What to do…

Usually, I’m a voracious reader. I normally go through several books a month, take a trip to the bookstore and load up again, only to read them and hunt for more. Generally, I post reviews on the books I read…especially if I find them to be exceptional reads or terribly boring!

Lately, this has not been the case. Friends have given me books to read for the past several months, and I’ve bought numerous ones that have piqued my interest. They sit on my To Be Read shelf in my personal library. In fact, that shelf has grown to two and has spilled out onto the floor. I cannot get motivated to read!

Now, I have been top heavy with releases this year, which has taken my time away from many other things. However, if I pick up a book to read, I set it back down.

Has this ever happened to you? What do you do about it? Is it a sit and wait kind of thing? I need to snap out of it soon or else stop buying books! 😦

In other news, Eternal Press had a launch day party yesterday. I was unable to attend due to business commitments, but I read all about it and must confess I feel left out! By all accounts, it was an excellent launch!

That Taste of Orange launches November 7th and with it being a Saturday, I will most definitely clear the calendar so I can attend as long as possible and tell folks about my new release. I hope you’ll join me and the other marvelous EP writers!

Bookstrand releases books weekly, and some of them sound like superb reads! Honor Thy Neighbor was released September 15th, and I’m anxiously awaiting reviews! Hope they come flying in soon.

A writer friend of mine is planning on submitting his first manuscript. I’m so excited! He’s primarily a writer of non-fiction–and he’s a cancer survivor. Why am I telling you the last part? Because the book he’s getting ready to submit is a personal journal about his experience from start to surviving!

I always get so excited when a writer friend tells me s/he has reached the point of submitting their work. Don’t you remember your first submission…and the ensuing crushing weight of that first rejection letter? Regardless, embarking on a new beginning is always a great time in your life. I wish my friend much success, and have offered to help in any way I can. I look forward to announcing his acceptance right here on The Write Time & Place and even featuring his book on the Cover Corner!

Welp, leave me a comment or drop me a line and tell me how you kick the reading doldrums! I’m counting on you! 😛

Until next time…happy writing!

Valerie

Can the taste of orange rekindle their passion?

Well, it looks like That Taste of Orange has a cover!  Yay!  Amanda Kelsey is the cover artist, and she did another fantastic job!  Take a look and decide for yourself:

Share your thoughts on the cover…leave me a comment.  Thanks! … ~Valerie

That Taste of Orange hits the shelves November 7th!  It’s being released by Eternal Press, the very same publisher that released Her Last in July 2009!

Here’s the book’s blurb:

If ever two people were perfectly suited for each other, it’s Sabrina and Chas Montgomery. Both pastry chefs. Both excellent cooks. And both love the taste of orange. But the Christmas season has been a busy time at their pastry shop, and they’re both feeling the weight of the long hours, the lack of personal time, and the stress of the holidays.

Sabrina wants nothing more for Christmas than to regain the wonderful relationship she once had with her husband. The very traits that drew her to him in the beginning are now driving her crazy. Chas loves his wife, but he’s overworked and wants some down time. When he suggests they need time apart—and neglects to tell her where he was one evening—Sabrina thinks the worst.

Will the end of the holidays signal the end of their union? Or can one juicy little orange bring them back where they belong?

I’ll post an excerpt next week!  Thanks for stopping by … and as always, leave me a comment or drop me a line.

That Taste of Orange

It’s Thursday, and I have very good news to share! Yesterday, I approved the new cover for my November 2009 release, That Taste of Orange. Amanda Kelsey is the artist. She’s the wonderful person who designed the cover for my July 2009 release, Her Last. I got rave reviews on that cover from you, my readers! Sadly, she does not display that cover on her portfolio, but that’s okay. She’s only got so much space! Still, you can view Amanda’s portfolio here. As soon as I get the various sizes of the cover, I’ll be hopping over to The Write Time & Place just to post one for everyone to see.

New covers are always so exciting. They get me revved up about a new release, and the debut of the cover always begins the onslaught of promotional activity for that release.

On a writer’s group I belong to, a fellow writer was posting snippets of her latest release. These were nothing more than 3-4 lines of tantalizing story bits aimed to get the reader salivating about her story. It worked! So now I have a new promotional tool to use right here! Look for snippets of Honor Thy Neighbor to begin appearing. And as the release day for That Taste of Orange approaches, watch for snippets of that, too!

Okay, that’s it for me. Off to the office. Yay! (not).

Have a fantabulous Thursday!

Valerie

Delaware…land of history and fine sand!

Well, my husband surprised me with a lovely trip to Delaware.  We were all over that state!  I loved every minute of it.  The beaches are simply wonderful.  We spent the most time at Rehoboth Beach, which is huge.  We also went to Lewes Beach and Slaughter Beach (yes, that’s the real–and scary–name of the beach).  We found out AFTER we were there that a swimmer at Slaughter Beach was bitten by a shark on July 3, 2009.  And, so, that explained why we were the only people on the beach the day we visited!  I really enjoyed my time in Delaware.  So much to see and do!  Such warm and friendly people, too.  We took a coastal highway route home and crossed the massive Bay Bridge.  Lovely scenery across that bridge.  As awesome as the Bay Bridge is, my absolute favorite bridge is the Mighty Mack, which goes to Saint Ignace.

So, I brought home a bottle of sand from the beaches as is my custom when visiting the beach.  I also accumulated a variety of sea shells to put in/on the sand when I display it on the buffet in my home.  I have sand from all over:  Nova Scotia, Saint Ignace, Mackinac Island, and Africa just to name a few.

Aside from the beaches, we visited Wilmington, Dover, Harrington, Lewes, Rehoboth, Milford, and a few more cities/towns.  Spent lots of time at the Dover Air Force Base’s museum, too.  Wow!  Those planes are humongous!

It was a lovely trip and we built some great memories and have some fantastic photos to fondly look back on.

In other news, I finished my edit for Honor Thy Neighbor, which is a huge load off my plate and my shoulders.  I went through the edit several times to make sure it was as I wanted it, and that I’d made all the necessary changes/revisions/deletions.  I’m so excited about the release.  I love these characters  and I can’t wait to gain some reader feedback on them!

Her Last continues to hold it’s own in sales, which I pray just continues deep into September so that when Honor Thy Neighbor is released in September, it can gain some momentum from readers of Her Last.  Every little boost helps!

My sister called today to tell me she’s been reading my other new release from 2009–GeeWhiz Meets SHAFT.  Nothing but rave reviews!  She said she was sitting on a bench on campus today laughing out loud, which just had me beaming and grinning ear-to-ear.

I got the first round of edits for my November release–That Taste of Orange–my holiday short fiction.  I’m so excited about that release, too.  This will be the final release of 2009 for me, which closes out the year with 4–two full-length novels and two short fiction pieces.  While the joy never seems to end, neither does the work involved in 4 releases in 1 year.  I told Steve last night, I didn’t think I wanted to do that again!  But who knows, eh?  If the opportunity presents itself…

Okay, there’s a storm loudly making its presence known outside, so I better end this and get it posted.  Thank you for reading my blog, and especially for visiting the days when I showcase a new author on Cover Corner.  😛

Anniversary

August 9th is my wedding anniversary, and every year my husband plans a trip.  A majority of the time I don’t know where we’re going until we go, which is very special to me.  He’s planned some excellent trips, too.  I’m a huge fan of professional bull riding, so one year we went to one of the oldest running rodeos in the country.  I loved it!  I was glued to my seat in the stands and riveted to the action.  Then there’re trips to St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Washington DC, Dublin for the Irish Festival–an excellent festival–Finger Lakes, Mayberry, Toronto, etc.  We’ve had exceptional trips.

Today, we embark on another trip.  I didn’t sleep well last night, and was up at the crack of dawn.  I have no idea where we’re going, either.  He’s mentioned Chicago, Vermont, Rhode Island, Delaware, and the Great Smoky Mountains.  Now, these are all vastly different places, and too far apart to visit all in one trip!  So, I guess I’ll find out once the car’s all packed, and we’re pulling out of the driveway!

Today is release day at Eternal Press, so I hope you’ll pop over to their website and take a look at the 8 books released today, and give a couple a read!

Her Last has been at the top of the charts for Eternal Press on fictionwise since it debuted, but I have a feeling one or two of the talented writers being released today will knock it down a number or two…or three.  It’s all good, because every writer deserves that spot, and I don’t mind sharing one bit!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!  I’m off to make certain I’ve not forgotten to pack anything, and then we’ll be out the door!

Ciao!

Odds n Ends…

I was up earlier than usual and so was surfing the ‘net, checking out some websites to see how my books are doing, and was very happy to see that Her Last is finally appearing on Amazon–available in print!  I think it’s fantastic that Eternal Press offers all of its author in print regardless of word count.  Her Last is a short fiction piece, and I’m thrilled to see it in print.  I’m placing an order for copies and can’t wait to see it.

I was also very happy to go to the Barnes&Noble online bookstore and see all the digital versions of my books for sale right beside the print versions, which clearly gives the reader a choice!  Being a proponent of e-books, I always refer readers to the publishers’ site before anywhere else so that they have the option of either the print or the digital.

I’ve been sent the edit for my upcoming novel, Honor Thy Neighbor with BookStrand, which I’m very excited about!  The edit’s pretty good actually, but man, have I got to eradicate the use of the word was from my writing.  The editor highlighted every single use, which left a sea of green!  Ah well…each edit is a learning experience that I happily embark on!

In the coming weeks, I’ll be introducing Cover Corner to the blog, which will feature the covers, book blurbs, and perhaps an excerpt or two from fellow authors.  I’ve already got 5 or 6 authors lined up, so I hope readers will come back for those.

Okay…have a great day!

It’s Launch Day Tomorrow!

In a very short while–less than an hour–it will officially be launch day!  Yay!  Eternal Press is releasing my crime/mystery short fiction piece entitled Her Last.  I’m so excited about this new venture with a new publisher.  I hope you’ll join me at the Eternal Press Readers’ forum tomorrow where you can learn more about Her Last as well as the fabulous stories of 6 other authors who are celebrating their releases as well.  See you there!

Eternal Press Readers’ Forum

Eternal Press: Her Last