Showing posts with label Blog Hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Hop. Show all posts

Friday, October 5, 2012

A Bite of Magic



Magic isn't a handful of sparkling dust, a star-topped wand, or a tame word captured on parchment.

It's alive. It has a mind of its own. And it's hungry.

To celebrate the release of Slippers of Pearl and Bitten: A Novel of Faerie, I'd like to offer a bite of magic to all those who love kidlit--and fairy tales in particular.

There will be eleven winners and six different prizes available:

A Bite of Cobbler


Shoes, unlike magic, are predictable. They don’t change shape, bite, or alter a person’s destiny.
And that’s just how Faryn likes it.

But his Uncle Harvey has a bad habit of dying. While inconvenient, this hasn’t ever been a problem until now. Thanks to an evil witch and a poisoned apple turnover, Harvey is dead again—permanently this time.

As his uncle’s heir, Faryn has to give up shoemaking in order to accept and refine his magic.
Magic he never wanted.

Unwilling to let go of his dream, but unable to escape his destiny, Faryn combines the two and discovers a knack for making magical shoes. He also learns that turning a person into a goose is a lot easier than turning her back, and that he severely underestimated how much trouble magic can be.

The witch who killed his uncle is trying to control all the magic of the land, and it’s up to Faryn to stop her. If only he can get his magic to cooperate in time. 

an autographed copy of Slippers of Pearl
a magical pouch to keep it in
and a Slippers of Pearl bookmark

A Bite of Faerie
(Available October 2nd-ish)


Fourteen-year-old Cherrie Wilding stopped believing in fairies after her Grams had a stroke that left her a silent, empty stranger. But whether she believes in them or not, one of them bit her, and now the venom is spreading through her system and causing  . . . complications. Like an allergy to iron and a craving for milk.

It turns out that fairy venom has the power to turn mortals into small, winged versions of themselves. And it gets better. Grams's stroke was the result of her light—her fairy soul—being stolen. The fairy who bit Cherrie demands her to help steal Grams’s light back. 

As much as Cherrie wants to save Grams, her need to protect her older brother from the fairies and the rest of the real world wins out. Who knows what lurks in a world populated by winged menaces? But when the fairy talks Cherrie’s brother into going to the fairy realm, Cherrie mounts a rescue attempt to save him. To her surprise, it’s not her brother who needs rescuing—it’s the fairies. Someone is stealing their lights and imprisoning them, and it’s up to Cherrie and her brother to free them. But saving the fairies, keeping her brother safe, and returning home requires the help of the Phoenix. And the price for his aid doesn’t come cheap. If Cherrie wants to succeed, she must be willing to part with her greatest possession: her heart.

an autographed copy of Bitten: A Novel of Faerie
a faerie habitat
a Bitten bookmark

A Bite of Books

1 $25 Amazon Gift Card

Two Bites of Music

2 $15 iTunes Gift Cards

Six Bites of Braun Books Certificates

6 $10 gift certificates to Braun Books; redeemable in store or through Amazon
(A special thanks to Megan at Braun Books!)


To enter, leave a comment. Extra entries available through the Rafflecopter below.


Thank you to all, and best of luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Should I or Shouldn't I?

Don't forget you can sign up painlessly to participate in the Give Books Blog Hop and get a book for Christmas (or other applicable gift-giving celebration this time of year). The Hop runs through December 15th, and I'll be getting the book out on the 16th. Click here for details and check out the others books you could win by visiting the following blogs.

Give Books for Christmas Giveaway Hop
1. Inksplasher (US)  7. Maria Hoagland (US)  13. K.C. Grant Writer's Corner (US)  
2. Jennifer Hurst (INT)  8. The Last Word (US)  14. Jennifer K. Clark (US)  
3. FALL (INT)  9. Weaving a Tale or Two (US)  15. Publish Novels or Bust (US)  
4. Geek Girl (INT)  10. Tristi Pinkston  16. Heidi Murphy (US)  
5. Heart on a Chain (INT)  11. LDS Publisher (INT)  

6. Immortal Mine (INT)  12. Carolyn Frank (INT)  

 
*sigh*

Yes, that's a really big sigh.

My goal this month is to finish the edit for WIP #1 and send the first fifty pages off to an editor. AND I need to finish my query. Well, it's finished. The dang thing's just not right yet. ETA for clarification: This query has been critiqued by both my online and in-person critique groups. It's been critiqued by some other writerly friends and in its essential form given a thumbs up from the author I won the query critique from. But everyone--and I mean every who hasn't read the book--thinks a critical thing referenced in the query (and which is the hook) is a major plot-line. But it's really just a catalyst and sets into motion what happens in the rest of the book.

I've thought of submitting to Matt over at The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment, and he said he'd be willing to look at it. Alex and Nancy have both said I should.

I just have this little problem about bearing myself in public, so to speak, and subjecting myself to ridicule. I'm good at my day job, and I work very hard to make sure I'm knowledgeable and up to date with my skills. I have to be because if I screw up I can get sued. Don't even mess with someone's bid to public office, believe me.

But I think the thing that really turns me into a quivering mess is the genre bias I talked about in this post. I'm not worried about Matt's comments. He a consummate professional and tactful besides. When I had one of my sons who's got a bright, creative mind (I love to bounce ideas off him) read an earlier version, his tone dripped with sarcastic cheese.

So, my adventure romance book's query could be said to have a melodramatic tone. If you read it the way my son did. Writing is so subjective I'm sure people will pick up on the cheese factor. And I'm so not into this:


Please note that my son made fun of the version approved by the author I won a query critique from.

It could just be him. Or it could be that the tone is there but fits the genre. The bottom line is that I'm at my wit's end over this thing. So I'm going to let you folks help me decide. On the right sidebar is a poll. Please comment here and tell me why you voted the way you did.

In the meantime, I'm going to be doing this:

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Give Books Giveaway Hop

I'm participating in the Give Books Giveaway Hop hosted by Karlene over at InkSplasher. It runs from December 1-15th. Because of extra shipping costs, I'm going to have to limit possible winners to the continental United States.

The book ARC you have a chance to win is King's Envoy by Cas Peace (it's the first book in the Artesans of Albia trilogy). Here's what the back of the book says: 

Taran Elijah's quest for knowledge uncovers a plot that threatens the world. In Albia, the fourth realm, the precious Artesan gift is dying. Although born to the craft, Taran is struggling to achieve his potential. Against his friends' advice, he embarks on a foolhardy plan to acquire the teaching he craves. Alone, he crosses into Andaryon, the fifth realm, but instead of finding a mentor, he stumbles upon a treacherous plot. In the wake of Taran's actions, Albia suffers a series of vicious raids. Major Sullyan of the High King's forces is sent to oppose them. But a dark and treacherous force is moving through the realms and both Taran and Sullyan will feel its power. Their craft, the lives of their friends, the very existence of their realm are under threat unless they expose and oppose the evil.

And if you'd like to read an excerpt you can check it out here.

 So, what do you have to do to enter?
  1. Be a follower of my blog.
  2. Comment below that you're interested in winning the book.
  3. Include your email address in the body of your comment. It ends on the 15th, and I'm supposed to get the book in the mail to the winner on December 16th, so I'll need to be able to contact you ASAP to get your mailing address.
It must be Christmas or something

Friday, October 14, 2011

Pay It Forward Blogfest

Click here or here for more information.
Short and sweet today. It's the Pay It Forward Blogfest, hosted by the freaktastic Matt and Alex (click the here links in the picture above if you don't know who they are). The idea is to introduce everyone to everyone else, kind of speed dating for bloggers.

Following are three blogs that I enjoy reading and encourage you to check out:

Donna Hosie at Musings of a Penniless Writer (I've known Donna for several years now--a little boy who lived brought us together at the Leaky Lounge, and she's been a great inspiration and mentor to me)

Susie F at My Not So Secret Writing Life (Susie is another HP fan and former staff at the Lounge, though we didn't meet until I got involved with a Bloghop Donna was in)

Laura Josephsen at Everything you didn't want to know about writing (I think we met on a bloghop a year or so ago. I love her fun posts and hilarious books)


This is a Blog Hop!

82.
170.



We went to see Thriller by Odyssey Dance Theater. So much fun and some great dancing.





What are you up to this weekend?
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