Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7i

Continuing on, this post is about the ninth & FINAL book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Thanksgiving Moon releases tomorrow, Wednesday, December 24th.

This completes this series of short stories. All 9 are currently available for Kindle through Amazon. The paperback version will release soon and includes all 9 short stories plus 4 more short stories that weren't published separately. The complete collection will be made available for Kindle on Wednesday, December 31st. The Complete Collection will also be available in paperback by the end of December.


WOLF: Thanksgiving Moon (December 24, 2014)

The November full moon brings a time of great change, and something unexpected.

To purchase for Kindle, click here.

 
Photo by "rawnsr1" of morguefile.com


Photo by "chelle" of morguefile.com

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7h

Continuing on, this post is about the eighth book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Acceptance releases tomorrow, Wednesday, December 17th. One more story is scheduled for next week on December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version and made available by the end of the year (the complete collection will be available in e-book format, too, available on December 31st.).


WOLF: Acceptance (December 17, 2014)

Tanya continues to grieve for what she's lost, and it's creating difficulty in accepting what she's become. A new threat, with a cage, requires a choice - embrace what she is and give herself a chance to survive, or turn aside from it and suffer a fate worse than death.

To purchase for Kindle, click here.

 
Illustration image by "Eky Chan" of DPC



Photo by "krosseel" of morguefile.com

Photo by the author

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7g

Continuing on, this post is about the seventh book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Invader releases tomorrow, Wednesday, December 10th. Two more stories are scheduled for each week until the last one goes live on December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version (the complete collection will be available in e-book format, too, but probably not until after the first of the year).

WOLF: Invader (December 10, 2014)

There's a new wolf in town, and she has a rather sizable chip on her shoulder. Tanya doesn't let that deter her from issuing a warning though. The she-wolf brings a new possible threat, even as another arises on the Preserve.

To purchase for Kindle, click here.




Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7f

Continuing on, this post is about the sixth book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Super Moon releases tomorrow, Wednesday, December 3rd. Three more stories are scheduled for each week until the last one goes live on December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version (the complete collection will be available in e-book format, too, but probably not until after the first of the year).

WOLF: Super Moon (December 3, 2014)

Life should've settled down by now. At least, Tanya thinks so. The enemy no longer lingers on the periphery. If only she was truly free of him. Still dominated in her thoughts and emotions, she wants only to be free of him and free to love Colin as he deserves. The coming full moon brings a promise - to either repair damage wrought or complete the destruction.

To purchase for Kindle, click here.



Thursday, November 27, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7e

Continuing on, this post is about the fifth book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Rescue releases November 26th. More releases are planned each week until the last one is scheduled for December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version.

WOLF: Rescue (November 26, 2014)

More women missing, this time a child taken, too. Tanya must face what's been done to her. Even if the pack can find them, does she have the knowledge to help them survive? Will she crumble when she comes face-to-face with a man straight out of her nightmares?

To order the Kindle version, click here.



Photo by "marykbaird" of morguefile.com

Photo by "Natureworks" of morguefile.com


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7d

Continuing on, this post is about the fourth book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Mate released November 19th. More releases are planned each week until the last one is scheduled for December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version.

WOLF: Mate (November 19, 2014)

Just when Tanya believes she's found safety and acceptance in a pack, fights break out all around her, and her well-being is threatened.

To order the Kindle version, click here.





Thursday, November 13, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7c

Continuing on, this post is about the third book in the Wolf short story serial. Wolf: Dark Moon released November 12th. More releases are planned each week until the last one is scheduled for December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version.

WOLF: Dark Moon (November 12, 2014)

Rejected by frightened parents, Tanya has turned to the wolf and the forest for solace. A beast belongs in the woods, after all. Colin won’t leave her alone though, hovering close to watch over her. Further support comes from unexpected fronts....

To purchase for Kindle, click here.









Photo by "vlntn" of DPC

Photo by "iceman0" of morguefile.com

Photo by "pippalou" of morguefile.com

Monday, November 10, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7b

Continuing where Part 7a picked up, this post is about the second book in the short story serial, Wolf. Wolf: Family released November 5th. More releases are planned each week until the last one is scheduled for December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version.

 WOLF: Family (coming November 5, 2014)

Tanya Sikes desires justice for the women who’ve died and closure for their frightened families. She’s still uncertain why God let her survive. Her family grieves, wondering what has become of her. She wants to reassure them, but how can she face them, knowing what she’s become? What will she tell them?

Will they abandon her when they find out the truth?

To purchase for Kindle, click here.






Photo by "frank11" of DPC

Photo by "taliesin" of morguefile.com

Photo by "Bacho Foto" of DPC

Photo by "taukast" of morguefile.com

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 7a

Part 7 was originally intended to be about my newest Contemporary Christian Romance that's coming out this winter, but I had something new come up that's releasing before that.  So Healer will be here for Part 8.  For now, it's Wolf, my new short story serial. #1 and #2 released on October 30th and November 5th, respectively. More releases are planned each week until the last one is scheduled for December 24th. Until the series is complete, these short stories are available in Kindle only. Upon completion of the series, they will be compiled into a paperback version.

Since Wolf is a series of short stories, each a story in its own right but together telling a more broad story, I'll break the memes into sections - each short story in the series will have a meme post of its own. Thus this one is 7a - Wolf: Turned.

Wolf: Turned (released October 29, 2014)

College student Tanya Sikes never believed in monsters. Though life has thrown her some difficult personal curve balls on occasion, she’s lived a sheltered life as far as the evil in the world at large. Nothing could’ve prepared her for being kidnapped or to meet the man who would rescue her from captivity too late to keep her from becoming one of the monsters.

Why has God forsaken her?

To purchase for Kindle, click here.






Photo by "Eky Chan" of DPC

Photo by "dhester" of morguefile.com

Photo by "shocky" of DPC

Photo by "jures" of DPC

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Matte Book Covers - Not Always User-Friendly

For years, I've enjoyed reading. Decades actually. Until about a year ago, when suddenly, I found myself feeling averse to reading some of the books I had bought. Every time I'd pick them up, my skin would crawl. Totally bizarre. I tried to ignore it, but the longer I handled them, the worse it got. Finally, I started avoiding my to-be-read (TBR) library altogether. A whole bookcase full of books collecting dust.

Then one day, I picked up a book in the local bookstore, and for the first time, I had an adverse reaction to one there. The same creepy-crawly skin response as I'd had to books in my TBR library. Ugh. Great. It was spreading. Then I noticed something about that particular book. It had a matte cover. Not just any matte. A rubbery one with a soft, greasy texture.

When I got home, I went through my TBR library. Sure enough. All the books I'd had an adverse reaction to had the same type cover. I'm not talking about the semi-glossy matte some publishers have been using for years, sometimes even in combination with glossy (Penguin and its subsidiaries like to use both together, as well as the semi-glossy matte, for example). I'm talking about the rubber-textured matte that has no glossy at all.

I've always preferred the look of glossy. I assumed visual preference was why most books in my normal library - fiction and non-fiction - are glossy-covered. The remainder are semi-glossy matte or a combination of glossy and semi-glossy matte. Most of the books I've read and loved were bought in local bookstores or were purchased on Amazon as published by indie authors who used Createspace (which until recently offered only glossy covers). As it turns out, it's not just personal preference that weighs into the equation for me.

I have vaccine-induced neurological issues. As a result, full-matte covers are seriously freaky to handle. The texture makes my skin crawl. I wish I was joking. I tried telling others that, but I think they're pretty well convinced it's all in my head. A dear friend emailed me today - for the first time, she's getting matte-covered books in the mail, too, and having the same adverse reaction. She'd never gotten one before, so she hadn't given it much thought, even when I mentioned having issues. Now she totally gets it! I feel vindicated, though I hate that anyone else has the same problem I do. (Our husbands aren't keen on them either. I won't relay what my hubby compared the texture to. It's gross.)

My solution? Other than never buying a book unless it has a glossy cover (yes, I seriously considered it), that is. I asked my mother to make a cloth book cover large enough to easily fit on any fiction novel (we used the largest one I could find in my TBR library to determine size). She's brilliant when it comes to that sort of stuff, and I don't sew. I love the cover she made.

Now I just have to get past a now-ingrained aversion so I can actually get my TBR books read. That's not going to be easy. I have to touch them to put them in the cloth cover. It's unlikely that they will remain in my library once I've read them (assuming I don't get rid of them without even reading them). I can guarantee I won't be reading them a second time, no matter how much I end up liking them. I don't want to need gloves anytime I rearrange my library. Know what I mean?

Anyway, for all you authors who have a say in what kind of cover your books have, you might consider this. If you don't, you may create an aversion to your books in the minds of some readers without them even understanding why. It took me a year to figure out why I reacted so badly to some books. I still can't make myself pick one up to read it, even with a cloth cover to protect my nervous system. I feel sick to my stomach when I reach for one, probably because I've reacted to the same books multiple times. (Given it's summer and hot, and handling fabric is icky, I'm not particularly inclined to conquer this right now either.)

For you publishers who are adding rubbery-matte covers, please reconsider. Readers like me will eventually stop buying matte-covered books. Cloth book covers available to me or not, I won't want to hassle with it, or handle such books even for a few minutes to put them inside the cloth cover. I buy a lot of books. I read a lot of books. I doubt I and my friend are the only readers who have medical issues causing difficulty with handling rubbery-matte covers. Please use either glossy or the semi-glossy matte. No bad reactions there that I've heard about. Side benefit - they don't smudge and fingerprint as badly as rubbery-matte covers do.

How many readers have that creepy-crawly, and possibly even sick, reaction and don't know why? It makes me wonder, especially in light of the increasing prevalence of neurological problems induced by vaccines, medications, and other environmental factors. Just something to keep in mind.


By the way, if you're a reader who has this sort of issue with full-matte-covered book - cloth book cover! Get yourself one! If you're crafty or know someone who is, find a fabric with a texture you like and make one or a dozen. At least you'll be able to read without your skin crawling or getting sick to your stomach. (Well, assuming the story itself doesn't cause that reaction. *G*)

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 6

Over the past few weeks, I've shared memes I've created for various books that are already published. My latest addition is Curse of the Talmara, an introduction to the World of Ultrana, published last weekend.

When death comes calling, choices must be made, and lives are forever changed. 

A life-threatening curse has fallen. Alaina leaves the only home she's ever known, led by visions to a man she hopes holds the cure. One problem. He hates her kind. If he has answers, he has no reason to share them. Can she change his mind about her before either the curse or the evil they chase ends her life? Or will he have no choice but to kill her before she destroys those he cares about?

They need a seer. Bounty hunter Jarn may have to accept that, but he most certainly doesn't have to like it. Seers can't be trusted. This one is also Doro'esch, like him. He's spent two decades running from his heritage and wants nothing to do with his people. A fact she doesn't respect. To make matters worse, provocative dreams feed an unwanted attraction.

Evil looms ever closer, and death lurks in the darkness.

Photo courtesy of "JulesinKY" of morguefile.com


Skull & crossbones photo courtesy of "mantasmagorical" of morguefile.com
Water reflection photo courtesy of "Alvimann" of morguefile.com

Photo courtesy of "pedrojperez" of morguefile.com

Photo courtesy of "krosseel" of morguefile.com

Photo courtesy of "jmjvicente" of rgbstock.com

If you missed previous meme posts, you can find them by selecting "memes" in the subject list. Watch for more memes in future posts!



Saturday, June 7, 2014

Memes and More Memes - Part 5

Over the past few weeks, I've shared memes created for the various books already published about the Donovan family - Promises, Beyond Hope, Truth, and Defender (links provided below if you missed those). More books are coming in their continuing saga, with Healer expected to release this coming winter.

In the meantime, an unrelated novel released in April, 2014. In God's Time (scroll down a bit) has been a labor of love for many years. Written years ago, it has been through many edits and incarnations to reach publication, including winning the contemporary romance category and the grand prize in the 2011 Writers on the Storm Category Five Writing Competition.

ALL THINGS COME IN GOD'S TIME, INCLUDING LOVE

Tara Whitman has a big problem. She's in love with her best friend, and it's getting harder to hide it from him. She fears the truth will destroy a friendship she holds dear, even as she battles jealousy toward the string of leggy blondes that parade through Jack’s life. 

Jack Carlton spends his free time at one social event or another with the latest woman he dates to protect a huge secret he’s keeping from Tara - he’s in love with her, has been for years. Haunted by the memory of a kiss shared in their teens, he doesn’t want to endanger their friendship. Yet the thought of her kissing someone else drives him to distraction if he lets himself dwell on it.

Photo by the author

Photo by "nasirkhan" of morguefile.com

Photo by "FidlerJan" of morguefile.com

Photo by "taliesin" of morguefile.com

Photo by "earl53" of morguefile.com

Photo by the author

Photo by "jppi" of morguefile.com

Next week, a total change of pace with memes for my new romantic-fantasy novel, Curse of the Talmara, the introduction to the World of Ultrana.

To see previously posted memes, click on one of the following - Promises, Beyond Hope, Truth, and Defender.