Black Friday deals: Freaky Frank and Gina and Mike

Get FREAKY FRANK for 99 cents.

Here's the skinny: In many ways, Frank Fratello is a typical teen. He plays baseball, hangs out with his friends at the mall and gets in trouble at home. But there’s something very different about this sixth-grader—he can read minds. And reading minds can cause problems. Like when Frank says what someone is thinking before they say it. Or answers a question before they ask it. 

Despite being telepathic, Frank must deal with everyday middle school life, which includes battling a bully who hates him. Nasty Nate and his flunkies live to get others in trouble—especially Frank. 
But Frank and his friends aren’t giving up. There has to be some way to bring Nasty Nate down. They just have to find it.

...

FREE contemporary romance

The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike. 

Review: This was such a fun book to read. Ok so let me rephrase. It was a sad and trying book because the drama was killing me. It was fun because I love how the author switches POV's between the two main characters often. In any given chapter you can go back and forth a couple of times, I happen to really enjoy it. As for the story it was so exhausting. You know from the blurb what happened to Gina and that it tore her and Mike apart. A good chunk of the beginning of this story takes place in the past showing you what happened. Ok so then we jump ahead 20 years and all I can think is wow that is a lot of wasted time. Mike is this fantastic guy who loved his girl and had no clue what happened. Gina was a loving girlfriend whose life was ripped apart and didn't know how to cope. The entire time I'm reading I wanted to scream TELL HIM but life kept getting in the way. It was a sad book but with a very happy ending. The drama just kept coming and I kept wondering when will my HEA come. I enjoyed reading this story, it had humor and sadness but the story was so well done. It was a quick read, at least for me, and I was sad to see it end. I was very excited that I already had book 2 ready to go.

Free alert: The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike

Get The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike FREE now. 

Here are some review snippets from this romance:

• "The story keeps you entertained as the plot jumps between an event that happens in high school and the present day. It will make you laugh and make you cry, and realize the importance off friends and family - and how a secret can change your life. Can't wait for the next book to come out!"

• "I was sucked into the story from line one and loved the whole book."

• "The characters are believable and poignant. They make tough decisions, grapple with regret and try to make the most of their situations."

• "Awesome book! This is a quick read and is hard to put down once you start."

• "I give huge kudos to this author for having the courage and will to write about such a complex topic. Making the characters come to life on page and making them all relatable in some way. For making us, the reader, feel the emotions, the anger, the hurt, the loneliness of these characters was brilliant."

• "This is a great story about the vagaries of life, but also about the redemptive and healing power of love."

Latest review for 'Gina and Mike'

I've been truly blessed with some awesome reviews of The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike. 

Here's one i saw this morning. Thank you so much to all of you for taking the time to read my book and share your thoughts with others: 

REVIEW: "This was an easy read, but packed with a lot of detail and emotion. I had a hard time putting it down. The alternating POV's were really well done, overlapping slightly so we could see how each of the characters thought and felt at all times. The plot is one I have been seeing a lot of lately.....girl finding love after being raped, but this book was by far the most realistic and well developed. The absolute best part was that all of the characters had NORMAL NAMES!! If you have been reading a lot of contemporary romance lately, you will know what I mean about the names! I reserve my 5 star reviews for books that leave me with serious hangovers and that feeling like I must immediately re-read them, but this one came close....4.5 stars."

Read other reviews on Amazon and don't forget to check out my author website and like my author page on Facebook. 

The Yearbook Series Book signing at Women's Show

Here are some photos from my book signing for "The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike" at the Women's Show. To buy the paperback. To buy the book on Kindle.

This review put a smile on my face

Latest review for The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike 

When I picked up Gina and Mike, read the reviews I thought to myself "oh no, another sappy story, surely the reviews were over the top and *I* was not going to go running for tissues." To my amazement, the author has taught me a lesson in humility, because by chapter 6 I was a blubbering mess and found myself wiping the tears I was bound and determined not to let fall. I give huge kudos to this author for having the courage and will to write about such a complex topic. Making the characters come to life on page and making them all relatable in some way. For making us, the reader, feel the emotions, the anger, the hurt, the loneliness of these characters was brilliant. I was in despair at one point of not knowing if these characters would find their HEA. I will leave it to the new readers to find out. Well done!

Read these books for free

Here's a list of books from Limitless Publishing and when they will be free to download. 

• "Banished from Grace" 9/6 - 9/7
• "Return of the Taken" 9/7 - 9/8
• "A Dark Road" 9/8 -9/9
• "The Promise" 9/9 - 9/10
• "Savior Frequency" 9/10 - 9/11
• "Dark Wings" 9/11 - 9/12
• "The Game" 9/12 - 9/13
• "Sun Kissed" 9/16 - 9/17
• "Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike" 9/18 - 9/19
• "Because of Lucy" 9/19 - 9/20
• "The Guardians" 9/20 - 9/21
• "The Trials" 9/21 - 9/22

How to promote your book via social media

When my debut novel, “The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike,” was published, I shared the news via various digital platforms. 

Of course, I did the usual Twitter and Facebook, but I also employed some other tools that you might not be quite as familiar with.

I will discuss NewHive, YouTube, SoundCloud and Tout in this post.

In a companion post on Steve Buttry's blog, I discuss RebelMouse, Storify and Pinterest. Be sure to read BOTH posts.

NewHive  

NewHive is a lot of fun. Think of it as a blank canvas and you get to put whatever you want on it. Your creation is called an expression.

It’s uber easy to use and a fun way to promote your book.

I like creating expressions around a particular topic and I have created several, from an Author Expression to a Gettysburg150 Expression.

I also created one for “The Yearbook Series.”

This tool allows you to drop text, images, music, videos, etc. onto your blank canvas. And, you can link out to various sites, like Amazon.

Each expression gets its own url and there are the normal social share buttons. These include Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Reddit. You can also embed your expression in a blog post or article web page.

On The Yearbook Series expression, I have a pin that links to the Yearbook Pinterest board. 

I included my book trailer from my YouTube channel.

I have review snippets that link to a blog post with more reviews. 

I have the book cover that links to Amazon. I also have a module with links to connect with me via various social networking sites.

I can edit the expression at any time, adding or subtracting content or changing it. People find expressions via featured, network and community feeds as well as through tags and search. And, like with the other social networks, you can “heart” an expression and share it.

I created Storify of The Yearbook Series

I created a Storify for The Yearbook Series. Check it out.

Writing difficult scenes

Available on Amazon

In “The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike” there’s a brutal rape scene. After reading the scene, a reader contacted me, wanting to make sure that what she was reading was fiction. I assured her that it was.

But it got me thinking about that scene. Was it too raw? Should I tone it down? To be honest, after I wrote it I was shocked that something so horrible came out of my mind. I was also a bit embarrassed. And yet, writing it was easier than writing the romantic scenes. To me, it seems like it should have been the opposite, but it wasn’t.

In the end, I felt the rape scene needed to be what it was. It was the moment that changed Gina’s life – her relationship with Mike, her career path, etc.

I’ve always been amazed by how one moment can change a person’s life forever. They stop instead of go, turn right instead of left, say yes instead of no. 

And it’s how we react to these moments that determine the future. In this case, Gina’s silence affects not only her life but also the lives of others.

One reader told me that after reading the scene, she had to take a deep breath and pause before reading on. After I wrote it, I had to pause, too. 

Check out book on Amazon

Read reviews

NewHive expression 

Yearbook series Pinterest board 

Another book contract from Prism Book Group

Prism Book Group, who will be publishing "The Lion Awakens" in 2014 will also be publishing "Ella's Rain." I'm so excited. 

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE  

The Yearbook Series RELEASED ON AMAZON

1st book: Gina and Mike

A romance series that begins with Gina and Mike, high school sweethearts that reconnect 20 years later when the past catches up and turns their worlds inside out. 

Consecutive books in series focus on another member of the high school class. 

The Christmas Violin COMING from Carina UK fall 2013

Written like a violin concerto in three movements, this novella tells the story of three people who have one thing in common -- the cemetery. It is a beautiful story about love and loss and the enormous power of the human spirit.

YOUNG ADULT/CROSSOVER

Ella's Rain COMING from Prism Books 2014

A young girl learns to live again when her grandma, who dies, leaves her 365 notes, one for every day of the coming year.

     

The Moment Keeper COMING from Carina UK fall 2013
As a Moment Keeper records the moments of her charge's life, she comes to see how life is a intricate tapestry of which we are threads woven together in ways we have never anticipated or imagined. The charge learns that a second can change a life forever and that it's what we do with the moments that count.

YOUNG ADULT

The Lion Awakens COMING from Prism Books 2014

Two 17-year-olds find information hidden in anonymous gifts that leads them to a parallel universe and an enemy hell-bent on taking over their world.

That leaves me with my middle-grades to sell:

MIDDLE GRADE 

Freaky Frank
Humorous middle-grade for boys about a telepathic middle-schooler who battles bullies along with his rag-tag friends. 

     

High Street Dares/Locket of Doom

Five middle-schoolers double dared to walk through the cemetery at midnight and perform a spell that will make a particular stone statue cry must solve a mystery involving the statue, an old lady and a shrinking locket before it’s too late. Book ends with a dare setting the next book up in the series.

High Street Dares/Ghostly Connection (second book in series)

Will, Middle Name Trouble

12-year-old Will Moran is always getting in trouble. But this time Will, who cleans and cooks and takes care of his younger twin sisters while his mom (a single parent) works, didn’t do what he is accused of doing. Through an eclectic group of friends comes redemption and the true meaning of friendship.