This and That

It's been a kind of crazy week here having to deal with insurance and towing and AAA and getting daughter's car fixed but overall, I think things have settled down and hopefully she will have her car tomorrow before she goes to work.

I totally forgot to mention Friday that Susanne Drazic, the person who leaves the most comments here and who bestowed upon me the RAOK on her blog, posted a review of "The Proposal". Part of forgetting this was that I was away from my desk most of the day and it slipped my mind. For the review, drop by her blog and leave a comment.

On the sales side, I sold one copy of "The Tulip Kiss" on kindle and no sales anywhere else. I am running a special deal on my state books through the 7th of July - buy 2 get 1 for 1/2 off ($25 for three books/$50 for all six which is like buying five and getting one for free, plus no shipping costs). For more information, you can check out the JGDS blog.

I do plan on getting back to my state stories soon but I'm waiting on some other things from Heather before I get back to writing anything. She's got one more fix on "Train of Clues" and I'm thinking of trying that one out as an ebook as well just to see if it will work in that format being that it is illustrated. I'm also waiting on the cover for "Butterfly Halves" so I can get that published. Of the two persons I shared the first cover with, I've had differences of opinion on several aspects of the cover. Things I like about it, they don't and things I'm not crazy about, they like. I've passed both opinions and mine to Heather and hopefully she will come up with the perfect cover.

If you are a horse lover or even a horse rider or know someone who is, my other blind friend, who is also an author, Andi Mills, has an article here about using mini horses as service or guide animals.

This week's guests will be Jen Wylie, author of the Ever series and several other short stories, Darcia Helle, author of many suspense stories, and a special appearance by Jo Linsdell for her "Out and About a Day at the Zoo" book tour. See you all in the postings - E :)

This and That

It's Saturday night again and I'm making my reports. Figured I needed to get this posting up before we lose power as my internet is flaking in and out.

You saw my 1st day KDP select posting - by the end of the 48 hours, I had a total of 361 downloads, which included 52 from the UK and 1 from Denmark as well as 1 sale of "The Proposal" in the USA.

Since the freebies have gone back to regular price, I have picked up 2 or 3 sales of "Bride-and-Seek" and no other sales.

I think I had 2 sales already of "Bride-and-Seek" so I had been subtracting those from the total numbers. I'll know for sure next week when i can check the prior 6-weeks sales.

Last night I posted on when my other stories will go up for free. The only story I'm not putting in the KDP program, but it is still available on kindle, is Finally Home. If sales pick up throughout the year on the kindle for that story, I may consider putting it in the program when I'm about to release my next novel, Imogene: Innocense Lost.

I've also been thinking about the titles of my stories and wondering if the titles have anything to do with the lack of sales. I can't really say it is the covers because I really do think my covers are pretty awesome and that Heather does a great job. So I'll put it out there to my readers, and please leave a comment here so I know you are actually reading my blog, do you think my titles are appropriate to the story? If not, what would you title "The Proposal", "The Tulip Kiss" and "Bride-and-Seek" or even Finally Home?

I try to find appropriate titles for all my stories and usually don't even write my stories to titles. Case in point, Imogene's story is taking shape and the title keeps tumbling around like it's not the right one and who knows, when I'm through writing it and start the editing process, the title may change. I'll leave that up to my editor to decide whether or not it should be left as is or changed, although at this point, I'm not really sure what new title I could give it. I'm not even sure I can give a brief description of the story yet. This will all take place as the story develops.

I think that is everything I have to report - internet is flakng due to weather so I'll sign off for now and see you all lin the postings - E :)

Ebook descriptions and freebies calendar

I've decided to take all my short stories and put them in the KDP select program to see if I can generate some sales for all my stories. I will leave Finally Home available for Nook and through smashwords (available for all ereaders and PCs) but have just put "The Proposal" and "The Tulip Kiss" in the KDP select program. What this means is that I'm going to run some freebie days for each of the stories and see what I can generate interest wise. All these stories have placed in various contests or been selected for anthology inclusion, so I don't understand why the stories really aren't selling at 99 cents.

Remember that when these stories are offered for free on amazon, you don't need an actual kindle to download them; you can download the free kindle app for your phone, tablet, computer, et cetera. This will allow you to download the stories for free during the time they are offered for free or purchase them when they are regular price.

Here's the setup on the stories:

"Bride-and-Seek" was a selected piece in the SC Writers Workshop anthology, the Petigru Review, which was published for the annual conference in 2008. The selection process is blind and not everyone who submitted a piece gets selected. This story was written as a challenge back a few years ago when my friend sent me a "Haunted Realms" Calendar and Covington Manor was one of the featured places (all the haunted places are based in the UK and overseas). The story goes that the Lord of Covington Manor and his new bride had come back to the manor (they got married around Christmastime or on Christmas) and the bride had the wedding party engage in a game of hide-and-seek. She went off to hide and they all looked for her but no one found her. Rumors were said that she ran away. The groom continued his search for her but to no avail and finally gave into his broken heart, dying some months or years later, still searching for her. It is said that some years after his death a servant was cleaning the manor either to put it for sale or spring cleaning or whatever and stumbled upon a locked trunk in the attic. When he opened the trunk, he found the remains of a woman in a wedding dress. This is presumed to be the bride who went missing all those years ago. I've taken that description of what supposedly happened and rewrote the story with the same ending. I'm listing this story as a paranormal romance (love story with a ghostly twist to it) "Bride-and-Seek" is currently 99 cents and is available for kindle download only. It was just offered as a Valentine's Day freebie with a resultant 360 (maybe 361) downloads over the 48-hour period. It will be "free" again in March and April.

"The Tulip Kiss" is a first place winner in Echelon Press's fast and frigid themed contest (January 2007). We were given the theme frigid for January and had to write a short story based on the theme. My award was ebook publication for six months as the first place winner. The cover depicts a winter scene on an icy, back road where tragedy has just struck a young couple. The tulips come in from my husband's family being dutch and at one point, the Elderings were known for their tulips. This is a love story with a ghostly twist. "The Tulip Kiss" is currently 99 cents and will be offered for free the end of February, a couple of days in March and again in May.

"The Proposal" is the second place winner in Armchair Interviews April Fools Day contest. The basis for this story was that we were given a list of eight words and to incorporate several of them into the story and had to write a humorous romance short story. To date, other than the current free downloads on "Bride-and-Seek", "The Proposal" has been one of my bestselling stories. Even during my freebie days for "Bride-and-Seek", I gained 1 or 2 downloads of this story. I also had it on Smashwords and Nook but took it off both those sites and listed exclusively on kindle this week. "The Proposal" is currently 99 cents and will be run for free the end of March/first part of April as I want to see how well a "holiday" themed story does when it is offered for free during said "holiday" (yes, I know that April Fools Day is not a holiday but it's a fun-filled, practical joke day and that's exactly what you will find in "The Proposal").

"Butterfly Halves" (coming soon) will be added to the calendar once it is published. This story is a runner up in Echelon Press's fast and fanciful themed contest (March 2007) and is about two sisters who both want a butterfly necklace but when they fight over the necklace and it breaks, they find themselves in a different dimension in the future in their lives as they have dreamed of them being. This was a bit whimsical and fun to write. Once it is published, it will be listed for 99 cents and I'll determine free days at a later time.

I have two more stories, "Zombies Amuck" (a second place winning story for a local writing group) and "La Cave" (or "The Cellar" - still am undecided whether to list it in the French title or the English title - but will have to decide when Heather tells me yes she will do a cover for it and whichever she chooses for the cover will be what I go with). More on these two stories when it gets closer time to publishing them (if I get them published - lol). They will both sell for 99 cents when they are published.

Here is the calendar of upcoming free days for the stories:

February 29/March 1 - "The Tulip Kiss"
March 21 - "Bride-and-Seek"
March 21/March 22 - "The Tulip Kiss"
March 31/April 2 - "The Proposal"
April 25/April 26 - "Bride-and-Seek"
May 16 - "The Tulip Kiss"


I've only scheduled 3 days for "The Proposal" for now but will play that by ear as to when the next two free days will be scheduled.

I hope you all enjoy my stories and will tell all your friends and promote the free days as much as you can. I appreciate your support and following. Still looking for followers to receive a free ebook version of my YA paranormal mystery, Finally Home. When I reach 150 followers on this blog, you will be contacted with a coupon code for you to download the story. Please pass the word.

Also, the red/white/blue afghan drawing is still opened. The chances are only $1.50 per one chance or you can purchase 10 for $12 (that's a $3 savings over the individual chance). The drawing will be December 1 with the afghan being mailed out around the 7th of December. For more details on the drawing and purchase links, visit either The JGDS website or my main website and check the events pages.

My work in progress, Imogene: Innocense Lost is still that - a work in progress but there are some things in my head about the story. I hope to publish this story sometime at the beginning of 2013. It will be available in print as an ebook (all places - kindle, smashwords and nook). I need to really sit down and work on it so that I will be ready to publish next year. See you all in the postings - E :)

Guest Heather Paye

Today, my guest is Heather Paye, author, illustrator and book designer extraordinaire - I'm a little biased because Heather is my illustrator and she does such a wonderful job. Her covers are really striking and I've heard nothing but great things about her covers when I show them to other writers.

Heather, tell us a little bit about yourself, your likes (and no Taco Bell doesn't count since apparently the whole world knows you love Taco Bell), dislikes - who you are.

HP: Well, I'm the author of A Gift from Above, the soon-to-be-released young-adult, fantasy novel Howl, and Cacti, a children's book due to be released March 1st. Besides my writing career, I'm a freelance graphic designer, editor at Joyfully Reviewed, and student. I think it's safe to say I'm a bit of a workaholic. I like music, humans, puppies, dancing, and good causes. I dislike people who aren't open-minded, coffee, malfunctioning computers, and slow internet.


You are a young writer, only 17 soon to be 18. How old were you when you started writing and what is the first piece you wrote that you would have considered publishable in your early writing days?

HP: I was nine years old when I began writing my first novel. I had it in my mind that I was writing this novel to be published, even though I had no idea what the word "published" meant beyond "other people get to read it". When I started writing for publication, I had only ever written two short stories and a handful of lyrics, but I was determined to write something longer, all I had in my mind was an extremely vague idea of a young woman sitting in a cafe talking to a reporter. As I was writing, that expanded into ideas for a nine-novel-series. Currently, the first novel in this series - The Artifact Series - has just been assigned an editor and is being polished for its release.

EE: Now this sounds like an interesting series. I can't wait to read your first one when it is published. Daughter is reading A Gift From Above but she is a slow reader

What's your favorite genre to read? to write?

HP: I'm actually really picky about the genres I read. I've never actually been a big reader. When I was a kid, my sister used to consume any novel she could get her hands on, and I would read a lot just because she was - *chuckles* - but now that I have less time, I've become even more selective. My favorite genre is paranormal romance, with fantasy being a close competitor. I'm much less picky about what genre I write in, but my favorite is paranormal - stories that are absolutely intertwined with our own reality. It's fun to take the base of reality that you know - that girl in boring high school, or that guy locked in his room playing video games. You can actually get your readers to deeply relate to the character, and have them walk into something entirely fictional. To me, that is one of the most enthralling genres, and I love that I can be the one to pull the reader really indepth like that.

EE: I'm similar to that - I've found that writing short stories allows me to write just about any genre, although I'm not into vampires, werewolves, and other things that have taken over lately, but I don't mind a good ghost story as far as paranormal goes. I don't read much sci-fi or fantasy or romance, although I can write a little bit (depends on what the contest calls for).

What are your writing aspirations? aspirations in general?

HP: This is actually something I haven't really put much thought into. Of course we'd all like to be on the New York Times Bestseller list - isn't that every author's goal? To write a bestselling novel? I have several smaller goals I'm working toward right now: first is to be on the Amazon bestseller list and second is to increase my fanbase. It's really all about the readers reading and enjoying my work. Everytime I receive fan mail, it really motivates me to keep doing what I'm doing because I know someone else is reading my work, and my own thoughts have been acknowledged. The more of that, the better.

As far as my general aspirations go, I'm working toward my Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts, so I really want to get that and graduate with honors. Right now, that is what I'm really focusing on and aiming for so that I can move on to even bigger things.

EE: Do you still aspire to work for Disney/Pixar as you had told me when we first got together and you started working for me?

What's a typical day in your life like - do you have a set schedule or do you just play it by ear?

HP: Yes and no. I keep a prioritized list of the tasks I need to complete. My day consists of waking up, getting ready for my day, checking my text messages, emails - and the social networking sites, I read Twitter every morning like a national newspaper, and Facebook like a local newspaper. *chuckles* After that, I'll take a look at my schedule and decide what is due first and I'll work through my list that way. The only exception to this, is if I have school that day, then I'll complete my school work first and then move on to the to-do list. Normally, I'll finish with my school and work around 10pm.

EE: I think it's great that you have a to-do list and try to stick to it and not let anything get in your way. Gotta have set goals when you wear so many hats.

You wear many hats, what are they and which is your favorite? How do you juggle all the goings on in your life?

HP: Oh, no! I have to pick a favorite! I guess we have the author hat, graphic designer hat, editor hat, and student. All of these things are so different and there are things I deeply enjoy with all of them. At the same time, all aren't without their own frustrations at times. I'm going to say the author hat is my favorite. It's literally whatever I want it to be, it's the most flexible job I've ever had, and you can bring it to whatever legnths you want with how ever much effort you put into it. It's like taking your own continuous thought and casting it into the world to share with a bunch of people. How do I juggle it all? Sometimes it's easier and sometimes it's harder, it depends on what time of year it is. Spring is usually the busiest. 90% of what keeps everything in order is my to-do list and my iPod. If I'm supposed to be doing something - or I forget something - my iPod reminds me via my to-do list. That's all there is to it for me really.

Why Taco Bell?

HP: First, Taco Bell has wifi - any restaurant that has wifi is epic in my book. Second, Mexican food is one of my favorites. Third, their website is well-designed. That is what makes Taco Bell awesome.

EE: Many fast food places have wifi now. I've not checked out TB's website, so that may be something to do later. I like Taco Bell more than other Mexican restaurants really, but I'll reserve the awesomeness to you - lol.

If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

HP: When it comes down to it, I think Arizona will always be my place of residence - at least, primary residence. Everything that I need is here, and there's plenty to expand on with Arizona being one of the newest states. There are only two other locations I would consider: Atlanta, Georgia and California.

EE: Atlanta, really? Scary place to live or at least fly out of. I do live close to Atlanta and don't even like driving too close to it. The traffic is horrendous, even skirting the town on the major highways. I guess there are worse places in the United States to live though.

Thank you for hosting me on your blog, Elysabeth!

Thank you for participating, Heather. I really enjoyed getting to know a little more about you. Looking forward to your new series - and of course more awesome covers from you.


HEATHER'S BIO:
H.C.Paye first picked up a pen and started writing when she was about six-years-old. It started with simple lyrics, but then she moved on to short stories, and finally, when she was 10 began writing full-length novels.
Miss Paye is a part of many groups and organizations. When she is not writing, she is an editor at Joyfully Reviewed and a Graphic Designer. During her spare moments, she enjoys entertaining her Twitter followers with her random quips.

Heather can be found here
or on her blog
or her graphic design site

Heather Paye

In case some of you aren't following my illustrator, Heather Paye, here is her newest posting and it's chock full of some great things going on. She is offering an e-course on creating in-depth characters for the low price of only $5. What's better than that low price is her "free" advantage. If you are one of the first ten persons to register for the course (using her code as specified in her post), you can get in for free. I hope you all take advantage of this and will support my illustrator, such an ambitious young person. - E :)

Book Covers

I have a new cover! Psych! - lol. I guess that dates me. Back when I was in high school, we would say "Psych" when we faked out someone. I was really hoping to have a new cover for "Bride-and-Seek" by now to share with you all but I don't. I'm patiently waiting, trying not to push Heather too much since I know I'm not her only client and that she is getting ready to start back to school soon. I have a really clear vision of what I want the cover to look like but whether or not I've conveyed that to Heather is another question. I do know that once she gives me a first cover, if it isn't exactly what I had in mind, she will take my suggestions and go back to the drawing board and rework it until my vision comes to fruition.

Finally Home - mock up full cover first version

Finally Home - full cover final version

Case in point, Finally Home was originally the attic scene with the mirror and Kelly sort of looking to the mirror. I loved the mirror, wasn't too crazy about the attic, sent Heaher some pictures and a bit more description of what I pictured in my mind and she sent me back what is now gracing my book.

"The Proposal" - front cover - only and final version

"The Proposal" actually came to me almost perfect. I don't recall making any changes or asking that something be changed because it was just right for the story. I did have to change one little section in the story to fit the cover but it was a minor change; sometimes that does happen too.

"The Tulip Kiss" - front cover final version

"The Tulip Kiss" is another case in that the first one she sent me I loved everything about it save for the way the wording was getting washed out and the tulip was overpowering color wise. On the fourth attempt, she sent me now what is displayed on all the sites where the ebook is available.

So I have no doubt that when Heather sends me "Bride-and-Seek" it will either be almost perfect (there is always room for some improvement in everything) and what I pictured or it may need tweaking, so as soon as I've got a cover, I can then turn around and share with you all as well as get the story published on Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. Having the "just right cover" for your story is very important. I'm very thankful to have a talented young lady like Heather who is willing to work with me and create some very exquisite and eye-catching covers. Keep up the good work, Heather. See you all in the postings - E :)

January giveaways in exchange for reviews

I was going to post this on LibraryThing but it wouldn't let me post, so I'm going to post as a blog on both my blogs. I will start taking requests January 2. I hope that all the librarians and teachers out there will take advantage of this. This is the same message on both blogs, sorry but the message needs to be out there so that I can hopefully get some reviews and some sales.


JANUARY GIVEAWAY POST
I have six titles in my state series available for review as well as three other titles available. I will offer 100 copies of each title in exchange for reviews.

The state series is geared for 3rd through 5th grade level, would make a great supplement to a US History social studies curriculum or an individual state social studies. Each book comes with its own study guide which supplements the book and should not be used without first reading the book or it makes no sense. The books are written like a handheld game that gives the kids clues (facts and trivia) about a state and the readers and characters have to guess the state being described. Each book is one state and all the clues will pertain to that specific state. There are bonus clues highlighting one of five US territories (Washington DC, US Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and US Samoan Islands) as well as discussion questions. The study guide takes some of the clues in the book and turns them into deeper discussion questions or research projects, either a science project or map/math skills project or social studies project or ELA project, and then there are bonus things like secret message puzzles (state motto is the secret message), a craft idea (based on clues but not in every study guide - only as the clues are fitting), and a trivia game that is designed to show that the students or child read the book.

Titles available are State of Wilderness (ID), State of Quarries (AR), State of Reservations (OK), State of Successes (SC), State of Heights (CO), and State of Nature (WY). I will send a PDF file to the 100 persons requesting any of the titles available. You can request more than one.

My other titles include Finally Home (a YA paranormal mystery), The Proposal (an April Fools Day Story, a humorous romance ebook), and The Tulip Kiss (a paranormal romance). Available in January will be Bride-and-Seek (a paranormal romance ebook) and Butterfly Halves (a YA fantasy ebook). Again, I will take 100 requests for the three titles available in exchange for reviews.

Please email me at eeldering (at) gmail (dot) com and put "free books in exchange for review" in the subject line. In the body of the email please list the titles you would like to review or if you want all of them, just say All books.

This promotion will be valid for the month of January only. Once the 100 requests per title have been met, no other requests will be taken. I may offer this later in the year, but it will depend on the success of the first "free books in exchange for reviews" campaign. - E :)

Elysabeth Eldering
Author of Finally Home, a YA paranormal mystery
"The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story), a humorous romance ebook
"The Tulip Kiss", a paranormal mystery ebook
"Bride-and-Seek", a paranormal mystery ebook (coming in Janaury)
"Butterfly Halves", a YA fantasy ebook (coming in January)
Elysabeth's other blog
Elysabeth's non-JGDS writing website

Ma America, The Travelin' Maven
Author of the JGDS, 50-state, mystery, trivia series and "Train of Clues" (a mystery destination story and predecessor to the JGDS, state series)
Where will the adventure take you next?
JGDS blog
JGDS website

24 hours left

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I hope you all have your Christmas shopping done. There are only 24 hours left in the Finally Home half-price Christmas sale with it ending at noon tomorrow. Get your copy today or buy a copy and gift it to someone you know who would enjoy a story written in the Nancy Drew mysteries style. Here are the QR codes to get your copy today.

Finally Home QR code Kindle edition:

Finally Home QR code Nook edition:

3 Days left!!!

Only 3 days left in the Finally Home half-price Christmas Sale for Kindle and Nook. Don't forget to pick up your copy today or give a copy as a gift. Both Nook and Kindle now allow you to gift ebooks to someone else. Here are the QR codes to the direct buy links for Finally Home:

Finally Home Kindle edition:

Finally Home Nook edition:

QR codes

What is a QR code? Defined it is a quick response (QR) 2-D code for instant access to an indefinite amount of information. They can be used for anything from a way to enter contests to direct links to buy merchandise and everything in between. I've created QR codes for my ebooks' direct buying links, which I'll be placing on the back of my printed covers for my display when I'm doing events. I'll also print up some business cards to hand out for each of the covers that are available as ebooks. I'm hoping this will boost my sales. I would love to see more folks requesting kindlegraphs for ebooks they purchase or books they brought from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble or even my createspace pages, but I guess that will come in due time.

To make your own QR codes, there are many places to generate them from but this is the one I used. I also created a business card QR code with this website. You can create a number of different links. Try it out for yourself.

The business card didn't work so I will work on how to get that to work and post at a later date.


Here are the QR codes for the three books available as ebooks:

Finally Home QR for Kindle:

Finally Home QR for Nook:

"The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story) QR for Kindle:

"The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story) QR for Nook:

"The Tulip Kiss", a paranormal romance QR for Kindle:

"The Tulip Kiss", a paranormal romance QR for Nook:

If they don't work for you all, please let me know. See you all in the postings - E :)

Finally Home Kindle and Nook half-price sale is on

Finally Home is now half price on Kindle and Nook (regular price $3.99; now $1.99). Download your copy soon because this price won't stay up for long. I will return the Kindle and Nook to regular price about noon on December 24. Nook now has egifting so you can purchase a copy and give as a gift to a friend's Nook; Kindle has already had the option of making your purchases gifts. So give a book to someone you know who likes reading something written like a Nancy Drew mystery.

If you do get either a Kindle or Nook copy or you gift a copy to someone and you would like me to send them a personalized message and e-signature, make sure you stop by kindlegraph and request your free kindlegraph or have the person receiving the gift request a kindlegraph.

Also, remember print copies are on sale for $10 with free shipping anywhere in the United States and shipping to be calculated for sales outside the United States at the time of purchase. Print copies can only be ordered via email (eeldering @ gmail . com - no spaces) with the subject of "Finally Home sale". I sign all my print books that I send out, so if you are ordering this as a belated gift, please indicate in the body of the email to whom to make the book and where to send (if outside the United States so shipping can be calculated). I will send you an email directing you on payment. Books will be sent out after Christmas so they should arrive to you or the person you are giving to before Januar 1st but no later than the following week.

The Tulip Kiss - new cover

Some of you may remember when this story was first published as it was the first place winner in Echelon Press's Fast and Frigid contest in January of 2007 as an ebook only. Since the story was unpublished about June of 2007, I've just been letting it sit for a bit, not really thinking of republishing myself. These past few months, I took on revisions/rewrites of Finally Home and decided it was time to put out a few of my old stories as well (hopefully boosting sales for all my stories out there). I've already republished "The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story) as an ebook and now with a new cover for "The Tulip Kiss" will be putting this out in the next few days.

Below are the two covers of "The Tulip Kiss" for comparison (the new cover first, the previously published cover which was done by Karen at Echelon Press) and the cover for "The Proposal". All my covers done from June of 2010 through the present (to include State of Wilderness (the reprint version), State of Successes, State of Heights, State of Nature, "Train of Clues", State of Acceleration (to be published the first part of 2012), Finally Home, "The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story), and "The Tulip Kiss") are by Heather C. Paye and her work can be found here. Check her out if you are in need of a cover or any type of graphic design work. She is young and aspires to one day work for Disney/Pixar and with her talents and the portfolio she is building I believe she will end up with them. I can't say enough good things about Heather's work because she is such a wonderful young lady to work with that words can't do everything she does justice. I will let my covers speak for themselves.

The Tulip Kiss - 2011 version

The Tulip Kiss - 2007 version

The Proposal - released 2011 as an ebook - available on kindle, nook and smashwords


For the State of ... covers, please visit the JGDS website and click the "books in the series" tab.

Be on the lookout for a special sale the week before Christmas; details will be posted next week. E :)

Finally Home released

Finally Home is now availsble in all formats. Please visit my website to order a copy or you can get your ebook copy on kindle, nook and smashwords. If you order a copy from any place other than directly from me and would like it "signed" and a personal message added, you can request a kindlegraph here.

Those of you who have preordered a copy, you should have yours by the end of next week - see you in the postings - E :)

Rewriting completed manuscripts, a good idea or not?

Check out my posting on the Writers on the Move blog about whether or not rewriting a completed manuscript is a good idea. Did I make the right move? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Don't forget order your copy of Finally Home and receive a free crocheted bookworm bookmark in your choice of autumn, Christmas, primary, spring, summer or winter colors (all are varigated colors representing the seasons except for the primary colored ones - I just happened to like it and so decided to add it to the mix of seasons). Orders can be placed directly on my website and copies are only $15 which includes shipping. If you plan to give a signed copy as a gift, now is the time to order your copy so that you have it in time to put under the tree. See you all in the postings - E :)

It's here!

Finally Home proof copy is here. If you would like a copy for a Christmas present, now is the time to order. Once I go through the book, I will be releasing it to the public, and since I will be out of town a good bit next week (from Wednesday through Sunday, but not all in the same place - lol), I will be placing an order early Friday morning (from all the orders received between now and Friday morning) to ensure I have copies of books on hand for the Savannah's Children's book festival next weekend and to send out to all who have placed their order early. If you do not place your order with me (send me an email - eeldering@gmail.com with Finally Home order in the subject line) by mid morning Friday, your copy may not get to you in time for Christmas since I will have to place the order for copies after Thanksgiving, but it is possible that your copy could be received in time for Christmas. Usually I need a 2-1/2 to 3-week lead to order books, get them, sign them and place back in the mail. All orders placed between now and Friday will also receive a free bookworm bookmark in your choice of autumn, Christmas, primary, spring, summer or winter (one per book ordered, so if you ordered 6 copies, you could request one of each color - lol). Please indicate which one you would like when placing your order and also remember to tell me to whom to make the book.

Copies are $13 plus $2 for shipping per copy for the first 2 copies; 3 or 4 copies shipping is $5; and over 4 copies shipping will be $10. If you want to order from my website, you can check out the book page here and place an order that way. Email and website orders are direct from me and will be sent from me. If you do not want to email me but order directly through paypal, you just need to use my email addy as my paypal addy. If you want to order from amazon.com, check back the first of next week to place your order. Remember if you order a copy from any place other than a direct order and you want it "signed", you will need to go to kindlegraph and request your personalized note. You do not need a kindle to request a kindlegraph; these can be sent to any valid email addy (they come in as a PDF).

For advanced praises on Finally Home, stop over at Ms. Faye Tollison's site and check out her September postings. See you all in the postings - E :)

Finally Home revisions completed!

I put the final touches on Finally Home tonight. The manuscript has been sent to Heather for her magic touches and hopefully next weekend I'll be able to upload to Nook, Smashwords, and Kindle so it will be available as a download first. Hopefully the print version will be shortly thereafter. I will order the proof copy on the 7th of November and should have that by the end of the week so that I can sign off and say that Finally Home is published.

Don't forget once it is published, you can request an e-signature/personalized message (kindlegraph) here. You don't have to have a kindle to receive a kindlegraph but you do need a twitter account to log in to kindlegraph and start requesting them. A valid email addy will get the file sent to you as PDF.

For more stories and what's coming, visit my website. See you all in the postings - E :)

kindlegraph and The Proposal

As of this morning, I've had 12 downloads of the Proposal (that is including the sample downloads too) with 7 copies "sold" with the free coupon and no requests for a kindlegraph. I have also sold one copy on amazon's kindle since posting the story Monday. If you would like a free e-signature and personalized message from me, please don't forget to go here and make a request for your kindlegraph. You do not need a kindle to request a kindlegraph, just a valid email addy where the PDF file will be sent. You do need to have a twitter account to sign in and request your kindlegraphs but other than that, everything is free. Look around at the over 2000 authors already there; who knows? you may find an author you have been reading and have wanted a personalized copy of their book. I would love to sign kindlegraphs for all my followers who have downloaded my story. I also will be posting my other stories as soon as I have covers for them. I hope all of you who have downloaded the story have enjoyed it. Please let me know by leaving a comment here or on smashwords or amazon - thanks - E :)

Finally Home is in the final stages of revisions and should definitely be to Heather this weekend for her magic - stay tuned for more on that - see you all in the postings - E :)

The Proposal on Kindle and Smashwords

I have posted my short story, The Proposal, on kindle for the low price of only 99 cents. It will be coming to smashwords soon. Hope you all will stop by and download a copy and enjoy an April Fools Day humorous romance story.

UPDATE (10/24/2011): The Proposal is now up on Smashwords and I'm giving away copies for free - all you need is the coupon code here and you can download the story to any reading device you have - Link to book: The Proposal; Your coupon code is EY62X (not case sensitive). Since putting up late yesterday afternoon, I've had two persons get the download and I thank you both. Hope you all enjoy it.

For your free e-signature and personalized message, please visit my kindlegraph page and make a request. You only need a twitter account to sign up for kindlegraphs and you can request from over 2000 authors right now with more being added daily/weekly.

Three other stories will be added in the coming weeks, all for 99 cents, except I'm sure I'll submit one of them as a freebie for 2 weeks and then will revert it back to 99 cents. I'll probably run a few contests in the upcoming weeks for prizes. Stay tuned - E :)

Sugarfoot Festival/signage/book covers

The Sugarfoot festival, which used to be called the Honey Soppin' Festival, was held this weekend. I decided next year if I do the festival (which I probably will) that I'm going to ask for a spot in the center of the street and I'll set my tent up differently and will hope for more business.

I have a screen tent instead of just a canopy like most vendors/exhibitors do and had closed the back side off which was the sidewalk (I didn't want to have someone come sneaking up behind me when I was in the tent alone). It was cold as Octobers in South Carolina go and windy. I had my tent almost blow over, but thanks to man two spots down from me who happened to have some weights that he connected to my back zipper part which held the tent quite well in place.

Before arriving to my tent this morning, I had to go to the store and pick up a few things, then to the post office and then back to the store because I left my packing tape at home and then to the tent. Hailie had been there almost an hour before I got there. My new banners were at the post office this morning and they look awesome. I did order a stand yesterday so that should be here before my next event. I didn't put the dots/Finally Home banner out because I haven't published the book yet, but did put my new JGDS banner up - albeit without using the foam board I have my other banner on right now. I have a feeling at some point in the future I'm going to have to order another stand so I can have both signs up for all my books and displays.

Here are a few photographs of the table with the two new book covers and Hailie's bows and a few other things. Benjamin is also in one picture as he was arranging some things for me.


These are from Friday's night setup - no sales and very cold, windy evening - I hope that Savannah, which is coming up in about a month, won't be as cold or windy as this weekend.

These are from Saturday's setup and as you can see I added my two new covers I printed out and laminated to put on the table and I shifted things around, actually Hailie shifted things around to put her bows and stuff on the end I had originally put my afghan but it all worked out well and looked good once I finally got to the point of setting up

The Proposal cover

Heather has done it again. The cover for The proposal is right on target - The Proposal is an April Fool's Day marriage proposal with many of practical jokes proposed as well. This is a 3rd place winning story for a contest Armchair Interviews ran a few years ago. So, what do you think? - The perfect cover for the perfect fun story - E :)