First contest EVER!!!

Hello my friends!


I'm running my first contest EVER and I'm really excited about it.  Entry is easy.  Go to my Willow Cross fan page and like it.  Leave a comment on the page stating you have entered the contest.  Repost the link on your facebook pages and get your friends to like the fan page.  Your friends will need to leave a comment (on the fan page) under your comment thread.  If they choose to enter themselves, they must leave their own comment in their own thread.  Sound easy enough? (I hope!)


Prizes will be:  The top 20 with the most comments will receive a coupon for a free download of both Birthright and Oceans of Red.  The top 3 of those twenty will also receive a coupon for a free download of Inheritance when it releases next month!!!  


The facebook groups Paranormal Reads and I Love Vampire Novels are also helping with this contest.  I'd appreciate it if you'd like their pages too.  I Love Vampire Novels is also doing a contest of their own with 10 prizes for winners.  


That's a lot of free books! :)   


Let the games begin!!!!!

Can you be yourself and network?

Good morning!  I hope the day finds you well and happy.

I’ve been having a bit of a personal dilemma.  Almost a multiple personality disorder or something along those lines.  I’ve been reading many articles and posts about maintaining a professional persona on the net (and of course in real life).

It makes perfect sense.  I certainly don’t want potential buyers to think I’m a raving lunatic.  Except, sometimes I am a raving lunatic.  Then what?  If I am all professional and keep everything neat and tidy, isn’t that just me putting on a mask to keep other people happy?  And there’s the rub.  I’m trying to figure out if I believe in that set-up or not.

What I know:

My writing comes from deep inside me.  My dreams, ideas, beliefs, and personality seep into every aspect of it.

I really truly don’t want to offend people.  It’s just bad form to be offensive for no reason.  (And I have a massive fear of burning crosses in the front yard.)

I definitely don’t want my readers to think I’m a blithering idiot.

What I don’t know:

If I am lucky enough to have readers fall in love with my books, am I being phony by pretending to be someone I’m not?  Am I letting them down?

(From Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary)  Professional:   characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2): exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace

Although I can be all business at times, how much fun is that?  I mean seriously…I am an exuberant person!!!  I LOVE exclamation points!!!  I love lol’s and omg’s.  Sharing my excitement over small and large events is so much fun.  Is that unprofessional? 

When I turned forty, I acquired this massive desire to be myself.  Finally.  I’ve spent most of my adult life working in service industries.  Keeping a smile on my face and being ever-so congenial all of the time.  You have to, or you won’t make any money.  I understand it’s much the same for writers. (Another service industry)  I wouldn’t dream of getting on here and lodging complaints about politics, religion, or anything confrontational.  But I do want to be able to say on fb author page: OMG!!!! It’s sooooooooooo awesome!!!!  I’m really excited!!!!! Lol  Honestly, sometimes I feel like doing that on my blog too!!!  Is that unprofessional?

How do you guys feel about it?  Unless I’m mistaken, everyone following this blog is a writer of one sort or another.  Do you feel free to be yourself when you’re networking and blogging?  Are you constantly second guessing what you say?

Tell me about it.  Sign in as anonymous if you don’t want to go on record. Lol  I’d seriously like to know what you think.

Makeover!

Everyone needs a little makeover now and then.  Don't they?  Well my consultants (ie writer friends) got together and decided Birthright could use a little sprucing up.  Something a little less dark and horrorish, but still having a bit of a creep factor.  After thumping our heads together repeatedly, we came up with the new cover.  : )


http://www.amazon.com/Birthright-The-Dark-Gifts-ebook/dp/B0052F7IHQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1307846417&sr=8-2

Don't forget, It's almost time for the release of The Dark Gifts: Inheritance.   Although this is not the final cover, I thought you might enjoy a peek at one of the mock-ups.

New Release!!!

Why yes, I do wait until the very last moment to get things done.  Hence the blog post earlier today. ; )


Oceans of Red Volume One released on amazon today!!!  You can find it here.

Coming soon!!

I said I'd be back soon and for once I actually made pretty good time! Sort of.  Today is all about Oceans of Red Volume One.  Yep, another series.  I haven't dissed my vampire/werewolf friends completely.  They still lumber around in my head and make it to the page frequently.  However, the new release has nothing to do with them.  Here's the gist of it:

December 21, 2012 the world as we know it did end. Not with earth quakes and volcanic eruptions. No comets smashed into us. A zombie apocalypse didn’t devastate humanity, but it might as well have.  The seal to hell was broken and millions of demons (or so they call themselves) came through. Now in the year 2015, they rule the earth. The streets are crowded with people flaunting glowing red eyes.

Remy Martin, a 19 yr old demon hunter, is the best chance humanity has to regain control of their bodies and world. 

Why you say?  Well, it will be a 99 cent download.  Read it and find out! ; )

Update

So we've established that I seriously suck at blogging on a regular basis, right?  I just can't seem to make time in my day for it.  Enough of the excuses and on with the updates. : )


The Dark Gifts: Birthright is now available at Amazon and Barns and Noble.  (and a bunch of other places.)  The first novella in my demon hunter series, Oceans of Red, will be released soon.  And (insert drum roll here) the second book in The Dark Gifts series, Inheritance, will be released the end of July.  SQEEEEEEEEE!!!!!


Right now I'm working on the last bits of loose ends with covers and edits as well as writing the third volume of The Dark Gifts series.  


I have to admit that I struggle with writing, the kids, and the ever present sun who constantly screams at me to come hang out.  It's evil.  It whispers in my ear, "You can come play.  What's an hour?  You need me!"


But an hour turns into an afternoon and the next thing you know, it's time to make dinner. 


I will be back soon to give you a rundown of Oceans of Red and Inheritance.  Probably not really soon, because....well you know.  Keep up the great work and have a wonderful Summer!!!




Oh, and if you happen to speak to the Sun, let him know that I could use a few rainy days to get some extra work done.  Not oodles and gobs, just a few.  Here and there.  Sporadic works well in this scenario.  


Thanks ; )

It's here!!!

It's finally here!  I can't believe it!  I have so much to say (for once) and very little time today.  I will be doing a post (very soon) about how this all came about, and where I am going from here.  While you're waiting, please feel free to watch the book trailer, and check out the smashwords site!


ttys!