Guest Promo (LXV) Mae Clair

I'm glad to host today a talented author and cyber friend, Mae Clair, with her latest release Eclipse Lake.

Family Dynamics, Romance, and Mystery by Mae Clair

Thank you, Carmen, for allowing me to take over your blog today! I’m delighted to be here and share my newest release, ECLIPSE LAKE, with your readers.

 

I’ve always enjoyed writing books that play heavily on character relationships. That’s particularly true when it comes to family dynamics. In all the books I’ve written you’ll find a strong emphasis on a particular family tie, severed by conflict, eventually restored.  I like putting my characters through the wringer, tearing them apart, then paving the way for reconciliation.

Two items that blend well with that storyline are romance and mystery. In my latest, release, ECLIPSE LAKE, I introduce my readers to two brothers, Jonah and Dane, who have been estranged for fifteen years, living on separate coasts. That’s suited both of them fine until the younger brother, Dane, attempts to fulfill a vow made to his late wife. For the sake of his adopted son, he decides it’s time to make peace with Jonah. 

But returning to his hometown—a sleepy community tucked on the banks of a resort lake—places him dead center in an unsolved missing person’s case.

Ellie Sullivan, a photojournalist on assignment in Eclipse Lake, finds herself falling for Dane despite the secrets he harbors. Why does he avoid talking about his past and what he does for a living? How is he involved in the disappearance of a local girl who went missing fifteen years before? Why does his brother treat him so coldly, and the town sheriff react with hostility at the mere sight of him?

At its heart, ECLIPSE LAKE is a mystery and a romance, but it’s also a book about healing and forgiveness. About family ties, overcoming obstacles, and believing in the better good.  I’m delighted to share it today.

BLURB:

Small towns hold the darkest secrets.

Fifteen years after leaving his criminal past and estranged brother behind, widower Dane Carlisle returns to his hometown on the banks of sleepy Eclipse Lake. Now, a successful businessman, he has kept his troubled past a secret from most everyone, including his seventeen-year-old son.

But memories in small towns are bitter and long.

Ellie Sullivan, a nature photographer for a national magazine, has a habit of ping-ponging across the map. Her latest assignment leads her to Eclipse Lake where she becomes caught up in the enmity between Dane, his brother Jonah, and a vengeful town sheriff. When freshly-discovered skeletal remains are linked to an unsolved murder and Dane’s past, Ellie is left questioning her growing attraction for a man who harbors long-buried secrets.

Excerpt for ECLIPSE LAKE

Ellie stopped walking and turned to face him. “Why are you here?”

Dane picked up a flat stone. With a flick of his wrist he sent it skimming across the lake. It danced effortlessly across the surface as if he’d done the same thing a thousand times before. “You know that skeleton they found?”

She nodded.

“I’ve got more skeletons than a graveyard. I can’t pick up and go to another place…to the next photo shoot.” He turned to face her. “Half of my life is here and half’s on the west coast. I have to make them fit together.”

The revelation reminded her of the family she’d left behind in Idaho, reawakening a familiar tug of homesickness. In an effort to find more comfortable ground, she changed topics. “You told me you’re from San Diego. I did a photo op there four years ago. What do you do for a living?”

“I get by.” He took her hand and started walking again.

She sent a speculative glance in his direction, recognizing evasiveness when she heard it. He was wearing a Rolex, and though dressed casually, clearly had expensive taste. Yet he’d booked an ordinary cabin rather than one of the exclusive chalets higher up the mountain.

She liked the feel of his fingers around hers, warm and firm. The contact sent a pleasant tingle up her arm. What the hell was wrong with her, getting caught up in his touch as if it were magic? As if she’d waited her whole life for that sensation. He had skeletons in his past, a brother who couldn’t stand the sight of him and a sheriff who wanted to run him out of town. Eccentric, or just plain trouble?

About Mae Clair:
Mae Clair opened a Pandora’s Box of characters when she was a child and never looked back. Her father, an artist who tinkered with writing, encouraged her to create make-believe worlds by spinning tales of far-off places on summer nights beneath the stars.
Mae loves creating character-driven fiction in settings that vary from contemporary to mythical. Wherever her pen takes her, she flavors her stories with mystery and romance. Married to her high school sweetheart,she lives in Pennsylvania and is passionate about cryptozoology, old photographs, a good Maine lobster tail and cats.
Discover more about Mae on her website and blog at MaeClair.net

You can find Mae Clair at the following haunts:

Website and Blog

Twitter (@MaeClair1)
Google+

Facebook Author Page

Amazon Author Page
Goodreads

Purchase ECLIPSE LAKE fromAmazon Kindle or Amazon Print

Add ECLIPSE LAKE to your Goodreads List

Guest Promo (LXIV) Medieval Monday

Today's guest of Medieval Monday Tour is Cathy MacRae. She presents her release:

The Highlander’s Tempestuous Bride

What happens when the sixteen-year-old daughter of the laird, destined to dutifully marry to benefit the clan, falls in love with the wrong lad? In Medieval times, punishments ranged from forced marriage to the man chosen by the laird, to imprisonment, life in a nunnery, or even death.

Gilda does not set out to defy her parents, but when she falls in love with the son of the laird of a neighboring clan that has been at war with hers for years, things are bound to go wrong.

Blurb:

Returning home after a ten-year absence, Ryan Macraig falls for a fiery, red-haired lass from the wrong side of the firth. He can’t ignore his need to see her again, even knowing she must be a hated Macrory.

Gilda Macrory trespasses Macraig land, but haunting memories of the young man she once met there draw her to the forbidden place. Learning he is Laird Macraig’s son threatens her dreams, for her father would never agree to a marriage between his daughter and their enemy’s son.

With pirates raiding the coast, bad blood between the Macraig and Macrory clans could cost Ryan and Gilda their love—and their lives.

* * *

Excerpt:

“Are ye sure . . .” A quick stride took him back to her side.

Gilda jerked the knot at her waist and the skirt fell free, but not before Ryan got a glimpse of slender ankles. She settled an arch look on him and it was all he could do to keep from laughing at the regal air she portrayed.

“I am fine. I am also certain I will not meet ye here again?” Though couched as a question, her tone indicated she’d rather see anyone other than him the next time she ventured out to pick berries.

Ryan shrugged. “I think the berries are about finished for the year. Mayhap the Macraig cook will send a lad out to pick the rest. We like sweets like jams and pastries at Ard Castle, too, ye know.”

“Goodness knows the men at Ard Castle need sweetening,” Gilda shot back, her cheeks pinking as she clearly regretted her quick retort.

“A kiss from a pretty lass would help sweeten this Macraig’s disposition.” Ryan marveled at the swirling colors changing Gilda’s eyes from silver to stormy gray.

Though a well-trained young warrior, Ryan was not quick enough to dodge the palm of Gilda’s hand as it made stinging contact with his cheek. He rubbed his jaw ruefully. He should have remembered though the lass had fascinating gray eyes, she also possessed fiery red hair and a temper to match.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but Gilda had already spun , her back ramrod straight as she marched away, the handle of her basket gripped tight in one hand. The other hand clenched and opened, possibly to relieve the answering sting he felt on his cheek, perhaps echoing a desire to encircle his neck.

Ryan grinned. He would have regretted the apology, anyway.

* * *

Amazon

Here's a trailer that includes all the covers of the books in the tour:

Show, Don’t Tell, on Twitter

I found the post extremely interesting, and took the liberty to re-blog it completely hoping I am not infringing any  etiquette.

Reblogged from http://nicholasrossis.me/

20 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by Nicholas C. Rossis in Marketing, My friends' Guest Posts

From blackberryczech.cz

I have often mentioned the “show, don’t tell” rule in my blog. MMJaye, a regular around here and a great supporter of Indies in her own blog, kindly wrote this guest post for me, tackling the rule from a novel perspective: how to use it when tweeting. Enjoy her excellent post, which, I admit, was an eye-opener for me.

“Show not Tell” on Twitter: a guide to “clickable” tweets

The “show don’t tell” rule has been drummed into every writer’s head. Traditional publishers and editors swear by it. Some Indie authors are less than enthusiastic about it, but, no matter how much you use or respect the rule, you have to admit that it does invest your writing with one major attribute: it becomes evocative.
What surprises me, however, is the fact that although writers accept that “show don’t tell” leads to evocative writing and therefore elicits a reaction from the reader, they totally disregard this rule in their promotional tweeting. Sure, 140 characters won’t allow for much but, still, there are ways.

Tweets that tell

Here’s a list of common tweets that “tell” rather than “show”:

• “The most exciting thriller ever!”
• “Another 5-star review for (title)!”
• “You won’t be able to put (title) down!”
• “Read (title) on Wattpad!”
• “Don’t miss out! (title) only 99c!!”

Now if you’ve used these tweets yourselves and keep track of your Twitter statistics, you’ve probably noticed they got tons of retweets. Indeed, if you use the right hashtags, have a retweeting service, you are a member of a group or especially if you campaign through Thunderclap, any tweet you hash out (pun intended) will probably be shared with a potential outreach in the tens of thousands.
But what’s your ultimate goal? To get tons of RTs and FAVs or have people actually click on your link and go to your site?
The problem with the tweet templates above is that they’re so overused that what sticks with people is the enthusiasm of the writer. They’ll want to share, to help the author out, but this is not enough to make them leave Twitter and go check out a link. So how do you get tweeps to become more involved and go the extra flick of the wrist to click on a url?

Tweets that “show”

Think “show don’t tell”. Let’s try this on the examples above.

Example 1

Telling tweet: “The most exciting thriller ever!”
Says you. Show me why. “International espionage, exotic locations, action-packed scenes” might do the trick, but why not go all the way and add an actual snippet that will draw a reaction from me?
Showing tweet: “A thick clod of dread thudded onto the pit of his stomach.” The acclaimed new thriller by @JohnnyWho (+link)
Now, you have me! Alliterations, puns, original analogies, evocative words … surely you have those in your book. Don’t tell them … show them off!
I know for a fact that I sold a copy of Fate Accompli, my newly-published debut novel,  through the snippet I have included in my scheduled tweets:
“Staying is a mistake.”
“Why don’t I feel it?”
“You don’t know what’s coming next.”

I chose a sexually charged moment as I’m trying to sell a contemporary romance. That said, try to use actual snippets of your book, even if you need to edit some words out to make them fit. Don’t make them up. Inventive, yes, a fraud, no.

Example 2

Telling tweet: “Another 5-star review!”
Now that’s a bit trickier, but going down the same route, choose a snippet of the review that “shows”. Avoid generic attributes such as “exciting”, “amazing”, “wonderful”. They, too, fall under the “telling” category. I have but a few reviews so far (I expect quite a number in January, yay!), but only a couple of days ago, I received a great review by a book blogger that I wanted to share like gangbusters. That’s the excerpt I chose:
Showing tweet: #FateAccompli
“Gut-wrenching pain, hilarious humor and #romance, neatly packaged against the beauty of Greece.”
ow.ly/FTUCe
That tweet created actual engagement and a lot of reactions. I did have sales the next day but, frankly, there’s no way to know for sure if these were a direct result of the showing tweet. Knowing I did my best, though, makes me feel good!

Example 3

I recently reviewed Rayne Hall’s myth-busting “Why Does My Book Not Sell? 20 Easy Fixes.” What I did for my review tweet was to use an eye-catching phrase from the book itself:
Showing tweet: “An authors’ guide to identifying “the plugs that block sales from gushing”.
Why Does My Book Not Sell?”
http://ow.ly/FKMon  by @RayneHall
That’s a great way to catch the attention of an author that matters to you. You show that you cared enough to be creative about their work.

Example 4: Wattpad tweeting

Wattpad is a good way to make your work visible to readers. Many readers of my genre (romance) find authors through this platform, and I often see writers tweet about adding extra chapters of their books there. But it seems that all they do is notify:
Telling tweet: “Another chapter of (title) on #Wattpad!”
When I first posted the first three chapters of Fate Accompli on Wattpad, I tweeted about it by writing a mini summary of what goes on:
Showing tweet: “4 Chapters of #Fate Accompli on #wattpad!
Why is Monica obsessed with working for Alex, hiding who she is?
ow.ly/ExZDN #romance”
That tweet got tons of RTs, and my uploaded work on Wattpad reached 1,000 views in just under a week. The effect of a well-phrased, intriguing pitch on Twitter was further proven when I uploaded the fourth chapter and tweeted about that exclusively:
“Chapter 4 of #FateAccompli on #Wattpad!
Monica revisits her past, featuring Alex and a ton of humiliation!
ow.ly/Fveiz #romance”
Maybe it was the concept of humiliation that drew attention, but that chapter had many more views compared to Chapter 3, which didn’t receive special attention.

Bottom line: we have shed blood, sweat and tears to hone our craft, and we have the right tools under our belt (no pun intended this time!). Why not use them on every form of writing, not least our platform building through which readers will get to know us first?

Example 5

Rachel Thompson (@RachelintheOC) has been using this technique even before publishing Broken Places, the follow-up to her bestselling Broken Pieces.
Showing tweet: “It’s only in the quiet spaces between our stars that I feel you now” ~ Night (Broken Places) out soon http://ow.ly/FSh3I”
And where can a link of unpublished work take the reader? To Rachel’s Poetry Pinterest board with even more quotes of the upcoming book. There’s an idea!

Example 6

When Nicholas told me that he wanted to tweet about Runaway Smile, I suggested the following:
“An unshared smile is a wasted smile: read Runaway Smile, my #free children’s #book, on http://bit.ly/1xqb4Jv”
I’m delighted to see he is now smoothly employing this technique in his tweets about his heartwarming children’s story!
Thank you for reading and special thanks to Nicholas for hosting me today!

Who is MMJaye?

MM Jaye is the pen name of Maria Messini, a bilingual Greek native.  She is a certified translator and has been teaching the art of translation for over fifteen years. Writing was Maria’s idea of therapy when, back in 2009, her spirits had temporarily nosedived. Fate Accompli  is her debut contemporary romance, the first book in the Aegean Lovers series, available in two heat versions: Clean & Spicy. She lives in Athens, Greece with her husband, daughter and Kindle.
Maria blogs at MM Jaye writes. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Thank you, Maria, for your eye-opening post. Readers, I just read her book, Fate Accompli, and I’m amazed at her skill. I found myself skimming through the book in order to find out what happens next, laughing out loud and moaning with frustration with her heroine – and I’m not even a romance reader! You can read my review on Amazon

★¸¸.•¨¯`•. ★TOUR THROUGH BLOGLAND ★¸¸.•¨¯`•. ★

                                            The rules for this tour

1. Pass the tour on to up to four other bloggers.
2. Give them the rules and a specific Monday to post.
3. Answer 4 questions about your creative process which lets other bloggers and visitors know what inspires you to do what you do.
4. The last part of Tour Through Blogland is to write a one-time article which is to be posted on a Monday (the date supplied by your nominator). This article can be in the same post in which you answered the 4 questions. The article can be anything of your choosing. BLOGLAND USUALLY POSTS ON MONDAYS but ~ My guests will be posting on Monday or Wednesday  due to previous commitments.

 My lovely author guests are:
               Flossie Benton Rogers @ Conjuring the Magic
               Reyna Hawk                 @ Author-reynahawk



                  
                                 Flossie Benton Rogers
                 

 is the author of the Wytchfae paranormal romance series. She is Sagittarius with a Libra ascendant and Taurus moon, or a 5^th generation Floridian and freedom loving mystic. She pursues her passion for mythology by writing romances with fairies, goddesses, ghosts, angels, demons, and other magical beings. The Wytchfae world brims with dimensions parallel to our own. Some are welcoming, others dangerous and forbidding. Through the darkest night and the fright of unchained chaos, love will always shine.
  You may find Flossie here:
Website  -  Twitter  -  Facebook  -  Pinterest

                      Creative Process

 1- Are you more plot or character driven in your writing process and why?

Plot driven. The stories I am called to write are adventurous, quick moving, and flush with surprising twists and turns.  The heroes and heroines are otherworldly--ghosts, guardians, goddesses, witches, fairies, and demons. They possess humanlike attributes and personalities, while exploring the depths of their unique abilities and powers.  My characters must deal with challenges on the human earth world and other realities. Their lives don’t always unfold like a blossom opening to the sun. Sometimes a solar flare erupts and fries the pristine bud. Sometimes the flower morphs into a breathtaking, witchy siren. My characters seek beauty in the midst of darkness and devotion in the midst of bedlam. Simmering below it all is the immutable flame of eternal love.

 2- Where do you find most of your inspiration?

By turn, in grandiose and inconspicuous places. Sources of inspiration are everywhere. I’m stirred by the mythologies of the world and the fairy tales I read as a child. Nature engenders sparks of stories, from the faces I see amid the trees to the jeweled brilliance of the night sky. People, places, events. Music, lyrics, dreams. All the world is alive and waiting to whisper the tales we come to think of as our own.

 3- Do you work on more than one project at a time?

Yes, what happens is that during the writing of a book, one or more secondary characters will begin asking for their stories to be told. I try not to work in a haphazard fashion, but neither is it a linear fashion. I enjoy the energy of having numerous characters come to life at any given time to star in their own books. I also enjoy planning other series and getting to know characters from different worlds.

 4- Do you stick to projected storyline or do you let a story flow and take it's own life?

A blend of both. I like to plan and plot and then allow for the characters or the chaos muse to take the story in an unanticipated direction. As a writer, the initial planning provides a tether so that I’m not always floating in the stratosphere, while the openness to change gives life and liveliness to the project. I like a good surprise too.

Buy link for Lord of Fire - Wytchfae 5 Paranormal Fantasy Romance

        Amazon          
                                                             

                                               

                                                Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ   

  
                                  Reyna Hawk   
               

is a 47 yr. old mother of one son and grandmother to one little girl. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio she has had the passion for storytelling and writing since her teen years. Reyna's main genre is romantic suspense although she does have works in the paranormal genre and psychological thriller. Reyna is currently published through Ravenswood Publishing, GMTA Independent Publishing LLC & Libertine Press. Reyna currently holds an Associate of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Culture Anthropology.

 Buy link for  
Angel and Arrows: Amazon  Barnes & Nobles


 You may find Reyna here:
Website   -  Twitter  -  Facebook  -  Pinterest

                      Creative Process

1- Are you more plot or character driven in your writing process and why?

I tend to be more character driven than plot driven. Once I develop a deep connection with a character then the story will flow much smoother. I am able to get into the head of a character and know what they will or will not do or say. I try to stay true to character for all of my books. There is nothing worse than to be reading a book and the main character suddenly do something completely out of character (no pun intended).

2- Where do you find most of your inspiration?

A great deal of inspiration comes from what I am interested in or passionate about. However, I also will take ideas from news articles. If I read a headline that strikes me, then I will begin to spin it into an idea for a book. I take notes and make an outline to see if it is something that would work well and actually be able to go beyond a couple of chapters.

3- Do you work on more than one project at a time?

I would have to say yes I do. However, let me explain a bit. I can proofread or edit one while working on another. Yet, I am not able to write two separate books at the same time. My brain is not wired to do more than one book at a time.

4- Do you stick to projected storyline or do you let a story flow and take it's own life?

I let the book develop on its own. I have a general idea on where the book is going. I talk it out and write the outline, but it is not something that I will stick with to the end. I have changed entire books because I didn’t like where it was headed. For me, it works best to just let it happen. Although, I know many authors that have to stick to an outline or guide.