Reading Update and Headed to Dragon Con

As you’re reading this, I’m headed to Atlanta and… Dragon Con! They said they were capping attendance at around 40K (less than half that attended in 2019 and about the number that attended at my first DC in 2010), requiring masks, and you must show proof of vaccination or a COVID-free test (taken within the past 72 hours), so that’s great. Of course, they’re also limiting how many people can go into the rooms for panels. I don’t see where that matters so much, unless they’re purposely spreading the chairs apart. Which could be what they’re doing. We’ll see.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 44

Dates read: August 21-28, 2021
Title: Ghost Shadow
Year of publication: 2010
Author: Heather Graham
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Series: The Bone Island Trilogy #1
# of Pages: 351
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: There are those who walk among us who are no longer alive, but not yet crossed over. They seek retribution…vengeance…to warn. Among the living, few intuit their presence.
    Katie O’Hara is one who can.
    As she’s drawn deeper and deeper into a gruesome years-old murder, whispered warnings from a spectral friend become more and more insistent. But Katie must uncover the truth: could David Beckett really be guilty of his fiancée’s murder?
    Worse—the body count’s rising on the Island of Bones, and the dead seem to be reenacting some macabre tableaux from history. The danger is increasing by the moment—especially as Katie finds herself irresistibly drawn to David, who may be responsible for more than just one killing…
My thoughts: I really liked this. It’s set in Key West, a city I really came to like when we visited for a few days way back in 2019. Oh, and I liked the ghosts, too (which is the main reason I bought the book to read).

FYI: The e-book box set for Books 4-6 of the Bitten by Love series is now available! So now you can get the whole series in two box sets for less than purchasing them separately. That’s a great deal, don’t you think? You can purchase it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo, Google, or Smashwords.

I bought a white board to help me get my timeline straight on Ghostly Protector. I realized I created a huge mess when I moved scenes around (and of course, I don’t remember why…). That could be why my brain is having issues with moving forward on this project! I started to document the timeline, but stopped since I’ll be gone a week. I’ll only forget what I did (or why I did it—I know me too well), so better to wait and start when I return home. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself!

So… Got any plans this Labor Day?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Reading Update and I Started the Next Project

On Monday I finally came up with a decent title and on Tuesday, I started writing it. Yay! Book 7 of the Bitten by Love series (and my 11^th book!) will be titled Embracing Her Vampire. I think coming up with the title helped make me figure out what my story will be about. Kind of important, don’t you think?

Yeah, I still have to revise Ghostly Protector, but I’m not ready for that, yet. I’m still learning about police officers/detectives (my hero character is one) and need to get that all sorted out before I start making changes. And then I still have to decide whether or not my heroine character is biracial. I pictured her that way, but I still have to figure out why I did and if it matters. I always seem to create myself problems (or rather, deep-thinking) when it comes to the ghostly books. So glad I don’t have those issues with the vampire ones.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book #18

Dates read: April 24-25
Title: Amazon Decoded: A Marketing Guide to the Kindle Store
Year of publication: 2018
Author: David Gaughran
Genre: Non-fiction
Series: NA
# of Pages: 52
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Free for signing up for newsletter
Blurb from Goodreads:. The author of Let’s Get Digital and Let’s Get Visible is back to reveal the inner machinations of the biggest bookstore in the world. By reading Amazon Decoded: A Marketing Guide To The Kindle Store, you will:
    *Learn what “visibility marketing” is and how factoring Amazon’s bookselling philosophy into your promotions can boost your sales;
    *Discover what goes into Sales Rank and dispel some remarkably common myths in the process;
    *Understand the critical differences between the Best Seller list and the Popularity list, and why that is important for marketing strategy.
    And you will get practical, actionable advice, turning all this new knowledge into marketing plans you can implement right away.
My thoughts: I learned a little from this book. I’m trying to understand Amazon ads and this was a good overview of the Kindle store and how it works.

Book #19

Dates read: April 21-28
Title: A Bad Day for Sunshine
Year of publication: 2020
Author: Darynda Jones
Genre: Romantic suspense
Series: Sunshine Vicram #1
# of Pages: 390
Paper or plastic: Hardback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Book:. Del Sol, New Mexico, is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee—and now, a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff—thanks to her adorably meddlesome parents who nominated her—and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter’s new school, plus a kidnapped prize-winning rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.
    But even clouds have their silver linings. This one’s got Levi, Sunshine’s sexy, almost-old flame, and a fiery-hot U.S. Marshal. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol’s normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger. Can Sunshine face the call of duty—and find the kidnapper who’s terrorizing her beloved hometown—without falling head-over-high-heels in love…or worse?

My thoughts: While Darynda Jones is better known for her urban fantasy books, this one doesn’t have any paranormal/supernatural stuff going on. And I was okay with that. I enjoyed reading this (still has her wonderful humor). Just wish it hadn’t ended on a semi-cliffhanger. I understand it’s a series, but I still don’t like cliffhangers. Makes me feel like I didn’t get the whole book, ya know?

So… if you’re a writer, do you need a title before you can start writing? How about an outline? Thankfully, I don’t need one of those. I might try to come up with a blurb (or copy ad). That helps sometimes, too. But not an outline. I like the discovery of issues/conflicts as I write the story. That’s what makes writing fun for me. And if you’re not a writer, ever think about being one?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Ghostly Interlude and Box Set Out Now

So glad to finally post the buy links to my two latest books. One a new book in the Ghostly Encounters series, the other a box set of the Bitten by Love series.

GHOSTLY INTERLUDE (Book 2 in the Ghostly Encounters series).

Release date is 2-27, but you can pre-order your copy now.

Maggie Russell—legal assistant by day, horror writer by night—gets the scare of her life when she wakes up in a strange café without any idea of how she got there. But if she tells anyone about her sleepwalking escapades, she could lose her grandmother’s house, and she’d fought so hard to keep it.

Dean Parker is a private investigator whose office is next door to Maggie’s law firm. He’s been eyeing the pretty brunette ever since she started working there, but getting involved with anyone isn’t in his game plan. When he finds out she’s been having sleeping problems, he suspects her money-grubbing cousin is involved. Instead, he discovers something worse: a ghost is living with Maggie and it appears another may be possessing her.

Dean is determined to help Maggie rid her home of the uninvited guests. He just never figured his attraction to her would be reciprocated. Keeping his distance is no longer an option, though. If he fails, Maggie could very well be possessed forever.

PRE-ORDER LINKS:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2DUOFyh

B&N: http://bit.ly/2GDg3OQ

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2BJJwDb

Apple: https://apple.co/2DSZwVl

 

BITTEN BY LOVE SERIES, BOOKS 1-3.

Available now.

This box set includes the first three books in the Bitten by Love series: My Sunny Vampire; Bite Me, I’m Yours; and Blind Temptation.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2DLRAZR

B&N: http://bit.ly/2DFq38f

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2BOJSYX

Apple: https://apple.co/2nxepGz

So… Are you planning on watching the Super Bowl? Do you make it a big party with friends and food? Or do you make it a quiet time so you can watch the commercials? Or do you say, “The heck with all that, I’m watching the Puppy Bowl!”?

Happy Ground Hog’s Day! There better not be six more weeks of winter!!

Stacy

One Down, One to Go!

One down: I finally, FINALLY, released my box set of Books 1-3 of the Bitten by Love series. Now I just have to wait for it to appear in the stores (which means, I don’t have any buy links yet). But whew, glad that’s over with.

One to go: I also finally, FINALLY, have Ghostly Interlude ready to go. Just have to look over the formatting (because yes, it’s actually formatted!). And I have selected a release date: February 27. Don’t know how much I’ll get done between then and now, but hey, I’ll give it a go. I’ve never done pre-orders before. I can’t imagine it’d be any worse than if I just published it right away. We’ll see…

So I expect I’ll have BUY LINKS for both books by Wednesday. Which is good. I’ve got a newsletter to write and send out this month!

Aaack! I guess I better get crackin’!

I did pretty good with the Sizzle & Sass Facebook page last week. All the data (reach, interaction) was up quite a bit from the previous week. Although at times it didn’t feel like I was doing anything worthwhile. When no one comments (and after asking questions, too), it can get a person down. But I did my best. That’s all I can do, right?

So… Did you watch the Grammy’s last night? They don’t announce all that many awards anymore, huh? But they still give out a lot. Have to say, I listen to the radio (mostly alternate rock), but didn’t know a lot of the singers on stage. Then again, I don’t listen to the R&B station. That might be why. Oh, but I do like Bruno Mars and happy he won a few of the awards.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Hello, Russia!

I get a lot of page views from Russia. I have no idea who or why. Spam bots? Who knows! But I thought I would recognize that country anyway, since they seem to stop by a lot.

One of these days I will feature a Russian vampire in one of my books. I’ve got notes and phrases written down, as well as character names (heck, Alexi Popolov is mentioned in Blind Temptation). That story will most likely end up being the last of the Bitten by Love books, so I’m a ways from doing that.

Right now I’m focusing on finishing Ghostly Interlude and then wonder… should there be a book 3 in that series? I really have NO IDEA what it would be based on. I’m hoping it comes to me during revisions. Book 2 did during revisions of Book 1 in that series, so I have hope. And if I don’t come up with something, I have my alien series to think about, too. I really would like to have a second book started in that series before I go looking for an agent. Again… IDEA.

Sometimes I think I fried my brain.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I think the weather is supposed to warm up here—in the 50s!!

So… What are your plans for the weekend? Besides a hair appointment, it’ll be fairly quiet. I won’t know what to do with myself!

Stacy