January's gone?!

I can't believe that January has gone by so fast. It's almost terrifying to think of the speed at which time is flying by. Because today is the last Friday of the month, which means it's time for...

For those of you who don't know, the rules to this bloghop are as follows:

1) Beth and I will be co-hosts of this list.
2) If you do enter your link into the list, please be supportive of the other entrants.
3) Keep us up to date with how you're doing. Update Day is on the last Friday of every month. Even if you don't think you achieved much or anything, write a quick post to say so. We can't encourage if we don't know.
4) When you enter your blog's address write your goal as the link title. For example, my link's title will be "earn $7500 per month." Not your name or your blog's. This is so we can keep track of who's doing what. AND it will serve as an easy indication of the fact that you're not the only crazy one.
5) Please please please spread the word! I know this is nuts, but I know a lot of people need encouragement, and making a decision and figuring out how to get there is half the battle...

You're welcome to sign up at any time.
As for how I did in January... not good. I've been required to keep an insane work schedule with the two first weeks having 16 hour work days. Which meant that I mostly slept when I didn't work. By the third week, things were going better, but I was so exhausted that I just couldn't put in the hours of writing and editing required to achieve my goals.

To sum up:

Goals for January: 

Writing: 

1) 60k (which can either be 60k written or 60 hours of edits or a combination of the two.)

I managed 8877 words, about half of which was edits. I want to see if I can get past 10k this weekend.

2) Finish the Wo6C3 rewrite. 

Didn't start yet. I wanted to, and had some free time, but it felt like I'd lost my train of thought. So I had to reread the whole thing that I've written so far in order to pick up where I left off.

3) Submit "Turning Points" Short Story by 31 January. 

4) Finish Untethered Realms Anthology rough draft. 

I'm on track for both, mainly because I decided to publish the same short story in both anthologies. (It's funny, but the same story fit both topics, while the two topics will appeal to two different audiences.)

5) Finish BvB1 print-out proofread and formatting. 

I got through the actual proofreading, but haven't implemented any edits yet.

6) Revise ES1.

I'm still waiting for one more CP to send me her feedback before I start.

7) Rough draft BvB2. 

Didn't even think about this yet.

8) Prep DM1 rewrite.

I did do a little bit of thinking about this. Which should make the actual preparations easier for me when I get to them.

9) Research CdW. 

Didn't get to this.

Reading: 

Read six books.

I read three so far, although I might try and see how many I can squeeze into this weekend.

Networking and Marketing: 

1) Set publishing date for BvB1.

Done. BvB1, aka Endless will be out on 30 April. 

2) Arrange blog tours, reviewers etc.

This is in progress. I'm still looking for more help, though, so if you haven't yet and you want to give me a hand, please click here. (Opens to a new window.)

3) Get into a regular posting schedule for main social networks. 

I mostly managed this with blogging, only missing one day because my laptop broke. I didn't get to Twitter, Tumblr and Wattpad the way I had wanted, though.

Life: 

1) Fall into a regular schedule between work, writing etc as fast as possible. 

Epic fail.

2) Commence refined carb cut-back. 

Done. For the most part I'm living off fruit, veg, protein and dairy.

3) Start singing lessons.

Done just in the nick of time. I started lessons yesterday.

4) Start new dance/sporting activity. 

Not done. 

So all things considered, I don't think I did too badly. Although I really wish that I can get more done. The good thing is that this month should give me quite a few nights off with no internet access, so I should be able to get more done. 

Goals for February: 

Writing: 

1) 60k written, 60 hours edited or a combination of the two.

2) Finish Wo6C3 rewrites.

3) Finish Endless edits and formatting. 

4) Revise ES1

5) Resume writing BvB2

6) Start rough revisions to O1

7) Prep DM1 rewrite

8) Work on CdW concept.

9) Rough draft StW.

Reading:

Read 6 books.

Networking & Marketing:

1) Finish arranging blog tour. 

2) Send out e-arcs to reviewers. 

3) Start A to Z Challenge Posts.

4) Start prepping for blog tour.

5) Finish Endless paperback cover.

6) Maintain current blogging activity.

7) Become more active on one more social network. 

Life: 

1) Get into a regular work/life/writing schedule.

2) Maintain diet change

3) Keep singing.

4) Find new exercise/sport activity.

That's it for me. Lots to do, yes. How are your goals coming along? What are your plans for February?

Denise Covey on Setting and Story

Thanks for having me today, Misha, and allowing me to share how my paranormal story grew from the setting I imagined.

SETTING AND STORY

When I first imagine a story, … I take time to create in my mind a picture of the setting (being as I am addicted to setting in the stories I read). I love Italy and have spent time wandering around Tuscany, imagining all the turbulent history that this region has seen. The first Gothic novels were set in Italy and it's not hard to see why -- the tempestuous history, the castles dotted all over the countryside, the crumbling villas, the nobility's constant plotting, the cruel papal wars and much more.

I imagined a castle (castello) where my protagonist, Duke Vipunin, would live, a castle surrounded by ramparts, walls, vineyards with a backdrop of mountains with werewolves howling to create an unsettling atmosphere. 

Under the Tuscan … Moon has its fair share of Gothic elements, and what better setting than a much-loved castle for Vipunin to lose when he is turned one spectacular night by the Queen of the Vampires? No longer Duke Vipunin, he becomes Vampire Vipunin, but he still longs for his castle his old life which revolved around wine production.

Extract One and Two are from - The Vendemmia (The Harvest) - when Vipunin is a Duke of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

"Vipunin … turned, leaned back against the parapets and admired his castello. How beautiful the travertine appeared tonight with the lights reflecting on the pale rose bricks and illuminating the niches where white marble crèche figures shone alabaster. He had rescued these exquisite statues from a crumbling palazzo in Venice when on his yearly visit to pay homage to the Doge. Here at his home they were on display – so finely carved, baroque in proportion – rather than decaying at the bottom of the Canal Grande.

Inhaling … the fragrance of grape that permeated the air, he loved how the perfume jostled with the scent of carefully-tended lilies and lavenders from his walled garden. Red roses trailed over the high walls in a bright splash of color, their breath-choking scent lacing the air. At times they overpowered even the smell of roasting pigs that would feed those gathered within his walls this night."

Of course, he doesn’t know that the Queen of the Vampires has him in her sights.

In my head I imagined Vipunin's castello as Brolio Castle in Siena, close to where the action in my story takes place in the Chianti region.

The castle of Brolio was caught in the middle of … the conflict between Siena and Florence, then it was attacked many times in the seventeenth century, the time of my story. The castle is surrounded by the largest vineyards in the Chianti region. You can walk on the ramparts for splendid sights of the Chianti region, much as I draw Vipunin surveying his 'Dukedom' one fateful night.

I wanted this arrogant duke to … suffer. I catch his emotions as, now a vampire, he watches in the forest as a young couple he recognises eat and drink:

"Vipunin … gritted his teeth as he recalled the richness of the wine he once drank from his favorite pewter goblet while he watched the sun set over his vines. He could taste it now, wild and musky, swirling around his mouth. Once his life had revolved around the pleasures of the harvest, the pleasures of women, and the pleasures of wine-making.

He turned his attention back to the male and female, watched as they sipped from silver goblets engraved with a family crest. A thirst more powerful than his thirst for human blood overcame him. He … drank nothing but blood, but now he longed to pour every delicious drop of that wine down his aching throat."

 Under the Tuscan Moon

A paranormal romance

Book One – Cassia

Amazon.com

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Within the velvety Tuscan sky, a harvest moon glows like liquid amber. Mysterious shadows seep noxiously through the unsuspecting forest, preying on the vulnerable, whose blinded gaze mocks their senses.

A man.

A woman.

Forever locked in a sensual embrace.

A werewolf howls…

A cloak swishes…

And, 

Alabaster flesh waits to be torn.

Timing is everything in the Danse Macabre.

On this night the nectar of revenge is at its sweetest.

Just ask Vipunin…

“Who is Vipunin?” you ask.

A tormented soul, longing to recapture the life stolen from him a century ago. His wait is finally over. His love, Ciassia, has returned and she will be by his side for eternity…

Or so he thinks… 

PRAISE FOR DENISE’S NOVELLA

"Book One, Ciassia…the first in a collection of exquisitely-written Gothic paranormal romances.

Feel the passion...the longing...the desire…"

 Michael di Gesu

"Eternal life in the dark world is forever the moment of transition from light to darkness, an ageless and inescapable fact of a Vampire’s existence, in which the past is often a haunting and taunting memory. Tense,  engrossing, and chilling."

Francine Howarth 

The setting is ethereal, the moon mystic and the introduction to all the characters filled with drama and thrills. Written with genuine vampire mythology in mind I loved not only the setting, Tuscany, which was beautifully portrayed but the descriptive scrumptiousness of the offerings whether, human, blood or cheese and wine.

Yolanda Renee

You think you've read vampire tales before. You haven't. Not until your eyes feast on Under The Tuscon Moon. I know you want to read this luscious story of intrigue and vampires. Buy it. I give it five stars. Cheers to Ms. Covey for this most original, beautiful story of love and vampires.

Robyn Campbell 

Denise Covey hails from that land Down Under, where she publishes flash fiction, short stories and travelogues in Australian magazines. When not writing, she teaches English Lit to her rapt senior students who think it’s 'way cool' to have a writer as a teacher. Under the Tuscan Moon is her first, but not last, paranormal romance. Denise has decided it’s 'way cool' to live in a world of vampires, angels, demons and werewolves.

Join Denise on blogger, on Word Press, on  facebook, twitter, pinterest, wattpad. 

Thanks for stopping by, Denise! 

What about you, ladies and gents? Where is your current WiP set? If you're not working on anything, where is your favorite place in the world? 

Before I go, please go check out my newest book announcement. I'm looking for some more blog tour stops. Pretty please?

How to Get Back Into the Writing Groove

Lately, my advice posts have fell a bit to the way-side. Mainly, I blame a bit of a writer's burn-out that I suffered from since mid-November.

It's hard enough to write a thoughtful, useful post without feeling like I'm sipping yogurt through a thin straw. (Don't know what I mean? Try it sometime. The feeling compares remarkably well to writing while burned out.)

The only thing I advise people to do when burned out is to rest. But what to do when the burn-out is gone and you just can't get into the writing groove again? 

Oh, I'm glad you asked. 

I know that everyone is different, but I've found that the following steps work for me: 

Step 1: Find a big enough stick. 

I'm serious. Resting during a burn-out is all about spoiling ourselves rotten and doing all those things we usually do to procrastinate without feeling guilty about it. This is a good thing in its time, but now that time is over. But why promise yourself a reward when you're already in the zone of instant gratification? 

It just won't work. So find what will really make yourself feel crap if you don't do it within a certain time, and commit to it now. I picked saying yes to two anthologies and setting up a book for pre-order. 

Of the two, the pre-order thing is worse. I like having the pre-order option. And Amazon will take that option away for a year if I don't submit the finished work in time. See? Pretty big stick. 

And already, I've started making sure that I'll have everything done. Just make sure that the big stick won't be falling too soon. You've got to be reasonable. Setting something up for pre-orders a week from now isn't reasonable unless you were close to done to begin with. 

Step 2: Get into the habit of delayed gratification.

You used to do this before. It's not so hard. Say: "Yes, I want to watch TV, but first I need to finish this chapter."

This is a tricky thing to do, because the excuses are a dime a dozen. But if you want to get that book done, you need to say: "Later." to everything that isn't finishing your book. 

Except, you know, your family needing your attention or something like that. Family is important. Writing is important. Sometimes, friends are important. TV.... not so much. 

And be careful of the social networking you "need" to do. Not that important either. 

Step 3: Find a nice, juicy carrot. 

That's the nice thing about delayed gratification. Telling yourself you'll do something after finishing a chapter means that you'll want to finish that chapter even if it's only to get to a guilt-free session of that other thing. 

I go a bit bigger, though. I've promised myself something really nice and expensive if I publish my book on time. Actually, that was a new laptop, but the old one broke. So I'm going to have to think of something else. 

I'll probably feed my addiction to pretty notebooks. (NOTE: if you're ever a die-hard fan that wants to send me stuff for Christmas or my birthday... NOTEBOOKS. The beautiful hard-cover kinds with the high quality paper.) 

In the short term, I promised myself a decadent chocolate and banana smoothie once I've finished this post. 

Step 4: Actually write, nitwit. 

You know? It's kind of important. 

And that's pretty much it. Simple, right? 

How do you get back into the writing groove after a long break? 

Back to the subject of putting books on pre-order. I'll be putting Endless up on Amazon this weekend. It's already up on B&N, Kobo and Apple. In the meantime, though, I'm looking for people who'd like to help me spread the word in May after the launch. If you're interested, please click here. Thanks! You're awesome.

News Day

Hi everyone, welcome to News Day. For those of you who missed it, News Day is my weekly regular feature where I share news that I've found in the bloggosphere or that has been brought to my attention. The news can be about anything from book releases to bloghops and anything in between. If you'd like for me to share something on News Day, please mail me at mishagericke(AT)gmail(DOT)com with NEWS in the headline.

From this blog:

Endless release announcement

In case you missed it, I've announced my release date for Endless on Friday and am currently looking for people who'll help spread the information once the book is launched. You can find more information and the google form I'm using here. 

Interview with David Powers King

Yesterday, I interviewed David Powers King as part of his blog tour for The Undead Road. Please go read the interview and support him, since he's a great person who definitely deserves some love. 

Coming up on Thursday

Denise Covey will be here, writing about Setting and Story.

Book Releases:

Out Now...

Mind over matter is more than a cliche.

Controlling starships with her mind is all Emily ever dreamed of. Her graduation from the Telekinesis Traffic Control Academy is assured, unless Dylan, an irritating and cocky fellow student, ruins it for her.

The utmost concentration is essential to land a ship from orbit. When Dylan’s jealousy turns to sabotage, thousands of people will die if Emily can’t keep him out of her head. But which of them has the stronger mind?​

Kindle | Nook | Kobo | Apple

When you pen those magical words, “The End”, it’s really only the first step on the road to publication. That first draft needs polishing, revising, editing, but you are too close to your work to do this alone. You need independent, thorough and honest feedback. The kind that digs deep into what’s working and what’s not. The kind that will ruthlessly expose cardboard characters and lackluster descriptions. The kind that will drive transit buses through your carefully-crafted plot. 

In other words, the kind that hurts. 

The trouble is that even amongst friends a detailed critique can be hard to take, but blunt and honest critiques are a necessary growth pain for any writer. Venturing into the anonymous jungle of online critique groups in search of tough love is both terrifying and exponentially rewarding. The Critique Survival Guide shares practical tips for surviving - and thriving on - the harshest of critiquing experiences.

Available at Amazon.com

Coming soon...

Bloghops: 

Christine Rains, Tara Tyler and C. Lee McKenzie are hosting a Meme Bloghop in February. The rules are simple. Post a meme, visit others and smile. The hosts will be giving away prizes. Sign up here.

Heads up all romance lovers: 

T.F. Walsh is creating a community for writers and readers of romance. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.


That's it from me for today. Anything here caught your eye? Any news to share for next week? (Don't forget to mail me.)

A Surprise Visit from David Powers King

Hi all! So this was most certainly not in my schedule, but on Friday, David mailed me. One thing led to another, and we did an interview over the weekend that I decided to share today.

Before I get to that, though. If you haven't seen my announcement on Friday yet, please go check it out. I'd love you forever if you could help.

Okay. That's done. Let's get to the interview, shall we? (Bold bits are by me.)

Welcome to The Five Year Project, David! Let's start with an easy (or fiendishly hard, depending on your point of view) question. Tell the readers a bit more about yourself?

Much about be can be summed up by the words of Jake the Dog: "I'm just a simple dude." I love all things science fiction and fantasy, and I write all kind of things. I happen to be a mental health professional as well. You could say I'm a mixed bag of tricks with dollop of awesome on top. Plus I live in the Rockies. Like Bilbo, I gotta have my mountains.

You've got a dollop of very awesome on top. ;-) 

Do you use your mental health knowledge in characterization? How? Is it something you do consciously?

Always. In fact, when I was in college going for a Behavioral Science degree, people were surprised that I wasn't going for a degree in English since I wanted to be a writer. But here's something I've learned ... If people are invested in the characters, the prose will take care of itself. Having a background in the field of psychology makes complex character creation a cinch. It makes me a more effective people watcher, too. Don't call the cops on me.

I LOVE people watching. Bonus points if I don't get caught. Do you make up stories about the people you notice?

Usually, but it can take a lot for something to grab my attention. Even The Undead Road is something of a caricature of my 15-year-old self, using memories of events and people I knew back then.

What inspired you to write The Undead Road?

Zombies are my favorite monster, yet for the longest time I couldn't think of a way to write them the way I've always wanted to see them (more family oriented and presented in a way that people who don't like zombies would still enjoy the story). The first episode of The Walking Dead was huge in breaking that wall, and I wrote the first chapter that night.

So would you say this was an easy story to write?

I would say the easiest of all my works. It flowed like water. Perhaps I wasn't approaching it as seriously as other projects and just had fun writing it. Then my critique group liked it so much, they pushed me to get it published. And here we are!

I love when a story like that comes along. I adore my challenging books, but sometimes, it's important to just let something flow out too. Even if we don't take it as seriously. 

What is The Undead Road about and where can people buy it?

It's about a 15-year-old boy named Jeremy, whose family is seeking refuge from the deadly Vectors halfway across the country. They have to get there first, and find themselves caught in the struggle for a possible cure and a girl who might turn on them at any moment. You can find The Undead Road on Amazon: Kindle (.99 all this week!), free on Kindle Unlimited, and paperback, as well as the Createspace store.

Sounds awesome. Where can people find you?

Do I want to be found? Hey, why not! You can find out what I'm up to at www.davidpowersking.com, as well as Facebook and Twitter. Follow the space guy with a cruller in his hand.

Excellent. Thanks so much, David! All the best with The Undead Road.

Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse …

Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Barnes would rather watch a zombie movie than shoot a real one, but he has no choice if his family wants to survive the end of the world. Their plan? Drive across the infected United States to a cabin in the Colorado Rockies without a scratch, but their trip takes a complicated detour in the middle of Nebraska when they find Kaylynn, a girl who can handle a baseball bat better than Jeremy can hold a .45 Berretta. And when they stumble into a sanctuary, Jeremy soon learns that Kaylynn is stronger than she looks—a deadly secret lies inside her.

After the radio picks up a distress call from Kansas City about a possible cure, Jeremy’s parents go with a team to investigate. They never return. The only way to find their parents is for Jeremy and his sister Jewel to rely on a dangerous girl who might just turn on them at any moment.

Amazon

Amazon.CA

Amazon.UK

Amazon.AU

CreateSpace

Kindle Store

David Powers King was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to be a writer. He is the co-author of the YA fantasy novel WOVEN, published by Scholastic. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He currently lives deep in the mountain West with his wife and three children. 

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What about you, dear reader? Which is your favorite monster? Who loves zombies?

Major Announcement

Hi everyone! So as I've been promising, I have a major announcement to make. (Along with a request that you - yes, you - help me.)

Because this is coming out on 30 April: 

“First, do no harm.” Blake Ryan swore that oath to become a doctor. Ironic, given that he spent most of his thousand year life sucking souls out of other immortals.

Things are different now. Using regular shots of morphine to keep his inner monster at bay, Ryan has led a quiet life since the Second World War. His thrills now come from saving lives, not taking them.

Until a plane crash brings Aleria into his hospital. Her life is vibrant. Crack to predators like him. She’s the exact sort of person they would hunt, and thanks to a severe case of amnesia, she’s all but defenseless.

Leaving Aleria vulnerable isn’t an option, but protecting her means unleashing his own inner monster. Which is a problem, because his inner monster wants her dead most of all.


Launch Date will be 30 April, which means that I'm looking for people to help spread the word in May. (I won't be asking people to host me during A to Z Madness.) Pretty pretty please with a million sprinkles on top?

I'm looking for cover revealers, interviewers, guest post host, reviewers.... oh... you know, everyone. All you need to do is fill in this form and I'll get back to you. (Also, you can pick to do two or more things too, if you're feeling like being SUPER DUPER helpful.)




Eep! I'm so excited!

Thoughts? Want to help a girl out? 

Terry W. Ervin II on Getting Your Books in Front of Readers

Hi everyone! Today I'm welcoming Terry W. Ervin II to the Five Year Project. Today's a bit of a long post, but chock full of information, so I'm just going to let him take over from here. 

Getting Books in Front of Readers

With literally millions of novels out there, it’s a challenge to get attention…to get a book in front of potential readers. Sadly for anyone reading this, I don’t have the magic, or silver, bullet. There isn’t one proven method, or combination of actions and activities, that will offer success in this endeavor. Even worse, the market, technology, reader preferences and methods of finding books to read is continually changing.

But don’t despair…and don’t stop reading this post.

There are some things based on my experience that can make a difference—a positive one.

Experience? You might be thinking, who is this guy? He isn’t a NY Times Bestseller. That’s true, my individual novels don’t sell in the hundreds of thousands. They sell in the hundreds and thousands. This guy’s novels aren’t in the top 1000 on Amazon. That’s true, for now. But I’ve had novels that closed in on the 2000s, for a short while before fading. Nevertheless, if Steven King or Hugh Howey say something that contradicts what I recommend, definitely give their words significant weight.

I think number one as far as a book (or books) getting noticed is to write and publish. Get your work out there. The best advertisement for a previous book is a new one.

If you submit a novel to publishers, while you’re waiting for that novel to find a home, write another. If you self-publish, don’t wait to see what happens with your first or most recent novel. Get another one out there for readers to get ahold of. A second novel, in essence, doubles your chances of finding readers. If it’s a series…you need to keep those that have found your works happy and interested. Beyond that, some readers don’t want to ‘invest’ in a single book author.

But just having a book out there isn’t enough. It has to be a good book, sure. But it needs a good cover. People do judge a book by its cover. It has to work both full size and as a thumbnail. If someone sees it as an ‘also bought’ or while browsing in some other fashion, if it (the cover art/title/layout) doesn’t catch a potential reader’s attention in some manner, he or she will move on and never ‘discover’ your work.

That means you have to check out the types of covers a publisher provides, especially in your genre, before you submit to them. (That’s just one bit of criteria to consider, but really determining publishers to submit a manuscript to is a whole separate article). If you self-publish, be professional. Hire someone skilled and experienced, just like you would an editor. It’ll increase the odds of your book finding readers.

Get reviews. What others say will echo louder than what you, the author says, or what your publisher says. Word of mouth is important, and reviews are a form of word of mouth, and will further entice readers considering investing time and money in your book.

Reviews from reviewers, reputable ones online, are difficult to get. Reviewers with a wide readership, and even trusted ones with smaller readerships are inundated with requests. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.

Reviews at Goodreads, and Amazon and B&N, and wherever your books are available, make a difference. Real reviews. Avid readers who use such reviews as a measure of a book’s quality to gauge whether it’s something they want to read…well, they invest at least enough time to make a few clicks and check out who the reviewer is. They especially take note if a reviewer has one review on Amazon, and it’s for your book. That one is discounted, and may actually count against an author—fair or not.

Ask your avid reader friends to give an honest review, especially if they write reviews on a regular basis. At the end of your book, ask the reader to post a review. If you sell copies at author events, ask a customer to write a review, especially if they enjoyed it. Yes, reviews from folks you don’t know and have never met do show up, but it’s only a small percentage of those that actually read the book. And if the book sells very few copies…that means few reviews, helping to pave the way to obscurity.

As an author, networking with readers can be dicey, especially online. Reader forums, for example, are very wary of authors self-promoting. More than a few bad apples have largely poisoned that well. The same thing with writer forums. And oversaturation of ‘buy my book’ sort of Tweets, well, they are not productive and can prove to be counterproductive. Having a Facebook page where people opt in? That can be a good place for a community of interested readers to interact with an author. But again, it’s not a place to try to ‘sell’. Readers who’ve built an online relationship with an author are more likely to talk about your works to their friends.

Again, someone else saying nice things about your work means more than you saying it yourself. If someone tweets, or posts or reviews…that will carry much more weight.

There are email lists and use of free ebooks and other promotional maneuvers…but that is fodder for another lengthy post, that someone else might want to write?

Finally, get out there. While it might happen that you can sit at home and play hermit and, despite this, your novel catches fire…that is very very much against the odds. Luck isn’t a strategy. Yes, luck can be a factor, but setting yourself up so that you cross paths with a bit of luck…that’s more of an objective to shoot for.

Go to book fairs and festivals, if you have print copies. Present at local libraries, talking about genres or the publishing business, or working with artists…or whatever you feel is one of your strengths to share. Visit forums, with maybe a link to your blog or website—probably not to an Amazon buy page—in the signature file. If folks at the forum(s) find your comments and input interesting, they might on their own try to discover more, and follow that link.

At those events and forums, network with the other authors. Exchange business cards and emails and knowledge. Offer to do interviews or the like on your blog or share on Facebook, or retweet something. Do this without an expectation of reciprocation. But if reciprocation occurs, your work will be out there, in front of eyes and potential readers…and, well, someone else is saying good things about your works, or offering a platform for you to provide some value to the visitors of that platform, be it a blog, a forum, a writer’s group, or a book club.

That’s the sort of thing I’m doing here. I was provided an opportunity by Misha to write an article for the readers of her blog. She suggested the topic, and it was within my realm of experience to provide an article to cover it, or at least that’s my belief.

…And if you’ve made it this far, you read the article. Thank you.

…And I hope you both enjoyed it and found it interesting and potentially useful.

…And I also hope you’ll click to learn a little more about me and my works available…and if they are something not directly of interest to you, share with others who you know it might be.

…And if you don’t? That’s okay too, because the main point of this article is assisting writers in ways to get their books noticed…not to sell my books. The hard sell is for persistent telemarketers and pushy used car salesmen, right?

Bio:

Terry W. Ervin II is an English and science teacher who enjoys writing fantasy and science fiction. His First Civilization’s Legacy Series (fantasy) includes Flank Hawk, Blood Sword, and Soul Forge.

The Crax War Chronicles, his science fiction series, includes Relic Tech and Relic Hunted (his most recent release from Gryphonwood Press).

In addition to writing novels, Terry’s short stories have appeared in over a dozen anthologies, magazines and ezines. Genre Shotgun is a collection containing all of his previously published short stories.

To contact Terry or learn more about his writing endeavors, visit his website at www.ervin-author.com and his blog, Up Around the Corner at uparoundthecorner.blogspot.com

More News

I know I said I was going to skip News Day this week, but almost immediately after that, I stumbled across or was told about quite a bit of news. So here goes...

About News Day: 

Once a week (usually Tuesdays), I post news bits that I've gleaned from my blog visits or that I've been informed of. The news can be about anything in our writing blogger community, so if you would like me to signal boost anything you'd like to share, please mail me at mishagericke(AT)gmail(DOT)com with News in the subject line.

From the Five Year Project:

Announcement on Friday: Don't forget to come back on Friday for an important announcement!

Thursday Guest Post: Tomorrow I'll be featuring a guest post by Terry W. Ervin II. This is part of my plan to regularly feature writers on Thursdays. I have all my Thursdays open in February, so if you'd like to book one, please mail me at mishagericke(AT)gmail(DOT)com with "Guest Post" in the subject line.

Book Release:

The Outlaw's Prize by Susan Kelly

She didn’t believe in heroes until he kidnapped her.

Infamous smuggler Quin kidnaps Dr. Bess Smith with the best intentions. But a few days in the feisty physician’s presence turns his thoughts in a less honorable direction. Soon he’s figuring out ways to keep her.

Bess isn’t impressed with Quin’s good looks and easy charm until she starts to believe he is sincere in his flirtation. Despite the grim medical emergency they battle together, for the first time in her life, she experiences the thrill of adventure with the handsome smuggler.

Then a terrible betrayal exposes the secrets they’ve kept from one another. Secrets that may cost Quin his life and send Bess back into the isolation of her research laboratory. Can she trust a man she believes only used her own ends? Or is he really the self-sacrificing hero she hopes he is?

Available here

About Bloghops

A to Z Challenge

You probably know about this by now, but sign ups for this year's A to Z Challenge will open on 25 January. 

Insecure Writer's Support Group

The Insecure Writer's Support Group Newsletter will feature articles by industry experts, IWSG members, and administrators. There will also be a dozen links to helpful articles for writers in each edition, as well as a special Member Spotlight. Even if you're not a member of the blogging group, you'll greatly benefit from these FREE monthly newsletters.


The first issue goes out on February 24th.

Sign up here.

The Muse Party Blogfest

The Valentine's Day Muse Party Blogfest will take place on Monday, February 15. Sarah Foster will be hosting the party on her blog and you and your muse can come! On that day you can post on your blog and answer the questions she provided. She'll be answering them, too, and visiting all the other blogs to check out your answers! 

If you don't have a muse or don't want to bring them, feel free to bring a character from one of your books (published or not!). If you came to the first party, you can bring the same muse/character or someone different. Maybe we'll get to see how much we and our muses really love each other...

Sign up form and questions can be found here.

Other: 

Annalisa Crawford got shortlisted for a prestigious competition. 

DL Hammons is looking for help with reading the slush pile for WRITE CLUB 2016. 

That's it for today. Got any news for next week? Want to guest post on my blog? Don't forget to mail me. Anyone else signing up to the Muse Party blogfest?