 I know enough to know that I know nothing. It’s the crux you come to as an author–all the research you go through to keep your reader from being pulled out of the magic spell that is your story, and the realization that it never seems to be enough.
At least, that’s the realization I’ve come to. And I give kudos to historical writers like Patricia Bates that somehow weave fact and fantasy in a way that you come away feeling like you learned something. How they do it, I’m not sure. Heck, I’m not even sure I want to check my own ancestry. Who knows what was going on back there? Sure, I might have someone real heroic and fantastic back there. Maybe I even have their smile. But I know enough history to know that fantastic back then and fantastic now, are well, two different things. Not saying for certain, but if I look at historically how disabled, women, children, the poor, and people with more tint to their skin have been treated, well, I have to face the likelihood that somewhere back in my bloodline, was an asshole. And I’d rather not know that that asshole and I share the same smile or mannerisms or anything else. I haven’t decided if that’s a character flaw or not. If I should want to know who I was related to. I mean, there could be someone really inspirational back there. But if I lay claim to the good deeds, does that mean I have to lay claim to the bad? And that’s not even giving the hint of curiosity as to how they lived in the 13th century. I’m quite certain it was a very smelly time. I’m not a fan of the pre-air conditioning era, but I was a desperate fan of the historical romances that most romantics cut their teeth on at one time or another, and I still am. Sure, smelling like a rose back then and smelling like a rose now, are probably different things.They might not have been as enlightened as to the beauty of beaver anus and whale mucus yet. Thank goodness for modern times. And A/C. All the love, Echo
0 Comments
 As a writer, we all have a bit of camaraderie with the Matchbox 20 song, “Unwell.” Or perhaps, as a night owl known for guarding hours of productiveness by the mere avoidance of being awake to help anyone, the only well-worn weapon in my quiver, I’m simply projecting. But I’ve certainly run through the gamut of shower arguments, mirror interviews, and unwritten fanfic/choose your own ending for the characters in my movies and books. I’ve lived in the heads within my head, but I do my best to try to keep my character conversations to a minimum–simply because if I say something good, I want to get it down on paper, and I have the memory of a goldfish at feeding time.
But talking to yourself, as a writer, is essential. It involves quite a bit of boredom, and somehow undoing the damage of one of my new favorite things–short videos–and talking to yourself. It’s an awful, horrible prospect. Remember that time you were cringe in third grade? Huh? Do you? Yeah, you do. And sifting through that time you let the door go too soon while someone was walking through or that time you were flirting with someone only to realize that you had your shirt on backwards, it’s sometimes what you have to go through if you’re going to get to talk to a badass vampire assassin with shitty people skills. Kind of like your brain couldn’t decide between the carrot or the stick method, so it just did both. So, on occasion, for clarity, I’m forced to tell the world around me to “shh!” and then do the best I can to stick to my guns and make it stay quiet. I’m still learning how to make the world bend to my will and stay there with a good amount of duct tape, but I think the lesson I take away from it is clear. Sometimes the world just needs to be quiet, so you can talk to yourself for a bit. All the love, Echo  I’ve hunted in kombucha bottles, probiotic pills, and high potency vitamins that are bound to do something–I mean, surely I’m missing something on the element table that my body desperately needs to run.
I exercised, I’ve cut out the “bad” things that might be in my diet, and to be honest, if it touted a bacteria that could play with my brain, I ate that yogurt with a side of cottage cheese. My latest attempt at health? Laying in sunlight. Much like Michelle Schad seeking the voice, strength, and laxatives to get Transcendent out into the world, I’ve done my own searching–generally, splatted to the couch like a too-wet spitball, staring up at the ceiling. Spoiler alert: I saw a cobweb. It wiggled in some unseen wind, but it gave up no answers, and no energy zapped into my body like a super power. I waited on that couch as long as I could, but no dice. My spoons refused to come back to me–mental and physical. Man, do I need a dishwasher. Maybe I need a spiritual awakening. Some guidance. A vacation to a far off place where I can steal spoons from the land, and take mental well-being with me like explorers once carted off gold, only with a less tragic outcome. So, this is my question–where are my spoons? Will they ever come back to me? All the love, Echo  PHILADELPHIA - May 13, 2023 - PRLog -- Multi-genre author, Krista Cagg, has signed on with Chaos Publications, her three titles, The Milan Job, Hunting Grounds, and ConFusion, all scheduled to release in 2023.
The Milan Job, a steampunk novel, will release in early July, followed by Hunting Grounds, a cosmic horror novel scheduled to release in August. ConFusion, Cagg's debut contemporary romance novel, will close out the foreseeable publication schedule in late-September. Find more about Krista Cagg on social media, www.TamingChaos.net and www.PsstPromotions.com About The Milan Job: When Captain Alexandria de Sade learned the truth about the company she had been so proud to work for, she refused the promotion they offered, quit her position, and disappeared. As did Chrono-ship #25. She made it her mission to undercut the monopoly Naviwerks had on temporal retrieval of artifacts and heirlooms and put together a crew of likeminded individuals. Including one Laurence Kane. Disliked by the Horotechnology professors at university for his unconventional approach to chrono-engineering, considered unemployable by Naviwerks, and unable to maintain even the simplest of jobs, Captain Alex considered him the perfect candidate to run and maintain her chronoengine. He joins the rest of her crew: Historian – Nigel Wellington, Ship's Doctor – Dr. Hennessey, Security – Geri Reynolds, and Pilot – Angel Flynn. Together, they set out to give Naviwerks some real competition. Their first job: Retrieve the working model of Leonardo da Vinci's Gran Cavallo from Milan, Italy 1490. But on the maiden voyage of the ship now named The William's Hunt, the ragtag crew of pirates will learn that what they thought was a simple case of corporate overreach is far more nefarious. They'll have to stay one step ahead of Naviwerks, its best operative Agent Nash, and remake their goals on the fly.
To celebrate the release of Leann M. Retell's novel, Dream Master, we decided to do a different kind of tour--one that toured TikTok, outside of just personal blogs.
There's no giveaway at the moment, just a string of pretty videos that might help you to get to know that book better, and tour some of the new TikTok-ers that helped to spread the word. Below you can repost the videos to social media, or you can go ahead and request a video of the book to share on your own TikTok. All of our love, Mud and Echo
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@psst_letstalkpromotions/video/7216137785055431982?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7216738257885760811?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7214535130415861038?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@breezyjauthor/video/7213476095130193195?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@deannasworld163/video/7213512950601043201?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@chelleschad/video/7213435056277179691?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@kbsbloggingandreviews/video/7214366144952536326?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@stathampatty134/video/7215681096405536005?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@authorsbrown/video/7213433148628110634?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@mistymassey9/video/7213829054347103531?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@patriciabatesauthor/video/7216721651323456773?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@janetwaldenwest/video/7216814680180837678?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7213705649438362923?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7215386132425592106?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7215762645494893866?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7217423680928746795?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7218000015115947306?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@leannrettell/video/7219643429981015339?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to share via a URL? Copy and Paste this: https://www.tiktok.com/@psst_letstalkpromotions/video/7215224331167632683?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7054760173986022917
Want to Follow the Author on TikTok?Congratulations, C.L. BauerCongratulations, C. L. Bauer! We've seen the successes you've had with the Lily List Mystery Series, and we can't wait to see where this new series takes you! All of our hugs! Echo and Mud Blog Tour ScheduleMarch 17 All Things Dark and Dirty Bookstocurlupwith March 20 Iron Canuck Reviews and More Monster Complex All the Ups and Downs March 21 BooksGloriousBooks Writing Cave Corner Taming Chaos Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books! March 22 Candid Canine Lisa Ks Book Reviews Dawn's Reading Nook March 23 The Irresponsible Reader Words about Words Christy's Cozy Corners March 24 Drops of Ink 100 Pages A Day Janet Walden-West A Soccer Mom's Book Blog March 27 Karen's Killer Book Bench About the Book: Some secrets should stay hidden. If they come to light, darkness could weaken even the strongest of families. Real estate agent Charlotte O'Donohue never looks forward to Mondays. Usually, a couple cups of coffee will fix her mood, but today an unexpected voice directs her to a dead body. She's going to need a bigger cup, and it better be caffeinated! When the dead body happens to be your client, the scandal could jeopardize her brother's business, but Charlotte is more worried about a mysterious stranger who decides she's the number one suspect. He seems familiar and dangerous. He knows she has a secret, and Charlotte will do anything to keep the truth from him. How could he possibly understand that she can hear the dead? Ghostly whispers from a spirit who haunts the large Kansas City mansion warns of more danger to come for Charlotte, her family, and for the stranger. But as Charlotte discovers a key to one mystery, another one appears...one that could reveal more than a murderer but a long-forbidden love. The haunted and the living seem to be conspiring against the spunky real estate agent, throwing her into a love of her own that shakes her to the core. When long hidden secrets expose lost loves, two intertwined families are placed in jeopardy in Charlotte's Voices of Mystery. Publication Date: March 17, 2023 ASIN: B0BSVM9H5T ISBN: Language: English Length: 252 pages Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery/Romance Buy Link: https://mybook.to/HauntedLostRose Other Stores: https://books2read.com/u/3Joj5E/ Want to delve into more of Ms. Bauer's work? Check out her completed Lily List Mystery Series, or sign-up for her newsletter here. Want to keep up to date on what C.L. Bauer is doing? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, and Goodreads. #bookstagram #romanticsuspense #ParanormalRomance #bookseries #BookBoost #blogtour #booklove #bookrecommendation #newrelease #bookrelease #newrelease2023 #contemporarymystery #paranormalcozymystery #cozymystery About the Author: ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kansas City, Missouri native C.L. Bauer is the author of three series in mystery genres. Originally a reporter, Bauer worked through jobs in marketing and advertising, to eventually take over the reins of her family’s century old business, Clara’s Flowers. Many of the stories used in her books are based on true events from years in the wedding and event flower world. You can reach C.L. Bauer on all social mediums, Goodreads, and through her website, www.clbauer.com. You can check out her flower designs at www.clarasflowers.com Other Books From this Author:
Blog Tour Schedule
​February 14
#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog Ilovebooksandstuffblog Louisa Bacio -- Love Knows No Bounds Nikki's Book Nook Shut Up and Book Up! (Bonus Post: Review for Wicked Crown) February 15 Slippery Words ​ Writing Cave Wall February 16 GirlZombieAuthors I Smell Sheep Kat Reads Romance February 17 The Irresponsible Reader Rosanna Leo Bookstocurlupwith February 20 Dawn's Reading Nook Karen's Killer Book Bench February 21 Words about Words ​ Adventures in Self-Publishing February 22 BooksGloriousBooks Echo's Tales February 23 Janet Walden-West Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books! February 24 Susie Q Reviews 100 Pages A Day ​ All Things Dark and Dirty About the Book: ABOUT THE BOOK: He’s a grumpy demon prince. She’s a sunshine magical orphan who’s his fated mate and forbidden. But can he survive rejecting her? Demon prince Alexei is ruthless in business and deadly in battle. The mafia boss will do anything to protect his family, even consider an arranged marriage with a royal he doesn’t love. There’s just one problem. When the grumpy hero rescues a sunshine princess locked away in a tower, he knows she’s his fated mate. She also seems to be a freakin’ forbidden angel. Like the villain he is, Alexei rejects her without saying why. Despite her tortuous childhood, Jolene is determined to find her real family and win her grumpy prince. Come on—the man has wings! But loving her antihero makes him a target of her human enemies who are out to destroy all supernaturals. These two opposites attract in all the wicked ways. But when supernatural children in Alexei’s hometown start disappearing, the two must work together, and Jolene will have to reveal that her sunshine-and-sparkles magic isn’t what it seems. Can they find their happily ever after or will their differences and enemies destroy them both? Publication Date: February 14, 2023 Publisher: City Owl Press Language: English Print Length: 364 Check it out on Amazon: https://mybook.to/WickedGrace ​ Want to delve into more of Luna's work? Check out her completed Legacy Series, her on-going Syn City Shifter Series. Want to keep up to date on Luna's work? Follow her on Amazon, Bookbub, Goodreads, and join her street team group, Luna's Lovelies, for excerpts, giveaways, and sneak peeks at upcoming work.   ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Luna Joya writes sexy hexy romances in the award-winning Legacy Series. Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore. A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup. Find more about Luna Joya on her website: https://lunajoya.com/ 
Wicked Grace is Coming
The release date for Wicked Grace, book three in the Wicked Series by Luna Joya is literally a breath away. Because somehow it's already February and in three days it will be Valentine's Day (less for Australians) and I know you're like me, and you're thinking of your spouse.
You've given them all of the jewelry, of course. And lingerie just gets holes. And honestly, how many times can your significant other use a power saw? It's not even hurricane season yet! I'm here to ease that panic which lays within your heart, and stop your from doing a mad dash to the Dollar Tree. No, for your significant, they need words. Words put into a line. Lines gathered into a page. Pages pressed into a book. That's where Wicked Grace steps in. *cues heroic cape flapping in the wind* Releasing this Valentine's Day, Wicked Grace by Luna Joya has everything you could possibly want in a paranormal romance thriller, and it releases February 14th. It'll fill your kindle with that new book smell. Or, you can order a physical copy and sniff that. It's not yet in audio though. Can't sniff that one. Nonetheless, check out the press release below. And if you want to do more than just read the book--if you want to dance with it in the moonlight, take pics of it on your bookshelf, constantly put it into your purse, just in case the car breaks down, even if you're only going to the gas station across the street--then you are more than welcome to fill out the blog tour sign-up sheet at the bottom of this page. (And of course, I had to add in obligatory Tiny Editor video, because--we all need a little Tiny Editor in our lives.) Press Release
Demons, Angels, and Mystery Rule Luna Joya’s Wicked Grace
Anaheim, California– The latest book in Luna Joya’s enemies-to-lovers Wicked Series, Wicked Grace, is set to release February 14, 2023–what better day to bring the “will they, won’t they” tension to life? Obviously, Luna’s hands were guided by an all-knowing and yet, slightly deranged cupid, when he put this angel princess and demon prince together. Though, as we all know, sometimes it’s the humans you have to worry about the most. When supernatural children in Alexei’s hometown start disappearing, the two must work together, and Jolene will have to reveal that her sunshine-and-sparkles magic isn’t what it seems… Joya, a real life, Deputy DA, always adds a heavy dose of mystery to her paranormal romance novels, and when Alexai, a demon mafia prince, rescues Jolene, a sunshine princess locked away in a tower, it’s clear that this is not your mother’s Rapunzel story. “Joya holds the reader in her grip with action-packed intrigue and an expertly paced will-they-or-won't-they,” - Publisher’s Weekly on Joya’s work. Wicked Grace is releasing with City Owl Press. Luna Joya is available for signings, speaking engagements, and convention appearances upon request. About the Book: He’s a grumpy demon prince. She’s a sunshine magical orphan who’s his fated mate and forbidden. But can he survive rejecting her? Demon prince Alexei is ruthless in business and deadly in battle. The mafia boss will do anything to protect his family, even consider an arranged marriage with a royal he doesn’t love. There’s just one problem. When the grumpy hero rescues a sunshine princess locked away in a tower, he knows she’s his fated mate. She also seems to be a freakin’ forbidden angel. Like the villain he is, Alexei rejects her without saying why. Despite her tortuous childhood, Jolene is determined to find her real family and win her grumpy prince. Come on—the man has wings! But loving her antihero makes him a target of her human enemies who are out to destroy all supernaturals. These two opposites attract in all the wicked ways. But when supernatural children in Alexei’s hometown start disappearing, the two must work together, and Jolene will have to reveal that her sunshine-and-sparkles magic isn’t what it seems. Can they find their happily ever after or will their differences and enemies destroy them both? Publication Date: February 14, 2023 Language: English Length: 364 Genre: Paranormal Romance/Mystery About the Author: Fluent in sarcasm and penal code, Luna Joya prosecutes by day and writes at night. She loves history, especially Los Angeles and Hollywood lore. A survivor of traumatic brain injury with steel body parts, she lives in SoCal with her combat veteran husband and their two-pound terror of a rescue pup. Find signed copies, updates and SWAG on her social media and her website https://lunajoya.com/ Blog Tour Sign-up Form
A new year has begun, and it's been...well, yep, a year.
So I thought we could use an update on some of our favorite authors, in the best way--through their very own words on social media. I know a few of our authors could use some love. Michelle Schad/Noa Rose
While I live under a rock, post like these from Michelle have been reminding me--happy lunar new year! (Yes, I am very, very late.)
Luna Joya
This post and the one before it knocked the wind out of me. There are no hugs, no comfort. This has been brutal and my heart is breaking for her. We're sending all of our love her way.
Patricia Bates
Being part of a book box isn't all. She's done interviews, and she's got the next book in the Kidnapped Grooms Series, Married to the Enemy, coming out later this year--and she's crafting, because I'm pretty sure if she's not doing something, she'll explode. A lot of authors we know are like that, actually. I kind of want to harness their energy to solve the world energy crisis.
Lily Riley
It's absolutely no surprise that Lily Riley's "The Assassin and the Libertine" got a great review, Just adding it to the collection of them, basically.
If you want to check it out on the website and give it a little love, go ahead: https://paranormalromanceguild.com/review-the-assassin-and-the-libertine-les-dames-dangereuses-book-1-lily-riley-mystic-owl/ Janet Walden-West
It's never ideal when one of your favorite authors changes their release date, but I can't tell you how much I applaud her decision. Burn out in the author community is real, and after the year she had, I'm so glad she gave herself some grace.
Rumors:
Rumor has is that Wicked Grace by Luna Joya is closer to your e-reader than you might expect.
And Steve Shipley may or may not have visited Cambodia to while working on one of the books in his Blake Willis thriller series. But could we really be seeing a revamp of Elise Whyles' books? Well, I'm not really at liberty to say. I know of a few book sales going on and I thought I would share them with you. The genres are widely varied--contemporary, fantasy, historical--all of it threaded through with that one thing that Hallmark knows we crave in the winter time--romance. Of course, none of these are holiday/winter themed romance. Any lumberjacks from hometowns that teach our heroines the true meaning of Christmas, well, that's purely coincidental. Another thing that connects these books is that they're all $.99--that's right, one penny shy of a dollar. You save that penny. There's a penny shortage. Stores want that penny. But these authors don't. These authors are cool. Hip. They'll let you read their books and keep that penny. Without further ado, here are the books that keep breaking up dollar families and converting them to change. Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
ParanormalRomance
|
Psst...PromotionsWorking in tandem with Let's Talk Promotions, we help books and authors get the recognition they deserve. Archives
September 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed