Calling All Shoppers

It's a CYBER MONDAY DEAL! (and Tuesday).

For .99 you can purchase The Archer's Hollow at Smashwords. Use coupon code RR65U.

It's a fun, fantasy romance. A perfect way to ease your holiday stress AND a great gift for your friends. Buy one for you and one for a friend (or two or three). Easy, inexpensive, and you can cross a few names off your list. Enjoy!

Words

I have been fascinated by words for as long as I can remember. I love words that are fun to say, like 'antediluvian' and words that sound funny like 'ululate' (which really isn't funny). I remember loving Mary Poppins' song 'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' and how cool I thought I was that, like Mary, I could say it backward. What a fantastic word. (I also grew up on games like Scrabble and Boggle, so maybe that explains part of it, too).

So, when one of my writer friends gave a writing lesson recently, I was excited to learn it involved words. (I know, what's a writing lesson without words, but be patient whilst I explain). One of her classes required extemporaneous speaking ('extemporaneous' might be a fun word if it didn't strike fear into the core of my being). The teacher would give them two seemingly unrelated countries and they had to find the commonality. So our exercise for the lesson was to pick two words out of a 'hat' that she'd prepared and come up with a question for our characters. It was a great exercise and very illuminating. Something you really could have fun with. Don't stop at one question or one answer (typically your first answer will be cliche' because, unfortunately, that is what is at the forefront of our imagination).

Your writing challenge for today: Open the dictionary to a random page and without looking, point to a word. Open your eyes and write down your first word. Repeat and write down your second word. Now, come up with a question for the characters of your WIP.

I would love to have you post your question(s) in the comments! Dont' forget to have fun with this.

Write on, my friends, write on.

It's a Blog Hop

What is the working title of your book? Narysian Treasure

Where did the idea come from for the book? Umm, my grandma was a florist, and so I started with my protagonist being a florist. The rest just unfolded as I went.

What genre does your book fall under? Sci-fi romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? Zac Efron for my hunky hero and Mia Wasikowska (say that five times fast) for my beautiful heroine.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A bounty-hunting alien encounters an unexpected treasure in his hunt for the Fertility Guardian from his home planet.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Self-pubbed (I just self-pubbed my first book, The Archer's Hollow--a fantasy romance--on Smashwords in October of this year).

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I'm still working on it, but I've discovered I'm a better pantser than I am an outliner. I hope to finish a first draft early next year.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? Maybe A Wrinkle in Time but with romance. 

Who or What inspired you to write this book? My grandma and my husband.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? That there just may be life out there other places in the universe and maybe they're like us in more ways than not.

ANWA Writers Conference Contest

Spread-the-Word Contest!

It's that time of year when we gear up for the annual ANWA Time Out for Writers Conference held February 21-23. The fun and learning will happen at the Hilton Hotel in Mesa, Arizona (be sure to let them know you're with ANWA when you reserve your room).

We have some great things happening this year. Some returning stars: pitch opportunities with agents/editors, the Beginning of Book (BOB) contest, wonderful workshops, the All-Star Breakfast, the bookstore and the fabulous James Owen as our keynote speaker. New stars to the line-up: the Protagonist Ball (come dressed as your favorite protagonist and have a great time mingling with attendees and presenters).

We want to let as many people know about the Time Out for Writers Conference as we can so we're hosting a week-long contest to Spread The Word. The winner will be randomly picked. You can earn multiple entries using the Rafflecopter below. The prize: a $25 Amazon gift card!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
inspired by Siobhan Dowd

Back of Book: At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

YA

Don't let the cover scare you off. I have to admit, though, that I love the cover. I have blinds on all my windows due to horror films/TV from my youth, so you would think that I would avoid reading something with a monster heading for a house and a 13 y.o. boy. But no, I picked this up and started reading it. 

It's a quick read (took me about two and a half hours), but so worth the time. It's a heart-wrenching tale that made me cry a couple of times (but, I'm like that, so no surprise there). I just typically don't read criers. But I digress. This would be great for book clubs and I want my kids to read it, too. In an environment where things worth reading can be hard to find, this shines! Get it. [Amazon.com] Read it.

Disclaimer: I checked this out from the library and received no compensation for this review.

Earthbound by Theresa Sneed

Earthbound by Theresa Sneed

Back of the Book: Heaven used to be such a perfect place . . .

As the time draws near for the first spirits to leave their home in heaven, a group of rebellious dissenters begins to appear at every blue-planet planning meeting, demanding that all mortals are ruled by compulsory choice, instead of having the freedom to choose for themselves. Daniel is a courageous Freedom Fighter who vehemently opposes the No Choice movement. Sophie is impressed by his strong desire to do what's right . . . and by his intense blue eyes. But she also has a strange attraction to the handsome and ostentatious Coe, a leader of the No Choice movement, who has his sights on her and will stop at nothing to claim her as his own.

LDS Romantic Fiction.

Normally I'm not a huge fan of LDS fiction, but I loved this book! I like fantasy/sci-fi and there were parts of this that fit right into that. This was also a book that made me look inside. It was a good reminder that every choice matters. And to have read it right before LDS General Conference didn't hurt either. I highly recommend it--even if you're not LDS (and if you're not LDS and have questions, stop the missionaries, they'd love to answer your questions or visit LDS.org). I'm looking forward to checking out Theresa Sneed's other book, No Angel.

Theresa's books can be found at Amazon or Deseret Book. Get it and enjoy an engaging and thought-provoking story.

Disclaimer: I bought this book and received no compensation for this review.

The Healing Balm of Good-bye Letters

Last Good-bye Letters is a Facebook page dedicated to exactly that, Last Goodbye Letters. My friend, Susan Geer, had an amazing and healing experience that she shares and hopes you will be able to learn from it and even contribute to her larger project of compiling these letters into a book.

She also has a website by the same name: Last Goodbye Letters. It's a beautiful website and I encourage you to take a look and, of course, contribute if you can.