Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Dehumanized by Michael Loring is hot~


Ryan Zachery lived his life the way all high school teenagers should -
carefree.
Until he was attacked by an unknown assailer and awoke in the hospital with lycanthropy. Taken by armed guards and dragged away from everything he held dear, Ryan was thrown into a US camp made for those 'suffering' from lycanthropy.

They caged the beast, but now he will show them that he will never be dehumanized.
Check out this Dehumanized preview!

Michael Loring was born in Bristol, Connecticut, but has lived in a variety of places such as Florida and Tennessee. He likes to think of himself as an amateur Lycanthropologist, studying werewolves ever since he was eight years old when he first saw An American Werewolf In London. He spent most of his life switching between home school and public school, always focusing on his passion of writing no matter what. His interest in writing was sparked in the second grade when his teacher encouraged him to write short stories for the class, earning him more than one award at school assemblies for Creative Writing. He currently resides back in his birthplace of Connecticut with a house full of women who like to drive him up the wall until he finishes his chores. Though they seem to avoid him during the night of the full moon for some unexplainable reason...
As a present for stopping by
here is a Dehumanized screen saver:
We hope you have enjoyed this stop on
the Dehumanized tour!

Stop by www.MichaelLoring.com to check out the other tour stops;
New guest posts, interviews, excerpts and more!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Have Your own TWITTER PARTY!



I know consider myself a Twitter Party Addict. I have managed three of my own and hopped on the bandwagon of over twenty of them.

It's a great way to spread the word about your book and to play as an 'appetizer' to a larger launch party.

THE LAUNCH

Who says you can only have one book launch party? Well I say, have many. This is the main event for your book. You've been building up to this for months. Doing it on multiple platforms will afford your book a lot of visibility. But even though Twitter is always hopping, you need to promo it a bit.

THE BUILDUP
I usually start my book launches that include a Twitter Party, Blog Party and Facebook Party with a mini-blog tour which includes all the authors who will be part of my Facebook Virtual Launch Party. We do this to build up the buzz.

About 6 weeks before the party all of the authors involved in the big Facebook Party event tweet about the Twitter Party coming (using a hashtag for the book title & a link to our Party Map Page).

The mini blog party kicks off 1 week before the Twitter Party. It's used to build awareness of all of the book release events coming. The Twitter Appetizer Party (which runs the Friday before the Facebook Party) is used to drive even more traffic to the book sales pages for participating authors.

The Giveaway announcement. We run a giveaway announcement on twitter (a daily tweet from each participating author) with link to Party Map Page which has the schedule of the mini-blog tour, the Twitter Party, Facebook Party, links to all books, and rafflecopter.

THE TWITTER APPETIZER PARTY
We call it an appetizer because it's the night before the big Facebook Party event (which usually last for 8 hours on a Saturday and is run by a number of authors not limited to the launch guest of honor).

These usually last 3 hours. Three hours is enough time to run 3 trivia games, intro the book, shout out for prize winners and share links to big party coming the following day on Facebook. The trick though is to have about 3 other people who you KNOW will be there to help you keep the party going, promo the party, and invite others.

A neat way to make sure you know who's coming is to use the mini-blog tour to build an invite list and later tweet a reminder to participants.

PARTY MUST DO LIST
For a twitter party to work, you need to have the Trivia Questions, links, etc preset (you can use hootsuite or socialoomph to do this in advance). This makes things much easier and allows facilitator to just do promo, invite tweets, and personal interaction with crowd.

Announcing the party should be done 60 to 30 minutes before by the 3 party facilitators. Invites to fans who are on twitter at the time & share a party favor if they show up is a great kickoff. Have a main prize of about $25 gift card that you will give out at end of night.

Kick off party with party jargon, a swag giveaway like bookmarks, introduction of participating authors, book, book trailer. Then start the games. Try to stick with games that are themes of the book. In between shout out a reminder about follow-on Facebook party, shout out winners and 'thank you' to participants before running next game. Sticking to 10 questions for each trivia works.

Trivia ideas. Movie lines, guess that tune, caption picture contest and many more depending how creative you are.

WOULD YOU GO TO A TWITTER RELEASE PARTY?

Monday, July 22, 2013

Indie Author Series: Social Media - What Works

SOCIAL MEDIA ... the rabbit you can never seem to catch. Ever changing, monstrocity of time that lures us all in.

I love social media. You can find me on twitter, facebook and now Instagram. It can make you a star. Hey really, my son is addicted to making Vine videos for twitter and now has over 20K followers?! Way more than I do.

HOW TO GAIN FOLLOWERS

Interaction. My number of followers is a steady build. Truth is, yes it's helped me sell books, but I truly can't pin my finger no the how of it.

But I really pondered the difference between my number of followers (which I've been cultivating for years) and the number of followers my son has (which he's only been cultivating for about 6 months). The difference is - comedy and expression. My son's vines are funny, engaging, over the top, and still an expression of him. He gave his viewers and tweeters something that kept them coming back for more.

THE TIME SUCK

Oh this is the double edge sword to the Social Media inticement of a constant party going on. Problem is, most people always want to be there. And before you know it, you've spent 2 hours a day on twitter alone?! (Some self reflection here).

SECRET WEAPONS

Use the tools that allow you to plan out your tweets and interactions in advance. Also, use tools that allow you to spread the word from your blog post to twitter, facebook, goole + and more.

DON'T ALWAYS FOLLOW THE NEW FAD

Just because someone says this new platform is all the 'rage' doesn't mean it's worth your time pursuing it. Take your time, let that new hot place to party build up, then jump in the pool after you evaluate the following (1) Is my audience there? (2) Are my current friends hanging out there? (3) Will it add value to my current platform

So, HOW DO YOU SEE SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING FOR YOU?

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Toni Lombardo talks about her Journey with Big 6

 
The YA Author Club is expanding is author presence and bringing on new talent every single week. This week, we are introducing the newest member of our team, Toni Lombardo. She is not an indie author, and she does not plan to become one. She's working hard at establishing herself within the traditionally published world. We wish her the best of luck in her efforts and thought it might be kind of cool to offer our fans/friends/followers a new voice within the club. 


Instead of posting information about indie publishing, Toni will take a few minutes every few weeks to fill us in on her trials and tribulations as she journeys toward the Big Six.

Also... leave us a comment and let know which Big Six pic you like best #1 (first one) or #2 (second one). The one getting the most votes/comments will be the one we use to introduce Toni's posts from this point forward.

Social Media Sites for Toni:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/write_to_live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IamLifewriter

Without further ado, we are pleased to introduce Toni Lombardo:

Hello there blog readers! Toni here, I am going to talk about myself now.  Hope you don’t mind.

I hope to change the publishing world by introducing them to new styles of writing!  And once you get to know me you know I don’t just dabble in things, I jump in whole heartedly with both feet, and most of the time without a safety net.   I am beginning to blog under the supervision and guidance of Graves (I just love her) .  Please come back bi-weekly to join me on my journey of publishing and writing on my blog series called Toni’s Big Six Journey. 
It can be found here: http://yaauthorclub.blogspot.com
Listening to: Wishing Well by Ben Moody: All for This
Quote: “Just know, when you truly want success, you’ll never give up on it. No matter how bad the situation may get.” - Unknown

Spotlight Interview Questions:

1) What is your all-time favorite book and why?
“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green (TFIOS) .  It is just perfect.  I cried on every page and went hysterical at Chapter 21.  I re-read the book within two months and re-experienced all that beautiful pain (readers of this book will get it #nerdfighter) .  Also, I bonded with my IBBF (internet best friend forever)  over this book.  We’ve known each other for a little over two months as of 7.12.2013, but it is one of the greatest friendships I have had.  So, beyond being a great book it brought me a great friend.

2) Is there an author you could be compared to or popular fictional characters your book's characters could relate to and why?
Oh gosh, this is a biggie.  I don’t really know.  I have my own style, but some of my darker pieces, like “The Tale-Tale Heart” which is a re-doing of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by E.A. Poe for a final English paper, have been associated to Poe.  I’m actually about to start a second mirroring piece of his, that T.R. Graves is up-to-date about.
As far as characters…People are going to think TFIOS for some of my characters, because I talk about the book ALL the time and it is a book about kids with cancer.  But my book is about a kid or two with cancer but there is more of a story to it than that, just like Green’s.

As far as my characters relating to other characters…oh I don’t know, never thought about that.  I’ve read books with characters that reminded me of mine, but never really thought about it that way.  I think Devon would like Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

3) Can you give us your favorite quote from one of your books and explain it?
“If you don’t know, you do not deserve to know!” –Devon
Oh my, how can I explain, Devon?  Okay so in this scene Devon just found out something in his family. Sorry for being vague, don’t want to give away plot points. He is really struggling in his life at the moment and this news was just devastating.  Like a lot of teens Devon struggles with the idea of self-harm and when his brother is talking to him he (Devon)  hints to wanting to hurt himself, and when his brother doesn’t get the hint he says the above quote possibly angrily. 

4) What types of things/people/music inspires you and makes you want to keep writing?
Things that inspire me to write…I don’t know.  Sometimes I just see something, okay I was in a store the other day and saw a beautiful all glass frame, free standing.  I saw it and instantly knew it belonged to a character in one of my W.I.P.s, and when I got home it was already done the character would have it in their house.  So it is just kind of random, if I see something and it attaches to a character, I say it inspired me.

People- My best friend Anne is who I write for along with a few other people.  Anne is my muse and my ‘first reader’.  She keeps me going when I don’t want to write and pushes me to finish projects. So she inspires me as well as Graves, Green, Asher, and others.

Music!!! Ahh, such an inspiration!  Don’t want to say too much here because this topic is going to be a whole blog post for me!

What makes me want to keep writing—my characters.  I get a points where I miss them and I physically feel missing them, I feel pain of sorts.  Sometimes just thinking and plotting and writing notes just does not suffice, so I write to subdue the longing for interacting with them.  And I love writing, so that helps.

5) Describe your typical writing day or week.
They are random.  I write whenever and wherever.  At one point I was writing (more than this at home)  every Friday night at the bar in Red Robin, where one of my friends works.  I would buy an unsweetened peach tea with EXTRA regular syrup and she kept me in well supply.   It was a great writing environment and the support was great!

6) Is there a food or drink do you have to have when you're writing?
I love, love, love peach tea, but I can’t have too much caffeine otherwise I can’t sleep.  So at one point it was that, but now….yeah, it is still that, I just can’t have it all the time.

7) Can you tell us what you're working on right now (& possibly provide an excerpt & cover) ?
Sooooo many things! The book I am working on to get published first is Life’s Not a Fantasy I have a cover idea, but no cover yet!  An excerpt? Sure!  Here is the introduction.  It is written by Devon:

It wasn’t ever supposed to be like this.  Our family was always so torn apart, even before what I’m, about to write.  Dad was out fighting for ‘our safety’ but was never home...he was a ‘lifer’.  Mom chose her favorites and clung tightly to them, and I fell to the bottom of that spectrum.  I was okay with it though.
I was always the ‘untypical typical’ teenager, meaning I was or still am the loner.  I’ve done my fair share of stupid things, but more on that later.
He, Cameron always held us together.  He was our rock.  He could make or break our family and now his name resonates with pain.
How can one name ruin everything?  How can one name bring so much pain?
It’s been days, moments, but his name already feels like a curse. 
Thanks for reading!  Hope this was entertaining.
Keep writing,


Monday, July 1, 2013

And the Blog Party Goes On! Summer Luv!

The Time For Summer Romancing isn't Over! Thundering Luv is still blazing it's path through the blogsphere!



Release Date: June 1st, 2013
Format: Ebook Only Release, but will be part of a print book in 2014 that includes 3 short YA Summer Romances by LM Preston to include (Flutter Of Luv, Thundering Luv, and Double Trouble Luv)

Publisher: Phenomenal One Press


Blurb:
Jewel has always been able to get the guy she wanted. The starting jock on the football team, the team captain on the basketball team, and the lead swimmer on the swim team. Problem is, she didn't find them the least bit exciting. Was she cold or a she-wolf for guys? Colin thought so, and he'd do anything to bring her down a peg or two. When these two collide on the sandy beach during their mixed up summer vacation, sparks fly, making this a summer neither will forget.

LM Preston,YA SciFi Author
www.lmpreston.com
Blog
Tweet Me
Facebook

BLOG TOUR!!!! Coming your way!!!





July Thundering Luv Tour Schedule


July 1st- Reading to the Stars -Review, Author Interview & Book Soundtrack
              Girls *Heart* Books Tours-Spotlight, Schedule
             The Next Chapter-Excerpt
             
              
July 2nd- Ever and Ever Sight -Review, Extended Excerpt
                Kindred Dreamheart - Extended Excerpt, Book Soundtrack



July 3rd- Sassy Book Lovers -Review, Spotlight
               Reading is my Time Out- Review, Extended Excerpt, Spotlight



July 4th- Bawaka’s Book Fair- Extended Excerpt



July 5th- Lost in a Sea of Words-Author Interview
                            


July 6th- Candy Coated Book Blog- Character Interview, Review, Extended Excerpt, Spotlight
               Mythical Books - Review



July 7th- Bex ‘n’ Books- Review
               A Crazy Vermonter’s Book Reviews-Review


July 8th- Sweet Treat Reading Reviews-Extended Excerpt, Book Soundtrack
               Scandalous Book Blog- Review, Author Interview
             


July 9th- Stressed Rach-Review, Book Soundtrack
               Addicted Reads - Author Interview, Extended Excerpt, Spotlight



July 10th- Reading Renee-Review, Character Interview, Extended Excerpt
                 Brianna Lee Book Reviews- extended excerpt
                 Kristina’s Books & More-review & excerpt



July 11th- Rose’s Book Corner-Extended Excerpt, Guest Post, Book Soundtrack
                 Books, Books, Books-Review
                 Tammy’s Tea Time- Review



July 12th- Bookmarks, Spoilers & Happily Ever After-Extended Excerpt & Spotlight
              
July 13th- Pretty in Pink Books and Reviews-Author Interview, Spotlight


July 14th- A Page Away -Extended Excerpt, Spotlight
                Eclipse Reviews- Author Interview, Character Interview


July 15th-  Recent Reads-Review, Extended Excerpt, Book Soundtrack
                  My Family’s Heart Book Reviews-Review, Author Interview, Extended Excerpt


July 16th- The Shadow Realm -Review, Extended Excerpt


July 17th- As You Wish Reviews - Guest Post/Top Ten


July 18th- Delphina Reads Too Much-Excerpt/Spotlight


July 19th- Lindsay and Jane’s Views and Reviews- Review, Extended Excerpt


July 20th- Big Girls *Heart* Books-Review
                 Just Me, Myself and I- Review, Top Ten Post
                 The Next Chapter-Book Soundtrack


July 21st- Eclipse Reviews-author interview, character interview


July 22nd- My Pathway to Books -Review


July 23rd- Romancebookworm’s Reviews- Excerpt, Spotlight, Review
                 JeanzBookReadNReviews- Author Interview, Extended Excerpt, Spotlight, Book Soundtrack


July 24th- Cu’s e-Book Give Aways-Extended Excerpt


July 25th- A Bibliophile’s Thoughts on Books- Extended Excerpt, Spotlight


July 26th- Fated Paranormals-Review & Character Interview
                 The Next Chapter-Review


July 27th- The Phantom Paragrapher- Review, Book Soundtrack


July 28th- Book Nerds Across America - Review



July 29th- Indy Book Fairy -Extended Excerpt


               
July 30th- Zee Books Blog- Review, Extended Excerpt
                 Books and their Worldly Realm- Review, Character Interview, Book Soundtrack


July 31st- The Library at the End of the Universe- Book Soundtrack


August 1st- Manifestations of my Mind -Review, Extended Excerpt, Character Interview