10 Things I didn’t know before I got published by @NanaPrah + giveaways

#BookReview: To Tame a Sheikh by @Oli... And the winner of “Love Through Time”...

10 Things I didn’t know before I got published by @NanaPrah + giveaways

Hi people,

I’m especially excited to introduce you to a fellow Black Opal Books (and Ghanaian) author, Nana Prah, as she celebrates the release of her debut novel, Love Through Time. I met Nana when she entered a romance writing competition that I was judging, and it’s been a wonderful treat for me to watch her journey from second runner-up to published author (not the same book).

To celebrate her release, Nana Prah is having a blog tour at the end of which she will be giving away three (3) $10 Amazon gift certificates (details below).

Meanwhile, I’m also giving away one free copy of her book, Love Through Time, to one lucky commenter on this blog post.

Let me tell you a bit ABOUT NANA.

She was born in Ghana, West Africa, raised in the US and currently resides in Ghana where she loves her job as a writer and nurse educator. She has been writing since she can remember (in her journal) and has been an avid reader of romance novels since the eighth grade. She has finally been able to utilize the years and years of inadvertent research into writing her own romance novels where love always conquers all.

And she can be found online at:

Blog | Twitter: @NanaPrah | Facebook: Nana Prah, Author

So…

I’m going to sign off here and let Nana Prah have her way with my blog (*sigh* it sounded much better in my head).

***

Empi has allowed me to post on her lovely blog today. I hope I don’t get too comfortable and take up a permanent residence. Empi wanted me to write a list blog post so here I go:

10 THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE I GOT PUBLISHED (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

The overuse of adverbs is bad, bad, bad when writing a novel. Stephen King said so himself.
Rejection is a horrible, heartbreaking, necessary aspect of success.
You can’t escape promoting your own work, no matter who you are, how much money you have, how many books you have written, or how much you bribe people with chocolate.
An author should show not tell (I’m still working on grasping this concept).
Authors are lovely people to have as friends once you take them off of their pedestal (ahem, Empi – author extraordinaire).
The term pantser (someone who doesn’t go by an outline when writing), the word cracks me up.
GMCs – the most important acronym in the writing world. Goals, motivation and conflict. They are what drive a story.
Being an author warps how you read a book. You become critical of every written word. I miss reading solely for the mindless pleasure of it.
Editors are awesome. I’m pretty sure most of them wear wigs and toupees after pulling out all of their hair as they work on their author’s work.
Apparently authors of romance novels like to oogle half naked men and make lewd comments (I fit right in – giggling).

Thanks for spending some time with me. Here is some information about freshly released romance, Love Through Time.

BLURB:

Defending her family – no problem. Recalling past lives – maybe just a small problem. Taking a chance on love again – well…

Jasmine Gibson has her world turned upside down when she meets gorgeous Sean Taylor. He’s the first man she’s been attracted to since her fiancé dumped her two years ago. But when the disturbing daydreams start, Jasmine begins to fear that her actions in a past life may have finally caught up with her.

Sean finds it impossible to stay away from Jasmine even though he can’t shake the inexplicable feeling of betrayal, simmering deep inside him every time he sees her.

To complicate things, someone is out to hurt Jasmine and every time she and Sean are together, the police have to be called. Even if Jasmine can make Sean trust her, the two of them may not stay alive long enough to enjoy their love this time around.

EXCERPT

She was coming to terms about their past lives, but he was having trouble just dealing with her in this one.

“I must have been a great man in previous life,” Sean said jokingly, but Jasmine’s expression turned serious as she held onto the doorpost. “Are you all right? Are you getting lightheaded?”

“No, I’m fine.”

But he could tell something was bothering her. “Now you’re holding something back from me.”

“Do you believe in past lives?”

“I haven’t thought about it. I’ve seen so much in my travels around the world that I wouldn’t be surprised if it existed. Do you?”

“I think it might exist, and the thought about coming back and making your soul better is very appealing. At the same time it could be painful, especially if you hurt someone else in a past life and met them again in another.”

Sean felt a chill go up his spine. He knew there was something more to this conversation, but he couldn’t pin point it. He wanted to stay and talk with her about it, but he had to get back to studying.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. It was nothing but a friendly kiss, but he felt the shock of it straight down to the soles of his feet. Jasmine looked just as affected as he was.

GET YOUR COPY OF “LOVE THROUGH TIME”

GIVE-AWAY & BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE

I am giving away 3 $10 Amazon gift-cards at the end of the blog tour through rafflecopter.

To enter, click on the link below:

Rafflecopter – Love Through Time give-away

Finally, here’s a list of the dates and blogs that I will be on for the month of August.