Posts Tagged With: reading

Examiner article: Enticing readers

Please visit my Examiner column! http://www.examiner.com/list/enticing-readers?cid=db_articles

Subscription and shares are much appreciated and free!

 

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I know you heard me the first time

AffectEffect

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Discovery 1: The Guardian Spirit

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Discovery 1: Mr. Tea and the Traveling Teacup

Mr. Tea and the Traveling Teacup

by Leslie Matthews-Stansfield

Genre: Mystery

Discover the lovable characters in my book Mr. Tea and the Traveling Teacup.  The book is published by Cozy Cat Press.  It is available on the Nook, the Kindle and paperback.

After the death of their mother, sisters Terry and Karen Sutter, turn their childhood home into a teahouse. It’s a dream come true, but the dream begins to resemble a nightmare when teacups start crashing to the floor in the middle of the night. Could the teahouse be haunted? There’s a list of possible ghostly candidates: the prior owner who is rumored to have left behind a buried treasure, two spinster neighbors who disappeared without a trace over forty years ago, or perhaps it is Terry and Karen’s own mother trying to communicate with them. Karen, the older sister, thinks running a haunted teahouse might be fun, until the sisters come home one night to find the attic stairs covered in a trail of what appears to be blood. Is it a ghost or is it a warning? The teahouse’s new mascot, a psychic macaw, may provide some unexpected clues, but the sisters will encounter many more surprises before they solve this mystery.

If you would like to check us out and read the first chapter, you can find us on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Teacup-Madelines-Teahouse-ebook/dp/…

Visit the author’s post on Book Blogs

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Discover Authors Discovery 1: The Silver Collar

The Silver Collar

“The Silver Collar”

by Kate Policani

Genre: Short Story, Fantasy, Werewolf, free ebook


The Silver Collar is my free short story first published on Wattpad. It is a Fantasy and a Cinderella tale. This month I’ve updated the cover and re-edited the interior.

Read it online here: http://www.wattpad.com/story/1065118-the-silver-collar

Download the free ebook at Smashwords

Download the free ebook at Goodreads

Synopsis:

Bought as a child to slave at an inn, Lyneth suffers under a terrible curse. Her frightening transformations can only be stopped when a priest puts a silver collar around her neck. The collar stops the change, but makes her ill. Her dangers increase as she matures into a beautiful and desirable woman. When a mysetrious nobleman visits the inn,her life changes forever.

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Love Day Links

Love is about sharing, so I will!

Here are some gifts for you from other bloggers:

http://readfulthingsblog.com/2013/02/14/free-valentine-appropriate-kindle-books-for-today/

http://travelswithmary.com/2013/02/14/valentines-giveaway-from-audible/

(And don’t forget to comment on my previous post for a gift from me!)

 

And here is some interesting reading to entertain you:

http://julianfroment.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/why-do-we-read

http://therumpus.net/2013/02/the-seven-habits-of-highly-effective-mediocre-people/

Are you in love with me yet?

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Happy Valentines Day!

I love readers!

Instead of some fattening chocolates or one of the standard cheesy, sappy cards, I’m going to give away five Smashwords coupons for all ebook formats of Don’t Judge a Book By Its Magic to random commenters on this post! If five or less post, you all get one!

Embellished 6 front

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Breaking through!

The first round of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award posted today and!!!!

Sprite 41AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! So excited!!!!!!

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More nagging

Bossy Big Sis Than Then

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New Review: Spirit of Lost Angels by Liza Perrat

SpiritOfLostAngels_Cover_KINDLE

Spirit of Lost Angels

by Liza Perrat

Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Read my review here: http://katepolicanisreviews.wordpress.com/2013/02/04/spirit-of-lost-angels-by-liza-perrat/

Spirit of Lost Angels is available as a print and e-book:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Smashwords

Synopsis:

Her mother executed for witchcraft, her father dead at the hand of a noble, Victoire Charpentier vows to rise above her impoverished peasant roots.

Forced to leave her village of Lucie-sur-Vionne for domestic work in the capital, Victoire suffers gruesome abuse under the ancien régime of 18th century Paris.

Imprisoned in France’s most pitiless madhouse – La Salpêtrière asylum – Victoire becomes desperate and helpless, until she meets fellow prisoner Jeanne de Valois, infamous conwoman of the diamond necklace affair. With the help of the ruthless and charismatic countess who helped hasten Queen Marie Antoinette to the guillotine, Victoire carves out a new life for herself.

Enmeshed in the fever of pre-revolutionary Paris, Victoire must find the strength to join the revolutionary force storming the Bastille. Is she brave enough to help overthrow the diabolical aristocracy?

As Spirit of Lost Angels traces Victoire’s journey, it follows too, the journey of an angel talisman through generations of the Charpentier family. Victoire lives in the hope her angel pendant will one day renew the link with a special person in her life.

Amidst the tumult of the French revolution drama, the women of Spirit of Lost Angels face tragedy and betrayal in a world where their gift can be their curse.

P1130161 - Copie (3)

About the Author:

Liza grew up in Wollongong, Australia, where she worked as a general nurse and midwife for fifteen years.

When she met her French husband on a Bangkok bus, she moved to France, where she has been living with her husband and three children for twenty years. She works part-time as a French-English medical translator.

Since completing a Creative Writing course ten years ago, several of her short stories have won awards, notably the Writers Bureau annual competition of 2004 and her stories have been published widely in anthologies and small press magazines. Her articles on French culture and tradition have been published in international magazines such as France Magazine and France Today.

She has completed four novels and one short-story collection – Friends, Family and Other Strangers From Downunder – and is represented by Judith Murdoch of the Judith Murdoch Literary Agency.

Spirit of Lost Angels is the first in an historical series set against a backdrop of rural France. The second in the series – Wolfsangel – will be published this year, and Liza is busy working on the third novel in the series – Angel of Blood Roses.

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New cover for The Silver Collar

I just thought I’d show you my project for today: a new cover for The Silver Collar! I’m spiffing up the story too with better editing and structure. The Silver Collar is always free (except on Amazon but they won’t change it).

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/153927

The Silver Collar

Photo by Marek Bernat

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Examiner Seattle Author Spotlight: Fabio Bueno

Read my interview with Seattle author Fabio Bueno in my Examiner article. Please subscribe for updates on all my new article and help promote my column. It’s free!

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What you shouldn’t tell me

There are things that authors shouldn’t tell me, the reader, in their books. It’s not that I’m not trustworthy. It’s just that sometimes less is more. Some things you write about damage your story.

  1. Character description: Don’t tell me everything about the character down to the last pimple. Physical description is important and the story isn’t complete without it, but don’t tell me everything. Let me imagine some, please.
  1.  Scenery description: I want to imagine your scenery, too. The only necessary scenery is backdrop for the story, where it takes place. Each sentence of extra description is icing on the cake. The thing is, most people don’t like too much icing on their cake. We can’t scoop the excess off with a fork, so keep it reasonable.
  1. Character introductions: Don’t tell me everything at once. Meeting a new character is like meeting a new friend. Acquaintances don’t tell each other every detail of their lives in the first five minutes of meeting. Just like getting to know a real person, let me in on the details of the character’s life and personality gradually, preferably as the story progresses.
  2. Romantic and sexual scenes: Intimate scenes are especially delicate when getting to know a character. I’m not a floozie, so don’t tell me about the character’s naughty thoughts and naughty bits until we get a chance to know one another better. This doesn’t necessarily apply to erotica, but I don’t read erotica anyway.
  1. Dramatic buildup: All readers appreciate the dramatic buildup to a climax. But you shouldn’t build and build, never getting to the point. At some point excitement turns to exasperation and we think you’re a tease.
  1. Technical jargon: Some jargon is good and makes us feel like we’re learning something. If you spend paragraphs educating us on technical specifications in your novel, we feel the need to check the cover to be sure we didn’t accidentally pick up a technical manual.

 

It’s painful to chop up your hard-wrought words just to please ignorant, unappreciative readers, but books are just paper (or data) unless someone reads them. None of your words have to be wasted. Spread them judiciously, saving the extra bits for more stories. The joy of sharing your work with others who can enjoy it makes up for the pain of editing.

What do you as a reader not want to hear?

What is your TMI (too much information) weakness as a writer?

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Off With The Old, On With The New!


Author Blog-in

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Author Blog-in! I would like to invite you all to participate in its new form, Discover Authors. If you’ve participated before with the author blog-in, I welcome and encourage you to join in again to get all the benefits of Discover Authors.

The format is the same: Posting books in blog posts as a group to compound our audience. The rules are the same. Everything is still Free!

The benefits of the new format:

  • Permanent database of books by genre that is easy for readers to use
  • Featured listing of books for authors who promote the Discovery with higher ranking for more promotion
  • Free book listing of all free ebooks
  • Discover Authors Facebook page and Twitter account for added promotion
  • Convenient form for entry so you know just what I need to know from you
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Author Blog-in, Final Day: The Happenstance Marshal by Michael O’Gara

Hey everyone today’s the day the author blog-in starts. My book “The Happenstance Marshal” will be released in print on Amazon and major retailers this upcoming week. To enter to win a copy please go to my website by clicking on my websites Current Contest page
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About “The Happenstance Marshal”

Millie’s Life Lesson #1 – When life gives you lemons set out to save a town and get the badge and a gun you’ve always wanted.

Millie’s life presently sucks but she has not let things beat her down and they are about to change. It’s bad enough Millie is subjected to prejudice but then she loses her job and her best friend. Given the economic problems of the City of Safe Haven Harbor, Millie’s prospects don’t look good. The City is broke, business is bad, and everyone’s struggling but a new reform Council has been elected to get to the bottom of the mess. They’ve hired a real hunk as the new city manager and if Millie thinks her life is complicated now she has no idea what’s around the corner. Millie will be thrown into the midst of mystery, sexual temptation, adventure and misadventure, as well as life threatening danger. Through it all she will learn she has a natural talent that will change her life and open the door to her dreams.

To purchase an eBook copy go to Amazon Kindle or Smashwords for other major e-Readers.

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