Saturday, June 29, 2013

2013 Summer Promotional Sale at Smashwords



FREE ebooks (some are half off) at Smashwords from July 1rst to July 31rst. 

If you've been wanting to read a certain book in my collection but haven't bought it yet, here is your chance.  Not all of my books are listed in this sale.

Bait is 75% off JULY ONLY.

Vampires Rule is FREE.

Crushed (Witch-Game Book #1) is FREE, July only.

Here is my author's page:   https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/KasiBlake

You can go to my author's page and click on any of my books, learn more about them, purchase them with he coupon code that will be listed on the book page. 

Or go to Smashwords home page and check out the catalog of free and discounted books. 

I know I'm going to.

Friday, June 28, 2013

YA Indie Carnival: Distribution

I guess we're talking about the ends and outs of distributing this week at the Carnival.  Simple enough topic for me.  I go through Smashwords because they send out my books to everyone except Amazon because I do that myself.  I've heard some bad things said about Smashwords and some writers say you should upload your books to all the places like B&N and the Ibookstore yourself, but it is difficult enough to do Smashwords and Amazon without adding more to the list.  As it is I usually spend two to three days formatting and uploading.  Do I want more hassle?  More formatting?  No thank you.

Check out the other Carnies to hear about what they do.

1. 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. Cheri Schmidt, author of the Fateful Trilogy
7. Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
8. K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
9. Patti Larsen, The Hunted series and The Hayle Coven series
10. Amy Maurer Jones, Author of The Soul Quest Trilogy
11. Fisher Amelie, author of The Understorey
12. Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
13. Melissa Pearl, Author of The Time Spirit Trilogy
14. Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga
15. Courtney Cole Writes
16. Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
17. Ella James
18. Maureen Murrish
19. Valerie Sloan
20. YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings
21. Terah Edun, author of Red Madrassa and An Amlah's Diary

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

When you’ve travelled between worlds, there’s nowhere left to go but home.

Rory has never been so cold in her life. But the biting wind only reminds her of another pain that grows more intense with each passing day. Each night Jaron’s beautiful voice sings in her dreams, and each day her footsteps draw her closer to his side. Danger and intrigue at every turn, no distance is too far when you’re returning for true love.

Rin has spent the last five years searching for Rory across two worlds. Now a series of visions have him convinced he’s growing closer to finding her. But when Rory slips through another portal, taking his visions with her, he finds himself back at square one. To find her now he’ll need thehelp of an old friend and a little otherworldly magic.  This time he intends to bring The Wanderer home for good.


Wandering
Available on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes
June 25th, 2013

Links for purchase:

An Excerpt from Wandering:

      Sometimes I think I've seen her face more times than my own.

 Tonight she stands on top of a snow- covered mountain with the wind in her hair.  Her eyes crinkle at the corners as she squints into the distance. She shifts her stance,leaning, her body reaching forward and I can almost feel the racing of her heart as the wind billows around her, lifting her cloak and whipping her hair into her eyes. It reminds her of something she once felt, something powerful.  Blood pounds in my ears and for a moment we are connected, The Wanderer and I. Her pain, her longing, they choke me. She holds her breath as the wind grows stronger. It pushes against her so that her footing slips. I want to shout to her, warn her that she might fall, but I can almost hear her thoughts. She hopes it will carry her away. To bring her back.  

The wind whips around her, swirling ice and snow at her feet and she begins to cry. Her tears freeze as they slide down hercheeks.  She doesn’t cry from fear or pain.  Not even the bitter, endless cold could cause her tears.  No, she cries because it is only the wind.

***
 I woke up,panting, covered in sweat.  Turning over, I clenched my eyes shut in a desperate attempt to bring the images back into focus. 

“It’s no use,” I groaned.  I knew it wouldn't work.  It never did.  She was gone.  That one little glimpse was all I would get –for now.

The visions began the very day we returned home from Rutahn, the world beyond the portal. I fell asleep on my aunt’s couch andprobably hadn’t even started snoring when her face filled my mind. She was lying in the corner of a little hut, bundled in blankets and furs. I remember how she shivered, like she was trying to shake off her own skin. Her cheeks were flushed a bright red and she gasped for air, tossing in her makeshift little bed. An arm with skin the color of caramel reached toward her and wiped her face with a wet cloth. That’s when I realized she was sick. I woke up in a panic, my heart racing. I had fallen asleep afraid she might be dead and now instead of feeling relieved that she was alive, I was more afraid than ever. We still didn’t know where Rory was, but now I knew she was very sick. I worried incessantly about her after that. I dreamed of her nearly every night,gathering bits and pieces of information, clues as to where she might be.  After that, the dreams gradually increased in frequency, and then grew more intense.  Now, instead of just seeing Rory, I could feel a little of her thoughts, her emotions.  Most of the time it was a relief.  I saw her safe. I watched her grow strong again. I even saw her smile once or twice. 

Then, there were nights like this one.  Nights where I could sense her terror, her despair, the aching loneliness or desperate longing for those she had lost. I would lie there helpless, watching her cry deep, heart wrenching sobs and I would wake up with my pillow wet, my face covered in sympathetic tears. Those were the nights that weighed on me.  Visions like this one often forced me out of bed and back into my research. It was impossible to sleep knowing she was out there somewhere inpain and longing to find a way home. That’s why I keep searching. For five endless years I’ve searched and I’ll keep searching until I find her and bring the Wanderer home.

Wanderingis the sequel to Seen by Heather Sutherlin.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Turned it OFF

I turned off the word verification to make it easier for comments, so please leave comments.  By doing this I open it up to annoying machines that leave spam and I have to come in several times a day to erase it, but it will be worth it to me if people start leaving comments.  I guess if no one is commenting, I will turn it back on later.

So let's get this PARTY started!

Anyone watching The Bachelorette?  If so, who do you like?  I'm sorry, but I think she got a bunch of duds.  In the past I have drooled over at least two guys.  This time, nope.  None.  Nada.  What about you?

On a writing related topic, have you read any good books lately?  I finished the series by Carrie Jones about pixies.  It was pretty cool.  I'm still reading City of Ashes, rereading it actually because I bought the last two in the series and need to remember what happened before.  It is taking me a long time to get through it.  I just don't have time to read anymore.  It's hard to fit it in considering everything else I need to do each day.

What about you?  How do you find time to read?

High Praise for BAIT

Bait has been getting some awesome reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and assorted blogs, but the one that means the most to me happened today via Facebook.  My fourteen-year-old niece sent me a message saying she's read it three times and loves it!

Although I appreciate it that women my age seem to enjoy the book, I wrote it for teens.  Since my days teaching little kids to read in a private school it bothers me when I hear a young person say they aren't interested in books.  My niece used to be that way.  Now she devours books just like me.  :)

Did I have something to do with this change in attitude?  I have no idea.  It doesn't matter as long as she keeps it up. 

Sometimes you can't trust your family or close friends to tell the truth about what you write.  They don't want to hurt your feelings.  Maybe that's why I treasure reviews like this from kids, because I know they won't lie to spare my feelings.  When they say they love something, they LOVE it, especially when they contact you to gush over the book without you seeking them out.  I usually try to put a book into someone's hands and walk away.  I never mention it unless they do. 

Anyway, thought I would share that with you.  Seeing a child read and enjoy a book makes me happy.  Seeing them read and love my book puts me over the moon.  :)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Comment CRAZY!

The lack of comments on my blog is driving me crazy.  I visit other blogs and some have an abundance of comments.  Are they giving out free candy with each one?

Other bloggers and I have been discussing his issue.  How do you get people to comment?  Here are my suggestions for what they are worth:

1.  Be Controversial:  If you make people so angry that they have to publicly disagree with you, you will get comments.  I don't like this one.  I'm more of a why-can't-we-all-get-along person.

2.  Prizes:  Have a contest and tell people they have to comment to enter.  I don't like this one either, and I doubt it would even work, but someone told me they do it all the time.

3.  Ask for Comments:  I was told if you simply ask for comments, people will comment.  Is that true?  Be honest.

4.  Turn off the Captcha: I hate doing this because I start getting at least half a dozen spammers a day leaving ridiculous comments that I have to delete.  It's a machine leaving them, and it is so annoying.  BUT I would do it for you if you were willing to comment.

Anything else?  Did I miss anything.

PLEASE COMMENT!!!

Tell me what makes you want to comment on blogs, and I will probably do it?

Do I need to bring in a hot guy for a special appearance?
Save a puppy for every comment?
What?  What do you want from me?  :)

Writing Romance

If you have ever read a Harlequin, you know what I'm talking about when I say cheesy.  I'm not putting them down.  Once in a while I still enjoy a good romance while it's snowing outside and I'm curled up in a chair, sipping hot cocoa.  Harlequin gave me my start in writing and I will be forever grateful to them.  But you have to admit, if you read some of the book descriptions aloud, you will not be able to keep a straight face.  The flowery prose (especially when describing a man's attributes or the way the woman feels about him) can get ridiculous.  When I was writing for them, I did it too.  I wrote some stuff that makes me cringe now.

My problem is that sometimes the stuff I learned while writing for Harlequin slips into my YA books.  It gets a bit cheesy.  Some people say they love the romances in my books and will add a 'sigh' or a 'swoon,' but others I guess want to gag on the fluff. 

Why am I putting up this post today?  Because I was working on Hunter (Order of the Spirit Realm book 2) and I was trying to describe how gorgeous Nick is and how badly Bay-Lee wants to be able to touch him.  (You won't understand this unless you read Bait, but there is a reason she can't touch him).  If I'm not careful, I find myself giving into old habits. 

My questions for you:  What is over the top?  What is too much?  When you are reading a romance, do you want poetic descriptions or do you want it straight?