Clean Indie Reads Sale!

 

‘Tis the season for Christmas sales, Thanksgiving sales, Black Friday sales that actually start on Thursday, and sales just for the sake of having a sale so you can spend more money and feel good about spending your money because you might have spent $50, but you saved $40.

Well, today I’m announcing another sale. It doesn’t start until Monday, so none of these (or at least very few of them) are on sale yet. But on Cyber Monday (AKA, December 1st), one of the Facebook writer’s groups I am in is having a sale. Many of the authors in the group put their books on sale so you can buy them for yourself, for a friend, or for that person on your list who is impossible to buy for. Most of the books are ebooks, but some are paperback. Some will be free, others will be 99 pennies and others will be more.

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Holiday sales

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is a day for family, food, and football in many houses. Our family likes to be a little different. We aren’t having Thanksgiving with extended family. It will be us and two friends. We will have the typical Thanksgiving meal, though. But we will not be watching football.

Here are a few things I am thankful for.

1. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for my sins
2. My salvation
3. The Bible
4. Family
5. Friends
6. A roof over my head
7. Cats
8. A good, solid, Bible-teaching church to attend
9. Authors willing to share some of the knowledge with me
10. Snow

What NaNoWriMo Taught Me

This post was originally posted on the Vaguely Circular blog. I have only posted a portion here and the rest is linked to at the end.

As of this writing, I am in the middle of NaNoWriMo. It is November 15^th and I have learned a lot about myself the last 15 days. First, I should tell you some background. This is my first year doing NaNo. I’ve always wanted to do it, but always came up with excuses. Mainly because there are three family birthdays, Thanksgiving, and other various things, not to mention my part-time job to contend with.

But I kept hearing friends of mine talk about how they are doing NaNo despite working three jobs or doing in despite all the excuses they could use. So, I decided to try it. My main goal was to rewrite one short story which would be less than 20,000 words and at least get a good start on finishing another short story I started a while back. Both of them are now finished. The short story rewrite is 16,512 words and the other short story is 15,029 (I didn’t write all of that during NaNo). My total word count as of this writing is 30,968.

Originally, I was going to be happy if I finished those two short stories by the end of November. Now, my goal has changed to reaching 50,000 and getting started on my next novel. Continue Reading…

Stories and opportunities

A dear friend of mine teaches at a local Christian school. This year, she has a Christian Literature class and got permission to read my book, A Mighty Fortress with her class. Then she had the idea to have the author come in as a guest to talk to the class. As we brainstormed some activities and/or writing projects her students could do, I came up with the idea that each of the students could write a short back story of one of the characters in A Mighty Fortress. Apparently, the students loved the ideas.

Of thank yous, websites, writing, and sales

First, I would like to say a big

 to everybody who voted for the cover for Amazing Grace. This thank you is a little delayed, but I really did appreciate all the votes. It helped me a LOT! And the cover is now finished!

I’ve been pretty busy writing, editing, redoing part of my website and helping set up a sale for the Christmas season with others in one of the Facebook writing groups I am in. Oh, yeah, and also spending time with my family. This blog post is meant to be an update on all of it. Some might interest you and some might not. I hope it all does, though.

The King’s Scrolls Cover Reveal

One of the perks of knowing authors, is that you sometimes get to read their books before anybody else has a chance to. Another perk is that you sometimes get asked to host blog posts, cover reveals, or release posts. This is one of those times. Back in May, I was part of the cover reveal for a new book and a few weeks later, I wrote a review about the book. That book was Resistance by Jaye L. Knight and is the first book in a six-book series. Well, today, it is my honor to reveal the book cover for Jaye’s second book, The King’s Scrolls. Warning: it is just as gorgeous as the first one.

An Unusual Series

I’m a guest blogger this morning on the Petticoat and Pistol blog. I’ve been following that blog for a few months now and they often have great posts and lots of giveaways. Today, my books are featured and I’m also doing a giveaway. Here is a portion of what I am writing about. To read the whole post, click on the link at the end of the post.

On my blog recently, I was asked the following questions:

 As a writer of a series of books, do you fear you’ll lose momentum going into the next book or maybe that you will fall into the same pattern as the last one? For me, even with different characters, I find some books have the same rhythm. How do you avoid this?

I love this question for two reasons. Number one, it means I get to talk about each of my books at the same time. And number two, because I get to introduce my series to my readers in a more complete fashion that I haven’t done before.

To be honest, I don’t fear losing momentum going into the next book because each book is so different and I love revisiting old characters and creating new characters. As for falling into the same pattern, I don’t think that will be an issue either, again because of how different each book is from the others. If I do have that problem, it will be in books 2 and 3 since those two are so similar. Click here to read the rest of this post. 

Author Interview: Shanna Hatfield

Welcome to my blog, Shanna! I can’t wait to get to know you better. Before we get started, can you describe who you are in three sentences or less?

A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, I write sweet romantic fiction with a healthy dose of humor. In addition to blogging and eating too much chocolate, I’m completely smitten with my husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.

What is one unique thing about you that only those closest to you might know?

I have a tendency to hum when I’m intently focused on something.

From what I have seen of your books, it looks like you write historical fiction and contemporary fiction. Which do you prefer to write?

It’s hard to choose a favorite because I love them both! History has always fascinated me and I enjoy doing research, so that might tip the scales in the favor of historical fiction.

What do you most like about writing historical fiction? What do you least like? What about contemporary fiction?

When I write historical fiction I get to immerse myself in a time that no longer exists. The elaborate fashions and over-the-top décor of the Victorian era make my heart pitter-patter with joy. What I like least about writing historical fiction is making sure all the details are accurate. I try to triple-check any historical details (even words and phrases). Contemporary fiction is fun for me to write because it involves less research and I can use any word or phrase and not have to check if it is period appropriate.

What is your next writing project and when is it due to be published?

The third book in the Hardman Holidays sweet Victorian romance series comes out Thursday, Nov. 13! The Christmas Calamity takes readers back to Hardman just in time for the holiday season. Preorders are available now for just $1.99 on Kindle. You can reserve your copy here:   http://amzn.com/B00OGOO994

Also, I’m hosting a release party for the book on Facebook that day with a group of great guest authors and fun prizes, so make sure to stop by. The party runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (PT), but entries for the contests will be held open to accommodate all the time zones. Here’s the link to the party: http://tinyurl.com/cowboychristmasparty

In addition, the first book in the Hardman Holidays series, The Christmas Bargain, will be available free that day, as well!

Five fun questions:

Coffee, tea, or water? Water most of the time, although I do enjoy a sweetened cup of mint tea.

Movies or books? Books!

Cats or dogs? We have two outdoor cats that adopted us, but I generally prefer dogs.

What is your favorite genre of music? Country music, although I listen to a variety of different styles and have a thing for Big Band music.

Do you have a favorite book that you have written? That is a hard one. I think my favorite historical fiction is probably my new book, Crumpets and Cowpies, coming out in January. My favorite contemporary fiction is a tie between Learnin’ the Ropes and The Cowboy’s Summer Love.

Book Blurb for The Christmas Bargain:

Luke Granger is about to get more than he bargained for…
As owner and manager of the Hardman bank, Luke Granger is a man of responsibility and integrity in the small 1890s Eastern Oregon town. When he calls in a long overdue loan, Luke finds himself reluctantly accepting a bargain in lieu of payment from the shiftless farmer who barters his daughter to settle his debt.

 

Book Excerpt The Christmas Bargain:

“Aren’t you observant, Mrs. Granger?”

“I try.” She hid her smile behind the mug of chocolate.

“I happen to know a thing or two about you.” He shot her a sideways glance.

“Do tell, kind sir.” Filly batted her eyelashes at him. If Luke didn’t know better, he would think she was being downright flirtatious.

“I have observed, dear woman, that you put others before yourself, you are a dedicated and caring friend and that you have a keen mind with a quick wit. You are clever, smart, and not afraid of hard work. You are very talented with domestic skills and are inspiring as a cook. Your chocolate pudding could make grown men weep.”

Filly offered him a perturbed glare. “So, Mr. Granger, I have missed my calling as a school teacher or perhaps a cook at the restaurant. If my chocolate pudding makes grown men weep, what will my peach pie do to the male population? Bring them to their knees? Make them beg for mercy?”

Luke laughed aloud, causing Filly to grin.

“Filly, my girl, you are something else.” Luke reached across the table and captured her hand in his. “You might not think I notice you, wife of mine, but I know you…”

About the Blog Tour

I (Shanna) am on a blog tour this week with the Cowboys and Christmas tour to kick off a promotion I’m doing with the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. Now through Dec. 24, I’ll donate ten percent of the net proceeds from all my book sales to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. The JCCF is a non-profit organization that assists rodeo athletes who’ve sustained catastrophic injuries and are unable to work for an extended period. I learned about this great organization when I was researching the first book in the Rodeo Romance series, The Christmas Cowboy.

Enter to Win Prizes!

 As part of the blog tour, I’m giving away some exciting prizes. To enter the drawing for an Amazon gift card, autographed books, chocolates, original western artwork, and more fun goodies, fill out this form.

http://tinyurl.com/cowboychristmasprizes

Find Shanna’s books at:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | Apple

Follow Shanna online:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Pinterest | Goodreads | You Tube | Twitter

November

In a normal year (if there is such a thing), November is a crazy month for me. There are three family birthdays, chicken butchering at my uncle’s, Thanksgiving, plus all the normal, day-to-day and week-to-week things. This year I decided to be even a little more crazy. I’m doing NaNoWriMo, kind of.

For those who don’t know, NaNo is short for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days or less. I went into it knowing that I would most likely not get to the 50,000 words, but my goal is to try to write at least a few words every day of the month and write as much as I can. I’m also splitting the 50,000 words up between at least two stories.

My projects

Project #1:

The first project I am working on, is called When Roses Bloom Again. Here is a book cover mock up I made to help with a little motivation.