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Friday, November 28, 2008

Give a book this Christmas....

Here is one fabulous idea I found cyber surfing: do your bit to help people world-wide buy a million books before the end of the year. Both paper and e-books count. How cool is that?

The link is here: http://buymorebooks.blogspot.com/ - please buy books as presents this Christmas and spread the word generously.

Out of ideas what books you might like? Look no further than "Witch Hunts on the Internet" by Yvonne Walus (Echelon Press).

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Seventh Circle - Interview with Felicity Heaton


Dark, sensual and fast-paced, Seventh Circle by F.E. Heaton is a story of forbidden love so strong that it will save the world.

Born with strange powers similar to a vampire's, Lilith has spent her life hunting demons for Section Seven. Now, on the very same night that she watches a vampire kill her best friend, she's faced with her worse nightmare.

A client who is not only attractive, but a vampire.

Lincoln, a powerful pure blood vampire, has a problem. The prophecy he's caught up in is coming to pass and his only chance of survival is relying on those he hates most–vampire hunters. It has been foretold that one will save him, a female hunter, and when he meets her, the attraction he feels is both instantaneous and forbidden.

Their mutual attraction becomes difficult to deny as they work to unravel the mystery of a contract between Lincoln's lord and the Devil. The barriers around their hearts fall, but is there only pain ahead of them? With Lincoln's life on the line, can Lilith find the strength to protect him and embrace a side of herself that she wished didn't exist? Can Lincoln overcome his fear in order to save Lilith even if it means parting from her forever? What price will they pay to be together?


Yvonne: Welcome to my blog, Felicity. Your book sounds exactly like something my husband would like for Christmas, so I'm glad to have that sorted, lol! Now, please tell us one grabbing fact about yourself.


Felicity: Grabbing fact – I start every week day by writing for an hour, at 6:55am!

Yvonne: My brain doesn't even operate at 6:55 a.a.! Right then. You meet Donald Maass in an elevator at a writer's conference. You have from floor 1 to floor 5 to tell him about your book and why he should represent you.


Felicity: Forbidden love, demons, the Devil, God, the very circles of Hell and the end of the world combined with a sexy dark vampire hero and sassy strong heroine to make a novel so compelling you won’t be able to put it down until you’ve turned the last page. It’s everything a paranormal romance reader hungers for in a story and so much more. Guaranteed to make their hearts beat double time, have them on the edge of the seat, and leave them feeling perfectly warm and satisfied.

If he won’t read it after that, then he doesn’t know what’s good for him.


Yvonne: You bet! Can we have the first paragraph of the book?


Felicity: Well, it’s actually just one word, so I’ll give you the first few lines.

Blood.

No matter where she looked, Lilith couldn’t escape it. It spotted his face and arched over his jaw from the wound on his throat. It seeped into his damp blond hair, darkening the whole side of his head. Turning away, she swallowed her desire to be sick and stared at the ground. Crimson coated the grass until it glistened under the harsh sodium streetlight on the cemetery path. The acrid smell thickened the air, filled her nostrils and choked her lungs. Cold stole through her, rising up from her knees where they pressed into the wet dirt close to his body, chilling her as it swept towards her soul.


Yvonne: Why did you write the book?


Felicity: The story is part of my Vampires Realm series about the seven pure bloodlines of Europe. I have several more novels planned in the series. I wrote it next because the storyline really grabbed me and I wanted to get to know the characters better and see it all play out. Lincoln is a powerful sexy but dark hero and Lilith is a strong determined but very human heroine. I think their story of forbidden love is a beautiful one because it’s so strong that it actually saves the world.


Yvonne: 3 reasons your book will make a great Christmas present (for people other than my husband).

Felicity: It depends on the person receiving it really. If they love paranormal romance/urban fantasy and like to read ebooks, then it would be perfect for them. To boil it down into three reasons... It has a hero and heroine to die for, is a compelling read that they won’t be able to put down, and they’ll love you for it.


Yvonne: Imagine your book has made it to Hollywood. Which actors would you like to play your hero / heroine? Which director would you just love or hate to get?

Felicity: I’d really want unknowns to play the parts, or at least up and coming actors. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head because I just can’t picture anyone who would be perfect to play the hero and heroine. I’d really want to be involved in casting and writing the script. That would be fabulous! For a director, I would love to get someone like Ridley Scott, Len Wiseman or Tim Burton. I think all three of them would have a different take on the visual side of the movie, but all of them would do a great job. Of course, if I could somehow combine all three that would be utterly amazing. I’d love to see something with the gothic darkness and imagination of Tim Burton, the beautiful fight scenes and strength of Ridley Scott, and the flair of Len Wiseman.


Yvonne: And now 5 short facts about yourself as a writer and person.

Felicity: Okay then.

I compulsively write – as in, if I don’t write, I get real grumpy. My husband is a very understanding man and I’m fortunate to have a laptop and a long train journey to and from work!

I’m learning Japanese – although I have to admit that sometimes it’s very hard for me to stick to my learning schedule because I want to write.

I’m very creative – I have a degree in graphic design and love to draw. It’s a wonderful outlet and I find it very relaxing. At the moment I mostly draw manga versions of my characters.

I love to world build – when I’m writing I love nothing more than having the chance to build a whole world for it and to work twists and turns into the plot. I get great satisfaction from weaving an intricate plot. I think it really adds to a story.

I’m British – which means that I can’t take compliments, I don’t think anything I do is very good, and I have a very dry, ironic and sarcastic sense of humour. Besides those few pitfalls, I love being British and wouldn’t change it for the world (which is why my stories are always written in Queen’s English, not American English, and why I love setting my stories over this side of the pond)


Yvonne: My South African murder mysteries are also written in British English, even though they are published by an American publisher (Echelon Press). Thank you for being with us today, Felicity, and I hope you have lots of sales! Here is the book information:

Title: Seventh Circle
Author: F E Heaton

Publisher: Alinar Publishing

Format: ebook


Genre: Paranormal romance

Length: 441 pages

Price: $4.99

Monday, November 17, 2008

New Release: Witch Hunts on the Internet


"Witch Hunts on the Internet" is available at last! (And to think I was about to have a contest letting the readers predict the publication date, just like Jane Sutton did with "The ride", LOL.)


As far as Internet safety goes, it's an important book, particularly for parents, but also for all Internet users. "Witch Hunts on the Internet" shows you just how vulnerable and exposed you are.


Let me tell you a story. Yeah, a true one. 6 years ago, if all you knew about me from an online chat was my first name (a reasonable detail to disclose, you might think), the country I lived in (many chat rooms showed that by default) and that I enjoyed playing a game called Diplomacy (something I did not reveal on any website, but may have theoretically mantioned in a chat)... so, if you knew those 3 things about me, you would have been able to get my surname and address. Scary? You bet.


So go read the book and make sure you and yours are safe.

Friday, November 14, 2008

CONTEST - The Seventh Taboo



  1. Email me with the title "7th Taboo" to yve@xtra.co.nz

  2. I will email you when the book is released.

  3. 1 lucky reader will receive the book for free.

CONTEST: Witch Hunts



  1. Email me with the title "Witch Hunts" at yve@xtra.co.nz

  2. I will email you when the book is released.

  3. 1 lucky reader will receive the book for free.

CONTEST: "I want a sexy recipe"

It's easy! Everybody's a winner!
  1. Email me the receipt number for the purchase of "A slave of my own desire". yve@xtra.co.nz
  2. Include the recipe that needs sexing up.
  3. I will email you back the improved version.
  4. 1 lucky reader will receive a box of chocolates as well.

CONTEST: "I want to be in one of Yvonne's books!"


For a chance to win, simply:


  1. Email me the receipt number for the purchase of "A slave of my own desire". yve@xtra.co.nz

  2. Specify what details you want: your name, or your favourite fantasy, or your ideal man.

  3. I will email you back to brainstorm.

  4. 1 lucky reader will receive a bottle of bubbly as well.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Sales Superstar: How Women Authors Can Sell More Books




(with special thanks to Mark Tewart for custom-writing the article for this blog)




How Women Authors Can Sell More Books
By Mark Tewart


You have written a book and are now waiting for the book sales to pour in. Good luck. Writing a book is half the battle, marketing and selling the book is the other half. Unfortunately, unless you are a former best selling author, you may be amazed to find out many publishers will contribute exactly zero to your efforts to market and sell your book. It’s all up to you. The good news is that as a female author you have many opportunities to sell tons of books.

First of all, draw yourself a marketing web. Put your name inside a circle in the middle of a page and then begin to draw others circles all around the outside of your center circle. Each one of these circles consists of a different marketing approach or way to sell your book. Each marketing circle should contain subset circles that are different approaches to that form of marketing which make up your promotional web.

The idea is to create as many marketing circles and subset circles as you can to form a bigger and stronger web. I once heard it said beautifully, “Try to think of one hundred ways to get one customer rather than one way to get one hundred customers.” The more marketing media and approaches you create, the more synergy that will occur. Try to think of what my friend Nido Qubein calls Intentional Congruence. Make sure each marketing media and approach can in some way tie into or support the others to continue to build and strengthen your web.

Once you have created a strong beginning to your marketing web, you can ask questions that will help you tap into the resources available to you as a female author. Ask yourself the following question, “Who does business with who, that you want to do business with?” Look for people and resources that are currently either doing business with women or that have the attention of the female segment of the market. Once you identify these ringleaders and sources, approach them with a winning proposition for them. Think of their goals and problems and how you or your book can be a valuable resource to them. Caution; do not approach these ringleaders and resources with a “me attitude”. Think TLC – Think Like A Customer. In this case these people are your customers. What can you do for them?

Do your research. Find every blog, website, forum, magazine, article directory, newspaper column, product, service, business, association or media that has a high concentration of female customers or followers. Next, think of markets that typically don’t have a high percentage of female customers or followers and make another list. Ask yourself, is there a potential or an untapped market? Offer these resources or businesses a way to reach the female market by utilizing your book. You will want to create an idea for a product, service, premium, contest or giveaway surrounding your book or the target subject of the book.

Ask yourself the following questions. Who is my target audience for this book? What do they do? Where do they go? Where do they live? What do they want? What do they complain about? What are their fears? What are their fantasies? What gets their attention and who is getting their attention already? Is there someone who would buy this book in bulk for their company, group, target audience or members? Is there a company or group that would sponsor a book tour that would create a high profile campaign for their company, product, service or cause? What charities or non-profits would benefit by the affiliation with my book. Think synergistic win-win relationships and triangles. If you can form a two party relationship, there is a strong chance you can form a three party relationship or more.

Women make up more than half the population, they influence an even larger number of purchase decisions and create stronger emotional and logical bonds and relationships to products, services and associations than men do. Because of those factors a female author has huge opportunities to market and sell as many books as they desire.

Mark Tewart is a professional speaker, consultant and author of “How To Be A Sales Superstar – Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing It” available in book stores and Amazon. You can reach Mark Tewart at info@tewart.com

Mark Tewart’s websites include:
www.marktewartlive.com, www.marktewart.com and www.howtobeasalessuperstar.info

To read the first chapter of How to be a Sales Superstar and to receive several FREE bonuses from Mark Tewart, visit
www.marktewartlive.com.

During the months of November and December, Mark Tewart is doing a virtual book tour to promote his new book How to Be a Sales Superstar: Break All the Rules and Succeed While Doing It. He will share information about sales skills, people skills, life skills, marketing skills. We want to reach - business people, sales people, all industries, and people interested in self-improvement.
Full virtual tour details are posted at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-be-sales-superstar-by-mark.html

Witch Hunts on the Internet


"Witch Hunts on the Internet" by Yvonne Eve Walus will be released by Echelon Press mid-November 2008.


Here is the blurb:


  • Danger!!! Internet chat are immediate and intimate, but sometimes they only create the impression of a relationship. Sometimes they break hearts. Sometimes they claim lives.

  • Danger!!! The Internet makes many things look ok even though they are not ok: porn, sex parties, talking to strangers. It changes the rules and the way the world works.

  • Danger!!! Internet People are not always what they seem. When your 13-year old daughter pretends to be 15 and in a dating chat room with a 40-year old guy... how far would you go to protect her?

And here is a review:


"I read it and everyone with internet-age kids can do themselves a HUGE favor by reading this one! This day and age can be a very scary one if you don't pay very close attention to your children and what they might be up to online. No one is safe without a little precaution!" ~ Nathalie Kychler Moore



Email me (yve at xtra dot co dot nz) with Witch Hunt Interest in the title and I will email you back when the buy-links are live. One lucky reader will get the book for free.



Tuesday, November 04, 2008

The Bargain


The Bargain
By WhiskeyCreek Press

BLURB:
In the midst of war two enemies will make a bargain that will change their lives forever.

Major Joel Bradshaw is the Chief Medical Officer in charge of setting up a new front line hospital for the Union Army. Unfortunately, his first task is to evict the women who live in the big plantation house he must commandeer.

Strong-willed Cassandra Beaumont is determined not to allow the Yankees take her home. But when her sister-in-law develops complications during labor, Cassie is forced to swallow her pride and ask the Yankee doctor she just threatened for his help. All she has to barter with are her nursing skills and so she proposes a trade that will bring her loyalties into question.

Joel, however, soon finds himself wanting much more than a business arrangement. Torn between his orders as an officer and his desire to protect Cassie, Joel finds a way to ensure the safety of all the Beaumont women – if only Cassie will say yes!


Excerpt:

Petersburg, Virginia
March, 1865

Her worst nightmare had come true. Cassandra Beaumont paced around the porch, squeezing the polished gun butt tight as she watched a group of Union soldiers ride brazenly through her yard. The roar of distant cannon fire set her already raw nerves on edge.

Please let me remember Tyler’s lessons on using the gun.

With her head held high, Cassandra willed herself not to let her fear show. If she got lucky, maybe they’d believe she was a crack shot. When pigs fly. She fumbled with the revolver. Was one bullet going to be enough? That was all she could find. Dear heavens, how had she ever convinced herself this was a good plan?

A tall man in an officer’s uniform started toward the porch. He had a powerful build, with a ruggedly handsome face. Thick, tawny-gold hair curled slightly around the collar of his blue coat. Sweet mercy, did he have to be so handsome? What the devil was wrong with her that she could even think about that?

Her mouth dried as he strode purposefully up the four brick steps to the top of the porch. With shaky hands, she raised the revolver, aiming it at his heart. Yet he didn’t seem worried as he slowly lifted his arms in the air, moving toward her with his unreadable amber eyes locked with hers. Their calmness terrified her. Why wasn’t he threatened by the gun in her hand? The pulse pounded in her ears as each step brought their inevitable confrontation closer.

When he stood just a few steps away, his stony expression gradually changed. His amber eyes lowered, perusing the weapon she held in her trembling hands. She had to act nonchalant. Heaven help her.

“You get back or I’ll blow you off this porch.” She waved the gun at him in a “move away” gesture.

He didn’t retreat as she’d hoped. Instead, he kept inching toward her, watching her with cool, assessing eyes. “I mean you no harm.” His voice had a deep, resonate, velvet quality that sent a shiver through her. “I just want to talk, angel. That’s all.”

That wasn’t all, and she damn well knew it. Cassandra’s hands shook more from fear than the cold. Chin up. Remember others are counting on you.

“I’m not fooling. If you come any closer, your men will be burying you this afternoon.” Her voice began quivering, despite her attempts to sound threatening. Legs braced apart, she lifted her chin, proudly staring the stranger down.

She almost lost her breakfast when he moved right up in front of her, so close the cold steel barrel pressed against his massive chest.

She squeezed the trigger, and to her horror, nothing happened. What the blazes… She flinched when he leaned over closer, whispering, “I’ll keep your secret this time, angel, but next time you aim a gun at someone’s heart, I recommend you cock it first. It won’t fire unless you do.”