Get Hooked on Tingle

Happy Wednesday! It's time for Book Hooks blog hop Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. The authors in this hop are showcasing one of their books or works in progress. Be sure to check out the list of participants links at the bottom of this post, and don't forget to leave a comment would love to hear from you!

Get hooked on Tingel 
Tingle is a collection of flash fiction with a darker edge of the paranormal, suspense, and horror genres to make a readers spine tingle and provoke the senses and emotions.

An excerpt from one of Tingle's stories The Rosary

 He took a deep breath to clear the distraction his focus on God as he continued to pray.

A soft giggle broke the silence; Father McKenna opened his eyes and fell backward with a startled breath. A young woman stood behind the stone cross her arms wrapped around it. Her petite fingers covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. 

Her eyes were dark sunken into her face as though it had been a hundred years since she last slept. McKenna could feel darkness in her. “The church is open for prayer. The rectory is private, my child.”

The girl, no thing… pushed from the stone, her tongue slowly moved across her bottom lip. “Child? Priest… you’re not even old enough to be my father.”

McKenna stilled as she stood over him. His eyes couldn’t focus on her face, dizziness fell on him.

She… it, bent to bring her face to his and sniffed at the air before him, then again at his neck. McKenna’s pulse jumped as she moved closer, her lip curled wickedly. “I smell fear on your skin. Is your faith not strong enough?”

                                                      Get your copy of Tingle

Visit other participating authors and get hooked on more books!

Sweet Potatoes, Croquet, and Summer Fun for Authors!

Summer is fast approaching and our muses are itching to get out and enjoy the sunshine. It’s a great time to pack that picnic basket with crowd pleasing treats like Sweet Potato Croquettes.

Sweet Potato Croquettes are quick and easy to whip up. Toss these ingredients in your shopping cart:

1 box corn flake cereal

1 40oz can yams (you can use candied if you prefer)

1 bag mini marshmallows

Cinnamon or Allspice

When you get home put that watermelon in the fridge to chill then preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Next you can get rid of all your pent up noveling anxiety by crushing the corn flakes, don’t make them too fine though you want some nice bits.

Now put the yams in a bowl and mix with cinnamon or allspice to taste. Once thoroughly mixed roll yams in ping pong or golf ball size balls with a marshmallow or two in the center.

Next just roll the yam balls in the crushed corn flakes until coated and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Once all rolled pop your croquettes into the oven for 15-20 minutes or until done.

While you’re waiting for your Sweet Potato Croquettes you can grab your mallet and try to get through the wickets or… You can hop online and make sure you’re signed up for Marketing for Romance Writers.org’s  A Taste of Summer Camp.

This three-day summer conference taking place July 12th thru 14th won’t disappoint. There will be great opportunities for learning, sharing and don’t forget the prizes! The best part it’s FREE. That’s right a free, online conference with goodies to boot.

Don’t miss out just because Romance is in the name. MFRW supports all genres and most classes can be applied to all areas of marketing and writing. The group’s motto says it all. Seek, Teach, Share, Learn, Succeed.

Registering for the conference is easy just join MFRW’sYahoo group and you’ll be in the loop for A Taste of Summer Camp.

Now mark your calendar, get those Sweet Potato Croquettes out of the oven, and get started on your summer fun! Be sure to keep a look out for more Taste of Summer blog posts from fellow MFRW members as we spread the news about this awesome event.

Quintessential Author Groups

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place every November and writers gather worldwide in an attempt to pen a 50,000 word novel rough draft in 30 days. Yes, this is an author essential in my humble opinion. Not because of the challenge and insane rush to finish the manuscript. Though that is a blast! The reason is that NaNoWriMo builds writer communities.

NaNo encourages Meetups with groups of authors to gather, write and mentor each other both online and in our hometowns. This community can be rewarding to authors in on many levels both personal and professional. I’ve sold a few books at events and meets. I’ve also had the honor of seeing and helping new writers grow and young writers fall in love with the written word.

Even if you never make it to the 50k finish line NaNoWriMo is very much worth the time and energy. The friendships you make and the wonderful things you’ll learn about yourself and your writing and opportunities gained during NaNo events makes it quintessential for every writer.

NaNoWriMo

Marketing for Romance Writers Organization (MFRW)

The group's motto says it all, “Seek, Teach, Share, Learn, Succeed.” MFRW offers a great deal to its

membership. The focus is on learning marketing and publicity to help build our platforms and further our professional careers. They offer free classes and workshops to members and membership is also free.

They also help promote their members with blog hops, the MFRW Banner Project, free adverts in the monthly newsletter, spotlights on the new MFRW Blog Talk Radio show, Author blog, Marketing Blog, Pintrest pages…. The list goes on and on with the ways they reach out for their members.

This is a fantastic time to join with this organization as well. Coming up in July will be the 2^nd annual MFRW Summer Camp. 2 days of free workshops, prizes, and opportunities. I was a part of last year's camp and I have to tell you it was a blast and I learned so much from the classes offered.

They also offer a Pitch Camp where they teach you how to pitch your work to publishers then give you the opportunity to do just that! Check out their site and see the bounty for yourself. Membership is free so really what do you have to lose? Don’t worry about that word Romance in the name, there are authors of all genres in the group.

Marketing for Romance Writers Ogranization

EPIC: Electornic Publishing Industry Coalition

This group has been The Voice of Publishing since 1998, just as their tagline says. I have recently become a member of the organization and the more I learn the more I fall in love with it.

EPIC doesn’t promote your work but they support you as an industry professional from authors, epublishers, editors and more. They offer networking, workshops, guidance and knowledge on the trends and world of this growing industry.

Each year they hold EPICon with more of these great opportunities. In 2014 EPICon will be in Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas so you know this will be a huge event!

That competition mentioned earlier The EPIC eBook Competiton, entries begin on June 1^st for members and non EPIC members. Let’s not forget the Ariana eBook Cover Competition and the New Voices Young Writers Competition all entries starting June 1^st.

EPIC has something for everyone and what better way to keep your finger on the pulse of the eIndustry than with The Voice of ePublishing.  

EPIC

Three quintessential groups for an author to build, learn and stay on top of their personal and professional writing life.

Do belong to an organization or group that is quintessential to your write life?

This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge for the letter Q 

Kings and a Lady

Jake splashed the pot, all his chips tumbled haphazard about the center of the table. “Are you in little lady?”

The saloon hushed to a few whispers as Caroline looked up from her cards. There was only a glimpse of her confidence being shaken as her eyes glanced the cards again before tapping their worn edges on the table. “I was all in the last hand, Mr. Landry. I’m afraid I’ve nothing left to meet your raise.”

His lip turned up into a wicked curve as he leaned back in the chair. He unabashedly let her see him perusing her ‘goods’. “Oh I think you have something you can ante, darling.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Sir, I turn cards not tricks.” 

Boisterous laughter filled the room, more at her expense than his. Jake didn’t mind, he liked her moxie. In the six hours of the tournament, she matched a man’s skill with cards and wit, not to mention matching him drink for drink.

He leaned back and took a deep drag from his cigar and blew the smoke across the table toward her pretty face. When she didn’t blink or complain he grinned. “How do I know you don’t have an ace stuffed up in your petticoat to slip into that pretty hand?”

Caroline folded her cards and lay them face down on the green mat. She unbuttoned the top side buttons of her skirt and stood. A moment later her petticoat lay across the table. “A lady never cheats, Mr. Landry.”

He snorted and sat up to caress the linen still warm from being so close to her skin. “I think we should call this and see who’s luck holds out, Miss Watson.”

She took her seat and fanned her cards back with one hand. The dealer looked between them feeling a bit overheated himself. “Show your hands, gentlemen…. Uh and Miss Watson.”

Jake laid his down first one at a time in a row for effect. “Full house, two jacks and triple nines.”

Caroline glanced over at the cards and pursed her lips. “That is a good hand, I’m not sure…”

She laid out her cards in their perfect fan for him and the dealer to see as she leaned over the table. “I’m not sure but I believe four kings beats a house. Is that correct, Mr. Alcott?”

It took a moment for the dealer to stop his gaze from moving further down her neckline. “Um, yes.. Yes Miss Watson it does, indeed.”

A polite grin crossed her lips as she began to pile the cash and coins into the make shift bag from her petticoat. “Thank you, gentleman and Mr. Landry. It was a fine tournament.”

Jake swore and tossed his cigar on the floor and stood over her. He gripped her wrist and held it tight. “You playin me for a fool?”

She looked up into those dark eyes and grinned then let them openly drift down to take in his ‘goods’ as he had her. “Play nice, Mr. Landry and we both might get lucky tonight.”

Caroline reached up and grabbed his shirt collar. She pulled him over the table to meet her lips then let go.

Jake half over the table and off balance tumbled back onto the floor. She tossed her room key on his chest and picked up her petticoat bag of winnings. “Be a gent and give a girl some time to freshen up.”

She walked calmly up the stairs then into her room. Once the door closed and locked, she dropped the petticoat and its contents into her open, waiting carpetbag. She opened the window and grinned at the weight of her bag as she hefted it onto the roof. “The lady, got lucky tonight.” 

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Firsts MFRW Bloghop

      Welcome to Firsts the first blog hop sponsored by Marketing for Romance Writers.org. Here on Gladiator's Pen I have an excerpt from Don't Touch coming to Amazon and Smashwords soon! For the first time Ryan finds an answer to what is happening to her, and she and Detective Jackson Prince meet for the first time. Be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win an ecopy of this book when it's released the first week of March! 

Don't Touch Blurb:

Detective Jackson Prince has to find a serial killer before he strikes again. Reclusive ex forensic pathologist Ryan Reign is the only one who can help him. One problem, she can’t touch without experiencing sometimes frightening visions. Can Jackson find a way to touch her heart so they can stop the killer?  

Excerpt    

        It had been months since she had ventured outside of her lawn. Ryan didn’t understand what was happening to her at first. Since the incident on her last day at work, she has tried to make sense of it. Or at least find out what it was and how to stop it.

            She sat at the computer nursing a cup of cocoa February in Florida was the dead of winter. It would be up in the seventies in another week but right now it was in the forties. Ryan was searching the net for the gazillionth time. VISIONS, VISIONS BY TOUCH, PSYCHIC were the search words she used. The screen blinked and an all too familiar list popped up. Near the bottom of the page was something different. “The Circle.”

            Clicking the link she waited not expecting anything. The site came up and they had all the usual. Tarot, crystals, books, psychic readings. “Usual BS, I could have just gone to Cassadaga for that.”

            Cassadaga fancied themselves the psychic capital. Might be, the entire town was palm readers, mind readers, astrologists, numerologist, you name the psychic brand and there was a store front for it. In the past they have had to block the town off on Friday the thirteenth and Halloween due to all the traffic and weirdness.

            Just as she rolled over to exit the page she saw a flashing box. “Have a question about your gift? No, I have a question about my curse though.”

            She typed in a brief description of her problem. When I touch stuff I see things. Am I crazy? Hitting send with her email, attached Ryan sat back and felt the sting of tears. How much more can she cry? Every day for the last who knows how long now she cried. About to sign off her mailbox blinked.

Hi Ryan,

            My name is Barbara. I have a gift like yours, it is called psychometry. Or object reading. You can see bits of others lives by touching things they touched. Especially when the emotions are strong.

            Ryan blinked psycom-a what? Object reading? Barbara went on to explain the positive and negative hands, one leaves an imprint the other can read it.  She shook her head and clicked reply. “I don’t care how it works. How do I turn it off?” Send. A few minutes later.

            You can’t turn it off. You can learn to control it. Which hand is your positive hand? The one you “see” with. It is usually the hand you write with. Use the opposite one more until you get control of your gift.

            “Get control! I want it gone!” She screamed furious. She hadn’t been able to go anywhere or even touch her sister without some kind of vision haunting her. Angry, she signed off and paced the floor.

           

            They pulled up into the driveway of an old Victorian home on the lake. Not many of these homes lasted through the ages but this one had been kept pristine. The detectives walked up the porch and noticed the furniture was covered in plastic sheets. Maybe the good doctor was gone on holiday, or playing a round of golf.  Thomas knocked on the door. The door opened a crack, he held up his badge. “Good afternoon, I’m Detective Thomas Lord and this is my partner Jackson Prince, is Dr. Reign home?”

            Ryan stepped back and wiped her face then opened the door a bit wider. “I’m Dr. Reign, is there a problem detective?”

            Jackson stepped closer to the door. “Dr. Ryan Reign?”

            Her eyes narrowed a bit. “Yes, Dr. Ryan Reign. Want to see my drivers license, Detective Prince or should I give it to his lordship?”

            Thomas shot Jackson a look then turned back and smiled warmly. “That won’t be necessary, I apologize we were uh… under the impression that…. Well what we’re here for is to ask you about one of the last cases you worked on.”

            She tilted her head a bit and glanced at the folder. “Which case?”

            Thomas opened the folder where she could see. “The murder of Jillian Hilliard.” The men watched as every bit of blood drained from her complexion. Ryan swayed and caught the door to stay upright. Jackson reached a steadying hand and she jumped back away from him.

            “Don’t! Don’t touch me! I’m… I’m sorry I can’t help you.” She slammed the door. Ryan leaned against the oak and slid to the floor sobbing hysterically as the vision she saw that day replayed its self. Only now it was worse she had a name to go with the horror she had to witness.

            Jackson shook his head as Thomas headed down the steps behind him. “I don’t understand, Jack, you were only trying to keep her from falling.”

            “I don’t’ think that was it. Every drop of blood drained from her body when you opened that file. What ever happened to her that day has that lady terrified.”

            That night Jackson couldn’t sleep. He had the sinking feeling this was going to get much worse before it got anywhere at all. 

What happens next? Well, your just going to have to get your copy of Don't Touch and find out. :) Leave a comment for your chance to win a free ecopy of Don't touch when it's re-released! To visit other blogs on this hop you can click on the Firsts Hop button at the top of this post. 

Summer Camps for Writers

Camp NaNoWriMo

June is right around the corner, which means summer, fun and… camp! Campfires with ghost stories, smores, hot dogs on sticks and writing lots and lots of writing.

Camp NaNoWriMo starts on June 1^st.  Just like it’s big brother NaNoWriMo that takes place in November writers gather to make the mad dash of 50,000 words in 30 days.

At Camp NaNo you have a profile, novel page, a place to log your word count as often as you wish to update it. Instead of forums, writers get a cabin with four other campers to chat with and share all the adventures.

This is a great way to give that novel a summer push. If one month of Camp NaNo is this much fun, how about two months?  There is a second session of camp that takes place in August. Writers can chose to do June, August or both. Despite the pressure to make that 17667 daily word count, the atmosphere of camp is more relaxed.

Marketing for Romance Writers Summer Camp

If you’re looking for a little less pressure July 14^th -15^th Marketing for Romance Writers is holding a free summer conference of their own.

A workshop called Opportunity knocks. MFRW’s motto is Seek, teach, learn, share succeed. The conference will cover many aspects of marketing for writers. The group is mostly romance writers but this conference will provide tools and information that all genres can put to use.

Author Dahlia DeWinters will be stopping by the Ludis June 1^st to tell you more about the event and group. So be sure to drop back by.

This summer there are many great opportunities for learning, writing and fun. So grab your backpack and bear repellent and let’s go to camp!