Friday Five for April 17, 2015

1. Progress on my current WIP has been steady as a snail. I'm near 10k now and it's just getting into the thick of things. Usually I just throw my readers right into it, but with the weight of this story, it needs the slow start.

2. I've been trying to catch up on my reading. I have a lot of writer friends' books on my Kindle. Please don't think I'm forgetting about you! I also review everything I read. So know when I do read your book, you will know.

3. It's going to be a busy week for me. My mom's arriving tomorrow for a week long visit, and it's my son's 5th birthday on Monday. We're having a party at the park for him on Sunday. (Hopefully the weather will cooperate. *knocks on wood*) Lots of fun!

4. For all of you who are participating in the A to Z Challenge, you're over halfway through! Yay! You can do it. I've been having a great time reading people's posts and meeting new bloggers. In case you missed it before, I'm doing it with the Untethered Realms group. Our theme is teasers from our books, and wow, these books are amazing.

5. Don't forgot today's #SpecFicChat hosted by @UnRealms and @EllieMGarratt at noon EDT. The topic: What happened to the future? The flying cars and time machines? We want to hear what you have to say. And I really want my own hover board.

Meet the gorgeous vampire

I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt

So sexy it hurts.

You know, I just realized I have a tendency to feature my heroes shirtless.

With that, let me introduce Nicolas Reese.

When you first meet him in the novel, he's not wearing a shirt.

Or pants.

Pop on over to Clare Dugmore's blog to learn more about him!

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#SpecFicChat

Build a Better Hero
What are your ideas for upgrading the hero / heroine for the new millennia?
When: Friday, March 20th, Noon EDT
Where: Twitter - Type in #SpecFicChat to join in the conversation
Hosted by: @Unrealms and @mpax1

Friday Five for February 20, 2015

1. Most of my week was lost to several snow days in a row. I didn't get any writing done nor did I get a jump on my March tour posts. I was lucky I could remember what day it was! I know we don't have weather as bad as it is on the east coast, but I am officially done with winter. I just hope it's done with us!

2. My Geeky Dice & Debauchery Tour is still rocking. January's giveaways got the biggest number of entries I've ever had, and this month's Zombie Dice giveaway is doing darn good too. That's right! If you haven't heard yet, you can not only win a unique Christine Rains die, but the cool game of Zombie Dice as well.

3. I finished my sci-fi horror short story for the next Untethered Realms anthology on Sunday. It came out a little longer than I expected. My characters got chatty on me! It will be edited down to tighten the tension, and hopefully the end will come as a surprise.

4. My local critique group meets tomorrow. I submitted my weird little Easter story this month. I'm curious to know whether I should go lighter/sillier or darker with it. It's a strange mix of both right now. I hope the weather cooperates and I can make it to the library!

5. Don't forget Untethered Realms' monthly #SpecFicChat today starting at 12:00 p.m. EST. This month's topic: What makes #fantasy believable? Use #SpecFicChat to join the conversation any time. The chat is ongoing.

The Last Stop on the Loose Corset Tour & #SpecFicChat

Geek girl problem #122: You only have a few hours left to enter the Loose Corset Goddess Fish tour giveaway!

The final stop on the Loose Corset tour is Long and Short Reviews.

I have some tips on how to handle negative criticism.

A big thank you to all my hosts on this tour.

Also a huge thanks to Goddess Fish Promotions.

It's the first time I've used a virtual book tour company, and I have nothing but good things to say about them. They're super efficient, and I will use them again in the future. I highly recommend Goddess Fish to writers who want help in promoting their books.

My Geeky Dice & Debauchery Tour will continue next week.

You still have over a week to enter for a chance to win your own set of gaming dice from Chessex.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Talking about all things speculative fiction, Fridays on Twitter.

 

 

Next chat begins January 23, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. GMT/1:00 p.m. EST. @mpax1 is starting it off.

 

Topic: Punking it up. What’s the attraction of Steampunk?

 

Use #SpecFicChat to join the conversation any time. The chat is ongoing, which means you can join in anytime that’s convenient to you, including a day after this Friday.