Today, some lucky person who commented on my blog between December 1 and December 29 is going to win an e-book of the Make Believe anthology. I wonder who it could be. Shall we find out? May I have a drum roll please?
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And the lucky winner is:
Congratulations, Kourtney! Please contact me at kford2007(at)gmail(dot)com to provide me with the format you prefer.
I also have more bookmarks and digital signed e-book covers of the Make Believe anthology to giveaway so tune in tomorrow to discover if your name will be added to the winner’s list!
I want to thank all you for tagging along with me in 2012 and I look forward to more conversations in 2013!
Happy Saturday, everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season so far and your plans for the new year are falling into place.
Today, as part of the Make Believe blog tour, I’m skipping over to Susan Rocan’s blog to talk about a not so well-known creature…the selkie. Why? Well, because (1) they appear in The Amulet of Ormisez, my short story in the Make Believe anthology, and (2) not many people have ever heard of them, so I thought it would be kind of cool to introduce them. So head on over to Susan’s. I’ll see you there!
Today I’m over at The View Outside talking to Vikki and her followers about dealing with negative reviews. I would really appreciate it if you would pop over, say hi, and sit for a while.
If you have time, I’d love it if you would leave a comment here about how you deal with negative reviews/critiques. Have you had a bad review of anything you had published? Maybe that you sang, or drew, or sculpted? How did you handle it? Are you someone who craves approval from others or are you confident in yourself? I would love to hear from you.
Quote of the day:
“Dreams are the touchstones of our character.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
On December 3, my short story, The Amulet of Ormisez, will be published in Make Believe and released into the big wide world. My words, no longer mine but everyone’s. It is every author’s dream. No matter how many times you sign that contract, a glow happens inside knowing a publisher believed in your hard work and it will be read by hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions. How very exciting!
A few early reviews have already trickled in and I’m thrilled to say they are all positive. Have a look below:
Rachel Morgan at Goodreads writes: “MAKE BELIEVE is a magical collection of short stories. Just the right size for someone like me who falls into bed too late every night and doesn’t have much time (or energy) left to read!…Fantasy-lovers should definitely check this one out.”
Jen – At Random says: “…With mystery, deceit, fate, grief, greed, romance, and action each story has its own engaging elements but all are sprinkled with a morsel of magic. Definitely a great read!”
And, an overall 5 star review on Amazon.com had this to say about my story in particular: “There’s lots happening in this story but to say much more would reveal too much of the tale. I also enjoyed this tale…as I have not read a great deal about selkies. I would look out for other books by the author and dependent on blurb seriously consider reading them…” She gave the story 4/5 stars!! You can read the full review here.
There is so much more I have to share with your about the anthology. The official Blog Tour kicks off on December 3 and all the authors appearing in Make Believe are promoting tons of giveaways and contests, so make sure you visit each of their blogs/websites to see what’s going on. On Sunday, I will post information about my blog tour, AND share a little secret about what I’ll be doing the whole month of December to celebrate the release of Make Believe. It’ll be pretty cool.
Also, if you want to participate in launch day celebrations and enter for your chance to win an e-copy of the Make Believe anthology, make sure you leave your website/blog information in the comments section of my blog between now and November 30.
Oh, and if you can’t wait until December 3 to get your own e-copy of Make Believe, a little bird told me Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble just might have a little treat for your Kindle or Nook at this very moment. You should head over and check it out. Go on. You know you want to. Take some friends with you. Grab some coffee while you’re at it. Kick your shoes off. Relax. Who needs to work today when you can Make Believe.
I just received some fantastic news! My publisher, J. Taylor Publishing, is hosting a giveaway for the MAKE BELIEVE anthology! In case you don’t know, this e-anthology features my short story, THE AMULET OF ORMISEZ! 
If you’re a book blogger reviewer and are interested in snagging a copy for your review stacks, please click HERE for the details on how you can enter to win a copy of the e-anthology. 
You don’t want to miss this chance to read and review before everyone else. It’s a GREAT antho. It is. Really. 🙂
I cannot believe the MAKE BELIEVE anthology releases 90 days from today. It just boggles my mind. What boggles my mind even more is the amount of marketing that needs to be done.
I have never been one for tooting my own horn so all of this is so new and foreign to me. It seems so selfish, so egotistical to say ‘Hey, hey, check out my book and please buy it.” I’m much more comfortable promoting other people’s books and touting their successes. That’s not to say I don’t believe in my work or that I’m not proud of it. It’s just weird to put myself in the spotlight.
Which is why I’m asking YOU, my lovely fellow bloggers, to put me (and all the other amazing authors appearing in the anthology, if you would like) in YOUR spotlight. 🙂 I don’t bite, at least not hard, and I never leave marks. I also would love to get my feet wet with a blog tour.
If you have participated in a blog tour, either as host or author, I would love to hear from you with pointers about what you learned and how to make the event run smoothly. What would you have done differently if you could have?
For those interested in hosting the blog tour, I put a huge page on my website and would love for you to check it out under the News and Events page.
As I am not one to abuse a favor, if you are a YA and/or Fantasy author who would like to trade promotional efforts, I’m all game. I’ve done author interviews, character interviews, and book reviews on blog tours, and I’ll be more than happy to help you get the word out about your novel or short story.
What do you say? Up for the adventure?
Several months ago I shared the great news that J. Taylor Publishing accepted my short story, THE AMULET OF ORMISEZ, for their MAKE BELIEVE anthology coming out December 3, 2o12. I was thrilled beyond words and all of you were so sweet and wonderful, sharing all your congratulations and good wishes. I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful followers who support each other in their endeavors.
Today I hit another milestone in this whirlwind publishing process. So many of you have asked when they will get a sneak peek at the stories in the anthology and I’m happy to say today is the day! Below you will find the first 250 words (or thereabout) of THE AMULET OF ORMISEZ. The editing process has been fantastic and there were very, very few changes to the opening page. What you see here is pretty much the way it looked upon submission, which makes me really, really happy. I guess all that studying and taking notes and practicing and reading about opening hooks and the importance of 1st pages paid off in this case. I want to give a HUGE shout out to my beta readers and critique partners. Without you, AMULET, may not be where it is today. You guys rock my world and I can’t thank you enough for all your help and late nights, phone calls and multiple reads.
My story is just one of six fantastic short stories and I am thrilled to appear beside an amazing group of authors. Please take the time to visit all of their websites over the next several months and get to know them as I have. As today is the official release date of our sneak peeks, they may have their excerpts up today, too, so make sure you make the rounds, introduce yourself and tell them I sent ya! Also, if you don’t mind, please click here to add it to your To-Read list.
And now, for your reading pleasure, may I present the first page of The Amulet of Ormisez:
Elton Fletcher urged his horse through the wind and sleet toward the enormous shadow rising from the moors against the darkness. Sagewick Castle. Home. Faster and faster he rode, speeding past the hedges and trees hiding the royal palace of Trumwald, his cloak snapping behind him. The horse galloped through the archway of the gatehouse, its nostrils flaring, hooves clopping against cobblestones.
A stout man rushed from the stable house, wool cloak over his head, oil lantern in hand.
“Welcome home, Master Fletcher.”
“Thank you.” Elton dismounted and handed over his horse to the welcoming marshal. “It’s good to be back. Tell me, has Master Cayden retired for the evening?”
“He has not, Lord Elton,” replied a familiar voice, “but might I suggest you tidy up a bit before socializing.”
“Ah, Ferris!” Elton grinned at the man on the steps. “What a pleasant sight! I assume my room has been prepared.”
“Of course, my lord. We’ve been expecting you.”
“Splendid. I’m cold as a corpse. Perhaps you’d like to join me for some apricot brandy and something to eat? I’m famished.” Elton embraced Ferris.
“The brandy is already in your room. I’ll have the servants fetch whatever you wish once you are settled.”
Inside, a slew of servants, waiting by the doorway, greeted Elton with exuberant smiles on their faces.
“Welcome back, Master Elton.”
“It is good to see you again, my lord.”
“May I take your coat, Sir?”
A young boy of no more than ten years stood before Elton, his arms outstretched. Elton smiled and draped his sodden, fur-lined coat and leather gloves across them. Reaching inside his coin pouch, Elton withdrew a gold therap and tucked it in the boy’s trouser pocket. “For your troubles,” he said, tousling the boy’s hair.
The young face beamed with delight as he ran down a marble corridor shouting for his mother, the coat dragging the ground behind him.
“You’d best be careful of your treatment of the hired help, Sir,” said Ferris. “Your brother would not approve.”
“Why?” Elton walked with Ferris down the entrance hall, flanked by roaring fireplaces set between massive columns. His boots echoed with each click upon the black marble floor.
“Things are not as they were when you left two years ago.” They climbed the wide, stone stairway and followed a maze of corridors. Vibrant, handmade tapestries popped against the limestone walls while slender red carpets lay underfoot. Oil lamps flickered against the stone.
It seemed all had remained as Elton recalled.
“Lord Cayden has … changed,” Ferris continued, his face drawn. “He is not what you remember. Watch your step and your generosity.”
Now for a bit about the anthology:
by J.A. Belfield, Jennifer M. Eaton, J. Keller Ford, Terri Rochenski, Kelly Said, Lynda R. Young
Release Date: December 3, 2012
Target Reader: Adult
Keywords: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romance
Sacrificial Oath by Terri Rochenski
An impetuous act unwittingly makes Alesuela the fulfillment of the Sovereign’s Blood Oath to their Goddess. In five days, she’ll be forced to make the greatest choice of her life: become the virginal sacrifice already promised, or force the man she loves most to die in her place.
With an impossible choice in front of her, she searches for ways to undo the oath, and in her quest, finds not everything in her life is as she expects.
The Amulet of Ormisez by J. Keller Ford
There is only one way to save Elton Fletcher’s brother from an insanity-ridden death.
After years away from home, fighting for his people, Elton returns to discover his only sibling, Cayden, possessed by greed and malice, and responsible for malicious, unthinkable deeds. Cayden, though, isn’t the only one afflicted by the Amulet of Ormisez, and Elton finds himself in yet another battle, where the price of failure could be his own life.
Birthright by Lynda R. Young
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.
She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she’s never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.
Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.
Petrified by Kelly Said
A mysterious storm has replaced summer with winter, devastating crops and smothering Castle lands in snow. Prince Sterling August stands alone as a leader, lost in personal grief as well as a desire to help his people but with an inability to do either.
The answers he needs await him, but without Lochlyn, a woman who’s just as isolated as Sterling, he’ll never see what stands before him, cloaked in illusion.
Last Winter Red by Jennifer M. Eaton
Emily is a Red, a woman whose sole purpose in life is to produce offspring. When her husband dies and leaves her childless, she risks her life and forsakes the safety of Terra—a disease-free city born after the nuclear holocaust. Beyond its boundaries, she knows, survives a man with whom she can be properly paired.
The Outside, though, holds secrets the government struggles to keep, and what Emily discovers on her quest for a mate will change her life forever.
Escort to Insanity by J.A. Belfield
From a charity auction, to a stroll in the park, to the craziest night of her life. Nicole Harrington can’t help but wonder how a simple event went so drastically wrong.
Of course, the male escort she booked is wholly to blame. Not only charming but shrewdly intelligent, Benjamin Gold drags Nicole into a platoon of unimaginable problems—ones from which she’ll have to find the courage just to survive.
Websites of MAKE BELIEVE authors:
Okay, I said I wasn’t going to post anything this week but…
Look what I got today in the mail!!!!!
Bookmarks! Aren’t they pretty!!! Something I can actually sign my name to and give away to awesome people like you! Squeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!
Who’s ready for December 3? Who’s ready for “MAKE BELIEVE”?
Look for bookmark giveaways soon. Maybe within the next 6 months or so I can match it with bookmarks for IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING. That would be IN-CRED-I-BLE!!!. *SMILE*
Okay, back to editing. Catch you guys on the flip side. *hugs*
Wow, I can’t believe half the year is gone. 5 months to Christmas. Ugh. Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE Christmas holidays. All the cooking and the parties and the wine. I hate the gift giving because I have no money to even buy stuff to make gifts. I do have my Amulet of Ormisez coming out in December in the Make Believe Anthology on December 3. Now that would be a good Christmas present, huh?
As to what’s going on now…I finished reading two books in the last week: Cinder and A Monster Calls. Reviews will be coming soon but may I say right now I really, really enjoyed Cinder and A Monster Calls left me a crying, blithering mess. I’ll explain all that when I do my review in a few days.
Today, I’m beta reading a query for a writer buddy. I suck at queries. I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll try to work some sort of magic.
Also, the lovely Julie Catherine has tagged me in a post called Work in Progress Challenge. I will post this tomorrow and tag a few others to post along with me. I owe CB Wentworth a post – she tagged me with something a week or so ago and I need to answer it.
Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win a paperback copy of Crux by Julie Reece. All you have to do is follow my blog and answer 3 questions about Thor. Why Thor? Well, because I thought it was appropriate since Julie’s book centers around Nordic mythology. (Psst…you really need to read it. Crux is awesome. Tell everyone.) Winner will be announced on August 3. Good luck!
Oh, I almost forgot to mention…I have a digital copy of a signed Make Believe book cover for everyone who leaves a comment on my blog today. Just let me know what’s on your mind and I’ll e-mail you one of these little beauties to print out, set as a wallpaper, sleep with, drool over…whatever you want.
Isn’t it beautiful? And it can all be yours if you talk to me. 🙂
Okay, that’s it for today. See ya tomorrow, same time, same bat channel.
YA Chit Chat 