Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

Recent Reads City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare– humble rating: Motivational Speaker –I have to admit to being completely obsessed with this series. I intentionally held off on reading the next books because I knew once I cracked open the cover, nothing would get done in my life until I finished the book. It really is that good. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare – humble rating: Motivational Speaker – Some day a book I write will affect the reader like these books. This one even felt unnecessarily long and I didn’t care. What is that all about? Firelight by Sophie Jordan - humble rating: Golf Clap++ – I’m such a sucker for forbidden love. Fun! The Curse Girl by Kate Ellison - humble rating: Golf Clap – I really love Beauty and the Beast. Even danced to the theme song at my wedding reception (okay, so that was tongue in cheek, but FUN!) This is a really good retelling. Stays true to the core of the story, yet adds enough newness to keep the reader engaged. ...

Excited: –adjective 1. stirred emotionally I get excited over big things; book contracts, my kids’ achievements, paying off the car. I get excited over small things; spring flowers, a really good book, cute & comfy shoes. This is REALLY big and therefore has me jumping for joy and singing from the rooftops. The Weaver is now available on Kindle . Pretty:  Pretty cover   Pretty Chapter Art  Don’t delay! Download  The Weaver to your Kindle, or your PC, or your Mac, or your Iphone, or your Ipad, or…they have so many free apps in which to read a Kindle book. No Kindle required!   Yippee! Download it now and put The Weaver on the bestseller list for Memorial Day Weekend.

Three Times A Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, reviewers, agents, editors, anyone involved in children’s publishing.   This week we are thrilled to welcome the charming and prolific author, Donna Shepherd. A little about Donna: Donna J. Shepherd, children's picture book author and inspirational writer, has hundreds of articles and devotionals to her credit. Her writings appear in Daily Grace for Women, Anytime Prayers for Everyday Moms, and The Best Grandma in the World to name a few. Donna's children's books, Topsy Turvy Land , No More Gunk! & OUCH! Sunburn!, Chizzy's Topsy Tale, Dotty's Topsy Tale, Poodle and Doodle, Sully's Topsy Tale, Bradybug , and the newest – Where is Salami? feature short, playful rhymes and humorous illustrations. Donna is the founder of Greater Harvest Workshops and Middletown Area Christian Writers, and in demand as a Bible teacher, conference speaker, and singer. As you see from h...

So the ever awesome, Nathan Bransford had this post earlier this week about traditional publishing verses self publishing and how being a control freak might factor into your decision on if you choose to pursue self or traditional publishing. The same day, I had this post about how the current trend to self epublish might be impacting the small publishers and their authors.   And the two posts have been swirling around together in my head ever since. There is something oddly symmetric about these two posts. Wait, is “oddly symmetric” an oxymoron?   When Nathan talks about traditional publishing, he tends to focus on the bigger houses or the imprints of the bigger houses. He explains how authors don’t get a lot of input to the overall process. It is true and it is even valid. Example, most authors are not qualified to take on cover design. I love that he made the point that the illustrator captured his main character better than his own description did. I truly agree that fo...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week we are joined by P. J. Hoover. P. J. is the author of fantasy and science fiction books for kids and teens. Here’s more on P. J.: P. J. Hoover fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is also a member of THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS . When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice , takes place in a Global Warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet , The Nav...

Let’s hearken back about two years ago when ereaders were starting to get more attention. I was one of those people who said,   “Yes, they will be popular.”   I envisioned people everywhere pulling out their readers on buses, in coffee shops in classrooms.   I imagined the morning paper on a reader lying on the table next to a steaming cup. I truly saw the American people embracing the newest technology. What I didn’t see coming was the huge swell of self-publishing authors because of ereaders. And holy wow, this is a tidal wave of epic proportions. There have been many blog posts by people far smarter than me about the semantics. The why factor. But one angle hasn’t been covered, well not that I’ve seen at least. What does this shift in the publishing world mean to authors who are with small publishers? Let me just admit, this is a rather self-centered post. Because what I’m trying to figure out is how does this new wave impact me? Usually I’m pretty good about being ...

Please stop in on my tour today: At Lori’s Reading Corner I’m guest blogging about how to keep your favorite author writing. And The Weaver and I are spotlighted on The Plot today. Hopefully you haven’t missed these stops: Book review at One Day At A Time Fun interview at Pump Up Your Book Yummy family favorite recipe at Authors & Appetizers Another fun interview at The Children’s & Teen’s Book Connection Help me spread the word of the tour by sharing the link to your favorite article with your friends and family. Recent Reads - haven't had as much to read as I'd like (sad face)  Torn by Amanda Hocking– humble rating: Golf Clap – I am so conflicted over these books. I enjoy the story, but I simply don’t understand why a million copies of them sold. That said, I have to finish out the series. If for no other reason so that I have completed my research and can bang my head against the wall with reason. Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson – humble rating: Golf...

Three Times a Charm is a weekly feature that spotlights authors, illustrators, bloggers, agents, editors or promoters from the publishing industry. This week we are joined by Donna McDine. Donna is a fellow author at Guardian Angel Publishing, a master promoter and a lifesaver. Here’s more on Donna: Busiest woman in publishing? She’s at least in the running. Donna, tell us more about The Golden Pathway. Donna McDine is an award-winning children's author, Honorable Mention in the 77th and two Honorable Mentions in the 78 th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competitions and Preditors & Editors Readers Poll 2010 – Top Ten - Children’s Books category – The Golden Pathway. Her stories, articles, and book reviews have been published in over 100 print and online publications. Her interest in American History resulted in writing and publishing The Golden Pathway. Donna has two more books under contract with Guardian Angel Publishing, The Hockey Agony and Powder Monkey . She writ...

Recently, I alluded to the fact that I was going to bow out of my role on the choir’s board of directors when my term came up at the end of the year. Immediately the other members started to rib me about how, now that I’m a published author, I don’t have time for stuff like board meetings. I agreed (tongue in cheek) that being a public personality didn’t allow time for such things like serving the community. They asked if I was going on tour for my book. I laughed. Then the conversation shifted back to concert attire. Well, to my surprise, later someone said, “So, it really must be going well for you. Going on tour with the book.”   I was blown away that they even considered that a possibility.   I think that is when I realized the misconception that is attached to being a published author. So I am here to dispel the myths. Chime in if you think I’m mistaken or have forgotten anything. §          Most authors won’t go on a physical boo...

Please join me and The Weaver on our virtual book tour, May 9th through the 20th. Here is the tour schedule. We'd be honored if you stop in daily and leave comments. Share the links with your friends. Light, good-natured heckling is even allowed! Monday, May 9 th Interviewed at The Children’s and Teen’s Book Connection Guest blogging at Authors and Appetizers Tuesday, May 10 th Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book! Wednesday, May 11 th Book reviewed at One Day At A Time Thursday, May 12 th Guest blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner Book spotlighted at The Plot Friday, May 13 th Character interviewed at The Plot Monday, May 16 th Book reviewed at 4 the Love of Books Guest blogging at Margaret Rose Writes Tuesday, May 17 th Interviewed at The Hot Author Report Wednesday, May 18 th Book reviewed at Si, se puede! Yes we can and YA Books Central Thursday, May 19 th Interviewed at Melange of Cultures’s Blog Book reviewed at Ellis Book reviewed at Stories a la Mode Book reviewed at Janet An...