I’ve joined with some other authors for a mega eBook giveaway, so be sure to sign up for your chance to win. Below the raffle is the list of authors involved, and you can click on their names to learn more about them. If chosen, you will be contacted by the author via email to select the type of device you will be reading on. You can enter more than once, and all winners will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Want to Become a Book Reviewer?
Many authors are seeking beta readers and reviewers for their novels, and if you have an e-reader and love to read, you can be of service to them. Although you won’t get paid, you will get plenty of free books to read.
How does it work? If you contact me letting me know what types of books you like to read, I will add your name to my list of readers. When an author needs their book reviewed, I will then go to my list of readers and get them connected. If the book sounds interesting to you, you can choose to read it. However, in return, you must give an honest review on Amazon and Goodreads, and even Barnes & Noble if you really want to make the author happy. This review should be given within a two-week time frame. If you have a busy month, don’t apply to read a book that month.
What do I mean by honest review? If you love the book, great! You know what to do. If you don’t love the book, don’t lie about it, but there are professional rules to follow.
If the book is not for you and you can’t finish it, please contact the author privately with your opinion. You don’t have to finish the book. Also, if you finished reading it but you hated the ending to the point you want to give a one-star review, please contact the author privately with your opinion. Feedback to authors is very important. We don’t ignore what our readers say. In fact, we seek it out.
I will soon be writing a post on how to give a proper review. Those stars have a meaning, and all reviews are opinions. With an opinion, you need to state why you like or dislike the book.
I want this to be a safe and honest place for authors, so that means author bashing on a review won’t be tolerated. You’re job is to support the authors, not tear them down. As I typed earlier, if you don’t like their book, let them know privately and nicely why it was not for you, not in a public review bashing them.
If you are interested on being an e-reader for this site, please click on the “contact me” button in the menu above.
Giveaways and Other Ramblings
Just thought I’d do a quick post letting you all know about a multiple author giveaway that’s coming soon. I’ve got a list of authors that want to share some e-books and signed bookmarks, and I’ll soon have the raffle ready.
I’ve started on book two of the Alissia Roswell series and have been busy with it this week. The story is complete in my mind. I just have to get it all typed out, then edited, edited again, edited again, and again, and again, and again… By the time it gets printed, it will have been completely dissected repeatedly until it’s suitable for print.
Once I go into the editing phase, I plan to have the designer start on the book cover. I talked with him yesterday, and we know what we want it to look like. Jason Orr over at JERA Publishing did an amazing job on Unexpected Metamorphosis, and I can’t wait to see the next cover. I think I get more excited over the cover than anything else.
As soon as the novel goes into its last editing phase, I plan to start on the novella. I want it released within three months of book two. So, lots happening in my world of writing. I’m considering having t-shirts designed and hopefully will have that worked out soon.
I’ve also got two new features on this blog. The monthly newsletter will be where I share important information first. I’ll do the cover reveal there prior to Facebook, and I’ll send out some samples of book two, which I won’t do anywhere else. The newsletter won’t be used as much, but I believe you’ll love the information in it.
Also, you can now buy signed copies directly from this site. A lot of people have asked about that and want me to ship them out. I’ve decided that I can go to the post office once a week with any orders. They would make great gifts, and the $14.00 charge covers shipping and Georgia tax. All you need to do is click on the link in the side column or in the Where to Purchase menu at the top of this page. You will need a Paypal account to take part in this new feature.
Well, I’m off to the post office before the children get home from school, and then I hope to get some more typing in. Hope everyone has a blessed Labor Day weekend!
I Now Have a Monthly Newsletter
Although I’m most active on Facebook, I will now be sending out monthly newsletters with exclusive insights into what I’m typing or the latest happenings on my next release. Be sure to sign up if you wish to receive samples of my writing or private insights into Alissia’s life. You can find the link at the top of this page or in the column on the right. Thanks again for all the support you have given, and welcome to Alissia Roswell’s wild adventure!
Southern vs. Northern Writing and Getting Ready for the RNC
Just two more days until I leave for Vegas for the Romance Novel Convention. My dear friend Melissa will be with me, and you may recognize her name from the front section of Unexpected Metamorphosis. Not only is she like a sister to me, but she helps to keep me in line when it comes to writing. Once I’m finished writing for the day, I always email her a copy of what I have typed. Then, I wait patiently (not) for her to respond. Although I do the writing, she always has a say in what gets deleted, and a LOT gets deleted. There were many times I typed away all through the night, only to delete the entire night’s work since it did not meet her standards.
It also helps that she is from the North, and I’m from the South. She continuously lets me know if I’m typing southern, which happens a lot. Here’s an example of some of our conversations:
Melissa: “You can’t type that.”
Me: “Why not?”
Melissa: “It’s from the South. People from the North won’t know what you mean.”
Me (a little defensively): “That’s not southern. Everyone knows what that means. It’s universal, Meliss.”
Melissa: “I never heard of it until I met you. It’s southern, and you can’t type it. You can say it this way…”
Me (more defensive, but I make the changes): “Now it sounds northern!”
Those were the easy conversations. The hard ones were where I had to delete an entire night’s work, because it did not pass her inspection. I can honestly say Unexpected Metamorphosis would not be half of what it is today without her. She keeps me in line.
So now we are packing for Vegas, and she will be by my side at the convention. Although we don’t live in the same state, she’s flying out of Atlanta with me, so her family is here for the weekend while we get ready. That means our husbands are watching the children while we go shopping for new clothes, and my bedroom is covered in women’s clothing as we empty our shopping bags and sort through my closet. Kids are laughing throughout the house, and our husbands are enduring. Life is good!
I plan to blog while in Vegas, so stay tuned. I’ll post pictures and try to give details of what it’s like to be at the Romance Novel Convention. As for today, Melissa and I plan to take the children to the pool while the men go mountain biking. Then, it’s off to more shopping and having our nails done. At some point, we really should finish packing.
Not All Writers Follow the Rules
Although I love to write, I could never teach a writing class. Even when I home schooled my children, I sent them off to creative writing classes instead of teaching them myself. I did follow the guidelines in their grammar books and forced my way through the chapters on outlining and the writing process that everyone should learn. I believe everyone should know how to use a topic sentence and know how to write a proper paragraph. It’s the planning process that I disagree with. It’s not wrong. It’s just not for everyone.
I’ve always had a problem with outlining and planning, even in my early school years. Most recently, my husband got me to realize how much I truly hate the process, as we are complete opposites in our personality, and bless his little heart, he tried to help me when I started writing Unexpected Metamorphosis. It did not end well for him.
I still remember that night perfectly. I was telling him my ideas for the story and where I was taking the main characters. (It was more of a moment where he was supposed to listen and not try to fix anything, but he noticed I was not following the “proper” process and felt that he needed to help with that.) As I was rambling on while trying to get the story placed properly in my mind, he pulled out his laptop, pen, and paper. It seems he had taken an interest in my writing and had read articles online about how to write, and I was not following any of the steps (NONE). He needed to fix that because, surely, that would make my writing and life better.
The moment he started talking about outlines and the planning process, I openly cringed, and he lost me. I did not want to hear about it or even talk about it. An organized planning process stifles and suffocates me (as do most lists of rules). My poor husband took my distaste personally, and that is how the night ended. He has not offered to help me again when it comes to how I write, and I believe he is one step closer in understanding my random personality. (He’ll never truly understand.)
After reading the comments on a post about outlining, I now realize I’m in the minority (as usual with how I do things) when it comes to writing. Most authors depend on outlines to keep their stories from getting away from them. That’s the opposite of how I think. I let the characters take me to new places I had not planned. In fact, I did not plan most of the scenes between Alissia, Grady, and Luke. I did not even come up with Luke until the night I started typing about him. If I had outlined my story ahead of time, I doubt one of the main characters would have come into the story. I did not have a clear plan when I created Luke, but he soon took center stage in the story. (He does seem to have that strong personality.)
If you are an author reading this post, I’m curious to know what writing process you choose to follow. Does the mere thought of an outline scare you, or are you a strict follower of the use of an outline?
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