2018 SFR Galaxy Awards Complete List

Round 1 – Jo Jones – posted at 10 AM Eastern Standard Time USA

Best Dreams to Nightmare Plot

An Alien Exchange by Keri Kruspe

Best Use of World Building and Back Story to Jumpstart a Plot

Breakaway by Michelle Diener

Best Improvement After Rewriting

Warleader by Susan Grant

Round 2 – Riley Moreland – posted at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time USA

Potent Post-War Setting Award

Aftermath(Hathe, #3) by Mary Brock Jones

Best Steampunk Transport

Raven, Fire and Ice (Touch of Truth, #1)by Nita Round

Arcane History Award

Infinity(Horizon, #2) by Tabitha Lord

Arachnophobia Award for Creepiest Villain

Lost Valyr (Project Enterprise, #7) by Pauline Baird Jones

Favorite Dog Hero

Not Fade Away (Interstellar Rescue, #4) by Donna S. Frelick

Round 3 – Heather Massey – posted at 12 PM Eastern Standard Time USA

Hottest Queer Sci-Fi Romance in a Superhero Universe

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow by Greg Berlanti, Executive Producer

Round 4 – Lee Koven – posted at 1 PM Eastern Standard Time USA

Most Intriguing Society

A Treason of Truths by Ada Harper

Most Unusual Heroine

Delta V  by Elsa Jade

Best Mobile Phone Replacement

Implantedby Lauren C. Teffeau

Best Serial

Queen’s Gambit by Jessie Mihalik

Best Bodyguard’s Buddy

The Protector Series

(Dangerous Promise, Wicked Attraction, Forbidden Stranger) by Megan Hart

Round 5 – Marlene Harris – posted at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time USA

Home Again Award (Dance with the One that Brung Ya)

Edge of Eon by Anna Hackett

Firefly Redux Award

Entropy by Jess Anastasi

Meow It Again Sam Award

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion by S. E. Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, Alexis Glynn Latner, Tiffany Roberts, E. D. Walker, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch

Shoulda Been a Contender Award

Nightchase rby Amanda Bouchet

Round 6 – Chris Stock – posted at 3 PM Eastern Standard Time USA

Short, Sweet and Fiesty Award

A Darkside Interlude: Darkstar Mercenaries 0.5 by Anna Carven

Best Similar But Different Out of Africa Award

Rage(Alien Breed 1-English Edition) by Melody Adams 

(Translated by Sylvia Corbisiero)

Best Out-of-Space Cop Award-Despite-the-Title

Beauty’s Alien Beast by Linda Mooney

Best Start of a New Series and Kidnapping Scene

Edge of Eon(Eon Warriors 1) by Anna Hackett

Best Continuation of an Anthology that Makes You Feel Good

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion by S E Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, Alexis Glynn Latner, Tiffany Roberts, E. D. Walker, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch

Round 7 – KJ Van Houten – posted at 4 PM Eastern Standard Time USA

Alpha Award: Best New Series

Edge of Eon by Anna Hackett

Omega Award: Best End-of-Series

Hunted by the Cyborg (Book 6 Cy-Ops Series) by Cara Bristol

Phoenix Award: Best Resurrected Series

Warleader by Susan Grant

Little Green Men Award

Collision by Lea Kirk

________________________________________________

Books with Multiple Awards in 2018

Edge of Eon by Anna Hackett

Home Again Award (Dance with the One that Brung Ya) (presented by Marlene Harris)

Best Start of a New Series and Kidnapping Scene (presented by Chris Stock)

Alpha Award: Best New Series (presented by KJ Van Houten)

Warleader by Susan Grant

Best Improvement After Rewriting (presented by Jo Jones)

Phoenix Award: Best Resurrected Series (presented by KJ Van Houten)

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion by S E Smith, Anna Hackett, Ruby Lionsdrake, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Carol Van Natta, Alexis Glynn Latner, Tiffany Roberts, E. D. Walker, JC Hay, Kyndra Hatch

Meow It Again Sam Award (presented by Marlene Harris)

Best Continuation of an Anthology that Makes You Feel Good (presented by Chris Stock)

Authors with Awards for More Than One Book in 2018

Anna Hackett

Edge of Eon– Home Again Award (Dance with the One that Brung Ya) (presented by Marlene Harris)

Edge of Eon– Best Start of a New Series and Kidnapping Scene (presented by Chris Stock)

Edge of Eon– Alpha Award: Best New Series (presented by KJ Van Houten)

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion– Meow It Again Sam Award (presented by Marlene Harris)

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion– Best Continuation of an Anthology that Makes You Feel Good (presented by Chris Stock)

Pauline Baird Jones

Lost Valyr– Arachnophobia Award for Creepiest Villain (presented by Riley Moreland)

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion– Meow It Again Sam Award (presented by Marlene Harris)

Pets in Space 3: Embrace the Passion– Best Continuation of an Anthology that Makes You Feel Good (presented by Chris Stock)

2018 SFR Galaxy Awards

The 2018 AFR Galaxy Awards come out today.  Here is the link to my awards and the schedule.  My awards come out first.   I only know my choices.  I will be checking throughout the day to see what the other judges picked.

8 AM Eastern - Welcome Message and Introduction

10 AM Eastern - Round 1: Jo Jones https://sfrgalaxyawards.blogspot.com/2019/01/2018-sfr-galaxy-awards-round-1-jo-jones.html

11 AM Eastern - Round 2: Riley Moreland

12 PM Eastern - Round 3: Heather Massey

  1 PM Eastern - Round 4: Lee Koven

  2 PM Eastern - Round 5: Marlene Harris

  3 PM Eastern - Round 6: Chris Stock

  4 PM Eastern - Round 7: KJ Van Houten

Tailwinds Past Florence by Doug Walsh - Book Blast and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Doug Walsh will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

After getting blacklisted from the venture capital industry, twenty-nine-year-old Edward Vaughan will do anything to avoid telling his wife what happened. Even if it means agreeing to her dream of bicycling around the world. Kara, tired of being married to a workaholic, was readying for a divorce. Now, she’s packing bags of a different kind. Together, they pedal away from Seattle, headed east on the open road across America, Europe, and beyond.

Theirs is a decision that reverberates across centuries, shattering a continuum that bound their souls throughout time, and traps Edward in a battle with a past life over an eternal love.

As the miles roll by, and the couple's sordid secrets begin to surface, the couple encounters several men plucked from history, each one a vessel of Edward’s soul in a prior life. Of them, a 19th century art dealer proves dangerous, believing Kara is his ticket back to the past.

Tailwinds Past Florence is a contemporary love story with a magical twist, landing readers in the saddle of a global bicycle adventure.

Read an Excerpt:

With no kids on the horizon or in-laws willing to travel all that way, the second bedroom had become a land of forgotten hobbies. Dust-covered mountain bikes leaned where a dresser may have stood, a paint-splattered drop cloth took the place of a guest bed, an empty easel in lieu of a mirror.

As he rose from picking up the shoe, an unexpected absence caught his eye. The map was gone. For months it had hung opposite the door, above a bookcase lined with old college texts and a copious collection of brushes and paint tubes. Now, in its stead, only thumbtack holes in the same not-quite-white (Kara called it Saffron Lace) that covered every wall in their Seattle apartment.

She brought the map home last fall, a laminated Rand-McNally depicting every country on earth in shaded relief. Accompanying it was a proposal to bicycle around the world. She wanted him to take a sabbatical—a laughable notion in the world of venture capital—and spend a year or three traveling.

Issues of Adventure Cyclist appeared in the bathroom soon after, borrowed travel guides rotated across her nightstand, and seemingly every conversation held an air of wanderlust, with Kara pining for small towns and country roads, campfire beers at sunset. Just the two of us, she’d say in a coquettish whisper. While we’re still young. Edward could only guess what spurred her restlessness and expected it to vanish as abruptly as it emerged.

The map hadn’t gone far. A quick search found it crunched into a football of discarded fantasy, punted behind a pile of bags and boxes. By the looks of things, she’d cleaned out the closet.

He unfurled the map, exposing a runaway squiggle of black ink. His eyes locked on the map’s northwest corner, where a star marked the departure point. Home. From there, the line dipped and danced across the northern United States and Canada before dashing south from London to Spain. Onward it went, around the Mediterranean to Greece, Turkey, and beyond. Edward followed the trail, past a who’s who of countries he knew nothing about, to China and Vietnam and a hand-drawn smiley face clear on the other edge of the poster, in Bali.

She’d given up on it. No. She gave up on me.
About the Author:

Doug Walsh made his fiction debut with Tailwinds Past Florence, a road-tripping love story with a magical twist, inspired by the two years he spent cycling the world. The novel was a prizewinner in the PNWA Literary Contest. He's also authored One Lousy Pirate, a travel memoir, and over one hundred officially-licensed video game strategy guides. Travel guides to fictitious places, as he likes to call them. Originally from New Jersey, he now lives and plays in the mountains of western Washington.

Web/Social Links

Web: http://www.dougwalsh.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DougWalsh.Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/doug_walsh75
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dougwalshwrites/

Purchase Links

Tailwinds Past Florence is available at the following locations:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JNKK79N
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tailwinds-past-florence-doug-walsh/1129769707
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tailwinds-past-florence-1

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Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 352 - Offensive (Mindspace #3) by A.K. DuBoff, Dire Wolf Wanted by Carol Van Natta

Offensive by A.K. DuBoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The offensive continues in book three. Kira and company are off to find where the aliens are based and they find more than they expected. The tension is still high as the plot follows the action in several different locations. Having the same cast of main characters makes it easy to keep up with the world building and back story. This can stand alone but is best if you read in order. Again one problem is solved but a bigger one is on the horizon. Book 4 looks to be as danger and tension filled as the previous three.


Dire Wolf Wanted by Carol Van Natta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rayne Chekal and Arvik Inuktan are both undercover trying too take down the illegal auction house that trafficks in shifters when they cross paths. Seems that both think the other is their mate but there are problems. Raine and Arvik both have secrets about what they are doing and what they are. Before they can be together they must be apart. Each is focused on the same problem but coming at it from different directions. There is a war coming and each has a part to play. A great story with wonderful characters. I love both Raine and Arvik. Theirs is a tension filled story before they get to their HEA.

View all my reviews

Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 351 - The Queen's Gambit by Jessie Mihalik

Most of you know that Science Fiction Romance is one of my favorites and I always love finding books written by new authors.  Today is a real treat.  Jessie Mihalik has not one but two new SFR books out.  Both are the first book in a new series.  Both are excellent while being very different



The Queen's Gambit by Jessie Mihalik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This meets all my requirements for an excellent science fiction romance story. You could take the romance out and still have a good story. The world building and backstory are layered throughout the story and do not block the flow of the plot. The plot includes wonderful characters whose development grows as the story unfolds. Both main and side characters have what it takes to keep the story moving. Hard to put down and even better this is book one in the series. Wish I did not have to wait for book two.


Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved Polaris Rising. This is the second book I have read by Jessie Mihalik and I loved both. Again this has everything I want in a Science Fiction Romance. There is a plot that can stand with or without the romance. The characters are well developed and each has something of an implied secret in their background. The world building and back story are part of the plot development and add to the tension. Ada von Hasenberg and Marcus Loch have a love/hate relationship. Their background should make them sworn enemies but they keep facing a common enemy. I loved how Ada's family is structured. All the children look out and protect each other. There are gains and losses as the story ends. Some problems are solved but the much bigger one is still out there full of danger just waiting for the next book.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

View all my reviews

For Her Honor by Holly Bush - Blur Blitz and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Holly Bush will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

1873 –

Adam Gentry, heir to the celebrated Paradise Stables in Virginia, is haunted by the visions of his lost love. Feeling cursed by fate, he slips deeper into grief, shrouded in a cloud of liquor and depression, and neglects his duties and responsibilities. But when Adam is forced to accept that there’s nothing he can do to change his past, he knows he must move on.

And he accepts his own destiny: that he will never love again.

Emmaline Somerset finds herself in the worst possible position any unmarried woman can be in. She will have to abandon all of her plans, hopes, and dreams for an independence using her own talents. The only viable solution is to move to a distant relative’s home and reinvent herself as a widow with an infant. No one will ever be the wiser.

Adam, now determined to secure the Gentry legacy, plans to save longtime family friend Emmaline from her embarrassment with an offer of marriage. But what Adam didn’t plan on was how his unexpected attraction to her would stir something inside of him, something he's kept locked deep within.

Can love finds its way between two troubled souls, one driven by duty, the other by honor, both determined to find their way home?

Read an Excerpt:

Adam thought that she really did need some rest as it seemed to him she was holding herself upright by sheer will alone. He stood at his place. Everyone turned their heads to him as if he would be giving another toast like Matt had done, making everyone chuckle, and then Jim, whose wishes for them had everyone in the room misty-eyed, including him. But his mother and Mrs. Somerset, his mother-in-law, strange as that sounded, both looked at Emmaline and stood.

“Come along now,” Louise said to Jane and Phillip and Betsy and motioning to Edwin to help her from her chair. “This has been a long day and I am exhausted.”

“Yes. I am as well,” Eleanor said. “And these children have near worn themselves out.”

Everyone drifted to the front hallway, gathering wraps and kissing children. Jim had Nettie’s two in his arms, carrying them outside to their carriage. Adam helped Louise into her seat and kissed her cheek as Edwin gathered the reins and nodded at him.

“See that Emmaline lies down, won’t you, Adam? I’m so worried for her,” Louise said.

“Of course. It’s been a trying week, but I think it was a beautiful and memorable day.”

She nodded and looked at him with watery eyes. “It has. Thank you.”

Matt and Annie were walking home, and he waved at them after kissing the children and thanking them. He went back inside and found Emmaline hurrying to the door.

“Tell mother to wait,” she began and then looked at him, her face going scarlet. “I don’t live there anymore, do I?”

About the Author:

Holly Bush writes historical romance set in the U.S.in the late 1800’s, in Victorian England, and an occasional Women’s Fiction title. Her books are described as emotional, with heartfelt, sexy romance. She makes her home with her husband in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

http://www.hollybushbooks.com http://www.twitter.com/hollybushbooks
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Bush/247399131941435
http://www.amazon.com/Holly-Bush/e/B006ZDTQ1A/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

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The Other Woman by Eve Rabi - Blurb Blitz and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Eve Rabi will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Question: A seductress steals your husband, rips apart your family and shatters your dreams.

You:

a) Wish them luck, and walk away with your head held high (because that’s what society expects you to do)?

b) Quietly seethe, but accept that there is just nothing you can do about it (because it easier for everyone if you do nothing)?

c) Dig up dirt on the bitch (because someone like this would undoubtedly have dirt), use it to sabotage their relationship, then sit back with a glass of Pinot Grigio and watch them burn?

Answer: C. Oh, totally C.

.......................

Meet Scarlett Smyth. She’s drop-dead gorgeous, has a rocking body and has an above average IQ. She brags that she can ensnare any husband or taken male, and …she often does. She also is ambitious and has a penchant for anything expensive.

When the shrewd and ambitious temptress lays eyes on Bradley Murdoch, she believes she has found her dream man and a ticket to the high life she’s entitled to. There are just two problems:

1) Bradley is married to Rival. Happily at that.

2) They have children. Adorable little girls.

Do those facts deter Scarlett in any way? No, not at all. She is determined to steal Bradley, smoothly replace Rival in his life and show him how to really live life.

In a calculating move, the seductress (she is so good at seduction, she is even penning a book on it) befriends the quiet and unassuming Rival and worms her way into Bradley’s life.
There’s more: To expedite things, Scarlett the mistress, engineers a way to wipe Rival out of the picture - sends the clueless wife on a “vacation”.

But Scarlett may have underestimated her opponent. When Rival realizes the extent of the betrayal, she decides, even though she lacks Scarlett’s genius IQ, not to turn the other cheek. In fact, she is determined to win back her husband, believing that he is a good man who is simply mistaking lust for love. She believes that someone like Scarlett has to have skeletons in her cupboards and she begins to snoop around, anything she can use against the other woman, anything that can help her exact revenge.

What Rival doesn’t realize is: no one takes on Scarlett - no one dares. The betrayed wife and the other woman collide. The result is another gripping suspense thriller from best selling author Eve Rabi.

If you've enjoyed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins, books by Marian Keyes and Liane Moriarty, you will enjoy this 'suspenseful, romantic and entertaining tale of love, lust and revenge.'

Read an Excerpt:

The Mistress:

I have an IQ of one hundred and sixty-six. To Forrest Gump, that would make me “awfully clever.” To others, I’d be a bloody genius! I’m charming, easy on the eye, can boast a private school education, and I have not one, but two university degrees. Soon I’ll be able to add Best Selling Author to my list of aptitudes, as I am writing a book that is guaranteed to be a hit.

Impressed? You ought to be. It isn’t every day that you find an inspiring all-rounder like me. However, the above aren’t really my strengths. My real strength is my confidence. Let me tell you, nothing is more commanding than the elusive trait of true confidence, which I have been gifted with. It has made me who I am – the kind of kind of woman who goes wrecking-ball hard after what she wants, and gets it. 


Me tooting my own horn? No. I’ll tell you why. I have a tale to tell that will blow that mind of yours. A tale based on my unwavering drive, my steely determination, and my ability to transcend hurdles to achieve my desires and wants.

You will be regaled, you will be enthralled; you will want to jump out of your seat and applaud. Not only that, but I will be totally honest and upfront about every single thing, and in the process, you will receive an education too. Guaranteed.

So, sit back, kick back, grab a bottle of Pinot Grigio and listen up, ‘cause this is your lucky day – you’re going to learn a thing or two from a pro.

About the Author:

Eve Rabi is a screenwriter and author of 33 romantic crime and suspense novels. 
Inspired by the likes of Sidney Sheldon and Gillian Flynn, her tales are bold, scandalous, controversial and often humorous. 
To quote an Amazon reviewer: “When you pick up an Eve Rabi book, forget sleep. She writes gripping page turners that will keep you reading till the very end.” 
If you’re bored of regular romance, if you like your romance with twists and turns, if you prefer your crime novels to have strong romantic themes, then you will enjoy Eve Rabi’s multi-genre books. 
In her spare time, Eve likes to dance like no one is watching. 
She also likes to eat like no one is watching. That's why she has to dance so often.

FOLLOW EVE RABI ONLINE

Amazon: U.K.: http://amzn.to/14vFE8r

Amazon U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/Eve-Rabi/e/B005HXX1C4

Website: http://everabi.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/eve.rabi

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EveRabi1

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/everabiauthor/

Google +: https://plus.google.com/111560859015561071911

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/everabiauthor

Instagram: https://instagram.com/everabiauthor/

Blog: http://everabi.wordpress.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24490383-the-other-woman

Email:everabi2012@hotmail.com

The book is on sale for $0.99.

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1E3KGa7
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1BeLcB5
Amazon Aus: http://bit.ly/1IXc5up
Amazon Ca:
 http://a.co/d/gCRQZw5

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The Mistress of Desire and The Orchid Lover by J.A. Jackson - Blurb Blitz and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. J. A. Jackson will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Neither Tiara Blake or Delmar Devereaux has a past to be proud of. With a joint history packed with dishonesty, blackmail—and a juicy, torrid love affair—the pair didn’t expect their paths would cross again.

Can a quest to break an ancient curse give two former lovers a second chance?

After a torrid love affair, shady businessman Delmar Devereaux disappeared from Tiara Blake’s life, leaving her to raise their twin sons on her own. So, when he shows up unannounced one day, her first instinct is to kick him to the curb.

But Delmar has discovered a centuries-old curse placed on the pair by their ancestors—and he needs Tiara’s help to break it. Ending the curse means they will have to learn to trust each other, which won’t be easy when their explosive secrets are revealed.

Once again torn between lust and duty, can Delmar and Tiara discover the true meaning of love in order to break the curse before it’s too late? Or will their complicated past doom them forever?

Join Delmar and Tiara in Book II of the Mistress of Desire and the Orchid Lover on their sensually sizzling action-packed adventure!

Read an Excerpt:

Delmar’s voice was sad and serious. “I come to ask the three of you for your help. I have nowhere else to turn. The courts won’t help me. The legal system is useless,” his words tumbled out. “You see, for it was I, who started my problem in the first place, and well the courts won’t even hear my case,” he sighed heavily.

Glenda sighed. “This sounds serious if you can’t use your money to persuade the courts.”

“It is serious,” Delmar assured them. “Let me go back to the beginning. Perhaps you were aware of my case in court almost a year ago, concerning the twin sons, that Tiara Blake, had?”

“Yes, of course, it was all over the news,” Consuelo stated, in an excited Spanish accent.

“Yeah, I heard all about it too,” Nona said glumly. “The DNA found you were not the father and those tests are normally 100% accurate.”

“Yes, they are supposed to be. But there are ways around them,” Delmar paused. “You see a root worker, a spell caster. She assured me, that she could cast a spell that would exclude me as the father of the twins.”

Glenda interrupted. “Yes, but everyone knows that DNA is 100 percent foolproof and it doesn't lie. No spellcaster or root worker can mess with biological DNA.”

“Glenda is right,” Nona stated. “DNA tests are considered infallible – they are the gold standard in court.”

About the Author:

J.A. Jackson is the pseudonym for an author, who loves to write deliciously sultry adult romantic, suspenseful, entertaining novels with a unique twist. She lives in an enchanted little house she calls home in the Northern California foothills.

She spent over ten years working in the non-profit sector where she wrote grants, press releases and contributed many stories to their newsletter. She was their Newsletter editor for over ten years. She loves growing roses, a good pot of hot tea, chocolate, magical stories, suspense stories, ghost stories, and reading Jane Austen again and again in her past time.

https://www.amazon.com/author/jajackson
http://jerreeceannjackson.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jerreece-Ann-Jackson/204377496289139
https://twitter.com/jerreece
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01ISNR0B2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HR1KSHN

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Buzz, The Ultimate Guide to Book Marketing by Dara Beevas and Roseanne Cheng - Book Blast and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The authors will be awarding a 30 minute book marketing consultation to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Congratulations, indie author!

You’ve finished your book—now all that’s left is to get it out into the world. Unfortunately, for many authors, it’s that step of the process that’s the hardest. Marketing is seen as something to be feared, dreaded, and outsourced as much as possible—a daunting task that will leave you drained.

But fear not! The team at Wise Ink knows a thing or two about how to sell your book. And they’re here to tell you everything.

Buzz is the indie author’s ultimate guide to marketing effectively, inexpensively, and excitingly. Within its pages, you’ll find answers to the questions on every writer’s mind:

• What does it really mean to “market” my book?

• How do I best reach my specific audience?

• What are effective ways to promote my book via social media?

• Do I really need to be a public speaker?

In addition to this, the Wise Ink marketing team has provided sample content calendars, email promotions, a marketing starter kit, and more to ensure you’re prepared to get out there and sell your book.

Marketing doesn’t have to be a horror story! Let Buzz teach you how to take your book to its maximum potential.

Read an Excerpt:

Where Do I Begin?

This certainly is the million-dollar question. The truth is that you “began” when you started writing your book, saw that process through to completion, and decided that what you’d written was worthy of being brought into the world. So congratulations! You have already begun.

Now that you can check “writing your book” off the list, your next task is to define what success means to you. Yes, “selling books” is a good goal in general, and yes, it would be nice if Bill Gates recommended your book for his summer reading list. But success as an author is more complicated than simply selling books. For many authors, being successful means leaving a lasting legacy. For others, it means winning awards in the literary world. For authors who have speaking careers, success might mean having something tangible and desirable to sell to their audience. You are guiding this journey; you get to create your goals based on your vision for your life and career.

Doing this work at the beginning will focus your marketing efforts. There are literally thousands of ways to market your book. So begin by asking yourself why your book is important, who you’ve written it for, and how you expect it to impact your audience. If your book isn’t solving a problem or offering something new and different, you’ll have a difficult time marketing it.

Next, envision the next three to five years. Are you hoping to start a business? Become a career writer? Launch an online platform based on your book’s content? Inspire activists? Is your book the start of several books you will write? If so, who are these future books for? Are you growing a robust online business where content is essential to grow and leverage your brand?

When seeking marketing opportunities, revisit your definition of success and measure whether each potential marketing effort helps meet your specific goals. What works for someone else’s book won’t always work for yours. If an opportunity does not advance you toward your vision, skip it.

What are three non-monetary definitions of success that align with your vision for your life, career, and future?

1.
2.
3.

About the Authors: Roseanne Cheng is a former high school English teacher and author of two young adult books, The Take Back of Lincoln Junior High and Edge the Bare Garden, which won the gold medal for young adult fiction at the Writer’s Digest Self Published Book Awards and the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. She now works as Marketing Director at Wise Ink Creative Publishing where she holds the secondary title of “Author Therapist” and has the pleasure of helping authors create plans to get their work into the world. When she’s not reading a book or practicing yoga, you can probably find her hanging out with her hilarious husband of ten years and their two ridiculously awesome kids. Follow her on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/teachablelit.

Dara Beevas believes that books can save lives, open doors, and build bridges. As co-founder of Wise Ink, she encourages authors to share powerful stories that ignite change, tolerance, and growth. She has been involved in the publishing community for fifteen years, acquiring manuscripts, managing projects, and creating marketing and sales strategies for authors and publishers. She’s helped more than four hundred authors publish their books. She is the author of The Indie Author Revolution and co-author of Social Media Secrets for Authors. When she’s not busy pushing the envelope in this crazy world of publishing and networking with inspiring entrepreneurs, she’s traveling and enjoying her husband Tomme’s delicious Jamaican meals with her daughter Genesis. Follow her on http://www.twitter.com/darairene or http://www.instagram.com/darairene.

Website: http://www.wiseink.com
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A Young Adult Writer's Journey by Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds and Janet Schrader-Post - Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway

The Young Adult Writer's Journey

by Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds & Janet Schrader-Post

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GENRE: Non-Fiction

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BLURB:

Finally, an all-inclusive book on young adult fiction must-do, don’t do and how-to. If you want to write a young adult novel, you need to read this book first. Coauthored by an award-winning YA author and an acquisitions editor, both experts on kids and what they like to read, this encyclopedia contains all you need to start or improve a career as a YA fiction author.

From an examination of the market, genre and its sub-genres, to mechanics and the business, everything is at your fingertips. This amazing writer’s resource is written in a relaxed and interesting style, with plenty of contemporary references and examples for clear understanding and easier application.

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EXCERPT

Joseph Campbell was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College, where he worked in comparative mythology and religious studies. He was strongly influenced by Carl Jung's view of myth. In his 1949 work The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell described the basic mythic structure as follows:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. (Campbell, Joseph (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces. 

Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 23.)

His iconic classic deconstructs universal story patterns. In his study of the myth of the hero, Campbell posits the existence of a Monomyth (a word he borrowed from James Joyce), a universal pattern, structure, found in heroic tales in every culture. While outlining the basic stages of this mythic cycle, he also explores common variations in the hero’s journey, which, he argues, is an operative metaphor, not only for an individual, but for a culture as well. Although the stories may vary to suit the needs and beliefs of a specific culture, the underlying universal archetypes remain.

Christopher Vogler used this hero’s journey to write, The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. He simplified Campbell’s 17 steps into 12, handy in today’s 12-step minded society. What he did that was fantastic is make it more accessible for modern writers, who are not always scholars. There are several similar editions, including one for screenwriters. Women like Maureen Murdock have written books specifically about The Heroine’s Journey. Although the steps may vary, the universal pattern, used in a novel or screenplay, creates a story with themes that resonate across cultures. It is so powerful, creating hit after hit, that it was required reading for Disney executives, a company that knows the importance of creating a hero’s journey to appeal to mass audiences. Using this pattern to construct books in Young Adult novels provides the reader with a satisfying experience. 

To illustrate the hero’s journey, it’s easier to understand in the context of a classic young adult book/movie, such as Harry Potter, already used to illustrate points throughout this book. It will be broken down for you according to the different stages in The Hero’s Journey, with particular attention to how the journey relates to a YA hero/heroine, the focus of this entire book. Following are some things you need to think of before you sit down to write your first scene.

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Why I Wrote a YA Reference Book

Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds

The decision to write this book sprang from a gradual realization that the ways in which YA submissions were continually missing the mark were similar, and an examination of the market that revealed there really wasn’t anything like it available.

I wanted to provide a promising YA author with some help in better understanding the YA audience she was writing for. That would basically require her to recognize the many different types of individuals  who exist within any given middle or high school building.  She needed to appreciate that diversity and learn to apply it to the teens who peopled her YA novel. This would necessitate a change of motivation and goal, which would mean a revision of the plot and world building, but they weren’t what was “wrong” or didn’t hit the mark, they were the result of that, the result of lacking realistic, believable and true YA characters. 

This also meant there could be no more giving characters teen ages and calling them teens, while they still either acted and spoke as though an adult were trying to act like a kid, or as though they needed to learn some moral lesson the adult felt they needed. Either of which resulted in a book that missed the mark for both the teenage audience it was targeting and the millennials who also love to read YA and New Adult novels.

I truly believe that The Hero’s Journey is a must for most teenage fiction or any genre. I also believe coming-of-age novels never go out of style because everyone, no matter what their age, is constantly aging and reinventing what it means to be ‘that’ new age, so no one ever forgets what it’s like. Also, if the main characters don’t grow, learn and mature internally, it’s just not going to be a very fulfilling book for its reader. The Hero/Heroine needs to go on that adventurous journey.

THE YOUNG ADULT WRITER’S JOURNEY that I wrote with one of our best YA authors, Janet Schrader-Post, contains all the above criteria and much more. It’s a book we wished had been available when we just started out as fiction writers, written in a way we felt would be most accessible and interesting.  The hardcover will be available on Black Friday (Nov. 23), just in time for holiday giving…even if that well-deserved gift is for you. Thanks for visiting with us today!

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Daughter of a Colonel, Janet Schrader-Postlived the military life until she got out of high school. She lived in Hawaii and worked as a polo groom for fifteen years, then moved to Florida where she became a reporter. For ten years she covered kids in high school and middle school. Kids as athletes, kids doing amazing things no matter how hard their circumstances. It impressed her, and it awed her. “How wonderful teens are. They have spirit and courage in the face of the roughest time of their lives. High school is a war zone. Between dodging bullies, school work and after school activities, teens nowadays have a lot on their plate. I wrote stories about them and I photographed them. My goal was to see every kid in their local newspaper before they graduated.”

Janet love kids and horses, and she paints and writes. Now she lives in the swampland of Florida with too many dogs and her fifteen-year-old granddaughter. She started to write young adult fiction with the help of her son, Gabe Thompson, who teaches middle school. Together they have written a number of award-winning YA novels in both science fiction and fantasy. 

Elizabeth Fortin-Hindsknows kids well. She spent decades teaching teens and adults to write and improve their reading skills. As a literacy expert and certified coach, she helped both teachers from elementary to secondary and preservice graduate students learn to improve reading and writing instruction. She has taught at both the secondary and graduate level, everything from rhetoric, essays, and thesis statements, to poetry, short stories, and how to write a novel. She has learned to use both sides of her brain simultaneously, but enjoys the creative side the most, learning to play piano, draw and paint, and find time for her own writing since retiring from her “day” jobs.  

A “true believer” in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, mythic structures, she uses that lens when considering manuscripts for Tell-Tale Publishing Group, a company she founded with some friends from her critique group a decade ago.

The book will be $0.99 during the tour

Wise Words Publishing, an Affiliate of Tell-Tale Publishing Group, LLC

We are a small press, a traditional publishing company bringing you the best in E-books, print and audio books to feed your body, mind and spirit.  Our cutting-edge fiction includes old favorites and edgy speculative fiction for today's eclectic readers.  Our stories will grab your attention and take you on a fast, exciting ride that will leave you breathless. WW, our affiliate, publishes select literature under our Cosmos Imprint and nonfiction titles under our Ivy Tower Imprint. www.wisewordspublshing.com

Founded in 2009, in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Our company motto of "excellence in creative entertainment and learning, " informs our artwork, manuscript selection, editing and publishing. 

www.tell-talepublishing.com

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVcMaGh7cng

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Young-Adult-Writers-Journey-Encyclopedia-ebook/dp/B07K3VZ2ZK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-young-adult-writers-journey-janet-schrader-post/1129903135

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

The authors will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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