Saturday, October 25, 2014

Romancing Halloween Blog Hop


Pumpkin Decorating Ideas



Found on twotwentyone.net




Found on cdn.homedit.com



Blurb for Corpse Whisperer

Grace Harmony is on the cusp of her thirtieth birthday and about to lose her power to talk to murder victims. She’s happy to lose her gift until she doesn’t solve a murder and must rewind in time again. And again. Each time she lands back in time, she’s closer to her birthday and the stakes have been raised. And each time her relationship with the Zach Holten begins from scratch. Being able to talk to the dead has never been so important. For the first time in her life, Grace may regret not being able to help dead people.





http://amzn.com/B003XVZA76

a Rafflecopter giveaway

http://new.inlinkz.com/luwpview.php?id=452255

Monday, October 13, 2014

Author Rock Star Roundup

What have my author rock stars been up to lately?

Barry Eisler is skewering someone about their ignorance.

Franklin Foer: "Stop Amazon, Keep Publishing Exactly As It's Always Been!"

I promised myself I wasn’t going to blog about Franklin Foer’s New Republic piece on how Amazon is an evil monopoly and must be stopped and we’re all enslaving ourselves by shopping there blah blah blah.


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Building a better industry.

David Gaughran is attempting to give the publishing industry some ideas.

Mike Shatzkin is confused. He can’t seem to understand why self-publishers spend so much time documenting the ills of the publishing industry.


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Saturday, October 4, 2014

Cross Keys

Thank you so much for hosting me and my new urban fantasy release! I'm thrilled for the opportunity to tell you a little about my book and to share a Cajun recipe, one of several I brought back from New Orleans while researching the book. (If you look around the blogs listed at the end, you'll find eight more recipes!)

Happy reading...and sampling of the Cajun cuisine. :)

Cross Keys (An Elvenrude Novel) by Ally Shields

Genre: Urban fantasy/Paranormal romance

Rating: PG-13

Book Blurb:

Conspiracy, murder, and magic…and the death of all they hold dear.

When the first wanderer—a common elf who isn’t authorized to use the portal—is spotted on the streets of New Orleans, the king assigns Kameo Ryndel to assist in the elf’s capture. But before she can intervene, humans with guns shoot the wanderer and steal his body. When Seth Lormarc, an Elite elf from a rival guild, appears at the scene, Kam suspects he is involved.

Seth Lormarc is in New Orleans to find out who was behind the portal breach, and his best lead is the intriguing Kam Ryndel. When he stakes out her apartment and finds her sneaking out in the middle of the night, dressed in black and leaping to the top of the nearest building, he knows there’s something unique about the beautiful elf. That kind of feat requires magic. Ancient magic.

As their paths cross during their investigations, they develop an irresistible attraction, although there’s little time for romance. The portal breach is tied to an illegal smuggling operation that has come to the attention of the human CIA. But the stakes are raised when Kam and Seth discover a band of conspirators and a rebellion deep in Elvenrude that promises nothing except destruction of their world.

Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Cross-Keys-Ally-Shields-ebook/dp/B00NSR0OT4/
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cross-keys-ally-shields/1120425394?ean=2940150347144
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/cross-keys/
Book Trailer on Youtube: http://youtu.be/2GgI4-50QfA


Recipe:

One of my favorites was -

New Orleans Sweet Tea
1 quart boiling water
1 quart room temperature water
1 oz black tea (for loose tea, try an infuser ball) or 3-4 tea bags
1/2 - 3/4 C sugar

Add tea to boiling water, boil one minute, remove from heat and steep for 5-7 minutes. Add sugar and stir. Pour into pitcher and add second quart of water. Refrigerate or serve over ice. Serve with lemon wedges or mint sprigs for garnish.

Terrific with dinner, sandwiches or just a quick pick me up!

About the Author:

Ally Shields was born and raised in the Midwest, along the Mississippi River, and considers herself a "river rat." The setting and folklore of the river regions are often incorporated into her urban fantasy books. After a career in law and juvenile justice, she turned to full-time writing in 2009, and Awakening the Fire, the debut novel in her Guardian Witch series, was released by Etopia Press in September 2012. There are now six published books in that series. Cross Keys is the first novel with all new characters.

When not writing, reading or spending time with family, she loves to travel in the US and abroad. Way too often she can be found on Twitter.

Contact the Author:
Website: http://allyshields.com
Blog: http://allyshields.com/blog.html
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ShieldsAlly
Facebook: http://facebook.com/AllyShieldsAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6527209.Ally_Shields
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Ally-Shields/e/B009AKNDZU

Special Thanks to the following bloggers who are spotlighting this release during the next few days (eight more Cajun recipes on their blogs!)(dates of post may vary due to time periods, etc.):


Oct. 3: AJ Locke, Kirstin Pulioff, Linda McLaughlin, Margay Roberge, Marie Carhart, Shannon McRoberts, Stephanie Stamm, EE Carter, Susan Taylor, Anne Lange, Kath Boyd Marsh, Dan Levinson, Michelle Browne, Sue Roebuck, Chris Redding, Theresa DaLayne, Anita Philmar, Melanie Robertson-King
Oct. 4: Carmen Stefanescu, Stacy Juba, Lindsey Loucks
Oct. 6: Rebekah Ganiere
Oct. 7: Antonia van Zandt
Oct. 8: Dani-Lyn Alexander

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

The Flush Pile

I though this post from The Writer's Journey was appropriate in the light of troubles with Ellora's Cave.

The Flush Pile – An Author’s Perspective

Some of you may know the current situation with Ellora’s Cave. If not, this post at Dear Author should get you to the information you need.

The TL;DR is that several authors who write for Ellora’s Cave have said they are not being paid money due them. The rumblings began at least a year ago. Recently, EC laid off all of its freelance staff. Jane at Dear Author recently wrote a post in which she discussed the ongoing situation at EC. The owner of EC has now sued Jane for defamation. Do head over to DA if you want to know more about this situation. I am an author who was with a publishing company that was heading toward bankruptcy. (Dorchester Publishing) This post is about what the experience was like for me. My situation ended up with a silver lining, but the outcome I had was never certain, just as it is not certain for any of the EC authors who are wondering if they’ll ever get paid or if they are going to lose their books.

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