Thursday, June 6, 2013

Graduation

As most of you know, due to my many annoying posts, my daughter graduated high school this past week. While preparing for her party, I've spent countless hours going through old photos and reliving the past eighteen years of my life.

Advice from many sprang to mind from years ago..."Enjoy her while she's young; They grow up so fast; Cherish each moment." All of these words meant little to me at the time. Sure, I did everything I could to remember her youth. This is evidenced through the many videos and pictures. But I can honestly say that those words of advice never meant much to me because time seemed to stand still, at least while I was living those precious moments.

Now, being the older and wiser mom that I am, I wish I would've been able to pause time. Perhaps a life's remote control...fast forward through the earaches, heart problem issues, and other illnesses...but put special occasions, recitals, and mommy-daughter days on slow motion or repeat. ((sigh))

So those of you with young ones, heed my advice and cherish each smile, each belly-busting laugh, and each scribbly drawing brought home from school. Because before you know it, those moments begin to dissipate and turn into career plans.

Luckily for me, my daughter and I are very close, so even though her high school days are over, I know we'll have many more times recorded both mentally and photographically.

 

Congratulations Graduate!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Inkspell Publishing Free Read

Have you been wondering what Cycle 13 is all about? Well, the wait is partially over...

Inkspell Publishing asked its authors to write a short story related to their books and mine is officially available today...FOR FREE! That's right. It won't cost you a dime to meet Mike and Skye, the two main characters from my book coming in August. So the anticipation is over. Download it today!

 

Inkspell Publishing Free Reads Week 


Monday, May 20, 2013

Check This Out

 

This cover looks amazing!  Can't wait to read the book...ENJOY!

 
 
 



My name is Gavyn.


Liam doesn’t care that I only have one arm. He actually likes my red hair and freckles. I might forgive him for kidnapping me.
 

My name is Gavyn.
 

I lost my Liam. I’ve lost them all. And now it’s my job to make sure they don’t show up again.


My name is Gavyn.
 

I had a life with Liam, but he couldn’t give me what I need. Then I killed his father. I don’t expect he’ll forgive me for that.


My name is Gavyn.






About the author:

 

Kacey Vanderkarr is a young adult author. She dabbles in fantasy, romance, and sci-fi, complete with faeries, alternate realities, and the occasional plasma gun. She’s known to be annoyingly optimistic and listen to music at the highest decibel. When she’s not writing, she coaches winterguard and works as a sonographer. Kacey lives in Michigan, with her husband, son, crazy cats, and two bearded dragons. Visit www.kaceyvanderkarr.com for more information.

 

Twitter: @kacimari


Friday, May 10, 2013

Fellow Inkspeller Cover Reveal

It's time to reveal Kristy Centeno's book cover!

Genre: Young Adult
Release Date: 7th July, 2013
Teenager Marjorie Emery eluded death. As she struggles to get her life back on track, she believes her efforts are paying off. Yet, when a black dressing, unfriendly, and incredibly handsome hottie walks into her classroom, she’s forced into a tailspin. Marjorie has no idea how much his presence is going to shatter what little tranquility she’s achieved.
Kyran Rousseau’s gloomy nature has a name, one that is potentially fatal under the right circumstances. His family harbors secrets and does everything to protect Kyran. While, he does’t want to ruin Marjorie’s normal life, love has a way of changing his plans.
Falling for Kyran is the least of Marjorie’s worries. With a faceless threat hunting her and a boyfriend who's as dangerous as he is good looking—how can Marjorie and Kyran keep all hell from breaking loose before it’s too late?
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
 

 
As a child, Kristy used to lose herself in an imaginary world by the means of a good book. Now that she’s all grown up, she gets to create her own fictional realms and make them come to life in ways that most readers might not expect.
 Writing has always been a passion of hers but she never had the opportunity do so until now. After trying out numerous options, she realized that writing was what she loved the most and so she decided to give it a shot. As it turns out, her very active imagination helped her achieve her goals of creating believable plots with some ordinary, and some not so ordinary characters that move the stories along in one way or another.
As she keeps achieving her dreams of becoming a published author, she divides her time in between four children and a very understanding husband.
http://kristycenteno.com
http://booksbycenteno.com
www.twitter.com/KrissyGirl122

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Deadly Gamble

Okay guys, I have another awesome cover reveal for you! No worries, soon it will be mine! This book is from a fellow Inkspeller, so I know you'll love it. Enjoy!







When attractive Kristi Andrews is hired as Assistant Marketing Director at the Parthenon hotel/casino in Las Vegas, she’s focused on succeeding at her new job. But from the very first day, strange events occur:  a deadly escalator accident—the strange death of a candle shop owner—a psychic’s warning that the Parthenon is doomed AND IT’S ALL KRISTI’S FAULT.

 

Shocked and  baffled, Kristi must determine if she could be responsible for the mysterious, evil presence that seems to haunt the hotel. She’s aided by a man she’s just met—famous western historical author, Mike Garvey. Attracted to Kristi, Mike goes one hundred fifty years back in time to draw upon his knowledge of old Las Vegas and the Santa Fe Trail. They are the key to a puzzling mystery which Kristi must solve if she wants to save not only the Parthenon but the entire Las Vegas Strip from total disaster.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 


Shirley Kennedy wrote and published Regency romances for several years for both Ballantine and Signet.  She switched genres to write a wagon train romance. When struck with what she called “a great idea” about a haunted casino in Las Vegas, she was compelled to abandon both  Regency England and the Old West to write Deadly Gamble.

 

Born and raised in Fresno, California, Shirley has lived in such diverse places as Denver; Houston; Torrance, California; Bogota ,Colombia; and Calgary, Alberta, Canada where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Sciences at the University of Calgary.  She worked as a computer programmer/systems analyst for several years before she went back to her first love, writing. 

 

Shirley lives close to her two daughters in Las Vegas Nevada. Brutus and Sparky, her two editorial assistants on the furry side, love to nap in the sunshine next to her computer while she produces her next novel.

 

See Shirley’s web site at www.shirleykennedy.com

 

Her published books include:

 

Heartbreak Trail, Camel Press 

Three Wishes for Miss Winthrop,  Signet

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Lily Drake Book Two!!

Please join me as I welcome my friend, T. Michelle Nelson, and her new book to the world! Congrats to her, and the birthday of the second book in her series. I'm so happy for her! I've read the first book (it's amazing) and can't wait to read this one! 



 

With a doting husband and a new job training a vampire military, Lily Drake was living up to the prophecies of being the best.  Her life was seemingly perfect, until tragedy strikes bringing her a loss she's not sure she can endure.

The hard-working super mom / vampire slayer, Lily Drake, has just learned problems still exist even after you become immortal. 

As everyone knows, even if you find the perfect guy, you don't always get a happily-ever-after.  Lily may have found temporary happiness being a newlywed, but the honeymoon is over.  When she finds her husband going out for late night bites with another woman, Lily has to fight to try and regain what she wants most, love and a happy family.
 
If Lily thought being a single mom was hard, she’ll find being married can be a bloody mess.

 

In her own words: Check this out and get to know T. Michelle...

 

What is the Hardest Part of Writing a Book / Getting it published? 

 

There isn’t a set answer that every author will tell you.  Many might say writer’s block, marketing their book, editing or publicity.  You may laugh at my answer.  To me the most difficult part of the process is writing the dreaded query letter.

If you’re a writer, you know what this is.  If you aren’t, let me tell you.  It’s basically a letter that you polish to a shine and send out to people who get roughly a bazillion of these same types of letters every day.  Not only does yours have to stand out, be absolutely perfectly written and sound interesting, but it also has to sum up your 90,000 word manuscript into a paragraph or two. 

That’s right.  In a nutshell, you have what amounts to about twenty seconds of time that it takes for the agent / publisher who is reading it to grab them and make them ask for more.  If it doesn’t sound all that tough yet, then let me explain further.  I’m a long-winded kind of gal.  I like to really explain things fully.  Cutting 90,000 words down to a few sentences is nothing but torture for me.  I’d rather have bamboo shoved under my toenails.

So, to all you aspiring authors, let me give you a bit of advice.  A writer friend once told me this, and it actually helped out a little bit.  When you go to write the dreaded query letter and you’re trying to sum up your novel, imagine that guy who does all the Hollywood trailers.  You know the one I’m talking about - the guy with the deep voice who starts talking as the commercial fades in.  Imagine what he would say if your book was made into a movie. 

“For Lily Drake, slaying vampires is easy.  Dating them is the hard part.”  You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to come up with that.  As I read over this article, I don’t even understand how this task is so difficult, but trust me, it is.  And if you need help, don’t look at me, I totally suck at that.

 

 Buy her books today! Thanks everyone!!! 


 

 

 

 

Friday, March 22, 2013

SO CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS ONE!
Trailer Reveal

Follow this link:
http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/1/post/2013/03/the-fallen-stars-trailer-reveal.html

Series: The Star Child #2
Publication date: April 12th 2013
by Inkspell Publishing
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance



Synopsis:
Kellen St. James was just your average seventeen-year-old prodigy, until he eighty-sixed the Lord of Faerie and proposed to the Celtic Goddess, Calienta. But then everything in Kellen’s life gets turned upside-down when he and Cali end up on the run from a seriously irritated group of faeries. The worst part? They have zero idea why they’re being hunted.

Suddenly, Kellen is stuck in the middle of another prophecy that foresees him turning away from Calienta and embracing the dark. He’ll be forced to take sides in a struggle to claim his birthright, while discovering secrets about his father’s past. Meanwhile, his passion for Cali grows stronger, even as the prophecy threatens to tear them apart.

In the end, will Kellen and Cali survive the fates? When the ultimate power is within reach, which side will he choose?

AUTHOR BIO
Stephanie Keyes has been addicted to Fantasy since she discovered T.H. White as a child and started drumming up incredible journeys in her head. Today, she's still doing the same thing, except now she gets to share those ideas with readers!

When she's not writing, Stephanie is also a graphic designer, international speaker, teacher, musician, avid reader, and Mom to two little boys who constantly keep her on her toes. In addition, she's best friend to her incredible husband of eleven years.

Mrs. Keyes holds an undergraduate degree in Business and Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University and a M.Ed. from Duquesne University. She is a member of the Society For Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), as well as a featured author in the global group of writers, Love a Happy Ending.com.

Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child (September 2012) and The Fallen Stars (April 2013), both released by Inkspell Publishing. She is currently hard at work on the third book in the trilogy, The Star Catcher.

Author links:

Giselle Cormier