10/19/2013 11:04
Today on my 2013 Worldwide Blog Tour, I'll be visiting
Change the Word, where I'll be dishing on literary crushes
Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries & More, where I'll swoon over my favorite romantic gestures
Georgina Troy's author blog, where I'll discuss inspiration
Sheryl Browne's author blog, where I'll talk about how to find the time to do your writing
Thanks, ladies, for hosting me today!
And don't forget, IT'S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH will be on sale starting TODAY for $0.99!
And check out my listing on Kindle Books and Tips!
10/15/2013 09:44
I'm touring again--and this time it's going GLOBAL! Fifteen kind ladies from around the world have agreed to host me on their blogs for my tour. I couldn't be more thrilled!
Here is the schedule--check back, as there may be some updates.
October 19th--Change the Word, Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries & More, Georgina Troy blog, Sheryl Browne blog
October 20th--Alissa Baxter blog, Written by Deb, Angel Sefer blog, Courtney Giardina blog
October 21st--Chloe Gets a Clue, Lilian Roberts blog
October 22nd--Chick Lit Goddess, Between Boyfriends
October 23rd--Zanna Mackenzie blog, Ruth Mancini blog
October 24th--Monique McDonell blog
10/15/2013 08:31
Remember how much you enjoyed the IT'S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH Quiz?
Well, this quiz is even better, because it's not only over my book, but also over Angel Sefer's SPELLBOUND IN HIS ARMS and Carolyn Ridder Aspenson's UNFINISHED BUSINESS! AND the prize is also three times the fun--it's a $30 Amazon gift card this time!
10/07/2013 23:34
Now is the perfect time to grab your copy of my friend Jami Deise's chick/mom lit novel, KEEPING SCORE!
It's on sale from 10/7/13 - 10/11/13 for $0.99! Get it on Amazon. I loved the book. Read my review here.
When her 9-year-old son wanted to play summer travel baseball, Shannon had no idea the toughest competition was off the field…. When her son Sam asks to try out for a travel baseball team, divorced mom Shannon Stevens thinks it’ll be a fun and active way to spend the summer. Boy, is she wrong! From the very first practice, Shannon and Sam get sucked into a mad world of rigged try-outs, professional coaches, and personal hitting instructors. But it’s the crazy, competitive parents who really make Shannon’s life miserable. Their sons are all the second coming of Babe Ruth, and Sam isn’t fit to fetch their foul balls. Even worse, Shannon’s best friend Jennifer catches the baseball fever. She schemes behind the scenes to get her son Matthew on the town’s best baseball team, the Saints. As for Sam? Sorry, there’s no room for him! Sam winds up on the worst team in town, and every week they find new and humiliating ways to lose to the Saints. And the action off the field is just as hot. Shannon finds herself falling for the Saints’ coach, Kevin. But how can she date a man who didn’t think her son was good enough for his team … especially when the whole baseball world is gossiping about them? Even Shannon’s ex-husband David gets pulled into the mess when a randy baseball mom goes after him. As Sam works to make friends, win games and become a better baseball player, Shannon struggles not to become one of those crazy baseball parents herself. In this world, it’s not about whether you win, lose, or how you play the game… it’s all about KEEPING SCORE.
10/05/2013 14:33
Super-big thanks to bestselling author, Jan Moran, for interviewing me on her blog! It was a great interview with very interesting and thought-provoking questions. Go to Jan's blog and read it here.
Jan Moran is a bestselling author whose novel, Scent of Triumph, just got acquired by St. Martin's press. She's also a fragrance and beauty expert who created Scentsa, an interactive fragrance program used at Sephora stores.
10/05/2013 14:08
IT'S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH got a great review from InD'tale Magazine, a well-known e-magazine reviewing and discussing indie books! Read it here.
https://www.indtale.com/magazine/2013/october/#?page=94
09/30/2013 11:04
Break out your ereaders, people! It’s launch day for THE FAMILY YOU CHOOSE by Deborah Nam-Krane! I was one of the lucky few to receive an advance copy, and I can personally guarantee that you will be shocked, thrilled, crushed, jumping for joy, and devastated throughout the course of the book. I told Deb that she should pitch this series to the creators of Revenge, because it’s every bit as twisted and shocking and good. But don’t take my opinion--get it for yourself here. Now!
Miranda Harel has been in love with her guardian Alex Sheldon since she was five years old, and Michael Abbot has despised them both for just as long. When Miranda finds out why she wants both men out of her life for good and questions everything she believed about where and who she came from. Finding out the truth will break her heart. Without family or true love, will her friends be enough?
And if you haven’t read the first book in The New Pioneers series THE SMARTEST GIRL IN THE ROOM, get it, and read it first. It is wonderful as well! Buy it here.
Nineteen year old Emily wants her college diploma fast, and she's going to get it. But when the perfect night with perfect Mitch leads her to a broken heart, Emily is blind to her vulnerability. When the person she cares about the most is hurt as a result, Emily's ambition gives way to more than a little ruthlessness. She's going to use her smarts to take care of herself and protect the people she loves, and everyone else had better stay out of her way. But shouldn't the smartest girl everyone knows realize that the ones she'd cross the line for would do the same for her?
Deborah Nam-Krane has been writing in one way or another since she was eight years old (and telling stories well before that). Her series, The New Pioneer debuted in March with The Smartest Girl in the Room. The sequel The Family You Choose is available today.
Please join Deborah's mail list to find out first about new releases and connect with her on any of the following sites:
09/30/2013 10:50
Congrats to Debi N. of Indiana, winner of the IT'S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH QUIZ. There were several perfect scores, so we put the names in a hat and my husband drew out Debi's name. Thanks to everyone for playing, and Debi, you will receive your $10 Amazon Gift Card this week!
09/28/2013 09:26
Today I welcome Courtney Giardina, author of TEAR STAINED BEACHES as a guest blogger! Courtney is in the middle of a blog tour to promote the launch of the print version of her debut novel, which you can buy here. And she's giving away a signed copy, so be sure to enter the contest at the end of this post! Take it away, Courtney!
Fall season has begun, but that doesn’t mean beach getaways have to be put on the backburner! In honor of the print release of Tear Stained Beaches and the fact that it takes place in a coastal Caroline town, I wanted to share a few of my key beach essentials for those lucky enough to be traveling to white sandy beaches for the holiday season!
Cute Bikini
My summer attire is filled with Victoria’s Secret bikinis. Right now, I’m loving the ruffled look. It’s a cute and sexy addition to any solid color bikini.
Beach Hat
Covering those highlights and protecting your face from the sun is imperative while hanging out on the beach all day. A cute straw hat like this one from J. Crew is the perfect addition to any cute bikini.
Facial Wipes
Face it, even if you’re just relaxing under an umbrella for the day, you never leave the beach sand free. Facial wipes are a great way to get all that dirt and oil off of your face throughout the day to help protect breakouts and keep your skin feeling fresh. There are a few different options out there, but I like Burt’s Bees facial towelettes with white tea extract.
Lip Balm
Our lips always seem to be neglected when we step out into the sun. After a long day they might feel chapped and dry even if you use spf protection. To add a bit of moisture back into them I recommend Badger Cocoa Butter Lip Balm.
A good book
Never leave home without a beach read! While you’re working on your tan you need something to help pass the time. Whether its flipping the pages or scrolling your ebook, this is certainly an essential on my beach list.
What are you favorite beach must-haves?
About Courtney Giardina
Courtney was born and raised just outside of Rochester,NY where she jumped and tumbled her way through school as a gymnast and cheerleader. She credits cheering under the lights on Friday nights as the reason for her love of football. Realizing that becoming a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader was probably not a realistic ambition, Courtney decided to take her creative talents down a different route. In May 2012 she traded cold, snowy winters for extremely humid summers in Charlotte, North Carolina and worked early mornings and late nights on top of a full-time job to create Tear Stained Beaches. When she’s not in the midst of writing songs, poems or debut novels, Courtney enjoys being in front of the camera as an actress, running 5Ks and singing loudly to country music in her Jeep. In her world, everywhere is a stage.
Tear Stained Beaches
Haylie Julian wants nothing more than to put her crumbling marriage back together. Chase used to be a fun-loving, light hearted husband who had lately become an overworked attorney obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder. It isn’t long before Haylie starts waking up next to a man she barely knows. His secretive phone calls and late nights at the office leave her feeling alone and afraid of what he might be hiding. Ignoring his continuous pleas to just leave well enough alone, she continues to dig for answers and discovers a heartbreaking truth.
Struggling with what she has just learned, Haylie sets off to a quaint little North Carolina beach town to decide if her marriage can survive. It isn’t long after she arrives that her world is once again turned upside down as Chase’s secret stares her right in the face.
Tear Stained Beaches explores what happens when a marriage isn’t the happily-ever-after you thought it was. Can trust be rebuilt? Can a wife forgive the ultimate betrayal?
Give Back
Courtney believes that giving back should be an important part of our every day lives. Helping those who need it and supporting those around us make for a better tomorrow. As part of her mission to give back, Courtney has chosen to donate 10% of all purchases of Tear Stained Beaches that come from her website by October 23 to the organization Jodi’s Voice. Jodi’s Voice is a newly created organization working to raise awareness for a great cause of helping create stricter stalking laws.
Giveaway
Enter for your chance to win a signed copy of Tear Stained Beaches!
09/27/2013 11:10
Today, I welcome back my friend, Deborah Nam-Krane, a FANTASTIC author, whose new book, THE FAMILY YOU CHOOSE, debuts TODAY! Deb is here to talk about “How to Write about Taboos”, which she does a masterful job of in her new novel. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy, and it blew me away!
In The Smartest Girl in the Room, one of the main characters commits a crime to, well, get some justice for another crime. I had some reasons for that development, but I wanted the reader to walk away with two feelings: sympathy and disapproval. Hopefully my readers understood what my character did, but at the end of the day, I wasn't making a lifestyle recommendation.
In the sequel The Family You Choose, no one breaks a law, but someone breaks a rule; we are definitely into taboo territory. I'm very aware—and have been for years—that this story might horrify some. I'm equally aware that it might titillate. While I'll accept both reactions (I don't really have a choice), I'm not courting either. So how can I make sure I minimize those possibilities?
First and foremost, I go back to rooting the story in the characters. By the time people finish the novel, I think they will understand why the story plays out the way it did. It isn't about speaking to an issue or manipulating my readers to get a reaction; it's about what happens when someone thinks she or he can get away with anything. (Who that someone is will not be expected.) The taboo isn't the story—the characters who set it in motion and the ones who got caught up in it are.
Another important consideration when writing about something "forbidden": ask why it is so. It's not enough to write to a word; you have to address the considerations surrounding it. Why is it offensive? Is it inherently dangerous? Is there an uneven power dynamic? What's the root of the concern…and is there anything that can be done to flip it, and would doing so help or compromise the characters?
It's rewarding to follow your character on their journey, but it can also be exhausting to do so when they insist you ask all of the questions that surround uncomfortable choices they've made. When we have characters that find themselves in such a situation, our job is to humanize them by making the reader understand, even if they don't approve—and sometimes even if we don't approve. One of the harder parts of writing, but also one of the more rewarding.
About the Author
Deborah Nam-Krane has been writing in one way or another since she was eight years old (and telling stories well before that). Her series, The New Pioneer debuted in March with The Smartest Girl in the Room. The sequel The Family You Choose is available today. And until October 5th, you can download the book for free from Smashwords. Use code TQ97C. Don't feel bad about getting it free—but please leave a review!
Please join Deborah's mail list to find out first about new releases and connect with her on any of the following sites:
