Lexa Cain: September 2016

Friday, September 30, 2016

Celebrate: Salads & Giveaways

You know you may have gained

a little too much weight when...

This week I'm celebrating:
1) I spent most of the summer inside, hiding from the heat in the air-conditioning, and sitting at my laptop. It resulted in some weight gain... Now that it's cooler, I realize I have to change some things.
2) I'm going out for walks almost every day. I'm buying more vegetables, making salads, and cutting down on bread and sweets.
3) I hope to be able to scratch my chin with my foot soon.

Do you have a special tactic for keeping your weight in check?

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:

Grab the Linky html-code here:

** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **

Celebrate the Small Things. To be part of this blog hop, all you have to do is visit the Celebrate page on Lexa's Blog for the rules, and then post every Friday about something you're grateful for that week. It can be about writing or family or school or general life. This is the funnest and easiest blog hop ever! (Originated by VikLit)

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net.

When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Friday Freebies posts -

Free short stories, novellas, and novels
Giveaways for books and swag
Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for Sept 30, 2016:

Free Signed ARC Copy of YA Christian/Mystery Novel – Win Snowbirds by Crissa-Jean Chappell, about Amish Lucy excited to spend time with her Amish “Snowbird” friend, Alice, who comes to Florida every year for the winter, except this year Alice is doing Rumspringa and drags Lucy from party to party—until Alice vanishes without a trace. The author is giving away a signed copy of the novel via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Oct 5)

Free Signed YA SF/F Novel – To celebrate the release of Emerge: Judgment (Book 2 in the Emerge series), about a clairvoyant teen who needs to control her powers to rescue a friend from the evil Coalition, author Melissa A. Craven is giving away a signed copy of the first book in the series, Emerge: The Awakening via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Oct 6)

Free YA Contemp/Romance Novel – Win The Possibility of Somewhere by Julia Day, about the bitter competition for valedictorian and a full-ride scholarship between rich arrogant Indian-Asian Ash and Eden, the poor hard-working student who needs the scholarship desperately. When forced to work together, sparks fly—of both anger and romance. The author is offering the novel via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (US only; ends Oct 7)

Free $25 Amazon Gift Card – To celebrate the release of Melting Steel (Romance) by C.M. Seabrook, about a woman whose heartbreaking past may keep her from giving a chance to the arrogant but sexy man who wants to save her and claim her heart, the author is giving away a $25 Amazon card via rafflecopter on the Romance Novel Giveaways blog. (ends Oct 10)

Free $40 Amazon or B&N Gift Card – To celebrate the release of Confessions of Us (Romance) by Alexandra Forry, about a woman who gets mixed up with the mafia and finds herself surrounded by lies, deceit and danger, the author is giving away a $40 Amazon or B&N card via rafflecopter on the Romance Novel Giveaways blog. (ends Oct 7)

For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

If anyone has a FREE short story (for download or online at a free ezine), novella, novel, special giveaway, or author service, please let Foxy know so she can plug you here! Write to: laura.6eg(at)gmail.com

Friday, September 23, 2016

Celebrate: Keeping Up & Giveaway

Just when you think you're done,

another chore pops up.

This week I'm celebrating:

1) I finally got all my interviews and guest posts written. Yay! Just as I sent the last one off this morning, my publisher forwarded a new interview request to me. *sigh* But that's OK. I'm getting pretty good at them now!

2) Things are going better than last week -- I'm up to date with my chores, my to-do list, and all book launch responsibilities. "Houston, we are go for launch!"

3) I'm looking forward to a few days of rest after my "rocket ship" takes off on October 4th.

4) Maybe I'll treat myself to a cake or go out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Hmm...what sounds good?

If you launched a book, would you do anything special to celebrate?

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:

Grab the Linky html-code here:

** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net.

When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Friday Freebies posts -

Free short stories, novellas, and novels
Giveaways for books and swag
Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for Sept 23, 2016:

Get free books in these categories:

Contemporary

Contemporary Romance

Crime

Fantasy

Historical Romance

Horror

Mystery

New Adult

Paranormal

Paranormal Romance

Romance

Science Fiction

Teen and Young Adult

Thrillers

Western Romance

Instafreebie is a great site for ebook giveaways. Authors provide their books in epub, mobi, or PDF format and allow people to download them while automatically signing them up to the author’s newsletter.

All you have to do to get the free book is click the book’s cover which will take you to the “Claim” page. Fill in your name, your email address, and check the box for the book format you want. Then hit “Claim Your Book.”

An email will immediately be sent to you with the ebook attached. Just download it or forward it to Kindle.

Every few days you’ll get an email from Instafreebie with new offers of free books.

You’ll also get the newsletter of the author whose book you downloaded. You can unsubscribe at any time.

I’m a dedicated freebie hunter and I’ve never seen such an easy-to-use site. I’ve gotten about 12 novels, novellas, and short stories from them. I have lots to read now. Woohoo!

For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Celebrate: Sheri's Motley Education & Giveaways

A Day at the Spa

I need a spa day!

This week I'm celebrating:
1) Release activities are cranking up and I'm falling behind on my to-do list. Ack! However, I'm still managing to keep promises I made to post other writers' releases or cover reveals -- like the one below for Sheri Larsen!
2) While I'm being good with doing things for others, I'm struggling to write my own guest posts and interviews (those things are harder than they look!). But at least if I let the blog owners know I'll be late, they're very gracious in granting me more time.
3) My Thunderclap is fully supported! I'm so grateful to everyone who signed up. I wouldn't be anywhere with all this release stuff if it weren't for your generous help. Thank you!

Cover Reveal

and Giveaway!

Motley Education

(Book One: The URD Saga)

by S.A. Larsen

Release Date: October 10, 2016

Blurb:
Forget having a lively after school social life, Ebony Charmed is fighting to keep the entire Afterlife alive.
Ebony’s less-than-average spirit tracking abilities are ruining more than sixth grade at Motley Junior High: School for the Psychically & Celestially gifted. Her parents argue so much her dad moved out. And, even though he’s scared of his own shadow and insists on bringing his slimy, legless lizard everywhere they go, Ebony wouldn’t survive without her best friend, Fleishman.
When Ebony’s Deadly Creatures & Relics’ project goes missing, she learns her missing project is one of the keys to saving the spirit world. Now Ebony and Fleishman must battle beasts from Norse Mythology to retrieve her project before spirits are lost, the Well of Urd dries up, and Ebony loses all hope of reuniting her family. But someone lies in wait, and he has other plans...including creating a new world of spirits without them in it.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Motley Education has been aligned with Core Standards for grades 4-7. A guide will be available on the author’s website to download for FREE after the book’s release date.

S.A. LARSEN is the author of Motley Education, the first book in a middle grade fantasy-adventure series. Her work has appeared in numerous local publications and young adult anthologies Gears of Brass and Under A Brass Moon by Curiosity Quills Press. Look for her debut young adult novel, Marked Beauty, set for release in 2017. Find her in the land of lobsters, snowy winters, and the occasional Eh’ya with her husband of over twenty years, four children, a playful pooch, and two kittens.

Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Member for Celebrate – Update Your Blog Rolls:
Two Book Minimum https://twobookminimum.wordpress.com/
Welcome Two Book Minimum!

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:

Grab the Linky html-code here:

** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net.

When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Friday Freebies posts -

Free short stories, novellas, and novels
Giveaways for books and swag
Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for Sept 16, 2016:

Free $25 AMEX Gift Card, $25 Sephora Gift Card, Signed Thriller Novel & Swag – Celebrate’s own Yvonne Ventresca has a thrilling new book coming out on October 4 called Black Flowers, White Lies, about a girl whose father’s death is raising questions and sparking strange occurrences. Yvonne is giving away a signed copy of the book, 2 gift cards, and a rustic chalk board. Enter via rafflecopter on the Jen Halligan PR blog. (ends Oct 8)

Free SF/F Historical Time-Travel Novel – Win Timeless by Crystal Collier, about a young woman who must travel back to the 13th century to defeat dangerous enemies before they have a chance to wreak havoc on the future. Enter via rafflecopter on the Alexia Chamberlynn blog. (ends Sept 18)

Free $10 Amazon Gift Card – Delightful blogger and generous friend, Beverly Stowe McClure is having a virtual tour for her book Under a Purple Moon, about a high school girl with a difficult family life seeking friendship and support from other kids hiding out in an abandoned house. She’s giving away a $10 Amazon card via rafflecopter on The Reading Addict blog. (ends Sept 23)

Free $15 Amazon Gift Card and Signed YA Horror Paperback – To celebrate the release of Raising Mary: Frankenstein by Ace Antonio Hall, about high school senior, Sylva Slasher, who can raise the dead for criminal investigations—or parties!—the author is giving away a $15 Amazon card along with a signed copy of his novel Confessions of Sylva Slasher via rafflecopter on the Juniper Grove Book Solutions blog. (ends Sept 18)

Free $50 Sephora Card and Signed Erotic Romance Novel – To celebrate the release of Confessed by Nicola Rendell, the “dirty, sexy, funny” story of an heiress and the hot man who plans to rob her. The author is giving away a $50 Sephora card along with two signed copies of the book. To enter, scroll down to the Author’s Bio and click the rafflecopter link on the Eskie Mama Reads blog. (ends Oct 8)

For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Celebrate: Julie's Baby Moo & Giveaways

I'm delighted to announce that Celebrate's own

Julie Flanders is releasing her very first Picture Book!

Book blurb:

Baby Moo has a dream. He wants to travel the world and sing on the stage of the Sydney Opera House! While he loves his home at Sunrise Sanctuary, it hasn’t been the same since a piglet named Nathan showed up and stole all the attention away from Moo. Jealous of the new baby, Moo decides now is the time to make his escape and pursue his dream.

But the world outside the sanctuary gates is not quite the fun and exciting place Moo imagined, and he quickly finds himself in big trouble. Moo's friends Missy the dog and Ruthie the cat rush to help him, and land in some trouble of their own.

Lost and frightened, Moo and his friends must rely on each other to find their way back home. Will they ever see Sunrise again?

BUY LINKS: AMAZON BARNES&NOBLE

Julie Flanders will donate $1 to Sunrise Sanctuary, home to Baby Moo and numerous other rescued animals, for each copy sold in September.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JULIE AND BABY MOO!

Do you still remember your favorite picture book as a child? (I seem to remember my favorite was about fuzzy little squirrels. LOL!)

My kind and wonderful co-hosts of Celebrate the Small Things are:
L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge
Tonja Drecker @ Kidbits Blog

Celebrate The Small Things Linky:

Grab the Linky html-code here:

** To see who’s posted for the hop look at my Celebrate The Small Things Blog Roll, left sidebar bottom **

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net.

When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Friday Freebies posts -

Free short stories, novellas, and novels
Giveaways for books and swag
Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for Sept 9, 2016:

Free Download of 2 Paranormal Shifter Romance eBook Novellas – Download Pride of Africa and Night Spots by Tori Knightwood, African-set, multicultural and racially-mixed Shifter (Lion and Leopard) Romance novellas. (For more info go the Romance Novel Giveaways blog.)
Download Pride of Africa FREE here:
B&N-- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pride-of-africa-tori-knightwood/1124458778?ean=2940153235370
Kobo-- https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/pride-of-africa-1
iTunes-- https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/pride-of-africa/id1149516849?mt=11&at=10lMeE
Download Night Spots FREE here:
Amazon-- https://www.amazon.com/Night-Spots-Interracial-Shifter-Romance-ebook/dp/B01GFAF08U/

Free Book-of-Your-Choice (Value $10) – Win your pick of any book you want as long as it’s under $10 and can be sent to you by Book Depository. Fill out the Entry Form on France Book Tours blog. (ends Sept 30)

Free 10 Paperbacks from Book Riot’s Mailbag – Win 10 books from Book Riot’s Mailbag. In the stack are Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs, The Star Trek Book, Bream Gives Me Hiccups by Jesse Eisenberg, and 5 more. Fill out the Entry Form on the Book Riot blog. (ends Sept 12)

Free 4 Signed YA Novels and Harry Potter & the Cursed Child Tote Bag – Win Reign of Shadows and Rise of Fire by Sophie Jordan, and Powerless and Relentless by Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs, plus a Harry Potter & the Cursed Child tote bag. Enter via rafflecopter on the Tera Lynn Childs blog. (ends Oct 2)

Free $25 Amazon Gift Card and Signed YA Horror Novel – Win The Whistlebrass Horror by Jack Keely and Briar Lee Mitchell, about a teen boy whose little sister disappears soon after his family arrives in a spook-filled town. Enter to receive a signed copy of the novel and a $25 Amazon card via rafflecopter on the Children’s Book Review blog (ends Sept 16)

For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

IWSG: A Geriatric Snail & The Stick

The Insecure Writer's Support Group asked

a really good question of its member this month:

How do you find the time to write in your busy day?

Umm ... I often don't or won't.

And then the guilt sets in.

I'm one of those people brought up in a house where A's in school were expected. A B meant there was something wrong, that I wasn't trying hard enough.

Almost 50 years later, and the story's still the same. If I don't produce at least one novel a year (replete with enthusiastic fanfare, rave reviews, and high sales), I must be slacking. Others do it. Heck, one of my CPs is putting out 4+ novels and novellas a year. But I only pubbed one book in 2013 and now one in 2016. One book every 3 years? What the heck is wrong with me?!

I've grown very adept at hitting myself with the You're-Not-Good-Enough stick because I:

1) Write too slowly.
2) Don't have a zillion awesome novel ideas waiting in the wings to tackle next.
3) Have several times written 30k of a book before trunking it because it's "Not good enough" and starting on something new.
4) Can have a "feeling" there's something wrong with the plot/characterizations in an ms and stop writing for months while I try to figure out the problem. (I don't believe in "Just write it now and fix it later.")
5) I just plain lose enthusiasm and eat junk food and watch TV instead of writing.

Has beating myself with the You're-Not-Good-Enough stick produced results?

No. I don't write any faster. In fact, it sometimes it leads to depression and then the writing stops altogether.

This year I finally accepted it. Yes, I write at the pace of a geriatric snail. Yes, I sometimes lose the "feeling" and just stop. Yes, I'm prone to confusion and second-guessing myself, thereby wasting more time.

But I have good points too... My plots are tight and exciting. I write original ideas. My characters are truly unique. So when I do finally get something written, I know I've done my best and I'm really proud of it!

I am what I am.

I refuse to beat myself up anymore. In fact, I'm fully owning both my good and bad points, dressing them up in a tutu, and parading them around the town square!!

This is me, like it or not.

Books get written when they get written

and not before.

I will not compare myself with others--

I'm proud I'm the weirdo in the pink tutu.

If you beat yourself with the stick or worry too much,
I hope you'll stop.
Instead, be proud of the truly unique writer you are!

To Support the Thunderclap for BLOODWALKER

Sign-Up here:

This is a post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group, the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. It exists so the community of blogging writers can share and support each other, blog-hopping to cheerlead and commiserate. To find out more, visit: Insecure Writer's Support Group. Plus, check out the IWSG Website for lots of helpful info and links.

Friday, September 2, 2016

Celebrate: Thunderclap Sign-Up & Giveaways

I'm doing a Thunderclap for the release of

BLOODWALKER on October 4.

If you have Twitter or Facebook, I'd appreciate your support.

Please sign up for the Thunderclap here >> http://thndr.me/rAceFb <<

The message and image (below it) on the Thunderclap page will appear on your FB wall and/or your Twitter feed on Oct. 4th. Thanks!

This week I'm celebrating:

1) I got my Thunderclap campaign page up and approved! I followed all the directions, although it's the first time I'm using it, so I'm not sure the image will post to Twitter. I'll just have to cross my fingers...
2) Remember the light-saber dueling turtles last week? I'm happy to report that my Light Side won and I've started working on my Alaskan WIP again. Yay!
3) A much-loved CP has returned to my CP group! He writes excellent thrillers, and I'm so happy to be working with him again!
4) The hubs has been cooking every day this week. It's such a load off me. Yay for helpful husbands!

Does your partner help with cooking and the chores?

I contacted people who haven't posted for Celebrate in several months. Some asked to stay on the list; a few said they were too busy to join in at the moment.
Removed From the Celebrate List – Update Your Blog Rolls:
Mere Joyce (http://merejoyce.com/blog/)
Cherdo on the Flipside (http://www.cherdoontheflipside.com/)
As the Fates Would Have It (http://asthefateswouldhaveit.wordpress.com/)
God, Entertainment, and Annoying Things (http://godentertainmentandannoyingthings.blogspot.com/)

Foxy's Friday Freebies!

Foxy has been nosing around the net.

When she finds great FREE STUFF, she'll feature it on Friday Freebies posts -

Free short stories, novellas, and novels
Giveaways for books and swag
Free services for authors

Here are Foxy's suggestions for Sept 2, 2016:

Free Download of Contemporary Romance eBook – Download Canvas by Jody Kaye, about a heartbroken woman deciding if she dares to give her heart to her best friends’s brother who has as bad a track record with love as she does. (For more info go the Romance Novel Giveaways blog.)
Download FREE here:
Kobo-- https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/canvas-6
Amazon-- https://www.amazon.com/Canvas-Jody-Kaye-ebook/dp/B01BRRFCF2/
iTunes-- https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/canvas/id1084235138?mt=11&at=10lMeE

Free Signed YA Dark Fantasy ARC, Artwork, and Swag – Win Darkchylde by R. Queen, about a young girl whose horrible nightmares escape and she must save the town from them. The author is giving away multiple copies of the signed novel, along with artwork and swag via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Sept 5)

Free Signed YA Dark Fantasy – Win Recreated by bestselling author Colleen Houck, about Lily, a young girl who must travel to Hell to save her demi-god beloved, Amon, from eternal suffering. The author is giving away a signed copy of the novel via rafflecopter on the YA Books Central blog. (ends Sept 5)

Free $50 Amazon Card, $15 iTunes Card, $15 Starbucks Card, 4 Different Romance Novels, Other Cards and Coupons - To celebrate the release of The Bad Decision Legacy by Morgan Kay, about a woman being stalked by her ex and refusing to ask for help, but the handsome divorce lawyer she meets decides to go into the tornado of her life and hopes he survives. The author is giving away a $50 Amazon card along with many other gift cards and romance novels via rafflecopter on the Romance Novel Giveaways bog. (ends Sept 7)

For Foxy's other Freebies, go to the Freebie page.

Author

Pages

Friday, September 30, 2016

Celebrate: Salads & Giveaways

Friday, September 23, 2016

Celebrate: Keeping Up & Giveaway

Friday, September 16, 2016

Celebrate: Sheri's Motley Education & Giveaways

Friday, September 9, 2016

Celebrate: Julie's Baby Moo & Giveaways

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

IWSG: A Geriatric Snail & The Stick

Friday, September 2, 2016

Celebrate: Thunderclap Sign-Up & Giveaways