Guest Post & Giveaway: Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour
Today I have Donna Huber here on the blog. Many of you know her as Girl Who Reads. Usually she’s on the other end of things, setting up and coordinating blog tours and book blasts, tweeting, hosting guest posts . . . but now it’s her turn. Read about the new book, take a look at the guest post, and be sure to enter the giveaway. Enjoy!
Summary:
Plan a successful blog tour while keeping your sanity
From the publicist who introduced the world to Fifty Shades of Grey, Donna Huber is now revealing her secrets to successful blog tours. She shares tips and tricks learned through organizing over 30 tours, blasts, and promotional events for nearly 50 independently and traditionally published titles.
Secrets revealed in this quick read include,
Planning stage decisions
Different types of tours
Recruiting bloggers and keeping requests organized
Best practice communication tips
Tricks to making a great guest appearance
How to organize a fun (and legal) giveaway
Actions to take during the tour
Next steps once the tour is complete
Virtual tour and other promotional opportunities
When to hire a professional
In this easy to follow manual, Donna does not stop there. She spills even more of her blog tour secrets to help authors get the most out of their events by providing,
Tour checklist
Tour invite tips
Step-by-step guide to creating tour graphics
10 broad guest post topics
25 sample interview questions
Author Blogging is Different than Book Blogging
Not all blogging is the same. It will make working with book bloggers easier if an author understands the differences between an author blog and a book blog. The biggest differences between an author blog and a book blog are the purpose of the blog and the product they are promoting. Because the purpose and the product are different, the strategy employed is different.
The Purpose
Both an author blog and a book blog want to build a readership, but for slightly different reasons.
An author blogs to connect with their readers. They reveal insights about themselves and share news regarding their writing projects through their blog. While they may also spotlight other authors and talk about books they are reading, they do it all for one purpose – promote their book(s).
A book blogger also wants to connect with readers. While some may share personal insights about their lives, the focus is on books, authors, and reading. The purpose of a book blog is to promote others and the blog itself.
The Product
The product the author is promoting is separate from their blog. When authors post on their blog, they are hoping it leads to their book being purchased. The blog is just one component of their larger platform and marketing plan. The blog in many ways serves the same purpose as any other media coverage.
For a book blogger, their blog is their product. Everything they do is to bring readers to their site. A book blog is part of the media industry just like magazines and newspapers.
How do magazines and newspapers make money? Through subscriptions and ad revenue. Most book blogs are not behind a paywall and, therefore, not generating funds through subscriptions (though they could distribute through Amazon Kindle). They are left with generating revenue through ads, which means they need to drive readers to their site and keep them there.
The Strategy
Because the purpose and product are different for authors and bloggers, so is the approach to blogging. An author only needs to blog a few times a week to keep their blog’s ranking high in search algorithms. A blogger may need to post more than once a day to entice readers to their site, but also to have them stay there longer.
Think about the media sites you visit, is there only one new story a day? Not likely. TMZ.com posted 6 stories on June 20. My local paper has posted 7 stories in a 6.5 hour period on their site. Why should a book blog be any different?
Promotion & Passion
While there are differences in purpose, product, and strategy between author blogging and book blogging, there is common ground – promotion and passion for the written word. Working together can help both garner a growing readership.
About Donna:
Bio:
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the blogger behind Girl Who Reads where, in addition to book reviews and author appearances, she writes the popular blogging advice series, Tips on Thursday. She has worked as a freelance publicist since 2010 assisting publishers and authors with their marketing and publicity needs. Most notably, she was the publicist for The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House edition of Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James.
When she is not doling out blogging advice or promoting the next bestseller, she can be found spending time with family (particularly the four legged, furry members), rewatching Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, or trying to make a dent in her never ending to-be-read pile.
Social Media Links:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/girl_who_reads
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Girl-Who-Reads/273856382671730
Blog – http://www.girl-who-reads.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17980343-secrets-to-a-successful-blog-tour
Schedule: July 29 Fresh Pot of Tea http://alisondeluca.blogspot.com/ Review & Guest Post July 30 Sarah Aisling www.sarahaisling.com Guest Post July 31 1 Book Lover's Opinion www.1bookloversopinion.com Guest Post Aug. 1 What Shall We Blog About Today? http://kenowinsky.blogspot.com Review & TOp 10 List Aug. 2 Jude Ouvrard Www.judeouvrard.com Interview Aug. 3 Jamie Sheffield Www.jamiesheffield.com Interview Aug. 4 From the desk of . . . R.E. Hargrave www.rehargrave.com Interview Aug. 5 All That's Written ... http://lucypireel.wordpress.com/ Top 10 List Aug. 6 Italian Brat's Obsessions http://itlnbrt.com Review & Guest Post Aug. 7 Author S.A. Jones www.authorsajones.com Review & Book Promo Aug. 8 Karen Pokras Toz http://kptoz.blogspot.com Guest Post Aug. 9 Lisa Bilbrey Www.lisabilbrey.blogspot.com Guest Post Aug. 10 Elizabeth Lawrence http://elizabeth-lawrence-author.blogspot.com/ Guest Post Aug. 11 Aria Glazki Writes ariaglazki.blogspot.com Guest Post Aug. 12 Rose & Beps Blog http://rosebeps.blogspot.it/ Guest Post Aug. 13 Cabin Goddess http://cabingoddess.com/ Review Aug. 14 Killer Chicks http://www.killerchicks.org/ Interview Aug. 15 Twitter Party 8 pm eastern #GWRchat Aug. 16 Library Girl Reads & Reviews http://librarygirlreads.blogspot.com Review & Top 10 List
Cover Reveal & Giveaway: A Wicked Kind of Dark
A Wicked Kind of Dark
Robert Duncan no longer believes in magic. A mysterious call about a blood moon, however, leads him back to the magical world of his childhood and to Luthien, the beautiful girl with flame-coloured hair, who he loved and lost.
As Robert unravels the secrets of his childhood, darkness enters his life and an ancient evil awakens. To have any chance of defeating the dark forces that would destroy two worlds, Robert must find Luthien before the rise of the blood moon. He must, once more, believe in magic …
A Wicked Kind of Dark mixes vast and spectacular fantasy landscapes with gritty urban reality. A must-read for people of all ages who believe in the power of imagination, and the importance of never losing touch with your inner child.
Author Jonathan K. Benton
Jonathan Benton always wanted to write books, having won first place in a short story competition when he was ten. Inspired by writes such as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, Jonathan first discovered the crossover genre of literary/fantasy while reading Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes.
Jonathan grew up in New Zealand, dreaming of travelling to London and finally making the pilgrimage in his mid-twenties. Returning from England, he settled in Australia, the country he now calls home, and decided to take his writing seriously.
Bookblast and #Giveaway: Blood and Bone by Don Hoesel
Blood and Bone
More Archaeological Adventures from Popular Suspense Writer Don Hoesel.
A decade after Serpent of Moses, Jack is married to Espy and back teaching at Evanston University. They have two sons, one of whom has cystic fibrosis. Despite this challenge, life is comfortable. But that all changes when the CIA, while combing through the papers of the late Gordon Reese, uncovers the secret of Elisha’s bones. Jack’s world is then turned upside down by an urgent call from his old friend Duckey, who’s been alerted to the CIA’s probing by one of his former contacts. Jack and his family escape from their home just ahead of the CIA, and he decides to do what he should have done long ago: recover the bones and destroy them. Except the bones aren’t where he left them.
So now Jack is in a race, for the last time, to find the bones. And he’s not the only one. Pitted against both the CIA and an organization that will kill to protect their secrets, Jack and Espy follow hard-to-decipher clues across the globe before arriving in the catacombs of Paris for a final showdown that will either save their family–or tear apart everything they hold dear forever.
Author Don Hoesel
Don Hoesel is a Web site designer for a Medicare carrier in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communication from Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief Journal. He lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with his wife and two children. The Alarmists is his third novel.
BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 8/4/13
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
Blog Stop and Review: Ashes Ashes by Julie Coulter Bellon
Today I have the talented Julie Coulter Bellon here on the blog tour for Ashes Ashes, book two of the Hostage Negotiation Team series. Enjoy the excerpt below, read my review, enter the giveaway, then hurry to get your copy of this awesome read!
Ashes Ashes
Are you ever really innocent until proven guilty?
Sophia Naziri is wanted for questioning in the murder of a U.S. senator. She’s worried the police will show up on her doorstep any moment, but when Detective Colby Black appears, it’s to help her put out a kitchen fire, not take her in. Yet. His easy smile and persistence in getting to know her pushes all her troubles to the back of her mind, until a hit man tracks her down. Getting arrested becomes the least of her worries and the handsome detective could be her only way out—if she tells him the truth.
Colby Black’s sniper skills have been a blessing and a curse to him. As a member of a Hostage Negotiation Team, he can use them to save people, but sometimes he can’t protect the innocent despite his best efforts. When a hostage situation goes bad, he tries to put it behind him by helping out his mysterious next-door neighbor, Sophia Naziri. But she pulls Colby into a web of lies and conspiracy that will force him to use every skill he has in order to survive. Faced with the moment of truth, can he trust anyone around him—including the woman at the center of it all?
Excerpt
It was gut-check time.
Detective Colby Black looked down the scope of his rifle, a bead of sweat running down his back. It felt like they’d been there all day, but the afternoon sun still beating down on him high overhead told him it’d only been an hour or so.
“Black, can you see the suspect?” Captain Reed’s voice came over his earpiece.
“Affirmative.” Colby had hardly been able to take his eyes off the stringy-haired guy with the gun who was pacing behind his hostage, shouting at her and anyone else within hearing distance. The shrill ringing of the phone on the wall behind them punctuated whatever the man was yelling at her. “He’s still pretty agitated. You think he’s going to answer that phone anytime soon?”
A shot cracked the air and the ringing abruptly stopped as a bullet ripped into the phone. “I guess that answers that question,” Colby muttered to himself.
“Stand by for orders.” The captain sounded calm, but Colby knew him well enough to hear the thread of frustration. If they couldn’t make contact, the entry team would be sent in, and it was game over for any type of negotiation.
Colby flexed his wrist before hunkering down once again. From the little they knew about this guy, he’d already killed two store clerks today and shot an officer in the thigh during the getaway attempt. When he barricaded himself in the house with his wife and two kids, the Hostage Negotiation Team was called and Colby headed out. In the hour they’d been there, the guy had shot out two windows and screamed obscenities at the cops outside as he fired his gun randomly. Colby always hoped the situation stayed controlled and they could get everyone out safely, but his instinct was telling him this one could get out of control fast with how erratic this guy was acting.
Colby adjusted his earpiece a bit, but didn’t miss a syllable of Claire Michaels checking in with the team. She was the main negotiator and was good at her job, but she was always a little anxious until they established contact with the hostage-taker. Once that line was set, she calmed right down. Colby clenched his teeth together, hoping she could figure out a way to make contact so the patrolman using the bullhorn could stop. The man’s grating voice was getting on his nerves.
Colby was grateful for a straight line of vision into the kitchen where the subject had holed up and he looked into the scope again just in time to see the man grab his wife by the hair and haul her against him, still screaming in her ear. He waved his .40 caliber handgun in front of her before pointing it right at her temple. “Sir, he’s got the gun to his wife’s head,” he reported.
He kept a close watch, waiting for orders, but sucked in a breath when he saw a child around four years old enter the room where the hostage-taker stood with his wife. “Sir, we have two hostages confirmed. Woman and child. No sign of the reported second child.”
“Colby, the entry team’s about ready. They’ve got a flash-bang coming through the back as a diversion.”
Colby heard Captain Reed’s words, but knew it was the wrong move to make. “A flash-bang, sir? When there are hostages?”
“We need to get this guy’s attention, fast, so we can move in as safely as possible and that’s the only choice we’ve got right now.”
Colby shook his head. This guy was on the edge and if they entered now, it would end badly. Colby could feel it. He squinted to see if he could get any better view, anything that would force the entry team to wait and give them a little longer to try to get him to negotiate. “Come on,” he said to himself. Nothing. “Sir, does Claire¾”
His sentence was cut off at the sound of gunfire and the scream that followed it.
Author Julie Coulter Bellon
She also has one non-fiction title: Be Prepared: A Parent’s Guide to the Duty to God and Eagle Scout Awards—What You Should Know and is part of two compilations, How Will Christmas Find Us and Life Lessons From Mothers of Faith.
She is the mother of eight children and when she’s not busy being a mom or a writer, you will find her browsing through bookstores to add to her book collection, at the library borrowing books, or reading the treasures she’s found.
Giveaway Details
$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 7/24/13
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Bookblast & #Giveaway: Choke by S.R. Johannes
Suffocate
Suffocate is the first novelette in THE BREATHLESS series. It is a 15,000 word young adult thriller that combines the dystopic and science fiction genres.
For centuries, the world outside the Biome has been unlivable. Today, marks the first time anyone will attempt to leave the suffocating ecosphere. Eria is not worried because her scientist father has successfully tested the new Bio-Suit many times.
It’s a celebratory day until something goes horribly wrong. In the midst of tragedy, Eria uncovers a deep conspiracy in her perfect bubble. If those responsible find out what she knows, they won’t stop hunting her until she takes her last breath.
Choke
When Eria escapes her home in the Biome, she uncovers more about her
features and specifications as a HumaNot. Following her father’s
instructions, Eria embarks on a journey into a dangerous and unpredictable world.
Along the way, she encounters a young rebel, Dirk, who explains he’s from the Anarchy, an underground human resistance rising up against the BOTs–advanced man-made robots gone wild. Together, Dirk and Eria battle underground serpents, desert dingos, sand storms, and advanced Bots that are always hot on their trail. As they become closer, Dirk reveals his hatred of machines, forcing Eria to hide the secret of what and who she really is.
When the truth of her identity comes out, Eria is forced to become the very thing she hates the most.
This novelette is about 20,000 words and is the 2nd in the YA Breathless novelette series. Exhale (#3) is scheduled for Nov 2013.
Author S.R. Johannes
S.R. Johannes is the award-winning author of the Amazon bestselling thriller series, The Nature of Grace (Untraceable and Uncontrollable). Unstoppable (book 3) is scheduled for September 2013.
BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 7/28/13
Bookblast and Giveaway: Zaremba by Michelle Granas
Summary:
In Warsaw, a shy and high-minded polio victim lives a life of seclusion caring for her odd family until a chance encounter plunges her into the intrigues of dirty politics; Zaremba, a wealthy businessman, is about to be arrested on trumped-up charges and only she can save him. Swept along by events, Cordelia finds her feelings increasingly involved with a stranger for whom she is both rescuer and victim. When Zaremba disappears, Cordelia must overcome surveillance, corruption, the media, and mounting humiliations and difficulties to learn the truth.
Although set in Poland, this is a story that could happen anywhere, as young democracies struggle against the temptations of covert operations and older democracies sometimes lead them astray.
Excerpt:
Her father was still fussing angrily as he reached across her to slam open and shut the glove compartment as he tossed in the ticket. The police car had disappeared behind them, leaving them in the dark by the side of the road. Her father threw himself back in his
seat and sat there, his arms dropping from the steering wheel. He made no move to restart the car.
“It’s too bad,” said Cordelia soothingly, “but it can’t be helped now. Let’s go on.”
But her father had become curiously silent.
“Tato?” asked Cordelia, suddenly worried. “Are you all right? Tato?”
Her father’s hand had come up to his heart.
“Are you all right?” She asked again urgently.
He turned his head slightly towards her and shook it, ever so slightly.
“Your medicine! Where’s your medicine?”
He didn’t answer her, but closed his eyes as she sought quickly and awkwardly through the pockets of his blazer, through the glove compartment. No medicine; he must have forgotten it.
“An ambulance, Cordelia,” her father murmured.
An ambulance? But how would she call one, here on the deserted highway? Oh, a car was coming, its lights cutting the darkness ahead. The driver would have a cell phone – everyone did. She struggled from the car, the beginnings of panic making her more than usually clumsy, and rushed into the middle of the highway, holding up a shaking hand to the car.
The car slowed, she could see a man and his wife looking her over as the headlights caught her. She was standing in the middle of the lane, waving her crutch. But as the car came to a near standstill and she headed towards the passenger window, the driver suddenly
stepped on the gas again and departed at full speed.
“Stop,” she cried after it “Stop! Stop! Please! We need an ambulance!” But the car didn’t stop. She knew they were afraid of a trap, she knew it was reasonable, and she cursed them from the bottom of her heart, her breath coming in a sob.
What to do now? She looked up and down the highway, but there were no signs of light anywhere – not another car coming or a house light or anything. She turned back to her father.
The door on her father’s side was open and a dark shape was kneeling there; it rose. She stifled a scream.
Bio:
Michelle Granas was born in Alaska, but currently divides her time between Oregon and Poland. She has degrees in philosophy and comparative literature, but now works s a translator. Over the past dozen years she has translated for many of Poland’s major politicians and writers, including short pieces for the Nobel Prize winner Lech Walesa and Nobel Prize nominee Ryszard Kapuscinski.
Social Media Links
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6942231.Michelle_Granas
Buy Links
Amazon: http://amzn.to/19YGQyv
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/zaremba-or-love-and-the-rule-of-law-michelle-granas/1114303818?ean=9780988859203
Smashwords:http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/273954
Prize: 1 paperback copy (open internationally)
Bookblast and Giveaway: IXEOS Rebellion by Jennings Wright
Ixeos Rebellion
With rebel leader Darian free at last, the humans and outsiders on Ixeos must find a way to join forces and defeat the Firsts. The problem? All slaves are tracked with GPS, the Firsts are the only ones with power, and roving gangs hate the rebels just as much as they hate the aliens. As Darian and the outsiders from Earth travel the globe through the mysterious tunnels in Paris, they learn that the Firsts are preparing to launch another wave of biological warfare. With a transporter that will allow the aliens to target any city, anywhere on the planet, the rebels know they must stop them at all costs.
As things get more dangerous on Ixeos, the outsiders find that they’re pushed to their limit. Will they fight for freedom, no matter the price?
IxeosThe McClellands are enjoying a lazy summer vacation at the beach when they are lured from our world into Ixeos, an alternate Earth. Finding themselves lost in a maze of tunnels under Paris and surrounded by strangers, they discover that they have been brought to Ixeos for one purpose: to take the planet back from humanoid aliens who have claimed it. With the aid of the tunnels and a mysterious man named Landon, the teens travel the world seeking the key that will allow them to free Darian, the long-imprisoned rebel leader. But the aliens aren’t the only problem on Ixeos — the McClellands have to deal with brutal gangs, desperate junkies, and a world without power, where all the technology is owned by the aliens, and where most of the population has been killed or enslaved. The worst part? There’s no way home.
Author Jennings Wright
Born and raised in Florida, Jennings spent her early years reading anything she could get her hands on, when she wasn’t spending time in and on the water. She won a prize in the 6th grade for her science fiction stories.
Jennings attended the University of Tampa, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, and almost enough credits for B.A.s in both English and History. She attended graduate school at the University of West Florida, studying Psychology. She spent time over the years doing various kinds of business writing, editing, and teaching writing, but mostly having and raising her family, homeschooling her children, owning and running a business with her husband, and starting a non-profit.
Thanks to a crazy idea called NaNoWriMo Jennings got back into creative writing in 2011 and hasn’t stopped since. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband, also a business owner and writer, and two children, and travels extensively with her family, and her non-profit in Uganda.
Book Blast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 7/28/13
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
Bookblast & Giveaway: Rising Sun, Falling Star by Vickie Hall
Rising Sun, Falling Star
Different eyes and skin
Mock me from the mirror’s light
Enemy am I.
Dec 7, 1941
Today my life changed forever . . . I am no longer considered American, but by shear heritage I am now the hated enemy . . .
The lives of Kenji and Aiko Onishi and their American-born children are about to unravel when the United States is thrust into war with Japan. Confronted by insurmountable prejudice and fear, the family is ripped from their California home without just cause by the American government and sent to an assembly center “for their own protection.”
Forced to live in deplorable circumstances, every aspect of their lives regulated and controlled, the Onishi’s freedoms are stripped from their grasp as they struggle to survive behind barbed wire. It isn’t long before the mind-numbing confinement and feelings of helplessness begin to pit the family against one another.
When sent to a relocation camp in the center of the Utah desert, they’re beset by ever increasing emotional and physical challenges, and Aiko is faced with her greatest yet: to mend the broken spirits of her family, or risk losing them forever.
Based on true and tragic events that transpired during World War II, Rising Sun, Falling Star is a heart-rending story of one family’s struggle to survive uncalculated loss and emotional destruction.
Author Vickie Hall
Vickie is a native of Utah, but growing up, lived in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Nebraska. When she’s not writing, she’s composing music, or shopping with her sister. She loves animals of all kinds and camping with her family. Her favorite pastime is watching old movies on TCM, and unashamedly has a crush on Cary Grant.
BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 8/2/13
Blog Stop and Review: In My Mother’s Footsteps by Forbes Arnone
Today, Forbes Arnone stops by on the blog tour for her debut short story In My Mother’s Footsteps, which is part of Renaissance Romance’s Summer Heat anthology. Check out an excerpt of the story below, and read my review. Enjoy!
Summary
Anela Alborn’s life is a lie. After growing up without the love of a father, her mother reveals his identity. Tragedy strikes and she sets off on an adventure that leads to more than she could ever imagine. Bumping into Christian Sivers distracts her from the real man of her dreams, her father. Will he live up to her dreams? And does she follow in her mother’s footsteps?
Excerpt
My brown, wooden, antiquated cottage sat on top of a hill in Sausalito. The shingles were bleached out from exposure to the sun’s rays. A beautiful, naturally-worn deck wound around the small chalet and gave me one of the best views in town. The bold, red peaks of the Golden Gate Bridge were visible through the light haze of fog over the ocean. With the hot sun working overtime to clear the sky, the fog always seemed to linger around the tops of the bridge. To my left, I could look down and see the rocky shore that the tourists often frequented. The slick brown and black seals liked to sunbathe on the boulders at the water’s edge. People would gather to take pictures or have lunch in one of the quaint restaurants that overlooked the choppy, aqua-blue ocean.
I had grown up in Sausalito my entire life. With the exception of when I went to Berkley, I hadn’t adventured into the city much. Sometimes, I’d take the ferry to Angel Island with my mountain bike and take leisurely rides or run the hills. I hadn’t done that since I ran out of my mother’s house, either.
Now that I had packed up all of her belongings — with the exception a few things I wanted to keep — I was exhausted. As I sat on the deck of my small cottage and stared out into the vast ocean, I felt anxious about the file that sat on my lap. Lennie had given it to me at his office three days before and I had yet to open it. The fear at what I’d find seeped in and turned my stomach.
Focusing my attention, I looked down at the folder and decided the time had come to face whatever was inside. My hands trembled as I lifted the two metal prongs and opened the flap. I tipped the folder upside down to empty the contents, finding the usual white sheets of paper that were full of legal jargon. How I wished I didn’t know what they meant. Sifting through it all, I found a copy of the deed to the house, which stated that it had been transferred to my name. Also, there was the pink slip to my mother’s car to be filled out and mailed to the Department of Motor Vehicles, and a small envelope with my mother’s messy, artsy script on the front. One word had been written on it: Anela.
Bio
Jennifer Garcia’s (aka Forbes Arnone) love of travel began when she traveled to the West Coast to visit her father at the age of three. Her home until she was sixteen was a small coastal town near Boston. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, two sons, and two dogs.
Her lifelong love for reading and writing was put aside for many years while she made her way in the world and nurtured her young family. Even though she is older, and life never seems to settle, she’s finding her way while attending college full-time in pursuit of a B.A. in English Literature. She also runs a business, and is still caring for her family. Believing she can do it all, with the help of her family, she worked on her first novel during the late hours of the night while balancing the rest of her life during the day. Her hard work paid off, as her first novel, My Mr. Manny, will be published August 2013.
Find Jennifer on:
Blog Stop and Review: Mountain Charm by Sydney Logan
Today I have the talented Sydney Logan here as part of the blog tour for her new release, Mountain Charm. Read the guest post to find out about the research that went into the Appalachian Magic that is the intriguing backdrop for the story, and check out my review. Enjoy!
Sydney, what research did you do for the background of Mountain Charm? Do you have first hand knowledge of Appalachian Magic?
I wish I had firsthand knowledge of Appalachian Magic! Sadly, my only knowledge comes from the research I’ve done.
Living in the country, you hear a lot of superstitions (black cat crosses your path brings bad luck, break a mirror and have seven years of back luck, thunder in February means frost in May, death comes in threes, etc.). However, most of my research was done online. I found many websites devoted to Appalachian witchcraft (or Granny Magic). A lot of the traditions go back to 1700s Scotland and Ireland, and when those settlers’ customs mixed with the mountain traditions of the Cherokee, those rituals, beliefs, and medicinal knowledge became part of the Appalachian Magic traditions. “Witch doctors” stemmed from that, and like Dylan learns in my novel, Mountain Charm, a lot of the healing was due to medicinal herbs. I found a great website devoted to mountain herbs and plants and the medicinal (and sometimes poisonous) qualities of them. I used a lot of those in the book. If you’re interested, you can see the list here: Magical Uses of Herbs.
As for Angelina, I wanted to give her a supernatural gift that was both a blessing and curse, so I decided to make her a healer. Her father has passed away from cancer and her mom is now fighting the disease, so knowing she has the power to heal, but not to cure, makes Angelina feel useless. In her mind, if she can’t use her gifts to save the people she loves, what’s the point in being a witch at all? It’s her mom who reminds her that people don’t only heal with their hands. They can heal with their spirit and their hearts. Even though this is fiction, it would have been very irresponsible of me to have Angelina heal her mother’s disease when all of us have lost loved ones to cancer, so I was very sensitive to that when writing the story. I hope I gave Angelina’s story a realistic and satisfying ending.
Summary:
At the age of thirteen, Angelina Clark followed in the footsteps of her ancestors by casting an Appalachian love spell, which promised she would blossom into a beautiful and gifted woman who would find her true love. A young Angelina had been thrilled to participate in the sacred ritual, but through the years, her father’s untimely death and her mother’s failing health have shaken Angelina’s magical faith to its core. As her twenty-first birthday approaches, she refuses to practice her supernatural gifts and no longer believes in the love charm.
That is, until Dylan Thomas arrives on her front porch.
Dylan, a Nashville writer, travels to the mountain town of Maple Ridge to unearth the family’s supernatural secrets. While her clairvoyant mother is convinced that Dylan is her daughter’s soul mate, Angelina refuses to see the nosy reporter as anything more than a nuisance.
Despite their constant bickering, sparks fly.
Dylan admits he feels strangely drawn to Angelina and is in no hurry to leave Maple Ridge or publish his magazine article. Fearful that his emotions are being influenced by the spell, a stubborn Angelina struggles to fight her own budding attraction to the reporter.
The two inevitably grow closer just as her mother’s health begins to deteriorate, and Angelina is faced with the possibility of selling the family’s music shop to pay the mounting medical expenses. Desperate to help the woman he loves, Dylan explores his own family tree and finds support from an unlikely source. Can he finally prove his love is real—spell or no spell?
A story filled with love, friendship, family, and just a hint of Appalachian magic, Mountain Charm will leave you spellbound.
Bio:
Author Bio:
Sydney Logan is an Amazon bestselling author and holds a Master’s degree in Elementary Education. With the 2012 release of her first novel, Lessons Learned, she made the transition from bookworm to author. Sydney has a very unhealthy obsession with music, and her iPod is filled with everything from Johnny Cash to Eminem. She is also the author of two short stories: “Mistletoe Magic,” available exclusively on Amazon Kindle, and “Stupid Cupid,” which is featured in the Romantic Interludescompilation. When she isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys playing piano and relaxing on her front porch at her home in East Tennessee with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat.
Her second novel, Mountain Charm, is slated for a summer 2013 release.
Visit Sydney’s website at www.sydneylogan.com.
Buying link: http://ph.
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