Cons of fall, football and set your clocks back!

Halloween is tomorrow.

I guess I'll finally have to admit that its fall.

I love fall, don't get me wrong, but that means ... bad things are coming.

Things that build up and must be shoveled away. 

Things that cover the cars and sidewalks and must constantly be cleared.

Things that make you go ... brrrrrrr.

Not looking forward to that.

Bleh.

***

So, my son's team (barely) made it into the playoffs this season, which means, I thought I was done with football but I'm not.

Practice is still going three days a week and they have their first playoff game this Saturday. If they lose they're done, if they win they play another game.

I honestly don't know which to root for. :)

***

This weekend we lose an hour of our day. Or, gain one. I can never remember which one does which.

It's hard to believe that we can make computers the size of a phone (smaller actually) and yet we can't seem to get over this antiquated schedule.

Rob Schneider always cracked me up about setting the clocks back. It's right after the part about how the word 'Dude' has more than one meaning.

***

Don't forget The Insecure Writer's Support Group post will be November 6, 2013!

And...

The Resurrection Blogfest II will be November 7, 2013!

Workin' hard or hardly workin' eh?

Spent quite a bit of time last week trying to help others during the Writers Helping Writers Amazing Race with Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. It was really great to be a part of their project. They're wrapping it up today but they still have a bit more to giveaway so don't forget to stop in once more.

I've been working hard on Maguire's Corner 2. Still haven't named it yet but I have a good idea for one. Right now, its just easier to call it MC2. :)

I have a bunch of scenes written in my notebook that I need to transfer so I'll be working on that this week, in case I get all quiet and go missing again, you know why.

It's brush fire season here in NY. Dry conditions plus fall leaves plus careless humans. The volunteers have been out most of the weekend trying to keep ahead of them.

Mount Eve - Sunday 5:20 am / Photo: Thom Cronin

That's about all I've got right now!

Happy Monday!

WHW Amazing Race Day 3 & FPR Tailgate Winners!

If you have not checked out or participated in the Writers Helping Writers Amazing Race going on over at Writers Helping Writers: Home of the Bookshelf Muse from Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!

It's DAY 3 and they are still going strong helping out writers every single day this week and giving out prizes!

I'm so glad to be a part of this. I'm not a professional anything but I'm hoping that my simple unbiased advice to other writer's helps them in some way. The feedback I've gotten from them so far has been really great. I guess we are actually helping each other.

Please head over to check out all the goodness. Maybe you will see a category (there are 10) that you wouldn't mind a little help with! It's as simple as filling out an online form and sitting back waiting for a reply.

***

If you entered the Front Porch Romance October Tailgate Hop Giveaway...here is a list of the winners.

~ Tailgate Winners ~
1 – April Warren – Winner of ‘What Goes Around’ by Anne Bikov and ‘Charity’s Heart’ by Sofia Diana Gabel.
2 – Tiffany Seiler Roe – Winner of a $10.00 gift certificate from Front Porch Romance and ‘Coming Home’ by Misty Matthews.
3 – Christa Simpson –Winner of ‘The Captain’s Promise’ by Susanne Matthews and ‘The Rock Star’s Girls’ by Tasha Taylor.
4 – Erin Thompson – Winner of ‘Maguire’s Corner’ by Heather M. Gardner and ‘Stolen Treasures’ by Christy Newton.
5 – Danielle Sharon Saffell – Winner of ‘The Makeover’ by Monica Garry-Allen and ‘The Rebel’s Promise’ by Jane Godman.
Front Porch Romance ~ http://www.frontporchromance.com/

Congrats to you all and we hope you enjoy the reads!

***

I have a tiny pet peeve that I'd like to get off my chest.

This past month held the So You Think You Can Write contest from HQN/MB. You might remember me talking about it incessantly last year.

I did not participate this year. I already know that I'm not the kind of writer that HQN is looking for.

But, I kept an eye on things via Twitter, remembering all the excitement and the new friends that I had made a year ago.

What I can't fathom is why some of these writers would enter a contest this established with an unfinished manuscript.

Many of them were talking about finishing the MS before the contest deadline. Even after they had chosen the Top 50 I saw a few were scrambling to finish writing before they had to email their whole MS to HQN.

Now, I get editing. We can edit our own work until the day its published and even after. We will always find something we think needs fixin'.

But, not to have a finished their MS before they entered? How can you even like your own MS without an ending? How do you edit and polish it to the gold-standard when you only wrote it an hour before?

Maybe its just me.

 

Writers Helping Writers Amazing Race Day! / Rafflecopter Book Giveaway!

It's day ONE of the Writers Helping Writer (WHW) Amazing Race!

Click HERE for all the news from Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi about the race and all the prizes!

Have a query you’d like help with? Maybe a first line hook or a pitch you need critiqued? How about some help with your platform, online visibility or advice on how to get published?

Fill out a quick FORM to get some individual help from a great list of authors on any problem with writing that you might have!

Then, sit back and wait for the answers to come to you! It's going on all week and Angela and Becca are hoping to help 2000 writers!

***

Tools.

They're important in all different types of work. Writing is no exception.

One invaluable tool that I used writing Maguire's Corner was The Emotion Thesaurus.

This is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.

I use it every time I write.

Now, Angela and Becca have made our lives even easier! Today is release day for two new books to help us be the best writers that we can be!

I can't wait to get my hands on these! I've already heard great things about them both and really, I don't think you could have one without the other.

Best of luck to Angela and Becca on their big day!

***

Don't forget!!!

Today is the last day of the Front Porch Romance October Tailgate Hop!

Head on over to the Front Porch Romance blog to see some other great blogs from FPR authors and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway, which includes an e-book of Maguire's Corner!

All winners will be announced on Tuesday, October 22nd.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Front Porch Romance Tailgate Party! Rafflecopter Book Giveaway!

It's my favorite time of year! Time for college football! Well, I like pro-football, too but I watch more college.

Currently, I don't get to do a lot of tailgating but, it can be a lot of fun.

There is nothing like hanging out with your friends and family, eating great food, drinking adult beverages and then heading in to a stadium to cheer on your favorite team!

It does get a little chilly outside this time of year in NY/NJ so you have to make sure to bring LOTS of coffee and hot chocolate!

Maguire's Corner doesn't mention football but in my second novel, in the series, there is a football player named Rhys 'Mac' MacGrath who is going to make Doctor Kate Maguire's life a little more interesting.

'Rhys'

Care to see some more visual inspiration for the the book? Check them out HERE.

What's almost as cool as football?

Winning free stuff!

Head on over to the Front Porch Romance blog for the FPR October Tailgate Hop to see some other great blogs from FPR authors and make sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway, which includes an e-book of Maguire's Corner!

All winners will be announced on Tuesday, October 22nd


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Do you like to tailgate? 

The 13th Floor Complete Collection - Christine Rains!

HOLY FOX MULDER!!!

If you haven't read all of these fantastic stories yet...you are missing out on some great characters, awesome adventures and an amazing thrill ride.

Each story is unique and fun but they all have elements that tie them together.

I've told you about them before but if you've missed the posts, check out HERE and HERE.

If you haven't read them before...now is the time to get the complete collection ALL IN ONE BOOK!!!

 

Six novellas telling their tales.

A retired demon acquires a price on his head.

A werewolf is hunted by her pack.

A modern day dragonslayer misses his target.

A harpy challenges Zeus for the soul of the man she loves.

A vampire is obsessed with a young woman he can't find.

A banshee falls in love with someone who's death she has seen in a vision.

And a sweet ghost must battle a primal monster to save them all.

All the stories take place at the same time intertwining their lives together on the 13th Floor.

Includes “The Shadow,” a bonus short story.

***

What's that? A bonus short story?

Yes!

You read that correctly!

This story ROCKS!!

Loyalty. Love.

Helplessness. Hope.

Passion. Pain.

Darkness.

Shadows.

Galen is awesomely frightening and incredibly desirable. Handsome and deadly.

Veenya is a fierce warrior and a faithful woman. She is beauty personified.

Together they're on fire.

Apart ... well ... there is hope.

***

As for all of Christine's books, I highly recommend this one as well.

She drop kicks you into a completely amazing story and won't let you go until you've had the time of your life but not before she wrings every drop out of your heart.

Thank you, Christine! Best of luck and please keep writing more adventures for us!!

***

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/13th-Floor-Complete-Collection-ebook/dp/B00FF9QF3W

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-13th-floor-complete-collection-christine-rains/1116984997?ean=2940148537786

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/the-13th-floor-complete-collection

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/360987

Author Bio:

Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The 13th Floor series is her first self-published series. She has eight novellas and twenty-one short stories published.

Website: http://christinerains.net/

Blog: http://christinerains-writer.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinerains

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@CRainsWriter

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4017568.Christine_Rains 

Don't worry Xan. You're still my favorite, Dragonslayer. xxoo

Time Travel? Yes, please! - Where & When would Stormy & I go? PK Hrezo's cover reveal!

If I could walk into a time travel agency and book a time trip, where and when would I book it, and why?

I'm still choosing so I'll let Stormy the Weather Gnome go first.

***

This is Stormy the Weather Gnome! Time Travel? Where & when would I go? That's easy! I'd go back to the 1800's and go visit Phillip Griebel, the German sculptor who created garden gnomes, and thank him for making ME so AWESOME!

 ***

Well, that's hard to top!

So, where and when would I go? I'm a big fan of the old west. Of course, it's not easy being a woman in any time period in our history, and the old west is no exception, but I think living in the USA at this time would be pretty amazing. Most of the land was still unpopulated and beautiful. Everything was built by hand with craftsmanship and pride. If you wanted something you had to work your ass off for it. It was a harder life but a simple lifestyle.

Hopefully I don't screw up the present when I tell them about the pizza oven!

***

And now.... the cover reveal...

  

Welcome to Butterman Travel, Incorporated

We are a full service agency designed to meet all your exclusive time travel needs. Family-owned and operated, we offer clients one hundred years of time travel experience. A place where you can rest assured, safety and reliability always come first.

Anxious to attend a special event from the past? Or for a glimpse of what the future holds?

You’ve come to the right place. We’re a fully accredited operation, offering an array of services; including, but not limited to: customized travel plans, professionally piloted operations, and personal trip guides. *Terms and conditions do apply

Conference us directly from our Website. Our frontline reservation specialist, Bianca Butterman, will handle all your inquiries in a professional and efficient manner, offering a tentative itinerary and free fare quote, so you can make the most of your time trip.

We look forward to serving you at Butterman Travel, Inc., where time is always in your hands.  

RELEASE DATE: 11-12-13 (November 12, 2013)

PK Hrezo is a native Floridian whose life could easily be a Jimmy Buffet song. She shares her home with her firefighter husband and their two children. When not creating characters and their worlds, PK can be found at her other job of rearranging passenger’s itineraries for a major international airline. The only hobbies she loves more than traveling, are reading, writing, and music, and when the four are combined she exists in total bliss. 

  

She blogs regularly at PK HREZO: Fearless Fiction http://pk-hrezo.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/PKHrezo  @pkhrezo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpkhrezo

Website http://down-the-rabbithole.com/

***

Best of luck to you PK! I love your cover and I can't wait to read your book!