My Bookstore Trip

 

    Summer is here and school is officially over in my area. The kids are home and already bored. To start the summer, I decided to drag them all over town to run errands and stock up the fridge. We live in a rural area of Vermont so when we go into town it’s an all-day event. One store we hit was Barnes and Noble.

    Over the winter I discovered that both my kids have inherited my competitive gene so we’re having a contest. Starting today until August 1^st we’ll see who reads the most books. Whoever wins gets to pick a local trip to go on.

    I haven’t been to Barnes and Noble in over a year so the changes were a shock. Two things became very evident upon shopping:

1.      Genre shuffle

2.      Content for sale

 

First off, we went to the science fiction/fantasy isle for my oldest. I did a double take when I found Charlaine Harris, JR Ward, Kim Harrison, and Laurell K. Hamilton on the same shelves as Larry Niven, Tolkien, and Terry Brooks. I would have expected them in romance. I shrugged and went to the restroom. It’s on the second floor, way in the back of the store. THIS is where I found the romance section. One isle, only on one side. The Harlequin display was three small rows in the farthest corner of the store and NO ONE was shopping it. My heart sank and is still sitting in my gut.

When did paranormal romance become science fiction/fantasy? What happened to the three rows of romance books? And the shoppers I use to bump elbows with?

Second, we went to kids section for my youngest to buy his books. There were more LEGOS for sale than books. O_O  All the kids in the area were playing with the toys for sale. We were the only ones browsing books. This broke my heart.

Then we went down to the main floor. At this point my eyes were open and searching the area, not as a mother but as a writer. Where were all the hardcover book displays when people entered the store? There was one small pyramid filled with books written my actors/comedians/reality TV stars. No fiction.

OK.

The first floor consisted of their coffee shop, the check out, and the huge NOOK center. (Not disappointed about the NOOK part. LOL) We went to the back of the store and found massive shelves filled with all kinds of mass market paperbacks. YAY!

Oh wait…

They’re all used books for sale.

WTF?

When did B&N start selling used books?

I had wanted to try looking for an agent next year and maybe try my hand at the mass market paperback route of publishing but this makes me worried. I know the industry is changing, sometimes so fast I can’t keep up. (Obviously.)  Who else sells these types of books? Walmart, Costco, grocery stores? In my area, only the best sellers hit those racks.

Now, like I mentioned, I don’t go to B&N often. I have a NOOK because I live in a rural area and downloading a book is so much easier than traveling the roads. Are your local B&N like this?

A Little Space Opera

I'm branching out.

Science fiction has always been one of my favorite genres. I'm a self proclaimed geek when it comes to Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Firefly, and Babylon Five. These are only the television shows. Some of my favorite authors in who write Sci-fi are Larry Niven and CJ Cherrhy. They've both influenced my writing in their own unique ways.

Last month, I signed a contract with Lyrical Press for No Refuge. I'd like to think of it as a cross between Firefly and Babylon Five with my own twist of course.

Those of you who have been reading me since I began this journey will recall Red Dawn one of my first novellas as baby author. No Refuge is in this universe but later on in time. I do plan on revamping Red Dawn (also re-titling it) as prequel.

Hope some of my vampire and shifter fans also like a little space adventure. :D

Haven't read the Vanguards series yet? Get book one for $0.99!

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Prima blog tour schedule

 

Hey!

 

Prima, book 6 of The Vanguards, releases today.

I'm celebrating with blog tour and a special newsletter contest.

Each stop will giving away a copy of Prima.

 

I was so happy to write Sugar and Daedalus again. It was like coming home from a long trip.

 

 

April 22 Guest blog 

www.christina-mcknight.blogspot.com

 

April 23 Guest blog

Regina May Ross's

http://reginamayross.net

 

April 24 Guest blog

Butterfly-o-Meter Books

http://butterflyometerbooks.blogspot.com/ 

April 25 Interview and review

My Home Away From Home – 

http://www.officialmhafh.com

 

April 25 Spotlight

Fandom Fanatic

http://fandomfanatic.blogspot.com/

 

April 26 Guest blog

Roxanne's Realm

www.roxannesrealm.blogspot.com

 

April 26 Spotlight

Musings of Mistress of the Dark Path

mistressofthedarkpath.wordpress.com

 

April 27 Guest blog

Fangs, Wands & Fairy Dust

http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/

April 29 Interview

Paranormal Romance Fans for Life

http://paranormalromancefanforlife.blogspot.com/

 

April 29 Guest blog and review

Words of Wisdom from The Scarf Princess

http://wowfromthescarfprincess.blogspot.com

 

April 30 Spotlight

Musings of an Independent Artist  

http://www.pendarielraye.blogspot.com

May 1 blog

Paranormal Romantics

www.paranormalromantics.blogspot.com

 

 

May 1 Guest blog

Fang-tastic Books

www.fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

May 2 Interview

Tory Michaels’ World 

http://torymichaels.blogspot.com

 

May 3 Guest blog

Full Moon Bites

http://www.fullmoonbites.net/

 

May 4 Guest blog

Ramblings From This Chick

http://ramblingsfromthischick.blogspot.com/

 

May 4 Spotlight

Paranormal Romance and Beyond.  

ashlynnelaynne.blogspot.com

 

May 5 Interview and review

Confessions from Romaholics 

http://confessionsfromromaholics.com/

May 5 Spotlight and review

Faerie Tale Books

www.faerietalebooks.org

May 6 Interview

All I Want and More – 

http://alliwantandmore.blogspot.com/

Love a Tree, Read an E-book Blog Hop

Dear Annie,


My name is Sugar and I’m the heroine in your latest book Prima. I was considering creating a garden inside of Daedalus’ home but I’m not sure if a sun lamp would burn him. The last thing I want to do is vaporize my vampire lover. What do you suggest?

Dear Sugar,

Technically this is my world so I can make up the rules, but I enjoy basing my laws on fact as much as possible. Easier to remember them that way. ;-) I did a little research so I wouldn’t fry your boyfriend.

Sunlight and artificial light both emit photons but light from the sun emits electromagnetic radiation in a much wider spectrum than that from a bulb. The spectrum can be divided into

• Ultraviolet A, B, and C

• Visible light

• Infrared

I discovered that plants need very little UV light and that UV light produces more energy than plants can handle during photosynthesis. As a result, plants produce pigments to protect them from UV light. These pigments allow only visible light to be absorbed by the plant cells.

This piece of information triggered a memory. In my Angler series, the slayers use UV grenades to fight vampires. I’d done this research before and I’m getting old.

So, yes Sugar, you can use a sun lamp safely around Daedalus since it seems that UV light is what is truly detrimental to vampires and not light itself.

 

Prima

Book Six of The Vanguards series

Releasing April 22nd! (Monday)

Shattered in forgotten memories.

 

Sugar survived a shifter attack but it left her broken. Paralyzed on the left side, she fights for her independence in her day-to-day life. Her worst injury, the scars on her soul, has her pushing Daedalus away. How could he still love her when she is just a shadow of herself? But a new threat on Daedalus’ life yanks the veil of self-pity from her eyes and she’s resolved to protect him, even precariously balanced with her cane.

The vampire council sends an emissary to Daedalus. His clan brother, another Nosferatu, hands him an ultimatum. Return to his post as Prime in Pal Robi or he’ll kill Sugar and her shifter friends. Daedalus has brought enough trouble into Sugar’s life. He won’t be responsible for more, so he agrees to leave Chicago.

To both warriors surprise, Sugar’s not willing to remain behind, and with her own shifter guards she’s ready to help Daedalus regain control of Pal Robi.


Leave a comment to be entered into a contest to win one of my ebooks. Winner's choice.

Angler Update

 

 

 

Bait and Catch are now available in boxset form at all retailers. Book 1 and 2.

 

 

 

 

 

Hunting Colby will be available in print on Amazon starting March 23^rd.

 

 

Due to my family being plagued by the flu and scarlet fever all winter I missed deadlines for Release. The date for publication will be postponed until Fall. Sorry.

 

 

 

Stay tuned next month! Prima is releasing April 22^nd.  Sugar and Daedalus return. There will be a special contest for newsletter subscribers.

 

 

Blurbing

 

A blurb is also the bcc, back cover copy, on the back of paper books. It’s what the reader uses to help to decide if they are going to buy the book since it gives a small summary of the story.

This was the bane of my existence for the longest time. I had to summarize a book in 200 words and make it interesting. Could it get any harder? 

One of the first things I learned was I needed distance from the book. The worst thing I could do to myself was write my manuscript then try to do the blurb. I was too close to the story. I couldn’t see the forest and was trying to describe each tree.

#1 Take a break from the book. A few days maybe? I usually write my blurb while my manuscript is out on its beta reader rounds.  Before I read the critics, I write the blurb from what I remember of the story because what is important will stand out.

So, I’d try to shrink this great story into a few thoughts but there is so much conflict my blurb would read like an essay. I had to make it more to the point.

#2 This is where your GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict) comes in. Usually the blurb is a paragraph about the heroine’s GMC, the next of the hero’s GMC, and the last what they must overcome to be together.

Okay, I got the blurb to a shorter format, say 200-300 words, but it reads like a medical text. I could hear potential readers snoring already. A blurb is your sales pitch. “You wanna buy me and read this story!” How do I do this? Should I take an advertising class?

#3 I forgot where I read this but someone suggested I study the backs of movie DVDs. They have minimal space to grab a person’s attention. Then someone (Geez, I suck at remembering good advisors!) I think on Divas, told me to write my blurbs as if I’d just seen the best movie EVER and I was telling my best friend about it.

 

Example:

(Let’s see if I can do this under pressure.)

“An eight year old boy’s toys come to life whenever any human isn’t around to see them. It’s the boy’s birthday and his favorite toy, a cowboy, organizes a mission to see what the presents are. The cowboy’s worst nightmare is realized when the boy receives a space ranger as a gift. He’s worried he’ll be replaced.  

The space ranger doesn’t realize he’s a toy and thinks he’s crash landed on an alien planet. The other toys play along with him and help to build his spaceship, which is really his box.

Both the cowboy and the space ranger end up falling out of a window and have to learn to depend on each other for survival.”

 

There, very basic.  Notice I didn’t tell my ‘friend’ the ending because she’d kick my ass, right? You have Woody’s GMC, Buzz’s GMC, and the conflict that brings them together. (Not in a romantic way.) For some reason I’m always using cartoons for my examples.  It’s not perfect but a great place to start before nitpicking at it. AND 110 words long. Plenty of space to expand if need be.