Next Author

 GUESS WHAT???

I have another awesome author to introduce you to, and she is also one of the ten behind the upcoming giveaway. You do NOT want to miss the giveaway, so keep checking this blog for more details. So, the author I want to introduce you to today has more than a dozen novels in various genres for you to peruse. You do NOT want to miss her best-selling Stolen Empire series.

Sherry D. Ficklin

Sherry is the author of over a dozen novels for teens and young adults including the best-selling Stolen Empire series. She can often be found browsing her local bookstore with a large white hot chocolate in one hand and a towering stack of books in the other. That is, unless she's on deadline at which time she, like the Loch Ness monster, is only seen in blurry photographs.

The book she is giving away for our Christmas in July promo is Kingdoms of Shadow and Dust. 

Blurb: As the king's only daughter, Ava was supposed to be many things; meek, submissive, and above all, silent. While she dreams of fighting alongside the armies of Ankara, she's forced to hide her identity behind a veil.

It seems her prayers are answered when fate intervenes, allowing Ava to sneak away and join the battle. Yet, the tides of war turn on her, leaving the young beauty defeated... her hopes shattered. Her only chance at salvation is Callen, a mysterious black wolf willing to risk everything by hiding her away among his kind.

But there are some dangers far more ominous than the snapping jaws of a wolf. Ripped away from the brave Turnskins, Ava is imprisoned by the beguiling Shadow King who fills her head with promises of peace and a haze of passion. Forced to choose between her family, the bond she shares with Callen, and the handsome king's striking proposal, Ava finds herself torn between duty and desire. 

When an unthinkable sacrifice is required to save all she holds dear, will Ava accept the crushing demands of taking the crown?  Or follow her heart to the forbidden touch she desperately craves?

Get your copy now at the incredibly low bargain price of 0.99 cents HERE at Amazon, HERE at B&N, HERE at Kobo, and HERE at Apple. 

If you want to know more about Sherry, visit her author page on Amazon HERE. 

And please check back often so you don't miss our awesome giveaway!

 

Top Ten Indie Authors

Top Ten Indie Authors
This is a list of MY favorite Indie Authors and has nothing to do with who sold what, awards, or how many books they've written. These are Indie Authors that I know and respect. Let's see how many of them you know.  In no particular order:

1. Quinn Loftis: Quinn lives in Arkansas and has several YA books available on Amazon and other sites including the popular Grey Wolves Series and her newest fabulous novel titled "Dream of Me." This is one talented lady. If you haven't read one of her books yet, you should do yourself a favor and pick one up. Here is the link for "Dream of Me," only 2.99 at Amazon.

Dream of Me at Amazon


2. Holly Kelly: Holly lives in Utah and is a mom to six rambunctious kids. How does she find time to write? I have no idea. But I do know that her Rising Series is awesome. I mean, come on, how can you beat a series on mermaids? I'm currently reading book one and enjoying it. Can't wait to move on to the next, and you can download the first book for free at Amazon (I can't guarantee it will be free when you decide to go look, so hurry).

Rising at Amazon


3. Jon Messenger: Jon serves in the Army and wrote "Brink of Distinction" while serving in Iraq. But his book "Wolves of the Northern Rift" is what I'm most interested in at this time. You have got to check out the cover here. Beautiful. I admit I haven't read any of his books YET, but they sound awesome and are on my ever growing TBR list. If you want to try a book for free, "Wind Warrior" is available for download at no cost at this moment.

Wind Warrior at Amazon


4. Suzy Turner: Suzy lives in Portugal, lucky girl, and I've had the pleasure getting to know her through a writing group we both belong to. She's always willing to give someone a helping hand, and I love her writing style. Her book Raven is free right now, but my favorite is "The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw" and it is available for less than a dollar.

The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw at Amazon


5. Keary Taylor: Keary lives on an island. That's right. You heard me. She lives on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. How cool is that? This girl is a cyclone of activity, always doing something creative, working hard, taking care of her kids, traveling the country to meet her fans at book events. And she has a LOT of fans. She writes a variety of genres, so I just picked a free book for you to try at random.

The Bane at Amazon


6. Sherry Ficklin: Sherry is a popular author. Perhaps you've heard of "Queen of Someday." But I want to talk to you about "Haunting Zoe." I haven't read it yet, but it sounds awesome. Seriously, a love story where one of the characters is a ghost. Sounds good to me. You can try it for free (at least at the time that I am writing this.)

Haunting Zoe at Amazon


7. Heather Hildenbrand: Heather has two homes; she splits her time between Virginia and the island of Guam. That's cool. Don't you think? Anyway, I haven't read these books yet, but I keep hearing about them. Rumor has it that NBC is thinking about making a show based on them. That would be awesome. You can check out Imitation for free (at the time of this post)

Imitation at Amazon


8. Bryna Butler: Bryna and I met through a writer's group. She's a wonderful lady and extremely busy with her writing. Her book was featured on a coffee table in the background on an Internet vampire series inspired by Rachel Caine's "Morganville" series. Bryna's first book, "Of Sun & Moon" is free at this time.

Of Sun & Moon at Amazon


9. Liz Long: Liz and I have been friends for a while now. We share a love of super hero movies. Her favorite is Captain America, but I prefer Iron Man. She has written an interesting series with a circus, a girl who can control fire, and a murder mystery thrown in. It isn't free, but it is under a dollar.

Gifted at Amazon


10. Kasi Blake: LOL. Well, I threw myself in because I am worn out from trying to come up with enough Indie Authors I personally know to fill this list. Anyway, I live on a farm in the Midwest, surrounded by animals, and I am a Supernatural-fanatic. You can read Vampires Rule for free or get Bait for under a dollar (at this time).

Vampires Rule at Amazon

Bait at Amazon

Do you know of any incredible Indie Authors not on the list? Feel free to talk about them in the comments. If they have a book for free or one under a dollar, let us know. I'd be willing to give them a try.

YA INDIE CARNIVAL: Indie Resolutions

This week at the Carnival we are sharing our Indie Resolutions.  What did we learn this year?  What worked and what didn't?  We will be sharing our thoughts, dreams, and wishes for the new year.  Feel free to share yours with us. 

My Indie Resolutions:

1.  Take Reviews with a Grain of Salt:  This year I published my first three books as an Indie Writer.  Most of my reviews have been good, but there were a couple that had me thinking I should find a new career path.  Other people (writers, friends, and family) told me to ignore them, that some people just want to be mean because they are annonymous and know I can't do anything about it.  Still, it hurts when someone rips apart something that you worked so hard on and put your whole heart into.  If you aren't a writer, think about it this way.  How would you feel if a stranger came up to you and told you that your kids were ugly and shouldn't be in public?  Because that's how I feel when someone slams my characters, plot, etc.  I do want readers to be honest.  If they don't like the book, they don't like it.  I'm just talking about the ones who are mean and nasty about it and you can tell they are just trying to be funny or show how smart they are.

2.  Market without Spamming:  Before I got published I'd never heard about spamming in groups on places like Goodreads, but since then I have been accused of doing it.  Some places don't want you to mention your book at all.  So I vow to find other ways of letting people know that my books exist.

3.  Spend More Time Writing:  My computer crashed a few months ago and I sort of used that as an excuse to procrastinate.  I've been working on finishing up the same book for five months now.  That is a long time for me.  Usually I work on writing at least a few hours each day and all day long when I don't work.  So I promise myself that I will work harder and spend more time with my butt in the chair and my hands on the keyboard.

4.  Daydream:  I got so caught up in the mess that is sometimes my life that I haven't been daydreaming enough.  This is a resolution I know I can keep.  In fact I've already started.  I love to daydream and let my characters live instead of trying to figure out what they should do.  I love to give them room to move.

5.  To Write Entertaining Books:  Most of all I want to write the best books that I can.  I want to touch peoples' hearts, to make them laugh and cry.  Then my job is done.

Please click on the blogs below and read their resolutions too.

.	Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	Heather Self	4.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga	6.	Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7.	Lexus Luke	8.	Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
9.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	10.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
11.	Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series	12.	Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
13.	Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews	14.	Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
15.	M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping	16.	Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
17.	Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind	18.	Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
19.	Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler	20.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
21.	TG Ayer	22.	Melissa Pearl, author of Golden Blood
23.	Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga

YA INDIE CARNIVAL: Blast from the Past

This week's assignment from the Carnival is all about our high school short stories, books, etc.  We're supposed to post something that we wrote in high school.  Unfortunately I threw out everything I wrote in high school a long time ago.  Yes, I know, that was stupid.  I've regretted it ever since, but there's nothing I can do about it now.  So I am going to post a short scene from Crushed, a scene that takes place in the high school.

This scene takes place in the hallway after the bell has rung and most students are in class.  Kristen has had a rough morning, and she's angry:

The hallway was empty with one huge exception:  Zach Bevian.

It didn't surprise her to see him talking on his cell.  She'd had a class with him once.  Tardy was his middle name.  If he was going to show up at all, it would be five to ten minutes late.  The loser probably wanted to make a grand entrance so everyone would look at him.  He finished the conversation and tucked the cell into his snug jeans.  She was suprised there was room in those pockets something wider than a quarter.

Too bad for him, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She could be wild and fun and impulsive.  She would show Brittany that Kristen Noah was not your typical good girl.  There wasn't any reason why she couldn't get decent grades and have fun at the same time.  When she got done experimenting with her wild side, Brittany would beg her to play nice again.

She reached into her purse and pulled a long, skinny glass vial out.  Emptying the pink dust into one hand, she walked straight up to Zach.  Before she had the chance to come to her senses or count the number of ways this could go wrong, she blew the dust into his face.  A pink cloud floated around him for a second.  It dissipated quickly.  He stared at her in stunned silence.

The Crushed spell had that effect on people.  Boys gazed into space once they were hit with it.  The spell momentarily distorted their thinking.  Soon he would be following her around, doing her bidding, and making puppy-love eyes at her.  She couldn't wait.

The vision of him following her around brought a smile to her face.

She continued to walk, barely missing a step. 

Cyndi's shocked voice reached her ears.  "She didn't."

"She did," Brittany said.

"But we aren't supposed to start the game until next week."

"Tell that to the cheater."

Kristen felt better already.  She felt so good that she stopped to fix her face.  She pulled a mirror from her purse and reapplied her signature lipstick before heading to class.  Candy Apple Crush.   It was deep red, her favorite color, with diamond-like sparkles and a hint of gloss.  Her mother had it specially made for her in New York.

She compressed her lips to evenly distribute the color.  The mirror caught Zach Bevian's reflection.  He was still standing there with wide eyes and open mouth.  Poor guy didn't even look like he remembered his own name.

Regrets began to pile on top of her head.  Someone with a will as strong as Zach's was going to be hard to control.  She might actually lose the game this year.  She really shouldn't have Crushed him, but she needed the money that a side-bet with Brittany would give her.

His expression changed from puzzlement to pure hatred.  He glared at her with a murderous glint in his eyes.  Startled, she whipped around to look at him, but he was rummaging around in his locker again.

She must have imagined the hatred in his eyes.  Victims of the Crushed spell were instantly in love with the witch who brewed the potion.  A painful lump lodged in her throat, and remorse hung over her like a dark cloud.  Blowing the dust into his face had been a huge mistake.  She had a feeling she was going to be more sorry than sorry before this was over.  This could ruin everything.

Check out these great writers and read their high school selections:

	Laura A. H. Elliott author of Winnemucca & 13 on Halloween, Book 1 in the Teen Halloween Series	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	Heather Self	4.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga	6.	Darby Karchut, author of GRIFFIN RISING
7.	Lexus Luke	8.	PJ Hoover, Author of SOLSTICE, Blogging at ROOTS IN MYTH
9.	Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy	10.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
11.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed	12.	Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
13.	Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga	14.	Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
15.	Dani Snell's Refracted Light Reviews	16.	Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
17.	M. Leighton, Blood Like Poison Series, Madly, The Reaping	18.	Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and The Vincent Boys
19.	Kimberly Kinrade, Bits of You & Pieces of Me, Forbidden Mind	20.	Madeline Smoot, Missing, Summer Shorts, and The Girls
21.	Cidney Swanson, author of Rippler	22.	Nicole Williams, author of Eternal Eden, Falling Eden
23.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	24.	Abbi Glines: Breathe, The Vincent Boys, Existence