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Reviews

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I realized this morning that I’ve been so busy writing that I haven’t been blogging. To give you an update, Whispering Lake has now received two excellent reviews!

Linda Sole @ Red Roses for Authors gave it 4 out o5 Roses, visit the Red Roses site for the full review!

“Werewolves, witches and ghosts oh, my. This one has all that and suspense that will keep you guessing just where this one will end up. It is an interesting book to read as it is hard to put down. You will be glued to your seat until the very end.”

Shannon @ Shannon’s Satin & Lace Reviews gave it 5 out of 5 hearts! Visit http://www.satinandlacereviews.webs.com for the full review.

“The author weaves an amazing and riveting tale of love and desire, hope and fear with a little bit of wicked fun thrown in the mix. This book will stir your senses with the combination of fantasy and reality leaving you wanting more from this amazing new author. This is a must read story.”

Whispering Lake’s sales are doing pretty well, available in both e-book (Amazon Kindle, Hearts on Fire, Coffee Time – and coming soon to Fictionwise!) and as a large paperback (Amazon.com, Target.com, and Hearts on Fire Books).

The sequel, Moonlight Protector, was released December 1st. Hopefully the reviews will start trickling in for Moonlight before too long. 🙂

I can honestly say that the day Whispering Lake, my first novel, was accepted for publishing I was excited beyond words and felt accomplished. Then I realized it didn’t matter if it was published if it didn’t sell … well, now it’s selling and getting good reviews. It makes you feel like you really did accomplish something!

For me, the best part of being an author, is seeing someone read your book… being able to watch their facial expressions and hearing them laugh when they reach a humorous part. Every time I see someone with a paperback copy of my book, it seems surreal. I think “I did that, that’s my book”…

This author’s day has definitely been made! I could not have asked for a better Christmas present!

Hmm… then again, I can think of one or two. 🙂

The Holiday Season …

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You always hear about the “Christmas spirit” during the holidays. Everyone is supposed to be happier and in a more giving mood than the other months out of the year. At least, that’s what you hear … what you see is another matter!
Fights in the aisles at toy stores, drivers cussing each other out over parking spaces, a higher theft rate, and on and on the list goes. What precisely is so cheery about all of that?
The holiday season should be a time when we remember those less fortunate than ourselves. Drop some change in the Salvation Army’s bucket, donate some money to the local fire department, give an unwrapped toy to Toys For Tots .. there are a hundred different ways that you can share the Christmas spirit with someone who doesn’t have anything – and it doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money!
For instance, my aunt is a special ed teacher in a poor neighborhood. She has a little girl in her class that hasn’t been able to afford a nice dress – ever! My daughter had a pretty pink velvet Disney princess dress that she wore a handful of times last year. It no longer fit her and she asked what we could do with it. I called my aunt and as luck would have it, it was the little girl’s size. When my aunt gave the dress to the girl in her classroom, she said her eyes lit up with excitement. She just had to try the dress on immediately! She wanted to parade around the room and around the school to show it off! Without having to spend a penny, my daughter was able to make that little girl’s day! We also donated my son’s winter coat (which he only wore for 1 month since the little stinker grew so fast!) to a boy in my aunt’s class who has never had a warm winter coat before.
As you’re cleaning out your closets and kids toys to prepare for Santa, why not take a moment to contact the local women’s shelter, a community center in a not so great part of town, or a local church and see if they will take the items to give to families who not only need them, but who will love them.
Touch someone’s life … I think you’ll find that it will also touch yours!

Interview of Hearts on Fire Books, a small press in Missouri

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Melissa Miller, owner of Hearts on Fire Books, previously known as Hearts on Fire Press, agreed to do an online interview.  I hope that as a writer, you will find this information to be informative.  If you’d like to contact Ms. Miller, she has provided her email at the end of the interview.

What genres does Hearts on Fire publish?
We accept all genres except for erotica and picture books.
 
Do you have an open submission policy? Do you accept books from anywhere in the world?
Yes, we have an open submission policy. You can find out requirements on the FAQ sections of the website. At this time, we are only accepting submissions from within the U.S.  However, that may change in the future so please keep an eye on our FAQ section for any changes.
 
Does Hearts on Fire publish just e-books or also print books? Are all of your books in print or just certain ones?
 We are an ebook publisher, as well as a print publisher. Since we are a small press, not all of our books are in print. The main deciding factor is word count and the popularity if your genre. Short stories are not in print at this time.  That does not mean that your book has to be a huge novel. However, the shortest books that we have in print are on average 150 pages in length. We may look into exceptions on a book by book basis.
 
If you have a top seller list, what are your top three best selling books?
At this time, my top three sellers would be: Casino, My Sister’s Keeper, and The Martin Files.  The first two are romance novels and the third book is a detective mystery.
 
Where can customers find your books? Any plans on where they will be found in the future (such as Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc)?
Hearts on Fire Books, Amazon, Coffeetime Romance, Manic Readers have listings of our e-books. Both Hearts on Fire BOoks and Amazon also have titles in print.  E-Titles on Fictionwise will be available in the near future; Barnes and Noblewill have print copies in the near future.
 
What do you look for in a prospective writer?
I look for well written stories that only need minimul editing. We don’t mind doing some editing, but we don’t want to sit down and rewrite an entire story.  We look for writers that don’t mind hearing some advice on how to better their work.
 
How many books do you put into print each month on average?
On average our policy will be 1-2 a month in print more in ebook. The number can vary depending on how many we have that needs to go into print. Our release date is the 15th of every month. We have been working around the clock getting books in as many places as we can but for a general rule: It will be just a couple a month.
 
Anything else you would like to say? Any suggestions for writers out there who are hoping to be published?
My advice for any writers that want to be published would be this: Take your work seriously, because if you don’t then editors won’t. Don’t send in sloppy work. Make sure you work has been edited and fine tuned to the best of your ability before sending it in. We want to see the very best from writers not their first rough draft copy that they spent a couple of hours on. If you feel are you ready to be published, we would be happy to look at your work. Send your submissions to heartsonfirepress@live.com

It’s Finished !!!

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I finished writing Book 1 of the Ashton Grove Werewolves, Moonlight Protector, last night!  I’m so excited.  Then again, now I get the fun part of reading back through it to edit as much as I can before sending it to my publisher.  If all goes well, it will be available by the end of December!

I think before I start editing, I may read a book… then maybe I’ll start putting another book on paper (or on screen).  I have ideas bouncing through my head not only for all five books of the Ashton Grove series, but for another book (which may end up being a series) as well.

Are you working on something now? Maybe finishing it up for Christmas?

Christmas is how far away ???

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I realized with shock today that Christmas is only 36 days away!  Where did the time go?  Usually, I’ve stock piled presents throughout the year and I’ve started wrapping a few things here and there.  By Thanksgiving, I normally have absolutely no shopping left to do.  This year is definitely different.  It seems that the year slipped by without my noticing… so here it is, the week before Thanksgiving, and I only have presents put aside for my daughter.  I have only one or two items for my son and nothing put aside for my husband.

I guess this means that I will have to brave the traffic, crowds, and insane parking lots in order to finish shopping for the Christmas holidays.  I noticed last weekend that the chaos had already begun!  My grandmother needed assistance with her Christmas shopping so I volunteered to go with her… I was amazed to see people parking in the lined areas inbetween handicapped spots!  I mean, come on people!  Are you really so lazy that you can’t find a parking place that isn’t going to hinder a handicapped person?

It seems that next year I will have to pry my eyes away from the computer, my fingers away from the keyboard, and get my brain focused on something other than “finishing that next novel” in order to avoid the hazardous situation I now find myself in… Christmas shopping during the holidays!

Hopefully you are better prepared than I am and will be cozy in your house laughing hysterically as I struggle through the sea of people, fight over toys, and stand in hour long lines to complete my shopping this year.