Category Archives: Indie authors

Houston, We Have A Book Cover!

I’m so excited that I just have to share the good news. The soon-to-be released novel Blood Chord: Kill Me finally has a cover! (I’ve also got a solid design for the second book in the series.) Now I can check at least one thing off my To-Do list.

I’ve wasted so much time (when I should have been writing) on this cover. I literally spent hours scouring my favorite stock image sites for something that would work.  The image have to be visually interesting and have copy space available. The cover model had to be the right age. The cover had to convey the right genre and I had to be able to carry over a similar feel to the other books in the series. As it turns out, all that made creating the right cover extremely hard.

Not that I’m complaining. The whole time I was griping and toiling in Photoshop, I was fully aware that as an Indie I had FULL and TOTAL control over my cover. If this book was being released by one of the Big 6, I’m sure I would have hated the cover. It would have had some generic vampire on the cover (NOT what the whole book is about) or something else atrocious and not in-keeping with the book.

That said, I’m beyond-tickled at how this cover turned out. What do you guys think? Does it grab your attention? Would it make you stop and read the blurb?

Blood Chord: Kill Me is slated for release in just a few weeks (I’ll announce the date soon!) Before that I want to do some ARC giveaways here, on Librarything and perhaps even over at Goodreads to get the review-ball rolling. My hope is that by giving away ARC’s, I’ll be able to generate a decent buzz and garner at least a few reviews quickly after the launch. At least that’s the plan!

Learning from Each Other (Author Interviews)

While be-bopping around the ‘net, I ran over an excellent interview with an author that I’ve not only read, but admire. That got me to thinking that I’d like to share my favorite author interviews here. Some offer glimpses into the art of writing, other focus on promo or another facet of Indie Publishing– but they are all entertaining and informative.

The interview that sparked this post is this one with Suzanne Tyrpak, author of Vestal Virgin and Hetaera. I’ve reviewed several of her books here, and here, so be sure to check out her books after reading the interview. She talks about how one little Roman discovery sparked the story, and in-depth research completed it.

Then I found an insightful interview into the mind of the Zombie Master himself, Jack Wallen. A while back, Jack was the subject of my Three Ways Thursdays post and you can see that interview here. I’ve also read and reviewed Jack’s novel A Blade Away and it was Fab. I’ve got his other books in my TBR pile while I will get to soon if it kills me.

Last spring I read a witty, dark Vampire novel by Jennifer Rainey called These Hellish Happenings. I love it, reviewed it, and eventually had Jennifer here on the blog for an installment of Three Ways Thursdays. Well, I found another interview here with Jennifer as she talks a little bit about being a writer, a musician and her favorite things.

And this one’s part book review, part interview with NYT Best Selling author Victorine Lieske. We hang out at the same water cooler (KB’s) and she’d always got a kind word or bit of advice for those just starting out. I reviewed her novel Not What She Seems several months ago. 

Here’s a link to an interview with Barbra Annino, author of Opal Fire, which has been compared to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, but with witches! Sounds like a good time!

That’s all folks! Seriously though, I’ll spotlight more author interviews in the future. I’ve been meaning to get back to posting actual interviews here (with Indie Authors) but finding the time to search and contact authors is not so easy these days :-)

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As a side note, the recently released short story JUST DESSERTS is FREE today on Amazon (2/10 & 2/11). It’s only been out a few days and I’m hoping to earn some reviews fresh out of the gate. I’d love it if you’d grab a copy or spread the word around!

60K Words in 29 Days (KindleBoards February Writing Challenge)

Since my NaNoWriMo project got sidelined due to moving, extended-stay house guests and about a trillion other things, I’ve decided to participate in the February writing Challenge issued by fellow Writers over on the Kindleboards.

  • The Overall Goal: to churn out 60,000 words by the end of the month.
  • Daily Goal: breaks down to 2,069 words daily

For day 1, I made almost no progress. I did manage to tack on another 1,000 words to a short story that should be hitting Amazon soon, and according to the #60KinFeb rules I can use that for my overall total.

For the bulk of my word count, I’m going to be whipping out the second book in my Blood Chord series– the first is darn-near ready and should be published by the end of the month. That way, I’ll (hopefully) have book two out by mid-spring / early-summer.

For now, I’m off to outline book #2, so that my writing won’t go in circles. While I do that, you can ooh-and-ahh over my nifty little ticker. See that black cat, she’s chasing those totals!

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Oh, I almost forgot! If you’re in the market for a rather racy read, Strangers On A Plane is FREE today on Amazon!(insert legal mumbo-jumo, like check the price before you download to make sure it’s still free!)

Hetaera–Suspense in Ancient Athens (Agathon’s Daughter) by Susan Tyrpak- Book Review

I just finished another book and it was so good I had to review it immediately~  Hetaera–Suspense in Ancient Athens (Agathon’s Daughter), by Suzanne Tyrpak.

I received a copy of the ebook after entering a giveaway on LibraryThing (I think)-my memory isn’t what it used to be. Some of you may remember that I reviewed Susan’s other novel, Vestal Virgin, some time ago, and after seeing that this novel was historical in nature too (and because Susan writes that sooo well) I just had to read it.

Unlike Vestal Virgin, Hetaera is a bit tamer, and the steamy moments mostly happen off-camera. But this second novel of Tyrpak’s is just as full of suspense, intrique and carefully constructed (i.e. real and flawed) characters as her debut novel. Like any good suspense novel, there are bad guys and good guys, guys that are good but do dumb things, meddlers and other unfortunate obstacles, and of course a heroine down on her luck.

But Tyrpak does more than just craft a page-turning read– she brings ancient Athens to life through her prose. So much so, that I could practically see it in my head. (Ok, so occasionally Spartacus tried to worm his way into my mind-movie too. What can I say, I’m a Blood and Sand fan :-) ) My only gripe is that I have to wait for the next book in the series to be released. Hope it comes out soon!

Five Daggers,uh, I mean Stars!

FROM AMAZON —-> “Agathon’s Daughter is a tale told by a writer who deserves your attention, a writer who certainly captured mine.” New York Times bestselling author, Tess Gerritsen–Foreword, Hetaera

Product Description
Hetaera–suspense in ancient Athens, is Book One of the Agathon’s Daughter Trilogy.

Born a bastard and a slave, Hestia has a gift: the power to read people’s hearts. And yet, the secrets of her own heart remain a mystery. Hestia’s keen intellect makes her a match for any man. But even a literate slave has little control over destiny. Sold to a prominent statesman with sadistic tendencies, Hestia becomes his hetaera (consort). As her wealth and fame increase so does her despair. She dreams of freedom, but she faces enemies at every turn. When Hestia is accused of murder, the mystery of her past unravels and fate takes another turn.

Hetaera: Agathon’s Daughter was awarded third place in the Maui Writers Rupert Hughes writing competition.

Flirting With Death by Heidi Hall – Book Review

I snagged a copy of this book when it was offered as a freebie last week (I think, my days run together fairly often) because the cover was cute and who wouldn’t want to read a chick-lit Assassin novel? I’ve also noticed the author Heidi Hall around on Kindle Boards and the like, and she’s a Doll. Besides, what did I have to lose? The book was free after all.


So glad I downloaded it. Flirting With Death has a fairly unique plot (at least I’ve never seen one like it) and the writing was concise, fun and even a tad snarky. I just love me a good dose of Snark!

Compelling supporting characters gave bad-girl-turned-good-girl Kayla a lot to keep her busy while she tries to figure out how to live a “normal” life, who exactly tried to kill her, and why that earned her a one-way ticket out of the CIA. In the middle of all that, Kayla finds some time to right a few local wrongs, even if it means turning her kitchen into a temporary kennel. Who says assassins can’t have a heart of gold,even if it’s a little tarnished?

Flirting with Death is no longer free, but at $3.99 it’s still a Fab bargain. And right now it’s also ranked in the Top 20 of multiple categories on Amazon- so clearly I’m not the only one who loved it!

Product Description from Amazon: Is there a twelve-step program for recovering assassins?

Kayla McKenna is a covert assassin—and she likes it. After her father was murdered by terrorists, she was consumed by the need for retribution. But landing her dream job as a CIA assassin turns out to be merely a stepping stone in her plot to avenge the heartaches of the past… and present. One botched mission earns Kayla a burn notice, a bullet hole and a one-way ticket back to suburbia. Banished to her childhood stomping grounds with a meddling, shopping-addicted mother intent on grandkids, three overprotective cop brothers, a sexy criminal who can’t decide whether he wants to shoot her or date her, and a new boyfriend even her family loves, Kayla may finally get the chance to find out what really matters in life.

That is, if living a “normal” life doesn’t kill her first.

With a delicious combination of mystery, suspense, romance, edgy chick-lit, and a dash of paranormal, the first installment of the new Assassins Anonymous series is a wickedly fun treat.

*This is a full length novel at 342 printed pages.

Friday Freebies – Free Kindle Books

Thought I’d start the (almost) weekend off with a bang and announce two of our books that are FREE today on Amazon as part of the Select program. Earlier in the week, I let Memories For Sale, SKIN, and Reflections of Motherhood go free for a day and the response was great!

That prompted me to go ahead and pull the ebook Still Life Paintings from Smashwords and B&N so that I could put the story collection into the program as well. So, today and tomorrow (Jan. 13th and 14th) only, Still Life Paintings is free for download on Amazon. It’s my hope that offering the book for free will encourage more reviews. The book has gotten great reviews, but what it needs now is more volume. Crossing Fingers!

Also, since I screwed up the previous freebie for Reflections on Motherhood (supposed to be free for two days, but the special only ran for one day) I’ve decided to go ahead and run another One-day-only freebie today (Jan 13th) for Reflections as well.

As usual, I’m blogging about the freebies, and I plan on posting on FB and Twitter, but I could always use the help spreading the word!

More Freebies! Two from Author Gabriel Beyers

In addition to the limited-time FREE promo for my short fiction collection, SKIN over on Amazon, I’ve just discovered that an author I featured here several months back also has FREE books on Amazon today, so I want to help spread the word for him.

Some of you may remember my feature of Gabriel Beyers a few months ago. If not, you can read his post here. Both of his books are Free today over on Amazon!

First up is Guarding the Healer:

Product Description
When Silas Walker is endowed with the power to heal, he soon discovers that no gift comes without a price.

A man possessed by an ancient evil is taunting the healer with photos of victims brutally murdered and marked with the crude image of an angel, and for Silas the slain are growing more familiar.

After he is given an ominous warning and an unbearable ultimatum, Silas sets out to draw his enemy away from those he loves, and discover the true purpose of his gift, which leads him inexplicably to a troubled young drifter named Tommy.

The Stalker is close on the healer’s trail, bringing with him an army of demons. Silas’s only hope rests in the hands of a guardian angel he doesn’t even know exists.

The Guardian is doing all within his power to save the healer, but he is certain Silas is heading into a trap. Time is running out. War is at hand.

But there is no turning back. For even an angel can’t alter a man’s destiny.

And then there is Contemplations of Dinner also FREE today as well!

Product Description
A secret hidden in a freezer. A lonely woman takes solace in an ancient cat. A boy is trapped in a barn with a gang of killers. An open grave awaits an occupant. A man is encouraged to kill by a long lost love. And more.

Here lies ten eerie tales from the mind of author Gabriel Beyers.

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So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself some Free Books why don’tcha!

(Don’t forget to snag a FREE copy of SKIN while you’re over on Amazon too!)

Free Book Alerts: SKIN, The Devil’s Deep, Dark Horse and more!

I started to post just to let you guys know that I’ve decided to run a limited-time FREE promo for SKIN over on Amazon. But then I realized that I had several things to share… so I’ll get to the sharing!

For two days only (Sunday the 8th and Monday the 9th) anyone can download the kindle version of SKIN . No coupon or trouble at all. Just please check the pricing before you download to make sure it still says FREE, and not just Free to borrow if you are an Amazon Prime member, m’kay? (clicking on the book cover below or the link above will get you there.)

While searching for venues to announce the freebie ebook promo for SKIN, I ran across a site that had a great link to Amazon. Not sure how it works, but it takes you to All the free (and current!) ebooks on Amazon. How cool is that?

Lastly, I thought I’d post of few Free Books available from Indie’s that I’ve seen around on Kindleboards, Facebook etc. Feel free to add any more in the comments, but please keep it this side of Spam. Thanks!

Feel free share this post with your friends and what-not. I’ll send metaphorical hugs your way for #RT’s too!

Rock ‘n’ Roll is Undead by Rose Pressey – Book Review

So, my holiday hiatus from reading has finally ended. I’ve read two books in less than twenty-four hours and I’m churning to start another one. (This would be about the time that my dear husband starts to remark “I wish you’d put those books away for five seconds” followed by a distinct huff.) Before diving into another novel though, I thought it best to at least review the two I’ve read first.

First up is Rock ‘n’ Roll is Undead (Veronica Mason Series, Book 1) It’s about a Rockabilly Witch (though a mostly failed one) who is the lead singer in a band. Just about the time her career is taking off, a fellow band member is killed, launching her into a race against the clock to figure out who the Big Bad guy is before he comes calling for her.

Overall, it was a compelling novel with interesting, quirky characters and a decently complicated plot. The writing was smooth as expected and I’d recommend this novel to anyone who likes their paranormal novels to be a unique amalgam of mystery, suspense and light romance. I wasn’t 100 % satisfied with the ending, as I felt one of the curve-balls was a little too out of left field, though I still felt satisfied in the end. All-in-all, a great paranormal novel and I’m adding the series to my list of those I want to continue reading. Four Stakes, um, I mean Stars. 

In my next post I’ll offer my thoughts on the second book, SEED by Ania Ahlborn!

IWU Holiday Hop Blog Tour 2011

Since I’ve been busy moving (right before Christmas! Ack!) and trying to get BLOOD CHORD ready for publication, I didn’t have time to participate in this years Holiday Hop with many other Fabulous Indie Authors. I do want to take a second to share the information with you guys though.

The hop runs from December 15th to December 25th. Winners will be chosen after the contest has ended, and the results will be posted on their websites/blogs between December 26th-December 31st. The grand prize winner of the KINDLE FIRE will be chosen on December 31st and announced on January 1, 2012 on this site.

To begin, go to the HOLIDAY HOP page. You can blog hop in any order you choose. Start with an author and then work your way through everyone. Click on the NAME of the author to be directed to their blog site. Once there, check out their contest and enter to win. Yes…it’s that easy! And that fun.

This year’s hop has some great authors and terrific prizes. I’ll give you a little taste of some of my favorite authors here:

On Guerilla Wordfare with Lizzy Ford, she’s giving away an autographed, limited edition War of Gods trilogy paperback.

Christine DeMaio-Rice (author of Dead Is The New Black) is hosting a Fab fashioned-themed contest on her blog Fashion Is Murder and it’s so yummy I might have to participate in that one!

Danielle Blanchard is running a contest to promote her new book Death Wish over on her blog.

Kate Danley is giving away book copies and some cool swag too! I want The Woodcutter!

So what are you waiting for? Hop to it!

Always Late For The Party or, Reading List Catch-Up

Of the few constant thing in my life, no is more true than this: I am always late for everything. I can leave early. I can leave on time. It doesn’t matter really. I will always arrive five to ten minutes late. A dead car battery, a chain of creeping tractors in the road. Something always comes up.

I’m hoping that applies to my funeral as well, so at least some smart-assed relative can say, “See, I always told you she’d be late to her own funeral. Hand over the five-spot.”

But I digress. I seem to do a lot of that on here. My brain does tend to spurt off on tangents… see there I go again. What was I talking about? Oh, yes. Catching up on my huge list of To-Be-Read books. Or I was getting there at least.

So always late to the party, I am reading a Halloween themed book just a few weeks before Christmas. It’s probably my unconscious’s way of tempering the sticky-sweet feel-good holidays with something of the darker variety. What ever my motive, I’m really enjoying my latest read. It’s The Halloween Collection by the fantastically creative people at Indie Eclective.

So far I’ve read Ralphie the Special Werewolf by P.J. Jones (fantabulously hilarious!), Sunwalker’s Kiss by Shéa MacLeod (I want to see more of Jackson- a lot more :-) ), Haunting in OR 13, by Alan Nayes (creepy, spooky and expertly crafted), and To Taste of Shimmering Revenge by Jack Wallen (witty, greusome and buckets of fun) but I’m sure the rest of the stories are just as good. I’ll include the Amazon product desctiprion below for all the slightly-twisted Gurls and Boyz out there.

As of this writing, the collection is actually FREE over on Amazon. It’s a great way to sample some of the hottest Indie Authors out there and won’t cost you a dime (for now anyway) so what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION FROM AMAZON:
The Indie Eclective: What is it, who are they, and why can they spell neither “eclectic” nor “collective” correctly? The Indie Eclective is an ensemble of authors operating under the assumption that Readers like Good Books. The Halloween Collection showcases spooky reads from nine very different authors. Whether you enjoy light or dark paranormal, YA or adult-themed genres, there’s bound to be a story to suit your tastes. Thanks for reading!

Rhyn Trilogy: Origins, by Lizzy Ford: Gabriel’s fate as an assassin seems set until he meets a courageous half-demon child named Rhyn, whose plight rekindles the humanity he thought he’d lost.

Ralphie the Special Werewolf by P.J. Jones: Ralphie doesn’t want to get snipped, but his pack is tired of watching him defile the sofa cushions. Now, he’s got to find a mate by Halloween night—or else.

Sunwalker’s Kiss by Shéa MacLeod: While searching for a magical bloodline, Sunwalker Jackson Keel discovers magic of a different kind.

The Village of Those Who Touch The Dead by M. Edward McNally: “All obligations will be paid. There are no exceptions.”’

Haunting in OR 13, by Alan Nayes: Halloween never frightened Sara McCaffe, until she stepped into Operating Room 13!

To Taste of Shimmering Revenge by Jack Wallen: A vampire is awakened after four hundred years only to find his kind embarrassed and shamed by the rash of shimmery, hunky vampires on the big screen. His revenge will be sweet and tasty.

Magickal Vendetta by Heather Adkins – Revenge is a dish best served up in a pink saucepan for accident-prone blood witch, Gretchen. By harnessing the power of Halloween, she hopes to break the bond with the soulmate who did her wrong.

From the Keegan’s Chronicles series: Haunted House by Julia Crane – Keegan, Lauren, and Anna find much more than they bargained for during an innocent trip to a commercial haunted house. Someone long dead awaits them on the second floor…

From the Gifted Teens series: Mind-Blower by Talia Jager – Kassia and Daxton’s romantic picnic is interrupted by the arrival of creatures bent on her destruction. Will her powers fail her when she needs them most?

Winning, Wrecks and Witches

Whew, it’s been a killer month. NaNoWrimo has kicked my butt, I’ll have to admit first and foremost. I have probably broken that coveted 50k word goal, but it’s been spread out over 4 different works in progress (including one spanking new baby that seems to be about past lives and why people aren’t supposed to rememeber them!) so unless I wanna be a NaNo cheater I won’t be getting my banner this year :-(

Besides all that holiday madness and NaNo, I had house guests for the first two weeks of the month. Of the manly-hunting variety. I’m just now recovering from the Camo overload. Then, my husband had the misfortune of wrecking his truck. Or rather, some random guy crashed into Hubby and had no license, insurance etc. So we’ve been dealing with that and trying to find a suitable replacement truck. (Here’s his mangled deer-hauler. How sad is that?)

And of course, I’m busting my hump to get BLOOD CHORD ready for publication sometime this month. I will beat the holiday rush, dag-nabbit. You can enjoy the tentative cover for that while I procrastinate via blogging.

Lastly, the third book in what has become my favorite series as-of-late, A Reckless Witch by Debora Geary has finally been released! I’m so excited about it that I can’t wait to find a couple of hours to read it. (You may remember I’ve reviewed the first two books in the series previously.) If anyone beats me to it– NO SPOILERS! I mean it!

That’s it. I’m off to finish editing my novel Blood Chord so it can be born, grow up, and move out of my house already!

Indie Authors and Novels: Updates 11/7

Thought I’d take a few minutes to share with you some interesting, and movin-on-up Indie Author/ Novel news. First, the winners of last months Indie Author Rockstar have been announced and it was a tie! Getting some well deserved recognition for the month of November is KATE AVERY ELLISION with The Curse Girl and DAN HOLLOWAY with The Company of Fellows. Both of these winners were voted on by a panel of peers and were selected because they are both exceptional books that should def. be checked out. So what are you waiting on—-> go check!

Also, our very own short story collection SKIN has been chosen for the current collection over on Indie Author Rockstar, so while you’re over there looking around, why not check out the current nominees as well?

The book I reviewed just a few days ago, The Temple, is featured over on Pixel of Ink today. Go Temple, Go!

One of my favorite Indie Authors is Michelle Muto (you may remember I reviewed her Book of Lost Souls a while back) and I just realized I missed her latest release, Don’t Fear The Reaper. Looks like a very interesting novel, and I’ve already added it to my TBR stack on my Kindle app.

One of my favorite Indie Authors regularly updates her blog, and every time I get a notification I have to read it right then and there. I’m addicted. Really. I simply adore her posts and I’m positive you will to. Head over to Shea’s site and subscribe to her updates. I dare you not to love them! (On a side note, Shea also has a new long novella/ short novel out- Dragon Warrior -  and the cover alone is very, uh, exciting.)

That’s all for today! If anyone knows of any killer new releases, Indie Authors making a name for themselves etc, please do let me know :-)