Heavy Weather’s Shiny New Badge from The MAGGIE!

Finalist NSRE pub

 

Y’all have seen this before, back in 2014, when Sailing out of Darkness finaled in the Maggie. Even if Heavy Weather doesn’t win, I consider it a huge honor to be short-listed with WFWA (Women’s Fiction Writers Association) girlfriend, Barbara Claypole White and her delicious book, The Perfect Son.

 

This is a happy year for my book baby — remember the Colorado Award of Excellence final earlier in the year?

Heavy Weather

 

Stay tuned for a celebratory contest–coming soon!

 

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkZ3YvApaYk[/embedyt]

 

 

 

Available for Pre-order NOW! HEAVY WEATHER for Kindle

With the release date approaching–March 15–the Kindle version of Heavy Weather has been approved for pre-order. The print should follow soon.

CLICK HERE TO BUY

It takes a town to save a child. That town is Beaufort, North Carolina.

Annie Mac’s estranged husband vows that nothing will stop him from getting his baby girl. Not Annie Mac and certainly not that boy of hers.

Only four blocks away, Hannah Morgan lives in comfort with her husband and dog, making pottery and waiting for her best friend to come home. When she discovers the two children cowering in the bushes and their mama left for dead, it doesn’t take her long to set her coterie of do-gooders to some extra-strength do-gooding. Add in Clay, a lonely police lieutenant yanked out of his comfort zone and into the heart of this small family, and who knows what will happen?

From the author of Becalmed comes this latest tale of the Carolina coast, introducing some new characters to love–and to loathe.

If you haven’t read  Becalmed, the publisher has listed  it  for 99 cents for Kindle.

Heavy Weather 2

Cover Reveal: Heavy Weather

I’ve shown this cover as it’s been developing, but I finally have the ready-to-go front. The fonts have been tweaked, and I really like them.

What do you think?Heavy Weather 2

Another Carolina Coast story from the author of Becalmed

It takes a town to save a child. That town is Beaufort, North Carolina.

In this love story about a small Southern town that takes care of its own, the Beaufort folk reach out to embrace two children and their battered mama.

Annie Mac’s estranged husband has come to get his baby girl, and he’ll stop at nothing to have her. When childless Hannah Morgan discovers the two children cowering in the bushes and their mama left for dead, she rallies the sleepy town of Beaufort, NC, and sets her coterie of do-gooders to some extra-strength do-gooding. Add in a lonely police lieutenant yanked out of his comfort zone and into the heart of this small family, and who knows what will happen?

Moving Forward with Book 3: Cover Design

Girl in White Dress in Storm HW 4

I’ve been through a million iterations of this cover. Loved one image but couldn’t determine ownership. Loved another but found someone else had used it in a very unfortunate way. So, I went back to this one, which really represents the story in a more compelling way than the other two.

I used the image of transparent innocence to show how two women see themselves: Annie Mac, an abused wife and mother who lost her innocence at a very young age, and Hannah, a childless woman whose best friends are now pregnant. The metaphorical sea rages as the women come together when Annie Mac’s estranged husband tries to kill her and take their little girl and Hannah rallies her coterie of do-gooders in Beaufort–including Detective Lieutenant Clay Dougherty (who had a bit part in Becalmed) to try to save them all.

The title is a sailing term. Becalmed, my first Beaufort book, showed the becalmed, windless life of Tadie. (Find it here.) Heavy Weather picks up the story two years later with Tadie’s best friend, Hannah, trying to help two children and their mother escape the machinations of a murderer. Heavy weather, all right.

What do you think of this cover? Would it make you want to buy it? Does it intrigue you?

 

 

 

 

HAVING FUN AGAIN–ASPEN GOLD FINALIST!

Y’all know how much fun contests are. Well, this has been a delightful week for my books.

Today, I learned that Sailing out of Darkness is one of three finalists in the Single Title Category (for romantic as opposed to romance fiction) of the Aspen Gold Contest from the Heart of Denver Romance Writers!

Readers in Denver, thank you!

Aspen Gold Medallionsod small

 

For one more day, the Kindle version remains at 99 cents.

Click HERE to buy.

 

 

 

 

Learning a new skill: The Trailer Revisited

(Or, it’s back to school for me.)

Editor Linda Yezak donned a flak jacket before writing to tell me what was wrong with the Sailing out of Darkness trailer. When I said that I LOVE constructive criticism, she breathed a sigh and shed the jacket. “I was sweating in there.”

I don’t know about you, but when someone I respect makes suggestions, I’m going to listen. Why? Because I want to learn to be the best “me” possible. I knew I wouldn’t be sending my work to Hollywood, and I also knew professionals could have done a better job than I, but I can’t afford the professionals and thus am grateful for all the help someone offers.

Now, it’s time to move on. Get back to my rewrites. Get the house cleaned for my daughter’s visit. In other words, stop tinkering with Animoto and get to work.

But before I do that, here’s the shortened, updated, edited version. What do you think?

 

 

Marketing, Stage 2: Becalmed’s Book Trailer

 

Some authors and social media experts have suggested that book trailers aren’t worth the effort in terms of sales. Maybe not, but I love watching them. And I’ve wanted one for my books. Only, I hadn’t a clue how to make one. Until today.

I’ve been studying trailers, and I really love the ones that use live action and actors. But I don’t have that capability myself, nor do I have the money to pay an expert to do it for me.

So. I looked at several how-to videos and picked the method that seemed most user friendly for a novice videographer. Yes, I upgraded from free to not-as-free-but-still-shy-of-the-pro-version of Animoto. And I paid for a couple of videos from istockphoto. But we’re not talking big bucks. And this, my friends, is what I produced. I do hope you like it, because I’m feeling like a proud mama.

 

 

 

Becalmed