Halloween is in Sight, so are some FREE books!

Trick or treating is just around the corner, and I have been thinking about what treat I might be able to leave inside your Halloween bucket or pillowcase.

I have a couple of YA mysteries that will be FREE on the 30th and 31st of this month, so you'll want to fly on over to Amazon to pick up your eBook. 

Tie Died will be FREE on the 30th.

Buckled Inn will be FREE on the 31st.

You may want to bookmark this post so you can find the books easily when the day comes. They will be FREE on these two days only. 

I have four books slotted for the end of November beginning on the 24th, Black Friday. They are

Conquering Your Goliaths

The Feast

The Gift

and Enlightened

All inspiring and motivating! 

Need Something Exciting to Read During Christmas Break? Try These!

December 21 and 22, get two books

Tie Died

Get the book at Amazon

and

Buckled Inn

Get the Book at Amazon

for just .99 cents each!

THOUGHTFUL THURSDAY: Stuff YA Readers Say

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Aaliyah .S

Tell me about yourself. What got you started in writing?

I’m Aaliyah and I'm from Mumbai, India. I’m 18 years old and I don't think that there was anything in particular that made me start writing. It just happened.

One day I grabbed my iPad and BOOM! the blank page was filled with creative words, which I then posted on Wattpad, where I got really good reviews on my work.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I write when I have the time, and I always have time since I dropped out of school at an early age *laughs*. But if I get busy, which I seldom do, I write when the moon is nigh.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a laptop or some other method of getting your words down?

I write on my laptop and the best place for me to write is in my room since it's cozy and quiet and the view is amazing. I mostly prefer a laptop to bleed my words.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

Favorite part about writing: Being IN the story, feeling the characters feelings and looking through other character’s perspective and getting to know their thoughts.

Least favourite part: Sometimes not knowing where the story is heading and also bringing up new characters.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

It was afternoon, and my sister and I were doing our own things when suddenly I said, “I want to write a book.” I don't know what came over me, but yeah.

It took me about a year to complete my book and an extra month for editing.

Get the eBook at Amazon

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I mostly use social networking sites, since I'm on a low budget *embarrassing laugh*.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I'm currently writing the second part of my book. Please watch for it.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

I would tell them to take that laptop of theirs and just start writing because you may believe that you don’t have enough talent but ask yourself, do you want to just give up on your dreams? You can’t do that. It takes time to bring out the hidden talent in you but it also takes a little ‘believe’ to make it all happen. Ask yourself, why did you start writing in the first place? Because you have that talent! Don’t give up, keep writing and make sure that your book is on that shelf of the person who was waiting for it.

***

 A Question for Kathryn:

Was it difficult to promote your book? If yes, then how did you manage to overcome the difficulties? 

Promoting your book is the difficult part that comes after writing your book. In my yearly updated marketing book, "Marketing Your Book on a Budget," I tell authors: "I've come to the conclusion that nothing worth having comes easy, but that working hard and knowing a few secrets helps to ease the journey along the way."

Working smart comes with working hard. An author must discover what works for them and what doesn't, and then spend that time marketing smart. 

***

Website: http://www.writernxtdoor.com/

My blog: https://writernextdoor.blog/

Lulu 

Barnes And Noble 

Kobo 

Ibookstores 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jo Schneider

Tell me about yourself. What got you started in writing?

I grew up in the wild west, and find mountains helpful in telling which direction I’m going. My lifelong goals include: travel to all seven continents, become a Jedi Knight and receive a death threat from a fan. So far I’ve been to five continents, have a black belt in Kempo and am still working on the death threat.

Being a geek at heart, I’ve always been drawn to science fiction and fantasy. I write both and hope to introduce readers to worlds that wow them and characters they can cheer for.

 I got started in writing through other stories. I wanted to live in Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid and used to play all of them with my friends. Once I grew up, instead of playing make believe, I just started writing.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I write part-time and I work part-time. I’ve found that I’m most productive with writing between noon and 7pm, so I do my best to leave those hours open when I can.  I usually look at my week, see my schedule, and then make a goal of what I want to get accomplished before Friday afternoon.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a laptop or some other method of getting your words down?

I have an office at my house, and that’s where I write. However, if I’m getting too distracted by chores that need to be done or the candy in the other room, I’ll go to Barnes and Noble. I use a desktop at home, but I have a laptop that gets plenty of words typed on it.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

I love editing. I know, that’s strange, but it is my favorite part of the process. It’s me, hammering out my original idea into something even better than I could have imagined! (In theory, anyway.)

My least favorite part is writing the second draft. It kills me. I probably gain five pounds every time I slog through a first draft. Mostly because I know I’m going to have to change over 50% of it no matter how much I outline.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

I used to have a hard time coming up with ideas, now they just come to me. I had to train my brain to think outside the box. To be able to look at something—say a stuffed animal—and wonder twenty ‘what if’ questions about it.

It took me over a year to write my first book. Now I can do it in 5 or 6 months. I’m trying to get faster, but life is so persistent!

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I’ve just started to try to understand the big bad world of Amazon. I have a newsletter that I try to put out consistently, and that’s really fun. I try to do newsletter swaps with other authors who write my same genres in order to broaden my reader base. And I love going to conferences and author signing activities.

Get the Book at Amazon

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

I’m currently working on the final book of my YA Post-Apocalyptic Jagged Scars series. I had no idea that finishing a 5 book series would be so difficult. Everyone needs screen time, a bunch of stuff needs to get resolved, people have to die…its exhausting! It should be out in November.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

Oh, so many back burner projects…

I have a YA Contemporary Fantasy trilogy that still needs a final book, not to mention a novella for Kamau and his sister.

I have one more novella in Jagged Scars to write. It’s going to be amazing.

I also write a satirical series called Babes in Spyland. It’s James Bond in heels, and it is as cheesy as it sounds. I need to get back to this one because it is hilarious.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

Pfft…talent is overrated.

Seriously. I have a friend who is a phenomenal writer. She blows me out of the water with both her ideas and her prose. However, she has never put the time and effort into cultivating the rest of her writing palette. I have seven novels, three novellas and two short stories published. She has nothing.

Hard work will go further than talent any day of the week. Writing dialogue is easy for me, and I’m good at it. It’s a talent I have. However, plotting doesn’t come easy for me. I have to work at it. Because I put in that effort, I have moved forward in my writing career while so many of my friends have not. If you want it, you can do it.

Website

http://joannschneider.com/dir/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/JoannSchneiderAuthor/

CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Jezreel Bartinson from Shadowguard

Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.)

I am Jezreel Bartinson, but everyone calls me Jez. I am thirteen and was born in the coastal city of Randak in the Barony of Korand, but I’m being sent to the Carceri Academy for my education in politics and magic. I grew up as a fisherman’s son, but recently, I was taken on as the ward of Baron Dusan.

Get the Book at Amazon

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Between my studies in magic and more mundane areas, I don’t have a lot of free time. Baron Dusan, who chose my areas of study, says that illusion is a proper field for the nobility to study, but I have no talent at it. I’d much rather study how to fight demons, but Dusan says it’s too dangerous. Maybe I can find some other way to manage that…

What is your favorite color and why?

Blue. I’m not really sure why. I know it’s the color associated with protection magic, things like binding demons, and earth and water magic, but I’ve never studied that. I’ve also had dreams about a sword of blue crystal. Sometimes, it frightens me, but it also fascinates me.

What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

Fish stew the way my father makes. I haven’t had it much since I went to live with the baron. He has cooks from all over the world, but not one of them can make it quite the way my father does.

What would you say is your biggest quirk?

I think I remember the beginning of the universe. I don’t know how, but I think I was there.

What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most, and why? Share a line in the book where this irk is manifested.

All he cares about is power. I tried to draw me in, and if I’m honest with myself, I was more than a little tempted. He said I could have the power to change the world for the better, but the price was too high. Still, I don’t know if I can resist if he offers again. The first time I confronted him about all the evil he’s done, about how he was selling his soul to the demon lord Marrowit, it went like this.

“But you’ve killed so many people.”

“With Marrowit’s blessing, there’s no limit to what I can do. What are a few lives next to that?”

“I thought you wanted justice.”

“You want justice. I want power. Marrowit is the way to both.”

What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?

My father. He’s the only family I have left. I would do anything for him. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to him.

What one thing would you like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?

When Baron Dusan took me as a ward, he changed my life. He exposed me to a world I had never even imagined, but he also took me from my father. Still, even after all that’s happened, a part of me feels like I should be grateful to him, and I feel ashamed of that.

If you could tell your writer (creator) anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?

It will be a very long time before I can fully accept what I have become.

***

A question for Kathryn:

If you could live in the world you created, would you?

Yes! I have created some worlds already, and I have plenty of choices. Still, I might be a little wary if I stepped inside Susan's world, or even her daughter, Brianne's. When a mystery is going and someone is found dead, I'd rather not be the first one to find them.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tammy Lash

Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

I had no intention of ever writing! I’m a second generation story-teller and I learned the craft from my mom (Linda Bolhuis) who taught Children’s Church and 5 Day clubs for as long as my memory can stretch. My Aunt Stella (RBM), Uncle Al Ross (RBM) and Uncle Lam and Aunt Jan (Vacation Bible School) were all as energetic and charismatic as my mom, and I soaked up everything I could from their children’s ministries. Uncle Charlie from Children’s Bible Hour (now Keys For Kids) was a favorite of mine growing up (I had all his records. Yes, I just dated myself!) and most of my own children’s stories that I told to my own Children’s Church classes were a melding of his style and my mom’s.


The stories that I told the children in my own Children’s Church classes were never written down; just scribbled in haste in my notebook or scratched in outline form on scrap pieces of paper. I did, however, manage to finally sit down and write several church plays. That was the first time my work was shared with adults. I had always trusted children with my stories; they loved them. Adults opinions, however, frightened me. They can be harsh and critical. It was a terrifying experience to share and direct my plays, but it was the needed step to get me to where I am now with a novel on my nightstand.

My son’s high school writing course, One Year Adventure Novel, injected me with curiosity to try my hand at a book. Could I take the stories I had always told from my lips and transform them into written form? Daniel Schwabauer taught us how to do that very thing, step by step. I didn’t have my novel done that year, but I did have the start of one! Success!

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

I write in the mornings right after I get my husband off to work. I fit writing in Monday-Friday in my 6-10 a.m. slot. We only have one of our three kids left to homeschool. He’s in highschool and his work is pretty much self-guiding, so my morning routine is flexible. Four hours of quiet, uninterrupted writing sounds impressive, doesn’t it? It’s not, really. I spend much of it interrupting myself!  I have a short attention span, so Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and texting are the things that tug at my attention instead of the kids these days! If I can squeak out a page of writing a day, I’m thrilled!

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down?

This will sound extremely self-indulgent and lazy, but--I write mostly in my bed with my jammies and electric blanket. My husband built me a “command center” (a cute desk area) that I gathered ideas for on Pinterest. I left my bed for that spot last summer and did my rewrites for White Wolf there.

I do all of my writing on the laptop that my husband gifted me two years ago. My fingers work faster on the keyboard and I can easily delete--and I do A LOT of deleting! The pen is too slow, and it can’t keep up with my ideas. It creates more scribbles than legible writing.

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

My favorite part is ending each chapter! It’s fun to tie up a thought or “scene” and leave a little cliff hanger at the end. I always *sigh* in relief that I did it! Finishing a chapter is exhilarating, but it’s also bittersweet. It leads me to my least favorite part--starting a new chapter. I’m nervous every time I begin one and I hear the same nagging whisper that rasps “you can’t do it”. I push past it, sentence by sentence, until I get to the end, and then I bask in the victory by taking a break the next day. I read the finished chapter (and a few previous chapters to check for fluidity) with a steaming mug of coffee and blaring playlist. I make it a point to celebrate every victory-- no matter how small it may seem.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

My family and I vacation in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan every spring--sometimes in the fall, too!--and we often visit the Garlyn Zoo in Naubinway. A white wolf captured my heart there, and I knew I had to incorporate him into a story. White Wolf and the Ash Princess is my story told through an Indian legend that I wrote for my husband and I. My--our--story is spoken through the lips of the books different characters. I met the white wolf of Garlyn zoo about six years ago. My novel took me four years.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

I do most of it through Facebook (with a personal page and author page), but I use Instagram, Pinterest and I have a blog that I yet have to do something with. I prefer marketing mostly through Facebook because I consider White Wolf to be part of a ministry, and relationships are a big part of that. Facebook allows me to communicate with my readers in a way that my blog doesn’t.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

My second book, Letters From the Dragon’s Son, is currently in the writing phase. If I can keep my Facebooking, texting, Pinteresting and Instagramming under control, I’m hoping to have it ready for my beta readers this fall.

A children’s book with an author friend of mine is in the planning stages. I’m excited (and nervous!) to get back to my “roots” writing for the younger kiddos again.

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

I wrote a Christmas story for my mom a few years back that was rejected by Clubhouse magazine (Focus on the Family) that I’d like to publish. The editor penned in the margin how much he enjoyed the story and he asked that I try another avenue with it. Letters From the Dragon’s Son is begging for my attention right now, but I definitely want to try to tackle my Christmas story in the future.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

You will NOT believe what the Lord will can give you strength for! Step towards the “impossible”, friends, and see! If He wants it done--it WILL get done! I have PTSD, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Panic Disorder. Everything and anything scares me. I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and I struggle with low self-worth. Who am I to think I can write? Who would want to listen to me? Our flaws and weakness, dear friends, make us not only special and unique, but it also makes us human and accessible. Each of us has a story to share. You--have a story to share. You are valuable, therefore, your words are. White Wolf is my beautiful reminder that my “Papa” thinks I’m valuable, too.

I fought past my fears to share my story because I wanted the world to see who Jesus is and what He pulled me from. I made Him a promise as a little girl, if He were to help me survive, I’d share my story. He came through with His part of the deal. I’m here. White Wolf is here, too. You have something to say. Say it through your writing. Your voice is important. Your voice matters. Show the world who He is, and I promise, He will guide every step!

Question for Kathryn:

“What is your definition of a book’s success?”

Does your book make a positive change in the world? Do your words resonate with a reader long after it's has been laid to rest? If you change one life for good, then your writing has been a success. Making lots of money is just a bonus, like the icing on a lucsious piece of cake or a cherry on an incredible ice cream sunday.

***

https://www.amazon.com/White-Wolf-Princess-Tammy-Lash/dp/1940155665

www.facebook.com/tammylashauthor

www.tammylash.wordpress.com

www.instagram.com/queenloudteefa

www.pinterest.com/queenben

CHARACTER INTERVIEW: Crissy Crosby from Roped

1.     Tell me a little about yourself (where you live, who you are, what you look like, what you hope to achieve, etc.)

I raked my fingers through the blonde curls drooping in my eyes. “Not much to tell, ma’am. Name’s Crissy. Crissy Crosby. I’m almost fourteen and a half and I love horses, ropin’ and ridin’. My folks are ranchers on a small spread outside of Terrell, Texas. I’m just an ordinary cowgirl—since before I turned four. Papa says God made my long legs just like Mama’s, so I’d wind up in the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame just like her. And I sure hope all this practice earns me a rodeo scholarship to college. I want to be a vet—just like Doc Adams. He saved both my horses this year.”

2.     

      What do you like to do in your spare time?

“Well, livin’ on a ranch, plus school, with five horses and rodeo practice, plus other critters to care for, who has spare time? Ranch life is hard, but it’s fun.”

3.    

         What is your favorite color and why?

“My Nana’s favorite color is blue. All of a sudden this past year, she left and went to live with Jesus.” Fore I could stop ’im, tears filled my eyes and leaked down my cheeks. “Sorry…” I wiped ’em away with the back of my hand. “…still makes my heart hurt. So now I wear blue to remind me of her. Sure do miss her.”

4.      

      What is your favorite food? Why is it your favorite?

“That’s sure a no-brainer. We raise cattle—ribs, hamburgers, steak, tacos—‘about anything beef and Tex-Mex!”

5.      

      What would you say is your biggest quirk?

“Why’d you have to ask that question?” I looked away, hopin’ the question would vanish. It didn’t. “Mama says I’m impetuous—whatever that means. And Daddy says my temper yanks me into trouble every time I open my mouth, just like the big ‘ole brim that bites his fishin’ line and ends up in Mama’s fryin’ pan.”

6.      

      

      What is it about your antagonist that irks you the most, and why? Share a line in the book where this irk is manifested.

“Only one thing? Every time Jodie Lea Fairgate opens her mouth an irk tackles me. But rodeo night a few weeks ago, I stumbled into her family’s ugly secret. And trust me—her daddy’s the King of Irks. He tried to have Chun and me thrown out of the rodeo. And her? I couldn’t see her face, but her tornado shriek blasted through the wood door like it was tissue paper—‘Crissy Crosby—you hear me good. I swear by the Fairgate name, if you’ve hurt my daddy again, I’ll kill you.’ Can you believe that? And I’m the one who saved her sassy self.”

7.      

     What or who means the most to you in your life? What, if anything, would you do to keep him/her/it in your life?

“Don’t even have to think about that one. My family! Mama, Daddy and ‘specially my Papa. I’d do anything to shoo the hurt in their hearts away and make ’em smile again. Oh, and my new friend, Chun Len too. I almost had to whip two guys on the school bus ‘cause Jodie Lea told a whopper about him.”

8.      

      What one thing would like readers to know about you that may not be spelled out in the book in which you inhabit?

I shook my head and stared at the clouds, wondering whether I should tell this lady the truth. Why not? Might help someone. “I’ve never told another soul, but sometimes I’m scared. Really scared. And most of the time, that’s when my temper gets the best of me.”

9.      

      If you could tell your writer anything about yourself that might turn the direction of the plot, what would it be?

“Oh my! You really know how to turn up the heat, don’t you?” I felt heat ooze over my cheeks. “Please don’t tell my mama or daddy, but I love Chun Len. He’s not like any of the other guys I know. But his daddy sure wouldn’t like that—not one bit! The girls of his culture aren’t like me—they’re pretty and quiet and don’t ride horses.”

      

      Ask me any question. I’ve always wanted to know what a character thinks about writers like myself.

I giggled to myself imaginin’ this pretty, young, writer-lady with her fancy nails…”Do you like horses? Have you ever been to a real-live rodeo? How would you like me to teach you to run barrels?”

Well, well. I guess there's a first for everything...First of all, thank you for thinking I am pretty and young and do up my nails fancy. Yes, I do like horses, but I haven't ridden one since I was small, when the one that my brother was riding took off with him clinging to his mane. I guess the horse was hungry because he ran my brother all the way to the barn before stopping.

I haven't been to a rodeo, and I suppose I'd have to learn how to ride first before I was taught anything like running barrels, but thanks for asking. 

http://www.amazon.com/Roped-DiAne-Gates-ebook/dp/B0147NL6KS

http://www.dianegates.wordpress.com/ Moving the Ancient Boundaries

http://www.floridagirlturnedtexan.com The Southern Side of Flavor

https://plus.google.com/+DiAneGatesfloridagirl

www.dianengates.webstarts.com

http://www.crosswalk.com/...7-lies-everyone-believes-about-havng-kids.html

https://www.facebook.com/diane.gates.125

http://www.heartwingsblog.com/2017/05/extraordinary-memories-vs-ordinary-days/