Welcome to the celebration of the 4th annual Black Friday Book Bonanaza, hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and BookShelfery. I am a writer of passionate, fantasy romance without the guilt, and the first book in my Alissia Roswell Series titled Unexpected Metamorphosis is free at most online book stores. As a way to celebrate Black Friday, you can win a copy of the second book in the series by entering the Rafflecopter below.

Unexpected Peril, the third book in the series, will be available Spring of 2015.

I don’t know about you, but I have a house full of guests, a lot of cooking still left to do to feed them, and I’m getting in on the Black Friday rush. I’ll need a good read by the fireplace once the chaos is over. How about you?

Be sure to click on one of the names below to continue in on the blog hop to check out some new authors and win some great prizes. Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

Click here to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway

What does this mean? It means the story is out of my head and onto paper, and I’m moving on to the editing stage. After a week off for Thanksgiving, I’ll begin my first read through. It’s a slow and tedious process (I truly dread), where I sit and stare at my computer screen and read aloud. It’s a bother, because I can’t drink hot tea or eat dark chocolate while reading out loud.

I’ll also have my beta readers going behind me to give me their thoughts and check for things I may have missed. Once I feel it’s done, I’ll send it to the editor–with a massive happy dance. I’ll start some marketing while I’m waiting to get it back. When it’s returned to me, I’ll go through the edits that were made–which means another read through out loud.

I’m thinking I’ll put the Unexpected Peril Pinterest board up next month so that you all can get a glimpse of what to expect (kind of like seeing a trailer for a movie). The pictures on this board will be MUCH different than what you’ve seen on my Unexpected Metamorphosis and Unexpected Entrapment boards. As the title suggests, there is a lot of danger, and she’s not in a beautiful castle anymore. (Expect some creepy.)

Thanks so much for all the feedback. I’ve heard of readers going through my books twice! Some are picking them up and reading through certain scenes over and over. Wow! I had no idea people would do that. It makes my heart sing to know people love Alissia Roswell almost as much as I do.

I plan for a cover reveal in January–maybe sooner!

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Over the summer I won about forty books in a raffle through a publishing company. The books ranged from erotica (which I don’t read) to children’s books. Some were paperbacks and some were eBooks. However, one of the packages I received was above and beyond. My middle child waited expectantly for it in the mail and was delighted when she opened the package.

The sender was Janice Clark, a children’s author. Her books have illustrated pictures within them and are very artistic. Not only did she send her book, but the package contained bookmarks and notecards my daughter could use, and she loved the entire package.

This week I signed my daughter up for Goodreads and told her she should start rating and reviewing the books she reads, as this is the biggest way to support authors. After she gave some reviews, I contacted the middle grade authors over at Clean Indie Reads and told them I need a list of all the books they’ve written in her age range. That way I could add them to my daughter’s “To Read” list.

During this process, one of the authors noticed the five-star rating and review my daughter gave for her book, and since I know the author from social media, she decided to personally send a message thanking my daughter for the review. (Authors usually do not contact their reviewers from Goodreads or Amazon, as that is the last thing we are supposed to do. However, since I’m a fellow author, these rules don’t really concern my family. Authors contact me all the time.)

Anyways, when my daughter read the message, excitement filled her. I’ve never seen fandom from her until that moment. She could not believe the author of one of her favorite books contacted her. She rambled on for a moment about how happy she was, but then she turned to me and said,”No offense to you, Mom, but you haven’t let me read your books.” I guess she’s not yet a fan of my writing.

Where am I going with this post? I’m trying to show you how young readers react to the personal touch from an author. My daughter has an author for a mom, yet she still gets excited over getting signed copies and notes from other authors.

It’s not the same as going to the bookstore and buying a paperback to read or an eBook for their Kindle. I compare this to Walmart shopping versus a small gift store. When you walk into a gift store, you find specialty items that aren’t mass marketed and everyone has. The same goes for getting a signed copy or package from a great children’s author. Your child will be excited that he/she received something rare and special.

With that said, how are you supposed to get a gift package from an author? That’s easy! You contact them. The publishing industry has changed drastically in the past ten years, and even authors from big publishing companies are now having to do their own marketing. This means they’re more involved with their readers than in the past. However, famous authors hire people to do their marketing, so don’t expect the same personal touch as most other authors.

There are many authors that will send you signed copies of their books, and some of them will even go to the extreme of having cute gift packages. My advice is to go to Clean Indie Reads, check out some of the children’s authors over there, and then contact one of them. The site is in the process of being converted from a blogspot, so many of the authors are not yet listed. You can also go to the Facebook page and ask a question on the page. I personally recommend Ben the Dragonborn by Dianne Astle as a middle grade fantasy read.

There’s also a site called Kidtales Adventures in Reading, where you can find many children’s authors.

Also, check out my recent posts titled Why Kindles Make the Perfect Gifts for Children–Better than iPads and Youtube Video Review of Various eReaders. If you have a young reader in your life, give the gift of reading!

Why fantasy? I get asked that question quite often (and always from people that don’t read that genre). For me, fantasy has always been my escape from reality. As a young child, the local librarian knew me by name and could not believe how many books I would go through within a week. It’s a cheap vacation, and you never know what to expect. Unlike mystery or other genres that don’t have fantasy or paranormal elements to them, there are no rules, which means you never know what to expect.

When I pick out a new book to read (or movie to watch), I’m excited to travel to a magical world, meet new creatures, and experience new things. I get to dive into the imagination of the writer, and I love the creativity and imagery of new places and creatures.

The same goes for writing fantasy. I LOVE creating new creatures and lands. Although I don’t exactly enjoy descriptive writing, I dive completely into it when I’m introducing new places or creatures to my readers. I want them to be able to visualize the magical (and sometimes horror filled) places.

The act of creating these things is just as much fun as planning out the plot (if not more). I get to use my imagination to the fullest–no limitations and no rules. If I want glowing purple eyes, I can have glowing purple eyes. If I want my mermaids to send chills of fear down the readers’ body, then I get to use my imagination to create some freaky mermaids.

Fantasy writers not only have to come up with a logical and deep plot, but they have to be creative enough to give their readers a magical experience. Although I have read some fantasy novels that are filled with action and don’t have much imagery in them, I don’t get as much out of them as a reader. If you write fantasy, make it magical. Don’t skip the descriptions. Take your readers on a magical adventure, and don’t just throw them into a deep plot.

At this time, I’m finishing up the first draft of Unexpected Peril, the third book in the Alissia Roswell Series, and I have had a lot of fun writing this one. I tapped into my dark side and created some horrifying creatures, and I can’t believe how exciting it was to write about them. (Apparently, I have a dark side dying to get out.)

Hope this answers the one question I get asked often. As my older sister read Nancy Drew throughout her childhood, I could never get past the fact that there were no elves or dragons in them. The endings were always too logical, and I could only imagine how great they would be if Nancy Drew were a vampire, fairy, or elf. Now that would make a GREAT series!

                               

Want to give an original and unique gift for Christmas this year? Are you shopping for someone that loves to read? If so, I have the perfect solution. The first two books in the Alissia Roswell Series both have beautiful covers, and the interior was professionally designed to be just as beautiful as the covers. This series is getting rave reviews on Amazon, and it’s a great read.

Since I promise to keep my writing free of sex scenes and cursing, many parents are buying the series for their teens. Men, women, and teenagers are all enjoying Alissia’s adventure, and their beautiful covers and interiors enhance the excitement even more with this series.

This Christmas give the gift of a passionate, fantasy romance without the guilt, and make it personal by having a personalized message added to it. The third book in the series is due for release in early spring of 2015, so it’s the perfect time to start the series.

Autographed paperbacks can be purchased through the publishing company via Paypal for $14.00 each or $26.00 for two. That includes U.S. shipping and sales tax. Please be sure to list the name and address you would like to have them mailed to. Also, be sure to write whose name goes inside the book and any special message if you have a preference for what is to be written.