Five years ago ...

... I met several wonderful authors who helped me self-publish my first book, Dream Smashers. The authors of Darkside Publishing accepted me under their label and we took a voyage together into the new world of the Amazon and the sea of possibilities awaiting us in the scary unknown.

Times have changed since then. More than a handful of self-published authors have made best selling lists. Many are earning a decent living publishing their writing. And thousands more are still treading water. Every day hundreds of new authors emerge into the self-publishing world with a story to tell.

I'm happy with the decision I made five years ago. It's been a fun and challenging adventure with many more to come. New friends, stories, and feats to remember from the past five years and others to arrive for the next!

To celebrate, let's give away signed paper books from some of the authors who have supported and guided me in the beginning and even now. You do remember what paper books are, don't you?

 Attach on Phoenix: Forsaken Stars Saga #1 

by USA Today Bestselling Author 

Megg Jensen

Two hundred years ago, an interplanetary expedition crashed on a deserted planet. Their ship was destroyed. Their technology lost.

They built a new society while they waited for rescue. It never came.

Instead they caught the attention of the dragzhi, an aggressive alien species, and found themselves in the midst of a war they were doomed to lose.

Torsten Vikker, a soldier who’d rather read than fight, is on a mission to recover an artifact rumored to have the power to defeat the dragzhi. Rell, a woman raised in a cult, will stop at nothing to keep him away from what she holds sacred.

Yet, only together can they hope to save humanity from utter annihilation.

 Found: Penny Black Trilogy #1 

by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Penny Black hasn’t had it easy. Just about everything you’d expect to happen to a harassed foster-kid turned junkie has happened to Penny. Add in the mysterious power to rewind time, conducting events around her, and it’s a wonder she held up on the streets for so many years. Now, at seventeen, the New Society has found her. Finally, Penny is where she belongs. But that doesn’t stop the visions, or the need to protect the victims shown to her.

Wyatt Adams is excited and intrigued when his sister Melody assigns him to be Penny’s Lookout. Being the youngest, and hopelessly ordinary in the family that created the New Society, has left Wyatt feeling like he has a lot to prove — and Penny is a big deal. She’s got abilities that surpass any he’s seen before … and pretty much every quality he looks for in a girlfriend, but no one needs to know about that, especially Penny.

*The Penny Black trilogy is a companion to the Zellie Wells trilogy and not a continuation of the series.

*Due to language and sexuality, FOUND is recommended for older teens.

 Bloody Little Secrets 

by Karly Kirkpatrick

17-year-old Vicky Hernandez has a big problem. She's dead. Or not quite. After discovering she's been turned into a vampire, she tries to settle into a quiet suburb of Chicago and return to a normal life. If only she could stop wanting to bite her boyfriend. Not to mention she is dying to find out who turned her, and why. She doesn't have to wait long before they come to her.

 Grounded: The Grounded Trilogy #1 

by GP Ching

Faith kept her plain. Science made her complicated.

In the near future, an amish girl discovers she's the product of a government experiment gone awry.

In Hemlock Hollow, life isn't easy, but it is simple.  Things in my community haven’t changed much in over three hundred years, since the time my Amish ancestors came to what is now the Green Republic. I milk my cow by hand, make fresh bread every morning, and hope to be courted by Jeremiah, a boy I’ve known since childhood.

When my father falls ill, the English doctor says a hospital outside the wall can heal him. Jeremiah convinces me to go on rumspringa, to experience the outside world as an Englisher in order to be closer to my father during his recovery. Others have gone before me. They claim it’s an adventure. But adventure turns to horror as an ordinary light switch thrusts me into a new world, and revelations about my personal history make me question everything I believe. 

All my life I’ve worked to be simple. I can’t pretend anymore. Nothing about me is simple.

The McCall Initiative, Episodes 1.1 - 1.3 

by Lisa Nowak

What if the Pacific Northwest seceded from the United States? In 2063, it has.

The climate crisis that’s devastated all but the Northwest corner of the U.S. is the only reality Piper Hall has ever known. She doesn’t waste a thought on that, the secession that created Cascadia, or the closed border, erected to keep out climate refugees. With her family impoverished by her father’s death, she’s driven by just one goal—winning a scholarship to college and later med school.

When Piper’s little brother starts talking about poor people vanishing, she’s convinced the stories are just rumors. Then she comes home to an empty house. Branded a criminal and forced into hiding, Piper must fight for her freedom, her family, and her future. But those responsible for the disappearances will stop at nothing to protect their secrets, and the only person who can help might be the very boy whose family has displaced her own.

The McCall Initiative is a story told in serial form. If you’re a fan of edge-of-your-seat dystopian thrillers with a twist of romance, you’ll love Lisa Nowak’s glimpse at a future that’s all too plausible. Great for fans of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Legend.

A first edition copy of Dream Smashers 

by yours truly -- typos and all!

My name is Autumn Spring Winters. Right? What sane person names their kid after not only one season of the year, but three? Well, the last name was inherited, but still. Nobody ever said my mom was in her right mind, though. I often wonder what life would be like if she wasn’t a tweaker. But, you know, that’s just a daydream. Reality is she’s a meth addict. She’s been an addict for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I like to believe her when she says she’s clean. Sometimes, when she’s high, we get along great. Sometimes we even talk. When she’s coming down, though, it’s best to just hide.

My name is Autumn Spring Winters and Dream Smashers is my story. It’s a love story, but most of all, it’s about letting go.

_________________________________

To enter, you have to apparently visit my Facebook page. You don't have to "like" it or anything. I'm cheap and in order to use Rafflecopter for free (Because, let's face it, I'm a starving author--well, not starving because I eat a lot, but you know what I mean), I had to pick the least time consuming step for you to do in order to enter. I could have purchased a membership to give you more options, but we've covered why that isn't happening. So, please use the Rafflecopter below to enter.

I will email the winners in order to allow the choice of book preference.

The giveaway begins on March 18th and ends on April 1st. Winners will be notified the first week of April via email and a mailing address will need to be furnished to mail the book. *US residents only, please*

Thank you, readers! I appreciate you. Good luck! I hope you win the book of your choice. These are some amazing stories by some wonderful authors.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Five awesome authors. Five books to read.

I'm a little late on these, but I'm super excited to share with you these new books written by talented authors. I've read most of them and loved 'em. The other two are waiting on my Kindle to be read. You should check them ALL out!

Shucked 

by Megg Jensen

Fifteen-year-old Tabitha has had the kind of life that would impress even the greatest adventurers. She's escaped a croc attack in the Amazon, walked the length of the Great Wall of China, and earned a black belt in taekwondo in Korea. She owes her worldly experience to her mother's career in archaeology, but when her mother takes on a dangerous new assignment, Tabitha is devastated to learn she can't tag along.

Instead, she's forced to live on a midwestern farm with her grandparents where she'll have to attend a full year of public school. It's Tabitha's greatest nightmare, because despite all her adventures, she has no practical experience with the one thing that frightens her the most - other teenagers.

Her math teacher is her mom's old high school boyfriend, she can't tell the friendly girls from the mean ones, and she develops a major crush on a boy she knows she can't trust. And just when she thinks she'll never get the hang of this normal teenager thing, an attack brings the danger of her previous life right up to her midwestern porch. Who could have ever guessed that getting totally shucked would bring her face-to-face with her most exciting adventure yet?

Red Line

Book 4 in the Full Throttle Series

by Lisa Nowak

Now that Jess DeLand has escaped her alcoholic mother’s grip, all she wants is a chance to be normal. To hang out with her wisecracking-but-intuitive boyfriend Cody, learn as much she can about restoring cars from her mentor Kasey, and fill in as substitute big sister to Rhett when her friend Teri Sue goes off to college. But when her past crashes headlong into her present, all hopes of normal go spinning off into the weeds. Jess’s attempts to spare her friends—and herself—from the things she’d rather keep hidden, threaten to destroy the new life she’s built. Maybe normal is too much to ask for.

Found

Penny Black Series #1

by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Penny Black hasn’t had it easy. Just about everything you’d expect to happen to a harassed foster-kid turned junkie has happened to Penny. Add in the mysterious power to rewind time, conducting events around her, and it’s a wonder she held up on the streets for so many years. Now, at seventeen, the New Society has found her. Finally, Penny is where she belongs. But that doesn’t stop the visions, or the need to protect the victims shown to her.

Wyatt Adams is excited and intrigued when his sister Melody assigns him to be Penny’s Lookout. Being the youngest, and hopelessly ordinary in the family that created the New Society, has left Wyatt feeling like he has a lot to prove -- and Penny is a big deal. She’s got abilities that surpass any he’s seen before…and pretty much every quality he looks for in a girlfriend, but no one needs to know about that, especially Penny.

Soul Catcher

The Soulkeeper Series Book 4

by GP Ching

Dane Michaels has been to Hell and back and isn't interested in repeating the experience. But as a human caught up in the Soulkeeper's world, his life isn't exactly his own. No one can explain why Dane was allowed through the gates of Eden, but it's changed everything. Now, the only one who can make him feel safe is Ethan, the telekinetic Soulkeeper with a dark past and a heart of gold.

When Malini asks Dane to be part of a mission to find the last Soulkeeper, Cheveyo, more than one team member thinks she's tempting Fate. But Malini suspects Fate has had a hand in Dane's life for some time and that he could be the key to unraveling Lucifer's latest plan of attack.

Still Nights

A Novella (adults only)

by Jasmine Davis

Being in control of her anger was always an issue for Sam. Violent outbursts followed by amnesia were business as usual, until she was caught dealing drugs and bounced off the force. After that, she sets out to become a new woman—seeks counseling, stops drinking, and becomes a useless piece of crap that sits on the couch all day long. One night, she receives a worrisome call from her ex-lover and mother of her adopted son. She rushes out into a raging storm to locate her. What she finds would scare the shit out of any man or woman, and it lands her in a life threatening predicament.

Fans of American Horror Story will enjoy STILL NIGHTS

The Next Big Thing

My friend and fabulous author, Megg Jensen, tagged me in this post last week. I was supposed to post this back then, but time is not my friend. I'm surprised I found some now. :) Since being tagged, I feel the responsibility to pass this along. First, I answer some questions. Second, I suggest five other authors I hope haven't been tagged already.

Here we go!

What is the title of your next book?

Blood Pyre, A Lords of Shifters Novella

Where did the idea come from for the book?

This next book is a continuation of the Lords of Shifters series. I began this series with Loramendi's Story several years ago. It's been changed and rewritten so many times that there really is no single point of origination for the series. For example, Loramendi's Story is no longer the first book in the series, Spider Wars is. It has evolved from thinking, brainstorming, and massaging people. Most of my book ideas come while I'm at work as a massage therapist. Strange, huh?

What genre does your book fall under?

Upper young adult.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

To be honest, I dream big, but I'm not good at planning. Sure, I'd adore it if someday my books are created into beautiful films and all. That would be totally rad! I haven't given much thought as to who would play the characters, though. I'd probably wish for unknown actors, teens just out of or still in high school looking for a break into the industry. Once upon a time, I wanted to be an actor. An opportunity to work in a major film would have been a dream come true.

Will your books be self-published or represented by an agent?

Thus far, my books are all self-published.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I wouldn't. ;)

What or who inspired you to write this book?

This will be the fourth book in the series. It has evolved to this point in the story. Music inspires me. Movies inspire me. Life inspires me.

What else about your book might pique the readers' interest?

I'm doing something different this time around. I usually write the blurb before I write the book. Since the book is in a constant state of change while I'm writing it, the blurb usually ends up having to be changed by the time the book is complete. The blurb for Blood Pyre will be released once it is finished and going through edits. Until then, I have the cover to share with you.

Book cover by Robin Ludwig


And now, five totally awesome authors I think you will enjoy... They may or may not choose to participate. Either way, they rock and you should check them out!

Lisa Nowak
Stacey Wallace Benefiel
Laura A.H. Elliot
Cidney Swanson
Cheri Lasota
Emily Ann Ward
Angeline Kace
Mindi Scott
Craig Hansen
G.P. Ching

I was never good at math. Oh well.

Introducing DRIVEN by Lisa Nowak

The last thing on 16-year-old Jess DeLand’s wish list is a boyfriend. She’d have to be crazy to think any guy would look twice at her. Besides, there are more important things to hope for, like a job working on cars and an end to her mom’s drinking. Foster care is a constant threat, and Jess is willing to sacrifice anything to stay out of the system. When luck hands her the chance to work on a race car, she finds herself rushing full throttle into a world of opportunities—including a boy who doesn’t mind the grease under her fingernails. The question is, can a girl who keeps herself locked up tighter than Richard Petty’s racing secrets open up enough to risk friendship and her first romance?

~~~~~~~~~~

“The first romance is captured beautifully—just the right combination of natural and awkward, of eager and scared.”

~ Bob Martin, writing professor, Pacific Northwest College of Art

• Buy it on Amazon
• Buy it on Barnes and Noble
• Buy it on Smashwords

~~~~~~~~~~

In addition to being a YA author, Lisa Nowak is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She writes coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are. She enjoys dark chocolate and stout beer and constantly works toward employing wei wu wei in her life, all the while realizing that the struggle itself is an oxymoron. Lisa has no spare time, but if she did she’d use it to tend to her expansive perennial garden, watch medical dramas, take long walks after dark, and teach her cats to play poker. For those of you who might be wondering, she is not, and has never been, a diaper-wearing astronaut. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, four feline companions, and two giant sequoias.

• Lisa's blog
• Follow Lisa on Twitter
• Like Lisa's Facebook page
• Subscribe to Lisa's newsletter for upcoming releases

Someday Famous YA Author -- Lisa Nowak

I've talked about this talented author a couple times before. We met a few months ago while on the Rain Boots Required YA Author Tour. She's smart, funny, and writes awesome stories. She was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about her writing and the Full Throttle series.

A Little About Lisa

Lisa is the author of Running Wide Open and Getting Sideways, a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon with her husband, four cats, and two giant sequoias.

A Little About Lisa Q and A Style

1. What inspired you to write this series?

Getting to know the racing community. I was really impressed by this particular subculture of American society. They’re the kind of people who will fight fiercely on the track, then turn around and lend a part to a competitor in the pits. They’re willing to take anybody in as one of their own. Sure, they might think you’re a little odd if you don’t fit the mold, but since you love racing, you’re one of them. Not that they don’t have their rivalries and squabbles. But I guess all families are like that, right? In fact, that’s probably the perfect analogy. The racing community is like one big family. They might not like everything you do, but they love you, and they’ll stick up for you.

2. Who got you interested in racing? Tell us a little about your career as a race car driver.

There wasn’t really any one person who got me interested. I started teaching myself how to work on cars after I took the first one I owned (a ’72 Gremlin) to a shop and felt like I got ripped off. I’ve always been pretty independent (go figure, an indie author who’s independent) and a tomboy, so it was only natural for me to want to know how to work on my own car. That led to an interest in cars in general, which led to racing.

I started competing in the Street Stock division at Eugene Speedway in 1987. That was the community I truly fell in love with. I dedicated my first book to them. My most memorable experience there was rolling my car, and it was more fun than scary, though the repairs afterward weren’t exactly a picnic. After four years, I moved to Hickory, North Carolina because I was obsessed with the sport. Back then, if you lived anywhere but the South, only diehard fans cared about it. I spent almost five years there, racing at Hickory Motor Speedway and Tri-county Speedway, but I wasn’t very competitive. I’d say I spent more time learning how to build cars than driving them. It was a valuable experience, though, because I really came to enjoy the metal fabrication process. In 1995, I moved back to Oregon and raced at Portland Speedway in the Limited Sportsman division until they tore up the asphalt and went to dirt in 2000. They closed entirely the year after that.

These days I sponsor a driver at Sunset Speedway. Last year it was a 12-year-old boy, and next season it’ll be his 15-year-old brother, who took the Pure Stock championship in 2011 before he was even old enough to have a drivers’ license. Being a sponsor is so much less stressful than building and driving a car. Stock car racing can be a fairly high-contact sport, even though it’s not intended to be, which results in a lot of maintenance and repairs. It’s like having a second full time job, only one that takes all your money instead of paying you.

3. Gardening and racing. Two occupations at opposite ends of a spectrum, yet you enjoy them both. One is full of excitement and adrenaline, and the other, well, not. Does one cancel out the other to keep you balanced? What aspects of each do you love the most?

“Balance” is a good way of putting it, Angela. In fact Cody (my MC) talks about that very concept in Getting Sideways, only the “yin” to his racing “yang” is karate. I was just getting into gardening when I was driving, and it did seem to be therapeutic. Now, as a landscaper and a writer, I’ve found that the physical aspect of the landscaping balances the mental aspect of writing. It’s been very helpful to me to have two distinctly different ways to spend my time. When I’m getting too much of the one, I can rely on the other to bring me back into balance.

4. What more adventures are in store for Cody? How many books can we expect from this series?

There are five books in the series, but they’re not all written from Cody’s point of view. After the first two, Jess comes into the picture. She’s Cody’s love interest. Only she’s not really that hot on having a boyfriend, especially not Cody. She mistakes him for a player and doesn’t want anything to do with him at first. As the daughter of an alcoholic, and a girl mechanic struggling to be taken seriously, she has some trust issues. Jess narrates Driven and Redline, which will be published in 2012. The last book, which doesn’t have a title yet, is written from a split POV.

5. What is one question that you'd like to answer that hasn't been asked of you yet? And answer the question.

Why did you write a contemporary realistic boy book? Are you flippin’ crazy?

I guess I probably am. I never thought about marketing when I started this series, I just wrote about a subject that was near and dear to my heart. Writing from a boy’s perspective is a lot of fun for me. There seems to be a fifteen-year-old boy living inside my head, and frankly it kinda sucks because he hogs all the pizza.

Thanks, Lisa!

Thanks for hosting me, Angela. :)

Running Wide Open and Getting Sideways are now available! I know you'll want to purchase them now, so here are the links:

Running Wide Open: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords.

Getting Sideways: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. 

To find more about Lisa, you can check her out on these sites:

Blog: http://lisanowak.wordpress.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lisa_Nowak
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaNowakAuthor
Newsletter: http://bit.ly/LisaNowakNewsletter

Getting Sideways by Lisa Nowak (who is very awesome, btw)

Getting Sideways: Book 2 in the Full Throttle Series Getting shipped off to live with his uncle Race was the best thing that ever happened to fifteen-year-old Cody. Then a wreck at the speedway nearly ruined everything. Cody’s making every effort to get his life back on track—writing for the school paper, searching for the perfect girlfriend, and counting the days until he gets his drivers’ license—but there’s no escaping the nightmares that haunt him. A chance to build his own car seems like the perfect distraction. Until Cody realizes he’ll have to live up to Race’s legendary status. But that’s the least of his worries, considering he doesn’t have his dad’s permission. All he has to do is the impossible: keep Race from discovering his lie until he can convince his dad that racing’s safe. Yeah, sure. That’ll be easy.

• Buy it on Amazon
• Buy it at Barnes and Noble
• Buy it on Smashwords

Haven't read the first book? Running Wide Open is on sale now for 99 cents. Running Wide Open: Book 1 in the Full Throttle Series Cody Everett has a temper as hot as the flashpoint of racing fuel, and it's landed him at his uncle's trailer, a last-chance home before military school. But how can he take the guy seriously when he calls himself Race, eats Twinkies for breakfast, and pals around with rednecks who drive in circles every Saturday night? What Cody doesn't expect is for the arrangement to work. Or for Race to become the friend and mentor he's been looking for all his life. But just as Cody begins to settle in and get a handle on his supercharged temper, a crisis sends his life spinning out of control. Everything he's come to care about is threatened, and he has to choose between falling back on his old, familiar anger or stepping up to prove his loyalty to the only person he's ever dared to trust. Praise for Running Wide Open: "It doesn’t matter if you are a racing fan or not, Running Wide Open will captivate you and capture your heart." – Cari J, Amazon reviewer “The roar of engines practically explodes off the page in this compelling, heart-thumping debut. Cody Everett is a straight-shooter with attitude, smarts, and whip-cracking wit; he doesn’t pull any punches, and neither does author Lisa Nowak. The collision of Cody and the world of stock car racing makes for a great story, one of the best I’ve read in a long time. Running Wide Open is a book not to be missed.” - Christine Fletcher, author of Tallulah Falls and Ten Cents a Dance "The racing is easy to understand and does not get in the way of a rattling good story. I still couldn’t put it down on a re-read." – Elisabeth Miles, Amazon reviewer "We race stock cars during the summer and even though this is a recommended read for Young Adults, we are seniors and enjoyed every page. We can hardly wait for the sequel to come out. MUST READING!" – Maxci Jermann, Barnes and Noble reviewer "I say read this book, it’s fun, it’s beautiful, it’s a very cool read that will give you a feel-good state of mind. Awesome read." - L.E.Olteano, Butterfly-o-meter Books

• Buy it on Amazon
• Buy it at Barnes and Noble
• Buy it on Smashwords

Author Bio: In addition to being a YA author, Lisa Nowak is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. She writes coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are. She enjoys dark chocolate and stout beer and constantly works toward employing wei wu wei in her life, all the while realizing that the struggle itself is an oxymoron. Lisa has no spare time, but if she did she’d use it to tend to her expansive perennial garden, watch medical dramas, take long walks after dark, and teach her cats to play poker. For those of you who might be wondering, she is not, and has never been, a diaper-wearing astronaut. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, four feline companions, and two giant sequoias. Connect with Lisa online:

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/Lisa_Nowak
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LisaNowakAuthor
• Google +: http://bit.ly/LisaNowakGooglePlus
• Blog: http://lisanowak.wordpress.com/
• Subscribe to her newsletter for updates about coming attractions: http://bit.ly/LisaNowakNewsletter

Cover to Cover

We did it!

I had my first official "author event" this last Saturday at Cover to Cover Books. It was tough for me to speak in front of a group of strangers, but when it was all over, it felt great! It helped that my fellow Rain Boots Required friends were with me. I'm looking forward to the next event this Friday at the West Linn Library. I hope to see some of you there!

From left to right: Rebecca Knight (author of Legacy of the Empress), me!, Stacey Wallace Benefiel (author of the Zellie Wells Trilogy), and Lisa Nowak (author of Running Wide Open).

Forks and Other Stuff Happening

When you hear the word "Forks" what do you think of? The utensil. Choices in life's journey. The town in Washington where vampires and werewolves reside. I want to mention two of those conjured thoughts now.

I recently tested into a nursing school. Apparently my scores were in the top percentile, which surprised me. Well, even though the test said I can go to that school, I'm unable to because of financial reasons. I mean, if we scraped and stressed for the next two years, maybe, a very slight maybe, there would be a chance we could come up with the money. But realistically, I'd get halfway through the program, and I wouldn't be able to pay for the rest. So, it's probably best to go to community college. Sure, it will take triple the time to finish, and it's severely competitive to get into the program once the prerequisites are done, but that's a chance we'll have to take. I'm excited to begin my first class in September. Chemistry. Ooooh. Aaaah. Wish me luck!


And now for the town in Washington where vampires and werewolves reside. Did you know it rains there, like all the time? Ha! Not all the time, but it did rain when we stopped by last Monday. I'm told it was sunny and 70 degrees the day prior and the day following our visit. Figures, eh?

We also visited a beautiful rainforest on our journey north. Of course, it rained there, too.

Now to the other stuff. October is going to be an exciting month. It's always full of awesomeness, but this year will be even greater because I'll be going on tour with three other YA authors, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, Lisa Nowak, and Rebecca Knight. We are in the scheduling venues and thinking up really cool tour name stage, but it's going to be rad! Here are a few of the stops already confirmed:

Cover to Cover Books

WordStock 2011

Beaverton Library

A Children's Place Bookstore

Interzone, Inc.

We are working on finalizing a few other locations, so check back for a list of dates in the near future.


One more thing -- Starting Monday, I'm going on a juice fast. I will most likely be grumpy and irritable the first few days, so if my presence seems sparser than normal on the social networking sites, this is why. The fast will only last about two weeks, and I'll be adding cooked and raw fruits and veggies on the third day, so it won't be so bad.


Another one more thing -- Don't forget that Loramendi's Story went on sale this month! It's still only 99 cents for the ebook on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords. The paperback will probably be available on Amazon in the next week or two, too.


Peace out for now! Be safe and healthy!

I should feel busy,

but I don't. There have been some happenings in the works. Yep, happenings. Things that are going to happen.

First happening: I've been asked to participate in an event this weekend called "Art in the Heart." I'll set up my little table to display a stack of books and then sit my bottom in a chair. If you are in the Vancouver area, please come see me! I'll be sitting with some other awesome authors in front of the Angst Gallery.

Second happening: Loramendi's Story will be available for purchase this coming weekend. August 7th to be exact. It has received some lovely reviews thus far.

Third happening: Dream Smashers will be on a blog tour the week of August 8th! The Teen Book Scene has put together this awesome tour. I'll announce the stops this coming weekend.

Fourth happening: I received a letter in the mail last weekend informing me that I've been accepted into nursing school. Woo hoo! I begin this fall.

Fifth happening: Wordstock is just around the corner. I'm sure you read my whine in the previous blog about not being able to participate. That has changed! Although I won't be speaking, I'll be there with a few other fantastic local authors, ready to sign books. More information to come. (I'm really, super elated and hope I get to meet Maggie Stiefvater and Ellen Hopkins.)

Sixth happening: After Wordstock, I'm going on a regional tour with a group of authors including Stacey Wallace Benefiel and Lisa Nowak. I'll share the complete list of authors and dates closer to October.

A lot of happenings right there. How does all this make me feel? Happy, elated, stoked, nervous, scared...


I hope you'll stay with me for the ride! It should be pretty wild. :)