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Shades of the Blue and the Gray: Love Me Forever is on sale for $1.99 by Jina Bacarr

August 11, 2016 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as 1862, Antietam, Civil War, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, novel, re-enactor, romance, Tennessee, time travel, Virginia

I love film noir.

The tough heroes with the beautiful, wisecracking dolls glammed up with dark lipstick and tight suits. Not to mention high-heeled pumps that showed off a great pair of legs.

There’s something about black and white photography that puts you on edge, waiting for something to happen. Maybe it’s the subtle play of shadows that hides dark secrets . . . and the slow reveal when the camera pulls back to uncover the villain ready to take out the hero.

Until he gets the drop on him first.

Writing is like film noir. The shades of gray slowly reveal the story, the romance, the thrills.

There there’s the blue and the gray.

A time in our history that will never be forgotten. Civil War re-enactments are more popular than ever. What if you dressed up as a Confederate officer and–

Found yourself whisked back to 1862?

That’s what happens to my heroine in LOVE ME FOREVER.

To celebrate LOVE ME FOREVER being on sale for the month of August, I thought it would be fun to take some b&w RF stock and pair them with colorful backgrounds. I’ve included two of them here.

LOVE ME FOREVER takes place in 1862 during the Civil War when my heroine, Liberty Jordan, a beautiful time traveler from the future, tries to warn Union Army Major surgeon Flynt Stephens that more soldiers from the both the North and the South will die of disease than battle wounds.

Does he believe her? And fall in love with her?

And who is Pauletta Sue, her beautiful twin in the covered wagon above — oh, my, she’s the major’s fiancÃ©e!

Till next time…

Jina

”

Love Me on Forever on Sale for $1.99 for August 2016 from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
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Two Classes For Writers – Self-Publishing and Book Promotion by Kitty Bucholtz

August 9, 2016 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing Classes tagged as Author promotion, E-book marketing, Kitty Bucholtz, Marketing, OCC/RWA Online Class, OCCRWA Online Class, Online Class, Online Classes, promotion, self publishing, self-publishing

This month I’m teaching a brand new online class for OCC – “7 Ways to Market and Promote Your Book Without Breaking the Bank.” I’m excited to share the things I’ve learned about inexpensive promotions – including having an author newsletter – with my writer friends!

The 4-week class starts next Monday, August 15, 2016, and costs $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members. You don’t have to be a member of RWA to enroll in the class. You can read more about it and sign up for the class here. I hope to see you there! [Note: Signing up is a 2-step process. You must hit the purple “Yahoo Groups Join Now” button AND then come back to the page and pay via PayPal. If you only do one step or the other, you won’t be in the class until you complete both steps.]

This week I also re-opened my full-sized online course, “Your How-to Guide to Self-Publishing.” I’m so excited about everything I’m doing on the new website! There are five modules covering every step you need to take to get from finished manuscript to published book. I’ve spread it out over eight weeks, which should be plenty of time to learn what you need to do in the lessons and then go apply it. And you’ll have lifetime access so you can come back to the lessons as often as you like.

I’ve included videos, audio downloads, text-based lectures, and worksheets to help you through the entire process. There’s also a private Facebook group where students can ask questions and share their experiences. Two of the three tiers give students access to weekly/monthly live video-based Q&A calls, and those in the upper tier also get a private coaching call with me.

There are payment plans for all three tiers, and bonuses for anyone who signs up by August 15. You can learn more about it all at WriteNowWorkshop.com. If you have any questions, please email me at kitty AT writenowworkshop.com.

I’m looking forward to helping more writers self-publish their books and find new ways to promote them. I hope to see you in one of my classes!

Kitty Bucholtz

Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her novels, Little Miss Lovesick, A Very Merry Superhero Wedding, and Unexpected Superhero are currently available on Amazon . The free short story Superhero in Disguise and the new short story Welcome to Loon Lake are available wherever ebooks are sold. You can find out about her courses on self-publishing, marketing, and time management for writers at her website Writer Entrepreneur Guides.

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More Romance

August 6, 2016 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O. Johnston

Things got by me last month, and I didn’t post here on Slice of Orange. I thought about it when it was just a little late but decided I didn’t have anything as exciting to say as the posts already there, so I chose not to say anything.

But here I am. I’m back! And this is a special month.

Yes, it’s August–can you believe the year is going so fast?

August is the publication month of my latest Harlequin Romantic

Suspense, COVERT ALLIANCE. It’s part of my Identity Division mini-series about a non-witness protection program. As with the last story, the heroine has had her identity changed for her protection. But now there’s a critical reason for her to ignore her promises and return to the place she learned of criminal activity that resulted in threats to her life, but that she couldn’t help prove if the bad guys were arrested. Someone else from the Identity Division is now in town collecting evidence–and of course, the two of them meet. And clash. And are highly attracted to one another…

As you may know, these days I’ve been writing more cozy mysteries than romances, but that may be about to change. The book I’m working on now is one of my Harlequin Nocturnes, a paranormal romance about Alpha Force, a covert military unit of shapeshifters. Looks as if I may be writing another Alpha Force story, too. And a different Harlequin Romantic Suspense series as well. It’s not completely decided yet, but I’m excited.

Meanwhile, I had a great time at the RWA National Conference last month. Hope you did, too. And I’m planning on attending this month’s OCC meeting, and I hope to see you there as well!

Linda O. Johnston

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Coming Out of the Writing Closet

August 5, 2016 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz tagged as 2016 RWA National Conference, John Bucholtz, Kitty Bucholtz, middle-grade fiction, Tracy Reed

Hi OCC Family. I am still recuperating from my first RWA Conference last month. The conference reminded me of one of the trade shows I attend. Itâ€™s also like going to a place youâ€™ve always wanted to go. Youâ€™re exhausted, but want to see and do everything because itâ€™s your first time and you paid for it.

This month, I wanted to introduce you to a new writer, John Bucholtz. If the name sounds familiar, it should be, because itâ€™s Kitty Bucholtzâ€™s husband. John is new to writing, and I think youâ€™ll enjoy hearing from him.

Enjoy the post and Iâ€™ll update you next month on my 12 Titles project.

Tracy

Heeerrrreeeâ€™s Johnâ€¦

Coming Out of the Writing Closet

A couple weeks ago, I chose to come out of the writing closet.

No, Mom, I haven’t lost my mind.

No, my marriage to my wife is okay.

I have decided to come out and tell everyone â€“ I’m a writer. I have spent years hiding the fact that I write fiction from most of my friends and family. For some odd reason, I associated some sort of stigma to it. I always pictured stoop-shouldered figures bent over their computers writing for hours on end, finally emerging into the sunlight to scuttle off and toil away at their day jobs. People would look after them, shaking their heads and whispering to each other, “Oh, he says he’s a writer, but he still has a day job. He must not be serious.”

But I discovered I was completely wrong.

Writing is a passion. Writing is an art like painting or drawing that you want to share with the world. Writing isn’t just about trying to get published and make lots of money. (Well, okay, I would be lying to say I wouldn’t mind something like that.) It’s about sharing an adventure with someone else. It’s taking someone and showing them a world that you find interesting, amusing, and yes, maybe even scary. You write because there are these voices in your head that whisper to you to tell a story. (Please be careful what kind of voices they are â€“ some require therapy.)

But I guess writing is a type of therapy for many of us. We do it to quiet the voices in our heads. We do it to finally put words to the pictures and images we see that we think the world might find interesting, to situations that we find humorous, or to an adventure we want friends to undertake with us.

I went to the Romance Writers of America (RWA) National Conference in San Diego in July with my wife. It was my first ever writing conference, the first time I thought about trying to be taken seriously as a writer. This conference was good for me on so many levels. Not only did I meet seasoned veterans of the writing world, but I had the opportunity to meet a handful of literary agents and a smattering of book publishers.

I ran into a surprising number of wide-eyed and slightly frightened first-time attendees like me. It was comforting to see their mutual excitement and nervousness at being at a national conference attended by their peers. The classes not only catered to the romance crowd, but many of the classes could be applied to the writing of any genre. (For instance, I write books for junior high boys.) And the energy and plain helpful attitude of the more experienced attendees and staff quickly made me a little less nervous and more excited in attending the first of what I hope will be many writing conferences and seminars in the future.

My wife told me something after my first day there that I quickly found true: “I think you’re going to find that these are your people.” I was surrounded by other people who heard the little voices in their heads, who created strange worlds and the many characters who inhabited them and the adventures they went on. My wife was one hundred percent correct.

So I’m here to say to the world: Hello, my name is John Bucholtz, and I am a writer.

John Bucholtz

Middle-grade author, husband, artist, funny guy but easily distracte…

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Books That Helped Me Start Writing Again #amwriting

July 17, 2016 by Linda McLaughlin in category The Romance Journey by Linda Mclaughlin tagged as #amwriting, Linda McLaughlin, Procrastination, writers block

I’m finally writing again after a long hiatus, thanks to the wonderful Speed Writing class I took this year, taught by M.M. Pollard. Here are three of the books that helped me to get back on track.

The 8-Minute Writing Habit: Create a Consistent Writing Habit That Works With Your Busy Lifestyle
(Growth Hacking For Storytellers)
by Monica Leonelle
Spaulding House, 2015

This book was recommended in the fabulous online Speed Writing class taught by M. M. Pollard for OCCRWA, and it’s the method that helped me break a long-standing writers block. I tried the 8 by 8 Challenge, which required me to write at least 8 minutes every day for 8 days. After the first couple of days, I was writing for more than 8 minutes. And now I have a first draft of my novel. Color me happy.

Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind
(The 99U Book Series)
by Jocelyn K. Glei
Amazon Publishing 2013
I’ve been listening to the audiobook in the car, and I am really loving this book/ I expect I will read/listen to it more than once. Glei includes lots of ideas from other people, to wit:

Featuring contributions from: Dan Ariely, Leo Babauta, Scott Belsky, Lori Deschene, Aaron Dignan, Erin Rooney Doland, Seth Godin,Todd Henry, Christian Jarrett, Scott McDowell, Mark McGuinness, Cal Newport, Steven Pressfield, Gretchen Rubin, Stefan Sagmeister, Elizabeth G. Saunders, Tony Schwartz, Tiffany Shlain, Linda Stone, and James Victore. Plus, a foreword from Behance founder & CEO Scott Belsky.

I’m not familiar with most of these people, but their ideas are thought-provoking and useful. For instance, setting time aside in your weekly schedule for those big projects, and if someone wants to do something else at that time, just tell them, “Sorry, I have an appointment.” It’s okay to make an appointment with yourself. Another compared time to a jar of rocks. If you put the big rocks in first, the little ones will squeeze in around them. If you fill the jar with little rocks, sand and water, there may not be any room for the big rocks.

A similar idea to that last one is…

Eat that Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
by Brian Tracy
Berrett-Koehler Publishers 2007

I’ve only read about 20% of the book, but am finding it quite interesting. The frog quote comes from Mark Twain, who said that if you have to eat a frog, do it first. If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first. In other words, tackle the big, important tasks first while you have the energy to deal with them. Good advice. Too bad I don’t take it more often. Guess I better finish reading the book!

But first it’s time to tackle those revisions!

I’m re-working a sensual Western historical romance called Lily and the Gambler. An abbreviated version of the story was published by Amber Quill Press as a mildly erotic romance. I’ve lengthened the book considerably, revised the plot, and plan to self-publish it some time this year. It really does feel good to be writing again.

Linda McLaughlin
aka Lyndi Lamont
website: http://lindalyndi.com

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