Pieces by Michelle Davidson Argyle

Two years after watching her kidnappers go to prison, Naomi Jensen is still in love with one of them. Jesse will be released in a few years, and Naomi knows college is the perfect distraction while she waits. But when her new friend Finn makes her question what is right and what is wrong, she begins to wonder if Jesse is the one for her … until she discovers he’s out on parole. Naomi must sort through her confusion to figure out where love and freedom truly lie-in Finn, who has no connections to her past, or Jesse, who has just asked her to run away with him.

Pieces is a companion to The Breakaway and can be read independently, if desired.

Stockholm Syndrome is an emotional attachment to a captor formed by a hostage as a result of continuous stress, dependence, and a need to cooperate for survival. The Breakaway and its sequel, Pieces takes readers on a suspenseful roller coaster through this psychological phenomenon.

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Title: Pieces

Author: Michelle Davidson Argyle

Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing

Release Date: February 15, 2013

ISBN: 978-1936850853

Size: 300 pages, 5×8, softcover

Genre: YA Contemporary

Series: The Breakaway (bk 1)


Manipulation by Jolene Perry

Three girls…Three talents…And a 300 year old tragedy that follows them in the shadows.

Addison Prince has almost always gotten what she wants.

Dean Courser only wants to find his brother, but it’s the one thing he’s failed at—even with his unusual ability.

Dean and Addison share the gift of Manipulation—a brief touch that forces others to do what they wish. But when they meet and realize their connection, they find more questions than answers.

Suddenly Dean is seeing moving shadows, and Addison is learning her father’s mysterious group may know more about her abilities than he’s ever let on. As Dean and Addison second-guess every decision about who they are and why they’re wanted, time is running out.

With shadows following their every move, they’re losing hope they’ll ever get to safety—if such a thing exists.

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Title: Manipulation (Shadows, Book 2)

Author: Jolene Perry

Publisher: Self

Release Date: February 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-1481851404

Size: 376 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: YA Paranormal

Shadows Series: Insight (bk 1)


Family Size by Maria Hoagland

Is it one-size-fits-all, or all sizes fit? A novel about friendships, faith, and fertility by LDS women’s fiction author Maria Hoagland.

Jessica loves being the mom of an ever-expanding family, but when an ultrasound throws her a curve, can she adapt with grace?

Dragged away from home, Maya feels deserted by her workaholic husband in a land of confusing accents and church cliques. What will it take to acclimate and save her marriage—or does she even want to?

Sloane is an algebra teacher and runner who would give up both to be a mom, but no matter what she does, pregnancy remains elusive. Can she adjust her thinking and find purpose in her life?

As their lives intertwine, can friendship and faith help these women hurdle expectations of an ideal family size?

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Title: Family Size

Author: Maria Hoagland

Publisher: CreateSpace (Self)

Release Date: February 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-1481151290

Size: 252 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: General/Women’s


Dealing Positively With Negative Reviews by Michaelbrent Collings

Okay, so, you’re published. Your book is “out there.” It’s “in the world” and “up for grabs.” People can “read it” and “peruse it” at their “leisure” (I like quotation marks).

And at first, things seem all right. Fairly predictable. The book doesn’t become an instant bestseller, but it is selling. Your mom bought it, and your dad bought two copies, and so did that slightly weird person who sits in your closet and mumbles a lot. Or maybe that’s just what happens to me.

Regardless, your work is now on its own. Living, breathing, and (hopefully) being passed from hand to hand by readers who are—slowly but surely—going to become Your People. Your Followers. Your Army.

And then it happens. Among the four- and five-star reviews that have made you feel higher than a kite on meth, suddenly this rears its ugly head on Amazon:

A TERRIBLE read

I picked this boock up because of all the good revuews. But I guess the revuews were all dun by, like, the writers’ parents and stuff. Because the book stunk. It stunk a lot. It stunk like a dead skunk that has severe dysintary and then drowns in its own poop. Also, the author is a ca-ca doodie head and probably has lice and kix baby seals and stuff. Dont read this book, it will give you cooties.

– 1 star

You read it. And the questions start. Is my work really that bad? How could this reviewer have so completely missed the point of my book? Where did he learn to spell? What if I do have lice?

And, most urgently… how do I respond?

To that last, I have three little words: Ig. Nore. It.

Okay, maybe that’s four words, I don’t know.  I’m a writer, not an accountant.

Seriously, though, when you get a review like the above, you must simply rejoice within yourself. Why? Because it means your book is being read. It’s getting out into the world, meeting new people, getting beyond the closed circles of your family, friends, and writers groups. It will inevitably meet up with people that hate it—because it’s not their style, because you did an objectively terrible job writing the piece (it does happen), or even for no good reason at all.

And like any good parent, you will have the urge to rush to your “child’s” defense.

RESIST.

There are really only two likely outcomes if you choose to wage war on the review or (even worse) on the reviewer himself.

1)   You try to show the review is “wrong.” The reviewer takes offense and goes to war with you. You now have a dedicated enemy who will attack you at every possible turn, giving you low ratings wherever possible and urging his/her friends and family to avoid your work like a sack of rotten meat. You have just accomplished nothing more nor less than magnifying the effect and range of the viewer’s bile and hatred. Result: you lose.

2)  You try to show the review is wrong. The reviewer takes offense and goes to war with you. You mobilize your friends and followers and fight back. A comment war ensues! You beat back the scummy, evil, poor-spelling reviewer.  He/she is silenced forever. Huzzah! But wait… those comments are there forever. And you look like nothing more nor less than a prima donna bully. This will keep people from buying your books in perpetuity. Result: you lose.

Of the two, the second is gratifying to the author, but far more damaging. I am friends with a great many authors, some of them legitimately Famous People. And occasionally one of them will get their undies in a wad over some disparaging comment made regarding their work and will mobilize their fans to attack. The fans attack. Or some of them. Some don’t. Some become “un” fans, turned off by the author’s childishness. And though maybe Famous People can afford to lose fans, the average author just can’t.

An example: my most recent novel, Darkbound, just came out. It’s a deeply disturbing horror novel about six strangers who get on a subway train that turns out to go everywhere BUT where they want it to. When it was released, a very eminent horror review site called Hellnotes wrote up a stellar review. So did several other review sites. A friend who had received an advance copy sent me a note saying he was… well… less than enamored of it. It was too dark, too violent. Worried, no doubt, about typical author ego, he asked what my response would be if he posted such a review.

My response: “Do it!” People have a right to know others’ thoughts. The fact that this reviewer didn’t like Darkbound as much as he had liked other books I’d written was a bummer. But it didn’t mean the end of the world, and insisting that he love everything about my work, all the time, would be not merely ridiculous, but counterproductive.

The reviews of our work will at times be insightful, helpful, warming. And sometimes it will be shallow tripe that looks like it was probably written in crayon by a five-year-old struggling against some weird form of Tourrette Syndrome. Both are part of being a writer. Don’t respond to either (even the good ones—that can be a bit “stalky” and can also mess with your fan base). If you want to interact with fans, get a Facebook page, a Twitter account, or stand on a box in Hyde Park.

But leave the reviews—and reviewers—alone. Ig. Nore. Them.

It is three words. I counted with my fingers.

 

Michaelbrent Collings has written numerous bestselling novels, including his latest novel Darkbound. His wife and mommy think he is a can that is chock-full of awesome sauce. Check him out at www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentCollings or  michaelbrentcollings.com.

 

Safe Haven by Jean Holbrook Mathews

With her family left destitute by her father’s recent death, Susanna Thayer believes her only hope is to marry life-long friend Jonathan Burnley. But Jonathan heeds the counsel of his father, an unscrupulous lawyer, to marry a cousin of greater wealth and position, and Susanna is forced to endure grueling labor in a cotton mill far from her remaining family.

When she and her best friend, Jane, become involved with the Mormon Church and are thus dismissed from employment, they use their meager savings for travel to New York, where they join a company of Saints bound for California. Yet Susanna’s efforts to build a new life are marked by continued misfortune—and continued encounters with Jonathan.

Now a wealthy widower, Jonathan offers Susanna safe haven for the future, but can she forgive him for abandoning her in the past?

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Title: Safe Haven

Author: Jean Holbrook Mathews

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: February 2013

ISBN:

Size: 288 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical Romance


Author & Publicist: It’s Not a 50/50 Relationship by Kelly Martinez, Cedar Fort

One of the biggest misconceptions held by published authors is that once the manuscript and rewrites are finished, so is the author’s job.

Not so! Especially in today’s book market.

One of the points I diligently stress to the authors I work with is that ours is not a 50-50 relationship. If we go with the numbers game, then the breakdown is more like 80-20, with the author on the 80-percent part of the equation.

Unrealized by many authors—and, admittedly, a few of the ones I work with—is the fact that a publisher’s marketing rep is in place to help the author market, not do it for them.

I liken my role as a marketing publicist to that of a counselor: I can guide and offer suggestions of what to do, but ultimately it’s up to the author to sell the book.

We, the marketers at Cedar Fort, have an unofficial slogan we go by: Cedar Fort’s job is to get the books on the shelves and the author’s job is to get them off the shelves!

That said, a marketer’s responsibility is to offer marketing support, which, in my personal experience, comes in the form of keeping the author focused on our common goal of selling books.

From the author’s point of view, this goal can come in the forms of common book-promoting activities, including book signings, launch parties, blog tours, and media interviews.

To further illustrate my point that authors are their own best marketing resource, I’d like to share a personal experience.

I’ve pitched most of my authors to a host of media outlets and have had minimal success in attracting attention. Recently, an author of mine took the bull by the horns and pitched herself to a local TV show. A day or two later, she heard back from the show’s producer and now has a TV interview lined up.

I encourage my authors to do the traditional book-promoting activities—and whatever else comes to mind, no matter how farfetched it might seem.

Authors should never dismiss the power of social media and its ability to reach a large audience of prospective buyers. Facebook, Twitter, and author websites and/or blogs have the potential to meet hundreds, if not thousands, of people for whom the book was written!

It’s not enough to just set an account up on these social networks; the author needs to provide fresh, engaging, and entertaining material on a regular basis for it to work.

In summation, I can’t stress enough the importance that authors abandon the notion that a publisher’s marketing rep will do all the marketing work for them. Most marketing reps juggle multiple authors—in my situation, I’m dealing with upward of 30 authors at a time—so expecting us to devote the time that you would like to marketing your book is unrealistic.

This doesn’t mean we don’t want to devote all of our time to your book; it just means that we simply don’t have the time to do so.

Kelly Martinez is a Marketing Publicist for Cedar Fort, Inc. You can follow Cedar Fort on their blog, www.cedarfortbooks.com and their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cedarfortbooks.

Rapunzel Untangled by Cindy C. Bennett

Rapunzel is not your average teenager.

For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion.

And for another, her hair is 15 feet long.

Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from certain destruction.

But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is.

Read excerpt       Book Site

Title: Rapunzel Untangled

Author: Cindy C. Bennett

Publisher: Sweetwater Books (CFI)

Release Date: February 12, 2013

ISBN: 978-1462111565

Size: 304 pages, 5.7 x 8.3, softcover

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy


A Trusting Heart by Shannon Guymon

From leaving her fiance at the altar to getting a picture of her tush plastered on a big screen at her high school reunion, Megan Garrett experiences one huge embarrassing moment after another. But running into her high school’s former seminary class president, who is now, of course, a billionaire, changes everything.

Megan’s real estate business and her love life begin to take off as she finds herself destined to fall inm love with the enigmatic and oh-so-wealthy Trevor Riley.

As she comes to grips with her materialistic parents, her ex-fiance, and herself, Megan realizes that she simply has to trust her heart.

Note: I believe this is a revised edition and therefore not eligible for a Whitney Award.

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Title: A Trusting Heart

Author: Shannon Guymon

Publisher: Bonneville (CFI)

Release Date: February 12, 2013

ISBN: 978-1555176204

Size: 185 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Romance


Great Beginnings by Anita Mumm

It’s January and I’ve got beginnings on my mind—in this case, the opening pages of your novel. In 2012 we read 1,029 sets of sample pages and from those we requested 81 full manuscripts. So what made the difference between a “no thanks” and a “tell me more”? Here are five key elements:

  • Voice. Every author has a voice, but what makes some stand out from the crowd? In Writing the Breakout Novel, Donald Maass calls voice “not only a unique way of putting words together, but a unique sensibility, a distinctive way of looking at the world…” Another key element is authenticity. Do the narration and dialogue ring true with the characters and story? This is particularly important for YA and MG—nothing turns young readers off faster than writing that feels like an adult trying to mimic them. In that sense, the voice should be invisible— effortlessly capturing readers without calling attention to itself.
  • Stand-out writing. We see dozens of fairy tale retellings and spin-offs every month. Nevertheless, one of our newest clients is the author of a reimagined Sleeping Beauty tale. Her secret? The story felt incredibly fresh while retaining key elements of the fairy tale—a recipe for reader satisfaction. Beautiful writing can make an old theme feel new; focus on polishing your craft, not worrying about what is in vogue.
  • Authentic world. While it’s especially important for sci-fi/fantasy and steampunk, world-building can make or break any story. Your goal is to create a literary microcosm that feels real (historical authors—don’t skimp on the research).
  • Stories with heart. We’re looking for novels that feature relevant issues without compromising story. Examples: stories about bullying, contemporary YA with teens battling real-life issues, LGBT stories.
  • Characters who face great challenges with grit and integrity. What they don’t do is become jaded, nasty, or overly angsty. That definitely works for some stories, but our personal taste leans toward characters who rise a little higher.

Keep in mind that these elements can—and must—be firmly established or at least introduced in your opening pages; we ask for thirty, but it’s usually obvious in five. Take a hard look at your opening pages and if they feel a little flat, it’s time to consider a revision. Because no matter how amazing chapter five is, without a dynamic start readers may never get that far.

May 2013 bring success and satisfaction in your writing career. Best wishes!

Anita Mumm is a Literary Assistant at the Nelson Literary Agency. This post was taken from their monthly newsletter and posted here with permission. To get more great industry news, subscribe to their newsletter.

Rumplestiltskin by Jenni James

A young prince crippled by a witch—

When Fredrico watches his cruel family mourn his false death and announce to the kingdom their cursed prince has died, is the day he truly embraces his new life and new name Rumplestiltskin. How could he be known by anything else? —His skin is completely rumpled and stilted now. He hides away from the king and queen and grows up as a crippled servant in the castle.

Years later, his younger brother, Marcus, becomes king and humors Aubrynn’s father when he boasts that his daughter can turn straw into gold. Intrigued Marcus locks the distraught maiden in a tower and declares to the kingdom that if she can transform the straw, he will marry her, but if she cannot he will kill her father.

Rumplestiltskin is determined to help Aubrynn save her father and marry the king. Now, if only he can remember to keep his real identity a secret and not fall in love with her himself…

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Title: Rumplestiltskin

Author: Jenni James

Publisher: StoneHouse Ink

Release Date: January 31, 2013

ASIN: B00B923V9U

Size: 230 pages, ebook

Genre: Fantasy

Faerie Tale Collection: Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty


Sividious Stark and the Stadium Between Worlds by Greg Park

Sividious Stark is your average, run-of-the-mill fourteen-year-old: smart, mischievous, and above all, logical. Nothing especially interesting happens to him—until the day he’s thrown into an adventure beyond his wildest imagination.

Pursued by a gang of bullies out for revenge, Sividious escapes to the woods where he comes face-to-face with Aya, a winged, blue, mythical creature in grave danger. She entrusts him with an All Access Pass to a place between worlds and pleads with him to save her from “The Games.” Moments later, mysterious Agents drag her into an abandoned mine, where they disappear in a flash of light.

Resolved to find a rational explanation, Sividious enlists the help of his best friend, Jackie, to test the power of the pass. When they find themselves transported across time and space, they’re thrown into a realm that defies all logic. It doesn’t take long to realize that the beings they’re dealing with aren’t the things of fairy tales: unbeknownst to human kind, an intergalactic battle has been raging in which creatures are enslaved and forced to compete in a battle to the death.

Determined to save Aya from this fate and stripped of the logic he’s clung to, Sividious has only one hope—the one thing he’s resisted—magic. Armed with a power he never knew he had, will one young man have the courage to follow his heart and challenge the dark forces of the galaxy?

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Title: Sividious Stark and the Stadium Between Worlds

Author: Greg Park

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: February, 2013

ISBN:

Size: 236 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Young Adult Speculative


E-Books in a Public Library? by Natalie Giauque

I’ve been asked frequently how a writer goes about getting their print books into a library system. If a writer approaches the library, they’re often turned down. Donated books frequently go straight into the library’s bookstore. What’s an author to do?

If you’re published by a large national publisher, they should take care of this for you. If you’re with a smaller, regional publisher, they may or may not have the pull to get your books in. If you’re self-published, it’s nearly impossible.

The best way is to have card-carrying library patrons request the book. If a library gets enough requests, they’ll actively seek out the book.

But what about e-books?

Yes, some libraries have an e-book catalog that allows their patrons to check out e-books. Here’s what Natalie Glauque from the Salt Lake County Library has to say:

Interested in getting your LDS e-books into the Salt Lake County Library System’s E-book OverDrive Catalog? If you are a self-published author and have the rights to your books and would like us to purchase your books, please read the following:

Self-published LDS Authors: OverDrive works with Author Solutions and Smashwords for self-published titles. If authors make their titles available through these platforms, they can be expected to be available via OverDrive.

There is no action needed for Smashwords and Author Solutions. The authors just need to ensure that their distribution partner includes OverDrive as a distribution channel.

 

Have any of you tried this? Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

The Return of Cassandra Todd by Darrel Nelson

When the popular girl whose friends bullied him in high school suddenly re-enters his life, little son in tow, Turner Caldwell must put the past behind him if they are to survive.

Turner Caldwell works at a local motel as a handyman while attending college full-time. On his way to class one day, he is shocked to see Cassandra Todd and her young son in town. The sight of her brings back powerful memories of being bullied in high school—she was the popular head cheerleader and he the target of her friends’ mean-spirited pranks.

When Cassandra and her son check into the motel where he works and she asks for his help in eluding her abusive husband, he finds himself entangled in a dangerous drama that will require him to forgive and draw on every skill he has if they are to survive.

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Title: The Return of Cassandra Todd

Author: Darrel Nelson

Publisher: Realms

Release Date: February 5, 2013

ISBN: 978-1621360216

Size: 304 pages, 5.5 x 8, softcover

Genre: Contemporary Romance


Do Over by Shannon Guymon

When faced with heart break or getting dumped and kicked to the curb, haven’t you ever wanted a Do Over? Forget Cinderella, that’s the fantasy everyone really wants.

What do you do when your life becomes messy and embarrassing? You tape up your broken heart, pull on your boots and start again.

But Trey is tired of women. Who wouldn’t be after falling for the wrong woman over and over again? He’s decided to take a much needed break from the fairer sex, but his vacation from women is cut short when Iris Levine tumbles into his life like a tornado on caffeine. Iris is on the mend from a broken heart as well, but decides a little walk on the wild side is the cure for her.  Trey decides to take his chances with Iris, but Sophie has decided she’ll do anything to save Trey from another broken heart.  Maggie and Allison do the best they can to help, but Iris’ parents are with Sophie.

This romance is either a disaster waiting to happen or the best fairytale since Sleeping Beauty.  It’s up to Trey and Iris to decide which.

 

Read excerpt 

Title: Do Over

Author: Shannon Guymon

Publisher: Bonneville Books (CFI)

Release Date: February 12, 2013

ISBN: 978-1462111541

Size: 192 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Contemporary Romance


Pistols & Pies by Heather Justesen

The gigantic cake for the new city rec center opening is going to be great advertising for Tess’s new bakery, until she finds the city councilman who oversaw the project dead. Tess vows to stay out of this one, until his troubled teenaged step-son is fingered for the murder and Tess jumps in to prove he’s innocent. Trouble is, someone else wants her to leave it alone, and isn’t afraid to take her out to protect their identity.

When the killer ups the stakes, Tess is forced to put herself in danger or risk the life of someone she cares about. Tess and her growing gang of amateur sleuths have to scramble to catch the killer before one of them ends up dead.

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Title: Pistols & Pies (Sweet Bites Mystery #2)

Author: Heather Justesen

Publisher: Jelly Bean Press

Release Date: February 3, 2013

ASIN: B00BAYMFTE (I think a print book will be available soon)

Size: 195 pages, ebook

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Sweet Bites Series: Brownies & Betrayal (bk 1)


2012 Whitney Finalists

General

 
Dancing on Broken Glass Paige The 13th Day of Christmas A Night on Moon Hill The Rent Collector
Ka Hancock* Annette Lyon Jason F. Wright Tanya Parker Mills Camron Wright

Historical

Espionage My Loving Vigil Keeping Spinster’s Folly The Five Books of Jesus Within the Dark Hills
A. L. Sowards* Carla Kelly Marsha Ward James Goldberg* Sian Ann Bessey

Romance

Lady Outlaw Of Grace and Chocolate Smart Move Twitterpated Edenbrooke
Stacy Henrie* Krista Lynne Jensen* Melanie Jacobson Melanie Jacobson Julianne Donaldson*

Mystery/Suspense

Banana Split Code Word Deadly Undertakings Line of Fire Tres Leches Cupcakes
Josi S. Kilpack Traci Hunter Abramson Gregg Luke Rachel Ann Nunes Josi S. Kilpack

Speculative

City of the Saints Flight From Blithmore Earthbound The Hollow City The Penitent
D. J. Butler Jacob Gowans Theresa Sneed Dan Wells C. David Belt

Youth Adult—Speculative

Demons Destined Endlessly Everneath Feedback
Heather Frost Aprilynne Pike Kiersten White Brodi Ashton* Robison Wells

Young Adult—General

After Hello Finding June The Space Between Us The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back V is for Virgin
Lisa Mangum Shannen Crane Camp Jessica Martinez Sariah Wilson Kelly Oram

Middle Grade

Case File 13: Zombie Kid Epic Tales of a Misfit Hero Freakling Palace of Stone The False Prince
J. Scott Savage Matt Peterson* Lana Krumwiede* Shannon Hale Jennifer A. Nielsen

Fireblood by Jeff Wheeler

Tyrus of Kenatos has made it his life’s work to banish the plagues that ravage the kingdoms. He believes the answer to ending the devastation lies in the Scourgelands. Yet, Tyrus’s first expedition into the cursed woods failed after being defeated by mysterious minions who stalked and killed most of his band.

Now a prisoner in his own tower, Tyrus has summoned his nephew Annon—a Druidecht possessing innate magic called the fireblood—on the guise of finding a hidden treasure with which to purchase his twin sister Hettie’s freedom. But in reality, Tyrus is using his niece and nephew, and their magic, as an opportunity to escape and resume his desperate mission. And to aid them, he has enlisted the warrior-monk Paedrin—who is almost as green as the siblings when it comes to traveling these troubled lands. The trio is determined, and along the way they grow to trust each other—and new additions to the group—in order to accomplish their missions…whether or not those missions are one and the same.

But the Arch-Rike—ruthless ruler of Kenatos—has learned of these plans, and has sent the fearsome Kishion to destroy all those that oppose him. Now Tyrus and his unwitting allies must face down not only the plague, but this new enemy—and fulfill their quest before a fresh horror is unleashed on the world…

Read excerpt

Title: Fireblood (Book 1)

Author: Jeff Wheeler

Publisher: 47North

Release Date: February 5, 2013

ISBN: 978-1612187204

Size: 440 pages, 5.5×8, softcover

Genre: Fantasy


Tide Ever Rising by Mandi Tucker Slack

Kadence Reynold’s favorite pastime is exploring old ghost towns, but when she and her sister, Maysha, stumble across an old journal and cheap pendant hidden in the depths of a crumbling foundation near Eureka, Utah, their world is suddenly turned upside down. Immediately, strange dreams and premonitions begin to haunt “Kadie” as she learns more about the author of the journal, Charlotte Clark. Kadie sets out on a journey to learn more about Charlotte and her family, and she and Maysha travel to Bremerton, Washington, where they discover Charlotte’s still living twin sister, Adelaide and her family.

Kadie and Maysha, upon arriving in Washington, are immediately immersed in Adelaide and Charlotte’s story. Kadie soon learns that Charlotte disappeared the night of a tragic fire that took the lives of Adelaide’s entire family. With the help of Logan Mathews, Adelaide’s handsome grandson, and Charlotte’s ever disconcerting presence, Kadie delves into the past. Hoping to solve the mystery of Charlotte’s disappearance, Kadie immediately discovers the secrets contained in the journal will toss her and Adelaide’s family into a world filled with mystery, past regrets, and dark unknowns.

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Title: Tide Ever Rising

Author: Mandi Tucker Slack

Publisher: Bonneville Books/CFI

Release Date: February 12, 2013

ISBN: 978-1462111077

Size: 208 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Mystery? Romantic Suspense?


Where Once the River Flowed by Jennie Hansen

New Mexico, 1879—The Sebastian Hacienda is a lucrative and coveted ranch deep in the fertile wilderness of New Mexico, a property held for generations by the powerful Sebastian family. After the death of his son and heir, proud and formidable Don Sebastian has only one hope for the preservation of his land: his beautiful young granddaughter, Iliana. Desperate, he makes a shocking deal—the property will be sold to Ross Adams, an American cowboy, on the condition that he marry the stunning young Iliana and bequeath the land to her sons. A bargain is struck, but not everyone is pleased with the outcome. Neighboring rancher Ben Purdy has his eye on pretty Iliana—and on ownership of the Sebastian Ranch. In his ruthlessness, Purdy is willing to go to terrible lengths to acquire them both, even if it means destroying everything in his path . . .

Utah Territory, 1891—Travis Telford was born to be a cowboy. He left his family to chase the dream of someday owning his own ranch, but years of nomadic living as a ranch hand have proven taxing. After several seasons of horse trading with the American owner of the Sebastian Ranch, Travis finds his life dramatically altered by a routine stop at the property. He finds the ranch in chaos and the rancher’s beautiful widow Iliana in the midst of a turbulent land battle. His instinct to protect Iliana is undeniable, and as the danger mounts, only their reliance upon each other has the power to save them.

Read excerpt

Title: Where Once the River Flowed

Author: Jennie Hansen

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: February 2013

ISBN:

Size: 223 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Historical


What’s the Best Approach to Promoting My Book? by Marsha Ward

So many times, that’s a question I hear from first time authors. Here’s my answer, and you may not like it, but it’s really the truth:

After you have announced your book to your friends via your email contacts, social media sites, and twitter, and have a short “signature” below your name in your email account, the best thing to do in the promotion/marketing arena is to write the next book and get it out there.

Yeah, I know that sounds weird, but I cannot emphasize this enough. Too many people with one book available are spending prodigious amounts of time trying in vain to influence sales, instead of writing the next book.

The thing is, the availability of multiple books/short stories/novellas is what seems to drive sales better than anything. And when someone spends all their time drumming up sales for their ONE book (and thus making a pest of themselves), what’s the good of it if—when someone reads it and wants more—there is no more work available?

There IS no good that can come of that situation. After the reader exhausts their search engine capacities and their patience and doesn’t find anything else by you, your name is then forgotten—once the distastefulness of the frustrating episode fades away.

DO make sure you have a blog that you update on some kind of schedule, if only once a month. Then you have an Internet presence, and you can give periodic updates on your work-in-progress (WIP).

DO make sure you have created your Author Page at Amazon (if your book is for sale there). Set it to post messages from your blog.

DO make sure you have created your Author Page at Goodreads. Set that one to post your blog messages also.

Then, go write the next book.

 

Marsha Ward was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and currently lives in a pine forest in central Arizona. Marsha is an award-winning poet, freelance writer and editor whose published work includes four novels, two collaborative non-fiction books on writing, a collection of prose and poetry, and over 900 articles, essays, columns, poems and short stories. Her novels, The Man from Shenandoah, Ride to Raton, Trail of Storms, and Spinster’s Folly have received rave reviews from both readers and reviewers. Her website is at http://marshaward.com, and she regularly blogs about writing and life at “Writer in the Pines,” found at http://marshaward.blogspot.com and “The Characters in Marsha’s Head” at http://charactersinmarshashead.blogspot.com. Find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/authormarshaward.

The Princess and the Wolf by Mette Ivie Harrison

King George and Queen Marit have lived sixteen years after the mysterious disappearance of their daughter Princess Ina. While they continue to look for her, they have adopted Dagmar as their heir and she is betrothed to Lord Morlieb, from a neighboring kingdom.

But the king’s horse and other animals have become wild and feral, attacking villagers, and there is a strange wolf in the forest near the castle who looks like he has lived for a thousand years.

Soon, the tolerance for animal magickers that King George has spent his whole reign to protect is gone and only Princess Dagmar can save it.

Read excerpt

Title: The Princess and the Wolf (Book 5)

Author: Mette Ivie Harrison

Publisher: Self

Release Date: January 31, 2013

ASIN: B00B9FXEDA

Size: 211 pages, ebook

Genre: YA Speculative Romance

Series: The Princess and the Hound (bk 1), The Princess and the Bear (bk 2), The Princess and the Snowbird (bk 3), The Princess and the Horse (bk 4)


Liberty by Annie Laurie Cechini

A STOLEN VIAL

Eternigen is the miracle drug that allows humans to travel in deep space. Seventeen-year-old space captain Tabitha “Dix” Dixon has the only vial of Eternigen in existence.

A RELENTLESS ENEMY

Eira Ninge always gets what she wants. She wants the Eternigen, and she’ll do anything-and kill anyone-to get it.

A DEADLY CURSE

Since Dix stole the vial, everyone she loves seems fated to die. When young resistance messenger Jordan Berrett steals her heart, she has to decide if it’s worth risking his life to let him get close. When Dix is involved, even falling in love can turn deadly.

A CHANCE FOR FREEDOM

If Dix can get her hands on more Eternigen, she and her crew can escape the solar system, leaving her dark past behind. But getting the Eternigen won’t be easy, and the bodies keep piling up. In the end, the cost of freedom may be too high.

Caution: Author gives this book a PG-13 rating due to mild violence and fictional swear words.

Read excerpt      View trailer

Title: Liberty

Author: Annie Laurie Cechini

Publisher: Rhemelda Publishing

Release Date: February 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1936850570

Size: 306 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, softcover

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction


February 2013 Prize Sponsors!

A big thank you to our Prize Sponsors! Please take a moment to learn more about this month’s wonderfully generous sponsors.

A Night on Moon Hill by Tanya Parker Mills

NightonMoonHillSwimming is Daphne’s one refuge until the night she finds a body in her pool.

University professor and renowned author Daphne Lessing has never felt at ease in society. But a disturbing occurrence in her once calm and controlled existence suddenly unearths events from her past and thrusts an unusual child into her life.

Ten-year-old Eric has Asperger’s syndrome and is obsessed with fishing and angels. Soon, Daphne finds herself attached to him and faced with a choice: Does she leave him and return to her solitary, ordered life, trusting others to do right by him, or does she allow this bright child to draw her into the world she has tried to shun?

Mills_Tanya3Tanya Parker Mills is the author of A Night on Moon Hill and The Reckoning. The latter was the 2010 Writer’s Digest International Self-Published Book Award Winner for Mainstream/Literary Fiction, 2009 Indie Book Award Winner for Multicultural Fiction, and 2008 Whitney Finalist in two categories.

Tanya was born in Libya, grew up in the Middle East, and has lived in Greece, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Italy, and several US states. She now lives in the Pacific Northwest. You can learn more about Tanya at her website: www.tanyaparkermillls.com.

 

Baked Alaska by Josi S. Kilpack

BakedAlaskaFAn Alaskan cruise is the setting for amateur detective Sadie Hoffmiller’s latest adventure. Sadie plans to spend time relaxing with her two grown children, Breanna and Shawn, and her boyfriend, Pete, while enjoying the luxury and cuisine of an elegant cruise ship and helping to plan her daughters upcoming wedding. But even as the crew prepares to leave port, Sadie has suspicions about the voyage ahead and the relationship between her normally easy-going son and a mysterious female passenger he obviously knows but refuses to discuss.

When the woman is discovered unconscious during the second night at sea, Sadie’s apprehension escalates. Over the last few years, Sadie has developed an extreme dislike for secrets and it would seem her son is keeping one from her.

Kilpack_Josi2Josi S. Kilpack loves to read and write, is the author of seventeen novels, the baker of many a delicious confection, and the hobby farmer of a varying number of unfortunate chickens. In her spare time she likes to overwhelm herself a multitude of projects and then complain that she never has any spare time; in this way she is rather masochistic. She also enjoys traveling, cheering on her children, and sleeping in when the occasion presents itself.

Josi is best known for her Sadie Hoffmiller culinary mystery series and The Newport Ladies Book Club series.

Coming Home by Annette Lyon

ComingHomeFive women became fast friends when their husbands were deployed to Afghanistan. But as they welcome the soldiers home, what should be a joyful time soon becomes painful.

Kim, who had a baby while her husband was away, knows how to be a mother but has forgotten how to be a wife. Nora, accustomed to taking care of herself during the long years of her husband’s absence, resents having to forfeit her independence. Jess’s already troubled marriage turns dangerous, while Brenda struggles to manage her husband’s psychological trauma. And Marianne faces her crushing loss, compounded with worry over wayward children.

Each woman must draw upon her bond of friendship and faith to find the strength, courage, and insight needed to move forward, proving that even the hardest of trials cannot break this loyal band of sisters.

Lyon_Annette3Annette Lyon has been writing ever since second grade, when she piled pillows on a chair to reach her mother’s typewriter. A cum laude graduate from BYU with a degree in English, she has had success as a professional editor and doing newspaper, magazine, and business writing, but her first love is creating fiction. She’s perhaps best known for her historical novels centered around the four old Utah temples, but she also authored a very successful cookbook, Chocolate Never Faileth, the Band of Sisters series about five women who come together during their husbands’ deployment to Afghanistan, and is one of the authors of  The Newport Ladies Book Club series.

Learn more about Annette at her website, www.annettelyon.com, and her blog, The Lyon’s Tale at www.blog.annetlyon.com.

 

The Dark Eagles: First Flight by David R. Smith

DarkEaglesFirstFlightKief loves exploring the rugged mountains on his horse, Natch, with his best friend Tarc.

But when he receives a mysterious map on his birthday, left behind for him by his dead grandfather, Kief is thrown into an adventure beyond even his imagination.

Leaving home to pursue his childhood dream of attending the merchant academy on the coast, extraordinary events unfold propelling Kief, along with his friends and his map, toward the same perilous destiny.

 

Smith_DavidRoceanDavid R. Smith was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and spent most of his childhood on a farm in Heber City, located in the Wasatch Mountains. There David fell in love with horses and the mountains. He spent much of his free time exploring the mountains on his horse and finding adventures to follow. He attended the University of Utah earning a Bachelors in Engineering. Realizing that it’s never too late to follow your dream. So David set off to write an epic adventure of a boy and his horse and created a story of freedom, adventure, love, courage and sacrifice. When he’s not writing, David enjoys outdoor activities with his family, and especially loves surfing with his three boys in Southern California where he resides.

Follow the Prophets: 52 FHE Lessons From Latter-day Prophets by Rebecca Irvine

FollowProphetsDo you find yourself in a family night rut? Get the whole gang excited about family home evening with this engaging series of lessons and activities. From finger puppets to flannel board illustrations, each of the included fifty two lessons incorporates interactive tools and games designed to teach valuable principles, such as The importance of journal writing from the teachings of Wilford Woodruff Signs of the Second Coming from the works of Joseph Fielding Smith A review of the Six Be’s presented by Gordon B.Hinckley As you explore the incredible real-life stories and teachings of our latter-day prophets in this outstanding compilation, your family will eagerly anticipate family home evenings the whole year round.

Irvine_Rebecca2Rebecca Irvine is an author of three books and a communications professor at Mesa Community College. She is married and the mother of three fabulous kids. Reading, blogging (rebeccairvine.blogspot.com), and going to Zumba class are some of her favorite hobbies. Other books by Irvine include ‘Adventures with the Word of God’ (Horizon/CFI 2008) and ‘Family Home Evening Adventures’ (Horizon/CFI 2009).

 

Nobody’s Damsel by E.M. Tippetts

NobodysDamselSequel to Someone Else’s Fairy Tale.

Chloe is now a forensic scientist and her first case is a crime against a child.

Jason’s star continues to rise and hordes of fans want to see him single again.

Together they must find their way past all the popping flashbulbs and through the dark maze of a criminal investigation to discover whether they can balance their professional goals with the demands of a celebrity marriage.

The odds are entirely against them.

 

Tippetts_EM2E.M. Tippetts: I write chick lit as E.M. Tippetts and science fiction as Emily Mah. I got my start in writing at the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy.

I am originally from New Mexico,  have a bachelors in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University, and a juris doctorate in business law from UCLA. I also design jewelry (and no, that doesn’t fit in with any of the other stuff I’ve listed here.) Currently, I live in London while my husband does his PhD.

 

To enter to win one of these books, simply leave a “thoughtful” comment on any post on this site.

CLICK HERE for details on sponsoring the contest.

January 2013 Prize Winners!

Here are the randomly selected winners of last month’s  “Win These Books!” Contest.

Thanks again to our sponsors. Please take a moment to read their info here.

LittleHairOfDog

Winner: Jennifer

Commenting on: 2012 General Book Covers

 

CaseFile13_ZombieKid

Winner: Lexie @ BookBug

Commenting on: Organizing a Blog Tour by Charity Bradford

 

OneMoreRiver

Winner: Kasey

Commenting on: January 2013 Prize Sponsors!

 

Congratulations! I will contact each of you via the email address you used to enter for the contest.

Click here to learn how you can win a copy of one of our sponsoring books.

Click here for details on sponsoring the LDS Publisher website.