C.K. Volnek's Tween/YA Books

Today we have with us, author C.K. Volnek. She has recently published two tween/ya books, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island and A Horse Called Trouble, and her third tween book, The Secret of the Stones, is due out in April. Hi CK, thanks for joining us today!

Hi Marva. Thank you so much for having me.

So tell us, how did you begin to write for middle grade and young adults?

I have always loved writing for children. After reading Black Beauty, I wanted to be the next Anna Sewell. Life took me the long route to attain my dream, but I never gave up on writing for the younger market. I’ve heard it said, you write what you enjoy reading and I have to admit most of my favorite books are still stories I read from my younger years. My Side of the Mountain, Follow My Leader, and The Secret Garden still make a presence in my personal library. But I also write mg/ya because I enjoy this age so very much. Children are great. They are curious and open, full of questions on all kinds of subjects. They love to learn, if you can hold their interest. To me it was a challenge-to create a story to keep their interest while offering something they would enjoy as well as learn from, whether it be history, geography or learning a little bit about themselves.

Can you tell us a little bit about your new books and what you hope your readers to take away from them?

Thanks for asking. In my tween horse story, A Horse Called Trouble, I hope my readers will take away the message that we are all important and worthy of life, love and happiness. One must find a dream and believe in it, then follow that dream to find your life’s passion.

In A Horse Called Trouble, my main character, 13-year-old Tara, must overcome her abusive past to save the defiant horse who taught her to love and trust again. It is a story of growing up to learn you are not what others believe you to be, but what YOU believe you are. Don’t let the traps of society rule you. You may only be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.

And though it is cliché, I also hope my readers learn to not judge a book by its cover. Judging others before you really get to know them not only affects the person you are judging, but also can put you in a position you might not intend to be in. For example, Alissa, my main antagonist, is pretty, wealthy, and popular. But she is also very mean. On the other hand, Tara feels she is a misfit; looked down upon, scoffed at, and mistreated because she doesn’t belong anywhere. But she is really smart and kind beneath her introverted mask. Which person would you really want as a friend?

A Horse Called Trouble

Abandoned by her mother at a young age, Tara Cummings has been passed from foster home to foster home; not wanted anywhere by anyone. At thirteen she’s skeptic and suspicious, with no family, and no friends.

Horse therapy “will teach trust, perseverance, respect, and the value of teamwork,” or so says the program’s instructor. Tara is unconvinced. Trust only broke her heart, perseverance meant more failures, and no one respects or wants to team up with the misfit foster kid.

At the farm, Tara meets Trouble, an angry and defiant horse, bent on destroying everything and everyone around him. Tara is frightened of the enraged horse, until she realizes Trouble is as misunderstood and untrusting as she is. Pushing aside her fear, a special bond is formed, much to the surprise of everyone at the farm. Trouble trusts Tara, and Tara in turn finds hope and acceptance as well as the will to love and trust again herself.

But, Tara’s confidence is shaken as an even greater challenge looms ahead. Trouble’s mean and manipulative owner is the one and only Alissa, Tara’s nemesis. Can Tara overcome her own limitations and fight to save the horse who freed her heart and gave her life value and meaning? Or will Alissa destroy them both?

Where did you get the idea for your book?

I have always loved horses. Such marvelous creatures they are. Proud, elegant, powerful yet gentle and compassionate. I was fortunate enough to be able to call several of these magnificent animals my friend and confidant as I grew up.

I knew I wanted to immortalize some of my treasured equine friends but I never expected to write the story of Trouble in such a fashion as I did. It was after visiting a horse farm that also entertained a horse therapy program for troubled youth that the story sky-rocketed. Tara came to life and shared her entire sad story with me and I couldn’t help but oblige and put it down on paper. And Trouble? He’s a mix of several of the horses I knew. Full of spunk, spirit, trust and devotion. It’s a horse story, full of conflict, with antagonists you’ll love seeing get what they deserve.

This story also revolves around a unique program…Horse Therapy. It was so incredible to spend time at Take Flight Farm and witness their Horse Therapy program for troubled youths. The magnificent horses in this program teach kids the value of respect, teamwork and trust. I know from personal experience how a horse can turn an irritable, scowling teenager into a calm, caring softie. And who can’t use a good dose of self-confidence. Horses can build that confidence.

You also had another book come out last September called Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island. Can you tell us a little bit about this book?

Yes, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island is a tween ghost story with a twist of Native American folklore and based on the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. It is also a story about growing up and realizing you are stronger than you ever realize, though the ghost story plays lead in this book and history is very instrumental in solving the mystery. I hope my readers will look up the facts I have included in Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island and realize that everything that happens yesterday has an effect on what happens today.

Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island

In 1587, 117 colonists disappeared from Roanoke Island without a trace, leaving behind not only unanswered questions, but a terrifying evil.

Now it’s up to twelve year-old Jack Dahlgren to unravel the age-old mystery and save his family from the hateful beast that haunts the island.

With the help of newfound friend, Manny, a Native American shaman, and an elusive Giant Mastiff, Jack must piece together the clues of the Lost Colony to discover what really happened. Shrouded in ancient Native American folklore, it's up to Jack to uncover what the evil is and why it haunts his island. But can he destroy it...before it destroys him?

Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island is now available in both e-book and print on Amazon as well as other fine book locations.

So what is your next book about?

The Secret of the Stones is more of a fun read. It is also the first book of a series titled The Lost Diaries of Northumberland and revolves around the legend of Merlin the Magician and the wicked Vivienne. It was created mostly to entertain and encourage my readers to read.

Based in present day, young Alex Ramsey is thrust into magic mayhem when the gift he’s been entrusted to protect turns out to be the enchanted object detailed in a mysterious prophecy.

The Secret of the Stones

Trading places with a squirrel outside his window is the last thing twelve year-old Alex expect to happen. Could the gift Aunt Norma gave him be magic? The Merlin’s magic he’d read about in the ancient diary? After he unexpectedly trades places with his sister’s guinea pig, Alex realizes he must discover how the magic works…and fast. How had the trickery transformed him with the animals-and-how did it turn him back to himself?

As Alex struggles to understand the how and why of his enchanted gift, he becomes painfully aware there is more to it than he first thought. Within the magic there is a great power, a power to control, a power so strong that there is another who is willing to do almost anything to get it. Can Alex protect the gift while solving the secrets to how the magic works? And can he make sense of the riddles in the diary, the riddles surrounding the prophecy of Merlin’s return?

Which authors have most influenced your own writing?

I love to read. And I take away something from every book I read. So it is hard to pick just a few authors who have really impressed me but two come to mind right away. Jane Yolen and Jay Asher. The book 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher still haunts my thoughts and I adore the rich prose of Jane Yolen. Her book, Briar Rose remains one of my favorites

What do you do for fun other than writing?

I dabble in a variety of things other than writing…spending time with my family is a priority but I also love to dabble with flower gardening, jewelry making, hiking, and taking long walks with my Papillon pups… I am officially known as the ‘dog woman’ around our small town. Lol.

Do you have any favorite place where you feel your Muse is more apt to come and play while you write? Or perhaps you listen to music? If so, what do you listen to?

I’m a night-owl. And I have a laptop. So most of my writing is done sitting in my most comfortable chair in the front room with at least two pups sitting by me or on the ottoman. I have my I-pod, loaded with Yanni, and a Diet Coke at hand and I’m ready to write, write, write.

What advice would you like to give to young people who want to write?

There are two important elements I would like to stress to young writers…

One - Believe in yourself. We are our own worst enemy. I still find times where I will doubt myself. I’ll read a really great book, one so good I can’t imagine my stories ever comparing. But that’s when my characters jump in and give me a good kick in the behind and remind me of one of my favorite quotes … To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world. Your story might be the saving grace to one person out there. YOU have a story to tell and no one else can tell it for you. If you don’t write it, it won’t get written.

Two – Never give up! No matter what. Write, write, write and write some more. Put one story to bed and move onto another. Don’t let your muse shrivel up. She can cause you great distress if you don’t let her out to play and she will starve if you don’t feed her.

Where can readers find you?

Thanks so much for having me today. I’d love to have your readers contact me at ckvolnek (at) yahoo (dot) com.

They can join me on my web page: www.ckvolnek.com, or visit me at my blog: www.ckvolnek.com/blog.html

They can also find me on Facebook (C.K. Volnek) or Twitter (CKVolnek), Good Reads and Jacket Flap.

My book trailers are on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbJEF9TjZzo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyJ1J9wESEY

My books are available at the MuseItUp Book Store.

A Horse Called Trouble

Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island
as well as Amazon:

A Horse Called Trouble
Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island

and many other fine book locations on-line.

Thanks so much for having me here today.

C.K. Volnek

February Promo 2 - Free Ebook at Amazon

Amazon allows authors who have assigned books to the Kindle Lending Library (books free to borrow for Prime customers) can also offer a five-day limited free purchase for those books.

I'm offering a book for free for two days:

February 12th-13th: Quest for the Simurgh
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00322P12U

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00322P12U

Don't miss out on the deal.

About Quest for the Simurgh

The village magician has gone missing. His star pupil Faiza thinks he has left a clue for her on a page of the Magicalis Bestialis. With the page open and marked with an X, she believes Wafa is telling them to seek out the Simurgh, the mythical birds who possess all the knowledge of the universe. She convinces her three classmates that they must seek the help of the Simurgh to find their teacher.

She leads the boys on a difficult journey into the mountains in search of the elusive birds. A strange little man becomes their guide; they do not know he is a spirit leading them toward a battle between good and evil. Spirits, gods, and demons confront the four friends, who are being set up by otherworldly forces for a much larger task than finding their teacher. The students were chosen to take sides in the battle which might spell the end of the world--a battle between the demons and the spirits.

Cool Music and an Update

UPDATE: I mistakenly gave a virtual sex change to MR. Lee Fitzsimmons. My apologies. I often am mistaken for male (I even got rushed by a fraternity), so I know he'll just get a laugh out of it.

EVEN BETTER UPDATE: Lee is willing to swap music for a link on your blog or website. You can contact Lee on Twitter at @LeeFitzsimmons (how easy is that!).

I just discovered a musician and writer, Lee Fitzsimmons. His music clips are terrific and free for download. I asked him about using the music for book trailers, and you do need to buy the license to use at http://productiontrax.com/

Lest you go, "aw, damn, I don't have any money to spend on music!" note that Production Trax does have royalty free music (pay once, use many), sound effects, and all sorts of aural and visual goodies. It's worth checking out as an addition to your list of media sources.

Click over to Lee's website to listen/download a bit of soft rock and roll, jazz, symphonic, reggae, or whatever tunes you up.

Lee's also an author. His novella, "The Endarkening" is available at Amazon.

In the darkness, things are not always what they seem to be...

Creating an Urban Legend

I belong to Groupon, an on-line coupon service. I've bought quite a few coupons for half-price meals through it. It's a great way to get to know eateries around your town, without paying full freight.

Anyhow, Groupon always has something interesting in a section on every page titled "Groupon Says." These are hilarious for the most part and I'll pop over to look at coupons I don't even want just to read this little article.

Due credit to Groupon and whoever writes the column. I thought this particular column apropos to my author visitors.

The Groupon Guide to: Writing an Urban Legend


Everyone secretly wants to believe in scary stories that might be true. Indulge your friends' gullibility with these tips to crafting the perfect urban legend:

• Make sure the story takes place somewhere nearby, on a similar night—ideally exactly 100 years ago to the night. Or on the devil’s birthday.

• Always include an animal that turns out to be a different animal or an animal where one does not belong—like a dog that is actually a rat, or an alligator in the bathroom of the Museum of Alligator Safety.

• Tweak the details—it's only a few letters’ difference to change "gardener" to "murderer," and only a small white lie to change "was valued by the community" to "possessed double hook hands and a thirst for marrow."

• Always carry "proof"—this can be a monster's tooth carved from soap, a faded newspaper article created in Photoshop, or a scrap of the victim's clothing that is actually just a scrap of clothing you ripped off a terrified hiker you chased through the woods.

Interview on TBR Today

Cate Master's has started a To Be Read blog featuring interesting authors, new books, a blurb fest, featured authors, and all manner of publishing goodies.

Go to the TBR blog and bookmark it because you'll want to follow it regularly.

From the blog description:

TBR highlights books you haven't yet read but would love to. If you're an author interested in featuring your work, check the available dates under the Schedule tab and email: tbrtheblog [at] gmail.com to arrange an interview. Please note: This blog is not rated, so all excerpts must be suitable for general audiences, though books of any heat level are welcome, as are books of any genre. We look forward to featuring yours!

New Website

Here's my new website (at least, my temporary headquarters):

https://sites.google.com/site/mdasefauthor/

The sad but true tale behind this:

Microsoft Office Live has hosted my website (http://marvadasef.com/) for several years. It started out free and they even gave me my domain name for free.

About a year and a half ago, they decided to charge $14.95/year for web hosting. I thought that was still a pretty good deal, so I paid for 2/2011-2/2012. In January, I got the notice that the annual fee would come due soon, so I just paid it ahead of time so I wouldn't forget. That amount I paid in January would provide annual service from 2/2012 to 2/2013. Matter of fact, my subscription from last year doesn't even expire until the 19th of this month. Here's the email I got on January 17th, when I renewed:

Dear Marva Dasef,

This mail is confirmation that you have successfully renewed your subscription to Microsoft Office Live Small Business - Domain Addon. This renewal goes into effect on Tuesday, January 17, 2012. Please retain a copy of this for your records.

On January 30th, I got this email:

Marva,

On April 30, 2012, we are discontinuing Office Live Small Business. We would like to offer you an opportunity to self-transition to Microsoft® Office 365 for professionals and small businesses.

To get you started, we are offering you an exclusive 6 month free trial, of Office 365 for professionals and small businesses and Office Professional Plus

Whoa! You just made me pay for a service that was supposed to be good until 2013, and now it EXPIRES! All right, jerks, where's my refund? Answer is: Oh, you don't get a refund. That was an automatic payment. You have to (now get this) MANUALLY move everything on your website into the new system. No conversion of the existing site. I can't even use the .OLP backup file. No software can interpret that file type except Office Live. Which will, of course, no longer exist past April 30th.

I wrote a complaint; they obfuscated. The "support" email I received is so laughable it's ridiculous. Of course, the forums are full of other people very upset about this BAIT AND SWITCH tactic.

I'm going to attempt to retrieve my domain name. Apparently, I have to work with the domain issuing company in Australia. I'm not even sure how to do this, except that I have to cancel my existing site in order to obtain the key to the domain name, then email this Aussie company, blah blah blah.

But if I have to remove my site to get my key, I'll have to first move my "stuff" elsewhere. Images are fine since they're all somewhere on my hard drive already, but I have to re-create some things in a different way because the tools that MS provided don't translate to anywhere else. Remember that .OLP file? Totally worthless for this purpose.

I am in the process of rebuilding a website using Google services. Yes, they're taking over the internet world piece by piece. Since I already use most of their services such as YouTube, Pikasa, Blogger, and Gmail, I might as well go with the website too.

I feel like Microsoft defrauded all their Office Live customers. Do any one of us have a way to force them to make good? Nope. I'll have my eyes peeled for a class action suit. I'll definitely join it if there is one.

I Visit the MuseItUp Blog

Today, I'm blabbing about something or other. Oh, right! It's a Mystery Day on the MuseItUp blog. I'll be sharing today with author Heather Haven, who is a wonderful writer and a generous friend to other authors.

Catch my gig early. Heather takes over at high noon.

My post is on Multiple POVs (point of view) in Mysteries. With one mystery under my belt, I'm sure I'm now an expert. Actually, multiple POVs are not just for mysteries. With ten books and forty or so short stories, I will claim some level of expertise.

If you're fond of old Japanese films like the Seven Samurai and Rashomon, you won't want to miss the post.

I Visit Teen Word Factory

I'm visiting the Teen Word Factory today. My topic has to do with research (boring!) and how hitting the books can bring new ideas to your work in progress.

Pop over to learn about the Nenets tribe of Siberia, nuclear testing, totems, and stone shrines. This is all neat stuff I learned when I was researching Midnight Oil, book 2 in the Witches of Galdorheim series.

February Promo 1 - Free Ebooks at Amazon

Amazon allows authors who have assigned books to the Kindle Lending Library (books free to borrow for Prime customers) can also offer a five-day limited free purchase for those books.

This month I'm offering three books for free for two days each. Other free book days will follow.

STARTS TODAY February 5th-6th: Tales of a Texas Boy
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IYFAWE

and on Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002IYFAWE

February 12th-13th: Quest for the Simurgh
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00322P12U

and on Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00322P12U

Don't miss out on the deal.

February 19th-20th: Mixed Bag
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004OEKC9C 

and on Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004OEKC9C

Don't miss out on the deal.

February Schedule

What's happening in February. A busy month with me visiting blogs, authors visiting me, free book giveaways, and a book cover contest.

4th You Gotta Read Cover Contest
5th Free Kindle Book: Tales of a Texas Boy
7th Teen Word Factory
8th MuseItUp Blog
10th TBR Blog
13th C.K. Volnek Visits Me Here
13th Free Kindle Book: Quest for the Simurgh
15th Pembroke Sinclair Visits Me Here
17th Heather Haven
19th Penny Noyce Visits Me Here
19th Free Kindle Book: Mixed Bag
20th Anne Johnson
22nd Sue Perkins
24th Marian Lanouette

Not Yet Scheduled:
LASR Interview
Writers Rainbow
Penny Noyce

Midnight Oil Blog Tour WINNERS!

The names have been recorded, the die has been cast. Here are the winners of a free copy of either Bad Spelling or Midnight Oil. If you're a winner and I haven't contact you yet, please send me an email.

Frances (Che) Monro

Laurie Green

Cheryl Carpinello
Mandi Williams

Trish Fletcher

Cheryl Malandrinos

Angela Brown

Anne Johnson

H.M. Prevost

Lydia Kang

Stina Lindenblatt

* Note: Some of the host blogs didn't have a qualifying commenter, so prizes were not awarded for each host blog.

Jo Ramsey Talks About Good vs. Evil

See Jo's post about her book "Life Skills" on the 5th.

Good vs. Evil

When I was about ten, I was introduced to the series The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper. The first book in the series that I read had the same title as the series, and I was immediately intrigued by the idea of a perfectly typical eleven-year-old boy (typical for England, at least, where the story took place) who suddenly learned that not only was he not so typical after all, but that it was up to him to help fight evil and keep our world intact. That, combined with Arthurian legends and amazing descriptions of Wales (I still need to get to that country someday) kept me reading and re-reading the series well into adulthood.

It also impacted my own writing. I wanted to write stories of good versus evil where good won. As I grew older, though, I realized that who’s good and who’s evil isn’t always clear-cut. An upstanding citizen with a nice family and good job might be the most evil man you’ve ever met; a teenage boy who drinks, smokes, gets into fights, and steals might be a good person even though he makes bad choices.

That’s the basis of my YA urban fantasy series The Dark Lines. Topher James, the main character/narrator of half the books in the first segment of the series, is no one’s idea of a hero. He smokes, is a high school drop-out with a GED, is disrespectful to his mother, and gets into fights. On first glance, he isn’t even a good person.

Except that he dropped out of high school to support his mother, who’s mental illness has necessitated Topher raising himself and her since he was five. He’s disrespectful to her out of frustration with the life he’s led since then, and he gets into fights to defend his friends, who are people for whom Topher would literally give his life if called on to do so.

And when Topher discovers that a force of darkness is destroying people with psychic abilities to strengthen itself, his first thought is that he has to stop it. Even though it might destroy him next.

The Dark Lines, as well as some of my other books, do deal with good versus evil. But they also deal with perceptions, and with conquering darkness within ourselves as well as outside. No human is completely good or completely evil, and we all have both within us. It’s which side we choose that matters.

The first two books of The Dark Lines, The Black Bridge and When Darkness Falls, are available from Jupiter Gardens Press, http://www.jupitergardens.com/. The third book, Jet Black, will be available soon from Featherweight Press, http://www.featherweightpublishing.com/. To find out more about me and my books, please visit my website at http://www.joramsey.com , and while you’re there stop by my blog to see Marva’s interview from this past Friday.

Hostess with a Red Pencil - Anne Duguid

Anne was content editor for the first book I had published with MuseItUp, a mystery titled "Missing, Assumed Dead." I was quite happy when she agree to post something about Midnight Oil on her highly informative blog, The Slow and Steady School of Writing. If you're a writer, you'd do well to see what Anne has to tell you.

About Anne:

Anne Duguid is a senior content editor with the great team at MuseItUp Publishing and also blogs monthly with Writers on the Move (http://www.writersonthemove.com/). After working with local and national newspapers in the UK, she now teaches numeracy and languages. Best of all she reads for a living and searches out challenges to keep slow writers motivated.

Elementary Hostess - Barbara Ehrentreu

Not elementary, as in grade school. Barbara hosts the four major elemental spirits. Yes, this has something to do with Midnight Oil. You'll find out more than you ever thought you wanted to know on Barbara's Meandering Blog.

About Barbara

Mom, writer, busy busy busy. Barbara writes her own blog (Meandering), and contributes to Downtown YA and Teen Word Factory. She's made YA her business model, and is succeeding very nicely at it.

The first book of Barbara's that I read (and enjoyed, by the way) was the teen contemporary, "If I Could be Like Jennifer Taylor." It dealt with a number of problems facing today's teen. If you have a kid just hitting the teen years, it'd be a great book to give them. It will help prepare them for the mean streets of middle-grade and high school. Barbara has also written a Parent/Teacher Guide to help discuss the issues in Jennifer Taylor with teens. The book is available from MuseItUp, Amazon, and other ebookstores on the internet.

Assessment by a Brutally Honest Reviewer

Midnight Oil Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdfNTVeMS1s
The book trailer was featured at http://yougottareadvideos.blogspot.com/ on January 20th. Voting is between the 21st and 28th. Drop by and vote for #20.

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I'm just trying to win some sympathy with the title. Gina Salerni is 11 going on 40. She reviews books for kids and her famous writer-mom, Dianne, Salerni, posts them on her blog, In High Spirits.

I'm a little nervous about this review since I have no idea what Gina has to say about Midnight Oil. I hope she likes it.

Here's what she had to say about Bad Spelling, the first book in the Witches of Galdorheim series.

Hostess with Big Bird - Jo Ramsey

Jo and I are visiting each other so much this month, we're looking like we're related or BFFs. I hope, at least, we're becoming friends with all this virtual traveling. Jo is hosting Midnight Oil on her blog today. If you check back to January 5th, you'll see Jo visited me with her book, Life Skills. And coming up on the 30th, Jo will return for another stop with an all new book. At least we get great mileage.


About Jo

I’ve been reading and writing since I was very young, and I’ve always enjoyed creating new worlds and stories in which someone who considers his/her life bland and boring suddenly finds everything he/she’s always known turned on its ear. In other words, fantasy that starts, and often takes place completely, in the “real world.” That’s the type of story I enjoy reading, as well.

I’m a former special education teacher who now does school visits in addition to writing. I live in Massachusetts with my two daughters, my husband, and a pair of cats.

Hostess with Fairies - Pat McDermott

The book trailer was featured at You Gotta Read Videos on January 20th. Voting is between the 21st and 26th. This is the last day to vote. Drop by and vote for #20.

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YA fantasy author, Pat McDermott, grills me to a fare-thee-well on her blog, Across the Plain of Shining Books,  today. Find out what I think (scary thought) about my books (especially Midnight Oil) and other important things like how I began writing while still in the womb. That pointy pencil was hard on my mom.

About Pat:

Pat McDermott is a fan of Irish lore. I'd not doubt that at all since her last name begins with Mc (the Irish form) instead of Mac (the Apple form).

Born and educated in Boston, Massachusetts, Pat grew up in a family full of music and myths that have found their way into her stories. She is a member of The New Hampshire Writers' Project, Seacoast Writers' Association, Romance Writers of America, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A frequent visitor to Ireland, she lives and writes in New Hampshire.

Her latest book is "Glancing Through the Glimmer" from MuseItUp Publishing. It's a delightful story of fairy folk and one very lucky (she must have a shamrock) teen girl given an inside look at Fey life.

Vote for Midnight Oil Book Trailer

The Midnight Oil book trailer was featured at You Gotta Read Videos on January 20th. Voting is between the 21st and 28th. Drop by and vote for #20.

Hostess with Zombies - Pembroke Sinclair

The book trailer was featured at You Gotta Read Videos on January 20th. Voting is between the 21st and 26th. Drop by and vote for #20.

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Pembroke Sinclair loves her zombies. I wish I had a zombie to share with her from Midnight Oil today. Hm. Just had a thought (well, the thought occurred on January 10th while I'm writing this post). I do have an almost-dead character she can host. Dear old dad, frozen in the glacier and feeling so sad.

About Pembroke:

Pembroke (female) presents us with an apocalyptic future replete with zombies. Nothing like a good zombie fest to keep you up all night. Buy her book, Life After the Undead, from Etreasures Publishing. Check out her blog for information on her other stories and books. Not all are zombified. She has published non-fiction and speculative fiction.

She has much more coming in 2012. She has quite a wide range. I just like to tease her about the zombies.

Hostess with Caged Graves - Dianne Salerni

The book trailer was featured at You Gotta Read Videos on January 20th. Voting is between the 21st and 28th. Drop by and vote for #20.

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Dianne Salerni takes over today on her blog with an interview of yours truly about the Witches of Galdorheim series, writing stuff, and other things. Her lit savvy daughter, Gina, will post her thoughts on Midnight Oil on Dianne's blog on the 27th.

About Dianne:

Dianne's blog, In High Spirits, is always a useful place to find historical information, reviews written by her astute daughters (they know their MG/YA books), and regularly posts First Impressions, where writers can have their first pages analyzed by Dianne.

She's the rags-to-riches story that all writers dream of. Starting with a self-published historical novel, she found herself a publisher for "We Hear the Dead" (Sourcebooks). About two sisters in the 19th Century who bilked the public by pretending to relay messages from the spirit world, the book is based on the real rappers of the 19th C.

She's following up that success with her new novel (another historically based), The Caged Graves (Clarion). As if that wasn't enough, Dianne teaches full-time at an elementary school in Pennsylvania.  Visit her website for more information on her books and where you can buy them.

Hostess with the Write Stuff - Meradeth Houston

Midnight Oil Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdfNTVeMS1s

The book trailer was featured at http://yougottareadvideos.blogspot.com/  on January 20th. Voting is between the 21st and 28th. Drop by and vote for #20.
 

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Today, Meradeth Houston is opening her blog to my new release, Midnight Oil. She asked a lot of probing questions and I answered as best I could. Would you turn off that bright light you had glaring in my eyes now? Ah, that's better.

Visit me on the Write Stuff blog.

About Meradeth

My debut novel, Colors Like Memories will be out in May of next year with MuseItUp (I know that’s not for a while, but it feels like it’s creeping closer and closer!). CLM is a book that is near and dear to me, and I’m so happy it’s found a home and will actually go out into the world for other people to read—and hopefully enjoy a little too ;).

Hostess With Totems - Shellie Neumeier

The book trailer for Midnight Oil was  featured at You Gotta Read Videos. Vote from the 21st through 26th. Poll should be available today.

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Shellie Neumeier is a YA author who participated in the MG/YA blogathon last September. Here's a link to my interview about her book, Driven, back then.

Today, on her blog, she posts important information on Nenets shrines, totems, and asking for help from the heavens. In other words, a major plot point in Midnight Oil.

About Shellie:


Married for almost 20 years, Shellie and her husband have four wonderful children and two goofy greyhounds. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, she went on to acquire an early childhood education certificate. Shellie also served in youth, children’s, special needs and family ministries for over twenty-two years.

Today she enjoys teaching her teens how to drive and chauffeuring her preteens across the Wisconsin countryside. And once in a while, she enjoys reading a classic tale or new suspense. In addition to writing fiction, Shellie is an avid blogger on her site http://shellieneumeier.com/ and several others including http://samiesisters.com/ , http://www.suite101.com/, and http://thebarndoor.net/.

Hostess with Monkeys - Lorrie Struiff

Lorrie Struiff, author of "Gypsy Crystal" and "Heap of Trouble" (coming soon to MuseItUp Publishing) plus a lot of short stories here and there, is hosting a couple of important characters in Midnight Oil: Kat (the main character) and Mordita, the ancient sorceress who has taken a liking to Kat. In the excerpt, Mordita provides cookies, advice, and a piece of jewelry.

NOTE: The book trailer for Midnight Oil is featured today on You Gotta Read Videos. Voting begins tomorrow. I'd appreciate your vote. Thanks!

Hostess with Ice Cream - Barbara Bockman

Today, Barbara Bockman hosts Midnight Oil on her Stories a la Mode blog. Barbara's latest book is Wounds from MuseItUp Publishing. She visited me here on January 9th with information on her newest offering, a picture book titled "Fantastic Flight," as well as participating in last September's MG/YA Blogathon.

About Barbara (according to Barbara)

I’ve always loved stories and the interesting way certain people have with words. So I majored in English and Library Science in college, and later, with a Master’s Degree in English, I taught my subject at Pensacola Junior College. Having long wanted to try my hand at it, I started writing stories for children.

Story ideas are all around me. One of the fun things about traveling is learning new facts and feeling the lives of people who lived in those exotic locales. I especially love folk tales and myths.

I also enjoy stories about contemporary children and situations. I like to turn them into mysteries. My family have been indulgent enough to allow me to write about them, as well.

Hostess with Tiny Canines - Chris Verstraete

No, Chris Verstraete is not a vampire with small fangs. She just really, really likes dogs. I like dogs too, so we get along great. Great Dane even. She never terriers from her writing duties except to hound other writers to make teensy, tiny little pekingese, no make that chihuahua-sized chairs, tables and dog houses.

Now that you can tell I'm totally baying at the moon, please drop over to Chris' blog, The Candid Canine, while I go on and on about the unfortunately dogless Midnight Oil. There's plenty of other animals though. Just not dogs, not even little itty bitty dogs.

Chris Verstraete: Collector, writer, miniaturist, dog lover! But she also enjoys writing + reading horror. (Zombies too!) If you like dogs or miniatures or zombies, possibly all in the same book, you'll enjoy Chris' writing. For example:

Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery

Sam, her Bff Lita, and a mischievous Dachshund named Petey face a cranky housekeeper, a dog-hating gardener, and an ancient family curse as they search for a missing miniature replica of Van Gogh's famous painting, "Starry Night."

Learn more about Chris on her website, including all her other books about dogs, miniatures, and zombies.

GOING BLACK TO SUPPORT WIKI AGAINST SOPA/PIPA

It's Always a Mystery at Heather Haven's Place

Two departures from the Midnight Oil release today. I was notified that a review of my SFR, Ultimate Duty, should be posted at Red Adept Reviews today. A very nice review written by Jim Chambers. I sure can't complain about 4-1/2 stars.

Another lane change lane away from the fantasy world to the world of murder and mystery. Heather Haven's Alvarez Family series is becoming seriously famous starting with "Murder is a Family Business" and "A Wedding to Die For."

Visit Heather's blog today, the 17th of January, to read about my mystery/romance, "Missing, Assumed Dead."

About Heather:

I am a story teller by nature and love the written word. In my career, I've written short stories, novels, comedy acts, plays, television treatments, ad copy, commercials, and even ghost-wrote a book.

One of my very first jobs as a writer was given to me by my then agent. It was that of writing a love story for a book published by Bantam called Moments of Love. I had a deadline of one week and then promptly came down with the flu. I wrote "The Sands of Time" with a temperature of 102 and delivered some pretty hot stuff because of it. The result is on the Short Stories page, along with a contest winning short short called "Socks." I'll be rotating my short stories from time to time because I just love writing them!

My two one-act plays, The Closet Corpse and Baltimore, farcical comedies both, were well received whenever and wherever they've been performed. I had the good fortune to have Baltimore done at Playwrights Horizon in New York City, shortly after The Closet Corpse premiered off-off B'Way, starring the very talented Sandy Faison, of Broadway's Annie fame. Both are featured on the plays page.

Hostess with a Sea Serpent - Sue Perkins

Sue Perkins (Author of Spirit Stealer and Reva's Quest from MuseItUp Publishing) meets a sea serpent with Midnight Oil's heroine, Kat.

Read all about Ceto on Sue's Blog.

About Sue

Born in Devon, England, Sue traveled the world with her husband, including two years living in the Middle East with her young family. A few years later the family moved to New Zealand. Sue, her husband and dog have settled on a three acre block at the top of New Zealand's South Island. Their two children are now the globetrotters.

Sue writing genres include fantasy, romance, young adult and middle grade. When asked if she would ever stop writing she replied "Not until all the plots in my head have been written - which will probably I'll never stop."

Her hobbies include reading, writing and anything to do with crafts. Researching family history is another past time which holds Sue's interest. She works as a graphic artist for a local trade paper.

Most Villainous Hostess - Ardyth DeBruyn

My host today is the multi-talented Ardyth DeBruyn. I like her so much, I even named one of my characters after her. She also has a very artistic brother who has illustrated her wonderful YA fantasy, "A School for Villains."

Click here for Ardyth's blog.

About Ardyth

Ardyth DeBruyn is a native Oregonian with a restless nature and a degree in Anthropology. After hiking over 1500 miles across Europe and living on the Mexican border for a year, she settled back in the Pacific Northwest (for now) to write fantasy stories. She has decided she can type herself into adventures faster than walk. She has fiction published in a number of webzines and two children’s novels, ”Chosen Sister,” with Wild Child Publishing, and “A School for Villains.”

Hostess with a Whale - C.K. Volnek

C.K. is an MG/YA writer with MuseItUp Publishing. Her recently released tween novel, A Horse Called Trouble, and has already been receiving many accolades for this touching story of a young teen who must overcome her abusive past to save the defiant horse who taught her to love and trust again. C.K. will visit me here on February 13th with more information on this book.

She's hosting one of my characters in "Midnight Oil" An Orca Called Salmon. Read all about it on The Mind's Eye blog.

About Charlotte

Everyone has a story. Happy, sad, good, bad, all rolled up in the truth of who we are. We may think we are nothing special, but in fact we are everything to someone. We may just not know it.

I grew up in Nebraska, enjoying life in small town USA; riding horses in summer and sledding the ginormous hills in winter. I am married to my best friend and together we have three children and four Papillon fur-kids. What can I say...Papillons are like potato chips, you can’t stop at one. I like to write, hike, watch movies, and dream about the ‘what ifs’ in life, thus spawning the many stories my muse wants to share. I am proud to announce my first two novels released in 2011, and my third to be released 2012.

MIDNIGHT OIL RELEASE TODAY!!!

MIDNIGHT OIL Book 2 of the Witches of Galdorheim Series
Shipwrecked on a legendary island, how can a witch rescue her boyfriend if she can’t even phone home?

My website: http://marvadasef.com/
MuseItUp Buy Page: http://tinyurl.com/6wswbsf
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UTL54A
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdfNTVeMS1s

Read the first review on Lindsay Below's Blog.

Blog Tour Schedule in January. Stop by at my hosts' sites for ebook giveaways.

14 -  Charlotte Volnek
15 -  Ardyth DeBruyn
16 -  Sue Perkins
17 -  Heather Haven (Missing, Assumed Dead)
18 -  Chris Verstraete
19 -  Barbara Bockman
20 -  Lorrie Struiff
20 -  Midnight Oil on You Gotta Read Book Trailers (vote for #20 from the 21st-26th)
21 - Shellie Neumeier
22 - Meradeth Houston
23 - Dianne Salerni
24 - Pembroke Sinclair
25 - Review by Gina Salerni
26 - Pat McDermott
27 - Jo Ramsey
28 - Barbara Ehrentreu
29 - Anne Duguid

Loglines - Ultimate Duty

Ultimate Duty featured on the Loglines Blog today.

A new book featured everyday. Does the cover and logline intrigue enough to make you want to read the book? Check it out.

Buy the book award-winning (9th Place Best SF on Editors/Preditors Poll 2010) book at:

Eternal Press

Amazon Kindle and Print

Watch the book trailer at YouTube.

Bad Spelling 2nd Place in Preditors/Editors Readers Poll

The voting ended, the tallies are toted. Two of my books took a top 10 in the polls. Win badges coming soon.

Bad Spelling 2nd Place in Childrens Novels


Missing, Assumed Dead 8th Place in Mysteries

Real or Fantasy Worlds

I discuss using real and fantasy worlds in my Witches of Galdorheim series. I say, use both and mix it up.

Read the article on the MuseItUp Blog.

Picture This - Author Barbara Bockman

I welcome Barbara Bockman today who'll be telling us about her new picture book, Fantastic Flight. Isn't that the cutest cover? Anyway, I'll leave it to Barbara to fill us in.

Hi Marva,


Thanks for inviting me to be on your blog today and share some good news. In addition to my MuseItYoung novel, Wounds, I now have a picture book published by Guardian Angel Publishing. The title is Fantastic Flight. The illustrations are done by Jack Foster, who has a charming, amusing style. Here is his website: http://jacktoon.blogspot.com/

Just as with many of my stories, I started this one because of an incident that happened in my family. When my granddaughter, Jessica, was a toddler, my husband and I went with her and her parents to Chucky Cheese’s. That is a fun pizza restaurant with games and an animated floor show. A good place for birthday parties. And lots of balloons. Jessica was going to take a balloon home. But as her mom was putting her jacket on, Grandpa offered to hold the balloon. He was a great kidder. So he pretended the balloon was carrying him up into the sky. He said, “Jessica, hold my hand! This balloon is carrying me away.” Jessica thought that was really funny.

That incident stayed with me. I wrote the story with the little girl protagonist being carried away by the balloon. It is she who offers to take Grandpa for a balloon ride. The adventures along the way include places and things that were part of our life when we lived at the beach—but told about in fantastical ways (for instance, the little butterfly on its way to Mexico, carrying a tiny suitcase and a tiny map).

The story gives an idea of how to overcome boredom or homesickness by using one’s creativity. Grownups can give kids a nudge by suggesting ways to keep busy and stretch the imagination.

The book is available in both electronic and print formats at Guardian Angel Publishing and other venues. http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/fantastic-flight.htm  Suggested for readers from 4-7.

Thanks again, Marva, and I’ll see you on my blog, Stories a la Mode, on Thursday, January 19. http://barbarabockman.wordpress.com/  Till then…

Thanks for letting us know about Guardian Angel Publishing as well as your new book. See you on your blog on the 19th. Marva

Book Trailer for Midnight Oil!

Midnight Oil is now on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006UTL54A/

And in case you didn't see the trailer for Book 1: Bad Spelling...

Sue Perkins - Two New Releases!

REVA'S QUEST
Reva fights evil in Fey with the help of a garden gnome, elves, griffins and a knight in shining armour.
by Sue Perkins: http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com/
Blogsite: http://sueperkinsauthor.blogspot.com/
Buy Reva's Quest at MuseItUp Publishing

Sue's last book, "Spirit Stealer," is now available at MuseItUp, Amazon, and other on-line bookstores. Now, let's hear from Sue.

Thank you Marva for inviting me to your blog.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year and are not feeling too down about returning to school or work.

My break has been very relaxed. I live in New Zealand so we get Christmas in the sun and I have to say the sun really did its best for us. Very hot days with blue skies. The rain set in for New Year though.

My New Year began for on the 30th December when MuseItUp Publishing released my Middle Grade novel "Reva's Quest". This is my second Middle Grade novel, the first one being "Spirit Stealer" which was released by MuseItUp in October 2011. Both are fantasies.

DRAGON FLAME

On the 1st January Desert Breeze Publishing released a Young Adult novel "Dragon Flame" so 2012 has definitely started with all things wonderful.

I have to admit my favorite genre is fantasy. Sometimes on Earth with spirits, ghosts and other scary things. I also visit alternate worlds with magical beings both animals and humanoids.

"Reva's Quest" starts on Earth but rapidly moves to the magical world of Fey. Reva's garden gnome demands she accompany him Fey to rid the magical world of evil which he states is all her fault.

The adventure begins when they start their quest accompanied by two elves and a griffin. The evil has infiltrated most of the land and sometimes the beings of Fey are not as they seem.

Excerpt from Reva's Quest

They walked through the trees for most of the day, but eventually the forest thinned out. Through the trunks she could see rolling meadows with another wooded area in the distance. Distant snow-topped mountains broke the horizon. The creatures of Fey might not be the same as her imagination, but the scenery certainly looked similar. Eager to leave the lurking leprechauns behind, she hurried out onto the lush grassy surface.

“Come back you silly girl.”

Reva ignored Maura. With her arms stretched out to either side and her face turned upward, she spun slowly, enjoying the warm sunshine of late afternoon.

“What does she think she’s doing?” Maura’s voice held astonishment.

“Enjoying the warmth and light I think,” Jarin's words were thoughtful. “I thought she knew about Fey. Doesn’t she know how dangerous it is to rush out in the open?”

“Apparently not,” the female elf replied.

Reva heard their voices, but ignored the actual words. Eyes closed, she tilted her head back even more and lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the warm rays bathing her face. The sunshine wiped away the sense of menace and replaced it with a feeling of ease and contentment.

For several moments, she stood delighting in the sun before something passed across the sky, throwing a shadow on her face. Reva looked up, expecting to see a cloud crossing the sun. Her eyes widened in horror. A huge avian dived toward her at an amazing speed. The beak opened in a challenging scream which went right through her. Sharp talons on its feet stretched toward her as it swooped in for the kill.

The bird zoomed closer and closer. Reva stood open-mouthed, staring. Fear and disbelief pinned her feet to the ground.

Buy Link Reva's Quest: http://tinyurl.com/revasquest

"Dragon Flame" occurs on an alternate planet. Eighteen year old Talei is the eldest survivor of an attack of fire breathing dragons. Talei links telepathically with a dragon, and discovers their goblin riders are holding the female dragons hostage. Talei and her friend Adri lead a group of teenagers to free the beasts. Failure means the end of both dragons and humans.

Excerpt from Dragon Flame

Darth stirred beside her, and thinking he moved to comfort her, she turned toward him. To her horror she saw him crawl from beneath the wagon and move toward a laser gun which had fallen from the hand of a dead defender.

"Darth, no," she hissed. "Don't be stupid."

He picked up the laser, and still lying on the ground he looked toward her, pride glowing in his eyes.

"I'm not stupid, Talei. I'm going to protect my home and people in the only way I know." Without another word he wriggled forward until he reached the dance floor. Talei watched helplessly as he stood. Alone in the center of the dance floor, he fired at a dragon strafing the tents along the eastern side of the open space.

The beast turned. Without appearing to aim, it launched a stream of fire at Darth. He didn't even have time to cry out as his body burst into flames. When the blaze subsided only a blackened husk remained. Talei watched in horror as the residue of her childhood friend fell lifeless to the ground.

The dragon hovered over its kill. Talei screamed in terror, and the huge, triangular head turned in her direction. She stared helplessly into the dragon's brilliant green, cat-like eyes. She froze as the maw opened, and waited for the searing heat to destroy her, too. Somewhere in the back of her mind her brain chanted a litany. Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me.

Buy Link Dragon Flame: http://tinyurl.com/dragonflame
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI44FEElYmg

Midnight Oil is Burning!

The newest book in the Witches of Galdorheim series, MIDNIGHT OIL, just arrived in my email in all the lovely formats: PRC, EPUB, PDF, HTML. Release date is next Friday the 13th, but I now have in my possession, burning my fingers, a book that can be rewarded to faithful commenters in my upcoming blog tour. I'd better figure out a banner of some kind.

Blog Tour Schedule:

11 - At MuseItUp Blog
13 - RELEASE DAY! Announcement Here.
13 - Review by Lindsay Below
14 - At Charlotte Volnek
15 - At Ardyth DeBruyn
16 - At Sue Perkins
17 - At Heather Haven (Missing, Assumed Dead featured)
18 - At Chris Verstraete
19 - At Barbara Bockman
20 - At Lorrie Struiff
22 - At Meradeth Houston
23 and 25 - At Dianne Salerni, Review by Gina Salerni
24 - At Pembroke Sinclair
26 - At Pat McDermott
27 - At Jo Ramsey
28 - At Barbara Ehrentreu
29 - At Anne DuGuid

Guest Blog - Jo Ramsey

Making a Difference by Jo Ramsey

Whether we’re talking about helping others, ending bullying, or donating to charities, it’s easier than people sometimes realize to make a difference.

Bullying is sometimes the hardest thing for people to realize they can change. Sometimes all it takes is one person to speak up and say, “Hey, stop that.” People are often reluctant to say it, and then the bullying continues.

Some people hesitate to help others because they don’t believe they can do anything, or because they think someone else will help. It’s the same with donating to charities; some people don’t have the money, but others don’t think their money will actually make a difference. Or they figure other people will donate, so they don’t have to.

But the truth is, everyone can help. That’s what Brian Monahan, the main character in my new young adult short story “Life Skills” discovers. Brian’s school requires all students to perform community service in order to graduate, and Brian forgot to submit his proposal. So his school assigns him to volunteer in the Life Skills class. While working there, Brian discovers that some of the kids in the class are being bullied.

He decides to do something about it. Being bisexual, Brian has been bullied plenty himself, and he helps organize his school’s Day of Silence each year; it’s an event where students remain silent for a full day to express their support of GLBTQ people. To help the kids in the Life Skills class, Brian and his friends organize a Spread the Word to End the Word event, in which they encourage their schoolmates to be respectful of students with special needs and to stop using the word “retard.”

Brian considers himself “under the radar” and tries to keep it that way, but he puts himself out there to help others, and he makes a difference. What can you do to make a difference in your life?

“Life Skills” is available at http://www.featherweightpublishing.com/ShowBook.php?HH=JR_LIFESKILLS  as part of Featherweight Press’s Helping Hands line, in which royalties from all stories are donated to a charity chosen by the author. Royalties from “Life Skills” will benefit Day of Silence.

Find out more about Jo Ramsey and her books on her website, http://www.joramsey.com/ .

Preditors and Editors Reader Poll

It's polling time at Preditors/Editors. Please vote for:

Bad Spelling in the Children's Books category. Vote for the one that has Comments.

While Bad Spelling is also in the Young Adults category, and I'd certainly appreciate your vote, I'd like to see my publishing house take a first place. For YA, I ask you to vote for:

If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor by Barbara Ehrentreu

Again, I have an entry in Mystery Novels, "Missing, Assumed Dead." However, I'd like you to show your support for MuseItUp by voting for:

A Wedding to Die For by Heather Haven

My cover for Bad Spelling is totally the best, so I'd be pleased if you honor my cover artist, Kaytalin Platt. There are two entries in this category, so just pick the top one.
Bad Spelling Cover by Kaytalin Platt

If you're not tired of clicking yet, please vote for:

MuseItUp Publishing in the Print/Electronic Book Publishers

Thanks for your support.

MuseItUp Blogging This Month

Late breaking news: Here's the cover for Midnight Oil! So cool, I'm almost spitting up.

The winner of a free PDF of Ultimate Duty from my visit to Mark of the Stars is:

KAYE MANRO

Visit with me on the MuseItUp Publishing blog on the 11th. All month long, various authors are visiting and expounding on high falutin' topics...like YA books. They don't disappear, so you can catch all the posts throughout January.

2012 THEME Dear Reporter: my struggles and sacrifices to maintain my passion for writing. Plus some genre weeks.

DEAR REPORTER THEME January 2nd - 7th

JAN 2 Christine London

JAN 3 Dianne Hartsock

JAN 4 Mike Hays

JAN 5 Ginger Simpson

JAN 6 Christine Speakman

JAN 7 Danielle Ravencraft

JAN 8 SUN MuseItUp BDAY BLOG PARTY WITH DOORPRIZES

MUSE TWEEN/YA AUTHOR WEEK Jan 9th - 15th

JAN 9
Ginger Simpson

JAN 10 
AM:Mindy Hardwick
PM: Mike Hays

JAN 11
AM: Marva Dasef
PM: Anne Johnson

JAN 12
AM: Pat McDermott
PM: Shellie Neumeier

JAN 13
AM: Barbara Ehrentreu
PM: Charlie Volnek

JAN 14
AM:Nick Giannaras
PM: Maggie Lyons

JAN 15
AM:Cheryl Carpinello
PM: Grace DeLuca

DEAR REPORTER THEME January 16th-22nd

JAN 16 Christopher Hoare

JAN 17 Rochelle Weber

JAN 18 Joanne Elder - Post about Alzheimer's and the event in January

JAN 19 Roseanne Dowell

JAN 20 Amy McCorkle

JAN 21 TBD

JAN 22 Rosemary Morris

HORROR/DARK FICTION THEME January 23rd - 26th

JAN 23 Pembroke Sinclair

JAN 24 Brian Knight

JAN 25 TBD

JAN 26 Kristin Battestella

CONTINUING DEAR REPORTER THEME

JAN 30 Addison James

February will continue with more DEAR REPORTER posts and Mystery/Thriller Week (I'll be on Feb.8th).

Happy New Year! January Schedule

HAPPY 2012!

First, I'd like to announcement the winners of C.K. Volnek's new ebook. Two people who commented on my blog here won "A Horse Called Trouble." Congratulations to Adriana Ryan and Edith Parzefall.

Next, the Preditors/Editors Readers Poll is now open. I'd appreciate any votes people might cast. Here are the links:

http://critters.org/predpoll/novelchildrens.shtml
Vote for Bad Spelling with publisher as Museitup Publishing so as to not split votes. Somehow got entered twice.

http://critters.org/predpoll/novelyoungadult.shtml
Bad Spelling

http://critters.org/predpoll/novelmys.shtml
Missing, Assumed Dead

Now on to the rest of the scheduled events. With a new book release, it'll be an active month. I'll be blog-hopping all over the place. I will be giving away free ebooks, so visit everywhere you can to get into the draw. Here's what's shaping up so far:

1st - 10th - Open Season blog posts

7th - Sue Perkins visits me
11th - At MuseItUp Blog

13th - At Loglines Blog - Ultimate Duty Logline

14th - At C.K. Volnek

17th - At Heather Haven - Missing, Assumed Dead

18th - At Chris Verstraete

19th - At Barbara Bockman

20th - At Lorrie Struiff
22nd - At Meradeth Snow

23rd - Jo Ramsey Visits Me
23rd and 25th - At Dianne and Gina Salerni

24th - At Pembroke Sinclair

27th - At Jo Ramsey

28th - At Barbara Ehrentreu

More Stops and Links coming soon!