Tag Archives: author

It’s Free Friday! #free An autographed print copy of Crisis of Identity by Denise Moncrief

Free_Fridays!

Yay!  It’s Freebee Fridays time!

First of all, Congrats to last week’s winner: J.K.Ford

You’ve received a free copy of “Torn” by Keri Neal.

If you’d like to find out more about Kerri Neal check out her blog kerineal.com/author or check her out on Twitter twitter.com/@authorkerineal or Facebook facebook.com/authorkerineal

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Alien Zig Zag

PKO_Alien 3 0003387I’m tired.

.

Why are you tired?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387I stayed up late last night watching a movie.

.

Well at least you were having fun.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387It was not fun!  It was horrible. 

Such a sad story! What a Tragedy!

What was it about?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387This mother trying to save her baby from a serial killer.

  It was horrible!

What was it called?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Alien.

.

[Presses her lips together] I’m… not going to go there.  So, are you ready for the interview?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Yes. Maybe it will cheer me up.

Let the stupid author in.

Oh, this isn’t going to go well…

PKO_Alien 3 0003387So, who are you

and what do you want?

Hi.

I’m Denise Moncrief and I’m just a writer who wants to sell a few books.

Is that too much to ask?

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Piff!  We’ll see.

Why do you think your book is good enough?

Because…because… sheesh, because I wrote it.

That’s why.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Vain little sucker isn’t she? 

Okay Miss Hoity Toity…

Why would anyone want to read it?

Why wouldn’t they?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Because you’re a hoity toity pink clad…

.

Hey!  Be nice! 

You don’t know anything about her!

PKO_Alien 3 0003387She reminds me of Sigourney Weaver.  That brown hair… those beady eyes… I don’t like Sigourney Weaver anymore.  She’s mean to poor alien mothers just trying to protect their babies.

But this isn’t Sigourney Weaver.

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387I don’t care!

.

Please give her a chance.

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387All right. 

Tell me what your stupid book is about.

I’m so glad you asked! Tess Copeland is an operator. Her motto? Necessity is the mother of a good a con. When Hurricane Irving slams into the Texas Gulf coast, Tess seizes the opportunity to escape her past by hijacking a dead woman’s life, but Shelby Coleman’s was the wrong identity to steal. And the cop that trails her? He’s a U.S. Marshall with the Fugitive Task Force for the northern district of Illinois. Tess left Chicago because the criminal justice system gave her no choice. Now she’s on the run from ghosts of misdeeds past—both hers and Shelby’s.

Enter Trevor Smith, a pseudo-cowboy from Houston, Texas, with good looks, a quick tongue, and testosterone poisoning. Will Tess succumb to his questionable charms and become his damsel in distress? She doesn’t have to faint at his feet—she’s capable of handling just about anything. But will she choose to let Trevor be the man? When Tess kidnaps her niece, her life changes. She must make some hard decisions. Does she trust the lawman that promises her redemption, or does she trust the cowboy that promises her nothing but himself?

Alien Huh CloseIs that supposed to sound even remotely interesting to me?  I just got back from Texas, and it was nothing like that.  It was far more interesting. Stupid book.

Stupid Alien.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Who are you calling stupid?

.

You, Stupid.  And Sigourney Weaver rules.

That was another stupid alien who deserved everything it got!

PKO_Alien 3 0003387What?  How dare you!

[Fumbles through drawer]  Hey!  Who took my ray gun!

Oops. 

That would be me.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Where is it?

.

Would you believe it’s out getting cleaned? 

It was a little dirty from the last book you disintegrated with it.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Well, I need to disintegrate another stupid book

– and the stupid author too!

How about you just get rid of he book by giving it away?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Never!

.

But maybe there’s a reason she’s stupid…

I mean… ergh… Umm… 

PKO_Alien 3 0003387You mean maybe she was hit by a stupid ray?

.

Stupid ray? Is there such thing?

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Yes.

.

Well, then, yes,

maybe she was hit by a stupid ray.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Hey Moncrief…

Were you hit with a stupid ray or something?

No, I don’t think so. But then, the memory erasing serum faded most of the 1990s for me.

You know what? 

If they hit her with a stupid ray, maybe she was being bad?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Oh! 

Did you try to take over the world?

I can’t talk about that. National security and everything, you understand. (That’s part of the reason they gave me the memory erasing serum.) There are things I remember, and things I’d rather forget.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387So there is a possibility you are a comrade of world domination, but you just don’t remember! Are you sure you are from this planet?  Have you ever had the odd sensation of floating in a black void with sparkling stars?

Don’t you think these questions are getting a little…personal?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Hmmm. 

I’m not sure what to do with this one.

On the off chance she’s stupid for a reason, how about we give away a copy of her book?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387That’s a stupid reason

to give away a book.

Stupid reason for a stupid person?

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Oh, okay.

We’ll give away the stupid book.

Yessssssssssssssss!

Hey, Denise… I don’t really think you’re stupid

.

I know 🙂

.

There you have it!  Comment below, and try to make poor Denise feel better after all that.

If you’d like to find out more about Denise Moncrief and her books, click on over to  http://www.denisemoncrief.blogspot.com/
JenniFer_EatonF

The Little Blue Lady From Mars © Jennifer M. Eaton.

Writing Madly to a Deadline, and then NOT submitting

I recently jumped into the running for another anthology, which means writing to a tight deadline.  I tripped up my schedule for a few weeks, finalizing my novel for the Amazon Break Through Novel Contest, and was two-weeks behind schedule. I DID finish in time (barely), but now I sit here the day before the deadline, with a completed manuscript in my hands, second guessing myself.

Do I think it’s not good enough?  No.  The opposite.  It’s tight. It’s precise….

And if you could have seen the look on my son’s face after reading it— Dang.  I haven’t seen him this excited about something since finishing the Hunger Games (Not that mine is even remotely like the Hunger Games)

So what’s the problem?  Submit the dern thing!

Here’s my problem… It’s too long.  I did not make the word count.  I contacted the publisher, and they said they would consider it at the higher word count, but it definitely would have to be cut down by 1500 words for publication in the anthology (If it were chosen)

I searched for those 1500 words, and found a possible 500 to cut, but editing out those 500 would have affected the “mood” of the story.  And if another 1000 words were cut after that, the whole story would seem rushed.

If my son had said “Meh, it’s okay.  I’ve read better.” (Which he has done to me in the past) I would have sliced and diced the 1500 words out of the story and sent it in.

But he didn’t say that.  He asked for more.  My kid the voracious reader said:  “It was really great.  I’ve never read anything like that before.  When will you write another one?”

I thought about what those forced changes would do, and decided to take the creative high road.  I am passing on the anthology, and am now embarking on a search for a publisher of Young Adult Paranormal Short/Novellas.

Ugh!  I hate passing up an opportunity, but I think this particular story needs to find a more suitable home than the confines of an anthology.

I am all for editing… all stories need to be edited, but I don’t want to “cut” just for the sake of “cutting”.  I’d rather have words cut because they don’t belong there… not because there is a stipulation on word count.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this?

If not, do you think you’d submit anyway, or search for a new home?

_JenniFer____EatoN

Write a Story with Me # 33 – What? OH NO! She didn’t! by Danielle Ackley McPhail

Last week Janelle took off — literally, leaving the old lady with Mommy bleeding to death and in a ton of trouble.  What’s gonna happen?  Here’s Danielle Ackley McPhail’s first contribution to our story!

33- Danielle Ackley McPhail – Wait, she’s who?  What?  OH NO!  She didn’t!

Morana watched her unsuspecting daughter go, her lips tightly set and her eyes sad. She remembered more than a time before the faeries were looked on as vermin…she remembered when they had been kin with humans. When all kind were linked and not separate.

How dark and grim the world had become since that time.

With a sigh she turned back to her patient. Poor Natalia, forsaken by all and sundry; all but Morana, and now that the last witness was gone it was time to see to mother and babe.

Queen Morath of the fae shed the weight of her borrowed years, shed her human form, the aches and pains and the blurring of her eyes. All fell away like flakes of skin to dust leaving the most beautiful and powerful of fae standing over the human woman, who sprawled upon the floor in her own blood, the babe’s cord still trailing from her body, wet and glistening.

“tsk…let’s clean you up, my lovely, shall we?” Nearer to human height than the diminutive size the fae had become in the after-time, Morath bent gracefully down, folded the delicate membranes of her wings back and safely away from the mess on the floor before reaching out one ivory-pale hand to trail through Natalia’s hair and down the curve of her back. Magic sparkled in the air at the touch as like recognized like deep within the two races now drastically different. Queen of life and death as well as fae, Morath ordered the woman’s lifeblood back within the confines of her veins and wicked away both sweat and blood normal to the birthing of children, and with it the memory of that night’s ordeal…all of it. Natalia remain unconscious—blessedly so—as the faerie queen scooped up the woman’s son to cradle in immortal arms.

The child cooed and burbled, making the faerie queen laugh before she grew somber once more. “Come, Verval. For your own safety and theirs, you need be the price for my healing.”
And Morath rose in a cloud of glittering motes, secreting the foretold boy away before any harm might come to him or his parents for bearing him.

Write a Story with Me is a group endeavor just for the fun of it.  A different writer adds a new 250 words each week.  It is the ultimate Flash Fiction Challenge!

If you’d like to sign up, come on over.  There’s always room for more!

Part One – Jennifer M. Eaton

Part Two – J. Keller Ford

Part Three – Susan Roebuck

Part Four – Elin Gregory

Part Five – Eileen Snyder

Part Six – Mikaela Wire

Part Seven — Vanessa Chapman

Part Eight — Ravena Guron

Part Nine – Vikki Thompson

Part Ten — Susan Rocan mywithershins

Part Eleven — Kate Johnston  AKA 4AMWriter

Part Twelve — Julie Catherine

Part Thirteen — Kai Damian

Part Fourteen — Richard Leonard

Part Fifteen — Sharon Manship

Part Sixteen – Shannon Blue Christensen

Part Seventeen — Bryn Jones

Part Eighteen — Jennifer M. Eaton

Part Nineteen — Shannon Burton

Part Twenty — J.Keller Ford

Part Twenty-One — Susan Roebuck

Part Twenty-Two — Elin Gregory

Part Twenty-Three — Aparnauteur

Part Twenty-Four — Vanessa Chapman

Part Twenty-Five — Ravena Guron

Part Twenty Six — Susan Rocan

Part Twenty Seven — Kate Johnson AKA 4AMWriter

Part Twenty Eight – Julie Catherine

Part Twenty Nine — Kai Damian

Part Thirty — Richard Leonard

Part Thirty-One —Sharon Manship

Part Thirty-Two — Shannon Christensen

Part Thirty-Three — Danielle Ackley McPhail

Don’t forget to stop by next week to see what happens next.

Siv Maria Ottem— TAG!  You are “It”

#FreeFriday Win a #Free Ebook “A Heart Broken ” by Sara Barnard

Free_Fridays!

Yay!  It’s Freebee Fridays time!

First of all, Congrats to last week’s winner: Maddy

You’ve received a free copy of “Mona Lisa’s Room” by Vonnie Davis, and the bonus winner of “A Taste of Chocolate” is: Charissa

If you’d like to find out more about Vonnie Davis and her books, hop on over to http://vonniedavis.com/Home_Page.html

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Alien SmileI’m starting to enjoy this.  I’m really looking forward to this week’s interview!

Yes, you are doing great. 

You were almost nice to Vonnie Davis.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Nice!  This cannot happen!

No one can this I’m nice!

Shoot! 

Please forget I said that and at lest try to be nice to this author.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387We’ll see.

Why am I worried about this?

Okay, let her in.

Alien SmileHello. authory-looking person, please come in.

Yes, yes…

Come on in and have a seat.

Hello. 

Hey! 

My shirt matches you hair! 

Alien SmileWell, yes, it is nearly the same shade.

How wonderful.

Who are you, my dear?

My name is Sara Barnard and I want to take readers back in time to the 19th century so they can share in the adventures of Confederate Captain Sanderson Redding and his damsel, Charlotte Adamsland.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Huh? What’s all this confederate stuff.

I don’t understand.  What the heck is this a book about?

.

That’s the thing.

It’s only disguised as a book.

It’s really a time travel device. (Shhh.)

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Well that’s just crazy.  That’s just not possible.  Why would anyone want to read something like that!

So they can travel back in time.

Duh. (Whoops! Excuse me!)

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387This one’s a little nutty

Give her a chance. 

She’s fun

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Okay.  Geeze. Alright Miss Time Travel.

Are there at least explosions?

There are some explosions,

all in a 19th century way of exploding.

.
PKO_Alien 3 0003387She actually thinks she’s time traveling.

Just go with it.

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Erghh…

Okay, what’s the story about?

The war (Civil, that is) is over, Sanderson is home, and life is good. Until the Army comes knocking. They’ve charged Sanderson with murder and unless he can track down the notorious outlaw William “Bloody Bill” Quantrill, he’ll face the hangman’s noose. Meanwhile, Charlotte is left in Minerva’s capable hands to endure a complicated pregnancy before battling a rash of hydrophobee that threatens the countryside; Cotton, Achilles, and Sanderson included.

Alien Huh CloseHydrophobee?  This is about being afraid of water?

You are one weird chic.

 It’s not about… Huh? 

PKO_Alien 3 0003387You said there was an explosion, right?

.

Yes.

All Civil-War like

PKO_Alien 3 0003387I don’t believe you.

Have you ever actually exploded anything?

Yes once, but I’m not allowed to talk about it. We are still under a gag order. As to why, in true Texas fashion, it just needed explodin’.

Alien SmileYes!

Someone else who realizes the wonder of a grand explosion!

How about taking over the world?

Wait, who told you about that? Have you been talking to Althea the Green?

My success in world domination remains to be seen. Ask me again in 2015.

Alien SmileYes!  I will!

Maybe we can take over the world together?  What’s your plan?

Well the trick to taking over the world  is inventing a time travel device … hey, wait. Is this a trick question? I know nothing about it and I will deny it if it comes up again.

.

Alien SmileSo what should we explode first?

Well that is simple. I would explode what needed explodin’! And that can be anything from, wait, I’m not allowed to talk about it, remember?

Alien SmileHa Ha!  Yes!

I love Sara Barnard!

Quickly!  We must give away her book!

Let’s get rocking!

If anyone would like to win a free copy of

.

A Heart Broken (An Everlasting Heart #2) leave a comment below.

We will choose a winner on Monday.

Thanks Sara, and great job winning over the Little Blue Lady from Mars!

One day we will

rule the world together!

.

Alien SmileWell

YYYYeeeeeeee

Haaaaawwwwww! 

Thanks for lett’n me hang!

.

If you’d like to find out more about Sara Barnard and her books, hop on over to www.sarabarnardbooks.com

JenniFer_EatonF

The Little Blue Lady From Mars © Jennifer M. Eaton.

Give that Publisher What They Want, Dernit! Finale

I am uber stoker to be able to dig into the wild and crazy brain of someone who is out there doing this crazy publishing stuff professionally. When you read this, you’re gonna want to slap yourself silly, because this is hearing it right from someone who does this for a living. For the next few weeks, we will be delving into the slush pile with professional editor and author Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Here we go…

The Writer’s Toolbox: Give ’Em What They Want! Why Formatting Is Important By Danielle Ackley-McPhail

(Originally published in Allegory Magazine ©2011)

—————————————————————–

Here is a listing of all the Posts from Danielle on this topic.  Good Stuff if you missed any of them!

Post one Don’t get all creative now!

Post two Duh – Contact Info

Post three Basics 2 – Identifiers

Post four Formatting #1

Post five Formatting #2 Advanced

Post six Ellipses, Emdash, Quotes

Post seven Keep It Simple

Summing Up

You might think this article was about the technical aspects of formatting, but you would only be partially correct. What this article is truly about is respect. If you want to succeed at this dedicated hobby you’ve chosen to pursue (believe me, you don’t want to think of it as a career…it only leads to masses of frustration) then you need to get your head in the correct mindset. You are not alone in your desire. There are countless individuals who want to be authors. There are a considerably less individuals who are in a position to make that possible. Editors have to look through hundreds, even thousands of manuscripts every year. I don’t think I have to tell you that they can’t accept them all. You know what that means? It is your job to make their job as easy for them as possible. You can do that in two ways:

  • Ignore what I’ve shared with you here and start deciding which room you are going to wallpaper with rejections first, or
  • Do everything you can to make your manuscript clean and formatted to the publisher’s preference so that technical issues don’t distract the editor from the creative aspects of your work.

Now I’m not saying if you follow all the submission guidelines your work is guaranteed to be accepted, but I am saying you stand a heck of a better chance of at least getting noticed.

Special Thanks to Danielle Ackley McPhail for this wonderful insider info!

Thanks Danielle!

Award-winning author Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for over seventeen years. Currently, she is a project editor and promotions manager for Dark Quest Books.

Her published works include four urban fantasy novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, and The Halfling’s Court: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale. She is also the author of a single-author collection of science fiction stories called A Legacy of Stars, the non-fiction writers guide, The Literary Handyman and is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Dragon’s Lure, and In An Iron Cage. Her work is included in numerous other anthologies and collections, including Rum and Runestones, Dark Furies, Breach the Hull, So It Begins, By Other Means, No Man’s Land, Space Pirates, Space Horrors, Barbarians at the Jumpgate, and Mermaid 13.

She is a member of the New Jersey Authors Network and Broad Universe, a writer’s organization focusing on promoting the works of women authors in the speculative genres.

Danielle lives somewhere in New Jersey with husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail, mother-in-law Teresa, and three extremely spoiled cats. She can be found on LiveJournal (damcphail, badassfaeries, darkquestbooks, lit_handyman), Facebook (Danielle Ackley-McPhail), and Twitter (DAckley-McPhail). To learn more about her work, visit http://www.sidhenadaire.com, http://www.literaryhandyman.com, or www.badassfaeries.com.

Website and/or blog www.sidhenadaire.com, http://lit_handyman.livejournal.com, http://damcphail.livejournal.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/DMcPhail

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/danielle.ackleymcphail

Amazon author page   http://www.amazon.com/Danielle-Ackley-McPhail/e/B002GZVZPQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1331314265&sr=8-1

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/989939.Danielle_Ackley_McPhail

http://www.badassfaeries.com/

http://www.sidhenadaire.com/

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Give that Publisher What They Want Dernit! #4: Formating #2 (Advanced)

I am uber stoker to be able to dig into the wild and crazy brain of someone who is out there doing this crazy publishing stuff professionally. When you read this, you’re gonna want to slap yourself silly, because this is hearing it right from someone who does this for a living. For the next few weeks, we will be delving into the slush pile with professional editor and author Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Here we go…

The Writer’s Toolbox: Give ’Em What They Want! Why Formatting Is Important By Danielle Ackley-McPhail

(Originally published in Allegory Magazine ©2011)

—————————————————————–

So far, we’ve discussed that nothing will help your manuscript if the editor in question is not even willing to read it.

We’ve discussed remembering your contact information, and some basics… How to identify yourself, and your manuscript.

Last week we discussed basic formatting.  Now we’ll go into some special stuff.

Formatting #2

Special characters/formatting – originally when manuscripts were all submitted in hardcopy it was not possible to implement certain formatting or characters in print. Because of this certain conventions were developed to represent the formatting desired. As technology progressed, this changed, thanks to the advent of electronic typewriters and word processors, which had features for special formatting. This formatting issue was rendered all together moot once computers were on the scene. However, even once we had the ability to represent format true to form, manuscripts still had to be physically typeset to create the plates used on a printing press as recently as the mid to late 20th century, and publishers held to the traditional conventions because formatting was often easy to miss, causing errors in the typeset manuscript. Even now that most books are digitally typeset some publishers still require these methods of marking the format be observed. Here they are, for your writerly edification:

Bold – represented by asterisks bracketing the text to be set in bold.

Italic – represented by underlining text to be set in italics.

Underline – I am afraid I could not find a reference to how this was represented originally (before the age of computers) particularly given that underlining was used to indicate italics. I can only presume that is because it was and/or is exceedingly rare for underlined text to appear in books. (That, or I’m just not hitting the right search phrase that would give me the information I’m looking for.)

Next week we’ll discuss my personal nemesises… ellipsis and emdash.

Be there or be square, or, ummm… rejected?

Award-winning author Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for over seventeen years. Currently, she is a project editor and promotions manager for Dark Quest Books.

Her published works include four urban fantasy novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, and The Halfling’s Court: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale. She is also the author of a single-author collection of science fiction stories called A Legacy of Stars, the non-fiction writers guide, The Literary Handyman and is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Dragon’s Lure, and In An Iron Cage. Her work is included in numerous other anthologies and collections, including Rum and Runestones, Dark Furies, Breach the Hull, So It Begins, By Other Means, No Man’s Land, Space Pirates, Space Horrors, Barbarians at the Jumpgate, and Mermaid 13.

She is a member of the New Jersey Authors Network and Broad Universe, a writer’s organization focusing on promoting the works of women authors in the speculative genres.

Danielle lives somewhere in New Jersey with husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail, mother-in-law Teresa, and three extremely spoiled cats. She can be found on LiveJournal (damcphail, badassfaeries, darkquestbooks, lit_handyman), Facebook (Danielle Ackley-McPhail), and Twitter (DAckley-McPhail). To learn more about her work, visit http://www.sidhenadaire.com, http://www.literaryhandyman.com, or www.badassfaeries.com.

Website and/or blog www.sidhenadaire.com, http://lit_handyman.livejournal.com, http://damcphail.livejournal.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/DMcPhail

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/danielle.ackleymcphail

Amazon author page   http://www.amazon.com/Danielle-Ackley-McPhail/e/B002GZVZPQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1331314265&sr=8-1

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/989939.Danielle_Ackley_McPhail

http://www.badassfaeries.com/

http://www.sidhenadaire.com/

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#FreeFridays Giveaway! #Win a #free copy of “HUSH, LITTLE BABY” Everyone loves #freestuff and #freebooks!

Yay!  It’s Free Friday!

First of all, congratulations to last week’s winner. Celestine Nudana chose my anthology “For the Love of Christmas” as her title.

Enjoy, Celestine!

Free_Fridays!

Now this week, we are happy to have….

PKO_Alien 1 0003414

Me!

Jennifer13Umm, no.  Actually we have Deborah M. Piccurelli here today.  She’s an author.

No!  You will interview me!

Jennifer13No no no!  Not this time.  You don’t have a book to give away.

Alien Huh Close

Huh?  Since when do you need to give away abook to get on here?

Jennifer13It’s new.  This is Freebee Friday.  I’ll interview someone, and then give away their book.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387

For nothing?

Yeah.  Pretty much.

Well, what fun is that?

It’s great fun, if you win.

Alien PKO_0003410

Hmmm.  Can I interview her?  I’ll be good.  I promise.

I don’t know.

Pleaaaeeeeeese

Jennifer13Ergh.  Okay, but BE NICE.

This is a very nice author with a nice, wholesome book.  Pretend to be a good girl. Okay?

.

Alien SmileYay! Okay, here is my very first interview!

Cheer me on, Earthlings!

.

Alien Zig ZagAlien Zig ZagAlien Zig Zag

PKO_Alien 3 0003387So, who are you and what do you want?

Like Jennifer said, my name is Deborah M. Piccurelli and I am an author who writes about controversial issues. My goal is to help stop heinous acts performed by evil people. I plan to give a portion of the proceeds from every book published from here on out, to a charity that works against them. It is one way for me to contribute to Kingdom work.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Why do you think your book is good enough to talk about with someone as great as me?

Because it’s for a worthy cause, and I put my whole heart and soul into it.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Oh!  I know about putting heart and soul into things… Like taking over the world!  Is this about taking over the world?

No. Sorry.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387No? Then why would anyone want to read it?

It has unique characters, a unique story, and it contains humor, romance, and suspense.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Well, I guess those things can be fun, too.

So, entice me.  What’s it about?

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Investigative journalist, Amber Blake, is a little person bent on payback for the death of her average-sized twin sister. Enlisted by her former partner and estranged husband, Evan, she poses as a counselor in an abortion clinic to expose the doctor responsible for fetal harvesting. As a Christian, she struggles with concealing her beliefs to maintain her cover, while the doctor’s romantic overtures tumble her stomach. Amber agrees to date him for the sake of the story . . . but nothing prepares her for what’s behind a mysterious door in his office.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Wow.  That sounds really really deep!  Are you sure she doesn’t blow him up at the end?  Because that would be a great ending.

No.  Sorry, no explosions.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Are you sure?  Would you consider writing one in?

No.

.

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Come on!  I have to get at least one explosion story out of you.  Have you ever fantasized about exploding things?

Not really. 

Am I boring?

PKO_Alien 3 0003387Do you really want me to answer that?

.

Jennifer13Hey!  You said you would be nice!!!!!

Not everyone wants to explode things!  This sounds like a great, really tense story!  What an interesting and kinda Creepy premise.

Thank you, Jennifer.

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Jennifer13Okay, Deborah, let’s give her a taste of your writing.  That should win her over. 

Oh!  I know! Describe your favorite dessert to her.

Right now, I’m thinking of Olive Garden’s Lemon Cake. The lemon custard filling is smooth and silky on my tongue, almost melting away as it passes through the mouth and down the throat. The taste is simultaneously slightly tart/slightly sweet. The delicate layer cake that sandwich’s the filling is light and airy. It, too, seems to melt on the tongue, and the discreet vanilla flavor comes together with the fine sugar powder that’s sprinkled over top of the cake to create a quick burst of sweetness before it’s swallowed, and then it’s gone . . . until you fork up the next morsel.

Alien Huh PKO_0003376Okay okay!  You win!  Is there an Olive Garden I haven’t exploded yet?

Yes!  Here it is!

Now, how does one use one of these map things…

Jennifer13Okay, Deborah, quick, while she’s distracted, what are you giving away this week?

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I must say this has been a truly DIFFERENT experience.  I’m giving away a copy of my book, Hush, Little Baby or if the winner prefers, a .pdf version.

Jennifer13Awesomesauce!  Thanks for stopping by, and I’m really sorry for the Little Blue Lady.

Okay guys, comment below for a chance to win Hush, Little Baby by Deborah M. Piccurelli in your choice of paperback or PDF.  If you want to know more about Deborah, Check out her web site here.

Don’t forget to comment!  A random winner will be chosen on Monday.

Good_Luck!

JenniFer_EatonF

Give that Publisher What They Want Dernit! #3 Formatting part 1

I am uber stoker to be able to dig into the wild and crazy brain of someone who is out there doing this crazy publishing stuff professionally. When you read this, you’re gonna want to slap yourself silly, because this is hearing it right from someone who does this for a living. For the next few weeks, we will be delving into the slush pile with professional editor and author Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Here we go…

The Writer’s Toolbox: Give ’Em What They Want! Why Formatting Is Important By Danielle Ackley-McPhail

(Originally published in Allegory Magazine ©2011)

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So far, we’ve discussed that nothing will help your manuscript if the editor in question is not even willing to read it.

We’ve discussed remembering your contact information, and some basics… How to identify yourself, and your manuscript.

Now let’s discuss the basics of formatting

Formatting #1

Some things are just industry standard and if you are serious about becoming an author you have an obligation to learn what those are. If you are submitting somewhere that for one reason or another does not have submission guidelines always assume they want the following formatting:

Font – Courier or Times New Roman, 12 point. These fonts are easy to read and clear and 12 point is generally a comfortable size for most people.

Spacing (Print) – paragraphs should be first-line indented and double spaced, with no line break in between paragraphs. Some programs have an automatic indent feature. These can cause problems in the typesetting process so, personally, I feel it is better to use a tab for your first line indent. Not sure if any publishers or editors (besides myself) express a preference on that. In either case, whichever you chose use it consistently.

It also used to be the convention to double space after a period. This hails from the days when manuscripts had to be manually typeset. It is no longer necessary in the age of computers and digital typesetting, though many still do so, simply because it was how they were originally taught.

Spacing (Online) – paragraphs should be flush left (no indent) and single spaced, with a line break between paragraphs.

Section Breaks – when a scene changes it is very important the transition is clearly marked. Some authors simply use a line space in between the scenes, others use either a number sign (#), or three asterisks (***) so that it is clear the break is intentional.

The End – Generally a good idea to close your manuscript with these words just so it is clear to the person reviewing it that nothing is missing.

Next week we’ll discuss some more advanced formatting requirements.

Be there or be square, or, ummm… rejected?

Award-winning author Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for over seventeen years. Currently, she is a project editor and promotions manager for Dark Quest Books.

Her published works include four urban fantasy novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, and The Halfling’s Court: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale. She is also the author of a single-author collection of science fiction stories called A Legacy of Stars, the non-fiction writers guide, The Literary Handyman and is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Dragon’s Lure, and In An Iron Cage. Her work is included in numerous other anthologies and collections, including Rum and Runestones, Dark Furies, Breach the Hull, So It Begins, By Other Means, No Man’s Land, Space Pirates, Space Horrors, Barbarians at the Jumpgate, and Mermaid 13.

She is a member of the New Jersey Authors Network and Broad Universe, a writer’s organization focusing on promoting the works of women authors in the speculative genres.

Danielle lives somewhere in New Jersey with husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail, mother-in-law Teresa, and three extremely spoiled cats. She can be found on LiveJournal (damcphail, badassfaeries, darkquestbooks, lit_handyman), Facebook (Danielle Ackley-McPhail), and Twitter (DAckley-McPhail). To learn more about her work, visit http://www.sidhenadaire.com, http://www.literaryhandyman.com, or www.badassfaeries.com.

Website and/or blog www.sidhenadaire.com, http://lit_handyman.livejournal.com, http://damcphail.livejournal.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/DMcPhail

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/danielle.ackleymcphail

Amazon author page   http://www.amazon.com/Danielle-Ackley-McPhail/e/B002GZVZPQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1331314265&sr=8-1

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/989939.Danielle_Ackley_McPhail

http://www.badassfaeries.com/

http://www.sidhenadaire.com/

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I’m back! The blog tour is finally over. (Thank Goodness) – What I learned. And an ebook #giveaway for #FreeFriday #freestuff

Omigosh.  I can’t believe it’s finally over.  This may have been the most painful thing wonderful experience I’ve ever had as a writer and I hope I never have to put myself through this can’t wait to do another one.

I just came off a month-long blog tour.  45 stops in 30 days.  The over achiever in me says “Yes! Awesome! Bring it!”  But the real-person side of me just wants to take a step back and sleep.

So, what did I learn?  A lot.  Would I do it again?

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Well, at least not in the same way.

Did we get the word out?  Yes.

Did we sell books?  Yes.

Was it worth it?  I’m not really sure yet.

I don’t think I am going to take on a blog tour this aggressively again. Will I be aggressive?  You betcha! But the rest of my life shouldn’t suffer for it.

Before I dig into the things I’ve learned, let’s discuss the result…

Don’t get me wrong, this was not an overall bad experience.  My fear is, though, that I may have lost some of my following because I was not “here”.  That is what is really bothering me.

Soooooo… In the future, I will not be wreaking havoc across the internet for thirty days straight.  I will take it easy so I can still enjoy my life, because I can’t write when I’m stressed, and that just doesn’t work for anyone, does it?

I’m going to cut back a bit on blogging too, so I have enough time for my extensive goals for 2013… but I have some great things planned.

Mondays will be my days for posting about whatever pops into my head… The fun rants on my writing, my world, or whatever.

Tuesdays will continue to be Write a Story with Me, which is still going strong, and new people are signing up.  This has been a HOOT!

Wednesdays and Thursdays I will take off, unless I have a book review or something exciting that I can’t wait until Monday for.

Friday is something brand new I’m going to try out as a gift to everyone who’s supported me through all this.  #FreeFridays will feature a different author every week with a giveaway. They may give away a book, an ebook, chocolate, dogs, cats, whatever. But it’s a chance for them to promote their book, and a chance at a freebee for all those who comment.  Should be fun.  By the way… since this is the first #FreeFriday, everyone who comments today will have a chance to win either For the Love of Christmas or Make Believe on ebook. (your choice)  Yay!

Saturdays will be open to my whims, and I may not always post.  But for the next month I will be featuring the continuation of author/Editor Danielle Ackley McPhail’s advice on the do’s and don’ts of how to submit your manuscript.  It’s great stuff we can all learn from.

Sunday will return to Sunday Snippets, where I will showcase a snippet from my current work in progress, and invite you all to do the same.  It’s a time to share a little, and see what you guys think of it.  I’ve thought of making this a weekly blog hop, but it will be very informal, and I won’t kick you off if you post more than six sentences.  Yeah, I’m nice that way.  If you want to sign up, click here and be sure to hop around to other people’s sites to see their snippets.

Okay!  Now that all of that is out of the way….. What I learned:

A few things to keep in mind when you set up your own blog tours:

1.       Just because a person says they will host you, and you do the interview, doesn’t mean they will post it.  Just say’n.  Be ready for it.  It’s embarrassing to send people to a post and have it not be there.

2.       Confirm, and make sure you get confirmations.  I sent out interviews and sent confirmation emails, but in one instance I didn’t get a response for the confirmation.  Not sure what happened to my emails, but the host never got either, so the post ended up late.  My fault for not following up better on that one.

3.       There will be posts that it seems no one has read.  I try to tell myself that not everyone who reads posts comments. I hope some people read some of those guest posts, because I thought they were pretty good! Try to keep your chin up.  No all stops will look as successful as others, but you won’t know unless the host lets you know the number of hits.

4.       Some tour stops will be AWESOME.  Make a note of those people and become buddies.  Luckily for me, I’m already buddies, so everyone else has to suck up to them J

5.       Scheduling, doing the interview/post, telling people where you are that day, and following up and answering questions on all those other sites is time consuming and exhausting.  Be ready for it. No matter how well you think you have prepared… well, you know how it is.

6.       Don’t forget about Facebook.  I forgot about Facebook.  Oh well.

So, there you have it.  The good, the bad and the ugly – and what I learned through all this monotony.  For the most part, it was fun, and if I were a full time professional writer, and didn’t have another job, a part time job, a poodle that needs to be brushed, three kids with homework and a husband, it would have been no problem.  But for me, I think a more leisurely pace will be the ticket for the next one.

Thanks for sticking with me! And Here’s to an AWESOME 2013!  What do you have on tap for this year?

Don’t forget one commenter below will get their choice of For the Love of Christmas or Make Believe on ebook!

It’s GREAT to be back!

JenniFer_EatonF

Wow. I Gotta Admit. If Feels Good.

Are ya looking for Romancing Your E-Reader?  25 Ebooks Up for grabs!  Click Here to Enter!

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Wow.  I gotta Admit.  This feels good.  Pictures speak volumes. There’s just something about actually holding it.  Ya know?

For the Love of Christmas books in hand

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Now… On with the Blog Tour

Over at Once Upon a Time there’s a Make Believe Anthology Book Review and ebook giveaway (Please hop over and let me know if the review is good)http://onceuponatime.jaedia.net/

My Favorite Books, Movies, and Vacation Spots are revealed in an interview with Ceri Hebert.  Hop over for another chance to win!

And last but not least, I’m also hanging out with Laura at Not Just 9 to 5 talking about finding time to write around your job and family.

Don’t forget to visit me!  I enjoy seeing friendly faces! (Or avatars, as they may be) 🙂

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For The Love Of Christmas CoverMake BelieveWhy all the hullabaloo? Well, it’s to promote my two new releases “Make Believe” and “For the Love of Christmas”

That’s why!

And don’t forget to click on “Enter to Win” for a chance to win your choice of the two titles! Yay!

Oh, I almost forgot… A few random commentors along the tour path will win their choice of anthologies, too. So be sure to hop on over and say “Hi”

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Hop on over and send me some love!

http://onceuponatime.jaedia.net/

Interview with Ceri Hebert.

Not Just 9 to 5

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Visit my Anthology buddies!  They are celebrating too!

Jenny Keller Ford

J.A. Belfield

Kelly Said

Lynda R. Young

Terri Rochenski

Janelle Lee

Dani-Lyn Alexander

JenniFer_EatonF