On February 14th, buy a book from your local brick-and-mortar store. If all you have near you is a Barnes and Noble or a Hastings? That’s just fine. If you have an independent bookstore to support? Do it!
When it is:
On Valentine’s Day, of course! Because Books are for Lovers!
Why it is:
Bookstores are an important part of books existing as a whole. Unless we support them, we just might lose them. So share the love!
What it isn’t:
This isn’t about trying to get you to support any one specific store, chain, book, or author. This is about YOU buying YOURSELF (or maybe someone you love) a book that you want.
As with some of you, my world is still covered in snow. I have to admit, as a San Diego native, this is the most serious winter that I’ve ever seen. The two other winters I’ve spent in the Rocky Mountains were definitely mild by comparison. Have you seen the videos of people sliding due to frozen rain a few days ago? I had to deal with that. Maybe not so much as in the video, but enough that
Meanwhile, I am drafting again. I need a little bit of space from my fantasy manuscript so that I can process better what kind of changes need to be made (I know there are a lot of them! Fantasy is tough, guys!) So I’m retreating to my more comfortable realm of modern day paranormal whilst nursing the damaged ego all writers are used to when they see that the lovely thing they just finished is full of flaws.
So for the moment I’m cozying up to my Paranormal (which isn’t hard… I love it!) and trying to stay warm. In the meanwhile, I have some great news…
In case you haven’t heard, (because I haven’t told you… sorry for that…) there is some exciting news going on at the Writer’s Dojo! Here’s a look at it:
Treat every month like NaNoWriMo!
Beginning February 1st, 2013, the writer’s dojo returns to its roots and ushers in a new age of ninjawesomeness. Each month we will open three training rooms at the writer’s dojo website. A room for drafters (Writing Month, aka WriMo), a room for revisers (Revising Month, aka ReMo) and a room for those querying (Querying Month, aka QuMo).
We invite you to set your own goals, whether it’s to write a thousand words a day, revise ten pages a week, or submit twenty queries in a month, and register your goal in the appropriate training room.
There is also now a Google + group for the Dojo, so don’t be shy, join up! This is a great way to connect with others and to keep yourself motivated.
My first goal for February 2013 is to finish drafting my paranormal YA, OR to have written at least 10,000 words on it by the end of the month. I like to give myself two options so I feel like I’m achieving something no matter which I’ve hit. Does that make me a cheater? Oh well, you don’t have to play that way! 😛
There’s a fine line between enchantment and desolation.
Woohoo! My turn on the Tales From the Hollow Tree Giveaway Hop. It seems like a long time coming to me, but the first collection of Hollow Tree Tales is now available on Kindle, Nook, and special edition .pdf. This collection has eight stories previously published on the site, and two (one from both Isabelle and I) that are exclusive to this collection.
Here’s a sneak peek at my exclusive story:
When I saw the ship, it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. A large, wooden vessel with a savagely beautiful mermaid carved into the bow, and a glimmer of gold, making the very wood gleam. The sails wafted lazily in the breeze, and a dozen boys’ voices broke off as they spotted me.
Any guesses what it’s about?
And I’m going to give away a copy of our .pdf right here! All you have to do is leave a comment and let me know what your favorite mythical creature is. It can be anything from a sprite to a manticore. 🙂
And! We’re having a special giveaway on Friday, if you go to all the posts in the hop and collect keywords from each giveaway post.
My keyword is:
MAYA
Head back to the Hollow Tree blog on Friday to enter in that word for a chance to win some special Hollow Tree swag!
And in the meanwhile, add us on Goodreads! You never know, it might get you an extra entry. 😉
Before I jump into this, I have to send you to look at Tales From the Hollow Tree, because we have a big announcement up there this morning. Come check it out!
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There are some very cool things going on in the publishing world right now. One major thing is that is really starting to change the face of the publishing world is the ever-growing number of self-published books—or Indie’s if you prefer—and especially the fact that self-published books are starting to get really, really good. I have a few friends that have ganged up to release their books together under the name Dark C.A.R.M.A. (letters from their first names). All the books are YA Paranormal and look GREAT!!! I haven’t read any of them personally, but I’ve heard such wonderful things about them. Here’s their joint trailer:
o.O right?! Here’s a little about each of their books:
When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive.
BOUND is a heroic tale of true friendship, infinite sacrifice and untamed love.
Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.
When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Lucifer, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.
Stubborn, sixteen-year-old Princess Venus of Kelari wants one thing, to become immortal, that is, until someone exiles her to Earth, kills her irrihunter and takes her family.
Now she wants revenge.
First she’s got to get home. But before she can return to Kelari, the Gods have commanded her to help an arrogant boy named Michael find his soul mate.
Life’s hard. People make it harder. They tether you to them. Make it difficult to breathe, and damn-near impossible to leave…
Seventeen year-old Abby Rhoades knows this all too well. Born to a mother who could never love her and who vacillates between a sloppy drunk and a suicidal maniac, Abby’s never had it easy. But Abby can swim. And Abby has a plan–win the state championship, earn a free ride to Penn State, and leave her small town and suffocating mother behind.
But then the body of Tom Ford, her mother’s latest boyfriend and a man Abby adored, washes up along the shore of the Susquehanna River. His injuries suggest murder and suspicion quickly falls on Abby then on her best friend Garrett Scott, both of whom saw Tom the night he died.
They both know what happened that night, but neither one is talking. There’s too much at stake and the truth could tear them apart.
From the moment Lucia steps into Bayside Art Academy, she is fed a steady stream of lies, but it’s not until she meets Michael that she begins to question the people she trusts. Unraveling fact from fabrication seems impossible until Lucia finds her first painting, and discovers the dead do not lie–at least not to her.
A dozen lifetimes ago, Lucia started a war. Not a war with armies or guns, but a bloody war nonetheless. The path leading Lucia to the truth is hidden within lovely art that spans the ages. In this life, however, Lucia doesn’t know where to look. Lost, she turns to the one thing she knows with certainty–she is in love with Leo, and has been before.
Go forth and add these to your “to read” lists on Goodreads!!! And if that’s not enough, they’re giving away awesome stuff on their joint blog:
Lisa Asanuma 