Kim Iverson Headlee's Blog: Book Musings from the Maze of Twisty Passages, page 9

The Business of Writing: Creating and using QR codes for your book #ASMSG #MFRWOrg

QR code for Amazon product page
of Audiobook edition of
King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court
by Mark Twain as channeled by
Kim Iverson Headlee.
The best marketing content offers potential customers a way to buy the product straight off the advertisement, and the Quick Response (QR) code is a great way to capture those impulse buys.

What is a QR code?
A QR code (sample pictured, left) is a specialized bar code readable by smart phones. The bar code can contain text, URLs, email addresses, telephone numbers, or any other alphanumeric data.

The smart phone must have a QR reader app installed, and there are several good, free apps available for iPhones, Android devices, and other types of smart phones. My reader of choice is the "QR Droid" app.

A QR code will never expire as long as the associated link remains active.

How do I create a QR code?
Even more plentiful are the web sites that pop up when you perform an Internet search on "free QR code generator". My favorite free QR code generator site is QR Stuff. Here you can enter any URL—for example, your book's worldwide Amazon link created via Booklinker.net or other such service, or the Audible link to its audiobook edition—and the site will display the bar code for you to download and use.

There are some book-specific QR code generator sites, such as Relinks.me, but they are limited to products in the Amazon retail catalog, and they will append their Amazon affiliate ID to your book's URL. If you don't have an Amazon affiliate ID, then using Relinks.me will save you the step of creating a worldwide link prior to requesting its QR code, but you won't be able to set up QR codes for your book's Nook and other e-tailer product pages.

The QR Stuff site offers a subscription service if you want specialty items such as scalable graphics, or if you believe your dynamic (i.e., link-shortened) QR codes will receive more than 1,000 user scans per month. If all you're doing is setting up a static link to, say, your book's Kindle product page, then no limits apply to either the creation or use (scanning) of the free QR codes.

If you want to get fancy, you can embed your own branding graphic, but if you don't want your customers to be subjected to the company's ads, the ad-free version (via visuallead.com) costs a minimum of $6.25/month. I thought I might try embedding my imprint graphic for Pendragon Cove Press but decided that the cool factor wasn't worth the monthly subscription cost, and I had no intention of submitting anyone to the extra advertising.

How do I use a QR code?
The output of sites such as QR Stuff and Relinks.me is either a JPG or PNG file that may be embedded in any other image, email, web site, or publication. I have placed QR codes on promotional postcards and inside teaser booklets, in the backmatter of my free print editions of The Challenge and The Color of Vengeance , and even on designs uploaded to DiscountMugs.com for screening onto tote bags.

In every case, the key is to make sure there is a high contrast between the QR code graphic and its surrounding background; otherwise, the scan will need to be done in the brightest possible lighting conditions or else it might not work.

If you can design it, you can QR code it!

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… 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!

Julianna cannot refuse King Richard in For Love and Loyalty by @DianaLRubino time travel romance

Today on The Maze I am honored to present the "reverse" time travel romance by Diana Rubino, For Love and Loyalty .

In Diana's words:
Can a 15th century king and a 21st century woman find love and rewrite the past, or will time tear them apart? Time travel has always fascinated me, and this story had a strange birth: my long-time critique partner Bonnie and I were tossing around ideas for my next book, and she asked me to picture Richard III in modern times blow-drying his hair. The rest is history!

Synopsis:
England, 1476: A wizard’s charm sweeps Richard, Duke of Gloucester far, far away.

England, 2014: The Richard III Society’s annual séance doesn’t go quite as planned.

Julianna Hammond believes their mysterious visitor really is Richard. As a loyal Ricardian, she feels obligated to educate him on past and present. In dismay Richard learns of his destiny in a certain battle, and his depiction in a certain play. Julianna and he wonder: can history be rewritten?

Back in the Middle Ages, Richard’s brothers King Edward and George Plantagenet are determined to find him­-wherever he is­-with the help of a little magic conjured up by a wizard. Since the wizard can’t say no to money or a lady, Edward-infatuated Elizabeth Woodville isn’t far behind them.

Changing one’s destiny is complicated. So is falling in love. When the two collide, three brothers, three women, and history will never be the same.

Excerpt:
“Come here, Julianna.” The way he opened his arms to her, she couldn’t refuse. One warm embrace can’t hurt. But once she was in that embrace, and his lips sought hers, it felt as natural as breathing. He kissed her lovingly, gently and thoroughly. Stopping him would be as wrong as telling the sun not to shine.

Her heart beat the same primitive tattoo as the music surrounding them.

When his hand slid to her breast, she knew she had to take charge or nature would. “Richard—” She hadn’t meant to sound so whispery, but her voice was nowhere to be found. She cleared her throat. “We can’t get involved. It’ll be too much heartache if something happens and you get sent back.” She wondered how convincing she really sounded, with her fingers still wound through his hair and her body half pressed up against his.

“I’m not going back, Julianna. I’m resigned to my fate. I’m not like Ned, I don’t rake every wench that crosses my path. I keep my desire firmly in check. But right now my desire is about to burn a hole in these thin trousers so I’ll have to go back to wearing that torturous denim castrati garment.”

She let out a deep sigh and tried to calm her breathing. There’d been some pretty heavy breathing till now. “Richard, I’ve been fighting my feelings all along and doing a pretty good job of it so far. Don’t let me weaken. Don’t let me fall in love with you. There’s enough weird stuff going on here already. We’ve got enough to do.”

“I’ve grown very fond of you, Julianna.” He stroked her cheek. “And I’m still growing.” He relaxed his embrace and brushed her lips with his before sitting back. “However, you must lead and I follow, as this is your domain. I’m also a gentleman. If this were Ned sitting here, you’d have been ravished thrice already, in six different ways, and on your way to fetch him a beer.”

“Doesn’t he take no for an answer?” Her hand still played through his hair.

“He doesn’t even ask.”

“Looks like he doesn’t mind never going back to his own time. After tonight, George might not, either.”

“Well, Ned covered his arse quite well. He informed me he left the kingdom in good hands with no detail unattended to, and George will go anywhere there’s wenches and booze, even if it’s back to the stone age.”

“I wonder if you can go back by sheer force of will. Our minds are so much more powerful than we think.” A jumble of thoughts entered her head and vanished. This wasn’t the time to ponder telekinesis, as he tickled her earlobe and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. All she could do was close her eyes and let the exquisite sensations take over. She instinctively moved closer. Their bodies touched, his skin against hers. One more kiss, just one more of those delicious warm kisses, and I’ll call it a night, she convinced herself. Their lips met.

The door knocker pounded.


Purchase For Love and Loyalty:Kindle | Paperback |
Visit Diana:Blog | Web site | Facebook | Twitter |

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— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow<

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Arthur changes his battle plan in Ch 13/Sc 1b of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee and #giveaway

Graphic overlay c2016 by Kim Headlee. Life is messy. No one knows that fact better than a soldier.

Miscommunication, bad intelligence, changing alliances, and sometimes even acts of God or nature can conspire to send battle plans awry.

The campaign referenced in today's excerpt from Raging Sea had its aborted start in Morning's Journey when a plague ripped through Arthur's legion and left him without enough forces to complete his objectives.

Now, a year later, he is finally ready to resume that campaign.

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 |
Chapter 11: Sc 1a |  Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a |
Raging Sea Chapter 13, Scene1a©2016 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
Angusel knew that voice, and fought the sudden churning of his gut as he turned Stonn to face the newcomer.

“Lord Pendragon!” He hated how shrill that must have sounded and cleared his throat as he thumped fist to chest. While Centurion Cato completed his salute, Angusel said, “I’m sorry, my lord, I didn’t see you—”

The Pendragon held up a hand. “Cato, the Angli raids on Lothian and neighboring Caledonian lands are intensifying, and I’m resuming preparations for the campaign that had to be suspended last year.”

Angusel recalled that the campaign had almost launched prematurely on an unconfirmed report, which could have caused a military disaster. The Pendragon’s Angalaranach campaign hadn’t resumed before now because the legion was still rebuilding after last year’s widespread and debilitating pox, and the Saxon attack on Maun.

“First Ala stays to defend headquarters, sir?” Although the centurion made an obvious effort to maintain a level tone, Angusel detected the note of disappointment, and shared the sentiment. That had been part of last year’s plan too.

Arthur opened his mouth, but whatever answer he would have given was forestalled by a courier approaching them at a full gallop. The optio reined his mount just shy of plowing into them, dipped a hand into a pouch slung across his chest, pulled out a small, wax-sealed parchment leaf, and thrust it toward the Pendragon.

A brief look of consternation flashed across Arthur’s face as he took the message and read it. “Give this to Comitissa Gyan,” he said to the courier upon returning the parchment to him. Angusel tried to ignore the jealous twinge at the Pendragon’s easy use of her name. “Tell her to prepare for leading all alae except the First and Sixth to the Senaudon staging area to join General Cai and his men. The Comites Praetorii will of course accompany her. Also inform her that Sixth Ala shall stay with the remaining centuries to guard headquarters, with Merlin in command.”

After the courier saluted and spurred his horse toward the praetorium, the Pendragon turned his gaze upon Centurion Cato and Angusel and the rest of the ala ranged about them. “I’ve been summoned to Caerglas for an emergency meeting of the Council of Chieftains. First Ala comes with me. Pack your battle-gear and two days of rations. We leave at once.”

***

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— 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: Using Photos in Your Book (or anywhere for that matter)

George Sand by Nadar, 1864,
Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. You've been crawling through dozens of Pinterest boards for the perfect photo to use for your book's cover and are about to give up when—hey, presto! You find just the thing.

Now to copy it into Photoshop and crank out that award-winning cover, right?

Sorry; not without obtaining the photographer's permission, or licensing it first.

A common misconception is that a photograph is owned by the person who has purchased it, or the celebrity who has autographed his or her photo and sold it to you. Unless the photo can be proven to exist in the public domain as with the example I use in today's post, however, the copyright resides with the photographer. And the burden of public-domain proof lies upon whoever wishes to use the photo.

Using the photo without permission or a license, including sharing it on any online social media platform, violates US copyright law and can expose you to hefty licensing fees if the photographer chooses to pursue the case.

Don't take my word for it. The best article I've seen that sums up copyright issues revolving around the use of photographs is this one by Stacy J. Grossman of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

The subject of copyright infringement isn't without its lighter side, though. A ridiculous court case involving selfies taken by monkeys can be chuckled at here.

In short, unless you have permission from the PHOTOGRAPHER to reprint a photo in your book (or an artist's art, or musician's lyrics or sheet music, for that matter), don't do it. Period.

Happy surfing!
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I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of Raging Sea: Reckonings !
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All this month, you are invited to…

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— 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 Sleepless by @NuzoOnoh book spotlight @MoBPromos African Horror

by

Nuzo Onoh
GENRE: African Horror
Content Warning: 18+. Graphic Depiction of Death.


An innocent boy is lured to his death by the one person that should have protected him. Someone knows the truth about his disappearance; his little sister, Obele, a child that hears a secret voice which tells her terrible things no child should know about. Obele knows too much and must be killed. Her salvation lies in the hands of her new friends, a group of giggling little girls she meets at an abandoned "cursed house." Except their friendship comes with a terrible price. And suddenly, Obele starts to ask herself who exactly...or rather, what exactly are her new friends. Worse, how can she free the tormented ghost of her dead brother, trapped by a witchdoctor's curse? Set amidst the Biafran War, "The Sleepless" follows one child's struggles against both the natural and supernatural forces that threaten to end her life before the deadly enemy bombs can do so. And perhaps, death from the skies is a better option than the terrifying alternative. "The Sleepless" - Another chilling tale about the restless and vengeful dead by the Queen of African Horror, Nuzo Onoh."


Papa yanked Obelé close and placed a large hand over her mouth, shutting off the song. ‘You will shut up right now or I will kill you myself, I swear,’ his voice was like thunder, blackened with rage. ‘If I hear another word….’ Papa broke off, his words suspended in the air. He stared towards the witchdoctor, beyond the witchdoctor, his eyes goggled. His hand on Obelé’s mouth dropped and the hand holding her arm went slack. Obelé stumbled away, following the direction of Papa’s eyes, his pointing finger. The Dibia turned to look. Two great black Mambas were slithering towards them from the tree next to the caged cats. Their movement were fast, their intention clear. Death glinted in their twin mercurial slits. Obelé froze, struck with terror. Of all God’s creatures in the world, nothing petrified her as much as snakes, not even cats. She would chose a hundred strokes of Papa’s utali any day over the sight of the tiniest snake. The two snakes slithering with incredible speed towards the Dibia, were huge, gigantic. The Dibia screamed and turned to run. He made it to the entrance of his hut and stopped, horror coating his face. Obelé saw what the witchdoctor saw, what Papa and Abundance saw; The Ghost Girls, beautiful in their scaly nakedness, their shiny skin as grey as ash, green eyes glowing in the night, sharp teeth white as death.

This time they came in multitudes, in their tens. They lit up the night with their spectral glow, illuminating everything with terrifying clarity. They blocked the entrance to the hut, giggling, laughing. Water dripped from their skin, forming a steady stream that flowed into the hut. In seconds, the compound was transformed into a swamp. The buried cats howled as water covered their heads. The Ghost Girls giggled louder at the plight of the cats. The Dibia stumbled back, slipping on muddy water, dropping the cat and his machete. The cat scuttled away with a loud yowl. The giggling wraiths advanced towards the Dibia, their movement fluid, ghastly. The phosphorous glow followed them like a bright shadow, a hovering cloak of brilliance. Some of them crawled, their arms like crabs, even spiders. Others flew, floating around the Dibia, hovering over his head like birds of prey. Soon, they formed a ring around him and began to dance. Obelé knew what would follow; the circle of torment. She had witnessed that ghastly ritual multiple times inside the drenched bedroom of Ike Okoye’s cursed house.

Except the victims then were ghosts. This time, it was a living victim. She steeled herself for what she knew was coming. The Ghost Girls began singing the familiar tune, The Sleepless song. Their voices echoed in the forest, disincarnate, chilling. They pulled the Dibia’s hair and bit into his skin, staining their teeth red. They carved deep marks on his skin, their claw-like fingers wet with his blood. Nails, stones, sticks and broken glasses drew patterns of agony across the medicine-man’s body. The little spectre, Promise, she of the Nwa mulu-amu fame, reached out and snapped the carved cat charm from the old man’s neck. The witchdoctor shrieked, arms flaying, trying to ward them off, slicing through empty air. He fell to the ground, next to the three buried cats, babbling, incoherent with terror. The girls giggled, their laughter gleeful, chilling.

Abundance screamed and ran towards Papa. She didn’t make it. The Mambas struck, felling her to the ground. Their fangs sank into Abundance’s legs. Twin assassins, they plunged a rapid succession of bites, their movements aggressive, swift and deadly. Abundance screamed, scrabbling on hands and knees towards Papa, who was rooted to his spot like a stone statue.

The Mambas raised their heads and struck again, this time on Abundance’s naked thighs and arms. Over and over, their heads dived, piercing her skin, dumping lethal venom into her bloodstream. Abundance’s movements grew sluggish, heavy, tortured. Terror and pain glazed her pupils. She opened her mouth and Obelé gasped, staggering back. A black protrusion that was once a tongue, crawled from Abundance’s mouth, the size of an orange, swollen beyond reality. She struggled to speak but all that came out was a low grunt. Abundance began frothing, her mouth covered in thick white foam. Her arms and knees collapsed underneath her as she lay twitching, convulsing like the epileptic boy in Obelé’s classroom, the one they called Ike Nwanyi, because he trembled like a fat woman’s buttocks when the sickness hit him.

The Mambas raised their great heads and stared at Papa. They looked at him with deadly intelligence, the way a human would look at another, enemy to enemy. Then they turned and slithered back into the forest, leaving the dying body of Abundance by Papa’s feet.
ABOUT AFRICAN HORROR
1. African Horror is not a reference to AIDS, famine or Ebola, just as Indian Horror is not a reference to rapes or honour killings. African Horror is a literary genre in its own right, a sub-genre of horror that has existed for centuries, albeit without a formal title till my book, The Reluctant Dead, began spearheading the term, African Horror.

2. African Horror encompasses several horror sub-genres like supernatural horror, psychological horror, demonic/occultic horror, sci-fi horror (popularised by Nnedi Okoroafor) slasher/gore/splatter horror and paranormal romance to mention a few. My books are focused on African supernatural horror, specifically, ghosts and hauntings.

3. Just like the old Japanese Kaidan tradition, African Horror stories are geographically targeted, depicting the core traditions, beliefs and superstitions of a particular village/tribe within a horror context. Thus, my books, The Reluctant Dead and Unhallowed Graves will resonate with anyone familiar with The Ring or The Grudge.

4. African Horror is usually steeped in the moral values of individual tribes, with most stories reinforcing these values and the dire consequences of ignoring or abandoning them. Thus, in Unhallowed Graves, we witness the terrible events that befall a grieving mother who goes against the village traditions and attempts to resurrect her son buried in Ajo-ofia, the unhallowed burial ground of people deemed to have died an unclean or bad death.

5. African Horror has a strong cinema presence in Nollywood films, a Nigerian film industry that produces popular drama, depicting terrifying supernatural events within an Igbo/African setting.

6. Amos Tutuola, the famous author of The Palm-wine Drinkard and My Life in the bush of Ghosts, is the father of African Horror. His books are considered modern classics today and have been translated into several languages.

7. Africans respect, fear, revere or abhor their Medicine men. Some cultures refer to them as Juju-men, Root-healers, Voodoo-men or witchdoctors. By whatever name they go, they all boil down to one thing - powerful men (and at times, very rarely, women) whose actions, good or bad, always impact on the daily lives of their people. No African Horror story is ever complete without reference to these powerful and controversial Medicine-men.

8. The Gullah culture of the American South has very strong ties to African culture and their horror stories are very similar to African horror. Today, Eden Royce, author of the book, Spook Lights and one of the few people that still speak the Gullah language, is spear-heading the Southern Gothic Horror, steeped in Gullah beliefs and culture. People that love Southern Gothic Horror will enjoy African Horror too.

9. African Horror stories are not Folktales, contrary to popular conception. These days, modern African Horror is written in prose and style similar to mainstream horror, which readers from all over the globe can relate to. My last book, The Reluctant Dead, enjoyed wide readership from fans worldwide, proving that true horror does indeed cross all boundaries. My latest book, Unhallowed Graves, follows in the same style, while retaining its distinct African voice.

10. Finally, African Horror books and films are out there for anyone interested in discovering the terrifying tales from our mysterious continent. Unfortunately, due to the unsatisfactory classification of literary works, one is likely to find African horror books under "Multicultural" rather than under "Horror". Hopefully, in the near future, an overhaul of the classification system will see more horror works by Africans writers and non-African writers writing African Horror, classified under their rightful category - Horror.


Amazon US ✯ Amazon Int'l
✯ Amazon Paperback ✯ Amazon Int'l Paperback ✯
Goodreads


BBC interview with Nuzo about The Sleepless

Nuzo Onoh is a British writer of African descent. Born in Enugu, the Eastern part of Nigeria, formerly known as The Republic of Biafra, Nuzo lived through the civil war between Nigeria and Biafra, an experience that left a strong impact on her and has influenced some of her writing.

She attended Queen’s School Enugu before proceeding to the Quaker boarding school, The Mount School, York, England and St Andrew’s Tutorial College, Cambridge, from where she obtained her A’ levels. Nuzo holds both a Law degree and a Masters degree in Writing from The University of Warwick, England. She has two daughters, Candice and Jija and her cat, Tinkerbell. Nuzo lives in Coventry, from where she runs her own publishing company, Canaan-Star Publishing, a self-publishing company that publishes authors from around the globe.

A keen musician, Nuzo plays both the Piano and the box guitar and enjoys recording demos of her songs. Nuzo also runs African story-telling workshops for primary school children. Nuzo is a strong believer in The Law of Attraction and the philosophy of mind over matter.

Now recognized as the front-runner of African Horror, Nuzo is the author of The Reluctant Dead (published 28th June, 2014) a collection of African ghost stories and Unhallowed Graves (published 28th June, 2015) a novella collection of three ghost stories. Her latest book, The Sleepless, a novel of hauntings and vengeance from beyond the grave, will be published on 28th June, 2016. Nuzo has made 28th June as her annual publishing date so her fans know when to look out for another African Horror chiller from her writing desk.

Otherwise, she publishes her other books as and when ready. These are the books written under her pseudonym of Alex Stranger-Onoh.

AMAZON ✯ WEBSITE ✯ GOODREADS ✯ LIBRARYTHING ✯ TWITTER

MoB Promotions

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Please enter often, and good luck!

In Ch 13/Sc 1a of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee Angusel shows his companions a new tactic #amwriting

Graphic overlay (c)2016 by Kim Headlee. Very little is known about the Picts, the ancient aboriginal inhabitants of what is now Scotland. Their only written records survive in the form of stones carved with glyphs whose meanings defy explanation and precise interpretation.

Some of those glyphs, however, depict warriors armed with what appear to be javelins rather than spears. I have chosen to incorporate that interpretation into my historical Arthurian series, The Dragon's Dove Chronicles, as one of the battle tactics that distinguishes Pictish—excuse me, Caledonach—warfare from that of their opponents.

Although Angusel has been ostracized from Caledonach society, he well remembers his training in the javelin-armed cavalry charge. In today's excerpt from Raging Sea , he is pleased to be sharing this knowledge with his Breatanach comrades-in-arms.

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 |
Chapter 11: Sc 1a |  Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Raging Sea Chapter 13, Scene1a©2016 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
Angusel trotted Stonn away from the straw target, flexing the soreness from his shoulder and letting the whistles and lauds from the other soldiers tell him that he’d scored a perfect hit.

“That’s how it’s done, lads,” he said as he rejoined them and halted Stonn. “Your turn. Form a single line, and each of you have a go.”

The men did as he bade them without so much as a single curled lip, and one by one they began racing off to fling their javelins at the target. In between casts, ala drudges removed the spent weapons from target or turf and ran them back to the starting line while Angusel offered the soldiers suggestions for improving their approach, aim, and timing.

That the five turma decurions, who outranked him, were also practicing the drill made his chest swell, but when Centurion Cato stepped up to the line, Angusel all but dropped his teeth.

The centurion grinned at him. “Can’t have my men learning a tactic that I haven’t mastered.”

“Right, sir.” What to say to a man with more years in the legion than he had on this earth? Angusel sucked in a breath, praying for wisdom. “Just be patient, gauge the distance, mind your mount’s speed and course, heed your instincts, and throw it as hard as you can.”

The centurion saluted Angusel with the javelin and pricked his horse’s flanks to send him leaping toward the target.

To say that Angusel’s unofficial training sessions with Drustanus and, more recently, Gawain, had been noticed was an understatement. Their commander began foregoing his own evening free time to join them, sometimes offering suggestions, participating on rare occasions, but most often just observing from behind the fence. He’d demonstrated particular interest in the javelin drill, which the all-Caledonach alae practiced constantly since it was a fundamental battle tactic for them. The mainly Breatanach First Ala was trained to run the enemy through with leveled spears upon initial engagement, a tactic Angusel was pleased to learn; he could see combining both in mounted combat. Breatanaich never used javelins.

Until today.

“A fine cast, sir!” he said as the centurion returned. Though two hands wide of center, the height of the javelin’s strike was good. In battle it might mean missing the intended mark but felling an adjacent enemy. “You’ll improve your aim with practice.”

“Indeed you will, Cato,” said a deep male voice behind him. “Well done.”

Angusel knew that voice, and fought the sudden churning of his gut as he turned Stonn to face the newcomer.

***
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, 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!

Yankee Doodling with The Dawnflier (July 2016) #MFRWOrg #ASMSG #IARTG

Statue of Liberty silhouette and fireworks c2016 by razihusin.
Licensed via Depositphotos, ID 3703282. First order of business: Congratulations to the baseball team of my daughter's college, Coastal Carolina University, for winning the College World Series 6/30/2016 in a fantastic game! <3

Second order of business: Heartfelt thanks to all my fans, new and old, who helped make Chautauqua Festival 2016 of Wytheville, Virginia my best sales event ever! I love you guys!!

Third: A great new book trailer is now available on YouTube for King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court . Check it out via this link! Furthermore, its audiobook edition is on sale at iTunes, as well as Audible and Amazon.

Fourth: The Challenge graphic novel episode 1 is on sale via paperback as well as Kindle. And I'm expanding digital distribution of the novella itself; it's now available for preorder via iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords. On or about July 7th, it will be on sale for Nook too.

Fifth: Kings has been published to Nook, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords. Get your copy today!

Upcoming Appearance: 2016 Patchwork Quilters Jamboree, Friday July 22 and Saturday July 23, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Graham Middle School, Bluefield, VA.

Final order of business: MailChimp subscribers to my newsletter The Dawnflier get first crack at my monthly Amazon giveaway. Don't miss out; subscribe now!

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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: Your Book's Media Kit #ASMSG #IARTG #MFRWOrg

Book Media Kit meme c2016 by Kim Headlee.
Photo c2015 by nastia1983, Depositphotos ID 64327933. Today on The Maze:Tips for crafting your book's Media Kit! 

What is a media kit?

It's a collection of materials an author assembles to inform journalists and—these days—bloggers and tour hosts about their books for promotional purposes.

When I began my publishing career in 1999, the media kit was a two-pocket folder assembled to exacting specifications.

In the left pocket, front to back, was tucked the author's photo, followed by contact information and bio, and any prior publications and awards.

The right pocket contained the most recent release's cover flat (the marketing tool produced by large traditional publishers consisting of the print book's wrap cover with selling points printed on the back), book information such as genre, series title if applicable, and retail price, tagline and synopsis, press releases, and reviews.

If you plan to attend major conventions or other events where reporters are expected, it's not a bad idea to carry a physical media kit, or even several copies if you're feeling particularly lucky. :)

The age of virtual book tours has prompted the evolution of the media kit to digital form, including the aforementioned author and book information, along with, where available:
author's (and publisher's, if applicable) website linklinks to YouTube interviewsbook trailers (links as well as embed codes)links to award announcementslists of social media accounts to followsample chapterexcerptsteaser graphicsanimated book cover GIF filesstatic cover graphicscollections of sample tweetslinks to e-tailer author and product pages
Some authors prefer to assemble one media kit that describes all of their books. If your collection contains more than three books, however, you might be wise to consider establishing a separate media kit for each book or series. This makes it easy to approach bloggers who might be interested in running a spotlight of one of your books on their blog.

If you employ blog-tour companies, more than likely they will send you their media kit format. Ask her or him, as a professional courtesy, whether it's acceptable to substitute the media kit you've already prepared.

A subset of the digital media kit—minus frills such as book trailers, animated covers, teaser graphics, excerpts, and sample chapters—may be sent to potential reviewers along with the book's MOBI (for Kindle) or EPUB (for most other e-reader types) file. Remember to double-check the reviewer's submission guidelines, however, and only send the materials the reviewer requests.

If there is anything you like to include in your book's media kit that I haven't mentioned here, please leave a comment and let us all know!

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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!

#KASIWC by Mark Twain and @KimHeadlee great new book trailer! #MFRWOrg #IARTG

King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court
by Mark Twain as channeled by Kim Iverson Headlee.
Check out its great new YouTube book trailer!
If a picture is worth a thousand words,
then a video is worth a million. :DSee for yourself:



***
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!

Bring Your Own Baker by @denaehaggerty book spotlight @MoBPromos #cozymystery

by

 D.E. Haggerty
GENRE: Cozy mystery



Anna just wants to earn enough money on the side to buy into the bakery, Callie’s Cakes, where she works together with her best nerd pal Callie. The last thing she expects to see when she walks into Arthur’s apartment to do some moonlighting is a blood bath. Callie’s ready to jump into the investigation into Arthur’s murder, and she’s bringing another bakery worker, Kristie, into their hijinks whether Kristie wants to or not. But things aren’t as they seem. There are gang affiliations, illegal gambling dens, and ladies of the night to wade through. Will Anna and Callie discover who murdered Arthur or will Callie’s detective boyfriend and Anna’s self-appointed protector put a stop to such aspirations?

Come join us at Callie’s Cakes, where murder investigations are on the menu, but make sure to bring your own baker, because Anna’s a bit preoccupied at the moment.

Warning: This is NOT your mom’s cozy mystery. Bring Your Own Baker may be a ‘clean’ read, but if gangs, illegal gambling, and pimps make you turn your nose up at your e-reader, you might want to skip this one. Although you’ll be missing some sizzling chemistry between Anna and her protector. Not to mention a whole bunch of witty dialogue.




I grasp the weapon in my hand and throw it with all my might at him. The weapon makes a ‘tee hee’ sound as it hits his stomach.

“Did you just throw a Pillsbury dough boy at me?” His voice carries a hint of humor. The Pillsbury dough boy was probably not the best item to grab from the kitchen to use as a weapon. Obviously, I’m totally losing it.

I inch backwards into the kitchen searching for a more appropriate weapon. Dag nab it! The knives are way over on the other side. I have no choice. Without taking my eyes of the man, I grab a perfectly formed and probably fricking delicious muffin from the tin and throw it at the intruder. Apparently, my fast ball needs some work as he just catches the muffin as if I merely lobbed it in his direction. He smiles and, not bothering with the paper liner, takes a huge bite.

“Mmmm…,” he groans around a mouthful. “This is really good.”

“Seriously?” I throw my arms in the air before planting my hands on my hips. “If you want my muffins, just come to the bakery. You don’t have to break in.” Uh oh, I nearly forgot that he broke in. I start backing up again, getting ever closer to those knives.

The man’s eyes narrow as he notices me shuffling my way towards the knives. He stalks me and, when he’s only an arm’s length away, reaches around me and grabs the knife block. He keeps his eyes steady on me as he places the block on top of the refrigerator. Somewhere I can only reach if I get out my step ladder.

“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” I may be terrified and my voice my stutter a bit, but I’m not backing down. Not. One. Bit.

“You’re a feisty little thing, aren’t you?”

“Who you calling little?” Apparently, I have no regard for my safety at all as I’m now goading an intruder.

The man chuckles. His smile shows a perfect set of teeth. Huh, not exactly what I expected from Mr. Piercings and Tattoos. “For a pink-haired pixie, you sure aren’t afraid, are you?”



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I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on from my mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When I wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although I did manage every once in a while to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. Another job change, this time from lawyer to B&B owner, and I was again fed up and ready to scream I quit, which is incredibly difficult when you own the business. Thus, I shut the B&B during the week and in the off-season and started writing. Several books later I find myself in Istanbul writing full-time.

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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!