadie. Kirk wanted to honor his brother and take care of Sadie.

She had other ideas and married another man.

Now, Kirk is uncertain what he should do with his life.

Mary Beth Owens knows her parents are arranging for her to marry Kirk. The problem is he’s been stuck on the wrong woman for years.

She is determined to find out if he can please her. If not, then she has no desire to marry him either.

Can these two let go of the past and move into the future?

Available for 99 cents and free for Kindle Unlimited.

Excerpt:
“Kirk, where are you?”

Unhappy about the interruption, Kirk Pepperman debated not answering Mary Beth Owens’ call. He’d snuck away to the barn’s upper floor to escape his parents and to have a few moments to himself.

The view outside the open loft door showed the sun drifting steadily toward the horizon. A nice cross breeze blew inside and cooled the large space. For the last couple of weeks, he’d found he enjoyed sitting up here alone, maybe because it helped him forget.

“Kirk?” Mary Beth’s voice rang from the ladder, leading to the stalls on the ground floor.

Not bothering to turn, he leaned forward and gripped his hands over his knees. The three-legged stool, where he sat, was right in front of the center pole for the barn. The position afforded him a backrest if he should want one.

The floorboards squeaked, telling him Mary Beth stood behind him. He pictured her in his head. A petite blonde, she had small breasts and appeared much younger than him. In truth, they were around the same age.

Hoping, if he remained quiet, she’d leave. He continued to stare out across his family’s property. The last days of summer and the recent harvest had turned the parched land to dust. What did this place hold for him?

He’d never ventured outside of Naked Bluff to travel or to experience another way of life. Depression filled him at his brother dying so far away from home. Now, though, Kirk understood Richard’s desire to leave.

What future could Kirk have here?

He toyed with the idea of heading off to join the Confederate army. The latest news from the returning soldiers was the south wasn’t faring too well against the Northern armies. Maybe, if he had something to fight for, he’d feel alive again.

The familiar noise of a rope flying through the air alerted him. The lasso fell over his head and circled his chest before it tightened, pinning his arms to his side. “What the...”

With a sharp tug, he fell back against the center pole and hit his head against the solid bulk. “Mary Beth, what are you doing?”

About the Author:
Anita Philmar enjoys writing hot stories to get the blood a pumping. She grew up in Texas and enjoys sharing information about the state with her readers.

Currently, she is working on a historical series call Naked Bluff, Texas. No, it is not a real place, but the people there do have problems and with the gift of love they do find happiness.

Find Anita at:
Website |  Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter |




***To learn about Sir Robert Alain de Bellencombre, hero of Snow in July , and my unique challenges in writing about him, please visit the RLF Blog. (And help me earn "Top Blogger" points there, thanks! :)
***
Enter this great Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 gift card!

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

The Business of Writing: Book Reviews #MFRWOrg #ASMSG #IARTG

Have you ever bought a new car, and then suddenly you're seeing "your" car all over the road? That's what happened to me this past week when I decided to write about book reviews. Suddenly bloggers were sharing "my" topic all over the Information Superhighway!

It's a good thing that there's plenty of room for all of us out here. :)

I'm going to share those links first, and then I invite you to come back and read my tips on requesting reviews. Oh, and don't forget to scroll all the way down to enter the $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card giveaway I'm sponsoring!

Review meme (c)2015 by Kim Headlee.
Sunset photo (c)2008 by Alexstar, Dreamstime ID 10088688. The importance of book reviews.
If you have even one title in a retail catalog, then more than likely you have noticed the fluctuation in sales in response to receiving a new review. Instinctively we authors know that reviews are important, but longtime author Gail Z Martin offers an interesting perspective about why in her guest blog post on No Wasted Ink.


Reacting to reviews.
The first review I ever got, for the first edition of Dawnflight in 1999, the reviewer sent me a copy via email. I think I must have stared at the subject line for at least an hour, terrified to open it! But I'm glad I did, for it was a glowing one.

Since then my books have received dozens of reviews, falling at all points across the starry spectrum, and for numerous reasons.

You know how to handle the 5- and 4-star reviews, right? Since chances are I'm old enough to be your mom, I will do my "Mom Thing" and make sure you know: be gracious and humble. And then tweet/pin/share the bejezus out of them! :D

I've found 3-star reviews of my books to be a mixed bag of anything from ripping my book a new one to containing far more praise than the star rating would seem to indicate. Sometimes I find tweetable tidbits in these reviews, and sometimes not. Either way, I read them and then go about my day.

But how should one react to the 2- and 1-star wonders?

If you are a member of the Romance Writers of America, then perhaps you may have heard the humorous presentation given by Sarah Wendell from Smart B*tches, Trashy Books. I don't have a link to share for this proprietary presentation, but for those who have purchased the audio collection from RWA National 2014, I direct your attention to Session 19-159.

Indie Author News gives an excellent list of tips in 10 Ways for Authors to Respond to Bad Reviews. Don't have time to click the link? I will give you my #1 tip, which is their #2: Never interact with reviewers in a public forum regardless of the review's content or star rating. Ever. Period.

The only exception to this is to post a "thank you," even in response to a low-star-rating review if it contains constructive criticism that you find useful for improving your work. A little courtesy goes a long way.

Tip #8 from the Indie Author News list is Don't rush to your favorite social media site to rant. You would be well advised to take that one to heart too. My first inclination upon reading Why Receiving 2 Horrible Amazon Reviews Made Me an Invincible Author was to not share that link in this post; the article came across to me as being incredibly egotistical, presumptuous, and, frankly, childish—even if the underlying message about thickening one's skin to the presence of bad reviews is a good idea. At the very least, that blog post ensured that I will never download, even for free, anything from that author. Ever. Period.

Writing reviews of other authors' books.
An excellent blog post about writing reviews for Amazon, especially given their recent announcement to begin weeding out "fake" reviews, may be viewed on A Word With Traci blog.

As a professional reviewer—and by that I mean that I have been paid cash for my content by the review site, never directly by publishers or authors, which is a violation of Amazon's review policy—I take a dim view of "review swapping." This along with the ethically challenged practice of purchasing reviews have done more to undermine the value of reviews than coercing your family and friends to leave good reviews ever will.

Requesting reviews.
Done correctly, this can be a tedious and time-consuming process. I confess that I now employ an assistant to work on this project for a few hours per month. Since I am now an independent publisher, I started her with the Indie Reviewers List maintained by The Indie View e-zine and identified the genres wherein each of my books fits. She conducts all the querying, submitting, and follow up. Her guidelines, which will work for you too, are:
Pay attention to what the blogger prefers to read. Don't waste his/her time—or yours—by submitting your book anyway, unless the blogger specifically states that exceptions are made for exceptional works. When in doubt...Read a few posted reviews, especially the negative ones. You may decide that you don't like the reviewer's style, and that could save you and the blogger some time.Follow the reviewer's stated submission guidelines to the letter . If s/he does not want your book's file right away, for God's sake do not send it. That's the fastest way of getting it dumped—and potentially getting yourself labeled as an Author Who Does Not Read. This goes double for responding to sites that state they are closed to submissions.If the site is open to submissions but no guidelines exist, write a brief but courteous email giving your book's title, genre(s), and tagline, which ideally describes your book in twenty words or fewer. Don't waste his/her time (or yours) by including a twenty-page synopsis, a ten-page author bio, and your manuscript in its entirety.When following up with potential reviewers after you have submitted your book:
Heed their stated follow-up policies to the letter. If s/he specifies "do not contact us" and you go ahead and contact them anyway, then you run the risk of being labeled as an Author Who Does Not Read. Add at least one month to any stated follow-up period, if follow-ups are permitted.If no follow-up guidelines or review-posting turnaround times are stated, and the site has not posted a "do not contact" policy, wait at least three months before following up with the blogger. Reviewer-bloggers are busy people too, and they do not need to be hounded by anyone.If all of this seems daunting and you wish to explore the idea of hiring my assistant to do this type of work on your behalf, leave a comment indicating some way that you can be reached, and I will be delighted to put you two in touch.

Less tedious and time-consuming is the blog tour. In a properly coordinated tour, potential reviewers might be incentivized to participate via the chance to win a gift card in a bloggers-only giveaway, but they are not compensated financially for writing the review itself, because they are never under any obligation to write it. To protect authors, the usual stipulation is that if they dislike the book and cannot rate it more than two stars, the tour coordinator asks that the review not be posted until after the tour is over.

Of course "less tedious and time-consuming" equals greater cost, but all of my books have benefited from being featured in blog tours, and I feel that they are marketing dollars well spent.

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To learn about Sir Robert Alain de Bellencombre, hero of Snow in July , and my unique challenges in writing about him, please visit the RLF Blog. (And help me earn "Top Blogger" points there, thanks! :)
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Enter this great Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***
All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an ebook copy of Snow in July . Please enter often, and good luck!

Book spotlight: SONS OF THE SPHINX by Cheryl Carpinello $50 Amazon/Paypal #giveaway

BOOK INFORMATIONTITLE – Sons of the Sphinx  
SERIES – The Quest Books  
AUTHOR – Cheryl Carpinello  
GENRE – YA Historical Time Travel  
PUBLICATION DATE – October 10, 2014  
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 192/36,000  
PUBLISHER – Beyond Today Educator  
COVER ARTIST – Bernistevens Design BOOK SYNOPSISTwo soulsSeparated by three millenniumOne with a gift that is more like a curseOne on an almost impossible questDestinies entwined; one seeks to find herself while the other seeks his lost queen. To succeed, the pair must right the injustices 3,000 years in the past.Only together can they fulfill The Prophecy, but in the process they must defeat the Pharaoh Horemheb.Dishonor and death are the fate of the defeated.BUY & TBR LINKSAMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE CA – AMAZON KINDLE UK – AMAZON PAPERBACK – BARNES & NOBLES PAPERBACK – GOODREADS – SHELFARI CHARACTER BIOSRosa: Hi! I’m Rosa. I’m 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. I’m your typical teenager—well, almost. I don’t have many friends anymore, but it’s hard to blame the other kids. If I was them, I’d probably steer clear of me too, at least most of the time. No one is ever mean to me; I’ve grown up with most of them, and on my bad days, they try to ignore me. Wish I could do the same to those who talk to me. Mostly I just shake my head and carry on. It helps that I have a sarcastic sense of humor.My daily life consists of trying to pass all my classes, getting a date for school dances, and dealing with Nana’s gift nearly every day while I try not to lose my mind.Tut: My name is Nebkheperure Tutanhkame. I ascended the throne of Egypt upon the death of my father, Pharaoh Akhenaten. There has been much speculation in modern day on my death. My concern is finding the final resting place of my beloved queen, Ankhesenamun and making right that which was wronged centuries ago.EXCERPT

Before us, nearly filling up the room and taller than either of us, stands the golden shrine of Tutankhamun. I remembered what else lay in that room. Inside that shrine are three more, each a bit smaller than the outside one. All tucked inside each other like those nesting dolls from my grandmother’s childhood. Inside the last shrine were the four sarcophagi of Tut, each displaying him in golden and jeweled splendor.

The last one holds the famed mask of the golden boy. And beneath that, the body of the young pharaoh who now stands here before me. Beyond my understanding, he has been given back his human form, allowed to return one last time to restore honor to his family, one last time to find his true love. And here I am, trying to help, trying to understand, trying to stay alive. Will I ever be able to go home again? Or will I become as lost as Hesena?

AUTHOR BIOI am a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers to read more through my Quest Books set in these worlds.AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKSAMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – WEBSITE – Main – WEBSITE – Shared BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – GOOGLE+ – PINTEREST – GOODREADS – SHELFARI GIVEAWAY PRIZESA $50 Amazon/PayPal GC a Rafflecopter giveaway This tour has been organized & hosted by 
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To learn about Sir Robert Alain de Bellencombre, hero of Snow in July , and Kim's unique challenges in writing about him, please visit the RLF Blog. (And help her earn "Top Blogger" points there, thanks! :)
***
Enter this great Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
  ***
All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Add Kim to Google+
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter and/or YouTube follow
...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an ebook copy of Snow in July . Please enter often, and good luck!