Archive | April 2017

RRBC BOOK & BLOG BLOCK PARTY!

Apr27

dancing leaves

RRBC BOOK & BLOG BLOCK PARTY!

Hi Everyone – and WELCOME to
Rave Reviews Book Club’s
BOOK & BLOG BLOCK PARTY on 4/27 
You are at Lynn Miclea’s blog “Dancing Leaves”
Coming to you from beautiful, sunny Los Angeles, California

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Enter today to win exciting prizes!!!

Here is What I’m Giving Away Today (4/27):
* $25 Amazon Gift Card
* $15 Starbucks Gift Card
* One (1) autographed paperback copy of
“Mending a Heart”

Winner may substitute any other of my books or in e-book format, if preferred
(hard copy in U.S. only, e-book to outside the U.S.)

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Number of Winners at this stop:  3!

Everyone is eligible to enter – simply leave a comment below on 4/27, and you will automatically be entered to win. Three prizes are guaranteed to be given away – the winners will be selected at random. You never know – you could…

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It’s Party Time!!!

Apr27

Story Empire

Welcome to Story Empire, and our version of the Rave Reviews Book Club Book and Blog Block Party. According to the rules, we need to tell you where we are posting from. Well, that’s kind of hard to do, because there are six of us, and we’re scattered across the US plus one of us is in Europe. I guess we’ll say we’re coming to you from the northern hemisphere.

We also need to tell you about our prize right up front, so here you go—one lucky commenter will win a $30 Amazon gift card, so make sure you leave us a comment today, not tomorrow (although we’d love to hear from you anytime).

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Craig here, and I’m going to tell you a little bit about how we came into existence. It all started with Mae Clair and me discussing a bit of mutual promotion with a Halloween theme…

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Cardinal Song

Apr27

Many Faces of Cheri G

I’ve spoken on more than one occasion of the importance of music in my relationship with my late husband.  It was an integral part of our family life, and the value and meaning of certain songs and lyrics haven’t stopped simply because he’s not physically here to share the moments with me.

There are times when I’ll hear a new song, or finally, actually hear the lyrics of a song I’ve known forever, and the tears will flow because I truly believe A is communicating with me in a way that is certain to get my attention.  This morning was one of those occasions.

My commute was spent almost entirely in tears, mostly the steady, silent ones that seem to come out of nowhere and simply fall endlessly.  (To be honest, I prefer these to the ugly, sobbing cries that make driving a bit difficult…)  It started, strangely enough, with…

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Making a paperback book out of your eBook #WriterWednesday #Createspace

Apr27

D.E. Haggerty

I don’t sell many paperbacks. When I first started this writing gig, I’d drive up from Germany or fly over from Istanbul to the Netherlands to do book launches (the Dutch not only speak English but many also prefer to read in English leading to English books being widely available – Yeah!). Besides my family, friends, and some former colleagues hardly anyone showed up. Even though I was having tons of fun, I wasn’t increasing my reader basis with these book launches. So, I stopped doing them.paperbacks cupcakes

Why then do I continue to publish a paperback edition of my novels? A few reasons. First of all, I gift my books to my sisters and parents and want to continue doing that. I also buy several copies for myself so that I can donate copies to various charities. Finally, I run giveaways in which the prize is a paperback. I find these giveaways…

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This entry was posted on April 27, 2017. 1 Comment

#RRBC “Springtime” BOOK & BLOG BLOCK PARTY!

Apr26

Kim's Musings

Welcome to the #RRBC SPRINGTIME BOOK AND BLOG BLOCK PARTY from Asheville, North Carolina, USA!

During the month of April, The Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC) is throwing a book and block party. You can get the lineup here. You may may win lots of prizes!

Anyone can be eligible to win a prize. To have a chance at winning, just leave a comment on the appropriate blog on the day it goes live and RRBC will randomly select a winner. The winners will be shown on the lineup page next to the blog listed. Lineup here. To be eligible to win my prize, just leave a comment on my blog today (April 26, 2017).

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Here’s What I’m Giving Away Today:

1 ($20) Amazon Gift Card 

# of Winners for this stop:  1

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ABOUT KIM

Kim Cox is an author of Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Suspense and Paranormal. She lives…

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This entry was posted on April 26, 2017. 2 Comments

Things I’ve Learned

Apr26

Featured Image -- 5690

Things I’ve learned since publishing my first book and this list isn’t all inclusive. 

  1. Some vanity publishers and small presses don’t have your best interests at heart. Hence my first costly mistake and I mean thousands of dollars.

  2. Most charge for editing, other packages, etc that many first time authors don’t have the money for. Yes – I paid them and in return I received unsalable books. Boxes of them. A lot of boxes.

  3. Once burned (like I was) you may feel like giving up. Don’t do that! 

  4. My first book, a memoir, When Angels Fly, is under revision number five, and from five different professional editors. With each successive editor I became more depressed as each one kept finding errors. This fifth time is the last one, the final edit, and my editor is a wonderful actress, voice coach, and screenwriter who lives in NYC, and she is doing my audible for When Angels Fly which is on sale for FOUR more days at .99 cents! By the way, her name is Paula Slade. Look her up as she is simply wonderful!

  5. I had two negative reactions when some people found out that When Angels Fly became an Official New Apple E-Selection winner. My book wasn’t good enough (due to the poor editing) to be a solo medalist, but the multiple messages, life-affirming messages, were such that it was selected as an official selection – this doesn’t mean a solo award winner. Because the editing was poorly done, one person in a noted book group was appalled to find it as an E-Selection, and she ridiculed my “atrocious” book. That hurt! Like I said, I wasn’t a solo medalist because my book wasn’t good enough. The E-Selection was due to the powerful messages, hope, loss, life-affirming events, and how it helps others in the situations that I was in.

  6. I have found that illustrated children’s books are a favorite of mine both in narrative and illustrations. 

  7. I have found many great friends by being an author. You all know who you are. 

  8. It is beneficial to read all the blogs you can as you learn so much! 

  9. One must read as much as they write as you will only get better by doing so. 

  10. One star reviews are simply that. Don’t take it personally or give up!

  11. My faith in God has lifted me from the depression I was in over my first book. Now I’m at 14 books with two more works in progress. 

  12. If you only take away ONE thing from this post let it be – Never Give Up! 

    #RRBC #IAN1 #CR4U #ChildhoodCancer #Cancer #faith #love #God #abuse #PDF1 #WhenAngelsFly #Christian #AwardWinning #BestSeller #FeatureFilm #NewApple #CircleOfBooksRingsOfHonor

 

This entry was posted on April 26, 2017. 5 Comments

How Do I Write A Perfect Opening Line?

Apr25

Writing your first novel-Things you should know

first-linesSo how do I write the perfect opening line? I know it has to be great. I know it has to grab the reader and pique their interest from the get go, but I haven’t been able to locate a magic formula.

To be honest, I don’t think there is one. What I’ve observed, is great opening lines come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common. They get your attention or leave you wanting to know more.

Strategies for writing the perfect opening line:

Get an emotional response from your reader. Use strong words that elicit surprise, laughter, anger, shock….

  • “They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did.” Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
  • “It was the day my grandmother exploded.” Iain Banks, The Crow Road

Leave the reader wanting to know more…

  • I have lived more than a thousand years. Ann…

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