Following blogs versus Subscribing by email and following comments

I have both a follow this blog (for blogger users) and a subscribe by email on both my blogs. I have very few folks who have signed up to receive emails of my blog postings. I have even fewer folks who comment on my blogs.

My questions to you are this: Why does one follow a blog? When you do just a follow, how often do you actually read what is posted on that blog? If you subscribe to follow via email, why? When you get the emails, do you make a note and come over and comment occasionally? When you do leave a comment on a blog, even if you are not following the blog at the moment but just got there by way of a forum or other means, do you subscribe to receive the followup comments via email? If not, why not? Are you not interested in learning what other folks have to say on the topic you have commented on? Do you not want to be involved in conversations that may arise from those comments?

What are your reasons for clicking on the "follow this blog" or subscribe via email? What are reasons you leave comments on a blog posting and do you continue to follow the comments? When you leave a comment, do you also include a signature line? If you are a published author and don't include one, why not? Isn't visibility the reason for being on blogs and leaving comments? Don't you want to drive potential new readers to your sites?

Here are some of my thoughts on the topic: When I follow a blog because there is no email subscription, I am less likely to read the blog very often. I try to follow blogs that are of interest to me, my writing/marketing/et cetera or of folks that are in groups or forums I belong to. If I subscribe by email or the RSS feed (which I don't too many of those because that means I still have to go an extra step to find out what's new with that person), I get the notifications and I can see what's new. I check my email first thing every morning and do what I call "slogging" before going to work. This process includes scanning the email notifications, filing them in their respective folders and if warranted, leaving a comment on the blog. Sometimes the topic is of interest but I don't have time to leave a comment that particular day but I mark those emails and will go back to them and go to the blog to comment when I have a few minutes. (My slogging also includes checking out all my sites (websites and book sites) for how many page views or visits I've had or how many sales I may have had (not as many as I would like) and doing my socializing. I belong to plurk and post the TDIH (This Day In History) plurks as well as the daily birthday (most of my friends on that network are teachers or librarians and from there I have participated now in several Skype visits with various grades during a writing time or lunch time for a writers' club). I've set my plurk to go to my FB page and my twitter account so I'm actually posting on three accounts by plurking every day. I like plurk but sometimes get caught spending too much time answering plurks, posting new plurks, et cetera.) When I leave a comment, I try to make sure I click the box that says "be notified of followup comments via email" or click the subscribe by email link or whatever is available; some blogs don't offer this option. My feeling on this is that I've taken time to comment on the blog and am interested in the topic and therefore, am interested in knowing what others feel or have to say on the topic. I also have a signature line I put at the end of all my comments. I use the following signature line, and depending on the blog I'm commenting on, will reverse the order my two different personas are listed.

Elysabeth Eldering
Author of Finally Homea, a YA paranormal mystery
"The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story), a humorous romance ebook
"The Tulip Kiss", a paranormal romance ebook
"Bride-and-Seek", a paranormal romance ebook (coming soon)
"Butterfly Halves", a YA fantasy ebook (coming soon)
http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com
http://eeldering.weebly.com

Ma America, The Travelin' Maven
Author of the JGDS, 50-state, mystery, trivia series and "Train of Clues" (a mystery destination story, predecessor to the 50-state series)
Where will the adventure take you next?
http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com
http://jgdsseries.weebly.com

Of late I've left off the JGDS part of the signature and I've not included the two ebooks that aren't published yet in the first part, but I do try to make sure I put my website and blog so that I can hopefully gain a few more readers. I've found many a new, interesting blogs from following the comments or checking out some of the other persons' profiles from the comments. Obviously when responding to comments on my own blog, I leave the signature line off because the person who commented has already found my blog - lol.

If I'm promoting my state series, I may leave off the generic writing information and just do the JGDS info on my signature, but either way, I leave a signature with the hopes of driving traffic either to my websites or my blogs or both.

Now it's your turn to weigh in. Why do you follow blogs? Do you subscribe to follow via email? Do you get the followup comments via email? If not, why do you even leave a comment? What drives you to check out other people's blogs from comments?

Leave a comment and be entered in the drawing for a free ebook of one of my published short stories. Remember to at least leave your email addy in the comment so that I can contact you if you have won. I will run this until the end of December (December 30th) with the random drawing to be done on December 31st. If more than 25 persons comment, I will do two drawings - your choice of one of the ebook published short stories (by the end of December the other two should be published unless Bride-and-Seek wins the contest it is currently in). See you all in the postings - E :)

The Chick Friends Rules - Freshman Year by Vici Howard

The Chick Friends Rules - Freshman Year by Vici Howard

Stop by and find out about this new series by another blogger friend of mine, Vici Howard. Enter for a chance to win a copy on the website - See you all in the postings - E :)

A Holiday Gift from Writers on the Move

As our appreciation gift to our readers and followers and those who are just now finding Writers on the Move, we have put together a holiday gift ebook for you. The contributers to the Writers on the Move blog have collected some writing and marketing tips to present to you in this ebook. We really do appreciate your continued support and we hope you will follow us in the new year. If you would like more on what the group has to offer, you can stop by the Writers on the Move blog and follow the postings via email. Please also check back often for new workshops/webinars that we will be presenting. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. May all your wishes come true.

The Tulip Kiss is up

I shared the cover with you all last week. I've posted the story on Kindle and Smashwords with the Nook version to come as soon as I have the cover sized for the Nook (apparently has to be different pixels compared to the smashwords and kindle version. It is only 99 cents.

Don't forget to stop by my kindlegraph page and request your free kindlegraph. E :)

CHRISTMAS SALE - one week only!

My Christmas present to all my faithful followers and readers is that for the week starting December 17 and ending December 24, Finally Home will be half price for Kindle and Nook readers (regularly priced at $3.99, now $1.99). Ebook copies can be e-signed via kindlegraph. Merry Christmas and enjoy.

For print copies of "Finally Home", through email orders (eeldering at gmail dot com) only, copies will be priced at $10 and that will include shipping, this is a $3 savings plus the cost of shipping saved. Print copies will be autographed and sent anywhere in the United States. Merry Christmas and hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday season. - E :)

Writers On The Move: Revision – What Works for Me

Writers On The Move: Revision – What Works for Me: Whoever said revision is what makes your book is, in my view, correct. I like to write the book quickly. I do plan the plot first, but I ...

I posted a revision posting last month - so come check out the differences between the two writers - E :)

Writers On The Move: To Splice or Not to Splice

Writers On The Move: To Splice or Not to Splice: I recently edited a manuscript that was rife with sentences combined with the word “then.” Like this one: She pulled the lever, allowing the...

This is great advice, especiallys for teachers teaching writing to students. In Mr. Hughes' class, we basically tell the students not to use the word "then" because their story tends to become a grocery list of events instead of showing the reader what the story is really about - hope you stop by and leave Heidi a comment - E :)

Writers On The Move: Find your passion.

Writers On The Move: Find your passion.: It seems that, as humans, we can’t help but compare ourselves to others.   His plots are so well constructed Her character development i...

Stop by for a few words of encouragement and leave a comment - happy posting - E ;)

Writers On The Move: Is your Novel Attractive to Reading Groups/Clubs?

Writers On The Move: Is your Novel Attractive to Reading Groups/Clubs?: There are as many types of book clubs as there are people to belong to them. When setting up a book club, one should keep in mind one's tar...

This has me now thinking about book clubs for my newest release, Finally Home. What do you all think about this? Leave a comment - E :)

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 review

My first review for Finally Home - check it out here. Thank you Ms. Faye for the great review. Anyone else who has done a review and would like me to share, please let me know. Thanks - E :)

Finally Home - 1 week stats

Finally Home was officially released last Thursday (Thanksgiving day) morning as both a print and ebook. It is available on smashwords, kindle and nook as well as on amazon.com and createspace in print. As of 12/01/2011 the following stats are what I've seen: Smashwords' views = 24, sales = 0; Nook views = ?, sales = 2; ranking = 247,000 (not exact but I don't remember what the number was); kindle views = ?, sales = 0; no ranking on amazon as I've not had any sales and no sales from any source showing on my createspace account. This is disheartening to say the least since I've been posting for quite a while now that Finally Home would be released soon and I've spent the last two months (maybe a few more than that) talking about this book.

So I'm thinking I need to follow suit with Sybil Nelson (aka Leslie Dubois, author of YA novels with a dark edge to them), Author of the Priscilla the Great series, in her posting from either 11/30 or 12/01 and that is "take the McDonald's approach" to marketing. Sybil states in her posting (you can view the full article here), and I'm paraphrasing here, that everywhere you go you can see McDonald's ads, billboards or even McDonald's themselves. So why not as an author take the same approach? Obviously McDonald's is a billion or trillion dollar company and can afford to place ads everywhere (and those 30-second spots aren't cheap nor are the billboard placements) to make sure their name is out there, so some of the marketing approach for authors wouldn't be cost-effective or even feesible since we are in general poor and need other jobs to supplement our writing, but why not do some marketing that gets your name out there.

It isn't enough to just blog every once in a while or update a website every once in a while but we as authors have to stay in the limelight so to speak; we need to place "ads" everywhere to get known.

Within the next 2 weeks or so, I will be re-releasing three more stories that have been previously published and have placed in various contests, winning small monetary awards and other prizes. I've decided that after the first of the year, once I can get back on track with my state series (for more on the JGDS series, please visit the JGDS blog or the JGDS website) that I'm going to do a major marketing campaign.

I've done a few Skype visits with classes other than Mr. Hughes' to help with some writing aspects (one in Indiana for the Lunchtime Writers' Club and one in Washington state during NaNoWriMo) but that isn't enough. Hopefully, my marketing campaign will help some other writers as well.

I need to start seeing my books taking a turn because my job is getting frustrating and I would love to start traveling to all the states within the next couple of years or so (before I get too old to really enjoy the travels). I had set a goal to have my state stories supporting me by 2013 but that doesn't look like it is going to happen. I may have to move that goal to 2015 and by then I should have at least half of the states published along with my five other stories, oops - six (forgot about a children's story I will probably ebook publish too).

I'd like to know what some other authors out there are doing marketing wise. I also would like to see half the followings of some of my fellow authors (I still only have less than 100 folks following this blog with only a handful, less than a dozen, actually subscribing to receive the blog notices in their emails. I have half the number of followers on my JGDS site as I do on this site, which means I'm not reaching the audiences like I need to, so any suggestions from my fellow friends and authors on how to reach more people would be greatly appreciated.

I follow over 1000 blogs but don't read all of them on a daily basis and I comment on blogs that I've signed up for the email postings a good bit of time; I leave my links in my signatures on most places (some of them won't accept the comment with hyperlinks so I have to just hope that folks are stopping by my websites on those blogs) and yet I hardly see any traffic on my blogs or websites. I wonder how many of those 1000 blogs I follow actually take time to read their comments and respond back to the commenters or even check out the blogs or websites of the persons who leave comments on their blogs. I wonder how many folks who comment on blogs take the time to actually look at other commenters' blogs and websites. The answer is probably less than a dozen or so.

Vici Howard is running her 1-year marketing plan here. Of course, you can always follow Sybil's postings here. If you know of any other authors who have a marketing campaign going on and would like to share, please leave a comment with the link to that person's blog or website.

I definitely would love to hear from you all and hope you will spread the word to your friends. Let them know about some upcoming authors who are trying to get their name out there. 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 :)

Kindlegraph (again)

For all you published authors out there, I'd like you to consider putting your books on kindlegraph. You do not need to have your books as ebooks nor do you have to have a kindle to use the service. It is free to everyone. It is a great way to connect authors to their readers. What you will need is a twitter account and either your AISN (this is amazon's own number, which is a 10-digit amazon assigned number) or the 10-digit ISBN and a valid email address. If you aren't already listed there, I encourage you all to put your books there and start signing your kindlegraphs to your readers.

Readers don't need a kindle either as they can have their kindlegraphs sent directly to a valid email address. The kindlegraphs are PDFs that come in with the cover of the book requested plus a personalized message and a signature from the author. You can print these files out and place in your print copy or you can have them sent to your kindle and start a collection of your kindlegraphs.

So far, of the 13 copies of "The Proposal" I've sold only one request for a kindlegraph has come in. If anyone purchased a copy (either when it was offered as a freebie through smashwords or on kindle (2 copies sold here) or nook (one copy sold here)) and would like a "signed" file for their purchase, they can still request the kindlegraph as the books won't be taken off unless of course I unpublish them). "The Proposal (an April Fools Day story)" is available for all ereaders for the low price of only 99 cents. All my state books are listed on kindlegraph even though they are not available as ebooks. Check out my personal author site here.

Check out kindlegraph and see what authors you may know on there (over 2500 authors listed right now). Get your books signed without having purchased directly from the author - come join us today - and get personalized and e-signed books today - E :)


---------------
You may find Elysabeth's books at her website.

BOOKS AVAILABLE or COMING SOON:
Finally Home, a YA paranormal mystery
"The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story), a humorous romance ebook
"Butterfly Halves", a YA fantasy ebook (coming soon)
"The Tulip Kiss", a paranormal romance ebook (coming soon)
"Bride-and-Seek", a paranormal romance ebook (coming soon)

For more on the 50-state, mystery series, you can check out the books here.

Skype visit for NaNoWriMo

Today, I had a Skype visit with some 5th and 6th graders in Washington State. They are all writing stories for NaNo and I got to share my experiences as being a published author and how Finally Home came about from a NaNo writing challenge (although it was started the middle of November and ended the middle of December, it was written in 30 days and accomplished the goal of 56,000 words). As the challenge is to write your stories in November, I didn't get recognized with a "winner's certificate" from NaNo but I got the satisfaction of writing something over 10,000 words story wise. I'm not sure I have any more novels in me but I'm thankful for the one I do have and to get it out.

I was told that after the visit, the students wrote like crazy on their stories and one student actually exceeded his 3000 word goal, so yay!! - I inspired them to write and to meet and exceed their own personal goals.

Thank you, Mrs. N, for allowing me to be a part of your NaNo class time - 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 preorders

Preorders for Finally Home are being taken now. Any order between now and Friday of this week will receive a free bookworm bookmark. Orders may be made from the website or directly through paypal (eeldering@gmail.com). Please indicate to whom to make the books to and which bookworm you would like - autumn, Christmas, primary, spring, summer or winter.

Here are the bookworms for color identification:

See you all in the postings - E :)

Daylight Savings Time explained

This was a pretty interesting video explaining daylight savings time, why some countries observe it and why others don't - one of my friends on plurk shared it with us - I hope you all enjoy - E :)

Finally Home proof copy ordered

So money is in the bank right at 1 AM. I jumped on createspace and have ordered the proof copy for Finally Home and the republishing proof of Train of Clues. I also ordered 3 more copies of each of the state stories that are published since I have two events next week, back to back. The hope is that I will have my proof copies by Wednesday or Thursday of this week and will be able to release Finally Home officially Friday and order a few copies to have on hand for the Savannah Children's Book Festival the weekend of the 19th. That will be my official launch date if all goes well.

I am getting my new van today - and I can't wait. After that I have tons of errands to run and then come home to work and be available for the class visit with Mr. Hughes' class. See you all in the postings - E :)

SinC went to the dogs

Our upstate SC Sisters in Crime meeting went to the dogs on Thursday evening. We had two K-9 officers and their dogs, Nemo and Nero, come visit us and demonstrate how the dogs are trained to attack and seek out drugs. Nero is a German Shepherd and Nemo is a Dutch Shepherd. I'd never seen a Dutch Shepherd before but that is one beautiful dog. Nero did his job and then wanted to play with his toy and wanted someone to play with him but we were all too fascinated to play. Nemo was brought in and found the two hidden bags of drugs - one in the electrical box and one in under a metal container (like an empty propane container). The drug dogs are trained for 600 hours - that is a 6-month training at 10 hours a day - for their respective purposes whether it be drug searching, bomb searching, scents or whatever. Shepherds make the best dog for attack dogs because of the way their snout is made - long and narrow. When they clamp down on a bad guy, they hold strong until the handler commands them to release. The "bites" are not what causes the damage since they are basically immobilizing a person when they clamp down on your arms or legs or whatever body part they do (necks, face and groins are off limits); it's the person trying to pull away from the animal that causes the damage. So, be warned if you are committing a crime and a dog is put on you to attack, don't fight it; you will receive less damage to your physical being than if you fight it.

The information was very good and if I were writing stories for adults (oh wait, I have three stories for adults, one is now available as an ebook - The Proposal; and two more are coming soon - lol) I probably would use some of the information we get from our meetings. I love our local SinC group for the variety of guest speakers brought in to provide the true mystery writers such great information. We have had everyone from lawyers to FBI agents, arson inspectors to forensic psychologists, weapons experts and other mystery authors come to speak since I've been a member (about the last 4 years or so).

I encourage anyone in the upper state of South Carolina or even North Carolina who either writes mysteries or loves reading mysteries to visit our group which meets the first Thursday of the month at the Runway Cafe in Greenville, SC. Meetings start at 6:15 (with dinner being served starting about 6:30) and our guest speakers starting about 7 pm. See you all in the postings and maybe at one of our meetings - E :)

Gifts for the Holidays

Are you at a loss of what to give that someone special in your life? Do you need some ideas? Here are few from my friend, Batya, and her websites to include soul mates, gifts, sayings, and indoor gardening.

Something everyone uses - Calendars.

Soul mate calendar

Indoor Gardening

BatyaSez calendar

If you would like something a bit out of the ordinary and don't want to give a calendar, how about checking out her store.

For unique and well-chosen gifts for all occasions, her Best Meaningful Gift page is the place to be.



Of course, we all know that books from indie authors also make great gifts for the readers in your life.

If you like a little romantic suspense, my friend Faye Tollison has her first story, To Tell The Truth, available here.

My illustrator, Heather, also has a book available and is working on publishing more books.

The Writers on the Move group has just published a holiday list on the blog of what's available from indie authors. Please check out what is out there.

There are many of my friends who have books available but they are too numerous to list here, so if you have friends who like to read, try finding out who their favorite author(s) is(are) and think about gifting them with a book.

My books are available through Amazon or can be ordered directly from me. Check out both my state series and my other books. I also have some bookworms on my state series website under the Gifts tab. Remember if you order any book, not just ebooks, from any source other than a direct sale from me and would like them personalized and signed, please visit my kindlegraph page and make your request. I love personalizing my books as that is part of the fun of being an author. Hope you enjoy this short list of gift giving ideas for the special people in your life. 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 :)

Finally Home revisions

Revisions are tedious and time consuming, especially when you need to mull over rewriting complete chapters. I've finally figured out what to do with the two chapters I need to rewrite to get the house back in the spotlight. After completing work and before TV time, there will be a couple of hours of revisions and a final read through so that I can get the story to Heather for her magic. Finally Home should be at least epub'd the beginning of next week but no later than the end of the week; the goal being to have it published in some format before Halloween and then hopefully in print format by the first part of November. I will keep you all posted - thanks for sticking by me and anxiously awaiting new stories. - E :)

Bookmark for Finally Home

After being offline for over 3 days, I got in touch with my wonderful illustrator yesterday (really late last night) and asked her if she could do a bookmark so that I could print out a few for an event next weekend and this is what she came up with - the wording on the back is the back cover blurb for Finally Home. I hope to at least have it epublished this weekend and print published shortly thereafter - at least by the first part of November. Let me know what you think of the bookmark.

Heather does such a wonderful job and she did my bookmark up in under 30 minutes. Then there were a few adjustments to be made (size wise) but when I saw it I knew this was perfect - simple yet says everything it needs to say. As soon as I epub the story, it will be linked on my website so you will know where to find it. Remember if you order any book from online or my website or through amazon, you may go here to request a kindlegraph for an esignature and short, personalized note.

There will be a virtual launch party and of course some prizes and giveaways when the book is print published - so stay tuned for that - E :)

Happenings for October/November

During the next 4 to 6 weeks, there will be a lot occurring for both the JGDS series (see that blog) as well as for my other stories.

I will be participating in a sort of blog tour several times in October and November, hosting authors from the Honey Bee Authors blog as well as have some postings about my upcoming releases there; Geography Awareness week, the Sugarfoot festival (where I hope to announce that Finally Home is in proof copy order status), the SCISA teachers' conference in Columbia, SC; GIS Day in Charlotte, NC; the Savannah Children's book festival in Savannah, GA; and of course the release of four other short stories that had been previously published as ebooks. This is exciting because it means Heather will have four more covers for my stories in that time and I will be getting my name out there more and more.

I am still participating in the Writers on the Move monthly blog postings and this month's article is on revising/revisions (keeping in theme with my almost completed revisions of Finally Home. Check out that article on Wednesday on the Writers on the Move blog. Hopefully you all will gain some insight into the revision process.

Next month's posting will be tied in to Geography Awareness week which is November 13 through the 19.

Revisions are almost completed on Finally Home and I hope to have to Heather this weekend for formatting for both print and ebook. I hope to at least get the story ebook published by the 21st of October and print published shortly after that (at least proof copy ordered by then so that I can release it right before Halloween, since it is set around that time). I am trying to come up with a contest for the release of Finally Home to tie it in to Halloween, but am at a loss right now. I will continue working on a contest and make that announcement as soon as I can. Please just keep checking back to see what is going on with Finally Home and release contest. Spook you all in the postings - E :)

Upstate SC chapter of Sisters in Crime Celebrates 25 years

Sisters in Crime (SinC) is 25 years young this year. The Upstate SC chapter is having a celebration on October 16 with panel discussions, refreshments, book signings, and prizes. For more details, please check out the Upstate SC SinC blog. We would love to see you there. E :)

Banners

Vistaprint is running a freebie ad again (these come in my email about every other day - lol) and I was thinking last night I needed a banner for events now that I have some new/republished stories coming out. This is the design I came up with using their template, but I'm not really sure this is the one I'm going with. I tried keeping it fun and light even though I'm featuring my other stories and not just Finally Home. I'd love to hear from my readers as to what you think of my new banner. I'll be placing the order Friday morning so please comment by Thursday night.

I had originally designed this one but when I went to bed last night, the wheels wouldn't stop turning about adding other stories I'm about to republish so had to come up with the second one. After designing the plain one I'm definitely leaning more towards the dots. Let me know what you think.

(This one is no longer in my portfolio but could easily be added again if you all like this one - but then again, this just has Finally Home and the JGDS series featured on it, so probably not a good idea since I have one specifically for the JGDS series.)

For banners related to the JGDS series, please visit my JGDS blog and vote on your favorite banner. See you all in the postings - E :)

Revisions

Today I promised myself I would sit at my desk sans distractions and just revise until the end of the day. I started late - waking up after 11 AM, showering and doing the distraction things first (email, plurk, et cetera) and then started revising. Of my friends who sent comments back on Finally Home only one was a fully commented return but those comments are expansive. The other two were Chapters 1 & 2 and Chapters 1-3, respectively.

It looks like I am going to have to push back my publication date to November, about Thanksgiving time. These revisions should have been done months ago for me to have a publication date this month, but alas, I've been putting it off. The writing is okay but it needs punching up (needs to be stronger in places, more action, development of the characters a bit).

So are the revisions going like I planned? No. I need someone to read through Chapters 4 through 16 to comment and markup the ms so that I can finish the revisions. Anyone out there who would like to read an almost 200 page manuscript and make comments to help me revise? Drop me an email at eeldering at gmail dot com and let me know if you have time to read and make comments (not just things like changing a word or adding or deleting but things like intense comments - needs some action here, needs to be reworded, that type of thing) so that I can finish the revisions. Thanks to all of you out there who read my blog and who are willing to help. - E :)


UPDATE (Sunday, 10/02/2011): I found a copy of a friend's comments (from when I first thought I'd submit the story and get it published with a traditionally publisher) that I'm going to use for my revisions. I feel this will at least get me to the point of almost having a final draft. Lana is pretty right on with her comments - so going to revise some tonight and hopefully will finish this tomorrow between work that is left in my pool tonight and work that comes in tomorrow afternoon. Hoping by end of week to be announcing that Finally Home is revision completed - lol - see you in the postings - E :)

amazon's new tablet - the Kindle Fire

Amazon announced several new releases this morning, including its newestipad competition - the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire is priced at an incredible price of only $199; 2/5 the cost of an iPad and about $50 less than the Nook Color. The other three devices announced are revisions of the Kindle ereader to include the basic Kindle ereader, non-touch screen for $79 (this is the version that has the ads, has wi-fi but not 3G capability) and then your two touch screen versions for $99 (wi-fi but not 3G, has ads/special deals) and $149 (3g+wi-fi, ads/special deals version). This is really great news all around for those of you thinking of buying an ereader or a tablet. You now have several options which are in the more reasonable price range.

I will need to upgrade my phone and am leaning toward the new release from Android/Straighttalk (my carrier for phone service) but am going to check out a couple of other phones on the site before making my decision - I need to hopefully find something that will be capable with my Square so that I can start taking credit cards at events, especially since I have a couple of huge events coming up in November. I will keep you all posted on what I do end up going with and when I order my Kindle Fire - E ;)

Republishing short stories

So the other day while I was emailing Heather some information, I got the idea to republish all my previous stories as ebooks. I'm waiting to hear from Heather to see if she can do up some covers for four of my previously published stories so I can get them out there and have a poster, or several posters really, done up before the end of October using the coupon I have for Walmart for a free poster (I believe they measure 16 x 22). I am totally stoked about getting more stories out there.

Stay tuned for more info about The Tulip Kiss (romantic paranormal), Butterfly Halves (a children's fantasy story), The Proposal (an April Fool's Day humorous romance) and Bride-and-Seek (a past lives romance). Maybe I'll have covers for these four stories in October - E :)

Finally Home cover

I have a cover for Finally Home - my YA paranormal mystery - let me know what you think - I think it's just right - the back cover will have the mirror with grandma's reflection and it's the perfect mirror - Thank you, Heather, for such a great job -

So without further ado - here is the cover:

What do you think? Leave a comment - E :)

WOTM workshop after package

For those of you who didn't have a chance to register for the "self-publishing using createspace" workshop that Nancy Famolari and I copresented last Friday, the handout and transcript are now available here. There are several other packages from previous workshops available as well and you never know when something will be a right fit for your needs. See you all in the postings - E :)

Writers On The Move: We're Looking for New Members!

Writers On The Move: We're Looking for New Members!: Writers on the Move has under-gone a number of changes over the last several months and now we seem to have a very effective marketing grou...

One Day of Peace (Global Truce Day 2012)

I just watched a fascinating video by actor Jeremy Gilley that had been posted on my Plurk network about an idea for global peace day - one day of no fighting, no violence, living in harmony and I am totally in support of this - the day is September 21 - the goal is to have 2012 the Global Truce Day - so the whole world has a cease fire and experiences peace. What a novel idea - to have peace throughout the world, if even for one day.



I encourage all my readers to check it out and support One Day of Peace and who knows, maybe we can change the world one day at a time but in the long run, we will have made a difference.

Come visit me at WOTM

I've posted an article about self-publishing on the Writers on the Move blog. Stop by and leave a comment.

Don't forget this Friday is the free workshop that I'm copresenting with Nancy Famolari about self-publishing using createspace. If interested, please register by sending an email to eeldering at gmail dot com with the subject "Createspace Workshop" so that I can put you on the email to receive the instructions and handout. See you all in the postings - E :)

9-11 Remembering

Since I went to bed at 5 PM yesterday and got up about 1:30 AM this morning, I've had a very somber feeling. I turned on the TV between 4 and 5 AM and nothing was really on any of the channels I have marked in my favorites listing. I turned off the TV. Read emails, plurked, and just kind of didn't do anything on the computer work-related or writing-related. Turned the TV back on about 7:10 and watched the movie - Flight 93 - about the plane that was thwarted from hitting its target, probably the White House or some other place of importance on this tragic day. Right after that was "102 minutes that Changed America". The images captured and put together for that documentary of what occurred between 8:46 AM and 10:28 AM, Tuesday, September 11, 2001, are so tragic, devastating and even more unbelievable now than they were ten years ago.

I was working at home at the time, so had no TV or radio on. I was very oblivious to what was going on outside our house in another part of the country. My mother called me about probably between 10:30 and noon to ask if I had seen what was happening. I got very little information and trned the TV on to see the horrific pictures being shown on almost every channel. Those images weren't as real to me as watching the show today because they were so far away (in my mind, it was surreal and couldn't be happening). The show today was up close and personal taken from personal videos/phones recording the images/and folks who were as close to it as they could get, and they truly were devastating.

We will never forget where we were and what we were doing when the news came about the plane hijackings and the three buildings hit - WTC1 and 2 and the Pentagon, nor will we ever forget those brave folks who stood up to the hijackers of Flight 93.

What were you doing when you heard the news about the planes flying into the towers?

Writers on the Move free workshop

On Friday, September 16, Nancy and I will be copresenting a workshop on self-publishing through createspace - looking at the different ways to go about using this free service. But is it really free? For info on registering for the workshop, check out the Writers on the Move blog.

Hope to see you all in the workshop. We will be using everywherechat again for the workshop. Registration confirmation email will include instructions on how to access the workshop. E :)

Great Sisters in Crime meeting with a new connection

Tonight we had a 70-year-old judge come speak to us. The man has stories upon stories upon stories and we probably could have sat there all night listening to him.

One of our member's daughter was there as a guest, who actually is the judge's neighbor and whose husband is an attorney who has spoken to our group before. I've not met her or don't remember meeting her at the meeting her husband was the guest speaker. She is a math teacher at one of the high schools in our area (I don't have the details in my mind clearly). While we were going around introducing ourselves and what we write or read (not all our members are writers but that's okay - we need the readers too), I made the announcement that Finally Home would probably be published in the next month or so (at least by the end part of October so I will be prepared for the three events in November with a new story) and she was like, "I'd like to talk to you after the meeting." Apparently some students under the guidance of the English teacher at her school have started a paranormal club and they are looking for some guidance about paranormal stories, et cetera. The story is that the high school is haunted and so they are going to do some after school activities as well as plan to sleep in the school one night with the lights all off so they can explore whether the school is haunted or not. I'd love to be a part of that since I believe in haunted places and Finally Home is sort of a haunted house story. I gave her my contact information and she is going to pass it on to the English teacher, so who knows, I may be speaking to high schoolers at one of their after school activities - Like I said before - you never know when the right connection is going to come along. Thank you, Barbara, for having your daughter come to the meeting tonight

I'm anxiously awaiting the cover choices from Heather for Finally Home. If nothing else happens this long weekend, I will more than likely be buckling down and revising/editing the ms so to get it fixed up and back to editor for a once over to get to Heather but only after I have a confirmed cover for the book. So come on, Heather, hurry up and show me a cover. Yeah, I know she is busy with school and all but I've been waiting now for several weeks and with this being a long weekend, I'm pretty confident she should have time to finish it up and get to me. See you all in the postings - E :)

Earthquake in eastern part of US

We've been watching and tracking Hurricane Irene since it is expected to hit either SC or NC coastline this weekend. What we weren't expecting was an earthquake. It looks to have originated just north of Richmond, Virginia, but quakes were felt all the way up and down the eastern seaboard from Norcross, Georgia, to about 2 hours north of Toronto, Canada. Here in my small town, the librarian said she felt it, the post office which is almost right next door to the library did not feel it and several people reported feeling it in different parts of the town. Neither Hailie nor myself felt it on our property. Students at Anderson University felt it while in their rooms. The fault line is widespread as reports from another town in South Carolina (Spartanburg) have reported feeling it and folks all over North Carolina (mostly around the Charlotte area northward) have felt it. From looking at a map showing reported "feels" of the quake - it runs from Georgia to New York, Ohio to New Jersey and every point between upper state South Carolina to Pennsylvania. I understood when it occurred in or around Richmond, Virginia this afternoon that they evacuated the Pentagon and the nuclear plant shut itself down. This is a good thing but we have a plant in South Carolina that isn't too far from where I live and we hadn't heard whether they shut down automatically or if any quakes were even felt in that area.

Pray that Irene doesn't hit land by the weekend and turns to go back out to sea. Cooler weather I'm all for but you see Ma America and the JGDS have an event outside of Charlotte Sunday and if Irene hits between Myrtle Beach and Outer Banks then Charlotte will likely get hit pretty heavy with the rain and all, which means the event possibly could be cancelled. If it hits down in the Charleston area, the Charlotte area should be okay but then again, one never can really tell with Mother Nature.

Keeping an eye out for after shocks from the earthquake as well as Irene - E :)

kindlegraph

I mentioned earlier about the kindlegraph and anxiously awaiting the publication of my YA paranormal mystery so I can start doing kindlegraphs. Well, I didn't read the whole way through on the author sign up page - kindlegraphs are not just for ebooks but for all paperback and hardback and ebooks - so I've added my books and now anyone can receive an electronic signature for any title available, just pop over to my author page on the kindlegraph site and request your signature. You can have the kindlegraphs sent to your kindle even though the books are not available as ebooks or your email. They come as a PDF file with a personalized message from me and a signature. So anyone who has purchased a copy of any of my titles from other venues (not direct sales) and would like to have a signature, please request your kindlegraph. Thanks - see you all in the postings - E :)

Finally Home, a YA paranormal mystery

I've not talked much about this story but I think it's time to bring it out of the closet and get it published. This is the story I wrote for NaNo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2008, although I didn't really write it during the month of November (I started late, about the middle of November and wrote through the middle of December, so it was still in that 30-day period that I wrote over 50,000 words on a novel; Finally Home came in at about 56,000 words.). I've already done some behind the scenes things like sending it out to several readers to get some feedback, and supplying Heather with info for cover and layout (although the ms is not in final draft yet). I also sent a copy of the document to my kindle to make notes and do some basic editing as well. So far I've received one person's comments back. Jess, who helps me sometimes during the summer with events, is reading but with her starting school this coming week, I'm afraid she won't have time to finish editing it. She did verbally give me some feedback this weekend, so I hope to at least get a partial back from her so that I can use the info to edit the story. Heather is working on a cover for Finally Home as we speak, but she too will be starting college soon and so I know her time will be limited as far as being able to work on my stories and all. I'm anxiously awaiting the cover so I can share with all of you. For more info on other stories previously published or in the works, please visit my website. I will be self-publishing and the book will be available in print via amazon, createspace and directly from me, as well as an ebook through smashwords, Kindle and Nook. I'm looking for a publication date of about the middle of October so that I will have copies on hand for events in November, namely the Savannah Children's book festival.

Stay tuned for some upcoming contests and giveaways with the release of Finally Home.

Check out Writers on the Move blog

Tomorrow I'm posting an article on the Writers on the Move blog about "Preparing for Presentations". Stop by and leave a comment about how you prepare for an upcoming presentation or how you create a new one. - E :)

Ma America, The Travelin' Maven (Elysabeth Eldering)
Author of the JGDS, 50-state, mystery, trivia series
http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com
http://jgdsseries.weebly.com

Author of "Finally Home", a YA paranormal mystery (coming soon)
http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com
http://eeldering.weebly.com

Kindlegraph

I love my kindle but still like paperback books too. I subscribe to Jen Wylie's blog, author of the Ever series that I've been following (can't wait for the next installment - lol). Anyway, her posting today is about kindlegraph, a place where authors can do "electronic signatures for ebooks" - Makes me excited to put my upcoming YA paranormal mystery (Finally Home) out as an ebook. I'm passing this on to a few of my writer buddies who do have ebooks available so that I can get their "kindlegraph" on the books I've already purchased. Hope all you writers take advantage of this (all you need is a twitter account to sign up). Happy writing and signing, ya'll - E :)

Paypal buttons - WOTM August free workshop

On August 16, 2011, at 7 PM EST (U.S.), Maggie Ball will present How to Create PayPal and Other Buy Buttons on Your Own Site.

Description: Have you ever wanted to take payments on your blog or website? Do you want to create PayPal buttons or learn about other ways to accept one or recurrent payments, small or large?

This free course provides an inside perspective on turning your booklets, e-books, and documents into sellable items, with no cost, and very little effort. You'll learn about setting up "buy it now" buttons, creating options for shopping carts, installment plans, donations, gift vouchers, and subscriptions, managing payments by email, and even how to send out refunds.

To register, email Maggie at: maggieball@compulsivereader.com. Please put "August Workshop" in the subject box.

Registered attendees will receive instructions for attending. While the Writers on the Move Workshops are FREE, your email address will be added to the presenter's mailing list upon registration.

Registered attendees will also be provided a transcript of the chat, if requested.

Shopping for an eReader

Free article by Susan Black

While it remains unlikely that the day will ever come when traditional books become an entirely redundant concept, more and more modern consumers and professionals across the board are turning to eReaders for the lion’s share of their literary pursuits. Thankfully, the demand has resulted in more choices coming onto the market than ever before and with enormous value for money, though for those approaching the subject for the very first time, a little apprehension and confusion is inevitable.

However, the market can be immediately narrowed down to the three key players of the moment to ease the matter somewhat – those being Amazon, Barnes & Noble and somewhat trailing in the rear Sony. That being said, for every high quality eReader there is also a tablet PC alternative, all of which now feature eReading functions as standard.

So, the question therefore is not only which eReader to choose, but whether to choose an eReader in the first play or go for a fully functional tablet PC. There are hundreds of guides available for each and every option online, though the following is a brief look into some of the most important considerations to help those who really have no idea where to start.

1 – Are you looking for reading alone or something entirely more versatile?

Once this particular question has been answered it is effectively simple to cut the available options in half right down the middle. Ask and establish in all honesty exactly what is to be got out of the purchase as a whole, whether it be the reading of books alone, the inclusion of magazines and newspapers, internet browsing capabilities, multimedia options and so on.

If the answer comes out as reading alone which includes magazines and newspapers than an eReader would indeed prove the most sensible option. This would essentially mean a price somewhere around the $120 mark rather than $500 – with each additional feature translating as a higher purchase cost. Of course, there is always something of a middle ground option provided by Barnes & Noble by way of the Nook Color, which sports a touch-screen and a number of tablet style features for around the $250 mark. Establish what the primary function of the device should be and the decision as to which end of the market to look into is made naturally.
2 – Screen Type

There are two primary screen types to choose from in the world of the standard eReader, both of which offer their own unique merits:

E-ink – This is the option that comes about as close to the standard printed page as is ever likely to prove possible on a digital device. Models of the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and countless others all feature an e-ink screen, which do a truly stunning job of recreating the traditional reading experience. Furthermore, an e-ink screen can be read even in direct sunlight with little to no glare or reflection. The main drawback for e-ink comes by the way of purely black and white content, along with fairly restricted versatility and page-load speeds.

LCD – The alternative option is the bright, backlit and endlessly versatile color LCD display which undoubtedly has the e-ink option licked by way of beauty. However, the downside is that the reflective nature of the screen makes it prone to glare and reflection, with the backlight being known as tiresome to eyes over extended periods.
The rest of the bell and whistles featured really come down to personal preference, but for those looking for a little further push in the right direction, here are some specific suggestions.

The very best overall e-ink option is undoubtedly that of the latest Nook, which offers a truly wonderful reading experience for a modest $139. Those willing to bear the odd ad popping up on their Kindle are handsomely with a stunning device for little more than $110 which makes the perfect choice for relaxing on any leather reclining sofa.

With regard to color screen options, the Barnes & Noble Nook Color takes the prize, weighing in at less than $250 and offering many of the features and functions that would be expected from a tablet at twice such a price.

Last but by no means least, the very best fully functional tablet PC that also doubles as a stunning eReader has to be the Apple iPad 2, which starts at around the $500 mark but is essentially one of the best fully portable computer systems ever devised with a range of functions too infinite to comprehend.

(Of note, the author of this blog is partial to her Kindle, although she only has the basic WiFi model. She is awaiting the Kindle tablet to see how it compares to the iPad or other such tablets. Rumor has it that the Kindle tablet will start at $399 but could be less since Kindle just had a huge sponsorship from AT&T - all the Kindles will see a price decrease (the cheapest one will start at $99 and go up from there; amazon.com just decreased the price of the Kindle 3G + WiFi to $139 which is what the basic WiFi model without the ads and stuff cost previously. Hoping to see more news on the Kindle Tablet soon - knowing it will be in color and all - E :))

New website, new books

I've just released my website where I will house my other books. Currently being critiqued by two young folks and another friend is my YA paranormal (still not really sure it fits in this paranormal genre but is definitely a YA) novel is "Finally Home." The other day while on plurk, after seeing another post by Kevin about his missing bowling shirt, I had an idea for a picture book about "The Missing Shirt" that kind of travels around the states before finding its way home to Kevin. Covers will be posted as soon as I have them. So please check out my new website and let me know what you think - E :)

H. C. Paye featured today

If you are looking for a little more insight into my illustrator, H.C. Paye, please drop by the Writers on the Move blog and find out about her graphic design. One of the covers featured on the article is my friend's, Ms. Faye Tollison, "To Tell the Truth" and I must say it is still gorgeous. I have three copies for sale if anyone is interested in getting a signed copy from the author; just drop me an email or you can go to her website and order from any of the places listed there. You can also order directly from Faye who will be happy to personalize your copy. Happy readings, ya'll - E :)

Book Review: Tales of Ever by Jen Wylie

Tales of Ever series by Jen Wylie is another in the electric short series from Quake Me, a division of Echelon Press.

Jen Wylie had this reader hooked from the first story. She takes you into a world of danger and foreverness that one cannot escape no matter what. I so love this series and cannot wait for the next three installments.

We follow "Fire Girl" through her adventures in the land of Ever and meet many interesting characters along the way. The three available stories in the series are Banished, Fire Girl and Shadow Boy. I'm not much of a fantasy/sci-fi reader but I must say that Ms. Wylie absolutely drew me in and in such a way that I really forgot I was reading fantasy/sci-fi or whatever the genre is.

RATINGS: 5 stars (for the series and each book)

Book Info:
Banished
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 168 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Echelon Press (March 1, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004Q9TX4A
Lending: Enabled


Fire Girl
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 146 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Echelon Press LLC (April 5, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004VFN5SO
Lending: Enabled


Shadow Boy
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 225 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Echelon Press LLC (May 4, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004ZFVSBG
Lending: Enabled


I definitely want the rest of this series - keep up the great job, Jen.

Book Review: Delbert Dallas and the Dragon Diaries series

Delbert Dallas and the Dragon Diaries series by J. R. Turner is part of the electric shorts from Quake Me, an Echelon Press subsidiary, for kids. These short stories can be read in a short amount of time. They are only available as ebooks but for only 99 cents, they are just right.

The three in the series available so far are Voyage to Viking Island, The Civil War Skirmish and Viva La Francine!. There are three more in the series, scheduled to come out once a month (not sure of exact release dates as the third installment was late as they are supposed to be released the fourth Tuesday of the month). This historical fiction stories are written in conjunction with J.R.'s son. I believe it was his idea to turn the guitar into the dragon and do some time traveling.

They are fun and easy reads. J.R. does put a little glossary at the end of each story so you don't have to worry about tripping up on the words. I like that she brings some history to life in such a quick manner. Ms. Turner has taken a small date in history and given us a glimpse of what might have occurred at that moment.

This reader is enjoying the series and will continue reading it until it is finished. I do hope that Ms. Turner will take some of these short stories and make them longer stories as I see a lot of potential for more story there.

Keep up the great job, J.R..


RATING: 4-1/2 stars (for the series and each story)

BOOK INFO:
Voyage to Viking Island
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 169 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Echelon Press (March 21, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004TAECNS
Lending: Enabled


Civil War Skirmish
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 211 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Echelon Press LLC (May 4, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004ZFVCXA
Lending: Enabled

Viva La Francine!
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 214 KB
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Echelon Press (June 26, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B0058EAT86
Lending: Enabled

Book Review: Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum by Stephen Prosapio

New release, The Ghosts of Rosewood Asylum by Stephen Prosapio is a must-read for ghost story lovers.

The story starts a bit slow but it builds to the "wow" factor of the story. It follows paranormal investigator, Zach, and his team along side another TV show's group of folks while they explore a haunted insane asylum. Even though the story only takes place over a couple of days, it reads like it is longer. The reader is definitely brought in by the history given. I don't know if Rosewood Asylum is a real entity or not, but if it is, I'm sure it would be a definite place where hauntings would take place. Mr. Prosapio fills in the background very well. I emailed him after finishing the story and put in the subject "All I can say is Wow" because I really didn't have another word to give him. I was surprised a little but thoroughly enjoyed the story.

It is available in both paperback and kindle versions. When I placed the order last week, it was on sale for 99 cents but now is back up to its regular price of $5.95. It is worth the read though. The paperback version is $16.78 and the hardback version is $28.66.

I think if you really want a good ghost story, this is the one for you.

After reading the excerpt from his upcoming story, I think I'll pass on that one, not because it didn't grip from the beginning but it's a Lizzie Bordon story and I have an aversion to Lizzie Bordon for some odd reason. I will have to think long and hard about getting this next story. Maybe Stephen can persuade me to get it and read it. I was spooked before I even read the words "Lizzie Bordon took an axe" because the first few paragraphs did draw me into the story. (UPDATE 07/03/2011: Stephen has emailed me and promises me this is not a Lizzie Bordon story and there is no other mention of her after that beginning where the girl is chanting the thing about Lizzie Bordon - you know the one - lol, so I guess when the next story comes out I may have to read it, we'll see)

RATING: 4-1/2 stars

Afghan giveaway update

I'm on the last red strip (maybe). I got 6 blue strips, 5 white and am on the 5th of the red (am hoping that I can get 6 out of the red, but probably won't be able to get that 6th strip). The afgan will be 15 strips across (I've kind of laid it out and it is about the width of my computer twice over - I think I have a 15 inch laptop, so total should be about 30 inches across and 45 inches long- this should make a nice lap throw - I may have to get some more yarn and make it a bit bigger, will decide after finishing the strip of red). Pictures of the finished project will be posted once the strips are sewn together.

(this is what the strips will look like put together (strips are folded in half twice so they aren't dragging the floor) - with only 15 strips (5 of each color) the pattern will be two red, two white, two blue, one red, one white, one blue and then the 2-2-2. This was laid out on my computer and almost goes across the width of the computer, so I hope that 15 rows will be enough)

This afghan will be the prize in the drawing from all purchases made between May and my last event of the year (Savannah Children's Book Festival in November). Drawing will be done from all receipts on or about December 1, 2011, and afgan will be sent out on or about the 7th of December.

Good luck to everyone who is entered in the drawing and I appreciate your business. - Ma America, The Travelin' Maven (Mrs. E :)) & the JGDS