August is a month of #FREE ebooks!

I'm celebrating the release of the final book of my Totem series this month. It's only 12 days away! I've been eating way too many cookies, and I've set up a lot of a free promos for my books. I might be a little whacked out on sugar when I did that.

But you, my wonderful friends, get to benefit from my cookie binges!

Starting today, Loose Corset (Dice & Debauchery #1) is free for five days! This freebie lines up with GenCon celebrating its 50th year. Wish I could be there.

Have you had any adventures in the woods this summer? Maybe you caught a glimpse of Bigfoot or a couple in a romantic moment. Heh. Big Yearning (Sasquatch Susies #1) is free for two more days.

I'm ending the month with a big one. When True Shifter releases on August 29th, the first three books in the Totem series will be free for five days. Yes, three books. Mark your calendars and load up on cookies!

Dark Dawning (Totem #1)

Silent Whispers (Totem #2)

Cloak of Snow (Totem #3)

A Week For Celebration

Happy birthday to my awesome little guy!

Well, not really so little anymore. He's turning seven this Thursday.

I'll be absent from the webs this week as my mom is down visiting, and we're celebrating this gorgeous young man.

Have a great week!

The bartender asks what will you have?

Actually, I doubt Bear cares what you drink unless it has to do with how you taste!

Today I'm celebrating with the awesome A.A. Chamberlynn for her big Zyanniversary! If you haven't read her Zyan Star books yet, you need to check out these thrilling urban fantasy books.

My post today will have the heroes from my Totem series sharing with you what their favorite drinks are. Pop on over and tell us what you'd like to drink!

IWSG for October 2014

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

The co-hosts for this month's group are: Kristin Smith, Elsie, Suzanne Furness, and Fundy Blue.

Congratulations to the IWSG website on its one year anniversary! It's an awesome site with a great bunch of writers. It has a lot of advice, tips, and encouragement. Cheers to all of you!

In celebration of the anniversary, IWSG is putting together an anthology - The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond. Everyone can contribute. Entries must be between 200 and 1000 words. If it's less than 300, post it on your blog or FB, and then submit your link to the site HERE. If it's over 300 words, email it directly to the team at TheIWSG@gmail.com. 

The topics can include writing, publishing, and marketing. Give them your best and fresh tips. No recycled posts. The ebook will be out in December.

Here's my contribution about marketing. (250 words)

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3 Marketing Tips For Those Who Would Rather Be Writing

I am a writer. I never wanted to be anything else. But as a self-published author, I also have to be my own agent, accountant, and promoter.

Marketing savvy is not something I possess. What's even worse is what works for one author doesn't necessarily work for another. So how do you foster interest in your books and boost sales when you have no clue what you're doing?

Here are three tips that have worked for me and can be done from your writing cave.

1) Know your genre and find your audience. Be honest with yourself and get the opinions of your critique group. Once you have it, you'll be able to brand yourself and promote your books on sites to readers that will love you.

2) Start a blog. This has been one of my most effective tools in reaching fans. Match it to your genre and don't be afraid to show a little of your personal life.

3) Giveaways. People love free stuff. Use big sites like Goodreads to get a lot of exposure. If you create your own giveaway, add something a little different along with your books. Silly trinkets or a cool item from your story. Giving away gift cards also attracts a lot of attention.

Marketing may never get easier, but once you become adept in a few key things, you can spend your time doing what you really want to do: writing.

(IWSG has my permission to use this post in the anthology.)

Fabulous Journal Giveaway

I'm excited to announce my first ever giveaway. I'm celebrating my first 100 followers. Woo-hoo! You guys are the greatest. You have given me so much encouragement, made me laugh when I was having a bad day, and inspired me with your stories. This giveaway is my way of saying thank you.

Every writer needs a journal. Sure, a blog is a swell thing, but there's nothing like taking pen to paper and scribbling down your ideas. You can take it with you wherever you go and write when the inspiration hits you. The Great Muse knows that inspiration comes to us at the strangest of times and you've got to be prepared. Even if you can't read all of your handwriting later!

I'm going to give away three journals. The three lucky winners will be chosen by Random.org. All you have to do is leave a comment below. This giveaway is open to all of my followers no matter where you live.

The first winner chosen will get to pick which journal they want first. Then the second will choose between the remaining two journals. The third winner will receive the remaining one. Have no fear! All three journal are gorgeous. I have them sitting right here in front of me. I would take a picture of them, but my son sat on my camera and broke it the other day.

Journal #1 - This hardcover journal is from designwallas. They have an awesome selection. The one I'm giving away is from the Suede Damask collection. It's the black and white one with 224 cream colored pages.

Journal #2 - This journal has a brass spiral spine and hardcover. It's from the Pine Ridge Art Inc., but I can't find the artist on their site. The artist, Charles H. White is wonderfully talented. The painting featured on the cover is called Cobblestone Courtyard. Beautiful and inspiring.

Journal #3 - This is a hardcover journal and writing pad on a small clipboard set. I can't find it anywhere online to show you a picture. The pattern is a lovely soft blue, gray and white. On the back cover, there's some floral artwork and the quote: "The journey begins with one step."

It would be a good idea to include in your comment your first and second choices in case you're a winner. Oh! Also your email address. I'll need to contact you if you win. Yes, you can tell this is my first giveaway.

The giveaway will go through today through the 13th. I will announce the winners on October 14th.

100 followers. Wow. Thank you. Thank you all so very much.