On Writing

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    Taking over the Internet (again) …

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    Tangled Threads is out on April 26 (less than three weeks now!), so you know what that means — that it’s once again time for me to take over the Internet with a blog tour. With four books out this year, I think people are going to get real sick of me real soon. LOL.

    I’ve got a ton of guest blogs coming up over the next few weeks. Below is a list of all the blogs that I plan to visit. First, I want to say thanks to all the bloggers for having me on their sites. I really, really appreciate that.

    Second, most of these posts will have giveaways of Tangled Threads with them. 😉

    I’ll post the links to the day’s blogs here on the website in the morning. However, some of the blogs get posted in the morning, while others don’t get posted until the afternoon. So you’ll have to check the sites to see when the blogs are actually live. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy all the guest posts:

    April 18: A Buckeye Girl Reads

    April 18: SOS Aloha

    April 18: Fresh Fiction

    April 19: Book Crazy Scrapbook Mama

    April 19: Sara’s Urban Fantasy Blog

    April 20: Word Nerd Blog

    April 20: Amberkatze’s Book Blog

    April 21: Drey’s Library

    April 21: Fiction Kingdom

    April 22: Author Sound Relations

    April 22: Paperback Dolls

    April 22: The Spinecracker

    April 25: Larissa’s Bookish Life

    April 25: Smexy Books

    April 26: Bitten by Books

    April 26: The Good, the Bad, and the Unread

    April 26: John Scalzi

    April 27: Joann’s Best

    April 27: All Things Urban Fantasy

    April 28: Paranormal Haven

    April 28: Literary Escapism

    April 29: Yummy Men and Kick Ass Chicks

    April 29: The Romance Dish

    May 2: Night Owl Reviews

    May 2: Magical Musings

    May 3: Urban Fantasy Investigations

    May 4: Books and Things

    May 4: SciFi Guy

    May 5: Nocturne Reads

    May 5: Rex Robot Reviews

    May 9: Romancing the Book

    May 9: Fiction Vixen

    May 10: Paper Cut Reviews

    May 10: Hanging with Bells

    May 11: Wicked Lil Pixie

    May 11: Books Devoured

    May 12: LovLivLife Reviews

    May 12: Dawn’s Reading Nook

    May 13: Ellz Reads

    May 13: Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

    May 16: Love Romances and More

    May 16: Dangerous Romance

    May 18: Supernatural Snark

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    Books and info …

    24 Comments

    So several days ago, I posted about some of the book blogs that I like. Since then, I’ve been thinking about where folks go to get information about books.

    Mostly, I learn about upcoming releases by visiting book blogs or reading magazines like Romantic Times. But what about after that? Where do you go if you want more information about a book or author?

    Most folks would probably say that they go to an author’s website to get info on their books. But you know what? I hardly ever look at an author’s website. It’s just something that I never think to do. Instead, my first stop is usually Amazon. Why? Well, to me, Amazon isn’t just a place to buy books — it’s more like a giant database, with covers, release dates, similar books, and more. The same thing goes for the Barnes & Noble and other bookseller websites. Sometimes, I’ll look up books on Goodreads, but really, I use Goodreads as a database to keep track of the books that I’ve read, rather than to get info on other books.

    I’m weird, I know. LOL.

    I wonder if folks do the same thing that I do — look everywhere else but an author’s website for information. I try to have quite a bit of info on my own site about my various book series, characters, worlds, frequently asked questions, and more. But sometimes, I wonder if anyone ever reads any of the info. Do people even want that much info? Or are excerpts and a book description enough?

    Yes, Virginia, these are the things I think about … 😉

    What about you guys? Where do you get your book info from? Authors’ websites? Amazon? Goodreads? What do you like to see on authors’ websites?

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    First Frost e-short story …

    6 Comments

    Well, I’ve turned in the page proofs so I guess I can announce this now: I’m doing an e-short story for the Mythos Academy series.

    The story is called First Frost and is a prequel to Touch of Frost, the first book in the series that’s coming out on July 26 from Kensington. Basically, First Frost fills in some of the details of how and why Gwen winds up going to Mythos Academy and gives folks a sneak peak at the academy and some of the characters there. It’s sort of like the Spider’s Bargain short story that I wrote for the Elemental Assassin series.

    First Frost is about 40 pages long (around 11,000 words), and I believe the plan is to offer the story as a 99-cent download through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. (Although don’t quote me on that just yet.) I’m told that the story will be released in July. I’m assuming early July since Touch of Frost is out on July 26, but I don’t have a firm release date yet or exactly how this is going to work.

    Now, because my publisher is releasing the story as an e-book, that means that I can’t post it here on my website. I’ll probably be able to post the first page or two as a teaser, but that’s it. We haven’t worked out all the details yet.

    I know some folks will be disappointed that the story isn’t available on my site for free. But I thought letting my publisher offer it as a download would be a really good marketing opportunity and hopefully attract some new readers, not only for the Mythos Academy series but for my Elemental Assassin series as well.

    E-books and short e-reads are really taking off right now, and I think offering the story as a download is a smart thing to do. More people visit Amazon, etc. than look at my website. Maybe having a 99-cent download will convince more folks to surf on over here and try my books. I don’t know, but I figured that it was worth a shot.

    Of course, you don’t have to read First Frost to enjoy Touch of Frost, but if you like bonus material, you might enjoy it.

    I’ll post more details, including the cover, when I get them …

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    Oh, the plots we weave …

    8 Comments

    As some of you know, I am totally addicted to TV. Seriously, I watch waaay too many programs every week, and one of my favorites is Gossip Girl. Now, this year hasn’t been as good as previous years — until the writers decided to hook up rich bitch Blair with Brooklyn boy Dan.

    I am love-love-loving this pairing. Why? Well, for one thing, Blair and Dan have never liked each other, but they’ve slowly become friends this year based on their mutual love of movies and art. It’s been fun to watch them inch toward each other. They’ve always been two of the nicest and most loyal characters on the show — Blair with Chuck (who is an ass most of the time), and Dan with Serena (who is flighty and selfish most of the time). I like the idea that Blair and Dan could be loyal to and happy with each other for a change.

    But really, it’s the plot that’s got me hooked because it’s an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers plot. Romance readers and authors talk about plots all the time — the secret-baby plot, the friends-to-lovers plot, the second-chance-at-love plot.

    There are tons of them out there, but one of my favorites is the friends-to-lovers plot. Why? Because I think it’s one of the most realistic plots. Love (or lust) at first sight is great, but to me, there’s something magical about watching or reading about two people becoming friends, then realizing their feelings have turned into something more. It just makes me sigh with happiness every single time.

    This is probably why I’m also addicted to romantic comedies and all those cheesy TV holiday movies — because so many of them feature the friends-to-lovers plot or a modern-day variation of the marriage-of-convenience plot, which is another one of my favorites.

    So I’m rooting for you, Blair and Dan. May your friendship turn into something more. Even if it doesn’t last, I think it will be entertaining to watch. I just wish it was April and Gossip Girl was back from its spring break already …

    What about you guys? Which TV shows are you digging? Which plots do you love?