Another contract: 'Freaky Frank' finds a home

Freaky Frank ran into my life a couple of years ago. He waved and shouted and did everything he could to make me take notice. We became fast friends, and I fell in love with him and his quirkiness from the start.

Today, I'm super excited to announce that “Freaky Frank” has a home. Muse It Up Publishing will publish the book summer of 2014. It will be part of MuseItYoung, its middle grade/tween imprint. YAY!  

I can’t tell you how excited I am to share "Freaky Frank" with kids all over the world.

Here’s the skinny on Frank:

Freaky Frank has a secret. A big secret. 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.

'The Moment Keeper': How this idea became a book

Get The Moment Keeper 

I’m often asked how I come up with my story ideas. Sometimes they just pop into my head. I’ve written all over church bulletins, jumped out of the shower more than once to write down an idea and turned meeting handouts into storyboards.

“The Moment Keeper” was different. The idea came to me quietly, tip-toeing into my mind like someone who wants my help but is afraid to ask. And it waited patiently, nudging me now and again until I was ready to give it my full attention.

I knew that structuring "The Moment Keeper" in the way I wanted and keeping the narrative moving wouldn’t be easy. How do I write parallel narratives of two people -- one dead and the other alive? One in the past tense and the other in the present? And, how do I bring these two narratives together so that the separate narratives become one?

***

I’ve always been fascinated by how the moments in our lives weave together to tell our life stories.Small moments. Big moments. Quiet moments. Moments that if we aren’t paying close attention, slip by without our realizing their significance until much later.

And I’ve also been fascinated by the choices we make and how those choices lead us down a particular path toward an outcome we can’t possibly foresee.

Release party for 'The Moment Keeper'

Mark your calendars for 7 p.m. Nov. 1. I will be holding a release party for "The Moment Keeper" at The York Emporium, 343 W. Market St., York. In addition to reading from this book (which will be released that day on Amazon as an ebook), I will also read from "The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike." I will have paperbacks of Gina and Mike for sale and, of course, I will sign them. 

I hope you can join Jim and Pam and me at The York Emporium for this very special night. And please spread the word so I'm not there all alone with no one to read to:) 

Thanks bunches!

Meet Apryl Baker, author of 'The Ghost Files'

Meet my Limitless Publishing teammate Apryl Baker, author of The Ghost Files.  And pick up her scary book, just in time for Halloween. Here's the skinny:

Synopsis:

Available on Amazon

Cherry blossom lipstick: check

Smokey eyes: check

Skinny jeans: check

Dead kid in the mirror: check

For sixteen year old Mattie Hathaway, this is her normal everyday routine. She’s been able to see ghosts since her mother tried to murder her when she was five years old. No way does she want anyone to know she can talk to spooks. Being a foster kid is hard enough without being labeled a freak, too.

Normally, she just ignores the ghosts and they go away. That is until she sees the ghost of her foster sister… Sally.

Everyone thinks Sally’s just another runaway, but Mattie knows the truth — she’s dead. Murdered. Mattie feels like she has to help Sally, but she can’t do it alone. Against her better judgment, she teams up with a young policeman, Officer Dan, and together they set out to discover the real truth behind Sally’s disappearance.

Only to find out she’s dealing with a much bigger problem, a serial killer, and she might be the next victim…

Will Mattie be able to find out the truth before the killer finds her?

Q & A with Apryl

    Q.  Who or what is your inspiration?

  A. I’m a horror movie junkie and that bled over into horror novels.  My brother and I grew up on the old black and white monster movies marathons. We graduated John Carpenter’s Halloween and Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street.  Horror movies today are all about the graphics and CGI instead of the actual horror element. John Carpenter could take a branch waving on the screen and make you tense up in preparation for what was coming. The modern day horror movies lack that and I miss it horribly, so I try to incorporate the actual scare factor in my work. 

The exception to the modern horror movie is The Ring.  That was a freaky scary movie.

Horror novels…It by Stephen King.  Let’s face it, there isn’t a person alive who doesn’t know what movie the line “We all float down here” comes from.  Enough said there.

I’m also an old noir mystery fan.  No matter what I start out writing, it ends up a mystery of some sort or another and I blame it all on those types of books.  I love a good mystery that actually creates more questions for every question answered right up until the bitter end. That is a huge element in everything I write as well.

Q. Any tips for new writers 

       A. Never give up and never let the rejections get the best of you.  It’s hard, I know.  I almost quit writing at one point because I had so many rejection letters, but I am so glad I didn’t.  Now, I have a publisher, an agent, and a fan base that I am extremely grateful for.

Cover reveal: The Christmas Violin

Oh my gosh! I am beyond excited to share this cover of my upcoming novel, The Christmas Violin. Wow! is all I can say. This book will be out Dec. 2 and can also be pre-ordered on Amazon.

You can preorder The Moment Keeper

I absolutely LOVE this cover. It's perfect:) You can pre-order The Moment Keeper today!

Synopsis

Our lives are often connected in ways we never would have imagined...

Two babies; two very different upbringings. 

First there is Sarah: raised by her loving grandmother, but neglected by her own father who views her as the instrument of her mother’s death. She will lead a hard life, searching to belong and to be loved.

Then there is Olivia, surrounded by love, nurtured and adored by her parents, a golden child with a golden future.

When Sarah’s life is cut tragically short and she is assigned to record the moments of Olivia’s life as her Moment Keeper, their lives become intertwined.

Sarah is able to overcome the heartbreak of her own lost years and Olivia is able to deal with a future that isn’t nearly as golden as what she had planned – or is it?

Amazon pulls abuse-themed books (and mine)

Before going to church on Sunday, I received an email from my publisher (Limitless Publishing) of The Yearbook Series: Gina and Mike that Amazon had removed it. The only explanation it provided was a link to its Content Guidelines page stating that we were not in compliance.

On Amazon

Looking over the Content Guidelines I couldn't imagine which part of it we weren't in compliance with. The only "rule" I could think of was the one dealing with pornography (We don't accept pornography or offensive depictions of graphic sexual acts), but surely the horrible rape scene in my book wasn't pornographic. Yes, it is brutal. Yes, it is descriptive. But I portray it for the heinous crime that it is. I in no way depict it as a turn on.

I was crushed, not knowing for sure why my book had been removed. I still don't know why for certain. But a friend alerted me that I wasn't the only author whose books were being removed. I searched Google and found articles about Amazon removing abuse-themed books.  Apparently, it came on the heels of a report from The Kernel, a technology news site, that highlighted titles depicting rape, incest and bestiality.

But surely, I thought, there are a ton of books out there that deal with the sensitive topic of rape. And, looking over The Kernel's list, mine was nothing like these titles. Still, it seemed too coincidental.

Could Amazon be applying a scorched Earth approach? I wondered. Instead of looking at each book and determining if it is truly in violation, is it saying, "If it's rape, it's out."

Furthermore, I don't want to shy away from topics such as sexual assault for fear my work will be pulled. I think that writing about such topics, which is incredibly difficult to begin with, is necessary. In Gina and Mike, the reader sees the long-lasting consequences of sexual assault and how it has impacted numerous lives.

Needless to say I tossed and turned last night. I'm still waiting to hear from my publisher (she has contacted Amazon) to find out why the book was removed.

I checked Amazon this morning, though, and saw that the Kindle edition was restored. So that made me happy. But I'm still anxious to learn why it was removed in the first place.

Has anyone else heard of Amazon removing books?

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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. 

Meet Skyla Madi, author of Consumed

      Meet my Limitless Publishing teammate Skyla Madi from the small town of Port Maquarie, New South Wales. Skya's latest book is Consumed. 

SYNOPSIS: 

Olivia James has never been one to walk on the wild side, at least not until she meets Seth Marc—a cocky, sexy fighter at her father’s gym. He’s infuriating, nauseatingly addictive and she just can’t seem to shake him. He’s only been in town a short while and his name is already on everyone’s lips. He's the kind of guy moms’ warn their daughters about—the kind that leaves a trail of shattered hearts behind him and he has Olivia in his sights.

Olivia has never met anyone as confusing as Seth and his hot and cold attitude constantly sends her reeling. She’s never wanted anyone’s touch so badly in her life, but having recently come out of a long term relationship diving into another is something she'd prefer to avoid.

Determined for his touch, but not to let him under her skin, Olivia embarks on the most thrilling ride of her life

Connect with Skyla

Facebook 

Twitter 

Goodreads 

Website 

Q&A

Q.  Are there scenes or people in your book that you took from your real life? 

A. Yes, I use real life people and scenes a lot. Here in Australia we have so many interesting people walking around and it’s so hard to ignore them. Most of the time, I can’t and I file it to the back of mind and use it later.

Q. Are you working on anything new? How is it going?

A. I’m working on a few things. Consumed No. 2, a new contemporary romance titled Young and Reckless; a new adult dystopian romance titled The Unfortunates; and the fourth book in my Guardian Angel series titled  Oblivion.

.     Q. Apple or Droid?

      A. Droid

Q. Chocolate or Vanilla?

A. Chocolate.

Q. Call or Text?

A. Text

Q. Ebook or paperback?

A. Paperback

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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.

Bulldog ads for The Yearbook Series

Check out these bulldog ads my friend Sam Dellinger did. Sooo cute! She's Artistic bulldog on Twitter and her blog is Artist's bloc.