Tuesday, April 30, 2019

MASQUERADE: ODDLY SUITED Release Day!


Today's the day!

After months of build-up, today is the day you will finally be able to get your sweaty little hands on the latest Dancing Lemur / Insecure Writers Support Group anthology, Masquerade: Oddly Suited. This little gem features 10 (count'em, ten!) young adult romance stories, one of which by yours truly. Here's the blurb once again:


Find love at the ball…

Can a fake dating game show lead to love? Will a missing key free a clock-bound prince? Can a softball pitcher and a baseball catcher work together? Is there a vampire living in Paradise, Newfoundland? What’s more important—a virtual Traveler or a virtual date to the ball?

Ten authors explore young love in all its facets, from heartbreak to budding passion. Featuring the talents of L.G. Keltner, Jennifer Lane, C.D. Gallant-King, Elizabeth Mueller, Angela Brown, Myles Christensen, Deborah Solice, Carrie-Anne Brownian, Anstice Brown, and Chelsea Marie Ballard.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these ten tales will mystify and surprise even as they touch your heart. Don your mask and join the party…

Masquerade: Oddly Suited is available at Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo you know, pretty much anywhere you get your books! Make sure you pick up your copy today, and if we ever meet in person I promise I'll chew on your copy!


And if you're not into gently gnawed paperbacks (though I cannot fathom why), you could also sign up for a chance to win a FIFTY ($50!) DOLLAR Gift Card from Amazon! And those are US Dollars! All you have to do is click on the Rafflecopter below, and leave a comment to get started. You can get additional chances to win by spreading the word about Masquerade: Oddly Suited through social media, but you were going to do that anyway, right?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And last but not least, now is also the time to UNMASK my little teaser story. For the last two weeks, the contributing authors of the anthology have been sharing little secretive snippets of each others' fiction, without revealing exactly whose story they were teasing. In case you weren't following or hand't guessed, my story was teased yesterday at http://publishness.blogspot.com/, and here is my character's portrait, UNMASKED:


The wonderful portrait of Madison Reid, the main character of my story, was provided by Elizabeth Mueller, another of the contributers. Be sure to check out more from Elizabeth at her website:  https://elizabethmueller.blogspot.com/

MASQUERADE BALL SCHEDULE

To check out all the revealed stories, check out the tour schedule below:

Thur. April 18th: L.G. Keltner https://lgkeltner.blogspot.com/

Fri. April 19th: Jennifer Lane http://jenniferlanebooks.blogspot.com

Sat. April 20th: Deborah Solice https://thefabulistdotblog.wordpress.com/

Mon. April 22nd: CD Gallant-King http://www.cdgallantking.ca/

Tues. April 23rd: Elizabeth Mueller https://elizabethmueller.blogspot.com/

Wed. April 24th: Chelsea Marie Ballard https://www.facebook.com/masqueradeoddlysuited

Thurs. April 25th: Carrie-Ann Brownian http://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.com

Fri. April 26th: Myles Christensen http://www.myleschristensen.com

Sat. April 27th: Anstice Brown https://dustingthesoul.com

Mon. April 29th: Angela Brown http://publishness.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

STRANGELY FUNNY VI Release!

Hey look, a new book!

While everyone had their eyes set on Masquerade: Oddly Suited, the OTHER anthology featuring my work this month, STRANGELY FUNNY VI, crept up and jumped us out of nowhere, just like a good boogeyman is supposed to do.

Strangely Funny VI features twenty (20!) new tales paranormal comedy. I haven't read everything in the new batch yet, but with stories with titles like "How a Vampire Gets a Tan" by Paul Wartenberg and "Skunknado" by B. David Spicer, I don't think you can go wrong with this one.

The Kindle version is available now, with paperback coming soon! It's only 4 bucks! Check it out!


THE BLURB

"My name’s not Clarence, and this ain’t Bedford Falls. I’m more like a pixie on probation and you’re my punishment.” – Dial M for Marvin by Robert Allen Lupton

Welcome to the seventh book (yes, seventh) in the Strangely Funny series. Tales of paranormal comedy await you. Meet one vampire who has found a unique method of sheltering from the sunlight, and another one seeking a tan. See what they’re serving at the Devil’s table below. Discover a new definition for ‘dream lover’. And if you can’t figure out what a ‘Skunknado’ is, we’ll show you. 

BOOK DETAILS

Print Length: 220 pages
Publisher: Mystery and Horror, LLC (April 21, 2019)
Publication Date: April 21, 2019
ASIN: B07QZQCRQY
Kindle Price: $3.99 USD

BUY LINKS




Also be sure to check out the publisher, MYSTERY & HORROR, LLC:




Monday, April 22, 2019

Masquerade Ball Blog Hop Day 4: Remember Me


The release day for Masquerade: Oddly Suited is just over a week away! In the Easter Tradition of Masked Balls, the contributors to the anthology have gotten together to host a special mystery bloghop leading up to the book's release on April 30th.

(What, you don't have Masked Balls for Easter where you come from? Where I'm from we dress up in hoods and burst into strangers' homes wielding improvised weapons for Christmas. You just don't know how to celebrate your holidays.)

Today I'm hosting one of my fellow authors. He or she will share a teaser from their story in the upcoming anthology, but you have to guess which author/story it is. Each author will "unmask" his or her own character and story on April 30th. Got it? Are you still coming down off the sugar high from chocolate bunnies yesterday? 

Welcome to the Masquerade Ball Bloghop!
Art by Elizabeth Mueller


Remember Me
by ???

Excruciating pain rippled through me, sucking the air from my lungs as I lay on the ground. My vision and sight vanished. They returned the moment I was able to draw in blessed air. I gasped, tears burning down my cheeks.

I became aware of strong arms lifting me from the hard ground, pressing me to a strong body wearing stiff clothes textured with rough lace and jewels.

The sound came to me as though I’d slipped far beneath the surface of water. “Wilmot, fetch the royal physician. Hudde, you oaf of a lout, did I not say the beast was not ready for a lady?” The speaker’s deep voice resonated from his chest to my ear.

Muffled conversation reached me followed by a shrieking sound that reminded me of a cat. It called a few more times until I realized it belonged to that of a peacock.

“Lady Iva.” The voice gentled. “How fare you?”

I cleared my throat, my body still in shock from the fall. After gathering my wits and blinking against the brilliance of what I discovered as sunlight, my eyes came to a sharp focus on a face carved out of translucent alabaster—his cheekbones high, nose narrow, lips full. His dark brows furrowed and long lashes swept into an upward curve. At first, I believed it to be a statue until he blinked his liquid gaze of amber.

I gasped, lifted a trembling hand, and grazed my fingertips along the strong angle of his smooth jaw. He closed his eyes and brought my hand to his warm lips. The simple touch sent a jolt of heat down to my toes. My body then remembered itself and I could move.

“Are you well?” His musical voice strummed a familiar chord deep inside me and I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before.

“I am now,” I whispered, wiggling my toes.

His smile cleared the clouds from the sky and stole my breath. He loosened his hold from around me until my feet touched the ground. His arm stayed fast as he redirected his breathtaking gaze.

“Because of you, Hudde, Lady Iveta had lost herself. Thankfully she is well now.” He spoke to someone who moved nearby. I followed his gaze and found a scruffy man with a bowed head. He wore a simple brown shirt tied with a leather belt over loose-fitting leggings and leather boots.

“Please forgive me, my Prince Dominic,” Hudde said.

Prince Dominic?

I didn’t want to see stress marring his face, so I said, “I found it enticing to keep myself from riding such a fine horse, my prince, and so I ask your forgiveness on behalf of Hudde. I had stolen away while he busied himself in the stables.” I didn’t know where that explanation came from but it felt right.

The hard glint in the prince’s eyes softened, his brow smoothed. “My lady’s heart is as wild as the open sea.”

I nodded, staring into his hypnotic gaze.

The prince held his free hand high. “Hudde, prepare us my carriage.” He lowered his eyes to me, his tone lively. “Would the Lady Iva care to visit the headlands?” A wistful expression clouded his eyes. “’Tis as timeless as can be.”

Hudde bowed deeper and scurried off to do his bidding.

When we were alone, Prince Dominic’s gaze deepened as a shadow formed at his brow. “There will be a time when we will not be together and I would that you never forget me, my love.”

I stared up at him in awe. How could I forget someone like him?

His worry smoothed over and he brought my head to his lips with a sigh. “My heart and your heart are bound together by the sands of time. Please remember that always.”

I pulled from him with a sad smile, confused by his melancholy. “I will remember you always.”

ABOUT THE MYSTERIOUS GUEST AUTHOR

I have enjoyed writing for as long as I remember. I started out with short stories in elementary school, expanded to angst poetry the first part of high school, then explored epic novel-writing my senior year. I can write 50k words under a week if the kids cooperate. The best part of writing for me is when the characters come to life on their own--better than going to the movies! I love my writerly friends.

Can you guess who our guest author is?


MASQUERADE BALL SCHEDULE


Thur. April 18th: L.G. Keltner https://lgkeltner.blogspot.com/

Fri. April 19th: Jennifer Lane http://jenniferlanebooks.blogspot.com

Sat. April 20th: Deborah Solice https://thefabulistdotblog.wordpress.com/

Mon. April 22nd: CD Gallant-King http://www.cdgallantking.ca/

Tues. April 23rd: Elizabeth Mueller https://elizabethmueller.blogspot.com/

Wed. April 24th: Chelsea Marie Ballard https://www.facebook.com/masqueradeoddlysuited

Thurs. April 25th: Carrie-Ann Brownian http://carrieannebrownian.wordpress.com

Fri. April 26th: Myles Christensen http://www.myleschristensen.com

Sat. April 27th: Anstice Brown https://dustingthesoul.com

Mon. April 29th: Angela Brown http://publishness.blogspot.com/

Tues. Apr 30th: Book Release and The Unmasking (Just follow links above)!


BONUS CONTENT!

In case you're looking for a little extra helping of the Masquerade: Oddly Suited contributors today, be sure to swing by Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog to check out a short piece where ALL of the authors discuss their favourite romantic movies! Can you guess what mine is? Be sure to visit Alex's post today to find out.



Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Pencils Down! (#IWSG April 2019)


I am currently smack-dab in the middle of the busiest time of year at my day job, so I will keep this brief.

Usually, during March/April, I moan and beat myself up for not getting any writing done. I often work through lunch breaks, have to take work home with me, and if I'm not working I'm usually exhausted, so there's not much hope of getting any words in. This year I decided up front in mid-March that I wasn't even going to try to write for the next few weeks. Sure it's scary to willingly stop writing for any amount of time, but what is the point agonizing over word counts when I know I'm not going to meet them? I don't have any particular deadline to meet, so the only person I was hurting by failing to meet expectations was myself.

It's been a huge weight off my shoulders, and one less stress to worry about during what is inevitably a very stressful time. And you know what? I've actually sneaked in a few words here and there, too, because there was no pressure to do so.

So far, this has actually been a positive experiment.

MASQUERADE: ODDLY SUITED

There is one thing I have to mention though, and that's the upcoming IWSG/Dancing Lemur Press anthology that is scheduled to release at the end of THIS MONTH! There will be plenty of events and blog posts and other fun over the next few weeks, but the big one I have to direct you to right now is a Rafflecopter we're running to give away a FIFTY DOLLAR ($50) AMAZON GIFT CARD! (And that's US Dollars, too!) All you have to do to sign-up is spread the word about our great little book on social media, so why not throw your name in the hat and help us out at the same time?


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, be sure to drop in on the full blog tour we're running across the interwebz to help promote the Masquerade Anthology. Full schedule is below:


APRIL 3 IWSG QUESTION:
If you could use a wish to help you write just ONE scene/chapter of your book, which one would it be? (examples: fight scene / first kiss scene / death scene / chase scene / first chapter / middle chapter / end chapter, etc.)

This one's easy. I've got five chapters at the beginning of my current WIP that I know I have to go back and re-write but I have been avoiding. Pick any one of those and I'll be happy.

The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Writers post their thoughts on their blogs, talking about their doubts and the fears they have conquered. It's a chance for writers to commiserate and offer a word of encouragement to each other. Check out the group at http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/.

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