Saturday, June 29, 2013

The Rise of Xosha Signed Bookmark Giveaway

The bookmarks came in this morning and they look AMAZING! To celebrate, I've decided that 3 lucky fans will all get one! You can enter via the rafflectopr. The giveaway starts on Monday and ends on the 31st! Good Luck Everyone! >^.^<

The bookmarks look like this only they have rounded edges and are signed in the upper right cover >^.^<

This contest will be international so you guys over seas can enter too >^.^<

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Legend of Xosha Title Contest

In case you guys missed the post, I have a small title contest going on. I seem to be at a loss as to what to name 3 of the books in the series. If you think you can come up with a title that I'd like let me know by commenting on the blog post or on the author page. If I like your title and decide to use it there's some great FFW and Xosha swag in it for you as well as a mention in the dedication of the book you name >^.^<

Now I figured this will be hard as hell if you have no inkling as to what each book is about so I'll give you a small feel for each..

Book 1 takes place roughly a thousand years after The Rise of Xosha, Rose is considered a Myth and the stuff of legends, Pyre has been forgotten. Xosha is ruled by an evil Dragonian named AleXander who insists on having the most beautiful girl in Caprae for his queen. A girl named Ember. Ember's heart however belongs to another man, a Lupirian. The Lupirians have been the enemies of the Dragonian's ever since the incident with Reaper and Oceanus from The Rise of Xosha. Ember's infatuation causes a huge war between Caprae and the Solstyce Woods.

Book 2 begins a few years after book 1. This book takes place in Ryse'Dyn which is a massive city where all manner of creatures live from demons, to vampires, werewolfs, anjyls, etc. There's even times a human or two will be spotted, though they never last very long since they're a delicacy to the residents. This is where we meet Macayla Anne Jadespike, one of Ryse'Dyn's best assassins, and oddly enough a friend of Fury Nye'Cross.


Book 3 begins the same time as book 2, This story takes us far from Ryse'Dyn though and into The Wastes to Anjyllic Phell. The Anjyls still hold their grudge against the Dragonians and plot their revenge with their secret weapon. We meet Olivia Imperium Anjylfyre here. A girl with a destiny she knows nothing about, but one that will begin the process that will end it all.


Book 4 also begins the same time as book 2 and 3. The story takes us out of The Wastes and deep into the heart of the Solstyce Woods where we meet Wynter Desrea Rose, Beta to the alpha of the Rose Pack. She is without a doubt one of the prettiest Lupirians in the realm, though her life is speckled with sorrow and dispair. She is the final key needed for Xosha's salvation.


Book 5 begins after book 4. With the 3 reunited, it's time to end this once and for all. With what's left of Caprae in ruins and surrounded by enemies on all sides, the new ruler must find a way to bring the broken kingdom to peace under the rule of one leader.

Your task is to find fitting names for these 5 books. I will pick the names I like best and place them with the book suits it best. I will then confer with a neutral party when I have all the entries and the winner of the chosen title will be contacted. Please leave a way I can contact you along with your title suggestions below in the contest and good luck >^.^< 

Freaky Fiction Writing

I'm procrastinating and instead of writing for the moment I figured I would talk to you guys about my publishing house FFW

Freaky Fiction Writing is who I write for. Seriously I was going to scrap the whole idea of even publishing the Xosha Series and they saw something and wanted it. So I decided to give them a shot.

Our founder is amazing. He doesn't talk down to us, or act like he's better than we are either. He's an author too so he knows what we deal with.

There are a lot of perks that come with working for FFW too.. We even have a store! I want so much crap from that store you just have no idea LOL

Anyway, if you're an author and want a good publisher, come check us out >^.^<

FFW is accepting Submissions

The Rise of Xosha Update #2

Well The Rise of Xosha survived the first round of edits! I foresee just one last round with a few ideas me and my editor were tossing back and forth and then it will just be the waiting game until its release! I am so excited!!

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The Rise of Xosha Update

Well the bad news, The Rise of Xosha still isn't going to be published until October... BUT the good news, you'll only have to wait 3 months instead of six between The Rise of Xosha and The Dawning of the Three instead of 6.

As it is, the Legend of Xosha Series will be 6 main books then I'll start working on the branch off series (The Ryse'Dyn Chronicles, and The Way of the Pack Series)

The books are:
1. The Rise of Xosha (The Prequel)
2. The Dawning of the Three (book 1)
3.
4.
5.
6. Xosha Reborn

I haven't come up with titles I like enough for the books about the three yet. I was going to do something cheesy and have it like Blood Rose, Wynter Rose, and something else Rose but I've seen entirely too many books called Blood Rose around and well that pretty much killed it for me.. So I need to come up with some new epic titles... anyone want to help? Comment on this post with a title you think I name one of the books. If I think it suits one of the middle books not only will I use the title, I'll give you credit for naming it in the book as well >^.^<

Now Remember, the titles have to be catchy... I'll even name a char after whoever can give me a better title for The Dawning of the Three

This will end when I have all the titles I need >^.^< Trust me you guys will know

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Freebies and Reviews (Semi Rant)

I've seen a lot of blog posts lately from fellow indie authors. The topic has been returns, freebies, and reviews, so after giving it some thought I figured I would say a bit about this too since it's a topic that's on the minds of most indie authors... Be warned, this has all the makings of a rant and my soap box is right by my side...

Reviews
Do we want them? Of course we do. 
Good ones boost our egos and sometimes our ratings. But how many people actually spend hours reading all the reviews a book has before buying it? No one that I know. I know I don't use reviews to sway whether or not I'll buy a book. What one person loves, another will hate so why should my decision be made by the masses?
Bad ones if done the way they are supposed to, are vital to an author. I for one care more about the professionally written 1-3 star reviews than I do about the nonsensical 4-5 star reviews. Why? It's simple, a low rated review if done professionally will offer the author tips and suggestions on ways to make the book better, whether there be editing flaws, grammatical ones the editor, author, and beta readers all missed, etc. Errors happen, it's rare that an author will find ALL the errors in their work because they are blinded by it. An author is not neutral when it comes to their own work no matter how much they will say they are. That's why I don't read my own work.. I write it, skim through it for red, green, and blue squigglies, fix what I spot, then hand it over to the neutral parties that are paid to fix it. 
If my team of beta readers, who are most assuredly reading more than just my book, and my editor who is on his own timeline and has to edit not only mine but everyone in the company's books, miss something, then it falls to the consumer to point out the errors we missed.
Reviewers who simply trash the work as a whole without seeing anything more than the errors are NOT helpful. Not at all, they in fact hinder things and some authors give up writing all together because the hurtful words of the reviewer do that much damage.
When a person reads a book, of course look to see if errors are there, point them out professionally in the review, then rate the book based on the story itself. Errors can easily be corrected if we know they're there. A 1 star review based solely on the amount of errors in a book can't be. So the next time you review, take a minute before you press publish on Amazon, or B&N, Smashwords, GoodReads, or even your own blogs, take a minute and ask yourself if the STORY, not the errors, but the actual story deserves to be ranked so low.


Returns
This is an area I am quite adamant about. Why buy a book if you're just going to return it? If you fully intend to read and review it why return it? Now I get there are accidents. I myself have accidentally bought a book thinking it was another book. I'm not referring to those errors. I'm not referring to the accidental purchase when you meant to download a sample either. I'm talking about the people that instead of just buying an Amazon Prime Membership which would turn amazon's kindle selection into their own personal library, will instead buy a book and then return it right before the refund deadline. It's wrong and it hurts the people who poured blood, sweat, tears, and souls into the book. Put yourself in their shoes, would you want something to do that to you? And while those of you who are unpublished are sitting there laughing, or saying you wouldn't care, the fact of the matter is, you would. Think about what you do for a living, whatever it is you sell for whoever, what if thousands of people bought your product, then returned it for no reason. Obviously it wasn't damaged, or broken, but it had served its purpose and those people decided they simply didn't want it anymore. It would not only hurt your feelings, it would hurt your pride, and it would make you question your work. "Is it bad? It has to be bad if all these people are returning it... Should I even bother making another one?" These just a few of the thoughts that go through any creator's head when there are returns. Please I implore you to put yourself in their shoes when you consider returning a book that you more than likely enjoyed getting lost in.


Freebies
Why? Why the hell would anyone with a brain make their work exclusive to Amazon just for a handful of free days? Amazon is NOT the place to make your work exclusive. If you plan on doing tours and have to dish out copies to Reviewers.. you have to pay for said copies and gift them. Why lose all that money just for 5 free days?
My book will most assuredly be offered on Smashwords without a  doubt. Not only will I not have to gift my book (which hello gifting costs YOU money) I will be giving my reviewers another venue to place reviews by going through Smashwords and obtaining a purchase code. The purchase code costs the author nothing and it allows reviewers to place their reviews on smashwords who, like Kobo, only allow reviews from purchases made there.
"But Amazon is so well known!" It's so well known because everyone opts to use them falling for their ridiculous free day scam. Amazon will let you post a review on a product so long as you have bought at least one thing off their site, so will B&N, and so will iTunes.
Free days do NOT help you! They do not add to your sales rating since they aren't considered sales.
If you're going to make a book free.. then make ONE book free.. catch new fans with the ONE book... Trust me if they like the book they'll want to read more of it. I myself have a crap ton of kindle books and admittedly they all cost me nothing.. Well 95% of them were free, the rest I bought or they are ARCs, If I read it and like it, I BUY the book along with all the others in print. Any author that knows me knows I live for my signed print collection. They can all attest to the mile long "I must have signed print" list I have too which gets books added to it almost daily. There's no reason to have your entire series free and most certainly not at the same time. You'll never get a high sales rating that way. Are you that much in doubt of your own work that you'd rather give Amazon complete control over the stories YOU have created? The stories YOU worked months or years on? The stories YOU wanted to share with the world? If you doubt your work that much... Perhaps writing isn't for you. 

Me personally? once The Dawning of the Three comes out, I intend to price The Rise of Xosha as low as possible, even free if I can permanently. Every other book in the series will NEVER be free. They will cost roughly 4-5 dollars and not a cent less than that because I worth so much more than nothing. The prequel will be as low as possible simply to lure people to the series, to get them excited about it. Once they read it, if they like it, they'll want to read the others, and so they'll buy them.
But like I've said over and over, I don't write to make money. Any money I make from my books will more than likely go to paying for my covers, and for buying new print books.
If my book never does well, so long as one person reads it and sees what I saw when I wrote it, that is my fortune. That would make me happier than all the money in the world.

I'm done with my little rant now.... Please take my words into consideration...
 

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

It is done!

I can not believe it's finished! I should totally make the August 16 publication date! The Beta Readers have it in their hands now and the publisher has a copy too I'm so excited!

The Rise of Xosha Release Announcement

After much consideration and talking to a few close friends and fellow authors... I've decided that with addition of one or two more chapters.. The Rise of Xosha will be complete and that means there's a 95% chance that it make the August 16th publication Date if the editor doesn't have to do too much work to fix it up >^.^<

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Introduction to the Races of Xosha

I thought I would give you a small taste of the different races you will meet in Xosha. Now mind you as the series progresses more will be added. For now, these are the races you will meet in The Rise of Xosha


Dragon – Large scaled lizards that are born in different colors.  Each dragon can control an element naturally. The element type is generally determined by the color of the dragon (black/acid, blue/water, red/fire, yellow/electricity, brown/earth, green/air, white/spirit)

Anjyl – Similar in genetic makeup to the dragon, these are covered in feathers instead of scales and have two thick “whispers” protruding from either side of their more narrow, almost feline or canine muzzles. These beings have a human form that grants them feathered wings ranging in color from white to black. The mortal humans revere them as “angels” sent from their God, which is how they got their name.

Wolf – Larger than the earth bound specie. These beasts stand a good five feet tall on all fours.

Hellhound – Similar to their wolf cousins, these are the products of demon and wolf copulation and used by demons to track and kill elusive targets.

Imp – A small lesser demon of little use to the masses as anything more than fodder  and messengers. These demons are typically small and fat with small nubbed wings

Shai Demon – Greater demons of the Nye’Cross clan, the rulers of Shai’Pyre. These demons are wingless. They have horns that protrude from their forehead ranging from small nubs to massive curled ram like horns. Beautiful in appearance, these demons are the most deadly and deceiving of them all. The females usually have “pretty” horns that are short and very sharp as well as sharp spaded tails.

Beblith – Spider Demon. These demons are centaurish in appearance, their lower halves are that of an arachnid, their upper half that of Shai Demon. These beings are the front line of the Demon Army. Brainless, with no will of their own, they are the victims of eliciting the Shai Queen’s wrath.

Silver Elf – The elves of Silverspell. Normally between five feet and six feet tall, these elves have silvery blue skin and hair colors ranging from midnight blue/black to white/blue.

Silver Fang – Blood sucking Silver Elves. The first of the Vampyrs.

Dragonian – The “Human” generations of the dragons. Accidently created after the last spell the spirits use Rose for. All generations after the initial horde are born Dragonian and most achieve their “Tru’San” or true form at thirteen years of age. Dragonians look human, save for their dragon wings and and eyes lacking pupils. Though they retain their dragon wings, they cannot fly in this form and can only hover a few inches off the ground, or glide on the air currents.

Lupirian – The “Human” generations of the wolves. Like Dragonians, Lupirians are born human and obtain their wolf forms later in life usually about the time puberty hits. Lupirians have a deep tan coloring to their skin, and usually smell of nature (pine needles and the such). Considered “barbaric” since even in their human forms they prefer to live outdoors in dens made from large rocks or mountains. Their most defining characteristics are their wolf ears and tail.

Hellian – The “Human” generations of the hellhounds. They look remarkably similar to the Lupirians except they have the gargoyle like wings of the hellhound they spawned from.

Rock Lith – Large bird that is almost as big as a full grown dragon. It’s feathers are so hard and strong it gives the appearance of stone which is how it got its name.

Brothin – over populating source of meat. Resembling a cross between a dairy cow and a gazelle. It’s body is usually a white color with splotches of tan, It’s legs and neck are long and graceful, it’s horns curve outward. The most common animal to eat.

Scorpion – Massive cousins to the earth specie. These beasts are a main source of food in Shai’Pyre for those too poor to get buy a human or other intelligent being. If one can manage to kill it without being snapped in half by its four foot wide pincers, or impaled by the six foot long stinger, it’s a tasty treat for the weary traveling across The Wastes.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Want A Chance to win an EXCLUSIVE ebook of My Short Stories and tons of other Great Books by Great Authors?

 Fae Books Button Image
Hi guys! This is Sarah from FaeBooks.co.uk here. Fae Books is a great place to discover books, Authors, writers, other bloggers and to enter the giveaways that I always have going on. We're all about everything "Bookish" as I say. So stop on over at one of my links below, I'd love to get to know you. You can find the site at www.FaeBooks.co.uk You can add me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SarahFaeBooks You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FaeBooks I'm on Pinterest at www.pinterest.com/FaeBooks  and you can Like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ptsdblog Fae Books has hit and surpassed the 3000 Like mark on Facebook, so I'm celebrating with a fabulous giveaway for everyone! I'm inviting you to join in the celebration and enter the giveaway below.  Please check out all of the Author & Blogger links below, to see who has kindly donated prizes to this for you awesome book lovers to win! Start/End Dates & Times The giveaway starts at 12:00am GMT (UK) 15th June 2013 and ends at 12:00am GMT (UK) 15th July 2013  

There are prizes from: Author Tricia Drammeh Author Victoria Simcox Author Brandi Salazar Indy Book Fairy Blog Author S. CuAnam Policar  Author Ashlynne Laynne Blogger Brenda Tashia Author Steve Cypert Author Simon OKill Author Michelle Muto Author Victoria Sawyer  Author J.H. Walker  Author Candace Knoebel Jessica Loves Books Blog Author JJ DiBenedetto Author Kelly Anne Blount Author S.L. Dearing Author Tina Hammond Author Deliza Rafferty Author Felicia Tatum Author L. J. Baker  Reader's Candy Blog Author Allison Cosgrove  Author Brandy L Rivers  

Prize Donator Info:   ~~~~~~~~~~~  Author Tricia Drammeh Tricia Drammeh is a wife and mother of four children who lives in the St. Louis area. Her published works include The Claiming Words and The Fifth Circle. She is currently working on her seventh novel. When Tricia isn't writing, she can be found devouring books, interviewing up-and-coming authors, and drinking vast amounts of coffee. Amazon  Goodreads  ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Victoria Simcox  Victoria was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She now resides in Western Washington with her husband and 3 children. Her other family members are, a Chihuahua, named Pipsy and 2 cats, named Frodo and Fritz. For the past 12 years, she has home-schooled her children. Besides being an author, Victoria is also an elementary school art teacher. Victoria enjoys writing, reading, painting watercolors, hiking, good movies, and hanging out with her family and friends. Victoria is the author of The Magic Warble.  Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Brandi Salazar  Brandi Salazar started writing poetry, short stories, and novels at a very young age, weaving tales to share with her friends that were geared toward making them laugh. Today her writing habits reflect that, ranging from mystery/suspense/thriller to paranormal and YA romance, and no matter how different her works may be, you can always find a healthy dose of action, romance, and humor. Under the pen name J.C. Valentine, she also writes erotic romance fiction. A longtime resident of Ohio, Brandi lives with her husband, three children, a dog and five cats that keep her very busy. She holds a degree in Business and has plans to continue her education so she can one day become an editor to authors everywhere. When she isn’t crafting her next novel, toiling away at schoolwork, or hanging out with family, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair with her nose buried in a book. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Indy Book Fairy Blog Blog Link
Indy Book Fairy Blog
~~~~~~~~~~~
Author S. CuAnam Policar  S. CuAnam Policar was born in Brooklyn, NY, but now lives in Washington State. The Mother of three makes time to write, usually late at night. An avid reader, she not only writes but helps promote other authors with blog tours and reviews of their books. She is Pagan but respects all religions and believes everyone should celebrate their similarities and not care about their differences. When she has the time, she enjoys playing video games, horseback riding, singing, and writing things other than her Legend of Xosha seires. She absolutely loves to make new friends, so don't be afraid to pop by and say hi on facebook!  
~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Ashlynne Laynne Ashlynne Laynne has always had a soft spot in her heart for vampires but grew tired of the garlic fearing, sun-loathing creatures of old. An avid horror movie fan, she tends to enjoy media and music that is of a younger, more eclectic nature. This was the catalyst for her writing The Progeny. The vampire/witch pairing is unique and different when most books pair vampires with werewolves. Ashlynne loves writing on the edge—combining the erotica and romance genres—and thinks of Ascher and Shauna as the wicked, damned version of Romeo and Juliet. She is currently working on book four of her Progeny Series, book one of her upcoming Rocker Series, and an untitled novella WIP. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her family. She juggles the hats of wife, mother, full time employee and part-time writer, hoping to write exclusively one day soon. Find and follow here online on Twitter. Check out her Manic Readers page, Blog and Website, or leave her a note in her Reader Email. Ashlynne lives in North Carolina with her husband and teenage son. Amazon Goodreads   ~~~~~~~~~~~ Blogger Brenda Tashia I'm an 20 year old avid reader who loves promoting authors work. Blog ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Steve Cypert Steve is the second child of seven born in Los Angeles, California to a wonderful mother and father. Born into the LDS faith, Steve served a 2 year full-time LDS mission at the age of nineteen in the northern half of Ohio. At twenty-four he moved from his parents’ home in Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, Utah to try out life on his own. 2 decades later he still lives in Utah, where he found and married his beautiful wife, Katie. Today they live in South Jordan, Utah with their bald little 6 month old son, Ozzie and their very hairy son, Duke - a three year old Shih Tzu.    Goodreads Amazon ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Simon OKill Simon Okill lives with his wife, Shirlee Anne and their cat, in a pretty coastal town in South Wales, UK. After a serious accident at work, he was forced into early retirement due to disability. Simon used his newfound skills as a writer to help with his depression. His writing became more serious as certain A-list actors expressed interest in his scripts. He is presently working on a vampire novel, Eternally Yours and the script, Flip Side.   Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Michelle Muto Michelle has always loved storytelling. When she was a child, her favorite stories were of monsters and things that lurked in the dark. Telling stories often frightened her classmates and got her into a lot of trouble with her teachers. They had no sense of humor. As an adult, Michelle traded her love of writing for the corporate life where she was an IT professional. Today, she's doing what she loves best - writing and storytelling. Michelle grew up in Chicago, but currently lives in NE Georgia with her husband and their two dogs. She loves scary books, funny movies, sports cars, chocolate, dogs, and changes of season. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Victoria Sawyer "Passionate about writing, graphic design, creativity. Fueled by the light and dark. Beauty, color, euphoria, artistic frenzy, depression, panic, anxiety." What you see on the outside is not what you get on the inside. On the outside, Victoria Sawyer is polished, confident, put together, but on the inside things are a bit different. She's creative, thoughts whirling, anxious, alternately depressed and happy or self-critical and confident, energetic, charismatic, cranky and panicked. She has suffered from panic attacks, anxiety and depression since the age of 10 and has been writing for just about as long. Her love of writing started as journal entries as therapy and eventually morphed into a melding of fact and fiction. Sometimes writing drives her to drink or drinking drives her to write or sometimes it's depression, anger, mental illness or love. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author J. H. Walker J.H. grew up in Central America. She now lives in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with her photographer husband and many, many books. In addition to her never-ending study of human behavior, she's a political junkie and a certified tree hugger. Rewrite Redemption is her debut novel. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Candace Knoebel Music defines a huge part of who I am. I find myself relating moments of my life to music lyrics more often than not. Actually, I find myself wishing that music would play at epic moments in my life...kind of like this one; becoming an author! Number one all-time fave band is Thirty Seconds to Mars. I waited for 10 ½ hours just to be front row to see them in concert and of course it rocked. I also love Paramore, John Mayer, Mute-math, Adele, Band of Horses...the list could go on forever and ever. I love dancing, rocking out in the car to music, spending time with my children and husband, laughing with my bestie, and cooking. I also love watching Tobuscus on you-tube. Books that pull at my heart-strings: Harry Potter Series, Jane Eyre, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Twilight Saga. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Jessica Loves Books Blog
Jessica Loves Books
Blog ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author J.J. DiBenedetto   J.J. (James) DiBenedetto was born in Yonkers, New York. He attended Case Western Reserve University, where as his classmates can attest, he was a complete nerd. Very little has changed since then. He currently lives in Arlington, Virginia with his beautiful wife and their cat (who has thoroughly trained them both). When he's not writing, James works in the direct marketing field, enjoys the opera, photography and the New York Giants, among other interests. The "Dreams" series is James' first published work. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Kelly Anne Blount Kelly Anne Blount was born in Madison, WI. After attending university, she moved to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands to teach elementary school. While living there, she met the love of her life and was married in a beautiful ceremony on the Caribbean Sea. After returning stateside, Kelly started to pursue another passion, writing. She recently wrote her first young fantasy adult novel in between teaching preschoolers with special needs and taking care of her husband and their five furry rescues. Kelly also enjoys reading in her free time. Her favorite genres are YA fantasy, MG, paranormal romance, and the occasional thriller. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author S. L. Dearing
Shannon L. Dearing was raised in Westlake Village, California and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, then spent several years studying at Los Angeles City College's renowned Television/ Film program. She has worked on several film projects in many capacities: directing, writing, First Asst. Director, Etc.. She is a book reviewer for the Big Blend Magazine and Champagne Sunday's radio show as well as the GMTA Literary Community and has a review list on her blog, ...And Everything in Between. Shannon has been writing since grade school. Over the years she has written several screenplays, poems,plays and short stories. She recently completed and published her first novel, The Gathering: Book One of the Lia Fail Chronicles and has a short story in the anthologies, Apocalypse: An Anthology of Readers and Authors & Paranormal Anthology with a TWIST, published and edited by Cynthia Shepp. In 2011, Shannon wrote Surviving the Undead, her first play and her first time directing, it ran for two weeks and was well received. She currently lives in the the San Fernando Valley of Southern California.   Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Tina Hammond
T. Hammond lives in Spokane, WA with her goofy, neurotic, long-coat German shepherd, Dexter; he's noble and brave, until someone turns on the microwave, then she has 100lbs of quivering dog trying to hide behind her chair or bury his head under a pillow (Little known fact: a 100lb German Shepherd CAN fit under a coffee table). Writing is not a calling so much as it is a compulsion. No one is more surprised than she is when characters take over the plot and dialog, and (re)direct stories in directions she had not (consciously) intended. She is fully convinced that the writer is the tool a story uses to tell its tale. Some tools, of course, are more appropriate for the job than others. Here's hoping, you feel she did her stories proud. T. has a Bachelor's Degree in Organizational Management from Whitworth University, and a Master's Degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and before becoming a writer she was a bookkeeper, technical/manual writer, Call Center Manager and the owner of a freshwater aquarium store, Guppy Tales.
Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Deliza Rafferty Deliza Rafferty is a new erotic romance writer (spicier than traditional romance without hardcore BDSM - always hot, sometimes humorous!) located in Hollywood. "Deliza" means "gives pleasure" and "Rafferty" means "rich and prosperous." With a name like that, what else could she do? Well...legally, anyway? Rafferty has written all sorts of stories, poems and songs for personal enjoyment since she was a little girl, but has been writing "dirty dramas" secretly since her first real kiss in middle school. She's spent most of her "real" career in the music business and draws from her unique first hand experience to bring to life her current series, The Savannah Rossi Chronicles. She is venturing into sharing her musings publicly for the very first time and is excited that modern day technology allows her to do it at her leisure and maintain control of her work. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Felicia Tatum Felicia Tatum was born and raised in Tennessee. She always loved reading, and at the age of twelve began writing. Her passion for creating stories grew and in May 2012, she finally wrote her first novel, The White Aura. She still lives in Tennessee with her daughter and her kitty. She loves cooking and books. Animals are some of her best friends. She watches a lot of Disney channel and often dreams up new book ideas. She's currently writing the second book in series. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~    Author L. J. Baker L J lives on the Jersey Shore with her husband, four kids, two cats, and an inherited dog from hell (a.k.a. the sewer gremlin). Though writing has always been her first passion, she got a degree in psychological counseling and worked in the mental health field for awhile, which she finds very helpful in dealing with her crazy family. She is a lover of all different types of music and books, switching between genres so wildly it sometimes makes people wonder if she has multiple personalities. She is most likely to be found writing romance stories of all kinds (contemporary, erotic, new adult, young adult, fantasy, etc.) and has just finished writing her first book, Save Me. When she's not writing, she prefers to spend her time reading, taking photos, or spending time with her family. Amazon Goodreads ~~~~~~~~~~~ Reader's Candy Blog
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Blog ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Allison Cosgrove Allison Cosgrove was born and raised in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario. A married mother of three daughters, she runs her own business by day and creates her own worlds by night. She enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters hiking in the woods or sitting by the fire reading a good book. She has had the love of reading and writing detective mysteries from the age of twelve but it has only been since the birth of her youngest that she has gotten serious about crafting some of her own works for others to enjoy. She credits her family and friends with being the driving force that has given her the strength to breathe life into her books.  Goodreads Amazon ~~~~~~~~~~~ Author Brandy L Rivers I've always loved books, especially about monsters and magic, so I started writing. I'm working on a prequel and the next few books in the Others of Edenton series, and I have a head full of stories to share. I'm a stay at home mother with a wonderful husband who lets me write and write to my hearts content. Goodreads Amazon ~~~~~~~~~~~  
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  Enter the giveaway: There are multiple ways to enter into the giveaway using the Rafflecopter below, so there should be at least one way for everyone to enter it.

Friday, June 14, 2013

S.Cu'Anam Policar...Then and Now

This first picture was taken in 1988..I was 7 and that was the year I first started writing the prologue to The Dawning of the Three...The prologue is now known as The Rise of Xosha. My mother was totally into that whole 80's thing with the feathered hair.. I hated it




This next pic was taken in 1996. I was 15. It was around this time that I had begun the millionth draft The Dawning of the Three and had the initial concept for " TheGhost of Camp Linnemyre" was created by the adventures Cat (far left), Dana (middle) (behind the guy), and I (far right) created to amuse ourselves.




This last pic was taken today (06/14/13). Taken at the park. I'm 32 and my dream for Xosha is just now being realized and it's every bit as amazing as it was when I first dreamed to make it happen



Just A Short Note

The Rise of Xosha's first shipment of Bookmarks should reach my doorstep by July 03!!!! Very excited over here >^.^<

Authors, Blogging, and Pimping

I never realized just how hard it is to maintain a "dual" life. I juggle having a life (however small and non existent it is) offline, running my page, helping other authors, and writing. I know at some point my body will remind me that a human being can not function 3-4 hours of sleep a day. I hope it forgets I'd hate to miss something because I crashed! I can't help but wonder how other people do it. Though I have heard from other authors that they lost half their support networks due to the people publishing their own books. It seems once most people become authors themselves they forget the commitments they made to people they call their friends. I for one hope I never become that.I've only been doing the pimping thing for 5 months now, but I thoroughly enjoy helping other authors spread the word about their books. And besides, those that flaked on helping their support network, how do they expect to get support when they don't give it to anyone else? Then there's the page. Many other authors stopped running their blogs and facebook pages once they were published. Why would anyone do that? A blog page is like a family the people on it will be some of your biggest supporters, why would anyone toss all that away? I have no intention of ever closing Cu's Ebook Giveaways if I can help it. I think I do just fine with my schedule as tight as it is. The only time I don't post to my page is when I know I won't be home long enough to do it all...and on Sundays.. Sunday is my off day from the page. I spend that entire day writing. I think I'm done rambling for now. I just wanted to let people know that just because you publish a book that doesn't mean you should forget the bonds and friendships and commitments you had before the book >^.^<

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Welcome to my world!

I don't even know how to begin to describe the feelings that are swirling in me at the moment. Each thing being done in preparation for The Rise of Xosha to come out is just amazing me.

Sign ups are being accepted now for the cover reveal which is scheduled for July 16, 2013. If you'd like to help out with that I'd be very happy >^.^< The wonderful team at As You Wish Tours are hosting it.
Sign up to help with the cover reveal


I hope my book does well, but even if it doesn't I think I'll still feel accomplished since this has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I started writing this story when I was seven years old. That's a long time to have the same dream!

I think even if only 1 person enjoys The Rise of Xosha as much as I enjoyed it, that it will all be worth it..

You can find me on GoodReads now too!

I also decided that if I can get 20 people to follow on GFC and at least 5 to follow via email I'll share The Rise of Xosha Blurb with you guys to give you a taste of what's to come >^.^<